94 research outputs found
In search of the origins and enduring impact of agile software development
The Agile Manifesto is a philosophical touchpoint for all agile
software development (ASD) methods. We examine the manifesto
and some of its associated agile methods in an effort to identify
the major impacts of ASD. We have encountered some difficulty
in delineating agile and non-agile software processes, which is
partially the result of terminological confusion. It is clear from the
volume of published research that ASD has made a significant
contribution, and we have identified two lasting and important
impacts. Firstly, the reduction in iteration durations and secondly,
the push for reduced levels of documentation (especially in
relation to software requirements). Other aspects of the Agile
Manifesto may not have exerted a significant impact; for example,
the use of tooling to automate processes has become central to
continuous software engineering (CSE) and may not be wholly
congruent with the manifesto. Furthermore, many organisations
may still rely on business contracts despite calls in the manifesto
for greater levels of informal customer collaboration
Biodiversity and structure of spider communities along a metal pollution gradient
The objective of the study was to determine whether long-term metal pollution affects communities of epigeal spiders (Aranea), studied at three taxonomic levels: species, genera, and families. Biodiversity was defined by three indices: the Hierarchical Richness Index (HRI), Margalef index (DM) and Pielou evenness index (J). In different ways the indices describe taxa richness and the distribution of individuals among taxa. The dominance pattern of the communities was described with four measures: number of dominant species at a site, percentage of dominant species at a site, average dominant species abundance at a site, and the share of the most numerous species (Alopecosa cuneata) at a site. Spiders were collected along a metal pollution gradient in southern Poland, extending ca. 33 km from zinc and lead smelter to an uncontaminated area. The zinc concentration in soil was used as the pollution index.The study revealed a significant effect of metal pollution on spider biodiversity as described by HRI for species (p = 0.039), genera (p = 0.0041) and families (p = 0.0147), and by DM for genera (p = 0.0259) and families (p = 0.0028). HRI correlated negatively with pollution level, while DM correlated positively. This means that although broadly described HRI diversity decreased with increasing pollution level, species richness increased with increasing contamination. Mesophilic meadows were generally richer. Pielou (J) did not show any significant correlations. There were a few evidences for the intermediate disturbance hypothesis: certain indices reached their highest values at moderate pollution levels rather than at the cleanest or most polluted sites
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