Computational notebooks are intended to prioritize the needs of scientists, but little is known about how scientists interact with notebooks, what requirements drive scientists' software development processes, or what tactics scientists use to meet their requirements. We conducted an observational study of 20 scientists using Jupyter notebooks for their day-to-day tasks, finding that scientists prioritize different quality attributes depending on their goals. A qualitative analysis of their usage shows (1) a collection of goals scientists pursue with Jupyter notebooks, (2) a set of quality attributes that scientists value when they write software, and (3) tactics that scientists leverage to promote quality. In addition, we identify ways scientists incorporated AI tools into their notebook work. From our observations, we derive design recommendations for improving computational notebooks and future programming systems for scientists. Key opportunities pertain to helping scientists create and manage state, dependencies, and abstractions in their software, enabling more effective reuse of clearly-defined components.

The availability of mobile money in Kenya has positively impacted commerce, financial transaction efforts, and the ability of individuals to receive and save their money. The addition of mobile loan applications provides access to loans without the hassle of going to a physical bank and, in some cases, completing paperwork. While it has its benefits, limited protection of user data has been a cause for concern. User complaints prompted a change in the mobile loan industry, requiring applications to be licensed and banning the use of specific permissions for Android versions of the apps placed in the Google Play Store. We investigate the impact of this change and explore ways to improve regulation by reviewing 30 licensed (n=15) and unlicensed (n=15) Kenyan-targeted digital lender apps. The results suggest that regulation has not yet had a significant impact on digital lender app development and thus encourages government-supported development guidelines and audits.