The impact of management control systems (MCS) on organizations performance empirical research has been the subject of numerous studies during the past decade in developed and emerging economies. In the contemporary competitive, complex and changing global business environment, firms are being challenged to adopt business models that enable them to address the strategic uncertainties and risks they face in their business environments. The main issue of this study is that management accounting researchers argue that one of the ways firms can continually rejuvenate themselves to survive and succeed in these complex and uncertain environments is to understand the role of management control systems in Formulating a b

Analyzing plantar pressure trajectories is crucial for assessing foot behavior in dynamic gait stability. We propose the identification of foot symmetry and the detection of deformities by analyzing the trajectories of the center of pressure (CoP) and peak pressure (PP). First, using a foot pressure mapping system, plantar pressure data are acquired during a normal gait cycle. After the data have been acquired, post processing extracts both the CoP and PP trajectories over the spatiotemporal domain of foot motion for each foot independently. For this purpose, we used the optical flow technique which accurately estimates the direction of foot motion. The extracted trajectories of each foot are then segmented into, the medial and lateral regi

Power-electronic converters are essential elements for the effective interconnection of renewable energy sources to the power grid, as well as to include energy storage units, vehicle charging stations, microgrids, etc. Converter models that provide an accurate representation of their wideband operation and interconnection with other active and passive grid components and systems are necessary for reliable steady state and transient analyses during normal or abnormal grid operating conditions. This paper introduces two Laplace domain-based approaches to model buck and boost DC-DC converters for electromagnetic transient studies. The first approach is an analytical one, where the converter is represented by a two-port admittance model via mo

Abstract. This work presents a detailed design of a three-jointed tendon-driven robot finger with a cam/pulleys transmission and joint Variable Stiffness Actuator (VSA). The finger motion configuration is obtained by deriving the cam/pulleys transmission profile as a mathematical solution that is then implemented to achieve contact force isotropy on the phalanges. A VSA is proposed, in which three VSAs are designed to act as a muscle in joint space to provide firm grasping. As a mechatronic approach, a suitable type and number of force sensors and actuators are designed to sense the touch, actuate the finger, and tune the VSAs. The torque of the VSAs is controlled utilizing a designed Multi Input Multi Output (MIMO) fuzzy controll

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were functionalized by hexylamine (HA) in a promising, cost-effective, rapid and microwave-assisted approach. In order to decrease defects and remove acid-treatment stage, functionalization of MWCNTs with HA was carried out in the presence of diazonium reaction. Surface functionality groups and morphology of chemically-functionalized MWCNTS were characterized by FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (DTG), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To reach a promising dispersibility in oil media, MWCNTs were functionalized with HA. While the cylindrical structures of MWCNTs were remained reasonably intact, characterization results consistently confirmed the sidewall-functionalization o