In planning an effective and efficient audit examination, the auditor has to choose appropriate auditing technologies and procedures. This audit choice problem has been explored from several perspectives. However, it has not been viewed as an innovation process. This dissertation reports the results of an innovation decision study in internal auditing. Hypotheses of associations between the internal auditor’s decision to use statistical sampling and the perceived characteristics of statistical sampling are derived from Rogers’ <i>Innovation Diffusion</i> model (Everett Rogers, <i>Diffusion of Innovations</i>, 1983). Additional hypotheses relating the decision to use statistical sampling to personal and organizational characteristics are derived from the innovation adoption and implementation research literature. Data for this study were gathered by mailing a questionnaire to a sample of internal audit directors. Incorporated into the questionnaire are several scales for measuring (1) innovation attributes, (2) professionalism, (3) professional and organizational commitment, (4) management support for innovation, and (5) creativity decision style. The usable response rate was 32.5% (n= 260). The primary finding of this study is that the extent of use of attributes, dollar unit, and variables sampling techniques is positively associated with the respondents’ perceptions of their relative advantage, trialability, compatibility, and observability, and negatively associated with the techniques’ perceived complexity. A secondary finding is that there is no overall association between the extent of use of statistical sampling by the internal auditors and their (1) professionalism, (2) professional and organizational commitment, (3) decision style, and (4) organizational support for innovation. Further exploration using multiple regression and logistic regression analyses indicate that several of the personal and organizational characteristics add to the ability of the regression models to explain the extent of use of statistical sampling. Evidence that organization types do have an effect upon the innovation decision process is presented. The study concludes by discussing its implications for understanding the innovation decision process of internal auditors, for designing and managing future innovation processes in auditing, and for further research into audit choice problems and innovation decisions of auditors and accountants. / Ph. D.

Process control charts are widely used to display sample data from a process for purposes of determining whether a process is in control, for bringing an out-of-control process into control, and for monitoring a process to make sure that it stays in control. The usual practice in maintaining a control chart is to take samples from the process at fixed length sampling intervals. This research investigates the modification of the standard practice where the sampling interval or time between samples is not fixed but can vary depending on what is observed from the data. Variable sampling interval process control procedures are considered for monitoring the outcome of a production process. The time until the next sample depends on what is being observed in the current sample. Sampling is less frequent when the process is at a high level of quality and vise versa. Properties such as the average number of samples until signal, average time to signal and the variance of the time to signal are developed for the variable sampling interval Shewhart and cusum charts. A Markov chain is utilized to approximate the average time to signal and the corresponding variance for the cusum charts. Properties of the variable sampling interval Shewhart chart are investigated through Renewal Theory and Markov chain approaches for the cases of a sudden and gradual shift in the process mean respectively. Also considered is the case of a shift occurring in the time between two samples without the simplifying assumption that the process mean remains the same from time zero onward. For such a case, the adjusted time to signal is developed for both the Shewhart and cusum charts in addition to the variance of the adjusted time to signal. Results show that the variable sampling interval control charts are considerably more efficient than the corresponding fixed sampling interval control charts. It is preferable to use only two sampling intervals which keeps the complexity of the chart to a reasonable level and has practical implications. This feature should make such charts very appealing for use in industry and other fields of application where control charts are used. / Ph. D.

In conjunction with Atlantic Pacific Engineering and the Henry County Public Service Authority, Virginia Tech’s Environmental Engineering program measured the emissions from an experimental scrap tire incinerator/wastewater treatment plant sludge dryer. This report recounts the techniques used and the results obtained during this testing. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality supplied a list of pollutants of permitting interest which included a variety of criteria pollutants, toxics, and metals. Sampling for all the listed compounds required adherence to EPA Methods 5, 201A, 29, 0010, 0011, 0030, 6, 7D, 26A, and 18. Emissions testing transpired during the incinerator’s 72-hour test burn: 0800 October 30th to 0800 November 2nd, 1995. Due to time constraints, only part of one nonpotable water sampling series was completed rather than the proposed duplicate testing using both drying agents: nonpotable water and sludge. High particulate (57 lb/hr) and metal (21.4 lb/hr total) emissions indicate a fairly significant amount of air pollution control equipment will be necessary for a commercial plant. Both nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide had low emission rates: 1.73 lb/hr and 0.64 lb/hr, respectively, due to the nonpotable water spray acting as a fairly efficient scrubber removing a great deal of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and some metals. Because of sample analysis preparation problems, no organics results were obtained. Commercial development of this incinerator will have to include a sizable quantity of air pollution control equipment: a $5 million plant will need approximately $1 million worth of control equipment. / Master of Science

<p dir="ltr">Fearlessness is a construct often discussed in clinical and personality psychology. However, at the self-report trait level, there is little work focusing on its empirical structure and how that applies to measurement. The present study examined the IPIP-Fearlessness scale using experience sampling methodology to examine how scores on the measure predict behaviors in daily life. Using a pre-registered analytical approach, participants completed a baseline survey and brief daily surveys six times daily for one full week. The final sample consisted of 241 participants. Criterion variables measuring boldness, general personality, sensation seeking, and sensitivity to reward and punishment were also correlated with the IPIP-Fearlessness measure’s subscales, and a confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the measure’s structure.</p><p dir="ltr">Results showed that two of the IPIP-Fearless subscales (Low Anxiety and Sociability) did predict daily behaviors, whereas there were not significant predictions found for the other behaviors. Affect (negative, positive, anxious, bored) was also found to be significant predictor for several of the behavioral outcome variables, as well as interpersonal status. Additional exploratory analyses were also conducted. The findings from this study continue to elucidate how we can use empirically derived self-report trait fearlessness, and its relationship to additional constructs and behaviors.</p>

Targeted software testing is a critical task in development of secure software. The core challenge of targeted software testing is to generate many inputs that reach specific code target locations in a given program. However, this task is challenging because it is NP-hard in theory and real-world programs contain very large input spaces and many lines of code, making this difficult in practice. In this thesis, I introduce a new approach for targeted software testing based on adaptive sampling. The key insight is to reduce the original problem to a sequence of approximate counting problems, and I apply this approach to targeted software testing in two stages. First, to find a single target-reaching input when no such input is given, I develop a new search algorithm MC2 that adaptively uses approximate-count feedback to narrow down which input region is more likely to contain a target-reaching input using probabilistic bisection. Second, given a single target-reaching input, I develop a new set approximation algorithm ProgramSampler that adaptively learns an approximation of the set of target-reaching inputs based on approximate-count feedback, where the set approximation can be efficiently uniformly sampled for many target-reaching inputs. Backed by theoretical guarantees, these techniques have been highly effective in practice: outperforming existing methods on average by 1-2 orders of magnitude.

This thesis demonstrates a parameter estimation technique for bioprocesses that utilizes measurement noise in experimental data to determine credible intervals on parameter estimates, with this information of potential use in prediction, robust control, and optimization. To determine these estimates, the work implements Bayesian inference using nested sampling, presenting an approach to develop neural network (NN) based surrogate models. To address challenges associated with non-uniform sampling of experimental measurements, an NN structure is proposed. The resultant surrogate model is utilized within a Nested Sampling Algorithm that samples possible parameter values from the parameter space and uses the NN to calculate model output for use in the likelihood function based on the joint probability distribution of the noise of output variables. This method is illustrated against simulated data, then with experimental data from a Sartorius fed-batch bioprocess. Results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed technique to enable rapid parameter estimation for bioprocesses. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Bioprocesses require models that can be developed quickly for rapid production of desired pharmaceuticals. Parameter estimation is necessary for these models, especially first principles models. Generating parameter estimates with confidence intervals is important for model based control. Challenges with parameter estimation that must be addressed are the presence of non-uniform sampling and measurement noise in experimental data. This thesis demonstrates a method of parameter estimation that generates parameter estimates with credible intervals by incorporating measurement noise in experimental data, while also employing a dynamic neural network surrogate model that can process non-uniformly sampled data. The proposed technique implements Bayesian inference using nested sampling and was tested against both simulated and real experimental fed-batch data.

The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), is an invasive pest from Japan that is causing significant hemlock mortality in the eastern U.S. The most promising control method is biological control. Beetles in the genus Laricobius are adelgid specialists. In 2005, Laricobius osakensis, was discovered in Japan and in 2010 was approved for release in the eastern United States and there have now been more than 60 releases. In 2014, the polar vortex resulted in significant HWA mortality in the eastern U.S., depleting the food source for L. osakensis, which resulted in low field recoveries of them. In the 2015-2016 field season, there were 14 larvae recovered from the field, and the 2016-2017 field season yielded 90 larvae. A significant correlation was found between Laricobius beetles recovered and HWA density, between HWA density and plant hardiness zone, and a negative correlation between Laricobius beetles recovered and average tree health. Understanding more about the supercooling point of L. osakensis gave insight to its ability to survive subfreezing temperatures as occurred in 2014. Comparison of the supercooling point between the northern and southern populations of L. osakensis, and to the other released HWA predator, L. nigrinus, will allow us to determine which biological control agent is best suited for release in the coldest regions. The overall mean supercooling points of northern L. osakensis was -13.52 oC, southern L. osakensis was -13.42 oC, and L. nigrinus was -13.57 oC. There were no significant differences between species or populations. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) is an invasive insect species from Asia that is the most important pest of eastern and Carolina hemlock trees in the eastern U. S. Laricobius osakensis is a small beetle from Japan that feeds only on HWA, and been released since 2012 in the eastern United States to control HWA populations. It is important to determine if L. osakensis populations were able to survive and spread in the eastern United States, and if the predator has an effect on HWA populations and the health of hemlock trees. In 2014, extreme cold temperatures in Virginia resulted in wide-scale death of HWA populations, depleting the food source for L. osakensis. Consequently, only 17 L. osakensis beetles were found on hemlock trees near release sites; however, the following year, 147 beetles were found. The ability to survive extreme cold temperatures is important for selecting a biological control agent for release in such regions. We can find out information about how tolerant a species is to cold temperatures by determining the supercooling point, the temperature at which it cannot stop itself from freezing. In this study we compared the supercooling points of a northern and southern population of L. osakensis, as well as another previously released and established biological control agent of HWA, Laricobius nigrinus. I found that there was no significant difference in supercooling point between the different types of Laricobius beetles suggesting that none of these species or populations appears to be anymore cold tolerant than the other for release in the colder regions of the U. S.

The bulk of the research work in wave related areas considers sea waves as stochastic objects leading to wave forecasting techniques based on statistical approaches. Due to the complex dynamics of the sea waves’ behaviour, statistical techniques are probably the only viable approach when forecasting over substantial spatial and temporal intervals. However this view changes when limiting the forecasting time to a few seconds or when the goal is to estimate the quiescent periods that occur due to the beating interaction of the wave components, especially in narrow band seas. This work considers the multi disciplinary research field of deterministic sea wave prediction (DSWP), exploring different aspects of DSWP associated with shallow angle LIDAR systems. The main goal of this project is to study and develop techniques to reduce the prediction error. The first part deals with issues related to shallow angle LIDAR systems data problems, while the remaining part of this work concentrates on the prediction system and propagation models regardless of the source of the data. The two main LIDAR data problems addressed in this work are the non-uniform distribution and the shadow region problems. An empirical approach is used to identify the characteristics of shadow regions associated with different wave conditions and different laser position. A new reconstruction method is developed to address the non-uniformed sampling problem, it is shown that including more information about the geometry and the dynamics of the problem improves the reconstruction error considerably. The frequency domain approach to the wave propagation model is examined. The effect of energy leakage on the prediction error is illustrated. Two approaches are explored to reduce this error. First a modification of the simple dispersive phase shifting filter is tested and shown to improve the prediction. The second approach is to reduce the energy leakage with an iterative Window-Expansion method. Significant improvement of the prediction error is achieved using this method in comparison to the End-Matching method typically used in DSWP systems. The final part in examining the frequency domain approach is to define the prediction region boundaries associated with a given prediction accuracy. The second propagation model approach is the Time/Space domain approach. In this method the convolution of the measured data and the propagation filter impulse response is used in the prediction system. In this part of the research work properties of these impulse responses are identified. These are found to be quite complicated representations. The relation between the impulse response (duration and shift) with prediction time and distance are studied. Quantification of these impulse responses properties are obtained by polynomial approximation and non-symmetric filter analysis. A new method is shown to associate the impulse response properties to the prediction region of both the Fixed Time and Fixed Point mode.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T14:38:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LACERDA.pdf: 2108583 bytes, checksum: abf7b4231c66cc12a04083c0090487bb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-07-18 / The almost complete replacement of the native vegetation of the Atlantic Forest by agriculture and livestock generated an altered matrix in which are embedded fragments of different sizes and historical use and degradation. In this study, the population density of Sapajus nigritus was estimated in two forest fragments surrounded by agricultural crops in southern Brazil. We use the method of linear transect between September 2011 and January 2013, covering 344.08 km in area and 216 km in another. We recorded 119 sightings and 35, respectively. In the first area the population density of Sapajus nigritus was 92.15 individuals / km2, and 32.10 individuals / km2 for the second area. While the lowest value is within the limits found for the species throughout its geographical distribution, the value of 92.15 individuals / km2 is among the highest ever recorded. In addition to offering food crops by anthropogenic factors such as low hunting pressure and predation, as well as composition and forest structure may be related to the densities found / A quase completa substituição da vegetação nativa da Floresta Atlântica pela agricultura e pecuária gerou uma matriz alterada onde estão inseridos fragmentos de diferentes tamanhos e históricos de uso e degradação. Neste estudo, a densidade populacional de Sapajus nigritus foi estimada em dois remanescentes florestais cercados por cultivos agrícolas no sul do Brasil. Nós utilizamos o método de transecções lineares entre setembro de 2011 e janeiro de 2013, percorrendo 344,08 km em uma área e 216 km em outra. Foram registrados 119 e 35 avistamentos, respectivamente. Na primeira área a densidade populacional de Sapajus nigritus foi de 92,15 indivíduos/km2, e 32,10 indivíduos/km2 para a segunda área. Enquanto o valor mais baixo está dentro dos limites encontrados para a espécie ao longo de sua distribuição geográfica, o valor de 92,15 indivíduos/km2 está entre os mais elevados já registrados. Além da oferta de alimento de origem antrópica pelos cultivos, fatores como baixa pressão de caça e predação, além da composição e estrutura da floresta podem estar relacionados às densidades encontradas

A urbanização é uma das ações antrópicas que mais crescem no mundo atual. Por este motivo pesquisas ecológicas são realizadas nas cidades com o objetivo de reconhecer seus impactos, e as aves são utilizadas como uma das ferramentas para diagnóstico ambiental. Assim, o presente estudo avaliou o método de levantamento de aves por ponto fixo, método amplamente utilizado em estudos com aves em diversos ambientes. Foram analisados três pontos que podem influenciar a amostragem de aves através deste método: 1) o habitat onde o levantamento é realizado, observando a composição dos elementos urbanos existentes na cidade; 2) o intervalo de tempo adotado em cada ponto fixo para a coleta de dados; 3) os fatores potencialmente prejudiciais a observação de aves, tais como o ruído sonoro urbano e a presença de conversas causadas por pessoas curiosas. Com a área de estudo estratificada a partir da quantidade de cobertura arbórea existente nos bairros abrangidos, 90 unidades amostrais foram selecionadas. Nestes, foram quantificados os elementos urbanos presentes, a riqueza, o número de contato de aves, os ruídos sonoros e a presença de conversas. Os resultados demonstraram que a reunião de um número maior de espécies e contatos pode ser favorecida pelas áreas de cobertura arbórea, enquanto áreas construídas e pisos impermeáveis podem prejudicar o número de espécies, sendo o número de contato prejudicado apenas pelas áreas de pisos impermeáveis. O número de espécies observadas não foi significativamente diferente após nove minutos de coleta de dados, entretanto o número de contatos continuou crescendo, demonstrando haver recontagens de indivíduos após este intervalo. A riqueza de espécies foi significativamente diferente entre os dados coletados no período seco e no período chuvoso. Conforme houve a maior presença do ruído sonoro urbano menor foi o número de espécies e contatos obtidos nos pontos. A incidência de conversas ocasionadas por pessoas curiosas foi baixa não prejudicando as coletas de dados. Os resultados encontrados sugerem que: o levantamento de aves no meio urbano através do ponto fixo deve considerar a composição do ambiente, já que a riqueza e o número de contato podem variar de acordo com a presença dos diferentes elementos; sejam adotados intervalos de tempo por ponto não superiores a nove minutos; quando possível diferentes épocas do ano devem ser utilizadas para as coletas de dados, visto que podem ser encontradas diferenças entre as estações; sejam escolhidos locais e momentos para as coletas de dados com baixo ruído sonoro. Por fim, o método de ponto fixo foi considerado eficaz para amostragem de aves urbanas, desde que tais cuidados sejam considerados. / The urbanization is one of the anthropic activities with the highest growth rate in the world. Due to this reason, ecological research are conducted in the cities with the goal of recognizing its impacts, using birds as one of the tools to assess the environmental diagnosis. Therefore, the present study assessed the samples by point counts method, which is broadly used for bird census in many environments. Three issues that might affect the sampling of the birds by using this method were analyzed: 1) the habitat where the sampling is performed, observing the urban elements presented in the city; 2) the period of point count duration spent in each sample; 3) the potential factors which disturb the birds detectability, as urban noise and presence of curious citizens who can talk to the researcher in the point count. The research area was stratified from the amount of tree canopies in the selected suburbs, where 90 sample units were selected. In these units, the presence of urban elements, the richness, the number of birds contacts, the noise and the presence of conversations were quantified. The results showed that the number of species and contacts can be benefited from the tree canopy area, while build up areas and impermeable grounds may harm the number of species, although the contact number is harmed only by the impermeable grounds. The number of observed species did not differ significantly after nine minutes of sample period, however the number of contacts kept increasing, demonstrating a repeated counting birds after this interval. The species richness was significantly different between the samples collected in dry and wet seasons. As the urban noise increased, a lower number of species and birds contacts was acknowledged. The incidence of conversation performed by curious people was low, not being able to harm the sample collection. The results suggest that: the bird survey inside the cities by point counts should consider the composition of environment, since the richness and the number of birds contacts can vary according to the presence of different elements; the time of interval should not exceed nine minutes; when possible, different annual seasons should be used for sampling, since differences may be found among them; places and moments for the sampling should be chosen with a low noise. Finally, the point counts method was considered efficient for the sampling of urban birds, provided that such care are considered.