KIKI : a key to the integration of knowledge and innovation

The proliferation of ICT within the educational domain is serving to overcome several barriers associated with traditional pedagogies. However, the challenge of balancing educational objectives against technical limitations and harsh financial realities is becoming more relevant than ever. Specifically, one is often faced with insufficient funds for hardware resources, lack of streamlined distribution mechanisms for software, and irreconcilable disparities in the packages offered. In this paper, we present KIKI as a tentative solution to the aforementioned obstacles. KIKI is a prototypical system devised following extensive research on learning paradigms, including collaboration and the use of games within the educational context. It is meant to serve as a platform for deploying educational software through an extensible architecture which provides inherent support for MultiPoint functionality, inter-computer communication, user identification, and progress tracking. Seamlessly integrated, it would bind all stakeholders (developers, administration, teachers, and students) in their respective roles, amplifying the dissemination of knowledge and providing enhanced educational opportunities for all, irrespective of age and financial conditions. The system would also enable an innovative edge, giving unbounded opportunities for the development of applications to best meet the local demands.peer-reviewe

Model checking user interfaces

User interfaces are crucial for the success of most software projects. As software grows in complexity there is a similar growth in the user interface com- plexity which leads to bugs which may be difficult to find by means of testing. In this paper we use the method of automated model checking to verify user interfaces with respect to a formal specification. We present an algorithm for the automated abstraction of the user interface model of a given system, which uses asynchronous and interleaving composition of a number of programs. This technique was successful at verifying the user interface of case study and brings us one step forward towards push button verification.peer-reviewe

On formalising interactive number entry on infusion pumps

We define the predictability of a user interface as the property that an idealised user can predict with sufficient certainty the effect of any action in a given state in a system, where state information is inferred from the perceptible output of the system. In our definition, the user is not required to have full knowledge of a history of actions from an initial state to the current state. Typically such definitions rely on cognitive and knowledge assumptions; in this paper we explore the notion in the situation where the user is an idealised expert and understands perfectly how the device works. In this situation predictability concerns whether the user can tell what state the device is in and accurately predict the consequences of an action from that state simply by looking at the device; normal human users can certainly do no better. We give a formal definition of predictability in higher order logic and explore how real systems can be verified against the property. We specify two real number entry interfaces in the healthcare domain (drug infusion pumps) as case studies of predictable and unpredictable user interfaces. We analyse the specifications with respect to our formal definition of predictability and thus show how to make unpredictable systems predictable

Automatically generating runtime monitors from tests

A large portion of the software development industry relies on testing as the main technique for quality assurance while other techniques which can provide extra guarantees are largely ignored. A case in point is runtime verification which provides assurance that a system’s behaviour is correct at runtime. Compared to testing, this technique has the advantage of checking the actual runs of a system rather than a number of representative testcases.peer-reviewe

Using gherkin to extract tests and monitors for safer medical device interaction design

Number entry systems on medical devices are safety critical and it is important to get them right. Interaction design teams can be multidisciplinary, and in this work we present a process where the requirements of the system are drawn up using a Controlled Natural Language (CNL) that is understandable by non-technical experts or clients. These CNL requirements can also be directly used by the Quality Assurance (QA) team to test the system and monitor whether or not the system runs as it should once deployed. Since commonly, systems are too complex to test all possible execution paths before deployment, monitoring the system at runtime is useful in order to check that the system is running correctly. If at runtime, it is discovered that an anomaly is detected, the relevant personnel is notified through a report in natural language.peer-reviewe

Common variants of the TCF7L2 gene are associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a UK-resident South Asian population

Background Recent studies have implicated variants of the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene in genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus in several different populations. The aim of this study was to determine whether variants of this gene are also risk factors for type 2 diabetes development in a UK-resident South Asian cohort of Punjabi ancestry. Methods We genotyped four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TCF7L2 (rs7901695, rs7903146, rs11196205 and rs12255372) in 831 subjects with diabetes and 437 control subjects. Results The minor allele of each variant was significantly associated with type 2 diabetes; the greatest risk of developing the disease was conferred by rs7903146, with an allelic odds ratio (OR) of 1.31 (95% CI: 1.11 – 1.56, p = 1.96 × 10-3). For each variant, disease risk associated with homozygosity for the minor allele was greater than that for heterozygotes, with the exception of rs12255372. To determine the effect on the observed associations of including young control subjects in our data set, we reanalysed the data using subsets of the control group defined by different minimum age thresholds. Increasing the minimum age of our control subjects resulted in a corresponding increase in OR for all variants of the gene (p ≤ 1.04 × 10-7). Conclusion Our results support recent findings that TCF7L2 is an important genetic risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes in multiple ethnic groups

KIKI - A Key to the Integration of Knowledge and Innovation

The proliferation of ICT within the educational domain is serving to overcome several barriers associated with traditional pedago- gies. However, the challenge of balancing educational objectives against technical limitations and harsh financial realities is becoming more rel- evant than ever. Specifically, one is often faced with insufficient funds for hardware resources, lack of streamlined distribution mechanisms for software, and irreconcilable disparities in the packages offered. In this paper, we present KIKI as a tentative solution to the aforemen- tioned obstacles. KIKI is a prototypical system devised following ex- tensive research on learning paradigms, including collaboration and the use of games within the educational context. It is meant to serve as a platform for deploying educational software through an extensible ar- chitecture which provides inherent support for MultiPoint functionality, inter-computer communication, user identification, and progress track- ing. Seamlessly integrated, it would bind all stakeholders (developers, administration, teachers, and students) in their respective roles, ampli- fying the dissemination of knowledge and providing enhanced educa- tional opportunities for all, irrespective of age and financial conditions. The system would also enable an innovative edge, giving unbounded op- portunities for the development of applications to best meet the local demands