6,071 research outputs found
Towards A Practical High-Assurance Systems Programming Language
Writing correct and performant low-level systems code is a notoriously demanding job, even for experienced developers. To make the matter worse, formally reasoning about their correctness properties introduces yet another level of complexity to the task. It requires considerable expertise in both systems programming and formal verification. The development can be extremely costly due to the sheer complexity of the systems and the nuances in them, if not assisted with appropriate tools that provide abstraction and automation.
Cogent is designed to alleviate the burden on developers when writing and verifying systems code. It is a high-level functional language with a certifying compiler, which automatically proves the correctness of the compiled code and also provides a purely functional abstraction of the low-level program to the developer. Equational reasoning techniques can then be used to prove functional correctness properties of the program on top of this abstract semantics, which is notably less laborious than directly verifying the C code.
To make Cogent a more approachable and effective tool for developing real-world systems, we further strengthen the framework by extending the core language and its ecosystem. Specifically, we enrich the language to allow users to control the memory representation of algebraic data types, while retaining the automatic proof with a data layout refinement calculus. We repurpose existing tools in a novel way and develop an intuitive foreign function interface, which provides users a seamless experience when using Cogent in conjunction with native C. We augment the Cogent ecosystem with a property-based testing framework, which helps developers better understand the impact formal verification has on their programs and enables a progressive approach to producing high-assurance systems. Finally we explore refinement type systems, which we plan to incorporate into Cogent for more expressiveness and better integration of systems programmers with the verification process
Modelling, Monitoring, Control and Optimization for Complex Industrial Processes
This reprint includes 22 research papers and an editorial, collected from the Special Issue "Modelling, Monitoring, Control and Optimization for Complex Industrial Processes", highlighting recent research advances and emerging research directions in complex industrial processes. This reprint aims to promote the research field and benefit the readers from both academic communities and industrial sectors
Resource Management in Mobile Edge Computing for Compute-intensive Application
With current and future mobile applications (e.g., healthcare, connected vehicles, and smart grids) becoming increasingly compute-intensive for many mission-critical use cases, the energy and computing capacities of embedded mobile devices are proving to be insufficient to handle all in-device computation. To address the energy and computing shortages of mobile devices, mobile edge computing (MEC) has emerged as a major distributed computing paradigm. Compared to traditional cloud-based computing, MEC integrates network control, distributed computing, and storage to customizable, fast, reliable, and secure edge services that are closer to the user and data sites. However, the diversity of applications and a variety of user specified requirements (viz., latency, scalability, availability, and reliability) add additional complications to the system and application optimization problems in terms of resource management. In this thesis dissertation, we aim to develop customized and intelligent placement and provisioning strategies that are needed to handle edge resource management problems for different challenging use cases: i) Firstly, we propose an energy-efficient framework to address the resource allocation problem of generic compute-intensive applications, such as Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) based applications. We design partial task offloading and server selection strategies with the purpose of minimizing the transmission cost. Our experiment and simulation results indicate that partial task offloading provides considerable energy savings, especially for resource-constrained edge systems. ii) Secondly, to address the dynamism edge environments, we propose solutions that integrate Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) and Cooperative Spectrum Sensing (CSS) with fine-grained task offloading schemes. Similarly, we show the high efficiency of the proposed strategy in capturing dynamic channel states and enforcing intelligent channel sensing and task offloading decisions. iii) Finally, application-specific long-term optimization frameworks are proposed for two representative applications: a) multi-view 3D reconstruction and b) Deep Neural Network (DNN) inference. Here, in order to eliminate redundant and unnecessary reconstruction processing, we introduce key-frame and resolution selection incorporated with task assignment, quality prediction, and pipeline parallelization. The proposed framework is able to provide a flexible balance between reconstruction time and quality satisfaction. As for DNN inference, a joint resource allocation and DNN partitioning framework is proposed. The outcomes of this research seek to benefit the future distributed computing, smart applications, and data-intensive science communities to build effective, efficient, and robust MEC environments
Digital opportunities to ensure the transparency of financial rela-tions in entrepreneurship
В монографії розглядаються питання цифровізації економіки, яка відкриває перед бізнесом нові можливості та перспективи. Використання цифрових технологій дозволяє суб'єктам бізнесу знизити витрати, підвищити ефективність і конкурентоспроможність підприємства, здійснювати випуск нових видів товарів, займаючи певні ніші над ринком цифрових товарів та послуг. Розглянуто проблеми, пов'язані не тільки з пошуком інвестицій, але і формуванням нових компетенцій суб'єктів бізнесу, що дозволяють успішно орієнтуватися в умовах цифрової трансформації. .В монографии рассматриваются вопросы цифровизации экономики, открывающей перед бизнесом новые возможности и перспективы. Использование цифровых технологий позволяет субъектам бизнеса снизить издержки, повысить эффективность и конкурентоспособность предприятия, осуществлять выпуск новых видов товаров, занимая определенные ниши на рынке цифровых товаров и услуг. Рассмотрены проблемы, связанные не только с поиском инвестиций, но и формированием новых компетенций субъектов бизнеса, позволяющих успешно ориентироваться в условиях цифровой трансформации.The monograph examines issues of digitization of the economy, which opens up new opportunities and prospects for business. The use of digital technologies allows business entities to reduce costs, increase the efficiency and competitiveness of the enterprise, to produce new types of goods, occupying certain niches in the market of digital goods and services. The problems related not only to the search for investments, but also to the formation of new competencies of business subjects, which allow to successfully navigate in the conditions of digital transformation, are considered.The monograph contains the results of research conducted within the scope of scientific research work «Digitalization and transparency of public, corporate and personal finance: the impact on innovation development and national security») (state registration number – 0122U000774)
Étude de cas comparés d’une stratégie systémique d’amélioration de la qualité des soins et services de santé dans deux juridictions : France et Québec
Contexte
L'importance des stratégies nationales d'amélioration de la qualité est de plus en plus reconnue par les décideurs politiques des systèmes de santé et par les organisations internationales telles que l'OMS, l'OCDE et la Banque mondiale. À la suite de leur questionnement sur la manière de gérer l'amélioration systémique de la qualité, certains pays de l'OCDE, comme l'Allemagne, le Royaume-Uni, la France, le Canada, etc. ont stratégiquement adopté la stratégie systémique appelée « agence d'appui à l'amélioration de la qualité des soins et des services de santé ». Elle repose notamment sur des approches centrées sur le patient/usager et sur la collaboration des parties prenantes et encourage, entre autres, l'amélioration de la qualité à tous les niveaux de changement dans une juridiction : individuel, équipe, organisationnel et systémique, en assurant la cohérence de toutes les autres stratégies de la qualité. Cette thèse vise à examiner comment les stratégies nationales ont été façonnées dans certaines juridictions dans le monde et ensuite, en sélectionnant différentes juridictions ayant implanté une telle stratégie, elle en étudie deux cas en profondeur.
Méthodes
Dans un premier temps, une étude comparative en ligne des pratiques internationales de 13 juridictions de différentes régions du monde, sélectionnées selon un choix raisonné, a été réalisée. Cette étude s’est basée sur les sept principales fonctions de gestion de la qualité des soins et des services de santé dans une juridiction, proposées après avoir mobilisé plusieurs cadres dont le cadre d’action de l’OMS, et sur les indicateurs de qualité des soins, mis à disposition par l'OCDE sur son site Internet. Ensuite, deux agences de deux juridictions différentes, classées dans chacun des deux modèles proposés dans la première phase de la recherche, ont été sélectionnées afin de les étudier de manière approfondie en mobilisant un modèle d'analyse systémique. Il s'agit de la Haute autorité de santé (HAS) en France et de l'Institut national d'excellence en santé et services sociaux (INESSS) au Québec. Avec une approche déductive, dans le cadre d'une analyse d'implantation du type 2 et d’une approche inductive dans le cadre du type 3, plusieurs sources de données : une recherche documentaire approfondie, des entretiens semi-structurés, un groupe de discussion, et une observation ont été utilisées de manière itérative pour réaliser ce travail. Toutes les données ont été traitées et analysées de manière confidentielle à l'aide du logiciel QDA Miner 6.0.2 et validées par chaque agence étudiée.
Résultats
Les résultats du premier article ont révélé que les pays faisant partie du modèle 1 de notre taxonomie se classaient mieux pour la qualité des soins de santé avec, par exemple, 100 % (en Suède) à 21 % (en Allemagne) des principales fonctions de gestion de la qualité assurées par le "ministère de la Santé" et la plupart des fonctions modérément, voire pas du tout, concentrées dans une seule organisation. Parmi les deux agences contrastées étudiées, les résultats montrent que la HAS a un éventail d'activités plus large et que l'INESSS est plus concentré sur l’évaluation des médicaments, technologies et modes d’intervention en santé. Les résultats du second article ont, en effet, montré que ces deux agences d’appui à l’amélioration de la qualité disposent d'une autonomie relative et que chacune a eu un impact sur l'amélioration de la qualité des soins et des services dans les milieux de pratique de sa juridiction. Enfin, les résultats du troisième article ont fait ressortir deux grands groupes de facteurs contextuels : ceux liés au contexte interne des agences et ceux liés à leur environnement externe pouvant influencer les effets perçus de cette stratégie.
Conclusion
Cette recherche empirique internationale sur les stratégies systémiques d'amélioration de la qualité est l'une des premières. Elle vient enrichir la compréhension des différentes stratégies systémiques dans les juridictions et produit des connaissances aussi bien pour la pratique que pour la recherche. Nos conclusions peuvent être utilisées, non seulement, pour optimiser cette stratégie dans les juridictions que nous avons étudiées (France et Québec), mais aussi dans d'autres juridictions qui les ont également implantées. En outre, elles peuvent être utiles et inspirantes, à la fois, pour des pays développés, émergents et en développement qui n'ont pas encore implanté ce type de stratégie systémique.Background
The importance of national quality improvement strategies is increasingly recognized by policymakers in health systems and by international organizations such as the WHO, the OECD, and the World Bank. Following their questioning of how to manage the systemic quality improvement, some OECD countries, such as Germany, England, France, and Canada, etc. have strategically adopted the systemic strategy referred as the “Quality Improvement Support Agency for Health Care and Services (QISA)”. It is based on patient/user-centered approaches and stakeholder collaboration and promotes, among other things, quality improvement at all levels of change within a jurisdiction: individual, team, organizational and systemic by ensuring consistency across all quality strategies. This thesis aims to examine how national strategies have been shaped in some jurisdictions around the world and then, by selecting different jurisdictions that have implemented such a strategy, it studies two cases in depth.
Methods
First, an online comparative study of international practices in 13 jurisdictions in different regions of the world, selected according to a reasoned choice, was conducted. The study was based on the seven key health care and services quality management functions in a jurisdiction, proposed after mobilizing several frameworks, including the WHO's framework for action, and on the quality-of-care indicators made available by the OECD on its website. Next, two QISAs from different jurisdictions, classified in each of the two models proposed in the first phase of the research, were selected for in depth study with the mobilization of a systemic analysis model. These were the Haute autorité de santé (HAS) in France and the Institut national d'excellence en santé et services sociaux (INESSS) in Québec. Using a deductive approach in a type 2 implementation analysis and an inductive approach in the context of type 3, several sources of data: an extensive documentary research, semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and an observation were used in an iterative manner to complete this work. All data were processed and confidentially analyzed using QDA Miner 6.0.2 software. Finally, in a historical approach, a narrative was produced for each of the QISAs studied and validated by each studied.
Results
The results of the first article revealed that countries that are part of model 1 of our taxonomy ranked better for quality of care with, for example, 100% (in Sweden) to 21% (in Germany) of the key health care and services quality management functions performed by the "Ministry of Health" and most of the functions moderately, or not at all, concentrated in a single organization. Of the two contrasting QISAs studied, the results showed that the HAS has a broader range of activities and the INESSS is more focused on the assessment of drugs, technologies, and health interventions. The results of the second article showed that both have relative autonomy, and that each had an impact on improving the quality of care and services in the practice settings in its jurisdiction. Finally, the results of the third article highlight two main groups of contextual factors: those related to the internal context of the QISAs and those related to their external environment that can influence the perceived effects of this systemic strategy.
Conclusion
This international empirical research on systemic quality improvement strategies is one of the first. It adds to the understanding of different systemic strategies across jurisdictions and generates knowledge for both practice and research. Our conclusions can be used to optimize this strategy in the jurisdictions we studied (France and Québec), but also in other jurisdictions that have implemented them. Moreover, they can be useful and inspiring for developed, emerging, and developing countries that have not yet implemented this type of systemic strategy
Aesthetic choices: Defining the range of aesthetic views in interactive digital media including games and 3D virtual environments (3D VEs)
Defining aesthetic choices for interactive digital media such as games is a challenging task. Objective and subjective factors such as colour, symmetry, order and complexity, and statistical features among others play an important role for defining the aesthetic properties of interactive digital artifacts. Computational approaches developed in this regard also consider objective factors such as statistical image features for the assessment of aesthetic qualities. However, aesthetics for interactive digital media, such as games, requires more nuanced consideration than simple objective and subjective factors, for choosing a range of aesthetic features.
From the study it was found that the there is no one single optimum position or viewpoint with a corresponding relationship to the aesthetic considerations that influence interactive digital media. Instead, the incorporation of aesthetic features demonstrates the need to consider each component within interactive digital media as part of a range of possible features, and therefore within a range of possible camera positions. A framework, named as PCAWF, emphasized that combination of features and factors demonstrated the need to define a range of aesthetic viewpoints. This is important for improved user experience. From the framework it has been found that factors including the storyline, user state, gameplay, and application type are critical to defining the reasons associated with making aesthetic choices. The selection of a range of aesthetic features and characteristics is influenced by four main factors and sub-factors associated with the main factors.
This study informs the future of interactive digital media interaction by providing clarity and reasoning behind the aesthetic decision-making inclusions that are integrated into automatically generated vision by providing a framework for choosing a range of aesthetic viewpoints in a 3D virtual environment of a game. The study identifies critical juxtapositions between photographic and cinema-based media aesthetics by incorporating qualitative rationales from experts within the interactive digital media field. This research will change the way Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated interactive digital media in the way that it chooses visual outputs in terms of camera positions, field-view, orientation, contextual considerations, and user experiences. It will impact across all automated systems to ensure that human-values, rich variations, and extensive complexity are integrated in the AI-dominated development and design of future interactive digital media production
Black Holes and Neutron Stars in Galactic Globular Clusters
In this thesis I observed black holes and neutron stars in Galactic globular clusters with radio and X-ray telescopes to explore the unique properties of these systems. I investigated the extreme and unusual accretion scenarios that are found in these systems. Finally, I created the most sensitive radio image made using an Australian radio telescope to detect the very faintly accreting black holes in globular clusters in preparation for science with the Square Kilometre Array
Designing and Implementing a Blockchain-based Platform for the Exchange of Peerto-Peer Energy Trading and Modelling Vehicle-to-Grid(V2G) Residential Community
The expansion of renewable energy on the national grid has been a struggle throughout the past decade. Rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV) and electric vehicle to Grid (V2G) can function as either load or distributed energy sources. Consequently, presumers can join in a Transactive energy network featuring peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange of excess electricity to enhance the grid load balancing and harmonic filtering performance. The key challenge is keeping track of these transactions and compensating supposing parties. The distributed and unchangeable characteristics of blockchain technology could be utilised to accelerate the ongoing transition to more decentralised and digital energy systems and alleviate some of the challenges the energy sector is now facing. This report presents an experimental design and implementation of a Peer-to-peer blockchain network to exchange electricity energy among participants based on the Ethereum open-source application called Solar Chain App. This demonstration project simulates the P2P Network of the electricity distribution network. A project consists of a primary network and user nodes (user nodes have homeowners and EVs). Homeowners with solar and electric vehicles Participants, assets, and transactions required to establish the blockchain-based network for tracking Buyer and seller output exchanges are described, and the smart contract, use cases, and implementation. The main purpose is to design a p2p platform that maximize renewable energy Usage and minimize the daily cost of household electricity consumption
Fintech Competition: Law, Policy, and Market Organisation
This open access book is the first to systematically explore competition policy in fintech markets. Drawing from the expertise of law scholars, economists, and social and natural scientists from the EU and the US, this edited collection explores the competitive dynamics, market organisation, and competition law application in fintech markets
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