Software management tools: Lessons learned from use

Experience in inserting software project planning tools into more than 100 projects producing mission critical software are discussed. The problems the software project manager faces are listed along with methods and tools available to handle them. Experience is reported with the Project Manager's Workstation (PMW) and the SoftCost-R cost estimating package. Finally, the results of a survey, which looked at what could be done in the future to overcome the problems experienced and build a set of truly useful tools, are presented

The Parasitoid Complex of Forest Tent Caterpillar, \u3ci\u3eMalacosoma Disstria\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), in Eastern Wyoming Shelterbelts

A parasitoid complex affecting the forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria, was investigated during 1978-79 in shelterbelts in eastern Wyoming. Egg parasitoids included five species: Ablerus clisiocampae, Ooencyrtus clisiocampae, Telenomus clisiocampae, Tetrastichus sp. 1 and Telenomus sp. Thirteen hymenopterous species and five dipterous species were reared from larvae and pupae of the forest tent caterpillar. The most common 5th-instar larval parasitoids were the tachinid flies, Lespesia archippivora and Archytas lateralis. Of the pupal parasitoids reared, 640/0 were Diptera and 36% were Hymenoptera. Four previously unrecorded parasitoids of M. disstria were reared: Cotesia alalantae, Macrocentrus irridescens, Pimpla sanguinipes erythropus, and Lespesia flavifrons.

The lone parent pilots after 12 to 24 months: an impact assessment of in-work credit, work search premium, extended schools childcare, quarterly work focused interviews and new deal plus for lone parents

From April 2004, a set of Government policies designed to help lone parents into work have been piloted in various combinations in a number of Jobcentre Plus districts in Great Britain. The five policies are: In Work Credit (IWC), Work Search Premium (WSP), Extended Schools Childcare (ESC) and Childcare Tasters, Quarterly Work Focused Interviews (QWFIs) for lone parents whose youngest child is aged 12 or over in Local Education Authorities (LEAs) in which an ESC pilot is operating (ESQWFI), and New Deal Plus for Lone Parents (ND+fLP), hereafter collectively referred to as 'the lone parent pilots' (LPPs or 'the pilots'). The pilots were rolled out in four Phases, the first three of which are analysed in this report. This report estimates the impact of the LPPs on lone parents who have received Income Support (IS) or Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for at least 12 months. It uses a difference-in-differences (DiD) estimator, and makes use of lone parents in districts not operating a pilot as a comparison group. The data covers the first 12 months (Phase 3 districts) to the first 24 months (Phase 1 districts) of the pilots' operation, and so should be seen as giving the early impacts. Impacts were estimated separately for the stock of lone parents who had been on benefit for at least 12 months when the pilots began, and the flow sample of lone parents whose claim of IS/JSA reached 12 months after the pilots began

Depletion of chondrocyte primary cilia reduces the compressive modulus of articular cartilage

Primary cilia are slender, microtubule based structures found in the majority of cell types with one cilium per cell. In articular cartilage, primary cilia are required for chondrocyte mechanotransduction and the development of healthy tissue. Loss of primary cilia in Col2aCre;ift88(fl/fl) transgenic mice results in up-regulation of osteoarthritic (OA) markers and development of OA like cartilage with greater thickness and reduced mechanical stiffness. However no previous studies have examined whether loss of primary cilia influences the intrinsic mechanical properties of articular cartilage matrix in the form of the modulus or just the structural properties of the tissue. The present study describes a modified analytical model to derive the viscoelastic moduli based on previous experimental indentation data. Results show that the increased thickness of the articular cartilage in the Col2aCre;ift88(fl/fl) transgenic mice is associated with a reduction in both the instantaneous and equilibrium moduli at indentation strains of greater than 20%. This reveals that the loss of primary cilia causes a significant reduction in the mechanical properties of cartilage particularly in the deeper zones and possibly the underlying bone. This is consistent with histological analysis and confirms the importance of primary cilia in the development of a mechanically functional articular cartilage

System balance analysis for vector computers

The availability of vector processors capable of sustaining computing rates of 10 to the 8th power arithmetic results pers second raised the question of whether peripheral storage devices representing current technology can keep such processors supplied with data. By examining the solution of a large banded linear system on these computers, it was found that even under ideal conditions, the processors will frequently be waiting for problem data

An Economic analysis of the potential for precision farming in UK cereal production

The results from alternative spatial nitrogen application studies are analysed in economic terms and compared to the costs of precision farming hardware, software and other services for cereal crops in the UK. At current prices, the benefits of variable rate application of nitrogen exceed the returns from a uniform application by an average of £22 ha−1 The cost of the precision farming systems range from £5 to £18 ha−1 depending upon the system chosen for an area of 250 ha. The benefits outweigh the associated costs for cereal farms in excess of 80 ha for the lowest price system to 200–300 ha for the more sophisticated systems. The scale of benefits obtained depends upon the magnitude of the response to the treatment and the proportion of the field that will respond. To be cost effective, a farmed area of 250 ha of cereals, where 30% of the area will respond to variable treatment, requires an increase in crop yield in the responsive areas of between 0·25 and 1.00 t ha−1 (at £65 t−1) for the basic and most expensive precision farming systems, respectively

Long time deviation from exponential decay: non-integral power laws

Quantal systems are predicted to show a change-over from exponential decay to power law decay at very long times. Although most theoretical studies predict integer power-law exponents, recent measurements by Rothe et al. of decay luminescence of organic molecules in solution {Phys. Rev. Lett. 96 (2006) 163601} found non-integer exponents in most cases. We propose a physical mechanism, within the realm of scattering from potentials with long tails, which produces a continuous range of power law exponents. In the tractable case of the repulsive inverse square potential, we demonstrate a simple relation between the strength of the long range tail and the power law exponent. This system is amenable to experimental scrutiny