A workshop and software package to reduce environmental and financial impacts – StockPlan

StockPlan is a computer software package that is distributed to participants at a workshop that assists cattle, sheep meat, and wool producers make management decisions either before and during seasonal dry spells or in the early stages of drought. The StockPlan software includes 4 decision support tools (DST): Drought Pack; Feed Sell Agist Pack; ImPack; and PlanPack. The StockPlan workshop encourages a pro-active approach to reduce environmental and financial impacts.     

Bridges and barriers to hardware-dependent software ecosystem participation – A case study

BackgroundSoftware ecosystems emerged as means for several actors to jointly provide more value to the market than any of them can do on its own. Recently, software ecosystems are more often used to support the development of hardware-dependent solutions.ObjectivesThis work aims at studying barriers and bridges to participation in an ecosystem with substantial hardware dependencies.MethodWe conducted an interview-based case study of an ecosystem around Axis’ network video surveillance systems, interviewing 10 internal experts and 8 external representatives of 6 companies, complemented by document studies at Axis.ResultsMajor bridges to the ecosystem include end customer demands, open and transparent communication and relationship, as well as internal and external standardizations. Barriers include the two-tier business model, entry barriers and execution performance issues. Approximately half of the identified bridges and barriers could be considered hardware-dependent ecosystems specific.ConclusionOur results suggest that ecosystem leaders should share their sales channels with the ecosystem participants and focus on good communication and relationships as the dominant factors for the ecosystem participation. Moreover, we report that internal and external standardization can play a dual role, not only ease the development but also enable additional sales channels and new opportunities for the ecosystem participants. At the same time, the business model selected by the ecosystem leaders and performance, are identified as the main barriers to ecosystem participation. We believe that the business model barrier may be much more important for similar hardware-dependent software ecosystems.     

Past and future of software architectural decisions – A systematic mapping study

ContextThe software architecture of a system is the result of a set of architectural decisions. The topic of architectural decisions in software engineering has received significant attention in recent years. However, no systematic overview exists on the state of research on architectural decisions.ObjectiveThe goal of this study is to provide a systematic overview of the state of research on architectural decisions. Such an overview helps researchers reflect on previous research and plan future research. Furthermore, such an overview helps practitioners understand the state of research, and how research results can help practitioners in their architectural decision-making.MethodWe conducted a systematic mapping study, covering studies published between January 2002 and January 2012. We defined six research questions. We queried six reference databases and obtained an initial result set of 28,895 papers. We followed a search and filtering process that resulted in 144 relevant papers.ResultsAfter classifying the 144 relevant papers for each research question, we found that current research focuses on documenting architectural decisions. We found that only several studies describe architectural decisions from the industry. We identified potential future research topics: domain-specific architectural decisions (such as mobile), achieving specific quality attributes (such as reliability or scalability), uncertainty in decision-making, and group architectural decisions. Regarding empirical evaluations of the papers, around half of the papers use systematic empirical evaluation approaches (such as surveys, or case studies). Still, few papers on architectural decisions use experiments.ConclusionOur study confirms the increasing interest in the topic of architectural decisions. This study helps the community reflect on the past ten years of research on architectural decisions. Researchers are offered a number of promising future research directions, while practitioners learn what existing papers offer.     

A pascal program for the solution of sparse linear systems – Part I

A Pascal program that implements the Gaussian elimination strategy for the solution of (very) sparse linear systems is presented.     

BRVCEL—A computer program for cell reduction and Bravais lattice determination

BRVCEL was originally developed for use with the Hilger and Watts Y290 diffractometer. The program is, however, quite general and in use with an Enraf-Nonius CAD4 and has been found to be more successful and more convenient than the standard Nonius software. The program computes the Niggli cell, performs least squares on the Niggli cell dimensions, transforms to the conventional Bravais lattice and performs least squares on the conventional cell. The program can run with defaults on all tolerances or these may be set by the operator.     

PCLab – A software with interactive graphical user interface for Monte Carlo and finite element analysis of microstructure-based layered composites

To effectively investigate the mechanical performance of microstructure-based layered composites, an object-oriented software with interactive graphical user interface has been developed. This software, named PCLab, is able to analyze the microstructure evolution and mechanical performance by both Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and the Finite Element method (FEM). The software has integrated preprocessors, solvers and postprocessors. Some examples are tested and explored the functionality of the software package. It shows that the PCLab software with a user-friendly graphical interface provides an efficient tool for faster material analysis, design and application. It also provides a flexible, robust platform for the future extensity in the material multi-physics research.     

A subject-specific software solution for the modeling and the visualization of muscles deformations

Today, to create and to simulate a virtual anatomical version of a subject is useful in the decision process of surgical treatments. The muscular activity is one of the factors which can contribute to abnormal movements such as in spasticity or static contracture. In this paper, we propose a numerical solution, based on the Finite Element (FE) method, able to estimate muscles deformations during contraction. Organized around a finite element solver and a volumetric environment, this solution is made of all the modeling and simulation processes from the discretization of the studied domain to the visualization of the results. The choices of materials and properties of the FE model are also presented such as the hyperelasticity, the contention model based on inter-meshes neighboring nodes pairing, and the estimation of nodal forces based on the subject-specific muscular forces and action lines.

A serious game for teaching the fundamentals of ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148 systems and software engineering – Lifecycle processes – Requirements engineering at undergraduate level

In the context of software engineering education, there is a recurrent demand for new approaches and techniques that support the application and transfer of knowledge to real-life situations with the aim of encouraging a more active learning among students. In particular, serious games have recently become an important learning resource for teaching the fundamentals of software process standards at undergraduate level. However, poor effort has been made to create a serious game that supports the teaching of the ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2011 Systems and Software Engineering – Lifecycle Processes – Requirements Engineering, an international standard that specifies the required processes that are to be implemented by requirements engineering for systems and software products (including services) throughout the lifecycle. With this in mind, a serious game called “Requengin” has been developed to provide undergraduate students with an interactive learning environment to facilitate the introduction of ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2011. The main objective of the game is to strengthen the comprehension and application of the main processes of the standard and some related requirements engineering techniques. Requengin was designed to simulate an academic library where players must apply the requirements engineering processes with the aim of changing the traditional management system by a software system while they receive, at the same time, preliminary training in ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2011. The results obtained by empirical evaluation indicate that Requengin could potentially contribute to an improvement in students’ acquisition of knowledge about ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2011, while also improving levels of motivation.     

Fast NMPC schemes for regulatory and economic NMPC – A review

In this paper, NMPC schemes based on fast update methods (fast NMPC schemes) are reviewed that strive to provide a fast but typically suboptimal update of the control variables at each sampling instant with negligible computational delay. The review focuses on schemes that employ one of two subclasses of fast update methods developed for direct solution approaches, the suboptimal update methods and the sensitivity-based update methods. The connections and similarities of the fast update methods, the elements of the fast NMPC, the control architecture as well as the fast NMPC schemes as a whole are highlighted to support the assessment of the benefits and limitations of each individual scheme. In this way, this review facilitates the choice of a suitable fast NMPC scheme within the vast amount of fast NMPC schemes available in literature.     

The 2012 free and open source GIS software map – A guide to facilitate research,development, and adoption

Over the last decade an increasing number of free and open source software projects have been founded that concentrate on developing several types of software for geographic data collection, storage, analysis and visualization. We first identify the drivers of such software projects and identify different types of geographic information software, e.g. desktop GIS, remote sensing software, server GIS etc. We then list the major projects for each software category. Afterwards we discuss the points that should be considered if free and open source software is to be selected for use in business and research, such as software functionality, license types and their restrictions, developer and user community characteristics, etc. Finally possible future developments are addressed.     

A programmed instruction tutoring system for Java™: consideration of learning performance and software self-efficacy

An undergraduate (n=23) and a graduate (n=23) class of information systems majors used a Web-based tutoring system during the first 3-h session of a 14-week course in interface design and implementation. The tutoring system taught a simple Java™ applet as the first technical training exercise, and the instructional design was based upon programmed instruction, which is a competency-based tutoring system. Software self-efficacy was assessed prior to using the tutor and at the end of the 3-h period. Students’ interactive performances (errors and help selections) were recorded for all interfaces in the tutor. The results showed that the undergraduate students made more input and test errors than did the graduate students, but the number of students in each class who completed all eight tutor stages (18 undergraduates and 17 graduates) was almost equivalent. Forty-four of the 46 students completed the fourth tutor stage, which presented frames of information explaining the items in the program. Students who did not complete all eight stages showed more errors on the initial four stages, in comparison to students who did complete all stages. Software self-efficacy increased from pre-tutor to post-tutor occasions for both classes and for both completers and non-completers. No significant relationship was found between software self-efficacy changes and tutor learning performance. Neither was gender related to software self-efficacy changes or learning performance. Evaluations of the tutor were favorable by almost all learners. A competency-based tutoring system may produce both skill and earned self-efficacy at the level of the individual learner, without regard to variations in the learning process leading to mastery.     

A program for calculation and graphic representation of conditional constants — II. Solubility products

A BASIC program (PKSCOND) is described. Given the stability constants values of metal and ligand, solubility product, concentration of metal and stoichiometry it calculates and draws the conditional solubility product diagram versus pH. This program can be linked with the CONSCOND program by means of three supplementary BASIC lines.     

The impact of global dispersion on coordination,team performance and software quality – A systematic literature review

ContextGlobal software development (GSD) contains different context setting dimensions, which are essential for effective teamwork and success of projects. Although considerable research effort has been made in this area, as yet, no agreement has been reached about the impact of these dispersion dimensions on team coordination and project outcomes.ObjectiveThis paper summarizes empirical evidence on the impact of global dispersion dimensions on coordination, team performance and project outcomes.MethodWe performed a systematic literature review of 46 publications from 25 journals and 19 conference and workshop proceedings, which were published between 2001 and 2013. Thematic analysis was used to identify global dimensions and their measures. Vote counting was used to decide on the impact trends of dispersion dimensions on team performance and software quality.ResultsGlobal dispersion dimensions are consistently conceptualized, but quantified in many different ways. Different dispersion dimensions are associated with a distinct set of coordination challenges. Overall, geographical dispersion tends to have a negative impact on team performance and software quality. Temporal dispersion tends to have a negative impact on software quality, but its impact on team performance is inconsistent and can be explained by type of performance.ConclusionFor researchers, we reveal several opportunities for future research, such as coordination challenges in inter-organizational software projects, impact of processes and practices mismatches on project outcomes, evolution of coordination needs and mechanism over time and impact of dispersion dimensions on open source project outcomes. For practitioners, they should consider the tradeoff between cost and benefits while dispersing tasks, alignment impact of dispersion dimensions with individual and organizational objectives, coordination mechanisms as situational approaches and collocation of development activities of high quality demand components in GSD projects.     

Simulation and optimization modeling for drive-through mass vaccination – A generalized approach

Proper planning and execution of mass vaccination at the onset of a pandemic outbreak is important for local health departments. Mass vaccination clinics are required to be setup and run for naturally occurring pandemic outbreaks or even in response to terrorist attacks, e.g., anthrax attack. Walk-in clinics have often been used to administer vaccines. When a large percentage of a population must be vaccinated to mitigate the ill-effects of an attack or pandemic, drive-through clinics appear to be more effective because a much higher throughput can be achieved when compared to walk-in clinics. There are other benefits as well. For example, the spread of the disease can be minimized because infected patients are not exposed to uninfected patients. This research extends the simulation modeling work that was done for a mass vaccination drive-through clinic in the city of Louisville in November 2009. This clinic is one of the largest clinics ever set up with more than 19,000 patients served, over two-thirds via ten drive-through lanes. The intent of the model in this paper is to illustrate a general tool that can be customized for a community of any size. The simulation–optimization tool will allow decision makers to investigate several interacting control variables in a simultaneous fashion; any of several criterion models in which various performance measures are either optimized or constrained, can be investigated. The model helps the decision maker determine the required number of Points of Dispense (POD) lanes, number and length of the lanes for consent hand outs and fill in, staff needed at the consent handout stations and PODs, and average user waiting time in the system.     

A program for calculation and graphic representation of conditional constants—I. Complex formation constants

A BASIC program (CONSCOND) is described. Given the stability constants values of metal and ligand, concentration of metal and stoichiometry it calculates and draws the conditional constant diagram vs pH.