Requirement-oriented risk management for incremental software development

In incremental software development (ISD) functionalities are delivered incrementally and requirements keep on evolving across iterations. The requirements evolution involves the addition of new dependencies and conflicts among functional and non-functional requirements along with changes in priorities and dependency weights. This, in turn, demands refactoring the order of development of system components to minimize the impact of these changes. Neglecting the non-functional constraints in the software development process exposes it to risks that may accumulate across several iterations. In this research work, we propose a risk management framework for ISD processes that provides an estimate of risk exposure for the project when functional features are frozen while ignoring the associations with non-functional requirements. Our framework proposes suitable risk reduction strategies that work in tandem with the risk assessment module. We also provide a tool interface for our risk management framework.

     

Nanoarchitectonics of Nanoporous Carbon Materials from Natural Resource for Supercapacitor Application

Nanoarchitectonics of nanoporous carbon materials (NCMs) derived from natural resource; Areca Catechu Nut (ACN) with enhanced electrochemical supercapacitance properties is reported. ACN powder is chemically activated in a tubular furnace at 400?°C and the effect of activating agent sodium hydroxide (NaOH), zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) and phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) on the textural properties, surface functional groups and electrochemical supercapacitance properties was thoroughly examined. We found that ACN derived NCMs are amorphous in nature comprising of macropores, micropores and hierarchical micro- and mesopore architecture depending on the activating agent. Surface area and pore volume are found in the range 25–1985 m² g^?1 and 0.12–3.42 cm³ g^?1, respectively giving the best textural properties for H₃PO₄ activated NCM. Nevertheless, despite the different chemical activating agent used, all the prepared NCMs showed similar oxygen-containing surface functional groups (carboxyl, carboxylate, carbonyl and phenolic groups). The H₃PO₄ activated NCM showed excellent supercapacitance properties giving a high specific capacitance of ca. 342 F g^?1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s^?1 together with the high cyclic stability sustaining capacitance retention of about 97% after 5000 charging/discharging cycles. Electrochemical supercapacitance properties have demonstrated that the ACN derived novel nanoporous carbon material would be a potential material in energy storage application.     

Evaluation of gridded precipitation datasets for the Kabul Basin,Afghanistan

The availability of high-resolution gridded precipitation products based on satellite estimations and/or interpolated observations provides a good opportunity to monitor precipitation over large and remote areas of poorly gauged basins. Precipitation is the key input in hydrological modelling for the assessment and management of water resources. However, it is necessary to validate the accuracy of these precipitation products before their application towards the planning and management of the water resources. The objective of this study, therefore, was to validate gridded precipitation time series data in Climate Prediction Centre – Rainfall Estimates (CPC-RFE 2.0), Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation Microwave-IR Combined Product (GSMaP_MVK V5), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA V7), and Asian Precipitation Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water Resources, Monsoon Asia (APHRODITE MA V1101) using the data from recently established rain gauges over the Kabul basin in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2007 (the common period of observations). These products were evaluated at different spatial and temporal resolutions (daily, monthly, and annual). The validation approach used here includes continuous (mean absolute error, root mean square error, correlation coefficient (r), and multiplicative bias) and categorical (probability of detection and false alarm ratio) verification statistics. Furthermore, the spatial performance was evaluated by mapping the data and analysing the distribution of precipitation as a function of elevation. The results of continuous and categorical verification statistics suggest that the APHRODITE MA V1101 dataset performs better than other gridded datasets for the study basin. The estimates from four tested products showed a relatively good detection of the amount and distribution of precipitation in the Kabul basin.     

Establishment of a regional flood information system in the Hindu Kush Himalayas: challenges and opportunities

Rapid advances in communication technology are making access to information faster, more reliable, and cheaper. At the same time, hydrological and meteorological monitoring technologies continue to improve significantly. These technological advances can be exploited to promote regional cooperation for flood risk reduction in the Hindu Kush Himalayas by providing an end-to-end flood information system. The system will function as a decision support tool for decision makers to alert vulnerable communities in a timely and accurate manner. This article provides an example of how regional cooperation has been achieved and is being promoted in the Hindu Kush Himalayas through the development of a regional flood information system.     

Nanoporous carbon materials with enhanced supercapacitance performance and non-aromatic chemical sensing with C1/C2 alcohol discrimination

We have investigated the textural properties, electrochemical supercapacitances and vapor sensing performances of bamboo-derived nanoporous carbon materials (NCM). Bamboo, an abundant natural biomaterial, was chemically activated with phosphoric acid at 400 °C and the effect of impregnation ratio of phosphoric acid on the textural properties and electrochemical performances was systematically investigated. Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the presence of various oxygen-containing surface functional groups (i.e. carboxyl, carboxylate, carbonyl and phenolic groups) in NCM. The prepared NCM are amorphous in nature and contain hierarchical micropores and mesopores. Surface areas and pore volumes were found in the range 218–1431 m² g^?1 and 0.26–1.26 cm³ g^?1, respectively, and could be controlled by adjusting the impregnation ratio of phosphoric acid and bamboo cane powder. NCM exhibited electrical double-layer supercapacitor behavior giving a high specific capacitance of c.256 F g^?1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s^?1 together with high cyclic stability with capacitance retention of about 92.6% after 1000 cycles. Furthermore, NCM exhibited excellent vapor sensing performance with high sensitivity for non-aromatic chemicals such as acetic acid. The system would be useful to discriminate C₁ and C₂ alcohol (methanol and ethanol).