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Software development plays a crucial role in driving technological advancements and fostering innovation across industries. However, the ever-increasing complexity in software systems poses significant challenges. This research aims to explore the origins of software complexity and develop strategies to mitigate it. Specifically, it investigates software complexity through the lens of Complex Problem Solving (CPS) and Software Comprehension, areas that have received limited attention thus far. The study focuses on API integration, a common area of software development, and examines two strategies (strategy A and B). These strategies incorporate the CPS techniques decomposition and Lean Thinking to address different dimensions of complexity inherent in API software. In a user study (N=30), participants had to retrieve data from an API platform and use it to build small conceptual prototype applications. Metrics related to time, successfulness in task and (perceived) effectiveness were utilized to assess the impact of the strategies on reducing interface and system complexity. The findings reveal how strategy A significantly reduces task completion times and the time required for the initial API call. Moreover, strategy A demonstrates superior performance compared to the baseline in metrics related to complexity. This highlights the effectiveness of concepts from Lean Thinking in reducing software complexity. Strategy B shows promising results in supporting developers’ individual completion of API integration tasks and facilitating software comprehension by providing tailored learning materials suitable for common-sense learners. On the whole, developers expressed high levels of satisfaction with the effectiveness of both strategies in achieving their respective goals. This research establishes a foundation for enhanced interaction with complex software systems, opening avenues for future studies to explore more effective support strategies. The outcomes contribute to

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been a rapidly expanding network in recent years and widely studied. However, many scholars focus on the technological features of the IoT network. Nevertheless, challenges still arise regarding usability and user experience (UX) of the systems in this network, especially in the consumer domain of IoT. The current study assessed those challenges by conducting a literature review. To confirm these challenges, a prestudy was conducted with ten participants that interacted with an IoT system. Results showed that the most important issues arise due to the lack of standardization amongst IoT systems, interoperability problems, the complexity of the systems, and the lack of feedback in them. Next, criteria for the design of user interfaces of IoT systems were proposed to overcome the IoT network-related challenges. These criteria were implemented in the IoT system that was used in the prestudy. To test the effect of these criteria, another study was conducted with ten participants that interacted with the system. The System Usability Scale (SUS) showed that the usability of the system had increased significantly. The AttrakDiff results demonstrated a non-significant increase of UX. Furthermore, the qualitative results of the interviews also suggested an increase in UX. The study thus offers new insights into designing user interfaces of IoT systems that are usable for consumers. Future work could replicate the study with a larger and more diverse sample size to generalize the results to a larger population. Furthermore, it would be interesting to investigate ways to standardize the development of IoT systems amongst companies developing IoT by making the suggested design criteria the norm.

Globalized infectious diseases are causing species declines worldwide, but their source often remains elusive. We used whole-genome sequencing to solve the spatiotemporal origins of the most devastating panzootic to date, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a proximate driver of global amphibian declines. We traced the source of B. dendrobatidis to the Korean peninsula, where one lineage, BdASIA-1, exhibits the genetic hallmarks of an ancestral population that seeded the panzootic. We date the emergence of this pathogen to the early 20th century, coinciding with the global expansion of commercial trade in amphibians, and we show that intercontinental transmission is ongoing. Our findings point to East Asia as a geographic hotspot for B. dendrobatidis biodiversity and the original source of these lineages that now parasitize amphibians worldwide.

Parasitic chytrid fungi have emerged as a significant threat to amphibian species worldwide, necessitating the development of techniques to isolate these pathogens into culture for research purposes. However, early methods of isolating chytrids from their hosts relied on killing amphibians. We modified a pre-existing protocol for isolating chytrids from infected animals to use toe clips and biopsies from toe webbing rather than euthanizing hosts, and distributed the protocol to researchers as part of the BiodivERsA project RACE; here called the RML protocol. In tandem, we developed a lethal procedure for isolating chytrids from tadpole mouthparts. Reviewing a database of use a decade after their inception, we find that these methods have been applied across 5 continents, 23 countries and in 62 amphibian species. Isolation of chytrids by the non-lethal RML protocol occured in 18% of attempts with 207 fungal isolates and three species of chytrid being recovered. Isolation of chytrids from tadpoles occured in 43% of attempts with 334 fungal isolates of one species (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) being recovered. Together, these methods have resulted in a significant reduction and refinement of our use of threatened amphibian species and have improved our ability to work with this group of emerging pathogens.