1,720,979 research outputs found
Effectiveness in Decision-Making in Ship Design under Uncertainty
Full text linkThe objective of this thesis is to develop a better understanding of how to carry out more effective conceptual ship design processes. Under the premise that uncertainty influences the effectiveness of the decision-making process in ship design, it is argued that to improve the way daily ship design activities are carried out, it is necessary to understand the uncertainty present in such processes. It is also necessary for ship designers to know how to reduce the negative effects of uncertainty. This research tries to find answers to the following research questions: What are the important uncertainties in conceptual ship design, and how do they influence effective decision-making?
The research question is explored using a multi/mixed-method denominated exploratory design research. It consists of exploring a phenomenon based on a qualitative evaluation and then probing quantitatively the extracted hypothesis. The initial analysis requires a deep evaluationof uncertainties in the ship design domain as perceived by the different actors involved in the conceptual design phase of new ships. Particular attention is given to the role of the ship owner in the design process. An extensive literature review is carried out to explore the role of uncertainty in ship design decision-making. An investigative model is developed based on this literature study. Further, our developed investigative model is tested using multivariate regression analysis. The data analysed was collected through an online survey involving 23 shipping companies.
This research has confirmed a relationship between the independent and dependent constructs uncertainty and decision-making effectiveness. Uncertainty is found to explain 14% of the variability of decision-making effectiveness in conceptual ship design processes. Furthermore, uncertainty is also confirmed to consist of five factors: (i) context, (ii) agent, (iii) input, (iv)model and (v) process. These factors contribute differently to the decision-making effectiveness.
The independent factors context, agent and model have a positive effect on decision-making effectiveness, meaning that the higher the emphasis given to these factors in the design process, the higher the decision-making effectiveness of the design process. The independent factor context has the most significant effect (19.5%), followed by the independent factors agent (19.0%) and model (15.9%), respectively. The independent factors process (-30.9%) and input (-19.7%) have been found to have, surprisingly, a negative effect on the effectiveness of the conceptual design process, meaning, and contrary to literature findings, the higher the emphasis given to these factors during the design process, the lower the effectiveness of the ship design process.
Among the 43 items describing the five factors of uncertainty, regulations (context uncertainty) were perceived by shipping companies as the most critical factor. This is likely due to the ongoing environmental regulatory transformation, in particular, the IMO (International Maritime Organization) 2020 emission requirements. The experience of the stakeholders involved in the newbuilding project (agent uncertainty) is perceived as the second most influential item in terms of importance to the overall perception of uncertainty. For example, market studies are a useful tool for shipowners and designers to select experienced partners or suppliers in their future projects. The third most important item is the economic performance of the vessel design (context uncertainty). This item reflects the lack of information relating to the potential revenue making capability of the vessel and the associated costs of owning and operating it. Vessel economics has, therefore, been introduced at Ulstein as an essential tool for supporting the conceptual design process and reduce uncertainty relating to the economic performance of the vessel.
The most important result from this study is the categorization of uncertainty in ship design and the quantification of the relationship between the perception of uncertainty from the perspective of the ship owner and the effectiveness of the conceptual ship design process. Furthermore, we exemplify the applicability of uncertainty handling methodologies to reduce the uncertainty or to mitigate the negative effects of uncertainty in five user-cases. This research provides a list of uncertainty factors (as perceived by ship owners) that ship designers should be aware of (and do something about) in their daily activities to improve the effectiveness of the ship design process
Considering Alternative Strategies to Improve Synergies between Shipbroker and Ship Designer in Upstream Shipbuilding Activities
No full textDenne masteroppgaven analyserer hvordan vi kan identifisere en mer effektiv interaksjon mellom skipsmeglere og skipsdesignere i oppstrøms skipsbyggingsaktiviteter. Vi foreslår fire forskningsspørsmål som legger til grunn en grundig forståelse av: 1) hvordan prosjektorienterte skipsmeglere jobber i prosjektdannende aktiviteter, og 2) klarhet rundt disse aktivitetene i industriens prosesser og verdikjede. Vi utviklet resultatene ved å kombinere litteratur, som nettverksteori og forretningsmodeller, observasjoner, og intervjuer. Fordi skipsbyggingsprosjekter varierer mye i form av tema, tid, kompleksitet, usikkerhet, risiko, kostnad, og involvering, avgrenser vi ikke oppgaven ved a svare konkret på hvordan man kan oppnå bedre synergi mellom skipsmeglere og skipsdesignere. I stedet introduserer vi et rammeverk for å forstå hvordan hver aktørs strategiske valg avgjør dens interaksjon med de andre, som kan enten føre til en bedre eller dårligere situasjon - et vellykket eller mislykket prosjekt. Dette gjøres ved a adressere kombinasjoner av de tre forretningsmodellene; verdikjede, verdiverksted, og verdinettverk, mellom en skipsmegler og en skipsdesigner. Vi demonstrerer med dette rammeverket at forståelse av forskjellen blant aktørene og deres roller er essensielt når man skal tilpasse sin strategi mot andre aktører i de prosjektdannede aktivitetene. Fra et strategisk perspektiv, foreslår vår analyse at dersom en skipsmegler og en skipsdesigner samkjører sine strategier, er det større sannsynlighet for å få et positivt synergistisk forhold, fordi de er klar over mulige overlappende og komplimenterende roller. Likevel avslører vi at det ikke er så lett å få til fordi skipsdesignere og skipsmeglere har fundamentale forskjeller i forutsetninger i valg av prosjekter. I tillegg jobber alle skipsmeglere forskjellig, noe som gjøre denne interaksjonen ekstremt relasjonsbasert og vanskelig å modellere generisk og konseptuelt
Effectiveness in Decision-Making in Ship Design under Uncertainty
No full textThe objective of this thesis is to develop a better understanding of how to carry out more effective conceptual ship design processes. Under the premise that uncertainty influences the effectiveness of the decision-making process in ship design, it is argued that to improve the way daily ship design activities are carried out, it is necessary to understand the uncertainty present in such processes. It is also necessary for ship designers to know how to reduce the negative effects of uncertainty. This research tries to find answers to the following research questions: What are the important uncertainties in conceptual ship design, and how do they influence effective decision-making?
The research question is explored using a multi/mixed-method denominated exploratory design research. It consists of exploring a phenomenon based on a qualitative evaluation and then probing quantitatively the extracted hypothesis. The initial analysis requires a deep evaluationof uncertainties in the ship design domain as perceived by the different actors involved in the conceptual design phase of new ships. Particular attention is given to the role of the ship owner in the design process. An extensive literature review is carried out to explore the role of uncertainty in ship design decision-making. An investigative model is developed based on this literature study. Further, our developed investigative model is tested using multivariate regression analysis. The data analysed was collected through an online survey involving 23 shipping companies.
This research has confirmed a relationship between the independent and dependent constructs uncertainty and decision-making effectiveness. Uncertainty is found to explain 14% of the variability of decision-making effectiveness in conceptual ship design processes. Furthermore, uncertainty is also confirmed to consist of five factors: (i) context, (ii) agent, (iii) input, (iv)model and (v) process. These factors contribute differently to the decision-making effectiveness.
The independent factors context, agent and model have a positive effect on decision-making effectiveness, meaning that the higher the emphasis given to these factors in the design process, the higher the decision-making effectiveness of the design process. The independent factor context has the most significant effect (19.5%), followed by the independent factors agent (19.0%) and model (15.9%), respectively. The independent factors process (-30.9%) and input (-19.7%) have been found to have, surprisingly, a negative effect on the effectiveness of the conceptual design process, meaning, and contrary to literature findings, the higher the emphasis given to these factors during the design process, the lower the effectiveness of the ship design process.
Among the 43 items describing the five factors of uncertainty, regulations (context uncertainty) were perceived by shipping companies as the most critical factor. This is likely due to the ongoing environmental regulatory transformation, in particular, the IMO (International Maritime Organization) 2020 emission requirements. The experience of the stakeholders involved in the newbuilding project (agent uncertainty) is perceived as the second most influential item in terms of importance to the overall perception of uncertainty. For example, market studies are a useful tool for shipowners and designers to select experienced partners or suppliers in their future projects. The third most important item is the economic performance of the vessel design (context uncertainty). This item reflects the lack of information relating to the potential revenue making capability of the vessel and the associated costs of owning and operating it. Vessel economics has, therefore, been introduced at Ulstein as an essential tool for supporting the conceptual design process and reduce uncertainty relating to the economic performance of the vessel.
The most important result from this study is the categorization of uncertainty in ship design and the quantification of the relationship between the perception of uncertainty from the perspective of the ship owner and the effectiveness of the conceptual ship design process. Furthermore, we exemplify the applicability of uncertainty handling methodologies to reduce the uncertainty or to mitigate the negative effects of uncertainty in five user-cases. This research provides a list of uncertainty factors (as perceived by ship owners) that ship designers should be aware of (and do something about) in their daily activities to improve the effectiveness of the ship design process
Considering Alternative Strategies to Improve Synergies between Shipbroker and Ship Designer in Upstream Shipbuilding Activities
Full text linkDenne masteroppgaven analyserer hvordan vi kan identifisere en mer effektiv interaksjon mellom skipsmeglere og skipsdesignere i oppstrøms skipsbyggingsaktiviteter. Vi foreslår fire forskningsspørsmål som legger til grunn en grundig forståelse av: 1) hvordan prosjektorienterte skipsmeglere jobber i prosjektdannende aktiviteter, og 2) klarhet rundt disse aktivitetene i industriens prosesser og verdikjede. Vi utviklet resultatene ved å kombinere litteratur, som nettverksteori og forretningsmodeller, observasjoner, og intervjuer. Fordi skipsbyggingsprosjekter varierer mye i form av tema, tid, kompleksitet, usikkerhet, risiko, kostnad, og involvering, avgrenser vi ikke oppgaven ved a svare konkret på hvordan man kan oppnå bedre synergi mellom skipsmeglere og skipsdesignere. I stedet introduserer vi et rammeverk for å forstå hvordan hver aktørs strategiske valg avgjør dens interaksjon med de andre, som kan enten føre til en bedre eller dårligere situasjon - et vellykket eller mislykket prosjekt. Dette gjøres ved a adressere kombinasjoner av de tre forretningsmodellene; verdikjede, verdiverksted, og verdinettverk, mellom en skipsmegler og en skipsdesigner. Vi demonstrerer med dette rammeverket at forståelse av forskjellen blant aktørene og deres roller er essensielt når man skal tilpasse sin strategi mot andre aktører i de prosjektdannede aktivitetene. Fra et strategisk perspektiv, foreslår vår analyse at dersom en skipsmegler og en skipsdesigner samkjører sine strategier, er det større sannsynlighet for å få et positivt synergistisk forhold, fordi de er klar over mulige overlappende og komplimenterende roller. Likevel avslører vi at det ikke er så lett å få til fordi skipsdesignere og skipsmeglere har fundamentale forskjeller i forutsetninger i valg av prosjekter. I tillegg jobber alle skipsmeglere forskjellig, noe som gjøre denne interaksjonen ekstremt relasjonsbasert og vanskelig å modellere generisk og konseptuelt.This master thesis analyzes how we can identify a more effective interaction between shipbrokers and ship designers in upstream shipbuilding activities. We propose four research questions (RQs) that emphasize a thorough understanding of: 1) how project-oriented shipbrokers work in Project-Making Activities (PMAs), and 2) clarity about these activities in the industry's processes and value chain. We developed the results by combining literature, such as network theories and strategic business models, observations, and interviews. Because shipbuilding projects vary tremendously in terms of theme, time, complexity, uncertainty, risk, cost, and involvement, we do not limit our results by answering how to achieve a better synergy between shipbrokers and ship designers. Instead, we reveal a framework to comprehend how each stakeholder's strategic decision determines its interaction with the others, leading to a better or worse situation - a successful or failure project. This is done by addressing combinations of the three business models; value chain, value shop, and value network, between a shipbroker and ship designer. We demonstrate with this framework that understanding the difference among the actors and their roles is essential in adapting an actor's business strategy to surrounding stakeholders in PMAs. From a strategic perspective, our analysis suggests that if a shipbroker and ship designer align their strategy, they are more likely to create a positive synergistic relationship because they are aware of possible overlapping and complementary roles. Nevertheless, we also reveal that it is not that straightforward because ship designers and shipbrokers have fundamental differences in project optionality prerequisites. In addition, every shipbroker works differently, making the interaction highly relationship-based and challenging to model generic and conceptual
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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