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Publications

2023

Institutional arrangements for water reuse: assessing challenges for the transition to water circularity

Authors
Riazi, F; Fidélis, T; Matos, MV; Sousa, MC; Teles, F; Roebeling, P;

Publication
WATER POLICY

Abstract
Water scarcity and security drive attention to water reuse in policy and business. However, water reuse may generate new water loops and challenge water governance with new and different types of water, risks, involved actors, and responsibilities. These challenges demand robust institutional arrangements related to water governance. This article assesses the institutional arrangements associated with four case studies in Spain, Italy, Croatia, and Israel. The findings reveal that the more diverse the water uses and users, the more challenges and risks, particularly those associated with institutional arrangements such as quality standards, sanctions, and conflict prevention, are likely to emerge. The weaknesses of governance models and regulations to deal with changes, uncertainties, and public resistance call for special attention to the design of the institutional arrangements before the adoption. Independent of the type of technology adopted, governance may be improved by ensuring internal and external water monitoring; integrating water management with spatial concerns; improving training, expert engagement, and civil society awareness; and reducing water reuse costs. In addition, alternative models that guarantee the efficiency of governance in attaining objectives and assuring the participation of new water users in the management of water reuse loops may also improve governance.

2023

Emotion4MIDI: A Lyrics-Based Emotion-Labeled Symbolic Music Dataset

Authors
Sulun, S; Oliveira, P; Viana, P;

Publication
PROGRESS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, EPIA 2023, PT II

Abstract
We present a new large-scale emotion-labeled symbolic music dataset consisting of 12 k MIDI songs. To create this dataset, we first trained emotion classification models on the GoEmotions dataset, achieving state-of-the-art results with a model half the size of the baseline. We then applied these models to lyrics from two large-scale MIDI datasets. Our dataset covers a wide range of fine-grained emotions, providing a valuable resource to explore the connection between music and emotions and, especially, to develop models that can generate music based on specific emotions. Our code for inference, trained models, and datasets are available online.

2023

THE NEXT GENERATION OF ADMS FUNCTIONS FOR PREDICTIVE MANAGEMENT OF DER

Authors
Viegas, P; Cabral, D; Gonçalves, L; Pereira, J; Andrade, R; Azevedo, M; Simões, J; Gomes, M; Costa, C; Benedicto, P; Viana, J; Silva, P; Rodrigues, A; Bessa, R; Simões, M; Araújo, M;

Publication
IET Conference Proceedings

Abstract
The increasing integration of renewable energy sources (RES) at different voltage levels of the distribution grid has led to technical challenges, namely voltage and congestion problems. Conversely, the integration of new Distributed Energy Resources (DER) provides the necessary flexibility to accommodate higher RES integration levels. This work describes the development of innovative functional modules, based on optimal power flow calculations and grid forecasting, dedicated to the predictive management of the distribution grid considering DER flexibility, which are integrated into a commercial SCADA/DMS solution. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2023.

2023

General-Purpose Secure Conflict-free Replicated Data Types

Authors
Portela, B; Pacheco, H; Jorge, P; Pontes, R;

Publication
2023 IEEE 36TH COMPUTER SECURITY FOUNDATIONS SYMPOSIUM, CSF

Abstract
Conflict-free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs) are a very popular class of distributed data structures that strike a compromise between strong and eventual consistency. Ensuring the protection of data stored within a CRDT, however, cannot be done trivially using standard encryption techniques, as secure CRDT protocols would require replica-side computation. This paper proposes an approach to lift general-purpose implementations of CRDTs to secure variants using secure multiparty computation (MPC). Each replica within the system is realized by a group of MPC parties that compute its functionality. Our results include: i) an extension of current formal models used for reasoning over the security of CRDT solutions to the MPC setting; ii) a MPC language and type system to enable the construction of secure versions of CRDTs and; iii) a proof of security that relates the security of CRDT constructions designed under said semantics to the underlying MPC library. We provide an open-source system implementation with an extensive evaluation, which compares different designs with their baseline throughput and latency.

2023

Record linkage of routine and cohort data of children in Portugal: challenges and opportunities when using record linkage as a tool for scientific research

Authors
Doetsch, JN; Dias, V; Lopes, I; Redinha, R; Barros, H;

Publication
MEDICAL LAW REVIEW

Abstract
Linking records could serve as a useful tool for scientific research and as a facilitator for local policymaking. This article examines the challenges and opportunities for researchers to lawfully link routinely collected health and education data with cohort data of children when using it as a tool for scientific research in Portugal. Such linking can be lawfully conducted in Portugal if three requirements are met. First, data processing pursues a legitimate purpose, such as scientific research. Secondly, data linking complies with the legal obligations of research entities and researchers, acting as data controllers or processors, and it respects the rights of children as data subjects. Finally, data linking is based on the explicit written consent of those with parental responsibility for the child. So far, the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation in Portugal has not facilitated record linkage. It is argued that further harmonised implementation of that Regulation across European Union and European Economic Area Member States, establishing a minimum shared denominator for record linkage in scientific research for the common good, including without explicit consent, is needed.

2023

What about the usability in low-code platforms? A systematic literature review

Authors
Pinho, D; Aguiar, A; Amaral, V;

Publication
JOURNAL OF COMPUTER LANGUAGES

Abstract
Context: Low-code development is a concept whose presence has grown both in academia and the software industry and is discussed alongside others, such as model-driven engineering and domain-specific languages. Usability is an important concept in low-code contexts since users of these tools often lack a background in programming. Grey literature articles have also stated that low-code tools have high usability.Objective: This paper examines the current literature about low-code and no-code to discover more about them and their relationship with usability, particularly its quality, which factors are the most relevant, and how users view these tools. This focus on usability aims to provide a different point of view from other works on low-code.Method: We performed a systematic literature review based on a formal protocol for this study. The search protocol returned a total of 207 peer-review articles across five databases, which was supplemented with a snowballing process. These were filtered using inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in 38 relevant articles that were analysed, synthesised and reported.Conclusion: Despite growing interest and a strong enterprise presence in academia, we did not find a formal definition of low-code, although common characteristics have been specified. We found that users have a heightened awareness of usability regarding low-code tools, with some authors performing feasibility studies on their implementations or listing factors that influence the user experience in a given tool. Researchers are considering usability factors unconsciously, and the low-code field would grow if research on usability increased. This paper also suggests a definition for low-code development.

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