Inventive Tool Use to Comprehend Big Code

Software developers often need to understand a large body of unfamiliar code with little or no documentation, no experts to consult, and little time to do it. A post appeared in January 2008 on Slashdot, a technology news Web site, asking for tools and techniques that could help. This article analyzes 301 often passionate and sometimes articulate responses to this query, including the themes and the associated tool recommendations. The most common suggestions were to use a code navigation tool, use a design recovery tool, use a debugger to step through the code, create a runtime trace, use problem-based learning, ask people for help, study the code from top down, and print out all the code. This analysis presents an intriguing snapshot of how software developers in industry go about comprehending big code.     

Asimov’s “three laws of robotics” and machine metaethics

Using Asimov’s “Bicentennial Man” as a springboard, a number of metaethical issues concerning the emerging field of machine ethics are discussed. Although the ultimate goal of machine ethics is to create autonomous ethical machines, this presents a number of challenges. A good way to begin the task of making ethics computable is to create a program that enables a machine to act an ethical advisor to human beings. This project, unlike creating an autonomous ethical machine, will not require that we make a judgment about the ethical status of the machine itself, a judgment that will be particularly difficult to make. Finally, it is argued that Asimov’s “three laws of robotics” are an unsatisfactory basis for machine ethics, regardless of the status of the machine.

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Triangulation in practice

Triangulation is the means by which an alternate perspective is used to validate, challenge or extend existing findings. It is frequently used when the field of study is difficult, demanding or contentious and presence research meets all of these criteria. We distinguish between the use of hard and soft triangulation—the former emphasising the challenging of findings, the latter being more confirmatory in character. Having reviewed a substantial number of presence papers, we conclude that strong triangulation is not widely used while soft triangulation is routinely employed. We demonstrate the usefulness of hard triangulation by contrasting an ontological analysis of in-ness with an empirical study of (computer) game playing. We conclude that presence research would be well served by the wider use of hard triangulation and for the reporting of anomalous and ill-fitting results.

Toward the Proteome of the Human Peripheral Blood Eosinophil

Eosinophils (EOSs) are granular leukocytes that have significant roles in many inflammatory and immunoregulatory responses, especially asthma and allergic diseases. We have undertaken a fairly comprehensive proteomic analysis of purified peripheral blood EOSs from normal human donors primarily employing 2‐DE with protein spot identification by MALDI‐MS. Protein subfractionation methods employed included IEF (Zoom^® Fractionator) and subcellular fractionation using differential protein solubilization. We have identified 3141 proteins, which had Mascot expectation scores of 10^?3 or less. Of these 426 were unique and non‐redundant of which 231 were novel proteins not previously reported to occur in EOSs. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis showed that some 70% of the non‐redundant proteins could be subdivided into categories that are clearly related to currently known EOS biological activities. Cytoskeletal and associated proteins predominated among the proteins identified. Extensive protein posttranslational modifications were evident, many of which have not been previously reported that reflected the dynamic character of the EOS. This data set of eosinophilic proteins will prove valuable in comparative studies of disease versus normal states and for studies of gender differences and polymorphic variation among individuals.     

Postural support strategies of disabled drivers and the effectiveness of postural support aids

The paper discusses a series of driving trials that were conducted to investigate postural stability of disabled drivers and to assess the effectiveness of a representative sample of support aids. Twenty-three disabled drivers with varying levels of physical disability and seven non disabled drivers participated in the study. The test car was equipped with transducers to measure vehicle velocity and acceleration (longitudinal and lateral), steering wheel movement and torque, and the bracing forces exerted by the driver on the steering wheel. Video cameras were installed to record postural support strategies and displacement of the driver and to record deviation of the car from the specified path. Subjective data regarding driver attitudes and acceptance were also collected through the administration of questionnaires. Findings from the study showed that support aids significantly improved driving performance and reduced physical exertion to maintain an upright driving position for disabled drivers. However, ergonomics design aspects regarding the ease of use and acceptance of the support aids by the end users were identified as obstacles to their sustained use in everyday driving.     

Valve controlled fluorescence detection system for remote sensing applications

We demonstrate a microfluidics-based fluorescence detection device where the filters, source, detector, and electronically controlled valves are embedded into a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based microfluidic chip. The device reported here has been specifically designed for chlorophyll a fluorescence sensing in autonomous systems, such as oceanic applications. In contrast to a monolithic approach, the modular approach made the fabrication of this device simpler and cheaper. For fluorescence detection, an InGaN/GaN LED is used as the excitation source to specifically excite chlorophyll a; a metal-dielectric Fabry?CPerot filter was used to extinguish out-of-band excitation. A simple Si photodiode is used as detector and provided with a thermally evaporated CdS emission filter to block the excitation source. This filter combination provides an excellent solution to the difficult problem of combining high-rejection excitation and emission filters in an integrated thin-film format. Furthermore, the metal-dielectric filter provides a much broader angular response than a comparable multilayer Bragg mirror, which is a key advantage in the integrated format. We use a novel paraffin wax-based valve design affords low power single-use actuation, between 0.5 and 1 J per actuation and withstands 0.6 bar differential pressure, which provides better performance than its previously reported counterparts. The remote valve-controlled operation of the fluorescence detection system is demonstrated, illustrating the measurement of a chlorophyll a solution, with a detection limit of 340 ??M and subsequent valve-controlled flushing of the measurement reservoir.     

Exploring Privacy Management on Facebook: Motivations and Perceived Consequences of Voluntary Disclosure

This study examined the perceived motivations and consequences of voluntary disclosure of Facebook active users using a survey administered to college students in a public‐speaking course. College‐age students who took the survey were motivated to use Facebook because they perceived their relationships improved with friends and family, although using Facebook could become negatively habit forming. The research suggests that users of Facebook use it more for disclosing to distant friends rather than to close friends, which is divergent from most early disclosure research that equates disclosure with intimacy. This research utilizes Communication Privacy Management Theory for the theoretical framework.     

Extending the two‐stage information systems continuance model: incorporating UTAUT predictors and the role of context

This study presents two extensions to the two‐stage expectation‐confirmation theory of information systems (IS) continuance. First, we expand the belief set from perceived usefulness in the original IS continuance model to include three additional predictors identified in the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, namely effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions. Second, we ground the IS continuance model in the context of transactional systems that involve transmission of personal and sensitive information and include trust as a key contextual belief in the model. To test the expanded IS continuance model, we conducted a longitudinal field study of 3159 Hong Kong citizens across two electronic government (e‐government) technologies that enable citizens' access to government services. In general, the results support the expanded model that provides a rich understanding of the changes in the pre‐usage beliefs and attitudes through the emergent constructs of disconfirmation and satisfaction, ultimately influencing IS continuance intention. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the expanded model.     

National occupational research agenda (NORA) future directions in occupational musculoskeletal disorder health research

Musculoskeletal disorders are among the most costly health care problems facing society today. The scientific literature has indicated that psychosocial factors, individual factors, workplace physical requirements, and workplace organizational factors have been associated with risk. Since musculoskeletal risk is multi-dimensional, the magnitude of risk attributable to various factors can be of importance to scientists and policy makers in designing countermeasures to reduce injury incidence. Traditionally, the disciplines of biomechanics, physiology, and psychophysics have dominated the body of knowledge that has defined exposure limitations to work. However, recent research has explored the association of psychosocial and work organization factors with musculoskeletal problems. Advances have been made to better quantify the levels of occupational exposure by improved exposure metrics, quantification of three-dimensional loads experienced by certain joints (e.g. the spine), identification of tissue tolerance limits and tissue response to mechanical stresses, and the impact of psychosocial stresses. However, efforts to quantitatively link epidemiological, biomechanical loading, soft tissue tolerance, and psychosocial studies should be pursued to establish a better understanding of the pathways of injury and resultant preventive strategies. Although we are beginning to understand how the major risk factors influence the load-tolerance relationship of human tissue, how these risk factors interact is virtually unexplored. Since the impact of the interactions may be far greater than that of any individual factor, the impact of the interactions between risk factors must be delineated so that work-related risk can be better quantified. Efforts to quantitatively link epidemiological, biomechanical loading, soft tissue tolerance, and psychosocial studies should be pursued to establish a better understanding of the pathways of injury and resultant preventive strategies.