title: Automating iterative tasks with programming by demonstration

authors: Paynter, Gordon W.

subjects: programming by demonstration

abstract: Programming by demonstration is an end-user programming technique that allows people to create programs by showing the computer examples of what they want to do. Users do not need specialised programming skills. Instead, they instruct the computer by demonstrating examples, much as they might show another person how to do the task. Programming by demonstration empowers users to create programs that perform tedious and time-consuming computer chores. However, it is not in widespread use, and is instead confined to research applications that end users never see. This makes it difficult to evaluate programming by demonstration tools and techniques.

This thesis claims that domain-independent programming by demonstration can be made available in existing applications and used to automate iterative tasks by end users. It is supported by Familiar, a domain-independent, AppleScript-based programming-by-demonstration tool embodying standard machine learning algorithms. Familiar is designed for end users, so works in the existing applications that they regularly use.

The assertion that programming by demonstration can be made available in existing applications is validated by identifying the relevant platform requirements and a range of platforms that meet them. A detailed scrutiny of AppleScript highlights problems with the architecture and with many implementations, and yields a set of guidelines for designing applications that support programming-by-demonstration.

An evaluation shows that end users are capable of using programming by demonstration to automate iterative tasks. However, the subjects tended to prefer other tools, choosing Familiar only when the alternatives were unsuitable or unavailable. Familiar's inferencing is evaluated on an extensive set of examples, highlighting the tasks it can perform and the functionality it requires.

text: Automating iterative tasks with programming by demonstration Programming by demonstration is an end-user programming technique that allows people to create programs by showing the computer examples of what they want to do. Users do not need specialised programming skills. Instead, they instruct the computer by demonstrating examples, much as they might show another person how to do the task. Programming by demonstration empowers users to create programs that perform tedious and time-consuming computer chores. However, it is not in widespread use, and is instead confined to research applications that end users never see. This makes it difficult to evaluate programming by demonstration tools and techniques.

This thesis claims that domain-independent programming by demonstration can be made available in existing applications and used to automate iterative tasks by end users. It is supported by Familiar, a domain-independent, AppleScript-based programming-by-demonstration tool embodying standard machine learning algorithms. Familiar is designed for end users, so works in the existing applications that they regularly use.

The assertion that programming by demonstration can be made available in existing applications is validated by identifying the relevant platform requirements and a range of platforms that meet them. A detailed scrutiny of AppleScript highlights problems with the architecture and with many implementations, and yields a set of guidelines for designing applications that support programming-by-demonstration.

An evaluation shows that end users are capable of using programming by demonstration to automate iterative tasks. However, the subjects tended to prefer other tools, choosing Familiar only when the alternatives were unsuitable or unavailable. Familiar's inferencing is evaluated on an extensive set of examples, highlighting the tasks it can perform and the functionality it requires.

year: 2000

title: FIJICLIM description and users guide

authors: Kenny, Gavin J.

subjects: FIJICLIM

abstract: The FIJICLIM prototype is based on PACCLIM which was developed by the International Global Change Institute (IGCI) as part of the Pacific Islands Climate Change Assistance Programme (PICCAP) executed by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
Both FIJICLIM and PACCLIM build directly on a comparable model development for New Zealand, known as the CLIMPACTS system (Kenny et al., 1995, 1999; Warrick et al., 1996, 1999). The development of CLIMPACTS has been funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology since 1993. Its core components, which include a graphic user interface (GUI), a customised geographic information system (GIS), and data compression routines, have provided the basis for the development of FIJICLIM. The development of FIJICLIM is complementary to similar developments that have evolved from CLIMPACTS, for Bangladesh (BDCLIM), Australia (OZCLIM), and for training in climate change V&A assessment (VANDACLIM).

text: FIJICLIM description and users guide The FIJICLIM prototype is based on PACCLIM which was developed by the International Global Change Institute (IGCI) as part of the Pacific Islands Climate Change Assistance Programme (PICCAP) executed by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
Both FIJICLIM and PACCLIM build directly on a comparable model development for New Zealand, known as the CLIMPACTS system (Kenny et al., 1995, 1999; Warrick et al., 1996, 1999). The development of CLIMPACTS has been funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology since 1993. Its core components, which include a graphic user interface (GUI), a customised geographic information system (GIS), and data compression routines, have provided the basis for the development of FIJICLIM. The development of FIJICLIM is complementary to similar developments that have evolved from CLIMPACTS, for Bangladesh (BDCLIM), Australia (OZCLIM), and for training in climate change V&A assessment (VANDACLIM).

year: 2000-02

title: The moral terrains of Māori tourism

authors: Ringham, Sandra Lee

subjects: Māori tourism geographies

abstract: The objective of this project is to understand how Māori values are integrated into Māori tourism geographies. The research asks three questions. First, how do values shape the moral terrains of Māori tourism? Second, how is Māori tourism constructed through state sponsored branding and policies? Finally, how and in what ways do Māori tourism providers (re)construct their places and identities through practicing Māori values in Aotearoa? 
The critical social geographies of tourism in this thesis are informed by Kaupapa Māori, mana wahine, feminist geography, moral terrains and diverse economies literatures. Methodologies are woven together using: semi-structured interviews; participant sensing; autoethnography; and, discourse analysis. A research whānau (extended family), including kuia and kaumātua (women and men elders), guide the ethical components of research design and practices. Participant sensing took place in northern, coastal and central areas of Aotearoa. As kaitāpoi (Māori domestic tourist) I took part in activities that included animal tourism, local cuisine, camping, high end accommodation, tramping, souvenir shopping, museums, a harbour cruise and visited information sites. Eleven semi-interviews were conducted with Māori tourism providers in northern and coastal spaces. I interacted with approximately 70 people during the course of this research.
The findings of are divided into three substantive chapters. The first is an examination of two Aotearoa’s government tourism agencies’ policies and state sponsored branding. Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) uses language such as ‘best partner’ to attempt to form relationships and policy with Māori. New Zealand Māori Tourism (NZMT) prescribe Māori leadership and adopt a ‘people first’ approach. I untangled concepts of leadership, partnerships and the way strategic priorities are prescribed within the two institutions’ documents to reveal the way power relations are inscribed onto Aotearoa’s tourism terrains. The second chapter analyses state sponsored branding. Here I highlight the inconsistencies in the way Māori identities are represented. TNZ maintains a colonial imagining of traditional performance while NZMT present Māori men as contemporary leaders of diverse tourism experiences. Both organisations, however, continue to represent women as the ‘exotic other’. The three and last substantive chapter considers the lived realities of Māori tourism providers. Participants feel proud of the way their identities are represented on the global stage but concerned with the lack of representations of their contemporary lives and diverse tourism opportunities. Women are leading Māori tourism in a multitude of spaces and Māori tourism providers are practicing diverse economies. I argue that Māori identities, and Māori values, are defining elements of the Māori tourism experience. 
In closing this thesis I argue that the representation and lived realities of Māori tourism needs to be controlled by the tangata whenua who exist and inhabit precious places within Aotearoa’s landscapes.

text: The moral terrains of Māori tourism The objective of this project is to understand how Māori values are integrated into Māori tourism geographies. The research asks three questions. First, how do values shape the moral terrains of Māori tourism? Second, how is Māori tourism constructed through state sponsored branding and policies? Finally, how and in what ways do Māori tourism providers (re)construct their places and identities through practicing Māori values in Aotearoa? 
The critical social geographies of tourism in this thesis are informed by Kaupapa Māori, mana wahine, feminist geography, moral terrains and diverse economies literatures. Methodologies are woven together using: semi-structured interviews; participant sensing; autoethnography; and, discourse analysis. A research whānau (extended family), including kuia and kaumātua (women and men elders), guide the ethical components of research design and practices. Participant sensing took place in northern, coastal and central areas of Aotearoa. As kaitāpoi (Māori domestic tourist) I took part in activities that included animal tourism, local cuisine, camping, high end accommodation, tramping, souvenir shopping, museums, a harbour cruise and visited information sites. Eleven semi-interviews were conducted with Māori tourism providers in northern and coastal spaces. I interacted with approximately 70 people during the course of this research.
The findings of are divided into three substantive chapters. The first is an examination of two Aotearoa’s government tourism agencies’ policies and state sponsored branding. Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) uses language such as ‘best partner’ to attempt to form relationships and policy with Māori. New Zealand Māori Tourism (NZMT) prescribe Māori leadership and adopt a ‘people first’ approach. I untangled concepts of leadership, partnerships and the way strategic priorities are prescribed within the two institutions’ documents to reveal the way power relations are inscribed onto Aotearoa’s tourism terrains. The second chapter analyses state sponsored branding. Here I highlight the inconsistencies in the way Māori identities are represented. TNZ maintains a colonial imagining of traditional performance while NZMT present Māori men as contemporary leaders of diverse tourism experiences. Both organisations, however, continue to represent women as the ‘exotic other’. The three and last substantive chapter considers the lived realities of Māori tourism providers. Participants feel proud of the way their identities are represented on the global stage but concerned with the lack of representations of their contemporary lives and diverse tourism opportunities. Women are leading Māori tourism in a multitude of spaces and Māori tourism providers are practicing diverse economies. I argue that Māori identities, and Māori values, are defining elements of the Māori tourism experience. 
In closing this thesis I argue that the representation and lived realities of Māori tourism needs to be controlled by the tangata whenua who exist and inhabit precious places within Aotearoa’s landscapes.

year: 2015