Graceful connections in dynamical systems – an approach to gait transitions in robotics

Gaits have become an integral part of the design method of robots heading to complex terrains. But research into optimal ways to transition between different gaits is still lacking, and is the primary motivation behind this research. An essential characteristic of gaits is periodicity, and considering that a novel notion of graceful transition is proposed: a graceful transition is one that has maximally persisting periodicity. This particular notion of persistence in the characteristic behavior can be generalized. Therefore, a comprehensive framework for the general problem of connecting any two trajectories of a dynamical system, with an underlying characteristic behavior, over a finite time interval and in a manner that the behavior persists maximally during the transition, is developed and presented. This transition is called the Gluskabi Raccordation, and the characteristic behavior is defined by a kernel representation. Along with establishing this framework, the kernel representations for some interesting characteristic behaviors are also identified. The problem of finding the Gluskabi Raccordations is then solved for different combinations of characteristic behaviors and dynamical systems, and compact widely applicable results are obtained. Lastly, the problem of finding graceful gait transitions is treated within this newly established broader framework, and these graceful gait transitions are obtained for the case of a two-piece worm model.Ph.D

Corporate Governance and Firm Financial Performance: A Meta-Analysis Study

  Based on the meta-analysis of 67 empirical research papers, this research extends prior reviews / meta-analysis studies by investigating the link of corporate governance (CG hereafter) mechanisms with firm financial performance. Further, this research contributes to the extant literature by making comparison of usefulness of CG mechanisms in both developed and developing countries. CG mechanisms appear to play differential role in driving corporate financial performance in both developed and developing countries. In developed countries board meeting and female representation on board has significant positive impact on firm financial performance, while board independence and board size has significant negative relationship. Inconsistent with the results of developed countries, firm financial performance appear to be negatively associated with board independence, board meeting, and managerial ownership and positively associated with ownership concentration. This difference can be attributed to different institutional settings in both developed and developing countries

The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Work Commitment: The Moderating Role of Organizational Culture

Purpose: The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and work commitment through the moderating role of organizational culture. Design/Methodology/Approach: A sample of 351 teachers was randomly selected from public sector universities of Punjab, Pakistan. The data was acquired using a self-administered questionnaire. The study used the structural equational modeling technique (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings: The result showed a differential impact of all the dimensions of emotional intelligence on work commitment.  The results showed a significant positive relationship between the interpersonal dimension and work commitment and a significant negative relationship between the adaptability dimension and work commitment. The remaining dimensions of emotional intelligence were found to have an insignificant relationship. However, hierarchy culture moderated the relationship between emotional intelligence and work commitment. Implications/Originality/Value: The results highlight the significance of emotional intelligence and hierarchy culture for university teachers. The study suggests university authorities to invest in organizational culture to develop and improve emotional intelligence competencies among university teachers to enhance work commitment

Environmental Disclosures and Environmental Management Strategies – A study of Pakistani Listed companies

The main purpose of this paper is to understand the environmental disclosure by listed companies of Pakistan in the light of legitimacy theory. Furthermore, it highlights the environmental management strategies pursued by them. This research used a content analysis research method to codify the reported information in the annual reports into the environment related themes. The data analysis results revealed that the sampled companies appear to give little importance to environmental issues. The companies which have disclosed mainly reported about ‘environmental pollution’, ‘energy’, and ‘conservation of natural resources’ themes; and provided declarative types of disclosure about them. As for as environmental strategies are concerned only a few non-financial companies have followed proactive environmental strategies and made real efforts to address environmental issues. These results seem to reflect that the companies have disclosed environment related information in the annual reports in order to legitimize their existence. &nbsp