Putting it all together – Formal verification of the VAMP

In the verified architecture microprocessor (VAMP) project we have designed, functionally verified, and synthesized a processor with full DLX instruction set, delayed branch, Tomasulo scheduler, maskable nested precise interrupts, pipelined fully IEEE compatible dual precision floating point unit with variable latency, and separate instruction and data caches. The verification has been carried out in the theorem proving system PVS. The processor has been implemented on a Xilinx FPGA. A shorter version of this article with the title “Instantiating uninterpreted functional units and memory system: functional verification of the VAMP” appeared in [8]. The work reported here was done while all the authors were with Saarland University.     

Simultaneous translation of lectures and speeches

With increasing globalization, communication across language and cultural boundaries is becoming an essential requirement of doing business, delivering education, and providing public services. Due to the considerable cost of human translation services, only a small fraction of text documents and an even smaller percentage of spoken encounters, such as international meetings and conferences, are translated, with most resorting to the use of a common language (e.g. English) or not taking place at all. Technology may provide a potentially revolutionary way out if real-time, domain-independent, simultaneous speech translation can be realized. In this paper, we present a simultaneous speech translation system based on statistical recognition and translation technology. We discuss the technology, various system improvements and propose mechanisms for user-friendly delivery of the result. Over extensive component and end-to-end system evaluations and comparisons with human translation performance, we conclude that machines can already deliver comprehensible simultaneous translation output. Moreover, while machine performance is affected by recognition errors (and thus can be improved), human performance is limited by the cognitive challenge of performing the task in real time.     

Imaging the domain pattern of the canted magnetization state in Co/Pt multilayer films

The exact magnetization pattern of magnetic films close to a spin-reorientation transition is difficult to analyze due to the intrinsically three-dimensional (3d) variation of the orientation of the local magnetization. We present a technique how this can be performed, based on the analysis of high quality 2d polarization maps from a single scanning electron microscope with polarization analysis (SEMPA) measurement with tilted sample. The key tool is the statistical distribution of all occurring polarization doublets, visualized in a 2d histogram plot. From the shape of the distribution the type of transition—canted-phase, or coexisting phases—can be inferred. For the canted-phase state, the canting angle can be accurately determined from geometrical considerations. With help of the histogram the image data can be analyzed and the three components of the magnetization can be calculated for most points of the image. For a Co/Pt multilayer film we found a cone state. The magnetization forms a complex pattern consisting of out-of-plane domains while the in-plane magnetization shows a maze pattern.     

Family-Responsive Interventions, Perceived Organizational and Supervisor Support, Work-Family Conflict, and Psychological Strain.

This study examined organizational family-responsive policies, perceptions of the organization as family supportive, and supervisor support as issues that may be salient to the experience of conflict between paid employment (work) and family roles. Data were collected from 355 managerial personnel in New Zealand. Although work-family conflict and psychological strain were strongly linked, the availability of organizational policies had no significant association with levels of conflict or strain, whereas policy usage was related only to work-to-family interference and not to family-to-work interference. On the other hand, perceptions of the organization as family supportive and supervisor support for work-family balance displayed significant relationships with key variables, highlighting the importance of these variables for interventions designed to ameliorate the negative impact of work-family conflict on managerial well-being. Implications for the effective implementation of family-responsive interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing Human Impact of Organizational Crises: Reliability and Validity of the Triage Assessment Scale for Organizations (TAS:O)

The present study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Triage Assessment Survey: Organizations (TAS:O), a 27-item, 5-point, Likert summated rating scale. One hundred and seventeen participants responded to the TAS:O after reading mild, moderate, marked and severe organizational crisis scenarios. The overall Cronbach's alpha and split-half reliability were both .93. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed three factors, supporting the hypothesis that the TAS:O is comprised of three distinct factors (i.e., Affect, Behavior, and Cognition). An analysis of variance provided evidence that the TAS:O has the capacity to distinguish among mild, moderate, marked, and severe crises. Because this research is the first to evaluate the TAS:O, further studies are needed to strengthen confidence in the psychometric properties of this scale.     

Influence of two-step process and of different stoichiometric ratios on morphologies generated in castor oil epoxy resins

Phase separation during polymerization was studied in a model system consisting of a diepoxide based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), variable amounts of ethylenediamine (EDA) and the mass of castor oil (CO) necessary to obtain a mass fraction equal to 0-15 in a final system where the stoichiometric ratio of amine to epoxy equivalents, r, was equal to 1. A two-step polymerization process was performed by curing first a system with r = 0-5, during variable times before phase separation, and then carrying the system to r = 1. Thermodynamic analysis of samples with different r values led to a linear relationship between the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter and r. The concentration (P) and average size (D?) of dispersed-phase particles followed opposite trends, i.e. P increased while D? decreased, when either r was increased or the time of curing in the first step of a two-step process was decreased. This was explained by assuming that the competition between nucleation and growth was determined by the viscosity at the cloud point, η_cp. Low values of η_cp favoured growth over nucleation and led to fewer but larger particles.     

The marginal cost of CO2 emissions

Haraden's model for estimating the economic cost of global warming is analysed. We change his method of discounting and some of his input parameters in a manner consistent with physical and economic theory as well as empirical data. We then find much higher costs than Haraden found. These costs are compared to the cost of reducing CO₂ emissions and we find that deep cuts of the emissions of CO₂ are preferable. A check of the sensitivity of our results with respect to some crucial parameter values does not alter that conclusion.