The first two chapters of this thesis investigate a possibly fundamental aspect of technological progress. If knowledge accumulates as technology progresses, then successive generations of innovators may face an increasing educational burden, forcing them to spend longer periods in education…

by Mitsuyuki Ueda., Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003., Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-131)., This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives…

by Shung Yar Lim., Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2003., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-126).

by Antoine D. Guivarch., Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2003., Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-152).

If we are to understand human-level intelligence, we need to understand how meanings can be learned without explicit instruction. I take a step toward that understanding by focusing on the symbol-grounding problem, showing how symbols can emerge from a system…

The thesis explores a puzzle in technological capability development: many firms in China follow the "normal" way of technological capability development suggested by the existing literature but have not made much progress, while some firms that deviate from the "normal"…

The lack of effective data integration and knowledge representation in patient monitoring limits its utility to clinicians. Intelligent alarm algorithms that use artificial intelligence techniques have the potential to reduce false alarm rates and to improve data integration and knowledge…

A real-time motion engine for interactive synthetic characters, either virtual or physical, needs to allow expressivity and interactivity of motion in order to maintain the illusion of life. Canned animation examples from an animator or motion capture device are expressive,…

Characterization of defect is one of the important objectives of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) for condition assessment of structures. Among many other NDE techniques, ultrasonic methods play a prominent role in the both quantitative and qualitative assessment of discontinuities in reinforced…

This dissertation investigates how rapid learning occurs in high technology industries, many of which operate in what Bourgeois and Eisenhardt (1988) term "high velocity environments." The dissertation consists of three empirical studies, which follow the method of extended case study…