Preserving Topology and Elasticity for Embedded Deformable Models

International audienceIn this paper we introduce a new approach for the embedding of linear elastic deformable models. Our technique results in significant improvements in the efficient physically based simulation of highly detailed objects. First, our embedding takes into account topological details, that is, disconnected parts that fall into the same coarse element are simulated independently. Second, we account for the varying material properties by computing stiffness and interpolation functions for coarse elements which accurately approximate the behaviour of the embedded material. Finally, we also take into account empty space in the coarse embeddings, which provides a better simulation of the boundary. The result is a straightforward approach to simulating complex deformable models with the ease and speed associated with a coarse regular embedding, and with a quality of detail that would only be possible at much finer resolution

Compositionality for Quantitative Specifications

We provide a framework for compositional and iterative design and verification of systems with quantitative information, such as rewards, time or energy. It is based on disjunctive modal transition systems where we allow actions to bear various types of quantitative information. Throughout the design process the actions can be further refined and the information made more precise. We show how to compute the results of standard operations on the systems, including the quotient (residual), which has not been previously considered for quantitative non-deterministic systems. Our quantitative framework has close connections to the modal nu-calculus and is compositional with respect to general notions of distances between systems and the standard operations

Global Englishes language teaching:Bottom-up curriculum implementation

In today's globalised world, the needs of English language learners have changed, particularly those learning to use the English language as a lingua franca. Growing research showcasing the global use of English as a lingua franca (ELF), the creativity of ELF users, and the diverse ways in which they negotiate successful communication in multilingual encounters has numerous implications for the field of TESOL. This article reports on a study with preservice and in‐service TESOL practitioners taking a Global Englishes for Language Teaching (GELT) option course in a 1‐year Master's in TESOL programme at a Russell Group university in the United Kingdom. The study explores attitudes towards GELT but also towards the proposals for, and barriers to, curriculum innovation as well as factors influencing such attitudes. Interviews (n = 21) and questionnaires (n = 47) revealed that attitudes remain norm bound, yet the study revealed a positive orientation towards GELT and provided insights into the feasibility of GELT‐related curriculum innovation and teacher education syllabus design. The study calls for more research with preservice and in‐service TESOL practitioners at different stages of the innovation process to ensure successful and sustainable GELT curricular innovation

Synthesis from Recursive-Components Libraries

Synthesis is the automatic construction of a system from its specification. In classical synthesis algorithms it is always assumed that the system is "constructed from scratch" rather than composed from reusable components. This, of course, rarely happens in real life. In real life, almost every non-trivial commercial software system relies heavily on using libraries of reusable components. Furthermore, other contexts, such as web-service orchestration, can be modeled as synthesis of a system from a library of components. In 2009 we introduced LTL synthesis from libraries of reusable components. Here, we extend the work and study synthesis from component libraries with "call and return"' control flow structure. Such control-flow structure is very common in software systems. We define the problem of Nested-Words Temporal Logic (NWTL) synthesis from recursive component libraries, where NWTL is a specification formalism, richer than LTL, that is suitable for "call and return" computations. We solve the problem, providing a synthesis algorithm, and show the problem is 2EXPTIME-complete, as standard synthesis.Comment: In Proceedings GandALF 2011, arXiv:1106.081

Developing general cultural awareness in a monocultural English as a foreign language context in a Mexican university: a wiki-based critical incident approach

© 2013 Association for Language Learning. This article explores what the ‘intercultural turn’ might mean in the case of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The discussion is contextualised in what has been termed the ‘expanding circle’ of English and focuses on an English as a foreign language (EFL) class in a Mexican university, a context where the full implications of a shift from EFL to English as a lingua franca (ELF) have yet to be addressed. We consider how the intercultural turn might be understood in this Mexican context and then present the rationale for, and design of, a technology-based (wiki) extra-curricular pilot project which adopted less of an EFL/cultural and more of an ELF/intercultural approach. We evaluate the evidence from this small-scale project in terms of students\u27 developing general cultural awareness and suggest that this type of project, an example of the intercultural turn, might be more widely applicable in similar ‘expanding circle’ EFL contexts