Opsis

Abstract: The paper describes Opsis, a view mechanism applied to graph based process modelling languages of type Petri net. A view is a sub model which can be mechanistically constructed from another model by application of a perspective which: identifies all parts of the original model that are contained in the submodel; identifies and transforms all parts that constitute the interface to other sub models; adds new link relations to describe the behaviour of the sub model in interaction with the other sub models. Sub models are more easy to grasp and can be limited in scope to some well defined aspects of a global model, such as the view point ofa single role player. Composition of sub models is achieved through a merge operation on interface elements of sub models. The intended use of Opsis is: 1) process evolution-changes can be localised to certain views, which largely reduces the complexity of applying change; and 2) process reuse-libraries can contain reusable fragments of type view that can be combined using the composition operators.

Abstract: Most of the work previously carried out on software processes addressed the problem of modelling as a monolithic description focusing on one perspective e.g. product, process, role, etc. Little has been done to address the problem of software process improvement through the dynamic composition of consistent and reusable pre composed components. Our aim is to propose a new framework which integrates these aspects in a unified manner. This work is the result of five years' experience on the systems: Tempo/Adele and Opsis. In our framework we rely on a component based approach to build views which can be refined and expanded during enactment. Views are distributed entities which communicate using a dynamic connection protocol.

Abstract: An Ear for an Eye: Greek Tragedy on Radio examines the dramaturgical principles involved in the adaptation of Greek tragedies for production as radio dramas by considering the classical dramatic form’s representational ability through purely oral means and the effects of dramaturgical interventions. The inherent orality of these tragedies and Aristotle’s suggested limitation of spectacle (opsis) appears to make them eminently suitable for radio, a medium in which the visual dimension of plays is relegated entirely to the imagination through the agency of sound. Utilizing productions from Canadian and British national radio (where classical adaptations are both culturally mandated and technically practical) from the height of radio’s golden age to the present, this study demonstrates how producers adapted to the unique formal properties of radio. The appendices include annotated, chronological lists of 154 CBC and BBC productions that were identified in the course of research, providing a significant resource for future investigators. The dissertation first examines the proximate forces which shaped radio dramaturgy and radio listeners. Situating the emergence of radio in the context of modernity, Chapter One elucidates how audiences responded to radio’s return to orality within a visually-oriented culture. Chapter Two then analyses the specific perceptual and imaginative activity of individuals, considering how audiences experience acoustic space. I describe how the audience’s central position in the reception of radio drama is integral to the completion of the dramatic frame of radio. The second part of this dissertation addresses radiophonic dramaturgy and issues in representation. In Chapter Three, the didactic and nationalistic impetus for the adaptation of classics as radio plays is considered and the principles of radio adaptation are outlined. The final two chapters examine the formal properties of productions in adaptation through case studies to illustrate where the play’s inherent orality allows for ease in adaptation or where greater dramaturgical intervention is required. Chapter Four examines the construction of dramatic figures, music and song, the use of paratheatrical materials, and narrative strategies for the representation of action, space, and time. Chapter Five examines productions where greater dramaturgical intervention and innovation is in evidence, including the manipulation of perspective (in the CBC’s 2001 Medea), the use of music to modernize setting (in the 1998 CBC-BBC co-production of The Trojan Women), the use of experimental montage (in the BBC’s 1976 Ag), the introduction of flashback sequences (in the CBC’s 1987 Antigone), and solutions to the problem of what I term “dramaturgical erasure” (the inadvertent removal of silent figures from the perspectival field).%%%%PhD

Abstract: Shows how visual programming can be used to teach the subject of binary tree algorithms. In our approach, the student implements a binary tree algorithm by manipulating abstract tree fragments (not necessarily just single nodes) in a visual way. This paper contributes to visual programming research by combining elements of animation, programming and proof to produce an educational visual programming tool. In addition, we describe our experiences with Opsis, a system we built to demonstrate the ideas in this paper (Opsis is a Java applet and can be accessed at http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/amir/Opsis.html). Finally, we make the claim that visual programming is an ideal way to teach data structure algorithms.