A Reality Check(-List) for Digital Methods

Element Retrieval in Digital Libraries: Reality Check

Although research on XML element retrieval is steadily gaining popularity, it is not clear if and in what form element retrieval can be useful in real-world scenarios. In this paper, we compare the XML element retrieval models used in the INEX workshop with the search interfaces of two online digital library services. We demonstrate that element retrieval is indeed useful for digital libraries ...

Are Formal Methods Ready for Agility? A Reality Check

The integration of agile software development techniques with formal methods has attracted attention as a research topic. But what exactly is to be gained from attempting to combine two approaches which are seen as orthogonal or even opposing, and to what extent do formal methods already support the principles of agility? Based on the authors’ experience in applying lightweight tool-supported f...

Reality check for checklists.

Catheter-related blood stream infections in the intensive care unit (ICU) are common, costly, and potentially lethal. The Dec 28, 2006, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine reported that an evidence-based intervention in 103 intensive care units in the Michigan Keystone ICU programme had resulted in a large sustained reduction in rates of these infections. The study was widely reported ...

A Reality Check For Data Snooping

A Reality-Check for Putative Stem Cells

The concept of using stem cells for cardiovascular repair holds great potential, but uncertainties in preclinical experiments must be addressed before their therapeutic application. Contemporary proteomic techniques can help to characterize cell preparations more thoroughly and identify some of the potential causes that may lead to a high failure rate in clinical trials. The first part of this ...