Tracing and Debugging of Lazy Functional Programs - A Comparative Evaluation of Three Systems

In this paper we compare three systems for tracing and debugging Haskell programs: Freja, the Redex Trail System and Hood. We identify the similarities and differences of these systems and we evaluate their usefulness in practice by applying them to a number of small to medium programs in which errors had deliberately been introduced

Multiple-View Tracing for Haskell: a New Hat

Different tracing systems for Haskell give different views of a program at work. In practice, several views are complementary and can productively be used together. Until now each system has generated its own trace, containing only the information needed for its particular view. Here we present the design of a trace that can serve several views. The trace is generated and written to file as the computation proceeds. We have implemented both the generation of the trace and several different viewers

Multi-cultural visualization : how functional programming can enrich visualization (and vice versa)

The past two decades have seen visualization flourish as a research field in its own right, with advances on the computational challenges of faster algorithms, new techniques for datasets too large for in-core processing, and advances in understanding the perceptual and cognitive processes recruited by visualization systems, and through this, how to improve the representation of data. However, progress within visualization has sometimes proceeded in parallel with that in other branches of computer science, and there is a danger that when novel solutions ossify into `accepted practice' the field can easily overlook significant advances elsewhere in the community. In this paper we describe recent advances in the design and implementation of pure functional programming languages that, significantly, contain important insights into questions raised by the recent NIH/NSF report on Visualization Challenges. We argue and demonstrate that modern functional languages combine high-level mathematically-based specifications of visualization techniques, concise implementation of algorithms through fine-grained composition, support for writing correct programs through strong type checking, and a different kind of modularity inherent in the abstractive power of these languages. And to cap it off, we have initial evidence that in some cases functional implementations are faster than their imperative counterparts

An empirical analysis of the construct 'role conflict' : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education at Massey University

The construct of "role conflict" is given considerable space in contemporary sociological thinking, yet a review of the literature in the area would seem to suggest two things. Firstly, it is apparent that authors are using the construct in different ways, and hence giving the same term different meanings. Secondly, it is possible that greater explanatory and predictive power might be obtained from "conflict" measures beyond those traditionally used. A conceptual framework is offered in which the relationships between different authors' measures can be seen, and from which additional approaches to the construct might be made. Use is then made of this framework to generate 162 different operationalizations of the construct using data from an unrelated study on teacher role. These measures are then tested for their relative utility against three criterion measures. Further, they are mathematically manipulated in order to obtain a compound operationalization with considerable explanatory power of the variance of one of the criterion measures. The study is essentially a methodological argument, so that no substantive conclusions about role conflict in teachers are made

Mobilization of the platinum group elements by low-temperature fluids: Implications for mineralization and the iridium controversy

Geochemical investigations on the widely dispersed Late Proterozoic Acraman impact ejecta horizon and its host marine shales in the Adelaide Geosyncline provide strong evidence for low-temperature mobilization of the platinum group elements (PGE), including Ir. The ejecta horizon was formed when the middle Proterozoic dacitic volcanics in the Gawler Ranges, central South Australia, were impacted by a very large (ca. 4 km) meteorite. The resulting structure, now represented by Lake Acraman, is Australia's largest meteorite impact structure. Debris from the impact was blasted for many hundreds of kilometers, some falling into the shallow sea of the Adelaide Geosyncline, some 300 km to the east of the impact site

Simplify the Design of the 980H Medium Wheel Loader

In collaboration with Shanghai University, our project team developed an integrated methodology for simplifying the design of the rear wheel arch panel for all standard 980H medium wheel loaders at Caterpillar\u27s Suzhou Product Group. In addition, we developed a special design configuration that includes a 100mm hole for fire-hose access in case of emergency. Furthermore, we provided lean solutions to some of the problems associated with packaging and transporting the part throughout the facility

Functional programming and embedded systems.

Embedded computer systems seem to be the antithesis of functional language systems. Embedded systems are small, stand-alone, and are often forced to accept inelegant design compromises due to hardware cost. They run continuously and are reactive, that is, their primary goal is to monitor sensors and control effectors, using observed external events to trigger state-changing control actions. Yet this thesis describes how functional abstraction can tame the inelegance of embedded systems. Architectural compromises can be made in device drivers, programmed within the functional language, but a function-level interface is presented to the application programmer. Four modifications are introduced to a test-bed purely-functional language in order to facilitate embedded-systems programming: I/O register access; communicating processes; interrupts; and a real-time incremental garbage collector. Referential transparency is preserved. The conventional model of communicating processes is augmente..

More haste, less speed? : an evaluation of fast track policies to tackle persistent youth offending in Scotland

In 2003 the Scottish Executive introduced a new 'Fast Track' policy on a pilot basis, which was intended to speed up the processing of persistent youth offending cases and reduce rates of persistent offending. Additional resources were provided to promote access to dedicated programmes, as well as quicker assessment, report delivery and decision making. This paper, based on a multi-stranded comparative evaluation, describes how the policy was welcomed by a wide range of practitioners, decision makers and managers involved with children's hearings who mostly thought it was a positive innovation consistent with the hearing system's commitment to a welfare-based approach. 'Fast Track' cases were handled more quickly than others. After two years, however, the policy was discontinued, largely because of negative evidence about re-offending

Solid-state metathesis reactions under pressure: A rapid route to crystalline gallium nitride

High pressure chemistry has traditionally involved applying pressure and increasing temperature until conditions become thermodynamically favorable for phase transitions or reactions to occur. Here, high pressure alone is used as a starting point for carrying out rapid, self-propagating metathesis reactions. By initiating chemical reactions under pressure, crystalline phases, such as gallium nitride, can be synthesized which are inaccessible when initiated from ambient conditions. The single-phase gallium nitride made by metathesis reactions under pressure displays significant photoluminescence intensity in the blue/ultraviolet region. The absence of size or surface-state effects in the photoluminescence spectra show that the crystallites are of micron dimensions. The narrow lines of the x-ray diffraction patterns and scanning electron microscopy confirm this conclusion. Brightly luminescent thin films can be readily grown using pulsed laser deposition

Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Santa Fe Bus System

This Interactive Qualifying Project dealt with improving the effectiveness of the Santa Fe Trails public bus system in Santa Fe, NM. Using on-board cameras, bus ridership data, traffic data, and survey response of bus system riders, our team was able to develop recommendations for bus system improvements such as rerouting several bus lines, and changing the bus schedules to create better connection times. To further effectiveness of the system we designed a mobile application, incorporating a Google Transit feed, to help passengers find buses and pay for their trips. It is our hope that these recommendations help the bus system become more convenient for riders of the bus system and encourage more people to ride the bus