Using Developer Activity Data to Enhance Awareness during Collaborative Software Development

Software development is a global activity unconstrained by the bounds of time and space. A major effect of this increasing scale and distribution is that the shared understanding that developers previously acquired by formal and informal face-to-face meetings is difficult to obtain. This paper proposes a shared awareness model that uses information gathered automatically from developer IDE interactions to make explicit orderings of tasks, artefacts and developers that are relevant to particular work contexts in collaborative, and potentially distributed, software development projects. The research findings suggest that such a model can be used to: identify entities (developers, tasks, artefacts) most associated with a particular work context in a software development project; identify relevance relationships amongst tasks, developers and artefacts e.g. which developers and artefacts are currently most relevant to a task or which developers have contributed to a task over time; and, can be used to identify potential bottlenecks in a project through a ‘social graph’ view. Furthermore, this awareness information is captured and provided as developers work in different locations and at different times.     

The BIOPHILE Sample Process Management System - Automated Sample Access at Ultra Low Temperatures

The genomics, proteomics, clinical, and drug discovery laboratories have a growing need to maintain valuable samples at ultra-low (−80°C) temperatures in a validated, secure environment. Automated sample processing systems have until now required manual (off-line) storage of samples at −80°C, reducing system reliability and speed. Both of these important needs are addressed by the Sample Process Management System being introduced by BIOPHILE Inc. Conventional sample management processes, such as storage, retrieval, and cataloging, are increasingly strained by the growing sample populations. There are variable sample types, access requirements and storage requirements. Security and inventory procedures are implemented manually. The evolving technologies present in the laboratory cannot interface with conventional manual storage techniques. Addressing these limitations, the primary benefits of BIOPHILE's solutions are:

• Fully validated sample management process that coordinates the life-cycles of samples and their related data.

• Robotic technology to securely store and retrieve samples, improving their accessibility and stability. Thermal shock is reduced, improving sample longevity and quality. The robotic technology allows integration with larger automation systems.

• A process program to develop a Sample Management Strategy. This strategy is developed by analyzing long-term research goals, current baseline processes, and identification of current sample life cycles. A full validation documentation package can be generated, providing a high level of quality assurance.

• Improved sample visibility and quality assurance - automated sample population cataloging; controlled sample management access and security.

     

TreePlus: interactive exploration of networks with enhanced tree layouts

Despite extensive research, it is still difficult to produce effective interactive layouts for large graphs. Dense layout and occlusion make food Webs, ontologies and social networks difficult to understand and interact with. We propose a new interactive visual analytics component called TreePlus that is based on a tree-style layout. TreePlus reveals the missing graph structure with visualization and interaction while maintaining good readability. To support exploration of the local structure of the graph and gathering of information from the extensive reading of labels, we use a guiding metaphor of "plant a seed and watch it grow." It allows users to start with a node and expand the graph as needed, which complements the classic overview techniques that can be effective at (but often limited to) revealing clusters. We describe our design goals, describe the interface and report on a controlled user study with 28 participants comparing TreePlus with a traditional graph interface for six tasks. In general, the advantage of TreePlus over the traditional interface increased as the density of the displayed data increased. Participants also reported higher levels of confidence in their answers with TreePlus and most of them preferred TreePlus     

1994 construction outlook: Dodge/Sweet's finds bright spots for 1994

Constrained by the excesses of the previous decade and tepid performance in the general economy, the rebound by construction from its 1990-91 downturn could best be described as subdued and selective. Single-family housing led the way before faltering this year, and only scattered help has come from the industry's other sectors. The big question facing construction at the end of 1993 is whether the current recovery is in danger of stalling or, put differently, does it have the stamina to become more broad-based?     

The it Imperative in Business Transformation

The IT imperative is to construct enterprisewide systems and capabilities needed by business to compete. For IS managers, this means embracing the viewpoint that IT plays a crucial role in building the business of the future. IS and business management must act as true partners, each supporting the other in creating an optimally performing company.     

Fluorescence methods for determination of temperature in fuel sprays

Fluorescent additives which allow the determination of droplet temperatures in hydrocarbon fuel sprays have been developed. These systems, which exploit the chemistry of organic exciplexes; should make possible the determination of droplet temperatures within 1 degree C. Two specific systems are described: 3,10-dicyanophenanthrene/diethylaniline over the 20-135 degrees C range, and naphthalene/tetramethyl-p-phenylene diamine over the 140-265 degrees C range. These additives should allow 2-D real-time nonintrusive visualization of the droplet temperatures in an evolving fuel spray.     

Application of ion-etching of grooves into quartz for surface acoustic wave devices

The application of r.f.-sputter etching techniques to the fabrication of grooves in the surface of quartz is reported. This process has been used for the construction of devices which employ the interaction of surface acoustic waves with arrays of well-defined parallel grooves. Devices have been produced with grooves up to 2.5 m deep, which have substantially rectangular profiles and controllable mark-to-space ratios. The groove geometries have been characterized using Talysurf, optical microscopy, SEM and TEM techniques.     

Producing persistent, high-current, high-duty-factor H- beams for routine 1 MW operation of Spallation Neutron Source (invited)

Since 2009, the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) has been producing neutrons with ion beam powers near 1 MW, which requires the extraction of ～50 mA H(-) ions from the ion source with a ～5% duty factor. The 50 mA are achieved after an initial dose of ～3 mg of Cs and heating the Cs collar to ～170 °C. The 50 mA normally persist for the entire 4-week source service cycles. Fundamental processes are reviewed to elucidate the persistence of the SNS H(-) beams without a steady feed of Cs and why the Cs collar temperature may have to be kept near 170 °C.     

Calculations of diffusion and diffusion-limited processes in Ni3Al using accelerated molecular dynamics

We present a systematic microscopic approach to diffusion and diffusion-limited processes in Ni₃Al. These processes have been identified as controlling the deformation of the material under specific circumstances. The embedded atom method calculations are done using kinetic Monte Carlo combined with the Dimer method of finding saddlepoints. We compute the tracer diffusivities as functions of composition and temperature. The comparison with available experiments is good. We find that at temperatures below about 1000 K, the diffusivity is a sharp function of composition, showing a pronounced dip on the Ni-rich side at 76 at.% Ni. This agrees well with experiment, except that the experiments show this structure setting in a temperatures below about 1300 K. We show that the structure arises from the composition dependence of both the vacancy formation energy and pre-exponential of the diffusivity. We also compute the mobility of an anti-phase boundary perpendicular to its plane, and conclude that vacancy-assistance is very plausible. We conclude that the kMC + Dimer method works well for these problems above 700 K but less effectively below, owing to the presence of short-range, low-energy hops that tend to localize the vacancy and lower the efficiency of the calculation.