Information resources management, 1984-1989: A bibliography with indexes

This bibliography contains 768 annotated references to reports and journal articles entered into the NASA scientific and technical information database 1984 to 1989

Application of definitive scripts to computer aided conceptual design

The creative phases of design are based upon the human ability to conceptualise or abstract ideas from physical observations of the real world. That ability comes from experience, based on experiment: discerning patterns of behaviour in particular sets of observations. In this work it is shown that the process of identification, experiment and abstraction may be modelled accurately on a computer by definitive, or agent-oriented, programming, so forming a powerful aid to conceptual design. A new computer modelling language, called EdenLisp, has been developed by the author around Definitive Notations and interfaced to a commercial Computer Aided Design package. It provides a tool whereby computer models of systems can be originated that have state and on which state change can be made, not only by the designer but also by other autonomous agents of change Experiments with the language are described that show that scripts of definitions can have characteristics that permit the design to proceed as if there were an engineering prototype of the physical system being designed. The explicit representation of state at the lowest levels permits experimentation, observation of properties and addition of further observations. The interactive construction of EdenLisp is analogous to the conceptual design process It is used to illustrate and test design meta-theories for modelling conceptual design. It is shown to have potential for concurrent or multi-agent design, and is also an excellent vehicle for design education

An approach to resource modelling in support of the life cycle engineering of enterprise systems

Enterprise modelling can facilitate the design, analysis, control and construction of contemporary enterprises which can compete in world-wide Product markets. This research involves a systematic study of enterprise modelling with a particular focus on resource modelling in support of the life cycle engineering of enterprise systems. This led to the specification and design of a framework for resource modelling. This framework was conceived to: classify resource types; identify the different functions that resource modelling can support, with respect to different life phases of enterprise systems; clarify the relationship between resource models and other modelling perspectives provide mechanisms which link resource models and other types of models; identify guidelines for the capture of information - on resources, leading to the establishment of a set of resource reference models. The author also designed and implemented a resource modelling tool which conforms to the principles laid down by the framework. This tool realises important aspects of the resource modeffing concepts so defined. Furthermore, two case studies have been carried out. One models a metal cutting environment, and the other is based on an electronics industry problem area. In this way, the feasibility of concepts embodied in the framework and the design of the resource modelling tool has been tested and evaluated. Following a literature survey and preliminary investigation, the CIMOSA enterprise modelling and integration methodology was adopted and extended within this research. Here the resource modelling tool was built by extending SEWOSA (System Engineering Workbench for Open System Architecture) and utilising the CIMBIOSYS (CINI-Building Integrated Open SYStems) integrating infrastructure. The main contributions of the research are that: a framework for resource modelling has been established; means and mechanisms have been proposed, implemented and tested which link and coordinate different modelling perspectives into an unified enterprise model; the mechanisms and resource models generated by this research support each Pfe phase of systems engineering projects and demonstrate benefits by increasing the degree to which the derivation process among models is automated

Recent Advances in Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, part 1

This three-part document contains a collection of technical papers presented at the Second NASA/Air Force Symposium on Recent Advances in Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, held September 28-30, 1988 in Hampton, Virginia. The topics covered include: helicopter design, aeroelastic tailoring, control of aeroelastic structures, dynamics and control of flexible structures, structural design, design of large engineering systems, application of artificial intelligence, shape optimization, software development and implementation, and sensitivity analysis

Manufacturing code generation for rotational parts in a feature based product modelling environment

An important element for the integration of CAD/CAM is the representation and handling of data used during the design and manufacturing activities. The use of features and product modelling techniques bring a better handling of this data and provide CAD/CAM with an excellent platform for integration. The thesis explores the use of a predefined set of features in a product modelling environment for the design and machining of rotational components. Theword features in this research implies a set of functional, geometrical and technological information with a unique form. Those features are pre-defined and comprise of a limited number of elements which carry the information related to design and manufacturing activities. The thesis is divided into three main parts. The first part contains a review of topics related to the research e. g. group technology, component features, CAD/CAM and also contains a literature survey of related research works. In the second part the "features" are defined and presented. Also the product modelling environment is explained and the basic rule based procedures which are used to automatize the operation planning activities are presented. In the last part a description of the case-studies used for automatic NC code generation is presented followed by a discussion of the results. Lastly, the conclusions are drawn and ideas for further work presented

Aeronautical engineering: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 216)

This bibliography lists 505 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in July, 1987

Management: A bibliography for NASA managers (supplement 21)

This bibliography lists 664 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in 1986. Items are selected and grouped according to their usefulness to the manager as manager. Citations are grouped into ten subject categories: human factors and personnel issues; management theory and techniques; industrial management and manufacturing; robotics and expert systems; computers and information management; research and development; economics, costs, and markets; logistics and operations management; reliability and quality control; and legality, legislation, and policy

An investigation and evaluation into the 'usibility' of human-computer interfaces using a typical CAD system

This research program covers three topics relating to the humancomputer interface namely, voice recognition, tools and techniques for evaluation, and user and interface modelling. An investigation into the implementation of voice recognition technologies examines how voice recognisers may be evaluated in commercial software. A prototype system was developed with the collaboration of FEMVIEW Ltd. (marketing a CAD package). Proposals for future research using the prototype system suggests the need for field trials to assess its usefulness in a working environment and to gain insights to end-user attitudes. A new generation of voice system is proposed based around a phoneme-based pattern matching paradigm, natural language understanding facilities and intelligent knowledgebased systems capable of building on knowledge by inference and deduction. In order to assess the 'usability' of the FEMVIEW CAD software a subject-base' formal evaluation w-s cond""ct-d which involved: - (1) the analysis of responses to a multi-user survey of end-user attitudes; (2) collecting behavioural performance measures from students learning to use the software. (3) cognitive and affective data obtained from laboratory experimentation using experienced users of the CAD package. A theoretical approach to evaluation leads to the hypothesis that human-computer interaction is affected by personality, influencing types of dialogue, preferred methods for providing help, etc. A user model based on personality traits, or habitual behaviour patterns (HBP) is presented. Proposals are given to use the HBP model in future self-adaptive interfaces. Results from experimentation to justify the model are inconclusive. Finally, a practical framework is provided for the evaluation of human-computer interfaces. It suggests that evaluation is an integral part of design and that the iterative use of evaluation techniques throughout the conceptualisation, design, implementation and postimplementation stages will ensure systems that satisfy the needs of the users and fulfil the goal of 'usability'. The major contributions made to the knowledge of this subject can be summarised as follows: (1) the practical problems of implementing voice recognition technologies in commercial software; (2) the development of a new personalised user model which accounts for individual's idiosyncrasies; (3) methods for applying simple evaluation techniques in order to assess software 'usability'; (4) a practical framework for developing usable software