Building Knowledge Bases for the Generation of Software Documentation

Automated text generation requires a underlying knowledge base from which to generate, which is often difficult to produce. Software documentation is one domain in which parts of this knowledge base may be derived automatically. In this paper, we describe \drafter, an authoring support tool for generating user-centred software documentation, and in particular, we describe how parts of its required knowledge base can be obtained automatically.Comment: 6 pages, from COLING-9

Tesla, changement de paradigme ou feu de paille ?

Tesla, le constructeur de voitures entièrement électriques, vous connaissez ? On en croise de plus en plus souvent sur la route et malgré l’absence de publicité, la marque parvient à créer un réel intérêt chez les individus. Le but de ce travail est d’analyser les chances que Tesla devienne un leader mondial du véhicule électrique et celles de voir cette société disparaître aux oubliettes comme d’autres premiers entrants dans des secteurs économiques différents. L’analyse des trois différentes strates de l’environnement (Macroenvironnement – Industrie – Concurrents et marchés) nous a permis de relever les éléments qui possèdent un impact, positif ou négatif, sur Tesla. Premièrement, l’analyse PESTEL nous a permis de découvrir divers facteurs d’influence qui peuvent être des opportunités telles que la tendance écologique, la baisse du prix des batteries de type lithium-ion ou encore le réchauffement climatique. En revanche, le développement des voitures à hydrogène, ainsi que le durcissement de la loi sur l’environnement sont deux exemples de menaces que Tesla doit surveiller. Deuxièmement, les deux variables pivots ayant le plus d’impact et étant les plus incertaines ont permis de réaliser quatre scénarios à l’horizon 2030. L’évolution du prix du pétrole et l’intervention des politiques par rapport aux voitures propres ont été croisés. Le scénario 1 « Changement de paradigme » est celui qui est le plus favorable pour Tesla et postule pour un monde dans lequel le prix du pétrole est haut et l’intervention des politiques est favorable aux voitures propres. Le scénario 3 « Statu quo » est beaucoup plus menaçant pour la marque qui se verra mettre plusieurs barrières au travers de son chemin à cause du bas prix du pétrole et de l’intervention politique pas ou peu avantageuse pour les voitures propres, ce qui exigera des moyens financiers plus importants avant de réaliser le premier profit. Dans l’industrie, les 5(+1) forces de Porter, puis la dynamique de la concurrence nous ont démontrés que malgré le calme au niveau concurrentiel qui règne actuellement, il n’en sera pas autant à l’avenir. En effet, Tesla est menacée par une forte augmentation de l’intensité concurrentielle, étant donné que tous les plus grands constructeurs automobiles actuels s’y mettent et proposent déjà souvent un modèle hybride, électrique, voir à hydrogène pour certaines marques

Between the Danube and the Deep Blue Sea : zooarchaeological meta-analysis reveals variability in the spread and development of Neolithic farming across the western Balkans

The first spread of farming practices into Europe in the Neolithic period involves two distinct 'streams', respectively around the Mediterranean littoral and along the Danube corridor to central Europe. In this paper we explore variation in Neolithic animal use practices within and between these streams, focusing on the first region in which they are clearly distinct (and yet still in close proximity): the western Balkans. We employ rigorous and reproducible meta-analysis of all available zooarchaeological data from the region to test hypotheses (a) that each stream featured a coherent 'package' of herding and hunting practices in the earliest Neolithic, and (b) that these subsequently diverged in response to local conditions and changing cultural preferences. The results partially uphold these hypotheses, while underlining that Neolithisation was a complex and varied process. A coherent, stable, caprine-based 'package' is seen in the coastal stream, albeit with some diversification linked to expansion northwards and inland. Accounting for a severe, systematic bias in bone recovery methodology between streams, we show that sheep and goats also played a major role across the continental stream in the earliest Neolithic (c.6100-5800 BC). This was followed by a geographically staggered transition over c.500 years to an economy focused on cattle, with significant levels of hunting in some areas – a pattern we interpret in terms of gradual adaptation to local conditions, perhaps mediated by varying degrees of cultural conservatism. Subsequent westward expansion carried with it elements of this new pattern, which persisted through the middle and late Neolithic

Exploration of gray matter correlates of cognitive training benefit in adolescents with chronic traumatic brain injury

Sustaining a traumatic brain injury (FBI) during adolescence has a profound effect on brain development and can result in persistent executive functioning deficits in daily life. Cognitive recovery from pediatric-TBI relies on the potential of neuroplasticity, which can be fostered by restorative training-programs. However the structural mechanisms underlying cognitive recovery in the immature brain are poorly understood. This study investigated gray matter plasticity following 2 months of cognitive training in young patients with TBI. Sixteen adolescents in the chronic stage of moderate-severe-TBI (9 male, mean age = 15y8m +/- 1y7m) were enrolled in a cognitive computerized training program for 8 weeks (5 times/week, 40 min/session). Pre-and post-intervention, and 6 months after completion of the training, participants underwent a comprehensive neurocognitive test-battery and anatomical Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans. We selected 9 cortical-subcortical Regions-Of-Interest associated with Executive Functioning (EF-ROIs) and 3 control regions from the Desikan-Killiany atlas. Baseline analyses showed significant decreased gray matter density in the superior frontal gyri p = 0.033, superior parietal gyri p = 0.015 and thalamus p = 0.006 in adolescents with TBI compared to age and gender matched controls. Linear mixed model analyses of longitudinal volumetric data of the EF-ROI revealed no strong evidence of training-related changes in the group with TBI. However, compared to the change over time in the control regions between post-intervention and 6 months follow-up, the change in the EF-ROIs showed a significant difference. Exploratory analyses revealed a negative correlation between the change on the Digit Symbol Substitution test and the change in volume of the putamen (r = - 0.596, p = 0.015). This preliminary study contributes to the insights of training-related plasticity mechanisms after pediatric-TBI

Touching the void. Comments on Martin Furholt’s “Massive migrations?”

Comment on article by Martin Furholt, "Massive Migrations? The Impact of Recent aDNA Studies on our View of Third Millennium Europe

FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY, BIOMECHANICS, AND EVOLUTION OF RUMINANT MAMMALS

Ruminant mammals, including the families Bovidae, Cervidae, Tragulidae, Moschidae, Antilocapridae, and Giraffidae, display incredible past and present diversity in morphology, ecology, and behavior. They inhabit an impressive range of environments across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and compel the fascination of naturalists and researchers alike with their charismatic social behavior and conspicuous cranial appendages. I explore the drivers and consequences of this spectacular diversity through a comparative morphological framework, biomechanical modeling approaches, and semi-parametric and likelihood-based methods for estimating state-dependent diversification rates across the ruminant phylogeny. Together, these investigations provide evidence for adaptation via correlated evolution of morphological and behavioral traits, highlight the clade’s rich evolutionary history, and establish promising avenues for further research into the evolution and maintenance of diversity in ruminant mammals