Grant Funded Projects: Katrina Falkner
Review of Model Driven Software Engineering Practice. K. Falkner, DSTO Research Contract ($120,000) (2012)
The project will continue the research initiated in prior research agreements utilising specialised knowledge bases and skill sets in the SEM domain, while extending into complementary fields. As with previous collaborative research, this project will once again focus on building capabilities associated with providing insight into integration and performance early in the development cycle of distributed real-time and embedded systems, specifically maritime combat systems. The research will also examine, and where possible develop, new software development philosophies and techniques to complement the SEM evaluation capabilities, and will be utilising the combat system computing environment setup at the University of Adelaide.
Review of Model Driven Software Engineering Practice. K. Falkner, DSTO Research Contract ($225,000) (2011-2012)
To complement the System Execution Modelling (SEM) and Model Driven Development (MDD) research, the construction of a representative implementation of a combat management system will be initiated. Known as the reference Combat Management System, or refCMS, this will be developed in order to demonstrate how modern software engineering principles can be utilised to create and manage a software product line (SPL) for distributed combat management systems. Representative software components will be deployed on standards-compliant middleware, utilising MDD, SEM and SPL software development practices.
Review of Model Driven Software Engineering Practice. K. Falkner, DSTO Research Contract ($46,500) (2011)
The development of complex software systems for Defence applications is undergoing a step change in the philosophy and methodology used, with the trend moving toward the use of Model Driven Development (MDD) and Continuous Integration and Test frameworks, such as System Execution Modelling (SEM) Environments. There is a need for defence organisations to understand the issues and benefits that arise out of the use of such approaches, and how to leverage the techniques to best effect. This project endeavours to address these needs through the implementation of an execution modelling computing environment, contribution (where possible) towards the development of a generic combat system execution model and collaborative research into generic execution modelling techniques needed for combat system performance analysis. It will also contribute to the development of a laboratory visualisation tool suite that will be used within the SEM laboratory environment.
Review of Model Driven Software Engineering Practice. K. Falkner, DSTO Research Contract ($70,000) (2010)
The development of complex software systems for Defence applications is undergoing a step change in the approach and methodology used, with the trend moving toward the use of Model Based Systems Engineering and Model Driven Development. There is a need for defence organisations to understand the issues and benefits that arise out of the use of such approaches, and how to leverage the techniques to best effect. Further, in order to work with the complex, component-based systems required in Defence, there is a need for current Computer Science graduates to develop skills in modern software architecture techniques, including Model Driven Architecture and Model Driven Development. This project endeavours to address both these aims by initiating research into innovative and best-practice course delivery and assessment mechanisms for an honours-level course suited to the areas of model driven architecture and model driven development. In order to provide an authentic learning environment, this project will involve the development of real-world case studies that can be used in the teaching and assessment of these techniques. A deeper understanding of the relevant software practices will be a direct spin-off of this work, with a particular emphasis on distributed realtime systems in the maritime environment.
Early Intervention Strategies for At Risk Students in ECMS, Dr Katrina Falkner, Lachlan Coleman, University Implementation Grant for Learning and Teaching Enhancements ($12,000) (2010).
This project targets the area of attrition, and in particular, the development of early intervention strategies for struggling students. This project aims to develop resources to assist students in identifying problems that may impact upon their academic performance, and in identifying strategies to overcome these problems prior to their development as significant obstacles. These resources will provide students and academic staff with the tools and guidance necessary to help them identify problems, the need to seek assistance, and appropriate avenues for seeking assistance within the University system.
Sustained Sessional Teacher Support, K. Falkner, T. Rainsford, C. Kestell, J. Denier, University Learning and Teaching Performance Fund Grant ($50,000) (2009-2010)
Sessional teachers play a crucial role within the University system, acting as the main point of contact with the University for many first year students, and providing the majority of one-on-one learning opportunities. However, sessional teachers are often untrained and underprepared for their role. The requirements of these teachers are complex, in that they must quickly transition from student expectations to those of a teacher. They must provide appropriate support for our diverse classes, encompassing international and domestic students, high school leavers and adult learners, who are each dealing with their own transition concerns. Within this environment, sessional teachers must offer both generic approaches to academic study as well as discipline- and course-specific support. This project proposes the development of a sustained sessional teacher support programme that provides exposure to relevant pedagogical approaches, and opportunities for community reflection on the nature of pedagogy within a discipline-specific context.
A Problem Solving Curriculum in Computing, B. Alexander, K. Falkner, H. el-Gindy, F. Brown, Z. Michalewicz, Google Research Grant ($46,500) (2007-2008)
University graduates with good problem-solving skills are a rare and highly-prized resource. This scarcity limits innovation and the creation of wealth world wide. Part of this shortfall is natural - innovation, by itself, creates new niches and challenges and new demand for problem solvers. However, it can be argues that part of this scarcity is artificial - people have an innate desire to solve problems but, for the most part, our education systems do little to hone an develop problem-solving skills. This deficiency is perhaps most acute in Universities where it is generally assumed that students are already accomplished at weaving new information into their problem-solving repertoire. This proposal works toward two broad objectives: to create a curriculum to develop student's problem solving skills at all levels of University study and distribute this curriculum widely. The specific aim of the proposal is to develop, test, and distribute the first two courses in this curriculum to lay the foundation for the remainder. The curriculum has an emphasis on computing because computing problems pervade almost all modern endeavours.
Evaluating effectiveness, defining standards and sharing effective methods of assessment across disciplines, E. Palmer, K. Falkner, J. McEntee, B. Alexander, S. Al-Sarawi, M. Coulson, J. Botten, L. Rogers, University of Adelaide Learning and Teaching Grant ($32,000) (2007)
The purpose of this project is to promote quality learning, and create a positive learning environment, by collating, evaluating and disseminating examples of ‘best practice’ with regard to aligning course content, assessments and learning objectives. The project is designed to help teachers maximise the potential assessment has to extend student’s knowledge, skills and attitudes such that they meet the standards expressed by the University’s Graduate Attributes. The project foregrounds the way in which well-thought out and carefully evaluated assessments can help prepare students for life long learning.
Establishing links between High School Mathematics and Different University Pathways, K. Falkner (Industry Partner), Premier's Industry Awards for Teachers of Science and Mathematics (in-kind contribution) (2007)
The aims of the project include providing an understanding of how Mathematics and Science impact upon Computer Science and studying applications of Mathematics and Science in Computer Science. Some of the application areas that are available include Computer Science Education, Computer Vision, Optimisation and Evolutionary Algorithms, and High Performance Computing. As such, the project may adopt an education focus, or it may adopt an applications focus, where the participant explores a practical application of their field within Computer Science.
Designing software architectures for application development above a microkernel in a trusted embedded system, K. Falkner, ECMS Faculty Small Grant ($10,000) (2006-2007
This project proposes the development of a proof of concept software architecture designed to support customisation of applications and system services within embedded systems. Specifically, this project will develop a customisable virtual machine above a microkernel environment, based on our previous work in developing software architectures for evolvable and customisable systems. The expected outcomes of this project are (a) insights into an appropriate software architecture for the development of customisable applications for embedded systems, (b) a working implementation of a customisable virtual machine above the L4 microkernel.
Mistkastn - a distributed Java Virtual Machine, D.S. Munro, K. Falkner and Y. Yarom, Apple University Development Fund Grant (Equipment Grant, $7,500) (2005-2007)
The essence of the project is to extend Mac functionality to support our second and third year needs for teaching concurrent and distributed computing and also to provide a vehicle for teaching high performance computing in our Honours and Masters courses. To this end we plan to develop a distributed Java virtual machine (named Mistkastn) that runs on a cluster of network-connected Mac minis, and provides the application with the illusion of running on a shared memory multiprocessor. This illusion allows applications designed for shared memory multiprocessors to run without modification on the cluster, thus relieving the programmer of the burden of writing communication code, and from the tedious task of adapting applications to a distributed environment. The deliverable for this project will be an efficient, working distributed Java virtual machine. This will be open source and freely available to all interested parties to promote enhancements and increase its research potential.
The evaluation and validation of a new approach to software evolution, K. Falkner, ECMS Faculty Small Grant ($6,500) (2005)
Software evolution enables software to respond to a changing real-world environment. The two forms of evolution individually support only a subset of the requirements for a comprehensive evolution model. Integration of these techniques, producing a comprehensive approach, is complicated by an incongruence in the underlying models. We have defined and implemented a new approach to integration that overcomes this incongruence. The aim of this project is to quantitatively validate this approach, through comparison with existing approaches and a real-world application demonstrator. The outcome of this project will be experimental results validating our approach, and an implementation of an application demonstrator.
A new approach to integrating Static and Dynamic Software Evolution Techniques, K. Falkner, ECMS Faculty Small Grant ($8,000) (2004)
Software evolution enables existing software to respond to a changing real-world environment, enabling software to be more robust, reusable and longer-lived. The growing development cost and complexity of software, particularly distributed applications, clearly motivates the need for comprehensive evolution techniques. Support for evolution can be classified as static or dynamic. Static evolvability is concerned with structuring systems as separated abstractions, and then evolving these abstractions offline. By identifying all dependencies, and isolating those abstractions that are independent, static evolvability enables individual application requirements to be changed in isolation. Dynamic evolvability is concerned with the means by which online change is effected; dynamically changing the way in which the code executes in response to system changes. By unifying these models, the benefit of software structuring can be combined with dynamic evolution of both the application functionality and the structuring itself, producing a comprehensive evolution model that is easier to apply, more powerful and more efficient. The aim of this project is to explore a new approach to integrating static and dynamic evolution techniques. Specifically, we aim to define a new methodology for the construction of software evolution systems, validate our approach through development of a working implementation of this technique and compare our approach to existing integrated approaches.
Computer Science Programming and Learning Centre, K. Falkner and D.S. Munro, University of Adelaide Learning and Teaching Grant ($12,000) (2003)
The transition from secondary school to university can be a daunting process for many students. The low level of contact with their peers and staff members can leave students with many problems in their first year, resulting in large attrition rates as students struggle to adjust to their changed environment. Computer science students are even more susceptible to these problems because of the isolating nature of programming and computer science being a field in which most students have no prior experience. This project proposes a new learning environment for undergraduate students within the School of Computer Science. The proposal, a Programming Centre located within the school, is aimed at improving the experience of first-year students. Specifically, we aim to provide an environment that encourages a sense of community within the undergraduate student group by providing facilities to support group work, peer discussions and peer mentoring.
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