Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploiting Vector Processing in Dynamic Binary Translation

Auto vectorization techniques have been adopted by compilers to exploit data-level parallelism in parallel processing for decades. However, since processor architectures have kept enhancing with new features to improve vector/SIMD performance, legacy application binaries failed to fully exploit new vector/SIMD capabilities in modern architectures. For example, legacy ARMv7 binaries cannot benefit from ARMv8 SIMD double precision capability, and legacy x86 binaries cannot enjoy the power of AVX-512 extensions. In this paper, we study the fundamental issues involved in cross-ISA Dynamic Binary Translation (DBT) to convert non-vectorized loops to vector/SIMD forms to achieve greater computation throughput available in newer processor architectures. The key idea is to recover critical loop information from those application binaries in order to carry out vectorization at runtime. Experiment results show that our approach achieves an average speedup of 1.42x compared to ARMv7 native run across various benchmarks in an ARMv7-to-ARMv8 dynamic binary translation system.
Building Scalable NVM-based B+tree with HTM

Emerging on-volatile memory (NVM) opens an opportunity to build durable data structures. However, to build a highly efficient complex data structure like B+tree on NVM is not easy. We investigate the essential performance bottleneck for NVM-based B+tree. Even with a single-core CPU, the performance is limited by the atomic-write size which plays an essential role in the trade-off between the persistent overhead and keeping leaf node entries sorted. For the multi-core setting, the overlapping of concurrency and persistency is key to the system scalability. Based on the analysis, we propose RNTree, a durable NVM-based B+tree using the hardware transactional memory (HTM). Our way of using HTM can actually address both problems mentioned above simultaneously. (1) HTM can use cache-line granularity to provide larger atomic-write size. Based on this, we propose a new slot-array approach which traces the order of entries in the leaf nodes while still reducing the number of persistent instructions. (2) With careful design, RNTree moves slow persistent instructions out of critical sections and proposes the dual slot array design, to extract more concurrency. For single thread, RNTree achieves 1.44×/4.2× higher throughput for single-key operations and range queries respectively. For multiple threads, the throughput of RNTree is 2.3× higher than state-of-the-art works.
Intercultural Communication Barriers. China and the USA, The Difficulties of a Dialogue

Abstract When people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds meet, they have to cope with the positive and the negative aspects of the intercultural exchange. Barriers such as anxiety, language, stereotypes, prejudice, ethnocentrism, and assumption of similarity instead of difference are the most significant ones to consider. This paper aims to discuss the main difficulties that individuals of various cultures and heritages may face during the intercultural communication process. In particular, this paper takes a closer look at the cultural differences between China and the USA, and at some of the current communication difficulties that the two countries face, caused by lack of mutual understanding, ethnocentrism, stereotypes, prejudice, language, differences of nonverbal indices, political and economic causes.
Managerial Discretion and Constraints: A Bounded Leadership Model

Abstract Purpose: We propose and test a new leadership model. Our model is an extension of the leaderplex model which proposes that leader cognitive and social complexities are linked with leader effectiveness indirectly, in a mediation scheme, through behavioral complexity. We enhance the leader-plex model with a leader’s degree of managerial discretion as the moderator of the links in this mediation format. Methodology: We test our model with a moderated mediation approach (Baron-Kenny four-step procedure and Preacher-Hayes bootstrapping methods). Findings: We use results of interviews with top leaders in Poland and demonstrate that a leader’s managerial discretion is a moderator affecting the mediation scheme assumed in the leaderplex model. Limitations: The sample size is only 29 leaders. To preserve the respondents’ anonymity, their opinions were evaluated by only one researcher who interviewed them directly. The results may be country specific (Poland). Originality: We define new boundary conditions for the leaderplex model by showing importance of a leader’s real position (managerial discretion) in an organization. Specifically, we show that the nature of the relationships between the variables of interest will change when a leader operates in one physical environment (e.g., high managerial discretion) rather than another (e.g., low managerial discretion).
The Anti-Naturalistic Legacy of Menger and Mises

Abstract The article focuses on the anti-naturalism of Menger and Mises. It presents a methodological approach formulated by both scholars as stemming from epistemological anti-naturalism and demonstrating similarities to social phenomenology. The article also discusses the development of the anti-naturalistic perspective on the basis of Hayek’s conception of sensory order. The latter allowed addressing the problem of validity of methodological dualism and established a sound foundation for the methodological approach of the Austrian School of Economics.
Conceptual Framework and Empirical Methodology for Measuring Multidimensional Judicial Ideology

Abstract The article presents a conceptual framework and empirical methodology of an on-going research on the role of ideology in the decisions of the Slovenian Constitution Court. The literature review demonstrates that research on judicial ideology in the courts of European countries and international courts is still rare. This can be explained by conceptual, methodological and empirical challenges posed by this type of research. The article hence advances a conceptual framework which is, contra to the mainstream theoretical approach in the field, based on a multidimensional conception of ideology that is empirically operationalised along the economic, social and authoritarian dimensions with five possible ideological positions on each dimension. By applying the newly developed methodology to a sample of Court’s decisions, it is demonstrated that this methodological approach is able to account for ideological differences between judges. This confirms that (judges’) ideology is a complex multidimensional set of values and convictions that cannot be reduced to simply equating ideology with (possible) political affiliations.
XRF technique

Abstract The techniques of chemical investigation by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) are widespread since the 50s of the last century. Depending on the accuracy of the desired data and on the artifact characteristics, they can be used as partially destructive or as absolutely non-destructive and non-invasive techniques. The archeomaterials that can be analyzed are the most disparate: minerals, rocks, metals, building materials, pigments, and so on; practically almost everything that is solid, liquid or gelatinous can be analyzed by XRF. The theoretical physical principles and the main components of X-ray spectrometers, in energy dispersion (ED) and wavelength dispersion (WD), are described, also comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each analytical technique. In the last decades, the diffusion of the ED silicon drift detectors, together with the development of very accurate and high specialized software for quantitative analysis, has given a new impulse to the diffusion of the portable spectrometers offering new possibilities for in situ and very rapid archeomaterial characterizations. Case studies related to different artworks, like ceramics, necklaces, coins, obsidians and other lithic artifacts will also be presented: they show the important contribution that X-ray spectrometer technique gives to solve problems related to the characterization, restoration and to the source identification of the raw materials.
Effectivity test of an eco-friendly sediment trap model as a strategy to control erosion on agricultural land

Abstract A sediment trap with bamboo materials can be utilized as one alternative of eco-friendly technology to reduce the erosion that occurred on agricultural land. This study aims to determine the most efficient form of that sediment trap in the field. Location study is in the Tulungrejo Village, Batu, Indonesia, which has andosol soil type and 35 cases of a landslide in 2013. Three forms of sediment traps were used (square, trapezoidal, and stratified type) with the purpose to find the most effective form. It is obtained that the most effective sediment trap is a stratified form with the 31.91% effectiveness or able to withstand sediment of 25.02 kg, while the adequate number is two pieces with the ability to withstand the most considerable sediment of (91.70%). Therefore this stratified form of sediment traps is effective in erosion prevention on agricultural land in the study area. For further development, it is required to test out the variations of the contents in a broader area with a more varied level of the slope.
Digital Economy and Society: Baltic States in the EU Context

Abstract Research purpose. The high penetration of the Internet and increased level of use of digital devices create conditions for the development of the digital economy and society. Understanding and management of this model are essential whilst seeking to compete in the global market and to ensure a high standard of living for citizens. However, despite the opportunities presented by the digital economy, the Baltic States have not yet fully exploited the potential of digital technologies for sustainable development. The purpose of this research is to assess the progress of the Baltic States towards developing a digital economy and society and to identify areas requiring priority investments and action. Design/Methodology/Approach. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) published by the European Commission is used to explore the potential of the digital economy. It is an index measuring progress in digital performance through five components: connectivity, human capital, use of internet, integration of digital technology and digital public services. DESI is a crucial tool to reflect the performance of the Baltic States in the context of other European countries. Findings. The survey shows the individual performance of each Baltic country and compares them amongst themselves as well as with other EU countries. Estonia has the highest DESI when compared with other Baltic countries; however, lower scores in connectivity and integration of digital technology components are observed. Lithuania scores high in the integration of digital technology, whereas the human capital component remains lower. Latvia is a leader amongst connectivity but descents to other Baltic countries in human capital and integration of digital technology components. Originality/Value/Practical implications. The digital economy remains a widely discussed topic; however, a lack of unanimous scientific definition and detailed research on this economic model complicates understanding of digital technologies. It is essential for each government to analyse the model and focus on the improvement of the digital economy in order to ensure that the country remains digitally competitive in the world.
High-throughput assessment of hypothetical zeolite materials for their synthesizeability and industrial deployability

Abstract Zeolites are important microporous framework materials, where 200+ structures are known to exist and many millions so-called hypothetical materials can be computationally created. Here, we screen the “Deem” database of hypothetical zeolite structures to find experimentally feasible and industrially relevant materials. We use established and existing criteria and structure descriptors (lattice energy, local interatomic distances, TTT angles), and we develop new criteria which are based on 5-th neighbor distances to T-atoms, tetrahedral order parameters (or, tetrahedrality), and porosity and channel dimensionality. Our filter funnel for screening the most attractive zeolite materials that we construct consists of nine different types of criteria and a total of 53 subcriteria. The funnel reduces the pool of candidate materials from initially >300,000 to 70 and 33, respectively, depending on the channel dimensionality constraint applied (2- and 3-dimensional vs. only 3-dimensional channels). We find that it is critically important to define longer range and more stringent criteria such as the new 5-th neighbor distances to T-atoms and the tetrahedrality descriptor in order to succeed in reducing the huge pool of candidates to a manageable number. Apart from four experimentally achieved structures (BEC, BOG, ISV, SSF), all other candidates are hypothetical frameworks, thus, representing most valuable targets for synthesis and application. Detailed analysis of the screening data allowed us to also propose an exciting future direction how such screening studies as ours could be improved and how framework generating algorithms could be competitively optimized.
Market-to-Book Ratio and Creative Industries– Example of Polish Video Games Developers

Abstract Research purpose. There are many reasons for which a growing interest in research and analysis of video game developers is observed. First, it results from attractive high rates of return on investment in this sector. Second, video games developers, in the author’s opinion, constitute a good combination of business and culture which is a ground for development of creative industry. A capital-intensive process of production and the intangibility of video games cause a problem in valuation of developers. Market participants who value future cash flows are in conflict with a historical cost approach used in accounting. This leads to a question of whether the confrontation of these two extreme ways of valuation could be a valuable measure of unrecognised assets for the analysis of video games sector and, as a consequence, of creative industry. The aim of the study is to explore a possible role and use of market-to-book ratio for analysis of this sector. Design/Methodology/Approach. The study starts with a literature review on market-to-book ratio applied to knowledge-based industries. The second part of the research is a comparison of results obtained for 19 biggest listed representatives of the video games sector in Poland to other sectors of Warsaw Stock Exchange. Further analysis juxtaposes the selected Polish representatives with world’s biggest ones in this sector. This will allow to draw conclusions about the usefulness of the examined ratio. Findings. The research shows that the video games sector represents noticeably higher level of market-to book ratio than other industries in Poland and is comparable to the world’s representatives. It can be stated that the market’s valuation takes into account unrecognised assets (intellectual capital), which are greatly related to possible future cash flows. What is interesting is that, for some of the selected Polish companies, market-to-book ratio keeps decreasing compared to the levels at IPO. This refers to market efficiency in relation to possible speculative bubbles which companies of this sector are often accused of. Originality/Value/Practical implications. The obtained results are applicable to the investors, analysts and managers of this sector. The research conducted enables a better understanding of the market-to-book ratio as an indicator of economic standing of creative industry companies and its earnings’ prediction.
The left Riemann-Liouville fractional Hermite-Hadamard type inequalities for convex functions

Abstract In this paper, with a new approach, a new fractional Hermite-Hadamard type inequalities for convex functions is obtained by using only the left Riemann-Liouville fractional integral. Also, to have new fractional trapezoid and midpoint type inequalities for the differentiable convex functions, two new equalities are proved. Our results generalize earlier studies. We expect that this study will be lead to the new fractional integration studies for Hermite-Hadamard type inequalities.
Community-Based Teacher Training: Transformation of Sustainable Teacher Empowerment Strategy in Indonesia

Abstract Teacher empowerment is a central issue in relation to the efforts to improve the quality of education. However, teacher empowerment will remain an abstract idea if its implementation is not supported by an appropriate strategy. The demands for a quality education will be unreciprocated if teachers do not have the opportunity to empower themselves. This research aims to investigate the teacher empowerment strategy in Indonesia, which has been conducted by employing a community-based teacher training program. This study has highlighted several research questions: What is meant by community-based training program? Why is the training program needed? Who is the target of the training program? What model has been used to implement the training? What are the results of the training that has been executed? This research was conducted from November 2018 to January 2019. The research data were collected by means of documentation studies and interviews. The data analysis was carried out quantitatively and qualitatively, where the quantitative analysis was processed based on the document study data, meanwhile the qualitative analysis was performed based on the interview data. The research results showed that community-based teacher training was transformation of teacher development strategy as a follow-up on teachers’ competency test in Indonesia. The community-based teacher training succeeded in increasing the professionalism of teachers in Indonesia, particularly in terms of implementing their pedagogical and professional competencies. The training is also successful in motivating the teachers to engage themselves in continuous learning efforts through building strong teachers’ network and working collaboratively with colleagues. Quantitatively, training was proven to increase the average of teacher competency by 23.97 (on a scale of 100). The research results are expected to provide information about the best practice in teacher coaching that is conducted massively in a national scope based on the local community so that a lifelong learning culture for teachers is established to support the development of sustainable education.
Study on the Evolution, Results and Trends of Applying Stochastic Optimization

Abstract This paper aims to analyze the stage reached in the development and application of stochastic optimization models, highlighting some of the most important moments and achievements in the field. The author tries to identify particular aspects that define the classes of stochastic optimization models, specifying the level reached in certain directions of research and implementation of these models in order to identify possible directions of development of these specific techniques.
Vertical Mapping of Auditory Loudness: Loud is High, but Quiet is not Always Low

Abstract Although the perceptual association between verticality and pitch has been widely studied, the link between loudness and verticality is not fully understood yet. While loud and quiet sounds are assumed to be equally associated crossmodally with spatial elevation, there are perceptual differences between the two types of sounds that may suggest the contrary. For example, loud sounds tend to generate greater activity, both behaviourally and neurally, than quiet sounds. Here we investigated whether this difference percolates into the crossmodal correspondence between loudness and verticality. In an initial phase, participants learned one-to-one arbitrary associations between two tones differing in loudness (82dB vs. 56dB) and two coloured rectangles (blue vs. yellow). During the experimental phase, they were presented with the two-coloured stimuli (each one located above or below a central “departure” point) together with one of the two tones. Participants had to indicate which of the two-coloured rectangles corresponded to the previously-associated tone by moving a mouse cursor from the departure point towards the target. The results revealed that participants were significantly faster responding to the loud tone when the visual target was located above (congruent condition) than when the target was below the departure point (incongruent condition). For quiet tones, no differences were found between the congruent (quiet-down) and the incongruent (quiet-up) conditions. Overall, this pattern of results suggests that possible differences in the neural activity generated by loud and quiet sounds influence the extent to which loudness and spatial elevation share representational content.
Influence of Agricultural Waste Ash as Pozzolana on the Physical Properties and Compressive Strength of Cement Mortar

Abstract The increasing demand in cement has inspired researchers in both developed and developing countries around the world to explore and consider alternative materials as partial replacement of cement both in concrete and in mortar. In this study, the influence of agricultural waste, particularly corn cob ash, (CCA) as pozzolanic material or supplementary cementitious material (SCM) on the physical properties and compressive strength of cement mortar was investigated. CCA was used as partial replacement of cement ranging from 0% to 20% by weight at water-cementitious ratio of 0.6 and mix proportion of 1 cementitious: 3 fillers. The physical properties evaluated for the mortar paste were setting time and consistency; and compressive strength of hardened mortar cube. The chemical analysis of CCA was conducted, and results indicated that the CCA used in this study is classified as Class C pozzolana with combined SiO2 + Al2O3 + Fe2O3 of 55.86%. The addition of CCA increases the initial and final setting time. The study also revealed that the addition of CCA in the mortar mix reduces the plasticity or fluidity of the paste. Further, the result indicated that the compressive strength of mortars with CCA decreased as the amount of CCA replacements increased in the mixture. The mortar pastes with varying amount of cement replacements, however, are superior for use as mortar for masonry construction.
Accuracy Analysis of Calorimetric Loss Measurement for Benchmarking Wide Bandgap Power Transistors under Soft-Switching Operation

A detailed accuracy analysis of calorimetric measurements for benchmarking wide bandgap power transistors under soft-switching operation is presented. This paper will present a deeper insight into this method and propose enhancements to ensure higher accuracy of the extracted switching energy by evaluating the whole measurement and calculation chain. Furthermore, the confidence level for the switching energy can be derived for each measurement and the most critical errors of the presented measurement chain can be identified. A benchmarking of the soft-switching energies of different SiC and GaN devices is presented, compared to other work and discussed.
Gamifying Autonomous CPR Training

In sudden cardiac arrest, early cardiopulmonary resuscitation, with emphasis on chest compressions, is a fundamental step in the Chain of Survival. It is of most importance to have good technique to increase the success rate. CPR is less effective, according to some studies, due to the lack of regular training. In this context a system with quantitative feedback for autonomous training was developed. Gamification has become a widely used method for promoting learning in general, it has also been applied successfully in health care professional's training. In this work, it was followed and widely adopted a gamification framework with the propose to include several game related functionalities in an existing CPR autonomous training system. It is expected that this approach will increase training frequency and knowledge acquisition.