Gender Equality With Agile In Software Engineering

Women are under-represented in information technology careers in general and in the profession of software development in particular and their numbers are declining. Previous studies on this topic have investigated whether the reason for this is due to a difference in capability arising out of their gender, or whether the reason arises from social factors. A software development methodology called “Agile†has arisen in recent years which focus on collaboration, working software, and a sustainable workweek. Studies have shown that adopting Agile techniques in the classroom helps to retain women in computer information academic curricula and that adopting them in workplace teams improves communication across gender and ethnic diversity. This study invited women to speak for themselves as to whether they find Agile engineering techniques helpful in the workplace through the use of an online survey and follow-up interviews. The results revealed that women feel positively about these practices but have encountered some resistance to adopting them. Future studies discerning whether there are differences in the attitudes of men and women to these practices or whether there is a correlation between adoption of these practices and the number of women practicing as software developers in varying environments are logical future research topics to extend understanding in this are

Pariohjelmointi olio-ohjelmoinnin opetusmenetelmänä

Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli esitellä pariohjelmoinnin hyötyjä ja haasteita sekä tarkastella sitä opetusmenetelmänä. Pariohjelmoinnilla tarkoitetaan menetelmää, jossa kaksi ohjelmoijaa tekee tiivistä yhteistyötä saman päätteen ääressä toisen tuottaessa lähdekoodia ja toisen korjatessa virheitä ja tehdessä kehitysehdotuksia. Rooleja vaihdetaan säännöllisesti. Varsinaista toimeksiantajaa työllä ei ollut, sillä opinnäytetyön kirjoittaja halusi itse tutkia pariohjelmoinnin hyödyntämistä opetuksessa perehdyttyään menetelmään ammattiharjoittelun yhteydessä. Pariohjelmointia toimivuutta opetusmenetelmänä tutkittiin Tietojenkäsittelyn koulutusohjelman olio-ohjelmoinnin opintojaksolla. Pariohjelmointikokeilu toteutettiin syksyllä 2012. Opiskelijat jaettiin pareihin alkukartoituksen perusteella siten, että osapuolten ohjelmointitaidot vastasivat toisiaan. Pareja vaihdettiin opiskelijoiden halukkuuden mukaan opintojakson puolivälissä. Parit työskentelivät pääsääntöisesti siten, että rooleja vaihdettiin jokaisen tapaamiskerran aluksi. Opintojaksoon kuuluvat harjoitustehtävät ohjelmoitiin parin kanssa. Harjoitustyöt sekä tentit suoritettiin kuitenkin itsenäisesti. Pariohjelmointi ei ollut pakollista, mutta sitä suositeltiin kaikille opiskelijoille. Pariohjelmoinnin käyttämistä opetusmenetelmänä tarkasteltiin niin opiskelijoiden kuin opettajankin näkökulmasta. Opiskelijat vastasivat neljään sähköiseen kyselyyn, joista kolme toteutettiin opintojakson aikana ja yksi noin kolmen kuukauden kuluttua opintojakson päättymisestä. Kyselyillä kartoitettiin mm. suhtautumista pariohjelmointiin, sen toteutumista ja vaikutusta oppimiseen sekä pariohjelmoinnin hyödyntämistä opintojakson päättymisen jälkeen. Opettajan havaintoja ja näkemyksiä kartoitettiin haastattelun avulla. Syksyn 2012 toteutuskertaa verrattiin myös aiempien vuosien toteutuskertoihin oppimistulosten ja läpäisyprosentin suhteen. Tutkimuksen tietoperustana olivat aiemmin tehdyt tutkimukset pariohjelmoinnin hyödyistä ja haasteista sekä menetelmän käytöstä opetuksessa. Pariohjelmointikokeilun tuloksena havaittiin, että menetelmä soveltuu opiskelijoille, joilla on riittävät perusvalmiudet ohjelmoinnissa sekä halua ja kykyä yhteistyöhön. Opiskelijat, jotka hyödynsivät pariohjelmointia eniten, saivat korkeimmat arvosanat. Vastaavasti opiskelijat, joilla oli heikko lähtötaso ja vaikeuksia kommunikoida parin kanssa, menestyivät opintojaksolla vaatimattomammin. Suhtautuminen pariohjelmointiin muuttui opintojakson edetessä pääsääntöisesti positiivisemmaksi, kun opiskelijat havaitsivat hyötyvänsä parin kanssa työskentelystä. Pariohjelmoinnin hyödyntäminen opetuksessa voi antaa opiskelijalle lisävalmiuksia tuleville opintojaksoille sekä työelämään. Pariohjelmointia voi suositella opetusmenetelmäksi, mutta lisäkokeiluja tarvitaan mahdollisimman toimivan kokonaisuuden saavuttamiseksi. Parien muodostamisessa voisi kokeilla erilaisia kokoonpanoja. Lisäksi oppimistuloksia voisi verrata rinnakkain etenevien toteutuskertojen välillä. Toisessa ryhmässä opetus olisi perinteistä, kun taas toisessa hyödynnettäisiin pariohjelmointia.The purpose of this thesis was to present the costs and benefits of pair programming and to study pair programming as a teaching method. Pair programming is a programming technique in which two programmers use one computer to work together on the same task switching roles as a driver and a co-pilot. There was no actual assigner to this thesis. The author herself wanted to explore pair programming based on her previous experience. Pair programming as a teaching method was studied in the Degree programme in Business Information Systems in an object-oriented programming course. The pair programming experiment was carried out in the autumn of 2012. The students were divided into pairs on the basis of their programming skills, so that the parties' programming skills mirrored each other. The pairs were changed in the middle of the course. The pairs worked so that the roles were switched in the beginning of each lesson. The course included exercises programmed with a partner. The assignments and exams, however, were performed independently. Programming in pairs was not mandatory, but it was recommended for all students. The effectiveness of pair programming as a teaching method was examined from both students’ and teacher’s perspective. Students answered to four electronic surveys, of which three were carried out during the course, and one about three months after the end of the course. The questions asked in the surveys concerned attitude towards pair programming, implementation of pair programming, its impact on learning, as well as using pair programming after the end of the course. The teacher’s observations and views were mapped with an interview. The implementation of the course in the autumn 2012 was com-pared to previous years in terms of learning outcomes and throughput per cent. The theoretical background of this thesis was based on the earlier studies of pair programming, its cost and benefits, as well as pair programming in education. As a result of this study it was found that pair programming is suitable for students who have sufficient basic skills in programming and willingness and ability to cooperate. Students who used pair programming received the highest marks. On the other hand students with low initial level and difficulties in communicating with a partner, performed modestly. The attitude towards pair programming changed more positive as the course progressed, as the students found to benefit from pair programming. Using pair programming as a teaching method can provide students with additional capabilities for future studies and work. Pair Programming can be recommended as a teaching method, but further experiments are needed in order to achieve a functional entity. Different combinations could be used in forming pairs. In addition, the learning outcomes could be compared side by side between two course implementations held at the same time. The other group would have traditional teaching, whereas the other would use pair programming as a teaching method

A BLACK GIRL NAMED AFTER A PLANTATION: TARA THORNTON AND THE USE OF IRONIC RACISM IN ALAN BALL’S TRUE BLOOD

This thesis is an in-depth analysis of racial discourse surrounding HBO’s True Blood and its reoccurring Black female character Tara Thornton. More specifically, it addresses how Tara’s character and the use of ironic racism complicate essentialist definitions of race and common representations of Black women on television. This thesis employs a Black feminist framework to perform a textual analysis of True Blood and evaluate racial discourse surrounding the program in American news columns and high-traffic online message boards. True Blood\u27s high ratings, print media coverage and active fan communities point to its impact on contemporary popular discourse. Thus its depiction of Black women and “Black” culture in America have the potential to reconfigure or perpetuate dominant media codes or cultural assumptions associated with this marginalized population. True Blood’s use of Southern Gothic narrative conventions to address homosexuality, gender roles and class structures in the United States prove successful, but racial commentary is mostly unacknowledged by entertainment journalists and fans alike. Though True Blood has made significant advances in American cable television by integrating numerous racialized bodies into its narrative, creator Alan Ball’s use of ironic racism muddies his attempt at provocative or transgressive programming. Teachable moments or opportunities for cultural revision available due to Tara’s strong presence in the narrative are rarely articulated in a meaningful manner. Instead, True Blood provides racially insensitive images for viewers and reinforces common stereotypes of Black women in the United State

Programação em duplas: estado da arte

Resumo: Programação em Duplas (Pair Programming – PP) é uma prática colaborativa de desenvolvimento de software em que dois programadores trabalham ao mesmo tempo em um único computador e na mesma tarefa de programação. Foi relatado na literatura que o conhecimento sobre PP encontra-se disperso e desorganizado. Com o intuito de colocar um pouco de ordem a esse caos, o presente estudo realizou uma busca exaustiva de trabalhos sobre PP em algumas das bibliotecas digitais mais importantes do mundo em Ciência da Computação (Sociedade Brasileira de Computação, ACM, IEEE Explore, Springer, CiteSeer e ScienceDirect, entre outras) e no Google/Scholar. A partir da completa leitura dos trabalhos encontrados, procurou-se definir temas chave dentro da área descrevendo todos os estudos que se relacionam com cada tema. Os achados são interessantes e extensos – eles podem ser encontrados durante toda a leitura do presente artigo

An examination of the employment of the pair programming methodology as a collaborative instructional scaffold on college student procedural learning and programming self-beliefs

Using a concurrent mixed methods case study approach, this study investigated the impact of employing the pair programming methodology as a collaborative instructional scaffold on student programming procedural knowledge and programming-related self-beliefs in an introductory computer programming course offered at a large university located in the Midwestern United States. Employing a design research theoretical perspective in a natural educational setting, the study used course performance data, survey data, and researcher observations to educe that employment of the pair programming methodology as a collaborative instructional scaffold facilitated a more efficient learning process as well as a learning process less reliant on instructors. However, employment of the scaffold did not facilitate any significant difference in amount of procedural knowledge ultimately learned by students. In essence: students learned faster and with less instructor assistance, but not more. Data was collected during a single semester of the course which had a final enrollment of 76 undergraduate students from science and technology disciplines. Analysis was primarily quantitative in nature, with qualitative data being quantified where possible. Findings were based on a cooperative learning theoretical framework, and results were analyzed to identify differential impact of the instructional scaffold by factors of interest to classroom practitioners

Normalizing subversion : the funny women of post-network television

Comedy is a significant space for the expansion and subversion of existing social constructions of gender. As women stand-up comics increasingly transition from stage to television in the post-network era, a range of comedic styles has unfolded; these comics are providing deeper and more complex representations of women on television. The comedian-writers Cameron Esposito, Rhea Butcher, and Mindy Kaling demonstrate different degrees of resistance to cultural gender norms within the sitcom worlds and characters they create. Rather than resist as women and as gender nonconforming from the margins, these comedians stealthily center their identities and bodies using familiar television narrative devices. In doing so, they reposition their non-normative status as mainstream, further normalizing their subversiveness. This project explores how the comedians’ television texts, Take My Wife and The Mindy Project, engage in normalizing strategies, distinct from both post-feminist and assimilationist storytelling, to frame their non-normative identities as conventional. While their sitcom texts sometimes operate in a post-feminist, post-queer, and post-racial setting, the comedians bring their critical intersectional and feminist commentary into their respective television series. This strategy is compatible with the marketing plans of a growing number of over-the-top (OTT) platforms creating distinctive niche content that is geared toward multiple and smaller audiences. Here, in addition to exploring how notions of femininity, queerness, motherhood, race, and ethnicity are constructed in these contemporary post-network television series, I examine the cultural and television industry contexts in which they were producedRadio-Television-Fil

Toward understanding male flutists in public schools: a qualitative study

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston UniversityResearch has suggested that musical instruments are not only gender-stereotyped, but the association of the flute with femininity, in particular, is still quite strong. The prospect of boys playing the flute has remained controversial among public school students. In this qualitative collective case study, male flute students were examined through interview and observation. This research focused on the initial factors that encouraged these students to begin playing the flute and subsequently investigated how and why the students chose to continue or discontinue playing the instrument. Elements of each student's background were investigated, including: family, peers, school environment, and social and personal interpretations of masculinity in modern society. Participants were interviewed to the point of data saturation. Eight boys were interviewed: four current and four former flutists. Part of the research focus was also on students' personal characteristics and how they may relate to each student's continuing or discontinuing playing the instrument. Students were interviewed using a pre-planned interview guide and interviews were triangulated with observations in a school music classroom situation if the boy still participated, or another academic classroom if the boy did not still participate. Descriptive narratives were written about each boy to complete data analysis. A cross-case analysis developed to interpret the data. This study found personal and social factors that influence boys' success in playing the flute in the public school environment, including: personality, age, presence of other boys, the instrument selection process, adult support, peer reactions, and social groups. The conclusions of this study provided insight on musical instrument gender stereotyping and the instrument selection process as boys attempted to cross the boundaries on what has been portrayed as the most controversial of the gender stereotyped instruments. This study suggested that the flute was still strongly female gender-stereotyped, the instrument selection process played an important role in the memories of high school boys, boys received more harassment about the flute being a girls' instrument than other forms of harassment, boys who were the only flutist in their school or band felt lonely, and boys who shared the flute-playing experience with other boys formed fast bonds between themselves. Questions were raised about the best age to start the instrument selection process, the age during which students determine instrumental music continuation, and the role students and instruments play together in forming a musical voice. These conclusions were applied to help music educators as they continue to address these stereotypes with future students and help students choose instruments upon which they will find musical success while maintaining a quality music program

Identification and Evaluation of Predictors for Learning Success and of Models for Teaching Computer Programming in Contemporary Contexts

Introductory undergraduate computer programming courses are renowned for higher than average failure and withdrawal rates when compared to other subject areas. The closer partnership between higher education and the rapidly expanding digital technology industry, as demonstrated by the establishment of new Degree Apprenticeships in computer science and digital technologies, requires efficient and effective means for teaching programming skills. This research, therefore, aimed to identify reliable predictors of success in learning programming or vulnerability to failure. The research also aimed to evaluate teaching methods and remedial interventions towards recommending a teaching model that supported and engaged learners in contemporary contexts that were relevant to the workplace. Investigation of qualifications designed to prepare students for undergraduate computer science courses revealed that A-level entrants achieved significantly higher programming grades than BTEC students. However, there was little difference between the grades of those with and those without previous qualifications in computing or ICT subjects. Analysis of engagement metrics revealed a strong correlation between extent of co-operation and programming grade, in contrast to a weak correlation between programming grade and code understanding. Further analysis of video recordings, interviews and observational records distinguished between the type of communication that helped peers comprehend tasks and concepts, and other forms of communication that were only concerned with completing tasks. Following the introduction of periodic assessment, essentially converting a single final assessment to three staged summative assessment points, it was found that failing students often pass only one of the three assignment parts. Furthermore, only 10% of those who failed overall had attempted all three assignments. Reasons for failure were attributed to ‘surface’ motivations (such as regulating efforts to achieve a minimum pass of 40%), ineffective working habits or stressful personal circumstances rather than any fundamental difficulty encountered with subject material. A key contribution to pedagogical practice made by this research is to propose an ‘incremental’ teaching model. This model is informed by educational theory and empirical evidence and comprises short cycles of three activities: presenting new topic information, tasking students with a relevant exercise and then demonstrating and discussing the exercise solution. The effectiveness of this model is evidenced by increased engagement, increased quiz scores at the end of each teaching session and increased retention of code knowledge at the end of the course