2,454 research outputs found
Modern computing: Vision and challenges
Over the past six decades, the computing systems field has experienced significant transformations, profoundly impacting society with transformational developments, such as the Internet and the commodification of computing. Underpinned by technological advancements, computer systems, far from being static, have been continuously evolving and adapting to cover multifaceted societal niches. This has led to new paradigms such as cloud, fog, edge computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT), which offer fresh economic and creative opportunities. Nevertheless, this rapid change poses complex research challenges, especially in maximizing potential and enhancing functionality. As such, to maintain an economical level of performance that meets ever-tighter requirements, one must understand the drivers of new model emergence and expansion, and how contemporary challenges differ from past ones. To that end, this article investigates and assesses the factors influencing the evolution of computing systems, covering established systems and architectures as well as newer developments, such as serverless computing, quantum computing, and on-device AI on edge devices. Trends emerge when one traces technological trajectory, which includes the rapid obsolescence of frameworks due to business and technical constraints, a move towards specialized systems and models, and varying approaches to centralized and decentralized control. This comprehensive review of modern computing systems looks ahead to the future of research in the field, highlighting key challenges and emerging trends, and underscoring their importance in cost-effectively driving technological progress
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The Future of The COSPAR Planetary Protection Guidelines: Space Governance and Astrobiology
The developing of questions of Outer Space has only been greatly enhanced by the increase of technology and greater involvement by states, private actors and people seeking to use space above the typical uses i.e., satellites. Such an approach has carried on the original views of space delivered by the Apollo programme, which has inspired entrepreneurs, scientists, politicians, and lawyers to challenge and develop hypothetical opinions and business strategy. Nevertheless, outer space is a free for all without jurisdiction. This thesis will consider both the future of space governance and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) planetary protection policy.
The uptake of scientific missions through the solar system has formed an enhanced interest as more than ever space exploration is pushing the boundaries are political and legal certainty. The Outer Space Treaty presents a number of fundamental and core elements within space and promotes cooperation through the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS). As such the future of space governance will be considered as to whether the current practice is “fit for purpose”, or whether a new governance regime should be considered for the benefit of space cooperation. Moreover, appropriate discussions around the understanding of astrobiology and how such a road map sets out the need for a planetary protection resource during exploration of space will be examined in detail. COSPARs planetary protection policy will be examined in order to be able to justify whether there is any legal basis for such an implementation or whether the policy remains a recommendation
The International Forestry Review: special issue: the social impacts of logging
Global Challenges (FSW
Model-Agnostic Federated Learning
Since its debut in 2016, Federated Learning (FL) has been tied to the inner
workings of Deep Neural Networks (DNNs). On the one hand, this allowed its
development and widespread use as DNNs proliferated. On the other hand, it
neglected all those scenarios in which using DNNs is not possible or
advantageous. The fact that most current FL frameworks only allow training DNNs
reinforces this problem. To address the lack of FL solutions for non-DNN-based
use cases, we propose MAFL (Model-Agnostic Federated Learning). MAFL marries a
model-agnostic FL algorithm, AdaBoost.F, with an open industry-grade FL
framework: Intel OpenFL. MAFL is the first FL system not tied to any specific
type of machine learning model, allowing exploration of FL scenarios beyond
DNNs and trees. We test MAFL from multiple points of view, assessing its
correctness, flexibility and scaling properties up to 64 nodes. We optimised
the base software achieving a 5.5x speedup on a standard FL scenario. MAFL is
compatible with x86-64, ARM-v8, Power and RISC-V.Comment: Published at the EuroPar'23 conference, Limassol, Cypru
Autonomous Vehicles an overview on system, cyber security, risks, issues, and a way forward
This chapter explores the complex realm of autonomous cars, analyzing their
fundamental components and operational characteristics. The initial phase of
the discussion is elucidating the internal mechanics of these automobiles,
encompassing the crucial involvement of sensors, artificial intelligence (AI)
identification systems, control mechanisms, and their integration with
cloud-based servers within the framework of the Internet of Things (IoT). It
delves into practical implementations of autonomous cars, emphasizing their
utilization in forecasting traffic patterns and transforming the dynamics of
transportation. The text also explores the topic of Robotic Process Automation
(RPA), illustrating the impact of autonomous cars on different businesses
through the automation of tasks. The primary focus of this investigation lies
in the realm of cybersecurity, specifically in the context of autonomous
vehicles. A comprehensive analysis will be conducted to explore various risk
management solutions aimed at protecting these vehicles from potential threats
including ethical, environmental, legal, professional, and social dimensions,
offering a comprehensive perspective on their societal implications. A
strategic plan for addressing the challenges and proposing strategies for
effectively traversing the complex terrain of autonomous car systems,
cybersecurity, hazards, and other concerns are some resources for acquiring an
understanding of the intricate realm of autonomous cars and their ramifications
in contemporary society, supported by a comprehensive compilation of resources
for additional investigation.
Keywords: RPA, Cyber Security, AV, Risk, Smart Car
Revolution Beyond the Event
Revolution Beyond the Event brings together leading international anthropologists alongside emerging scholars to examine revolutionary legacies from the MENA region, Latin America and the Caribbean. It explores the idea that revolutions have varied afterlives that complicate the assumptions about their duration, pace and progression, and argues that a renewed focus on the temporality of radical politics is essential to our understanding of revolution. Approaching revolution through its relationship to time, the book is a critical intervention into attempts to define revolutions as bounded events that act as sequential transitions from one political system to another. It pursues an ethnographically driven rethinking of the temporal horizons that are at stake in revolutionary processes, arguing that linear views of revolution are inextricably tied to notions of progress and modernity. Through a careful selection of case studies, the book provides a critical perspective on the lived realities of revolutionary afterlives, challenging the liberal humanist assumptions implicit in the ‘modern’ idea of revolution, and reappraising the political agency of people caught up in revolutionary situations across a variety of ethnographic contexts
Counter-terrorism in cyber–physical spaces:Best practices and technologies from the state of the art
Context: The demand for protection and security of physical spaces and urban areas increased with the escalation of terroristic attacks in recent years. We envision with the proposed cyber–physical systems and spaces, a city that would indeed become a smarter urbanistic object, proactively providing alerts and being protective against any threat. Objectives: This survey intend to provide a systematic multivocal literature survey comprised of an updated, comprehensive and timely overview of state of the art in counter-terrorism cyber–physical systems, hence aimed at the protection of cyber–physical spaces. Hence, provide guidelines to law enforcement agencies and practitioners providing a description of technologies and best practices for the protection of public spaces. Methods: We analyzed 112 papers collected from different online sources, both from the academic field and from websites and blogs ranging from 2004 till mid-2022. Results: (a) There is no one single bullet-proof solution available for the protection of public spaces. (b) From our analysis we found three major active fields for the protection of public spaces: Information Technologies, Architectural approaches, Organizational field. (c) While the academic suggest best practices and methodologies for the protection of urban areas, the market did not provide any type of implementation of such suggested approaches, which shows a lack of fertilization between academia and industry. Conclusion: The overall analysis has led us to state that there is no one single solution available, conversely, multiple methods and techniques can be put in place to guarantee safety and security in public spaces. The techniques range from architectural design to rethink the design of public spaces keeping security into account in continuity, to emerging technologies such as AI and predictive surveillance.</p
WHY DO REGIONAL SOCIAL POLICIES FAIL? Gendered Institutions and the Maputo Plan of Action
In 2005, the African Union (AU) developed a regional policy on sexual reproductive health (SRH) and rights aimed at improving member states’ SRH delivery, the Maputo Plan of Action (MPoA). It initially ran from 2006 to 2015 and was then extended to 2016 to 2030. However, the MPoA’s implementation has been slow and largely ineffective. This thesis explores the factors behind this ineffectiveness despite the apparent commitment to improving SRH delivery on the part of the AU member states as demonstrated by their collective development and adoption of the policy.
The thesis addresses reproductive health policy from a social policy perspective and begins its investigation by exploring existing regionalism literature that provides insights into why regionally integrated social policies oftentimes fail. The thesis finds that existing literature highlights specific institutional structures and path dependencies as factors that undermine regionalism’s efforts in social policy. In this thesis, I argue that these explanations, while relevant, offer only part of the story, because they do not consider the gendered character of regional organisations and the impact of this on policy formulation and implementation processes. I address this gap by exploring the role of gendered institutions in the design and delivery of regional social policies using the MPoA as a case study.
To develop this analysis, I use Feminist Institutionalism (FI) to study the gendered factors behind the ineffectiveness of the MPoA. Overall, I argue that the design, development and implementation processes of the MPoA are shaped by the gendered institutions of its host organisation, the AU, which undermine its priority setting, strategy development and resource allocation processes by undervaluing and trivialising the needs of women and girls, contributing to weak delivery. These gendered institutions are indicated by the exclusion of women in the AU structure, gendered sharing of roles and responsibilities and unequal opportunities to participate and influence AU processes. The thesis therefore concludes that the MPoA fails to deliver on SRH for women and girls due to the underlying gendered institutions of the AU that shaped the policy and drives in implementation in gendered ways. More broadly, the thesis concludes that regionally integrated social policies oftentimes fail because of the gendered character of regional organisations, which undermines policy formulation and implementation processes
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