Juha Taina

Product family testing: a survey

In this paper we discuss the current state of product family testing. Testing, unlike other areas of software development, has received only little attention in this context despite the problems directly rising from scale, reuse and variability. We present the current approaches to product family testing methodology and processes. We also evaluate the current state-of-the-art in product family testing and highlight problems that need to be addressed in the future.

RODAIN: a real-time object-oriented database system for telecommunications

Future telecommunication services will extensively exploit database technology. The persistent and temporal information needed in operations and management of the telecommunication networks and services will be in databases. The current Intelligent Network (IN) Recommendations of ITU-T imply that real-lime transaction processing capabilities should be provided. Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) and Telecommunications Information Networking Architecture (TINA) are object oriented. Cunent and future mobile telephone systems have their own requirements for database services. An ideal database system supporting various telecommunications applications should be a fault-tolerant disuibuted real-time object-oriented database system. In the research project Rodaln the ultimate objective is to design and to specify a real-time object-oriented database architecture for telecommunications applications and to implement a prototype based on that architecture. The design and specification take place in 1996 while the prototype will be implemented in 1997.

Towards a General Real-Time Database Simulator Software Library

Abstract A real-time software simulator library scope is presented. It consist of hardware, software, transaction, and event generator components that can be concatenated to form a core real-time database simulator. The goal of the library is to allow simulator designers to use a well tested and documented software to implement basic database simulator functionality. All additional and research-specific functionality can be added on top of the library components.

How Green Is Your Software

Green IT is a mission to reduce carbon emissions of information technology. Although immediate savings come from hardware, software also plays an important role. Since a software has a life cycle, it creates direct and indirect carbon emissions: it has a carbon footprint.

Self-configuring object-to-relational mapping queries

Object-to-relational maps are nowadays routinely utilized in providing a persistency mechanism for object-oriented programs. We present how an object-to-relational mapper, such as Hibernate, provides transparent persistency to object-oriented programs. We then show how the existing approaches of eager and lazy fetching of associations are problematic under the face of program evolution. As an improvement, we present self-configuring components, which reflectively configure the persistency layer usage sites, thus leading to improved maintainability of software. A self-configuring component analyses the actual persistency layer usage pattern. Based on this information, the actual queries are configured. A general algorithm for retrieving the actual usage pattern is given. As an implementation mechanism, we discuss different approaches for the self-configuring components. Practical choices for implementation can vary between analysis of abstract syntax trees and Java byte-code analysis. Suitability of two byte-code analysis frameworks, namely BCEL and Soot are evaluated.

Database usage and requirements in intelligent networks

In this paper we present and analyze IN data managers for dynamic data. We examine database needs for call control, service switching, special resources, service data, and service management. We take a closer study for database requirements for service data in SDF and management data in SMF. The issues addressed in the requirements analysis are needed application interfaces, logical object model, and core database requirements. From the analysis we draw a conclusion that it is possible to fulfill the requirements and that SDF and SMF can share the same database architecture if compromises are made.

Requirements Analysis of Distribution in Databases for Telecommunications

Current and future telecommunication systems will rely heavily on some key IT baseline technologies including databases. We present our analysis of distribution requirements in databases for telecommunications. We discuss those needs in GSM and IN CS-2. Our requirements analysis indicates that the following are important issues in databases for telecommunications: single-node read and temporal transactions, clustered read and temporal transactions, distributed low-priority read transactions, distributed low and middle level management transactions, support for partitioning and scalability, dynamic groups, replication control, deadlines for local transactions, and limited global serialization control.

Problem classes in intelligent network database design

The demands to an IN database make it a distributed real-time heterogeneous database, where each of the nodes can be a parallel database. We will discuss the problems that the IN structure and its demands create, and how the current database research can fulfill them. Our interests are in general solution level, logical data model, query languages, speed, and transaction handling and recovery.

The function of social support in engaging and disengaging experiences among post PhD researchers in STEM disciplines

ABSTRACT The post-doctoral phase is characterized by a high level of competition and even a risk of unemployment due to the increasing number of PhDs. This study explores the function of social support or lack of it in post PhD researchers’ engaging and disengaging experiences from the beginning of their careers as researchers. The data were collected from 40 post PhD researchers from STEM disciplines through semi-structured interviews and qualitatively content analysed. Receiving socio-emotional and informational support was perceived as highly significant for experienced engagement and disengagement, while instrumental support was rarely reported. Also a fourth form of social support, that is,. co-constructional support was identified. The results indicate that various forms of social support provide a significant mechanism that mediates post PhD researchers’ engagement and disengagement in their early careers.

What disengages doctoral students in the biological and environmental sciences from their doctoral studies

ABSTRACT This study explored the causes of student disengagement from their doctoral studies in the biological and environmental sciences. The data came from interviews of 40 doctoral students (male = 15, female = 25) and underwent qualitative analysis for content. Our results showed that doctoral studies provide multiple contexts for disengagement, such as the scholarly community and supervision, while doctoral students’ sense of distress, cynicism and inefficacy emerged as central components of disengagement. The study identified isolation, indifference, and lack of support and constructive feedback as sources of cynicism, while distress and inefficacy were more often related to failure or lack of progress in research. Our findings indicate that the source of disengagement can vary not only between individuals, but also between the academic activities at hand. Thus, while promoting an engaging doctoral experience, awareness of what typically triggers disengagement in the doctoral journey is vital.