Reducing Risk and Uncertainty in COSYSMO Size and Cost Drivers: Some Techniques for Enhancing Accuracy

5th Conference on Systems Engineering Research presentatio

Approaches to Calculating Systems Engineering Schedule in Parametric Cost Models

This paper provides two similar approaches for calculating project schedule from a systems engineering perspective. To illustrate the genesis of each approach, we provide two analogies; one from economics and one from physics. These are complemented with mathematical derivations that provide quantitative comparisons of the tradeoff between the duration of a project and the optimal effort. Connections are made to Books’ Law and Parkinson’s Law to validate the theoretical discussion with the pragmatic observations from the software engineering literature

Harmonizing Systems and Software Cost Estimation

The objective of this paper is to examine the gaps and overlaps between software and systems engineering cost models with intent to harmonize the estimates in engineering engineering estimation. In particular, we evaluate the central assumptions of the COSYSMO and COCOMO II models and propose an approach to identify gaps and overlaps between them. We provide guidelines on how to reconcile and resolve the identified gaps and overlaps. The ultimate purpose of this work is to develop effective techniques for accurately estimating the combined systems and software engineering effort for software-intensive systems

Wearable wireless inertial measurement for sports applications

The advent of MEMS inertial sensors has reduced the size, cost and power requirements of 6 Degrees-of-Freedom inertial measurement systems to a level where their use can be considered for wearable wireless monitoring devices. Many applications for such Wearable Wireless Inertial Measurement Units exist in the area of sports and sports science. Such a system would be critical in providing data for the analysis of the kinematic motion data of an athlete - to characterise a player’s technique or track progress and provide accurate, quantitative feedback to player and coach in near real time. A small, lightweight and low power device with the ability to sense the full range of human motion at a high sampling rate is required for such applications. It must also be robust, well sealed and comfortable to wear. Further development and miniaturisation of such devices coupled with progress in energy scavenging may lead to their use in other areas and their near ubiquity, with the potential to be embedded within clothes, buildings, materials, objects and people for health monitoring, location tracking and other purpose

Naturally occurring diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione concentrations associated with roasting and grinding unflavored coffee beans in a commercial setting

AbstractOver the last decade, concerns have been raised about potential respiratory health effects associated with occupational exposure to the flavoring additives diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione. Both of these diketones are also natural components of many foods and beverages, including roasted coffee. To date, there are no published studies characterizing workplace exposures to these diketones during commercial roasting and grinding of unflavored coffee beans. In this study, we measured naturally occurring diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione, and respirable dust at a facility that roasts and grinds coffee beans with no added flavoring agents. Sampling was conducted over the course of three roasting batches and three grinding batches at varying distances from a commercial roaster and grinder. The three batches consisted of lightly roasted soft beans, lightly roasted hard beans, and dark roasted hard beans. Roasting occurred for 37 to 41min, and the grinding process took between 8 and 11min. Diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione, and respirable dust concentrations measured during roasting ranged from less than the limit of detection (<LOD) to 0.0039ppm, <LOD to 0.018ppm, and <LOD to 0.31mg/m3, respectively. During grinding, diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione, and respirable dust concentrations ranged from 0.018 to 0.39ppm, 0.0089 to 0.21ppm, and <LOD to 1.7mg/m3, respectively. For any given bean/roast combination and sample location, diketone concentrations during grinding were higher than those measured during roasting. During grinding, concentrations decreased with increased distance from the source. Measured concentrations of both diketones were higher during grinding of soft beans than hard beans. The results indicate that airborne concentrations of naturally occurring diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione associated with unflavored coffee processing: (1) are similar to the concentrations that have been measured in food flavoring facilities; (2) are likely to exceed some recommended short-term occupational exposure limits, but; (3) based on previous analyses of exposure response relationships in animal studies, are far below the concentrations that are expected to cause even minimal responses in the human respiratory tract

A text become provisional: revisiting the capital of the ruins

This essay is a reexamination of Samuel Beckett's The Capital of the Ruins, the untransmitted radio script written for Raidió Éireann (now Raidió Teilifís Éireann) in 1946 following his work with the Irish Red Cross in Saint Lô. The first half of this essay is concerned with the archival and publishing history of the text. This section examines the variants introduced by various editors or publishers and makes a case for a definitive edition of the text based on the edited photocopy of the typescript held in the Beckett International Foundation archive at the University of Reading. The second half of this essay then uses this close attention to the text to reconsider the focus of The Capital of the Ruins and the extent to which the piece is more firmly directed towards socio-political aspects of post-neutrality Ireland than has previously been identified

Cis and Trans Effects of Human Genomic Variants on Gene Expression

This work was funded by the Louis-Jeantet Foundation (http://www.jeantet.ch/), the European Research Council (Grant ID: 260927 http://erc.europa.eu/), the Swiss National Foundation (Grant ID: 130342 http://www.snf.ch), NCCR Frontiers In Genetics (http://www.frontiers-in-genetics.org), the UK Medical Research Council (http://www.mrc.ac.uk) and the Wellcome Trust (Grant ID: 092731).