Early aspects: aspect-oriented requirements engineering and architecture design

This paper reports on the third Early Aspects: Aspect-Oriented Requirements Engineering and Architecture Design Workshop, which has been held in Lancaster, UK, on March 21, 2004. The workshop included a presentation session and working sessions in which the particular topics on early aspects were discussed. The primary goal of the workshop was to focus on challenges to defining methodical software development processes for aspects from early on in the software life cycle and explore the potential of proposed methods and techniques to scale up to industrial applications

When and how to develop domain-specific languages

Domain-specific languages (DSLs) are languages tailored to a specific application domain. They offer substantial gains in expressiveness and ease of use compared with general purpose programming languages in their domain of application. DSL development is hard, requiring both domain knowledge and language development expertise. Few people have both. Not surprisingly, the decision to develop a DSL is often postponed indefinitely, if considered at all, and most DSLs never get beyond the application library stage. While many articles have been written on the development of particular DSLs, there is very limited literature on DSL development methodologies and many questions remain regarding when and how to develop a DSL. To aid the DSL developer, we identify patterns in the decision, analysis, design, and implementation phases of DSL development. Our patterns try to improve on and extend earlier work on DSL design patterns, in particular by Spinellis (2001). We also discuss domain analysis tools and language development systems that may help to speed up DSL development. Finally, we state a number of open problems

Toward Universal Broadband in Rural Alaska

The TERRA-Southwest project is extending broadband service to 65 communities in the Bristol Bay, Bethel and Yukon-Kuskokwim regions. A stimulus project funded by a combination of grants and loans from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), TERRA-Southwest has installed a middle-mile network using optical fiber and terrestrial microwave. Last-mile service will be through fixed wireless or interconnection with local telephone networks. The State of Alaska, through its designee Connect Alaska, also received federal stimulus funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for tasks that include support for an Alaska Broadband Task Force “to both formalize a strategic broadband plan for the state of Alaska and coordinate broadband activities across relevant agencies and organizations.” Thus, a study of the impact of the TERRA project in southwest Alaska is both relevant and timely. This first phase provides baseline data on current access to and use of ICTs and Internet connectivity in rural Alaska, and some insights about perceived benefits and potential barriers to adoption of broadband. It is also intended to provide guidance to the State Broadband Task Force in determining how the extension of broadband throughout the state could contribute to education, social services, and economic activities that would enhance Alaska’s future. Results of the research could also be used proactively to develop strategies to encourage broadband adoption, and to identify applications and support needed by users with limited ICT skills.Connect Alaska. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration. General Communications Incorporated.Part 1: An Analysis of Internet Use in Southwest Alaska / Introduction / Previous Studies / Current Connectivity / Analytical Framework and Research Methodology / Demographics / Mobile Phones: Access and Use / Access to the Internet / Internet Useage / Considerations about Internet Service / Interest in Broadband / Sources of News / Comparison with National Data / Internet Use by Businesses and Organizations / What Difference may Broadband make in the Region? / Conclusiongs / Part 2 Literature Review / Reference

Domain Specific Language for Magnetic Measurements at CERN

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco–Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe’s first joint ventures and now has 20 Member States. Its main purpose is fundamental research in partcle physics, namely investigating what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the design and realization of the new particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), has required a remarkable technological effort in many areas of engineering. In particular, the tests of LHC superconducting magnets disclosed new horizons to magnetic measurements. At CERN, the objectively large R&D effort of the Technolgy Department/Magnets, Superconductors and Cryostats (TE/MSC) group identified areas where further work is required in order to assist the LHC commissioning and start-up, to provide continuity in the instrumentation for the LHC magnets maintenance, and to achieve more accurate magnet models for the LHC exploitation. In view of future projects, a wide range of software requirements has been recently satisfied by the Flexible Framework for Magnetic Measurements (FFMM), designed also for integrating more performing flexible hardware. FFMM software applications control several devices, such as encoder boards, digital integrators, motor controllers, transducers. In addition, they synchronize and coordinate different measurement tasks and actions

Applied novel software development methodology for process engineering application

Chemical processes are nonlinear continuous/discrete dynamic systems that are subject to considerable uncertainties and variations during their design and operation. These systems are designed to operate at an economically optimal steady-state. However, minor changes in process parameters’ values might cause deviations and elicit dynamic responses from processes. Controllability—defined as the ability of holding a process within a specified operating regime and the controllability assessment of each given process system—should be taken into account during the system design phase. This emphasises the necessity of effective software tools that could assist process engineers in their controllability evaluation. Although there are few multipurpose tools available for this task, developing software tools for controllability analysis is a tedious and sophisticated undertaking. It involves elaboration from multiple disciplines, and the requirements of controllability assessments are so vast that it is almost impossible to create general software that covers all controllability measures and cases. This thesis aims to systematically tackle the challenge of developing practical and high-quality software tools for controllability problems while reducing the required time and effort, regardless of the size and scale of the controllability problem. Domain-specific language (DSL) methodology is proposed for this purpose. DSLs are programming languages designed to address the programming problems of a specific domain. Therefore, well-designed DSLs are simple, easy to use and capable of solving any problem defined in their domains. Based on DSL methodology, this study proposes a four-element framework to partition the software system into decoupled elements, and discusses the design and implementation steps of each element as well as communication between elements. The superiority of the developed methodology based on DSL is compared with traditional programming techniques for controllability assessment of various case studies. Essentially, the major advantage of the proposed methodology is the performance of the software product. Performance measures used in this study are total time to develop (TD) the software tool and its modifiability. Total time and effort to implement and use the result products presents up to five times improvement. Moreover, the result product’s modifiability is assessed by applying modifications, which also demonstrates up to five times improvement. All measures are tested on continuous stirred-tank reaction (CSTR) and forced-circulation evaporator (FCE) case studies. In conclusion, this study significantly contributes to two fields. The first is DSL, since this thesis studies different types of DSLs and evaluates their applications in the controllability analysis. The second is the controllability evaluation, since this study examines a new methodology for software development in controllability assessment

The Effect of Rest Period on Fatigue Using Electromyography During Manual Lifting

Manual materials handing (MMH) is the main cause and concern for injuries in the working population which lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). MSDs significantly contribute to the cost of workers’ compensation and loss of productivity, thus impacting economy of the United States. MSDs are mainly caused due to over exertion and fatigue experienced by workers involved in manual materials handling. In addition to over-exertion and fatigue, lack of short and frequent rest intervals between tasks contributes to the risk of MSDs. The objective of this research was to study the effect of rest period on muscle fatigue using electromyography (EMG) during manual lifting. The median frequency of the EMG signal, heart rate (HR), Borg’s rating, arm lift and hand grip strength were used as measures of fatigue due to rest periods (zero rest, 5, 10 and 15 min) during the manual lifting task. The physical activity ratings (PAR), body mass index (BMI) and hours of sleep were the covariables studied. Fifteen male participants took part in this study. Each participant performed one treatment per day of lifting a box weighing 15kg. from knuckle to shoulder height at a fixed of frequency 12 lifts per minute for 13 minutes duration. The EMG, heart rate and Borg’s scale rating were used to record the perceived level of exertion and determine whether the duration of rest was sufficient to recover from fatigue during manual lifting. Statistical analysis was performed to test the hypotheses defined for significance. The results showed at least 10min of rest was required, and 10min was optimum for bicep brachii muscle to recover from fatigue. The study concluded EMG and HR were better measures of muscle fatigue than Borg’s rating. This study would be beneficial to the industry in work design, which enables defining rest periods between continuous lifting tasks

The Development of eServices in an Enlarged EU:eGovernment and eHealth in Malta

In 2005, IPTS launched a project which aimed to assess the developments in eGoverment, eHealth and eLearning in the 10 New Member States at national, and at cross-country level. At that time, the 10 New Member States were Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, and Slovakia. A report for each country was produced, describing its government and health systems and the role played by eGovernment and eHealth within these systems. Each report then analyzes, on the basis of desk research and expert interviews, the major achievements, shortcomings, drivers and barriers in the development of eGovernment and eHealth in one of the countries in question. This analysis provides the basis for the identification and discussion of national policy options to address the major challenges and to suggest R&D issues relevant to the needs of each country ¿ in this case, Malta. In addition to national monographs, the project has delivered a synthesis report, which offers an integrated view of the developments of each application domain in the New Member States. Furthermore, a prospective report looking across and beyond the development of the eGoverment, eHealth and eLearning areas has been developed to summarize policy challenges and options for the development of eServices and the Information Society towards the goals of Lisbon and i2010.JRC.J.4-Information Societ