Cultural Values and Important Possessions: A Cross-Cultural Analysis

The logic behind globalized advertising appeals is based on the premise that cultural value systems are converging. Yet, there is no clear agreement regarding the superiority of standardized campaigns vs. localized ones. One reason for this lack of agreement deals with the extent to which various cultures share similar values. The goal of this study is to apply a relatively new framework dealing with value differences developed by Schwartz [Adv. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 25 (1992) 1.] to New Zealand and the USA by looking at the connection between these values and possessions. The hypotheses received mix support. The results confirm that New Zealanders are higher in Harmony and Affective Autonomy, and these values did, in part, affect possessions and reasons for owning them. New Zealanders’ most valued possessions were for environmental reasons, but they were no more likely to mention enjoyment reasons than Americans. New Zealanders also did not mention recreational possessions as more important, contrary to one of the hypotheses. Nonetheless, the similarities between NZ and the USA were much greater than the differences. The study provides valuable insight into how the meanings of important possessions differ across cultures and illustrates the need to understand these differences when designing marketing communications and positioning products in foreign markets

Feature Guided Architecture Development for Embedded System Families

Software product-line engineering aims to maximize reuse by exploiting the commonality within families of related systems. Its success depend on capturing the commonality and variability, and using this to evolve a reference architecture for the product family. With embedded system families, the possibility of variability in hardware and operating system platforms is an added complication. In this paper we outline a strategy for evolving reference architectures from bi-directional feature models. The proposed strategy complements information provided by the feature model with scenarios that help to elaborate feature behavior

Increased expression of a microRNA correlates with anthelmintic resistance in parasitic nematodes

Resistance to anthelmintic drugs is a major problem in the global fight against parasitic nematodes infecting humans and animals. While previous studies have identified mutations in drug target genes in resistant parasites, changes in the expression levels of both targets and transporters have also been reported. The mechanisms underlying these changes in gene expression are unresolved. Here, we take a novel approach to this problem by investigating the role of small regulatory RNAs in drug resistant strains of the important parasite Haemonchus contortus. microRNAs (miRNAs) are small (22 nt) non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by binding predominantly to the 3′ UTR of mRNAs. Changes in miRNA expression have been implicated in drug resistance in a variety of tumor cells. In this study, we focused on two geographically distinct ivermectin resistant strains of H. contortus and two lines generated by multiple rounds of backcrossing between susceptible and resistant parents, with ivermectin selection. All four resistant strains showed significantly increased expression of a single miRNA, hco-miR-9551, compared to the susceptible strain. This same miRNA is also upregulated in a multi-drug-resistant strain of the related nematode Teladorsagia circumcincta. hco-miR-9551 is enriched in female worms, is likely to be located on the X chromosome and is restricted to clade V parasitic nematodes. Genes containing predicted binding sites for hco-miR-9551 were identified computationally and refined based on differential expression in a transcriptomic dataset prepared from the same drug resistant and susceptible strains. This analysis identified three putative target mRNAs, one of which, a CHAC domain containing protein, is located in a region of the H. contortus genome introgressed from the resistant parent. hco-miR-9551 was shown to interact with the 3′ UTR of this gene by dual luciferase assay. This study is the first to suggest a role for miRNAs and the genes they regulate in drug resistant parasitic nematodes. miR-9551 also has potential as a biomarker of resistance in different nematode species

A Multiple Views Model for Variability Management in Software Product Lines

\With current trends towards moving variability from hardware to software, and given the increasing desire to postpone design decisions as much as is economically feasible, managing the variability from requirements elicitation to implementation is becoming a primary business requirement in the product line process. Nowadays, a medium size software system may encompass hundreds if not thousands of variability points introducing a new level of complexity that current techniques struggle to manage. In this paper, we present a new approach to variability management by introducing a multiple views model (4VM) where each view caters for specific set of concerns that relate to a particular group of stakeholders

Dust production rates in Jupiter-family Comets: A two-year study with ATLAS photometry

Jupiter-family Comets (JFCs) exhibit a wide range of activity levels and mass-loss over their orbits. We analyzed high-cadence observations of 42 active JFCs with the wide-field Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey in 2020-2021. We measured dust production rates of the JFCs using the Af\rho parameter and its variation as a function of heliocentric distance. There is a tendency for our JFC sample to exhibit a maximum Af\rho after perihelion, with 254P/McNaught and P/2020 WJ5 (Lemmon) having their maximum Af\rho over a year after perihelion. On average, the rate of change of activity post-perihelion was shallower than that pre-perihelion. We also estimated the mass maximum loss rate for 17 of the JFCs in our sample, finding 4P/Faye to be the most active. We present a subset of comets whose measured Af\rho have been interpolated and extrapolated to a common distance of 2 au pre-perihelion and post-perihelion. From these measurements we found no correlation of intrinsic activity with current perihelion distance. For three of the JFCs in our sample, 6P/d'Arrest, 156P/Russell-LINEAR and 254P/McNaught, there was no visible coma but a constant absolute magnitude which we attributed to a probable detection of the nucleus. We derived upper limits for the nuclear radii of \leq 2.1 +/- 0.3 km, \leq 2.0 +/- 0.2 km and \leq 4.0 +/- 0.8 km respectively. Finally, we found that 4P/Faye, 108P/Ciffreo, 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu 2, 141P/Machholz 2, and 398P/Boattini experienced outbursts between 2020 and 2022.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Planetary Science Journal (PSJ

Weaving Behaviour into Feature Models for Embedded System Families

Product Line software Engineering depends on capturing the commonality and variability within a family of products, typically using feature modeling, and using this information to evolve a generic reference architecture for the family. For embedded systems, possible variability in hardware and operating system platforms is an added complication. The design process can be facilitated by first exploring the behavior associated with features. In this paper we outline a bi-directional feature modeling scheme that supports the capture of commonality and variability in the platform environment as well as within the required software. Additionally, ‘behavior’ associated with features can be included in the overall model. This is achieved by integrating the UCM path notation in a way that exploits UCM’s static and dynamic stubs to capture behavioral variability and link it to the feature model structure. The resulting model is a richer source of information to support the architecture development process

Requirements Modelling and Design Notations for Software Product Lines

Although feature modelling is a frequently used approach to the task of modelling commonality and variability within product lines, there is currently no standard modelling notation or methodology. On the assumption that the commonality/variability model will be used as a basis for architecture design, our modelling notation allows features to be augmented with behavioural detail, captured using the UCM path notation. This gives rise to models that capture commonality and variability in behaviour as well as in product features, and are thus more valuable for downstream design activities. This paper outlines the modelling notation and describes ongoing work on the characterisation of variability points within models based on this notation, and on the relationships between model fragments and solution domain techniques such as design patterns or variability realisation techniques. It also describes preliminary work, aimed at evolving an intelligent tool that can characterise feature and behavioural model fragments and suggest design and realisation methods

Report of the Committee on Resolutions- Declaration

Pamphlet concerning a declaration made by the National Educational Association at the forty-third annual convention

Challenges in the Application of Feature Modelling in Fixed Line Telecommunications

The global telephone system is a complex transmission network, the features of which are defined to a very high level by ITU-T standards. It is therefore a prime candidate at which to target the application of software product line techniques, and feature modelling in particular, in order to handle the inherent commonality of protocols and variability in equipment functionality. This paper reports on an experimental feature modelling notation and illustrates it with application to the modelling of embedded software for the core network elements. We look at three of the fundamental challenges facing the adoption of feature modelling in the field and explain how we have strived to address these within our tools set