Software quality management improvement through mentoring: an exploratory study from GSD projects

Proceeding of: OTM 2011 Workshops: Confederated InternationalWorkshops and Posters: EI2N+NSF ICE, ICSP+INBAST, ISDE, ORM, OTMA, SWWS+MONET+SeDeS, and VADER 2011, Hersonissos, Crete, Greece, October 17-21, 2011Software Quality Management (SQM) is a set of processes and procedures designed to assure the quality of software artifacts along with their development process. In an environment in which software development is evolving to a globalization, SQM is seen as one of its challenges. Global Software Development is a way to develop software across nations, continents, cultures and time zones. The aim of this paper is to detect if mentoring, one of the lead personnel development tools, can improve SQM of projects developed under GSD. The results obtained in the study reveal that the influence of mentoring on SQM is just temperate

Modulations in the Indian Summer Monsoon-ENSO teleconnections by the North Tropical Atlantic

International audienceNorth Tropical Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature (i.e., NTA SST) anomalies emerge as a key-driver of the whole El Niño Southern Oscillation-Indian Summer Monsoon (ENSO-ISM) system. However, as the underlying physical mechanisms are not yet well understood, this study made an attempt to have deeper insights on the role of the NTA SST variability on the ISM, ENSO and their mutual relationships. The evidences from observations and a Pi-Control coupled simulation demonstrate the pronounced biennial nature of the NTA-ENSO-ISM system and suggest the precursory role of the NTA SSTs in this biennial ENSO-ISM system. As the cause-and-effect relationships are difficult to disentangle, ensembles of short coupled sensitivity experiments are conducted by imposing observed warm (cold) SST anomalies over NTA. These 1-year simulations start from various January initial conditions corresponding to strong El Niño (La Niña) events as identified from Pi-Control and subsequently impose warm (cold) SST anomalies over the NTA region after the El Niño (La Niña) peak in January. The sensitivity experiments support the hypothesis of a key role of NTA SSTs in the reversal of the ENSO conditions through their capacitor effect. They further illustrate the nonlinear characteristics of this system as cold NTA SST perturbations are more influential than warm NTA SSTs. This non-linearity brings up new perspectives on the NTA-ENSO-ISM system, as it is further reflected in the asymmetric response in the simulated ENSO-ISM, with the cold NTA perturbations initiated from the La Niña conditions showing a stronger anomalous ISM response during boreal summer, which is in contrast with the feeble ISM response in the warm NTA perturbations experiment using the El Niño initial conditions. This non-linearity of NTA-ENSO-ISM has larger implications in a global warming scenario, as the climate variability over NTA region is projected to intensify in the future

Large enhanced dielectric permittivity in polyaniline passivated core-shell nano magnetic iron oxide by plasma polymerization

Commercial samples of Magnetite with size ranging from 25–30nm were coated with polyaniline by using radio frequency plasma polymerization to achieve a core shell structure of magnetic nanoparticle (core)–Polyaniline (shell). High resolution transmission electron microscopy images confirm the core shell architecture of polyaniline coated iron oxide. The dielectric properties of the material were studied before and after plasma treatment. The polymer coated magnetite particles exhibited a large dielectric permittivity with respect to uncoated samples. The dielectric behavior was modeled using a Maxwell–Wagner capacitor model. A plausible mechanism for the enhancement of dielectric permittivity is propose

Large enhanced dielectric permittivity in polyaniline passivated core-shell nano magnetic iron oxide by plasma polymerization

Commercial samples of Magnetite with size ranging from 25–30nm were coated with polyaniline by using radio frequency plasma polymerization to achieve a core shell structure of magnetic nanoparticle (core)–Polyaniline (shell). High resolution transmission electron microscopy images confirm the core shell architecture of polyaniline coated iron oxide. The dielectric properties of the material were studied before and after plasma treatment. The polymer coated magnetite particles exhibited a large dielectric permittivity with respect to uncoated samples. The dielectric behavior was modeled using a Maxwell–Wagner capacitor model. A plausible mechanism for the enhancement of dielectric permittivity is proposedCochin University of Science and TechnologyApplied Physics Letters 104, 121603 (2014

Threshold of anthropogenic sound levels within protected landscapes in Kerala, India, for avian habitat quality and conservation

Abstract Anthrophony is an important determinant of habitat quality in the Anthropocene. Acoustic adaptation of birds at lower levels of anthrophony is known. However, threshold anthrophony, beyond which biophony starts decreasing, is less explored. Here, we present empirical results of the relationship between anthrophony and biophony in four terrestrial soundscapes. The constancy of the predicted threshold vector normalised anthropogenic power spectral density (~ 0.40 Watts/Hz) at all the study sites is intriguing. We propose the threshold value of anthropogenic power spectral density as an indicator of the avian acoustic tolerance level in the study sites. The findings pave the way to determine permissible sound levels within protected landscapes and directly contribute to conservation planning

Microanalysis of Bioactive Samarium Doped Glass-Reinforced Hydroxyapatite

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Contact potential induced enhancement of magnetization in polyaniline coated nanomagnetic iron oxides by plasma polymerization

The present work derives motivation from the so called surface/interfacial magnetism in core shell structures and commercial samples of Fe3O4 and c Fe2O3 with sizes ranging from 20 to 30 nm were coated with polyaniline using plasma polymerization and studied. The High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy images indicate a core shell structure after polyaniline coating and exhibited an increase in saturation magnetization by 2 emu/g. For confirmation, plasma polymerization was performed on maghemite nanoparticles which also exhibited an increase in saturation magnetization. This enhanced magnetization is rather surprising and the reason is found to be an interfacial phenomenon resulting from a contact potential.Cochin University of Science and TechnologyAppl. Phys. Lett. 103, 162414 (2013

<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language: HI" lang="EN-IN">Absorption and emission spectral studies of Sm³⁺ and Dy³⁺doped alkali fluoroborate <span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:HiddenHorzOCR; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language: HI" lang="EN-IN">glasses</span></span>

577-587<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:black;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">Absorption and photoluminescence spectra of Sm3+ and Dy3+ doped alkali fluoroborate glasses of the composition 90.5 B2O3 + 4 AlF + 5 RF + 0.5 LnF3 (R= Li , Na, K and Ln = Sm, Dy) are reported. On excitation , with 402 nm, the Sm3+glasses were found to be orange fluorescent in colour and richness of that colour was high in the Na+ glass, compared to Li+ and K+ glasses. Similarly, on excitation with 398 nm, the Dy3+ glasses were fluorescent yellow and that colour was richer in the K+ glass.</span

Quantitative representation of floral colors

International audienceHuman and insect pollinator perceived floral colors of 81 species of angiosperms (flowering plants) from Trivandrum (Kerala, India) was represented using the CIE 1976 L*a*b* color space and color hexagon, respectively. The floral color difference among human perceived red, yellow, and blue-hued flowers and that of each flower from its respective pure hue was calculated using the CIE E 2000 formula. Human perceived floral color difference values were consistently higher than 3.5, indicating the uniqueness of floral colors. Flowers perceived red and yellow by humans were dominant and of comparable proportions. Insect pollinators perceive most of the flowers as blue-green. Quantitative representation of human and pollinator perceived floral colors would be invaluable to understand the information broadcasted by flowers. It can form the basis of flower grading in the floriculture industry and underpin objectivity in evolving the framework for national pollinator strategies