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This study investigates the factors that influence appropriate use of audit support systems. Appropriate use is use of an audit support system in a manner consistent with how the audit firm expects the system to be used. Investigating appropriate use of audit support systems is important because the extent to which these systems can assist auditors achieve efficient and high quality audits depends on how auditors use them. Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) (DeSanctis and Poole, 1994) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) are combined to model the relationship between constructs hypothesised to increase the probability that audit support systems are used appropriately. The theoretical model decomposes two TPB antecedents, perceived normative pressure (or subjective norms) and perceived behavioural control, into the exogenous constructs hypothesised to influence whether audit support systems are used appropriately. Perceived normative pressure is decomposed into two socio-ideological control mechanisms, team and firm consensus on appropriation. Perceived behavioural control is decomposed into self-efficacy and two technocratic control mechanisms, perceived system restrictiveness and perceived audit review effectiveness. (For complete abstract open document)

This study investigates the factors that influence appropriate use of audit support systems. Appropriate use is use of an audit support system in a manner consistent with how the audit firm expects the system to be used. Investigating appropriate use of audit support systems is important because the extent to which these systems can assist auditors achieve efficient and high quality audits depends on how auditors use them. Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) (DeSanctis and Poole, 1994) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) are combined to model the relationship between constructs hypothesised to increase the probability that audit support systems are used appropriately. The theoretical model decomposes two TPB antecedents, perceived normative pressure (or subjective norms) and perceived behavioural control, into the exogenous constructs hypothesised to influence whether audit support systems are used appropriately. Perceived normative pressure is decomposed into two socio-ideological control mechanisms, team and firm consensus on appropriation. Perceived behavioural control is decomposed into self-efficacy and two technocratic control mechanisms, perceived system restrictiveness and perceived audit review effectiveness. (For complete abstract open document)

How do local homeland security organizations respond to catastrophic events such as hurricanes and acts of terrorism? Among the most important aspects of this response are these organizations ability to adapt to the uncertain nature of these “focusing events” (Birkland 1997). They are often behind the curve, seeing response as a linear process, when in fact it is a complex, multifaceted process that requires understanding the interactions between the fiscal pressures facing local governments, the institutional pressures of working within a new regulatory framework and the political pressures of bringing together different levels of government with different perspectives and agendas. This dissertation has focused on tracing the factors affecting the individuals and institutions planning, preparing, responding and recovering from natural and man-made disasters. Using social network analysis, my study analyzes the interactions between the individuals and institutions that respond to these “focusing events.” In practice, it is the combination of budgetary, institutional, and political pressures or constraints interacting with each other which resembles a Complex Adaptive System (CAS). To investigate this system, my study evaluates the evolution of two separate sets of organizations composed of first responders (Fire Chiefs, Emergency Management Coordinators) and community volunteers organized in the state of Florida over the last fifteen years. Using a social network analysis approach, my dissertation analyzes the interactions between Citizen Corps Councils (CCCs) and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) in the state of Florida from 1996- 2011. It is the pattern of interconnections that occur over time that are the focus of this study. The social network analysis revealed an increase in the amount and density of connections between these organizations over the last fifteen years. The analysis also exposed the underlying patterns in these connections; that as the networks became more complex they also became more decentralized though not in any uniform manner. The present study brings to light a story of how communities have adapted to the ever changing circumstances that are sine qua non of natural and man-made disasters

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Mathematics / Alexander G. Ramm / A new method, the Dynamical Systems Method (DSM), justified recently, is applied to solving ill-conditioned linear algebraic system (ICLAS). The DSM gives a new approach to solving a wide class of ill-posed problems. In Chapter 1 a new iterative scheme for solving ICLAS is proposed. This iterative scheme is based on the DSM solution. An a posteriori stopping rules for the proposed method is justified. We also gives an a posteriori stopping rule for a modified iterative scheme developed in A.G.Ramm, JMAA,330 (2007),1338-1346, and proves convergence of the solution obtained by the iterative scheme. In Chapter 2 we give a convergence analysis of the following iterative scheme: u[subscript]n[superscript]delta=q u[subscript](n-1)[superscript]delta+(1-q)T[subscript](a[subscript]n)[superscript](-1) K[superscript]*f[subscript]delta, u[subscript]0[superscript]delta=0, where T:=K[superscript]* K, T[subscript]a :=T+aI, q in the interval (0,1),\quad a[subscript]n := alpha[subscript]0 q[superscript]n, alpha_0>0, with finite-dimensional approximations of T and K[superscript]* for solving stably Fredholm integral equations of the first kind with noisy data. In Chapter 3 a new method for inverting the Laplace transform from the real axis is formulated. This method is based on a quadrature formula. We assume that the unknown function f(t) is continuous with (known) compact support. An adaptive iterative method and an adaptive stopping rule, which yield the convergence of the approximate solution to f(t), are proposed in this chapter.

America's National Historic Preservation Act promotes the conservation of irreplaceable sites such as Nicodemus, Kansas, an African American town founded by former slaves in 1877. The collaboration of the National Park Service (NPS) and civic partners is essential to meet the goal of preserving historic properties in Nicodemus and other minority communities. Although the NPS designated 5 Nicodemus buildings as a National Historic Site (NHS) in 1996, the few remaining residents struggle to preserve the site and attract visitors. The purpose of this ethnographic study was to explore the effects of NPS policies related to African American historic and cultural preservation. Research questions focused on the consequences of the NHS designation in Nicodemus and options for NPS policy improvement. This study was inspired by Innes and Booher's theory of complex adaptive systems and consensus building. Data were collected through interviews with 11 residents, educators, and representatives of the NPS. These data were inductively coded and then subjected to thematic analysis. Key findings indicate concerns about limited resources, NPS open competition hiring policies that do not promote the long-term employment of Nicodemus descendant-residents in spite of their ability to recount oral histories, a need for cross-cultural training in the NPS, and the inadequate promotion of the Nicodemus NHS. This study may lead to positive social change by emphasizing the need for the NPS to collaborate with the descendants and long-term residents of rural communities to preserve the historical legacy of African Americans and emphasize the strength of our nation's diversity.

Les fonctionnelles de Minkowski définissent des mesures topologiques et géométriques d'ensembles, insuffisantes pour la caractérisation, des ensembles différents pouvant avoir les mêmes fonctionnelles. D'autres fonctionnelles de forme, géométriques et morphométriques, sont donc utilisées. Un diagramme de forme, défini grâce à deux fonctionnelles morphométriques, donne une représentation permettant d'étudier les formes d'ensembles. En analyse d'image, ces fonctionnelles et diagrammes sont souvent limités aux images binaires et déterminés de manière globale et mono-échelle. Les Voisinages Adaptatifs Généraux (VAG) simultanément adaptatifs avec les échelles d'analyse, structures spatiales et intensités des images, permettent de pallier ces limites. Une analyse locale, adaptative et multi-échelle des images à tons de gris est proposée sous forme de cartographies des fonctionnelles de forme à VAG.Les VAG, définis en tout point du support spatial d'une image à tons de gris, sont homogènes par rapport à un critère d'analyse représenté dans un modèle vectoriel, suivant une tolérance d'homogénéité. Les fonctionnelles de forme calculées pour chaque VAG de l'image définissent les cartographies des fonctionnelles de forme à VAG. Les histogrammes et diagrammes de ces cartographies donnent des distributions statistiques des formes des structures locales de l'image contrairement aux histogrammes classiques qui donnent une distribution globale des intensités de l'image. L'impact de la variation des critères axiomatiques des VAG est analysé à travers ces cartographies, histogrammes et diagrammes. Des cartographies multi-échelles sont construites, définissant des fonctions de forme à VAG.

La porosité d'une plaque composite carbone / époxy de type RTM est connue par tomographie X. Une méthode de détermination de cette porosité par mesure de l'atténuation des ondes longitudinales à travers l'épaisseur de cette plaque est proposée. Ces mesures sont effectuées sur des surfaces de dimensions variables (quelques cm2 à quelques mm2) et permettent l’obtention de cartographies. Une correspondance porosité (tomo X) – atténuation (onde US) est déduite et analysée en fonction de la structure du matériau composite. Dans chaque cas, on estime la qualité des relations obtenues et on en déduit les limites de validité de la correspondance porosité-atténuation. Des premiers résultats de tomographie acoustiques sont obtenus. / The porosity of a composite plate in carbon / epoxy of type RTM is known by used of tomography X. A method of determination of this porosity by measure of the mitigation of the longitudinal waves through the thickness of this kind of plate is proposed. These measures are made on surfaces of different sizes (from some cm2 to some mm2) and allow the obtaining of cartographies. A correspondence porosity (tomo X) - Mitigation (US wave) is deducted and analyzed according to the structure of the composite material. In every case, we estimate the quality of the obtained relations and we deduct the limits of validity of the correspondence between porosity and mitigation. First results of acoustic tomography are obtained.

This master thesis report is focused on the development and study of a tendon driven soft actuator for use on the Honda Haru robot. The single degree of freedom actuator will be used to actuate the eyes of the robot. Motivating development of this new actuator is the operational safety of the robot. A soft continuum actuator can provide a higher level of inherent safety as compared with the currently used rigid actuator. After development, a factorial study of the developed actuator was performed in order to understand the effect of velocity, load and material hardness on the actuator motion. The results of this study show that the linearity, hysteresis and current draw of the actuator are all affected by varying material and velocity. No significant effect of actuator load was measured. Data-driven system identification of the actuator was later performed using polynomial models. A relative comparison of standard-, nonlinear- and adaptive ARX models showed that adaptive ARX is most suitable to capture the dynamics of the developed actuator under dynamic conditions. / Denna examesarbetesrapport täcker utveckling samt studie av ett 3d-utskrivet mjukt ställdon. Det vajerdrivna ställdonet är designat för att driva ögonrörelser på den sociala roboten HARU och utvecklingen motiverades av den ökade säkerhet som en mjuk och eftergivlig komponent kan ge robotens användare jämfört med den nuvarande stela mekanismen. Den utvecklade komponenten undersöktes sedan i två faser. Först utfördes en faktorstudie där rörelsehastighets, lastvikts samt materialhårdhets påverkan på ställdonets kinematik undersöktes. Resultaten från denna studie visar att linjäritet, hysteres samt strömförbrukning av det utvecklade ställdonet påverkas av rörelsehastighet samt materialets hårdhet. Ingen signifikant påverkan av lastvikt uppmättes. Utöver faktorstudien undersöktes även förmågan av olika polynomialmodeller att modellera ställdonet med god nogrannhet. Linjära, ickelinjära samt rekursiva linjära modeller utvecklades via systemidentifiering och deras prestanda jämfördes. Resultaten från detta visar att rekursiva linjära modeller är bäst lämpade för att modellera det utvecklade ställdonet under dynamiska förhållanden.

Le but principal des réseaux mesh sans fil (Wireless Mesh Networks-WMNs) est de fournir une dorsale de communication pour un grand nombre d'utilisateurs, car les WMNs doivent supporter un trafic énorme. Dans cette thèse, nous visons la maximisation d'utilisation et la répartition équitable de la bande passante dans les WMNs. Nous considérons deux environnements : WMN utilisant la norme IEEE 802.11 MAC, qui est caractérisée par son déploiement répandu et peu cher, et WMN utilisant les antennes directionnelles, qui représentent une technologie clé pour la réutilisation spatiale dans les réseaux sans fil. Pour les WMMs basés sur IEEE 802.11, nous concevons NICC, un protocole de contrôle de congestion qui reconnaît la congestion comme un problème lié au voisinage, et non pas au lien. NICC gère la congestion par une collaboration entre les nœuds d’un voisinage sans fil. En faisant usage de certains champs sous-exploités dans l'en-tête IEEE 802.11, NICC fournit un retour de congestion implicite et multi-bit. Ceci assure un contrôle précis du trafic sans affecter la bande passante. Pour les WMNs utilisant les antennes directionnelles, nous concevons FreeDMAC, un protocole MAC basé sur la technologie TDMA. FreeDMAC garantit que chaque nœud est conscient de toutes les transmissions dans son voisinage, ce qui évite les problèmes MAC causés par les antennes directionnelles, et ainsi, améliore l'utilisation de la bande passante. En outre, FreeDMAC est capable de fournir deux niveaux d’équité: équité entre les liens et équité entre les flux / The main purpose of Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) is to provide a communication backbone for a high number of end-users, thus WMNs have to support heavy traffic load. In this thesis, we intend to maximize utilization and achieve fair allocation of the bandwidth resources in WMNs. We consider two WMN environments: WMN using the IEEE 802.11 MAC standard, which is characterized by its cheap devices and widespread deployment, and WMN using directional antennas, which are emerged as an attractive technology to enhance the spatial reusability in wireless networks. For WMM based on IEEE 802.11, we design NICC, a congestion control scheme that recognizes congestion as neighborhood-related problem, and not a link-based one. Indeed, complex interference among neighboring nodes is the main starvation cause in WMNs. Therefore, NICC handles congestion using mutual cooperation within a wireless neighborhood. NICC makes use of some underexploited fields in the IEEE 802.11frame header in order to provide an implicit multi-bit congestion feedback, and thus ensure accurate rate control without generating overhead, making efficient use of bandwidth. For WMN with directional antennas, we design FreeDMAC, a TDMA-based MAC scheme with contention-free scheduling. FreeDMAC guarantees that each node is aware of all ongoing transmissions in its neighborhood, and thus avoids directional-related problems such as deafness, making efficient use of bandwidth. Moreover, FreeDMAC presents a link-slot assignment that provides two levels of fairness: Per-link and per-flow fairness