6 MACAU-ORIENTED ACTIVITIESAnnual Report 19954 FELLOWSAnnual Report 1995Return to UNU/IIST's home page

5 PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES

This section details all projects currently undertaken (or, in a few cases, planned) by UNU/IIST.

5.1 Post-Graduate and Post-Doctoral Courses

5.1.1 Course Aims and Objectives

Aims and objectives of the off-shore UNU/IIST Post-Graduate and Post-Doctoral Courses are:

  1. Awareness and Education:

    To propagate awareness of and secure deep training in most advanced software technology development techniques within the UNU/IIST agenda areas: software support for infrastructure systems and reactive and hybrid systems.

    The main vehicles for UNU/IIST's teaching of formal methods are: (1) The RAISE method, tools and language (RSL), possibly the best supported and most mature formal method available today, and (2) The Duration Calculi, probably the most exciting technique for dealing with safety critical, (hard) real-time, reactive and hybrid systems. In both (1) and (2) current (and on leave) UNU/IIST staff have originated these internationally increasingly well-known and more widely adopted methods and techniques.

  2. Fellow Identification:  

    To identify potential Fellows: young, bright and available, and to discuss with their supervisors availability, timing and project subjects.

  3. R&D Project Identification:

    To identify, with leading staff of the host universities of the country of the off-shore course, possible joint advanced development and/or research project actions.

Off-shore courses typically cost around US$25,000-40,000 each, an expense which includes staff preparation time (salary etc.), travel, books and hand-outs, occasional participant costs, occasional local computer rental, and overhead. Typically each participant receives about US$130 worth of books and hand-outs.

Off-shore courses provide the setting for UNU/IIST's most important first serious discussions of collaboration with other institutions.

UNU/IIST has practised this approach to joint collaboration ever since its start, and finds it a very effective and open, mutually committing way of ensuring worthwhile and enduring collaborations.

5.1.2 Course Site Selection Principle

Since the off-shore courses, at present, provide the most mature and responsible way for UNU/IIST to disseminate its Agenda (see section 3) it is important to choose venues for courses appropriately.

UNU/IIST started by establishing that it could register success stories locally: beginning with China (1992) and then spreading. In 1992 we additionally covered India. In 1993: Thailand, Vietnam and DPR of Korea (1st half). In 1994: The Philippines, Indonesia, DPR of Korea (2nd half). Some courses have been planned, but had to be cancelled because of local co-ordinators leaving their country, or for other reasons. UNU/IIST works closely with leading individuals who understand our Agenda, and with the leading institutions in developing countries. UNU/IIST is not a mass education or training institution and only has a responsibility towards post-graduate education, and in particular post-doctoral education.

UNU/IIST is now planning, for 1996, to offer courses in both Africa and South America. Later courses will be offered in the Arab World. (One such course planned in 1993 had to be cancelled due to factors beyond UNU/IIST's control.)

Summarizing: UNU/IIST offers courses to highest level ("elite") institutions, according to the UNU/IIST Agenda, and increasingly covers all developing countries.

UNU/IIST finds potential hosts for such courses (1) through its participation in UNESCO's IIP meetings and in international conferences in developing as well as industrialized countries, (2) by being approached by potential hosts as a result of our publications, including our Internet/WWW home page, and (3) through explicit contacts made by UNU/IIST with leading institutions in developing countries. Although UNU/IIST is not required to be geo-politically balanced in all of its selections, it is, however, endeavouring to be so.

5.1.3 The 1995-1996 Courses

In 1995-1996 the following courses were given or are planned:

  1. [] Actual: 1995

  2. Hanoi, Vietnam; two weeks; 20 participants; February

    Formal Software Development, 20 lectures and computer exercises; Mr. Chris George, UNU/IIST Research Fellow. Design Techniques for Real-time Systems using the Duration Calculi; 15 lectures; Dr. Dang Van Hung, UNU/IIST Fellow.

  3. University of Macau; 14 weeks; 20 participants; February-May  

    A weekly two+ hour lecture and guidance; various UNU/IIST staff and visitors.

  4. Zhuhai, P.R. of China; Full-day Seminar; 30 participants; April 3 

    Overview of Formal Development of Large-scale Software Systems (Dines Bjørner); Formal Software Development (Chris George); Real-time, Hybrid and Reactive Systems Design using Duration Calculi (Zhou Chao Chen and Xu Qi Wen).

  5. Penang, Malaysia; two weeks; 20 participants; June 19-30

    Formal Software Development, 20 lectures and computer exercises; Mr. Chris George, UNU/IIST Research Fellow. Design Techniques for Real-time Systems using the Duration Calculi; 15 lectures; Dr. Xu QiWen, UNU/IIST Research Fellow

  6. Ulaan Baator, Mongolia; Full-day Seminar; 15 participants; 16 August

    Temporal Logic of Reactive Systems, Prof. Zohar Manna, Stanford University, California, USA. Formal Software Development Techniques, Dr. Dines Bjørner, UNU/IIST Director.

  7. University of Macau; 14 weeks; 20 participants; September-December  

    A weekly two+ hour student seminar; guidance by various UNU/IIST staff and visitors.

  8. [] Planned: 1996

  9. Hanoi, Vietnam: two weeks; January 1996

    This single topic course is part of UNU/IIST's growing involvement with the Vietnam Ministry of Finance; Mr. Chris George, UNU/IIST Research Fellow. See sections 5.3.10 and 5.6.2.

  10. Bangalore, India; two weeks; April 19965

    Formal Software Development, 15 lectures and computer exercises; Mr. Chris George, UNU/IIST Research Fellow. Design Techniques for Real-time Systems using the Duration Calculi; 10 lectures; Dr. Pandya K. Paritosh, TIFR, Bombay, India.

  11. University of Macau: Spring 1996

    UNU/IIST is currently deciding whether to offer a 14 week Spring course for University of Macau M.Sc. students.

  12. Anglophone Africa: Accra, Ghana, Mid 1996

    This two-week course is presently being planned. Negotiations have started with colleagues at University of Ghana, Legon.

  13. Francophone Africa, Mid 1996

    This two-week course is presently being planned. Negotiations have started with colleagues in Burkina Faso.

  14. San Luis, Argentina, 29 April - 10 May, 1996

    This single topic two-week course: RAISE: Formal development of software, is presently being planned. Very few details remain to be fixed. The course is primarily funded by The World Bank.

  15. University of Macau: Autumn 1996

    UNU/IIST is currently deciding whether to offer a 14 week Autumn course for University of Macau M.Sc. students.

    Probably only one course will be offered during 1996.

  16. San Luis, Argentina, 11-12 November, 1996

    This double topic two-week course: (i) Large Scale Software Design, and (ii) Duration Calculus: Real time, reactive and hybrid systems (one week each) is presently being planned. Very few details remain to be fixed. The course is primarily funded by The World Bank.

  17. Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, November, 1996

    This double topic, two-week course is presently being planned. Very few details remain to be fixed. The course is primarily funded by the Brazilian CNPq.

5.2 Joint Research

5.2.1 Aims and Objectives

See preamble section 3.2.3.

The aims and objectives of the UNU/IIST research projects are:

  1. to train Fellows in research techniques

  2. to introduce Fellows to front-of-the-wave research topics

  3. to produce and publish research results

  4. to support the other UNU/IIST activities: advanced developments, courses, events, dissemination and consultancy.

We refer to section 3.2.3 UNU/IIST's research is thus strongly related to programming methodological issues of the trustworthy construction of real-time, reactive and hybrid systems software.

5.2.2 Research Topic Selection Principle

UNU/IIST has decided to feature a strong group in a core topic of programming method-oriented computer science, and has, for historic reasons, chosen the field of real-time, reactive and hybrid systems. This is a field very much in the centre of computer science research today. UNU/IIST is one of the acknowledged leaders in this field of research. UNU/IIST strongly believes that no scientific computer science research can be said to be indigenous to developing countries -- and has therefore chosen to offer the very best of world class research!

See section 3.2.3.

5.2.3 Hybrid Systems

Synopsis
: This research is concerned with the specification and development of hybrid systems. These are typically control systems with embedded computers. Durational Calculi are used as the formal tools.

Period
: January 1995-December 1996

Aims and Objectives
: (1) To contribute to the field of hybrid systems, which is rapidly expanding; (2) through joint work, to train Fellows in doing international level research; (3) to propagate the techniques to developing countries through the returning Fellows; and (4) to help the University of Macau in their research programme.

Justification
: To facilitate high level research in developing countries.

Achievements
: Methodological issues were studied along with representative case studies such as inverted pendulum, steam boiler, water tank and chemical concentration systems.

In the period 1.9.95-31.12.95, two Fellows together with UNU/IIST staff investigated design methods of hybrid systems.

Four papers have been presented or accepted for presentation at international workshops, and one more accepted by the Journal of British Computing Society. Such recognition demonstrates UNU/IIST's substantial contributions to this field.

UNU/IIST Staff and Fellows
:

  1. [] UNU/IIST Staff

  2. Zhou Chao Chen, 25% -- 1.1.95-30.6.95

  3. Xu Qi Wen, 30% -- 1.1.95-

  4. Dang Van Hung, 30% -- 1.10.95-

  5. [] Fellows

  6. Dang Van Hung, Vietnam -- 1.4.94-31.7.95

  7. Belawati H. Widjaja, Indonesia -- 1.9.94-23.1.95

  8. He Wei Dong, China -- 23.7.94-

  9. Li Xiao Shan, China -- 20.12.94-1.5.95

  10. Wang Ji, China -- 1.3.95-31.5.95

  11. Yang Zhen Yu, China -- 28.8.95-

  12. [] SSA

  13. Lu Jian -- 5.8.-4.11.95

Partners
:

  1. Academia Sinica, Software Institute, China

  2. Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China

  3. Changsha Institute of Technology, Hunan, China

  4. Institute of Information Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

  5. Nanjing University, China

  6. University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

Activity Level
: This is a major UNU/IIST project.

Reports
: [50][45][21][66][64][65][57][59][55][60][56]

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding, approximately US$96,000 for 1995.

5.2.4 Reactive Systems

Synopsis
: This research is concerned with the specification and development of reactive systems. Hybrid systems are typically reactive but reactive systems are more general. General Duration Calculi, a proof assistant based on PVS, as well as their wider applications are studied. Other theories of reactive systems, such as compositional verification and refinement calculi, are also investigated.

Period
: January 1995-December 1996

Aims and Objectives
: (1) To contribute to the field of reactive systems which is rapidly expanding; (2) through joint work, to train Fellows in doing international level research; and (3) to propagate the techniques to developing countries through the returning Fellows.

Justification
: To facilitate high level research in developing countries.

Achievements
: In the period 1.9.95-31.12.95, one SSA and one Fellow together with UNU/IIST staff investigated reactive systems. Theoretical investigations were conducted along with representative case studies such as verification of scheduling algorithms. Three papers have been presented or accepted for presentation at international workshops. Another paper on refinement calculus (based on work mainly done elsewhere) has been accepted by an international journal. Again, such recognition demonstrates UNU/IIST's substantial contributions to this field.

UNU/IIST Staff and Fellows
:

  1. [] UNU/IIST Staff

  2. Zhou Chao Chen, 25% -- 1.1.95-30.6.95

  3. Xu Qi Wen, 30% -- 1.1.95-

  4. Dang Van Hung, 30% -- 1.10.95-

  5. [] Fellows

  6. Dang Van Hung -- 1.4.94-31.7.95

  7. Philip Chan -- 2.1.95-1.6.95

  8. Phan Hong Giang -- 4.9.95-

  9. [] SSA

  10. Lu Jian -- 5.8.-4.11.95

Partners
:

  1. Institute of Information Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

  2. De La Salle University, Philippines

  3. University of Nanjing, China

Activity Level
: This is a major UNU/IIST project.

Reports
: [47][48][20][16][38][43]

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding, approximately US$96,000 for 1995.

5.2.5 Geometric Reasoning and Programs

Synopsis
: This project investigates geometric reasoning and programming. It is a co-operative research project, conducted jointly by CICA (Chengdu Institute of Computer Application, Academia Sinica, Chengdu, Sizhuan, China) and UNU/IIST.

Period
: October 1994-September 1996

Aims and Objectives
: (1) To define a Specification Language for the Constructive Geometric Computing (SLG), which characterizes the geometric problem domain; (2) to design an algorithm which translates a specification written in SLG into a set of theorems; (3) to produce proofs for a set of theorems; (4) to extract programs from proofs; (5) to investigate interesting applications, for example, Robotics, Geodetic or Aerial Survey, etc.; and (6) to implement a system which can produce Lisp/Prolog/Maple programs from specifications written in SLG.

Justification
: To promote advanced software technology at CICA and in South West China; to improve geometric reasoning techniques.

Achievements
: In the initial stage, an approach to solving the inverse kinematics problem of robotic manipulators has been developed, one which succeeds in finding closed form solutions for three-joint placeable manipulators. A Maple implementation has been completed.

UNU/IIST Staff and Fellows
:

  1. [] UNU/IIST Staff

  2. Zhou Chao Chen, 25% -- 1.1.95-30.6.95

  3. [] Fellow

  4. Fu Hong Guang -- 27.12.94-1.7.95

Partner
: Chengdu Institute of Computer Application, Academia Sinica, China.

Activity Level
: This is the initial stage of a three year project.

Report
: [35]

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding for work carried out at UNU/IIST, approximately US$34,000 for 1995.

5.3 Advanced Joint Development Projects

See preamble section 3.2.2.

Topics: Selection Principle

UNU/IIST's advanced development projects primarily focus on Software Support for Infrastructures. Subsection Infrastructure Software 3.2.2, and its surrounding subsections have already summarized UNU/IIST's basic principles with respect to this choice. A document Software Support for Infrastructures was presented to and adopted by the UNU/IIST Board at its May 1995 session.

Common to all advanced development (R&D + Training) projects is the emphasis on learning and using formal techniques for software development, including thorough application domain analysis prior to requirements capture, which again is prior to software architecture, design and coding. Currently UNU/IIST is mainly propagating the use of the RAISE method and tools. UNU/IIST6 has so far been able to provide the RAISE tool set free of charge to our university partners.

Projects current in 1995

5.3.1 RaCoSy: Railway Computing Systems

Synopsis
: This research and development project is concerned with an overall determination of a normative software architecture that will allow co-existence of, data exchange between and mutual invocation among arbitrary Railway Computing Systems (hence RaCoSy) software packages.

Period
: 15 April 1993 -- mid 1996 (so far!)

Aims and Objectives
: (1) joint research of infrastructures and normative software architecture components for the Chinese railway system, (2) training of Fellows from the Chinese Ministry of Railways in advanced software technology development, and (3) joint development of selected software packages: Distributed Train Dispatch (initially for the Zhengzhou-Wuhan line), and Station Management.

Justification
: To enable own development of arbitrarily advanced software systems for own consumption (in China, hence providing self-reliance), manpower (human resource) development, and potential international commercialization of railway software. In the past as now, most software for developing countries' railway needs is acquired from industrialized countries. The RaCoSy project proves that this need not necessarily continue to be so in the future.

Achievements:
In the period 20.10.93-30.11.94 four Fellows working with with UNU/IIST staff and visiting experts developed a fairly complete set of domain analysis, requirements capture, software architecture and design descriptions for an operational single standing (i.e. non-distributed) Running Map-based Train Rescheduling software sub-system. This Sun/UNIX-based software has now been delivered to the Zhengzhou Railway Administration in China by returning Fellows, and a three week training course on its design and use has been given, mainly by these Fellows (in December 1995). In the period 1.6.94-1.5.95 one Fellow (see item 4.2, section 4.2.) did the domain analysis, requirements capture, software architecture and partial implementation of a Railway Station Management sub-system, one that monitors and controls track routes for approaching, station located, and departing trains.

Plans
: In the period 25.7.95-24.7.96 two new Fellows, see items 4.2 and 4.2 section 4.2, together with UNU/IIST staff, will do the domain analysis for the area of distributed train dispatch, the requirements capture for a distributed running map train dispatch system, and will implement such a system aimed at the 28 train dispatch centres on the Zhengzhou-Wuhan line.

UNU/IIST Staff and Fellows
:

  1. [] Staff:

  2. Chris George, Senior Research Fellow, 40% -- 1.9.94-

  3. [] Fellows:

  4. Mr. Dong Yu Lin, China Railway Construction Co., Beijing, China -- 1.4.93-31.8.95

  5. Mrs. Hong Mei, Fudan University, Shanghai, China -- 2.5-2.7.95

  6. Mr. Liu Lian Suo, Zhengzhou Railway Administration, China -- 25.7.95-24.7.96

  7. Mr. Yang Dong, Zhengzhou Railway Administration, China -- 25.7.95-24.7.96

Partners
:

  1. Ministry of Railways, Computer Centre, Beijing, China

  2. Zhengzhou Railway Administration, Zhengzhou, China

Activity Level
: This is a major UNU/IIST project.

Several publications and international presentations have been made.

The project is followed with great interest in Austria, Denmark, France, Japan, Norway, and Switzerland. UNU/IIST is planning to disseminate the results of the RaCoSy project to other developing countries. Loose discussions on this matter are underway with contacts in Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, and elsewhere.

Reports
: [6][39][32][49][31][14][53][25]

Funding
: So far 100% UNU/IIST funded, approximately US$145,000 in 1995. Note: The PRC Ministry of Railways has, since 1992, promised to materialize funds, from its large World Bank loans, to cover partial expenses. TTT: things take time.

5.3.2 RoMaNS: Road Management Systems / A Toll Way Booth System

Synopsis
: This research, advanced development and training project is concerned with basic information technology aspects of Road Management Systems -- initially Toll Way Booth Monitoring and Control.

Period
: 1 February 1995 -- ...7

Aims and Objectives
: (1) To initially ("reverse-engineer" and) abstractly describe the functions and behaviour of a toll way booth system (for the Indonesian Toll Way System Company) and to stepwise refine this towards a description that fits the current electro-mechanics of the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation equipment currently used by the Toll Way System; (2) to train a university lecturer in doing research, and (3) to develop material (the project report) that can help serve as a basis for a graduate case-study in a formal methods course.

Justification
: As part of a group of emerging projects, RoManS contributes possible solutions to the traffic congestion problems of mega-cities, as well as to the self-reliance of developing countries: own development, human resource development, etc.

Achievements
: A thorough analysis (and hence understanding) of a particular reactive system has been documented. A good basis has now been made for continued and expanded future work.

Plans
: UNU/IIST would like to expand the scope of the current project to the whole sub-infrastructure of a Road Monitoring and Control System (RoMaCS) which eventually could include software for (1) experimental road design, (2) road (actual traffic) monitoring and control, (3) road surface (etc.) monitoring and (preventive) maintenance planning, monitoring and control, etc. UNU/IIST may take this up should partners indicate interest.

UNU/IIST Staff and Fellows
:

  1. [] Staff:

  2. Chris George, Senior Research Fellow, 20% -- 1.2-31.8.95

  3. Dines Bjørner, Director, 5-10% -- 1.2-31.8.95

  4. Xu Qi Wen, Research Fellow, 10% -- 1.2-30.4.95

  5. [] Fellow:

  6. Mrs. Mia Indrika, University of Indonesia, Jakarta -- 1.2-31.8.95

Partner
: Computer Sciences Center, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia (Prof. Irwan Margono) [and hence the Indonesian public/private Toll Way System company].

Activity Level
: This is an initial entry level activity that may bear fruits by being expanded as indicated under Plans above.

Report
: [41]

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding, approximately US$32,500 for 1995.

5.3.3 DiMulTS: Digital Multiplexed Telephone System

Synopsis
: This research, advanced development and training project is initially concerned with basic telecommunications protocol aspects, in particular for a special, new Digital Multiplexed Radio Telephone System currently being researched and developed by The Philippine Government's Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI).

Period
: May 1995 - February 1996

Aims and Objectives
:

(1) To formally describe the properties of the multiplex protocols being used; (2) to formally specify the complete system showing that it satisfies the requirements for a telephone system; and (3) to train Fellows in advanced development of software systems.

Justification
: The system being developed in The Philippines is designed for particular circumstances common in developing countries: dispersed small population centres with difficult intervening terrain. Hence the project contributes to the areas of both self reliance and infrastructural development.

Achievements
: A specification architecture and proof strategy has been developed and documented for the underlying network system. This has been extended to provide a specification of the telephone system. A specification of the protocols has also been completed.

Plans
: Documentation of the complete system should be completed by the time the current Fellow leaves UNU/IIST. We hope in future to extend this work to other aspects of telephony and other communication protocols, if we can find further partners.

UNU/IIST Staff and Fellows
:

  1. [] Staff:

  2. Chris George, Senior Research Fellow, 20% -- 8.5-7.2.96

  3. [] Fellow:

  4. Roderick C. A. Durmiendo, ASTI, Manila, The Philippines -- 8.5.1995-7.2.1996

Partner
: ASTI (The Philippine Ministry of Science and Technology's Advanced Science and Technology Institute at University of The Philippines), Manila

Activity Level
: This is an initial entry level activity that may bear fruits by being UNU/IIST's first "entry" into the important Telecommunications Research and Development area.

Report
: [26]

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding, approximately US$26,000 for 1995.

5.3.4 ABC/ATC'2000: Aviation Business and Air Traffic

Synopsis
: This research, advanced development and training project has two facets:

ATC'2000
Air Traffic Control: this is in its first, feasibility phase in which basic facets of the aviation field are studied: air space, air line time tables, air traffic, flight bookings, etc. Out of this is expected to emerge an exploratory project that can begin 1.1.1996 and in which alternative development approaches, for example for the development of air traffic control software, can be studied and subsequently some demonstrator air traffic controller training software can be prototype developed.

ABC'2000
Airline Operations: in which we study the information infrastructure of main airline operations: from planning via daily operations to statistics gathering (fed back to planning). This includes development of a prototype demonstrator software package for validation of the findings, airline management awareness training and airline staff vocational training. Emphasis is on improving the economics of operations.

Periods
: Feasibility phase: February - December 1995

Exploratory phase: January - December 1996

Aims and Objectives
: (1) joint research of infrastructures and normative software architecture components for Aviation Business Systems, (2) training of Fellows from Vietnam Airlines and AeroThai in advanced software technology development, and (3) joint development of:

  1. [ATC'2000] a software system for training future air traffic controllers under virtual reality conditions with reference to air space, meteorology, civil aviation rules and regulations and simulated traffic.

  2. [ABC'2000] a software architecture for a Finance and Decision Support System for operating an airline: Market Planning, Flight Scheduling, Reservations and Sale, Economics, and Staffing -- and interfaced to airport provided Passenger and Cargo Services, Departure Control, Maintenance, Fuel, and Air Traffic Control.

Justification
: The emerging, "small tiger" newly industrialized, yet still developing countries of the South and Far East Asia Region, as well as China and India, are experiencing a boom in air traffic and hence the demand for IT (information technology) for all aspects of aviation business -- air traffic control; airline reservation systems, aircraft, crew and maintenance resource allocation and scheduling; etc. -- is `exploding'. It is important that regional and national authorities fully understand as full a spectrum of requirements that one may put to their aviation business software technology, that they secure a minimum quantity of staff who are well versed in the underlying software technological issues so that appropriate procurement can take place, and that, in some cases, they be able to [co-]develop some of this software themselves. In the particular region of Macau, with the co-existence of five new major airports Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok, Shenzen, Guangdong, Zhuhai and Macau, we see a further need for understanding issues of co-ordinated air traffic control.

Achievements
:

ATC'2000: Mathematical descriptions have been documented and these have been presented at several international events and at many universities.

ABC'2000: Basic synopsis, narrative and formal models are being established.

UNU/IIST Staff, Fellows, etc.
:

  1. [] Staff:

  2. Dines Bjørner, Director, 10% -- 1.2-31.12.95

  3. Richard Moore, Research Fellow, 40% -- 1.10-

  4. [] Fellows:

  5. Dao Nam Anh, Vietnam Airlines, Hanoi -- ABC'2000: 31.8.95-31.7.96

  6. NN1, AeroThai, Bangkok, Thailand -- ATC'2000: 1.1-31.8.96

  7. [] University of Hong Kong Ph.D. Student:

  8. (Karl) Leung P.H. -- ATC'2000: 1.6.-22.9.95

Partners
:

  1. Vietnam Airlines, Hanoi, Vietnam -- ABC'2000

  2. Institute of Information Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam -- ABC/ATC'2000

  3. AeroThai, Bangkok, Thailand -- ATC'2000

  4. Computer Sciences Division, AIT, Bangkok, Thailand -- ABC/ATC'2000

  5. [] and probably in the future:

  6. ASC (Asia Simulation and Control Corp.), Zhuhai, China -- ATC'2000

Activity Level
: This is an initial entry level activity.

Reports
: [12][15][4][3][5]

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding, (for 1995) approximately US$46,800

5.3.5 LiMaCS: Library Monitoring and Command Systems

Synopsis
: This research, advanced development, training and M.Sc. supervision project is concerned with the future (computer, multi-media and very high speed communications) high-technology library as it is on-line interconnected with other libraries, with publishers and book stores (i.e. all forms of document providers) and with its clients (lenders/borrowers).

Period
: March 1995 - November 1996

Aims and Objectives
: (1) training Fellows and Macau M.Sc. Thesis students in advanced software technology issues (methods, multi-media, data netting, etc.), (2) domain analyzing What is a Library?, (3) letting such an analysis form the basis for requirements capture, (4) researching and developing a normative software architecture for a distributed computing and communications system of libraries, publishers, book (etc.) distributors, and borrowers, and (5) prototype developing a demonstrator system for training librarians and library users.

Plans
: Eventually the demonstrator LiMaCS system may serve as a basis for commercial maturing and packaging, marketing, sales and service, by some (non-UNU/IIST) private sector company, for example in Macau, of a multi-script total library "automation" system.

Justification
: Today's world of library software is extremely confused. There are literally hundreds of small vendors and a few large companies that provide various restricted software/hardware platform packages. Almost invariably these "systems" are national script bound. New opportunities such as the (for example Internet/WWW) "down-loading" (subject, possibly, to an electronic funds transfer fee payment structure) of electronic documents (journals, books) etc., needs to be fully integrated into an overall library concept.

Achievements
: Too early to report -- but an initial software architecture has tentatively/ experimentally been identified.

UNU/IIST Staff, Fellows, etc.
:

  1. [] Staff:

  2. Dines Bjørner, Director, 5-10% -- 1.3.95-

  3. Tomasz Janowski, Research fellow, 10%, -- 1.10.95-

  4. [] University of Macau M.Sc. Students:

  5. Mr. Teng Lam -- 1.8.95-31.10.96

  6. Ms. Wendy Tam Wai I -- 28.8.95-31.10.96

  7. Mr. Andrew Siu Ka Meng -- 28.8.95-31.10.96

Partners
: To be identified!

We hope that the new Library at the local University of Macau might be interested.

Depending on the status of achievements by mid-year 1996, UNU/IIST may present this project as a contribution to UNESCO's Memory of the World: Alexandria (Egypt) Library project, and offer to help UNESCO to find bilateral donors for a continued ALiMaCS: Alexandria LiMaCS project.

Activity Level
: This is an entry level, initial mostly training project -- that might bear fruit.

Report
: [44]

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding, approximately US$50,700 for 1995.

5.3.6 MIICI: Manufacturing Industry Systems

Synopsis
: This research, advanced development and training project is based on the very extensive work that UNU/IIST did in 1994. See the UNU/IIST 1994 Annual Report [9]. It is basically concerned with (1) bringing the latest software technology research and development results, such as those from the European CIM-OSA, Atlas, and MS2O (ESPRIT etc.) projects, as well as from the industrial world research project IMS,8 to bear on new developments in such rapidly emerging, newly industrialized, yet still developing countries as Indonesia, Malaysia and The Philippines.

Period
: September 1995 - May 1996

Aims and Objectives
: To research, to advance develop and to train Fellows in thorough analyses of the manufacturing industry application domain, its software requirements, and in a normative software architecture for a computing system that not only integrates most of any one manufacturing enterprise's information, computing and intra-communications needs, but also integrates across (i.e. between) several (supplier/customer) manufacturing enterprises and between these and service functions such as banks, etc.

Justification
: It is important that science and technology centres in Indonesia, Malaysia, and The Philippines (and elsewhere) together with their industry partners, are brought up-to-date on the latest software technology issues, as only computing and communications (rapid access to global information) can secure lean, agile (that is: readily competitive) and environment friendly industries, and because the industries of these countries would otherwise not be involved in the world-wide net of suppliers that is essential for commercial survival.

Achievements
: See UNU/IIST 1994 Annual Report for an extensive review of 1994 achievements [9].

UNU/IIST Staff and Fellows
:

  1. [] Staff:

  2. Tomasz Janowski, Research Fellow, 40% -- 1.10.95-31.5.96

  3. Dines Bjørner, Director, 5-10% -- 1.10.95-31.5.96

  4. [] Fellows:

  5. Ms. Cleta Milagros Acebedo -- 10.9.95-31.5.96

    De La Salle University, Manila, The Philippines

  6. Mr. Erwin Paguio -- 10.9.95-31.5.96

    De La Salle University, Manila, The Philippines

Partners
:

  1. De La Salle University, Manila, The Philippines

  2. Technical University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands

  3. Loughborough University of Technology, England

  4. Universade Nova de Lisboa; Lisbon, Portugal

  5. Universade Nova de Lisboa; Lisbon, Portugal

  6. Universiti Teknology, Malaysia

  7. University of Macau, Macau

  8. University of Dar es Salam, Tanzania

Activity Level
: This is a medium to high level UNU/IIST project.

Reports
: [1][42][2]

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding, approximately US$62,400 for 1995.

5.3.7 CaVIaR2: Citizen + Visitor Information, Routing and Reservations

Synopsis
: This research, advanced development, and initially (mostly) M.Sc. supervision project is concerned with software technology issues of a potentially globally distributed multi-media information, computing and communications system that will allow people to view and extract well-nigh any form of information: geographic and demographic as well as tourist, shopping, travel, lodging, transport, etc., to make shopping, travel, lodging, entertainment, and restaurant reservations (tele-shopping etc.), and to plan and execute ("routed") walks, excursions, etc. in and around Macau or any other city.

Period
: November 1994 - November 1996

Aims and Objectives
: The research and development project part will investigate a normative software architecture for CaVIaR2 and will prototype develop a demonstrator model. The project will introduce University of Macau M.Sc. students to software technology issues of large scale multi-media, distributed and shared information base systems. Finally the project can serve as a demonstrator -- to Macau private and public sector authorities and individuals -- of possible projects that they can undertake with UNU/IIST. It is, specifically, envisaged that CaVIaR2 could be instantiated as a next-generation Macau Citizen and Visitor System.

Justification
: Tourism is a very important industry in many cities: Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau, and will increasingly become so for many areas of many developing countries. At the same time, citizens of emerging democracies demand increased access to most government information, including their services. CaVIaR2 is an example of computing support for such applications.

Achievements
: The UNU/IIST 1993 and 1994 Annual Reports detail the related MaGICS efforts and documents [7][9].

UNU/IIST Staff etc.
:

  1. [] Staff:

  2. Dines Bjørner, Director, 5-10% -- 1.9.95-30.11.96

  3. Achim Schneider, Visiting Scientist, 100% -- 1.11.94-31.1.95

  4. Alex Lai Iat Long, Computer Systems Manager, 25% -- 1.11.94-31.1.95

  5. [] University of Macau M.Sc. Student:

  6. Mr. Vincent Lam Sio Cheong -- 1.8.95-30.11.96

Partners
: It is hoped that some Macau private sector company, see section 6.5, will eventually be convinced to become a joint, co-funding partner. UNU/IIST is currently discussing this proposal further with The Macau Foundation.

Activity Level
: This is a continued feasibility level, mostly M.Sc. supervision (i.e. training) project.

Report
: [52]

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding, approximately US$15,600 for 1995.

5.3.8 GaD2IIS: Geographic and Demographic Information InfrastructureS

This project is an integral part of the February 1996 Workshop Event on Decision Support Systems for Equitable and Environmentally Sustainable Development. See section 5.4.3.

Synopsis
: This research, advanced development, training, M.Sc. Thesis supervision and Event preparation project is concerned with understanding the software technological issues of geographic and demographic information system based decision support systems and their common (shared) user access in a system that supports planning decision making. That is: experiments with and development of construction plans9 where these experiments and developments require data and mathematical modeling across a very wide spectrum of geographic and demographic (including statistical) information. Potentially this data is distributed (maintained) over wide, regional, continental or even global sites.

Period
: June 1995 - March 1996 (initially) and - November 1996 (Macau M.Sc. Thesis Students)

Aims and Objectives
: (1) to research and thus understand the socio-politico jargon term: Decision Support Systems for Equitable and Environmentally Sustainable Development, and thus, hopefully to give it a firm scientific anchoring; and (2) to develop a normative architecture for such a GaD2IIS system.

It is expected that a next generation GIS+DIS System, for which GaD2IIS is intended to be a candidate, will depend on instantaneous, potentially world-wide access to a wide variety of information bases and to mathematical modeling facilities of knowledge-based expert systems. A system like GaD2IIS will provide integration and be ready for use by environment planners, etc.

Justification
: The most relevant of current systems, for example: ArcInfo/ArcView, Redatam, PopMap and APIC, do not provide the broad netting capabilities foreseen, and most of them do not integrate both the GIS and the DIS data in a manner that is conducive to extensive use. Many GIS and DIS systems are not adequately documented and have unstable implementation, and most offer rather constrained user interfaces. GaD2IIS aims to repair this situation. Hence we justify the GaD2IIS emphasis on new technology: GIS+DIS, data and function Internetting, and on suggesting an overall redevelopment effort!

Many developing countries are undergoing very rapid development and, as pointed out by the UNEP Rio Conference on Sustainable Development and the Brundtland Report, such development should be supported by industrialized countries by making suitable planning technology available. This justifies GaD2IIS socio-politically.

Achievements
: Too early, really to report. But there is a proposal for a normative software architecture.

UNU/IIST Staff, Fellows, etc.
:

  1. [] Staff:

  2. Dines Bjørner, Director, 5-10% -- 1.6.95-30.11.96

  3. [] Fellows:

  4. Dr. Md Rais, National Institute for Science and Technology, New Delhi, India -- 1.6.95-31.4.96

  5. Mr. Ngo Quoc Tao, Institute of IT, Hanoi, Vietnam -- 5.6.95-4.4.96

  6. [] University of Macau M.Sc. Students:

  7. Mr. Vicente Luis Gracias, Cartografia and Cadastro, Macau -- 20.7.95-30.11.96

  8. Ms. Maria Ramos, Cartografia and Cadastro, Macau -- 20.7.95-30.11.96

  9. Ms. Laurinda Garanito, Laboratory for Civil Engineering, Macau -- 20.7.95-30.11.96

Partner
: IDRC: the Canadian Government's International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada (Dr. Zbigniew Mikolajuk).

Activity Level
: This is a medium-high effort that started as early as 1992, but has only recently gained momentum thanks to IDRC interest.

Report(s)
: The [51] documents.

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding, approximately US$42,500 for 1995.

5.3.9 MultiScript: Multi-Script User Interface

Synopsis
: This project is concerned with developing a user interface for multilingual systems adapted to information that includes scripts in different languages, including languages that do not follow the left-to-right, horizontal style of European languages, such as the left-to-right, vertical style of Mongolian, the right-to-left, vertical style of Chinese and Japanese, the right-to-left, horizontal style of Arabic.

Period
: October 1995 - August 1996

Aims & Objectives
: To design an interface to information that involves documents in a number of different scripts. The interface will allow both input and browsing of information, including navigation between items, for example by searching for keywords in different scripts or following links between information items.

The UNICODE standard for encoding characters from different scripts will be followed.

The project could be extended later to one giving an interface to multi-media information, but it will concentrate initially on text in various scripts in order to support the convenient editing as well as display of such scripts.

The project is not intended to include automatic translation between languages, but could be used to support translation activities by supporting, for example, the storage of translations of texts linked to their sources, and the detailed comparison of originals and their translations.

Justification
: Many information systems need to support items of texts in several languages. The obvious example is a library, but other institutions such as universities, government departments, industries and hospitals will need to store information both in the native tongue(s) of their location and in other languages that are in common international use. Other systems, such as information systems for tourists, will want to have information available in a number of possible translations.

There is considerable effort being made in a number of projects across the world to translate texts automatically. The provision of user interfaces to the results of such efforts is given much less attention.

The design of the user interface will aim to make it as portable as possible between different information repositories. That is, it will be easily reconfigurable to connect to different repositories.

Information systems in developing countries are particularly in need of such support. They often need to store information not available in their own languages and their institutions are unlikely to have the resources to develop multilingual systems of their own.

Achievements
: This activity is currently at an exploratory stage. Use will be made of the previous work of the Fellow involved in supporting traditional Mongolian, Cyrillic and Roman10 scripts.

UNU/IIST Staff and Fellows
:

  1. [] Staff:

  2. Dines Bjørner, Director, 10% -- 2.10.95-7.8.96

  3. Richard Moore, Research Fellow, 20% -- 2.10.95-7.8.96

  4. Fellow:

  5. Ms Myatav Erdenechimeg, National University of Mongolia -- 2.10.95-7.8.96

Partner
: National University of Mongolia, Ulaan Baator

Activity Level
: This is an initial level UNU/IIST activity.

Report
: [28]

Funding
: 100% UNU/IIST funding, approximately US$20,000 for 1995.

Planned Projects

In contrast to previous years' reporting, this year UNU/IIST only reports in detail on definite upcoming projects. These are:

  1. MoFIT: Ministry of Finance Information Technology

  2. UniMaCS: University Monitoring and Control System

UNU/IIST is, however, planning a number of less definite, advanced development and training projects. A number(10!) of project proposals have been submitted to The World Bank InfoDev Initiative [13].

5.3.10 MoFIT: Ministry of Finance Information Technology

This project aims to develop a computerized information and decision support system for the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance. In September 1995 Chris George spent a week at the Ministry of Finance conducting a preliminary analysis of the proposed system and discussing plans for the project.

Synopsis
: Key functions: synthesis of state budget plans, management of fund allocations, formulation and review of tax policies, exchange of data between various levels and ministries. Generally to study ways of computerizing information infrastructure within the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, aiming at accuracy and timeliness of data used in public administration, as well as the quick and reliable enactment of administrative orders. To identify a full complement of Ministry of Finance information and work flows and of related transactions and relate them to varieties of computer and communications support possibilities.

Period
: January - August 1996

Plans
:

  1. UNU/IIST will hold a course for the Vietnam Ministry of Finance systems analysts and software engineers (and others from other organizations) on advanced software development using RAISE in Hanoi, Vietnam in January 1996.

  2. The Ministry of Finance will second two Fellows to UNU/IIST for six months shortly thereafter (March-August 1996). UNU/IIST will fund a further Fellow from the Ministry and another from the Institute of Information Technology. Together with UNU/IIST staff they will research and develop initial facets of MoFIT.

  3. The Ministry of Finance will acquire Sun Microsystems UNIX work stations and RAISE tool software for parallel and subsequent follow-up development in Hanoi.

  4. The Vietnam Ministry of Finance will recommend to the World Bank that UNU/IIST becomes their consultant on the World Bank sponsored Computerization of the Ministry of Finance project. UNU/IIST is to assist in procurements (tender) preparation, bid evaluation, etc.

Justification
: Government bureaucracies are needed, but perhaps not of the size and human labour intensive, as well as human labour wasteful, kind claimed typical in many countries: east and west, south and north. Significant public savings must be made in order for governments to institute new reforms, new development initiatives, etc. The dignity of man dictates, as for hard physical labour and its replacement by machinery, the replacement of monotonous, boring, repetitive, and hence error-prone office procedures by computing. Finally: the accuracy and timeliness of data used in public administration, as well as the quick and reliable enactment of administrative orders, can benefit significantly from computing and communication.

UNU/IIST Staff and Fellows
:

  1. [] Staff:

  2. Chris George, Senior Research Fellow, 10% -- 1.1.96-31.8.96

  3. Tomasz Janowski, Research Fellow, 10% -- 1.1.96-31.8.96

  4. Richard Moore, Research Fellow, 10% -- 1.1.96-31.8.96

  5. [] Fellows:

  6. NN1, Ministry of Finance, Hanoi, Vietnam -- 1.3.96-31.8.96

  7. NN2, Ministry of Finance, Hanoi, Vietnam -- 1.3.96-31.8.96

  8. NN3, Ministry of Finance, Hanoi, Vietnam -- 1.3.96-31.8.96

  9. NN4, Institute of Information Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam -- 1.3.96-31.8.96

Partners
:

  1. Ministry of Finance, Hanoi, Vietnam

  2. Institute of Information Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

Activity Level
: This project will become one of UNU/IIST's leading projects, on par with RaCoSy, ABC'2000, and MIICI.

Report
: [33]

Funding
: 25% UNU/IIST, 75% Vietnam Ministry of Finance (via World Bank loan arrangement). Project starts 1.1.1996.

5.3.11 UniMaCS: University Monitoring and Command System

This project was formerly referred to as the HEMIS project.

Synopsis
: To study the information infrastructure and command work flow and transaction processing of medium to large colleges and universities.

Period
: January - September 1996

Aims and Objectives
: The study will develop a number of documents: [a] an analysis of the information infrastructure of a generic university system; [b] a study of possible computer and communications facilities that can support the informatization of the work flow and transaction processing of the information infrastructure of a generic university system; and [c,d] management awareness and staff vocational training course material. The study will alternate with [e] workshop presentations and, at the end of the study, [f] UNU/IIST intends to propagate overall methodologies and results of the study to governments of developing countries in the form of national and regional workshops. The UniMaCS prototype software package (1) serves to validate the study, and can also be used (2) for ministry planner and university top level management awareness training and (3) for the vocational training of university staff. The UniMaCS demonstrator can finally serve as a basis for full-scale real software development, but this is outside the scope of this project.

UniMaCS is expected to be an infrastructure support system. UniMaCS supports by providing an integrated framework for university management of such diverse, yet related, facets as:

  1. Ministry of Education relations:
    budgets; rules and regulations; accreditation and certification; financing; etc.

  2. university, faculty, institute, department and laboratory administration:
    planning; budgets; general ledger; accounts payable and receivable; purchasing; inventory; etc.

  3. human resources:
    personnel; payroll; life, disability and medical insurance; social benefits; applicant tracking; position control; etc.

  4. student administration:
    application; admission; fees and scholarships; tracking; dormitories; etc.

  5. research administration:
    project proposal preparation and tracking; funding; reporting; etc.

  6. course administration:
    course planning: budgets, finances, human and physical resources; course execution: teacher, lecture and classroom allocation and scheduling, class registration, student and lecture(r) monitoring and control, etc.; course examination: registration, evaluation, grading, etc.; etc.

  7. facilities management:
    computer centre; building planning, construction, maintenance, repair, etc.; heating and cooling; utilities: gas, electricity, water, etc.; cleaning, gardening, roads; shared instrument repository; audio visual services; telephone, Telex, fax, e-mail/Internet, and mail services; canteens; sports and recreation; etc.

  8. library:
    general library; research libraries; inter-library relations; etc.

  9. general services:
    archiving; printing; copying; etc.

Plans
: The UniMaCS software could eventually be matured into a full-scale operational system for actual university and college management.

Justification
: Universities and colleges in developing countries are exploding: great intakes of students are not balanced by appropriate administrative support.

UNU/IIST Staff and Fellows
: Staffing and Fellowship stipends to be decided in early 1996.

Partners
:

  1. UNESCO's Division for Higher Education, Paris, France

  2. IIEP, International Institute for Educational Planning, Paris, France

  3. UNESCO's Principal Regional Office for Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand

Activity Level
: As conceived by the UNESCO [affiliated] partners, this is an initial entry, consultation and traditional implementation project. UNU/IIST may eventually wish to turn the present UniMaCS project into a somewhat more ambitious and demanding research, advanced development, and hence Fellow training project; a project that may eventually furnish UNESCO with a real next-generation, public domain, portable software system for university and college management.

Funding
: 50% UNU/IIST, 50% UNESCO. Project starts early 1996.

5.4 Events

Events are typically one to three week workshops. But a few are half or full day events.

5.4.1 One Day Event: Formal Methods, Zhuhai, China, 3.4.1995

At this event, locally organized by the Zhuhai Science and Technology Commission, UNU/IIST presented a series of talks: (1) Introduction to UNU/IIST, Dines Bjørner; (2) General Introduction to Software Problems and Solutions: "How to achieve High Quality Production Software", Dines Bjørner; Design Calculi cum Formal Methods -- The UNU/IIST Expertise: (3) The Duration Calculi and Software for Real-time, Safety-Critical Systems, Zhou Chao Chen and Xu QiWen; and (4) RAISE: Rigorous Approach to Industrial Software Engineering, Chris George. There were some 45 participants.

5.4.2 Half Day Event: Trading over the Internet, Macau, 28.11.1995

Together with a private Macau enterprise, UniTEL, UNU/IIST organized a half day seminar on Trading Today, Trading Tomorrow over the Internet. Some 80 participants, mostly from the private sector of Macau, attended this lively event held at UNU/IIST.

5.4.3 DSS/f/E2SD: Software Technology for Agenda'21: 26.2-8.3.1996

Substantially funded by the Canadian Governments' IDRC (International Development Research Centre), UNU/IIST and IDRC are preparing and will jointly sponsor a three week Decision Support Systems for Equitable and Environmentally Sustainable Development (DSS/f/E2SD) expert group workshop to take place at UNU/IIST in Macau, 26 February - 8 March,1996.

Synopsis:

Information processing for decision support is provided by various software packages such as those commonly labelled: GIS, DIS, DBMS, KBS,11, and by Expert System Shells, Computer Based Mathematical Modeling (MM), etc. An operational decision support system (DSS) requires that these packages are integrated in coherent development and delivery systems which respond to user interface requirements in specific domains. To meet these requirements a DSS specific set of software architectures needs to be identified. Interdisciplinary discussion on decision-making processes and related information systems should help in determination of DSS functionalities and software architectures.

Agenda 21 was adopted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It calls for improvement in information system support for decision-making processes in developing countries. IDRC and UNU/IIST will contribute to the achievement of this objective by developing a research and training programme on DSS for SD: Decision Support Systems for Sustainable Development. The programme will address technical as well as cultural, social and economic issues of DSS development which aim at applications of operational DSSs.

The first main event of the programme is the Expert Group Workshop designed to bring together software developers, domain specialists and decision-makers/users. We expect that the Expert Group Workshop will provide a forum for interdisciplinary discussions on functional and user interface requirements, which will affect the successful deployment and institutionalization of operational DSSs.

Preparation etc.:

Two Fellows, Mr. Ngo Quoc Tao and Dr. Md Rais, are working with the Director on the preparation of this workshop which is expected to draw some 30 participants from developing countries. These participants will represent development policy planners, DSS researchers and developers, GIS and DIS specialists, and software technologists. We have sought a broad spectrum of participants in order to avoid technocracy driven systems and in order to achieve an understanding of requirements to systems that fits planning and decision making requirements.

Aims and Objectives:

  1. to assess and report on the state-of-the-art with respect to combined DSS uses of GIS, DIS, MM and KBS in DSS/f/E2SD systems

  2. to assess and report on available software support

  3. to assess and report on training requirements (for whom and what)

  4. to assess and report on the desirability and feasibility of, and perhaps propose a normalized interface (a `software architecture') for, a next generation DSS/f/E2SD

  5. to further international collaboration by establishing an international working group.

Case studies are being pursued in order to understand and analyze the functional capabilities and limitations of currently available GIS+DIS software. Case studies currently centre around two areas: Land and Water Management, and Mega-city (Urban) Planning.

The workshop will feature invited speakers from Africa: Cameroun, Egypt (2), and Zaire; South America: Brazil and Chile; North America: Canada and the US; Asia: China, India, Mongolia, The Philippines, Singapore, Australia; and Europe: The Netherlands, Russia, the UK, and Ukraine. Solicited papers are also expected from other developing countries.

5.4.4 C&C Facilities Management

Together with UNICC and possibly UNCTAD, see sections 7.4 and 7.5, UNU/IIST plans to organize, sometime in the 1996/1997 Biennium, training workshops/events on computer and communications (C&C) hardware and software facilities management: procurement and operation.

As IT usage in developing countries intensifies and as desire for self-reliance become ever more important, it is considered a good idea to offer public administration planners and IT installation management one or more workshop (cum training) events on issues such as: techniques for tender preparation, bid evaluation, contract negotiation, installation acceptance and operation (including performance evaluation and tuning).

5.4.5 IFIP WG2.2 Meeting + Regional Seminars

IFIP is the International Federation for Information Processing. WG2.2 is the Formal Description of Programming Concepts working group under IFIP's technical committee 2 (TC2). Each IFIP working group normally holds an annual (members and invited observers) meeting. In 1996 the WG2.2 meeting, planned for September 23-27 or September 30 - October 4, will be hosted by UNU/IIST. UNU/IIST is taking this opportunity to have ten members and observers deliver seminars in the region. We plan such seminars in China, Indonesia, Macau, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

5.4.6 Additional Planned Events

In addition to the events already planned for 1996-1997, UNU/IIST intends to work with UNICC, UNCTAD, and others to plan other 1996-1997, typically 3-5 day events on the following topics:

  1. Accreditation and Certification

    Software houses and university curricula, respectively of software engineers and software packages and systems.

  2. IT+Software Procurement

    Tender preparation, solicitation, bid evaluation, contract negotiation, development monitoring, product acceptance and installation.

  3. Railway and Aviation Systems Software

    Planning, development, allocation and scheduling, timetabling, train/flight dispatch, station/airport management, rolling/flying stock control, ticket and freight reservation etc., statistics gathering and evaluation, ...

  4. Advanced Development Workshop

    A yearly event, to start in 1996, where past, current and future Fellows from advanced development projects, and their "bosses", meet at UNU/IIST to present technical and scientific papers, to discuss and to plan.

  5. Research Workshop

    A yearly event, to start in 1996, where past, current and future Fellows from research projects, and their "bosses", meet at UNU/IIST to present technical and scientific papers, to discuss and to plan.

5.5 Additional Dissemination

UNU/IIST's main dissemination of software technology takes place (1) through its Fellow Training, (2) through its Research and Advanced Development Projects, and (3) through its off-shore Post-graduate and Post-doctoral Courses. Our actions here, we believe, represent an impressive dissemination effort.

To capitalize on knowledge being generated or already possessed by UNU/IIST's staff and Fellows, UNU/IIST is currently preparing to set up operational staffing for a concerted additional dissemination effort to be launched in 1996. It will be concerned with dissemination of (1) software methodology publications and reports, (2) public domain software, and (3) the results of UNU/IIST's own advanced software development projects. The UNU/IIST Dissemination Strategy and Tactics was approved by the UNU/IIST Board at its May 1995 Session.

5.6 Consultancy

In 1995, UNU/IIST has been involved in consultancy in the following areas:

5.6.1 Software Support for Infrastructures, UNDDSMS

The UN Systems Department for Development Support and Management Services, UNDDSMS, sponsored an International Symposium, Beijing, 9-14 November 1995, on the topic of Advance Information Technology for Governance and Public Administration. The UNU/IIST Director was invited as a resource to present a specially prepared report on the theme topic of New Software Technology Development, [8]. This meeting has been suspended due to funding problems. A tentative new date has been set for May or June 1996.

5.6.2 Ministry of Finance: IT Applications, Vietnam

UNU/IIST has been invited by the Vietnam Ministry of Finance to assist in developing its strategy, tactics and operational plans for computerization. UNU/IIST is in particular interested in assisting the Finance Ministry in determining an overall software architecture for a Financial Management and Decision Support System. UNU/IIST, together with specifically seconded Fellows from Vietnam, will (1) research and develop an overall understanding of the selected Ministry of Finance application domains, (2) establish requirements specifications, (3) design applicable software architectures, and (4) assist the Vietnam Ministry of Finance in procurement and overseeing (possibly Vietnam-based) development and delivery of designated software. Seconded Fellows will be trained at UNU/IIST, while co-researching and co-developing (1-2-3). Vietnam is assisted by The World Bank in this endeavour. One UNU/IIST staff member spent a week in September in Hanoi to investigate computerization issues with Vietnam Ministry of Finance officials [33].

5.6.3 First Malaysia Information Technology Days: 1-3 November 1995

UNU/IIST had extensive discussions during 1995 with various leading universities in Malaysia. Plans are underway for their secondment of Fellows to UNU/IIST. Two of the universities have put the UNU/IIST Agenda on their Agenda and are applying for local funds accordingly. Document [11] was worked out in response to an invitation for UNU/IIST to participate in the First Malaysia Information Technology Days: 1-3 November 1995 in Kuala Lumpur -- with all expenses paid by Malaysia.

5.7 Off-shore UNU/IIST Software Technology Laboratories

UNU/IIST is in the process of establishing off-shore "branches":

  1. National University of Mongolia -- also benefiting Mongolian Academy of Science and the Technical University of Mongolia: see item 4.2, section 4.2.

  2. Chengdu Institute of Computer Applications, Academia Sinica, Chengdu, Sizhuan, China. 

Other such laboratories are expected to be established elsewhere.

A set of documents:

outline UNU/IIST's commitments with respect to such laboratories' one time donation of (Sun Microsystems work station) computing equipment and annual donation of laser printer toner and drums, books and journals.

5.8 International Presentations

During 1995 UNU/IIST staff, Fellows and UNU/IIST sponsored collaborators gave the following presentations:

  1. [] Belawati Widjaja, Fellow

  2. Belawati H. Widjaja,12 He Wei Dong, Chen Zongji and Zhou Chao Chen. A Cooperative Design for Hybrid Systems. Second European Workshop on Real-time and Hybrid Systems, Grenoble, France, June. [62]

  3. [] Dines Bjørner, Director

  4. Formal Models of Air Traffic; Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, January. [12]

  5. Formal Models of Railway Systems; De La Salle University, Manila, The Philippines. [6]

  6. Software Support for Infrastructures: The Railway Case; International Conference on Government Information Systems, Singapore, March. [11]

  7. Software Support for Infrastructures: The University Management Case, International Conference on Government Information Systems, Singapore, March. [11]

  8. Formal Models of Air Traffic; University of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March. [12]

  9. Formal Models of Air Traffic; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April. [12]

  10. The Duration Calculi, Stanford University, California, USA, April. [27]

  11. Formal Models of Air Traffic; Kestrel Institute, Palo Alto, California, USA, April. [12]

  12. Formal Models of Air Traffic; International Symposium on Formal Methods, Tools and Applications, Warsaw, Poland, June. [12]

  13. Formal Models of Air Traffic; Department of Computing Science, Technical University of Denmark, June. [12]

  14. Formal Models of Air Traffic; IFIP Working Group 2.2 Workshop, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June. [12]

  15. Formal Models of Air Traffic; University of Graz, Austria, June. [12]

  16. Formal Models of Air Traffic; University of Pisa, Italy, June. [12]

  17. On Formal Methods in Research and Development; International Symposium in honour of Prof. Tang ChiTong, Academia Sinica, Software Institute, Beijing, China, August. [10]

  18. On Software Support for Infrastructures, INFOTECH'95, The 1st National IT Day(s) of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 1-3. [11]

  19. Formalization of Infrastructures, Department of Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, 20 November. [10]

  20. Software Systems Engineering; Keynote Speech, Asia Pacific Software Engineering Conference, APSEC'95, Brisbane, Australia, December 7. [12][10]

  21. Infrastructured Software; University of New South Wales, Australia, December 15. [10]

  22. On Formal Methods in Research and Development: The Air Traffic Example; MacQuarie University, NSW, Australia, December 18. [12]

  23. [] Philip Chan, Fellow

  24. Philip Chan and Dang Van Hung: Duration Calculus Specification of Scheduling for Tasks with Shared Resources, Asian Computer Science Conference, AIT, Bangkok, Thailand, December13. [16]

  25. [] Chris W. George, Senior Research Fellow

  26. Some Aspects of Software Engineering, Institute of Information Technology, Hanoi, February

  27. Formal Development of Software; Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, June

  28. Towards a Formalization of the Ministry of Finance's Budgetary System, Hanoi, September. [33]

  29. [] Jan Goossenaerts, UNU/IIST Consultant

  30. Information and Command Infrastructures for Small and Medium Size Enterprises, IEEE/ ECLA/IFIP International Conference, BASYS'95, on Architectures and Design Methods for Balanced Automation Systems, Victoria, ES, Brazil, July14

  31. [] Dang Van Hung, Fellow -> Research Fellow

  32. Philip Chan and Dang Van Hung: Duration Calculus Specification of Scheduling for Tasks with Shared Resources, Asian Computer Science Conference, AIT, Bangkok, Thailand, December. [16]

  33. [] He Wei Dong, Fellow15

  34. Formal specification of stability in hybrid control systems, Technical University of Denmark, October. [45]  

  35. Formal specification of stability in hybrid control systems, DIMACS Workshop, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, October. [45]  

  36. A Duration Calculus with Infinite Intervals, University of Indonesia, Faculty of Computer Science, 14 December. [20]

  37. Sampling Semantics of Duration Calculus, TIFR, Bombay, India, December. [38]

  38. A Duration Calculus with Infinite Intervals, TIFR, Bombay, India, December. [20]

  39. [] Wang Ju An, Professor, University of Macau16

  40. A Duration Calculus Approach to Specifying a Steam-boiler Control System; Department of Computing Science, Technical University of Denmark, May. [48]

  41. A Duration Calculus Approach to Specifying a Steam-boiler Control System; the Daghstuhl International Workshop, Saarland, Germany, June. [48]

  42. A Duration Calculus Approach to Specifying a Steam-boiler Control System; Programming Research Group, Oxford University, England, June. [48]

  43. [] Xu Qi Wen, Research Fellow

  44. On compositionality of refining concurrent systems, AIT, Bangkok, Thailand, June. [61]

  45. Hierarchical Design of a Chemical Concentration Control System, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, July. [50]

  46. Overview of Durational Calculi, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, July. [27]

  47. On compositionality of refining concurrent systems, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, July. [61]

  48. Hierarchical Design of a Chemical Concentration Control System, Technical University of Denmark, October. [50]

  49. Hierarchical Design of a Chemical Concentration Control System, DIMACS Workshop, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, October. [50]

  50. Hierarchical Design of a Chemical Concentration Control System, Oxford University, England, October. [50]

  51. Hierarchical Design of a Chemical Concentration Control System, De Montfort University, Leicester, England, November. [50]

  52. On compositionality of refining concurrent systems, De Montfort University, Leicester, England, November. [61]

  53. [] Zhou Chao Chen, Principal Research Fellow

  54. Computing Theory for Hybrid Systems, Institute of Software, Academia Sinica. China, April 10. [46][69][68][29][62]

  55. Duration Calculi, Computer Science Department, Beijing University, China, April 12. [27]

  56. A Case Study of Optimization, [58], and A Cooperative Design for Hybrid Systems, [62], Department of Automatic Control, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, April 13

  57. Computing Theory for Hybrid Systems, Department of Computer Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, April 17. [46][69][68][29][62]

  58. Formal Design of Inverted Pendulum, Department of Computer Science, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China, April 17. [62]

  59. Formal Optimization in Department of Computer Science, Shanghai JiaoTong University, China, April 18. [58]

  60. Computing Theory for Hybrid Systems, Department of Computer Science, Nanjing University, China, April 21. [46][69][68][29][62]

  61. A Duration Calculus with Infinite Intervals, FCT'95 (Foundations of Computing Theory Conference), Germany, August. [20]

5.9 Other International Collaboration

In addition to direct joint research, advanced development and educational collaboration projects with partners in developing countries, UNU/IIST also has a rich set of productive interfaces with groups in both developing and industrialized countries. In approximate order of establishment:

  1. ID/DTU: Department of Computing Science, Technical University of Denmark

    Prof. Zhou Chaochen, UNU/IIST Principal Research Fellow, is currently on a special leave of absence without pay at ID/DTU.

  2. PRG: Programming Research Group, Oxford University, England

  3. IFAD: Institute for Applied Datalogy, Odense, Denmark

    IFAD is a leading research and development centre for VDM, the predecessor of RAISE, the latter currently being the software development method most practiced at UNU/IIST. The present Director of UNU/IIST was one of the originators of the Vienna (software) Development Method. UNU/IIST will in January 1996 host a two week visit by the leading IFAD researcher and technologist, Dr. Peter Gorm Larsen.

  4. TIFR: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay, India

    UNU/IIST and TIFR's Computer Science Division are collaborating on joint off-shore post-graduate and post-doctoral courses.

  5. CICA: Chengdu Institute of Computer Applications, Sizhuan, China

    See item 5.7 section 5.7. See also Mr. Fu Hong Guang item 4.2 section 4.2.

  6. Department of Computer Science, Chinese University of Hong Kong

    Dr. Jimmy Ho Man Lee and Dr. Leung Ho-fung are collaborating with Chris George on the RaCoSy research. This collaboration has so far resulted in several joint colloquia.

  7. Department of Computing Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University

    Dr. Wong Wai is collaborating with Chris George on RaCoSy research.

  8. Department of Computer Science, De Montfort University, Leicester, England

    Dr. Xu Qi Wen spent four weeks, November 1995, as guest of Prof. Hussein Dedan, as part of a research collaboration in the area of Reactive and Real-time Systems.

  9. Laboratory for Formal Methods, PUC-Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

    CNPq, the Brazilian Industry Technology Development and University Research Council, and UNU/IIST signed, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 1995, a Memorandum of Understanding which paves the way for: (i) joint annual post-graduate and post-doctoral courses to be held with Brazilian and UNU/IIST lecturers in Brazil for Latin American participants, and (ii) for exchange of researchers and joint research within the broader area of Object-oriented methods for real-time systems. The first such course is planned in Brazil for November/December 1996. The Brazilian CNPq finances UNU/IIST lecturers' international travel and local subsistence expenses.

    Prof. Armando Haeberer and Ms. Marcia Ferreira, respectively director and project administrator of the Formal Methods Laboratory/PUC-Rio, visited UNU/IIST for seminars and planning, November 20-30.

  10. PUC-PR (Parana), Curitiba, Brazil

    A Memorandum of Understanding on this collaboration was signed in 1994 and a researcher, Prof. Eleuterio, from PUC-PR visited UNU/IIST for two weeks, November 6-17, to collaborate on University Curriculum Design, to establish joint research work, and to plan a three week UNU/IIST + Formal Methods Laboratory/PUC-Rio course in November 1996 at PUC-PR.

  11. IoIT: Institute of Information Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

    IoIT and UNU/IIST are working jointly on preparing projects with the Vietnam Ministry of Finance. Prof. Bach Hung Kang, Director of IoIT, visited UNU/IIST for a few days in October to settle plans for 1996 collaboration.

  12. IST: Institute for Software Technology, University of Graz, Austria

    Prof. Peter Lucas and his colleagues intend to work on applied research problems with respect to Software Support for Infrastructures, as jointly identified by UNU/IIST and IST. In 1996, UNU/IIST expects a several month visit from Ms. Brigitte Frölich, an IST researcher.

  13. Department of Informatics, University of Pisa, Italy

    Prof. Egon Börger and UNU/IIST staff are working on comparative specification techniques: Evolving Algebras vs. VDM/RAISE.

  14. Division of Computing Science, AIT, Bangkok, Thailand

    Prof. Kanchana Kanchanasut (KK) visited UNU/IIST for three weeks in March on joint Curriculum Development problems, and UNU/IIST and Ms. KK collaborated on the first Asian Computer Science Conference, held at AIT, December 11-13.

  15. POSTECH/CAST: Pohang Technical University's Centre for Advanced Software Technology, Republic of Korea

    UNU/IIST is jointly organizing with POSTECH/CAST a workshop in Korea for 1996. This event is a direct follow-up of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 1994 between the two institutions. A Ph.D. student from POSTECH/CAST will visit UNU/IIST, as a Fellow, for three months in early 1996.

Contacts that have been made, and Memoranda of Understanding that have been signed, but for which no real joint collaboration has yet been enacted, include:

  1. ITRC: Iran Telecommunications Research Centre

  2. DPRK/STC: Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Science and Technology Commission

  3. Zhuhai STC: Zhuhai is the special economic zone in China adjoining Macau. UNU/IIST signed an Agreement with its Science and Technology Commission in early 1995.

    UNU/IIST wants Zhuhai software engineers to attend UNU/IIST's Macau courses, to give a version of these courses in Zhuhai, and to offer collaboration between Zhuhai IT companies and UNU/IIST on any of the UNU/IIST advanced development projects. Examples that have been discussed are Air Traffic Control and Manufacturing Systems.

    See also section 5.4.1.

5.10 M.Sc. and Ph.D. Supervision

UNU/IIST, like the UNU as a whole, does not award degrees. But UNU/IIST, like other UNU RTCs and the UNU HQ Academic Division, collaborates with universities worldwide in their M.Sc. and Ph.D. programmes. Several of UNU/IIST's (especially Chinese) Fellows doing research spend time at UNU/IIST as Ph.D. interns. Increasingly UNU/IIST's academic staff become adjunct, adjoint or honorary professors at the seconding university department or academy research institute. Notable amongst such Fellows is:

  1. [0.] Mr. Dong Yu Lin, China Railway Construction Corp., Beijing, China -- [39]

who passed his M.Sc. degree in Software Engineering this summer with very high marks at the neighbouring University of Macau -- the first such graduate from that university's Faculty of Science and Technology. But also previous Fellows:

  1. Mr. Wang Ji (Changsha Institute of Technology) -- [63][46][69][68][29][40]

  2. Mrs. Zheng YuHua (Nanjing University) -- [67]

  3. Mr. Yu Xin Yao (Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics) -- [63][46][30][29]

  4. Mr. Yu Hui Qun (Shanghai JiaoTong University) -- [36][19]

have completed their Ph.D. studies in 1995 as a result of their earlier stay at UNU/IIST.

Several current Fellows are likewise enrolled at their seconding institutions in Ph.D. studies and are Ph.D. interns at UNU/IIST.

5.11 Software Technology University Curriculum Development

Dr. Kanchana Kanchanasut spend three weeks at UNU/IIST, on an SSA arrangement, to work with UNU/IIST academic staff on issues of curriculum development.

UNU/IIST intends, as it grows stronger in academic staff numbers, to take up curriculum development with its many university contacts in a more concerted way.

Initially we have asked the local University of Macau to review their curriculum in view of UNU/IIST's very sizable engagement in M.Sc. courses and M.Sc. Thesis supervision at that university.

info@iist.unu.edu, March 1996

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