Background: Sustainability has become a global trend that has affected people, companies and organizations around the world. Most organizations today integrate sustainability into their operations in various ways. The role of a controller undergoes constant development where the controller's role nowadays includes several strategic tasks. The role has changed over the years where the duties have been affected by global trends, such as sustainability. Purpose: This study aims to create a greater understanding of how an organization's sustainability work has affected the role of the controller and how sustainability is implemented in practice by the controller in the organization. Methodology: The methodology that this study uses is based on a qualitative method where semi-structured interviews have been conducted with eleven controllers from various organizations. A thematic analysis has then been used to categorize the results. Result: The results of the study show that sustainability has affected the controller's role in an indirect way, where the controller's working methods have become more sustainable while the actual tasks of the controller have remained unchanged. On the other hand, the study shows that the controller has embraced financial sustainability while the other two dimensions of sustainability have been neglected. The result shows that the controller has a certain collaboration with the organization's sustainability officer. This collaboration is based on the controller contributing his/her expertise within the financial aspect while relying on the sustainability officer to be responsible for the other two dimensions of sustainability. Recommendations för further studies: For further research, we make recommendations to investigate whether sustainability integration in the controller's work differs if the controller works in the private sector or the public sector. Another suggestion is to investigate whether the three dimensions of sustainability are integrated in the duties of a sustainability controller. / Bakgrund: Hållbarhet har blivit en global trend som har påverkat människor, företag och organisationer runt om i världen. De flesta organisationer numera integrerar hållbarhet i deras verksamheter på olika sätt. Controllerrollen genomgår ständigt utveckling där rollen nu för tiden innefattar flera strategiska arbetsuppgifter. Controllerrollen har därmed förändrats genom åren där arbetsuppgifterna har blivit påverkade av globala trender, såsom hållbarhet. Syfte: Denna studie syftar till att skapa större förståelse över hur en organisations hållbarhetsarbete har påverkat controllerns roll samt hur implementeras hållbarhet i praktiken av controllern i organisationen. Metod: Metoden som denna studie använder sig av bygger på en kvalitativ metod där semi-strukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med elva controller från olika organisationer. En tematisk analys har sedan använts för att kategorisera resultatet. Resultat: Studiens resultat visar att hållbarhet har påverkat controllers roll på ett indirekt sätt där controllerns arbetssätt har blivit mer hållbart medan själva arbetsuppgifterna av controllern har förblivit oförändrade. Å andra sidan visar studien att controllern har anammat den ekonomiska hållbarheten medan de två andra dimensionerna har försummats. Resultatet visar också att controllern har ett visst samarbete med organisationens hållbarhetsansvariga. Samarbetet bygger på att controllern bidrar med hans/hennes expertis inom den ekonomiska aspekten medan hen förlitar sig på att hållbarhetsansvariga ansvarar för de andra två dimensionerna av hållbarhet. Förslag för framtida forskning: För vidare forskning ger vi rekommendationer om undersöka huruvida hållbarhetsintegrering i controllerns arbete skiljer sig om controllern jobbar i privata sektorn eller den offentliga sektorn Ett annat förslag är att undersöka huruvida hållbarhetens tre dimensioner integreras i arbetsuppgifterna av en hållbarhetscontroller.

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Purpose: The main purpose of this research is to do an exploratory study on the role of controllers in state-owned enterprises in developing countries, specifically in Gambia and Rwanda. The study aims also at identifying challenges that controllers are facing and how they manage them and also showing the key differences between controllers in State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private enterprises. Theoretical foundation: Theories we used in this research are based on previous literature and research done by previous scholars and publishers who wrote on controllers' roles, control systems, SOEs, private enterprises and developing countries. From the literature that authors read, they were able to find the research gap and construct research questions. Methodology: The authors of this thesis adopted a qualitative research method based on exploratory research approach. Data collection method adopted is a semi-structured interview with people holding controller positions of SOEs and private enterprises in Gambia and Rwanda. Conducting these interviews was aimed at collecting enough information and data that can be analysed in order to get a deeper understanding of the role of controllers in SOEs of developing countries. Data collected were analysed and interpreted through thematic analysis that helped the authors to identify key areas of discussions. Empirical findings: The empirical results were generated from the interviews conducted with eleven controllers from Gambia and Rwanda. These findings were discussed in connection to the literature at the same time answering the research questions and fulfilling the purpose of this research. The research findings show that controllers in SOEs have a series of challenges, among them corporate governance challenges and undue political interference, how controllers mitigate their challenges, by adhering to their financial and procedure manual. The findings provide that controllerin the private sector are more into profit than controllers in SOEs

Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines are common pieces of equipment in manufacturing plants. In recent years, CNC-user interfaces have been evolving from CNC command languages to menu based and direct manipulation interfaces. However, there have been few efforts to evaluate CNC-user interfaces and to identify those interface features that have major effects on the usability of CNC machines. Thus, an objective assessment of the improvement achieved from different user interface technologies is needed. Two experiments compared the effectiveness of two types of CNC-user interfaces: command-language and direct manipulation interfaces. Two command language interfaces and one object oriented interface were designed and evaluated in terms of human performance and preferences. Experiment 1 compared two command-language interfaces: Layout 1 was a simulation of the original control panel of a CNC-Dyna machine, and Layout 2 was a modified user interface based on the analysis of the Dyna control language. Four factors were manipulated: (1) users’ level of expertise, (2) layouts, (3) tasks, and (4) trials. It was found that both groups of subjects completed the tasks faster using Layout 2 than Layout 1. Modification tasks were performed faster than copy tasks. Subjects’ responses to a questionnaire indicated that Layout 2 was preferred over Layout 1 in several categories. In Experiment 2 subjects used a command-language interface and a direct-manipulation interface. Four factors were manipulated: (1) experimental sessions (two sessions with a one-week interval between them), (2) users’ level of expertise, (3) tasks, and (4) trials. The interval between sessions had a significant effect on task completion time when the command-language interface was used, but there was not a significant effect of this factor when the direct-manipulation interface was used. Subjects’ subjective responses indicated a stable preference for the direct-manipulation interface in several categories of usability. / Ph. D.

This dissertation presents a self-tuning regulator (STR) design method developed based upon a state-space linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control strategy for rejecting a disturbance in a flexible structure in the face of model uncertainty. The parameters to be tuned are treated as additional state variables and are estimated recursively together with the system state that is needed for feedback. Also, the feedback gains are designed in the LQ framework based upon the estimated model parameters. Two problems concerning the uncertainty of model parameters are recognized. First, we consider the uncertainty in the system matrix of the state space model. The self-tuning regulator is implemented by computer and the control law is obtained based upon a discrete-time model; however, only selected continuous-time parameters with physical meanings to which the controller is highly sensitive are tuned. It is formulated as a nonlinear filtering problem such that both the estimated state and the unknown parameters can be obtained by an extended Kahman filter. The capability of this design method is experimentally demonstrated by applying it to the rejection of a disturbance in a simply supported plate. The other problem considered is that the location where the disturbance enters the system is unknown. This corresponds to an unknown disturbance influence matrix. Under the assumption that the system matrix is known and the disturbance can be measured, it is formulated as a linear filtering problem with an approximate discrete-time design model. Similarly, the estimated state for feedback and the unknown parameters are identified simultaneously and recursively. Also, the feedback gains are calculated approximately by recursively solving the discrete-time control Riccati equation. The effectiveness of the controller is shown by applying it to a simply-supported plate, when the location of the disturbance is assumed unknown. Since implementing LQG self-tuning controllers for vibration control systems requires significant real-time computation, methods that can reduce the computing load are examined. In addition, the possibility of extending the self tuning to disturbance model parameters is explored. / Ph. D.

Learning to play the piano usually involves learning to read sheet music and many hours of prac- tice, which can be seen as a tough task for beginners. This project presents an innovative ap- proach to piano learning by integrating a Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and LED lights with a Casio CTK-550 keyboard. This system interprets MusicXML files and visually guides users by lighting up the keys they need to press in the correct order, providing a more intuitive and engaging learn- ing experience. Additionally, it has a playback mode that makes the piano play the chosen song while illuminating the keys played. This allows the user to hear the song being played correctly before using the interactive mode to play the entire song themselves. These modifications to the piano aim to simplify the learning process and ease in new piano players by removing the big initial barrier of understanding sheet music. The project practices sustainability by reusing components from old projects and also follows several UN Sustainable Development Goals. After a few iter- ations, there was a product able to fulfill the goals set in advance. Future improvements could include improved lighting precision, additional learning modes, and more user-friendly file transfer possibilities.

Human-machine interfaces are, essentially, the user interfaces used to monitor industrial facility machines and systems, which makes them a common industry tool in engineering. At East Tennessee State University, while human-machine interfaces are briefly covered in lecture and graduate students have set up some basic hands-on work, there exist no formal lab work for students on the topic. This thesis explores the literature surrounding the design of labs for a STEM or engineering-specific university class, and applies the recommendations and methods within that literature to design two laboratory guides on human-machine interfaces. These labs are intended to be implemented in either (or both) the ENTC 3350 Industrial Electronics class or the ENTC 4517/5517 Automation & Robotics class at East Tennessee State University. This work also details the collection of student feedback and the refinement of the labs according to those results. It also notes roadblocks to the creation of a lab on the topic of supervisory control and data acquisition systems. Finally, this thesis provides several future recommendations for adjustments to the class materials, future labs, and education on supervisory control and data acquistion systems.

Eagles Overhead provides a critical history of US Air Force Forward Air Controllers and examines their role, status, and performance in the Air Force's history. It begins by examining the US's initial adoption of air power, and American participation in aerial combat during World War I and traces the FACs' contributions to every US Air Force air campaign from the Marne in 1918 to Mosul in 2017. However, since 2001 FACs' contributions have been sporadic. Eagles Overhead asks why, despite the critical importance of FACs, have they not been heavily used on US battlefields since 2001? It examines the Air Force FAC's theoretical, doctrinal, institutional, and historical frameworks in the first nine chapters to assess if the nature of air warfare has changed so significantly that the concept and utility of the FAC has been left behind. Or, has the FAC been neglected since 2001 because the Air Force dislikes the capability as it clouds the service's doctrinal preferences? From these examinations, Eagles Overhead draws conclusions about the potential future of Air Force FACs.