Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of Layered Social Networks, Jonathan T. Hamill

Theses and Dissertations

Prevention of near-term terrorist attacks requires an understanding of current terrorist organizations to include their composition, the actors involved, and how they operate to achieve their objectives. To aid this understanding, operations research, sociological, and behavioral theory relevant to the study of social networks are applied, thereby providing theoretical foundations for new methodologies to analyze non-cooperative organizations, defined as those trying to hide their structure or are unwilling to provide information regarding their operations. Techniques applying information regarding multiple dimensions of interpersonal relationships, inferring from them the strengths of interpersonal ties, are explored. A layered network construct is offered that …

Reverse Decision Making And Goal Attainment A Proof Of Concept As A New Approach To The Decision Making Process Under Uncertainty, Shitalkumar S. Sabne

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Decision making occurs when one must choose among alternatives. However, in uncertain environments where problems are complex and decision makers lack complete knowledge of the situation as well as decision alternatives, it's not possible for them to select an optimal decision outcome by 'Traditional Decision Approaches'. At present Reverse Decision Making is the central, although new and unproved, approach of Old Dominion University's Engineering Management and Systems Engineering research on decision making process for uncertain and complex situations. Even though research in decision making spans over one hundred years, there are still important problems which remain to be addressed.

There …

Essays On Individual And Collective Powers In A Voting Body., Sonali Roy Dr.

Doctoral Theses

MotivationThe issue of measurement of voting power is a very important topic of discussion in social science these days. The concept of voting power concerns any collective decision making body (or, equivalently, a collectivity) which makes ‘yes’ or ‘no’ decisions on any issue, by the process of voting. Examples of such bodies abound in today’s world. The United Nations Security Council, The Council of Ministers in the European Union, the Parliament of the republic of India, the board room of any corporate house etc., are all examples of such decision making bodies.The voting process of each of these bodies is …

Evaluating Alternatives For Drinking Water At Deployed Locations, Brian S. Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

Because of potential improvements to water security and cost savings, military decision makers may want to consider new means of providing potable water to Airmen in deployed locations. Drilling for water and field bottling show great potential because of the increased security and lower per unit cost when compared to bottled water from approved sources. However, the selection of the best means to supply water is a hard decision which must balance multiple objectives (e.g., security, palatability, and convenience) against limited resources (e.g., cost, airlift, trucks, and personnel). A multi-objective decision analysis model quantifies a decision-maker's values regarding the many …

A Decision Analysis Tool For The Source Selection Process, John R. Trumm

Theses and Dissertations

The source selection process for choosing a contractor does not incorporate a standardized objective decision analysis tool; therefore, the process is extremely subjective and provides little guidance to distinguish between highly competitive contractors. The Air Force Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineer Requirements (SABER) program selects contractors through a Low Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) source selection process and encounters the same problem of not being able to objectively distinguish between the competing contractors. The LPTA process rank orders the contractors based on price and evaluates the bidders in order until an 'exceptional' contractor is discovered. However, the SABER source selection committee …

High Performance Individuals And How They Manage Their Personal Knowledge For Decision-Making: An Exploratory Study Of Us Air Force Leaders, Kenneth M. Ivey

Theses and Dissertations

The ability of Colonels, Generals, and Chiefs to effectively manage their personal knowledge may lead to better decisions; however, the Air Force does not have an understanding of how these high performance leaders manage their personal knowledge. This research used a multiple-case study methodology to explore how USAF leaders manage their personal knowledge when making routine and novel decisions. Viewing personal knowledge management as it related to sociotechnical theory provided the basis to determine how the need to accomplish the tasks associated with personal knowledge management impacted the people, technology, organizational structure, and the tasks associated with managing personal knowledge. …

Strategic Airlift En Route Analysis To Support The Global War On Terrorism Using A Value Focused Thinking Approach, Marykathryn W. Tharaldson

Theses and Dissertations

The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) has yielded new challenges to the United States' strategic airlift infrastructure. The network of en-route airfields that serve as refueling and maintenance stops were designed primarily to service relatively static Cold War requirements. However, the GWOT has resulted in the need for an infrastructure that is responsive to a highly dynamic environment. This research uses a "value focused" methodology to identify en-route airfield locations that simultaneously maximize cargo throughput capability while possessing a high degree of adaptability to volatile cargo delivery requirements.

Using Value-Focused Thinking To Evaluate The Practicality Of Porous Pavement Parking Areas On Air Force Installations, Christopher D. Bulson

Theses and Dissertations

Natural runoff processes have been altered by urban development; impervious surfaces (rooftops, highways, parking areas) and their associated storm water systems channel runoff from a vast area into one concentrated outflow. This storm water runoff can cause erosion, flooding, landslides, and significant damage to aquatic ecosystems. Runoff from highways and parking areas has also been known to contain high levels of suspended solids, heavy metals and hydrocarbons. Porous pavements allow infiltration of water through typically impervious surfaces, reducing storm water volumes and acting as a pollutant filtration system. Since there is currently no methodology for Air Force decision-makers to compare …

Selecting Energy Efficient Building Envelope Retrofits To Existing Department Of Defense Building Using Value Focused Thinking, David M. Pratt

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense (DoD) has hundreds of thousands of facilities in its inventory, which consume billions of BTUSs of energy per year. Much of that energy is used to heat and cool the facility, and a great deal of this energy is lost through the building envelope. While new military construction works towards energy efficiency, the majority of DoD facilities were built over forty years ago with little regard to energy efficiency, and it is these facilities that have the greatest potential for energy efficient building envelope retrofits. There are hundreds of various new building envelope technologies available to …

Gauging The Commitment Of Clandestine Group Members, Doneda D. Downs

Theses and Dissertations

Since the attacks of September 11th, 2001, there has been a great deal of attention given to understanding the inner workings of terrorist organizations in order for the United States to be successful in the Global War on Terrorism. Group dynamics has been one area of interest pursued to gain more insight into a terrorist's cognitive battlespace. Until a few years ago, most research on individual commitment and organizational cohesion has been based primarily on questionnaires and open observations on groups that desire to be understood. However, terrorist organizations are clandestine; they constantly employ operations security (OPSEC) to ensure protection …

Some New Methodologies For Pattern Recognition Aided By Self-Organizing Maps., Arijit Laha Dr.

Doctoral Theses

In this thesis we develop several techniques for performing different pattern recognition tasks. In particular, the pattern recognition tasks considered here are classification and vector quantization. We propose several methods for designing classifiers and address various issues involved in the task. For vector quantization, we develop a method for image compression with superior psychovisual reproduction quality. We also propose a method for fast codebook search in a vector quantizer. We exploit different properties of Self-organizing Map (SOM) network for developing these methods. Along with SOM, we also use fuzzy sets theory and Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence to design classi- fiers …

The Use Of Pc Based Simulation Systems In The Training Of Army Infantry Officers - An Evaluation Of The Rapid Decision Trainer, Thomas Lucario

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research considers two modes of training Army infantry officers in initial training to conduct a platoon live fire exercise. Leaders from groups that were training with the current classroom training methods were compared to leaders from groups whose training was augmented with a PC based training system known as the Rapid Decision Trainer (RDT). The RDT was developed by the US Army Research Development and Engineering Command for the purpose of aiding in the training of tactical decision making and troop leading procedures of officers in the initial levels of training to become rifle platoon leaders. The RDT allows …

Creativity = Intelligence + Intuition? The Relationships Between Intuition, Creativity, And Intelligence, Michael E. Battista

Digitized Theses

The study examined intuition and its relations with intelligence and creativity. Based on anecdotal evidence and past empirical research, it was hypothesized that measures of intuition, including implicit learning, would be related to each other. Furthermore, two hypotheses were explored: First, individual differences in creativity can be predicted by intelligence and intuition, and second, individual differences in intelligence can be predicted by creativity and intuition. Sixty eight participants completed various measures of intuition, an implicit learning task, and tests of creativity and intelligence. Self-report measures of intuition correlated with each other, but not with measures of implicit learning. Some limited …

Controlling Involvement To Promote Confidence In Palliative Care Decisions - A Grounded Theory From The Patient's Perspective, Susan F. Lee

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Decision making in the context of palliative care is particularly complex given the unpredictable illness trajectories experienced by patients and the number of individuals who may be part of the decision making process. This grounded theory study explored and described from the perspective of patients with advanced illness, their experiences of making care decisions. A review of literature at the commencement of the study indicated that there was a lack of evidence to support the best way of ascertaining patient's preferences for involvement in decisions in a palliative care context and almost no research to guide clinicians about the involvement …