On Game-Theoretic Planning with Unknown Opponents' Objectives

Many autonomous navigation tasks require mobile robots to operate in dynamic environments involving interactions between agents. Developing interaction-aware motion planning algorithms that enable safe and intelligent interactions remains challenging. Dynamic game theory renders a powerful mathematical framework to model these interactions...

Reviving the Forgotten Gasholders: Harnessing the potential of heritage sites through complementary architectural gestures

Throughout the course of time, there has been a progression starting from the preservation of buildings and sites, to the conservation of specific elements of these landmarks, and now shifting towards adaptive reuse where the goal is to maintain cultural heritage through values and attributes. According to Aldo Rossi, there is no guarantee of...

Enhancing drought resilience and energy security through complementing hydro by offshore wind power—The case of Brazil

During atypical droughts, power systems with a heavy reliance on hydropower risk increased greenhouse gas emissions if they are balanced with fossil-fired generation. This work investigates the role of offshore wind energy in reducing the vulnerability of power systems dependent on such hydrological patterns, thereby eliminating this emission...

Topological Properties of Semantic Networks

The main goal of this thesis is to understand the topological properties of semantic networks, to find language-specific patterns, and to investigate their connection principles. Interpreting unstructured texts in natural language is a crucial task for computers. Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications rely on semantic networks for...

Agile software development and IT-architecture interactions in the public sector: A multi-case study approach to identify whether these roles are complementary or counterproductive

Large software projects often overrun costs, development time and do not deliver what has been envisioned by the customer. An important factor contributing to these cost overruns is the mismatch in the approaches of IT-architects and agile software development roles. In literature there are hints that complementary added value could be achieved...

Wind Turbine Design for a Hybrid System: with the emphasis on generation complementarity

The global issue on global warming leads nations to reduce their carbon emission, and one way to do it is by decarbonising the power system and employing higher penetration of renewable energy technology. However, due to the variable nature of renewable energy, their integration to the power system poses challenges to the utilities and system...

System effects of cross-border transmission capacity and seasonal storage on the future Dutch power system

The Dutch government aims at 70% of electricity production from renewable energy sources in 2030 in order to reach a CO2 emission reduction of 49% as compared to 1990 levels. With the increasing share of variable renewables in the European power system, it becomes increasingly more important to find a way to deal with generation volatility. The...

Localization of Guangming New Town: Integrating the new town development in Shenzhen metropolitan periphery

The core issue of this project is to discuss the relationship between the new town and old town in the fast-growing metropolitan periphery. The main research question of my project is how Guangming new town and old town could mutually benefit from each other, aiming to formulate a process oriented and strategic planning framework to rebuild a...

Dealing with Investment Uncertainties in the European Natural Gas Market: A Stochastic Equilibrium Model for the European Natural Gas Market

New developments in the gas market urge public and private concerns to gain deeper insight into how this market is functioning. The Energy Research Center of the Netherlands (ECN), as a leading research institute, has developed a deterministic model representing the European gas market called GASTALE. Based on this model, this research has been...

An optimal investment strategy tailored to two types of uncertainties

People invest in projects to make a profit. If the cost of investment is larger than the revenue, a rational person would not invest. Though these two statements may seem trivial, the reality is that it is often difficult to know what the expected costs and payoffs are. Like with any prediction in the future, there is always a level of...

Kernel-based interior-point methods for monotone linear complementarity problems over symmetric cones

We present an interior-point method for monotone linear complementarity problems over symmetric cones (SCLCP) that is based on barrier functions which are defined by a large class of univariate functions, called eligible kernel functions. This class is fairly general and includes the classical logarithmic function, the self-regular functions, as...

Information Technology and Firm Performance: The Role of Innovation

There is an essential quest in the literature to open up the “black box” of Information Technology (IT) by identifying and explaining how and why IT creates value for the firm. The present dissertation is an attempt to clarify the role of innovation in the process of value creation from IT investments. It belongs to the mainstream of “IT...

Unified Analysis of Kernel-Based Interior-Point Methods for P?(?)-Linear Complementarity Problems

We present an interior-point method for the P?(?)-linear complementarity problem (LCP) that is based on barrier functions which are defined by a large class of univariate functions called eligible kernel functions. This class is fairly general and includes the classical logarithmic function and the self-regular functions, as well as many non...

Synergy in polycentric urban regions: Complementarity, organising capacity and critical mass

This thesis focuses on relationships between cities in Polycentric Urban Regions (PURs), which are regions containing proximate but distinct cities that are rather similar in size. A classic example is the Randstad. The extent to which there are synergies between cities in PURs is explored. The author develops theories on synergy in PURs and...