The Brave New World of development in the internetwork computing architecture (InterNCA): or how distributed computing platforms will change systems development

This essay is a speculation of the impact of the next generation technological platform — the internetwork computing architecture (InterNCA) — on systems development. The impact will be deep and pervasive and more substantial than when computing migrated from closed computer rooms to ubiquitous personal computers and flexible client-server solutions. Initially, by drawing upon the notion of a technological frame, the InterNCA, and how it differs from earlier technological frames, is examined. Thereafter, a number of hypotheses are postulated with regard to how the architecture will affect systems development content, scope, organization and processes. Finally, some suggestions for where the information systems research community should focus its efforts (if the call for relevance is not to be taken lightly) are proposed.     

Further consideration of the effect of curvature on the stability of three-dimensional flows

The effect of curvature on the stability and transition of three-dimensional incompressible flows is examined. The stability equations with and without curvature terms are solved with the temporal eigenvalue formulations used by Malik and Poll. Calculations are performed for flow over a yawed circular cylinder and results are compared with the calculations of Malik and Poll with and without curvature effects. Results show that the effect of curvature on transition is much smaller than claimed previously.     

Groups are not always the same

The idea of supporting group meetings at the same time and at the same place by computer raises the problem of how salient features of group behaviors are understood in meetings. In this paper we take a critical look at several beliefs about group behaviors in research dealing with electronic meeting systems (EMS). The paper argues based on an empirical study that the concept of a small, cohesive business team, so widely held, in all EMS research is not necessarily a valid starting point in thinking of meeting support. In particular, the paper critically evaluates a number of beliefs of user aspects, group features such as composition, structure and protocols, and task characteristics such as nature, importance and meeting goals. In consequence, if these prominent features can vary markedly all meeting support cannot be designed in ways envisaged in current research. In conclusion we outline some research questions—both of empirical and constructive nature—that need to be addressed if the EMS research wants to address issues in computer support in groups that are not similar with business teams.An earlier version of this paper was presented at 25th HICSS conference, 10–12.1.1993.This research was in part funded by the Academy of Finland.The opinions presented in this work are not official statements of any of the participating organizations.This research was in part funded by the Finnish Technology Development Center     

Triacylglycerols of human milk: Rapid analysis by ammonia negative ion tandem mass spectrometry

Human milk traicylglycerols (TAG) were analyzed by ammonia negative ion chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The deprotonated molecular ions of triacylglycerols were fractionated at the first mass spectrometry (MS) stage. Twenty-nine of the deprotonated TAG ions were further analyzed based on their collisionally activated (CA) spectra. The tandem MS analysis covered eleven major acyl carbon number fractions, two of which contained odd carbon number fatty acids. Fatty acids of 28 different molecular weights were recorded from the daughter spectra. Hexadecanoic acid was present in all CA spectra, octadecenoic acid in the CA spectra of all mono- and higher unsaturated TAG, and octadecadienoic acid in the CA spectra of all di- and higher unsaturated TAG. The major fatty acid combinations in triacylglycerols were: with 0 double bonds (DB), 12∶0/12∶0/16∶0; with 1 DB, 12∶0/16∶0/18∶1; with 2 DB, 16∶0/18∶1/18∶1; with 3 DB, 16∶0/18∶2/18∶1; with 4 DB, 18∶2/18∶1/18∶1; and with 5 DB, 18∶2/18∶2/18∶1; hexadecanoic acid typically occupied thesn-2 position. The most abundant TAG was shown to besn-18∶1–16∶0–18∶1, comprising about 10% of all triacylglycerols.     

Unobtrusive stress detection on the basis of smartphone usage data

Stress has become an important health problem, but existing stress detectors are inconvenient in long-term real-life use because users either have to wear dedicated devices or expend notable interaction efforts in system adaptation to specifics of each person. Adaptation is necessary because individuals significantly differ in their perception of stress and stress responses, but typical adaptation employs supervised learning methods and hence requires fairly large sets of labelled data (i.e. information on whether each reporting period was stressful or not) from every user. To address these problems, we propose a novel unsupervised stress detector, based on using a smartphone as the only device and using discrete hidden Markov models (HMM) with maximum posterior marginal (MPM) decisions for analysis of phone data. Our detector requires neither additional hardware nor data labelling and hence is truly unobtrusive and suitable for lifelong use. Its accuracy was evaluated using two real-life datasets: in the first case, adaptation was based on very short (a few days) phone interaction histories of each individual, and in the second case—on longer histories. In these tests, the proposed HMM-MPM achieved 59 and 70% accuracies, respectively, which is comparable with results of fully supervised methods, reported by other works.     

Predicting the spatial pattern of trees by airborne laser scanning

The spatial pattern of trees can be defined as a property of their location in relation to each other. In this study, the spatial pattern was summarized into three categories, regular, random, and clustered, using Ripley's L-function. The study was carried out at 79 sample plots located in a managed forest in Finland. The goal was to study how well the spatial pattern of trees can be predicted by airborne laser scanning (ALS) data. ALS-derived predictions were based upon individual tree detection (ITD), semi-individual tree detection (semi-ITD), and plot-level metrics calculated from the canopy height model, AREA. The kappa value for ITD was almost zero, which indicates no agreement. The semi-ITD and AREA methods performed better, although kappa values were only 0.34 and 0.24, respectively. It appears difficult to detect a particularly clustered spatial pattern.     

Optimisation strategies introduced for CR at health care centres in Estonia

In recent years, starting from 2001, conventional film-screen radiography has been rapidly replaced by digital (mostly by computed radiography, CR) techniques in Estonia. New strategies for optimisation and quality assurance for digital radiography have been introduced by the DIMOND III and SENTINEL partners recently. It includes consideration to diagnostic requirements of a given clinical situation, but also objectivation and standardisation of image quality, e.g. using CDRAD test phantom, and constancy testing. The aim of this work is to evaluate the performance of an automatic exposure control (AEC) at different sensitivities when used with the Fujifilm CR system. Image quality, using threshold contrast-detail detectability (TCDD) and signal-to-noise ratio squared related to dose (SNR(2)/D), was also investigated for different sensitivities and tube potential values for this combination. Based on the image evaluation data, optimum speed modes for the organ programme settings have been proposed.     

Effects of Insect Herbivory on Bilberry Production and Removal of Berries by Frugivores

The evolutionary purpose of a fleshy fruit is to attract seed dispersers and get the seeds dispersed by frugivorous animals. For this reason, fruits should be highly rewarding to these mutualists. However, insect herbivory can alter plant reproductive success e.g. by decreasing fruit yield or affecting the attractiveness of the fruits to mutualistic seed dispersers. Under natural conditions, we tested the effects of experimental larval-defoliation on berry ripening and consumption of a non-cultivated dwarf shrub, the bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), which produces animal-dispersed berries with high sugar and anthocyanin concentration. Bilberry ramets with high fruit yield were most likely to have their berries foraged, indicating that frugivores made foraging choices based on the abundance of berries. Moreover, the probability for berries being foraged was the lowest for non-defoliated ramets that grew adjacent to larval-defoliated ramets, even though larval-defoliation did not affect the biochemical composition (total concentrations of anthocyanins, sugars and organic acids) or the probability of ripening of berries. We hypothesise that the lower probability for berries being foraged in these ramets may be a consequence of rhizome- or volatile-mediated communication between ramets, resulting in a priming effect of the herbivore defence and lower attractiveness of the non-defoliated ramets.