Abstract
The diversity of research topics and resulting datasets in the field of Ecology (the scientific study of ecological systems and their biodiversity) has grown in parallel with developments in research data management. Based on a meta-analysis performed on 93 scientific references, this paper presents a comprehensive overview of the use of metadata tools in the Ecology domain through time. Overall, 40 metadata tools were found to be either referred or used by the research community from 1997 to 2018. In the same period, 50 different initiatives in ecology and biodiversity research were conceptualized and implemented to promote effective data sharing in the community. A relevant concern that stems from this analysis is the need to establish simple methods to promote data interoperability and reuse, so far limited by the production of metadata according to different standards. With this study, we also highlight challenges and perspectives in research data management in the domain of Ecology towards best practice guidelines.

Abstract
UML Sequence Diagrams are used in different domains for specifying the required behaviour of software-based systems. However, the created diagrams are often used only as documentation, and not as a basis for generating subsequent lifecycle artifacts or for automated analysis. Several authors have proposed the transformation of Sequence Diagrams to executable Coloured Petri Nets (CPN), for simulation and testing purposes, but the transformations are not automated or are implemented in an ad-hoc way. To overcome those limitations, we present in this paper an approach to automatically translate Sequence Diagrams to CPN ready for execution with CPN Tools, taking advantage of model-to-model transformation techniques provided by the Eclipse Modelling Framework (EMF). The transformation rules are implemented in the Epsilon Transformation Language. We use the standard UML metamodel provided by EMF and the CPN metamodel provided by CPN Tools, so any Sequence Diagram created with an EMF compliant modelling tool can be transformed. An application example is presented to better illustrate the approach. Copyright

Abstract
Business Process Testing is the act of validating that end-to-end transactions through enterprise systems continue to work correctly as the underlying packaged applications evolve. End-to-end automatic business process validation can be a challenging task, but an important way to check that business rules continue to work properly and that problems are detected and corrected as soon as possible. This paper presents the design of a test automation platform, ETAP-Pro, to test end-to-end business processes that aims to overcome some challenges in validating business processes. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Abstract

Abstract
The Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to bring forward new promising solutions in various domains. Consequently, it can impact many aspects of everyday life, and errors can have serious consequences. Despite this, there is a lack of standard testing processes and methods, which poses a major challenge for IoT testing. Nonetheless, closer examination makes it possible to identify a set of recurring behaviors of IoT applications and a set of corresponding test strategies. This paper formalizes the notion of a Pattern-Based IoT Testing method for systematizing and automating the testing of IoT ecosystems. It consists in a set of test strategies for recurring behaviors of the IoT system, which can be defined as IoT Test Patterns.

Abstract
Software has a longstanding association with a state of crisis considering its success rate. The explosion of Internet-connected devices - Internet-of-Things -adds to the complexity of software systems. The particular characteristics of these systems, such as its large-scale and heterogeneity, pose increasingly new challenges. Model-based approaches have been widely used as a mechanism to abstract low-level programming details and processes. By using such approaches, and leveraging concepts as reactive design, visual notations, and live programming, we believe to be able to reduce the complexity of creating, operate/monitor and evolve such systems. The main objective of this Ph.D. is to delve into the software engineering practices for developing IoT systems and systems of systems, exploiting models as a suitable abstraction, expecting to reduce the complexity of managing most of the software development lifecycle that targets IoT systems and to develop the prototype that will aid on the validation of such approach.