Equivalent Programming Research Articles

Out of sight, but not out of mind: a case study of the collaborative development of a university-wide orientation resource for online students

The global online education sector has been rising rapidly, particularly during and after the events of 2020, and is becoming mainstream much sooner than expected. Despite this, research studies report higher levels of perceived isolation, difficulties with engagement, and higher attrition rates in online compared to equivalent on-campus programs. Reasons include restrictions to the type of institutional support accessible by online students, and the lack of comprehensiveness of orientation resources. This paper describes the collaborative efforts by a cross-faculty academic team, supported by a community of practice, to create a university-wide online orientation resource—the Monash Online Learning Hub (MOLH). The development of the MOLH involved multiple phases, including an analysis of current practice, resource design and content creation, formative evaluation by staff and students, and successful integration into the university’s mainstream student orientation platform for widescale implementation. The methods adopted were varied, and involved generating both qualitative and quantitative data across multiple phases of development from online education experts at the University, that culminated in the gradual building and refinement of the MOLH. Final outcomes, implications and lessons learned are also discussed in this paper.

Pengaruh Penggunaan Media Video Terhadap Hasil Belajar Mata Pelajaran Ipa Pada Program Kesetaraan Paket B

The background of this research is the lack of activeness of students in learning science subjects in the Package B Equivalence Program because the media used by tutors does not vary. This results in low student learning outcomes. This study aims to describe student learning outcomes by applying video media to science subjects and to see the effect of applying video media to learning outcomes in the Package B Equivalence Program. The approach used in this research is a quantitative experimental type with a posttest-only control group model. . All students of the Package B Equivalence Program at PKBM Sentosa Hati class IX became the population in this study. The samples were taken using simple random sampling technique from class IXA and IXB. Researchers collect data using tests. Data analysis using t-test technique. The results of this study are: 1) the learning outcomes of students who do not use video media have a low average; 2) the learning outcomes of students who were given video media treatment had a high average; and 3) there is a significant effect between the use of video media on the learning outcomes of students' science subjects in the Package B Equivalence Program

Hubungan Antara Konsep Diri Peserta Didik Dengan Hasil Belajar Pada Mata Pelajaran Ekonomi Di Kesetaraan Paket C SPNF SKB

The research is the low learning outcomes of students in economics at SPNF SKB Solok City. This condition is believed to be due to the low self-concept of students. This study has the objectives to: 1) see a description of the students' self-concept in the economic learning package C program at SPNF SKB Solok City, 2) see a description of their learning outcomes in the economic learning package C program at SPNF SKB Solok City 3) see the relationship between self-concept students with their learning outcomes in economic subjects Package C Equivalence Program at SPNF SKB Solok City. This research was conducted with a quantitative approach of correlation type which aims to examine the relationship between self-concept and learning outcomes. The research population is all students registered in Package C 2021 at SPNF SKB Solok City as many as 31 people, the sampling technique is stratified random sampling and taken as many as 80%, namely as many as 25 people. The data collection method used a questionnaire with a statement list format as a data collection tool, the data were analyzed using the percentage formula and to find the correlation using the Spearmen Rho formula. The results of the study prove that 1) the description of the self-concept of students in the economic subject of the Package C Equivalence Program at SPNF SKB Solok City which is still relatively low 2) the learning outcomes of students in economic learning are low, and 3) there is a significant relationship between self-concept of students with student learning outcomes in economic subjects Package C Equivalence Program at SPNF SKB Solok City. It is hoped that tutors can develop a positive self-concept for students who take part in the economics subject of the Package C Equivalence Program, the next researcher to examine other variables that can improve the learning outcomes of equivalence education

An abstract, logical approach to characterizing strong equivalence in non-monotonic knowledge representation formalisms

Two knowledge bases are strongly equivalent if and only if they are mutually interchangeable in arbitrary contexts. This notion is of high interest for any logical formalism, since it allows to locally replace parts of a given theory without changing its meaning. In contrast to classical logic, where strong equivalence coincides with standard equivalence (having the same models), it is possible to find ordinary but not strongly equivalent objects for any nonmonotonic formalism available in the literature. Consequently, much effort has been devoted to characterizing strong equivalence for knowledge representation formalisms such as logic programs under the stable model semantics, Reiter's default logic, or Dung's argumentation frameworks. For example, strong equivalence for logic programs under stable models can be characterized by so-called HT-models. More precisely, two logic programs are strongly equivalent if and only if they are standard equivalent in the logic of here and there. This means that the logic of here and there can be seen as a characterizing formalism for logic programs under stable model semantics.The aim of this article is to study whether the existence of such characterization logics can be guaranteed for any logic. One main result is that every knowledge representation formalism that allows for a notion of strong equivalence on its finite knowledge bases also possesses a canonical characterizing formalism. In particular, we argue that those characterizing formalisms can be seen as classical, monotonic logics. Moreover, we will not only show the existence of characterizing formalism, but even that the model theory of any characterizing logic is uniquely determined (up to isomorphism).

Effectful program distancing

Semantics is traditionally concerned with program equivalence, in which all pairs of programs which are not equivalent are treated the same, and simply dubbed as incomparable. In recent years, various forms of program metrics have been introduced such that the distance between non-equivalent programs is measured as an element of an appropriate quantale. By letting the underlying quantale vary as the type of the compared programs become more complex, the recently introduced framework of differential logical relations allows for a new contextual form of reasoning. In this paper, we show that all this can be generalised to effectful higher-order programs, in which not only the values , but also the effects computations produce can be appropriately distanced in a principled way. We show that the resulting framework is flexible, allowing various forms of effects to be handled, and that it provides compact and informative judgments about program differences.

Reasoning about “reasoning about reasoning”: semantics and contextual equivalence for probabilistic programs with nested queries and recursion

Metareasoning can be achieved in probabilistic programming languages (PPLs) using agent models that recursively nest inference queries inside inference queries. However, the semantics of this powerful, reflection-like language feature has defied an operational treatment, much less reasoning principles for contextual equivalence. We give formal semantics to a core PPL with continuous distributions, scoring, general recursion, and nested queries. Unlike prior work, the presence of nested queries and general recursion makes it impossible to stratify the definition of a sampling-based operational semantics and that of a measure-theoretic semantics—the two semantics must be defined mutually recursively. A key yet challenging property we establish is that probabilistic programs have well-defined meanings: limits exist for the step-indexed measures they induce. Beyond a semantics, we offer relational reasoning principles for probabilistic programs making nested queries. We construct a step-indexed, biorthogonal logical-relations model. A soundness theorem establishes that logical relatedness implies contextual equivalence. We demonstrate the usefulness of the reasoning principles by proving novel equivalences of practical relevance—in particular, game-playing and decisionmaking agents. We mechanize our technical developments leading to the soundness proof using the Coq proof assistant. Nested queries are an important yet theoretically underdeveloped linguistic feature in PPLs; we are first to give them semantics in the presence of general recursion and to provide them with sound reasoning principles for contextual equivalence.

Compositional Equivalences Based on Open Pnets

Establishing equivalences between programs or system is crucial both for verifying correctness of programs, by establishing that two implementations are equivalent, and for justifying optimisations and program transformations, by establishing that a modified program is equivalent to the source one. There exist several equivalence relations for programs, and bisimulations are among the most versatile of these equivalences. Among bisimulation relations one distinguishes strong bisimulation, that requires that each action of a program is simulated by a single action of the equivalent program, a weak bisimulation that is a coarser relations, allowing some of the actions to be invisible or internal moves, and thus not simulated by the equivalent program. pNets is a generalisation of automata that includes parameters, and hierarchical composition. Open pNets are pNets with holes, i.e. placeholders inside the hierarchical structure that can be filled by subsystems. Reasoning on open pNets allows us to reason on open systems. Open pNets have a notion of synchronised actions generalizing the usual internal actions (e.g. τ of CCS, or i in Lotos). This article defines bisimulation relations for the comparison of systems specified as pNets. We first define a strong bisimulation for open pNets. In practice, as happens in process algebras, strong bisimulation is too strong, and we need to define some coarser relations, taking into account invisible or internal moves. We then define an equivalence relation similar to the classical weak bisimulation, and study its properties. Among these properties we are interested in compositionality: If two systems are proven equivalent they will be undistinguishable by their context, and they will also be undistinguishable when their holes are filled with equivalent systems. The article is illustrated with a transport protocol running example; it shows the characteristics of our formalism and our bisimulation relations.

Inductive and Coinductive Predicate Liftings for Effectful Programs

We formulate a framework for describing behaviour of effectful higher-order recursive programs. Examples of effects are implemented using effect operations, and include: execution cost, nondeterminism, global store and interaction with a user. The denotational semantics of a program is given by a coinductive tree in a monad, which combines potential return values of the program in terms of effect operations. Using a simple test logic, we construct two sorts of predicate liftings, which lift predicates on a result type to predicates on computations that produce results of that type, each capturing a facet of program behaviour. Firstly, we study inductive predicate liftings which can be used to describe effectful notions of total correctness. Secondly, we study coinductive predicate liftings, which describe effectful notions of partial correctness. The two constructions are dual in the sense that one can be used to disprove the other. The predicate liftings are used as a basis for an endogenous logic of behavioural properties for higher-order programs. The program logic has a derivable notion of negation, arising from the duality of the two sorts of predicate liftings, and it generates a program equivalence which subsumes a notion of bisimilarity. Appropriate definitions of inductive and coinductive predicate liftings are given for a multitude of effect examples. The whole development has been fully formalized in the Agda proof assistant.

Cryptanalysis of FRS obfuscation based on the CLT13 multilinear map

The authors present a classical polynomial-time attack against the branching program obfuscator of Fernando–Rasmussen–Sahai (for short FRS, Asiacrypt’17) (with one zerotest parameter), which is robust against all known classical cryptanalyses on obfuscators when instantiated with the CLT13 multilinear map. The first step is to recover a plaintext modulus of the CLT13 multilinear map. To achieve the goal, the Coron and Notarnicola (Asiacrypt’19) algorithm is applied. However, because of parameter issues, the algorithm cannot be used directly. In order to detour the issue, the authors convert an FRS obfuscator into a new programme containing a small message space. Through the conversion, the authors obtain two zerotest parameters and encodings of zero except for two non-zero slots. Then, they are used to mitigate parameter constraints of the message space recovering algorithm. Then, a cryptanalysis of the FRS obfuscation based on the recovered message space is proposed. The authors show that there exist two functionally equivalent programmes such that their obfuscated programmes are computationally distinguishable. Thus, the FRS scheme does not satisfy the desired security without any additional constraints.

Two-year longitudinal observational study of junior doctors as clinical teachers: the Associate Clinical Teaching Fellow Program

Introduction: Most clinical teachers are not trained to teach, though they are critical to determining the quality of clinical learning environment. The General Medical Council, United Kingdom, recognises that being a good teacher is not innate, but that skills and attributes can usually be acquired. Clinical teaching is part of training of junior doctors in the United Kingdom, and from learners’ perspectives, junior doctors are effective clinical teachers, but there are few structured opportunities to learn how to teach during clinical training. The Associate Clinical Teaching Fellow (ACTF) program was developed to provide such structured platform for clinical trainees. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the quality of teaching by the trainees against the current-standard of clinical teaching in the first 2 years of its inception, and to adapt validated feedback questionnaires for practical use. Methods: A prospective longitudinal observational study was done over 2 years in a large 1,215 bed tertiary hospital. Multiple cross-sectional assessments of teachings by ACTFs and consultant teachers were done using two validated questionnaires, the Stanford Faculty Development Program-26 (SFDP-26) and the Clinical Teaching Effectiveness questionnaire (CTEQ), and an in-house global (IHG) feedback form prepared by third- and fifth-year students. Both trainees and consultants were unaware of the timing of the SFDP-26 and CTEQ feedbacks. A graphical representation of all responses was used to create a grading system for practical feedbacks. Results: A total of 507 of 765 (66%) of SFPD-26 and CTEQ and 224 of 286 (78%) of IHG questionnaires were returned for 26 trainees and 31 consultants by 266 medical students. There was a statistically significant higher ratings of trainees in seven of eight domains of SFDP-26, and the median (interquartile ranges [IQR]) overall score was 115 (105–126) and 108 (99–121) for trainees and consultants, respectively (P < 0.0001). Similarly, trainees were rated significantly higher in seven of nine CTEQ domains, and this was reflected in the overall score. The patterns were similar for third- and fifth-year students, and the type of learning exposure did not make a difference. With these students, the overall teaching effectiveness correlated (Spearman Correlation Coefficient [SCC]) the most with enthusiastic and stimulating (SCC 0.711; P < 0.0001), establishes rapport (SCC 0.69; P < 0.0001) and is accessible (SCC 0.67; P < 0.0001) in CTEQ, and with learning climate (SCC 0.62; P < 0.0001), communication of goals (SCC 0.54; P < 0.0001) and evaluation (SCC 0.52; P < 0.0001) in SFDP-26. At the end of their rotations, 30% of both groups of students were neutral or disagreed that consultants were essential to their clinical programs compared to 15% (P = 0.001) and 11% (P < 0.0001) of third- and fifth-year students, respectively, felt about trainees. By applying a new grading system derived from the full database of responses, the trainees would be graded 1 and consultants 7 out of 10 possible grades. Conclusions: Teaching delivered by doctors in training within a formal teaching program is of good quality and well received by medical students. There is a need for an equivalent program for trainee clinical educationalists like the Integrated Academic Training scheme of the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), UK, for trainee academics. More qualitative studies are needed to analyse some of the findings in this study.

Transitioning to practice: a qualitative investigation of Australian graduate naturopath\u2019s experiences of being in practice

BackgroundThe transition from student to practitioner can be challenging, resulting in stress, burnout and attrition. While there has been ample research examining graduate medical and allied health practitioner experiences of transitioning to practice, there is a paucity of research exploring such experiences in newly qualified naturopathic medicine practitioners. In light of this knowledge gap, the objective of this study was to ascertain the experiences of practicing as a naturopath in Australia within the first 5 years post-graduation.MethodsUsing a qualitative descriptive approach, recent graduates of an Australian Bachelor of Naturopathy (or equivalent) program were invited to participate in a semi-structured telephone interview to address the study objective. Data were analysed utilising a framework approach.ResultsA total of 19 new graduates (94.7% female; 57.9% aged 40–59 years) undertook an interview. Five inter-related themes emerged from the data: practitioner, practice, proprietorship, professions, and perceptions. Connected with these themes were contrasting feelings, multiplicity of duties, small business challenges, professional collaboration, and professional identity, respectively.ConclusionsParticipants were generally content with their decision to become a naturopath. However, most were confronted by a range of challenges as they transitioned from graduate to practitioner, for which many felt ill-prepared. In light of the complexity of the issue, and the potential impact on the sustainability of the profession, it is evident that a multi-pronged, multi-stakeholder approach would be needed to better support graduate naturopath transition to practice.

Solving Partially Observable Environments with Universal Search Using Dataflow Graph-Based Programming Model

Universal search allows one to create an asymptotically optimal intelligent agent, which can act in a wide range of computable environments. However combinatorial explosion is still lurking behind though its dependency shifted from problem size to solution size. To combat this scenario, we propose a dataflow graph-based functional programming model to be used in the universal search for solution program generation. We have justified the superiority of our proposed model compared to sequential token-based languages when used in universal search-based intelligent agents. We have shown how applying an equivalent program pruning strategy can handle the problem of semantically redundant program generation. An incremental learning strategy based on gradient ascent is also proposed for our designed agent. Experimental results positively reinforced the theoretical justifications. We used our agent to solve some partially observable environments and compared them with the current state of art methods and it reveals the exceptional performance of our agent.

Universal Equivalence and Majority of Probabilistic Programs over Finite Fields

We study decidability problems for equivalence of probabilistic programs for a core probabilistic programming language over finite fields of fixed characteristic. The programming language supports uniform sampling, addition, multiplication, and conditionals and thus is sufficiently expressive to encode Boolean and arithmetic circuits. We consider two variants of equivalence: The first one considers an interpretation over the finite field F q , while the second one, which we call universal equivalence, verifies equivalence over all extensions F q k of F q . The universal variant typically arises in provable cryptography when one wishes to prove equivalence for any length of bitstrings, i.e., elements of F 2 k for any k . While the first problem is obviously decidable, we establish its exact complexity, which lies in the counting hierarchy. To show decidability and a doubly exponential upper bound of the universal variant, we rely on results from algorithmic number theory and the possibility to compare local zeta functions associated to given polynomials. We then devise a general way to draw links between the universal probabilistic problems and widely studied problems on linear recurrence sequences. Finally, we study several variants of the equivalence problem, including a problem we call majority, motivated by differential privacy. We also define and provide some insights about program indistinguishability, proving that it is decidable for programs always returning 0 or 1.

People, Policy, and Praxis

Freirean pedagogy in adult education programs that embrace an open dialectic can be responsive to situations where ambiguity in policy implementation results in discrimination and disenfranchisement. The case presented below comes from my experiences as an educator in a Freirean, Spanish-language, high school equivalency (HSE) program in New Jersey during significant national changes to HSE credentialing in 2014. It describes policy implementation in the local context within the relationships between governing institutions, service organizations, and the people policies are meant to govern. The case constructs a narrative for the relevant policy environments and actions at the time through the assemblage of primary sources, such as policy documents and internal organizational reports, as well as an analysis of 25 news reports and commentaries taken from 2013-2014. I argue that all policies, even those initiated at the national level, are ultimately enacted locally through the dialectic relationships between policy makers, administrators, program staff, and students at a variety of public and private organizations. I show how Freirean approaches to program design and operation respond to political, policy, and programmatic complexities to address discrimination and disenfranchisement. In conclusion, I discuss implications for educators seeking to adopt a Freirean framework into their own program design and implementation. These include the development of local praxis within an analysis of larger oppressive structures, thoughtful design and critical flexibility to work closely with students in program operation, and engagement in dialectic relationships with existing or potential collaborators.

PASTEC - a prospective, single-center, randomized, cross-over trial of pure physical versus physical plus attentional training in children with cancer

Despite recent improvements in survival rates in children with cancer, long-term toxicities remain a major concern. Physical activity could reduce the impact of long-term sequelae, notably in neuropsychological and physical areas. We report of a randomized trial of pure physical versus physical/attentional training in pediatric oncology patients. Twenty-two patients aged 6–18 y.o. were included, irrespective of their clinical diagnosis or treatment status, stratified by age and randomized 1:1 into pure physical vs. physical/attentional activity arms, with a cross-over at study midpoint. Neurological, motor and neuropsychological assessments were performed at inclusion, start, crossover and end of the program. Feasibility, defined as > 80% patients attending > 80% of sessions, was the primary endpoint. Secondary outcomes were improvements in neuropsychological and motor performance tests. While 68% of patients attended more than 80% of sessions during the pre-crossover phase of the study, this dropped to 36% post-crossover. Our study therefore failed to meet our primary endpoint. Nonetheless, significant improvements in anxiety (p<0.001), emotional control (p = 0.04), organization skills (p = 0.03), as well as motor deficit scores (p = 0.04) were observed. We noted no significant difference between the pure physical and the physical/attentional training arms, or when analyzing subgroups by age or sequence of intervention. We conclude that physical activity has a positive impact on anxiety, emotional and organizational aspects as well as motor deficits. Attendance dropped during the course of the study and motivational interventions should be included in future studies or equivalent programs. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08880018.2021.1994677 .

RISK MANAGEMENT IN MAQISTRAL GAS AND OIL PIPELINE SYSTEMS WITH POTENTIAL COST CONSTRAINTS

The problem of managing technical and technological risks in main gas and oil pipeline systems, subject to the possibility of limited funds allocated for the prevention and elimination of the consequences of accidents, is considered in the form of a semi-Markov decision-making model for a controlled Markov process in continuous time with the criterion of the maximum average discounted income. To find the optimal nonrandomized Markov stationary strategy, a procedure is proposed based on reducing the formulated fuzzy problem to an equivalent Boolean programming problem with deterministic constraints. To solve the resulting system of inequality constraints, an algorithm has been developed for finding basic solutions for an arbitrary number of accidents and measures to eliminate them. The numerical implementation of the proposed approach is implemented for the real problem of risk management in the main gas pipeline with unclear cost constraints. Keywords: semi-Markov decision-making process, Markov stationary strategy, feasibility optimization, basic solutions to inequalities.

Reducing Higher-order Recursion Scheme Equivalence to Coinductive Higher-order Constrained Horn Clauses

Higher-order constrained Horn clauses (HoCHC) are a semantically-invariant system of higher-order logic modulo theories. With semi-decidable unsolvability over a semi-decidable background theory, HoCHC is suitable for safety verification. Less is known about its relation to larger classes of higher-order verification problems. Motivated by program equivalence, we introduce a coinductive version of HoCHC that enjoys a greatest model property. We define an encoding of higher-order recursion schemes (HoRS) into HoCHC logic programs. Correctness of this encoding reduces decidability of the open HoRS equivalence problem -- and, thus, the LambdaY-calculus B\"ohm tree equivalence problem -- to semi-decidability of coinductive HoCHC over a complete and decidable theory of trees.

The Relations of Tutor Teaching Performance and Science Learning Outcome of Learners at Paket B Equivalency Program

This research is motivated by the low learning outcomes of residents learning equivalence Package B at SPNF Pasaman Regency, this is thought to be due to the influence of tutor performance in learning of science subjects for class VIII. This study aims to: 1) describe the performance of tutors; 2) describe the learning outcomes of learning citizens; and 3) looking at the relationship between tutor performance in learning and learning outcomes in Science Class VIII Equivalence Package B at SPNF Pasaman Regency. This type of research is quantitative research with correlational descriptive technique. The population of this study were all students of class VIII Package B Program at SPNF Pasaman Regency, totaling 180 people and with a sample of 44 people. The data collection technique is in the form of a questionnaire with a data collection tool in the form of a questionnaire and the data is analyzed using the percentage technique and product moment correlation. The results showed that: (1) the performance of tutors in learning of science subjects for class VIII was categorized as low, (2) the learning outcomes of students were categorized as low, (3) there was a significant relationship between the performance of tutors in learning and science learning outcomes. class VIII Equality Package B at SPNF Pasaman Regency. It is recommended for institutions to pay more attention to the performance of tutors, and it is hoped that tutors can improve performance in learning.

Relationship Between Family Environment and Discipline Study in the Equivalency Education Program

This research is motivated by the low learning discipline of children in the equality program at PKBM Karang Putih II, Padang City, allegedly due to the influence of a poor family environment. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family environment and learning discipline in the equality program at PKBM Karang Putih II, Padang City. This type of research is quantitative correlational. In this study, the population is all residents studying the equivalence program package A, B, and C in 2021, totaling 87 people. The sampling technique is cluster random sampling. Samples were taken as much as 30% from each study group, namely as many as 26 samples. The data collection technique used is a questionnaire, the data collection tool uses a questionnaire containing a list of statements. The data analysis technique uses percentages. The results showed that (1) the description of the family environment had been carried out well, (2) the description of learning discipline in the equality program at PKBM Karang Putih had been carried out quite well, (3) the relationship between the family environment and learning discipline was categorized as strong (significant). It can be seen from the majority of residents who learn to give frequent statements. Based on the results of the data obtained, it can be concluded that the relationship between the family environment and learning discipline in the equality program at PKBM Karang Putih II has been carried out well.

The Relations Between Tutor Learning Strategy With Learning Performance in Equivalency Program Paket B

This research is motivated by the low learning outcomes of social science subjects for equivalence education package B at PKBM Suka Maju Sejahtera, Padang City. This can be seen from the learning strategy provided by the tutor is not good so that it affects the learning outcomes of learning residents. The objectives of the research are: (1) to see the description of the tutor's learning strategy (2) to see the description of the learning outcomes obtained by the learning community; and (3) to find out the relationship between tutor learning strategies and learning outcomes for social studies subjects in equivalence education package B. This research is classified as quantitative with correlational type. The population in this study were 20 people, the sampling technique was in the form of random sampling and taken as much as 100% or all of those included in the population would be used as a sample of 20 people. The data collection technique uses a questionnaire with the tool in the form of a list of statements. The data were analyzed by the percentage formula and the data processing technique used the rank order formula. The results of this study are: (1) tutor learning strategies at PKBM Suka Maju Sejahtera Padang City are categorized as low. (2) the learning outcomes of social studies subjects are categorized as low. (3) there is a significant relationship between the tutor's learning strategy and the learning outcomes of social studies subjects for equivalence education package B at PKBM Suka Maju Sejahtera, Padang City. It is hoped that further researchers will be able to innovate by examining other variables.