411 research outputs found

    On the real world practice of Behaviour Driven Development

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    Surveys of industry practice over the last decade suggest that Behaviour Driven Development is a popular Agile practice. For example, 19% of respondents to the 14th State of Agile annual survey reported using BDD, placing it in the top 13 practices reported. As well as potential benefits, the adoption of BDD necessarily involves an additional cost of writing and maintaining Gherkin features and scenarios, and (if used for acceptance testing,) the associated step functions. Yet there is a lack of published literature exploring how BDD is used in practice and the challenges experienced by real world software development efforts. This gap is significant because without understanding current real world practice, it is hard to identify opportunities to address and mitigate challenges. In order to address this research gap concerning the challenges of using BDD, this thesis reports on a research project which explored: (a) the challenges of applying agile and undertaking requirements engineering in a real world context; (b) the challenges of applying BDD specifically and (c) the application of BDD in open-source projects to understand challenges in this different context. For this purpose, we progressively conducted two case studies, two series of interviews, four iterations of action research, and an empirical study. The first case study was conducted in an avionics company to discover the challenges of using an agile process in a large scale safety critical project environment. Since requirements management was found to be one of the biggest challenges during the case study, we decided to investigate BDD because of its reputation for requirements management. The second case study was conducted in the company with an aim to discover the challenges of using BDD in real life. The case study was complemented with an empirical study of the practice of BDD in open source projects, taking a study sample from the GitHub open source collaboration site. As a result of this Ph.D research, we were able to discover: (i) challenges of using an agile process in a large scale safety-critical organisation, (ii) current state of BDD in practice, (iii) technical limitations of Gherkin (i.e., the language for writing requirements in BDD), (iv) challenges of using BDD in a real project, (v) bad smells in the Gherkin specifications of open source projects on GitHub. We also presented a brief comparison between the theoretical description of BDD and BDD in practice. This research, therefore, presents the results of lessons learned from BDD in practice, and serves as a guide for software practitioners planning on using BDD in their projects

    Southern Adventist University Undergraduate Catalog 2023-2024

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    Southern Adventist University\u27s undergraduate catalog for the academic year 2023-2024.https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/undergrad_catalog/1123/thumbnail.jp

    Southern Adventist University Undergraduate Catalog 2022-2023

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    Southern Adventist University\u27s undergraduate catalog for the academic year 2022-2023.https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/undergrad_catalog/1121/thumbnail.jp

    Risk Analysis for Smart Cities Urban Planners: Safety and Security in Public Spaces

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    Christopher Alexander in his famous writings "The Timeless Way of Building" and "A pattern language" defined a formal language for the description of a city. Alexander developed a generative grammar able to formally describe complex and articulated concepts of architecture and urban planning to define a common language that would facilitate both the participation of ordinary citizens and the collaboration between professionals in architectural and urban planning. In this research, a similar approach has been applied to let two domains communicate although they are very far in terms of lexicon, methodologies and objectives. These domains are urban planning, urban design and architecture, seen as the first domain both in terms of time and in terms of completeness of vision, and the one relating to the world of engineering, made by innumerable disciplines. In practice, there is a domain that defines the requirements and the overall vision (the first) and a domain (the second) which implements them with real infrastructures and systems. To put these two worlds seamlessly into communication, allowing the concepts of the first world to be translated into those of the second, Christopher Alexander’s idea has been followed by defining a common language. By applying Essence, the software engineering formal descriptive theory, using its customization rules, to the concept of a Smart City, a common language to completely trace the requirements at all levels has been defined. Since the focus was on risk analysis for safety and security in public spaces, existing risk models have been considered, evidencing a further gap also within the engineering world itself. Depending on the area being considered, risk management models have different and siloed approaches which ignore the interactions of one type of risk with the others. To allow effective communication between the two domains and within the engineering domain, a unified risk analysis framework has been developed. Then a framework (an ontology) capable of describing all the elements of a Smart City has been developed and combined with the common language to trace the requirements. Following the philosophy of the Vienna Circle, a creative process called Aufbau has then been defined to allow the generation of a detailed description of the Smart City, at any level, using the common language and the ontology above defined. Then, the risk analysis methodology has been applied to the city model produced by Aufbau. The research developed tools to apply such results to the entire life cycle of the Smart City. With these tools, it is possible to understand how much a given architectural, urban planning or urban design requirement is operational at a given moment. In this way, the narration can accurately describe how much the initial requirements set by architects, planners and urban designers and, above all, the values required by stakeholders, are satisfied, at any time. The impact of this research on urban planning is the ability to create a single model between the two worlds, leaving everyone free to express creativity and expertise in the appropriate forms but, at the same time, allowing both to fill the communication gap existing today. This new way of planning requires adequate IT tools and takes the form, from the engineering side, of harmonization of techniques already in use and greater clarity of objectives. On the side of architecture, urban planning and urban design, it is instead a powerful decision support tool, both in the planning and operational phases. This decision support tool for Urban Planning, based on the research results, is the starting point for the development of a meta-heuristic process using an evolutionary approach. Consequently, risk management, from Architecture/Urban Planning/Urban Design up to Engineering, in any phase of the Smart City’s life cycle, is seen as an “organism” that evolves.Christopher Alexander nei suoi famosi scritti "The Timeless Way of Building" e "A pattern language" ha definito un linguaggio formale per la descrizione di una città, sviluppando una grammatica in grado di descrivere formalmente concetti complessi e articolati di architettura e urbanistica, definendo un linguaggio comune per facilitare la partecipazione dei comuni cittadini e la collaborazione tra professionisti. In questa ricerca, un approccio simile è stato applicato per far dialogare due domini sebbene siano molto distanti in termini di lessico, metodologie e obiettivi. Essi sono l'urbanistica, l'urban design e l'architettura, visti come primo dominio sia in termini di tempo che di completezza di visione, e quello del mondo dell'ingegneria, con numerose discipline. In pratica, esiste un dominio che definisce i requisiti e la visione d'insieme (il primo) e un dominio (il secondo) che li implementa con infrastrutture e sistemi reali. Per metterli in perfetta comunicazione, permettendo di tradurre i concetti del primo in quelli del secondo, si è seguita l'idea di Alexander definendo un linguaggio. Applicando Essence, la teoria descrittiva formale dell'ingegneria del software al concetto di Smart City, è stato definito un linguaggio comune per tracciarne i requisiti a tutti i livelli. Essendo il focus l'analisi dei rischi per la sicurezza negli spazi pubblici, sono stati considerati i modelli di rischio esistenti, evidenziando un'ulteriore lacuna anche all'interno del mondo dell'ingegneria stessa. A seconda dell'area considerata, i modelli di gestione del rischio hanno approcci diversi e isolati che ignorano le interazioni di un tipo di rischio con gli altri. Per consentire una comunicazione efficace tra i due domini e all'interno del dominio dell'ingegneria, è stato sviluppato un quadro di analisi del rischio unificato. Quindi è stato sviluppato un framework (un'ontologia) in grado di descrivere tutti gli elementi di una Smart City e combinato con il linguaggio comune per tracciarne i requisiti. Seguendo la filosofia del Circolo di Vienna, è stato poi definito un processo creativo chiamato Aufbau per consentire la generazione di una descrizione dettagliata della Smart City, a qualsiasi livello, utilizzando il linguaggio comune e l'ontologia sopra definita. Infine, la metodologia dell'analisi del rischio è stata applicata al modello di città prodotto da Aufbau. La ricerca ha sviluppato strumenti per applicare tali risultati all'intero ciclo di vita della Smart City. Con questi strumenti è possibile capire quanto una data esigenza architettonica, urbanistica o urbanistica sia operativa in un dato momento. In questo modo, la narrazione può descrivere con precisione quanto i requisiti iniziali posti da architetti, pianificatori e urbanisti e, soprattutto, i valori richiesti dagli stakeholder, siano soddisfatti, in ogni momento. L'impatto di questa ricerca sull'urbanistica è la capacità di creare un modello unico tra i due mondi, lasciando ognuno libero di esprimere creatività e competenza nelle forme appropriate ma, allo stesso tempo, permettendo ad entrambi di colmare il gap comunicativo oggi esistente. Questo nuovo modo di progettare richiede strumenti informatici adeguati e si concretizza, dal lato ingegneristico, in un'armonizzazione delle tecniche già in uso e in una maggiore chiarezza degli obiettivi. Sul versante dell'architettura, dell'urbanistica e del disegno urbano, è invece un potente strumento di supporto alle decisioni, sia in fase progettuale che operativa. Questo strumento di supporto alle decisioni per la pianificazione urbana, basato sui risultati della ricerca, è il punto di partenza per lo sviluppo di un processo meta-euristico utilizzando un approccio evolutivo

    Designing hybridization: alternative education strategies for fostering innovation in communication design for the territory

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    Within the broad context of design studies, Communication Design for the Territory stands as a hybrid discipline constantly interfacing with other fields of knowledge. It assumes the territorial theme as its specific dimension, aiming to generate communication systems capable of reading the stratifications of places. From an educational perspective, teaching activities are closely linked to research and can take on different levels of complexity: from the various forms of cartographic translation to the design of sophisticated transmedia digital systems. In the wake of COVID-19, this discipline has come to terms with a profoundly changed scenario in terms of limited access to the physical space and the emergence of new technologies for remote access. In this unique context, we propose a pedagogical strategy that focuses on the hybridization of communication artifacts with the aim of fostering design experimentation. As a creative tool, hybridization leads to the design of innovative systems by strategically combining the characteristics of different artifacts to achieve specific communication goals. By experimenting with these creative strategies, students are led to critically reflect on existing communication artifacts’ features and explore original designs that deliberately combine different media, contents, and communication languages in innovative ways. Through hybridization, the methods for territorial knowledge production appear more effective, effectively combining the skills and knowledge embodied in multiple subject areas. The paper presents the experience developed in the teaching laboratories of the DCxT (Communication Design for the Territory) research group of the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano. The teaching experience highlights how hybridization strategies can increase the effectiveness in learning about territorial specificities, in acquiring critical knowledge about communication systems, and in developing innovation strategies that allow to influence the evolution of traditional communication models

    Identification of sustainability’s threshold concept(s) among multi-discipline engineering students

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    This mixed-methods study investigated and validated the sustainability threshold concept among multi-disciplinary engineering students, taking into account students’ perceptions and the impact of the sustainability threshold concept on student understanding of sustainability in their respective disciplines, while employing the constructivism paradigm. Sustainability education faces numerous obstacles, and under these conditions, some disciplines struggle to connect sustainability to their field. This study utilised threshold concept theory and liminality to develop a new model to help connect students’ perception, liminality, sustainability, and key competencies in sustainability education. Three years of data collection in the midst of pandemic led to the development of a questionnaire for 100 students enrolled in a multidisciplinary sustainability course. In addition, a total of 25 participants were interviewed across a variety of disciplines. Findings indicate that there is a correlation between student perceptions and learning about sustainability; more advanced students (fourthyear) viewed sustainability as less relevant than novice students (first-year). Through the development of a novel model based on the threshold concept, this study contributes to a better understanding of students’ perceptions and experiences of sustainability education. This study sheds light on both the opportunities and challenges of teaching sustainability in engineering education. It also emphasises the importance of students’ perspectives in learning about sustainability

    PROCEEDINGS 5th PLATE Conference

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    The 5th international PLATE conference (Product Lifetimes and the Environment) addressed product lifetimes in the context of sustainability. The PLATE conference, which has been running since 2015, has successfully been able to establish a solid network of researchers around its core theme. The topic has come to the forefront of current (political, scientific & societal) debates due to its interconnectedness with a number of recent prominent movements, such as the circular economy, eco-design and collaborative consumption. For the 2023 edition of the conference, we encouraged researchers to propose how to extend, widen or critically re-construct thematic sessions for the PLATE conference, and the paper call was constructed based on these proposals. In this 5th PLATE conference, we had 171 paper presentations and 238 participants from 14 different countries. Beside of paper sessions we organized workshops and REPAIR exhibitions

    A Platform as a Service Framework for Ambient Assisted Living Services

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    The primary objective of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technology is to provide aid and assistance to individuals, particularly the elderly, in maintaining their independence and residing in their own homes and their known environment for an extended duration. AAL technology is becoming increasingly important due to the continuous decrease of birth-rate and increasing life expectancy, leading to a shrinking proportion of younger population in developed countries. This research proposes a cloud-based platform as a service (PaaS) for AAL that enables service providers to deliver services without the need for the user to invest in expensive technical equipment in advance, thus reducing high start-up costs. This hurdle, as identified by both peer groups and service solution vendors, stands as a pivotal challenge demanding resolution. The PaaS for AAL focuses on adaptation and personalization, as user acceptance of AAL services depends heavily on their situational needs. To provide customization, the PaaS for AAL can dynamically adapt its functionality and presentation of information based on the context of the environment or user, such as the medical state of the user and the condition at home. To store and retrieve information about the user, an ontology-backed database is implemented, and information about the environment is provided through interoperability with existing smart home appliances, directly attached sensors, and external web services. One of the key concerns of potential AAL users according to a field test during the research is privacy-related. A PaaS for AAL places regulatory demands on protecting the user’s privacy and personal information. Consequently, another part of this work focuses on the question of how general data sharing is possible based on the respective context of the user while protecting their privacy: By implementing monitoring, access control, and enforcement of privacy preserving data access, the platform for AAL is further enhanced. The extension of the introduced privacy policy language with context awareness is a significant step towards providing more robust privacy protection in AAL use cases. With a concluding evaluation survey, it can be shown that it allows for more granular control over data access and ensures that sensitive user data is only accessible when necessary and under appropriate conditions

    Craft Sciences

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    The field of ‘Craft Sciences’ refers to research conducted across and within different craft subjects and academic contexts. This anthology aims to expose the breadth of topics, source material, methods, perspectives, and results that reside in this field, and to explore what unites the research in such diverse contexts as, for example, the arts, conservation, or vocational craft education. The common thread between each of the chapters in the present book is the augmented attention given to methods—the craft research methods—and to the relationship between the field of inquiry and the field of practice. A common feature is that practice plays an instrumental role in the research found within the chapters, and that the researchers in this publication are also practitioners. The authors are researchers but they are also potters, waiters, carpenters, gardeners, textile artists, boat builders, smiths, building conservators, painting restorers, furniture designers, illustrators, and media designers. The researchers contribute from different research fields, like craft education, meal sciences, and conservation crafts, and from particular craft subjects, like boat-building and weaving. The main contribution of this book is that it collects together a number of related case studies and presents a reflection on concepts, perspectives, and methods in the general fields of craft research from the point of view of craft practitioners. It adds to the existing academic discussion of crafts through its wider acknowledgement of craftsmanship and extends its borders and its discourse outside the arts and crafts context. This book provides a platform from which to develop context-appropriate research strategies and to associate with the Craft Sciences beyond the borders of faculties and disciplines
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