26,123 research outputs found
Oii-web: An interactive online programming contest training system
In this paper we report our experience, related to the online training for the
Italian and International Olympiads in Informatics. We developed an interactive online
system, based on CMS, the grading system used in several major programming contests
including the International Olympiads in Informatics (IOI), and used it in three distinct
context: training students for the Italian Olympiads in Informatics (OII), training teachers
in order to be able to assist students for the OII, and training the Italian team for the
IOI. The system, that is freely available, proved to be a game changer for the whole italian
olympiads in informatics ecosystem: in one year, we almost doubled the participation to
OII, from 13k to 21k secondary school students.
The system is developed basing on the Contest Management System (CMS, http://cms-
dev.github.io/), so it is highly available to extensions supporting, for instance, the pro-
duction of feedback on problems solutions submitted by trainees. The system is also freely
available, with the idea of allowing for support to alternative necessities and developmen
Project Exploration: 10-year Retrospective Program Evaluation
Assesses the impact of a program giving low-income students of color hands-on science experience on science capacity, youth development, and engagement in communities of practice. Examines practices that support science learning by underrepresented youth
Links between the personalities, styles and performance in computer programming
There are repetitive patterns in strategies of manipulating source code. For
example, modifying source code before acquiring knowledge of how a code works
is a depth-first style and reading and understanding before modifying source
code is a breadth-first style. To the extent we know there is no study on the
influence of personality on them. The objective of this study is to understand
the influence of personality on programming styles. We did a correlational
study with 65 programmers at the University of Stuttgart. Academic achievement,
programming experience, attitude towards programming and five personality
factors were measured via self-assessed survey. The programming styles were
asked in the survey or mined from the software repositories. Performance in
programming was composed of bug-proneness of programmers which was mined from
software repositories, the grades they got in a software project course and
their estimate of their own programming ability. We did statistical analysis
and found that Openness to Experience has a positive association with
breadth-first style and Conscientiousness has a positive association with
depth-first style. We also found that in addition to having more programming
experience and better academic achievement, the styles of working depth-first
and saving coarse-grained revisions improve performance in programming.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figure
Happy software developers solve problems better: psychological measurements in empirical software engineering
For more than 30 years, it has been claimed that a way to improve software
developers' productivity and software quality is to focus on people and to
provide incentives to make developers satisfied and happy. This claim has
rarely been verified in software engineering research, which faces an
additional challenge in comparison to more traditional engineering fields:
software development is an intellectual activity and is dominated by
often-neglected human aspects. Among the skills required for software
development, developers must possess high analytical problem-solving skills and
creativity for the software construction process. According to psychology
research, affects-emotions and moods-deeply influence the cognitive processing
abilities and performance of workers, including creativity and analytical
problem solving. Nonetheless, little research has investigated the correlation
between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving
performance of programmers. This article echoes the call to employ
psychological measurements in software engineering research. We report a study
with 42 participants to investigate the relationship between the affective
states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving skills of software
developers. The results offer support for the claim that happy developers are
indeed better problem solvers in terms of their analytical abilities. The
following contributions are made by this study: (1) providing a better
understanding of the impact of affective states on the creativity and
analytical problem-solving capacities of developers, (2) introducing and
validating psychological measurements, theories, and concepts of affective
states, creativity, and analytical-problem-solving skills in empirical software
engineering, and (3) raising the need for studying the human factors of
software engineering by employing a multidisciplinary viewpoint.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, published at Peer
Relevance, benefits, and problems of software modelling and model driven techniques—A survey in the Italian industry
Context Claimed benefits of software modelling and model driven techniques are improvements in productivity, portability, maintainability and interoperability. However, little effort has been devoted at collecting evidence to evaluate their actual relevance, benefits and usage complications. Goal The main goals of this paper are: (1) assess the diffusion and relevance of software modelling and MD techniques in the Italian industry, (2) understand the expected and achieved benefits, and (3) identify which problems limit/prevent their diffusion. Method We conducted an exploratory personal opinion survey with a sample of 155 Italian software professionals by means of a Web-based questionnaire on-line from February to April 2011. Results Software modelling and MD techniques are very relevant in the Italian industry. The adoption of simple modelling brings common benefits (better design support, documentation improvement, better maintenance, and higher software quality), while MD techniques make it easier to achieve: improved standardization, higher productivity, and platform independence. We identified problems, some hindering adoption (too much effort required and limited usefulness) others preventing it (lack of competencies and supporting tools). Conclusions The relevance represents an important objective motivation for researchers in this area. The relationship between techniques and attainable benefits represents an instrument for practitioners planning the adoption of such techniques. In addition the findings may provide hints for companies and universitie
Rockefeller Brothers Fund Charles E. Culpeper Arts and Culture Grants Impact Assessment
Fulfilling the assignment received from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), NEXT: Transition Advisors and AKA|Strategy present their review of the RBF's Charles E. Culpeper Arts and Culture Grants. After 11 years of funding arts and culture in New York City, the Culpeper grants were ready for review, according to the assessment protocol established by the RBF for all its program areas. NEXT and AKA, which specialize in transition and strategy studies for nonprofit institutions, present this review with respect for the RBF, its accomplishments, and its dedication over time to support of the nonprofit sector, including arts and culture. The review aims to situate and evaluate the activities of the Culpeper grants within the RBF's overall portfolio and within its field, and to bring to the surface questions and significant issues that should be addressed at its decade mark
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