Back to thinking mode: diaries for the management of information systems development projects

From a practical point of view, systems development methods are important sources of inspiration for the planning and establishment projects, but only to a limited extent do they support the reflections and actions of the participants. We propose the use of diaries as a supplement to conventional methods of reflection on what actually happens and what could happen during the course of a project, i.e., we propose diaries as a medium for the management of information systems development projects. This idea is based on an exploratory study carried out in co-operation with a bank and a research department, and the idea is supported by theoretical arguments from different fields. In conclusion, some practical advice on how to use diaries is given together with some questions for further investigation.     

Self-discharge of the alkaline iron electrode

The self-discharge reaction, which is a hydrogen-evolving corrosion process, where the anode reaction is identical to the first discharge step, has been studied by three different methods: H₂-evolution, polarization curves and potentiodynamic discharge. The influence of 28 additives at 30, 50 and 70°C on both discharge and self-discharge is shown. Most additives decrease both the self-discharge and discharge rates but for K₂S and hydrazinesulphate added to the electroylte. These two additives have a positive influence on the discharge process of the iron electrode.     

SURFACE MASS TRANSFER COEFFICIENTS FOR WOOD

Experimentally determined mass transfer coefficients for wood surfaces are often much lower than theoretically and experimentally determined coefficients for other surfaces. An investigation of this is made by comparing mass transfer coefficients for water and saturated non-wood surfaces, with coefficients measured for wood surfaces. It is found that measurements on wood surfaces are usually evaluated by assuming that Fick's law describes diffusion in wood. As this is not always true, it is proposed that the mass transfer coefficients measured on wood surfaces are low because the internal mass transfer in wood is not well understood. New measurements are presented which support this conclusiou.     

Educating reflective systems developers

Abstract. Systems development research shows that practitioners seldom follow methods and that the competencies required for successful development of computer‐based systems go well beyond those represented in contemporary methods. These insights make us question the role that methods should play in educating would‐be developers. Pedagogical theories, such as situated learning and double‐loop learning, complement these insights. Integrating the two, we argue that students need to complement the simplified accounts that methods express, with reflections on methods‐in‐use and on development practice in general. We present operationalizations of this idea in two quite different academic settings. Based on a retrospective analysis of our experiences in these settings, and a comparison and evaluation of the two approaches, we propose a number of lessons that can be used to improve the education of would‐be developers.     

Cortical Sensorimotor Interactions During the Expectancy of a Go/No-Go Task: Effects of Painful Stimuli.

The intent of this electroencephalography study was to investigate the competition between cortical nociceptive and cognitive-motor processes preceding sensorimotor interactions. Sensorimotor expectancy processes to painful stimulation and motor go/no-go demands were indexed over primary sensorimotor and midline cortical areas by contingent negative variation (CNV). Before the sensorimotor interaction, CNV was observed over midline posterior and bilateral central areas. Early expectancy of painful stimulation and the go/no-go task induced an evident midline posterior CNV. During the late expectancy period. CNV extended to the right central area contralateral to the stimulation. These findings suggest a sequential activation of midline posterior and primary sensorimotor areas contralateral to the painful stimulation as a reflection of the enhanced nociceptive processes preceding painful sensorimotor interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deactivation and regeneration of spent three-way automotive exhaust gas catalysts (TWC)

Topics in Catalysis - The effect of oxidation, oxy-chlorination and reduction treatments at elevated temperatures on the dispersion of palladium (Pd) and rhodium (Rh) for commercially aged...     

Preliminary study of spent UO2 fuel corrosion in the presence of bentonite

The corrosion of spent UO₂ fuel in the presence of a dilute suspension (1.5%) of bentonite in synthetic groundwater has been studied. No significant changes in the uranium concentrations no indications of increased corrosion due to changes in solution chemistry, or due to sorption was found when bentonite was introduced to the system. The measured uranium concentrations were (3 ± 2) × 10⁻⁶M in the presence as well as in the absence of bentonite. The concentrations of plutonium and cationic fission products in the aqueous phase were lowered considerably, by up to two orders of magnitude in the case of plutonium due to sorption onto the bentonite.     

A Low-Power Heterogeneous Multiprocessor Architecture for Audio Signal Processing

This paper describes a low-power programmable DSP architecture that targets audio signal processing. The architecture can be characterized as a heterogeneous multiprocessor consisting of small instruction set processors called mini-cores as well as standard DSP and CPU cores that communicate using message passing. The mini-cores are tailored for different classes of filtering algorithms (FIR, IIR, N-LMS etc.), and in a typical system the communication among processors occur at the sampling rate only.The mini-cores are intended as soft-macros to be used in the implementation of system-on-chip solutions using a synthesis-based design flow targeting a standard-cell implementation. They are parameterized in word-size, memory-size, etc. and can be instantiated according to the needs of the application. To give an impression of the size of a mini-core we mention that one of the FIR mini-cores in a prototype design has 16 instructions, a 32-word × 16-bit program memory, a 64-word × 16-bit data memory and a 25-word × 16-bit coefficient memory.Results obtained from the design of a prototype chip containing mini-cores for a hearing aid application, demonstrate a power consumption that is only 1.5–1.6 times larger than a hardwired ASIC and more than 6–21 times lower than current state of the art low-power DSP processors. This is due to: (1) the small size of the processors and (2) a smaller instruction count for a given task.     

A Brief History of Catalysis

Historical studies are usually divided into segments of time that were marked by intellectual progress or specific achievements. Some periods are clearly identified by great events or an individual accomplishment that revolutionizes the entire concept. However, in most cases the advancement from one period to another is not marked by distinct accomplishments, but rather the result of a series of advances. This paper follows this conventional style and we have divided our subject of catalysis into five distinct periods.