Risk, Institutions and Growth: Why England and Not China?

We analyze the role of risk-sharing institutions in transitions to modern economies. Transitions requires individual-level risk-taking in pursuing productivity-enhancing activities including using and developing new knowledge. Individual-level, idiosyncratic risk implies that distinct risk-sharing institutions – even those providing the same level of insurance – can lead to different growth trajectories if they differently motivate risk-taking. Historically, risk sharing institutions were selected based on their cultural and institutional compatibility and not their unforeseen growth implications. We simulate our growth model incorporating England’s and China’s distinct pre-modern risk-sharing institutions. The model predicts a transition in England and not China even with equal levels of risk sharing. Under the clan-based Chinese institution, the relatively risk-averse elders had more control over technological choices implying lower risk-taking. Focusing on non-market institutions expands on previous growth-theoretic models to highlight that transitions can transpire even in the absence of exogenous productivity shocks or time-dependent state variables. Recognizing the role of non-market institutions in the growth process bridges the view that transitions are due to luck and the view that transitions are inevitable. Transitions transpire when ‘luck’ creates the conditions under which economic agents find it beneficial to make the choices leading to positive rates of technological change. Luck came in the form of historical processes leading to risk-sharing institutions whose unintended consequences encouraged productivity-enhancing risk-taking.institutions, risk, growth, development

BORPH: operating system support on the NetFPGA platform

This paper introduces the concepts behind BORPH, an operating system for reconfigurable computers. The porting and implementation of this operating system for the NetFPGA platform, as well as the tool flow integration are described.postprintThe 2nd North American NetFPGA Developers Workshop 2010, Stanford, CA., 12-13 August 2010

Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) wood hygroscopic properties and dimentional stability

Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) wood has a potential for high value uses because of its strength and aesthetic properties but one obstacle is the lack of knowledge of the wood-water relations. Variations in wood equilibrium moisture content, density and dimensions were studied at air temperatures of 22°C and 27°C (representing acclimatized homes and summer non-acclimatized homes, respectively) varying from 80% to 30% of relative humidity. For indoor uses (22-27°C, 50-65% of relative humidity), the wood equilibrium moisture content ranged 12-17% and these values are recommended for the final commercial drying of cork oak wood. The fibre saturation point averaged 27%. Total volumetric shrinkage at 22°C-27°C averaged 12%, the linear shrinkage 8.1-8.5% and 3.6-3.6%, respectively in tangential and radial directions. Anisotropy averaged 2.3. Wood density at 12% moisture content ranged 0.63 to 0.67 g/cm3. The higroscopicity obtained was 0.003. The average tangential differential shrinkage was 0.32 for both temperatures and the average radial differential shrinkage was 0.14 and 0.15, at 22°C and 27°C respectively. The shrinkage factor was 0.90 cm3/g and 0.82 cm3/g, at 22°C and 27°C respectively. Differences between temperatures were only statistically significant at 80-70% of relative humidity

Reconfigurable Logic Embedded Architecture of Support Vector Machine Linear Kernel

Support Vector  Machine  (SVM) is a linear  binary classifier  that  requires a  kernel  function  to  handle  non-linear problems.  Most  previous  SVM  implementations for  embedded systems  in literature were  built  targeting a certain  application; where analyses were done through comparison  with software im- plementations only. The impact  of different  application datasets towards  SVM hardware performance were not analyzed.  In this work,  we propose  a parameterizable linear  kernel  architecture that  is fully pipelined.  It  is prototyped and  analyzed  on Altera Cyclone  IV  platform   and  results  are  verified  with  equivalent software  model.  Further analysis  is  done  on  determining the effect  of  the  number of  features   and  support   vectors  on  the performance of the  hardware architecture. From  our  proposed linear  kernel  implementation, the number of features  determine the maximum  operating frequency  and amount  of logic resource utilization,  whereas  the  number of support   vectors  determines the  amount  of on-chip  memory  usage  and  also the  throughput of the system

Propiedades higroscópicas y de estabilidad dimensional de madera de alcornoque (Quercus suber L.)

Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) wood has a potential for high value uses because of its strength and aesthetic properties but one obstacle is the lack of knowledge of the wood-water relations. Variations in wood equilibrium moisture content, density and dimensions were studied at air temperatures of 22°C and 27°C (representing acclimatized homes and summer non-acclimatized homes, respectively) varying from 80% to 30% of relative humidity. For indoor uses (22-27°C, 50-65% of relative humidity), the wood equilibrium moisture content ranged 12-17% and these values are recommended for the final commercial drying of cork oak wood. The fibre saturation point averaged 27%. Total volumetric shrinkage at 22°C-27°C averaged 12%, the linear shrinkage 8.1-8.5% and 3.6-3.6%, respectively in tangential and radial directions. Anisotropy averaged 2.3. Wood density at 12% moisture content ranged 0.63 to 0.67 g/cm3. The higroscopicity obtained was 0.003. The average tangential differential shrinkage was 0.32 for both temperatures and the average radial differential shrinkage was 0.14 and 0.15, at 22°C and 27°C respectively. The shrinkage factor was 0.90 cm3/g and 0.82 cm3/g, at 22°C and 27°C respectively. Differences between temperatures were only statistically significant at 80-70% of relative humidity.La madera de alcornoque tiene potencial para usos de alto valor debido a su resistencia y propiedades estéticas, pero presenta un obstáculo como es la falta de conocimiento de las relaciones agua-madera. Se han estudiado las variaciones en el contenido de humedad de equilibrio de la madera, la densidad y las dimensiones a temperaturas del aire de 22°C y 27°C (que representa casas climatizadas y casas de verano no aclimatadas, respectivamente) variando entre 80% a 30% de humedad relativa. Para usos interiores (22-27° C, 50-65% de humedad relativa), el equilibrio de humedad de la madera osciló entre el 12-17% y se recomiendan estos valores para el secado final de la madera comercial de alcornoque. El punto de saturación de la fibra promedio es del 27%. La contracción volumétrica total a 22°C-27°C en promedio es de un 12%, la contracción lineal varía entre 8.1-8.5% y 3.6-3.6%, respectivamente en direcciones tangenciales y radiales. La anisotropía promedio fue de 2,3. La densidad de la madera con un contenido de humedad del 12% varió entre 0,63 a 0,67 g/cm3. La higroscopicidad obtenida fue de 0,003. La contracción diferencial tangencial promedio fue de 0,32 para ambas temperaturas y la contracción radial diferencial promedio fue de 0,14 y 0,15, a 22°C y 27°C respectivamente. El factor de contracción fue de 0,90 cm3/g y 0,82 cm3/g, a 22°C y 27°C respectivamente. Las diferencias entre las temperaturas fueron estadísticamente significativas sólo al 80-70% de humedad relativa

A Survey on FPGA-Based Heterogeneous Clusters Architectures

In recent years, the most powerful supercomputers have already reached megawatt power consumption levels, an important issue that challenges sustainability and shows the impossibility of maintaining this trend. To this date, the prevalent approach to supercomputing is dominated by CPUs and GPUs. Given their fixed architectures with generic instruction sets, they have been favored with lots of tools and mature workflows which led to mass adoption and further growth. However, reconfigurable hardware such as FPGAs has repeatedly proven that it offers substantial advantages over this supercomputing approach concerning performance and power consumption. In this survey, we review the most relevant works that advanced the field of heterogeneous supercomputing using FPGAs focusing on their architectural characteristics. Each work was divided into three main parts: network, hardware, and software tools. All implementations face challenges that involve all three parts. These dependencies result in compromises that designers must take into account. The advantages and limitations of each approach are discussed and compared in detail. The classification and study of the architectures illustrate the trade-offs of the solutions and help identify open problems and research lines

An Approach to Manage Reconfigurations and Reduce Area Cost in Hard Real-Time Reconfigurable Systems

This article presents a methodology to build real-time reconfigurable systems that ensure that all the temporal constraints of a set of applications are met, while optimizing the utilization of the available reconfigurable resources. Starting from a static platform that meets all the real-time deadlines, our approach takes advantage of run-time reconfiguration in order to reduce the area needed while guaranteeing that all the deadlines are still met. This goal is achieved by identifying which tasks must be always ready for execution in order to meet the deadlines, and by means of a methodology that also allows reducing the area requirements

Economic aspects of FPGA technology

En este PFC se ha recogido y analizado diversa información acerca de la tecnología de Xilinx. Incluyendo los datasheets de Xilinx notas del E.E. Times, informes financieros, y artículos de internet. Todos los datos se han unificado en unas ciento cincuenta figuras y tablas. Además, se han revisado los proceedings de la conferencia FPL desde 1991 (la primera en Oxford) hasta 2013 (el último en Porto).In this PFC, diverse information about Xilinx technology has been collected and analyzed. It includes Xilinx datasheets, notes on E.E. Times, financial reports, and Internet articles. All the data have been unified in around one hundred and fifty figures and tables. In addition, FPL proceedings from 1991 (the first in Oxford) to 2013 (the last in Porto) have been revised

The conservation of panel paintings and related objects

Until the early 17th century almost all portable paintings were created on wood supports, including masterpieces by famous painters, ranging from Giotto to Dürer to Rembrandt. The structural conservation of these paintings requires specific knowledge and skills as the supports are susceptible to damage caused by unstable environmental conditions. Unfortunately, past structural interventions often caused significant damage due to insufficient knowledge of the behaviour of the wood panels, glue and paint layers. Over the last fifty years, the field has developed treatment strategies based on interdisciplinary collaboration and on the knowledge of specialist conservators. Most current conservation protocols rely on empirical knowledge of conservators and are not necessarily based on a scientific understanding of the nature and behaviour of wood and paint layers. In order to move the field forward, it is imperative to strengthen scientific research into the production methods, ageing and future behaviour of panel paintings, being an intricate interplay between different materials. A deeper understanding of the processes that adversely affect panel paintings over time will contribute to the improved care and conservation of these artworks. The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam brought together a group of experts from different disciplines to recommend specific areas in the field that would benefit from systematic research. The experts concluded that targeted interdisciplinary research projects are key to understanding the behaviour of panel paintings and help conservators make better informed decisions. Research into chemical and physical properties of wood, glue and paint layers should be combined with an evaluation of past and current conservation treatments. Research should also consider the history of the object, studio practice, conservation history and thoughts on long-term impact of treatments