Generic meta-modelling with concepts, templates and mixin layers

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16145-2_2Proceedings of 13th International Conference, MODELS 2010, Oslo, Norway, October 3-8, 2010.Meta-modelling is a key technique in Model Driven Engineering, where it is used for language engineering and domain modelling. However, mainstream approaches like the OMG’s Meta-Object Facility provide little support for abstraction, modularity, reusability and extendibility of (meta-)models, behaviours and transformations. In order to alleviate this weakness, we bring three elements of generic programming into meta-modelling: concepts, templates and mixin layers. Concepts permit an additional typing for models, enabling the definition of behaviours and transformations independently of meta-models, making specifications reusable. Templates use concepts to express requirements on their generic parameters, and are applicable to models and meta-models. Finally, we define functional layers by means of meta-model mixins which can extend other meta-models. As a proof of concept we also report on MetaDepth, a multi-level meta-modelling framework that implements these ideas.Work sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Science, project TIN2008-02081 and mobility grants JC2009-00015 and PR2009-0019, and by the R&D programme of the Community of Madrid, project S2009/TIC-165

The Genomic HyperBrowser: inferential genomics at the sequence level

The immense increase in the generation of genomic scale data poses an unmet analytical challenge, due to a lack of established methodology with the required flexibility and power. We propose a first principled approach to statistical analysis of sequence-level genomic information. We provide a growing collection of generic biological investigations that query pairwise relations between tracks, represented as mathematical objects, along the genome. The Genomic HyperBrowser implements the approach and is available at http://hyperbrowser.uio.no

Genetic determinants of cortical structure (thickness, surface area and volumes) among disease free adults in the CHARGE Consortium

Cortical thickness, surface area and volumes (MRI cortical measures) vary with age and cognitive function, and in neurological and psychiatric diseases. We examined heritability, genetic correlations and genome-wide associations of cortical measures across the whole cortex, and in 34 anatomically predefined regions. Our discovery sample comprised 22,824 individuals from 20 cohorts within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium and the United Kingdom Biobank. Significant associations were replicated in the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-analysis (ENIGMA) consortium, and their biological implications explored using bioinformatic annotation and pathway analyses. We identified genetic heterogeneity between cortical measures and brain regions, and 160 genome-wide significant associations pointing to wnt/β-catenin, TGF-β and sonic hedgehog pathways. There was enrichment for genes involved in anthropometric traits, hindbrain development, vascular and neurodegenerative disease and psychiatric conditions. These data are a rich resource for studies of the biological mechanisms behind cortical development and aging

Evaluation on overheating risk of a typical Norwegian residential building under future extreme weather conditions

As the temperature in the summer period in Norway has been always moderate, little study on the indoor comfort of typical Norwegian residential buildings in summer seasons can be found. Heat waves have attacked Norway in recent years, including in 2018 and 2019. Zero energy buildings, even neighborhoods, have been a hot research topic in Norway. There is overheating risk in typical Norwegian residential buildings without cooling devices installed under these uncommon weather conditions, like the hot summers in 2018 and 2019. Three weather scenarios consisting of present-day weather data, 2050 weather data, and 2080 weather data are investigated in this study. The overheating risk of a typical Norwegian residential building is evaluated under these three weather scenarios. 72 scenarios are simulated in this study, including different orientations, window-to-wall ratios, and infiltration rates. Two different overheating evaluation criteria and guidelines, the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) and the CIBSE TM 59, are compared in this study

If CPM is so bad, why have we been using it so long?

Why has the Critical Path Method (CPM) been used so widely for so long given its inability to produce predictable outcomes? For shedding light on this paradox, the formative period of the CPM is analysed from two main angles. First, how was the CPM embedded into the construction management practice? Second, what was the methodological underpinning of the development of the CPM? These questions are researched through a literature review. In terms of embeddedness into practice, it turns out that the CPM morphed from being a way of production control, into a method for contract control. In consequence, the promotion of the CPM by owners has been crucial for pushing this method to be the mainstream approach to scheduling and production control. Regarding methodological underpinning, it turns out that the CPM was developed as a way of optimization, as part of the quantitative methods movement. This movement was largely based on the axiomatic approach to research. In good alignment with that approach, there was no attempt to empirically test quantitative models and their outcomes. In this context, the unrealistic assumptions and conceptualizations in CPM did not surface in forty years. These results are argued to be helpful in critical discussions on the role and merits of CPM and on the methodologies to be used in construction management research

Schülerbewertungen von Unterricht an weiterführenden Schulen: Welche Faktoren hängen mit der lehrerseitigen Nützlichkeitswahrnehmung von Unterrichtsevaluationen zusammen?

This study builds on and contributes to work about the use of student evaluation of teacher performance. Although many studies have examined multiple forms of teacher evaluation, not much has been written about high school teachers’ perception of the usefulness of evaluations performed anonymously by students. This article provides additional insight by exploring factors contributing to Norwegian high school teachers’ perceptions of the usefulness of evaluations. Structural equation modelling indicates that perceptions of the developmental purposes of the evaluation process and of clear communication from the school leadership, as well as acknowledgement of the students’ ability to evaluate, are associated with teachers’ perceptions of the usefulness of the evaluation. Student ratings are often used for administrative purposes and tend to be underutilized for developmental purposes. Our findings suggest that feedback from student ratings can be useful in improving teaching practices by providing high school teachers with constructive feedback with which to improve the quality of their teaching. (DIPF/Orig.)Die vorliegende Studie leistet einen Beitrag zur Forschung über den Einsatz von Schülerbefragungen zur Unterrichtsevaluation. Wenngleich zahlreiche Studien vielfältige Formen der Lehrerevaluation untersucht haben, ist über die lehrerseitige Nützlichkeitswahrnehmung von anonymen Unterrichtsbewertungen durch Schülerinnen und Schüler wenig bekannt. Der vorliegende Artikel beleuchtet diese Thematik, indem Faktoren für den wahrgenommenen Nutzen von Evaluationen bei Lehrkräften weiterführender Schulen in Norwegen untersucht werden. Strukturgleichungsmodelle deuten darauf hin, dass die Wahrnehmung eines Entwicklungsziels beim Evaluationsprozess, eine klare Kommunikation der Schulleitung sowie die Anerkennung der Beurteilungsfähigkeit von Schülerinnen und Schülern mit der von Lehrkräften wahrgenommenen Nützlichkeit der Evaluation zusammenhängen. Schülerbewertungen dienen oftmals zu administrativen Zwecken und werden hingegen für entwicklungsorientierte Ziele bislang zu wenig genutzt. Unsere Befunde legen nahe, dass Schülerbewertungen einen Nutzen für die Unterrichtsentwicklung an weiterführenden Schulen haben können, indem sie Lehrkräften konstruktive Rückmeldungen zur Verbesserung ihrer Lehrpraxis bereitstellen. (DIPF/Orig.