Memory performance of and-parallel prolog on shared-memory architectures

The goal of the RAP-WAM AND-parallel Prolog abstract architecture is to provide inference speeds significantly beyond those of sequential systems, while supporting Prolog semantics and preserving sequential performance and storage efficiency. This paper presents simulation results supporting these claims with special emphasis on memory performance on a two-level sharedmemory multiprocessor organization. Several solutions to the cache coherency problem are analyzed. It is shown that RAP-WAM offers good locality and storage efficiency and that it can effectively take advantage of broadcast caches. It is argued that speeds in excess of 2 ML IPS on real applications exhibiting medium parallelism can be attained with current technology

The StarLink Case: Issues for the Future

The disclosure in September 2000 that StarLink corn had been found in the human food supply putfood biotechnology in the public spotlight and caused concern among consumers and food systemstakeholders alike that a product approved only for animal use could find its way to grocery shelves. TheStarLink experience raises a number of issues that deserve study concerning the current regulatory systemand public policies affecting genetically modified foods. The issues include how to manage allergenicityissues posed by biotech foods at the approval stage. Most of the issues, however, involve post-approvalcontrol of staple food crops that have been genetically modified. It may be increasingly important in thefuture to maintain the identity of genetically modified crops and segregate them from conventional ones,yet neither the grain trading system nor the government regulatory system were designed to ensure this.This paper is the first step in a case study that Resources for the Future is conducting for the PewInitiative on Food and Biotechnology to identify and analyze the regulatory and public policy issuesraised by the StarLink episode. In this paper, we pose questions concerning the adequacy of curent legalauthority, regulatory procedures, and institutional arrangements for post-approval control of biotech foodsthat we intend to analyze in depth during the balance of the study based on interviews and other research.We welcome comment on this paper and the planned study.agricultural biotechnology, food allergens, food regulation, food safety, genetically modified food, grain trading system, StarLinkTM corn

Semiconductor cooling by thin-film thermocouples

Thin-film, metal alloy thermocouple junctions do not rectify, change circuit impedance only slightly, and require very little increase in space. Although they are less efficient cooling devices than semiconductor junctions, they may be applied to assist conventional cooling techniques for electronic devices

Technological Change and Gender Wage Differentials

This paper investigates the impact of non-neutral technological change on the recent narrowing of the gender wage differentials. The relation between technological change and relative wages of female and male workers is modeled through a constant elasticity of substitution production function that incorporates male and female labor inputs by occupation in each industry, a non-labor input and a productivity parameter function that captures non-neutral technological change. Data from 1979 to 2001 on employment and wages by industry and occupation come from the Current Population Survey. Using non-linear two stage least squares with cross-equation restrictions, the estimated results provide evidence that non-neutral technological change partially explains the documented narrowing of the gender wage gap during the 1980s and 1990s, even after controlling for unexplained differences in gender relative wages. Specifically, changes in non-neutral technological change explain between 5 % and 9 % of the overall increase of women’s wages relative to men’s in the sample. The strongest effect is found for the highest pay occupation level, while the smallest effect is found for the lower pay occupations. Finally, this paper brings evidence that ignoring the unexplained component of the gender wage differentials could result in a biased estimation of the effect on non-neutral technological change on the gender wage gap.

Emily Hanako Momohara Interview

Artist Bio: Emily Hanako Momohara grew up near Seattle, Washington and earned her BFA in Photography and her BA in Art History from the University of Washington. She went on to receive her MFA in Expanded Media from the University of Kansas, where she studied under Roger Shimomura, She was an Associate Professor of Art at the Art Academy of Cincinnati where she headed the photography major through 2013. Now Momohara is in her studio fulltime. Momohara has exhibited nationally, most notably at the Light Factory with artists Mary Ellen Mark, Sara Moon and other. She has been a visiting artist at several residency programs including the Center for Photography at Woodstock and Fine Arts Work Center. She received a 2011 Arts Council Excellence Grant. (Bio taken from the artist’s site: http://www.ehmomohara.com/aboutme.html

Books You Might Like

(BOOKS & COKES, sponsored by SKETCH, presents regular weekly studentplanned, student-presented book reviews in the Oak Room, Memorial Union, throughout fall and spring quarters. Supplementing that program, here is an ambitious study of the great Naturalist philosopher, regarded as \u27the father of the French Revolution, romanticism, democracy, anarchism, republicanism, communism, and fascism\u27; and, after 150 years, profoundly influential today.)..

From the Northern Plains to the Carolina Coast: An Environmental Perspective on Nationwide Injunctions

This Note offers a perspective on nationwide injunctions informed by a selection of environmental cases from roughly the last two decades. In doing so, it attempts to draw broader conclusions about when, if ever, federal courts should prohibit the enforcement of environmental policies nationwide. This Note proceeds as follows: Part I defines “nationwide injunction,” discusses the recent history of nationwide injunctions against the federal executive branch, and describes the absence of a clear legal standard governing nationwide relief. Part II examines six environmental cases in which plaintiffs have sought, or federal courts have ordered, nationwide relief. Part III suggests that, in the context of environmental law, nationwide injunctions are justified when necessary to provide complete relief to plaintiffs and, as such, should remain an available remedy to the federal courts. However, Part III also argues that several of the rationales offered to support nationwide injunctions beyond providing complete relief should be retired. This abstract has been adapted from the author\u27s introduction

Community, Diversity and Reconciliation in Remote Vietnamese Villages

Post-War Diversity and Reconciliation in Viet Nam This photo-essay presents the author\u27s twenty years of experience leading war-trauma healing and reconciliation journeys to Viet Nam with a focus on reconciliation between American and Vietnamese veterans and the transcendence of diversity through immersion in community and atonement practices

Proposal of a Conceptual Framework for an efficient and effective Test Management System

A test management system is programmed to store and manage test items as well as to automate the generation of tests for the purpose of assessments. An item bank is a repository of test items with associated data, and it is the core component of a test management system. From administrative point of view, the primary focus in the design of a test management system is system efficiency, both in terms of effort and cost. Educators however are more concerned with the validity and reliability of tests in measuring students’ performance. Thus, the design and development of a quality item banking system should take both views into consideration. Other issues in the item banking design include test objectivity, appropriateness of item distribution, fairness and practicality. In this paper, the author identifies the essential elements required of an effective and efficient item banking system. Some of the important factors to be considered in designing the system include: the application of Bloom’s Taxonomy in item categorization, the role of test specification table in item selection, the capability of the system in filtering poor quality items for review and enhancement. Based on the analysis, a conceptual framework for the design of the item banking system is proposed. The system aims towards minimizing the manual process of the test paper preparation whilst ensuring the quality of the test paper generated. The author provides a detailed description of the framework as well the process involved in test items generation and test items enhancement. (Abstract by author