Mining developer communication data streams

This paper explores the concepts of modelling a software development project as a process that results in the creation of a continuous stream of data. In terms of the Jazz repository used in this research, one aspect of that stream of data would be developer communication. Such data can be used to create an evolving social network characterized by a range of metrics. This paper presents the application of data stream mining techniques to identify the most useful metrics for predicting build outcomes. Results are presented from applying the Hoeffding Tree classification method used in conjunction with the Adaptive Sliding Window (ADWIN) method for detecting concept drift. The results indicate that only a small number of the available metrics considered have any significance for predicting the outcome of a build

Understanding Everyday Relationship Work: The Development of a Relationship Maintenance Scale

Relationship maintenance behaviors contribute to the longevity of intimate relationships, yet existing scales are limited. Available measurement tools are primarily constrained to the Relationship Maintenance Strategy Measure (RMSM) and its further revisions. Covering a number of domains, conceptual overlap with other aspects of an intimate relationship (e.g., household division of labor) may exist. Our cross-sectional exploratory study included participants from 60 countries (n=8,162) who completed an online survey. Participants were diverse in their relationship status, age, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity. From their responses, we developed a parsimonious and brief measure of relationship maintenance (8 items) through exploratory and then confirmatory factor analyses. Results indicated that the Relationship Maintenance Scale (RMS) shows initial evidence of reliability and validity. The RMS may have utility in working with couples and families. Future research should seek to re-test its use with varied samples, such as couples seeking relationship support

HIV/AIDS: global trends, global funds and delivery bottlenecks

Globalisation affects all facets of human life, including health and well being. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has highlighted the global nature of human health and welfare and globalisation has given rise to a trend toward finding common solutions to global health challenges. Numerous international funds have been set up in recent times to address global health challenges such as HIV. However, despite increasingly large amounts of funding for health initiatives being made available to poorer regions of the world, HIV infection rates and prevalence continue to increase world wide. As a result, the AIDS epidemic is expanding and intensifying globally. Worst affected are undoubtedly the poorer regions of the world as combinations of poverty, disease, famine, political and economic instability and weak health infrastructure exacerbate the severe and far-reaching impacts of the epidemic. One of the major reasons for the apparent ineffectiveness of global interventions is historical weaknesses in the health systems of underdeveloped countries, which contribute to bottlenecks in the distribution and utilisation of funds. Strengthening these health systems, although a vital component in addressing the global epidemic, must however be accompanied by mitigation of other determinants as well. These are intrinsically complex and include social and environmental factors, sexual behaviour, issues of human rights and biological factors, all of which contribute to HIV transmission, progression and mortality. An equally important factor is ensuring an equitable balance between prevention and treatment programmes in order to holistically address the challenges presented by the epidemic

Self-guided mindfulness and cognitive behavioural practices reduce anxiety in autistic adults: A pilot 8-month waitlist-controlled trial of widely available online tools

Anxiety in autism is an important treatment target because of its consequences for quality of life and wellbeing. Growing evidence suggests that Cognitive Behaviour Therapies (CBT) and Mindfulness-Based Therapies (MBT) can ameliorate anxiety in autism but cost-effective delivery remains a challenge. This pilot randomized controlled trial examined whether online CBT and MBT self-help programmes could help reduce anxiety in 54 autistic adults who were randomly allocated to either an online CBT (n=16) or MBT (n=19) programme or a waitlist control group (WL; n=19). Primary outcome measures of anxiety, secondary outcome measures of broader wellbeing, and potential process of change variables were collected at baseline, after programme completion, and then 3 and 6 months post-completion. Baseline data confirmed that intolerance of uncertainty and emotional acceptance accounted for up to 61% of self-reported anxiety across all participants. The 23 participants who were retained in the active conditions (14 MBT, 9 CBT) showed significant decreases in anxiety that were maintained over 3, and to some extent also 6 months. Overall, results suggest that online self-help CBT and MBT tools may provide a cost-effective method for delivering mental health support to those autistic adults who can engage effectively with online support tools

Explaining levels of wellbeing in Black and Minority Ethnic populations in England

Self-reported wellbeing, i.e., feeling good and functioning well, varies between different ethnic groups in the UK. Even controlling for the social and economic factors known to influence wellbeing, there appears to be a residual, non-random difference – with people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities reporting lower levels of wellbeing than their White counterparts. This report describes the findings of a review conducted to investigate the issue of ethnic disparities in wellbeing and possible drivers for this. It was written in response to a suggestion by colleagues from Public Health England that there was a need to explore the factors underlying lower levels of wellbeing in Black and Minority Ethnic communities in England

Mechanosensitive Self-Replication Driven by Self-Organization

Self-replicating molecules are likely to have played an important role in the origin of life, and a small number of fully synthetic self-replicators have already been described. Yet it remains an open question which factors most effectively bias the replication toward the far-from-equilibrium distributions characterizing even simple organisms. We report here two self-replicating peptide-derived macrocycles that emerge from a small dynamic combinatorial library and compete for a common feedstock. Replication is driven by nanostructure formation, resulting from the assembly of the peptides into fibers held together by β sheets. Which of the two replicators becomes dominant is influenced by whether the sample is shaken or stirred. These results establish that mechanical forces can act as a selection pressure in the competition between replicators and can determine the outcome of a covalent synthesis.

To submit or not submit: The burden of evaluation on postgraduate medical trainees

Purpose Academic centers utilize web-based surveillance systems to administer their evaluations, but little is known about their impact on the evaluation responsibilities delegated to medical residents. Method Using a mixed-methods approach, a retrospective content analysis was conducted of the evaluation activities experienced by a cohort of 29 residents as they completed their training in general internal medicine from 2009-2012. These data were triangulated with group interviews conducted with current internal medicine residents in 2012-2013. Results The internal medicine program electronically requested that its residents complete 8,614 evaluation reports on clinical faculty, curriculum, and junior trainees (345 requests annually per resident). Residents reported feeling overwhelmed by their ongoing evaluation workload, and admitted that their motivation to submit high-quality appraisals was dissipating. Residents perceived that their program valued certain evaluations more than others, and this was a major factor in their decision regarding whether or not they would eventually submit an appraisal. Feedback submitted on program evaluation related appraisals were viewed as having the least value, and residents were significantly less likely to submit these evaluations. Conclusions Although web-based surveillance systems are efficient in distributing thousands of evaluations, residency programs to engage in ongoing vigilance of the unintended consequences associated with their use