A Hybrid Convolutional Variational Autoencoder for Text Generation

In this paper we explore the effect of architectural choices on learning a Variational Autoencoder (VAE) for text generation. In contrast to the previously introduced VAE model for text where both the encoder and decoder are RNNs, we propose a novel hybrid architecture that blends fully feed-forward convolutional and deconvolutional components with a recurrent language model. Our architecture exhibits several attractive properties such as faster run time and convergence, ability to better handle long sequences and, more importantly, it helps to avoid some of the major difficulties posed by training VAE models on textual data

Drinking From the Fire Hoses at Future of News and Civic Media Conference 3.0

A companion report to "Knight News Challenge: Casting the Net Wide for Innovation," describes Knight's fourth News Challenge winners, their media projects, and discussions and tweets from a June 2010 conference on trends in and potential for civic media

Deploying Jupyter Notebooks at scale on XSEDE resources for Science Gateways and workshops

Jupyter Notebooks have become a mainstream tool for interactive computing in every field of science. Jupyter Notebooks are suitable as companion applications for Science Gateways, providing more flexibility and post-processing capability to the users. Moreover they are often used in training events and workshops to provide immediate access to a pre-configured interactive computing environment. The Jupyter team released the JupyterHub web application to provide a platform where multiple users can login and access a Jupyter Notebook environment. When the number of users and memory requirements are low, it is easy to setup JupyterHub on a single server. However, setup becomes more complicated when we need to serve Jupyter Notebooks at scale to tens or hundreds of users. In this paper we will present three strategies for deploying JupyterHub at scale on XSEDE resources. All options share the deployment of JupyterHub on a Virtual Machine on XSEDE Jetstream. In the first scenario, JupyterHub connects to a supercomputer and launches a single node job on behalf of each user and proxies back the Notebook from the computing node back to the user's browser. In the second scenario, implemented in the context of a XSEDE consultation for the IRIS consortium for Seismology, we deploy Docker in Swarm mode to coordinate many XSEDE Jetstream virtual machines to provide Notebooks with persistent storage and quota. In the last scenario we install the Kubernetes containers orchestration framework on Jetstream to provide a fault-tolerant JupyterHub deployment with a distributed filesystem and capability to scale to thousands of users. In the conclusion section we provide a link to step-by-step tutorials complete with all the necessary commands and configuration files to replicate these deployments.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, PEARC '18: Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing, July 22--26, 2018, Pittsburgh, PA, US

Spartan Daily, December 6, 1962

Volume 50, Issue 51https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/4372/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, March 4, 1968

Volume 55, Issue 81https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/5094/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, March 4, 1968

Volume 55, Issue 81https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/5094/thumbnail.jp

The Regional Exchange: From Main Street to Shopping Mall to App Market

The heart of our existence lies within regions. Loosely defined, these territories are defined by what we do, not by what we call them. It is where we live, work, shop and socialize, characterized by an infinite multitude of interactions with other people and environments. The concept of “regionalism” is best described as a set of overlapping factors that together characterize the shared interests and dynamics of its people and environment, whether social, cultural, ecological or something else. This dynamic, constantly-changing overlap is most apparent at the center of the region, and least so at its edges. Regionalism is especially relevant to the application of architecture, the discipline of designing built environments. Architectural theorist, Keller Easterling proposes the theory of “Organization Space,” a framework of architecture and spatial expression which focuses not on form or geometry, but on the interrelationships, temporal components, and active parts that define a spatial system. This framework can be used to respond to complex systems and problems opportunistically in a way that conventional modes cannot. When the concept of “regionalism” is merged with the architectural qualities and potentials of Easterling’s “Organization Space,” the concept of the “Regional Exchange” is formed. The regional exchange provides a framework for current regional architectural nodes to evolve more responsively to lifestyle and culture. It is a built environment that organizes a region and is integral to its “interests and dynamics.” How can architects influence regional exchanges effectively? Although Regional Exchanges are constantly evolving and changing, the results of this change can be guided and controlled via what Easterling defines as “switches.” Switches are common development protocols or everyday tools, often overlooked, that influence interactivity and linkages and, if recognized and engaged, can be used opportunistically to reorganize regions. When you apply a switch to a regional exchange, a radical restructuring will result in a completely new exchange. At the heart of small-town America, the concept of Main Street as a corridor of social activity framed by commercial buildings was arguably the first major regional exchange that defined social and commercial dynamics within the United States. The later introduction of the automobile to mainstream America served as a turning point as the car quickly became adopted and loved by the America people. Architects generally did not embrace this switch, and had little design influence as it shifted the key interests and dynamics of Main Street to the regional shopping center. This new center was essentially derived from the same elements, yet with a different organizing force. The current switch that has now made the shopping center model vulnerable to yet another evolution is the smartphone, which, since its introduction has become an essential component to American lifestyle even more quickly than the car, changing the way in which people engage in both social and commercial activity. Unlike their response to the automobile switch, if architects can recognize and accept the smartphone as a evolutionary tool, then they can take a center role in designing the next major regional exchange. This new social and commercial regional spatial organizer is still desired to be a physical place, however it would be reorganized around the role of the smartphone in this place. It would accept the recent movement of people back to urban cores, maximize a desire for not just physical mobility but also access to information, and balance regional diversity with global demands. It would consist of a range of specialized programs and functions, or “Apps,” integrated with mobile devices, that assist, enhance and adapt to everyday social and commercial activities at multiple scales. If the automobile was able to evolve the organization of Main Street into the Shopping Mall, then the smartphone can evolve the Shopping Mall into the Regional App Market

Spartan Daily, November 5, 1999

Volume 113, Issue 48https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/9477/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, May 10, 1982

Volume 78, Issue 60https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/6903/thumbnail.jp