A study of refactorings during software change tasks

Developers frequently undertake software change tasks that could be partially or fully automated by refactoring tools. As has been reported by others, all too often, these refactoring steps are instead performed manually by developers. These missed opportunities are referred to as occasions of disuse of refactoring tools. We perform an observational study in which 17 developers with professional experience attempt to solve three change tasks with steps amenable to the use of refactoring tools. We found that the strategies developers use to approach these tasks shape their workflow, which, in turn, shape the opportunities for refactoring tool use. We report on a number of findings about developer strategies, demonstrating the difficulty of aligning the kind of refactoring steps that emerge during a change task based on the strategy with the tools available. We also report on findings about refactoring tools, such as the difficulties developers face in controlling the scope of application of the tools. Our findings can help inform the designers of refactoring tools.publishedVersio

Researching adaptivity for individual differences in numeracy games

There is increasing evidence that mathematics video games can play a large role in mathematics education, in support of children's learning. However, despite the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, research in this area has traditionally been fragmented between disciplines. The RAIDING project was conceived to bring together researchers in neuroscience, maths cognition, and game-based learning to develop a maths game that can act as a research platform for furthering knowledge in this field. The game will employ free-to-play design elements, alongside an adaptive learner model to investigate how children learn maths, through a range of empirical studies

Robotic process automation and artificial intelligence in industry 4.0 : a literature review

aking into account the technological evolution of the last decades and the proliferation of information systems in society, today we see the vast majority of services provided by companies and institutions as digital services. Industry 4.0 is the fourth industrial revolution where technologies and automation are asserting themselves as major changes. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has numerous advantages in terms of automating organizational and business processes. Allied to these advantages, the complementary use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms and techniques allows to improve the accuracy and execution of RPA processes in the extraction of information, in the recognition, classification, forecasting and optimization of processes. In this context, this paper aims to present a study of the RPA tools associated with AI that can contribute to the improvement of the organizational processes associated with Industry 4.0. It appears that the RPA tools enhance their functionality with the objectives of AI being extended with the use of Artificial Neural Network algorithms, Text Mining techniques and Natural Language Processing techniques for the extraction of information and consequent process of optimization and of forecasting scenarios in improving the operational and business processes of organizations.5311-8814-F0ED | Sara Maria da Cruz Maia de Oliveira PaivaN/

Extending UPnP for Application Interoperability in a Home Network

The Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology offers pervasive communication across heterogeneous devices in a home or small office network. The UPnP specifications are available for devices only to be interoperable together in a home or small office network. This paper proposes an extension of the UPnP technology for application interoperability in a home or small office network. This paper provides an UPnP Application Architecture as an extension to the existing UPnP Device Architecture. This extension enhances the feature of UPnP from device interoperability to application interoperability which enables the applications to discover, control and share data with each other in a home or small office network despite of their device type and operating system. In addition to the UPnP Application Architecture, the UPnP Application Template and UPnP Application Service Template are defined towards the development of UPnP-enabled applications that run on heterogeneous devices in a home or small office network

Using diagrammatic explorations to understand code

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-145).Understanding code is a significant challenge for developers. This thesis examines the limitations of current tools that use diagrams to assist code comprehension and demonstrates the value of four design principles: * That diagrams should be based on familiar models such as UML class diagrams and layered architectural diagrams, so that developers can understand them without additional training. * That the familiar diagrams must be able to focus on specific parts of a codebase relevant to the developer's task, to prevent users from getting overwhelmed with irrelevant information. * That the focused diagrams need to support exploration of the codebase by directly interacting with the existing diagram. * That the focused diagrams can be created by users' exploration as needed for their tasks in traditional code editors. This thesis shows that understanding for software developers can be effectively supported by interactive exploration using focused diagrams of familiar representations of code. These ideas have been combined to build two tools: Strata, which displays using the popular layered architectural diagrams, and Relo, which is based on UML class diagrams. The tools have been evaluated using both controlled lab studies and field deployments. Study results have been positive, indicating merit in these ideas.by Vineet Sinha.Ph.D

High-density affordable housing impact investing: a best-in-class project screening credit risk management model

Constrained housing supply coupled with rapid urbanisation and a volatile domestic credit market have put affordable rental housing development under the spotlight. Addressing this demands appropriate and deliberate capital provisions to induce the property development market to deliver the scale needed to tackle the supply-side of the problem. Inducements are needed for residential property developers to choose to develop high-density affordable rental housing on land that presents great accessibility to economically vibrant nodes, where land is priced at a premium. The greenfield residential property development space is in need of sophisticated and specific funding interventions to evolve it beyond the sporadic developments we observe located on the urban periphery on cheap land. The benefits of sophisticated funding models in commercial property have seen the widespread proliferation of building and investment activity. Rental housing, however, lags behind owing to an immature market, shallow investment analysis and rudimentary risk-weighted debt-funding solutions. These funding instruments impede developers building affordable housing schemes on well-located parcels of land near existing amenities and profoundly incorporate green technology into buildings. This research presents a proof of concept for a sophisticated model for high-density housing. A largely 'spatial economic' model for risk analysis, it is developed to attain a so-called Probability of Default Ratio ("PDR") by coalescing two formulae regarded as international best-practice: The risk types incorporated into the model are (1) borrower-level credit risk, (2) property/development-level risk, and (3) cash-flow risk factors. The research is proof of concept of a credit risk management tool for impact investment funding model using these formulae and Geographic Information Systems ("GIS"). It calculates the extent of credit risk for income-producing real estate fundamentals and uses endogenous factors- risk factors and drivers associated with the housing scheme to be build and the surrounding area it is to be built in. The study area covers the 336 contiguous municipal wards that make up the Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipalities