Nature as a Network of Morphological Infocomputational Processes for Cognitive Agents

This paper presents a view of nature as a network of infocomputational agents organized in a dynamical hierarchy of levels. It provides a framework for unification of currently disparate understandings of natural, formal, technical, behavioral and social phenomena based on information as a structure, differences in one system that cause the differences in another system, and computation as its dynamics, i.e. physical process of morphological change in the informational structure. We address some of the frequent misunderstandings regarding the natural/morphological computational models and their relationships to physical systems, especially cognitive systems such as living beings. Natural morphological infocomputation as a conceptual framework necessitates generalization of models of computation beyond the traditional Turing machine model presenting symbol manipulation, and requires agent-based concurrent resource-sensitive models of computation in order to be able to cover the whole range of phenomena from physics to cognition. The central role of agency, particularly material vs. cognitive agency is highlighted

A Review on Software Architectures for Heterogeneous Platforms

The increasing demands for computing performance have been a reality regardless of the requirements for smaller and more energy efficient devices. Throughout the years, the strategy adopted by industry was to increase the robustness of a single processor by increasing its clock frequency and mounting more transistors so more calculations could be executed. However, it is known that the physical limits of such processors are being reached, and one way to fulfill such increasing computing demands has been to adopt a strategy based on heterogeneous computing, i.e., using a heterogeneous platform containing more than one type of processor. This way, different types of tasks can be executed by processors that are specialized in them. Heterogeneous computing, however, poses a number of challenges to software engineering, especially in the architecture and deployment phases. In this paper, we conduct an empirical study that aims at discovering the state-of-the-art in software architecture for heterogeneous computing, with focus on deployment. We conduct a systematic mapping study that retrieved 28 studies, which were critically assessed to obtain an overview of the research field. We identified gaps and trends that can be used by both researchers and practitioners as guides to further investigate the topic

Causes and Models of Privatization in Higher Education

The world we live in is extraordinarily dynamic and forces us daily to face numerous changes in all areas of life. Although the relationship between private and state property was considered and compared by classics in economics, it is only over the last couple of decades that the privatization processes have become a part of everyday economic life. Privatization reaches all industrial branches and the most recent trend is to involve private sector into public administration. Education system is not immune to privatization either, however, due to its specifi c nature the privatization processes have to be handled very cautiously. This paper examines the meaning of privatization in education, the factors causing privatization in higher education and how it is implemented. It also looks at the issue of advantages and disadvantages of privatization in education, i.e., higher education.privatization, education, private sector, public sector.

Impact Analysis of Changes in Human Resource Capital on Economic Development - from Gravely Underdeveloped to Highly Developed Societies

This research encompasses 177 countries around the world with the data on human resource variables for the year 2005. The countries have been put into four groups: gravely underdeveloped, developing, developed, and highly developed. The research has looked into the variables Human Development Index, population, population over 65 years of age, primary education enrolment, investment into secondary education, investment into tertiary education, investment into research and development, Gender–Related Development Index and productivity increase, and analyzed how they influence the economic growth rate. This means that the impact of changes in the observed variables is analyzed, i.e. how they influence the standard of living and level of development in countries of the world. The main hypothesis is that investing in people, i.e. in primary, secondary and tertiary education will bring long-term positive effects on social growth and development, thus contributing to the level of development and overall standard of living. Another hypothesis is that, depending on the development level, human capital and education will exert different influence on GDP per capita, which indicates that a number of economic variables play a major role on the effects of education.primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, human resource capital, economic development, development level

Loop Equations and the Topological Phase of Multi-Cut Matrix Models

We study the double scaling limit of mKdV type, realized in the two-cut Hermitian matrix model. Building on the work of Periwal and Shevitz and of Nappi, we find an exact solution including all odd scaling operators, in terms of a hierarchy of flows of $2\times 2$ matrices. We derive from it loop equations which can be expressed as Virasoro constraints on the partition function. We discover a ``pure topological" phase of the theory in which all correlation functions are determined by recursion relations. We also examine macroscopic loop amplitudes, which suggest a relation to 2D gravity coupled to dense polymers.Comment: 24p