LeBenchmark 2.0: a Standardized, Replicable and Enhanced Framework for Self-supervised Representations of French Speech

Self-supervised learning (SSL) is at the origin of unprecedented improvements in many different domains including computer vision and natural language processing. Speech processing drastically benefitted from SSL as most of the current domain-related tasks are now being approached with pre-trained models. This work introduces LeBenchmark 2.0 an open-source framework for assessing and building SSL-equipped French speech technologies. It includes documented, large-scale and heterogeneous corpora with up to 14,000 hours of heterogeneous speech, ten pre-trained SSL wav2vec 2.0 models containing from 26 million to one billion learnable parameters shared with the community, and an evaluation protocol made of six downstream tasks to complement existing benchmarks. LeBenchmark 2.0 also presents unique perspectives on pre-trained SSL models for speech with the investigation of frozen versus fine-tuned downstream models, task-agnostic versus task-specific pre-trained models as well as a discussion on the carbon footprint of large-scale model training.Comment: Under submission at Computer Science and Language. Preprint allowe

Supercomputing futures : the next sharing paradigm for HPC resources : economic model, market analysis and consequences for the Grid

À la croisée des chemins du génie informatique, de la finance et de l'économétrie, cette thèse se veut fondamentalement un exercice en ingénierie économique dont l' objectif est de contribuer un système novateur, durable et adaptatif pour le partage de resources de calcul haute-performance. Empruntant à la finance fondamentale et à l'analyse technique, le modèle proposé construit des ratios et des indices de marché à partir de statistiques transactionnelles. Cette approche, encourageant les comportements stratégiques, pave la voie à une métaphore de partage plus efficace pour la Grid, où l'échange de ressources se voit maintenant pondéré. Le concept de monnaie de Grid, un instrument beaucoup plus liquide et utilisable que le troc de resources comme telles est proposé: les Grid Credits. Bien que les indices proposés ne doivent pas être considérés comme des indicateurs absolus et contraignants, ils permettent néanmoins aux négociants de se faire une idée de la valeur au marché des différentes resources avant de se positionner. Semblable sur de multiples facettes aux bourses de commodités, le Grid Exchange, tel que présenté, permet l'échange de resources via un mécanisme de double-encan. Néanmoins, comme les resources de super-calculateurs n'ont rien de standardisé, la plate-forme permet l'échange d'ensemble de commodités, appelés requirement sets, pour les clients, et component sets, pour les fournisseurs. Formellement, ce modèle économique n'est qu'une autre instance de la théorie des jeux non-coopératifs, qui atteint éventuellement ses points d'équilibre. Suivant les règles du "libre-marché", les utilisateurs sont encouragés à spéculer, achetant, ou vendant, à leur bon vouloir, l'utilisation des différentes composantes de superordinateurs. En fin de compte, ce nouveau paradigme de partage de resources pour la Grid dresse la table à une nouvelle économie et une foule de possibilités. Investissement et positionnement stratégique, courtiers, spéculateurs et même la couverture de risque technologique sont autant d'avenues qui s'ouvrent à l'horizon de la recherche dans le domaine

Supporting Experimental Computer Science

The ability to conduct consistent, controlled, and repeatable large-scale experiments in all areas of computer science related to parallel, large-scale, or distributed computing and networking is critical to the future and development of computer science. Yet conducting such experiments is still too often a challenge for researchers, students, and practitioners because of the unavailability of dedicated resources, inability to create controlled experimental conditions, and variability in software. Availability, repeatability, and open sharing of electronic products are all still difficult to achieve. To discuss those challenges and share experiences in their solution, the Workshop on Experimental Support for Computer Science brought together scientists involved in building and operating infrastructures dedicated to sup- porting computer science experiments to discuss challenges and solutions in this space. The workshop was held in November 2011 and was collocated with the SC11 conference in Seattle, Washington. Our objec- tives were to share experiences and knowledge related to supporting large-scale experiments conducted on experimental infrastructures, understand user requirements, and discuss methodologies and opportunities created by emerging technologies. This report ties together the workshop presentations and discussion and the consensus that emerged on the state of the field and directions for moving forward.La possibilité d'effectuer des expériences à grande échelle consistantes, contrôlées, et reproductibles dans tous les domaines de l'informatique liés au parallélisme et au calcul distribué est critique pour le futur et le développement de l'informatique. Le lancement de telles expérimentations est souvent difficile pour les chercheurs, les étudiants et les développeurs et ceci en partie à cause de l'absence de ressources dédiées, l'impossibilité de créer des conditions expérimentales contrôlées et l'évolution des logiciels. La disponibilité, la reproductibilité, et le partage ouvert de plates-formes informatiques sont toujours difficiles à atteindre. Afin de discuter de ces challenges et de partager nos expériences sur les solutions à ces problèmes, le workshop "Experimental Support for Computer Science" a réuni des scientifiques impliqués dans la construction et la maintenance de plates-formes expérimentales dédiées au support pour les expériences informatiques pour discuter des challenges et de leurs solutions. Ce workshop s'est tenu en novembre 2011 au sein de la conférence SC11 à Seattle, Washington. Notre objectif était de partager notre expériences et nos connais- sances autour du support pour les expériences à grande échelle lancées sur des plates-formes d'expérimentation, comprendre les besoins des utilisateurs et discuter des méthodes et des opportunités créées par ces technologies émergentes. Ce rapport présente les contributions liées aux présentations du workshop et aux discussions qui ont eu lieu et le consensus issu sur l'état de l'art et des directions pour les travaux futurs

PhD Thesis: Exploring the role of (self-)attention in cognitive and computer vision architecture

We investigate the role of attention and memory in complex reasoning tasks. We analyze Transformer-based self-attention as a model and extend it with memory. By studying a synthetic visual reasoning test, we refine the taxonomy of reasoning tasks. Incorporating self-attention with ResNet50, we enhance feature maps using feature-based and spatial attention, achieving efficient solving of challenging visual reasoning tasks. Our findings contribute to understanding the attentional needs of SVRT tasks. Additionally, we propose GAMR, a cognitive architecture combining attention and memory, inspired by active vision theory. GAMR outperforms other architectures in sample efficiency, robustness, and compositionality, and shows zero-shot generalization on new reasoning tasks.Comment: PhD Thesis, 152 pages, 32 figures, 6 table

Museum specimens under scrutiny – new insights into the phylogeny of continental molluscs

This dissertation shows how DNA sequence data derived from museum specimens of the family Vitrinidae were used to unravel some taxonomical conundrums in a hitherto neglected group within the malacological community (Chapters 1 and 2). In addition, phylogenetic problems in Swiss freshwater bivalves (Chapter 3) and introduces new and inexpensive laboratory protocols in conjunction with bioinformatic techniques for recent and ancient mollusc DNA investigations (Chapter 4)

Describing the use of social media as a point-of-care tool in facility-based emergency care in Africa

Background Despite privacy and legal concerns, social media is used to provide real-time clinical support to emergency care providers. It can be particularly beneficial for those in Africa, who might lack adequate training or access to information. This PhD aimed to describe the use of social media as a point-of-care telemedicine tool in facility-based emergency care in Africa, to further inform its use. Methods A scoping review was conducted to map available literature on use, benefits, and risks associated with social media as a point-of-care platform. A mixed methods approach was then taken using a cross-sectional survey and semi-structured interviews to obtain a comprehensive description of use of social media as a point-of-care tool in facility-based emergency care in Africa. Results The scoping review identified 13 publications describing use of social media as a point-of-care tool in emergency medical settings. No studies were located in low-income countries. All studies evaluated WhatsApp use for real-time consultations, and those that assessed reliability found it to be highly reliable for consultations. A total of 70 emergency care providers in African facilities responded to the survey; nearly all worked in low- or lower-middle-income countries. Responses showed that clinicians use social media multiple times each day, primarily to share and receive advice. The majority felt social media positively impacts patient and provider experiences and improves speed and safety. Finally, eight African emergency care providers were interviewed to gain an in-depth understanding of how social media use impacts emergency care. All participants noted routine use for a range of professional purposes, including consultations, administrative tasks, and education. Concerns were mentioned by all participants, including legality, privacy, and lack of employer regulations. Conclusions This dissertation provides insight into social media use of African emergency care physicians, showing that social media use in this group is ubiquitous. Most clinicians use social media multiple times each day for a range of point-of-care purposes, and many feel social media is positively impacting both the patient and provider experiences. Post-doctoral work will focus on developing a framework to guide use of social media in facility-based emergency care in the African setting

Italy

Soudan - La CPI et le crime de génocide : Manoeuvres politiques et statut des minorités au Darfour par Philippe GOUT Article publié sur le site de Noria, think tank et réseau d’experts en relations internationales Cette enquête (en anglais) porte sur l’échec de la Cour Pénale Internationale (CPI) au Soudan. En se focalisant sur le Président soudanais Omar El-Béchir afin d’obtenir son arrestation, l’action de la CPI et les manœuvres politiques autour de la qualification de génocide, ont eu d..