title: Workshop on formal methods in human computer interaction

authors: Weyers, Benjamin

abstract: This workshop aims to gather active researchers and practitioners in the field of formal methods for interactive systems. The mam objective is twofold: on one hand look at the evolutions of the definition and use of formal methods for interactive systems since the last book on the field nearly 20 years ago [1] following the seminal work reported in [2] On the other hand, to identify important themes for the next decade of research. Formal methods aid in the design, development and evaluation of interactive systems providing the unique opportunity for complete and unambiguous description amenable to formal verification. The HCI community has demonstrated that the next generation of user interfaces is moving off the desktop: These emerging interfaces exploit novel input techniques such as tangible, haptic, camera-based, bram-computer, interaction, present a large quantity of information possibly distributed to a wide range of devices. In this workshop, we will discuss common themes, conflicting approaches and techniques, and future directions for the next generation of formal methods that will support the development of large scale dependable and usable interactive systems.

text: Workshop on formal methods in human computer interaction This workshop aims to gather active researchers and practitioners in the field of formal methods for interactive systems. The mam objective is twofold: on one hand look at the evolutions of the definition and use of formal methods for interactive systems since the last book on the field nearly 20 years ago [1] following the seminal work reported in [2] On the other hand, to identify important themes for the next decade of research. Formal methods aid in the design, development and evaluation of interactive systems providing the unique opportunity for complete and unambiguous description amenable to formal verification. The HCI community has demonstrated that the next generation of user interfaces is moving off the desktop: These emerging interfaces exploit novel input techniques such as tangible, haptic, camera-based, bram-computer, interaction, present a large quantity of information possibly distributed to a wide range of devices. In this workshop, we will discuss common themes, conflicting approaches and techniques, and future directions for the next generation of formal methods that will support the development of large scale dependable and usable interactive systems.

year: 2015-06-23

title: Command-line Instrument Control and Measurement Tools

authors: Ho, Cheng-Lin (Daniel)

subjects: VISA

abstract: The main purpose of this thesis is to automate laboratory instruments with
command lines. The created commands allow users to control instruments and
record measured values into a file, by using industrial standards, these commands
can communicate to the instruments through different interfaces. The users may
utilize these commands to execute an experiment remotely and records values
automatically. These commands made experiments flexible in location, reduce
the time spent for recording experiment values, and reduce any possible human
errors. The recorded values can be accepted by well-known analysis software
packages such as MATLAB, for further processing as a file. These commands
provide the users with convenience and personal safety, when executing
laboratory experiments with modern laboratory instruments.
The target of this thesis is producing a set of commands that allow users to control,
read, and record, the common instruments used on an electronics workbench.
These devices include power supplies, digital multimeters, function generators,
and oscilloscopes. The produced commands allow users to establish two
workbenches with these common laboratory instruments. The created
commands were written in C language in combination with the test and
measurement industrial standard to ensure the compatibility with instruments
from different vendors. This thesis also provides the readers with required
background knowledge that is related to the usage and development of these
commands. The target readers of this thesis are the graduates of Bachelor of
Electrical and Electronics Engineering or higher.

With these command sets, researchers do not need to spend a long time
controlling instruments and recording results from instrument manually. Apart
from setting up the hardware, they can simply enter the command, to get the result
they require.

text: Command-line Instrument Control and Measurement Tools The main purpose of this thesis is to automate laboratory instruments with
command lines. The created commands allow users to control instruments and
record measured values into a file, by using industrial standards, these commands
can communicate to the instruments through different interfaces. The users may
utilize these commands to execute an experiment remotely and records values
automatically. These commands made experiments flexible in location, reduce
the time spent for recording experiment values, and reduce any possible human
errors. The recorded values can be accepted by well-known analysis software
packages such as MATLAB, for further processing as a file. These commands
provide the users with convenience and personal safety, when executing
laboratory experiments with modern laboratory instruments.
The target of this thesis is producing a set of commands that allow users to control,
read, and record, the common instruments used on an electronics workbench.
These devices include power supplies, digital multimeters, function generators,
and oscilloscopes. The produced commands allow users to establish two
workbenches with these common laboratory instruments. The created
commands were written in C language in combination with the test and
measurement industrial standard to ensure the compatibility with instruments
from different vendors. This thesis also provides the readers with required
background knowledge that is related to the usage and development of these
commands. The target readers of this thesis are the graduates of Bachelor of
Electrical and Electronics Engineering or higher.

With these command sets, researchers do not need to spend a long time
controlling instruments and recording results from instrument manually. Apart
from setting up the hardware, they can simply enter the command, to get the result
they require.

year: 2008

title: Demystifying a relationship between voluntary work and Māori

authors: Te Momo, Oliver Helena Fiona

abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to provide evidence that critically reviews the relationship between Māori and voluntary work in social service organisations. Since colonisation very little research has been initiated that investigated the involvement of Māori in voluntary activity yet recent statistics show that Māori are the highest participants in this type of work. This thesis provides an analysis of the relationship of Māori to voluntary work and its evolution in a Colonial State, Liberal State, Welfare State, and Neo-Liberal State in New Zealand. Three perspectives of Māori voluntary work provide the foundation for the analysis of this relationship. The first perspective describes voluntary work from a personal experience as an insider. The second perspective explores literature that records Māori involvement in voluntary activity. The third perspective documents life experiences from Māori voluntary workers in New Zealand communities. The three perspectives provide an empirical foundation for the type of relationship that has developed between Māori and voluntary work; Māori and the State; Māori and their place in New Zealand society. My interest in Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) as a valid and thriving ontological position and my academic interest in critical theory provide the theoretical lens for my analysis. 

Personal experience as a Māori volunteer opened doors to the communities I entered and added strength to the research, the first perspective. Western research in Māori communities often by non-Māori researchers, was conducted to gather knowledge for Western policy makers. Māori knowledge was not recognised as valid and the people were treated as objects. Knowing this, I searched for an approach that valued Māori participants, valued Māori people, and contained cultural aspects that separated the procedure from Western research. A review of literature, the second perspective, introduced a cultural approach to research termed kaupapa Māori research, generated out of and for Te Ao Māori detailed further in Chapter Three.

Participants’ life experiences coupled with literature provide a wealth of knowledge and a testimony to the type of relationship that exists between Māori and voluntary work. Criticism from Māori communities as to the exploitation of Māori volunteers has swelled in recent years so that the environment volunteers work in is no longer attractive to Māori people. Therefore, documenting the life experiences of Māori who participate in voluntary work as the primary source of information was imperative and produced evidence to describe the relationship between Māori and voluntary work in the thesis. A triangular study: case study, community study, and cross-section study (Chapters Six, Seven, and Eight), provide the ‘grass roots voices’ and represent the third perspective. 

My observation of Māori organisations’ involvement in voluntary work generated in me a deep concern in what appeared to be an involvement in activity that improved neither the lives of the volunteers nor the wider problems to which they attributed their aroha. This involvement activity is a product of historical developments whereby the Western ideology of voluntary work became confused with a Māori ideology of collective participation. This confusion has created an environment where Māori voluntary organisations are working unpaid with insufficient resources in oppressive conditions in the attempt to provide social solutions. I argue that the Māori ideology of collective participation has been co-opted in the emerging conflict of neo-liberalism to provide social services in communities which government agencies exploit. In conclusion, the thesis is a journey through the world of voluntary work for Māori in communal organisations.

text: Demystifying a relationship between voluntary work and Māori The purpose of this thesis is to provide evidence that critically reviews the relationship between Māori and voluntary work in social service organisations. Since colonisation very little research has been initiated that investigated the involvement of Māori in voluntary activity yet recent statistics show that Māori are the highest participants in this type of work. This thesis provides an analysis of the relationship of Māori to voluntary work and its evolution in a Colonial State, Liberal State, Welfare State, and Neo-Liberal State in New Zealand. Three perspectives of Māori voluntary work provide the foundation for the analysis of this relationship. The first perspective describes voluntary work from a personal experience as an insider. The second perspective explores literature that records Māori involvement in voluntary activity. The third perspective documents life experiences from Māori voluntary workers in New Zealand communities. The three perspectives provide an empirical foundation for the type of relationship that has developed between Māori and voluntary work; Māori and the State; Māori and their place in New Zealand society. My interest in Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) as a valid and thriving ontological position and my academic interest in critical theory provide the theoretical lens for my analysis. 

Personal experience as a Māori volunteer opened doors to the communities I entered and added strength to the research, the first perspective. Western research in Māori communities often by non-Māori researchers, was conducted to gather knowledge for Western policy makers. Māori knowledge was not recognised as valid and the people were treated as objects. Knowing this, I searched for an approach that valued Māori participants, valued Māori people, and contained cultural aspects that separated the procedure from Western research. A review of literature, the second perspective, introduced a cultural approach to research termed kaupapa Māori research, generated out of and for Te Ao Māori detailed further in Chapter Three.

Participants’ life experiences coupled with literature provide a wealth of knowledge and a testimony to the type of relationship that exists between Māori and voluntary work. Criticism from Māori communities as to the exploitation of Māori volunteers has swelled in recent years so that the environment volunteers work in is no longer attractive to Māori people. Therefore, documenting the life experiences of Māori who participate in voluntary work as the primary source of information was imperative and produced evidence to describe the relationship between Māori and voluntary work in the thesis. A triangular study: case study, community study, and cross-section study (Chapters Six, Seven, and Eight), provide the ‘grass roots voices’ and represent the third perspective. 

My observation of Māori organisations’ involvement in voluntary work generated in me a deep concern in what appeared to be an involvement in activity that improved neither the lives of the volunteers nor the wider problems to which they attributed their aroha. This involvement activity is a product of historical developments whereby the Western ideology of voluntary work became confused with a Māori ideology of collective participation. This confusion has created an environment where Māori voluntary organisations are working unpaid with insufficient resources in oppressive conditions in the attempt to provide social solutions. I argue that the Māori ideology of collective participation has been co-opted in the emerging conflict of neo-liberalism to provide social services in communities which government agencies exploit. In conclusion, the thesis is a journey through the world of voluntary work for Māori in communal organisations.

year: 2003