1,472 research outputs found
Category Theory and Model-Driven Engineering: From Formal Semantics to Design Patterns and Beyond
There is a hidden intrigue in the title. CT is one of the most abstract
mathematical disciplines, sometimes nicknamed "abstract nonsense". MDE is a
recent trend in software development, industrially supported by standards,
tools, and the status of a new "silver bullet". Surprisingly, categorical
patterns turn out to be directly applicable to mathematical modeling of
structures appearing in everyday MDE practice. Model merging, transformation,
synchronization, and other important model management scenarios can be seen as
executions of categorical specifications.
Moreover, the paper aims to elucidate a claim that relationships between CT
and MDE are more complex and richer than is normally assumed for "applied
mathematics". CT provides a toolbox of design patterns and structural
principles of real practical value for MDE. We will present examples of how an
elementary categorical arrangement of a model management scenario reveals
deficiencies in the architecture of modern tools automating the scenario.Comment: In Proceedings ACCAT 2012, arXiv:1208.430
Functional Data Analysis in Electronic Commerce Research
This paper describes opportunities and challenges of using functional data
analysis (FDA) for the exploration and analysis of data originating from
electronic commerce (eCommerce). We discuss the special data structures that
arise in the online environment and why FDA is a natural approach for
representing and analyzing such data. The paper reviews several FDA methods and
motivates their usefulness in eCommerce research by providing a glimpse into
new domain insights that they allow. We argue that the wedding of eCommerce
with FDA leads to innovations both in statistical methodology, due to the
challenges and complications that arise in eCommerce data, and in online
research, by being able to ask (and subsequently answer) new research questions
that classical statistical methods are not able to address, and also by
expanding on research questions beyond the ones traditionally asked in the
offline environment. We describe several applications originating from online
transactions which are new to the statistics literature, and point out
statistical challenges accompanied by some solutions. We also discuss some
promising future directions for joint research efforts between researchers in
eCommerce and statistics.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/088342306000000132 in the
Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Alignment of Intended Learning Outcomes with Quellmalz Taxonomy and Assessment Practices in Early Childhood Education Courses
The aim of this study is twofold: (1) to investigate the alignment of the course intended learning outcomes with Quellmalz Taxonomy; and (2) to investigate the alignment of the course intended learning outcomes with assessment practices in early childhood education courses. Data have been gathered from different sources for the purpose of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The data consisted of overall course outcomes, all formal assessment papers used in the mid-term, final â term assessment and in â depth interviews with the instructors who teach 8 randomly selected childhood education courses. The results of the study have shown poor reflection of Quellmalz Taxonomy in the learning outcomes and weak alignment between the intended learning outcomes and the assessment practices of the sample courses used at the end of the semester. A list of recommendations has been suggested to improve the alignment of intended learning outcomes with Quellmalz Taxonomy and assessment practices. Keywords: Alignment, Intended Learning Outcomes, Quellmalz Taxonomy, Assessment Practices, Early Childhood Education
A model-driven approach to teaching concurrency
We present an undergraduate course on concurrent programming where formal models are used in different stages of the learning process. The main practical difference with other approaches lies in the fact that the ability to develop correct concurrent software relies on a systematic transformation of formal models of inter-process interaction (so called shared resources), rather than on the specific constructs of some programming language. Using a resource-centric rather than a language-centric approach has some benefits for both teachers and students. Besides the obvious advantage of being independent of the programming language, the models help in the early validation of concurrent software design, provide students and teachers with a lingua franca that greatly simplifies communication at the classroom and during supervision, and help in the automatic generation of tests for the practical assignments. This method has been in use, with slight variations, for some 15 years, surviving changes in the programming language and course length. In this article, we describe the components and structure of the current incarnation of the course?which uses Java as target language?and some tools used to support our method. We provide a detailed description of the different outcomes that the model-driven approach delivers (validation of the initial design, automatic generation of tests, and mechanical generation of code) from a teaching perspective. A critical discussion on the perceived advantages and risks of our approach follows, including some proposals on how these risks can be minimized. We include a statistical analysis to show that our method has a positive impact in the student ability to understand concurrency and to generate correct code
Aligning clinical assessment with course elements in prosthodontic dentistry: a South African case
Clinical tests were introduced and implemented as an additional clinical assessment tool in the Prosthodontic curriculum of the fourth year undergraduate dentistry program at one South African university. This study compared the relationship between the studentsâ performance in the clinical tests and daily clinical grades on the one hand with their theoretical performance on the other. It also explored the perceptions of the academic staff on the validity of clinical tests as a clinical assessment tool. An analysis of the test results of fourth-year dental students showed insignificant relationships between studentsâ clinical daily grade assessment marks and their marks for assessing theory. However, clinical assessment via tests is well accepted by the course staff and they perceived them to be more reliable than daily clinical grade assessment methods. The findings of the study support other reported studies which concluded that the daily grade of Dentistry students poorly correlate with their competency exams module. The findings also relate well with the lecturersâ views that clinical tests were more reliable as a clinical assessment tool than studentsâ daily clinical mark.Web of Scienc
Concurrency and Communication: Lessons from the SHIM Project
Describing parallel hardware and software is difficult, especially in an embedded setting. Five years ago, we started the shim project to address this challenge by developing a programming language for hardware/software systems. The resulting language describes asynchronously running processes that has the useful property of scheduling-independence: the i/o of a shim program is not affected by any scheduling choices. This paper presents a history of the shim project with a focus on the key things we have learned along the way
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