209 research outputs found
Towards Low-Jitter and Energy-Efficient Data Processing in Cyber-Physical Information Systems
Cyber-physical systems build the backbone of today\u27s information systems and implement, for example, complex control applications that strictly rely on sensor data. Thus, it is inherently important for cyber-physical systems to provide a reliable data path throughout the entire system: from the sensor nodes to the data post-processing infrastructure in networked environments (e.g., edge and cloud infrastructure). This paper analyzes system-level aspects of the data path of cyber-physical systems (i.e., storage components and file systems) and reveals limitations of current technologies. To improve the current state of the art, we present the implementation of an embedded file system with low jitter which improves predictability characteristics of cyber-physical systems
D-DSC: Decoding Delay-based Distributed Source Coding for Internet of Sensing Things.
Spatial correlation between densely deployed sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network (WSN) can be exploited to reduce the power consumption through a proper source coding mechanism such as distributed source coding (DSC). In this paper, we propose the Decoding Delay-based Distributed Source Coding (D-DSC) to improve the energy efficiency of the classical DSC by employing the decoding delay concept which enables the use of the maximum correlated portion of sensor samples during the event estimation. In D-DSC, network is partitioned into clusters, where the clusterheads communicate their uncompressed samples carrying the side information, and the cluster members send their compressed samples. Sink performs joint decoding of the compressed and uncompressed samples and then reconstructs the event signal using the decoded sensor readings. Based on the observed degree of the correlation among sensor samples, the sink dynamically updates and broadcasts the varying compression rates back to the sensor nodes. Simulation results for the performance evaluation reveal that D-DSC can achieve reliable and energy-efficient event communication and estimation for practical signal detection/estimation applications having massive number of sensors towards the realization of Internet of Sensing Things (IoST)
Can Information in Childrenâs Drawings Inform Teachersâ Practices? A Study of Singaporean Pre-school Teachersâ âReadingâ of 5-6 year oldsâ Drawings.
Childrenâs drawings are graphic visual records of learning experiences (e.g. a zoo outing) often displayed on the walls of Singapore preschools to celebrate childrenâs learning and teachersâ teaching. At best, drawings are pictures to report to parents (e.g. childâs colouring skills or impressions of learning). Drawings are under utilized as representations of learning and thinking to inform teachersâ practices in lesson planning. First of all, a questionnaire survey with 325 teachers was collated to understand factors that influence teaching decisions. While face-to-face interviews with 61 children (5 - 6 years) had provided factors that influence their learning from childrenâs perspectives. The study aimed to explore with the goal of developing a strategy to teach teachers to read childrenâs drawings for information to support learning. As a result, the Bloomâs taxonomy of educational objectives (TEO): cognitive processes (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) with a focus on learning and cognition was the framework for the âchildrenâs drawing evaluation checklistâ designed to deduce information of content-knowledge and cognitive processes. About 140 teacher-respondents evaluated 50 pre-and post-lesson drawings on wild animals and the water cycle by 25 children (5 â 6 years old) from two preschools. The findings showed childrenâs cognitive processes were directed at Bloomâs âRemember,â âUnderstand,â âApply,â and âAnalyze,â capturing alongside rich information of childrenâs spontaneous knowledge. The checklist was later revised and integrated with Biggs and Collis (1982) the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy to reflect the amount of information represented. The revised checklist was tested with 18 mainstream teachers to evaluate wild animals and the water cycle drawings. To test for generalizability, the checklist was tested with 22 special needs teachers to evaluate 17 high functioning special needs childrenâs (5- 6 years old) drawings. Consequently, implications of the use of information in childrenâs drawings in this study are discussed
Regulating ChatGPT and other Large Generative AI Models
Large generative AI models (LGAIMs), such as ChatGPT or Stable Diffusion, are
rapidly transforming the way we communicate, illustrate, and create. However,
AI regulation, in the EU and beyond, has primarily focused on conventional AI
models, not LGAIMs. This paper will situate these new generative models in the
current debate on trustworthy AI regulation, and ask how the law can be
tailored to their capabilities. After laying technical foundations, the legal
part of the paper proceeds in four steps, covering (1) direct regulation, (2)
data protection, (3) content moderation, and (4) policy proposals. It suggests
a novel terminology to capture the AI value chain in LGAIM settings by
differentiating between LGAIM developers, deployers, professional and
non-professional users, as well as recipients of LGAIM output. We tailor
regulatory duties to these different actors along the value chain and suggest
four strategies to ensure that LGAIMs are trustworthy and deployed for the
benefit of society at large. Rules in the AI Act and other direct regulation
must match the specificities of pre-trained models. In particular, regulation
should focus on concrete high-risk applications, and not the pre-trained model
itself, and should include (i) obligations regarding transparency and (ii) risk
management. Non-discrimination provisions (iii) may, however, apply to LGAIM
developers. Lastly, (iv) the core of the DSA content moderation rules should be
expanded to cover LGAIMs. This includes notice and action mechanisms, and
trusted flaggers. In all areas, regulators and lawmakers need to act fast to
keep track with the dynamics of ChatGPT et al.Comment: under revie
Securing accumulation by restoration â exploring spectacular corporate conservation, coal mining and biodiversity compensation in the German Rhineland
German energy giant and coal mine operator RWE makes two products: cheap electricity and âpretty new landscapesâ. These âpretty new landscapesâ are biodiversity offsets to compensate for the destruction of the ancient Hambacher Forest for the worldâs largest opencast lignite coal mine in the German Rhineland. Drawing on in-depth fieldwork including participant observation and interviews in and around the mine and its offset sites, this paper explores the relationship between coal mining, spectacularisation of conservation, the ecotourismâextraction nexus and accumulation by restoration. I illustrate the historic and contemporary importance of restoration activities to the accumulation process and explore the recent engagement of mine operator RWE in the provision of restored nature (in the form of âeco-pointsâ), which constitute new business opportunities. The significance of RWEâs biodiversity work for accumulation by restoration lies not only in its profit opportunities but its productive power: the legitimation of coal mining and the making of new, ordered âecologies of repairâ. This productive power operates through the mobilising function of RWEâs offsetting work, which forms the foundation for corporate partnerships and alliances with conservation groups and volunteers. These lend legitimacy to RWEâs ârepair workâ and form the basis for the ecotourismâextraction nexus by turning the mine and its offsets into âextractive attractionsâ for visitors and ânature loversâ. Its power further manifests in the way it captures imaginations through novel imaginaries and narratives of sustainable coal mining, supposedly creating not only a âbetter natureâ but a âbetter futureâ. Positioning offsetting as social technology of governance, I explore RWEâs spectacular performance of sustainability and the ontological flattening to facilitate claims of commensurability and âoffsettabilityâ of nature. These are integral to the ecotourismâextraction nexus and grounded in the belief in the human/corporate ability to recreate nature, a fascination with huge earth-shifting machinery and a commitment to high-modernist ideologies of control
The hedgehog in the coal mine: Exploring hedgehog extinction accounting in the agrochemical sector
The ongoing 6th mass extinction has alerted the accounting community to the need to go beyond accounting for biodiversity. With over 1 million species currently threatened by extinction, the extinction accounting framework has been getting traction with the financial and investment sectors, alerting companies more than ever of the need to account for species as a double material risk. Following current literature in extinction accounting on bee extinction, the thesis focusing on the agrochemical industry in relation to hedgehogs extinction in the UK, the population of which has diminished in over 30% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas since 2000. To examine the implementation of the extinction accounting framework in the agrochemical sector and the hedgehog protection arena, the following research questions were posed:
1. Are the discourses identified in the texts working to ensure the survival of all living beings or is there a need to search for new stories? Which discourses are destructive, predominantly working against the ecosophy? Which discourses are ambivalent can beneficial discourses be found to resonate with the ecosophy?
2. How is the natural world represented and constructed by the agrochemical corporations via multimodal semiosis such as images and videos?
3. What discourses do other stakeholders and organisations such as NGOs, local authorities, hedgehog carers in the hedgehog arena use?
4. How can the extinction accounting framework improve agrochemical accountability in the UK context, in relation to disappearing hedgehogs?
To answer the research questions, the methodology, anchored in social constructionism, theorises that agrochemical companies construct a shadow reality, using Beckâs (1992) application of Platoâs allegory of the cave. The methodology positions accounting practices and reporting as a social construct that is discursively constructed. Therefore, through applying an ecolinguistic analysis of textual, multimodal of two agrochemical corporations and spoken discourse of 32 interviewees spanning a wide range of stakeholders within the hedgehog and agrochemical arena, the thesis examines the discourses against the researcherâs ecosophy. A political theory of animals rights is applied as the ecosophy to argue that for disclosures to be truly emancipatory, they must be anchored in positive political rights awarded to animals.
The findings from the four empirical chapters are compared and contrasted to reveal that agrochemical companies reject the adoption of the extinction accounting framework as they deny the 6th mass extinction and biodiversity loss and do not view hedgehog extinction, or any other species, as a material risk. The findings demonstrate that companies de-legitimise NGOs in the hedgehog and environmental arena. In turn, the findings suggest NGOs do not acknowledge hedgehog rescuersâ knowledge and expertise. In fact, beyond the economic and financial restricting factors faced by NGOs and local councils, their lack of coordination and accountability, coupled with pressures to appear âmetricâ and âscientificâ presents an obstacle to halting hedgehog extinction. Finally, the thesis reveals that hedgehog rescuers, although disparate, are the ones who transmit the plight of hedgehogs
Manipulating the Perineuronal Net in the Deep Cerebellar Nucleus
Perineuronal nets (PNN) are a type of specialized extracellular matrix in the central nervous system. The PNN forms during postnatal development but the ontogeny of the PNN has yet to be elucidated. Studying the PNN in the rat brain may allow us to further understand the PNNâs role in development, learning, and memory. The PNN is fully developed in the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) of rats by post-natal day 18. By using enzymatic digestion of the PNN with chondroitinase ABC (ChABC), we studied how digestion of the PNN affects cerebellar-dependent eyeblink conditioning (EBC) and performed electrophysiological recordings from DCN neurons. In vivo degradation of the PNN resulted in differences in EBC amplitude and area. Female animals in the vehicle group demonstrated higher levels of conditioning as well as higher post-probe conditioned responses compared to males in that group, differences not present in the ChABC group. In vitro, DCN neurons with disrupted PNNs following exposure to ChABC had altered membrane properties, fewer rebound spikes, and decreased intrinsic excitability. Doxycycline, an antibiotic, can inhibit endogenous enzymes that digest the PNN. Rats given doxycycline had higher PNN staining in the DCN compared to vehicle. Animals receiving doxycycline prior to behavior have a smaller eyeblink area in comparison to the vehicle group. However, these rats also had more unconditioned responses, suggesting in addition to preventing the PNN from being remodeled, doxycycline may cause non-associative effects. This study further elucidates the role of the PNN in cerebellar learning
Post-Diagnosis: A Networked Framework for Narrative Reassemblage
This dissertation examines the relationship between diagnostic communication practices and deliberative rhetoric through the lens of Actor-Network theory and feminist theory. Specifically, I argue that Bruno Latour\u27s Actor-Network Theory (ANT) provides a generative framework for tracing diagnostic networks as it accounts for uncertainty, dispersed agency, community stakeholders, and nonhumans. The chapters explore how a networked approach to diagnosis opens up opportunities to reform doctor-patient relationships, expands our conceptions of diagnostic actants, suggests ways to respond to patients living at risk for disease, and broadens our understanding of ethos in healthcare contexts. Furthermore, I also consider how a networked framework can help us comprehend how public misdiagnoses happen so we can prevent them in the future. I conclude by advocating for healthcare providers to reform diagnostic communication practices to account for the agency and expertise of non-specialist stakeholders, particularly patients. I also explore methods for intervening within global health networks and addressing the intersectional problems they collaboratively solve
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