Information Theory and Symbolic Analysis: Theory and Applications

Symbolic analysis has been developed and used successfully in very diverse fields. In recent literature, the contributions of symbolic analysis to the study of complex dynamics and network structures are easy to find, especially those based on symbolic entropy measures (such as permutation entropy) and the symbolic correlation integral (connected with Renyi and Tsallis entropies)[...]

SPOT: Testing Stream Processing Programs with Symbolic Execution and Stream Synthesizing

Adoption of distributed stream processing (DSP) systems such as Apache Flink in real-time big data processing is increasing. However, DSP programs are prone to be buggy, especially when one programmer neglects some DSP features (e.g., source data reordering), which motivates development of approaches for testing and verification. In this paper, we focus on the test data generation problem for DSP programs. Currently, there is a lack of an approach that generates test data for DSP programs with both high path coverage and covering different stream reordering situations. We present a novel solution, SPOT (i.e., Stream Processing Program Test), to achieve these two goals simultaneously. At first, SPOT generates a set of individual test data representing each path of one DSP program through symbolic execution. Then, SPOT composes these independent data into various time series data (a.k.a, stream) in diverse reordering. Finally, we can perform a test by feeding the DSP program with these streams continuously. To automatically support symbolic analysis, we also developed JPF-Flink, a JPF (i.e., Java Pathfinder) extension to coordinate the execution of Flink programs. We present four case studies to illustrate that: (1) SPOT can support symbolic analysis for the commonly used DSP operators; (2) test data generated by SPOT can more efficiently achieve high JDU (i.e., Joint Dataflow and UDF) path coverage than two recent DSP testing approaches; (3) test data generated by SPOT can more easily trigger software failure when comparing with those two DSP testing approaches; and (4) the data randomly generated by those two test techniques are highly skewed in terms of stream reordering, which is measured by the entropy metric. In comparison, it is even for test data from SPOT.

Problems of conflict zones in the educational space of a modern university

Актуальность статьи обусловлена практической необходимостью исследования зон конфликтогенности образовательного пространства. Выделяя отдельную проблему противоречий в содержании преподаваемых дисциплин, автор рассматривает предметную область подготовки специалистов в сфере налогообложения. Противоречивость его анализа с позиций экономики, права, социологии и философии отражается в конфликте преподавания соответствующих курсов. В практике ведущих университетов мира решением конфликта стало преподавание философии налогов, фискальной социологии, а также исследования налоговой культуры. Это позволило дополнить инструментальные характеристики налогов символическим анализом их роли в различных аспектах социальной реальности. В проведенном исследовании налогообложение представлено как способ конструирования социальной реальности, что акцентирует внимание на ценностных и мировоззренческих установках субъектов налогообложения. Построение образовательного процесса на этой основе способно внести гуманитарную составляющую в преподавание ряда учебных дисциплин. Это, в свою очередь, приведет к устранению определенных зон конфликтогенности образовательного пространства современного университета. The relevance of the article is due to the practical need to study the conflict zones of the educational space. Highlighting a separate problem of contradictions in the content of the taught disciplines, the author consider the subject area of training specialists in the field of taxation. In the practice of the world's leading universities, the solution to the conflict was the teaching of tax philosophy, fiscal sociology, as well as research on tax culture. This made it possible to supplement the instrumental characteristics of taxes with a symbolic analysis of their role in various aspects of social reality. In the study, taxation is presented as a way of constructing social reality, which focuses on the value and ideological attitudes of the subjects of taxation. Building the educational process on this basis is capable of introducing a humanitarian component into the teaching of a number of academic disciplines. This, in turn, will lead to the elimination of certain zones of conflict in the educational space of a modern university.

Understanding the nature of the main character in russian literature on the material of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" by M.Y. Lermontov

The relevance of the study: The relevance of the study is conditioned by the necessity to popularize the Russian language in classes with a foreign audience by referring to Russian classical literature (on the example of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" by M.Y. Lermontov) with the use of innovational education technology of graphic and symbolic analysis of fiction. The purpose of the study is to create a system of lessons on the analysis of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" by M.Y. Lermontov for teaching the Russian language to a foreign audience with the application of modern technologies of teaching Russian literature to foreigners, using innovational teaching forms such as graphic symbols and key concepts reflecting the history, philosophy, traditions, and customs of the first quarter of the 19th century. Methods: The main method of study used for this problem is a creation of a graphic and symbolic system of analysis for the novel "A Hero of Our Time" by M.Y. Lermontov during Russian language classes for foreign students that would allow viewing this problem as an innovational method of teaching the Russian language to foreigners on the material of fiction. Results: The paper presents a system of graphic and symbolic analysis of the work of fiction, demonstrates the features of its application, develops an algorithm for the implementation of this system into teaching Russian to foreigners. Practical significance: The proposed system of graphic and symbolic analysis of a work of fiction in the context of teaching Russian to foreigners is an effective form of mastering the educational material for students which contributes to their realization of the communicative and linguoculturological competencies.