UWSpace

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Recent Submissions

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    Reified Generic Types for Scala 3 on the JVM
    (University of Waterloo, 2026-08-20) Xu, Jin
    Scala implements parametric polymorphism on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) primarily through type erasure. As a result, generic type arguments are normally unavailable during execution, and primitive values passed through generic code are represented using boxed object references. This limits the information available to the virtual machine and prevents generic values from consistently using unboxed forms. This thesis presents an extension to the Scala 3 compiler that preserves generic type information and communicates it to a reification-aware JVM. The compiler inserts lightweight runtime reified type values for method and class type parameters and propagates them through the Scala compiler intermediate representation. It also emits custom JVM classfile attributes that describe how erased method parameters, return values, fields, method invocations, and object allocations relate to the corresponding reified type values. Together, these runtime values and static hints define a reified unboxed semantics, while retaining ordinary JVM bytecode as the underlying executable representation. The implementation modifies the Scala 3 compiler and integrates reification with its existing transformation and bytecode generation pipeline. It is evaluated using focused generic benchmarks and by recompiling the Scala standard library. The modified compiler successfully compiles the standard library. Of the 2058 standard library tests, 2033 pass, for a pass rate of 98.7%. The remaining failures are primarily caused by structural changes introduced by reification. These results demonstrate that generic type information can be preserved through the production Scala compiler and encoded at the JVM bytecode level at the scale of a realistic Scala codebase. The work establishes the compiler-side foundation for future evaluation and optimization in a reification-aware JVM.
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    Theory, Experience, and Instinct: A Glimpse Into AAA Game Processes and How UX Leaders Navigate Pre-Production
    (Association for Computing Machinery, 2026-11-02) Randelshofer, Ivana; Tu, Joseph; Cao, Yifan; Mogavi, Reza H.; Mäkelä, Ville; Nacke, Lennart
    Foundational decisions shape a project’s long-term trajectory, a dynamic that becomes especially evident in the inherent complexity of game pre-production. However, academic frameworks often see limited uptake at this stage, as they do not readily map onto industry contexts, production constraints, and cross-functional workflows. To better understand how design decisions are made in practice, we conducted interviews with 15 UX leaders from the AAA (triple-A) games industry. Our findings show that early UX decisions emerge from a dynamic blend of theory, experience, and intuition. In cross-functional structures (such as strike and competency teams), UX leaders collaboratively align player needs, technical feasibility, and creative vision. These decision-making processes involve translating academic concepts into production-ready insights, codifying experiential knowledge into reusable practices, and relying on informed intuition amid uncertainty. We argue that meaningful impact requires academia to develop malleable conceptual tools that integrate with practitioners’ highly adaptive design processes. We conclude by discussing how existing frameworks might be adapted to connect academic insights with AAA workflows. Rather than prescriptive directives, we offer these as starting points for discussion that support strike and competency teams through shared language, reusable design systems, and strategies for collaborative, context-sensitive decision-making.
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    Catalysts Development for Thermocatalytic Conversion of CO2 via Reverse Water-Gas Shift and Modified Fischer-Tropsch Reactions
    (University of Waterloo, 2026-08-20) Ocana Vega, Maryory Mariel
    carbon dioxide hydrogenation reverse water-gas shift reaction modified Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction ceria-supported catalyst promoted iron catalyst
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    From Motivation to Action: Explaining Hotel Employees’ Pro-Environmental Behavior through the Fogg Behavioral Model
    (Emerald Insight, 2026) Darwazeh, Durgham; Choi, Hwansuk Chris; Wilson, Jeffrey; Clarke Amelia
    Purpose: Although hotels' environmental management practices (EMP) are frequently examined as direct predictors of employees’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB), their role within the behavioral activation process has received limited attention. Drawing on the Fogg Behavioral Model (FBM), this study examines how motivation and perceived ability are associated with PEB through a behavioral activation process in which EMP functions as contextual cues. It also compares the relative influence of extrinsic motivation (EM) or intrinsic motivation (IM) within this process. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 337 hotel employees working in environmentally sustainability-oriented hotels across the United States and Canada. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to examine the relationships among motivation, perceived ability, EMP, and PEB. Findings: Both EM and IM were significantly associated with PEB, with IM demonstrating the stronger relationship. The findings further suggest a sequential pathway in which motivation is positively associated with perceived ability, perceived ability is positively associated with responsiveness to EMP, and EMP is positively associated with PEB. Research Implications: The findings suggest that hotel managers should design interventions that strengthen employees' IM, as it plays a stronger role in shaping perceived ability. Managers should also view EMP as contextual cues that reinforce employees' responsiveness to environmental initiatives. Originality/value: This study extends the application of the FBM to hospitality context by providing a behavioral activation framework for explaining employees’ PEB. It reconceptualizes EMP as contextual cues rather than solely as direct antecedents of behavior and demonstrates how motivation, perceived ability, and EMP operate together to foster employees’ PEB.
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    Runtime Configuration of GPU Workloads for Energy-efficient Execution
    (University of Waterloo, 2026-08-20) Wu, Qishen
    Graphics processing units (GPUs) have become prevalent accelerators for modern computational workloads. However, GPUs consume an ever-increasing amount of energy, both in absolute and relative terms, so their economic and environmental impact has made energy efficiency an important systems objective. Improving the energy efficiency of GPU workload execution can be approached at multiple layers: hardware design, software implementation, and runtime configuration. Focusing on runtime parameters, this work does not aim to redesign hardware or modify software implementations. Instead, it builds upon first principles of hardware power modeling and microbenchmark observations to establish a conceptual framework for GPU power draw. The corresponding hardware-level power draw model is transformed into an intuitive workload execution model that uses externally controllable input parameters: processor frequency and workload batching. These parameters lend themselves to straightforward configuration rules that do not require extensive energy profiling or workload-specific parameter exploration. The findings are evaluated through experiments with large language model (LLM) inference workloads and the model is shown to closely approximate the energy consumption trends of real-world workloads. This demonstrates that the given rules can serve as lightweight yet effective guidance for improving the energy efficiency of practical GPU workload executions.