A multi-paradigm language for reactive synthesis

This paper proposes a language for describing reactive synthesis problems that integrates imperative and declarative elements. The semantics is defined in terms of two-player turn-based infinite games with full information. Currently, synthesis tools accept linear temporal logic (LTL) as input, but this description is less structured and does not facilitate the expression of sequential constraints. This motivates the use of a structured programming language to specify synthesis problems. Transition systems and guarded commands serve as imperative constructs, expressed in a syntax based on that of the modeling language Promela. The syntax allows defining which player controls data and control flow, and separating a program into assumptions and guarantees. These notions are necessary for input to game solvers. The integration of imperative and declarative paradigms allows using the paradigm that is most appropriate for expressing each requirement. The declarative part is expressed in the LTL fragment of generalized reactivity(1), which admits efficient synthesis algorithms, extended with past LTL. The implementation translates Promela to input for the Slugs synthesizer and is written in Python. The AMBA AHB bus case study is revisited and synthesized efficiently, identifying the need to reorder binary decision diagrams during strategy construction, in order to prevent the exponential blowup observed in previous work.Comment: In Proceedings SYNT 2015, arXiv:1602.0078

Critical analysis of the unemployment situation

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University, 1929. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

What traits do academics value in student writing? Insights from a psychometric approach

The number of students studying for university qualifications through the medium of English and for whom English is not their first language has increased significantly in recent years. This, along with efforts to widen access to those under-represented in higher education, has brought into focus the question of what academics see as constituting a ‘good’ piece of student writing. In this small-scale pilot study, Thurstone’s method of paired comparisons was used to establish a scale for ranking six essays in terms of how favourably each was viewed by academic lecturers when compared with every other essay in the set. Kelly’s repertory grid technique was subsequently applied to interviews conducted with the same lecturers to establish which traits they associated with the upper and lower end of the scale. Findings suggest that this methodology represents a promising approach to establishing what academic tutors regard as the key elements of good writing and thus provides an indication of what English teachers might fruitfully focus on in their teaching of the skill

Host plant recognition by the root feeding clover weevil, Sitona lepidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

This study investigated the ability of neonatal larvae of the root-feeding weevil, Sitona lepidus Gyllenhal, to locate white clover Trifolium repens L. (Fabaceae) roots growing in soil and to distinguish them from the roots of other species of clover and a co-occurring grass species. Choice experiments used a combination of invasive techniques and the novel technique of high resolution X-ray microtomography to non-invasively track larval movement in the soil towards plant roots. Burrowing distances towards roots of different plant species were also examined. Newly hatched S. lepidus recognized T. repens roots and moved preferentially towards them when given a choice of roots of subterranean clover, Trifolium subterraneum L. (Fabaceae), strawberry clover Trifolium fragiferum L. (Fabaceae), or perennial ryegrass Lolium perenneL. (Poaceae). Larvae recognized T. repens roots, whether released in groups of five or singly, when released 25 mm (meso-scale recognition) or 60 mm (macro-scale recognition) away from plant roots. There was no statistically significant difference in movement rates of larvae

Synthesis from multi-paradigm specifications

This work proposes a language for describing reactive synthesis problems that integrates imperative and declarative elements. The semantics is defined in terms of two-player turn-based infinite games with full information. Currently, synthesis tools accept linear temporal logic (LTL) as input, but this description is less structured and does not facilitate the expression of sequential constraints. This motivates the use of a structured programming language to specify synthesis problems. Transition systems and guarded commands serve as imperative constructs, expressed in a syntax based on that of the modeling language Promela. The syntax allows defining which player controls data and control flow, and separating a program into assumptions and guarantees. These notions are necessary for input to game solvers. The integration of imperative and declarative paradigms allows using the paradigm that is most appropriate for expressing each requirement. The declarative part is expressed in the LTL fragment of generalized reactivity(1), which admits efficient synthesis algorithms. The implementation translates Promela to input for the Slugs synthesizer and is written in Python

Waste Management Strategy: A Cross-Border Perspective (NIRSA) Working Series Paper No. 2

The issue of waste management is examined from a social science perspective focusing on its social 'construction' and the issue of governance (Chapter 1). Chapter Two summarises the legal and policy parameters. Chapters Three and Four report on the findings based on interviews with 'key players' in terms of (a) their perception of the current situation on waste management; (b) their understanding of current 'drivers' of waste management strategy; (c) their perspectives on ways forward and on the potential for North/South co-operation in this area. Chapter Five analyses the issue in terms of democratic participation, sustainable development, and governance. Chapter Six on conclusions and recommendations charts a way forward, emphasising the need to follow the 'waste hierarchy', a genuine partnership process and better governance

The enolisation of some diaroylmethanes and the acylation of their metal chelates

A study of the structures of the isoxazoles derived from a series of diaroylmethanes has shown that the enolic form of these diketones contains a high degree of electron delocalization within the chelated ring. Partial charge localisation is effected by aryl substitutents whose inductive and mesomeric effects act in the same direction, and one carbon-oxygen bond exclusively has carbonyl character. When the inductive and mesomeric natures of the substitutents are mutually opposed, the enol behaves as a mixture of tautomers, and both carbon oxygen bonds have double bond character. In an extension of a previous investigation of the mechanism of acylation of B-diketone metal chelates, the importance of the electronic nature of the ligand has been clarified. As the electron-affinity and acidity of the parent diketone increases, so the proportion of C-substitution occurring in the acylation of the chelates, is found to decrease. The observations have confirmed that metal of the chelate, permitting the formation of cyclic transition intermediates which yield the triketone and ester products. When the metal is incapable of being coordinated by the reagent, reaction proceeds by an ionic process, and a high proporation of ester results, which is relatively independent of the ligand substituents. Reaction of the diketones with benzoyl chloride in pyridine yielded only one ester, whereas two isomers are theoretically possible. The same single product was isolated from the reactions of the diketone chelates. This selectivity of attack has been attributed to the participation of the enolate anion in the direct esterification of the diketone, and to asymmetry in the metal-oxygen bonding in the chelates. Physical evidence of an interaction between pyridine and the diketones has been observed, and this is believed to give rise to the anion in the reaction. The more stable anion, dictated by that conjugation which gives the greater loss in potential energy, is exclusively formed. Previous evidence has discounted the possibility of an ionic esterification of the chelate, and bond asymmetry, at least in the transition stage of the reaction, is envisaged as an explanation of the selectivity of the position of attack

Reversing the Tide of Aid: Investigating Development Policy Sovereignty in the Pacific

Since the early 2000s, international development cooperation principles emphasise recipient countries’ ownership of policies, donors’ alignment with the recipients’ administrative processes, and harmonisation of donor processes. Overall, this should enhance the development policy sovereignty in the Pacific Island countries and polities. Since 2011 researchers from Victoria University, Massey University, the University of the South Pacific, and the University of New Caledonia investigate the impact of changing aid modalities on development policy sovereignty in the Pacific. The research includes a range of polities: independent states, semi-autonomous territories, as well as dependent territories. First findings suggest aid policies in the Pacific unfold in unique ways and ‘aid’ is just one of the flows of resources between Pacific Islands and post-colonial powers. Moreover, the relationship between aid and sovereignty is more than one of donor and recipient; it also contains elements of, and space for, agency by Pacific peoples.Depuis les années 2000, les principes de coopération internationale veulent que les pays bénéficiaires d’aides définissent eux-même leurs politiques de développement, afin de renforcer la souveraineté des entités politiques du Pacifique dans cette formulation, et que les bailleurs de fonds, développant une approche concertée, s'alignent sur les procédures administratives locales. Depuis 2011, des chercheurs de l'Université Victoria, de l'Université Massey, de l'Université du Pacifique Sud et de l'Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie s'intéressent aux conséquences de ce changement des modalités de l'aide sur la souveraineté des États du Pacifique en matière de politiques de développement, grâce à la sélection d'un éventail varié d'entités politiques : États indépendants, territoires semi-autonomes et territoires dépendants. Les premiers résultats suggèrent que les politiques d'aide dans le Pacifique se déploient selon des modalités uniques, l'aide ne constituant qu'un aspect des flux de ressources entre États insulaires et puissances postcoloniales. Trop complexes pour se résumer à la relation bailleur de fonds-pays bénéficiaire, les liens entre aide et souveraineté offrent un cadre où les habitants du Pacifique expriment une capacité d'action autonome