Which Method-Stereotype Changes are Indicators of Code Smells?

A study of how method roles evolve during the lifetime of a software system is presented. Evolution is examined by analyzing when the stereotype of a method changes. Stereotypes provide a high-level categorization of a method\u27s behavior and role, and also provide insight into how a method interacts with its environment and carries out tasks. The study covers 50 open-source systems and 6 closed-source systems. Results show that method behavior with respect to stereotype is highly stable and constant over time. Overall, out of all the history examined, only about 10% of changes to methods result in a change in their stereotype. Examples of methods that change stereotype are further examined. A select number of these types of changes are indicators of code smells

Extending ATL for Native UML Profile Support: An Experience Report 49-62

International audienceWith the rise of Model-driven Engineering (MDE) the ap- plication field of model transformations broadens drastically. Current model transformation languages provide appropriate support for stan- dard MDE scenarios such as model-to-model transformations specified between metamodels. However, for other transformation scenarios often the escape to predefined APIs for handling specific model manipulations is required such as is the case for supporting UML profiles in transforma- tions. Thus, the need arises to extend current transformation languages for natively supporting such additional model manipulations. In this paper we report on extending ATL for natively supporting UML profiles in transformations. The extension is realized by providing an extended ATL syntax comprising keywords for handling UML profiles which is reduced by a preprocessor based on a Higher-Order Transfor- mation (HOT) again to the standard ATL syntax. In particular, we elab- orate on our methodology of extending ATL by presenting the extension process step-by-step as well as reporting on lessons learned. With this experience report we aim at providing design guidelines for extending ATL as well as stimulating the research of providing further extensions for ATL

Automatically Documenting Software Artifacts

Software artifacts, such as database schema and unit test cases, constantly change during evolution and maintenance of software systems. Co-evolution of code and DB schemas in Database-Centric Applications (DCAs) often leads to two types of challenging scenarios for developers, where (i) changes to the DB schema need to be incorporated in the source code, and (ii) maintenance of a DCAs code requires understanding of how the features are implemented by relying on DB operations and corresponding schema constraints. On the other hand, the number of unit test cases often grows as new functionality is introduced into the system, and maintaining these unit tests is important to reduce the introduction of regression bugs due to outdated unit tests. Therefore, one critical artifact that developers need to be able to maintain during evolution and maintenance of software systems is up-to-date and complete documentation. In order to understand developer practices regarding documenting and maintaining these software artifacts, we designed two empirical studies both composed of (i) an online survey of contributors of open source projects and (ii) a mining-based analysis of method comments in these projects. We observed that documenting methods with database accesses and unit test cases is not a common practice. Further, motivated by the findings of the studies, we proposed three novel approaches: (i) DBScribe is an approach for automatically documenting database usages and schema constraints, (ii) UnitTestScribe is an approach for automatically documenting test cases, and (iii) TeStereo tags stereotypes for unit tests and generates html reports to improve the comprehension and browsing of unit tests in a large test suite. We evaluated our tools in the case studies with industrial developers and graduate students. In general, developers indicated that descriptions generated by the tools are complete, concise, and easy to read. The reports are useful for source code comprehension tasks as well as other tasks, such as code smell detection and source code navigation

Middle-aged women negotiating the ageing process through participation in outdoor adventure activities

This study sought to examine the motivations middle-aged women give for belonging to an outdoor adventure group. As part of this, how the women were negotiating the ageing process was also examined. Fourteen women aged 36–64 (average age 51.4 years) were individually interviewed with the purpose of exploring their perceptions, values, motivations and the beliefs they attach to their participation. Findings highlight the women’s belief that participation delays the ageing process, gives them confidence in their lives and offers social support from other group members. In addition, pride, satisfaction and pleasure were expressed in the belief that they challenged the cultural norms and expectations of older women. Whilst delaying the ageing process, they also highlighted that they thought about a time in the future when they would not be able to continue to participate. The study emphasises that more adventurous activities are becoming more normalised and can be undertaken by women in middle age. This may also suggest that more needs to be done to promote diverse activities such as outdoor adventurous activities to women

Integrating DEI Strategies into Talent Acquisition to Recruit and Retain Women of Color in Information Technology

This study investigates the perceptions of hiring teams and women of color (WOC) in the Information Technology (IT) industry about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in talent acquisition practices. While many organizations advocate for DEI, the IT industry shows a notably disproportionate representation of WOC. The research utilized a qualitative approach to incorporate the viewpoints of 12 hiring professionals and 12 WOC from the IT field to uncover recruitment strategies to enhance DEI for WOC in technology positions. Data were collected through virtual interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The study reveals a positive correlation between DEI initiatives and elevated levels of innovation and productivity within organizations. However, challenges like unconscious and conscious biases and the low representation of WOC hinder DEI effectiveness. The study recommends routine DEI evaluations, building relationships with diversity-focused organizations, and starting mentorship programs for WOC. In underscoring the benefits, the study emphasizes the need for organizations to actively reduce bias in their recruitment process. The study concludes that a comprehensive DEI approach is essential for enriching the candidate pool and providing benefits to organizations, their management, and their workforce. It goes beyond the scope of merely hiring DEI specialists, advocating for an organizational strategy that fully integrates DEI objectives

Indonesia country strategy

This strategy outlines a vision of where Australia\u27s relationship with Indonesia should be in 2025 and how Australia should get there.IntroductionThis country strategy takes forward the objective of the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper: for Australia to build stronger and more comprehensive relationships with countries across the region. Because of their size, economic links with Australia, and strategic and political influence in the region and globally, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea were identified as the initial priority countries for the development of country strategies.Each strategy outlines a vision of where Australia’s relationship with the country should be in 2025 and how we, the Australian community, intend to get there. The strategies identify opportunities for community, business and government to participate in and contribute to the process of deepening and strengthening our regional engagement. They reflect the views of Australians, collected during nationwide consultations, and in doing so continue the national conversation initiated by the White Paper, to better identify whole-of-Australia objectives and priorities for the Asian century.These are challenges for all of us.Consultations to develop this strategy were held from 4 April to 31 May 2013. During this period, Australian Government officials led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade undertook face-to-face consultations in each state and territory capital. Officials met all state and territory governments and engaged with business representatives, community and academic stakeholders. Consultations were also held overseas and in regional Australia. In all, 1,300 Australians attended meetings, roundtables and ‘town hall’-style public forums. The Government also received over 250 formal written submissions.This strategy will be tabled in Parliament and regularly evaluated and updated.The Government extends its deep appreciation to all who participated in developing these strategies, and will continue to draw on the views expressed in Australia’s ongoing engagement with these countries

A STUDY OF GENDER IN SENIOR CIVIL SERVICE POSITIONS IN IRELAND. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 66 DECEMBER 2017

Women make up the majority of those employed in the civil service but are underrepresented at the most senior grades, where key policy and operational decisions are taken. Action 8 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan commits to improving gender balance at each level, including senior grades. The present study was commissioned by a high-level steering group set up to oversee implementation of this action. It draws on a combination of administrative data, reanalysis of the Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey conducted in 2015, and in-depth work history interviews with 50 senior civil servants across four departments. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with staff involved in recruitment and promotion within the public service. This rich combination of data yields new insights into the processes shaping gender differences in representation at the most senior grades of the civil service and thus provides a strong evidence base to inform future policy and practice

What should pharmacists keep in mind to communicate with patients more effectively : some key concepts for everyday use

Communication skills for pharmacists are commonly described in professional frameworks and guidelines equally important as other current pharmaceutical competencies. However, these abilities usually receive less attention from university syllabuses, while in life long education they are many times discussed in a theoretical level or as a supplement to other skills. The present work aims to discuss several interpersonal skills used in daily practice with variable extension, improving communication and relational aspects needed for optimizing patient care.peer-reviewe

Duckietown: An Innovative Way to Teach Autonomy

Teaching robotics is challenging because it is a multidisciplinary, rapidly evolving and experimental discipline that integrates cutting-edge hardware and software. This paper describes the course design and first implementation of Duckietown, a vehicle autonomy class that experiments with teaching innovations in addition to leveraging modern educational theory for improving student learning. We provide a robot to every student, thanks to a minimalist platform design, to maximize active learning; and introduce a role-play aspect to increase team spirit, by modeling the entire class as a fictional start-up (Duckietown Engineering Co.). The course formulation leverages backward design by formalizing intended learning outcomes (ILOs) enabling students to appreciate the challenges of: (a) heterogeneous disciplines converging in the design of a minimal self-driving car, (b) integrating subsystems to create complex system behaviors, and (c) allocating constrained computational resources. Students learn how to assemble, program, test and operate a self-driving car (Duckiebot) in a model urban environment (Duckietown), as well as how to implement and document new features in the system. Traditional course assessment tools are complemented by a full scale demonstration to the general public. The “duckie” theme was chosen to give a gender-neutral, friendly identity to the robots so as to improve student involvement and outreach possibilities. All of the teaching materials and code is released online in the hope that other institutions will adopt the platform and continue to evolve and improve it, so to keep pace with the fast evolution of the field.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award IIS #1318392)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award #1405259