Changing our view on design evaluation meetings methodology: a study of software technical review meetings

By contrast to design meetings, design evaluation meetings (DEMs) have generally been considered as situations in which, according to DEM methodologies, design activities are quite marginal. In a study of DEMs in software development, i.e. in technical review meetings following a particular review methodology, we showed: (i) the occurrence of design activities as part of an argumentation process; (ii) the relative importance of cognitive synchronisation as a prerequisite for evaluation; (iii) the important role played in evaluation by argumentation that makes explicit the underlying design rationale (DR). On the basis of our results, we discuss the potential for using DR methodologies in this kind of meetings.     

Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is the most frequent of cardiac arrhythmias and its frequency increases with age. Its diagnosis is difficult since the symptoms are often absent or misleading. It is based on electrocardiogram performed during the attack, and this has been made easier by the Holter technique or by sequential recordings triggered by the patient himself. It is only in special cases, when percritical recordings could not be made that intracavitary electrophysiological study is used to obtain indirect arguments in favour of the diagnosis. All heart diseases can be attended by this cardiac rhythm disorder which usually marks an unfavourable turn in the course of the disease, with an increased risk of sudden death in the end. But in most cases the only disorder found is a common arterial hypertension. Atrial fibrillation carries a risk of peripheral, and in particular cerebral, embolism evaluated at 5% per annum. This risk is high in patients with cardiopathy, but it also exists even with a normal heart. The value of anticoagulants has been demonstrated by large controlled studies, but it is important to know that a very strong anticoagulant treatment is unnecessary to reduce the risk of embolism. Only antiarrhythmic agents can maintain the patients in sinus rhythm for as long as possible before the passage to permanent fibrillation. Although no beneficial effect on mortality has been proved, these drugs are indicated for patients who have very marked symptoms or a major cardiopathy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Determination of scattering parameters of junctions associated with electromagnetic topology

This paper is dedicated to the determination of topological S parameters in the transmission line networks. We are especially interested in ideal junctions which consist of short circuit connections. For this type of junctions, it is impossible to deduce the S parameters from the usual impedance or admittance matrices which are not defined in this case. We suggest a method allowing a direct calculation of S. This procedure is described and then carried out for a two wire fork. At last, an experimental application is given for this model.     

A refined statistical approach to thermal fatigue life prediction

Finding new applications for ceramic materials requires a better knowledge of thermal fatigue behaviour. However, result-scattering inherent to thermal fatigue and duration of a thermal fatigue cycle lead to a lack of experimental results. For these reasons, we have developed a new approach that permits the determination of a relevant stress intensity factor exponent n with a minimum testing sample number. From knowledge of the distribution function of artificial cracks, the analytical formula of the failure probability F(N) can be completely determined. Thus, it is possible to calculate n from a correlation of F(N) with experimental results obtained for only one temperature difference. Correlations between theoretical curves F(N) and experimental results, conducted for two temperature differences, lead to the same value of n. This and the good agreement between the experimental points and the theoretical curves validate this new approach.     

Myocardial imaging with technetium-99m-tetrofosmin: comparison of one-day and two-day protocols

There is no evidence of myocardial redistribution after tetrofosmin injection, therefore, two separate injections are needed to differentiate scar from ischemia with this tracer. The injections can be given on the same day (one-day protocol) or on separate days (two-day protocol). As part of a Phase II clinical study, a one-day protocol was compared with a two-day protocol. METHODS: Fifty-five patients with suspected coronary artery disease were studied according to the following protocol: on the first day at rest, anterior, left lateral, left anterior oblique 40 degrees and 70 degrees images were acquired 30 min after injection of 8 mCi of tetrofosmin for 5 min each. Two days later, exercise and rest images were acquired on the same day. At peak exercise, 8 mCi of tetrofosmin were injected and 30 min later the same four standard planar images were recorded as on Day one. Four hours after the exercise injection, 24 mCi of tetrofosmin were injected at rest and imaging was repeated 30 min later. Qualitative comparisons between the one- and two-day protocols were performed in 50 patients in whom all data were available following blinded evaluation of images by three readers. RESULTS: All three readers reported identical results for the 26 patients. A difference in extent or location between the observers was found in seven patients, differences between normal and abnormal in eight patients, while discrepancies between ischemia and necrosis were noted in four patients. In five patients, an ischemic area was found according to the one-day protocol, but according to the data of the two-day protocol, this area was judged to be necrotic. One observer reported the opposite in one patient. These discrepancies between the reversibility of defects were restricted to the inferior wall. Comparison with 201Tl data showed no systematic pattern of variation. CONCLUSION: Tetrofosmin can be used in a one-day protocol. However, in planar imaging, the inferior wall should be reported with caution.     

Non-contact handling in microassembly: Acoustical levitation

Microassembly is currently of the utmost importance in industry. Nevertheless, the classical assembly processes are no longer usable for very small components, typically ranging from 10  m to 10 mm, since usually neglected surface forces disturb the handling task by inducing adhesion between the component and the gripper. A promising alternative to tackle surface forces consists in levitating the handled component. The various advantages of this contactless handling method are reviewed here and justify the choice of this approach. Consequently, the numerous physical principles suitable for contactless handling are briefly described together with their limitations. The evaluation shows that acoustic levitation is best fitted in the case of microassembly. A classification of literature applications is presented hereafter with special focus on acoustic levitation. Finally, the most common models of acoustical levitation are inspected in a general way. The described models come within the scope of non-linear acoustics.     

DREAM: A Component Framework for Constructing Resource-Aware, Configurable Middleware

DREAM (dynamic reflective asynchronous middleware) is a software framework for building asynchronous middleware from components, which we can assemble statically or dynamically (at deployment time or at runtime). DREAM's component library and set of tools lets us build, configure, and deploy middleware that implements various asynchronous communication paradigms, including message-passing, event-reaction, and publish-subscribe. We show how to use our framework to dynamically control resource consumption and concurrency. The performance of dynamically configurable MOMs built with the DREAM framework compares favorably to monolithic, functionally equivalent middleware     

Determinants of the future level of use of electronic marketplaces: The case of Canadian firms

Based on the literature dealing with the diffusion of innovation and with information systems, and building on the emerging concepts in electronic commerce (e-commerce), this paper aims at assessing the influence of various factors on firms’ future level of use of electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces). This theoretical model is tested on data collected from 1,200 senior managers in Canadian firms. Findings indicate that a firm’s past experience in e-commerce, as well as the factors relating to its business relationships ultimately affect its future use of e-marketplaces. Results of TOBIT regressions also show that the complexity of sophisticated e-commerce implementations is negatively correlated with the future level of use of e-marketplaces, and that consultants and other experts play an essential role in encouraging and facilitating the use of this new type of electronic platform. Finally, our survey data demonstrate that the relative influence of some determinants differs according to the firms’ size. Pierre Hadaya is an assistant professor of MIS at the Faculté d’administration of the Université de Sherbrooke (Canada). He holds a Ph.D. in Management of Technology from the école Polytechnique de Montréal. His research interests lie at the intersection of information technology management, business strategy and interorganizational design.     

1.6 Tbit/s (40/spl times/40 Gbit/s) DPSK transmission over 3/spl times/100 km of TeraLight fibre with direct detection

By transmitting 40 channels over 300 km of TeraLight fibre, it is shown that optical differential phase shift keying can be used in 100 GHz-spaced 40 Gbit/s systems, with direct detection and a simple receiving filter. Chromatic dispersion tolerance around 300 ps/nm is also measured, compared to 70 ps/nm for NRZ.     

Le développement de la reconnaissance des expressions faciales des émotions chez l'enfant.

Studied the development of the recognition of emotional facial expressions in children and of the factors influencing recognition accuracy. 80 elementary school students (aged 5–8 yrs) were asked to identify the emotions expressed in a series of facial photographs. Recognition performances were analyzed in relation to the type of emotion expressed (i.e., happiness, fear, anger, surprise, sadness, or disgust) and the intensity of the emotional expression. Age differences were determined. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)