2023
Authors
Santos, T; Bispo, J; Cardoso, JMP;
Publication
2023 32ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PARALLEL ARCHITECTURES AND COMPILATION TECHNIQUES, PACT
Abstract
A common approach for improving performance uses FPGAs to accelerate critical code regions, which often involves two processes: hardware/software partitioning, which identifies regions to offload to the FPGA; and optimizing those regions (e.g., through HLS directives). As both processes are separate and usually applied in sequence, the interplay between them is unnatural, and it is unclear how the choices made in one step can benefit the choices made in the other step. This paper presents our work-in-progress for combining partitioning and optimization into a single holistic process. First, our source-to-source compiler builds a task-based representation from the input application. Then, a greedy algorithm builds clusters of tasks and assigns each cluster to either hardware (FPGA) or software (CPU). The algorithm iteratively refines the clusters and offloading decisions by: a) minimizing the communication costs between clusters by assigning tasks that work with shared data to the same cluster; b) reducing the global execution time by applying code optimizations to the tasks in each cluster. We show the impact of our holistic approach to a motivating edge detection example and compare the results when applying partitioning and code optimizations as independent steps. The results show that a holistic partitioning can lead to a speedup of up to 28.7x when compared to a simple offloading of the application to an FPGA.
2023
Authors
Ribeiro, F; de Macedo, JNC; Tsushima, K; Abreu, R; Saraiva, J;
Publication
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 16TH ACM SIGPLAN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOFTWARE LANGUAGE ENGINEERING, SLE 2023
Abstract
Type systems are responsible for assigning types to terms in programs. That way, they enforce the actions that can be taken and can, consequently, detect type errors during compilation. However, while they are able to flag the existence of an error, they often fail to pinpoint its cause or provide a helpful error message. Thus, without adequate support, debugging this kind of errors can take a considerable amount of effort. Recently, neural network models have been developed that are able to understand programming languages and perform several downstream tasks. We argue that type error debugging can be enhanced by taking advantage of this deeper understanding of the language's structure. In this paper, we present a technique that leverages GPT-3's capabilities to automatically fix type errors in OCaml programs. We perform multiple source code analysis tasks to produce useful prompts that are then provided to GPT-3 to generate potential patches. Our publicly available tool, Mentat, supports multiple modes and was validated on an existing public dataset with thousands of OCaml programs. We automatically validate successful repairs by using Quickcheck to verify which generated patches produce the same output as the user-intended fixed version, achieving a 39% repair rate. In a comparative study, Mentat outperformed two other techniques in automatically fixing ill-typed OCaml programs.
2023
Authors
Gomes, AMS; de Sousa, PSA; Moreira, MDA;
Publication
ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIO-ECONOMIC STUDIES
Abstract
This study examined the relationship between Environmental Performance (EP) and Financial Performance (FP) in the European food industry. The food industry is essential for population sustenance, but the rising population and the consequent increase in food production demand have implications for climate change. The aim of this study was to determine if businesses that consume water more efficiently and have lower CO2 emission intensities might experience improved financial performance. Financial and environmental data were sourced from external databases and company reports, and both quantile regression and correlation analyses were conducted. The results reveal that various sectors within the food industry exhibit different linkages between Environmental Performance and Financial Performance. Furthermore, our findings indicate that water use efficiency can significantly influence financial performance, either positively or negatively, while CO2 emission intensity did not exhibit a definitive impact on Financial Performance.
2023
Authors
Nunes, PS; Catarino, P; Martins, P; Nascimento, MM;
Publication
CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Abstract
There are several educational software (ES) used in the classroom environment for the teaching and learning of geometric contents that are part of the Portuguese basic education mathematics program. There are studies that show that the use of this type of artifact has a fundamental role in the behavior of students, raising, among other aspects, a greater motivation for learning mathematics. The aim of this work is to explore and describe implications for the behavior and learning of students in the 7th grade of Portuguese basic education, in face of a pedagogical practice that involves carrying out tasks using ES Plickers, in the theme similarities of the domain geometry and measurement, throughout intervention carried out. The adopted methodology presents characteristics of a quasi-experimental study. The participants were 61 students from three classes of a school in the north of Portugal, followed during eight consecutive classes. A set of tasks using Plickers, tests and a questionnaire survey were used as instruments for data collection. The results point to positive increments, at a behavioral level, as well as in the evolution of learning, in view of the use of this methodology in the classroom.
2023
Authors
Da Silveira, RIM; Torres Júnior, N; Teixeira, R; Simões, AC;
Publication
Exacta
Abstract
2023
Authors
Bobermin, M; Ferreira, S; Campos, CJ; Leitao, JM; Garcia, DSP;
Publication
ACCIDENT ANALYSIS AND PREVENTION
Abstract
The human-environment-vehicle triad and how it relates to crashes has long been a topic of discussion, in which the human factor is consistently seen as the leading cause. Recently, more sophisticated approaches to Road Safety have advocated for a road-driver interaction view, in which human characteristics influence road perception and road environment affects driver behavior. This study focuses on road-driver interaction by using a driving simulator. The objective is to investigate how the driver profile influences driving performance and the effects of three countermeasures (peripheral transverse lines before and after the beginning of the curves and roadside poles in the curves). Fifty-six middle-aged male participants drove a non-challenging rural highway simulated scenario based on a real road where many single-vehicle crashes occurred. The drivers' profiles were assessed through their behavioral history measured by a validated version of the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) comprising three dimensions: Errors (E), Ordinary Violations (OV), and Aggressive Violations (AV). The relationship between speed and trajectory measures and drivers' profiles was investigated using randomparameter models with heterogeneity in the means. The models' results showed that the DBQ subscale scores in OV explained a considerable part of the heterogeneity found in drivers' performance. Furthermore, the heterogeneity in the means caused by the DBQ subscale scores in OV and E in the presence of peripheral transverse lines indicates a difference in how drivers react to the countermeasures. The peripheral lines were more efficient than roadside poles to moderate speed but did not positively influence all drivers' trajectories. Although the peripheral lines could be seen as an alternative to change driver behavior in a non-challenging or monotonous road environment, the design used in this study should be reviewed.
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