Incompatible Platforms Research Articles

EPHA: An Energy-efficient Parallel Hybrid Architecture for ANNs and SNNs

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) and spiking neural networks (SNNs) are two general approaches to achieve artificial intelligence (AI). The former have been widely used in academia and industry fields; the latter, SNNs, are more similar to biological neural networks and can realize ultra-low power consumption, thus have received widespread research attention. However, due to their fundamental differences in computation formula and information coding, the two methods often require different and incompatible platforms. Alongside the development of AI, a general platform that can support both ANNs and SNNs is necessary. Moreover, there are some similarities between ANNs and SNNs, which leaves room to deploy different networks on the same architecture. However, there is little related research on this topic. Accordingly, this article presents an energy-efficient, scalable, and non-Von Neumann architecture (EPHA) for ANNs and SNNs. Our study combines device-, circuit-, architecture-, and algorithm-level innovations to achieve a parallel architecture with ultra-low power consumption. We use the compensated ferrimagnet to act as both synapses and neurons to store weights and perform dot-product operations, respectively. Moreover, we propose a novel computing flow to reduce the operations across multiple crossbar arrays, which enables our design to conduct large and complex tasks. On a suite of ANN and SNN workloads, the EPHA is 1.6× more power-efficient than a state-of-the-art design, NEBULA, in the ANN mode. In the SNN mode, our design is 4 orders of magnitude more than the Loihi in power efficiency.

The use of RegTech in fighting financial crime

The fast pace of technological change and the ever-evolving regulatory landscape create a unique environment in which the financial institutions (FIs) are expected to perform at their maximum while remaining compliant with complex regulations. The compliance complexity ultimately results in higher costs for FIs and banks specifically, as this often means increased numbers of compliance staff and investing in new technologies. However, while investing in a sophisticated RegTech solution may seem a viable option for addressing the complex compliance requirements, in practice the situation is much more complicated. Implementing the latest RegTech solution in a traditional bank, particularly in one with a history of mergers and acquisitions where the legacy systems may still be in use, and where the data is held on different and sometimes incompatible platforms, is a good example of the complexities that arise in the decision-making process. This paper focuses on the practical challenges faced by a traditional bank when considering the implementation of a RegTech solution and also explores how RegTechs and banks can work together in order to overcome these challenges by better understanding each others' perspectives.

Electronic Books Impact Global Environment�an Empirical Study Focus on User Perspectives

Electronic Books Impact Global Environment—an Empirical Study Focus on User Perspectives Chiang-nan Chao, Yingchuan Wang, Frankie Changli Wang Abstract This study examines the differences in behavior perspectives between the users of e-books and printed books. The study focuses on a range of behavioral issues about e-book adoptions. These managerial issues will not only be strategic to the publishing industry and the paper industry’s bottom lines, but will also impact our future environment. The study finds the respondents spent slightly more time on reading printed books compare to e-books. Digital books, however, have significant advantages in many aspects over the printed books. Although e-book adoption is a rapidly growing trend, it still lacks some of the advantages of the traditional printed books, e.g. there are many different and incompatible platforms for the usage of e-books, and the consumers do not need to have the concern of a copyright for printed books. The findings of this preliminary study suggest that publishers may need to promote e-books more aggressively and not only as a way to reduce the cost, but also as a way to preserve our global environment. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jcsit.v8n1a2

Electronic Books Impact Global Environment—An Empirical Study Focus on User Perspectives

This study examines the differences in behavior perspectives between the users of ebooks and printed books. The study focuses on a range of behavioral issues about ebook adoptions. These managerial issues will not only be strategic to the publishing industry and the paper industry’s bottom lines, but will also impact our future environment. The study finds the respondents spent slightly more time on reading printed books compare to ebooks. Digital books, however, have significant advantages in many aspects over the printed books. Although ebook adoption is a rapidly growing trend, it still lacks some of the advantages of the traditional printed books, e.g. there are many different and incompatible platforms for the usage of ebooks, and the consumers do not need to have the concern of a copyright for printed books. The findings of this preliminary study suggest that publishers may need to promote ebooks more aggressively and not only as a way to reduce the cost, but also as a way to preserve our global environment.

What Makes a PC? Thoughts on Computing Platforms, Standards, and Compatibility

Early microcomputing culture was characterized by a proliferation of other machine-oriented platforms, often aimed at home users. Contemporaneously with Apple, the established electronics firms Commodore and Tandy Radio Shack introduced formulations of the personal computer that long endured, sustained by enthusiastic user communities and vigorous software development cultures. This culture is often characterized as a Babel of incompatible platforms that the IBM PC, offering all the advantages of a consensus standard, rapidly swept out of existence. The actual eclipse of these platforms in international context awaits serious investigation.

Unified Citation Management and Visualization Using Open Standards

Scientific research is hindered when there are artificial barriers preventing efficient and straightforward sharing of bibliographic information. In today’s computing world, the barriers take the form of incompatible bibliographic formats and constraining operating system and vendor dependencies. These incompatible platforms isolate the respective camps. In this paper, we demonstrate and discuss a new approach to unify citation management, called the Open Citation System (OCS). OCS uses open XML standards and Java component technologies. By providing converter tools to migrate citations to a centralized ”hub” in BiblioML format (an XML tag set based on the UniMARC standard), we then make use of XML Topic Maps to provide an extensible framework for visualization. We take as an example the ACM Classification Code and show how the OCS system displays citations in a convenient focus + context hyperbolic tree interface. We conclude by discussing future directions planned to extend the OCS system and how open citation management can supply an important piece in our inexorable march towards a worldwide digital library.

Knowledge acquisition planning: Using multiple sources of knowledge to answer questions in biomedicine

By combining techniques from machine learning and robot planning, knowledge acquisition planning provides a framework for automatically deploying diverse and complex analytical tools to extremely large collections of data. KA planning is the process of automatically combining inferential tools such as induction, search, database lookup and statistical analysis into methods for addressing complex query statements. This process depends both on having a domain model that supports subgoal decomposition and a library of KA actions annotated with the type and form of required input data, expected outcomes of the action, estimates of computational resources needed, and so on. By annotating analytical tools in this way, it is possible to automatically select and deploy them and combine their results, even if they run on incompatible platforms. Knowledge acquisition planning was first implemented in a program that learned about diagnosing lung tumors. A larger project is currently underway in the domain of molecular biology.