Managing knowledge on communication and information flow in global software projects

Communication is a key success factor of distributed software projects. Poor communication has been identified as a main obstacle to successful collaboration. Global projects are especially endangered by information gaps between collaborating sites. Different communication styles, technical equipment, and missing awareness of each other can cause severe problems. Knowledge about actual and desired channels, paths, and modes of communication is required for improving communication in a globally distributed project. However, many project participants know little about communication and information flow in their projects. In this contribution, we focus on knowledge about communication and information flow. It is acquired by modelling on‐going and desired flows of information, including documented and non‐documented channels of information flow. We analyzed a distributed software project from the information flow perspective. Based on the findings, we developed specific techniques to improve information flow in distributed software development according to the FLOW Method. In a second distributed project, we evaluated one of the techniques. We found the FLOW mapping technique to be suitable for effectively spreading knowledge about communication and information flow in global software projects.     

A dynamic analysis of the interplay between asynchronous and synchronous communication in online learning: The impact of motivation

With the increased affordances of synchronous communication tools, more opportunities for online learning to resemble face‐to‐face settings have recently become available. However, synchronous communication does not afford as much time for reflection as asynchronous communication. Therefore, a combination of synchronous and asynchronous communication in e‐learning would seem desirable to optimally support learner engagement and the quality of student learning. It is still an open question though, how to best design online learning with a blend of synchronous and asynchronous communication opportunities over time. Few studies have investigated the relationship between learners' actual use of synchronous and asynchronous communication over time. Therefore, this study addressed that relationship in an online course (N = 110), taking into account student motivation, and employing a dynamic inter‐temporal perspective. In line with our assumptions, we found some support for the expected association between autonomous motivation and engagement in asynchronous and synchronous communication, be it restricted primarily to the first course period. Also, positive relations between engagement in synchronous and asynchronous communication were found, with the strongest influence from using asynchronous to synchronous communication. This study adds to the knowledge base needed to develop guidelines on how synchronous communication can be combined with asynchronous learning.     

Accelerating sequential programs on commodity multi-core processors

A recently proposed pipelined multithreading (PMT) technique exhibits wide applicability in parallelizing general sequential programs on multi-core processors. However, significant inter-core communication overhead limits PMT performance and prevents its commercial utilization. A simple and effective clustered pipelined multithreading (CPMT) approach is presented to accelerate sequential programs on commodity multi-core processors. This CPMT technique adopts a clustered communication mechanism that can yield very low average communication overhead by eliminating false sharing as well as reducing communication operation and transit delays in the software-only approach. A single-producer/single-consumer concurrent lock-free clusteredQueue algorithm based on a two-level queue structure is also proposed. The accuracy of CPMT is theoretically demonstrated. The performances of the algorithm and CPMT are evaluated on a commodity AMD Phenom four-core processor. The number of enqueue and dequeue times of the algorithm are 20.8 and 23 cycles given an appropriate parameter, respectively. The speedup of CPMT ranges from 13.1% to 119.8% for typical loops extracted from the SPEC CPU 2000 benchmark suite.     

Perception of own and robot engagement in human–robot interactions and their dependence on robotics knowledge

Communication between socially assistive robots and humans might be facilitated by intuitively understandable mechanisms. To investigate the effects of some key nonverbal gestures on a human’s own engagement and robot engagement experienced by humans, participants read a series of instructions to a robot that responded with nods, blinks, changes in gaze direction, or a combination of these. Unbeknown to the participants, the robot had no form of speech processing or gesture recognition, but simply measured speech volume levels, responding with gestures whenever a lull in sound was detected. As measured by visual analogue scales, engagement of participants was not differentially affected by the different responses of the robot. However, their perception of the robot’s engagement in the task, its likability and its understanding of the instructions depended on the gesture presented, with nodding being the most effective response. Participants who self-reported greater robotics knowledge reported higher overall engagement and greater success at developing a relationship with the robot. However, self-reported robotics knowledge did not differentially affect the impact of robot gestures. This suggests that greater familiarity with robotics may help to maximise positive experiences for humans involved in human–robot interactions without affecting the impact of the type of signal sent by the robot.     

ACE中设计模式在分布式网络服务中的应用研究

以网关应用服务的构建为例,详细探讨如何利用Acceptor-Connector模式来构建分布式网络服务的过程。通过分析其构造过程可知,利用Acceptor-Connector模式可提高程序的灵活性、可扩展性,减少重复开发代码工作量。     

基于BACnet/IP的设备与实时数据库通信实现

针对不同厂商、不同系统的楼宇自控设备互操作、互通信的局限性,分析了BACnet/IP技术和实时数据库,设计开发了一种基于BACnet/IP技术的实时数据库DasRdb的设备驱动程序。该设备驱动程序采用UDP通信方式,通过调用每个BACnet/IP设备的标准接口函数来驱动实时数据库DasRdb分别进行写操作和读操作,能够有效地实现BACnet/IP设备与实时数据库DasRdb之间的通信,从而使楼控设备的互操作成为可能。现场工程应用表明,该程序的运行契合BACnet的一致性要求,具有简单、高效、精确度高、实时性好的特点。     

宽带功率放大器PGSC建模方法及预失真研究

针对宽带功率放大器的强记忆效应特性,提出一种功放建模和数字预失真方法——PGSC模型。利用广义记忆多项式(GMP)、特定交叉项(SCT)及记忆时刻信号交叉项(CIMT)3个基函数来构造功放行为模型及数字预失真器,并搭建实际测试平台对模型的精度及线性化效果进行验证。测试结果表明,与PMEC方法相比,PGSC方法建模时的归一化均方误差减少了2.1 dB,数字预失真时输出信号的三阶邻信道功率比降低了4.94/2.03 dB;与GMP方法相比,PGSC方法仅利用73%的系数即可得到更高的模型精度和更好的线性化效果。     

一种新型可变径管道机器人的结构设计与控制实现

基于ATmega128单片机的管道探测机器人系统,包括硬件系统设计以及软件程序实现。为满足不同工业环境的需要,设计了无线与RS485总线两套通信方案进行人机交互控制系统与单片机的通信。独特的变径结构可以让机器人适应不同管径的管道,配合高效的电池切换算法,可以使其更好的适应工业环境。为了观察管道内部信息,安装了一个可360°旋转的摄像头,将管道内部画面实时传送给上位机。     

汽车胎压监测系统的设计及其通信抗干扰研究

针对大多数直接式汽车胎压监测系统组件集成度低、体积和功耗较大等问题,提出了一种基于短距离无线通信ZigBee技术的新型胎压无线监测系统的设计。主要采用TI的CC2530芯片和英飞凌SP12集成式数字传感器,实现对汽车轮胎内部状态的实时监测。采用软硬件协同设计以降低系统功耗,并通过多点轮询通信方式和ZigBee高级加密设置保障了其无线通信的抗干扰能力。     

基于事件驱动方式的高速串口通信方案的设计

针对串口通信中系统资源利用不足的问题,提出了一种基于多线程技术和事件驱动方式的串口通信方案。该方案在读取串口数据、对串口通信的错误及通信事件进行监视时,用OVERLAPPED结构体中的hEvent参数指定I/O操作完成后所触发的事件对象。然后,用等待函数检查事件对象的当前状态。最后,当事件对象为有信号状态时完成后续操作。在Win7操作系统的Visual C++开发平台下,结合Windows通信API控制串口的编程方法进行仿真测试。测试结果表明该方案能有效解决采用查询方式时因数据高速涌入造成数据丢失的问题。