title: Integrating behavioural and formal specifications

authors: Liu, Bowen

subjects: Formal methods

abstract: Behaviour-driven development and formal methods have been shown to be effective techniques for different parts of the interactive system development process. However, when the different parts of an interactive system are combined, issues may arise due to the different focuses of the techniques. For a safety-critical interactive system, where safety is particularly emphasised, using either technique individually does not cover all aspects of the system. Thus a complementary approach of integrating behaviour-driven development and formal methods, would be better suited for developing safety-critical interactive systems.
This thesis presents an investigation into a method that integrates formal methods and behavioural specifications. This method enables the identification of any inconsistencies between the behavioural specification and the Z specification, allowing potential problems to be found and fixed earlier. We also demonstrate how our method supports ensuring consistency after refinement of the Z specification.

text: Integrating behavioural and formal specifications Behaviour-driven development and formal methods have been shown to be effective techniques for different parts of the interactive system development process. However, when the different parts of an interactive system are combined, issues may arise due to the different focuses of the techniques. For a safety-critical interactive system, where safety is particularly emphasised, using either technique individually does not cover all aspects of the system. Thus a complementary approach of integrating behaviour-driven development and formal methods, would be better suited for developing safety-critical interactive systems.
This thesis presents an investigation into a method that integrates formal methods and behavioural specifications. This method enables the identification of any inconsistencies between the behavioural specification and the Z specification, allowing potential problems to be found and fixed earlier. We also demonstrate how our method supports ensuring consistency after refinement of the Z specification.

year: 2024

title: The effect of irrigation on cadmium, uranium, and phosphorus contents in agricultural soils

authors: Salmanzadeh, Mahdiyeh

subjects: Cadmium

abstract: Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal which has accumulated in New Zealand agricultural soils due to phosphate fertilizer application. Understanding the contribution of plant uptake or leaching of Cd to observed Cd losses from soil is important. The concentration and distribution of Cd in irrigated and unirrigated soils with the same phosphate fertilizer history were investigated. Twenty-two pairs of soil samples from four depths (0–0.1, 0.1–0.2, 0.2–0.3 and 0.3–0.4 m) were taken from irrigated and unirrigated areas in the same field on dairy farms in three regions of New Zealand. The mean concentration of Cd at depths of 0–0.1 m and 0.1–0.2 m, as well as the cumulative masses of Cd (0–0.2, 0–0.3 and 0–0.4 m) in unirrigated soils were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in irrigated soils. The concentration of phosphorus (P) at all depths (except for 0.2–0.3 m), as well as the cumulative mass of P in all depths of unirrigated soils, was also significantly higher (P < 0.05) than irrigated soils. However, no significant difference was detected in the concentrations of uranium (U) between irrigated and unirrigated soils. Irrigation induced a ∼7% Cd loss from topsoil (0–0.1 m), with the average rate of Cd loss from the top 0.1 m (due to irrigation) being 2.3 g ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. This study therefore confirms that irrigation can enhance Cd mobilization, however Cd is mainly adsorbed to the surface soil.

text: The effect of irrigation on cadmium, uranium, and phosphorus contents in agricultural soils Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal which has accumulated in New Zealand agricultural soils due to phosphate fertilizer application. Understanding the contribution of plant uptake or leaching of Cd to observed Cd losses from soil is important. The concentration and distribution of Cd in irrigated and unirrigated soils with the same phosphate fertilizer history were investigated. Twenty-two pairs of soil samples from four depths (0–0.1, 0.1–0.2, 0.2–0.3 and 0.3–0.4 m) were taken from irrigated and unirrigated areas in the same field on dairy farms in three regions of New Zealand. The mean concentration of Cd at depths of 0–0.1 m and 0.1–0.2 m, as well as the cumulative masses of Cd (0–0.2, 0–0.3 and 0–0.4 m) in unirrigated soils were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in irrigated soils. The concentration of phosphorus (P) at all depths (except for 0.2–0.3 m), as well as the cumulative mass of P in all depths of unirrigated soils, was also significantly higher (P < 0.05) than irrigated soils. However, no significant difference was detected in the concentrations of uranium (U) between irrigated and unirrigated soils. Irrigation induced a ∼7% Cd loss from topsoil (0–0.1 m), with the average rate of Cd loss from the top 0.1 m (due to irrigation) being 2.3 g ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. This study therefore confirms that irrigation can enhance Cd mobilization, however Cd is mainly adsorbed to the surface soil.

year: 2017

title: The Te Kotahitanga Observation Tool: Development, use, reliability and validity.

authors: Berryman, Mere

subjects: chool reform

abstract: Te Kotahitanga is a New Zealand school reform project aimed at improving the pedagogical contexts in mainstream classrooms in which the indigenous Māori students have traditionally been marginalised. It does this by assisting teachers to implement an Effective Teaching Profile. Part of this process uses an observation tool to monitor the degree to which participating teachers are incorporating the interactions and relationships described in the Effective Teaching Profile into their day-to-day teaching. Given the central importance of these tasks, the Te Kotahitanga team undertook to test the observation tool for measurement reliability and validity. In order to undertake this study, the team conducted synchronous observations amongst trainers (the Professional Development Coordinator and Regional Coordinators) to ascertain their level of consistency when using the tool. The team then conducted synchronous observations between trainers and 38 in-school facilitators in the 12 schools involved in Phase 3 of the project. In total 41 teachers were observed and over 200 Māori students were involved in these observations. This study suggests that the tool can produce consistent and reliable results when observers have been effectively trained.

text: The Te Kotahitanga Observation Tool: Development, use, reliability and validity. Te Kotahitanga is a New Zealand school reform project aimed at improving the pedagogical contexts in mainstream classrooms in which the indigenous Māori students have traditionally been marginalised. It does this by assisting teachers to implement an Effective Teaching Profile. Part of this process uses an observation tool to monitor the degree to which participating teachers are incorporating the interactions and relationships described in the Effective Teaching Profile into their day-to-day teaching. Given the central importance of these tasks, the Te Kotahitanga team undertook to test the observation tool for measurement reliability and validity. In order to undertake this study, the team conducted synchronous observations amongst trainers (the Professional Development Coordinator and Regional Coordinators) to ascertain their level of consistency when using the tool. The team then conducted synchronous observations between trainers and 38 in-school facilitators in the 12 schools involved in Phase 3 of the project. In total 41 teachers were observed and over 200 Māori students were involved in these observations. This study suggests that the tool can produce consistent and reliable results when observers have been effectively trained.

year: 2011