On generic context lemmas for higher-order calculi with sharing

This paper proves several generic variants of context lemmas and thus contributes to improving the tools for observational semantics of deterministic and non-deterministic higher-order calculi that use a small-step reduction semantics. The generic (sharing) context lemmas are provided for may- as well as two variants of must-convergence, which hold in a broad class of extended process- and extended lambda calculi, if the calculi satisfy certain natural conditions. As a guide-line, the proofs of the context lemmas are valid in call-by-need calculi, in call-by-value calculi if substitution is restricted to variable-by-variable and in process calculi like variants of the $\pi$-calculus. For calculi employing beta-reduction using a call-by-name or call-by-value strategy or similar reduction rules, some iu-variants of ciu-theorems are obtained from our context lemmas. Our results reestablish several context lemmas already proved in the literature, and also provide some new context lemmas as well as some new variants of the ciu-theorem. To make the results widely applicable, we use a higher-order abstract syntax that allows untyped calculi as well as certain simple typing schemes. The approach may lead to a unifying view of higher-order calculi, reduction, and observational equality.     

The train driver recovery problem—A set partitioning based model and solution method

The need to recover a train driver schedule occurs during major disruptions in the daily railway operations. Based on data from the Danish passenger railway operator DSB S-tog A/S, a solution method to the train driver recovery problem (TDRP) is developed. The TDRP is formulated as a set partitioning problem. We define a disruption neighbourhood by identifying a small set of drivers and train tasks directly affected by the disruption. Based on the disruption neighbourhood, the TDRP model is formed and solved. If the TDRP solution provides a feasible recovery for the drivers within the disruption neighbourhood, we consider that the problem is solved. However, if a feasible solution is not found, the disruption neighbourhood is expanded by adding further drivers or increasing the recovery time period. Fractional solutions to the LP relaxation of the TDRP are resolved with a constraint branching strategy using the depth-first search of the Branch & Bound tree. The LP relaxation of the TDRP possesses strong integer properties. We present test scenarios generated from the historical real-life operations data of DSB S-tog A/S. The numerical results show that all but one tested instances produce integer solutions to the LP relaxation of the TDRP and solutions are found within a few seconds.     

Mediating Media Studies – Stimulating critical awareness in a virtual environment

Second Life has become increasingly popular with educators and educational institutions, because of the educational possibilities it seems to offer. While there has been a lot of hype and academic publications about educational design or the theoretical framing of teaching in virtual environments, there have been few publications focussing on actual teaching and learning experiences of lecturers and students in Higher Education institutions. This article uses practical examples from an introductory course on Media studies taught at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to demonstrate that even simple tasks in Second Life can be used to great effect if properly contextualised into the course being taught. High levels of technical skills, or extraordinary educational designs are less important to employing Second Life successfully in a Higher Education environment, than a proper evaluation of student learning outcomes, and teaching goals.     

Understanding the ways in which design features of educational websites impact upon student learning outcomes in blended learning environments

This study investigated the effectiveness, in terms of the attainment of relevant learning outcomes, of the types of learning promoted by educational features commonly incorporated in course management systems. Twenty-one courses with significant use of the Internet, but with face-to-face teaching as the predominant instructional mode, were investigated. Five hundred and ninety-five students taking these 21 courses completed a questionnaire which gave feedback on the extent of use of and quality of implementation of internet features, as well as their perception of the attainment of outcomes relating to approaches to learning, communication skills and understanding of content. A confirmatory factor analysis of scales pertinent to information presentation and constructive dialogue features showed a very poor fit to the data, indicating that the two types of function did not act in concert. Structural equation modelling was used to test instructional models in presage–process–product format for ‘information’ and ‘dialogue’ features. The information one showed a marginal fit to the data, but the dialogue one a very good fit. This shows that using the Internet for presenting information in a blended environment does not seem to effectively help students achieve learning outcomes. Using features which promote constructive dialogue and interactive learning activities encourages a deep approach to learning, the development of communication skills and enhanced understanding of content.     

Extracting a largest redundancy-free XML storage structure from an acyclic hypergraph in polynomial time

Given a hypergraph and a set of embedded functional dependencies, we investigate the problem of determining the conditions under which we can efficiently generate redundancy-free XML storage structures with as few scheme trees as possible. Redundancy-free XML structures guarantee both economy in storage space and the absence of update anomalies, and having the least number of scheme trees requires the fewest number of joins to navigate among the data elements. We know that the general problem is intractable. The problem may still be intractable even when the hypergraph is acyclic and each hyperedge is in Boyce–Codd normal form (BCNF). As we show here, however, given an acyclic hypergraph with each hyperedge in BCNF, a polynomial-time algorithm exists that generates a largest possible redundancy-free XML storage structure. Successively generating largest possible scheme trees from among hyperedges not already included in generated scheme trees constitutes a reasonable heuristic for finding the fewest possible scheme trees. For many practical cases, this heuristic finds the set of redundancy-free XML storage structures with the fewest number of scheme trees. In addition to a correctness proof and a complexity analysis showing that the algorithm is polynomial, we also give experimental results over randomly generated but appropriately constrained hypergraphs showing empirically that the algorithm is indeed polynomial.     

Modular architecture of the microfactories for automatic micro-assembly

The construction of a new generation of MEMS which includes micro-assembly steps in the current microfabrication process is a big challenge. It is necessary to develop new production means named micromanufacturing systems in order to perform these new assembly steps. The classical approach called “top-down” which consists in a functional analysis and a definition of the tasks sequences is insufficient for micromanufacturing systems. Indeed, the technical and physical constraints of the microworld (e.g. the adhesion phenomenon) must be taken into account in order to design reliable micromanufacturing systems. A new method of designing micromanufacturing systems is presented in this paper. Our approach combines the general “top-down” approach with a “bottom-up” approach which takes into account technical constraints. The method enables to build a modular architecture for micromanufacturing systems. In order to obtain this modular architecture, we have devised an original identification technique of modules and an association technique of modules. This work has been used to design the controller of an experimental robotic micro-assembly station.     

A parallel direct solver for the self-adaptive hp Finite Element Method

In this paper we present a new parallel multi-frontal direct solver, dedicated for the hp Finite Element Method (hp-FEM). The self-adaptive hp-FEM generates in a fully automatic mode, a sequence of hp-meshes delivering exponential convergence of the error with respect to the number of degrees of freedom (d.o.f.) as well as the CPU time, by performing a sequence of hp refinements starting from an arbitrary initial mesh. The solver constructs an initial elimination tree for an arbitrary initial mesh, and expands the elimination tree each time the mesh is refined. This allows us to keep track of the order of elimination for the solver. The solver also minimizes the memory usage, by de-allocating partial LU factorizations computed during the elimination stage of the solver, and recomputes them for the backward substitution stage, by utilizing only about 10% of the computational time necessary for the original computations. The solver has been tested on 3D Direct Current (DC) borehole resistivity measurement simulations problems. We measure the execution time and memory usage of the solver over a large regular mesh with 1.5 million degrees of freedom as well as on the highly non-regular mesh, generated by the self-adaptive hp$hp$-FEM, with finite elements of various sizes and polynomial orders of approximation varying from p=1$p=1$ to p=9$p=9$. From the presented experiments it follows that the parallel solver scales well up to the maximum number of utilized processors. The limit for the solver scalability is the maximum sequential part of the algorithm: the computations of the partial LU factorizations over the longest path, coming from the root of the elimination tree down to the deepest leaf.     

Project preparedness and the emergence of implementation problems in ERP projects

The problems that organizations face in implementing an enterprise-wide ERP project are linked to their level of understanding of what is involved in such an endeavor and how it influences their initial preparations. We sought to demonstrate empirically the causal relationship between the organization's preparedness and the emergence of implementation problems. We examined four case studies to extract insight into the criticality of certain factors and the type of problems created when no moderating measures were taken by project managers. Consequently, we developed a predictor-outcome model mapping a lack of preparedness with implementation problems.     

Physics-Based Person Tracking Using the Anthropomorphic Walker

We introduce a physics-based model for 3D person tracking. Based on a biomechanical characterization of lower-body dynamics, the model captures important physical properties of bipedal locomotion such as balance and ground contact. The model generalizes naturally to variations in style due to changes in speed, step-length, and mass, and avoids common problems (such as footskate) that arise with existing trackers. The dynamics comprise a two degree-of-freedom representation of human locomotion with inelastic ground contact. A stochastic controller generates impulsive forces during the toe-off stage of walking, and spring-like forces between the legs. A higher-dimensional kinematic body model is conditioned on the underlying dynamics. The combined model is used to track walking people in video, including examples with turning, occlusion, and varying gait. We also report quantitative monocular and binocular tracking results with the HumanEva dataset.