Understanding and capturing people’s privacy policies in a mobile social networking application

A number of mobile applications have emerged that allow users to locate one another. However, people have expressed concerns about the privacy implications associated with this class of software, suggesting that broad adoption may only happen to the extent that these concerns are adequately addressed. In this article, we report on our work on PeopleFinder, an application that enables cell phone and laptop users to selectively share their locations with others (e.g. friends, family, and colleagues). The objective of our work has been to better understand people’s attitudes and behaviors towards privacy as they interact with such an application, and to explore technologies that empower users to more effectively and efficiently specify their privacy preferences (or “policies”). These technologies include user interfaces for specifying rules and auditing disclosures, as well as machine learning techniques to refine user policies based on their feedback. We present evaluations of these technologies in the context of one laboratory study and three field studies.

---

Generic programming techniques for parallelizing and extending procedural finite element programs

We outline an approach for extending procedural finite-element software components using generic programming. A layer of generic software components consisting of C++ containers and algorithms is used for parallelization of the finite-element solver and for solver coupling in multi-physics applications. The advantages of generic programming in connection with finite-element codes are discussed and compared with those of object-oriented programming. The use of the proposed generic programming techniques is demonstrated in a tutorial fashion through basic illustrative examples as well as code excerpts from a large-scale finite-element program for serial and parallel computing platforms.

How relative absolute can be: SUMI and the impact of the nature of the task in measuring perceived software usability

This paper addresses the possibility of measuring perceived usability in an absolute way. It studies the impact of the nature of the tasks performed in perceived software usability evaluation, using for this purpose the subjective evaluation of an application’s performance via the Software Usability Measurement Inventory (SUMI). The paper reports on the post-hoc analysis of data from a productivity study for testing the effect of changes in the graphical user interface (GUI) of a market leading drafting application. Even though one would expect similar evaluations of an application’s usability for same releases, the analysis reveals that the output of this subjective appreciation is context sensitive and therefore mediated by the research design. Our study unmasked a significant interaction between the nature of the tasks used for the usability evaluation and how users evaluate the performance of this application. This interaction challenges the concept of absolute benchmarking in subjective usability evaluation, as some software evaluation methods aspire to provide, since subjective measurement of software quality will be affected most likely by the nature of the testing materials used for the evaluation.

---

An analysis of global edf schedulability for arbitrary-deadline sporadic task systems

Recent results on the global multiprocessor edf scheduling of sporadic task systems are, for the most part, applicable only to task systems in which each task’s relative deadline parameter is constrained to be no larger than its minimum inter-arrival separation. This paper introduces new analysis techniques that allow for similar results to be derived for task systems in which individual tasks are not constrained in this manner. For tasks with deadlines greater than their minimum inter-arrival separation, two models are considered, with and without an implicit intra-task job precedence constraint. The new analyses yield schedulability conditions that strictly dominate some previously proposed tests that are generally accepted to represent the current state of the art in multiprocessor edf schedulability analysis, and permits the derivation of an improved speed-up bound.

Schedulability analysis of global edf

The multiprocessor edf scheduling of sporadic task systems is studied. A new sufficient schedulability test is presented and proved correct. It is shown that this test generalizes the previously-known exact uniprocessor edf-schedulability test, and that it offers non-trivial quantitative guarantees (including a resource augmentation bound) on multiprocessors.

Generating relational database transactions from eb 3 attribute definitions

eb ³ is a trace-based formal language created for the specification of information systems. In eb ³, each entity and association attribute is independently defined by a recursive function on the valid traces of external events. This paper describes an algorithm that generates, for each external event, a transaction that updates the value of affected attributes in their relational database representation. The benefits are twofold: eb ³ attribute specifications are automatically translated into executable programs, eliminating system design and implementation steps; the construction of information systems is streamlined, because eb ³ specifications are simpler and shorter to write than corresponding traditional specifications, design and implementations. In particular, the paper shows that simple eb ³ constructs can replace complex SQL queries which are typically difficult to write.

COMUNICAR: designing a multimedia, context-aware human-machine interface for cars

The European Union co-funded COMUNICAR (communication multimedia unit inside car) project designed and developed an integrated multimedia human–machine interface (HMI) able to manage a wide variety of driver information systems (from entertainment to safety). COMUNICAR proposed an innovative information provision paradigm, in which the on-vehicle HMI is able to tailor the delivery of the information in real time according to the actual driving context and the drivers workload. COMUNICAR adopted a user-centred design process involving an iterative development based on extensive user tests since the early phases of the project. This approach was particularly useful to define and improve the layout of the user interface and specify the rules that decide the scheduling and the modalities of the delivery of the information messages to the driver. This paper introduces the COMUNICAR concept and the user-centred flow of design. Then, a concrete case of user-test driven, iterative improvement of a systems functionality is presented. We also briefly describe two software tools that we have designed to enhance the development process in a user-centred perspective. Finally, the future evolution of the concept of smart and safe information scheduling is sketched and discussed.

---

Deployment and dynamic reconfiguration planning for distributed software systems

The quality of software systems are determined in part by their optimal configurations. Optimal configurations are desired when the software is being deployed and during its lifetime. However, initial deployment and subsequent dynamic reconfiguration of a software system is difficult because of the interplay of many interdependent factors, including cost, time, application state, and system resources. As the size and complexity of software systems increases, procedures (manual or automated) that assume a static software architecture and environment are becoming untenable. We have developed a novel technique for carrying out the deployment and reconfiguration planning processes that leverages recent advances in the field of temporal planning. We describe a tool called Planit, which manages the deployment and reconfiguration of a software system utilizing a temporal planner. Given a model of the structure of a software system, the network upon which the system should be hosted, and a goal configuration, Planit will use the temporal planner to devise possible deployments of the system. Given information about changes in the state of the system, network and a revised goal, Planit will use the temporal planner to devise possible reconfigurations of the system. We present the results of a case study in which Planit is applied to a system consisting of various components that communicate across an application-level overlay network. An earlier version of this paper was presented at ICTAI’03.

---

A study of effectiveness of dynamic slicing in locating real faults

Dynamic slicing algorithms have been considered to aid in debugging for many years. However, as far as we know, no detailed studies on evaluating the benefits of using dynamic slicing for locating real faults present in programs have been carried out. In this paper we study the effectiveness of fault location using dynamic slicing for a set of real bugs reported in some widely used software programs. Our results show that of the 19 faults studied, 12 faults were captured by data slices, 7 required the use of full slices, and none of them required the use of relevant slices. Moreover, it was observed that dynamic slicing considerably reduced the subset of program statements that needed to be examined to locate faulty statements. Interestingly, we observed that all of the memory bugs in the faulty versions were captured by data slices. The dynamic slices that captured faulty code included 0.45 to 63.18% of statements that were executed at least once.

Input validation analysis and testing

This research addresses the problem of statically analyzing input command syntax as defined in interface and requirements specifications and then generating test cases for dynamic input validation testing. The IVAT (Input Validation Analysis and Testing) technique has been developed, a proof-of-concept tool (MICASA) has been implemented, and a case study validation has been performed. Empirical validation on large-scale industrial software (from the Tomahawk Cruise Missile) shows that as compared with senior, experienced analysts and testers, MICASA found more syntactic requirement specification defects, generated test cases with higher syntactic coverage, and found additional defects. The experienced analysts found more semantic defects than MICASA, and the experienced testers’ cases found 7.4 defects per test case as opposed to an average of 4.6 defects found by MICASA test cases. Additionally, the MICASA tool performed at less cost.

Protecting business intelligence and customer privacy while outsourcing data mining tasks

Nowadays data mining plays an important role in decision making. Since many organizations do not possess the in-house expertise of data mining, it is beneficial to outsource data mining tasks to external service providers. However, most organizations hesitate to do so due to the concern of loss of business intelligence and customer privacy. In this paper, we present a Bloom filter based solution to enable organizations to outsource their tasks of mining association rules, at the same time, protect their business intelligence and customer privacy. Our approach can achieve high precision in data mining by trading-off the storage requirement. This research was supported by the USA National Science Foundation Grants CCR-0310974 and IIS-0546027.

---

Multimodal support to group dynamics

The complexity of group dynamics occurring in small group interactions often hinders the performance of teams. The availability of rich multimodal information about what is going on during the meeting makes it possible to explore the possibility of providing support to dysfunctional teams from facilitation to training sessions addressing both the individuals and the group as a whole. A necessary step in this direction is that of capturing and understanding group dynamics. In this paper, we discuss a particular scenario, in which meeting participants receive multimedia feedback on their relational behaviour, as a first step towards increasing self-awareness. We describe the background and the motivation for a coding scheme for annotating meeting recordings partially inspired by the Bales’ Interaction Process Analysis. This coding scheme was aimed at identifying suitable observable behavioural sequences. The study is complemented with an experimental investigation on the acceptability of such a service.

---

The 2007 IEEE CEC simulated car racing competition

This paper describes the simulated car racing competition that was arranged as part of the 2007 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation. Both the game that was used as the domain for the competition, the controllers submitted as entries to the competition and its results are presented. With this paper, we hope to provide some insight into the efficacy of various computational intelligence methods on a well-defined game task, as well as an example of one way of running a competition. In the process, we provide a set of reference results for those who wish to use the simplerace game to benchmark their own algorithms. The paper is co-authored by the organizers and participants of the competition.

---

E-redesigning of society: towards experiential connectivity of generations in Lithuania

The paper reflects on the unique experience of social and technological development in Lithuania since the regaining of independence as a newly reshaped society constructing a distinctive competitive IST-based model at global level. This has presented Lithuanian pattern of how to integrate different experiences and relations between generations in implementing complex information society approaches. The resulting programme in general is linked to the Lisbon objectives of the European Union. The experience of transitional countries in Europe, each different but facing some common problems, may be useful to developing countries in Africa.

---

Understanding component co-evolution with a study on Linux

After a software system has been delivered, it inevitably has to change to remain useful. Evolutionary coupling measures the change dependencies between software components. Reference coupling measures the architecture dependencies between software components. In this paper, we present a method to correlate evolutionary coupling and reference coupling. We study the evolution of 597 consecutive versions of Linux and measure the evolutionary coupling and reference coupling among 12 kernel modules. We compare 12 pairs of evolutionary coupling data and reference coupling data. The results show that linear correlation exists between evolutionary coupling and reference coupling. We conclude that in Linux, the dependencies between software components induced via the system architecture have noticeable effects on kernel module co-evolution.

Adding phonetic similarity data to a lexical database

As part of a project to construct an interactive program which would encourage children to play with language by building jokes, we developed a lexical database, starting from WordNet. To the existing information about part of speech, synonymy, hyponymy, etc., we have added phonetic representations and phonetic similarity ratings for pairs of words/phrases.

Using trust assumptions with security requirements

Assumptions are frequently made during requirements analysis of a system about the trustworthiness of its various components (including human components). These trust assumptions, whether implicit or explicit, affect the scope of the analysis, derivation of security requirements, and in some cases how functionality is realized. This paper presents trust assumptions in the context of analysis of security requirements. A running example shows how trust assumptions can be used by a requirements engineer to help define and limit the scope of analysis and to document the decisions made during the process. The paper concludes with a case study examining the impact of trust assumptions on software that uses the secure electronic transaction specification.

---

Methods for quantitative usability requirements: a case study on the development of the user interface of a mobile phone

Quantitative usability requirements are a critical but challenging, and hence an often neglected aspect of a usability engineering process. A case study is described where quantitative usability requirements played a key role in the development of a new user interface of a mobile phone. Within the practical constraints of the project, existing methods for determining usability requirements and evaluating the extent to which these are met, could not be applied as such, therefore tailored methods had to be developed. These methods and their applications are discussed.

---

ONTRACK: Dynamically adapting music playback to support navigation

Listening to music on personal, digital devices whilst mobile is an enjoyable, everyday activity. We explore a scheme for exploiting this practice to immerse listeners in navigation cues. Our prototype, ONTRACK, continuously adapts audio, modifying the spatial balance and volume to lead listeners to their target destination. First we report on an initial lab-based evaluation that demonstrated the approach’s efficacy: users were able to complete tasks within a reasonable time and their subjective feedback was positive. Encouraged by these results we constructed a handheld prototype. Here, we discuss this implementation and the results of field-trials. These indicate that even with a low-fidelity realisation of the concept, users can quite effectively navigate complicated routes.

---

Mapping non-conventional extensions of genetic programming

Conventional genetic programming research excludes memory and iteration. We have begun an extensive analysis of the space through which GP or other unconventional AI approaches search and extend it to consider explicit program stop instructions (T8), including Markov analysis and any time models (T7). We report halting probability, run time and functionality (including entropy of binary functions) of both halting and anytime programs. Irreversible Turing complete program fitness landscapes, even with halt, scale poorly however loops lock-in variation allowing more interesting functions.