Formal Definition and Automatic Generation of Semantic Metrics: An Empirical Study on Bug Prediction

Fault tolerance techniques are generally based around a common concept that is redundancy whose measurement is required. A suite of four semantic metrics is proposed to assess program redundancy and reflect their ability to tolerate faults. Literature shows that one of these metrics, namely state redundancy, is limited to compute program redundancy only in their initial and final states and ignores their internal states. Consequently, the authors focus in this paper to overcome this shortcoming by proposing a new redundancy-based semantic metric that computes the redundancy of the different program states including internal ones. The empirical study they perform shows that the proposed metric is a measure of program redundancy in one side and is an error detection indicator in another side. Moreover, they demonstrate that it is more accurate than the basic state redundancy metric in detecting masked errors. It is useful for testers to indicate if a tested program is error-free and to pinpoint the presence of masked errors even if the final states are equal to the expected ones.

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The Role of Visual Distractors in the Simon Effect

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000382 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 64 (6) ◽

pp. 387-397 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Luisa Lugli ◽

Stefania D’Ascenzo ◽

Roberto Nicoletti ◽

Carlo Umiltà

Keyword(s):

Simon Effect ◽

Simon Task ◽

Automatic Generation ◽

Spatial Code ◽

Attentional Model ◽

Previous Evidence ◽

Spatial Stimulus ◽

Attentional Resources ◽

Code Changes

Abstract. The Simon effect lies on the automatic generation of a stimulus spatial code, which, however, is not relevant for performing the task. Results typically show faster performance when stimulus and response locations correspond, rather than when they do not. Considering reaction time distributions, two types of Simon effect have been individuated, which are thought to depend on different mechanisms: visuomotor activation versus cognitive translation of spatial codes. The present study aimed to investigate whether the presence of a distractor, which affects the allocation of attentional resources and, thus, the time needed to generate the spatial code, changes the nature of the Simon effect. In four experiments, we manipulated the presence and the characteristics of the distractor. Findings extend previous evidence regarding the distinction between visuomotor activation and cognitive translation of spatial stimulus codes in a Simon task. They are discussed with reference to the attentional model of the Simon effect.

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