To reason about a program means to state or conclude, by logical means, some properties the program exhibits; like its correctness according to certain expected behavior. The continuous need for more ambitious, more complex, and more dependable software systems demands for better mechanisms to modularize them and reason about their correctness. The reasoning process is affected by the design decisions made by the developer of the program and by the features supported by the programming language used. Beyond Object Orientation, Implicit Invocation and Aspect Oriented languages pose very hard reasoning challenges. Important tradeoffs must be considered while reasoning about a program: modular vs. non-modular reasoning, case-by-case analysis vs. abstraction, explicitness vs. implicitness; are some of them. By deciding a series of tradeoffs one can configure a reasoning scenario. For example if one decides for modular reasoning and explicit invocation a well-known object oriented reasoning scenario can be used. This dissertation identifies various important tradeoffs faced when reasoning about implicit invocation and aspect oriented programs, characterize scenarios derived from making choices regarding these tradeoffs, and provides sound proof rules for verification of programs covered by all these scenarios. Guidance for program developers and language designers is also given, so that reasoning about these types of programs becomes more tractable.

The IoT concept has revolutionised the vision of the future Internet with the advent of standards such as 6LoWPAN making it feasible to extend the Internet into previously isolated environments, e.g., WSNs. The abstraction of resources as services, has opened these environments to a new plethora of potential applications. Moreover, the web service paradigm can be used to provide interoperability by offering a standard interface to interact with these services to enable WoT paradigm. However, these networks pose many challenges, in terms of limited resources, that make the adaptability of existing IP-based solutions infeasible. As traditional service discovery and selection solutions demand heavy communication and use bulky formats, which are unsuitable for these resource-constrained devices incorporating sleep cycles to save energy. Even a registry based approach exhibits burdensome traffic in maintaining the availability status of the devices. The feasible solution for service discovery and selection is instrumental to enable the wide application coverage of these networks in the future. This research project proposes, TRENDY, a new compact and adaptive registry-based SDP with context awareness for the IoT, with more emphasis given to constrained networks, e.g., 6LoWPAN It uses CoAP-based light-weight and RESTful web services to provide standard interoperable interfaces, which can be easily translated from HTTP. TRENDY's service selection mechanism collects and intelligently uses the context information to select appropriate services for user applications based on the available context information of users and services. In addition, TRENDY introduces an adaptive timer algorithm to minimise control overhead for status maintenance, which also reduces energy consumption. Its context-aware grouping technique divides the network at the application layer, by creating location-based groups. This grouping of nodes localises the control overhead and provides the base for service composition, localised aggregation and processing of data. Different grouping roles enable the resource-awareness by offering profiles with varied responsibilities, where high capability devices can implement powerful profiles to share the load of other low capability devices. Thus, it allows the productive usage of network resources. Furthermore, this research project proposes APPUB, an adaptive caching technique, that has the following benefits: it allows service hosts to share their load with the resource directory and also decreases the service invocation delay. The performance of TRENDY and its mechanisms is evaluated using an extensive number of experiments performed using emulated Tmote sky nodes in the COOJA environment. The analysis of the results validates the benefit of performance gain for all techniques. The service selection and APPUB mechanisms improve the service invocation delay considerably that, consequently, reduces the traffic in the network. The timer technique consistently achieved the lowest control overhead, which eventually decreased the energy consumption of the nodes to prolong the network lifetime. Moreover, the low traffic in dense networks decreases the service invocations delay, and makes the solution more scalable. The grouping mechanism localises the traffic, which increases the energy efficiency while improving the scalability. In summary, the experiments demonstrate the benefit of using TRENDY and its techniques in terms of increased energy efficiency and network lifetime, reduced control overhead, better scalability and optimised service invocation time.

This thesis presents a model of institutional values transmission through cross-case analysis of values education undertaken in three UK secondary schools. Since the early 1980s a significant amount of research has been carried out on cultural transmission and the transmission of values, though it has focused on intergenerational transmission within families and the interaction between the school and the family in terms of converging and diverging values and worldviews. Very little work has been done on the process of transmission of values in schools or other organisations that is evidence-based. An increasing number of governments and organisations, as well as schools, are beginning to invest seriously in values education programmes, but whether the idea of values education is theoretically coherent is still disputed. Through an evaluation of the philosophical, psychological and sociological literature on values and employing phenomenological and semiotic analyses, a theory of values as transmissible entities is developed, which is then extended to a general concept of values transmission using the twin terms invocation and evocation, to denote modes of bringing value concepts to the awareness of an audience and of generating group cohesion through a shared experience linked to particular values, respectively, these terms themselves emerging from the theory of values. Through data collection, analysis and modelling of values education in three schools – a state comprehensive, a faith school and an independent – a plausible mechanism for institutional values transmission is developed. This mechanism integrates two partial models: a permeation-authority inculcation model of transmission flow with a resistance-transformation model of moral autonomy. At its heart it envisages a systemically robust cycle of institutional values discourse, institutional cultural expectations and the generation of a sense of community shored up by individual commitment. A two tier qualitative approach is used in this research, having both an inductive, theory generating phase of field research, data capture and analysis, and a deductive, hypothesis-led confirmatory phase. The inductive phase uses a case study format and cross-case analysis, providing data for analysis and for testing a set of hypotheses in the deductive phase. The development of a mechanism for institutional values transmission is carried out using an institutional model of the schools as a data collection and analytical instrument, based on three structural aspects: an authority hierarchy; an interiority/exteriority duality in the institutional lived-experience; and a system hierarchy. Multiple data collection and analytic methods are employed in each case study, in order to build up a ‘three-dimensional’ picture of the transmission of values in each school. Both comparative and iterative cross-case analyses are carried out. The findings emerging from the case studies suggest the following tentative conclusions: schools have varying degrees of awareness of the values that they impart, although all consider values education to be an important part of what they do and to impact on student performance and behaviour; while there is some explicit values-oriented pedagogy, most teaching of values is implicit; schools with greater ethnic diversity have more challenges to build a cohesive community, as this is at odds with the ‘spontaneous sociality’ of the pupils; there is a broad convergence on the same values found most widely distributed throughout schools across the widest range possible with respect to forms of governance, educational philosophy and demography. The findings carry a number of pedagogical implications: general support is found for explicit values education programmes and the linking between behavioural standards and academic achievement; the importance of the development of a ‘moral community’ around the ethos of the school and the creation of opportunities for multiple belonging is highlighted; and resistance to institutional authority structures is explored for its significant potential for transformation to an acceptance of institutional values.

In this thesis, some novel ideas are presented for solving automated web service composition problem. Some possible real world problems such as partial observability of environment, nondeterministic effects of web services, service execution failures are solved through some mechanisms. In addition to automated web service composition, automated web service invocation task is handled in this thesis by using reflection mechanism. The proposed approach is based on AI planning. Web service composition problem is translated to AI planning problem and a novel AI planner namely &ldquo / Simplanner&rdquo / that is designed for working in highly dynamic environments under time constraints is adapted to the proposed system. World altering service calls are done by conforming to the WS-Coordination and WS-Business Activity web service transaction specifications in order to physically repair failure situations and prevent undesired side effects of aborted web service composition efforts.

The present study covers the causes of victory and defeat in the light of chapter eight of the Holy Qur'an. It has been prompted by the current situation facing Muslims in many parts of the world, which is characterized by despair, reversals and loss, This study is thus reflexive in nature. In order to obtain a satisfactory response to this predicament, the relevant text in addition to several of its commentaries were scrutinized. The latter search remained unsatisfactory since their focus of inquiry was merely exegetical and failed to reveal any didactic element, which is crucial for obtaining guidance. This work has successfully managed to deduce this aspect from the text which amplifies the importance of extensive sacrifice for gaining glory. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Islamic studies)

The present study covers the causes of victory and defeat in the light of chapter eight of the Holy Qur'an. It has been prompted by the current situation facing Muslims in many parts of the world, which is characterized by despair, reversals and loss, This study is thus reflexive in nature. In order to obtain a satisfactory response to this predicament, the relevant text in addition to several of its commentaries were scrutinized. The latter search remained unsatisfactory since their focus of inquiry was merely exegetical and failed to reveal any didactic element, which is crucial for obtaining guidance. This work has successfully managed to deduce this aspect from the text which amplifies the importance of extensive sacrifice for gaining glory. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Islamic studies)

Dans l’Antiquité occidentale et orientale, des noms d’hommes célèbres ont été associés à des méthodes et des outils de transformation de la vision du monde et métamorphose de la personnalité. Depuis les années 1920, on assiste au même phénomène avec l’émergence de célébrités du développement personnel. Devenue une industrie florissante, la popularité, l’attractivité et l’influence que ces leaders ont sur les autres est une question d’actualité, au moins autant que les critiques et les débats véhéments qu’ils soulèvent. Intriguée par ce phénomène, et interrogeant sa propre pratique de coach professionnel, cette étude adopte une approche constitutive de la communication organisationnelle pour mieux comprendre les pratiques communicationnelles par lesquelles l’autorité d’un tel leader s’accomplit dans et par les interactions. Les résultats de recherche montrent à la fois la présence de processus déjà identifiés dans la littérature pour leur rôle dans la production et la reproduction de l’autorité dans les interactions, tels que la présentification, l’invocation et l’auteurisation ; mais aussi l’identification de nouvelles pratiques d’auto-distinction et de gestion des distances. L’accès à une organisation dirigée par un leader du développement personnel est rare et représente un contexte organisationnel unique, riche et ouvrant le champ à nombreuses pistes de recherche. / In Western and Eastern Antiquity, names of well-know people were associated with methods and tools for worldview transformation and personality metamorphosis. Since the 1920s, we are witnessing the same phenomenon through the emergence of personal development celebrities. Today the personal development field is a thriving industry. The popularity, attractiveness and influence these leaders can have over others is an important question, at least as much as the criticism and heated debates they raise. Intrigued by this phenomenon, and questioning her own practice as a professional coach, this study adopts a constitutive approach to organizational communication to better understand the communication practices by which the authority of such leaders is accomplished in and through interactions. This research shows the presence of processes already identified in the literature for their role in the production and reproduction of authority in interactions such as presentification, invocation and authoring. Two new communication practices also emerged from the data and have been identified as self-distinction and distance management. Access to an organization led by a personal development leader is rare, it represents a unique and rich organizational context and opens up many avenues for future research.

No description available.

[pt] Esta dissertação tem por objetivo apresentar os resultados da pesquisa de mestrado em que se procurou evidenciar algumas características da relação de David Hume com a indução. Segundo a interpretação corrente, Hume é o responsável por mostrar que nossa razão não é capaz de justificar qualquer um de nossos raciocínios indutivos. O problema de Hume também se caracteriza por ser um problema acerca da racionalidade da ciência, pois se seu método principal, a indução, não pode receber suporte racional, parece lícito afirmar que o resultado de uma inferência indutiva é irracional. A fim de delinear o campo exato em que se insere a crítica humeana, este texto irá mostrar como Hume apresenta suas teorias acerca do raciocínio causal em seu Tratado da natureza humana, traçar as características exatas do raciocínio causal de Hume e confrontá-las com as formas de interpretação presentes em alguns de seus principais comentadores. Procuramos tornar claras as falhas apresentadas nestas interpretações. Em seguida trataremos de discutir algumas das mais celebradas interpretações da filosofia de Hume, centrando nossa análise nos textos de Mackie, Beauchamp e Mappes. O capítulo final tem por objetivo mostrar as características racionais que podem ser atribuídas aos raciocínios causais humeanos, salientando o caráter particular de suas inferências. Finalizando, mostraremos como a origem do princípio da cópia pode ser um exemplo do uso de inferências indutivas por parte de Hume, o que nos leva a considerações heterodoxas a respeito de sua visão a respeito da racionalidade. / [en] The aim of this work is to present the results of my master´s degree research, which tried to show some of the characteristics of David Hume´s approach to induction. According to the standard interpretation, Hume is responsible for showing that our reason is not able to justify any of our inductive reasonings. Hume´s problem also characterizes itself by being a problem about the rationality of science, for, since his main method, induction, cannot receive a rational foundation, it seems licit to assert that the result of any inductive inference is irrational. In order to precisely describe the Humean criticism I am going to show how Hume presents his theories concerning causal reasoning in this A Treatise of Human Nature, define the exact characteristics of causal reasoning according to him, and compare this analysis to those by some of his main critics. We shall try to bring to light the proposed inadequacy of the latter. Next we will discuss some of the most celebrated interpretations of Hume´s philosophy, specially those by of Mackie, Beauchamp and Mappes. The final chapter aims at showing the rational characteristics that can be assigned to Humean causal reasoning emphasizing the particular character of his inferences. Finally, we show how the origin of the copy principle can be an instance of the use of inductive inferences by Hume, which allows us to risk some heterodox hypotheses concerning his view of rationality.

Enfin, le droit international dispose d’un ensemble de règles relatives à la responsabilité des organisations internationales pour fait internationalement illicite. Après 10 ans de travail, la Commission du droit international est parvenue, en 2011, à élaborer un projet d'articles codifiant les règles en la matière. La tâche était pourtant délicate : assujettir ces entités dont la nature et le fonctionnement sont différents des Etats, à un ensemble de règles unique dans le domaine de la responsabilité internationale. L’objet de cette étude porte sur l’œuvre de codification effectuée par la Commission dans le projet d’articles. Il s’agit plus précisément d’analyser les techniques de codification utilisées par la Commission dans l’élaboration des règles applicables : s’agit-il d’une codification stricto sensu de la pratique ou bien de l’élaboration de nouvelles règles relevant du « développement progressif » du droit international ? La réponse apportée à cette question suppose préalablement de définir les sources de la codification en ce qui concerne chacune des dispositions du projet d’articles, en se demandant si elle concrétise une pratique bien établie des organisations internationales, ou au contraire une transposition des règles du projet d’articles sur la responsabilité de l’Etat, adaptées aux particularités des organisations internationales. L’autorité du projet d’articles ne semble pas, à l’heure actuelle, faire l’unanimité, et dans ce contexte, la présente étude portant sur le rapport entre codification et développement progressif dans l’œuvre de codification de la CDI permet d’apprécier l’autorité substantielle propre à chacune des dispositions du projet d’articles. D’autant qu’on ne sait absolument pas si une convention de codification sera adoptée, qui pourra ériger les dispositions du projet d’articles en normes juridiquement obligatoires. / The international law has finally a set of rules on the responsibility of the international organizations for internationally wrongful acts. After 10 years of work, the International Law Commission was able in 2011 to elaborate a draft articles codifying the rules on the matter. However the task was difficult: subject these entities, whose nature and functioning is different from States to a single set of rules in the field of international responsibility. The purpose of this study focuses on the work of codification made by the Commission in the draft articles. This is specifically to analyze the techniques of codification used by the Commission in the elaboration of the applicable rules: is it a codification sticto sensu of the practice or a creation of new rules under the "progressive development" of the international law? The answer to this question presupposes to define the sources of codification in each of the provisions of the draft articles concerned, wondering if it embodies a well-established practice of international organizations, or rather a transposition of the rules of the draft articles on States responsibility, adapted to the features of international organizations. At present the authority of the draft articles does not seem to have unanimity, and in this context, the present study on the relation between codification and progressive development in the codification work of ILC can appreciate the substantial own authority of each provisions of the draft articles. Especially that no one knows if a codification convention will be adopted, which will set the provisions of the draft articles up as legally binding norms.