Australian software developers embrace quality Assurance Certification

[Abstract]: This paper details a research project undertaken to assess the extent of adoption of quality assurance (QA) certification by Australian software developers. A brief history of government QA policy, the catalyst in the sudden interest in certification, is included. Primary data for the study were gathered from a survey of 1,000 Australian software developers, and were used to determine the extent of adoption of QA certification by Australian developers, their organisational characteristics, capability maturity and perceptions regarding the value of QA certification. Secondary data from the JAS-ANZ register of certified organisations enabled validation of survey responses and extrapolation of QA certification adoption. Major findings of the study revealed that 11 percent of respondents are certified to ISO 9001 or AS 3563, seven percent are in progress and 21 percent plan to adopt QA certification. It also revealed that specialist developers are adopting QA certification at twice the rate of in-house developers. Other factors found to be associated with adoption of QA certification are large development groups, developers with government or overseas clients, organisations with whole- or part-foreign ownership, and organisations undertaking corporate TQM initiatives. From the findings, detailed implications are drawn for managers and policy analysts

Champagne training on a beer budget

[Abstract]: When confronted by rapidly escalating costs for End User Computing (EUC) training and support, the Gold Coast City Council (GCCC) - the local government authority for Australia’s premier tourist destination - took a proactive stance by adopting a low-cost strategy. This strategy has now been in place for about six years and, as shown in this case study, is reaping rewards in terms of productivity increases and technology diffusion. After identifying an appropriate theoretical perspective for the study, this paper describes the EUC training approach taken at GCCC, and investigates its impact on the productivity of the 1500 person workforce. Both the trainees and the trainers were surveyed to evaluate fully this low-cost strategy. Related social issues of empowering the stakeholders are examined and recommendations are made to ensure that this approach will continue to provide champagne training on a beer budget

Higher CMM levels attained by QA certified software developers

[Abstract]: This paper addresses the question: is higher capability maturity associated with adoption of Quality Assurance (QA) certification? To assess the extent of adoption of third-party QA certification by Australian software developers, a survey of 1,000 software developers was recently conducted. The questionnaire also included an assessment of their capability maturity based on the capability maturity model (CMM). Cynics who criticise the value of QA certification may be surprised by the strong association found between adoption of QA certification and capability maturity

Postcard: Photographed Expressly For The Grain Belt Realty Company

This black and white photographic postcard features seven stalks of grain tied together upright into bundles. Two bundles lay on the carpet in front. The background depicts a painted backdrop with painted columns to the left . Handwritten text is at the bottom left of the card. There is handwriting on the back of the card.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/tj_postcards/1265/thumbnail.jp

Synthesis and X-ray crystal structure of a bridging trispiran ligand

The document attached has been archived with permission from the publisher.Spiro[3,3]heptane-2,6-dispiro-4,5-diazafluorene (4) has been synthesized in three steps from 1,10-phenanthroline. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P212121 and has the two 4,5-diazafluorene metal binding domains mutually orthogonal.Peter J. Steel and Christopher J. Sumb

Myosin VIIA is required for aminoglycoside accumulation in cochlear hair cells.

Myosin VIIA is expressed by sensory hair cells and has a primary structure predicting a role in membrane trafficking and turnover, processes that may underlie the susceptibility of hair cells to aminoglycoside antibiotics. [3H]Gentamicin accumulation and the effects of aminoglycosides were therefore examined in cochlear cultures of mice with different missense mutations in the myosin VIIA gene, Myo7a, to see whether myosin VIIA plays a role in aminoglycoside ototoxicity. Hair cells from homozygous mutant Myo7a(sh1) mice, with a mutation in a non-conserved region of the myosin VIIA head, respond rapidly to aminoglycoside treatment and accumulate high levels of gentamicin. Hair cells from homozygous mutant Myo7a(6J) mice, with a mutation at a highly conserved residue close to the ATP binding site of the myosin VIIA head, do not accumulate [3H]gentamicin and are protected from aminoglycoside ototoxicity. Hair cells from heterozygotes of both alleles accumulate [3H]gentamicin and respond to aminoglycosides. Although aminoglycoside uptake is thought to be via apical surface-associated endocytosis, coated pit numbers on the apical membrane of heterozygous and homozygous Myo7a(6J) hair cells are similar. Pulse-chase experiments with cationic ferritin confirm that the apical endocytotic pathway is functional in homozygous Myo7a(6J) hair cells. Transduction currents can be recorded from both heterozygous and homozygous Myo7a(6J) hair cells, suggesting it is unlikely that the drug enters via diffusion through the mechanotransducer channel. The results show that myosin VIIA is required for aminoglycoside accumulation in hair cells. Myosin VIIA may transport a putative aminoglycoside receptor to the hair cell surface, indirectly translocate it to sites of membrane retrieval, or retain it in the endocytotic pathway

Cell Proliferation During Immunological Perturbation in Three Transplanted Tumours

The cell population kinetics of 3 transplantable tumours has been studied under circumstances in which the tumour growth rate was modified by a disturbance of the immunological status of the host. In 2 cases a complete arrest of growth was achieved but in spite of this there was a barely significant change in the median intermitotic time of proliferating cells. The data indicate that growth retardation was associated with a reduction in the proportion of actively proliferating cells and the rate of cell production, with or without an increase in the absolute rate of cell loss

Generation of frequency sidebands on single photons with indistinguishability from quantum dots

Generation and manipulation of the quantum state of a single photon is at the heart of many quantum information protocols. There has been growing interest in using phase modulators as quantum optics devices that preserve coherence. In this Letter, we have used an electro-optic phase modulator to shape the state vector of single photons emitted by a quantum dot to generate new frequency components (modes) and explicitly demonstrate that the phase modulation process agrees with the theoretical prediction at a single photon level. Through two-photon interference measurements we show that for an output consisting of three modes (the original mode and two sidebands), the indistinguishability of the mode engineered photon, measured through the secondorder intensity correlation (g2(0)) is preserved. This work demonstrates a robust means to generate a photonic qubit or more complex state (e.g., a qutrit) for quantum communication applications by encoding information in the sidebands without the loss of coherence

Invisibility and supervisibility: Radiation dynamics in a discrete electromagnetic cloak

We study the radiation dynamics of an electric dipole source placed near or inside a discrete invisibility cloak. We show that the main features of radiation dynamics can be understood in terms of the interaction of the source with a nonideal cloak in which local-field effects associated with the discrete geometry play a crucial role. As a result, radiation dynamics in a discrete cloak can differ drastically from what a source would experience in an ideal, continuous cloak. This can lead, for instance, to an enhancement of the emission by the cloak, thus making the source more visible to an outside observer than it would be without the cloak. The two main physical mechanisms for enhanced, or inhibited, radiation dynamics are the coupling of the source to leaky modes inside the cloak, and the coupling of the source with the lattice of the discrete cloak, via the local field. We also explore the robustness of the effect to material dispersion and losses