Tekhné

10

Authors: Luis Uribe

Microcomputer systems normally update data to nonvolatile memory (flash or EEPROM), or to Database Servers (both local or remote). This paper specially focuses on small, embedded processors, and presents a robust algorithm that prevents data losses and inconsistencies due to power failures, or similar program interruptions. It is centered on multibyte data which normally makes up the information to be processed on small systems. Interrupting the update procedure in the middle of a record may play havoc to the system. This procedure avoids data losses by maintaining two (2) separate memory areas, duplicating critical variables in each. Storage subsystems can consist on battery-backed RAM, magnetic disks, flash or EEPROM memories, or they can be local or remote storage subsystems. It is based on a very simple, Finite-State Machine that uses 4 States, Gray coded, to track the status of each main variable and its mirrored value in the storage device. The machine dictates a sequence that the software driver can use to write data to both the main and the backup variables. The driver sets and resets two (2) status bits variables, B0: the Main Variable status bit, and B1: the Mirror status bit. Both status bits must be recorded in the same storage medium as the data they represent. This algorithm prevents race conditions and ambiguous situations. You can enter the power-up verification routine at any time, interrupting the main flow of the program at any place, without losing any data at all. It is guaranteed that all bytes belonging to a data set are written right, or that none are stored, but non halfprocessed data will be made available to the user under any circumstances.

12

Authors: Alejandro Del Mar, Stefany Velarde, Johanna García

Even though different studies indicate that hi-tech tools can have positive effects when used for educational purposes, it is rare to see the use of these tools in the Venezuelan education field. Reasons for this vary depending on each institution, but generally they are related to the lack of economical resources or poor training of educational personnel regarding the use of technology. The main purpose of this work was to enable the incorporation of technology in the Venezuelan education. The project consisted in the development of new educational software about hygiene habits, a rare topic next to math and reading, but that also has a great level of importance and is very difficult to teach. In addition to the development, the project also consisted in measuring the impact of the software on the children’s behavior; making it possible to determine if the software application would successfully support the learning process of acquiring accurate hygiene habits. As an outcome of this project it was proven that the software tool created could in fact support the learning process of correct hygiene habits in children (3 to 5 years old) , having positive effects in three (3) different behavioral aspects: Knowledge, motivation and conduct. Making educational software is not an easy task. It comprises many activities and requires the tracking of numerous details. That is why the use of a propermethodology is required during the entire process, in order to facilitate organization and planning. Also, it is extremely important to have a team filled with experts that can pitch different perspectives that will lead to the enhancement of the software product, making the final product a successful one such is the case of “Pancho y Los Piratas” a small but important contribution to the Venezuelan education.

14

Authors: Heriberto Echezuría

A procedure that allows the preparation of elastic response spectra based on the statistical analyses of the spectral intensities and a Poisson model without memory. To guaranty the robustness of the data base, the Poisson model is also used along with the seismicity of the area, in order to obtain the distribution of the magnitudes. The procedure uses de concept of lifespan in order to apply the Poisson model to calculate the accelerations which correspond to the different return periods. The elastic spectra calculated in such a way are homogeneous and do not have any deviations related to the probability of excedance of the spectral accelerations. In addition, due to its formulation, the procedure also allows to verify if the data used to obtain the elastic spectra is in agreement with the seismic hazard of the site under study. Finally, in this article some particular statistic corresponding to the different spectral ordinates as well as to the proportionality between spectra with different return periods are presented.

14

Authors: Arnoldo José Gabaldon

La Revolución Industrial a través de sus sucesivas fases, ha signado en gran medida el derrotero de la civilización, durante los últimos doscientos años. En general tiende a concebirse su influencia limitada mayormente a los aspectos tecnológicos y económicos, subestimando sus profundas consecuencias sociales, políticas y culturales que han sido determinantes en la conformación de un paradigma societario ampliamente extendido. El impacto de este hito histórico ha sido inconmensurable, pues mas allá de la transformación rural-urbana que desencadeno en la mayoría de los países y que cambio su geografía económica, este ha influido en la organización social y política, en la conformación de hábitos de vida que antes eran desconocidos, en el aumento de la productividad de la mano de obra y en los patrones de consumo que se han establecido, entre otros muchos aspectos. La evolución de las ideas políticas en la llamada época moderna ha estado asociada a la Revolución Industrial, porque ella tuvo mucho que ver con el alumbramiento de diversos escenarios históricos, dentro de los cuales se han confrontado corrientes y posiciones ideológicas diversas. Para algunos autores, el surgimiento de la democracia en Europa o en los Estados Unidos de America, fue de la mano de la Revolución Industrial. Y el progreso cultural y técnico que hemos presenciado, ha contribuido tanto a cambiar los estilos de vida y la misma aptitud ante ella, hasta el punto que poco a poco fue surgiendo un paradigma o modelo societario con rasgos inconfundibles. A este lo he llamado el paradigma prevaleciente. Es un modelo de ámbito global que se da con mayor intensidad en los países industrializados, pero que ha tendido a difundirse al resto del planeta. Pero ese modelo esta dando señales de ser insuficiente para responder satisfactoriamente a los nuevos retos civilizatorios que el mismo ha contribuido a generar. El mundo esta en la búsqueda de un nuevo paradigma más apropiado para resolver la crisis existencial presente. Nos encontramos por lo tanto en un periodo de transición entre dos paradigmas, con todo lo incierto y fortuita que puede ser esa situación. Explorar esa hipótesis es el objetivo de este ensayo.

16

Authors: Gabriela Montoya, Jesús Ravelo

In object-oriented programming languages, the relationship that should hold between the specifications of a class and its superclass is called behavioural subtyping. In this paper we analyse the conditions that a behavioural subtype should meet during runtime assertion checking, that is, during dynamic verification. Our exploration relates such conditions for runtime assertion checking to the conditions that should be met in static verification of correctness under the principles of modular reasoning. As a result, we state and prove a theorem that connects dynamic and static verification of method calls in the presence of inheritance. The novelty of this theorem lies on the fact that the connection is an equivalence, where the implication from static to dynamic verification has been explored before but not the opposite one. This new exploration then poses that a hypothetical exhaustive testing through runtime assertion checking would be equivalent to the corresponding static verification of definite correctness, which adds solidity to runtime assertion checking. None but one of the runtime assertion checking tools that we know of can effectively detect all possible problems in class inheritance; the one exception is the tool used for Spec#, but their strategy relies on both specification inheritance and a rather substantial restriction on preconditions, requirements we could dispose of when taking our the-oretical results to a practical implementation.

22

Authors: Pedro Maglione

This paper is a summary of the Special Work presented at the UCAB on April 2010 as a requirement to achieve the degree of EXPERT IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING [19] and values the seismic response, pretty anomalous and not well understood with the technology of 43 years ago, which had the Petunia II building during the Caracas earthquake in July 29, 1967. This building is part of Las Petunias Residential Complex, located on the 1rst. Cross with the 1rst Avenue, Urb. Los Palos Grandes, Municipality Chacao, Caracas and was built between the years 1965 and 1966. It’s very slender; it has 21 stories and a big density of masonry. The investigation analyzes the influence that could have had the masonry during the 1967’s earthquake and values the expected structural seismic response of the later reinforced structure, according to the 1756-2001 Covenin Code [7] [22] [23], which spectrum has implicit an earthquake with a magnitude much bigger than the one which happened in the night of July 29, 1967. The mathematical models of the building before the earthquake and the building repaired and reinforced after the earthquake have been called Original Model and Reinforced Model respectively.