Design-Space Exploration of Application-specific Instruction-set Processor Design

Application-Specific Instruction-Set Processors (ASIPs) have established their processing power in the embedded systems. Since energy efficiency is one of the most important challenges in this area, coarse-grained reconfigurable arrays (CGRAs) have been used in many different domains. The exclusive program execution model of the CGRAs is the key to their energy efficiency but it has some major costs. The context-switching network (CSN) is responsible for handling this unique program execution model and is also one of the most energy-hungry parts of the CGRAs. In this paper, we have proposed a new method to predict important architectural parameters of the CSN of a CGRA, such as the size of the processing elements (PEs), the topology of the CSN, and the number of configuration registers in each PE. The proposed method is based on the high-level code of the input application, and it is used to prune the design space and increase the energy efficiency of the CGRA. Based on our results, not only the size of the design space of the CSN of the CGRA is reduced to 10%, but also its performance and energy efficiency are increased by about 13% and 73%, respectively. The predicted architecture by the proposed method is over 97% closer to the best architecture of the exhaustive searching for the design space.

Validation of the Low-Frequency Procedure for Field Measurement of Façade Sound Insulation

In the ISO 16283 series for field measurement of sound insulation, a low-frequency procedure is specified for determining indoor average sound pressure level, which is the so-called corner method. In the procedure, additional measurements are required in the corners in addition to the default measurements in the central zone, and the indoor average level is corrected with the highest level in the corners. However, this procedure was empirically proposed, and its validity is not fully examined for façade sound insulation. In this paper, detailed experiments were performed in a mock lightweight wooden house for validating the low-frequency procedure for façade sound insulation measurement. The results suggest that a correction with energy-averaging level of all corners is more reliable than with the maximum level, and the uncertainty in the default procedure is sufficiently improved with additional measurements in four non-adjacent corners. Moreover, the effect of the detailed position of the microphone around the corner was clarified for a more specific instruction.

Finding your scientific story by writing backwards

To succeed, a scientist must write well. Substantial guidance exists on writing papers that follow the classic Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) structure. Here, we fill a critical gap in this pedagogical canon. We offer guidance on developing a good scientific story. This valuable—yet often poorly achieved—skill can increase the impact of a study and its likelihood of acceptance. A scientific story goes beyond presenting information. It is a cohesive narrative that engages the reader by presenting and solving a problem, with a beginning, middle, and end. To create this narrative structure, we urge writers to consider starting at the end of their study, starting with writing their main conclusions, which provide the basis of the Discussion, and then work backwards: Results → Methods → refine the Discussion → Introduction → Abstract → Title. In this brief and informal editorial, we offer guidance to a wide audience, ranging from upper-level undergraduates (who have just conducted their first research project) to senior scientists (who may benefit from re-thinking their approach to writing). To do so, we provide specific instruction, examples, and a guide to the literature on how to “write backwards”, linking scientific storytelling to the IMRaD structure.

TAKE-OFF HIP EXTENSION ANGLE INFLUENCE ON THE TUCKED BACK SOMERSAULT PERFORMANCE

Back somersault is a basic element of gymnastics; its performance is strongly influenced by the take-off phase. The present work aimed to study how hip extension in the take-off of the tucked back somersault influences the velocity of rotation and the height of the somersault. To this end, we recorded a total of 60 somersaults by 4 gymnasts (i.e., 15 somersaults each). There were three groups of somersaults based on the instructions that were given to the gymnasts: no specific instruction, somersault as high as possible and rotate as fast as possible. The records were then analyzed in order to quantify the following variables: maximal height of the mass center and maximal body angular velocity during somersault, the hip angle and the knee angle at the take-off. Gymnasts seemed to be inclined to bend their knees rather than extend their hips in order to carry out the instruction.

Using the Self-Advocacy Strategy to Support Middle School Students With EBD

Self-advocacy skills enable active student involvement in the Individualized Education Program planning process. However, some students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) lack appropriate self-advocacy skills and may require specific instruction in how to prepare for and participate in their own IEP. Special educators may have limited knowledge and skills to foster the self-advocacy skills of students with EBD. Therefore, this article focuses on a research-based strategy, the Self-Advocacy Strategy (SAS), that can be used by educators to effectively promote students’ self-advocacy skills. Research support and a detailed overview and guidelines on how educators can implement the SAS in their classrooms are included.

Using written task answer sheets as notes while speaking: changing task-report practices in a second language book club

The current study extends upon recent Conversation Analysis research on literacy events in second language (L2) educational settings. The study investigates the use of task answers as notes in an L2 book club member’s task report practices, including how he looks for things to say, how he chooses to read aloud, and how his task-report practices change over time with explicit instruction. Specifically, this case study shows how a facilitator’s specific instruction to not use task answers as notes during second orientation works as a catalyst for the L2 student to move from heavy to less reliance on his written answers to complete his task report. The findings offer insights into the way the student uses his task answer sheets as an affordance for managing an L2 task and how his changing task-report practices with the textual resource better meet the institutional agenda, one of which is to provide a venue for members to practice English as a second language.

Reproduction and Testing of Display Options for the Slide-Based Artwork Slides de Cavalete (1978–1979) by Ângelo de Sousa: An Experimental Study

Slides de cavalete | Easel slides (1978–1979) is a slide-based artwork by the Portuguese artist Ângelo de Sousa (1938–2011), composed of one-hundred colour slides. Each image was produced by capturing different proportions of red, green, and blue (RGB) lights to obtain colour gradations. The artwork was first presented in the exhibition A Fotografia como Arte/A Arte como Fotografia | Photography as Art/Art as Photography in 1979. Associated with this exhibition, documentary evidence was found during the present study providing specific instruction on how to display the artwork (possibly unknown until now). According to that documentation, the artist wanted the work to be projected on a canvas mounted in an easel with a 19th century semblance, using a slide projector. In the last two exhibitions, carried out in 2017, after the artist had passed, the work was displayed as a digital projection, without the previously mentioned sculptural components. It was considered that this deviation from the first presentation could have led to a misunderstanding of the work. Thus, an exhibition of this artwork was prepared in a room at the Library of Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia. This was built as an experimental laboratory, having as one of its important objectives to test the variability of the work projected with a slide projector and a digital projector, following the display setup defined by the artist. For four days, the visitors were shown the work displayed under these two distinct scenarios of presentation. The visitors were also asked to fill out a questionnaire, to capture their perception about the variance of the work. The data obtained in the questionnaire and during the exhibition reinforced the decision to expose Slides de cavalete using the original technology. The public preferred the quality and beauty of the image using the slide projector, highlighting as positive aspects more granularity and warmer hue as well as higher depth of the images. Additionally, the production process behind Slides de cavalete was studied, based on documentation discovered in the artist’s archive and on reproductions, to enrich our perception of the work, in particular the complexity of creating the sfumato effects, and to understand the impact of changing the display technology. The results obtained made it possible to identify the main steps of making these slides, and this knowledge was shared with visitors in a workshop, integrated in this experimental laboratory.

2-Year-Olds Learning From 2D Media With and Without Parental Support: Comparing Two Forms of Joint Media Engagement With Passive Viewing and Learning From 3D

The study investigates to what degree two different joint media engagement (JME) strategies affect children’s learning from two-dimensional (2D)-media. More specifically, we expected an instructed JME strategy to be more effective than a spontaneous, non-instructed, JME strategy. Thirty-five 2-year old children saw a short video on a tablet demonstrating memory tasks together with a parent. The parents were randomized into two groups: One group (N = 17) was instructed to help their child by describing the actions they saw on the video while the other group (N = 18) received no specific instruction besides “do as you usually do.” The parents in the instructed group used significantly more words and verbs when supporting their child but both groups of children did equally well on the memory test. In a second step, we compared the performance of the two JME groups with an opportunistic comparison group (N = 95) tested with half of the memory tasks live and half of the tasks on 2D without any JME support. Results showed that the JME intervention groups received significantly higher recall scores than the no JME 2D comparison group. In contrast, the three-dimensional (3D) comparison group outperformed both JME groups. In sum, our findings suggest that JME as implemented here is more effective in promoting learning than a no JME 2D demonstration but less so than the standard 3D presentation of the tasks.