Learning from West African storytellers

Several research works propose non-textual alternatives to textual documentation and similar forms of representing information in software development. This is because of the problems that stem from writing these documents, which range from incomprehensible requirements to ambiguous user stories. The various proposals of researchers often contain some trace of oral or visual communication. In this paper, we study the implications of eliminating textual communication and substituting unnecessary writing by extracting the values of West African oral storytellers. Traditional West African communities did not make use of writing for thousands of years and yet their legends, customs, beliefs, and knowledge were effectively transmitted across several generations. How did they manage to accomplish this? What can we learn from their storytellers? How can these lessons be applied to software products? These are all questions that this paper attempts to answer. Perhaps if we fully understand how they operated, then we can target our written communication to the activities where it is needed instead of spreading writing across plenty of tasks as it is currently. To achieve this, we performed an analysis of the two domains: West African oral storytelling and software development and found similarities, then selected some key elements from oral storytelling and explained how they can have relevance in software development. The theme directly encompasses diversity and inclusion by bringing into software engineering a perspective of a region where its literacy research is scarcely being explored. The study found that traditional oral storytelling can provide insights into effective communication and audience engagement, and identified four ways in which software development can be compared to oral storytelling. The study also found that certain elements of storytelling, such as audience relationship, story structure, parables and proverbs, and community relaxation and support, can be applied to writing tasks in software development

Innopolis University - From Zero to Hero

This open access book describes the development of Innopolis, a young Russian university established in 2012 to focus on teaching excellence in computer science, engineering, and robotics. It reports on the problems that were faced in the first decade of its development, and the adopted solutions. It shows how the key aspects for the development of the faculty, the curricula, the university structure, and the challenge of internationalization have been successfully addressed by the university management and professors, and how the solutions are scalable for other newly founded research organizations. The book is divided in five parts: “The Beginning” describes the very early days in general, from the foundation and start-up of the university with the related processes. “The People” reports on the initial hiring of the faculty members, the selection of students, and the curriculum development. “The Activities” provide information about the creation of the single research institutions and labs, and their relation to industry. “The Future” gives an outlook on the planned internationalization and faculty strategy. Eventually, “A Visual Journey” shows a selection of photographs illustrating highlights of the whole process and the current achievements. The processes and the components described built the basis for the development of Innopolis, and many of them still have a big impact on its present and its future. The fewer mistakes are made at the beginning, the higher the probability to fully achieve the initial goals

Dynamics of Japan’s Trade and Industrial Policy in the Post Rapid Growth Era (1980–2000)

This open access book provides an in-depth examination of Japan's policy responses to the economic challenges of the 1980s and '90s. While MITI's earlier role in promoting rapid growth has been addressed in other studies, this volume, based on official records and exhaustive interviews, is the first to examine the aftermath of rapid growth and the evolution of MITI's interpretation of the economy's changing needs. Covering such topics as the oil shocks, trade conflict with the United States, and the rise and collapse of the so-called bubble economy, it presents a detailed analysis and evaluation of how these challenges were interpreted by government officials, the kinds of policies that were enacted, the extent to which policy aims were realized, and lessons for the longer term. This book is recommended especially to officials of countries concerned about the challenges that follow on high economic growth and to readers interested in Japan’s contemporary economic history

Dynamics of Japan’s Trade and Industrial Policy in the Post Rapid Growth Era (1980–2000)

This open access book provides an in-depth examination of Japan's policy responses to the economic challenges of the 1980s and '90s. While MITI's earlier role in promoting rapid growth has been addressed in other studies, this volume, based on official records and exhaustive interviews, is the first to examine the aftermath of rapid growth and the evolution of MITI's interpretation of the economy's changing needs. Covering such topics as the oil shocks, trade conflict with the United States, and the rise and collapse of the so-called bubble economy, it presents a detailed analysis and evaluation of how these challenges were interpreted by government officials, the kinds of policies that were enacted, the extent to which policy aims were realized, and lessons for the longer term. This book is recommended especially to officials of countries concerned about the challenges that follow on high economic growth and to readers interested in Japan’s contemporary economic history