Losing by Expanding: Corralling the Runaway Object

At the time of publication C. Spinuzzi was at the University of Texas at Austin.Third-generation activity theory (3GAT) has become a popular theoretical and methodological framework for writing studies, particularly in technical communication. 3GAT involves identifying an object, a material or problem that is cyclically transformed by collective activity. The object is the linchpin of analysis in the empirical case. Yet the notion of object has expanded methodologically and theoretically over time, making it difficult to reliably bound an empirical case. In response, this article outlines the expansion of the object, diagnoses this expansion, and proposes an alternate approach that constrains the object for case-study research in writing studies.Writin

Active Virtual Network Management Prediction: Complexity as a Framework for Prediction, Optimization, and Assurance

Research into active networking has provided the incentive to re-visit what has traditionally been classified as distinct properties and characteristics of information transfer such as protocol versus service; at a more fundamental level this paper considers the blending of computation and communication by means of complexity. The specific service examined in this paper is network self-prediction enabled by Active Virtual Network Management Prediction. Computation/communication is analyzed via Kolmogorov Complexity. The result is a mechanism to understand and improve the performance of active networking and Active Virtual Network Management Prediction in particular. The Active Virtual Network Management Prediction mechanism allows information, in various states of algorithmic and static form, to be transported in the service of prediction for network management. The results are generally applicable to algorithmic transmission of information. Kolmogorov Complexity is used and experimentally validated as a theory describing the relationship among algorithmic compression, complexity, and prediction accuracy within an active network. Finally, the paper concludes with a complexity-based framework for Information Assurance that attempts to take a holistic view of vulnerability analysis

Data Curation in Interdisciplinary and Highly Collaborative Research

This paper provides a systematic analysis of publications that discuss data curation in interdisciplinary and highly collaborative research (IHCR). Using content analysis methodology, it examined 159 publications and identified patterns in definitions of interdisciplinarity, projects’ participants and methodologies, and approaches to data curation. The findings suggest that data is a prominent component in interdisciplinarity. In addition to crossing disciplinary and other boundaries, IHCR is defined as curating and integrating heterogeneous data and creating new forms of knowledge from it. Using personal experiences and descriptive approaches, the publications discussed challenges that data curation in IHCR faces, including an increased overhead in coordination and management, lack of consistent metadata practices, and custom infrastructure that makes interoperability across projects, domains, and repositories difficult. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research

CrossFlow: Cross-Organizational Workflow Management for Service Outsourcing in Dynamic Virtual Enterprises

In this report, we present the approach to cross-organizational workflow management of the CrossFlow project. CrossFlow is a European research project aiming at the support of cross-organizational workflows in dynamic virtual enterprises. The cooperation in these virtual enterprises is based on dynamic service outsourcing specified in electronic contracts. Service enactment is performed by dynamically linking the workflow management infrastructures of the involved organizations. Extended service enactment support is provided in the form of cross-organizational transaction management and process control, advanced quality of service monitoring, and support for high-level flexibility in service enactment. CrossFlow technology is realized on top of a commercial workflow management platform and applied in two real-world scenarios in the contexts of a logistics and an insurance company

Messaging infrastructure for Electronic Government: background, rationale, objectives

Electronic Government applications aim to deliver efficient, seamless, customer-focused services to the public using various distribution channels. One of challenges in building such applications is the requirement to rely upon preexisting, often heterogeneous government applications. In order to enable communication between such applications, middleware software is required. In this paper we present a research line for formal specification and development of programmable message-oriented middleware, a foundation for infrastructure development for Electronic Government.Eje: Ingeniería de software y base de datosRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Towards Multilingual Programming Environments

Software projects consist of different kinds of artifacts: build files, configuration files, markup files, source code in different software languages, and so on. At the same time, however, most integrated development environments (IDEs) are focused on a single (programming) language. Even if a programming environment supports multiple languages (e.g., Eclipse), IDE features such as cross-referencing, refactoring, or debugging, do not often cross language boundaries. What would it mean for programming environment to be truly multilingual? In this short paper we sketch a vision of a system that integrates IDE support across language boundaries. We propose to build this system on a foundation of unified source code models and metaprogramming. Nevertheless, a number of important and hard research questions still need to be addressed

Towards multilingual programming environments

Software projects consist of different kinds of artifacts: build files, configuration files, markup files, source code in different software languages, and so on. At the same time, however, most integrated development environments (IDEs) are focused on a single (programming) language. Even if a programming environment supports multiple languages (e.g., Eclipse), IDE features such as cross-referencing, refactoring, or debugging, do not often cross language boundaries. What would it mean for programming environment to be truly multilingual? In this short paper we sketch a vision of a system that integrates IDE support across language boundaries. We propose to build this system on a foundation of unified source code models and metaprogramming. Nevertheless, a number of important and hard research questions still need to be addressed