An Institutional Approach to Communicating UML State Machines

We present a new approach on how to provide institution-based semantics for communicating UML state machines in form of a hybrid modal logic M↓D. A theoroidal comorphism maps M↓D into the CASL institution. This allows for symbolic reasoning on communicating UML state machines

An Institution for Simple UML State Machines

We present an institution for UML state machines without hierarchical states. The interaction with UML class diagrams is handled via institutions for guards and actions, which provide dynamic components of states (such as valuations of attributes) but abstract away from details of class diagrams. We also study a notion of interleaving product, which captures the interaction of several state machines. The interleaving product construction is the basis for a semantics of composite structure diagrams, which can be used to specify the interaction of state machines. This work is part of a larger effort to build a framework for formal software development with UML, based on a heterogeneous approach using institutions.Comment: 24 pages. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1403.774

Design-time formal verification for smart environments: an exploratory perspective

Smart environments (SmE) are richly integrated with multiple heterogeneous devices; they perform the operations in intelligent manner by considering the context and actions/behaviors of the users. Their major objective is to enable the environment to provide ease and comfort to the users. The reliance on these systems demands consistent behavior. The versatility of devices, user behavior and intricacy of communication complicate the modeling and verification of SmE's reliable behavior. Of the many available modeling and verification techniques, formal methods appear to be the most promising. Due to a large variety of implementation scenarios and support for conditional behavior/processing, the concept of SmE is applicable to diverse areas which calls for focused research. As a result, a number of modeling and verification techniques have been made available for designers. This paper explores and puts into perspective the modeling and verification techniques based on an extended literature survey. These techniques mainly focus on some specific aspects, with a few overlapping scenarios (such as user interaction, devices interaction and control, context awareness, etc.), which were of the interest to the researchers based on their specialized competencies. The techniques are categorized on the basis of various factors and formalisms considered for the modeling and verification and later analyzed. The results show that no surveyed technique maintains a holistic perspective; each technique is used for the modeling and verification of specific SmE aspects. The results further help the designers select appropriate modeling and verification techniques under given requirements and stress for more R&D effort into SmE modeling and verification researc

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

A logic for n-dimensional hierarchical refinement

Hierarchical transition systems provide a popular mathematical structure to represent state-based software applications in which different layers of abstraction are represented by inter-related state machines. The decomposition of high level states into inner sub-states, and of their transitions into inner sub-transitions is common refinement procedure adopted in a number of specification formalisms. This paper introduces a hybrid modal logic for k-layered transition systems, its first-order standard translation, a notion of bisimulation, and a modal invariance result. Layered and hierarchical notions of refinement are also discussed in this setting.Comment: In Proceedings Refine'15, arXiv:1606.0134

A Mechanism-Based Explanation of the Institutionalization of Semantic Technologies in the Financial Industry

Part 3: Creating Value through ApplicationsInternational audienceThis paper explains how the financial industry is solving its data, risk management, and associated vocabulary problems using semantic technologies. The paper is the first to examine this phenomenon and to identify the social and institutional mechanisms being applied to socially construct a standard common vocabulary using ontology-based models. This standardized ontology-based common vocabulary will underpin the design of next generation of semantically-enabled information systems (IS) for the financial industry. The mechanisms that are helping institutionalize this common vocabulary are identified using a longitudinal case study, whose embedded units of analysis focus on central agents of change—the Enterprise Data Management Council and the Object Management Group. All this has important implications for society, as it is intended that semantically-enabled IS will, for example, provide stakeholders, such as regulators, with better transparency over systemic risks to national and international financial systems, thereby mitigating or avoiding future financial crises

Youth Political Engagement and Democratic Culture in Republican Nepal

Nepal’s transformation from an autocratic monarchy to a democratic republic presupposes the development of democratic institutions, and the current generation of Nepali youth, particularly those in higher education, are uniquely situated in that process. As such Nepali youth constitute a distinct generation along the lines specified by Karl Mannheim and others. In the past efforts to mobilize Nepalese youth have been aimed at integrating them as useful assets in the service of Nepalese political institutions, such as political student unions, but in this paper, based on fieldwork and interview data collected in 2013 and 2016, we argue that politically active youth today should be understood as an autonomous though heterogeneous constituent force that is in counterpoint with normative political institutions

Towards an Assembly Reference Ontology for Assembly Knowledge Sharing

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have been increasingly used to support the decision making in manufacturing organizations however they lack the ability to fully support the capture and sharing of specific domain knowledge across multiple domains. The ability of ICT based systems to share knowledge is impeded by the semantic conflicts arising from loosely defined meanings and intents of the participating concepts. This research work exploits the concept of formal ontologies to rigorously define the semantics of domain concepts to support knowledge sharing within the assembly domain. In this thesis, a novel research framework has been proposed in the form of a assembly reference ontology which can provide a common semantic base to support knowledge sharing across the assembly design and assembly process planning domains. The framework consists of a set of key reference concepts identified to represent the assembly domain related knowledge. These concepts have been specialized from the most generic level to the most specialized level and have been formally defined to support the capture and sharing of assembly knowledge. The proposed framework also supports the creation of application specific ontologies by providing them with a common semantic base. The research concept has been experimentally investigated by using a selected set of assembly reference concepts which have been used to formally represent and relate assembly design and assembly process planning knowledge. The results of the experiments verify that the implemented ontology facilitates the system to understand the semantics of concepts and supports knowledge sharing across the assembly design and assembly process planning domains. The experimental results also show that the proposed framework can also support the development of a range of application specific ontologies

An exploration of IoT platform development

IoT (Internet of Things) platforms are key enablers for smart city initiatives, targeting the improvement of citizens\u27 quality of life and economic growth. As IoT platforms are dynamic, proactive, and heterogeneous socio-technical artefacts, systematic approaches are required for their development. Limited surveys have exclusively explored how IoT platforms are developed and maintained from the perspective of information system development process lifecycle. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of 63 approaches. This is accomplished by proposing an evaluation framework as a cornerstone to highlight the characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses of these approaches. The survey results not only provide insights of empirical findings, recommendations, and mechanisms for the development of quality aware IoT platforms, but also identify important issues and gaps that need to be addressed