Specification animation has become a popular technique in industry, particularly for validation in model-based design processes. Animation tools provide the ability to explore and visualise the behaviour of a model without needing to study its internal workings. Formal refinement techniques should also be of interest to industry since they support verifiably correct transformations of system models towards implementation. So far, however, refinement techniques are not widely used. Their application requires a high degree of mathematical skill, even with the currently available tool support. Better tool support is needed to make refinement techniques accessible to industry. In this thesis we investigate the application of existing specification animation and visualisation tools to problems in refinement theory. We show how animation and visualisation can be used to support verification, by refinement, and validation, by comparing the behaviour of a refined specification against its abstract specification. Such techniques can be used to explain and/or improve the understanding of a refinement and to check for the presence of errors in a refinement, for example, before attempting a proof. In the most challenging cases, data refinements, the designer needs to supply an abstraction relation in order to prove the refinement. We initially assume that an abstraction relation is provided as an input to the verification and validation tasks. However, finding abstraction relations is hard, and is currently a matter of trial and error. We therefore study the problem of finding abstraction relations. We show that, if an abstraction relation exists, there is always a unique weakest abstraction relation and at least one minimal abstraction relation, and we describe algorithms for finding both the weakest abstraction relation and minimal abstraction relations. These algorithms can be applied to small finite-state systems to produce abstraction relations in terms of explicit values of state variables. We then investigate a symbolic algorithm for finding abstraction relations, which can be applied to systems with infinite states, to produce abstraction relations in predicate form. The theory and the algorithms we develop thus make it possible for us to extend our animation-based verification and validation techniques so that they can be used without providing a complete abstraction relation. Additionally our extended techniques can help a designer construct an abstraction relation or check a proposed one.

abstract: With more than 70 percent of the world's population expected to live in cities by 2050, it behooves us to understand urban sustainability and improve the capacity of city planners and policymakers to achieve sustainable goals. Producing and linking knowledge to action is a key tenet of sustainability science. This dissertation examines how knowledge-action systems -- the networks of actors involved in the production, sharing and use of policy-relevant knowledge -- work in order to inform what capacities are necessary to effectively attain sustainable outcomes. Little is known about how knowledge-action systems work in cities and how they should be designed to address their complexity. I examined this question in the context of land use and green area governance in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where political conflict exists over extensive development, particularly over the city's remaining green areas. I developed and applied an interdisciplinary framework -- the Knowledge-Action System Analysis (KASA) Framework --that integrates concepts of social network analysis and knowledge co-production (i.e., epistemic cultures and boundary work). Implementation of the framework involved multiple methods --surveys, interviews, participant observations, and document--to gather and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. Results from the analysis revealed a diverse network of actors contributing different types of knowledge, thus showing a potential in governance for creativity and innovation. These capacities, however, are hindered by various political and cultural factors, such as: 1) breakdown in vertical knowledge flow between state, city, and local actors; 2) four divergent visions of San Juan's future emerging from distinct epistemic cultures; 3) extensive boundary work by multiple actors to separate knowledge and planning activities, and attain legitimacy and credibility in the process; 4) and hierarchies of knowledge where outside expertise (e.g., private planning and architectural firms) is privileged over others, thus reflecting competing knowledge systems in land use and green area planning in San Juan. I propose a set of criteria for building just and effective knowledge-action systems for cities, including: context and inclusiveness, adaptability and reflexivity, and polycentricity. In this way, this study also makes theoretical contributions to the knowledge systems literature specifically, and urban sustainability in general. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Sustainability 2012

Dans beaucoup de pays, surtout dans des pays avec des ressources limitées, des efforts importants sont investis dans la mise en œuvre des initiatives innovantes à petite échelle, qui connaissent beaucoup de succès au niveau local mais qui subséquemment n’arrivent pas à être soutenues et étendues, et déclinent avec le temps. L’objectif de cette thèse est de comprendre et d’approfondir les enjeux liés aux processus de mise en œuvre, de mise à l’échelle et de pérennisation des initiatives innovantes dans des pays avec des ressources limitées. Ce sujet est important vu les défis majeurs auxquels sont actuellement confrontés les systèmes de santé dans ces pays. Cette thèse analyse la mise en œuvre, la mise à l’échelle et la pérennisation des initiatives innovantes selon la théorie de l’action sociale de Talcott Parsons. Cette théorie stipule que toute action sociale est composée de petites sous-unités de systèmes d’action interreliées et imbriquées les unes avec les autres, interagissant entre elles et avec leur propre environnement. La théorie de l’action sociale permet d’effectuer des analyses portant sur différents phénomènes liés et imbriqués, et situés à différents niveaux systémiques et temporels comme les processus de mise en œuvre, de mise à l’échelle et de pérennisation. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous concevons le système d’action sociale du processus de mise à l’échelle comme un système d’action sociale du processus de mise en œuvre à un niveau supérieur dans l’espace, et le système d’action du processus de pérennisation comme un système d’action du processus de mise en œuvre continue dans le temps au même niveau ou à un niveau supérieur. Dans le cadre de la recherche, nous avons étudié ces trois processus dans un contexte de pays avec des ressources limitées, à l’aide d’une étude de cas multiples basée sur une recherche qualitative avec des niveaux d’analyse imbriqués. Quatre initiatives innovantes introduites dans le secteur de la santé tunisien entre 1964 et 2010 ont fait l’objet de l’étude. Il s’agit de : la stratégie mobile pour les services de planification familiale (1964), le projet de réforme de la gestion des hôpitaux universitaires (1991), le programme national de développement des circonscriptions sanitaires (1994), et le projet d’optimisation de la chaîne d'approvisionnement des vaccins (2010). Les données ont été collectées par le biais d’entrevues semi-dirigées, suivies d'une période d'observation de dix jours (et de discussions informelles), et d'un examen des documents officiels pour chaque initiative étudiée. Les données ont été analysées à l'aide d'une analyse de contenu dans le logiciel QDA-Miner (version 4.1.27). Cette recherche empirique nous a permis de mettre en évidence la nature et le niveau d’influence de plusieurs déterminants contextuels qui permettent d’expliquer les différents niveaux de mesure (structurel, processuel et effectif) de mise en œuvre, de mise à l’échelle et de pérennisation proposés par le cadre théorique de l’étude. Les résultats de cette recherche soutiennent la proposition qu’il est possible que les systèmes d’action sociale des processus de mise en œuvre et de mise à l’échelle (quel que soit le niveau) soient principalement influencés par des déterminants structurels (engagement politique, contexte historique et juridique, etc.) et organisationnels (leadership, expertise technique, disponibilité des ressources, collaborations, etc.), tandis que des déterminants individuels (niveau des compétences, engagement, confiance et motivation) et des caractéristiques liées aux initiatives innovantes (pertinence, compatibilité pratique et technique avec le contexte local, simplicité, etc.) soient davantage impliqués dans le système d’action sociale du processus de pérennisation. Ces résultats envoient un signal aux bailleurs de fonds et décideurs qui voudraient réussir la mise en œuvre, la mise à l’échelle et la pérennisation des initiatives innovantes dans le domaine de la santé dans un contexte de ressources limitées. Au regard de ces résultats, nous avons proposé une nouvelle approche intégratrice permettant de mieux appréhender l’analyse des processus de mise en œuvre, de mise à l’échelle et de pérennisation des initiatives innovantes dans les systèmes de santé. Cette approche considère les processus de mise en œuvre, de mise à l’échelle et de pérennisation comme étant des systèmes d’action sociale imbriqués et interreliés, qui sont en constante évolution et en interaction avec un environnement commun englobant plusieurs déterminants de succès ou d’échec agissant à différents niveaux (structurel, organisationnel, individuel et intervention). / In many countries, especially in countries with limited resources, significant efforts are invested in the implementation of small-scale innovative initiatives, which are very successful at the local level, but subsequently fail to be expanded and decline over time. The objective of this thesis is to understand and explain the issues related to the implementation, scaling up and sustainability processes of innovative initiatives in countries with limited resources. This topic is important given the major challenges currently facing health systems in these countries. This thesis analyzes the implementation, scaling up and sustainability of innovative initiatives according to Talcott Parsons’ social action theory. This theory states that all social action is composed of small subunits of interrelated and interlocking systems of action interacting with each other and with their own environment. The social action theory allows for analysis of different related and embedded phenomena at different systemic and temporal levels such as implementation, scaling up and sustainability processes. As part of this thesis, we design the social action system of the scaling up process as a social action system of the implementation process at a higher level in space, and the social action system of the sustainability process as a social action system of the continuous implementation process over time at the same level or at a higher level. As part of the research, we investigated these three processes in a country context with limited resources, using a multiple case study based on qualitative research with nested levels of analysis. Four innovative initiatives introduced in the Tunisian health sector between 1964 and 2010 were the subject of the study. These include the Mobile Strategy for Family Planning Services (1964), the Hospital Management Reform Project (1991), the National Health District Development Program (1994), and the Vaccine Supply Chain Optimization Project (2010). Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, followed by a ten-day observation period (and informal discussions) and review of official documents for each initiative. The data was analyzed using a content analysis in the QDA-Miner software (version 4.1.27). This empirical research has allowed us to highlight the nature and the level of influence of the contextual determinants that make it possible to explain the different levels of implementation, scale up and sustainability measures (structural, procedural and effective) proposed by the theoretical framework of the study. The results of this research support the proposition that social action systems of implementation and scaling up processes (at any level) may be primarily influenced by structural determinants (political commitment, historical and legal context, etc.) and organizational (leadership, technical expertise, availability of resources, collaborations, etc.), while individual determinants (level of skills, commitment, trust and motivation) and characteristics related to innovative initiatives ( relevance, practical and technical compatibility with the local context, simplicity, etc.) are more involved in the social action system of the sustainability process. These results send a signal to donors and policymakers who would like to successfully implement, scale up and sustain innovative health initiatives in the context with limited resources. In light of these results, we have proposed a new integrative approach to better understand the analysis of implementation, scaling up and sustainability processes of innovative initiatives in health systems. This approach considers the processes of implementation, scaling up and sustainability as interconnected and interlocking social action systems, in constant evolution and interaction with a common environment encompassing several contextual determinants of success and challenges operating at different levels (structural, organizational, individual and intervention).