Embracing Background Knowledge in the Analysis of Actual Causality: An Answer Set Programming Approach

This paper presents a rich knowledge representation language aimed at formalizing causal knowledge. This language is used for accurately and directly formalizing common benchmark examples from the literature of actual causality. A definition of cause is presented and used to analyze the actual causes of changes with respect to sequences of actions representing those examples.Comment: Under consideration for publication in Theory and Practice of Logic Programmin

Modular Logic Programming: Full Compositionality and Conflict Handling for Practical Reasoning

With the recent development of a new ubiquitous nature of data and the profusity of available knowledge, there is nowadays the need to reason from multiple sources of often incomplete and uncertain knowledge. Our goal was to provide a way to combine declarative knowledge bases – represented as logic programming modules under the answer set semantics – as well as the individual results one already inferred from them, without having to recalculate the results for their composition and without having to explicitly know the original logic programming encodings that produced such results. This posed us many challenges such as how to deal with fundamental problems of modular frameworks for logic programming, namely how to define a general compositional semantics that allows us to compose unrestricted modules. Building upon existing logic programming approaches, we devised a framework capable of composing generic logic programming modules while preserving the crucial property of compositionality, which informally means that the combination of models of individual modules are the models of the union of modules. We are also still able to reason in the presence of knowledge containing incoherencies, which is informally characterised by a logic program that does not have an answer set due to cyclic dependencies of an atom from its default negation. In this thesis we also discuss how the same approach can be extended to deal with probabilistic knowledge in a modular and compositional way. We depart from the Modular Logic Programming approach in Oikarinen & Janhunen (2008); Janhunen et al. (2009) which achieved a restricted form of compositionality of answer set programming modules. We aim at generalising this framework of modular logic programming and start by lifting restrictive conditions that were originally imposed, and use alternative ways of combining these (so called by us) Generalised Modular Logic Programs. We then deal with conflicts arising in generalised modular logic programming and provide modular justifications and debugging for the generalised modular logic programming setting, where justification models answer the question: Why is a given interpretation indeed an Answer Set? and Debugging models answer the question: Why is a given interpretation not an Answer Set? In summary, our research deals with the problematic of formally devising a generic modular logic programming framework, providing: operators for combining arbitrary modular logic programs together with a compositional semantics; We characterise conflicts that occur when composing access control policies, which are generalisable to our context of generalised modular logic programming, and ways of dealing with them syntactically: provided a unification for justification and debugging of logic programs; and semantically: provide a new semantics capable of dealing with incoherences. We also provide an extension of modular logic programming to a probabilistic setting. These goals are already covered with published work. A prototypical tool implementing the unification of justifications and debugging is available for download from http://cptkirk.sourceforge.net

Planned strategic change in a family-owned firm: an ethnographic study

Empirical research into how planned strategic change (PSC) occurs in family owned businesses has received little academic attention. Since organizational change is at least as important for family businesses as their non-family counter-parts, understanding whether widely accepted distinctive dynamics within family firms influence attempts at PSC represents a major gap in existing research. This thesis reports the results of an ethnographic, single company case study into Reliance Industries’ (RIL) transformation program, designed to address this gap. This research contributes in several ways. First, it demonstrates that PSC in this large, owner-centric, family owned business does follow a distinctive path. Second, it shows that PSC in RIL is not adequately predicted, explained, or helped by conventional Organization Development (OD) change frameworks, such as Kotter’s 8-steps. Third, it identifies three paradoxical forces linked to “familiness” (leveraging faith versus persuasion, individual justice versus utilitarianism, and formality versus informality), as the primary enablers for and barriers to PSC in RIL. Fourth, it discovers and defines the phenomenon of Faithful Adoption as a powerful force that can be employed by a talismanic owner to achieve rapid shifts in a business strategy. Fifth, it offers a new theoretical model, ‘Two-Step Change,’ as an explanation of how PSC has occurred in a large family owned business. And finally, the ethnographic method and resulting dataset provide a unique and unprecedented richness and depth to this research subject

A framework for implementing lean principles in supply chain at healthcare organisations.

The aim of this research is to develop a framework to implement lean thinking in healthcare supply chain management (HSCM). The framework comprises four implementation phases namely; preparation state, assessment of the current state in terms of lean, developing the desired future state in terms of lean and steady (sustainable) state of new actions taken. The developed framework covers the lean enablers, factors and the barriers that may hinder the lean implementation. The final edition of the framework was validated by three hospitals in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the developed framework includes model to assess leanness maturity of the HSCM. The HSCM leanness assessment model was developed by using multi-grade fuzzy approach. This approach consists of three levels; enablers, criteria and attributes. By using such approach, the HSCM leanness index was calculated and practices for further improvement were identified. Five enablers that are important for implementing lean principles in HSCM were identified. The enablers are medical management responsibility, healthcare supply chain processes management, medical human resource, consumer relationship and supplier relationship. Nine lean barriers that are obstacle lean implementation include: existence of physicians’ preferences, unpredictable patient demand, Inadequate knowledge and lack of understanding lean concept , identify type of waste through HSCM processes (delivering value to the patient), hospital culture and resistance to change, lack of hospital support, commitment and disbelief in lean , scarcity of qualified human resources and lack of training , assessment of the required level of leanness and lack of effective communication and information sharing. Prioritization and proposed solutions to overcome these barriers were provided. HSCM leanness assessment model was developed based on three levels: enablers, criteria, and attributes. Mixed methods has been used as research methodology. The research has started with extensive literature review related to supply chain management and lean with focus on healthcare context. Next, the qualitative method was used during field study by using semi-structured and structured interview to capture the knowledge from experts (data collection). The proposed framework enables decision-makers at healthcare providers to implement lean principles in supply chain management through a step by step process. Implementation of the framework will contribute significantly to improving the supply chain's overall performance, quality of work, reducing cost and eliminating wastes and on-time delivery.PhD in Manufacturin

A multi-perspective and multi-theoretical approach on the role of Knowledge Process Capabilities in enhancing patient safety: the case of Chiapas

Knowledge in medical practice is indispensable in accomplishing the objective of healing, conserving and protecting human health. Health institutions are organisations of knowledge; through their human resources, processes, methods, practices and instruments, they constantly promote the generation, access, transference and application of knowledge. Therefore, governments in developing countries such as Mexico can integrate knowledge management strategies, considering as a reference the best practices of developed countries and adapting them to the context of public policies and institutions. However, in the adoption and adaptation process, the local context conditions influencing any knowledge-based initiative's success or failure must be carefully analysed and evaluated. Therefore, an exploratory study will provide insight into the contribution of different critical factors to the development of knowledge capabilities of healthcare professionals and their impact on the improvement of patient safety from the view of a public Mexican health institution.This research proposed a methodology composed of three phases. First, The knowledge generation to understand the foundations of Knowledge Management through a literature review of the theories, perspectives, disciplines, critical factors, and evidence from past studies that support this field of study. Second, the knowledge and evidence generated through rigorous statistical analyses to evaluate three structural models whose relationships were established based on previously identified theoretical foundations. The critical factors considered in this study are the Organisational Enablers of Knowledge Management, Culture of Collaboration, Technology Acceptance, Knowledge-Sharing Behaviour, Knowledge Process Capabilities developed by healthcare professionals, and Organisational Performance in terms of Patient Safety. Third, the knowledge generated through a dialogue between the evidence generated by statistical analyses and the conditions of the local context that affect the behaviours proposed by the theories.Identifying the context effects of a developing country such as Mexico will let to identify and analyse the conditions of the social, cultural, and economic dimensions and governmental practices that can obstruct the development of knowledge capabilities in healthcare professionals, as well as the formal establishment of knowledge practices. The importance of this contribution relies on the fact that health institutions are pillars for the development of society, so strengthening their different capabilities and knowledge strategies is more than ever essential for the well-being and development of countries

Developments in abstract and assumption-based argumentation and their application in logic programming

Logic Programming (LP) and Argumentation are two paradigms for knowledge representation and reasoning under incomplete information. Even though the two paradigms share common features, they constitute mostly separate areas of research. In this thesis, we present novel developments in Argumentation, in particular in Assumption-Based Argumentation (ABA) and Abstract Argumentation (AA), and show how they can 1) extend the understanding of the relationship between the two paradigms and 2) provide solutions to problematic reasoning outcomes in LP. More precisely, we introduce assumption labellings as a novel way to express the semantics of ABA and prove a more straightforward relationship with LP semantics than found in previous work. Building upon these correspondence results, we apply methods for argument construction and conflict detection from ABA, and for conflict resolution from AA, to construct justifications of unexpected or unexplained LP solutions under the answer set semantics. We furthermore characterise reasons for the non-existence of stable semantics in AA and apply these findings to characterise different scenarios in which the computation of meaningful solutions in LP under the answer set semantics fails.Open Acces

Benefits Management and Its Applicability in the Australian Public Sector

The existing project management (PM) literature on Australian public sector benefits management practices is generally more normative and aspirational than grounded in practice. A literature review for this study found various research gaps in existing literature. The existing literature highlights the struggle organisations face in managing benefits, starting with benefits identification and formulation, but it does not say much about the challenges these organisations face in this process. Various benefits management frameworks are available in the PM literature, but these are either conceptual or lack evidence of being used in practice. The PM literature also lacks debate on the effectiveness of project governance and the role of project and benefits owners in managing benefits in Australian public sector organisations. There is insufficient information in the PM literature on enablers and inhibitors of benefits management in Australian public sector organisations. In order to fill these gaps in the extant literature, this study posed two main questions: 1) How is benefits management being practised in the Australian public sector? 2) What are the inhibitors and enablers of benefits management in the Australian public sector? This study employed the thematic analysis (TA) method to inductively identify current benefits management practices in the Australian public sector at the federal level. Based on 35 semi structured interviews with practitioners actively involved in benefits across six public sector organisations, this study identified seven major themes through the analysis of the interview data. While this study confirmed various findings from previous research, it also discovered many benefits management practices previously yet unidentified in the literature. This study is the first extensive study of benefits management practices in the Australian public sector, acknowledging the few limited studies conducted in the Australian public sector context

Interorganisational collaboration in the public sector

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The research applies the contextual context, content, and process (CCP) framework to explore the contextual and processual factors that are associated with implementing interorganisational collaborative arrangements in the public sector. Collaborative arrangements in the public sector are found to be complex, difficult to implement, and liable to failure when not fully explored and recognised. Background theory reveals the absence of a multilevel lens that can embrace the multifaceted nature of interorganisational collaborations, the multiple contextual levels, the process stages and micro-actions, and the interplay between the process and the context. By identifying the need to explore contextual and processual factors, the background theory informs the focal theory which proposes an extended CCP framework as a useful multilevel lens to elucidate the research problem. The framework is developed and validated through multidisciplinary literature synthesisation, the pilot stage, and the main fieldwork which applies qualitative methods based on multiple case studies from the public sector in Oman as data sources’ techniques. The originality of this study stemming from developing and validating a novel multilevel contextual framework. The emerged multifaceted CCP framework, used to explore contextual and processual factors when implementing collaborative arrangements in the public sector, is found to be an applicable, feasible, and useful analysis tool. It can help public policy-makers, public management, academics, change agents, and collaborating organisations in identifying the inhibitive, supportive prerequisites, and in general influencing contextual factors. It helps also in elucidating and minimising uncertainty about the nature and micro-actions of the processual stages