Software Process Improvement Motivators: An Analysis using Multidimensional Scaling

In this paper we present an analysis of software practitioners' motivations for software process improvement (SPI). Our findings are based on an empirical study of SPI in 13 software companies where we conducted focus groups with nearly 200 software practitioners. Our aim is to better understand how companies can maximise practitioner support for SPI. This insight should help SPI managers establish more effective SPI implementation strategies. In this paper we introduce the use of multidimensional scaling (MDS) in SPI research. MDS is a social science data analysis technique designed to generate a rich visual understanding of human issues. By using MDS we found evidence to suggest distinct clusters of punitive and rewarding SPI motivators. Furthermore our analysis also suggests that different clusters of motivations exist for different staff groups.     

Estimating the chance expectancies of diadic relationships within a group.

"This paper discusses the use of a mathematical model for computing the chance frequency and variance of the diadic relationships obtained within relational analysis. This procedure defines the diads within a group in terms of the pattern of choices, rejections, and perceptions of choice and rejection between pairs of members… . Examples are given of the application of this model to various problems requiring the comparison of observed data against a theoretical base line." A nomograph is provided for estimating the chance expectancies of diadic relationships within a group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational structure and roles of psychologists in schools of medicine.

Conducted a questionnaire survey of medical school psychologists to assess attitudes toward work, advantages and disadvantages of working in medical schools, organizational structure, job satisfaction, and salary, from which 794 usable responses were obtained. 90% of Ss preferred that psychology be represented as an independent department or as part of an autonomous department of behavioral science. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infrared Multiphoton Induced Isomerization of cis-3,4-Dichlorocyclobutene. III. Pressure Dependence of the Yield

The multiphoton induced isomerization of cis-3,4-dichlorocyclobutene (DCCB) was studied as a function of pressure. Three experiments indicated the existence of a nonthermal mechanism at neat pressures below 60 mtorr. These were: (i) the leveling off of the fractional yield of isomerization products at low pressures; (ii) the absence of dissociation products from 2-iodo-2-methyl propane, which served as a chemical thermometer in the presence of a large excess of DCCB; and (iii) a break in the power-law dependence of the optoacoustic signal produced by neat DCCB. The increased yield at higher DCCB pressures is believed to be due partly to a thermal reaction and partly to increased absorption caused by rotational or vibrational hole filling. Optoacoustic measurements also showed that at constant fluence the absorbed energy was greater for long, low intensity pulses, as might be expected for inhomogeneous excitation. However, the present experiments did not reveal an intensity dependence of the reaction yield. Addition of argon as a buffer gas monotonically decreased the yield, indicating that vibrational quenching more than offsets any hole-filling effects.     

Does social exclusion motivate interpersonal reconnection? Resolving the "porcupine problem."

Evidence from 6 experiments supports the social reconnection hypothesis, which posits that the experience of social exclusion increases the motivation to forge social bonds with new sources of potential affiliation. Threat of social exclusion led participants to express greater interest in making new friends, to increase their desire to work with others, to form more positive impressions of novel social targets, and to assign greater rewards to new interaction partners. Findings also suggest potential boundary conditions to the social reconnection hypothesis. Excluded individuals did not seem to seek reconnection with the specific perpetrators of exclusion or with novel partners with whom no face-to-face interaction was anticipated. Furthermore, fear of negative evaluation moderated responses to exclusion such that participants low in fear of negative evaluation responded to new interaction partners in an affiliative fashion, whereas participants high in fear of negative evaluation did not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer of the sea anemone pheromone,anthopleurine, by the nudibranchAeolidia papillosa

After the nudibranchAeolidia papillosa eats the sea anemoneAnthopleura elegantissima, anthopleurine, an alarm pheromone from the sea anemone, persists in the tissues of the nudibranch. For at least five days following such a meal, nudibranchs are capable of evoking alarm responses in anemones without touching them, presumably by releasing anthopleurine into the water. The anemone's alarm response to anthopleurine is to withdraw the tentacles and oral disk, the preferred sites of attack forAeolidia. This leaves exposed to attack the anemone body regions with the highest anthopleurine concentrations. Specimens ofAeolidia collected near sources ofAnthopleura are more likely to contain detectable amounts of anthopleurine than those more distant; some nudibranchs collected 0.5 m fromAnthopleura contained enough anthopleurine to evoke alarm responses in anemones they approached. These findings suggest that the predator helps in the transmission of anthopleurine, which may reduce the severity of predation onAnthopleura.     

Combination of sorption tube sampling and thermal desorption with hollow waveguide FT-IR spectroscopy for atmospheric trace gas analysis: determination of atmospheric ethene at the lower ppb level

The determination of organic trace gases in the ambient environment at the lower ppb level is demonstrated based on a novel technique combining sorption tube sampling on Molsieve and Carbosieve S-III, thermal desorption, and detection of the trace analyte by hollow waveguide Fourier transform infrared (HWG-FT-IR) spectroscopy. While ethene concentrations of approximately 5 ppm can be directly observed using HWG-FT-IR, enrichment factors of up to 5000 were achieved by sorption tube sampling and thermal desorption. Detection limits of approximately 1 ppb are reported. Efficient enrichment by the sampling tube is achieved due to the favorable internal volume ( approximately 0.4 cm(3) at a length of 470 mm) of the hollow waveguide serving as a miniaturized gas cell. This new method was validated for ethene by thermodesorption-cryofocusing-GC-FID as the reference method. Analytical performance has been compared for standard gas mixtures and for ethene measurements in urban air. Finally, ethene data from a sampling campaign at two alpine sites in Tyrol/Austria are presented.     

Induced pressure pumping in polymer microchannels via field-effect flow control

Microfluidic field-effect flow control (FEFC) modifies the zeta potential of electroosmotic flow using a transverse electric field applied through the microchannel wall. Previously demonstrated in silicon-based and glass microsystems, FEFC is presented here as an elegant method for flow control in polymer-based microfluidics with a simple and low-cost fabrication process. In addition to direct FEFC flow modulation, independent transverse electric fields in connected microchannels are demonstrated to produce a differential pumping rate between the microchannels. The different electroosmotic pumping rates formed by local zeta potential control induce an internal pressure at the microchannel intersection, resulting in hydrodynamic pumping through an interconnecting field-free microchannel. Modulation of the voltages applied to the gate electrodes adjusts the magnitude and direction of the bidirectional pressure pumping, with fine resolution volume flow rates from -2 to 2 nL/min in the field-free microchannel demonstrated.     

Development of a microfabricated palladium decoupler/electrochemical detector for microchip capillary electrophoresis using a hybrid glass/poly(dimethylsiloxane) device

The fabrication and evaluation of a palladium decoupler and working electrode for microchip capillary electrophoresis (CE) with electrochemical detection is described. The use of the Pd decoupler allows the working electrode to be placed directly in the separation channel and eliminates the band-broadening characteristic of the end-channel configuration. The method used for fabrication of the decoupler and working electrode was based on thin-layer deposition of titanium followed by palladium onto a glass substrate. When employed as the cathode in CE, palladium absorbs the hydrogen gas that is generated by the hydrolysis of water. The effect of the decoupler size on the ability to remove hydrogen was evaluated with regard to reproducibility and longevity. Using boric acid and TES buffer systems, 500 microm was determined to be the optimum decoupler size, with effective voltage isolation lasting for approximately 6 h at a constant field strength of 600 V/cm. The effect of distance between the decoupler and working electrode on noise and resolution for the separation of dopamine and epinephrine was also investigated. It was found that 250 microm was the optimum spacing between the decoupler and working electrode. At this spacing, laser-induced fluorescence detection at various points around the decoupler established that the band broadening due to pressure-induced flow that occurs after the decoupler did not significantly affect the separation efficiency of fluorescein. Limits of detection, sensitivity, and linearity for dopamine (500 nM, 3.5 pA/microM, r(2) = 0.9996) and epinephrine (2.1 microM, 2.6 pA/microM, r(2) = 0.9996) were obtained using the palladium decoupler in combination with a Pd working electrode.