Working collaboratively across time zone differences is an important issue for distributed software development projects. In such work, computer mediated communications, especially mailing lists, have been widely used for global software development. It is commonly agreed on that time zone differences have a negative impact on real time communications, such as instant messaging and video conferences. However, research results are unclear on whether time zone differences can cause excessive delays in asynchronous communication mediums, such as emails and discussion boards. This paper studies the effect of time zone differences through mining and investigating the Linux kernel mailing list archive. We extract time zone differences and message communication delays between developers. Statistical tests are used to analyse and identify correlations. Our study shows that within the Linux project, time zone differences between developers have a significant effect on short-term email communication delays of 24 hours or less.
Many developing countries see information technology as a means of achieving rapid development and of addressing problems in such areas as balance of payments and national security. There is no doubt that information technology has far–reaching effects. But IT must be seen from an appropriate perspective. Developing countries should be careful in weighing the costs and benefits of information technology and judging these in the contexts of their available resources and prevailing economic conditions.
This paper focuses on describing how to apply document image processing technology into fax communications. The remainder of this paper is organised as follows. Section 2 introduces the concepts on document image processing. Section 3 describes the fax message analysis process, it focuses on discussing the address block identification and address data analysis. Some experimental results are also given. Section 4 describes the system architecture and user interface of the AutoFax system. Finally, conclusion and future work are given in Section 5.
The computer explosion began in 1980 with the introduction of microcomputers. As everyone was made aware of the effects of this explosion on their lives, society became concerned with making students learn about computers. Business schools were the first to start teaching introductory courses in data processing. Later, the universities started requiring all students to take a course in computers. At the same time, many high schools also introduced courses in computing. These separate, but similar courses at the secondary and college levels resulted in duplication for some students. To determine how many students are taking or have taken similar courses, I conducted a study of the students taking the Introduction to Data Processing course at Central Michigan University. The study confirms that duplication did occur. The paper discusses the amount of duplication and suggests ways to reduce it.
Multi–attribute utility theory is commonly applied to decision–making problems in which the possible decision consequences are characterised by more than one attribute. This study developed utility functions to provide a measure of effectiveness for project ranking and ultimately to enhance productivity in the computer science department of a large organisation. Steps in developing utility functions are summarised, and questions requiring answers are presented. The computer science model illustrated in this study uses twenty–one attributes in the major categories of services, security, personnel, and development. This model is illustrated in exhibits, and its use, flexibility, and implementation are discussed. Conclusions are drawn as to the value of using such a model as an aid to decision making.
