Heuristics for memory access optimization in embedded processors

Digital signal processors (DSPs) such as the Motorola 56k are equipped with two memory banks that are accessible in parallel in order to offer high memory bandwidth, which is required for high-performance applications. In order to make efficient use of the memory bandwidth offered by two or more memory banks, compilers for such DSPs should be capable of appropriately partitioning the program variables between the two memory banks and scheduling accesses. If two variables can be accessed simultaneously, then it is essential to have these two variables assigned to two different memory banks. Also if these two variables are in different banks, then instead of using two separate instructions for accessing the variables, both the accesses can be encoded into a single instruction, thereby reducing the code size as well. An efficient heuristic for maximizing the parallel accesses in DSPs with dual memory banks is proposed and evaluated. The heuristic is shown to be very effective on several examples. Architectures like the M3 DSP have a group memory for the single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) architecture, for which addressing an element of the group means to access all the elements of that group in parallel, so there is no need for separately addressing each element of the group. Given a variable access sequence for a particular code, instead of separately accessing each one of the variables, if the variables are grouped then the number of memory accesses can be reduced as per SIMD paradigm. An efficient way of forming groups can significantly reduce the memory accesses. Two solutions for this problem are presented in this thesis. First, a novel integer linear programming formulation for forming the groups, thereby reducing the number of memory accesses in DSPs with SIMD architecture is presented. Second, a heuristic based on the solution for optimizing multiple memory bank accesses is presented and evaluated for this problem. Results on several graphs show the effectiveness of the heuristic

Blame it on the community, immunize the state and the international agencies: An assessment of water supply and sanitation programs in India

National and international agencies focus on "on-site" water supply and sanitation interventions targeting households to share costs, and showcase their commitment to the MDGs. This paper reveals that "on-site" interventions in India have exposed millions to mass poisoning and drowned the country in sewage waters. While "on-site" interventions are favoured, they fail to consider the integrated nature of the water supply, sanitation and sewerage systems; and burden households with additional social and economic costs. Failures in the programs are often blamed on the communities, while immunising the approach of the development agencies that fail to consider the integrated water infrastructure

Dancing to the tune of democracy: Agents negotiating power to decentralise water management

The current debate on decentralisation offers a partial and polarised view on the sharing of power to manage water. Drawing New Institutionalism as applied in the social and ecological sciences, the paper argues that decentralisation represents a complex adaptive process, wherein agents draw upon the activities of multiple actors and their rules to negotiate and renegotiate their unequal power relations. Examining a watershed in the Indian Himalayas as a case study, the paper demonstrates the incremental and cumulative integration of statutory and socially-embedded rules in facilitating the agents' negotiation process. It reveals the cunning and adaptive behaviour of the agents to decentralise water resource management. The paper argues that though the contemporary decentralised reforms offered opportunities for these agents to negotiate, they do not ensure resource use efficiency, equity, accountability and participation of stakeholders in management of water. The paper identifies the significance of authority, information, scope and pay-off rules to facilitate decentralisation reforms. It recommends the conventional state-centric regulation to strengthen these rules for more informed management of water resources

A Study on Mush-room growth of Two-year Management Programme and its Impact on Quality of Management Education in Tamil Nadu

This paper addresses the quantum jump in the number of two-year management programmes in India. It examines the quality adherence by taking institutions approved and affiliated by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), University Grants Commision (UGC), Central Government Autonomus Institue (NIT,Trichy) and Deemed universities, which offers two-year management programmes over the past fifteen years from Tamilnadu as a sample unit. The objective is to identify the key reasons for increase in numbers and initiative in quality implementations process. It enables us to understand the qualitative terms of inorganic growth and its impact on quality of management education. It provides experiential understanding of quality implementation process and suggestions to increase its effectiveness.

Integration of policies in framing water management problem in the Indian Himalayas: Analysing policy processes using a Bayesian network

While there is growing realization that IWRM policy packages are exploited by various actors, there is inadequate understanding of the integration of these in shaping and reshaping water management. This paper contributes to this understanding by analyzing this policy process using Bayesian network tool from a case study in the Indian Himalayas. The analysis reveals that multifaceted governance arrangement influencing water management. The paper reveals that in such regime, policies are never implemented, but integrated through the negotiation of diverse other policies and socio-cultural settings in shaping water resource management. In such an regime, the paper calls for policies to lay-out broad principles for multiple actors to debate and negotiate diverse other policy packages for an informed decision

Prevalence of Clostridium perfringens in the Chicken Meat Rendered at Retail Outlets of Namakkal, Tamilnadu

An investigation was conducted at retail chicken outlets to identify the meat contamination by Clostridium perfringens, which might result in food intoxication in humans. Out of 210 meat samples collected, 3.81% were positive by culture with a colonial count of 0.96 ± 0.38 log10 cfu/g. All cultures of positives were confirmed by biochemical and motility tests

Water management across space and time in India

This paper attempts to give a spatial and temporal overview of water management in India. It traces how people and the successive regimes made choices across space and time from a wide range of water control and distribution technologies. The paper divides the water management in India into four periods: (i) the traditional system of water management before colonial times; (ii) response from the colonial rulers to manage the complex socio-ecological system; (iii) large scale surface water development after independence; and (iv) finally, the small-scale community and market-led revolution. Hence an attempt has been made to describe the water management over the four periods, which has transformed the irrigation and water management scenario in India. Moreover the paper shows how development of water management and its practices are linked with the social, religious, economic development with the rise and fall of the ruling regime. While these different periods attempts to manage water in different ways, the paper reveals a gap in research towards understanding the ability of community to integrate by default these diverse technologies to achieve their social goal of survival

ANNTAX - an artificial intelligence based decision support system

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Dyke system planing: Theory and practice in Can Tho City, Vietnam

Dyke system planning has emerged as a technical solution to the natural occurring floods in many parts of the developing world, such as the Mekong Delta. The paper applies the theory of integrated flood management to understand the inherent planning process in the system, the established institutional structures and the social perceptions of the dyke system. The paper draws on personal interviews and secondary documents to understand the dyke system planning taking Can Tho City as a case study. The paper discusses the dyke system planning to understand its social reflections in the shallow - average flooded areas in Can Tho City to address contradictory perceptions between techno-centric planners and livelihood-centered local people in flood control to improve life of rural people. The paper reveals the neglectfulness of the social aspects such as participation, local knowledge and experiences of local people in the dyke system planning. The dyke system planning has mainly focused on hydrological and technological aspects to control floods, to protect and develop agricultural production rather than to meet the livelihood needs of rural people. The dyke systems have produced disadvantages for water environment while advantages of floods have been gradually disappeared overtime

Metabolized-water breeding diseases in urban India: Socio-spatiality of water problems and health burden in Ahmedabad

Studies on urban metabolism have provided important insights in the material and socio political issues associated with the flow. However, there is dearth of studies that reveal how infrastructure as a hybrid of social and material construct facilitates disease emergence. The paper brings together urban metabolism, political ecology and anthropological studies to examine how the material flow of water is socially constructed and reconstructed through everyday water problems and its health burden in Ahmedabad city, India. The article geo-references the water problems and occurrence of diseases and through interviews documents the socio-spatial characteristics of water problems and health burden in two case study wards. The paper provides a situated understanding of the everyday practices that exposes the water infrastructure through leakages, reveals the citizens desire for better water quality and struggle to gain access to water using diverse 'pressure' tactics. It is this social-material construct of infrastructure that gives structure and coherence to urban space, which spatially coincides with the occurrence of diseases. The analysis reveals the socio-political drivers of the water problems, spatial inequity in water access, and identify potential hypothesis of the hot-spots of disease emergences. Attempts to bring about a desired change have to be collective and incremental that takes into consideration the diffuse interplay of power by diverse actors in managing the flow of water. The methodology offers a way forward for researchers and development agencies to improve the surveillance and monitoring of water infrastructure and public health. By bringing 'place-based' and 'people-based' approach, the analysis charts out avenues for incorporating the socio-spatiality of the everyday problems within the field of urban metabolism for improving resource use efficiencies in cities of rapidly growing economies