Test Programming by Program Composition and Symbolic Simulation

Classical test generation techniques rely on search through gate-level circuit descriptions, which results in long runtimes. In some instances, classical techniques cannot be used because they would take longer than the lifetime of the product to generate tests which are needed when the first devices come off the assembly line. Despite these difficulties, human experts often succeed in writing test programs for very complex circuits. How can we account for their success? We take a knowledge engineering approach to this problem by trying to capture in a program techniques gleaned from working with experienced test programmers. From these talks, we conjecture that expert test programming performance relies in part on two aspects of human problem solving. First, the experts remember many cliched solutions to test programming problems. The difficulty lies in formalizing the notion of a cliche for this domain. For test programming, we propose that cliches contain goal to subgoal expansions, fragments of test program code, and constraints describing how program fragments fit together. We present an algorithm which uses testing cliches to generate test programs. Second, experts can simulate a circuit at various levels of abstraction and recognize patterns of activity in the circuit which are useful for solving test problems. We argue that symbolic simulation coupled with recognition of which simulated events solve our goals is an effective planning strategy in certain cases. We present a second algorithm which simulates circuit behavior on symbolic inputs at roughly the register transfer level and generates fragments of test programs suitable for use by our first algorithm.MIT Artificial Intelligence Laborator

LiveInventor: An Interactive Development Environment for Robot Autonomy

LiveInventor is an interactive development environment for robot autonomy developed at NASA Ames Research Center. It extends the industry-standard OpenInventor graphics library and scenegraph file format to include kinetic and kinematic information, a physics-simulation library, an embedded Scheme interpreter, and a distributed communication system

MUSTANG 3.3 Millimeter Continuum Observations of Class 0 Protostars

We present observations of six Class 0 protostars at 3.3 mm (90 GHz) using the 64-pixel MUSTANG bolometer camera on the 100-m Green Bank Telescope. The 3.3 mm photometry is analyzed along with shorter wavelength observations to derive spectral indices (S_nu ~ nu^alpha) of the measured emission. We utilize previously published dust continuum radiative transfer models to estimate the characteristic dust temperature within the central beam of our observations. We present constraints on the millimeter dust opacity index, beta, between 0.862 mm, 1.25 mm, and 3.3 mm. Beta_mm typically ranges from 1.0 to 2.4 for Class 0 sources. The relative contributions from disk emission and envelope emission are estimated at 3.3 mm. L483 is found to have negligible disk emission at 3.3 mm while L1527 is dominated by disk emission within the central beam. The beta_mm^disk <= 0.8 - 1.4 for L1527 indicates that grain growth is likely occurring in the disk. The photometry presented in this paper may be combined with future interferometric observations of Class 0 envelopes and disks.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures, AJ accepted, in pres

Work in progress: a novel method of creating an academic content repository

This paper outlines a project aimed at addressing the issue of the scalability of online academic support. This project is being run during the Autumn semester at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Toowoomba Australia, in conjunction with the Australian Digital Futures Institute. The study attached to the project will use Design-Based Research to evaluate the effectiveness of a simple, but innovative academic content and metadata creation tool referred to as Academic Assist. Academic Assist has been recently developed at USQ as a plug-in block for the moodle-based Learning Management System employed at USQ for its several hundred online subjects. The pilot project and associated study now extends over nine subjects, including three consecutive subjects in computer engineering; and covers faculties of Engineering, Education, Business, Science and Arts. Some preliminary results are presented here. Complete results of the study including acceptance surveys, expert reviews and usage statistics will be presented at FIE 2009

Keeping the doors of learning open for adult student-workers within higher education

The Freedom Charter of the African National Congress (ANC), the triumphant South African liberation movement, proclaims that ‘the doors of learning shall be open’ for all. Twenty years since coming to power, the doors of the universities are struggling to stay open for adult student-workers. An action research project into implementation of ‘flexible provision’ at one historically black university is described in response to these realities. Rich experiences from lives of working librarian student-workers illustrate the complex issues that confront individuals, workplaces and institutions in implementing innovative pedagogies within a university

The utilization of aides in public welfare; analysis, evaluation, and proposal

The purpose of this project was to trace the developments which led to the utilization of para-profess iona1 persons as service aides in public welfare departments and to examine, in particular, the developments in Oregon at the state and county levels. The establishment of such programs was mandated in the Social Security Amendments of 1967. A review of the 1967 legislation showed the legislative intent to be inconsistent with the stated purposes of the program. This inconsistency, it was found, has been reflected in Oregon’s aide program. The theoretical origins underlying the aide concept were also examined in order to provide a fuller understanding of the means which were finally selected in Oregon to meet the legislative requirements. The aide program which evolved in Oregon has been marked by confusion in two major areas, the establishment of goals and the definition of roles. Specific problems which emerged within these two areas were analyzed in detail with special attention being given to the progress which has been made. To conclude, a theoretical model for the utilization of aides was proposed. While limited by its generality, the model does delineate the objectives which are considered essential to the establishment of an aide program based upon the research which was done in conjunction with this study

Atypical Eating Behaviors Identified in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Aged 3 to 5 Years, Using the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire in a Caregiver-Reported Online Survey

Background: Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), aged 3 to 5 years, have physical, behavioral, and functional problems. Because of alcohol-related deficits, children with FASDs are at risk for malnutrition; yet, little is known about how FASD affects eating behavior and nutrition. Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify atypical eating behavior in children with FASDs, aged 3 to 5 years, and their associations with socio-demographic characteristics. Method:This descriptive cross-sectional study gathered data from a caregiver-reported online survey targeting the eating behavior of preschool-aged children with FASDs. The survey included the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Participants/Setting:Seventy-four caregivers qualified for the study with nine having two children with FASDs. Responses to survey questions varied since caregivers had permission to omit any question. Results: Significant differences were found between the preschool-aged children with FASDs and Wardle's published normative sample by gender and age. Compared to reported norms, study children scored higher in Desire to Drink, Food Responsiveness, Emotional Overeating, and Food Fussiness, and lower in Enjoyment of Food. Regarding socio-demographic characteristics, there was greater Enjoyment of Food with larger families and Food Avoidance with college-educated caregivers. Conclusion: Children with FASDs, aged 3 to 5 years, have atypical eating behaviors characteristic of maladaptive appetites, overeating under stress, selective eating, slowness in eating, and an excessive need for drinks, in comparison with a published normative sample

A compton telescope for remote location and identification of radioactive material

The spare detectors from NASA\u27s Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory COMPTEL instrument have been reconfigured to demonstrate the capability at ground level to remotely locate and identify sources of gamma radiation. The gamma-ray experimental telescope assembly (GRETA) employs two 28 cm diameter scintillation detectors separated by 95 cm: one 8.5 cm thick liquid scintillator detector and one 7.5 cm thick NaI(Tl) detector. The assembly electronics and real-time data acquisition system measures the energy deposits and time-of-flight for each coincident detection and compiles histograms of total energy and incident angle as computed using the kinematics of Compton scattering. GRETA\u27s field of view is a cone with full angle approximately 120deg. The sensitive energy range is 0.3 to 2.6 MeV. Energy resolution is ~10% FWHM. The angular resolution is better than 5deg. We have previously reported measurements using a simplified readout configuration that limited GRETA\u27s imaging ability to a rough (~15deg) directional sensitivity. Here we report on measurements using the full (15-channel) readout that can achieve ~1.5-cm position resolution in each scintillator and permits true Compton imaging using COMPTEL software. GRETA has been refurbished to allow for ease of transport and field use with updated real time imaging and identification software. We present most recent laboratory measurements of radioactive sources of concern, 137Cs and 60Co, potential candidates used with radiological dispersal devices

Asian American engineers in the Massachusetts high technology industry : are glass ceilings a reality?

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1990.Title as it appears in the M.I.T. Graduate List, June 1990: Asian American professionals in the Massachusetts high technology industry.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-56).by Shirley Mark.M.C.P