Validating specifications of dynamic systems using automated reasoning techniques

In this paper, we propose a new approach to validating formal specifications of observable behavior of discrete dynamic systems. By observable behavior we mean system behavior as observed by users or other systems in the environment of the system. Validation of a formal specification of an informal domain tries to answer the question whether the specification actually describes the intended domain. This differs from the verification problem, which deals with the correspondence between formal objects, e.g. between a formal specification of a system and an implementation of it. We consider formal specifications of object-oriented dynamic systems that are subject to static and dynamic integrity constraints. To validate that such a specification expresses the intended behavior, we propose to use a tool that can answer reachability queries. In a reachability query we ask whether the system can evolve from one state into another without violating the integrity constraints. If the query is answered positively, the system should exhibit an example path between the states; if the answer is negative, the system should explain why this is so. An example path produced by the tool can be used to produce scenarios for presentations of system behavior, but can also be used as a basis for acceptance testing. In this paper, we discuss the use of planning and theoremproving techniques to answer such queries, and illustrate the use of reachability queries in the context of information system development

Constraint-based evaluation of sequential procedures

Constraining the operation of an agent requires knowledge of the restrictions to physical and temporal capabilities of that agent, as well as an inherent understanding of the desires being processed by that agent. Usually a set of constraints are available that must be adhered to in order to foster safe operations. In the worst case, violation of a constraint may be cause to terminate operation. If the agent is carrying out a plan, then a method for predicting the agent's desires, and therefore possible constraint violations, is required. The conceptualization of constraint-based reasoning used herein assumes that a system knows how to select a constraint for application as well as how to apply that constraint once it is selected. The application of constraint-based reasoning for evaluating certain kinds of plans known as sequential procedures is discussed. By decomposing these plans, it is possible to apply context dependent constraints in production system fashion without incorporating knowledge of the original planning process

Teacher collaboration: A study of topics in planning sessions between a science and a bilingual teacher

The education of recently-arrived language minority pupils involves subject teachers, second language teachers and bilingual teachers. Even though these teachers collaborate in one or other way, these relationships have largely been under-researched. In this article, I explore planning sessions between a science teacher and a bilingual teacher at a lower secondary school in a Norwegian context collaborating about a recently-arrived pupil from Poland. Hereby, I show that collaboration between two teachers with different foci and pedagogical knowledge is not straightforward. Using a discursive approach and studying the notion of topics in planning sessions, I explore the dynamics of the teacher–teacher interaction. Topic initiatives indicate the teachers’ foci and areas of responsibility and the analysis highlights factors which influence the extent to which the teachers are able to discuss these foci, including the relations of domination between them. I will argue that despite the institutional discourse which favours science over bilingual subject teaching, it is interesting to explore how these teachers negotiate their relationship locally. An important finding is that in order to gain deeper insight into the collaboration, further field work is needed, i.e., observing the teachers in informal conversation, classroom sessions and interviewing them about their experiences with regard to the collaboration

Consultation Report on the Validity and Capacity of the Canadian Institute of Planning (CIP) to Facilitate a National Planning for Food Systems Platform.

This report is the result of Jamie Unwin's Master's in Environmental Studies (Planning) Major Project. It was conducted over a twelve-month period and designed to explore the validity and capacity for the Canadian Institute of Planning (CIP) to facilitate a national Planning for Food Systems Platform to help spur the shift of the food system1 toward sustainability and health, required for food secure2 Canadian communities. This shift is necessary because the current dominant food system is incapable of fostering healthy sustianable food systems3 as it undermines the very environmental, social and economic resources that our food systems depend upon (Mendes, 2008; Potukuchi &Kaufman, 2000; Wittman, Desmarais & Wiebe, 2011; Le Vallee, 2008). The results of this research clearly highlight the validity and capacity of CIP to facilitate a national planning for food systems platform that engages with the complexity of food systems from an interdisciplinary collaborative approach involving knowledge sharing, networking, and professional development. Due to this, this report has been designed to explain and provide background information for further consultation on: the validity and capacity of CIP to facilitate this platform and to adopt 'Food Systems' as a "topic" on their website. This platform focuses on planning for food systems4 through the lens of the profession of planning, whereas food system planning is about the design and management of the entire food system itself. The term platform5 was used because it provided for exploration of alternative ways to engage with planning for food systems within and outside of the existing subcommittee structure of CIP's National Initiatives Advisory Committee. A food systems framework has been used as the professional discourse (OPPI, 2011; Wegener, Seasons & Raine, 2013; MacRae & Donahue, 2013; Hodgson, 2012; RTPI, 2010) and the key food system actors interviewed see it as necessary for fostering the innovation required to plan for sustainable healthy food secure communities. This report is rooted in Participatory Action Research (Rennie & Singh, 1995) as I was a CIP Board Member in the position of Student Representative, conducting twenty-six interviews with key planning for food systems actors from across Canada, CIP Board Members and CIP Staff, completing a preliminary literature review on the planning discourse on food systems, and developing a variety of annotated bibliographies on planning for food systems, the results of which can be found in the appendices of this report. The links between planning and food systems have been made by numerous planning organizations including the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, the Commonwealth Association of Planners, the Royal Town Planning Institute and the American Planning Association. (See Appendix A for a list of planning institute reports on planning for food systems.) However, in spite of all this, many Canadian planners and members of the general public do not have a strong understanding of the multifunctional synergies planning has with food systems change and how to utilize these to achieve existing planning goals such as sustainable community development (Personal Communication: Wayne Roberts PhD., food policy analyst & former Manager of the Toronto Food Policy Council (TFPC), April 02, 2014; Lauren Baker PhD, current Coordinator/Manager of the TPFC May 05, 2014; Janine de la Salle Registered Professional Planner (RPP) and leader in planning for food systems, April 03, 2014; Rod MacRae PhD, food policy analyst & leader in food systems thinking, May 09, 2014; Kimberley Hodgson RPP and leader in planning for food systems, May 06, 2014; and, John Turvey RPP, co-founder of Planning for Agriculture and Food Network (PAFN) & Policy specialist on land use planning for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, March 24, 2014). Please see Appendix B for a list of individuals Interviewed and their relevant background information. Wegener et al, supports the need for planners to have increased access to networking, knowledge sharing and professional development with their statement that "food system considerations are relatively new to planners. There is a need to examine the current policies and practices that may be hindering supportive local planning activity." (2013, p 94) This report explores: • The history and importance of CIP and Provincial and Territorial Institutes and Associations (PTIAs) engaging with food systems, and engagement from similar organizations such as the American Planning Association (APA), the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), and the Commonwealth Association of lanners (CAP); • Why a Platform is Needed Under the Aegis of CIP; • The multifunctional ways that a Planning for Food Systems platform fits CIP's recently accepted Articles of Continuance and the associated Consensus Statement, CIP's Strategic Plan and CIP's National Initiatives Committee Mandate; • The benefits of a CIP based platform to support members and the planning community on the emerging topic of planning for food systems; • The willingness and capacity of CIP's membership to support planning for food systems knowledge sharing, networking and professional development; • Potential Platform Activities and Outputs; • Current Projects for Potential Partnership; • Potential Topic Areas for Exploration by a CIP Planning for Food Systems Platform and partnership opportunities, particularly the Planning for Agriculture and Food Network (PAFN); • Key platform organizational elements; • Key qualities and skill sets of potential platform committee members; • Key groups to consult with; • Potential ways to increase capacity through the organizational design of the platform; and, • Suggested next steps for developing a proposal to CIP for the implementation of a Planning for Food Systems Platform in the form of a CIP Subcommittee. The research explored in this report clearly shows that as a national organization representative of the planning profession CIP should develop the role of planners in food systems and support the validity of planning for food systems. As such undertakings help CIP fulfill its vision of "Improved quality of life through excellence in professional planning," its mission "to advance planning in Canada and abroad by serving, educating, informing and engaging our members," and CIP values of "integrity, innovation, (and) collaboration." (CIP, 2014, a) CIP's new Articles of Continuance were accepted by its membership and enacted on July 07, 2014 at CIP's Annual General Meeting in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Then Articles changed CIP's name from the Canadian Institute of Planners to the Canadian Institute of Planning. Within the articles was an approved Consensus Statement which speaks to CIP's primary purpose being "to promote and advance the value of planning in Canada." (2014, b) This report explains how the proposed platform supports the renewal of CIP and its ability to achieve its primary purpose. Based on an organizational analysis, participation in the Board of Directors, and interviews with twenty-six key actors all of whom agree that CIP should be engaging with food systems, I conclude that the capacity and validity exist for CIP to facilitate a national planning for food systems platform and through this provide knowledge sharing, networking, and professional development

Ecosystems and Sustainable Metabolisms

The Strategic Plan for the Calderona Mountain Range (Valencia, Spain) covers an area of 200 km2 including 5 municipalities located at the northern edge of the Valencia’s Metropolitan Area. The Plan deals with a wide diversity of aspects, being ecology and sustainable development their common denominators. Thus, the analysis of the different territorial layers (forestry, agriculture, natural environment, urban planning, landscape, heritage, tourism & public use, mobility & infrastructures, and economic activity) was developed from an ecological and sustainability focused point of view which is afterwards extended in the definition of regional strategies and in a set of ten thematic plans and eighteen pilot projects. In particular, sustainability, the structural role of ecology and the effective enhancement of the different existing and potential ecosystems, permeate the whole Strategic Plan but are in particular the central elements of the Territorial and Landscape Plan, which includes the definition of a regional and local Green Infrastructure; of the Natural Environment Plan, which identifies the existing and potential plant communities and establishes the conditions for their adequate improvement and maintenance, and, finally, the Sustainable Development Plan, that analyzes the present flows of energy and resources and explores the territorial and urban models which would permit the reinforcement of internal metabolisms and the reduction of ecological footprints.Peer reviewe

IBPI: Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Program

Since the 1990s, the amount of attention and funding for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure has increased significantly. This, combined with the role of transportation in public health and environmental concerns, has raised expectations for engineering and planning practitioners to possess more knowledge and skills related to pedestrian and bicycle planning and design. This demand requires more education around these topics but university curriculum doesn?t reflect these important shifts in the field. This project was intended to begin addressing the need for more bicycle and pedestrian curriculum in two ways: (1) Determine the existence of and need for courses and curriculum modules on bicycle and pedestrian design and planning by conducting a national survey of planning and transportation faculty; and (2) Expand the range of opportunities for university students to learn about the value and needs of bicycle and pedestrian transportation by designing and testing two new curriculum modules, one for transportation planning and one for transportation engineering. The survey provides a comprehensive source of information on the amount and type of coverage given to bicycle and pedestrian topics in transportation planning and engineering courses at the graduate and undergraduate level. It also provides useful insight into faculty and student interest in these topics, and a rich data source which IBPI can use to identify areas for future module and curriculum development. The process of developing and piloting the two curriculum modules demonstrated how bicycle and pedestrian topics can be successfully integrated into existing courses that may have a broader transportation scope. In addition, the feedback on the student evaluations illustrated the low level of student knowledge about some of the basic elements of bicycle and pedestrian facilities design and analysis. This supports the need for more integration of these topics into transportation planning and engineering courses

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

Cornell University Courses of Study V.80 1988/8

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

Cornell University Courses of Study Vol. 82 1990/9