2199 research outputs found
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A SIMD Approach To Large-scale Real-time System Air Traffic Control Using Associative Processor and Consequences For Parallel Computing
No full textThis dissertation has two complementary focuses. First, it provides a solution to large scale real-time system air traffic Control (ATC) using an enhanced SIMD machine model called an associative processor (AP). The second is the comparison of this implementation with a multiprocessor implementation and the implications of these comparisons. This paper demonstrates how one application, ATC, can more easily, more simply, and more efficiently be implemented on an AP than is generally possible on other types of traditional hardware. The AP implementation of ATC will take advantage of its deterministic hardware to use static scheduling. Our solution differs from previous ATC systems that are designed for MIMD computers and have a great deal of difficulty meeting the predictability requirements for ATC, which are critical for meeting the strict certification standards required for safety critical software components. The proposed AP solution supports accurate predictions of worst case execution times and guarantees all deadlines are met. Furthermore, the software developed based on the AP model is much simpler and smaller in size than the current corresponding ATC software. As the associative processor is built from SIMD hardware, it is considerably cheaper and simpler than the MIMD hardware currently used to support ATC. While APs were used for ATC-type applications earlier, these are no longer available. We use a ClearSpeed CSX600 accelerator to emulate the AP solutions of ATC on an ATC prototype consisting of eight data-intensive ATC real-time tasks. Its performance is evaluated in terms of execution time and predictability and is compared with an 8-core multiprocessor (MP) using OpenMP. Our extensive experiments show that the AP implementation meets all deadlines while the MP will regularly miss a large number of deadlines. It is shown that the proposed AP solution will support accurate predictions of worst case execution times and will guarantee that all deadlines are met. In addition, the AP code will be similar in size to sequential code for the same tasks and will avoid all of the additional support software needed with an MP to handle dynamic scheduling, load balancing, shared resource management, race conditions, and false sharing, etc. At this point, essentially only MIMD systems are built. Many of the advantages of using an AP to solve an ATC problem would carry over to other applications. AP solutions for a wide variety of applications will be cited in this paper. Applications that involve a high degree of data parallelism such as database management, text processing, image processing, graph processing, bioinformatics, weather modeling, managing UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems or drones) etc, are good candidates for AP solutions. This raises the issue of whether we should routinely consider using non-multiprocessor hardware like the AP for applications where substantially simpler software solutions will normally exist. It also raises the question of whether the use of both AP and MIMD hardware in the same system could provide more versatility and efficiency. Either the AP or MIMD could serve as the primary system but could hand off jobs it could not handle efficiently to the other system.</p
Hymnary.org: The Use of a New Database in Hymnology
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/acir/2012/Papers/10/thumbnail.jpgHymnary.org is a large hymnological database that provides information about thousands of hymnals and millions of hymn instances. It has media files and nearly 2,000 scanned hymnals. The authors conducted a user survey between August 1, 2011 and January 31, 2012 to determine a typical user profile and user expectations of Hymnary.org. Respondents were asked to provide information about themselves, their interest in hymnody, how they found Hymnary.org, how they used it, and whether the database met their information needs. The survey revealed that frequent users are most commonly involved with worship planning, followed by users with an academic interest in hymnological information. The primary entry point to Hymnary.org was a search for a specific hymnal, and users were interested in both text and tune information. Users show a need to understand the limitations of copyright, and to be made aware of the commercial hymn arrangements available via Hymnary.org. Keywords: Hymns, hymnology, database, user survey</p
Googling the Scriptures
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/acir/2012/Papers/11/thumbnail.jpgA pastor’s dream is having an infinite amount of information available to craft a sermon on the go. While most trained pastors understand and have been exposed to traditional resources, time and convenience hamper the writing experience of sermons on a weekly basis. During my time at Waldorf College in Iowa I held a workshop with area pastors on how to find information for sermon preparation. They indicated to me during the workshop that this infinite resource was available to them called Google. Google was fast, convenient, and even had prepared ‘open source’ sermons for use. Biblical texts were exegetically broken down in many viewpoints which made inclusiveness even easier. This paper is a report from a series of three workshops working with pastors on finding resources for sermons. Included is a pre-workshop survey in which they explained their research methodology and knowledge of both academic and spiritual based sermon aids, and general knowledge of computer skills. From this survey the workshops took on the question; “Is ‘Googling the scriptures’ the way to write a sermon?” The paper also explores the conversations and results of the workshops. By the third workshop we constructed a sermon aid user guide and I revealed how ‘pastors’ can use an academic library in sermon preparation.</p
Music as Information and Dialogue: An Ethnographic Study of a Christian Congregation Serving a Largely Gay and Lesbian (GLBT) Membership
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/acir/2012/Papers/4/thumbnail.jpgMusic is important in most Christian churches. It is used for many purposes such as supporting belief systems, encouraging proper behaviors, and offering care and comfort. In this discussion, I present an ethnographic, naturalistic study of a largely GLBT (gay lesbian, bisexual, transgender) congregation and how music is used to support the theology and social needs of the church. The discussion will offer a historical as well as a contemporary overview of the use of music as used in the Metropolitan Community Church Austin (a member of the United Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches ((UFMMC)) and how it has evolved since the church’s founding as an independent congregation in 1976. I conclude by offering an explanation for this evolution based on social, political, personal, and administrative situations as they have changed over the 36 years since the founding of the church.</p
Making the Bhagavad Gitā accessible: Enabling sense-making through synthesis and visualization
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/acir/2012/Papers/5/thumbnail.jpgLibraries and archives across the world have played a vital role in enabling access to information to a large number of people. The advent of the Internet and mobile computing has helped accelerate this process of democratization of information. The Bhagavad Gitā (Song of God) is considered the most important among the large pantheon of ancient Hindu scriptures and has influenced people ranging from Gandhi to Thoreau to Einstein. However, just as the problem for most Internet users is no longer one of access, one wouldn’t need to try too hard to access the Gitā. A large number of commentaries have been written on it. The text and many e-books are freely available online. The difficulty lies in comprehension and sense-making, being able to connect-the-dots, turning information into knowledge and application. Drawing upon the literature on accessibility and the sense-making theory, this paper will report work-in-progress in synthesizing different commentaries of the Gitā and bringing out key messages using simplification and visualization techniques. The work should help the Facebook generation make sense of the key messages and life lessons from the Gitā. Also, a reader would be able to make an informed judgment rather than relying on any one commentary. The 8-step methodology explained should also be useful in synthesizing the commentaries on the holy texts of other major religions of the world. Keywords. Accessibility, sense-making, Bhagavad Gitā, synthesis, visualization. </p
Intersection of Women’s Studies with Religious Studies
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/acir/2012/Papers/6/thumbnail.jpgBy the end of the twentieth century, some striking parallels can be seen in the academic disciplines of women’s studies and religious studies. This paper will explore some of these parallels as well as some of the difficulties that face the intersection of these to fields. This exploration will be done by comparing research and teaching methods through the reading of scholarly works by leaders in both fields. The paper will look at the methodologies used by women’s studies scholars for the traditionally male-dominated field of religious studies. These reformers think that it is necessary to ask new questions, collect new data, offer new analyses, and develop new theories to do justice to the voices of women. What might these new ways of gathering and interpreting information mean for academic research in the twenty-first century?</p
Civil War Fashion: Pattern, Color, Trim
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/museumvideo/16/thumbnail.jpgOn the popular fabrics and trims used in fashion of the 1860s.</p
Civil War Fashion: Weddings
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/museumvideo/19/thumbnail.jpgOn wedding fashions of the 1860s.</p
A Catholic College Newspaper as a Research Instrument in an Oral History Project
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/acir/2012/Papers/15/thumbnail.jp
Civil War Fashion: King Cotton
No full texthttps://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/museumvideo/2/thumbnail.jpgOn the use of cotton in fashions of the 1860s.</p