(cont.) and (2) a forward approach which achieves optimality at the start and grows the system using an optimization technique. We systematically compare the two staging techniques in the context of telescope arrays and evaluate the hypothesis that the backward…

There exists a large amount of knowledge representation models. But most of them have significant limitations at the epistemic level. They do not have explanatory power. Most of them do not have means to represent some functional needs to work…

Policies to avert the threat of dangerous climate change focus on stabilizing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations by drastically reducing anthropogenic emissions of carbon. Such reductions require limiting the use of fossil fuels-which supply the bulk of energy to economic activity,…

by Yaichi Aoshima., Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1996., Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-264).

by Roberta M. Braum., Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1999., Includes bibliographical references (p. 57).

In this work we present an approach to model an action-oriented system controlled by BDI agents using a defeasible argumentation formalism to represent its knowledge. Here, our main concern will be modelling the software agents that drive the physical robots.

Signature schemes are fundamental cryptographic primitives, useful as a stand-alone application, and as a building block in the design of secure protocols and other cryptographic objects. In this thesis, we study both the uses that signature schemes find in protocols,…

Chapter one is titled "Social Capital and Group Banking." Lending to the poor is costly due to high screening, monitoring, and enforcement costs. Group lending advocates believe individuals are able to select creditworthy peers, monitor the use of loan proceeds,…

The Internet and Technology Revolution has created a new business environment, one in which traditional business rules are being challenged, and even repudiated. Information Communication Technology (ICT) has made a major impact to many business sectors, ranging from retail, stock…

This study presents a theoretical model for predictions of near-shore hydrodynamic characteristics and the local sediment transport rate along long, straight beaches. The wave may be periodic or random, the beach may be plane or barred, and the bed may…