Human-Centric Program Synthesis

Program synthesis techniques offer significant new capabilities in searching for programs that satisfy high-level specifications. While synthesis has been thoroughly explored for input/output pair specifications (programming-by-example), this paper asks: what does program synthesis look like beyond examples? What actual issues in day-to-day development would stand to benefit the most from synthesis? How can a human-centric perspective inform the exploration of alternative specification languages for synthesis? I sketch a human-centric vision for program synthesis where programmers explore and learn languages and APIs aided by a synthesis tool

Blended learning internationalization from the commonwealth: An Australian and Canadian collaborative case study

This case depiction addresses the contentious issue of providing culturally and globally accessible teaching and learning to international students in universities in the Commonwealth nations of Australia and Canada. The chapter describes the university systems and cultures, the barriers to authentic higher education internationalization, and the problems frequently experienced by international students. Two university cases are presented and analysed to depict and detail blended learning approaches (face-toface combined with e-learning) as exemplars of culturally and globally accessible higher education and thereby ideologically grounded internationalization. Lessons learned are presented at the systems level and as teaching and learning solutions designed to address pedagogical problems frequently experienced by international students in the areas of communication, academic skills, teaching and learning conceptualization, and moving from rote learning to critical thinking. The blended learning solutions are analysed through the lens of critical theory

Mobility in higher education: new need to improve it?

The aim of The Bologna Process is, amongst others, to improve the mobility of students in Higher Education. The Erasmus programme helps students to study in other European Universities, know other countries, live another culture (folklore, food, language, etc.), develop autonomy and mature as an adult person. In Cadiz, Spain, the international seminar “Improving mobility through collaborative exchange” took place in May 2015. The participants were universities of Glasgow (UK), Madeira (Portugal), Gazi (Turkey), Linz (Austria), Zielona Gora (Poland) and Cadiz (Spain). Representatives from those countries expressed concern about problems that students might suffer during mobility. The literature has pointed out that the economic, social and academic stresses they experience can, in some cases, generate or exacerbate mental disorders (Bradley, 2000) and generate depression and anxiety (Russell et al, 2010; Ying & Han, 2006) which can even manifest itself in somatic symptoms (Mori, 2000); this could involve classroom absences and drug taking as side effects.This study describes the positive experiences of five University of Cadiz Erasmus students under a collaborative exchange between the universities, detailing the measures taken by the host universities to address potential stressful issues

Real Exchange Rate and International Reserves in the Era of Growing Financial and Trade Integration

This paper evaluates the impact of international reserves, terms of trade shocks and capital flows on the real exchange rate (REER). We observe that international reserves cushions the impact of TOT shocks on the REER, and that this effect is important for developing but not for industrial countries. This buffer effect is especially significant for Asian countries, and for countries exporting natural resources. Financial depth reduces the buffer role of IR in developing countries. Developing countries REER seem to be more sensitive to changes in reserve assets; whereas industrial countries display a significant relationship between hot money and REER.

Sessile water droplets on insulating surfaces subject to high AC stress effect of contact angle

Surface pollution of outdoor high-voltage insulators is an important cause of flashover. We have undertaken an experimental study of electrical breakdown at the edges of a sessile water droplet on a planar, polymeric, insulating surface when subject to AC stress, parallel to the insulator surface, up to 2MV/m. The static contact angle between droplet and surface was varied by controlling the physical properties of the droplet and by inclining the insulator plane from the horizontal. The partial discharge activity from the water droplet was investigated using a combination of high-speed video camera, operated at up to 3,000 frames per second, and an electrical partial discharge detection system. We have used this to examine the location of partial discharge at the edges of the water droplet