Only a few studies exist that try to investigate whether there is a significant correlation between external software quality and the data provided by static code analysis tools. A clarification on this issue could pave the way for more precise prediction models on the probability of defects based on the violation of programming rules. We therefore initiated a study where the defect data of selected versions of the open source development environment "Eclipse SDK" is correlated with the data provided by the static code analysis tools PMD and FindBugs applied the source code of Eclipse. The results from this study are promising as especially some PMD rulesets show a good correlation with the defect data and could therefore serve as basis for measurement, control and prediction of software quality.

There is empirical evidence that internal software quality, e.g., the quality of source code, has great impact on the overall quality of software. Besides well-known manual inspection and review techniques for source code, more recent approaches utilize tool-based static code analysis for the evaluation of internal software quality. Despite the high potential of code analyzers the application of tools alone cannot replace well-founded expert opinion. Knowledge, experience and fair judgment are indispensable for a valid, reliable quality assessment, which is accepted by software developers and managers. The EMISQ method (Evaluation Method for Internal Software Quality), guides the assessment process for all stakeholders of an evaluation project. The method is supported by the Software Product Quality Reporter (SPQR), a tool which assists evaluators with their analysis and rating tasks and provides support for generating code quality reports. The application of SPQR has already proved its usefulness in various code assessment projects around the world. This paper introduces the EMISQ method and describes the tool support needed for an efficient and effective evaluation of internal software quality.

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In July 2002, Germany amended its Atomic Energy Act so no new nuclear power plants could be built and existing power plants would continue running only for a limited time. In 2009, however, a coalition led by Chancellor Angela Merkel took control of the German government and reversed the countryÕs nuclear phaseout policy, extending nuclear plant operating lives and announcing that risks associated with nuclear energy were insignificant. Three months later, just days after the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan, the German government abruptly reversed course again, closing eight older nuclear power plants and eventually ordering the nine remaining plants to cease operations by 2022, at the latest. Three out of the four operators of German nuclear power plants have since taken legal action, seeking compensation for profits supposedly lost as a result of the nuclear policy change. But due to a number of fac-torsÑincluding the German constitution, which places a duty on the government to protect citizens, and the nuclear operatorsÕ participation in the original 2002 agreement to phase out nuclear powerÑmost legal observers believe these legal challenges to GermanyÕs nuclear exit are destined to fail. The German nuclear exit includes financial compromises that allow nuclear operators to recoup investments in their nuclear power plants, and the legal protection these compromises provide to the government may be the part of the German initiative that is of most interest to other countries considering nuclear exits.

Weltweit wächst der Eintrag von Kunststoffen in die Umwelt. Da die bestehenden Regulierungen zur Eindämmung des Problems nicht ausreichen, muss die ständig steigende Kunststoffproduktion und -nutzung insgesamt reduziert werden. Es bedarf eines systemischen Ansatzes, der alle Akteure in die Verantwortung nimmt, die Kunststoffprodukte und -verpackungen produzieren, nutzen, recyceln und entsorgen sowie damit handeln. Die Politik muss den nötigen Paradigmenwechsel vorantreiben und eine gesamtgesellschaftliche Suffizienzdebatte ermöglichen.