Catching up with Method and Process Practice: An Industry-Informed Baseline for Researchers

Software development methods are usually not applied by the book.companies are under pressure to continuously deploy software products that meet market needs and stakeholders\u27 requests. To implement efficient and effective development processes, companies utilize multiple frameworks, methods and practices, and combine these into hybrid methods. A common combination contains a rich management framework to organize and steer projects complemented with a number of smaller practices providing the development teams with tools to complete their tasks. In this paper, based on 732 data points collected through an international survey, we study the software development process use in practice. Our results show that 76.8% of the companies implement hybrid methods.company size as well as the strategy in devising and evolving hybrid methods affect the suitability of the chosen process to reach company or project goals. Our findings show that companies that combine planned improvement programs with process evolution can increase their process\u27 suitability by up to 5%

Fission-fusion dynamics over large distances in raven non-breeders

The influence of fission-fusion dynamics, i.e., temporal variation in group size and composition, on social complexity has been studied in large-brained mammals that rely on social bonds. Little is known about birds, even though some species like ravens have recently received attention for their socio-cognitive skills and use of social bonds. While raven breeders defend territories year-round, non-breeders roam through large areas and form groups at food sources or night roosts. We here examined the fission-fusion patterns of non-breeding ravens over years, investigating whether birds meet repeatedly either at the same or at different locations. We combined four large datasets: presence-absence observations from two study sites (Austria, Italy) and GPS-tracking of ravens across two study areas (Austria, France). As expected, we found a highly dynamic system in which individuals with long phases of temporary settlement had a high probability of meeting others. Although GPS-tagged ravens spread out over thousands of square kilometres, we found repeated associations between almost half of the possible combinations at different locations. Such a system makes repeated interactions between individuals at different sites possible and likely. High fission-fusion dynamics may thus not hinder but shape the social complexity of ravens and, possibly, other long-term bonded birds

Application of ensemble techniques in predicting object-oriented software maintainability

While prior object-oriented software maintainability literature acknowledges the role of machine learning techniques as valuable predictors of potential change, the most suitable technique that achieves consistently high accuracy remains undetermined. With the objective of obtaining more consistent results, an ensemble technique is investigated to advance the performance of the individual models and increase their accuracy in predicting software maintainability of the object-oriented system. This paper describes the research plan for predicting object-oriented software maintainability using ensemble techniques. First, we present a brief overview of the main research background and its different components. Second, we explain the research methodology. Third, we provide expected results. Finally, we conclude summary of the current status

Unilateral neglect and perceptual parsing: a large-group study.

Array-centred and subarray-centred neglect were disambiguated in a group of 116 patients with left neglect by means of a modified version of the Albert test in which the central column of segments was deleted so as to create two separate sets of targets grouped by proximity.The results indicated that neglect was more frequent in array- than subarray-centred coordinates and that, in a minority of cases, neglect co-occurred in both coordinate-systems. The two types of neglect were functionally but not anatomically dissociated. Presence of visual field defects was not prevalent in one type of neglect with respect to the other.These data contribute further evidence to previous single-case and small-group studies by showing that neglect can occur in single or multiple reference frames simultaneously, in agreement with current neuropsychological, neurophysiological and computational concepts of space representation

Multiloci stereotactic transplantation of autologous adrenal medullary tissue to the putamen and caudatum in Parkinson\u27s disease. Technical note

Adrenal to striatum transplants may be effective, but many technical issues are still debated. A procedure whereby a number of grafts were stereotactically placed at the putamen and caudatum is reported. It enables grafting deep nuclei, such as the putamen, the most denervated structure in Parkinson\u27s disease, and allows a wide-spread spatial distribution of multiple grafts within these huge targets, conceivably enhancing the local release of neurotransmitters at the site or in the vicinity of the denervated receptors. It also enables the use of a sizeable volume of tissue, presumably a crucial but as yet unknown factor. Although preliminary, the present data seem to warrant further clinical trials