Fuzzy Modeling and Control Based Virtual Machine Resource Management

Virtual machines (VMs) are powerful platforms for building agile datacenters and emerging cloud systems. However, resource management for a VM-based system is still a challenging task. First, the complexity of application workloads as well as the interference among competing workloads makes it difficult to understand their VMs’ resource demands for meeting their Quality of Service (QoS) targets; Second, the dynamics in the applications and system makes it also difficult to maintain the desired QoS target while the environment changes; Third, the transparency of virtualization presents a hurdle for guest-layer application and host-layer VM scheduler to cooperate and improve application QoS and system efficiency. This dissertation proposes to address the above challenges through fuzzy modeling and control theory based VM resource management. First, a fuzzy-logic-based nonlinear modeling approach is proposed to accurately capture a VM’s complex demands of multiple types of resources automatically online based on the observed workload and resource usages. Second, to enable fast adaption for resource management, the fuzzy modeling approach is integrated with a predictive-control-based controller to form a new Fuzzy Modeling Predictive Control (FMPC) approach which can quickly track the applications’ QoS targets and optimize the resource allocations under dynamic changes in the system. Finally, to address the limitations of black-box-based resource management solutions, a cross-layer optimization approach is proposed to enable cooperation between a VM’s host and guest layers and further improve the application QoS and resource usage efficiency. The above proposed approaches are prototyped and evaluated on a Xen-based virtualized system and evaluated with representative benchmarks including TPC-H, RUBiS, and TerraFly. The results demonstrate that the fuzzy-modeling-based approach improves the accuracy in resource prediction by up to 31.4% compared to conventional regression approaches. The FMPC approach substantially outperforms the traditional linear-model-based predictive control approach in meeting application QoS targets for an oversubscribed system. It is able to manage dynamic VM resource allocations and migrations for over 100 concurrent VMs across multiple hosts with good efficiency. Finally, the cross-layer optimization approach further improves the performance of a virtualized application by up to 40% when the resources are contended by dynamic workloads.

Hybrid Power System Intelligent Operation and Protection Involving Plug-in Electric Vehicles

Two key solutions to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and increase the overall energy efficiency are to maximize the utilization of renewable energy resources (RERs) to generate energy for load consumption and to shift to low or zero emission plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) for transportation. The present U.S. aging and overburdened power grid infrastructure is under a tremendous pressure to handle the issues involved in penetration of RERS and PEVs. The future power grid should be designed with for the effective utilization of distributed RERs and distributed generations to intelligently respond to varying customer demand including PEVs with high level of security, stability and reliability. This dissertation develops and verifies such a hybrid AC-DC power system. The system will operate in a distributed manner incorporating multiple components in both AC and DC styles and work in both grid-connected and islanding modes. The verification was performed on a laboratory-based hybrid AC-DC power system testbed as hardware/software platform. In this system, RERs emulators together with their maximum power point tracking technology and power electronics converters were designed to test different energy harvesting algorithms. The Energy storage devices including lithium-ion batteries and ultra-capacitors were used to optimize the performance of the hybrid power system. A lithium-ion battery smart energy management system with thermal and state of charge self-balancing was proposed to protect the energy storage system. A grid connected DC PEVs parking garage emulator, with five lithium-ion batteries was also designed with the smart charging functions that can emulate the future vehicle-to-grid (V2G), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-house (V2H) services. This includes grid voltage and frequency regulations, spinning reserves, micro grid islanding detection and energy resource support. The results show successful integration of the developed techniques for control and energy management of future hybrid AC-DC power systems with high penetration of RERs and PEVs.

The use of treatment theories and procedures for postural control in adult with hemiplegia: A national survey

This study investigated the use of treatment theories and procedures for postural control training used by Occupational Therapists (OTs) when working with hemiplegic adults who have had cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or traumatic brain injury (TBI). The method of data collection was a national survey of 400 randomly selected physical disability OTs with 127 usable surveys returned. Results showed that the most common used treatment theory was neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT), followed by motor relearning program (MRP), proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), Brunnstrom's approach, and the approach of Rood. The most common treatment posture used was sitting, followed by standing, mat activity, equilibrium reaction training, and walking. The factors affecting the use of various treatment theories procedures were years certified, years of clinical experience, work situation and work status. Pearson correlation coefficient analyses found significant positive relationships between treatment theories and postures. There were significant high correlations between usage of all pairs of treatment procedures. ^

Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior in the exercise domain: A study of community college students in an urban multicultural setting

The purpose of this study was to assess the intention to exercise among ethnically and racially diverse community college students using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). In addition to identifying the variables associated with motivation or intention of college students to engage in physical activity, this study tested the model of the Theory of Planned Behavior, asking: Does the TPB model explain intention to exercise among a racially/ethnically diverse group of college students? ^ The relevant variables were the TPB constructs (behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs), which combined to form a measure of intention to exercise. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the predictive power of the TPB constructs for predicting intention to exercise. Following procedures described by Ajzen (2002), the researcher developed a questionnaire encompassing the external variables of student demographics (age, gender, work status, student status, socio-economic status, access to exercise facilities, and past behavior), major constructs of the TPB, and two questions from the Godin Leisure Time Questionnaire (GLTQ; Godin & Shephard, 1985). Participants were students (N = 255) who enrolled in an on-campus wellness course at an urban community college. ^ The demographic profile of the sample revealed a racially/ethnically diverse study population. The original model that was used to reflect the TPB as developed by Ajzen was not supported by the data analyzed using SEM; however, a revised model that the researcher thought was theoretically a more accurate reflection of the causal relations between the TPB constructs was supported. The GLTQ questions were problematic for some students; those data could not be used in the modeling efforts. The GLTQ measure, however, revealed a significant correlation with intention to exercise (r = .27, p = .001). Post-hoc comparisons revealed significant differences in normative beliefs and attitude toward exercising behavior between Black students and Hispanic students. Compared to Black students, Hispanic students were more likely to (a) perceive “friends” as approving of them being physically active and (b) rate being physically active for 30 minutes per day as “beneficial”. No statistically significant difference was found among groups on overall intention to exercise. ^

Control of MNC environmental performance and the challenges of subsidiary network dimensions

The trend of green consumerism and increased standardization of environmental regulations has driven multinational corporations (MNCs) to seek standardization of environmental practices or at least seek to be associated with such behavior. In fact, many firms are seeking to free ride on this global green movement, without having the actual ecological footprint to substantiate their environmental claims. While scholars have articulated the benefits from such optimization of uniform global green operations, the challenges for MNCs to control and implement such operations are understudied. For firms to translate environmental commitment to actual performance, the obstacles are substantial, particularly for the MNC. This is attributed to headquarters' (HQ) control challenges (1) in managing core elements of the corporate environmental management (CEM) process and specifically matching verbal commitment and policy with ecological performance and by (2) the fact that the MNC operates in multiple markets and the HQ is required to implement policy across complex subsidiary networks consisting of diverse and distant units. Drawing from the literature on HQ challenges of MNC management and control, this study examines (1) how core components of the CEM process impact optimization of global environmental performance (GEP) and then uses network theory to examine how (2) a subsidiary network's dimensions can present challenges to the implementation of green management policies. It presents a framework for CEM which includes (1) MNCs' Verbal environmental commitment, (2) green policy Management which guides standards for operations, (3) actual environmental Performance reflected in a firm's ecological footprint and (4) corporate environmental Reputation (VMPR). Then it explains how an MNC's key subsidiary network dimensions (density, diversity, and dispersion) create challenges that hinder the relationship between green policy management and actual environmental performance. It combines content analysis, multiple regression, and post-hoc hierarchal cluster analysis to study US manufacturing MNCs. The findings support a positive significant effect of verbal environmental commitment and green policy management on actual global environmental performance and environmental reputation, as well as a direct impact of verbal environmental commitment on green policy management. Unexpectedly, network dimensions were not found to moderate the relationship between green management policy and GEP.

A deontic analysis of inter -organizational control requirements

This research focuses on the design and verification of inter-organizational controls. Instead of looking at a documentary procedure, which is the flow of documents and data among the parties, the research examines the underlying deontic purpose of the procedure, the so-called deontic process, and identifies control requirements to secure this purpose. The vision of the research is a formal theory for streamlining bureaucracy in business and government procedures. ^ Underpinning most inter-organizational procedures are deontic relations, which are about rights and obligations of the parties. When all parties trust each other, they are willing to fulfill their obligations and honor the counter parties’ rights; thus controls may not be needed. The challenge is in cases where trust may not be assumed. In these cases, the parties need to rely on explicit controls to reduce their exposure to the risk of opportunism. However, at present there is no analytic approach or technique to determine which controls are needed for a given contracting or governance situation. ^ The research proposes a formal method for deriving inter-organizational control requirements based on static analysis of deontic relations and dynamic analysis of deontic changes. The formal method will take a deontic process model of an inter-organizational transaction and certain domain knowledge as inputs to automatically generate control requirements that a documentary procedure needs to satisfy in order to limit fraud potentials. The deliverables of the research include a formal representation namely Deontic Petri Nets that combine multiple modal logics and Petri nets for modeling deontic processes, a set of control principles that represent an initial formal theory on the relationships between deontic processes and documentary procedures, and a working prototype that uses model checking technique to identify fraud potentials in a deontic process and generate control requirements to limit them. Fourteen scenarios of two well-known international payment procedures—cash in advance and documentary credit—have been used to test the prototype. The results showed that all control requirements stipulated in these procedures could be derived automatically.^

Social-cognitive antecedents of ambidextrous orientation in family-owned startups: The role of family ties, achievement motivation, and internal locus of control

Regulatory Focus Theory predicts that the motivation to self-regulate goal-directed thought and behavior depends on two distinct regulation strategies: a promotion focus based on attaining gains and a prevention focus based on avoiding losses. This study took a social-cognitive approach predicting that regulatory focus has an impact on how family startups (several family related founders) explore "new ideas", exploit "old certainties" and achieve the balance of both (ambidexterity), compared to lone founder startups (only one founder present). It was proposed that the social context of family ties among founders leads them to a prevention focus concerned with avoiding the loss of the socio-emotional benefits of those ties. In order to avoid such a loss, family founders were expected to increase their risk perceptions and thus, explore less than lone founders, who lack such socio-emotional ties. It was also proposed that two commonly used psychological traits in entrepreneurship research —achievement motivation and internal locus of control, predispose entrepreneurs to a promotion focus. Founders with a promotion focus, in turn, were hypothesized to lead startups to more risk-seeking behaviors and to more explorative orientation. The previous argument was used as a springboard to derive hypotheses about ambidexterity (the ability to exploit and explore simultaneously) and survival hazards. Using Regulatory Focus Theory, exploitative orientation, conceptualized as the motivational strength to continue on previous paths of action, was hypothesized to be not significantly different from that of lone founder startups. Taking previous arguments together, lone founder startups were hypothesized to be more ambidextrous than family startups. Finally, ambidexterity and internal locus of control were hypothesized to reduce survival hazards in family startups. The findings suggested that family startups explore less than lone founder startups even after controlling for group effects. Interesting but contradictory findings revealed that internal locus of control have both a positive direct effect and a positive interaction that increases the explorative and ambidextrous orientation gap of family startups over lone founder startups. As expected, ambidexterity and internal locus of control reduced survival hazards on family startups. Implications for practitioners were derived based on a sample of 470 nascent entrepreneurs.

Vocabulary learning through use of the picture-word inductive model for young English learners in China: A mixed methods examination using Cognitive Load Theory

English has been taught as a core and compulsory subject in China for decades. Recently, the demand for English in China has increased dramatically. China now has the world's largest English-learning population. The traditional English-teaching method cannot continue to be the only approach because it merely focuses on reading, grammar and translation, which cannot meet English learners and users' needs (i.e., communicative competence and skills in speaking and writing). ^ This study was conducted to investigate if the Picture-Word Inductive Model (PWIM), a new pedagogical method using pictures and inductive thinking, would benefit English learners in China in terms of potential higher output in speaking and writing. With the gauge of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), specifically, its redundancy effect, I investigated whether processing words and a picture concurrently would present a cognitive overload for English learners in China. ^ I conducted a mixed methods research study. A quasi-experiment (pretest, intervention for seven weeks, and posttest) was conducted using 234 students in four groups in Lianyungang, China (58 fourth graders and 57 seventh graders as an experimental group with PWIM and 59 fourth graders and 60 seventh graders as a control group with the traditional method). No significant difference in the effects of PWIM was found on vocabulary acquisition based on grade levels. Observations, questionnaires with open-ended questions, and interviews were deployed to answer the three remaining research questions. A few students felt cognitively overloaded when they encountered too many writing samples, too many new words at one time, repeated words, mismatches between words and pictures, and so on. Many students listed and exemplified numerous strengths of PWIM, but a few mentioned weaknesses of PWIM. The students expressed the idea that PWIM had a positive effect on their English teaching. ^ As integrated inferences, qualitative findings were used to explain the quantitative results that there were no significant differences of the effects of the PWIM between the experimental and control groups in both grade levels, from four contextual aspects: time constraints on PWIM implementation, teachers' resistance, how to use PWIM and PWIM implemented in a classroom over 55 students.^

A Deontic Analysis of Inter-Organizational Control Requirements

This research focuses on the design and verification of inter-organizational controls. Instead of looking at a documentary procedure, which is the flow of documents and data among the parties, the research examines the underlying deontic purpose of the procedure, the so-called deontic process, and identifies control requirements to secure this purpose. The vision of the research is a formal theory for streamlining bureaucracy in business and government procedures. Underpinning most inter-organizational procedures are deontic relations, which are about rights and obligations of the parties. When all parties trust each other, they are willing to fulfill their obligations and honor the counter parties’ rights; thus controls may not be needed. The challenge is in cases where trust may not be assumed. In these cases, the parties need to rely on explicit controls to reduce their exposure to the risk of opportunism. However, at present there is no analytic approach or technique to determine which controls are needed for a given contracting or governance situation. The research proposes a formal method for deriving inter-organizational control requirements based on static analysis of deontic relations and dynamic analysis of deontic changes. The formal method will take a deontic process model of an inter-organizational transaction and certain domain knowledge as inputs to automatically generate control requirements that a documentary procedure needs to satisfy in order to limit fraud potentials. The deliverables of the research include a formal representation namely Deontic Petri Nets that combine multiple modal logics and Petri nets for modeling deontic processes, a set of control principles that represent an initial formal theory on the relationships between deontic processes and documentary procedures, and a working prototype that uses model checking technique to identify fraud potentials in a deontic process and generate control requirements to limit them. Fourteen scenarios of two well-known international payment procedures -- cash in advance and documentary credit -- have been used to test the prototype. The results showed that all control requirements stipulated in these procedures could be derived automatically.

A model of school managerial control : the systematic analysis of managerial behaviors, processes, and indicators

The theoretical construct of control has been defined as necessary (Etzioni, 1965), ubiquitous (Vickers, 1967), and on-going (E. Langer, 1983). Empirical measures, however, have not adequately given meaning to this potent construct, especially within complex organizations such as schools. Four stages of theory-development and empirical testing of school building managerial control using principals and teachers working within the nation's fourth largest district are presented in this dissertation as follows: (1) a review and synthesis of social science theories of control across the literatures of organizational theory, political science, sociology, psychology, and philosophy; (2) a systematic analysis of school managerial activities performed at the building level within the context of curricular and instructional tasks; (3) the development of a survey questionnaire to measure school building managerial control; and (4) initial tests of construct validity including inter-item reliability statistics, principal components analyses, and multivariate tests of significance. The social science synthesis provided support of four managerial control processes: standards, information, assessment, and incentives. The systematic analysis of school managerial activities led to further categorization between structural frequency of behaviors and discretionary qualities of behaviors across each of the control processes and the curricular and instructional tasks. Teacher survey responses (N=486) reported a significant difference between these two dimensions of control, structural frequency and discretionary qualities, for standards, information, and assessments, but not for incentives. The descriptive model of school managerial control suggests that (1) teachers perceive structural and discretionary managerial behaviors under information and incentives more clearly than activities representing standards or assessments, (2) standards are primarily structural while assessments are primarily qualitative, (3) teacher satisfaction is most closely related to the equitable distribution of incentives, (4) each of the structural managerial behaviors has a qualitative effect on teachers, and that (5) certain qualities of managerial behaviors are perceived by teachers as distinctly discretionary, apart from school structure. The variables of teacher tenure and school effectiveness reported significant effects on school managerial control processes, while instructional levels (elementary, junior, and senior) and individual school differences were not found to be significant for the construct of school managerial control.

Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior in the Exercise Domain: A Study of Community College Students in an Urban Multicultural Setting

The purpose of this study was to assess the intention to exercise among ethnically and racially diverse community college students using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). In addition to identifying the variables associated with motivation or intention of college students to engage in physical activity, this study tested the model of the Theory of Planned Behavior, asking: Does the TPB model explain intention to exercise among a racially/ethnically diverse group of college students? The relevant variables were the TPB constructs (behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs), which combined to form a measure of intention to exercise. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the predictive power of the TPB constructs for predicting intention to exercise. Following procedures described by Ajzen (2002), the researcher developed a questionnaire encompassing the external variables of student demographics (age, gender, work status, student status, socio-economic status, access to exercise facilities, and past behavior), major constructs of the TPB, and two questions from the Godin Leisure Time Questionnaire (GLTQ; Godin & Shephard, 1985). Participants were students (N = 255) who enrolled in an on-campus wellness course at an urban community college. The demographic profile of the sample revealed a racially/ethnically diverse study population. The original model that was used to reflect the TPB as developed by Ajzen was not supported by the data analyzed using SEM; however, a revised model that the researcher thought was theoretically a more accurate reflection of the causal relations between the TPB constructs was supported. The GLTQ questions were problematic for some students; those data could not be used in the modeling efforts. The GLTQ measure, however, revealed a significant correlation with intention to exercise (r = .27, p = .001). Post-hoc comparisons revealed significant differences in normative beliefs and attitude toward exercising behavior between Black students and Hispanic students. Compared to Black students, Hispanic students were more likely to (a) perceive “friends” as approving of them being physically active and (b) rate being physically active for 30 minutes per day as “beneficial”. No statistically significant difference was found among groups on overall intention to exercise.

Vocabulary Learning through Use of the Picture-Word Inductive Model for Young English Learners in China: A Mixed Methods Examination Using Cognitive Load Theory

English has been taught as a core and compulsory subject in China for decades. Recently, the demand for English in China has increased dramatically. China now has the world’s largest English-learning population. The traditional English-teaching method cannot continue to be the only approach because it merely focuses on reading, grammar and translation, which cannot meet English learners and users’ needs (i.e., communicative competence and skills in speaking and writing). This study was conducted to investigate if the Picture-Word Inductive Model (PWIM), a new pedagogical method using pictures and inductive thinking, would benefit English learners in China in terms of potential higher output in speaking and writing. With the gauge of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), specifically, its redundancy effect, I investigated whether processing words and a picture concurrently would present a cognitive overload for English learners in China. I conducted a mixed methods research study. A quasi-experiment (pretest, intervention for seven weeks, and posttest) was conducted using 234 students in four groups in Lianyungang, China (58 fourth graders and 57 seventh graders as an experimental group with PWIM and 59 fourth graders and 60 seventh graders as a control group with the traditional method). No significant difference in the effects of PWIM was found on vocabulary acquisition based on grade levels. Observations, questionnaires with open-ended questions, and interviews were deployed to answer the three remaining research questions. A few students felt cognitively overloaded when they encountered too many writing samples, too many new words at one time, repeated words, mismatches between words and pictures, and so on. Many students listed and exemplified numerous strengths of PWIM, but a few mentioned weaknesses of PWIM. The students expressed the idea that PWIM had a positive effect on their English teaching. As integrated inferences, qualitative findings were used to explain the quantitative results that there were no significant differences of the effects of the PWIM between the experimental and control groups in both grade levels, from four contextual aspects: time constraints on PWIM implementation, teachers’ resistance, how to use PWIM and PWIM implemented in a classroom over 55 students.

Social-cognitive Antecedents of Ambidextrous Orientation in Family-owned Startups: The Role of Family Ties, Achievement Motivation, and Internal Locus of Control

Regulatory Focus Theory predicts that the motivation to self-regulate goal-directed thought and behavior depends on two distinct regulation strategies: a promotion focus based on attaining gains and a prevention focus based on avoiding losses. This study took a social-cognitive approach predicting that regulatory focus has an impact on how family startups (several family related founders) explore “new ideas”, exploit “old certainties” and achieve the balance of both (ambidexterity), compared to lone founder startups (only one founder present). It was proposed that the social context of family ties among founders leads them to a prevention focus concerned with avoiding the loss of the socio-emotional benefits of those ties. In order to avoid such a loss, family founders were expected to increase their risk perceptions and thus, explore less than lone founders, who lack such socio-emotional ties. It was also proposed that two commonly used psychological traits in entrepreneurship research --achievement motivation and internal locus of control, predispose entrepreneurs to a promotion focus. Founders with a promotion focus, in turn, were hypothesized to lead startups to more risk-seeking behaviors and to more explorative orientation. The previous argument was used as a springboard to derive hypotheses about ambidexterity (the ability to exploit and explore simultaneously) and survival hazards. Using Regulatory Focus Theory, exploitative orientation, conceptualized as the motivational strength to continue on previous paths of action, was hypothesized to be not significantly different from that of lone founder startups. Taking previous arguments together, lone founder startups were hypothesized to be more ambidextrous than family startups. Finally, ambidexterity and internal locus of control were hypothesized to reduce survival hazards in family startups. The findings suggested that family startups explore less than lone founder startups even after controlling for group effects. Interesting but contradictory findings revealed that internal locus of control have both a positive direct effect and a positive interaction that increases the explorative and ambidextrous orientation gap of family startups over lone founder startups. As expected, ambidexterity and internal locus of control reduced survival hazards on family startups. Implications for practitioners were derived based on a sample of 470 nascent entrepreneurs.