Implicit Mentoring: The Unacknowledged Developer Efforts in Open Source (2202.11300v2)

Abstract: Mentoring is traditionally viewed as a dyadic, top-down apprenticeship. This perspective, however, overlooks other forms of informal mentoring taking place in everyday activities in which developers invest time and effort, but remain unacknowledged. Here, we investigate the different flavors of mentoring in Open Source Software (OSS) to define and identify implicit mentoring. We first define implicit mentoring--situations where contributors guide others through instructions and suggestions embedded in everyday (OSS) activities--through formative interviews with OSS contributors, a literature review, and member-checking. Next, through an empirical investigation of Pull Requests (PRs) in 37 Apache Projects, we build a classifier to extract implicit mentoring and characterize it through the dual lenses of experience and gender. Our analysis of 107,895 PRs shows that implicit mentoring occurs (27.41% of all PRs include implicit mentoring) and it does not follow the traditional dyadic, top-down apprenticeship model. When considering the gender of mentor-mentee pairs, we found pervasive homophily--a preference to mentor those who are of the same gender--in 93.81% cases. In the cross-gender mentoring instances, women were more likely to mentor men.

• The paper reveals implicit mentoring practices where experienced developers provide informal guidance within open source projects.
• It employs a combination of social network analysis and qualitative methods to uncover mentoring interactions in code reviews and communications.
• The findings highlight the critical role of unacknowledged mentoring in fostering developer growth and enhancing community sustainability.

Overview of "Bare Advanced Demo of IEEEtran.cls for IEEE Computer Society Journals"

The document under analysis is not a traditional research paper but rather a demonstration file titled "Bare Advanced Demo of IEEEtran.cls for IEEE Computer Society Journals." Authored by Michael Shell, John Doe, and Jane Doe, this document serves to illustrate the use of the IEEEtran class file in LaTeX, which is employed for preparing articles intended for IEEE Computer Society journal submission.

The purpose of this document, as suggested by its title and content, is to function as a foundational resource for authors using the IEEEtran.cls class file. This LaTeX class file is widely adopted within the academic community for typesetting and formatting research papers in compliance with the IEEE's specified guidelines.

Purpose and Structure

The document is structured to offer a clear framework for authors unfamiliar with LaTeX or specifically the IEEEtran class. It provides succinct templates and guidance for creating documents that conform to the IEEE's publication requirements. It includes placeholders for various sections such as title, author affiliations, abstract, keywords, and main content sections such as introduction and conclusion.

Here are key elements addressed in the demo paper:

1. Document Formatting: Illustrates the usage of IEEEtran.cls version 1.8b and later editions, helping in structuring different sections of a paper.
2. Section Templates: The paper contains examples of sections like Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, and Conclusion, offering a clear example of how these should be formatted.
3. Appendices and Acknowledgments: Provides templates for including appendices and acknowledgment sections, ensuring all essential components of a research paper are covered.
4. Bibliography and Biographies: The document includes examples of how to format bibliographic entries and author biographies, crucial for ensuring proper credit and providing background information about the authors.

Practical Implications

The practical utility of the paper lies in its straightforward demonstration of the IEEEtran.cls capabilities, aiding authors in efficiently managing the complexity of formatting constraints. By adhering to this template, researchers can focus their efforts on the content of their submissions rather than the intricacies of formatting, thereby streamlining the publication process.

Moreover, templates like these help maintain a uniform style across IEEE publications, which is crucial for consistency and professional presentation in academic and industry-focused communications alike.

Theoretical Considerations and Future Directions

While the document does not propose new theories or methodologies, its indirect contributions to the academic community are significant. By facilitating the standardized preparation of documents, it supports the dissemination and peer review processes that are critical for academic discourse.

Looking ahead, one could anticipate updates to templates like IEEEtran.cls to accommodate evolving guidelines or to leverage advancements in typesetting technologies. Future versions might incorporate more interactive features or accommodate emerging formats, such as those required for increasingly common open-access repositories or multimedia-rich publications.

In conclusion, this demo paper fulfills a vital, albeit procedural, function within the research ecosystem. Its value lies in promoting clarity, uniformity, and efficiency in scientific communication, ensuring that content receives the focus it deserves, free from organizational inconsistencies.