Formal Language Recognition with the Java Type Checker

This paper is a theoretical study of a practical problem: the automatic generation of Java Fluent APIs from their specification. We explain why the problem\u27s core lies with the expressive power of Java generics. Our main result is that automatic generation is possible whenever the specification is an instance of the set of deterministic context-free languages, a set which contains most "practical" languages. Other contributions include a collection of techniques and idioms of the limited meta-programming possible with Java generics, and an empirical measurement demonstrating that the runtime of the "javac" compiler of Java may be exponential in the program\u27s length, even for programs composed of a handful of lines and which do not rely on overly complex use of generics

When your anchor sinks your boat:Information asymmetry in distributive negotiations and the disadvantage of making the first offer

The literature on behavioral decision-making and negotiations to date usually advocates first-mover advantage in distributive negotiations, and bases this preference on the anchoring heuristic. In the following paper, we suggest that the preference for moving first vs. moving second in negotiations may not be as clear-cut as presumed, especially in situations characterized by information asymmetry between negotiating counterparts. In Study 1, we examined people's initiation preferences and found that unless taught otherwise, people intuitively often prefer to move second. In Studies 2--4, we experimentally tested the suggested advantage of moving second, and demonstrated that in information-asymmetry scenarios – when one party has perfect background information and the other has none --- it is actually preferable for both counterparts not to give the first offer while negotiating. We discuss the implications of our findings on the field of negotiation and decision-making, and lay the groundwork for future studies examining this issue

When your anchor sinks your boat:Information asymmetry in distributive negotiations and the disadvantage of making the first offer

The literature on behavioral decision-making and negotiations to date usually advocates first-mover advantage in distributive negotiations, and bases this preference on the anchoring heuristic. In the following paper, we suggest that the preference for moving first vs. moving second in negotiations may not be as clear-cut as presumed, especially in situations characterized by information asymmetry between negotiating counterparts. In Study 1, we examined people's initiation preferences and found that unless taught otherwise, people intuitively often prefer to move second. In Studies 2--4, we experimentally tested the suggested advantage of moving second, and demonstrated that in information-asymmetry scenarios – when one party has perfect background information and the other has none --- it is actually preferable for both counterparts not to give the first offer while negotiating. We discuss the implications of our findings on the field of negotiation and decision-making, and lay the groundwork for future studies examining this issue

The boomerang effect of psychological interventions

Research has found that teaching people about psychological biases can help counteract biased behavior. On the other hand, due to the innate need for preservation of a positive self-image, it is likely that teaching people about biases they hold, may cause a boomerang effect in cases where being associated with a specific bias implies negative social connotations. In the three studies below we examine situations in which psychological bias implies negatively associated behavior, and show that teaching people about bias in those contexts can be counterproductive

Structure and Spatial Distribution of Ge Nanocrystals Subjected to Fast Neutron Irradiation

The influence of fast neutron irradiation on the structure and spatial distribution of Ge nanocrystals (NC) embedded in an amorphous SiO2 matrix has been studied. The investigation was conducted by means of laser Raman Scattering (RS), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The irradiation of GeNC samples by a high dose of fast neutrons lead to a partial destruction of the nanocrystals. Full reconstruction of crystallinity was achieved after annealing the radiation damage at 800 0 C, which resulted in full restoration of the RS spectrum. HR-TEM images show, however, that the spatial distributions of Ge-NC changed as a result of irradiation and annealing. A sharp decrease in NC distribution towards the SiO2 surface has been observed. This was accompanied by XPS detection of Ge oxides and elemental Ge within both the surface and subsurface regio

Heteroepitaxial hematite photoanodes as a model system for solar water splitting

Heteroepitaxial multilayer Pt(111)/Fe2O3(0001) films were deposited on sapphire c-plane (0001) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering and pulsed laser deposition, respectively. The films were highly crystalline, displaying an in-plane mosaic spread of less than 1° and a homogenous surface morphology with roughness of ∼3 Å. Ellipsometry and UV-vis spectroscopy measurements were shown to be in excellent agreement with modelling, demonstrating that the optics of the system including absorption in the hematite layer are well described. For polycrystalline hematite photoanodes deposited on platinum, full characterization of the system is hampered by the inability to make measurements in alkaline electrolyte containing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) due to spontaneous decomposition of H2O2 by the exposed platinum. The pin-hole free high quality of the heteroepitaxial films is demonstrated by the ability to make stable and reproducible measurements in H2O2 containing electrolyte allowing for accurate extraction of charge separation and injection efficiency. The combination of excellent crystalline quality in addition to the well characterized optics and electrochemical properties of the heteroepitaxial hematite photoanodes demonstrate that Al2O3(0001)/Pt(111)/Fe2O3(0001) is a powerful model system for systematic investigation into solar water splitting photoanodes

The ownership of digital infrastructure: Exploring the deployment of software libraries in a digital innovation cluster

Boundary resources have been shown to enable the arm’s-length relationships between platform owners and third-party developers that underlie digital innovation in platform ecosystems. While boundary resources that are owned by open-source communities and smaller-scale software vendors are also critical components in the digital infrastructure, their role in digital innovation has yet to be systematically explored. In particular, software libraries are popular boundary resources that provide functionality without the need for continued interaction with their owners. They are used extensively by commercial vendors to enable customization of their software products, by communities to disseminate open-source software, and by big-tech platform owners to provide functionality that does not involve control. This paper reports on the deployment of such software libraries in the web and mobile (Android) contexts by 107 startup companies in London. Our findings show that libraries owned by big-tech companies, product vendors, and communities coexist; that the deployment of big-tech libraries is unaffected by the scale of the deploying startup; and that context evolution paths are consequential for library deployment. These findings portray a balanced picture of digital infrastructure as neither the community-based utopia of early open-source research nor the dystopia of the recent digital dominance literature