Strategies for Introducing Formal Methods into the ADA Life Cycle

This is the final report of a short study of the applicability of formal definition techniques to program development activities with specific emphasis on using the programming language Ada. The portion of the study here encompasses three elements: - A review of the various formal defition techniques; - A study of the existing and planned tools in programming development environments; - An examination of life cycle methodologies with the objective of inserting formalized techniques

Promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Vietnam via non-formal education. Case study: CHANGE's Vietnam Climate Leadership Initiative

Worldwide leaders and organizations have long recognized Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as an effective instrument to support sustainable development. Despite the constant promotion and development of ESD, implementation remains challenging as ever. The situation isn’t any different in the context of Vietnamese education. As a result, the main research objective of this study is to discover opportunities to promote ESD via non-formal education in Vietnam. Researching a case study of a prominent ESD initiative organized by a leading NGO in Vietnam, the author developed four research questions about program contents, implementation resources, participants’ experiences and suggestions for further improvement. The literature review first provides basic knowledge about ESD: definition, different views of ESD, pedagogical approaches and educational contents. In addition, ESD encompasses different forms of education such as climate change education (CCE) to address specific sustainability-related issues. Finally, resources invested in education and measurement for effectiveness are introduced to the discussion to provide insights about the implementation side of ESD. The research context is, naturally, Vietnamese education. ESD remains a low priority in formal education and previous top-down efforts to promote ESD in formal-education have no planned continuity. Therefore, the research context is confined to non-formal education defined as organized learning activities happening outside of the formal education system. Insights about Vietnamese educational system with the focus on non-formal education are presented to clarify the research context. The research methodology and method employed in this study are qualitative research, case study and semi-structured interviews. An interview guideline with a list of suggested interview questions and potential ethical issues was drafted before the interview process and addressed during the process. Regarding the sample selection, both selective and random strategy were employed to guarantee the relevancy and diversity of the data. The data analysis followed a three-step plan (coding, condensation and interpretation). Eight key themes were pre-designed before the data collection process but 21 sub-themes emerged from the data. In addition, over 100 key words and 59 meaning expressions were coded and condensed for further interpretation. The findings of this study provide answers to the four research questions drafted at the beginning. The content discrepancy between textbook ESD/CCE and the case program is easily spotted in the data. Though the case program is heavily resource-dependent, its dependence on different resources varies. In addition, the program has resulted in certain encouraging impacts despite the lack of objective evaluation. Finally, suggestions based on the literature and data were proposed for further improvement

In pursuit of comparable concepts and data about collective action:

Research on collective action confronts two major obstacles. First, inconsistency in the conceptualization and operationalization of collective action, the key factors expected to affect collective action, and the outcomes of collective action hampers the accumulation of knowledge. Inconsistent terminology obscures consistent patterns. Second, the scarcity of comparable data thwarts evaluation of the relative importance of the many variables identified in the literature as likely to influence collective action. The International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) research program addresses both of these problems. Since its founding in 1993, the IFRI network of collaborating research centers has used a common set of methods and concepts to study forests, the people who use forest resources, and their institutions for resource management. The basic social unit of analysis in IFRI is the user group, defined as a set of individuals with the same rights and responsibilities to forest resources. This definition does not require formal organization or collective action, since these features are potential dependent variables. This strategy for data collection allows analysis of relationships between diverse forms of social heterogeneity and collective action within groups with comparable rights to resources. IFRI's relational database also captures the connections among forest systems, sets of resource users, particular forest products, formal and informal rules for resource use, and formal local and supra-local organizations. By the middle of 2001, the IFRI database included data on 141 sites with 231 forests, 233 user groups, 94 forest organizations, and 486 products in 12 countries. Drawing upon these data, IFRI researchers are contributing substantially to our understanding of collective action for institutional development, the mediating role institutions play relative to demographic and market pressures in patterns of resource use, and relationships between particular institutions and forest conditions. The paper describes IFRI's strategy for collecting comparable data based on consistent conceptualization and operationalization, summarizes the contributions of IFRI research to the study of collective action for natural resource management, and identifies continuing challenges.resource management, Forests and forestry Social aspects., Collective action, Forest products., Capacity,

The Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI): a challenge for creative citizens

Series: Research papers on knowledge, innovation and enterprise, vol. 4The Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI) is an educational program for the development of creative skills, especially in children and young people (Future Problem Solving Program International, FPSPI, n.d). At the same time, it promotes critical, analytical and futuristic thinking, oral and written communication, teamwork, as well as emotional and decision making skills (FPSPI, n.d.). It is thus an educational tool that can be applied in many contexts, formal and informal, in order to promote creative problem solving skills. The stated mission of the FPSPI is “to develop the ability of young people globally to design and promote positive futures through problem solving using critical & creative thinking” (FPSPI, n.d.). It is designed to involve young people in thinking about the future and its challenges and unpredictability in all domains, including arts, technology and sciences. This program, based on futuristic thinking and the Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem Solving method (Osborn, 1953; Parnes, 1967; Parnes, Noller, & Biondi, 1977), begins with problem finding and definition and ends with a proposal for an effective and original solution. Begun by Torrance in the U.S. in 1974, the program is currently applied in countries from every continent. This chapter will present this program in detail, illustrating its goals, application methodology and agents. It will also share results obtained in several studies about the program and its effectiveness, thereby, raising awareness of the potential of its application for creative problem solutions in various contexts

A formal foundation for transformations in model driven engineering

In the MDE (Model Driven Engineering) paradigm, models are thought to be the primary conductors in all software development aspects. A PIM (Platform Independent Model) is transformed into one or more PSMs (Platform Specific Model); hence, a specific PSM is generated for each specific technological platform. In turn these output models may be transformed into another set of models until finally the output consists of program code that can be executed. Model transformation is the MDE engine; models are no longer mere contemplative entities and become productive entities. The MDE initiative covers a broad spectrum of research areas: modeling languages, definition of languages for model transformation, construction of support tools for the different tasks involved, application of concepts to development methods and specific domains, etc. Currently, some of these aspects are well-based, and are being applied with some success; however, other aspects are still undergoing their definition process. In this context, it is necessary to make every effort to convert MDE and its concepts and related techniques into a coherent proposal, based on open standards, and supported by mature tools and techniques. Model transformations require specific languages for their definition; these languages should have a formal base, for example, a metamodel that supports them and allows for an automated treatment.Es revisión de: http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/4145Resumen de la tesis presentada por la autora para obtener el título de Doctor en Ciencias Informáticas (UNLP, 2007).Facultad de Informátic

An Abstract Plan Preparation Language

This paper presents a new planning language that is more abstract than most existing planning languages such as the Planning Domain Definition Language (PDDL) or the New Domain Description Language (NDDL). The goal of this language is to simplify the formal analysis and specification of planning problems that are intended for safety-critical applications such as power management or automated rendezvous in future manned spacecraft. The new language has been named the Abstract Plan Preparation Language (APPL). A translator from APPL to NDDL has been developed in support of the Spacecraft Autonomy for Vehicles and Habitats Project (SAVH) sponsored by the Explorations Technology Development Program, which is seeking to mature autonomy technology for application to the new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) that will replace the Space Shuttle

Mentoring Generation X Women: Program Elements to Increase Success for Principals or Nonprofit Leaders

Mentoring may encourage leadership development in Generation X women who wish to gain leadership positions in nonprofit sector organizations or school administrations. However, cultural values and female natural tendencies may form a glass ceiling for females seeking leadership roles. This qualitative study asked 11 women about their experiences in mentoring programs to determine if what elements are necessary for mentoring programs to help female Generation Xers be successful. Participants were mentored by females in one of two programs: the Chicago Women in Philanthropy (CWIP) Women’s Leadership Mentoring Program (WLMP) or the Metropolitan Institute for Leadership in Education (MILE) Principal Mentor Program. Within interviews, discussion occurred regarding beneficial elements that may help women advance toward their definition of success. Beneficial elements include: an emphasis on supporting mentees, mentors considering one-on-one mentoring in conjunction with observations and role playing, and networking with other mentors. Mentoring program administrators may consider intense training about work–life balance, as well as power and office politics. Generation Xers’ upbringing caused them to learn best by active learning, rather than formal classroom lectures and instruction. Therefore, Generation X females like experiential learning opportunities within mentoring programs. By implementing beneficial mentoring program elements, mentees may reach their desired success; whether that includes objective career success, or subjective career success in relationships, happiness, helping others, and enjoying meaningful work

The Influence of Instruction on Leadership

For decades, researchers have been studying leadership and have found it to be very difficult to fully understand. A basic knowledge of leadership is available, but the details are hard to specify. These details include the complexity of the construct of leadership (Bass & Stogdill, 1990), the difficulty of forming a single definition or theoretical perspective from many possible options (Edmunds & Yewchuk, 1996; Simonton, 1995), and the lack of valid and reliable measures of leadership ability (Edmunds, 1998; Jarosewich, Pfeiffer, & Morris, 2002). All of these issues make researching leadership difficult because it is hard to gain new knowledge and understanding of a topic when there is not a solid foundation to build upon. Leadership has been examined on multiple levels including gifted programs in primary schools and leadership development in business, but not a lot of research has specifically looked at the college student and how they view and develop leadership. This study will focus on college student leaders and how they define leadership. Specifically, it will compare student leaders who are in a program designed to enhance leadership development with student leaders who are not receiving formal leadership training

Participatory Plant Breeding for Organic Farming in France, the cauliflower experience at the PAIS

The availability of organic seeds is a great problem for organic farmers. The private sector of plant breeding meets difficulties to answer to the organic farming (OF) demand, characterized by small quantities and a great diversity of criteria and by breeding methods which respect the natural species characteristics (see IFOAM Draft Standard on organic seeds and plant breeding). So, the organic sector is organizing breeding and seed production by itself In France, since 2001, a Brittany regional organic umbrella (IBB, Inter Bio Bretagne), and some researchers from the national institute for agronomical research (INRA) have initiated a breeding program for organic production and a participatory plant breeding (PPB) program for organic cabbages and cauliflowers in Brittany, from the evaluation of genetic resources of several European gene Banks. In the PPB, the farmers are taking in charge breeding and seed production of open pollinated varieties. Several types were kept and bred, depending on the way of production and commercialization for each farmer. In the northern Brittany, farmers have not forgotten the traditional production of cauliflower seeds. PAIS, the agrobiological experimental station of IBB on the organic site of an agricultural school (Suscinio, Morlaix), is the meeting point for all the involved actors (farmers, traders, trainers, researchers…). There, the farmers and traders can find technical and scientific information, and they can share their experiences from the plant selection to seed production. Today, other French PPB initiatives involve several species and organic farmers groups, to promote biodiversity and a best adaptation to a local production: durum wheat in the Mediterranean area, bread wheat with the “paysan-boulangers”, maize and sunflower in the South-West of the country, tomato in the South-East, radishes, parsnip and summer cauliflower, in Pays de Loire. From these experiences, the PPB for organic farming consists in the constitution of the organic farmers group with the creation of exchange space for researchers and others organic actors, the definition of the priority in matters of crops, the discovering and selection of genetic resources in the farmers fields, the exchange of experiences and genetic resources through formal and informal, regional, national or international, farmer and organic professional meetings (accompanied by researchers and often enlarged to gardeners and trainers). The seed distribution has been depending on the French legislative evolution. By nature, the varieties issued from PPB could not fill the DUS (Distinction, Uniformity, Stability) characteristics for registration. And mainly, by ethics, the organic way of development should enhance the ancestral link between the plant and the farmers, link which needs exchanges to allow the evolution of the crops and the conservation of a living biodiversity

Expectations and Experiences of Short-Term Study Abroad Leadership Teams

This paper explores the expectations and experiences of faculty, academic advisors, and graduate students leading a study abroad experience for first-year engineering students. In the current age of globalization, engineering students require a global understanding of engineering to be competent in the global workforce. In response, undergraduate engineering programs have created various programs to fill this student need. The research surrounding these initiatives focuses on the student experience but is limited when describing that of program leaders. This qualitative study draws from track leader journals that were completed during and shortly after the international program as well as semi-structured interviews in the following semester. The findings suggest that the majority of leaders expected their role to be that of an educator on the study abroad experience, but upon reflection, realized that their definition of what it means to be an educator expanded to encompass facilitation of learning. Many of the student learning instances leaders pointed to had to do with facilitating a learning environment rather than delivering content or answering technical questions. The roles described by leaders varied from troubleshooter to behavioral manager to informer. Leaders reflected that their roles developed as they met students where they were in their learning within the dynamic international context of the program. Overall, leaders saw their roles evolve over the course of the trip. The findings shed light on emergent power dynamics that leadership teams engage in outside of the formal learning environment and provide a unique insight into the types of learning program leaders can experience through leading study abroad programs. The multiple forms of data collection provide deeper insights into the experiences of the leaders while encouraging them to also reflect in real-time. This study has implications for the development of intentionally designed, condensed study-abroad experiences that draws from understanding the program leaders’ experience