Some Observations Along the Road to “National Information Power”

This thesis consist of the following three papers. Convex hull of face vectors of colored complexes. In this paper we verify a conjecture by Kozlov (Discrete ComputGeom18(1997) 421–431), which describes the convex hull of theset of face vectors ofr-colorable complexes onnvertices. As partof the proof we derive a generalization of Turán’s graph theorem. Cellular structure for the Herzog–Takayama Resolution. Herzog and Takayama constructed explicit resolution for the ide-als in the class of so called ideals with a regular linear quotient.This class contains all matroidal and stable ideals. The resolu-tions of matroidal and stable ideals are known to be cellular. Inthis note we show that the Herzog–Takayama resolution is alsocellular. Clique Vectors ofk-Connected Chordal Graphs. The clique vectorc(G)of a graphGis the sequence(c1,c2,...,cd)inNd, whereciis the number of cliques inGwithivertices anddis the largest cardinality of a clique inG. In this note, we usetools from commutative algebra to characterize all possible cliquevectors ofk-connected chordal graphs.QC 20140513</p

Verification Conditions are Code

This paper presents a new theoretical result concerning Hoare Logic. It is shown here that the verification conditions which support a Hoare Logic program derivation are themselves sufficient to construct a correct implementation of the given pre-, post- condition specification. This property is mainly of theoretical interest, though it is possible that it may have some practical use, for example if predicative programming methodology is adopted. The result is shown to hold for both the original, partial correctness, Hoare logic, and also a variant for total correctness derivations

Customising software products in distributed software development a model for allocating customisation requirements across organisational boundaries

Requirements engineering plays a vital role in the software development process. While it is difficult to manage those requirements locally, it is even more difficult to communicate those requirements over organisational boundaries and to convey them to multiple distribution customers. This paper discusses the requirements of multiple distribution customers empirically in the context of customised software products. The main purpose is to understand the challenges of communicating and allocating customisation requirements across distributed organisational boundaries. We conducted an empirical survey with 19 practitioners, which confirmed that communicating customisation requirements in a DSD context is a significant challenge. We therefore propose a model for allocating customisation requirements between a local, customer-based agile team and a distributed development team that uses a traditional development approach. Our conjecture is that the model would reduce the challenge of communicating requirements across organisational boundaries, address customers’ requirements and provide a focus for future empirical studies

Waiting lists, waiting times and admissions: an empirical analysis at hospital and general practice level

We report an empirical analysis of the responses of the supply and demand for secondary care to waiting list size and waiting times. Whereas previous empirical analyses have used data aggregated to area level, our analysis is novel in that it focuses on the supply responses of a single hospital and the demand responses of the GP practices it serves, and distinguishes between outpatient visits, inpatient admissions, daycase treatment and emergency admissions. The results are plausible and in line with the theoretical model. For example: the demand from practices for outpatient visits is negatively affected by waiting times and distance to the hospital. Increases in waiting times and waiting lists lead to increases in supply; the supply of elective inpatient admissions is affected negatively by current emergency admissions and positively by lagged waiting list and waiting time. We use the empirical results to investigate the dynamic responses to one off policy measures to reduce waiting times and lists by increasing supply.waiting time; waiting list; hospital admissions

Giving You back Control of Your Data: Digital Signing Practical Issues and the eCert Solution

As technologies develop rapidly, digital signing is commonly used in eDocument security. However, unaddressed issues exist. An eCertificate system represents the problem situation, and therefore is being used as case study, in a project called eCert, to research for the solution. This paper addresses these issues, explores the gap between current tools and the desired system, through analysis of the existing services and eCertificate use cases, and the identified requirements, thereby presenting an approach which solves the above problems. Preliminary results indicate that the recommendation from this research meets the design requirements, and could form the foundation of future study of solving digital signing issues