Automatic Labeling of Software Components and their Evolution using Log-Likelihood Ratio of Word Frequencies in Source Code

As more and more open-source software components become available on the internet we need automatic ways to label and compare them. For example, a developer who searches for reusable software must be able to quickly gain an understanding of retrieved components. This understanding cannot be gained at the level of source code due to the semantic gap between source code and the domain model. In this paper we present a lexical approach that uses the log-likelihood ratios of word frequencies to automatically provide labels for software components. We present a prototype implementation of our labeling/comparison algorithm and provide examples of its application. In particular, we apply the approach to detect trends in the evolution of a software system.

Social Work as Laboratory for Normative Professionalisation

In most Western countries, the professional status of social workers is instable and insecure. Of course, most Western countries are themselves instable, ridden with feelings of insecurity and in search of reassurance and promises of control. But social work hardly lends itself as a projection screen for visions of professional control and efficiency in the face of insecurity. On the contrary: within the present cultural and political climate, social work connotes primarily with unpopular social problems, with people unable to cope adequately with the competitiveness and the rate of change of post-industrial societies, that is to say: it connotes more with dependency and helplessness then with autonomy and control. Moreover, whereas public discourse in most Western country is dominated by a neo-liberal perspective and the intricate network of economic, managerial, consumerist and military metaphors connected with it, social work still carries with it a legacy of 'progressive politics' increasingly labeled as outdated and inadequate. Although the values of solidarity and social justice connected with this 'progressive heritage' certainly have not faded away completely, the loudest and most popular voices on the level of public discourse keep underscoring the necessity to adapt to the 'realities' of present-day postindustrial societies and their dependence on economic growth, technological innovation and the dynamics of an ever more competitive world-market. This 'unavoidable' adaptation involves both the 'modernization' and progressive diminishment of 'costly' welfare-state arrangements and a radical reorientation of social work as a profession. Instead of furthering the dependency of clients in the name of solidarity, social workers should stimulate them to face their own responsibilities and help them to function more adequately in a world where individual autonomy and economic progress are dominant values. This shift has far-reaching consequences for the organization of the work itself. Efficiency and transparency are the new code words, professional autonomy is dramatically limited and interventions of social workers are increasingly bound to 'objective' standards of success and cost-effectiveness.

Richtungsweisend oder eine nur begrenzt wahrgenommene Chance? Der Copyright-Code des Wittem-Projekts

Der „European copyright code“ des Wittem-Projekts von 4/2010 ist pragmatisch, konstruktiv-konservativ ausgefallen. Traditionell das Werk- und Autorenverständnis. Schrankenregelungen werden über einen hybriden Ansatz offen gehalten. Bildung und Wissenschaft werden nicht gerade verwöhnt. Die Wittem-Gruppe hat sich nicht in den „Treibsand visionärer Modelle“ begeben wollen. Ein guter Text, aber dann doch nicht wirklich wegweisend für den Umgang mit Wissen und Information in elektronischen Räumen, am ehesten noch durch den Vorschlag einer Schrankenbestimmung zur Begünstigung des wirtschaftlichen Wettbewerbs.

Is characterization of a single isolate sufficient for valid publication of a new genus or species? Proposal to modify recommendation 30b of the Bacteriological Code (1990 Revision)

From 1990 to 2000, the number of published named taxa based upon new isolates at species and genus levels in International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, formerly International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, have increased by approximately four- and sevenfold, respectively. New taxa based upon characterization of only a single isolate remained at around 40% for both categories. The Bacteriological Code (1990 Revision) has no recommendations on the number of strains required for definition of new taxa. For a few groups, a minimum number of 5-10 strains has been suggested in minimal standards. Since an exponential increase in new taxa can be expected in the future, the authors discuss problems related to naming new species and genera based upon descriptions of a single isolate and suggest that this practice is re-evaluated. It is proposed that the following should be added to Recommendation 30b of the Bacteriological Code: 'Descriptions should be based on as many strains as possible (minimum five), representing different sources with respect to geography and ecology in order to be well characterized both phenotypically and genotypically, to establish the centre (from which the type strain could be chosen) and the extent of the cluster to be named. In addition, comparative studies should be performed, including reference strains that represent neighbouring species and/or genera, in order to give descriptions that are sufficiently detailed to allow differentiation from these neighbours.'