Quality Certification and the Economics of Contract Software Development A Study of the Indian Software Industry

A significant amount of software development is being outsourced to countries such as India. Many Indian software firms have applied for and received quality certifications like the ISO9001, and the number of quality certified software firms has steadily increased. Despite its growing popularity among Indian software developers, there is very little systematic evidence on the relationship of ISO certification to organizational performance. Using data on 95 Indian software firms and their US clients, we develop a stylized model of a firm that develops software for others to articulate the different ways in which ISO certification can affect firm profits. We conclude that ISO certification enhances firm growth. The results provide partial support for the proposition that ISO certification also enhances revenue for a given size, suggesting that firms are receiving a higher price per unit of output. In turn, this is consistent with the notion that ISO certification also enhances the quality of output. Our field studies confirm that although most firms see ISO certification as a marketing ploy, some of them do proceed to institute more systematic and better-defined processes for software development.

The kinetics of pearlite growth in aluminium bronzes

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A Comparative Study of Print and Electronic Reference Sources : A Case Study On Encyclopaedia

The advances in computer and communications technologies have improved the facilities of information access – in-house and/or remote. The optical storage devices with ability to store pictures and sound and high processing capabilities have added another dimension to the fast changing trend to information access. These developments are today responsible for the growth of full text information sources in electronic media. Mainly two types of information sources, the primary periodicals and the reference works have found it convenient to get into the electronic form in large number their high utilitarian and generic value. Their number is also increasing in recent years and many of them are available on INTERNET and on CD. The recent addition to the category of Reference works in the Encyclopaedia Britannica; (EB) launched on Internet in 1999 with also its CD version. The paper has made a comparative study of both print and electronic form of the Encyclopaedia from the usage point of view and has concluded their mutual benefits. A few sample searches conducted with both print and electronic form are presented in this paper

A Novel Brainstorming Pedagogy to Mobilize Pico/Nano/Micro-Satellite (PN-MSat) Envineering Research and Education in Indian Academia

The article describes the outcome of activities to positively impact the careers of engineering graduates in India by engaging them in pico/nano/micro-satellite (PNMSat) engineering through a novel brainstorming pedagogy. The pedagogy, derived out of a systems engineering approach developed for the design and development of PNMSat/CubeSat missions, is used to teach a comprehensive course in PNMSat design engineering. The approach involves brainstorming the participants to conceive a PNMSat payload and teach the PNMSat bus design to accommodate the conceived payload. The approach and the comprehensive treatment of the material are the first of their kind in India in the field of small satellite design engineering. The article describes in detail the course contents, the novel approach and the results of the course assessments from three offerings – Summer 2015, Summer 2016 and Summer 2017. It presents the results of surveys conducted to assess the impact on the participants’ awareness in PNMSat engineering, motivation to pursue diverse careers and fulfilling livelihoods. It’s been observed that engineering institutions in India are keen to initiate a PNMSat program but have struggled to do so due to the lack of a systematic approach. The article provides an insight into addressing this problem and mobilizing a PNMSat program at an engineering institution in India

Principles for Helpful Sequence and Deduction of Knowledge Organization Systems - An Exploratory Study

Dr. Ranganathan’s “Principles for Helpful Sequence” among the set of normative principles play an exclusive role in the arrangement of subject isolates. Each subject in the universe of subjects is regulated by a guiding principle of its own which analogously determines the sequence of Arrays in ordering the subject surrogates or isolates. For example, the “Principle of Later-in-Evolution” is applied for sequencing isolates of Animal and Plant Species; this concept can be applied to one of the tools of KOS viz. Taxonomies. The application of Principles for Helpful Sequence is summarily presented and in the process the paper highlights the inherent elements of knowledge organization in each one of these principles in a manner that might map the future course of research in this area with the potentiality to bring about a relation between principlesfor helpfulsequence and KOS

The Role of Light Metals in Nuclear Engineering

ALUMINIUM, magnesium and beryllium have been used extensively in research and power reactors chiefly because of their low neutron absorption properties. in this respect, beryllium is superior to magnesium and aluminium. While aluminium and magnesium are used as canning and structural materials, beryllium has been used mainly as reflector and moderator, although attempts are being made to employ it for canning also.The primary functions of fuel element cans in a reactorare : (a) to protect the fuel from corrosion and (h) to prevent the fission products from contaminating the coolant. Simult-aneously the cans should also act as extensible envelopes to accommodate dimensional changes occurring in the fuel due to irradiation and thermal fluctuations. In the case of finned fuel elements, the material should also possess sufficient creep resistance at operating temperatures to withstand the coolant pressure on the heat transfer fins. Other equally important requisites of the cans are good compatibility with fissile material and coolant media and adequate corrosion resistance

Futuristic Role of Public Libraries - A Case Study of E-Governance Programmes in Karnataka

One of the issues often discussed of the impact of JCT is the concept of digital divide. The role of many e-governance initatives is studied in this context. These programmes are conceived to narrow the gap between the communities with different levels of acquisition of JCT knowledge and skills to its beneficial use. The public libraries, besides their traditional roles, have also been involved in literacy campaigns, and they have played a significant role in the adult education programme in the past. The Karnataka Public Libraries Act 1965 has created a strong network of public libraries up to thelevel of Gram Panchayats. The paper conceives futuristic role of public libraries in Karnataka for the promotion and brining awareness about the e-governance programmes in the State.The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has planned for establishment of CICs ,hence, a proposal is made in this paper as how the public libraries and the CICs should be brought together to implement the proposal of this paper

The third positive carbon and associated bands

This article does not have an abstract

Low-cost digital polariscope for dynamic photoelasticity

low-cost dynamic polariscope is presented. The experimental arrangement is based on the delayed-microflash technique. A LED is used as the flash source. Dynamic photoelastic patterns are recorded after different time delays from the loading point using a CCD camera operating in the time-delay and integration mode. Unlike the conventional photographic techniques, the experiments need not be performed in total darkness. Digital recording provides instantaneous visualization of the patterns and rapid repeatability.published_or_final_versio

Evaluation of Public Libraries in India : the case of Karnataka

This article describes the development of the public library system in the state of Karnataka, India, several exercises in its evaluation during the mid-1990s, and the current direction of its planning. After outlining the system in the rural district of Chickmagalur, it concentrates on the system in the city of Bangalore, the state capital and India’s ‘Silicon Valley’. Quantitative and qualitative survey data portray the demographics of library clientele, their information needs, their rating of library materials, facilities and personnel, and the relationship between their evaluations and the preliminary stages of automation. Analysis focuses on issues of age, gender, trajectories of career development, and the rural–urban divide in determining the future planning of the system