After working for some time, developers commit their code changes to a version control system. When doing so, they often bundle unrelated changes (e.g., bug fix and refactoring) in a single commit, thus creating a so-called tangled commit. Sharing tangled commits is problematic because it makes review, reversion, and integration of these commits harder and historical analyses of the project less reliable.Researchers have worked at untangling existing commits, i.e., finding which part of a commit relates to which task. In this paper, we contribute to this line of work in two ways: (1) A publicly available dataset of untangled code changes, created with the help of two developers who accurately split their code changes into self contained tasks over a period of four months;(2) a novel approach, EpiceaUntangler, to help developers share untangled commits (aka. atomic commits) by using fine-grained code change information. EpiceaUntangler is based and tested on the publicly available dataset, and further evaluated by deploying it to 7 developers, who used it for 2 weeks. We recorded a median success rate of 91% and average one of 75%, in automatically creating clusters of untangled fine-grained code changes.

In this article we offer visual depictions and analysis of contextual factors relative to the presence of public safety networks (PSNs) in the United States (US). A PSN combines shared technological infrastructures for supporting information sharing, computing interoperability and interagency interactions involving policing, criminal justice, and emergency response. The broad research objective is to explain the formation of PSNs based upon factors derived from rational choice and institutional theories. To do so we develop maps to represent our data analysis. This analysis suggests that our approach is promising for generating insights about PSNs and, by extension, about other types of inter-organizational collaborations focusing on using information and communication technologies to enable information-sharing.

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Through this paper we advance insights regarding common patterns among information and communication technology (ICT) architectures (ICTA) found in United States' public safety networks (PSNs). A PSN is an inter-organizational collaboration enabled by ICT to support information sharing and interoperability needs of police and associated public safety organizations. Substantial evidence makes clear the information systems designed and used by PSNs are typically expensiveand complex, support multiple public agencies from different organs of government and span different political and geographic boundaries. Better understanding of PSN ICTA patterns could lead to improved designs and possibly improved performance of these (and perhaps other forms of) multi-agency technology-enabled collaborations. Empirical data from 61 operational PSNs provides the basis for this work. These data were analyzed using fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), an approach ideally suited for detailed analyses across smaller data sets that allows us to assess inter-dependence among variables. Results show that (1) functionally similar configuration patterns of ICTA exist among PSNs and (2) several common architectural patterns are associated with higher levels of PSN performance, but these include a large number of unique successful arrangements. S. Sawyer et al. / U.S. public safety networks: Architectural patterns and performanceMost PSNs involve agencies from multiple levels of government and neighboring geographies. Although all PSNs include police among their key user agencies, not all address the same public safety domains. One can find PSNs supporting the entire gamut of public safety: policing, criminal justice, emergency management and homeland security.More broadly, PSNs reflect the interesting combination of the most modern digital technologies with legacy systems that may be nearly a half-century in age given that government funds for the development of computer-based criminal justice information systems date as far back as the 1960s [28]. Renewed interest in cross-government information sharing and concomitant grant programs (e.g. [27,40, 46]), combined with a broadly perceived need to boost the ability of public safety agencies to collaborate with one another, have led to a proliferation of literature on the need to further develop and understand these public safety initiatives. Public safety interoperability has been a topic of interest to organizations such as the US's Office of Justice Programs, the US Department of Homeland Security, and others (such as SEARCH [27]). Despite this increasing interest in cross-boundary sharing in policing and public safety, Williams et al. [51,52] are the only authors to date who have attempted to complete a comprehensive survey of existing public safety interoperability initiatives. The work reported in this paper advances two contributions to the literature on public safety by examining PSN design through the sociotechnical lens of ICTA. First work presented in this paper prov...

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