Towards a New Repository for Feature Model Exchange

Feature models are one of the most important contributions to the field of software product lines, feature oriented software develop ment or variability intensive systems. Since their invention in 1990, many feature model dialects appeared from less formal to more formal, from visual to textual, integrated in tool chains or just as a support for a concrete research contribution. Ten year ago, S.P.L.O.T. a feature model online tool was presented. One of its most used features has been the ability to centralise a feature model repository with its own feature model dialect. As a result of MODEVAR, we hope to have a new simple textual feature model language that can be shared by the community. Having a new repository for that language can help to share knowledge. In this paper we present some ideas about the characteristics that the future feature model repository should have in the future. The idea is to discuss those characteristics with the communityMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad RTI2018-101204-B-C22 (OPHELIA)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades MCIU-AEI TIN2017-90644-REDT (TASOVA

A study of BIM collaboration requirements and available features in existing model collaboration systems

Established collaboration practices in the construction industry are document centric and are challenged by the introduction of Building Information Modelling (BIM). Document management collaboration systems (e.g. Extranets) have significantly improved the document collaboration in recent years; however their capabilities for model collaboration are limited and do not support the complex requirements of BIM collaboration. The construction industry is responding to this situation by adopting emerging model collaboration systems (MCS), such as model servers, with the ability to exploit and reuse information directly from the models to extend the current intra-disciplinary collaboration towards integrated multi-disciplinary collaboration on models. The functions of existing MCSs have evolved from the manufacturing industry and there is no concrete study on how these functions correspond to the requirements of the construction industry, especially with BIM requirements. This research has conducted focus group sessions with major industry disciplines to explore the user requirements for BIM collaboration. The research results have been used to categorise and express the features of existing MCS which are then analysed in selected MCS from a user’s perspective. The potential of MCS and the match or gap in user requirements and available model collaboration features is discussed. This study concludes that model collaborative solutions for construction industry users are available in different capacities; however a comprehensive custom built solution is yet to be realized. The research results are useful for construction industry professionals, software developers and researchers involved in exploring collaborative solutions for the construction industry

Challenges of ultra large scale integration of biomedical computing systems

The NCRI Informatics Initiative is overseeing the implementation of an informatics framework for the UK cancer research community. The framework advocates an integrated multidisciplinary method of working between scientific and medical communities. Key to this process is community adoption of high quality acquisition, storage, sharing and integration of diverse data elements to improve knowledge of the causes, prevention and treatment of cancer. The integration of the complex data and meta-data used by these multiple communities is a significant challenge and there are technical, resource-based and sociological issues to be addressed. In this paper we review progress aimed at establishing the framework and outline key challenges in ultra large scale integration of biomedical computing systems

Connexions: Create Globally, Educate Locally

4th International Conference on Open RepositoriesThis presentation was part of the session : Conference PostersFounded in 1999, Connexions (http://cnx.org/) was built upon the philosophy that high-quality, open-licensed scholarly materials can revolutionize the way we think about education. Built upon a core of open software and driven by innovators in the open education movement, Connexions has made it possible for authors worldwide to publish content that teachers and learners can rip, mix, and burn to develop customized learning solutions at no cost. Authors create learning objects, called modules, that can be assembled into online courses, printed textbooks, or academic journals. All content in the Connexions repository is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license, giving educators the tools and materials necessary to create unique works tailored to the needs of their students and colleagues. As the Connexions content repository continues to grow, traditional educational consumers will find themselves in a position to become producers, taking full advantage of the knowledge available in a global, digital society.Rice University; Hewlett Foundatio

Raising the visibility of protected data: A pilot data catalog project

Sharing research data that is protected for legal, regulatory, or contractual reasons can be challenging and current mechanisms for doing so may act as barriers to researchers and discourage data sharing. Additionally, the infrastructure commonly used for open data repositories does not easily support responsible sharing of protected data. This chapter presents a case study of an academic university library’s work to configure the existing institutional data repository to function as a data catalog. By engaging in this project, university librarians strive to enhance visibility and access to protected datasets produced at the institution and cultivate a data sharing culture