Software Design Guidelines for Usability

For years, the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) community has crafted usability guidelines that clearly define what
characteristics a software system should have in order to be easy to use. However, in the Software Engineering (SE)
community keep falling short of successfully incorporating these recommendations into software projects. From a SE
perspective, the process of incorporating usability features into software is not always straightforward, as a large number
of these features have heavy implications in the underlying software architecture. For example, successfully including an
“undo” feature in an application requires the design and implementation of many complex interrelated data structures and
functionalities. Our work is focused upon providing developers with a set of software design patterns to assist them in the
process of designing more usable software. This would contribute to the proper inclusion of specific usability features
with high impact on the software design. Preliminary validation data show that usage of the guidelines also has positive
effects on development time and overall software design quality

""Voice" and "Exit" in Japanese Firms during the Second World War: Sanpo Revisited"

During the Second World War, the Japanese government and private sector searched for and implemented new mechanisms for coordination and motivation. One of these was sangyo hokokukai (sanpo). Sanpo unit was basically an organization of the employer and employees of each firm, which held meetings to moderate labor relations. Due to the government policy to promote sanpo units, around 70% of the total workers in Japan were organized into sanpo units in the early 1940s. As the members of labor unions and the workers of the companies which had factory committees, were only 7 % and 5% of the total workers in 1936 respectively, sanpo was the first large scale mechanism for Japanese employees to voice. In this paper, I examined the role of sanpo, using prefecture level data and firm level data, based on a framework integrating the "voice view" of unionism and the transaction cost economics. It was found that sanpo reduced the participation rate in labor disputes, and enhanced labor productivity at least in some period.

Theoretical models of the role of visualisation in learning formal reasoning

Although there is empirical evidence that visualisation tools can help students to learn formal subjects such as logic, and although particular strategies and conceptual difficulties have been identified, it has so far proved difficult to provide a general model of learning in this context that accounts for these findings in a systematic way. In this paper, four attempts at explaining the relative difficulty of formal concepts and the role of visualisation in this learning process are presented. These explanations draw on several existing theories, including Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, Green's Cognitive Dimensions, the Popper-Campbell model of conjectural learning, and cognitive complexity. The paper concludes with a comparison of the utility and applicability of the different models. It is also accompanied by a reflexive commentary[0] (linked to this paper as a hypertext) that examines the ways in which theory has been used within these arguments, and which attempts to relate these uses to the wider context of learning technology research

A layered framework for pattern-based ontology evolution

The challenge of ontology-driven modelling of information components is well known in both academia and industry. In this paper, we present a novel approach to deal with customisation and abstraction of ontology-based model evolution. As a result of an empirical study, we identify a layered change operator framework based on the granularity, domain-specificity and abstraction of changes. The implementation of the operator framework is supported through layered change logs. Layered change logs capture the objective of ontology changes at a higher level of granularity and support a comprehensive understanding of ontology evolution. The layered change logs are formalised using a graph-based approach. We identify the recurrent ontology change patterns from an ontology change log for their reuse. The identified patterns facilitate optimizing and improving the definition of domain-specific change patterns

Japanese Lifetime Employment: A Century's Perspective

This paper examines the origins and dynamic evolution of the lifetime employment system in Japan from the beginning of the 20th century to present. Based on the historical perspective developed in the paper, we derive implications to the future course of the Japanese employment system. In this paper, we view lifetime employment as an economic as well as social institution, characterized by an implicit contract and reciprocal exchange of trust, goodwill, and commitment between employers and workers. We argue that this institution emerged as an equilibrium outcome of the dynamic interactions among management, labor, and government and became an integral part of the nation's employment system over the past hundred years, reinforced by complementary institutions such as state welfare policies, labor laws, corporate governance, social norms, family values, and education system. Based on our long-run historical analysis, we reevaluate the cost and benefit both in terms of economic and social of the lifetime employment system and explore the factors that determine its efficiency and stability. We emphasize the importance of understanding labor market conditions, technology and the nature of human capital, interactions between social and economic aspects of employment relations, and the role of complementary institutions. The paper concludes by assessing changes in these factors in the post-bubble period, offering some insights to the future course of the Japanese employment system.Japan; institutional change; lifetime employment; implicit contract; labor laws; social norms; war; zaibatsu; state welfare policies; division of labor; gender; demand-side shocks; supply-side shocks.