Using configuration management and product line software paradigms to support the experimentation process in software engineering.

There is no empirical evidence whatsoever to support most of the beliefs on which software construction is based. We do not yet know the adequacy, limits, qualities, costs and risks of the technologies used to develop software. Experimentation helps to check and convert beliefs and opinions into facts. This research is concerned with the replication area. Replication is a key component for gathering empirical evidence on software development that can be used in industry to build better software more efficiently. Replication has not been an easy thing to do in software engineering (SE) because the experimental paradigm applied to software development is still immature. Nowadays, a replication is executed mostly using a traditional replication package. But traditional replication packages do not appear, for some reason, to have been as effective as expected for transferring information among researchers in SE experimentation. The trouble spot appears to be the replication setup, caused by version management problems with materials, instruments, documents, etc. This has proved to be an obstacle to obtaining enough details about the experiment to be able to reproduce it as exactly as possible. We address the problem of information exchange among experimenters by developing a schema to characterize replications. We will adapt configuration management and product line ideas to support the experimentation process. This will enable researchers to make systematic decisions based on explicit knowledge rather than assumptions about replications. This research will output a replication support web environment. This environment will not only archive but also manage experimental materials flexibly enough to allow both similar and differentiated replications with massive experimental data storage. The platform should be accessible to several research groups working together on the same families of experiments.

Practical Characterization of Input-Parallel-Connected Converters with a Common Input Filter

The paper presents a method to analyze robust stability and transient performance of a distributed power system consisting of commercial converter modules interconnected through a common input filter. The method is based on the use of four transfer functions, which are measurable from the converter input and output terminals. It is shown that these parameters provide important information on the power module sensitivity to the interactions caused by the external impedances. Practical characterization for the described system structure is performed introducing special transfer functions utilized for the interactions assessment. Experimental results are provided to support the presented analysis procedure.

New methodology on Applied Geology and Geology for Engineers education by using practical trip

There has been much discussion on the primacy of theory over practice. Today prevails the exaggeration of practice. This idea forgets too that teaching problem is a problem of right balance. The approach of the action lines on the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) framework provides for such balance. Applied Geology subject represents the first real contact with the physical environment with the practice profession and works. Besides, the situation of the topic in the first trace of Study Plans for many students implies the link to other subjects and topics of the career. This work analyses in depth the justification of such practical trips only on Applied Geology. This methodology could be usual in Study Plans of pure sciences career, Geology or Biology, but not in Civil Engineering like teaching method. It shows the criteria and methods of planning and the result which manifests itself in pupils. Therefore, work shows a methodology taking in account the engineering perspective, the practical point of view and the learning process inside students and their evaluation and, hence, their marks.

Marcel Breuer y el sueño de la cabaña americana

Marcel Breuer arquitecto húngaro y afamado diseñador de mobiliario procedente de la Bauhaus, emigra a Estados Unidos en 1937, invitado por Gropius como profesor en Harvard. Allí comienzan, Breuer y Gropius, una nueva etapa basada en la experimentación de la casa como revisión de los postulados de la arquitectura moderna: la casa como máquina de habitar, propuesta por Le Corbusier, procedente de la vieja Europa; versus la humanización de la máquina a través del efecto del material sobre la estructura y la forma extendidas y en contacto con el territorio, propuesta por Frank Lloyd Wright procedente de la nueva América. Sus experimentos domésticos sobre la casa-cabaña acercaron los métodos tradicionales de la construcción americana a una visión renovada abstracta y pura, donde los modos de vida, los requerimientos básicos, prácticos y funcionales se transformaron en la conexión del "Arte de Construir" a través del material y su puesta en obra. La búsqueda de una respuesta clara del habitar que satisfacía objetivos opuestos y necesidades humanas, llevó a su arquitectura de la abstracción a reconciliar al hombre con la naturaleza, dotarla de arte y vida, arquitectura y paisaje que pasaron a convertirse en los ideales modernos de la cabaña americana. ABSTRACT. Marcel Breuer, Hungarian architect and famed to furniture's designer of the Bauhaus emigrated to America in 1937, invited by Gropius as a professor at Harvard. Breuer and Gropius, there begin a new stage based on the experimentation of the house as a revision to the postulates of modern architecture: the house as a dwell machine proposed by Le Corbusier from old Europe; versus the humanization of the machine through the effect of material on the structure and form extended and in contact with the territory, proposed by Frank LI. Wright from the new America. His experiments on the house-cottage approached traditional methods of the American construction methods to a new vision, abstract and pure, where ways of life, and basic, practical and functional requirements became the connection to "Art of Building" trough the material and its placing. The search for a clear answer of dwelling that satisfied conflicting objectives and human needs, led to the architecture of abstraction to reconcile man with nature, endow it with life and art, an architecture and a landscape that became the modern ideals of American cottage.

Old concepts for new times in photonics sensing: from inconvenient to practical

After a brief review of some old concepts getting application when new technologies have been developed, this paper offers a short review to some optical bistability concepts. It is shown how different concepts can be employed today in many fields, after being considered as inconvenient when they were found. Some practical applications and some proposals will be reported.

Conceptual design of the beryllium rotating target for the ESS-Bilbao facility

The ESS-Bilbao facility, hosted by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), envisages the operation of a high-current proton accelerator delivering beams with energies up to 50 MeV. The time-averaged proton current will be 2.25 mA, delivered by 1.5 ms proton pulses with a repetition rate of 20 Hz. This beam will feed a neutron source based upon the Be (p,n) reaction, which will enable the provision of relevant neutron experimentation capabilities. The neutron source baseline concept consists in a rotating beryllium target cooled by water. The target structure will comprise a rotatable disk made of 6061-T6 aluminium alloy holding 20 beryllium plates. Heat dissipation from the target relies upon a distribution of coolant-flow channels. The practical implementation of such a concept is here described with emphasis put on the beryllium plates thermo-mechanical optimization, the chosen coolant distribution system as well as the mechanical behavior of the assembly.

Practical issues for testing thin film PV modules at standard test conditions.

Thin film photovoltaic (TF) modules have gained importance in the photovoltaic (PV) market. New PV plants increasingly use TF technologies. In order to have a reliable sample of a PV module population, a huge number of modules must be measured. There is a big variety of materials used in TF technology. Some of these modules are made of amorphous or microcrystalline silicon. Other are made of CIS or CdTe. Not all these materials respond the same under standard test conditions (STC) of power measurement. Power rates of the modules may vary depending on both the extent and the history of sunlight exposure. Thus, it is necessary a testing method adapted to each TF technology. This test must guarantee repeatability of measurements of generated power. This paper shows responses of different commercial TF PV modules to sunlight exposure. Several test procedures were performed in order to find the best methodology to obtain measurements of TF PV modules at STC in the easiest way. A methodology for indoor measurements adapted to these technologies is described.

Accuracy estimates based on multifield variational principles

Recent developments to fit the so called Free Formulation into a variational framework have suggested the possibility of introducing a new category of error estimates for finite element computations. Such error estimates are based on differences between certain multifield functionals, which give the same value for the true solution. In the present paper the formulation of some estimates of this kind is introduced for elasticity and plate bending problems, and several examples of their performance are discussed. The observed numerical behavior of the new accuracy measures seems to be acceptable from an engineering point of view. However, further numerical experimentation is still needed to establish practical tolerance levels for real problems.

Injuries in strength training: review and practical application

Purpose: This systematic review examines what is known about injuries in strength training. Methods: A systematic search was performed in PubMed and SportDiscus. Studies were included if they examined powerlifters, weightlifters, strongman athletes, bodybuilding athletes, individuals who undertook recreational weight training or weight training to complement athletic performance. Exposure variables were incidence, severity and body part injury. Results: After examining 1214 titles and abstracts, 62 articles were identified as potentially relevant. Finally, 11 were included in this systematic review. Conflicting results were reported on the relationships between injury definition and incidence or severity recorded. The lower back followed by the shoulder and knee are the most frequently affected areas in strength sports. Conclusion: Strength training is safe. However, the variety of injury definitions has makes it difficult to compare different studies in this field. New styles of reporting injuries have appeared, and could make increases these ratios. If methodological limitations in measuring incidence rate and severity injuries can be resolved, more work can be conducted to define the real incidence rate, compare it with others sports, and explore cause and effect relationships in randomized controlled trials. Key Words: strength training, injuries, specific strength sports, severity

Language resources and linked data: a practical perspective

Recently, experts and practitioners in language resources have started recognizing the benefits of the linked data (LD) paradigm for the representation and exploitation of linguistic data on the Web. The adoption of the LD principles is leading to an emerging ecosystem of multilingual open resources that conform to the Linguistic Linked Open Data Cloud, in which datasets of linguistic data are interconnected and represented following common vocabularies, which facilitates linguistic information discovery, integration and access. In order to contribute to this initiative, this paper summarizes several key aspects of the representation of linguistic information as linked data from a practical perspective. The main goal of this document is to provide the basic ideas and tools for migrating language resources (lexicons, corpora, etc.) as LD on the Web and to develop some useful NLP tasks with them (e.g., word sense disambiguation). Such material was the basis of a tutorial imparted at the EKAW’14 conference, which is also reported in the paper.

Revisión de:Sport facing cultural diversity. Integration and intercultural dialogue in Europe: analysis and practical example, de Wiliam Gasparini y Aurélie Cometti

Con motivo de la celebracio?n en 2008 del An?o Europeo del Dia?logo Intercultural, el Con- sejo de Europa promovio? una serie de encuentros y foros de debate en torno al papel de Europa en la gestio?n de la inmigracio?n, desde sus mu?ltiples dimensiones. Entre ellas, se encuentra el a?mbito deportivo, por su papel socializador como elemento cultural de dia?logo e identidad, aun- que tambie?n como espacio de confrontacio?n y discriminacio?n, que concierne tanto a participantes como espectadores, desde una perspectiva global y local. Con el objetivo de contrastar experien- cias y reflexiones a este respecto, tuvo lugar la primera conferencia europea con el nombre ?De- porte y Diversidad?, celebrada en Estrasburgo y organizada por la Agencia para la Educacio?n a trave?s del Deporte, el Consejo de Europa - a trave?s del EPAS - y la Universidad de Estrasburgo.

I.A.S.S. Symposium on Practical Aspects in the Computation on Shell and Spatial Structures

This work is the outcome of the interest that the Board of Executives of the lASS showed on the papers presented at the lASS-Symposium in Osaka (1986)

Effects of nutrition on digestión efficicency and gaseous emissions from slurry in growing-finishing pigs. II. Effect of protein source in practical diets.

Uso de diferentes fuentes de proteína en la alimentación de cerdos en fase de cebo y su relación con las emisiones de gases amoniaco y metano.

A practical approach to project management in a very small company

This article shows how a very small company has tailored Scrum according to its own needs. The main additions made were the “sprint design” phase and the “sprint test” phase. Before the sprint 0, the requirements elicitation and the functional specification were made in order to meet deadlines and costs agreed with clients. Besides, the introduction of an agile project management tool has supported all the process and it is considered the main success factor for the institutionalization of the Scrum process.

Service Capacity Reserve under Uncertainty by Hospital’s ER Analogies: A Practical Model for Car Services

We define a capacity reserve model to dimension passenger car service installations according to the demographic distribution of the area to be serviced by using hospital?s emergency room analogies. Usually, service facilities are designed applying empirical methods, but customers arrive under uncertain conditions not included in the original estimations, and there is a gap between customer?s real demand and the service?s capacity. Our research establishes a valid methodology and covers the absence of recent researches and the lack of statistical techniques implementation, integrating demand uncertainty in a unique model built in stages by implementing ARIMA forecasting, queuing theory, and Monte Carlo simulation to optimize the service capacity and occupancy, minimizing the implicit cost of the capacity that must be reserved to service unexpected customers. Our model has proved to be a useful tool for optimal decision making under uncertainty integrating the prediction of the cost implicit in the reserve capacity to serve unexpected demand and defining a set of new process indicators, such us capacity, occupancy, and cost of capacity reserve never studied before. The new indicators are intended to optimize the service operation. This set of new indicators could be implemented in the information systems used in the passenger car services.