title: On Conflicts in Concurrent Systems

authors: Ware, Simon

subjects: Discrete Event Systems

abstract: This dissertation studies conflicts. A conflict is a bug in concurrent systems where one or more components of the system may potentially be blocked from completing their task. This dissertation investigates how nonconflicting completions may be used to characterise the situations in which individual components of a system may be in conflict with other components. The first major contributions of this dissertation are new methods of abstracting systems with respect to conflicts, and showing how these methods may be used to check whether a large system is conflict-free. The second contribution is a method of comparing whether one system is less susceptible to conflict than another. The last major contribution is a method of expressing all conflicts in a system in a finite and canonical way. The methods developed have applications for model checking, refinement, and the development of contracts for concurrent systems.

text: On Conflicts in Concurrent Systems This dissertation studies conflicts. A conflict is a bug in concurrent systems where one or more components of the system may potentially be blocked from completing their task. This dissertation investigates how nonconflicting completions may be used to characterise the situations in which individual components of a system may be in conflict with other components. The first major contributions of this dissertation are new methods of abstracting systems with respect to conflicts, and showing how these methods may be used to check whether a large system is conflict-free. The second contribution is a method of comparing whether one system is less susceptible to conflict than another. The last major contribution is a method of expressing all conflicts in a system in a finite and canonical way. The methods developed have applications for model checking, refinement, and the development of contracts for concurrent systems.

year: 2014

title: Physical and mental health issues in the Te Aroha district

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Although Te Aroha was considered to be a healthy district, until the early twentieth century it lacked clean water or adequate sanitation. There were justifiable fears of typhus and other diseases being created by these lacks and by the common ‘nuisances’ caused by unsanitary behaviour. Many people had a poor diet, which was normal for men undertaking prospecting far from their homes. For miners, their working conditions were always unhealthy, and miners’ complaint was common, affecting battery hands also. 
Medical services remained inadequate until the twentieth century because doctors could not settle for long (for financial reasons) and there was no local hospital. Some doctors, nurses, and dentists visited, but the seriously ill had to be sent out of the district. For injuries, chemists and nurses did their best, as did a dubiously skilled local doctor. Self-medication was common.
Examples are given of breakdowns in mental health, which sometimes led to physical attacks on others or to suicide.

text: Physical and mental health issues in the Te Aroha district Although Te Aroha was considered to be a healthy district, until the early twentieth century it lacked clean water or adequate sanitation. There were justifiable fears of typhus and other diseases being created by these lacks and by the common ‘nuisances’ caused by unsanitary behaviour. Many people had a poor diet, which was normal for men undertaking prospecting far from their homes. For miners, their working conditions were always unhealthy, and miners’ complaint was common, affecting battery hands also. 
Medical services remained inadequate until the twentieth century because doctors could not settle for long (for financial reasons) and there was no local hospital. Some doctors, nurses, and dentists visited, but the seriously ill had to be sent out of the district. For injuries, chemists and nurses did their best, as did a dubiously skilled local doctor. Self-medication was common.
Examples are given of breakdowns in mental health, which sometimes led to physical attacks on others or to suicide.

year: 2016

title: The teaching, learning and testing of te reo Māori in tertiary institutions in Aotearoa/New Zealand

authors: Tihema, Ngaire L. A.

subjects: tertiary educational institutions

abstract: Additional language teaching and learning is fraught with problems the world over and Aotearoa/New Zealand is not immune to these issues.  This doctoral research investigates current practices of teaching and learning te reo Māori (the Māori language) as an additional language in tertiary educational institutions and explores the appropriacy of measuring the language proficiency of speakers and learners of te reo Māori by using a variation of the C-test principle.  The first chapter (Chapter One) sets the context by providing an overview of post-colonial historical events in Aotearoa/New Zealand that led to a language shift which would result in many Māori learning te reo Māori as a second language.  The literature review (Chapter Two) provides an historical overview of additional language teaching methods and approaches since the 18th century and critiques some language teaching methods/approaches – found to be outdated, teacher-centred and/or too limited in scope – that are currently used to teach the Māori language in tertiary institutions.  The next two chapters report on responses from a questionnaire-based survey (Chapter Three) and semi-structured interviews (Chapter Four) with tertiary teachers of te reo Māori, which found that most teachers are largely untrained and unqualified in the area of additional language teaching and learning.  The chapter that follows (Chapter Five) provides an analysis of a textbook series – reported to be the most widely used Māori language resources in tertiary institutions – which was found to be largely influenced by an eclectic approach to textbook design that includes grammar translation and audiolingual methods.  For the next chapter (Chapter Six), the development of a particular type of Māori language proficiency test (variant C-test) is discussed, along with the findings and results of its trial, which was done, firstly, with a sample of highly proficient speakers of te reo and, secondly, with a small sample of second language learners of te reo, prior to a pilot of the test which was conducted with a second sample of tertiary learners of te reo Māori.  While analyses of test scores reveal that satisfactory reliability coefficients were obtained, more research is required, not only to investigate the validity of this particular C-test variant, but also to further explore the appropriacy of applying the (variant) C-test principle to measuring general Māori language proficiency.  This chapter (Chapter Six) concludes with a discussion of the questionnaire responses about the educational backgrounds, language backgrounds, motivations and attitudes of the samples of learners, approximately half of whom are additional language learners and the other half of whom have been raised with te reo Māori as (one of) their main language.  An overview of the research findings and its limitations is provided in the final chapter (Chapter Seven), along with potential contributions of the research and further recommendations for future research.  The challenge that each issue raised in this thesis places on teachers, students and the revitalisation movement of te reo Māori in tertiary institutions, is one which needs to be further explored and addressed.

text: The teaching, learning and testing of te reo Māori in tertiary institutions in Aotearoa/New Zealand Additional language teaching and learning is fraught with problems the world over and Aotearoa/New Zealand is not immune to these issues.  This doctoral research investigates current practices of teaching and learning te reo Māori (the Māori language) as an additional language in tertiary educational institutions and explores the appropriacy of measuring the language proficiency of speakers and learners of te reo Māori by using a variation of the C-test principle.  The first chapter (Chapter One) sets the context by providing an overview of post-colonial historical events in Aotearoa/New Zealand that led to a language shift which would result in many Māori learning te reo Māori as a second language.  The literature review (Chapter Two) provides an historical overview of additional language teaching methods and approaches since the 18th century and critiques some language teaching methods/approaches – found to be outdated, teacher-centred and/or too limited in scope – that are currently used to teach the Māori language in tertiary institutions.  The next two chapters report on responses from a questionnaire-based survey (Chapter Three) and semi-structured interviews (Chapter Four) with tertiary teachers of te reo Māori, which found that most teachers are largely untrained and unqualified in the area of additional language teaching and learning.  The chapter that follows (Chapter Five) provides an analysis of a textbook series – reported to be the most widely used Māori language resources in tertiary institutions – which was found to be largely influenced by an eclectic approach to textbook design that includes grammar translation and audiolingual methods.  For the next chapter (Chapter Six), the development of a particular type of Māori language proficiency test (variant C-test) is discussed, along with the findings and results of its trial, which was done, firstly, with a sample of highly proficient speakers of te reo and, secondly, with a small sample of second language learners of te reo, prior to a pilot of the test which was conducted with a second sample of tertiary learners of te reo Māori.  While analyses of test scores reveal that satisfactory reliability coefficients were obtained, more research is required, not only to investigate the validity of this particular C-test variant, but also to further explore the appropriacy of applying the (variant) C-test principle to measuring general Māori language proficiency.  This chapter (Chapter Six) concludes with a discussion of the questionnaire responses about the educational backgrounds, language backgrounds, motivations and attitudes of the samples of learners, approximately half of whom are additional language learners and the other half of whom have been raised with te reo Māori as (one of) their main language.  An overview of the research findings and its limitations is provided in the final chapter (Chapter Seven), along with potential contributions of the research and further recommendations for future research.  The challenge that each issue raised in this thesis places on teachers, students and the revitalisation movement of te reo Māori in tertiary institutions, is one which needs to be further explored and addressed.

year: 2018