A system for visual recognition is described, with implications for the general problem of representation of knowledge to assist control. The immediate objective is a computer system that will recognize objects in a visual scene, specifically hammers. The computer receives…

One very useful idea in AI research has been the notion of an explicit model of a problem situation. Procedural deduction languages, such as PLANNER, have been valuable tools for building these models. But PLANNER and its relatives are very…

This thesis confronts the nature of the process of learning an intellectual skill, the ability to solve problems efficiently in a particular domain of discourse. The investigation is synthetic; a computational performance model, HACKER, is displayed. Hacker is a computer…

As a growing number of firms , especially those in the United States, outsource more of their professional services across geographic and temporal boundaries. Using a multi-faceted framework for this study, this paper shows that very careful analysis is needed…

Evaluation of public programming currently tends toward plans that are set in advance of any sampling and adhered to throughout. Because increments in the knowledge profile during the course of an evaluation might beckon adjustment of the working procedure, fixed…

The activity of designing and developing large, complex, discrete, physical, and engineered products faces the challenges in the physical product system, the organization of people, and the larger systems in which the product resides-the natural and societal systems. This thesis…

This report concentrates on progress during the last two years at the M.I.T. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Topics covered include the representation of knowledge, understanding English, learning and debugging, understanding vision and productivity technology. It is stressed that these various areas…

This paper discusses some preliminary thoughts about the development of a questionnaire for the Knowledge-based Operations Management System (KOMS) project. The questionnaire is designed to elicit information from managers, regarding the type of operating problems faced by them in terms…

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,…

The objective of this thesis is to clarify the ways that organizational factors influence nuclear power plant performance in order to improve performance. Therefore, this thesis studied the nuclear power plant organizational environment by identifying and detailing its important work…