Why and how can human-related measures support software development processes?

In this paper we discuss why and how measures related to human aspects should be incorporated into software development processes. This perspective is based on the vast evidence that human aspects are the source of the majority of problems associated with software development projects. Having said that, we do not blame the humans involved in software development processes; rather, we suggest that human-related measures might be one means by which human aspects of software development processes can be supported.     

‘The Common Camp’: temporary settlements as a spatio-political instrument in Israel-Palestine

From their emergence in the 19th century to their current global proliferation, camps have been created extensively by and for different populations under the modern state order. Whether employed by national and colonial powers as instruments of control, or constructed ad hoc by displaced populations as makeshift spaces of refuge, camps are used as a versatile instrument for the rearrangement of people in space. In Israel-Palestine, camps are part of the significant geopolitical changes related to the state-building project and to the mass displacement it caused, providing a core example of similar enterprises of territorial alternation and social engineering. While the Palestinian refugee camps are well recognised and studied, many other types of camps which have appeared in the region over the last century together form a distinctive spatial paradigm. Through its particular manifestations in Israel-Palestine, this article examines the camp as a central instrument by which modern societies and territories are administered, negotiated and reorganised. The identification, understanding and re-definition of the camp’s multifaceted spatial vocabulary allows to better understand this encompassing phenomenon which becomes increasingly relevant and urgent in today’s migration age.     

Maintaining Longest Paths Incrementally

Modeling and programming tools for neighborhood search often support invariants, i.e., data structures specified declaratively and automatically maintained incrementally under changes. This paper considers invariants for longest paths in directed acyclic graphs, a fundamental abstraction for many applications. It presents bounded incremental algorithms for arc insertion and deletion which run in O( + || log||) time and O() time respectively, where || and are measures of the change in the input and output. The paper also shows how to generalize the algorithm to various classes of multiple insertions/deletions encountered in scheduling applications. Preliminary experimental results show that the algorithms behave well in practice.     

RNA labeling and immobilization for nano-displacement measurement: probing three-dimensional RNA structure

RNA molecules play essential roles in many biological processes, including the storage and transfer of information in the cell. These events are mediated via RNA-protein interactions or by catalytic RNA molecules. It is now recognized that unique RNA folds are associated with biological functions. Therefore, to study the intrinsic structural changes and dynamics which regulate the various functions of RNA, it is necessary to probe its three-dimensional structure in solution. In this respect, using single-molecule methodologies may allow study of native RNA molecules independent of their size and in real time. However, this may require the immobilization of RNA on a surface. Here, we report a novel approach to immobilize RNA on a glass. The procedures involve both chemical and enzymatic modifications of long RNA molecules. In addition, we demonstrate the application of an optical tweezers apparatus to measure the length and, hence, the dynamics of immobilized intact ribosomal RNA molecules as a function of different solution conditions.     

Objective and subjective work monotony: Effects on job satisfaction, psychological distress, and absenteeism in blue-collar workers.

The relation of objective work conditions (work underload, repetitive or varied work) and subjective monotony to job satisfaction, psychological distress, and sickness absence was examined in 1,278 male and female workers. Subjective monotony was moderately related to the objective work conditions. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that the effects on all outcomes were partially mediated by subjective monotony and were also directly related to repetitive work and work underload. Job satisfaction and psychological distress were mainly related to subjective monotony, whereas sickness absence was equally related to the work conditions and subjective monotony. The highest impact was observed for short-cycle repetitive work. Testing sex interactions revealed that sickness absence was related to the work conditions in women but not in men. The findings highlight the significance of noting the actual work conditions in predicting employee outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the algebraic complexity of set equality and inclusion

We present a linear-time algorithm in the algebraic computation tree model for checking whether two sets of integers are equal. The significance of this result is in the fact that it shows that set equality testing is computationally easier when the elements of the sets are restricted to be integers. In addition, we show a linear-time algorithm for checking set inclusion in a slightly extended computational model.     

Personalized Hydrogels for Engineering Diverse Fully Autologous Tissue Implants

Despite incremental improvements in the field of tissue engineering, no technology is currently available for producing completely autologous implants where both the cells and the scaffolding material are generated from the patient, and thus do not provoke an immune response that may lead to implant rejection. Here, a new approach is introduced to efficiently engineer any tissue type, which its differentiation cues are known, from one small tissue biopsy. Pieces of omental tissues are extracted from patients and, while the cells are reprogrammed to become induced pluripotent stem cells, the extracellular matrix is processed into an immunologically matching, thermoresponsive hydrogel. Efficient cell differentiation within a large 3D hydrogel is reported, and, as a proof of concept, the generation of functional cardiac, cortical, spinal cord, and adipogenic tissue implants is demonstrated. This versatile bioengineering approach may assist to regenerate any tissue and organ with a minimal risk for immune rejection.     

Derandomized Parallel Repetition via Structured PCPs

A PCP is a proof system for NP in which the proof can be checked by a probabilistic verifier. The verifier is only allowed to read a very small portion of the proof and in return is allowed to err with some bounded probability. The probability that the verifier accepts a proof of a false claim is called the soundness error and is an important parameter of a PCP system that one seeks to minimize. Constructing PCPs with subconstant soundness error and, at the same time, a minimal number of queries into the proof (namely two) is especially important due to applications for inapproximability.     

Journey to the Past: Verifying and Modifying the Conceptual Sources of Decimal Fraction Knowledge

Abstract

The present study follows earlier research on fraction unit conception in learning decimals and shows that children with this difficulty also exhibit a similar problem in fractions. Specifically, the focus on the fraction unit observed in decimals (e.g., evaluating 0.4 as larger than 0.68 because tenths are larger than hundredths) is preceded by a similar deficient coordination between the size of the fraction unit and the number of units in determining fraction value. Approximately three quarters of 59 students in seventh and eighth grades identified as having a fraction unit conception in decimals were also identified as having a similar fraction unit focus in fractions. The impact of fraction knowledge was further demonstrated by showing that “changing the past” through meaningful instruction in fractions affected the “present” and transferred to decimals.