Blending under deconstruction

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Event-B in the Institutional Framework: Defining a Semantics, Modularisation Constructs and Interoperability for a Specification Language

Event-B is an industrial-strength specification language for verifying the properties of a given system’s specification. It is supported by its Eclipse-based IDE, Rodin, and uses the process of refinement to model systems at different levels of abstraction. Although a mature formalism, Event-B has a number of limitations. In this thesis, we demonstrate that Event-B lacks formally defined modularisation constructs. Additionally, interoperability between Event-B and other formalisms has been achieved in an ad hoc manner. Moreover, although a formal language, Event-B does not have a formal semantics. We address each of these limitations in this thesis using the theory of institutions. The theory of institutions provides a category-theoretic way of representing a formalism. Formalisms that have been represented as institutions gain access to an array of generic specification-building operators that can be used to modularise specifications in a formalismindependent manner. In the theory of institutions, there are constructs (known as institution (co)morphisms) that provide us with the facility to create interoperability between formalisms in a mathematically sound way. The main contribution of this thesis is the definition of an institution for Event-B, EVT, which allows us to address its identified limitations. To this end, we formally define a translational semantics from Event- B to EVT. We show how specification-building operators can provide a unified set of modularisation constructs for Event-B. In fact, the institutional framework that we have incorporated Event-B into is more accommodating to modularisation than the current state-of-the-art for Rodin. Furthermore, we present institution morphisms that facilitate interoperability between the respective institutions for Event-B and UML. This approach is more generic than the current approach to interoperability for Event-B and in fact, allows access to any formalism or logic that has already been defined as an institution. Finally, by defining EVT, we have outlined the steps required in order to include similar formalisms into the institutional framework. Hence, this thesis acts as a template for defining an institution for a specification language

24th International Conference on Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases

In the last three decades information modelling and knowledge bases have become essentially important subjects not only in academic communities related to information systems and computer science but also in the business area where information technology is applied. The series of European – Japanese Conference on Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases (EJC) originally started as a co-operation initiative between Japan and Finland in 1982. The practical operations were then organised by professor Ohsuga in Japan and professors Hannu Kangassalo and Hannu Jaakkola in Finland (Nordic countries). Geographical scope has expanded to cover Europe and also other countries. Workshop characteristic - discussion, enough time for presentations and limited number of participants (50) / papers (30) - is typical for the conference. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to: 1. Conceptual modelling: Modelling and specification languages; Domain-specific conceptual modelling; Concepts, concept theories and ontologies; Conceptual modelling of large and heterogeneous systems; Conceptual modelling of spatial, temporal and biological data; Methods for developing, validating and communicating conceptual models. 2. Knowledge and information modelling and discovery: Knowledge discovery, knowledge representation and knowledge management; Advanced data mining and analysis methods; Conceptions of knowledge and information; Modelling information requirements; Intelligent information systems; Information recognition and information modelling. 3. Linguistic modelling: Models of HCI; Information delivery to users; Intelligent informal querying; Linguistic foundation of information and knowledge; Fuzzy linguistic models; Philosophical and linguistic foundations of conceptual models. 4. Cross-cultural communication and social computing: Cross-cultural support systems; Integration, evolution and migration of systems; Collaborative societies; Multicultural web-based software systems; Intercultural collaboration and support systems; Social computing, behavioral modeling and prediction. 5. Environmental modelling and engineering: Environmental information systems (architecture); Spatial, temporal and observational information systems; Large-scale environmental systems; Collaborative knowledge base systems; Agent concepts and conceptualisation; Hazard prediction, prevention and steering systems. 6. Multimedia data modelling and systems: Modelling multimedia information and knowledge; Contentbased multimedia data management; Content-based multimedia retrieval; Privacy and context enhancing technologies; Semantics and pragmatics of multimedia data; Metadata for multimedia information systems. Overall we received 56 submissions. After careful evaluation, 16 papers have been selected as long paper, 17 papers as short papers, 5 papers as position papers, and 3 papers for presentation of perspective challenges. We thank all colleagues for their support of this issue of the EJC conference, especially the program committee, the organising committee, and the programme coordination team. The long and the short papers presented in the conference are revised after the conference and published in the Series of “Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence” by IOS Press (Amsterdam). The books “Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases” are edited by the Editing Committee of the conference. We believe that the conference will be productive and fruitful in the advance of research and application of information modelling and knowledge bases. Bernhard Thalheim Hannu Jaakkola Yasushi Kiyok

The OWL in the CASL: designing ontologies across logics

In this paper, we show how the web ontology language OWL can be accommodated within the larger framework of the heterogeneous common algebraic specification language HETCASL. Through this change in perspective, OWL can benefit from various useful HETCASL features concerning structuring, modularity, and heterogeneity. This tackles a major problem area in ontology engineering: re-use of ontologies and re-combination of ontological modules. We discuss in particular: (1) the extension of the Manchester syntax for OWL with structuring mechanisms of CASL, allowing for explicit modularisation (2) automatic translations between ontology languages to support ontology design across different ontology languages (heterogeneity) (3) heterogeneous ontology refinements, and corresponding automated reasoning support for different logic

Investigation of a hierarchical context-aware architecture for rule-based customisation of mobile computing service

The continuous technical progress in mobile device built-in modules and embedded sensing techniques creates opportunities for context-aware mobile applications. The context-aware computing paradigm exploits the relevant context as implicit input to characterise the user and physical environment and provide a computing service customised to the contextual situation. However, heterogeneity in techniques, complexity of contextual situation, and gap between raw sensor data and usable context keep the techniques from truly integration for extensive use. Studies in this area mainly focus on feasibility demonstration of the emerging techniques, and they lack general architecture support and appropriate service customisation strategy. This investigation aims to provide general system architecture and technical approaches to deal with the heterogeneity problem and efficiently utilise the dynamic context towards proactive computing service that is customised to the contextual situation. The main efforts of this investigation are the approaches to gathering, handling, and utilising the dynamic context information in an efficient way and the decision making and optimisation methods for computing service customisation. In brief, the highlights of this thesis cover the following aspects: (1) a hierarchical context-aware computing architecture supporting interoperable distribution and further use of context; (2) an in-depth analysis and classification of context and the corresponding context acquisition methods; (3) context modelling and context data representation for efficient and interoperable use of context; (4) a rule-based service customisation strategy with a rule generation mechanism to supervise the service customisation. In addition, feasibility demonstration of the proposed system and contribution justification of this investigation are conducted through case studies and prototype implementations. One case study uses mobile built-in sensing techniques to improve the usability and efficiency of mobile applications constrained by resource limitation, and the other employs the mobile terminal and embedded sensing techniques to predict users’ expectations for home facility automatic control. Results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed context handling architecture and service customisation methods. It shows great potential for employing the context of the computing environment for context-aware adaptation in pervasive and mobile applications but also indicates some underlying problems for further study

CACIC 2015 : XXI Congreso Argentino de Ciencias de la Computación. Libro de actas

Actas del XXI Congreso Argentino de Ciencias de la Computación (CACIC 2015), realizado en Sede UNNOBA Junín, del 5 al 9 de octubre de 2015.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI