This thesis explores mining the evolutionary history of a software system to support software developers and managers in their endeavors to build and maintain complex software systems. We introduce the idea of evolutionary extractors which are specialized extractors that can recover the history of software projects from software repositories, such as source control systems. The challenges faced in building C-REX, an evolutionary extractor for the C programming language, are discussed. We examine the use of source control systems in industry and the quality of the recovered C-REX data through a survey of several software practitioners. Using the data recovered by C-REX, we develop several approaches and techniques to assist developers and managers in their activities. We propose <em>Source Sticky Notes</em> to assist developers in understanding legacy software systems by attaching historical information to the dependency graph. We present the <em>Development Replay</em> approach to estimate the benefits of adopting new software maintenance tools by reenacting the development history. We propose the <em>Top Ten List</em> which assists managers in allocating testing resources to the subsystems that are most susceptible to have faults. To assist managers in improving the quality of their projects, we present a complexity metric which quantifies the complexity of the changes to the code instead of quantifying the complexity of the source code itself. All presented approaches are validated empirically using data from several large open source systems. The presented work highlights the benefits of transforming software repositories from static record keeping repositories to active repositories used by researchers to gain empirically based understanding of software development, and by software practitioners to predict, plan and understand various aspects of their project.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka effekterna av en läs- och språksatsning. Fokus ligger på att identifiera faktorer som påverkar skolor att delta, huruvida dessa har förbättrade elevresultat samt läs- och språkutveck-larnas upplevelser av förändringar i undervisning, lärarkompetens och elevernas måluppfyllelse. Undersök-ningen omfattar två extremgrupper; dels åtta skolor som deltagit, dels åtta skolor som ej deltagit. Data kommer från Skolverkets databaser samt från en enkät ställd till skolornas läs- och språkutvecklare. Den teoretiska ramen utgörs av en pedagogisk samspelsmodell. Studien visar att deltagande skolor är större och har fler elever, utgör flerspråkiga miljöer samt rekryterar elever vars föräldrar har kortare utbildning. Resultat för betyg i svenska i årskurs 9 fluktuerar och är svårtolkade. För de skolor som deltagit finns en ökning av det genomsnittliga meritvärdet och andel behöriga till gymnasiernas nationella program ökade. / This study aims to investigate the effects of a literacy program. Focus lies on studying factors affecting school participation, examine whether participating schools have different results and explore the expe-riences of literacy developers regarding changes in teaching, teacher competence and student achievement. The survey is based on two groups: eight schools that participated and eight schools that did not. Data come from the National Agency databases and from a questionnaire addressed to the school literacy developers. An educational interaction model provides the theoretical framework. The study shows that participating schools have more students, are multilingual environments and recruit students whose parents have shorter education than non-participating schools. Results for grades in Swedish in grade 9 fluctuate and are difficult to interpret. The schools that participated have an increase in average merit rating and the proportion eligi-ble for upper secondary schools national programs.

This thesis explores mining the evolutionary history of a software system to support software developers and managers in their endeavors to build and maintain complex software systems. We introduce the idea of evolutionary extractors which are specialized extractors that can recover the history of software projects from software repositories, such as source control systems. The challenges faced in building C-REX, an evolutionary extractor for the C programming language, are discussed. We examine the use of source control systems in industry and the quality of the recovered C-REX data through a survey of several software practitioners. Using the data recovered by C-REX, we develop several approaches and techniques to assist developers and managers in their activities. We propose <em>Source Sticky Notes</em> to assist developers in understanding legacy software systems by attaching historical information to the dependency graph. We present the <em>Development Replay</em> approach to estimate the benefits of adopting new software maintenance tools by reenacting the development history. We propose the <em>Top Ten List</em> which assists managers in allocating testing resources to the subsystems that are most susceptible to have faults. To assist managers in improving the quality of their projects, we present a complexity metric which quantifies the complexity of the changes to the code instead of quantifying the complexity of the source code itself. All presented approaches are validated empirically using data from several large open source systems. The presented work highlights the benefits of transforming software repositories from static record keeping repositories to active repositories used by researchers to gain empirically based understanding of software development, and by software practitioners to predict, plan and understand various aspects of their project.

Cette recherche porte sur la mise en oeuvre de stratégies visant à stimuler le développement résidentiel au centre-ville de Montréal depuis la fin des années 1980 . En nous appuyant sur une double étude de cas portant sur le redéveloppement de deux friches périphériques à la vieille ville, le faubourg Québec et le faubourg des Récollets, nous montrons comment les pouvoirs publics locaux peuvent, par le biais de diverses mesures incitatives, faire converger les stratégies d’affaires des promoteurs immobiliers avec les objectifs urbanistiques de l’administration. D’une manière parfois improvisée, les pouvoirs publics montréalais ont ainsi mis en place un système d’opportunités et de contraintes dans le but d’inciter les promoteurs à investir dans les faubourgs. Notre recherche constate que bien que le système mis en place par les pouvoirs publics ait laissée indifférente une majorité de promoteurs, il a néanmoins permis à un petit nombre d’entre eux de se tailler une place sur le marché, ceux-ci pouvant maintenant jouer un rôle actif dans le renouvellement du centre-ville, et ce bien au-delà des limites des faubourgs. / This thesis looks at the design and the implementation of strategies aimed to stimulate the development of residential neighbourhoods in downtown Montreal since the end of the 1980s. Following from a double case study about the redevelopment of two derelict industrial districts next to Old Montreal, the faubourg Quebec and the faubourg des Récollets, we show how local authorities can, by means of a bundle of incentives, encourage the investment of property developers in order to make their business plans converge with the goals of the local planning authorities. In a rather improvised manner, the Montreal government set up a combination of « opportunities » and « constraints » to entice partnerships with the private sector in order to foster the development of the two districts. Our results show that although the system set up by authorities left indifferent a majority of developers, it nevertheless allowed a small number of them to establish themselves in a now very profitable share of the Montreal real estate market.

Problem statement: There seem to be perceptual incongruence between systems development managers and developers. Research shows that while managers are more positive towards systems development methodologies, developers on the other hand seem to resist and not to use systems development methodologies in their entirety but instead adapt, tailor, modify and change them depending on the project at hand (contingent use). Systems development managers can exert power through a variety of influence bases. However, these power influences may be perceived differently by developers. While some might feel constrained, others might actually feel liberated by the existence of the same influence base. Main findings: IS managers are using systems development methodologies to gain control over team members. However, there was no clear perception on whether systems development methodologies were enslaving systems developers. This was indicated by the majority of the respondents neither agreeing nor disagreeing to that effect. The research showed that most organisations are adapting the use of systems development methodologies on a project to project basis, which is referred to as the contingent use of systems development methodologies. Research method followed: The positivistic research paradigm was used as it allowed the researcher to find out patterns and regularities between power, systems development methodologies’ use and success. A survey was conducted and a questionnaire was used for data collection purposes. Questionnaire data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 21, Release 20.0.0 software package tools. Principal conclusion: Power is interpreted in terms of the type of power that can be exercised by IT professionals specifically IS developers and their respective managers at the workplace. The roles assumed and the different power types that may be exercised in organisations provide a link as to who has the final say when it comes to the use and success rate of systems development methodologies. The contingent use of systems development methodologies provides a form of “freedom” to systems developers. Based on the research findings, the research proposes an answer to the question – are systems development methodologies enslaving systems developers and empowering IS managers? / MSc (Computer Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

行動上網時代來臨，隨著連網技術成熟與裝置快速普及，微型應用程式（application，簡稱app）的應用應運而生，線上軟體平台產業快速成形，集廣大外部開發者之力共同創造價值與利潤。 激烈的平台競爭與初步的產業發展成果突顯出，面向多方參與者的平台對外部開發者守門的重要性，平台經營者如何在敞開大門的同時又能取得好的創意，背後應該有可供解釋的理由與作為。因此，本研究結合過去研究未有交集的多邊平台與守門理論兩觀點，期盼藉由研究成果回答三點研究問題：（1）線上軟體平台如何對外部開發者進行守門？（2）線上軟體平台之守門機制隨平台發展歷程有何變化？（3）線上軟體平台之守門機制對平台之經營績效有何影響？ 本研究所得到的初步結論：（1）線上軟體平台在開放與透過一系列「規範中有服務」的措施組成對外部開發者的守門機制，分為「價值獲取型」守門機制與「價值創造型」守門機制兩類。（2）線上軟體平台守門機制在「導入期」與「成長期」是處於「開放中有封閉，封閉中有開放」的狀態，價值獲取型守門機制從導入期至成長期是封閉趨向開放，價值創造型守門機制從導入期至成長期是開放趨向封閉。（3）線上軟體平台非獲利中心，而是生態系統的一控制點。 / Internet infrastructure and technology have advanced, we have now entered the Mobile Internet Device era. Online marketplaces form and applications sprout, stimulating an ecosystem worthy enough for external developers to dive in, grabbing the value in this co-creating process. However, managing the online marketplace is difficult. Developing a place to encourage participation for external developers as well as to gate keeping the platform quality is not an easy task. Up to this day, we can observe different online marketplaces develop different approaches. This research combines the prospective from multi-sided platforms theory and gatekeeping theory in view to answer three questions: (1) What is the gatekeeping strategy for online marketplaces? (2) As online marketplaces develop, how does the gatekeeping process change? (3) What influence does gatekeeping strategy has on online marketplaces performance? This study has found: (1) Two different strategies multi-sided platforms use for gatekeeping forming regulation and services for external developers are “Value Proposition” and “Value Creation”. (2) From the “early stage” to the “developing stage” of multi-sided platforms, this research discovers two different movements on gatekeeping: “From Opened to Restricting” and “From Restricting to Opened”. “Value Proposition” strategy leans toward “From Restricting to Opened” state, while “Value Creation” strategy leans toward “From Opened to Restricting” state.(3) Multi-sided platform is not a place to generate interests, but a place to manage the ecosystem.

This dissertation deals with the effect of value-added tax on small to medium-sized developers of residential properties in South Africa. Firstly, the way value-added tax is applied to residential properties in South Africa was established. It was ascertained that no special concessions exist with regard to housing. Secondly, the application of value-added tax to residential properties in the United Kingdom was discussed. It was ascertained that supplies relating to new residential premises are zero-rated. Thirdly, the application of goods and services tax to residential properties in Canada was discussed. Canadian goods and services tax and harmonious sales tax legislation contains a broad range of special concessions relating to residential property developments. The harmonious sales tax which applies in some provinces, is a combination of goods and services tax and a provincial sales tax. Fourthly, the way goods and services tax is applied to residential property developments in Australia was determined. Australian legislation provides for a margin scheme to be applied to the development of residential properties. In terms of the margin scheme, goods and services tax is payable on the basis of profit rather than turnover. Transfer duty as applied in South Africa was examined as an alternative to the value-added tax being applied on residential properties developed by developers registered for value-added tax purposes. The legislation with regard to developers of residential properties registered for value-added tax, goods and services tax and harmonious sales tax purposes was measured against the principles of taxation. On the basis of these results, an alternative to the current application of value-added tax relating to developers registered for value-added tax purposes in South Africa was proposed that would be in line with that of the selected countries. / Economics / M. Com. (Accounting)

Mobile agents hold significant benefits for the rapid expansion of Internet applications and current trends in computing. Despite continued interest, the promised deployment has not taken place, indicating a need for a programming model to introduce novice mobile agent programmers to this environment/paradigm. Accordingly the research question asked was, ”Since novice mobile agent programmers1 require a paradigm shift to construct successful systems, how can they be equipped to grasp the contextual issues and gain the necessary skills within reasonable time limits?” To answer the question, a complete reference providing contextual information and knowledge of mobile agent system development was compiled. Simultaneously novices are introduced to agent orientation. A generic mobile agent system architectural model, incorporating guidelines for programming mobile agents, further provides a framework that can be used to design a mobile agent system. These two structures are presented in a knowledge base that serves as a referencing tool to unlock concepts and knowledge units to novices while developing mobile agent systems. / Computing / (M.Sc. (Computer Science))

The purpose of this study was to understand in what ways the law of Lex Sarah contributes to quality within the Swedish social services. The legislation of Lex Sarah aims to ensure quality assurance of social services by eliminating misconduct. Operational developers are keyactors in the investigation process of Lex Sarah. Therefore a central question of this study was: In what ways does operational developers consider that Lex Sarah achieve its purpose? The method of analysis was a qualitative study. The basis of the theoretical framework of the study is social constructivism, in which institutional theory and thoughts describing how ideas are transferred and spread is a part of. The theoretical framework has been helpful to illustrate possible ways of how the idea of quality has been spread from industry to social services. The empirical material has been collected by qualitative semistructured interviews.   Central findings of the empirical material is that there was no coherent definition within the group of operational developers of the quality concept. Emphasis is mainly placed on the quality concept's commitment to legislation and user satisfaction. The term is explained in broad terms and no detailed description is given. Lex Sarah is described as an alarm system and the empirical material also shows oppon it’s controlling functions. Through the empirical material it is also shown that the measures proposed by the operational developers not necessarily lead to improvement or quality of the operations. One explenation highlighted is the gap between investigation and the enforcement. A central discovery is also based on the lack of user influence within the Lex Sarah-process.

Traditional methodologies of software development are burdened with number of problems, especially its complexity, bureaucracy and sticking on detailed processes defined in advance. This all often mean overtiming and overpricing the project as well as other negative effects. Agile methodologies of software development pursue solving such problems. They are built on principles of team-work, communication and developers' relations and sharing their knowledge. These values are one of the most important in agile development concept. This thesis's target is to identify and describe those principles of agile software development which impact development team functioning, working motivation of developers and focus on the project goals. Reader is first shortly familiarized with general theory of working motivation, team-working and leading to achieve the target. Then particular agile development principles are analyzed and the impact on developers' motivation, whole team functioning and focusing on the project goals is described. Another target of the thesis is to identify requirements on agile software developers, to explain what the need of them lies in and how the absence of these personal characteristics would impact whole team's productivity and the development progress. The last target of this thesis is to examine agile development as a whole. A SWOT analysis is used to achieve this. It states the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities (advantages) and risks of agile development. There is a list of 11 serious mistakes that can take place in the agile development process and heighten the risk of the project fail stated at the end of the thesis.