Success factors affecting the healthcare professionals to utilize cloud computing services

Integrating the new technologies to improve the healthcare services can be seen as one of the research trends nowadays, as earlier studies have recommended the potential of emerging technologies in enhancing healthcare service practices by means of providing more opportunities to carry out activities essential for prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of the disease. Involving the cloud computing services in healthcare domain can offer a way for handling and maintaining health data by making use of software applications hosted on the Internet. To ensure successful cloud computing utilization, a pre-examination on the context of usage should be applied in order to collect the real needs to guarantee getting all the possible benefits of this technology. In Iraq, the health records of public hospitals consist of various types of data which continue to increase in velocity, volume, and variety progressively. This has led to several major issues to the health sectors from two perspectives, data complexity and low IT integrity. For that reason, managing and maintaining all these health data are essential to healthcare organizations. In this paper, we collected the success factors that may influence the healthcare professionals to utilize cloud computing services for the health sector in Iraq. This is done by conducting an interview with 30 physicians and technicians from four hospitals in Iraq, then a literature survey was carried out to verify that all the gathered factors are within the circumstance of healthcare. It has been found that eight factors may affect the perspective of healthcare professionals to utilize cloud computing services. Finally, a conceptual model was developed based on the findings

Boa: Ultra-large-scale software repository and source-code mining

In today’s software-centric world, ultra-large-scale software repositories, e.g. SourceForge, GitHub, and Google Code, are the new library of Alexandria. They contain an enormous corpus of software and related information. Scientists and engineers alike are interested in analyzing this wealth of information. However, systematic extraction and analysis of relevant data from these repositories for testing hypotheses is hard, and best left for mining software repository (MSR) experts! Specifically, mining source code yields significant insights into software development artifacts and processes. Unfortunately, mining source code at a large-scale remains a difficult task. Previous approaches had to either limit the s cope of the projects studied, limit the scope of the mining task to be more coarse-grained, or sacrifice studying the history of the code. In this paper we address mining source code: a) at a very large scale; b) at a fine-grained level of detail; and c) with full history information. To address these challenges, we present domain-specific language features for source code mining in our language and infrastructure called Boa. The goal of Boa is to ease testing MSR-related hypotheses. Our evaluation demonstrates that Boa substantially reduces programming efforts, thus lowering the barrier to entry. We also show drastic improvements in scalabilit

Assessing the Significance of Modularizing Contract Manufacturing Organizations

Organizations are under constant threat from global competition, socioeconomic factors, and political forces that are often unforeseen and dynamic. Consequently, decision makers adopt strategies, some including the principles of modularity, as a countermeasure. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of knowledge about the significance of modularizing contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs). The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to assess the significance of modularizing CMOs by statistically analyzing capacity utilization, efficiency, and profit margin between modular and nonmodular departments in a focal CMO. This study was grounded in the theory of modularity and the research question addressed what might be the significant value of implementing organizational modularity. The hypotheses posited that a significant difference exists in these metrics between the modular and nonmodular departments of the focal company. ANCOVA was applied to the hypotheses using secondary data of complete job orders undertaken at a company from 2008 to 2013. The results indicated significant differences in capacity utilization, efficiency, and profit margin between modular and nonmodular departments after controlling for differences based on overhead cost or lead-time. Decision makers in manufacturing companies, particularly those in CMOs, may benefit from these findings because they provide answers to questions on the value of modularizing CMOs. The social change implications of this study are based on companies gaining knowledge to improve productivity, manufacture more affordable goods, and provide more skilled employment opportunities. As a result, more people leave poverty and experience an improved quality of life

Derivation and consistency checking of models in early software product line engineering

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia InformáticaSoftware Product Line Engineering (SPLE) should offer the ability to express the derivation of product-specific assets, while checking for their consistency. The derivation of product-specific assets is possible using general-purpose programming languages in combination with techniques such as conditional compilation and code generation. On the other hand, consistency checking can be achieved through consistency rules in the form of architectural and design guidelines, programming conventions and well-formedness rules. Current approaches present four shortcomings: (1) focus on code derivation only, (2) ignore consistency problems between the variability model and other complementary specification models used in early SPLE, (3) force developers to learn new, difficult to master, languages to encode the derivation of assets, and (4) offer no tool support. This dissertation presents solutions that contribute to tackle these four shortcomings. These solutions are integrated in the approach Derivation and Consistency Checking of models in early SPLE (DCC4SPL) and its corresponding tool support. The two main components of our approach are the Variability Modelling Language for Requirements(VML4RE), a domain-specific language and derivation infrastructure, and the Variability Consistency Checker (VCC), a verification technique and tool. We validate DCC4SPL demonstrating that it is appropriate to find inconsistencies in early SPL model-based specifications and to specify the derivation of product-specific models.European Project AMPLE, contract IST-33710; Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - SFRH/BD/46194/2008

Extração e evolução de linhas de produtos de software usando Delta-Oriented Programming : um relato de experiência

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2019.Delta-Oriented Programming (DOP) é uma abordagem flexível e modular para a implementação de Linha de Produtos de Software (LPS). Desde 2010, ano em que a abordagem foi proposta, vários trabalhos sobre DOP foram publicados. Entretanto, após a condução de um estudo de mapeamento sistemático da literatura para analisar as reais implicações da técnica, notou-se que poucos desses trabalhos avaliavam de forma rigorosa os aspectos relacionados à evolução de LPS em DOP. Assim sendo, este trabalho apresenta um relato das implicações do uso dessa abordagem através de três diferentes perspectivas: (i) a extração e evolução de um aplicativo mobile em uma linha de produtos usando a DOP; (ii) a caracterização dos cenários de evolução segura e parcialmente segura de DOP através dos templates existentes na literatura; e (iii) uma análise em relação à propagação de mudanças e modularidade da técnica durante o seu processo de evolução. Os resultados mostraram que, apesar da técnica possuir uma maior aderência ao princípio open-closed, o seu uso pode não ser apropriado caso o principal interesse seja a evolução modular de features da linha de produtos, além de que, atualmente, a técnica ainda está limitada ao desenvolvimento em Java, em virtude da falta de plugins ou ferramentas que suportar outras linguagens de programação.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).Delta-OrientedProgramming(DOP)isaflexibleandmodularapproachtoSoftwareProduct Line (SPL) implementation. Since 2010, the year the approach was proposed, several papers about DOP have been published. However, after conducting a systematic literature mapping study to analyze the real implications of the technique, it was noted that fewofthesestudiesrigorouslyevaluatedtheaspectsrelatedtotheevolutionofSPLdeltaoriented. Therefore, this work reports the implications of using this approach from three different perspectives: (i) extracting and evolving an Android application to a SPL using DOP; (ii) the characterization of safe and partially safe delta-oriented evolution scenarios throughthetemplatesexistingintheliterature; and(iii)ananalysisregardingthechange impact and modularity properties of the technique during its evolution process. The results showed that, although the technique has a greater adherence to the open-closed principle, its use may not be appropriate if the main interest is the modular evolution of product line features, and currently the technique is still limited to Java development because of the lack of plugins or tools that support other programming languages

Genetic Algorithms in Software Architecture Synthesis

Ohjelmistoarkkitehtuurien suunnittelu on kriittinen vaihe ohjelmistokehitystä, sillä arkkitehtuuri määrittelee ohjelmiston rungon: miten ohjelma jaetaan eri komponentteihin, ja miten komponentit ovat yhteydessä toisiinsa. Ohjelmisto voidaan yleensä toteuttaa toimivasti monella eri tavalla, mutta toimiva toteutus ei aina takaa, että ohjelmisto on myös toteutettu laadukkaasti. Laadun takeena onkin huolella ja taidolla suunniteltu arkkitehtuuri. Ohjelmistoarkkitehtuurin suunnittelu on haastavaa. Suunnitelmaa tehdessä tulee ottaa huomioon monen eri sidosryhmän (esim. käyttäjä, toteuttaja, markkinoija) vaatimukset ja miettiä, miten mahdollisimman suuri osa vaatimuksista voidaan toteuttaa arkkitehtuurissa. Arkkitehtuurisuunnittelu vaatiikin kokeneen ohjelmistoarkkitehdin, joka on hankkinut tietotaitonsa vuosien ajalta eri ohjelmistoprojekteista. Kokemukseen perustuvan tiedon lisäksi ohjelmistoarkkitehtuurisuunnittelun käytäntöjä on koottu eräänlaisiksi katalogeiksi, joissa esitellään hyväksi havaittuja ratkaisuja, ns. suunnittelutyylejä ja -malleja, yleisiin arkkitehtuurisuunnitteluongelmiin. Voidaankin ajatella, että arkkitehtuuri tuotetaan etsimällä (kokemukseen nojaten) paras mahdollinen kombinaatio suunnittelumalleja ja -tyylejä. Arkkitehtuurin suunnittelu onkin siis eräänlainen optimointiongelma. Ohjelmistoista tulee jatkuvasti yhä monimutkaisempia. Sovelluksien monimutkaistuessa myös arkkitehtuurisuunnittelu muuttuu entistä vaikeammaksi ja vie yhä enemmän aikaa. Suunnittelun perustuminen hiljaiseen tietoon ja arkkitehtien kokemukseen tekee prosessista yhä hitaamman ja läpinäkymättömämmän. Arkkitehtuurisuunnittelun automatisointi toisikin suuria säästöjä. Henkilöstövaihdosten yhteydessä ei myöskään tarvitsisi pelätä tietotaidon katoamista, kun arkkitehtuurisuunnittelu olisi helposti toistettavissa aina alusta lähtien. Tässä väitöskirjassa on tutkittu, miten parhaan mahdollisen ratkaisun etsintäprosessin (eli suunnittelumallien ja -tyylien soveltamisen) voisi automatisoida. Monimutkaisissa optimointiongelmissa käytetään etsintäalgoritmeja, jotka haravoivat hakuavaruutta jollain satunnaistetulla menetelmällä. Yksi suosituimmista etsintäalgoritmeista on geneettinen algoritmi. Geneettiset algoritmit tarkastelevat aina pientä ratkaisujoukkoa kerrallaan ja etsivät parasta ratkaisua yhdistelemällä osia löydetyistä ratkaisuista sekä muuntelemalla ratkaisuja. Jokaiselle ratkaisulle lasketaan laatuarvo, ja luonnonvalintaa jäljitellen jatketaan parhaiden vaihtoehtojen tarkastelua sekä kehittelyä ja hylätään huonoimmat ratkaisut. Etsintäalgoritmien käyttämistä ohjelmistokehityksen ongelmiin, esim. ohjelmistosuunnitteluun, testaukseen ja projektinhallintaan, kutsutaan etsintäperustaiseksi ohjelmistokehitykseksi. Väitöskirja kuuluu etsintäperustaisen ohjelmistosuunnittelun alaan, ja siinä tutkitaan ns. ohjelmistoarkkitehtuurisynteesiä geneettisten algoritmien avulla. Ohjelmistoarkkitehtuurisynteesi lähtee ns. nolla-arkkitehtuurista , joka toteuttaa järjestelmän toiminnalliset vaatimukset, mutta ei ota kantaa laatuvaatimuksiin. Laatua pyritään parantamaan lisäämällä lähtöarkkitehtuuriin suunnittelutyylejä ja -malleja. Väitöskirjassa laatuarviointiin on käytetty muunneltavuutta, tehokkuutta ja ymmärrettävyyttä. Lopputuloksena saadaan ehdotus arkkitehtuurista, joka toteuttaa toiminnalliset vaatimukset ja on myös laadukas. Geneettisiä algoritmeja ei ole aiemmin sovellettu vastaavantasoisiin suunnitteluongelmiin, joten toteutuksessa on kehitetty uusi tapa mallintaa arkkitehtuuri geneettiselle algoritmille sekä laskukaava arkkitehtuurin laadulle. Perustoteutuksen lisäksi myös geneettisen algoritmin eri ominaisuuksia, ns. risteytysoperaatiota ja laatufunktiota on tutkittu tarkemmin, ja niille on kehitetty vaihtoehtoisia toteutuksia. Tapaustarkasteluista saadut tulokset osoittavat, että tällä hetkellä geneettisiin algoritmeihin perustuvaa arkkitehtuurisynteesi tuottaa suunnilleen samantasoisia ratkaisuja kuin kolmannen vuosikurssin ohjelmistotekniikan opiskelija.This thesis presents an approach for synthesizing software architectures with genetic algorithms. Previously in the literature, genetic algorithms have been mostly used to improve existing architectures. The method presented here, however, focuses on upstream design. The chosen genetic construction of software architectures is based on a model which contains information on functional requirements only. Architecture styles and design patterns are used to transform the initial high-level model to a more detailed design. Quality attributes, here modifiability, efficiency and complexity, are encoded in the algorithm s fitness function for evaluating the produced solutions. The final solution is given as a UML class diagram. While the main contribution is introducing the method for architecture synthesis, basic tool support for the implementation is also presented. Two case studies are used for evaluation. One case study uses the sketch for an electronic home control system, which is a typical embedded system. The other case study is based on a robot war game simulator, which is a typical framework system. Evaluation is mostly based on fitness graphs and (subjective) evaluation of produced class diagrams. In addition to the basic approach, variations and extensions regarding crossover and fitness function have been made. While the standard algorithm uses a random crossover, asexual reproduction and complementary crossover are also studied. Asexual crossover corresponds to real-life design situations, where two architectures are rarely combined. Complementary crossover, in turn, attempts to purposefully combine good parts of two architectures. The fitness function is extended with the option to include modifiability scenarios, which enables more targeted design decisions as critical parts of the architecture can be evaluated individually. In order to achieve a wider range of solutions that answer to competing quality demands, a multi-objective approach using Pareto optimality is given as an alternative for the single weighted fitness function. The multi-objective approach evaluates modifiability and efficiency, and gives as output the class diagrams of the whole Pareto front of the last generation. Thus, extremes for both quality attributes as well as solutions in the middle ground can be compared. An experimental study is also conducted where independent experts evaluate produced solutions for the electronic home control. Results show that genetic software architecture synthesis is indeed feasible, and the quality of solutions at this stage is roughly at the level of third year software engineering students