We examine whether there is a trade-off between employing internal (firm) resources and purchased external (local) resources in process innovation. We draw on a rich dataset of Internet investments by 86,879 US establ...
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We examine whether there is a trade-off between employing internal (firm) resources and purchased external (local) resources in process innovation. We draw on a rich dataset of Internet investments by 86,879 US establishments to examine decisions to invest in advanced Internet technology. We show that the marginal contribution of internal resources is greater outside of a major urban area than inside one. Agglomeration is less important for firms with highly capable IT workers. When firms invest in innovative processes they act as if resources available in cities are partial substitutes for both establishment-level and firm-level internal resources.
AbstractTo make microcomputers serve development requires clear vision and leadership on the part of administrators. The assimilation of this technology for government tasks is no longer dependent on cost reductions o...
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AbstractTo make microcomputers serve development requires clear vision and leadership on the part of administrators. The assimilation of this technology for government tasks is no longer dependent on cost reductions or computer programmers. Rather, it requires administrators to make an explicit choice of software to integrate hardware, information and decisions. At the operational level this process is not a mere technology adoption exercise and is based on three factors—adapting standard packages that are within the reach of even the least developed countries; information specialists and end‐users jointly determining data structures; and integration of microcomputers into existing administrative functions. A decision support system for district administrators developed in India is discussed. The paper concludes with lessons for first time users so that development administrators, aid agencies and governments avoid costly mista
Existing macro systems force programmers to make a choice between clarity of specification and robustness. If they choose clarity, they must forgo validating significant parts of the specification and thus produce low...
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Existing macro systems force programmers to make a choice between clarity of specification and robustness. If they choose clarity, they must forgo validating significant parts of the specification and thus produce low-quality language extensions. If they choose robustness, they must write in a style that mingles the implementation with the specification and therefore obscures the latter. This paper introduces a new language for writing macros. With the new macro system, programmers naturally write robust language extensions using easy-to-understand specifications. The system translates these specifications into validators that detect misuses-including violations of context-sensitive constraints-and automatically synthesize appropriate feedback, eliminating the need for ad hoc validation code.
Coding, the translating of human intent into logical steps, reinforces a compulsive way of thinking, as described in Joseph Weitzenbaum's Science and the Compulsive Programmer (1976). Two projects by the author, E...
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Coding, the translating of human intent into logical steps, reinforces a compulsive way of thinking, as described in Joseph Weitzenbaum's Science and the Compulsive Programmer (1976). Two projects by the author, Entropy (2010) and FatFinger (2017), challenge this by encouraging gestural approaches to code. In the Entropy programming language, data becomes slightly more approximate each time it is used, drifting from its original values, forcing programmers to be less precise. FatFinger, a Javascript dialect, allows the programmer to misspell code and interprets it as the closest runnable variation, strategically guessing at the programmer's intent.
In Word and Object, W.V. Quine dismisses connotations that result from the work of explicating expressions as "don't-cares." This paper traces the history of this phrase to an algorithm that Quine develo...
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In Word and Object, W.V. Quine dismisses connotations that result from the work of explicating expressions as "don't-cares." This paper traces the history of this phrase to an algorithm that Quine developed in the 1950s, which became important in early computer engineering. computer programmers eventually came to realize that it was in their best interests to abandon the "don't-care" attitude. Similarly, I argue that naturalists who properly appreciate the communal nature of their inquiries have reason to adopt a more careful approach when they propose and evaluate explications.
We examined the main and interactive effects of general mental ability (GMA) and perceived organizational support (POS) on typical performance and maximum performance. Data from two field samples (96 programmers and 1...
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We examined the main and interactive effects of general mental ability (GMA) and perceived organizational support (POS) on typical performance and maximum performance. Data from two field samples (96 programmers and 181 cash vault employees) empirically supported distinguishing between typical performance and maximum performance. GMA was related to maximum performance but not to typical performance, and POS was related to two out of three measures of typical performance. Interactive effects of GMA and POS were detected in both samples for maximum performance outcomes but not found for typical performance outcomes.
For beginning programmers, inadequate problem solving and planning skills are among the most salient of their weaknesses. In this paper, we test the efficacy of natural language tutoring to teach and scaffold acquisit...
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For beginning programmers, inadequate problem solving and planning skills are among the most salient of their weaknesses. In this paper, we test the efficacy of natural language tutoring to teach and scaffold acquisition of these skills. We describe ProPL (Pro-PELL), a dialogue-based intelligent tutoring system that elicits goal decompositions and program plans from students in natural language. The system uses a variety of tutoring tactics that leverage students' intuitive understandings of the problem, how it might be solved, and the underlying concepts of programming. We report the results of a small-scale evaluation comparing students who used ProPL with a control group who read the same content. Our primary findings are that students who received tutoring from ProPL seem to have developed an improved ability to solve the composition problem and displayed behaviors that suggest they were able to think at greater levels of abstraction than students in the read-only group.
The article presents author's views on political aspects related to life of people in Japan after the earthquake on March 11, 2011. Topics discussed include demolished building of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power S...
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The article presents author's views on political aspects related to life of people in Japan after the earthquake on March 11, 2011. Topics discussed include demolished building of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, transpacific dimensions of Asian Canadian relations, social production of valuable culture.
Computing is not the only way to model and simulate humanities problems. In the specific field of conflict simulation, there is a long and continuing tradition of using manual modelling techniques such as maps and cou...
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Computing is not the only way to model and simulate humanities problems. In the specific field of conflict simulation, there is a long and continuing tradition of using manual modelling techniques such as maps and counters to create playable games which mirror some of the dynamics of real armed conflicts. computer games are not automatically superior to such manual models, since mass market commercial software focuses far more on entertainment than on realistic simulation, and since the enormous capabilities of computers tend to encourage detailed incorporation of quantifiable technicalities at the expense of the vital but much less tractable human element. The biggest limitation of computer models is their limited transparency and design accessibility for non-programmers such as humanities students and scholars. Manual modelling offers a valuable 'bridge' between computing and traditional humanities scholarship, allowing easier generation and use of specifically tailored models, and building synergistic relationships which foster more widespread and effective adoption of digital techniques.
In this paper, we present the results from a two-part study. We analyze 60 programs written by novice programmers aged 16 - 19 after their first programming course, in either Java or Python. The aim is to find difficu...
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In this paper, we present the results from a two-part study. We analyze 60 programs written by novice programmers aged 16 - 19 after their first programming course, in either Java or Python. The aim is to find difficulties independent of the language used, and such originating from the language. Second, we analyze the transition from a "simple'' language to a more "advanced'' one, by following up on eight students, who learned programming in Python before moving on to Java. Our results suggest that a simple language gives rise to fewer syntax errors as well as logic errors. The qualitative part of our study did not reveal any disadvantages from having learned to program in a simple language when moving on to a more complex one. This suggests that not only can a simple language be used when introducing programming as a general skill, but also when providing basic skills to future professionals in the field.
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