Efficient FPGA Hardware Development: A Multi-Language Approach

This paper presents a multi-language framework to FPGA hardware development which aims to satisfy the dual requirement of high-level hardware design and efficient hardware implementation. The central idea of this framework is the integration of different hardware languages in a way that harnesses the best features of each language. This is illustrated in this paper by the integration of two hardware languages in the form of HIDE: a structured hardware language which provides more abstract and elegant hardware descriptions and compositions than are possible in traditional hardware description languages such as VHDL or Verilog, and Handel-C: an ANSI C-like hardware language which allows software and hardware engineers alike to target FPGAs from high-level algorithmic descriptions. On the one hand, HIDE has proven to be very successful in the description and generation of highly optimised parameterisable FPGA circuits from geometric descriptions. On the other hand, Handel-C has also proven to be very successful in the rapid design and prototyping of FPGA circuits from algorithmic application descriptions. The proposed integrated framework hence harnesses HIDE for the generation of highly optimised circuits for regular parts of algorithms, while Handel-C is used as a top-level design language from which HIDE functionality is dynamically invoked. The overall message of this paper posits that there need not be an exclusive choice between different hardware design flows. Rather, an integrated framework where different design flows can seamlessly interoperate should be adopted. Although the idea might seem simple prima facie, it could have serious implications on the design of future generations of hardware languages.

Conditional cash transfer programs and the representations of poverty in Bolivia and Peru

Bolivia and Peru adopted the same instruments of social policy —conditional cash transfer programs— to solve the same public problems under different political regimes. By means of the qualitative methodology of discourse analysis, this paper studies the representations of poverty and State made by key actors of those social programs. Underlying more differences than similarities, one demonstrates that the same social policy is linked to opposite social representations of poverty and the State role in every country. The main explanation for this is, far from being imposed by international organizations, those programs are adopted and adapted by each political regime.

Art as an educative and social tool

Since remote times, certain sectors of society have been exposed to inequality and vulnerability, where adequate intervention processes have become conspicuous because of their absence. Nowadays, current societies have the responsibility of contributing, based on their experience and knowledge, with more efficient policies and programs that improve the life quality of the most disadvantaged. It is here where art and its different tools play a very important role, not only on a physical level, but also as an education tool that allows the development of emotional, mental and communicative skills. The aim of this paper is to make clear the potential of art as an instrument of social and educational intervention. It starts by showing worldwide-collected experience related to education and arts, and then, it acquaints the reader with two parallel intervention projects that worked with youths under social vulnerability conditions. These interventions were developed based on a qualitative research (Grounded theory), using as methodology “The Artistic Mediation” with emphasis on body language. This methodology helped researchers to get close to the participants and to know their experiences and emotions. At the same time, it was possible to evidence the positive effects of educative interventions through art. These workshops were based on an artistic methodology especially focused on body language. Data in this work is qualitative, and as such, it permits a special approach to the personal and emotional experiences of the participants; clearly showing the positive effects of the referenced practice on them.

Finding Common Ground: A Critical Review of Land Use and Resource Management Policies in Ontario, Canada and their Intersection with First Nations

This article provides an in-depth analysis of selective land use and resource management policies in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It examines their relative capacity to recognize the rights of First Nations and Aboriginal peoples and their treaty rights, as well as their embodiment of past Crown–First Nations relationships. An analytical framework was developed to evaluate the manifest and latent content of 337 provincial texts, including 32 provincial acts, 269 regulatory documents, 16 policy statements, and 5 provincial plans. This comprehensive document analysis classified and assessed how current provincial policies address First Nation issues and identified common trends and areas of improvement. The authors conclude that there is an immediate need for guidance on how provincial authorities can improve policy to make relationship-building a priority to enhance and sustain relationships between First Nations and other jurisdictions.