Image Stream Similarity Search in GPU Clusters

Images are an important part of today’s society. They are everywhere on the internet and computing, from news articles to diverse areas such as medicine, autonomous vehicles and social media. This enormous amount of images requires massive amounts of processing power to process, upload, download and search for images. The ability to search an image, and find similar images in a library of millions of others empowers users with great advantages. Different fields have different constraints, but all benefit from the quick processing that can be achieved. Problems arise when creating a solution for this. The similarity calculation between several images, performing thousands of comparisons every second, is a challenge. The results of such computations are very large, and pose a challenge when attempting to process. Solutions for these problems often take advantage of graphs in order to index images and their similarity. The graph can then be used for the querying process. Creating and processing such a graph in an acceptable time frame poses yet another challenge. In order to tackle these challenges, we take advantage of a cluster of machines equipped with Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), enabling us to parallelize the process of describing an image visually and finding other images similar to it in an acceptable time frame. GPUs are incredibly efficient at processing data such as images and graphs, through algorithms that are heavily parallelizable. We propose a scalable and modular system that takes advantage of GPUs, distributed computing and fine-grained parallellism to detect image features, index images in a graph and allow users to search for similar images. The solution we propose is able to compare up to 5000 images every second. It is also able to query a graph with thousands of nodes and millions of edges in a matter of milliseconds, achieving a very efficient query speed. The modularity of our solution allows the interchangeability of algorithms and different steps in the solution, which provides great adaptability to any needs

Aquaponics as a sustainable and healthy food production system for Portugal

The aquaponics biological cycle Aquaponics has enormous potential in the regulation and recycling of valuable nutrients, otherwise lost to the environment with pollution potential. Aquaponics integrates freshwater aquaculture and hydroponics in a mini ecosystem. It uses the water of a Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) in soilless plant farming. The process includes a biofilter where nitrifying bacteria oxidize ammonia, resulting from fish excreta or uneaten feed, into nitrates and nitrites. While fish are extremely sensitive to ammonia, they are more tolerant to nitrates and nitrites. Nevertheless, these need also to be removed from the fish environment before accumulation to toxic levels. This is where hydroponics may come in as a useful manner of disposing nitrogen off the RAS. Nitrogen is the main macronutrient for plant growth, therefore an indispensable element in fertilization. The advantages of combining a RAS with hydroponics becomes therefore evident as a win-win solution for the problematic nitrates of the RAS and the expensive nitrogen fertilizers of plant production.N/

Consumption of honey in Portugal: consumers’ attitudes, perceptions and trends

Consumers’ attitudes about reveal important information about the production and supply chain of food and the commercialisation process (Unnevehr et al., 2010). To fully understand a consumption market, it is important to study the symbolic representations of consumption habits (Bekker et al., 2017). The consumer perceives consumption accordingly to social norms and values, and consumption habits cannot be analyzed as individual phenomena. Choices are under the influence of norms, values, taboos, permissions, prohibitions, and beliefs (Andorfer & Liebe, 2013). The consumers’ attitudes have been considered important determinants of their behaviour. The Ajzen’s Planned Behaviour Theory (APBT) (Ajzen, 1991) is based in the presumption that people behave in a sensible way, consider the information available, and consider the implications of their actions. The theory postulates that a person’s interest to perform or not a certain behaviour is a direct function of individually and socially related variables. The individual component is based in the individual attitude or mood to react favourably or unfavourably to an object, individual, institution, or event (Kim and Hunter, 1993). The social component includes the subjective norms determined by the perception of the social pressures acting on the individual, to perform or not a certain behaviour (Ajzen 1991N/

European citizens’ evaluation of the Common Agricultural Policy

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is crucial in ensuring food safety and security in Europe. Providing a stable and diverse food supply also supports rural economies and promotes social, environmental and economic sustainability. However, as CAP consumes approximately 30% of the EU budget, debates regarding its pertinence have arisen. This paper aimed to understand European citizens’ perceptions of CAP, its associated benefits and their level of agreement regarding the allocation of the EU budget. Ultimately, the goal was to gain insights into EU citizens’ attitudes and perceptions towards the CAP. Information and data come from the European Survey Eurobarometer. The methods include statistical inferential techniques adjusted to the nature of the variables and goals. The findings confirm that European citizens generally perceive the CAP positively and have positive attitudes about the CAP. While some differences among various social groups may exist, the results did not identify any specific group strongly opposing the CAP. Overall, European citizens hold a favorable attitude towards the CAP, its associated benefits and budget allocation. This paper brings new insights into new European CAP measures and programs to promote food security and the sustainability of agriculture among European countries and citizens. These insights may be useful for public decision-makers to define better policies and measures adjusted to European citizens and to promote food security and sustainability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estimating the Portuguese average cost of capital

"In spite of the importance of having a figure for the domestic average cost of capital to bare the estimates of the discount rates used in a number of long-term investments, the fact is that Portugal does not yet know with confidence its own value. Part of the answer might be attached to the number of profound impacts that affected and disturbed its capital markets during the twentieth century, in particular the break introduced by the Carnation Revolution in 1974. This paper translates both a test to the methodology necessary to make such an estimate under the Portuguese constraints, and also a first estimate of such a figure. From the daily data available for the quotations of shares listed in the Lisbon Stock Exchange, a time series of a comprehensive index is constructed covering an a weekly basis (Wednesdays) a time sample of 31.5 years, from January 1978 to June 2009. It also constitutes the first part of a 3- year project intended to study the entire twentieth century and to produce an estimate for the cost of capital comparable to the values included in the 2002 book 'The Triumph of the Optimists' authored by Dimson, March and Staunton. Although the output parallels traditional UK and USA figures, the Portuguese estimate for the equity return premium is around 8%." (author's abstract

Fractional dynamics and pseudo-phase space of country economic processes

In this paper, the fractional calculus (FC) and pseudo-phase space (PPS) techniques are combined for modeling the dynamics of world economies, leading to a new approach for forecasting a country's gross domestic product. In most market economies, the decline of the post-war prosperity brought challenging rivalries to the Western world. Considerable social, political, and military unrest is today spreading in major capital cities of the world. As global troubles including mass migrations and more abound, countries' performance as told by PPS approaches can help to assess national ambitions, commercial aggression, or hegemony in the current global environment. The 1973 oil shock was the turning point for a long-run crisis. A PPS approach to the last five decades (1970-2018) demonstrates that convergence has been the rule. In a sample of 15 countries, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Korea, and South Africa are catching-up to the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, UK, and France, showing similarity in many respects with these most developed countries. A substitution of the US role as great power in favor of China may still be avoided in the next decades, while India remains in the tail. The embedding of the two mathematical techniques allows a deeper understanding of the fractional dynamics exhibited by the world economies. Additionally, as a byproduct we obtain a foreseeing technique for estimating the future evolution based on the memory of the time series.publishersversionpublishe

Computer analysis of human belligerency

War is a cause of gains and losses. Economic historians have long stressed the extreme importance of considering the economic potential of society for belligerency, the role of management of chaos to bear the costs of battle and casualties, and ingenious and improvisation methodologies for emergency management. However, global and inter-temporal studies on warring are missing. The adoption of computational tools for data processing is a key modeling option with present day resources. In this paper, hierarchical clustering techniques and multidimensional scaling are used as efficient instruments for visualizing and describing military conflicts by electing different metrics to assess their characterizing features: time, time span, number of belligerents, and number of casualties. Moreover, entropy is adopted for measuring war complexity over time. Although wars have been an important topic of analysis in all ages, they have been ignored as a subject of nonlinear dynamics and complex system analysis. This paper seeks to fill these gaps in the literature by proposing a quantitative perspective based on algorithmic strategies. We verify the growing number of events and an explosion in their characteristics. The results have similarities to those exhibited by systems with increasing volatility, or evolving toward chaotic-like behavior. We can question also whether such dynamics follow the second law of thermodynamics since the adopted techniques reflect a system expanding the entropy.publishersversionpublishe

World Press Photo 2012: the discursive construction of the Arab Spring

O presente artigo pretende analisar a forma como o fenómeno da Primavera Árabe foi retratado nas fotografias vencedoras do concurso World Press Photo em 2012. As fotografias jornalísticas, embora se apresentem como índices do real, condicionam frequentemente a percepção dos indivíduos e influenciam as suas práticas sociais. Também as fotografias vencedoras do World Press Photo, um dos concursos mais prestigiados de fotojornalismo, em 2012 não fogem ao construtivismo discursivo que molda a representação e a percepção dos acontecimentos. A partir da análise crítica do discurso, nomeadamente dos instrumentos teóricos da semiótica barthesiana e da semiótica social de Gunther Kress e Theo van Leeuwen, procurámos interpretar as 38 fotografias vencedoras do World Press Photo 2012, a fim de reflectirmos sobre o modo como contribuíram para a compreensão da Revolta Árabe e como despertaram o nosso interesse e a nossa imaginação para o desenrolar do conflito.ABSTRACT:This article aims to analyze how the Arab Spring phenomenon was represented in the award-winning photographs of the World Press Photo contest in 2012. Although news photographs are usually seen as indexes of the real, they often limit the perception of individuals and influence their social practices. Also the winning photographs in 2012 of the World Press Photo, one of the most prestigious photojournalism contests, do not escape the discursive constructivism that shapes the representation and perception of events. Drawing from critical discourse analysis, namely from the theoretical tools of barthesian semiotics and Gunther Kress’s and Theo van Leeuwen’s social semiotics, we sought to interpret the 38 award-winning photographs of the World Press Photo contest in 2012, in order to reflect on the way they have contributed to our understanding of the Arab Revolt and aroused our interest and imagination to the unfolding of the conflict.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sustainable model: recommendations for water conservation strategies in a developing country through a psychosocial wellness program

Artigo publicado em revista científica internacionalHuman industrial activities are bringing physiochemical changes to the land, air, and seas and leading towards more uncertain climate changes, like drought, thunderstorms, and heat waves. This has resulted in water scarcity because of overexploitation of water resources. It is therefore imperative to develop effective conservation programs that consider the factors that affect the decisions of people with regard to water conservation and sustainable activities. This study considered the perspective of a developing country and explored the impact of three psychosocial factors, i.e., subjective happiness, perceived stress, and personal well-being, on individuals’ current and future intentions to conserve water. A sample of 304 respondents was collected via a self-administered questionnaire containing measures of demographic characteristics, psychological factors, and current and future water conservation behavior. The data were collected online as well as through hard copies. Correlational analysis showed that the three psychosocial factors had significant associations with both current and future intentions to conserve water. Furthermore, the effect size (f2) demonstrated that personal well-being was a significant predictor of current and future water conservation behavior. Stress, however, did not serve as a significant predictor of either current or future water conservation behavior. In contrast, subjective happiness was a significant predictor of only future water conservation behavior.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A representação das deputadas parlamentares na imprensa

Conferência final do projeto "Política no Feminino: Políticas de género e estratégias de visibilidade das deputadas parlamentares". Trata-se de um projeto de investigação de âmbito académico, financiado pela FCT, integrando uma equipa multidisciplinar e internacional com o objetivo de sistematizar a representatividade e o perfil das mulheres na Assembleia da República a partir de 1975 até à atualidade. Outro dos objetivos consistiu em analisar a presença das parlamentares nos media e compreender as respectivas estratégias de visibilidade no espaço público através da mediação dos jornalistas. A conferência reuniu especialistas nas diversas áreas incluídas na investigação, nomeadamente estudos dos media e do jornalismo, ciência política e sociologia da comunicação, bem como jornalistas, deputados, investigadores, docentes e estudantes destas áreas