國立中央大學 National Central University- RSS feeds

A Decision-Making Framework for Software Maintenance and Evolution

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +0800

Title:

A Decision-Making Framework for Software Maintenance and Evolution

Abstract:

In this talk I will outline a research framework for making software maintenance and evolution decisions. Currently most decision-makers (project managers and architects) make software maintenance decisions on an ad hoc basis. They do this because they have no foundation of data on which to base refactoring decisions and they do not have the tools to make rational cost/benefit-based decisions. As a result software inevitably decays over time. To address this problem I will introduce a decision-making framework to support rational decision-making, explain how it works and how we populate it with software maintenance data. The core of this approach rests on two abilities: 1) the ability to correlate measures of software complexity with measures of maintenance effort, and 2) the ability to efficiently find potential software maintenance problems in a code base. In this talk I will primarily discuss the first point--correlating measures of software complexity to measures of effort. I will present our new approach of relating file metrics to maintenance effort measures, which attempts to correlate the relation between changes in file metrics over multiple releases and changes in the maintenance effort spent on these files. And I will present our empirical results from extracting and correlating effort and complexity metrics from a number of open source project. Finally I will conclude by discussing the overall implications of this framework for software maintenance and evolution.

Faculty Positions in Hydrological and Oceanic Sciences

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 +0800

Faculty Positions in Hydrological and Oceanic Sciences

The Graduate Institute of Hydrological and Oceanic Sciences at the National Central University invites applications for full-time tenure-track faulty positions at any rank (i.e., assistant, associate, and full professor) in areas of Surface Hydrology or Physical Oceanography.

Applicants are expected to possess a strong commitment to excellence in teaching, develop recognized creative and independent research program, and pursue external research funding. Estimated start date is February 1, 2013. Please send (or e-mail) application letter, CV, statement of teaching interests, description of research interests, and three letters of recommendation to:

Faculty search committee, Graduate Institute of Hydrological and Oceanic Sciences, National Central University, 300 Jhongda Rd, Jhongli, 32001, Taiwan ( Email : ncu5686@ncu.edu.tw; Tel: +886-3-4222874; Fax: +886-3-4222894 ).

Applications should be received by August 31, 2012 for full consideration.

Dr. Rudolph A. Marcus, Winner of Nobel Prize, Visited NCU

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0800

Invited by University System of Taiwan and Sayling Wen Cultural and Educational Foundation, Professor Rudolph A. Marcus, the Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry 1992, came to visit Taiwan and gave speeches to share his life and career experiences with many enthusiastic students and teachers in mid-November.

Professor Marcus was born in Canada in 1923 and received his higher education to be trained as an experimentalist in chemistry. Surprisingly, later in his life, he was awarded the Nobel Prize as a theorist “for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemistry systems”.

In the first part of his speech, he briefly presented the electron transfer reactions. He then talked about his realization of theory being his major interest and how his attention switched from experiments to theories during those early years of his research.

This unique experience benefits him to consider his research from both sides´ viewpoints.

Experiments, for him, are a rich source for theory; only based on experiment results could he derive the key equations of electron transfer reactions, which led to the Nobel Prize afterwards.

On the other hand, he thinks highly of the simplicity of a theory. With simple equations, it is much easier for experimentalists to understand so that they can apply them to other experiments. New theories or inventions may therefore come out of these mutual stimulations.

He encouraged students to stay curious about their studies and everything; persistence equally counts. A scientist should possess “a burning desire to get things done, to understand things.”

To honor his presence, his name and contributions to chemistry are marked on a bench in front of Zhong-zheng Library. Through the dedication, NCU also hopes that in the future more people know about Professor Marcus whenever one passes the bench, reading the inscription.

Academic Exchange with Hiroshima University Motivates ME Undergraduates

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0800

30 September, 15 Japanese students gave group presentations on their impressions about NCU and Taiwan in a conference room of Mechanical Engineering Building.

Most of them are mechanical engineering majors from Hiroshima University; for the past two weeks, they have been studying and living on campus with NCU professors and students of Mechanical Engineering Department.

Two months earlier, it was a group of 16 NCU students visiting Hiroshima University. They have attended lectures, toured in enterprises and local factories; before leaving the country, they have also presented their research projects prepared during a whole semester to Japanese students and teachers.

This mutual academic exchange program between the two colleges of engineering was brought into being in 2007, after several academic visits made by Mechanical Engineering professors in west Japan.

Funded by “The Top University Project” of Ministry of Education, the program focuses on providing undergraduates with occasions to go abroad in the hope of sharpening their English skills and broadening their horizons.

Teamed up in pairs, students who take Seminar in their course schedule should come up with ideas about their future project and refine it progressively. Towards the end of the semester, they´ll bring forth a fully-developed one, presented in English, and then be evaluated by the members of Course and Teaching Committee.

To make students well-prepared for both the evaluation and the possible visit abroad, extra courses concerning English skills are also available for them. Professors will instruct the techniques about writing abstracts and how to excel in English speaking when it comes to project presentation.

According to Professor Shu-San Hsiau (蕭述三), Chairman of Mechanical Engineering Department, the program, highly-acclaimed among past participants, has attracted more and more students over the years. It is very delightful to see that students become much more motivated and devoted to their studies.

Hiroshima University representatives also regard highly of the mutual communication. After the final presentations, Professor Yamada expressed gratitude for the hospitality they enjoyed on campus, and hoped that the program would continue the academic and cultural exchange, with extensive cooperation between both universities for the future.

Yonglin Hope Elementary School Summer Camp

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0800

A two-day summer camp reserved for children from economically disadvantaged families was held by NCU and Yonglin Education Foundation (永齡教育基金會) on August 20 and 21.

To enrich their summer vacation, nearly 70 children from 9 different elementary schools in Taoyuan were invited to the Science and Exploration Summer Camp where they carried out various science experiments, visited an observatory on campus, and played fun games with NCU students as counselors.

Putting NCU’s strong fields together, such as Earth Sciences, Astronomy, and Information Engineering, the summer camp aimed to present various aspects of sciences to school children, arousing their deeper interests in our world.

These elementary schools, as a matter of fact, have already participated in the After-school Tutoring Project proposed by Yonglin Education Foundation for a year: Yonglin Hope Elementary School at NCU has trained over 70 NCU students as tutors to help 125 families in facilitating their children’s learning.

Apart from assistance in their learning, these tutors care for their pupils’ moral education.

According to the project director, Professor Tzu-Chien Liu (劉子鍵), Center for Teacher Education, without all the tutors’ hard work and devotion, they could never make the whole thing worthwhile. In the coming year, they hope to help over 200 school children by combining resources in local communities and NCU.

On the opening ceremony, Professor Sherry Y. Chen (陳攸華), Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology, shared her unusual life experiences with children.

Due to her Achondroplasia, a rare genetic disease, she is only 120 cm tall even as an adult. However, she has never let fate stand in her way. She encouraged children not to be afraid of defeat or failure, but hang on with perseverance and be grateful because hope just stands before us.

Newly recognized asteroid named after the late Li Kwoh-ting

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0800

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CAN) A newly recognized asteroid has been officially named after Li Kwoh-ting, who was known as the father of Taiwan´s industrial revolution and economic miracle, National Central University (NCU) announced in Taipei Wednesday.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially recognized the "Likwohting" asteroid last month, NCU said. The asteroid was discovered on Oct. 23, 2008 by NCU´s Lulin Observatory through the joint efforts of a group of seven researchers and assistants who were based at Yushan National Park.

"The contribution made by the majority of us passes by with time, but the treasures left behind by some of the greatest men, such as Li Kwoh-ting, will be remembered for a very long time, " said NCU president Chiang Wei-ning, at a press conference to announce the formal name of the asteroid.

The founder of Hsinchu Science Park and an alumnus of NCU, Li was a local economist and politician who was dubbed as "the godfather of Taiwan´s economic miracle" for his contribution in initiating Taiwan´s high-tech and industrial development from the 1960s to the 1990s. He was born on Jan. 28, 1910 and passed away on May. 31, 2001 at the age of 91.

Li´s son Li Yung-chang, who also attended Tuesday´s press conference, said he was grateful to know that there is now a star in the sky that bears his father´s name, which is a great consolation to his family.

An IAU commission in charge of the naming of comets and minor planets recognized the newly found asteroid as (239611) Likwohting=2008 UC212 in Dec. 2010, said Lin Hung-chin, director of the laboratory.

Lin said the asteroid is very far away from Earth and cannot be seen by the naked eye, but can be observed with the lab´s one-meter telescope in the month of September during fine weather.

The NCU lab has discovered roughly 800 asteroids since 2002. About 20 of them have been named after the iconic landscape and famous entities and personalities in Taiwan, including Cloud Gate Dance Theatre; the Tsou tribe; Bruce Cheng, Delta Electronics Inc chairman; and Shen Chun-shan, former president of National Tsing Hua University. (By Hermia Lin) ENDITEM /pc

New Public Art on the Horizon

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0800

Twenty-seven proposals, two selection meetings, and one exhibition of art pieces from the six finalists… after months of work, it is the series “The Fountain of Knowledge” proposed by L’orangerie International Art Consultant Company that catches the jury’s eyes in NCU Public Art Project Competition.

Four art pieces are included in the project: Five Morals of Elephant, Motion of Universe, Running Water Floating Clouds, and Lounging in Pine Whispering. Each artist applies different materials and forms to enhance the diversity, yet, by marvelously blending Chinese philosophy and literature in the creations, every original idea is presented in harmony with the University’s spirit.

The blueprint for NCU campus originated in 1969, designed by our alumnus, the renowned architect and painter Chi-Kwan Chen (陳其寬). He planned the layout according to the shape of the Chinese character "井" (a well), and placed Administration Building, Zhong-Zheng Library, and Auditorium on the horizontal line. The arrangement consequently suggests that a library in the center be regarded as the source of wisdom.

Over the years, however, more buildings are constructed one after another on campus, and the differences of styles more or less spoil the unity.

According to Art Center, the competition organizer, this event aims to reintegrate buildings and open space on campus through the installation of new public art work. “The Fountain of Knowledge Project” corresponds to the original campus layout design without diminishing artists’ belief and creativity; moreover, the art pieces can serve as street furniture to develop a deeper interaction between passers-by and the surroundings.

Five Morals of Elephant (大象五形), created by Rose Houng and Jason Shih, is a set of 5 steel sculptures that locate on the lawn by Humanities and Social Sciences Building. In reference to Laozi’s philosophical thought, the form of elephant is a metaphor for “the ultimate law in universe” while the whole group represents the Five Movements in Chinese philosophy: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The combination highlights the enlightenment and pursuit for wisdom and reason.

Erected on the platform in front of Zhong-Zheng Library, Motion of Universe (蘊˙行), the work of art voted as “My Favorite” in the exhibition, is the Japanese artist, Kaoru Matsumoto’s signature. With his unique craft, a big titanium ring is attached to a pole of nearly 5 meters in height, which begins to rotate when the wind picks up. The kinetic art work impresses spectators by turning the wind, usually thought to be a menace here, into part of the art design.

The author of the third piece of work, Running Water Floating Clouds (漫步雲端), is Peter Lin, who models 12 cloud-shaped sculptures out of marble slabs. These “clouds”, instead of floating in the sky, hover over lawns in front of the International Student Dormitory. Day or night, they are equally approachable to passengers. A surprise awaits after dark: marbles are illuminated from inside, leaving an impression of strolling on a heavenly earth.

The last art work—Lounging in Pine Whispering (坐聽˙松風)—is created by Hong-Wen Lin. One steel pole imitating the form of a pine tree and its bark texture is erected near the rear gate, and on top of the metal pine tree are bunches of artificial pine needles. Through the installation, the artist would like to echo with the natural environment. He also designs two benches as street furniture to allow passers-by to rest for a while, enjoying a moment of tranquility.

These new public art works are scheduled to terminate their construction by the summer of 2011. After the inauguration, Art Center and L’orangerie International Company will hold a series of lectures and exhibitions to give viewers a better understanding of these unique creations.

Back to School—Freshmen Engage in Green Actions

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0800

Before entering NCU, young truth seekers need to embark at “Freshman Camp” as their starting point. As an orientation ceremony, the Camp proposed a series of programs to equip freshmen with right attitude and insight, encouraging them to explore their potentials within college days.

In his opening remarks, President Chiang advised them to take advantage of courses and other resources that the University could offer. Other than absorbing expertise, it was also crucial to learn from a variety of disciplines and cultivate one’s soft skills, such as creativity, language and communication skills. A diligent student would benefit from these for a lifetime.

As a developing “Green University”, the Camp also arranged some programs to engage freshmen in environmental protection.

On the ceremony, travel mugs and tableware sets were distributed to first years to reduce the use of disposable ones since most students would have to fix their meals at university or nearby restaurants.

The Green Ambassador, Yu-Wei Hu (胡育維), a junior in Dept. of Computer Science and Information Engineering, led the entire student body to vow “Love our Earth,” and a short film was played to give them a better idea of their commitment.

In addition, other green policies are introduced into the living environment of freshmen this year.

For example, a student can choose to live in a “green dorm”, where lights are automatically put out at midnight, to aid students to have a healthier lifestyle. If they get up early, before 8 o’clock, they can use indoor swimming pool, tennis courts, and badminton courts for free. After the exercise, they can either have “energy breakfast” in university restaurants or prepare themselves a balanced meal in the dorm kitchenette.

NCU e-portfolio: Your Personal Secretary to Manage Learning Progress

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0800

Just a few clicks to formulate an impressive resume? NCU E-portfolio website makes it possible!

E-portfolio is a web platform created by Office of Academic Affairs three years ago. It is an online learning community which allows students to participate in class or after-class discussions, publish their reports and essays, and share other relevant documents or their thoughts with all the web users.

The website is basically a blog, but its contents focus on the studies and the learning progress students have made in their college years. Students can upload and organize their class materials, notes, and feedbacks via the system. Thus, a list of all the courses they’ve taken will be gradually set up.

Apart from the course list, users can also keep track of their extracurricular activities, internships, or part-time job experiences by creating different entries.

The idea is not only for students to efficiently manage their courses and activities through the website, but also to facilitate their comprehension of a subject they’re learning. They are encouraged to examine their course list and make any necessary adjustment in order to be well prepared for future careers or further studies.

When it comes to selecting courses, one can consult another website, NCU Course Map, to customize his or her own orientation.

On Course Map, courses are divided into two major groups: professional and general education; each course is then classified into sub-categories according to various indices to give students an idea of what kind of professional skills or abilities they may develop from class. So by using the interactive menu, students can receive advice about their course selection.

Hundreds of students have been eagerly cultivating their e-portfolio. Ya-Shuang Cheng (鄭雅双), a Chinese senior, thinks that the web platform reinforces her writing and organizational skills. So does Yi-An Chen (陳毅安), another senior major in Mechanical Engineering. After one semester, his e-portfolio is enriched with essays, reading materials, and video clips that are gradually assembled from one of his general education courses.

But the author of the most impressive e-portfolio is Hui-Lu Ma (馬惠茹), who has graduated from Department of Economics this year. She kept detailed files, including her Chinese and English resumes, biographies, course schedules and grades, awards, extracurricular activities, job experiences, projects and reports, and so on. Her e-portfolio has eventually become the best tool to promote herself in the Internet Age!

E-portfolio: http://www.oaa.ncu.edu.tw/ep/
NCU Course Map: http://www.oaa.ncu.edu.tw/cmap/

OIA Chinese Language Learning Summer Camp

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0800

Office of International Affairs has started to organize summer camps a few years ago. Reserved for international students of universities or institutes who have academic cooperation with NCU, camp activities consist of language and cultural classes, and trips to visit famous attractions in Taiwan.

This year, a group of 16 students from Japan, France, and U.S.A. came to spend two weeks on campus. After the orientation and campus tour on their first morning, their days were filled with extensive courses on Chinese learning. Teachers gave a general lecture of 2 hours every morning, and after lunch break, students formed small groups to practice speaking.

To help with their learning, NCU student ambassadors accompanied our visitors during their stay.

These local students became indispensable assistants in cultural courses as well. To give foreigners a general but a clear understanding about Taiwan and her culture, OIA has arranged classes for them to try Chinese calligraphy writing, to taste traditional food, and to experience leisure activities that Taiwanese youngsters do.

Shuhei Ikegaki, one of the camp members, studies foreign languages and cultures in Hiroshima University, Japan. He finds it interesting to be able to hold the Chinese brush again for that the Japanese only learn how to write calligraphy in elementary school.

On the weekend, camp members set for Yilan to visit National Center for Traditional Arts and made a short tour in National Palace Museum in Taipei to admire some of the most exquisite art works and treasures in the world.

On closing day, students had to prepare a final presentation of what they’ve learned and two credits on Chinese learning were issued in reward of their hard work.

The summer camp is open for registration till the end of March every year. Any latest information about the camp will be published on OIA website.

Two Library Websites in Spain’s Ranking Web of World Repositories Top 400

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0800

NCU E-theses & Dissertations System and Institutional Repository website, both founded by university library, have respectively placed No. 174 and No. 277 in Spain’s Ranking Web of World Repositories (Category: Top 400 Institutional) published in July 2010. In terms of rankings among universities in Taiwan, the E-theses & Dissertation System comes in top three, followed by the repository website in the 6^th place.

This ranking is conducted by Spain’s Centre for Scientific Information and Documentation, who publishes their results twice a year. According to their website (http://repositories.webometrics.info/), four indicators are considered to assess the web performance: the amount of web pages and scholarly documents, the search results, and the numbers of being hyperlinked by other sites, in order to reflect one website’s quality and visibility from all angles.

On receiving the good news, the library staff couldn’t feel more rejoiced—especially in view of that the repository website has just begun to run its course since last year! The ranking not only signifies the recognition for the staff’s devotion to facilitating general public’s access to our academic researches, but, viewed from a wider perspective, could also stand for future opportunities for our professors and students to communicate and exchange their discoveries with worldwide scholars.

NCU E-theses & Dissertations System: http://thesis.lib.ncu.edu.tw/
Institutional Repository: http://ir.lib.ncu.edu.tw/

Chinese Tea House, Where You Can Eat, Drink, and … Practice Chinese!

Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 +0800

Since spring, the newly-opened Chinese Tea House gathers international students together to chat freely with Chinese native speakers every Thursday evening.

Held by Language Center in one of the university restaurants, Chinese Tea House is actually an occasion for Chinese learners to sharpen their language skills. “The original idea comes from ‘English Café’, another activity organized by Language Center for local students to practice English,” said the initiator, Professor Fu-Ju Wu (吳馥如).

Taiwanese students join Chinese Tea House as both partner and teacher. They take turns to be the Leader, inventing games or group activities for participants.

For instance, Ching-Wei Huang (黃靖惟), an English sophomore, proposed a couple of games when she played the Leader one evening. One was the chain story telling: in small groups, everyone needed to continue his or her part of story, and after the first round, international students should tell the whole story as a practice. The other game—aiming to put trust and honesty into test, and therefore much more exciting—was to randomly pick up a folded card with a number on it, and then guess others’ numbers by asking “Bigger or smaller?”

The casual atmosphere soon draws these young people together, creating positive responses from both local and international students.

Two Mongolian students said that they didn’t have too many occasions to speak Chinese after class because most local students would communicate with them in English in the first place. So they really love to go to Chinese Tea House to practice what they’ve picked up during the day.

Local students enjoy the fun as well. They can assist learners in pronunciations and familiarize them with useful daily expressions through conversations.