Towards pattern-based design recovery

A method and a corresponding tool is described which assist design recovery and program understanding by recognising instances of design patterns semi-automatically. The approach taken is specifically designed to overcome the existing scalability problems caused by many design and implementation variants of design pattern instances. Our approach is based on a new recognition algorithm which works incrementally rather than trying to analyse a possibly large software system in one pass without any human intervention. The new algorithm exploits domain and context knowledge given by a reverse engineer and by a special underlying data structure, namely a special form of an annotated abstract syntax graph. A comparative and quantitative evaluation of applying the approach to the Java AWT and JGL libraries is also given.

The information specialist in the clinical team: Building expertise in evidence-based healthcare

The Clinician Development Program (CDP) is an initiative of Queensland Health’s Quality Improvement and Enhancement Program. At the Royal Brisbane & Royal Women's Hospital Health Service Districts, evidence-base practice (EBP) is an important CDP area in which several projects were carried out in 2002. This paper describes one such project. A medical librarian was invited to accompany the clinical team on morning rounds in the Medical Assessment & Planning Unit (MAPU). The librarian conducted information skills training in the ward and helped clinicians to answer questions directly related to patient care. Questions not answered during the round were followed-up, usually within 48 hours, and responses emailed to the consultant who led the rounds. At the project’s conclusion the librarian was invited to continue as a member of the MAPU clinical team, thus acknowledging the valuable role an information specialist can play in incorporating research evidence into patient care. Clinical librarianship (CL) creates a space, albeit a contentious one, for the health librarian at the bedside. This paper describes an Australian CL project and attempts to demystify the role of an information specialist in EBP. It also highlights some of the challenges facing librarians and clinicians attempting to embed EBP in clinical settings.