ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
Job expectations of IS professionals in Hong Kong
Authors: Janice M. Burn, Eugenia M. W. Ng Tye, Louis C. K. Ma, Ray S. K. Poon
Venue: Proceedings of the 1994 computer personnel research conference on Reinventing IS : managing information technology in changing organizations: managing information technology in changing organizations (1994)

This paper reviews the job expectations of 200 IS professionals in Hong Kong, all of whom have entered the job market over the last 5 years with professional degree qualifications. The issues related to IS career development are explored in a worldwide context before they are specifically examined within the Hong Kong environment. A critical issue of concern for Hong Kong organizations is IS staff recruitment and retention. This is reflected by a growing commitment from Hong Kong tertiary institutes to develop academic programs which more closely support market needs.The paper describes the first part of a research model used and analyses the results within Hong Kong but also compares these with the findings from a number of other international studies. Finally, the implications for Hong Kong are discussed and extended into global concerns with respect to job expectations within multinational corporations and academic developments for a global IT society.Note: In this paper, IS professionals cover all those involved in the implementation of new business processes built around information technology. With respect to their academic qualifications this may be in IS, Computing or IT.
Evaluation of remote backup algorithms for transaction-processing systems
Authors: Christos A. Polyzois, Héctor García-Molina
Venue: ACM Transactions on Database Systems (TODS) (1994)

A remote backup is a copy of a primary database maintained at a geographically separate location and is used to increase data availability. Remote backup systems are typically log-based and can be classified into 2-safe and 1-safe, depending on whether transactions commit at both sites simultaneously or first commit at the primary and are later propagated to the backup. We have built an experimental database system on which we evaluated the performance of the epoch and the dependency reconstruction algorithms, two 1-safe algorithms we have developed. We compared the 1-safe with the 2-safe approach under various conditions.
Typographical extensions for programming languages: breaking out of the ASCII straitjacket
Authors: Paul W. Abrahams
Venue: ACM SIGPLAN Notices (1993)

Using extended typography, we can design programming languages that utilize modem display and input technologies, thus breaking out of the ASCII straitjacket. We assume that a language has three representations: a visual representation that describes its displayed form, an internal representation defined for each implementation, and an interchange representation, expressed in pure ASCII, that is defined across all implementations. Using extended typography we can use distinctive typefaces to indicate keywords, thus removing the need to reserve them, and can introduce a variety of new symbols more meaningful than those used in most current programming languages. One benefit is the possibility of arbitrary user-defined operators. We can also introduce new kinds of brackets and methods of pairing brackets visually. Extended typography also helps to solve the problems of writing programs in languages other than English.
Access normalization: loop restructuring for NUMA computers
Authors: Wei Li, Keshav Pingali
Venue: ACM Transactions on Computer Systems (TOCS) (1993)

In scalable parallel machines, processors can make local memory accesses much faster than they can make remote memory accesses. Additionally, when a number of remote accesses must be made, it is usually more efficient to use block transfers of data rather than to use many small messages. To run well on such machines, software must exploit these features. We believe it is too onerous for a programmer to do this by hand, so we have been exploring the use of restructuring compiler technology for this purpose. In this article, we start with a language like HPF-Fortran with user-specified data distribution and develop a systematic loop transformation strategy called access normalization that restructures loop nests to exploit locality and block transfers. We demonstrate the power of our techniques using routines from the BLAS (Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms) library. An important feature of our approach is that we model loop transformation using invertible matrices and integer lattice theory.
Process Improvement Through Data Reuse
Authors: Giuseppe Visaggio
Venue: IEEE Software (1994)

An approach that provides a process model, repository, and structured planning to transform data into meaningful management tasks helps organizations achieve the elusive goal of continuous process improvement. The approach was used in enhancing maintenance processes in a software house that develops banking systems.
Fully persistent lists with catenation
Authors: James R. Driscoll, Daniel D. K. Sleator, Robert E. Tarjan
Venue: Journal of the ACM (JACM) (1994)

This paper considers the problem of representing stacks with catenation so that any stack, old or new, is available for access or update operations. This problem arises in the implementation of list-based and functional programming languages. A solution is proposed requiring constant time and space for each stack operation except catenation, which requires O(log log k) time and space. Here k is the number of stack operations done before the catenation. All the resource bounds are amortized over the sequence of operations.
Do algorithm animations assist learning?: an empirical study and analysis
Authors: John Stasko, Albert Badre, Clayton Lewis
Venue: Proceedings of the INTERACT '93 and CHI '93 conference on Human factors in computing systems (1993)

Algorithm animations are dynamic graphical illustrations of computer algorithms, and they are used as teaching aids to help explain how the algorithms work. Although many people believe that algorithm animations are useful this way, no empirical evidence has ever been presented supporting this belief. We have conducted an empirical study of a priority queue algorithm animation, and the study's results indicate that the animation only slightly assisted student understanding. In this article, we analyze those results and hypothesize why algorithm animations may not be as helpful as was initially hoped. We also develop guidelines for making algorithm animations more useful in the future.
First-class data-type representations in SCHEMEXEROX
Authors: Norman Adams, Pavel Curtis, Mike Spreitzer
Venue: Proceedings of the ACM SIGPLAN 1993 conference on Programming language design and implementation (1993)

In most programming language implementations, the compiler has detailed knowledge of the representations of and operations on primitive data typed and data-type constructors. In SCHEMEXEROX, this knowledge is almost entirely external to the compiler, in ordinary, procedural user code. The primitive representations and operations are embodied in first-class &ldquo;representation types&rdquo; that are constructed and implemented in an abstract and high-level fashion. Despite this abstractness, a few generally-useful optimizing transformations are sufficient to allow the SCHEMEXEROX compiler to generate efficient code for the primitive operations, essentially as good as could be achieved using more contorted, traditional techniques.
Balancing the n-Cube: A Census of Colorings
Authors: E. M. Palmer, R. C. Read, R. W. Robinson
Venue: Journal of Algebraic Combinatorics: An International Journal (1992)

Weights of 1 or 0 are assigned to the vertices of the n-cube in n-dimensional Euclidean space. Such an n-cube is called balanced if its center of mass coincides precisely with its geometric center. The seldom-used n-variable form of P&oacute;lya's enumeration theorem is applied to express the number Nn, 2k of balanced configurations with 2k vertices of weight 1 in terms of certain partitions of 2k. A system of linear equations of Vandermonde type is obtained, from which recurrence relations are derived which are computationally efficient for fixed k. It is shown how the numbers Nn, 2k depend on the numbers An, 2k of specially restricted configurations. A table of values of Nn, 2k and An, 2k is provided for n &equals; 3, 4, 5, and 6. The case in which arbitrary, nonnegative, integral weights are allowed is also treated. Finally, alternative derivations of the main results are developed from the perspective of superposition.
Time-parallel simulation of cascaded statistical multiplexers
Authors: Ioanis Nikolaidis, Richard Fujimoto, C. Anthony Cooper
Venue: Proceedings of the 1994 ACM SIGMETRICS conference on Measurement and modeling of computer systems (1994)

The multiplexing of several lightly loaded links onto a more heavily loaded output link is a problem of considerable importance to the design and traffic engineering of many types of packet-oriented telecommunications equipment, including that used in Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks. Network configurations generally require the cascaded operation of such multiplexers and switches. Important objectives to achieve small cell loss ratios while maintaining efficient utilization of the transmission links. The small cell loss ratio objective results in extremely long simulation runs. To address this problem, we propose a new technique that relies on a compact description for the arriving/departing traffic at the multiplexers and a time-parallel scheme without fix-up phases for effective parallelization. The technique does not make assumptions about the analytical nature of the arrival process, thereby allowing trace-driven simulations to be performed as well. We demonstrate the method for a number of configurations and traffic scenarios, and observe that it yields one to two orders of magnitude speedup on a 32 processor Kendall Square Research KSR-1 multiprocessor compared to an efficient cell-level simulation executing on a Sparc-10 workstation.
The integer square root of N via a binary search
Authors: T. F. Higginbotham
Venue: ACM SIGCSE Bulletin (1993)

An algorithm is presented which may be used to find the integer square root of N. The method is intended for use on a binary computer, where only addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division by 2 is required. The problem arose when the author was working on factoring large numbers, where the machine, the Honeywell DPS 8, had double precision integer addition and subtraction, and the simulation of multiplication was easy. The actual factoring of the large number was to be Fermat's Method, requiring only addition and subtraction, but the integer square root is required in order to test for termination. The algorithm is implemented in FORTRAN for ease of reading.Students enjoy the unconventional approach to solving this problem. It isn't long before some of them think of other unusual solutions.
Three one-way heads cannot do string matching
Authors: Mihály Geréb-Graus, Ming Li
Venue: Journal of Computer and System Sciences (1994)

We prove that three-head one-way DFA cannot perform string matching, that is, no three-head one-way DFA accepts the language L = {x # y|x is a substring of y, where x, y @e {0, 1}*}. This answers the k = 3 case of the question whether a k-head one-way DFA can perform string matching, raised by Galil and Seiferas
Can principles of object-oriented system documentation be applied to user documentation?
Authors: Mary Elizabeth Raven, Richard Thomson
Venue: ACM SIGDOC Asterisk Journal of Computer Documentation (1994)

In his article "Object-Oriented Documentation," Johannes Sametinger describes a successful case study of creating object-oriented documentation. It is clear, however, that of the three types of documentation that he identifies, system documentation is the only one suited to this application. We argue that system documentation can afford to behave like the system it describes, but that user documentation needs to be organized according to the tasks users will do instead of according to how the system is structured. On the other hand, using a brother definition of object-oriented documentation presents technical communicators with a powerful model for information development that is beneficial to both the writer and the reader.
Original Contribution: On the derivatives of the sigmoid
Authors: Ali A. Minai, Ronald D. Williams
Venue: Neural Networks (1993)

The sigmoid function is very widely used as a neuron activation function in artificial neural networks, which makes its attributes a matter of some interest. This paper presents some general results on the derivatives of the sigmoid. These results relate the coefficients of various derivatives to standard number sequences from combinatorial theory, and thus provide a standard efficient way of calculating these derivatives. Such derivatives can be used in approximating the effect of input perturbations on the output of single neurons and could also be useful in statistical modeling applications.
Controlling systems development: effects on job satisfaction of systems professionals
Authors: Martin Santana, Daniel Robey
Venue: Proceedings of the 1994 computer personnel research conference on Reinventing IS : managing information technology in changing organizations: managing information technology in changing organizations (1994)

While a great deal of organizational research has been devoted to the study of individual differences and task characteristics as the major determinants of job satisfaction, the role of organizational variables in explaining employee satisfaction has received little empirical attention. The present study argues that the extent to which employees perceive that their activities are controlled by managers, peers, or themselves may have significant effects upon their corresponding levels of job satisfaction. Based upon this rationale, this study investigated perceptions of different control approaches in relation to job satisfaction of 62 systems professionals of a local government organization. Bivariate analyses indicated that managerial control, team-member control, and self-control were highly correlated with general satisfaction. Additional analyses indicated that self-control had strong positive effects on both intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction, while, managerial control had a strong positive effect on extrinsic satisfaction. Implications of the findings for the management of information systems personnel and future research are discussed.
Automatic verification of requirements implementation
Authors: Marsha Chechik, John Gannon
Venue: Proceedings of the 1994 ACM SIGSOFT international symposium on Software testing and analysis (1994)

Requirements of event-based systems can be automatically analyzed to determine if certain safety properties hold. However, we lack comparable methods to verify that implementations maintain the properties guaranteed by the requirements. We have built a tool that compares implementations written in C with their requirements. Requirements describe events which cause state transitions. Implementations are annotated to describe changes in the values of their requirement's variables, and dataflow analysis techniques are used to determine the set of events which cause particular state changes. To show that an implementation is consistent with its requirements, we show that each event causing a change of state in the implementation appears in the requirements, and that all the events specified to cause state changes in the requirements appear in the implementation. The annotation language encourages programmers to describe local program behaviors. These behaviors are collected into system-level behaviors, which are compared to those in the requirements. Since our analysis is not based on program code, annotations can describe behaviors at any level of granularity. We illustrate the use of our tool with several different annotations of a temperature-control system.
ADL&mdash;an interface definition language for specifying and testing software
Authors: Sriram Sankar, Roger Hayes
Venue: Proceedings of the workshop on Interface definition languages (1994)

This paper describes an interface definition language called ADL which extends OMG's CORBA interface definition language with formal specification constructs. In addition to ADL's use in formal documentation, ADL's primary use is for testing software. ADL can be adapted for use with most programming languages.This paper also presents an overview of a testing technology based on ADL and presents the highlights of a test-data description language (TDD) used to describe test-data.
1990 EC directive may become driving force
Authors: Pat Billingsley
Venue: ACM SIGCHI Bulletin (1993)

Amid the political turmoil surrounding the establishment of the European Economic Community (EC), a relatively unknown EC directive has assumed a growing importance for vendors of computer hardware and software. In May 1990, the Council of European Communities issued Directive 90/270, which lays down "minimum safety and health requirements for work with display terminals." The Annex to the directive states that, among other requirements, software must be suitable for the task, easy to use, and adaptable to the operator, and that the principles of software ergonomics must be applied. In spite of this somewhat ambiguous wording, EC member nations are required to adopt laws, regulations, and administrative provisions that comply with the directive by 31 December 1992.
Some closing thoughts about SIGCHI
Authors: Austin Henderson
Venue: ACM SIGCHI Bulletin (1993)

As I turn over the role of SIGCHI Chair to Jim Miller, I would like to offer some thoughts on the state and future of SIGCHI. These thoughts are my own, but they are heavily influenced by the visioning project carried out during the SIGCHI community. This exercise yielded some interesting insights. I recommend it to your attention (instructions at the end). My thoughts are also influenced by the actions and efforts of the SIGCHI executive committees on which I served over the past five years. For example, see the Chair's Column in each Bulletin or the SIGCHI Annual Report that appears elsewhere in this issue.
Measurement Based Process Improvement
Authors: Shari Lawrence Pfleeger, Hans Dieter Rombach
Venue: IEEE Software (1994)

Used together, the two relatively young concepts of measurement and process improvement are more than the sum of their parts. Careful measurement helps you draw an objective process model. Thoughtful application of improvement techniques improves your ability to measure quality. Leveraging one with the other can take your organization to new heights. The article shows how software process modeling, tool development, measurement strategies, and other methods are combined to create real change on important software projects.
Interfaces for Intermediates
Authors: Larry L. Constantine
Venue: IEEE Software (1994)

Intermediates (those who are neither beginners nor old hands, and who make up most of the user population) are perhaps the most neglected user segment in terms of interface design, yet there are possibly more intermediate users than beginners or experts. The author urges interface designers to take note of this segment and details a transitional interface well-suited for bridging the gap between novice and expert.
C++ in eight weeks
Authors: Kailash Chandra
Venue: ACM SIGPLAN Notices (1993)

A course on Object-Oriented programming in C++ was taught for the first time in the summer of 1992 at Pittsburg State University in the Computer Science - Information Systems Department. This paper is based on that experience. It presents the course description, the topics covered, the computational environment, the evaluation activities, the programming assignments, the tests given, and the student evaluations. It is found that the course can be successful if many problems are done from the very beginning and various projects are assigned first without the class concept and then with the class concept. It is also felt that a first course in programming using C++ could be as successful as Pascal, while using C may not be a good idea in the first course.
VideoMAP and VideoSpaceIcon: tools for anatomizing video content
Authors: Yoshinobu Tonomura, Akihito Akutsu, Kiyotaka Otsuji, Toru Sadakata
Venue: Proceedings of the INTERACT '93 and CHI '93 conference on Human factors in computing systems (1993)

A new approach to interacting with stored video is proposed. The approach utilizes VideoMAP and VideoSpaceIcon. VideoMAP is the interface that shows the essential video features in an easy to perceive manner. VideoSpaceIcon represents the temporal and spatial characteristics of a video shot as an intuitive icon. A video indexing method supports both tools. These tools allow the user's creativity to directly interact with the essential features of each video by offering spatial and temporal clues. This paper introduces the basic concept and describes prototype versions of the tools as implemented in a video handling system. VideoMAP and VideoSpaceIcon are effective for video handling functions such as video content analysis, video editing, and various video applications which need an intuitive visual interface.
A connectionist approach to rate adaptation
Authors: Mai H. Nguyen, Garrison W. Cottrell
Venue: ACM SIGART Bulletin (1994)

In previous work [2], we presented a technique for automatically adapting to the rate of an incoming signal. The idea is as follows: First, a model of the signal is built using a recurrent neural network trained to predict its input at some delay, for a "typical" rate of the signal. Then, with the weights fixed, the time constant of the network is adapted using gradient descent. The time constant controls the processing speed of the network; thus, by adjusting the time constant, we adapt the network's processing rate to match that of the input signal.This method has previously been applied to several signals: sets of sine waves differing in frequency and in phase, a multidimensional signal representing the walking gait of children, and the energy contour of a simple speech utterance. This paper describes experiments on a voicing distinction task using simulated speech data. Results indicate that, using data at only a few rates, our rate adaptation technique can be used to train a system which can then adapt to other rates not represented in the training set. Furthermore, the network's time constant appropriately reflects rate changes in the input signal and can be used as a measure of the signal's rate. We will discuss how this technique can be used to build speech systems that are robust to speaking rate variation.