Browsing Engineering Systems Division by Title
Now showing items 234-253 of 273
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System Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2002-05)Todays problems often arise as unintended consequences of yesterdays solutions. Social systems often suffer from policy resistance, the tendency for well-intentioned interventions to be defeated by the response of the ... -
A Systems Framework for Assessing Air Quality Impacts of ITS: Application to Mexico City
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2004-10)Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)—the application of communications and information technology to surface transportation systems—has the potential to improve transportation along several dimensions, from safety to ... -
A Systems Thinking Approach to Leading Indicators in the Petrochemical Industry
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2013-01)There are always warning signs before a major accident, but these signs may only be noticeable or interpretable as a leading indicator in hindsight. Before an accident, such “weak signals” are often perceived only as noise. ... -
Taming the Business Cycles in Commercial Aviation: Trade-space analysis of strategic alternatives using simulation modeling
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2008-05)We investigate the effectiveness of strategic alternatives that are designed to dampen the cyclicality manifest in the commercial aviation related industries. The constituent enterprises of the commercial aviation system ... -
Teaching about Complex Sociotechnical Systems (CSS)
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2010-07)Prof Chris Magee and I teach the doctoral seminar in engineering systems (ESD.83) required for all ESD doctoral students usually in the first semester they are registered as doctoral students. One of the assignments deals ... -
A Teaching Note on “Real Options”
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2010-09)The engineering life is uncertain. We often need to make decisions now that we hope will be effective some years from now. One approach to this conundrum is to design “flexibility” into our projects, hedging against future ... -
Teaching Systems Thinking to Engineering Undergraduates Using the CLIOS Process
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2007-05)The introductory science courses taken by engineering undergraduates are usually intensely reductionist in form, silos in physics, chemistry, biology, and so forth. Then, their engineering subjects in the early undergraduate ... -
Technology Forecasting Using Data Mining and Semantics: First Annual Report
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2009-04)The planning and management of research and development is a challenging process which is compounded by the large amounts of information which is available. The goal of this project is to mine science and technology databases ... -
Technology Structural Implications from the Extension of a Patent Search Method
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2014-07)Many areas of academic and industrial work make use of the notion of a ‘technology’. This paper attempts to reduce the ambiguity around the definition of what constitutes a ‘technology’ by extension of a method described ... -
Technology-Enabled Strategy Development Alternatives for Surface Transportation
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2008-10)This paper examines strategy development processes in surface transportation systems. In the U.S., transportation organizations typically develop strategy through a formal planning process; however, planning is not the ... -
Three Perspectives on Modularity – A Literature Review of a Product Concept for Assembled Hardware Products
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2001-10)In recent years, modularity as a design strategy has received renewed interest. The term modularity, however, is often used to describe phenomena that are similar yet slightly different, for different products, and in ... -
Too Many Ph.D. Graduates or Too Few Academic Job Openings: The Basic Reproductive Number R[subscript 0] in Academia
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2013-03)The academic job market has become increasingly competitive for Ph.D. graduates. In this Note we ask the basic question of “Are we producing more Ph.D.’s than needed?” We take a systems approach and offer a “birth rate” ... -
Toward a New Technology and Policy Program (TPP) Curriculum
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2001-01)The mission of the MIT Technology and Policy Program (TPP) is: “Provide an integrative education to scientists and engineers who wish to lead in the development and implementation of responsible strategies and policies ... -
Toward the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2006-08)The term “24-Hour Knowledge Factory” connotes a globally distributed work environment in which members of the global team work on a project around the clock; each member of the team works the normal workday hours that ... -
Toward the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory in Software Development
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2006-08)“The Sun never sets on the British Empire,” was a notion emphasized during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to highlight that the British Empire was far-flung, and that the sun was always visible from some part of ... -
Towards An Integration Of The Lean Enterprise System, Total Quality Management, Six Sigma And Related Enterprise Process Improvement Methods
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2010-08)The lean enterprise system, total quality management, six sigma, theory of constraints, agile manufacturing, and business process reengineering have been introduced as universally applicable best methods to improve the ... -
Towards better understanding Cybersecurity: Or are "Cyberspace" and "Cyber Space" the same?
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2014-10)Although there are many technology challenges and approaches to attaining cybersecurity, human actions (or inactions) also often pose large risks. There are many reasons, but one problem is whether we all “see the world” ... -
Towards quantification of the Role of Materials Innovation in overall Technological Development
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2009-07)This report develops a method for quantitatively assessing the role of materials innovation in overall technological development. The report demonstrates the method for one specific case and defines the key requirements ... -
Trade-off/Positional Analysis (with a Rawlsian Approach to Equity) as an Alternative to Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) in Socio-technical Decisions
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2006-08)This paper introduces a hybrid trade-off/positional analysis framework as an alternative to cost-benefit analysis (CBA). As a decision-support tool, the proposed framework [1] allows decision-makers not to monetize or ... -
Train Timetable Design for Shared Railway Systems using a Linear Programming Approach to Approximate Dynamic Programming
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division, 2014-05)In the last 15 years, the use of rail infrastructure by different train operating companies (shared railway system) has been proposed as a way to improve infrastructure utilization and to increase efficiency in the railway ...
