Featherweight VeriFast

VeriFast is a leading research prototype tool for the sound modular verification of safety and correctness properties of single-threaded and multithreaded C and Java programs. It has been used as a vehicle for exploration and validation of novel program verification techniques and for industrial case studies; it has served well at a number of program verification competitions; and it has been used for teaching by multiple teachers independent of the authors. However, until now, while VeriFast's operation has been described informally in a number of publications, and specific verification techniques have been formalized, a clear and precise exposition of how VeriFast works has not yet appeared. In this article we present for the first time a formal definition and soundness proof of a core subset of the VeriFast program verification approach. The exposition aims to be both accessible and rigorous: the text is based on lecture notes for a graduate course on program verification, and it is backed by an executable machine-readable definition and machine-checked soundness proof in Coq

Vías del afecto positivo y negativo a los síntomas depresivos: mediación múltiple de las estrategias de regulación de la emoción

The current study aims to examine the multiple mediations of emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between positive and negative affect and depressive symptoms in adolescents. Participants included 290 students attending middle schools in a mid-size city in Southeastern Anatolian region. Among students, 137 were females (47.2%) and 153 (52.8%) were males. Participants’ ages ranged between 9 and 15 with a mean of 12.12, SD=1.53. Research data were collected through Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Adolescents, Emotion Regulation Scale for Adolescents, and Depression Scale for Children. Data analysis was conducted through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, an approach based on Ordinary Least Squares Regression, and Bootstrap method. Research findings indicated that the mediation of external dysfunctional emotion regulation, internal dysfunctional emotion regulation, and external functional emotion regulation in the relationships between positive emotions and depressive symptoms was statistically significant. However, the mediation of internal functional emotion regulation was not found to be statistically significant. In the relationship between negative emotions and depressive symptoms, the mediation of internal dysfunctional emotion regulation and external functional emotion regulation was found to be statistically significant. In addition, the mediation of internal functional emotion regulation and external dysfunctional emotion regulation was not found statistically significant. Research findings were discussed based on the relevant literature and some suggestions for researchers were put forward.El presente estudio tiene como objetivo examinar las múltiples mediaciones de las estrategias de regulación de las emociones en la relación entre el afecto positivo y negativo y los síntomas depresivos en los adolescentes. Los participantes fueron 290 estudiantes que asisten a escuelas intermedias en una ciudad de tamaño medio en la región del sudeste de Anatolia. Entre los estudiantes, 137 eran mujeres (47.2%) y 153 (52.8%) eran hombres. Las edades de los participantes variaron entre 9 y 15 con una media de 12.12, DT = 1.53. Los datos de la investigación se recogieron a través del Programa de Afecto Positivo y Negativo para Adolescentes, la Escala de Regulación de la Emoción para Adolescentes y la Escala de Depresión para Niños. El análisis de los datos se realizó mediante estadística descriptiva, coeficiente de correlación de Pearson, un enfoque basado en la regresión de mínimos cuadrados ordinarios y el método de Bootstrap. Los resultados de la investigación indicaron que la mediación de la regulación de la emoción disfuncional externa, la regulación interna de la emoción disfuncional y la regulación externa de la emoción funcional en las relaciones entre las emociones positivas y los síntomas depresivos fue estadísticamente significativa. Sin embargo, la mediación de la regulación de la emoción funcional interna no fue estadísticamente significativa. En la relación entre las emociones negativas y los síntomas depresivos, se encontró que la mediación de la regulación de la emoción interna disfuncional y la regulación de la emoción funcional externa es estadísticamente significativa. Además, la mediación de la regulación de la emoción funcional interna y la regulación de la emoción disfuncional externa no se encontró estadísticamente significativa. Los hallazgos de la investigación se discutieron en base a la literatura relevante y se presentaron algunas sugerencias para los investigadores

The implementation of School-Based Assessment System in Malaysia: a study of teacher perceptions

The school-based assessment system is a holistic assessment system conducted in school by subject teachers to assess the students’ cognitive (intellect), affective (emotional and spiritual) and psychomotor (physical) aspects in line with Malaysia’s National Philosophy of Education and the Standards-based School Curriculum. This study evaluated the implementation of SBA in Malaysian schools in the course of preparing a summative report on the effectiveness of the system. The model proposed examined the interrelationship between the evaluation dimensions (input, process and product). It was hypothesized that process would be positively associated with product, and input with both process and product. Although SBA is still in its infancy it is becoming increasingly important that it be evaluated considering its impact on students’ achievement in an upper middle-income developing country like Malaysia. The study took nearly two years. A self-administered questionnaire was designed based on the Daniel Stufflebeam CIPP (context-input-process-product) evaluation format. The primary data were derived from a total of 776 primary and secondary school teachers who have been sampled using a stratified random sampling of schools. The results revealed a reasonable fit with the SBA evaluation model with an interrelationship between the three dimensions of evaluation (input, process and product). Theoretical, methodological and practical implications suggested the importance of the findings to different audiences

Law and Justice are not Always the Same : Creating Community-Based Justice Forums for People Subjected to Intimate Partner Abuse

What constitutes justice in cases involving intimate partner abuse has historically been determined not by the person subjected to abuse, but rather an actor within the legal system—a police officer, a prosecutor, an advocate, or a judge—and those individuals most often define justice in terms of what the legal system has to offer. People subjected to abuse may conceive of justice quite differently, however, in ways that the legal system is not well suited to address. For people subjected to abuse who are interested in punishment, whose goals are congruent with the legal system’s goals of safety and accountability (as defined by the state), and who are willing to use state based systems, society offers a response: the criminal justice system. Imperfect though that response might be, in theory it meets the justice needs of some people subjected to abuse. For people who are more interested in healing and are willing to work through state systems, society also offers a response, albeit a more limited one: restorative justice. But for those who are not interested in a state-based response, little by way of justice exists for people subjected to abuse. This article seeks to fill that void by suggesting the development of community based forums to deliver justice. In her 2003 article, Battering, Forgiveness and Redemption, law professor Brenda Smith suggested a number of alternative models that might be used to address intimate partner abuse. Building on her work, and recognizing that there are parallels between the experiences of people seeking justice for violations of human rights and people subjected to intimate partner abuse, this article borrows from the structures used to find justice after atrocity, including truth commissions and community-based courts, to flesh out what community-based justice forums to address intimate partner abuse might look like. The article imagines how international human rights processes might productively inform efforts to create new alternatives for finding individualized justice, voice, validation and vindication outside of the criminal justice system and considers the crucial questions that such a radical reimagining of justice provision raises--about the role of the state, the problems of gendered justice, the existence of community, and the provision of resources