Coordination Implications of Software Coupling in Open Source Projects

The effect of software coupling on the quality of software has been studied quite widely since the seminal paper on software modularity by Parnas [1]. However, the effect of the increase in software coupling on the coordination of the developers has not been researched as much. In commercial software development environments there normally are coordination mechanisms in place to manage the coordination requirements due to software dependencies. But, in the case of Open Source software such coordination mechanisms are harder to implement, as the developers tend to rely solely on electronic means of communication. Hence, an understanding of the changing coordination requirements is essential to the management of an Open Source project. In this paper we study the effect of changes in software coupling on the coordination requirements in a case study of a popular Open Source project called JBoss

Width of Sunspot Generating Zone and Reconstruction of Butterfly Diagram

Based on the extended Greenwich-NOAA/USAF catalogue of sunspot groups it is demonstrated that the parameters describing the latitudinal width of the sunspot generating zone (SGZ) are closely related to the current level of solar activity, and the growth of the activity leads to the expansion of SGZ. The ratio of the sunspot number to the width of SGZ shows saturation at a certain level of the sunspot number, and above this level the increase of the activity takes place mostly due to the expansion of SGZ. It is shown that the mean latitudes of sunspots can be reconstructed from the amplitudes of solar activity. Using the obtained relations and the group sunspot numbers by Hoyt and Schatten (1998), the latitude distribution of sunspot groups ("the Maunder butterfly diagram") for the 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries is reconstructed and compared with historical sunspot observations.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures; accepted by Solar Physics; the final publication will be available at www.springerlink.co

Half-BPS quotients in M-theory: ADE with a twist

We classify Freund-Rubin backgrounds of eleven-dimensional supergravity of the form AdS_4 x X^7 which are at least half BPS; equivalently, smooth quotients of the round 7-sphere by finite subgroups of SO(8) which admit an (N>3)-dimensional subspace of Killing spinors. The classification is given in terms of pairs consisting of an ADE subgroup of SU(2) and an automorphism defining its embedding in SO(8). In particular we find novel half-BPS quotients associated with the subgroups of type D_n (for n>5), E_7 and E_8 and their outer automorphisms.Comment: 16 pages; V2: notational inconsistencies addressed, final version to be published in JHE

Probability distribution of the sizes of largest erased-loops in loop-erased random walks

We have studied the probability distribution of the perimeter and the area of the k-th largest erased-loop in loop-erased random walks in two-dimensions for k = 1 to 3. For a random walk of N steps, for large N, the average value of the k-th largest perimeter and area scales as N^{5/8} and N respectively. The behavior of the scaled distribution functions is determined for very large and very small arguments. We have used exact enumeration for N <= 20 to determine the probability that no loop of size greater than l (ell) is erased. We show that correlations between loops have to be taken into account to describe the average size of the k-th largest erased-loops. We propose a one-dimensional Levy walk model which takes care of these correlations. The simulations of this simpler model compare very well with the simulations of the original problem.Comment: 11 pages, 1 table, 10 included figures, revte

Low Energy Chiral Lagrangian in Curved Space-Time from the Spectral Quark Model

We analyze the recently proposed Spectral Quark Model in the light of Chiral Perturbation Theory in curved space-time. In particular, we calculate the chiral coefficients $L_1, ..., L_{10}$, as well as the coefficients $L_{11}$, $L_{12}$, and $L_{13}$, appearing when the model is coupled to gravity. The analysis is carried for the SU(3) case. We analyze the pattern of chiral symmetry breaking as well as elaborate on the fulfillment of anomalies. Matching the model results to resonance meson exchange yields the relation between the masses of the scalar, tensor and vector mesons, $M_{f_0}=M_{f_2}=\sqrt{2} M_V= 4 \sqrt{3 /N_c} \pi f_\pi$. Finally, the large-$N_c$ limit suggests the dual relations in the vector and scalar channels, $M_V=M_S= 2 \sqrt{6 /N_c} \pi f_\pi$ and $^{1/2}_S = < r^2 >^{1/2}_V = 2 \sqrt{N_c} / f_\pi = 0.59 {\rm fm}$.Comment: 18 pages, no figure

Disgust sensitivity relates to attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women across 31 nations

Previous work has reported a relation between pathogen-avoidance motivations and prejudice toward various social groups, including gay men and lesbian women. It is currently unknown whether this association is present across cultures, or specific to North America. Analyses of survey data from adult heterosexuals (N = 11,200) from 31 countries showed a small relation between pathogen disgust sensitivity (an individual-difference measure of pathogen-avoidance motivations) and measures of antigay attitudes. Analyses also showed that pathogen disgust sensitivity relates not only to antipathy toward gay men and lesbians, but also to negativity toward other groups, in particular those associated with violations of traditional sexual norms (e.g., prostitutes). These results suggest that the association between pathogen-avoidance motivations and antigay attitudes is relatively stable across cultures and is a manifestation of a more general relation between pathogen-avoidance motivations and prejudice towards groups associated with sexual norm violations

Functional determinants for general self-adjoint extensions of Laplace-type operators resulting from the generalized cone

In this article we consider the zeta regularized determinant of Laplace-type operators on the generalized cone. For {\it arbitrary} self-adjoint extensions of a matrix of singular ordinary differential operators modelled on the generalized cone, a closed expression for the determinant is given. The result involves a determinant of an endomorphism of a finite-dimensional vector space, the endomorphism encoding the self-adjoint extension chosen. For particular examples, like the Friedrich's extension, the answer is easily extracted from the general result. In combination with \cite{BKD}, a closed expression for the determinant of an arbitrary self-adjoint extension of the full Laplace-type operator on the generalized cone can be obtained.Comment: 27 pages, 2 figures; to appear in Manuscripta Mathematic

Structurally-defined potassium-mediated regioselective zincation of amino-and alkoxy-substituted pyridines

The new synergic base [PMDETA·K(TMP)(Et)Zn(Et)] selectively zincates 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine at the 2-position and 4-methoxypyridine at the 3-position, to afford bimetallic potassium pyridylzinc complexes each displaying a novel, but remarkably different, structure. (Abstract from: http://www.swetswise.com/eAccess/viewAbstract.do?articleID=37141954