Self-explanation in adaptive systems

The behaviour of self adaptive systems can be emergent. The difficulty in predicting the system's behaviour means that there is scope for the system to surprise its customers and its developers. Because its behaviour is emergent, a self-adaptive system needs to garner confidence in its customers and it needs to resolve any surprise on the part of the developer during testing and mainteinance. We believe that these two functions can only be achieved if a self-adaptive system is also capable of self-explanation. We argue a self-adaptive system's behaviour needs to be explained in terms of satisfaction of its requirements. Since self-adaptive system requirements may themselves be emergent, a means needs to be found to explain the current behaviour of the system and the reasons that brought that behaviour about. We propose the use of goal-based models during runtime to offer self-explanation of how a system is meeting its requirements, and why the means of meeting these were chosen. We discuss the results of early experiments in self-explanation, and set out future work. © 2012 C.E.S.A.M.E.S.

Foreword:2nd workshop requirements@run.time

The 2nd edition of the Workshop requirements@run.time was held at the 19th International Conference on Requirements Engineering (RE 2011) in the city of Trento, Italy on the 30th of August 2011. It was organized by Nelly Bencomo, Emmanuel Letier, Jon Whittle, Anthony Finkelstein, and Kris Welsh. This foreword presents a digest of the discussions and presentations that took place during the workshop. © 2011 IEEE.

Self-explanation in adaptive systems based on runtime goal-based models

The behaviour of self adaptive systems can be emergent, which means that the system’s behaviour may be seen as unexpected by its customers and its developers. Therefore, a self-adaptive system needs to garner confidence in its customers and it also needs to resolve any surprise on the part of the developer during testing and maintenance. We believe that these two functions can only be achieved if a self-adaptive system is also capable of self-explanation. We argue a self-adaptive system’s behaviour needs to be explained in terms of satisfaction of its requirements. Since self-adaptive system requirements may themselves be emergent, we propose the use of goal-based requirements models at runtime to offer self-explanation of how a system is meeting its requirements. We demonstrate the analysis of run-time requirements models to yield a self-explanation codified in a domain specific language, and discuss possible future work.

Geochemistry and sedimentology of IODP Hole 307-U1317E

The Plio-Pleistocene intensification of Northern Hemisphere continental ice-sheet development is known to have profoundly affected the global climate system. Evidence for early continental glaciation is preserved in sediments throughout the North Atlantic Ocean, where ice-rafted detritus (IRD) layers attest to the calving of sediment-loaded icebergs from circum-Atlantic ice sheets. So far, Early-Pleistocene IRD deposition has been attributed to the presence of high-latitudinal ice sheets, whereas the existence and extent of ice accumulation in more temperate, mid-latitudinal regions remains enigmatic. Here we present results from the multiproxy provenance analysis of a unique, Pleistocene-Holocene IRD sequence from the Irish NE Atlantic continental margin. There, the Challenger coral carbonate mound (IODP Expedition 307 site U1317) preserved an Early-Pleistocene record of 16 distinctive IRD events, deposited between ca 2.6 and 1.7 Ma. Strong and complex IRD signals are also identified during the mid-Pleistocene climate transition (ca 1.2 to 0.65 Ma) and throughout the Middle-Late Pleistocene interval. Radiogenic isotope source-fingerprinting, in combination with coarse lithic component analysis, indicates a dominant sediment source in the nearby British-Irish Isles, even for the oldest, Early-Pleistocene IRD deposits. Hence, our findings demonstrate, for the first time, repeated and substantial (i.e. marine-terminating) ice accumulation on the British-Irish Isles since the beginning of the Pleistocene. Contemporaneous expansion of both high- and mid-latitudinal ice sheets in the North Atlantic region is therefore implied at the onset of the Pleistocene. Moreover, it suggests the recurrent establishment of (climatically) favourable conditions for ice sheet inception, growth and instability in mid-latitudinal regions, even in the earliest stages of Northern Hemisphere glacial expansion and in an obliquity-driven climate system.

On a first-name basis: Englishization and naming in Flanders

Following and contributing to the ongoing shift from more structuralist, system-oriented to more pragmatic, socio-cultural oriented anglicism research, this paper verifies to what extent the global spread of English affects naming patterns in Flanders. To this end, a diachronic database of first names is constructed, containing the top 75 most popular boy and girl names from 2005 until 2014. In a first step, the etymological background of these names is documented and the evolution in popularity of the English names in the database is tracked. Results reveal no notable surge in the preference for English names. This paper complements these database-driven results with an experimental study, aiming to show how associations through referents are in this case more telling than associations through phonological form (here based on etymology). Focusing on the socio-cultural background of first names in general and of Anglo-American pop culture in particular, the second part of the study specifically reports on results from a survey where participants are asked to name the first three celebrities that leap to mind when hearing a certain first name (e.g. Lana, triggering the response Del Rey). Very clear associations are found between certain first names and specific celebrities from Anglo-American pop culture. Linking back to marketing research and the social turn in onomastics, we will discuss how these celebrities might function as referees, and how social stereotypes surrounding these referees are metonymically attached to their first names. Similar to the country-of-origin-effect in marketing, these metonymical links could very well be the reason why parents select specific “celebrity names”. Although further attitudinal research is needed, this paper supports the importance of including socio-cultural parameters when conducting onomastic research.

Party rules, party resources and the politics of parliamentary democracies How parties organize in the 21st century

This article introduces the first findings of the Political Party Database Project, a major survey of party organizations in parliamentary and semi-presidential democracies. The project’s first round of data covers 122 parties in 19 countries. In this article, we describe the scope of the database, then investigate what it tells us about contemporary party organization in these countries, focusing on parties’ resources, structures and internal decision-making. We examine organizational patterns by country and party family, and where possible we make temporal comparisons with older data sets. Our analyses suggest a remarkable coexistence of uniformity and diversity. In terms of the major organizational resources on which parties can draw, such as members, staff and finance, the new evidence largely confirms the continuation of trends identified in previous research: that is, declining membership, but enhanced financial resources and more paid staff. We also find remarkable uniformity regarding the core architecture of party organizations. At the same time, however, we find substantial variation between countries and party families in terms of their internal processes, with particular regard to how internally democratic they are, and the forms that this democratization takes.

Carbon Dioxide Uptake from Natural Gas by Binary Ionic Liquid-Water mixtures

Carbon dioxide solubility in a set of carboxylate ionic liquids formulated with stoicheiometric amounts of water is found to be significantly higher than for other ionic liquids previously reported. This is due to synergistic chemical and physical absorption. The formulated ionic liquid/water mixtures show greatly enhanced carbon dioxide solubility relative to both anhydrous ionic liquids and aqueous ionic liquid solutions, and are competitive with commercial chemical absorbers, such as activated N-methyldiethanolamine or monoethanolamine.

Konsumenters uppfattning och kännedom om hållbar produktion och konsumtion : Teknologiska produkter och mobiltelefoner

Sambandet mellan konsumtion och klimatförändringar blir mer tydligt och jordens naturresurser som utarmas kan enligt forskning helt tillskrivas mänskligt beteende. För att lösa denna kris behöver delvis konsumentbeteendet förändras och konsumenter behöver välja mer hållbara produkter. Den överkonsumtion som finns idag är ett stort hot mot en hållbar utveckling och svenska konsumenter är en grupp som är snabba att konsumera det nyaste på marknaden. Konsumtionen av teknologiska produkter som exempelvis mobiltelefoner, datorer och tv-apparater har ökat kraftigt under de senaste tjugo åren då dessa produkter har blivit en del av konsumentens vardag. Nya modeller av mobiltelefoner kommer ständigt ut på marknaden och mobiltelefonen är en av de teknologiska produkterna där konsumtionen har ökat kraftigt. Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka konsumenters uppfattning och kännedom om hållbar produktion och konsumtion av teknologiska produkter. Mobiltelefonen är den teknologiska produkt som valdes som studieobjekt. Vi valde att genomföra en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer för att uppfylla syftet. Intervjuerna genomfördes med tio studenter vid olika utbildningsprogram vid Högskolan Dalarna. Resultatet visade att konsumenters generella uppfattning och kännedom om hållbar produktion och konsumtion av teknologiska produkter var låg. Det fanns en viss kännedom om hållbarhetsfrågor hos våra respondenter men ingen hade tidigare reflekterat över detta i samband med produktion och konsumtionen av teknologiska produkter. Uppfattningen hos respondenterna är i stor utsträckning att produktion och konsumtion har påverkan på den hållbara utvecklingen.

Der Zusammenhang der Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens mit der selbstberichteten Individualisierungspraxis von Lehrpersonen

Einstellungen stellen als Teil der professionellen Handlungskompetenz von Lehrpersonen eine wichtige handlungsleitende Determinante des Unterrichtsgeschehens dar. Hierzu wird auf Basis der Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens ein Erwartungs-mal-Wert-theoretisches Einstellungsinstrument faktoriell validiert und der Zusammenhang der inklusiven Einstellung, Normvorstellung und Lehrerselbstwirksamkeitsüberzeugung mit der selbstberichteten Individualisierungspraxis von Lehrpersonen betrachtet. Die Ergebnisse einer exploratorischen Faktorenanalyse zeigen in Studie I drei Einstellungsfaktoren, die in Studie II konfirmatorisch bestätigt wurden. Studie III zeigt, dass die selbstberichtete Individualisierungspraxis durch die Normvorstellung und die Intention, sich den Herausforderungen eines inklusiven Unterrichtes anzunehmen, vorhergesagt werden kann. Die Intention mediiert dabei den Zusammenhang der selbstberichteten Individualisierungspraxis mit der Einstellung vollständig und mit der Normvorstellung partiell. Die Lehrerselbstwirksamkeitsüberzeugung sagt demgegenüber die selbstberichtete Individualisierungspraxis weder direkt noch indirekt vorher. (DIPF/Orig.)

Postoperative Treatment in a Patient After Hemithyroidectomy: the Therapeutic Challenges of a Hidden Thyrotropinoma

Objectives: We report the unusual case of a patient with a thyrotropinoma, discovered after a hemithyroidectomy for a suspicious thyroid nodule, and its therapeutic challenges. Materials and methods: In a patient who underwent hemithyroidectomy for cold thyroid nodule, hyperthyroid symptoms persisted, despite stopping levothyroxine treatment. Further investigation was carried out through the following laboratory tests: thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) test; free thyroxine (fT4) test; and the thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) test. A pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and genetic analysis was also carried out. The test results confirmed the diagnosis of a thyrotropinoma. Results: Treatment with long-acting somatostatin analogues normalised thyroid hormones and symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Conclusion: The diagnostic approach to the thyroid nodule should include a detailed clinical and biochemical examination. Initial biochemical evaluation by TSH alone does not allow detecting inappropriate TSH secretion that may increase the risk of thyroid malignancy. In case of a thyrotropinoma, the ideal treatment consists of combined care of central and peripheral thyroid disease.

Mirelle Schied: Schulpraktische Studien im Rahmen der Lehrerausbildung. Konzeptionalisierung und Evaluierung nach dem Gmünder Modell. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt 2013 (301 S.) [Rezension]

Rezension von: Mirelle Schied: Schulpraktische Studien im Rahmen der Lehrerausbildung. Konzeptionalisierung und Evaluierung nach dem Gmünder Modell. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt 2013 (301 S.; ISBN 978-3-7815-1913-8)

Bäst att skriva medan vädret är kallt : En kritisk diskursanalys av svensk klimatjournalistik

Klimatkrisen är vår tids största utmaning sett till dess roll för fortsatt överlevnad på den här planeten. Det är en politisk fråga som sträcker sig från att vara en internationell angelägenhet ända ner till individnivå. Men det är också en ideologisk fråga. På grund av detta går det inte att tillräckligt understryka den roll media och klimatjournalistiken har i förmedlingen av dessa frågor. Klimatjournalistiken har genom tiderna varierat i medial uppmärksamhet och ersätts främst av ekonomiska nyheter och rapportering kring internationella konflikter. Den senaste toppen för miljönyheter var kring FN:s klimatkonferens i Köpenhamn 2009, i samband med den globala finanskrisen. Köpenhamns misslyckande av ett enat avtal ledde fram till klimatmötet i Paris 2015, samma höst som flyktingkrisen var högt upp på medias dagordning. Denna uppsats avser att kritiskt analysera de klimatjournalistiska diskurserna tiden innan de båda konferenserna med målet att dokumentera utvecklingen över tid. Uppsatsen fokuserar på den diskursiva gestaltningen av aktörer, ansvar och underliggande strukturer och värderingar.   För det första fann analysen att både COP15 och COP21 innehöll starkt närvarande finansiella aspekter i sina politiska resonemang. Detta utmanar forskning som tidigare har behandlat klimat och ekonomi som vitt skilda ämnen och argumenterar för ett nytt förhållningssätt. För det andra fann analysen att gestaltningen av klimatkrisen varierade mellan de båda konferenserna. I diskursen 2009 sågs den som ett hot medan diskursen 2015 såg klimatkrisen som just en kris. Båda fallen ansåg att klimatkrisen var ett problem för andra aktörer än Sverige, för “dem”.