As robots become more common operating in close proximity to people, new opportunities arise for physical human-robot interaction, such as co-manipulation of extended objects. Co-manipulation involves physical interaction between two partners where an object held by both is manipulated in tandem. There is a dearth of viable high degree-of-freedom co-manipulation controllers, especially for extended objects, as well as a lack of information about how human-human teams perform in high degree-of-freedom tasks. One method for creating co-manipulation controllers is to pattern them off of human data. This thesis uses this technique by exploring a previously completed experimental study. The study involved human-human dyads in leader-follower format performing co-manipulation tasks with an extended object in 6 degrees of freedom. Two important tasks performed in this experiment were lateral translation and planar rotation tasks. This thesis focuses on these two tasks because they represent planar motion. Most previous control methods are for 1 or 2 degrees-of-freedom. The study provided information about how human-human dyads perform planar tasks. Most notably, planar tasks generally adhere to minimum-jerk trajectories, and do not minimize interaction forces between users. The study also helped solve the translation versus rotation problem. From the experimental data, torque patterns were discovered at the beginning of the trial that defined intent to translate or rotate. From these patterns, a new method of planar co-manipulation control was developed, called Extended Variable Impedance Control. This is a novel 3 degree-of-freedom method that is applicable to a variety of planar co-manipulation scenarios. Additionally, the data was fed through a Recursive Neural Network. The network takes in a series of motion data and predicts the next step in the series. The predicted data was used as an intent estimate in another novel 3 degree of freedom method called Neural Network Prediction Control. This method is capable of generalizing to 6 degrees of freedom, but is limited in this thesis for comparison with the other method. An experiment, involving 16 participants, was developed to test the capabilities of both controllers for planar tasks. A dual manipulator robot with an omnidirectional base was used in the experiment. The results from the study show that both the Neural Network Prediction Control and Extended Variable Impedance Control controllers performed comparably to blindfolded human-human dyads. A survey given to participants informed us they preferred to use the Extended Variable Impedance Control. These two unique controllers are the major results of this work.

Current SDN controllers have been designed based on a monolithic approach that integrates all of services and applications into one single, huge program. The monolithic design of SDN controllers restricts programmers who build management applications to specific programming interfaces and services that a given SDN controller provides, making application development dependent on the controller, and thereby restricting portability of management applications across controllers. Furthermore, the monolithic approach means an SDN controller must be recompiled whenever a change is made, and does not provide an easy way to add new functionality or scale to handle large networks. To overcome the weaknesses inherent in the monolithic approach, the next generation of SDN controllers must use a distributed, microservice architecture that disaggregates the control plane by dividing the monolithic controller into a set of cooperative microservices. Disaggregation allows a programmer to choose a programming language that is appropriate for each microservice. In this dissertation, we describe steps taken towards disaggregating the SDN control plane, consider potential ways to achieve the goal, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each. We propose a distributed architecture that disaggregates controller software into a small controller core and a set of cooperative microservices. In addition, we present a software defined network programming framework called Umbrella that provides a set of abstractions that programmers can use for writing of SDN management applications independent of NB APIs that SDN controllers provide. Finally, we present an intent-based network programming framework called OSDF to provide a high-level policy based API for programming of network devices using SDN. <br>

Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le champ de la littérature de jeunesse comme lieu d’expression artistique à la croisée de la littérature et des arts visuels. L’objet de notre travail est de décrire les formes que revêt le péritexte et les fonctions qui lui sont assignées dans l’album pour la jeunesse. Parce que l’album est un laboratoire d’écriture, parce qu’il est un objet plurisémiotique, le péritexte, dans les recherches plastiques et narratologiques les plus innovantes, se voit investi par les auteurs et traité comme un espace de créativité sémantisé. La fiction déborde sur les seuils, les seuils s’immiscent dans la fiction. Nous proposons dans un premier temps une typologie, appliquée à l’album, des usages péritextuels afin d’interroger les débordements de seuils de la périphérie du texte vers le récit, et inversement, du récit vers la périphérie du texte. Dans un second temps, nous observons ces débordements : deux types de transgressions sont à l’œuvre, l’un s’observant dans le récit iconotextuel de l’album et l’autre, dans ses seuils péritextuels, redéfinissant alors les contours mêmes du récit. Enfin, dans une perspective didactique, nous interrogeons la réception des jeunes lecteurs qui reçoivent effectivement ces péritextes plus ou moins canoniques ou nettement déviants. Nous réfléchissons alors aux moyens d’utiliser en classe les éléments péritextuels, hors des rituels connus, pour en faire des entrées heuristiques dans la lecture / This thesis deals with the issue of children's literature as a means of artistic expression, at a crossroad between literature and visual art.The aim of this research is to describe the various forms that the peritext assumes and the functions assigned to it, within the literary genre of children's books.Because the peritext is a laboratory in writing, and as the children's book is a plurisemiotic object, the peritext, in its most innovative plastic and narratological research, is invested by authors and thus treated as a field of semantic creativity by them. Fiction crosses over thresholds while thresholds meddle with fiction. In a first part, a typology of peritextual usage applied to children's books is suggested, so as to examine the overlapping of thresholds from the textual fringe to the narrative, and vice versa, from the narrative to the textual fringe. In a second part, these overlaps, defined here as metalepsis, are examined. Two types of transgressions are at work, one that can be noticed in the iconotextual narrative of the book and another in its peritextual thresholds, thus redefining the very contours of the narrative itself. Finally, from a teaching perspective, the reception process among young readers, who receive these more or less canonical, if not deviating peritexts directly, is considered. How to use the peritextual elements in class out of common rituals is then pondered upon in order to be turned into heuristic entries in the reading process.

The purpose of this study was to examine the force-time differences between concentric-only half-squats (COHS) performed with ballistic (BAL) or non-ballistic (NBAL) intent across a range of loads. Eighteen resistance-trained men performed either BAL or NBAL COHS at 30%, 50%, 70%, and 90% of their one repetition maximum (1RM) COHS. Relative peak force (PF) and relative impulse from 0–50 ms (Imp50), 0–90 ms (Imp90), 0–200 ms (Imp200), and 0–250 ms (Imp250) were compared using a series of 2 × 4 (intent × load) repeated measures ANOVAs with Bonferroni post hoc tests. Cohen’s d effect sizes were calculated to provide measures of practical significance between the BAL and NBAL COHS and each load. BAL COHS produced statistically greater PF than NBAL COHS at 30% (d = 3.37), 50% (d = 2.88), 70% (d = 2.29), and 90% 1RM (d = 1.19) (all p < 0.001). Statistically significant main effect differences were found between load-averaged BAL and NBAL COHS for Imp90 (p = 0.006, d = 0.25), Imp200 (p = 0.001, d = 0.36), and Imp250 (p < 0.001, d = 0.41), but not for Imp50 (p = 0.018, d = 0.21). Considering the greater PF and impulse observed during the BAL condition, performing COHS with BAL intent may provide a favorable training stimulus compared to COHS performed with NBAL intent.

Organizations invest sizable amounts of financial and human capital toward developing and implementing innovative technology solutions that will help them achieve organizational objectives. Professionals are now able to use online social networking technology to maintain and grow their network of business contacts virtually, resulting in increased efficiency and the ability to foster relationships with colleagues who otherwise would not be accessible. Organizations can use the benefits of online social networking to their strategic advantage if they understand the nature of the technology and how it is used. The Technology Acceptance Model is often used to explain the acceptance of new technology at work, and can predict which workers are likely to adopt a newly-implemented technology as it was intended to be used. It is not clear, however, if the model can predict the acceptance of social networking technology, and it does not account for experience the user might have had with similar systems. Five hundred students completed a questionnaire about their prior usage of online social networking systems as well as an assessment of their perceptions of the technology in terms of ease of use and usefulness, and the social forces influencing usage decisions. Findings suggest the Technology Acceptance Model is a reasonable model of the acceptance of online social networking systems, but the subjective norm component was not predictive of acceptance.

African Americans bear a disproportionately high burden of cancer incidence and mortality in this country. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate factors associated with African-American men, who are incarcerated, making informed health decisions about participation in prostate cancer screening, as well as exploring factors that reduce modifiable risk factors for cancer. The United States incarcerates more people per capita than any country in the world and African American men are overrepresented in the U.S. prison system This dissertation is composed of three manuscripts. The first paper reviews the current literature about the factors that influence African-American males in making informed decisions about whether to participate in prostate cancer screening. The second paper uses existing data from a sample of 129 incarcerated African American men to examine the value of an intervention aimed at reducing modifiable risks for cardiovascular disease – and by extension, cancer – in inmates. The third paper explores predictors of intent to screen (or not) for prostate cancer in incarcerated African-American males, as well as those factors that influence informed decision-making in this population. These papers provide an overview of factors that influence incarcerated African-American men’s health decisions (health literacy, having a relative with previous diagnosis). These findings can be used to guide future research that addresses African-American male decision-making about personal health outcomes.

In 2012, more than 25 million U.S. employees voluntarily terminated their employment with their respective organizations. Demographic characteristics of age, education, gender, income, and length of tenure are significant factors in employee turnover intentions. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between age, education, gender, income, length of tenure, and employee turnover intention among full-time employees in Texas. The population consisted of Survey Monkey-® Audience members who were full-time employees, residents of Texas, over the age of 18, not self-employed, and not limited to a specific employment industry. For this study, a sample of 187 Survey Monkey-® Audience members completed the electronic survey. Through the proximal similarity model, the results of this study are generalizable to the United States. The human capital theory was the theoretical framework. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated a significant relationship between age, income, and turnover intentions; however, the relationship between education, gender, and length of tenure was not statistically significant. As the Baby Boomer cohort prepares to transition into retirement, organizational leaders must develop retention strategies to retain Millennial employees. To reduce turnover intentions, organizational leaders should use pay-for-performance initiatives to reward top performers with additional pay and incentives. The social implications of these findings may reduce turnover, which may reduce employee stress, encourage family well-being, and increase participation in civic and social events.

This study tested a model that uses job stressors, equity sensitivity, perceived organizational justice, and job satisfaction to explain turnover intention and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). An online survey was distributed to emergency communication specialists from 14 emergency communication centers in Florida. The supervisors in these emergency communication centers were asked to rate their employees on OCB. Responses to the survey and the OCB ratings were analyzed using structural equation modeling to evaluate the fit of a theoretical model to those data. Results showed that the model fit the data reasonably well and nearly all the hypotheses were supported. Specifically, job satisfaction completely mediated the relationships between job stressors, equity sensitivity, perceived organizational justice, and turnover intention. Job satisfaction partially mediated the relationships between job stressors, equity sensitivity, perceived organizational justice, and OCB, and equity sensitivity also had a unique, direct impact on OCB. Turnover intention alone did not reduce OCB. The implications of these finding are discussed.

<p>The impact of computer programs in safety-critical systems has increased in the past decades and computer-based systems can now be found in a wide range of applications. </p><p>A new approach for developing dependable systems is documenting all design rationale that affects safety using Intent Specifications. A recent approach for developing complex systems efficiently and in an upgradeable manner is Component-Based System Engineering. In this thesis, these approaches are combined in the development and upgrade of a Remote Robot Control Unit by using the tool SpecTRM. </p><p>The case study showed that Intent Specifications and CBSE could successfully be combined. The tool SpecTRM was also studied during this work. It showed that traceability is of great importance during system upgrades. Since SpecTRM does not support formal verification of safety properties in design models, the SpecTRM-RL models were translated to Esterel code. Further analysis showed that functional verification can be efficient and useful when using the automatic model-checking tool available in Esterel Studio. This work also proposes a practical guideline for system upgrades in component-based systems, presented as the Sigma model. </p><p>The work also showed some shortcomings. First of all, the tool SpecTRM is at an early development stage and not yet mature for industrial use. Secondly, neither of the two languages SpecTRM-RL and Esterel was expressive enough for some of the numerical computations and data-exchange structures needed for navigation in the system. Finally, the verifier was not able to prove any data properties since valued signals are abstracted into pure signals during verification in Esterel Studio.</p>

Background: High nursing turnover and early nursing career exit rates evidenced by the current global nursing shortage is the impetus for effective strategies aimed at retaining nurses in their current positions. Nurses’ behavioral intentions to leave or stay are not well understood. Aim: This thesis aims to increase understanding of why clinical nurses choose to remain in their current positions and to assess the influence that nursing leaders have on staff nurses’ intent to stay. Methods: Two systematic literature reviews were conducted; one to synthesize current research on clinical nurses’ intentions to stay and the influence of leadership practices on those intentions; the other to determine the appropriateness of conceptualizing intentions to stay and leave as opposite ends of a continuum. Building on two published conceptual models (Boyle et al. 1999; Tourangeau & Cranley (2006), a new theoretical model of nurses’ intent to stay was developed and tested as a structural equation model using LISREL 8.8 and a subset of the QWEST study data provided by 415 nurses working in nine hospitals in one Canadian province. Results: The systematic reviews identified positive relationships between relational leadership practices and nurses’ intentions to stay, supporting the assertion that managers influence the behavioral intentions of nurses and their intentions to stay and leave. Intentions to stay and leave were found to be separate but correlated concepts. Model testing results, χ2=169.9, df=148 and p=0.105, indicated a fitting model that explained 63% of the variance in intentions to stay. Concepts with the strongest direct effects on intent to stay were empowerment, organizational commitment, and desire to stay. Leadership had strong total effects and indirectly influenced intent to stay through empowerment. Conclusions: Findings suggested that intent to stay or leave should be investigated as separate but correlated concepts. Relational leadership that focuses on individual nurses and supports empowering work environments will likely affect nurses choosing to remain in their current positions.