142 research outputs found
With Great Humor Comes Great Developer Engagement
The worldwide collaborative effort for the creation of software is
technically and socially demanding. The more engaged developers are, the more
value they impart to the software they create. Engaged developers, such as
Margaret Hamilton programming Apollo 11, can succeed in tackling the most
difficult engineering tasks. In this paper, we dive deep into an original
vector of engagement - humor - and study how it fuels developer engagement.
First, we collect qualitative and quantitative data about the humorous elements
present within three significant, real-world software projects: faker, which
helps developers introduce humor within their tests; lolcommits, which captures
a photograph after each contribution made by a developer; and volkswagen, an
exercise in satire, which accidentally led to the invention of an impactful
software tool. Second, through a developer survey, we receive unique insights
from 125 developers, who share their real-life experiences with humor in
software. Our analysis of the three case studies highlights the prevalence of
humor in software, and unveils the worldwide community of developers who are
enthusiastic about both software and humor. We also learn about the caveats of
humor in software through the valuable insights shared by our survey
respondents. We report clear evidence that, when practiced responsibly, humor
increases developer engagement and supports them in addressing hard engineering
and cognitive tasks. The most actionable highlight of our work is that software
tests and documentation are the best locations in code to practice humor
Spring 2017
https://scholar.rose-hulman.edu/rose_echoes/1097/thumbnail.jp
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Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project (BNLWRP). Research Report No. 7.
yesThe length of this Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project Report No.7 again reflects
the interest related to non-lethal weapons from academics, research institutes, policy makers,
the police and the military.
A number of reports, particularly concerning the Taser electro-shock weapon, have been
published from these sectors since our last BNLWRP Report No.6 in October 2004. Some,
such as the Amnesty International (U.S. and Canada) have again raised, and stressed, the
concerns about the safety of the weapon and the number of deaths associated with its use.
Others, such as the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Human Effects Center of Excellence
(HECOE), Human Effectiveness and Risk Characterization of the Electromuscular
Incapacitation Device ¿ A Limited Analysis of the TASER. (March 2005) concluded that the
Taser was relatively safe, but that further research was needed into potential bio-effects, and
for continual development into a safer weapon. Reaction to these reports was mixed. Some
US legislators called for limitations on the use of Tasers, more accountability, and the
detailed recording of incidents in which they were used.1 Others called for a ban on their use
until more testing was carried out regarding their potentially harmful effects. A number of US
police forces stopped the use of Taser, slowed down the deployment and ordering of the
weapons, reviewed their rules of engagement and reporting, and revisited their operational
guidelines. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) published the Electro-
Muscular Disruption Technology (EMDT). A Nine-Step Strategy For Effective Deployment.
(April 2005) as a response to these growing concerns. Certain elements of the media,
especially The Arizona Republic2 and others, took a hostile view of what they considered the
scandal of the number of deaths and associated serious injuries caused by the Taser. Taser
International challenged allegations that their weapon was directly responsible for these
deaths and quoted reports, such as the Madison Police Department report (February 2005),
the study by McDaniel, W & Stratbucker, R & Nerheim, M & Brewer, J. Cardiac Safety of
Neuromuscular Incapacitating Defensive Devices (January 2005), and the U.K. DOMILL
Statement (March 2005) to support their view. The controversy continues.
Other than Tasers, there are still few reports of the newer non-lethal technologies actually
being deployed in operations. The exception to this is the Long Range Acoustic Device
(LRAD), which is now in widespread use in Iraq. Little additional information has appeared
regarding the `active denial¿ weapon we have described in previous reports
April 28, 1988
The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia
The Winonan
https://openriver.winona.edu/thewinonan1990s/1133/thumbnail.jp
The Winonan
https://openriver.winona.edu/thewinonan1990s/1133/thumbnail.jp
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Clarence R. Huebner: An American Military Story of Achievement
In the eyes of the American public excellence is often overshadowed by brilliance of personality. This is particularly true in the portrayal of many of the country's military leaders in World War II. A prime example of this phenomenon is Douglas MacArthur, whose larger than life persona made him a newspaper fixture during the war despite a series of strategic and tactical blunders that would have led to the sacking of a less visible (and publicly popular) leader. At the level of divisional commanders, this triumph of brilliance over excellence is best exemplified by the two primary leaders of the country's 1st Infantry Division, Terry de la Mesa Allen and Clarence R. Huebner. One was a hard-drinking, swashbuckling leader who led by almost the sheer force of his personality; the other, a plain spoken, demanding officer who believed that organization, planning and attention to detail were the keys to superior battlefield performance. The leadership differences between Allen and Huebner have been documented in multiple publications. What has not been documented is the life of the truly overshadowed general - Huebner. Huebner's transition to the leadership of the 1st Infantry Division (1st ID) constitute only a small period in a military career that spans almost fifty years and two world wars. Huebner's story is cyclic in that throughout his life, his actions regularly complete a full circle with a return to key organizations, areas or relationships from where they started. In many respects, Huebner's story parallels the 20th century biography of the army itself. His is an American military story. This thesis is focused on Huebner's life in the years prior to the 1st ID's landing at Omaha Beach
BRITISH WORLD WAR TWO FILMS 1945-65: CATHARSIS OR NATIONAL REGENERATION?
Major differences in British Second World War films produced in wartime 1939-45 (idealising the 'People's War') and post-war versions produced between 1945-65 (promoting the return of elite masculinity) suggest a degree of cultural re-conditioning concerning the memory of war, by Britain's middle-class film-makers attuned to national and international concerns. Therefore, the focus and main aim of this thesis is to identify and examine previously ignored or inadequately scrutinized themes within the post-war genre to explain how, and why, film-makers redefined the Second World War and its myths, tapping deeply into the national psyche, stimulating and satisfying a voracious, continuing, British appetite. In examining the genre, and as established by historians such as John O'Connor, Pierre Sorlin and Jeffrey Richards, this thesis employs contextual analysis, using feature film as a primary historical documentary source. This involves close reading of the films in their historical and political context and the social situation which produced them - backed-up by empirical data, analysing what film-makers were saying at textual and sub-textual levels, and exploring structure, meaning and iconography as conveyed by script, image, acting and direction. The production, content and reception of these films have been evaluated and attention directed towards dialogue and language. In support of this, a wide variety of sources have been scrutinized: articles; fan magazines; novels; biographies; autobiographies; memoirs, film histories and wider historical and political works. The BFI Library and Special Collections Archive have been extensively mined with particular emphasis on press and campaign books and cinema ephemera. Newspapers and journals such as the Times, the New Statesman, the Daily Mirror and the Daily Worker have provided a range of perspectives.
A sense of British ownership of this war pervades the genre. Accordingly, this thesis identifies four over-arching themes through which to explore it: the fusion of class, masculinity and national identity; women and femininity; reconciliation with the enemy; and the process of personal and national redemption and regeneration through the war experience. The study's fundamental originality rests in its approach. In offering a "political" (in its widest sense) reading of the films and an untried level of detailed analysis, it presents the genre's first full conceptualisation, challenging criticisms and assumptions that the genre was either a nostalgic replay of the Second World War, a recruitment vehicle or a catharsis. Several key findings have emerged from this thesis: Elite masculinity was used, not to devalue the 'People's War', but as exemplar of national identity, regeneration and British leadership. Recognizable through his metamorphosis from literature's well-loved pre-1914 imperialist hero, the officer hero was now a democratised master of the technology provided by Britain's brilliant, unthreatening scientists. Through them, Britain's unrivalled experience as a world leader was promoted at a time of international tensions and challenges to national supremacy. This study offers the first in-depth analysis of the prisoner-of-war sub-genre, and recognizes film-makers' efforts to ensure that serving homosexuals were also credited with fighting the Second World War. Crucially, far from being airbrushed from the genre, women were very definitely present and active in war films post-1945. Previously unsuspected balances, continuities and cross-overs between the 193945 films and of those of 1945-65 have been identified. Received wisdom that, with Cold War political pragmatism, the genie offered only revisionist depictions of Germany is also challenged. Evidence of film-makers' Janus-faced ambivalence towards German brutality and collective guilt has emerged and, whilst the Italians were redeemed, Japanese barbarism was vehemently expressed. Through its exploration of war's dysfunctional residue, this thesis has shown that combat dysfunction acted as 'heroic reinforcement', yet another way to praise, whilst allowing modest fallibility. Further insights into reactions to war were provided by depictions of malingers, revellers and those redeemed by war.
British cinema offered a rare level of social comment with the homecoming legacy, as dysfunction embraced disaffected officers, crime and the failure of the 'New Jerusalem'— although it offered little on failed repatriation. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, film-makers also showed that middle-class hegemony, always pragmatic, was elastic enough to offer critiques of officer elite heroics with the decline of deference, and to be more open in its depictions of women. These findings demonstrate that as a collection of primary documents, the genre's films reveal much about contemporaneous issues. Significantly, although its target audience was British youth, it reached global audiences
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