Research Software Engineering in 2030

This position paper for an invited talk on the "Future of eScience" discusses the Research Software Engineering Movement and where it might be in 2030. Because of the authors' experiences, it is aimed globally but with examples that focus on the United States and United Kingdom.Comment: Invited paper for 2023 IEEE Conference on eScienc

A Dual Census Geographical Information System: Is It a Data Warehouse?

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for governmental applications are beginning to be applied on a dual-census or multi-census basis. A dual census GIS is one that references the data of two censuses in an integrated way. Nearly every nation worldwide has a census that constitutes its primary repository of spatially referenced social and economic data. However, censuses vary a lot in their data quality, attribute definitions, and spatial design. This paper has the primary goal to examine to what extent a dual census GIS corresponds to a data warehouse. The paper first presents a contemporary design for a dual census GIS, followed by an example. Then it reviews the key features of a data warehouse and examines feature by feature whether or not a dual census GIS corresponds to a data warehouse. The paper concludes that a dual census GIS mostly corresponds to a data warehouse. It succeeds on features of combining data from multiple sources, but falls short on multi-dimensionality. A dual census GIS emphasizes calculation and modeling to a greater extent than most data warehouses. In this respect, the dual census GIS meets the OLAP criteria, and in particular that of data manipulation. The paper points out that the real advantage of incorporating data warehousing may be to combine it into a spatial decision support system, in order to provide decision support in a bi-national or multi-national context

Inta-Censal Geographis Information Systems: Application to Binational Border Cities

This paper presents a new design for a census-based binational geographic information system. GIS has had limited application intra-censally i.e. between nations. The reasons are the formidable obstacles of standardization of attributes, matching of meaning of attributes, consistency of data-bases, and consistency of boundary files. Many problems in public administration can be solved by using GIS systems that encompass data from several nations. This challenge is even greater for GIS applications involving small area data. The present paper presents a general framework for dual-nation GIS\u27s and then offers an example of its application to the United States and Mexico. The example is a successful GIS constructed for the twin cities of the U.S.-Mexico border. The results of the paper can apply to combining European censuses, many of which lack standardized formats or to combining censuses of European and neighbor nations, where the differences are greater. The paper discusses the results and makes suggestions for improvements in dual-censal GIS applications in public administration

Johann Michael Haydn’s Missa Sancti Hieronymi: An Unusual Eighteenth-Century Tribute to Saint Jerome

Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806), court musician to the prince-archbishop of Salzburg, composed the Missa Sancti Hieronymi in 1777, apparently intended to mark the name-day of his employer: 30 September, the feast-day of St. Jerome. Because of its wind-band scoring, this Mass is unique, not only among Haydn’s Masses, but also in the Mass repertoire of Salzburg, and apparently in that of all late eighteenth-century Austria. The present article discusses the environment in which Haydn functioned and its effect on the practice of church music in Salzburg and generally in Catholic Austria. Haydn’s employer, Archbishop Colloredo, was a proponent of Enlightenment thinking. He expressed in his Hirtenbrief of 1782 ideas opposed to the kind of sacred music then prevalent in Austria, in particular, the orchestral Mass. Reflective of the new Gottesdienstordnung promulgated by Emperor Joseph II, the proposed changes include the introduction of congregational hymns in the vernacular and severe reduction in numbers of liturgies and the amount of music allowed in them. Colloredo finds support for his ideas in the writings of St. Jerome and other church fathers. Given Haydn’s strong Catholic faith and dedication as a composer of sacred music, the article suggests that although he wrote the Missa as a dutiful servant of his employer, he meant it above all as a tribute to St. Jerome

iGotBand: Improvisational Music Game

iGotBand is a guitar simulation game that allows players to perform improvised music in front of a virtual crowd. The player\u27s band is set in one of three empty venues, each with a unique layout. Fans will walk through the venue as the player tries to get their attention through music. Players will try to expand their virtual fan base by fulfilling the fans\u27 musical requests. iGotBand was made in flash, and it is a prototype of a game that diverges from the arcade style of current music games. The purpose of this game was to explore avenues of music games that would allow improvisation on the part of the player. The team combined its experience in Autodesk Maya, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Flash, Digidesign Pro Tools, and Audacity to develop this game