Fourth NASA Langley Formal Methods Workshop

This publication consists of papers presented at NASA Langley Research Center's fourth workshop on the application of formal methods to the design and verification of life-critical systems. Topic considered include: Proving properties of accident; modeling and validating SAFER in VDM-SL; requirement analysis of real-time control systems using PVS; a tabular language for system design; automated deductive verification of parallel systems. Also included is a fundamental hardware design in PVS

Third Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Space Applications, part 1

The application of artificial intelligence to spacecraft and aerospace systems is discussed. Expert systems, robotics, space station automation, fault diagnostics, parallel processing, knowledge representation, scheduling, man-machine interfaces and neural nets are among the topics discussed

Formal methods and digital systems validation for airborne systems

This report has been prepared to supplement a forthcoming chapter on formal methods in the FAA Digital Systems Validation Handbook. Its purpose is as follows: to outline the technical basis for formal methods in computer science; to explain the use of formal methods in the specification and verification of software and hardware requirements, designs, and implementations; to identify the benefits, weaknesses, and difficulties in applying these methods to digital systems used on board aircraft; and to suggest factors for consideration when formal methods are offered in support of certification. These latter factors assume the context for software development and assurance described in RTCA document DO-178B, 'Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification,' Dec. 1992

Sacrifice and Redemption: A New Approach From Mimetic Theory

What is the meaning of theories of redemption, and what use do they have? This dissertation answers these questions from the vantage point of two ideas from Girardian Mimetic Theory: the hypothesis that human relationality is rooted in triangular structures of desire, and the hypothesis that the sacrificial death of Christ is what Girard calls a scapegoating event.For Girard, ritual sacrifice is a repetition of an original scapegoating event on which social cohesion depends. With the death of Christ, scapegoating has been denuded and sacrifice rendered inoperable, bringing humanity into a novel historical situation. Using Girard’s early seminal texts alongside crucial developments in his later work, I develop the thesis that the redemptive work is structurally a sacrificial act, but aimed at the transcending of sacrifice and the transformation of the generative potential of scapegoating; correspondingly with this objective redemptive work, believers in Christ undergo a conversion that consists in their re-orientation as subjects within a structure of transcendence determined by this sacrificial generativity. This thesis represents a significantly more systematic appraisal of the positive theological utility of sacrifice than is found in Girard’s work. To bolster my thesis, I reread key biblical and classical theological sources. The biblical foundation narratives and interplay of textual sources witness to a subtle subversion of scapegoating and sacrifice while still relying on sacrifice as an ordering principle. I then examine the paradigmatic theories of redemption of Peter Abelard, Anselm, and Gregory of Nyssa. Each of these theories exhibits the same sacrificial logic, despite the different ways they configure redemption. I conclude that theories of redemption give us ways to map the reality brought about by the process of redemption. They facilitate the believer, whose triangular relationality has been re-oriented toward the transcendent God, in navigating the new situation in which sacrifice has been transformed

Software test and evaluation study phase I and II : survey and analysis

Issued as Final report, Project no. G-36-661 (continues G-36-636; includes A-2568

Symbolic tolerance and sensitivity analysis of large scale electronic circuits

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN029693 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Nursing and health promotion: An exploration of pre-registration nursing students' perceptions of the concept

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Considerable conceptual confusion exists regarding the meaning of health promotion, yet nurses are called to be leaders in the movement. Pre-registration nursing curricula have been designed purporting to incorporate health promotion principles. In the United Kingdom this change in nursing education has been called Project 2000. Empirical evidence in the United Kingdom suggests that nurses perceive health promotion from an individualistic biomedical perspective. Chapters 1- 4 explore the philosophical and social origins of the concept. It is argued that this is evolutionary, rooted in health education, derived from ancient Greek philosophy. The development of health promotion theory and application to nursing is examined through the development of nursing theory in the United States. Critical comparisons are made by review of national and international literature relating to the focus of health promotion in nursing. Chapters 5-11 contain the main body of the thesis. Three longitudinal case studies investigate Project 2000 nursing student's perceptions of the concept. Three intentions aim to determine the students' health beliefs and values of health promotion on entry to nursing, to establish if any changes in their perceptions of health promotion could be attributed to the philosophical shift from intervention to prevention in nurse education and healthcare generally, and finally to develop an instrument to be used to measure changes in perception as part of curriculum evaluation. The results of the study are reported and contextualised by the influence of teachers, the curriculum and the climate of change in healthcare at that time. The properties of the instrument and the implications for its purpose are addressed. Weaknesses in the design of the strategy are examined. The thesis concludes with a review of the evidence presented. More recent conceptual development is examined. Final conclusions lead to recommendations for further refinement of the instrument, by development of psychometric properties

A practice based learning environment for engineering students: Acquiring competencies for working on advanced manufacturing engineering

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.In this thesis the author describes the design and operation of a learning environment aimed at imparting technical, technological and managerial knowledge, developing understanding of the underlying issues and enhancing team work skills for an advanced technology future. He offers an analysis of learning, education and training and compares group work with individual tasks, presents a major case study and illustrates the features which distinguish the approach from role play, simulation and experiential learning. When staff at Brunel University were faced with the problem of teaching Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) to engineering students on thin sandwich type undergraduate degree programmes the writer suggested the use of an approach he would later describe as 'practice based learning' or 'real life simulation'. The fourth year course in CIM is designed as a double option for the complementary undergraduate courses, Brunel Manufacturing Engineering (BME) and Special Engineering Programmes (SEP). It is an extension of the Manufacturing Design and Practice course in years one to three of the BME course and of the Design strand on SEP, both of which restrict students' work to the use of individual machine tools and stand alone computing facilities. A wide range of teaching methods is used on the CIM course, including lectures by course staff, presentations by experts and, as the major element, a large group project involving all the students on the course, organised in a management matrix, coordinated by the students and supported by the staff acting as experts. The students also undertake assignment work alongside the technical tasks, to focus their thinking and to improve written communication skills. While the course described cannot replace more than a small proportion of the more conventional lecture, laboratory and tutorial teaching on an engineering programme, it provides a setting where students can experiment and learn about their own strengths and weaknesses in a realistic situation and in the context of teamwork. It also offers a space where they can make quite serious mistakes without direct consequences to their careers. The experience of seven years leads the author to believe that advanced manufacturing technologies and the associated management techniques should be taught in a project based environment with clear and real targets and realistic constraints, offering students challenges to which they can only rise through close and creative team work. The management of task execution must be left largely in the students' own hands. A high level of "consultant" type support is essential though, allied to an assessment scheme which promises and ensures fair treatment of the individual. The different parts of the thesis will be relevant to readers depending on their interest and background. Chapter 1 sets the scene and outlines the approach taken. Following this broad outline of the scope of the dissertation the author places Computer Integrated Manufacturing in a wider context in chapter 2, by providing an introduction to the underlying issues of computer integration and human factors. He puts forward a case for new approaches to the education and training of engineers and managers who will be working in Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Advanced Manufacturing Environments in general. Chapter 3 is devoted to the management of projects while chapter 4 is used to question the role of the engineer. Chapters 5 and 6 provide an introduction to theories of knowledge, teaching, learning and motivation. Chapters 7 and 8 are devoted to particular aspects of engineering education, while chapter 9 reviews the approach used at Brunel University. The topical issues of competence and its relevance to engineering education is discussed in chapter 10, leading into chapters 11 and 12 which deal with aspects of the CIM course. Chapters 13 and 14 are devoted to case-studies and particular tools. The key question of assessment of a practice oriented and team based course is addressed in chapter 15, followed by an evaluation of the CIM process and its application to engineering education of a full time nature which is included in chapters 17 and 18.Funding was obtained from The General Electric Company Prize 1993: Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Early innovations in social research: the Poverty Survey of Charles Booth

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX202322 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo