Application domains in the Research Papers at BENEVOL: a retrospective

Research on empirical software engineering has increasingly used the data that is made available in online repositories , specifically Free/Libre/Open Source Software projects (FLOSS). The latest trends for researchers is to gather "as much data as possible" to (i) prevent bias in the representation of a small sample, (ii) work with a sample as close as the population itself, and (iii) showcase the performance of existing or new tools in treating vast amount of data. The effects of harvesting enormous amounts of data have been only marginally considered so far: data could be corrupted; repositories could be forked; and developer identities could be duplicated. In this paper we posit that there is a fundamental flaw in harvesting large amounts of data, and when generalising the conclusions: the application domain, or context, of the analysed systems must be the primary factor for the cluster sampling of FLOSS projects. This paper presents two contributions: first, we analyse a collection of 100 BENEVOL papers that appeared showing whether (and how much) FLOSS data has been harvested, and how many times the authors flagged an issue in their different application domains. Second, we discuss the implications of using 'application domain' as the clustering factor in FLOSS sampling, and the generalisations within and outside the clusters

The Changing Landscape of the Philippine Retail Food Industry

The retail industry, growing at a significant rate, has contributed much to the economy of the country as highlighted in its increasing share in the personal consumption expenditure (PCE), gross domestic product (GDP), and employment. This study examines the importance of the retail industry, discussing its pattern of spread, the supply and demand conditions that affect the industry, the change in the procurement system of the retail formats, as well as the actions taken by some stakeholders to address the negative impact of such changes. The major players in the industry that are based locally have resorted to importation, modernization, and expansion to other areas to maintain their position. These activities gave the retailers a competitive edge over the others, even over the foreign retailers. Moreover, initial findings suggest that the changes in the food retail structure influenced the way the supermarkets source their fresh produce from their suppliers. This procurement system determines which actors are included in the structure. Only those suppliers who can respond to the stringent standards set by the supermarkets can continuously serve them

Sujetos, prácticas e institución. Aproximaciones a diversos constructos identitarios en dos universidades mexicanas

El presente trabajo reconstruye los significados que los académicos otorgamos a la normativa universitaria y al dejar hablar, según Kaës, cómo la institución nos contiene y sufre en nosotros. Se hace referencia, en especial, a los mandatos que las universidades han incorporado a través de la validación de distintas prácticas. Desde esto, se abordan las diversas trayectorias y grupos que se instituyeron en dos casos de universidades en México: el de la formación de la Licenciatura en Pedagogía de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), y una experiencia de formación docente en el Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO).ITESO, A.C

BIOFOULING CONTROL IN HEAT EXCHANGERS USING HIGH VOLTAGE CAPACITANCE BASED TECHNOLOGY

Biofouling in industrial heat exchangers and piping systems is common in water from all sources. Problems generated by biofouling such as corrosion, sludge deposition and scale formation have a costly impact on industrial equipment and productivity. This paper describes an electronic approach using High Voltage Capacitance Based technology (HVCB) to control biofouling in industrial heat exchangers, focusing upon biofilm removal and the prevention of biofilm formation. Four different application case studies are presented in this paper in which the HVCB technology was used to control biofouling. The applications include an evaporative cooling wall in a greenhouse in Oracle, Arizona; a cooling tower–condenser application in Phoenix, Arizona (study performed by Arizona State University under a U.S. Department of Energy grant); a cooling tower system using reclaimed industrial waste water at a wafer facility in Camas, WA; and a piping system for a major utility plant (Tennessee Valley Authority – TVA) using river water. All four locations showed a significant improvement in biofouling control when the HVCB system was applied. Depending on the conditions of the water at each location, biofouling was controlled, while achieving a complete elimination of biocides, or with a significant reduction in biocide feed. From the data presented, the application of HVCB treatment programs can be successful in interfering with the three recognized stages of biofilm formation in industrial heat exchangers and piping systems

Engagement with gamification elements in a smoking cessation app and short-term smoking abstinence: a quantitative assessment

Background: Gamification in smoking cessation apps has been found to improve cognitive outcomes associated with higher odds of quitting. Although some research has shown that gamification can also positively impact behavioral outcomes such as smoking cessation, studies have largely focused on physical activity and mental health. Only a few studies have explored the effects of gamification on smoking cessation outcomes, of which the majority have adopted qualitative methodologies and/or assessed engagement with apps using self-report. Objective: This study aimed to explore levels of user engagement with gamification features in a smoking cessation app via in-app metrics. Specifically, the objective of this paper was to investigate whether higher engagement with gamification features is associated with the likelihood of quitting in the short term. Methods: Data from a larger online study that recruited smokers seeking to quit were analyzed to address the objectives presented in this paper. The study took place between June 2019 and July 2020, and participants were primarily recruited via social media posts. Participants who met the eligibility criteria used 1 of 2 mobile apps for smoking cessation. In-app metrics shared by the developer of one of the smoking cessation apps, called Kwit, were used to assess engagement with gamification features. Out of 58 participants who used the Kwit app, 14 were excluded due to missing data or low engagement with the app (ie, not opening the app once a week). For the remaining 44 participants, mean (SD) values were calculated for engagement with the app using in-app metrics. A logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between engagement with gamification and 7-day smoking abstinence. Results: In total, data from 44 participants who used the Kwit app were analyzed. The majority of participants were male, married, and employed. Almost 30% (n=13) of participants self-reported successful 7-day abstinence at the end of the study. On average, the Kwit app was opened almost 31 (SD 39) times during the 4-week study period, with the diary feature used the most often (mean 22.8, SD 49.3). Moreover, it was found that each additional level unlocked was associated with approximately 22% higher odds of achieving 7-day abstinence after controlling for other factors such as age and gender (odds ratio 1.22, 95% CI 1.01-1.47). Conclusions: This study highlights the likely positive effects of certain gamification elements such as levels and achievements on short-term smoking abstinence. Although more robust research with a larger sample size is needed, this research highlights the important role that gamification features integrated into mobile apps can play in facilitating and supporting health behavior change

From bound states to resonances: analytic continuation of the wave function

Single-particle resonance parameters and wave functions in spherical and deformed nuclei are determined through analytic continuation in the potential strength. In this method, the analyticity of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Schroedinger equation with respect to the coupling strength is exploited to analytically continue the bound-state solutions into the positive-energy region by means of Pade' approximants of the second kind. The method is here applied to single-particle wave functions of the $^{154}Sm$ and $^{131}Eu$ nuclei. A comparison of the results with the direct solution of the Schroedinger equation shows that the method can be confidently applied also in coupled-channel situations requiring high numerical accuracy.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Bouncing Neutrons and the Neutron Centrifuge

The recent observation of the quantum state of the neutron bouncing freely under gravity allows some novel experiments. A method of purifying the ground state is given, and possible applications to the measurement of the electric dipole moment of the neutron and the short distance behaviour of gravity are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Emergence of an abstract categorical code enabling the discrimination of temporally structured tactile stimuli

The problem of neural coding in perceptual decision making revolves around two fundamental questions: (i) How are the neural representations of sensory stimuli related to perception, and (ii) what attributes of these neural responses are relevant for downstream networks, and how do they influence decision making? We studied these two questions by recording neurons in primary somatosensory (S1) and dorsal premotor (DPC) cortex while trained monkeys reported whether the temporal pattern structure of two sequential vibrotactile stimuli (of equal mean frequency) was the same or different. We found that S1 neurons coded the temporal patterns in a literal way and only during the stimulation periods and did not reflect the monkeys' decisions. In contrast, DPC neurons coded the stimulus patterns as broader categories and signaled them during the working memory, comparison, and decision periods. These results show that the initial sensory representation is transformed into an intermediate, more abstract categorical code that combines past and present information to ultimately generate a perceptually informed choiceThis work was supported in part by the Dirección de Asuntos del Personal Académico de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (R.R.) and Grant FIS2015-67876-P (to N.P.