Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Resource Allocation Decisions (resource + allocation_decision)
Selected AbstractsRobust Resource Allocation Decisions in Resource-Constrained Projects,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 1 2007Filip Deblaere ABSTRACT The well-known deterministic resource-constrained project scheduling problem involves the determination of a predictive schedule (baseline schedule or pre-schedule) of the project activities that satisfies the finish,start precedence relations and the renewable resource constraints under the objective of minimizing the project duration. This baseline schedule serves as a baseline for the execution of the project. During execution, however, the project can be subject to several types of disruptions that may disturb the baseline schedule. Management must then rely on a reactive scheduling procedure for revising or reoptimizing the baseline schedule. The objective of our research is to develop procedures for allocating resources to the activities of a given baseline schedule in order to maximize its stability in the presence of activity duration variability. We propose three integer programming,based heuristics and one constructive procedure for resource allocation. We derive lower bounds for schedule stability and report on computational results obtained on a set of benchmark problems. [source] Adaptive workflow processing and execution in PegasusCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 16 2009Kevin Lee Abstract Workflows are widely used in applications that require coordinated use of computational resources. Workflow definition languages typically abstract over some aspects of the way in which a workflow is to be executed, such as the level of parallelism to be used or the physical resources to be deployed. As a result, a workflow management system has the responsibility of establishing how best to execute a workflow given the available resources. The Pegasus workflow management system compiles abstract workflows into concrete execution plans, and has been widely used in large-scale e-Science applications. This paper describes an extension to Pegasus whereby resource allocation decisions are revised during workflow evaluation, in the light of feedback on the performance of jobs at runtime. The contributions of this paper include: (i) a description of how adaptive processing has been retrofitted to an existing workflow management system; (ii) a scheduling algorithm that allocates resources based on runtime performance; and (iii) an experimental evaluation of the resulting infrastructure using grid middleware over clusters. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Test of a developmental trade-off in a polyphenic butterfly: direct development favours reproductive outputFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2008Bengt Karlsson Summary 1Evolutionary theory predicts that resource allocation decisions taken during development are adjusted to an organism's life-history. These decisions may have irreversible effects on body design and strong fitness consequences. Holometabolous insects that have a long expected life span typically postpone reproduction, and so are expected to allocate resources for somatic maintenance prior to investing in reproduction. In contrast, insects that have a short expected life span are expected to allocate relatively less to soma and more to reproduction. In support of this theory, an earlier investigation of resources allocated to soma vs. reproductive reserves in the comma butterfly, Polygonia c-album, revealed that short-lived females indeed allocate more resources to reproductive reserves as compared to longer lived females that hibernate before reproduction suggesting that short-lived females should have higher fecundity. 2Here we test this prediction, using the comma butterfly as our study organism. Depending on daylength and temperature this butterfly produces one of two morphs: (i) a light summer morph that reproduces directly after adult eclosion and has a short expected life span of a couple of weeks; or (ii) a darker winter morph that normally lives for 8,9 months before the onset of reproduction. Our test is based on experimental manipulation that allowed us to induce reproduction without prior hibernation in winter morph comma butterflies, and comparing lifetime fecundity among three groups: (i) directly reproducing summer morph commas; (ii) directly reproducing winter morph commas; and (iii) winter morph commas reproducing after overwintering. This protocol allowed us to tease apart trade-offs during development and the hibernation period. 3The results showed that the short-lived summer morph had a substantially higher fecundity (total number of eggs = 586 ± 19, mean ± SE) than the winter morph females manipulated to reproduce without hibernation (total number of eggs = 334 ± 42). We argue that this is a consequence of a resource allocation trade-off during early development observed in this species; females with a short expected life as adults allocate relatively more of their resources to reproductive parts and thereby reach a higher reproductive output compared to females predisposed for a long adult life. 4There was no significant difference in lifetime fecundity between winter morph females that did, or did not, hibernate before reproduction. This suggests that the cost of hibernation per se is small and hence corroborates our conclusion that the life-history implemented trade-off made during early development underlies the lower reproductive output of the winter morph butterflies. [source] Resources and the Rule of Rescue1JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHILOSOPHY, Issue 4 2007MARK SHEEHAN abstract The central issue that I consider in this paper is the use of the so-called ,Rule of Rescue' in the context of resource allocation. This ,Rule' has played an important role in resource allocation decisions in various parts of the world. It was invoked in Ontario to overturn a decision not to fund treatment for Gaucher's Disease and it has also been used to justify resource decisions in Israel concerning the same condition. In the paper I consider the nature of the Rule of Rescue and its moral justification. The latter involves consideration of the distinction between agent-relative and agent-neutral obligations. If the Rule of Rescue is to be justified, it is plausible to think that it will be in the context of agent-relative obligations. Two problems with this suggestion are considered: the role of identifiability in the Rule of Rescue and the extent to which policy makers in a health care system can be taken to have such obligations. It is argued that in both cases these problems can be overcome and hence that there is a prima facie obligation to follow the Rule of Rescue. [source] Measuring social values in philanthropic foundationsNONPROFIT MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP, Issue 3 2009John R. Whitman Philanthropic foundations are seen as organizations that allocate resources to achieve their visions of a better world. Drawing on a sample of foundations in Canada, the United States, and Europe, this research undertakes to reveal the social values that constitute such visions and to measure the consistency between espoused social values and those conveyed by resource allocations. A social values identification and measurement instrument is described and tested. The social values that comprise the instrument are presented in a chart of social values. A methodology for measuring the consistency between social values espoused by a foundation and those actually conveyed by resource allocation decisions is described, tested, and critiqued. It is argued that the results of this research provide a basis on which to pursue development of a standardized vocabulary of social values that may enhance understanding and discourse regarding the purposes and work of foundations, as well as provide a basis for cross-cultural comparative analyses of foundations. [source] Introducing ethics in hospital drug resource allocation decisions: keep expectations modest and beware of unintended effects Part II: the use of ethicsPHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 7 2002Roel Fijn PhD MS MA RPh RCE First page of article [source] Introducing ethics in hospital drug resource allocation decisions: keep expectations modest and beware of unintended effects Part I: An explorative overviewPHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 6 2002Roel Fijn PhD First page of article [source] Developmental plasticity in fat patterning of Ache children in response to variation in interbirth intervals: A preliminary test of the roles of external environment and maternal reproductive strategiesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Jack Baker A firm link between small size at birth and later more centralized fat patterning has been established in previous research. Relationships between shortened interbirth intervals and small size at birth suggest that maternal energetic prioritization may be an important, but unexplored determinant of offspring fat patterning. Potential adaptive advantages to centralized fat storage (Baker et al., 2008: In: Trevathan W, McKenna J, Smith EO, editors. Evolutionary Medicine and Health: New Perspectives. New York: Oxford) suggest that relationships with interbirth intervals may reflect adaptive responses to variation in patterns of maternal reproductive effort. Kuzawa (2005: Am J Hum Biol 17:5,21; 2008: In: Trevathan W, McKenna J, Smith EO, editors. Evolutionary Medicine and Health: New Perspectives. New York: Oxford) has argued that maternal mediation of the energetic quality of the environment is a necessary component of developmental plasticity models invoking predictive adaptive responses (Gluckman and Hanson 2004: Trends Endocrinol Metab 15:183,187). This study tested the general hypothesis that shortened interbirth intervals would predict more centralized fat patterning in offspring. If long-term maternally mediated signals are important determinants of offspring responses, then we expected to observe a relationship between the average interbirth interval of mothers and offspring adiposity, with no relationship with the preceding interval. Such a finding would suggest that maternal, endogenous resource allocation decisions are related to offspring physiology in a manner consistent with Kuzawa's description. We observed exactly such a relationship among the Ache of Paraguay, suggesting that maternally mediated in utero signals of postnatal environments may be important determinants of later physiology. The implications of these findings are reviewed in light of life history and developmental plasticity theories and ourability to generalize the results to other populations. Recommendations for further empirical research are briefly summarized. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Role of Resource Access, Market Considerations, and the Nature of Innovation in Pursuit of Standards in the New Product Development ProcessTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2003Arvind Sahay Standards influence new product development (NPD) in high-technology markets. However, existing work on standards has focused exclusively on one aspect of standards,compatibility standards. This article has the following goals. First, we delineate the concept of customer interface standards as distinct from compatibility standards. This distinction is important from a product development and technology adoption perspective. Second, we propose and show that antecedent factors may motivate a firm differently about the emphasis that the firm should put on a type of standard (compatibility or customer interface) that it follows. For example, we propose that appropriability regime affects pursuit of customer interface standards and compatibility standards differently. Finally, we illustrate how resource access and the nature of the innovation also influence a firm's decision to pursue a standard type. Finally, we propose that pursuit of different standards (customer interface or compatibility) affects the NPD process in terms of (1) sourcing and dissemination of technology and (2) the customer utility for the product, which influences adoption. We collected perceptual data from a sample of marketing and technology managers in high-tech industries in the UK using both formative and reflective scales to measure the constructs. Analysis of the data using LISREL supports our contention that compatibility standards and customer interface standards are distinct constructs and that appropriability regime influences compatibility standards and customer interface standards differently. We also find that pursuit of compatibility standards helps a firm to create direct externalities pursuit of customer interface standards helps firms to develop indirect network externalities and technological advantage in the market. Our findings have the following implications. First, managers need to account explicitly for the difference between compatibility and customer interface standards, as resource allocation decisions during the NPD process will determine where a firm puts more focus. The choices made by the firm,as to whether it pursues compatibility standards or customer interface standards,will determine the type of advantage that it can gain in the market. Given a firm's situation at a point in time, a greater focus on one standard type rather than the other may be the right approach. Such choices will influence resource allocation in the product development process. [source] An Evaluation of the Economic Approaches Used by Policy Actors towards Investment in Place-Based Partnerships in VictoriaAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 1 2010Chris McDonald Place-based partnerships are supported by the state and include various organisations and interests within particular geographic areas. The Victorian government has established place-based partnerships to plan and coordinate resource allocation decisions to meet objectives such as economic development and social inclusion. In the literature there are positive and negative views of these partnerships. One view is that they allow regions to build competitive advantage, while another is that they are a means of pursuing a neoliberal policy agenda that seeks to reduce government protection and investment. We help clarify the tensions between positive and negative views of partnerships by examining the economic approaches used by policy actors toward place-based partnerships in Victoria. We find that policy actors combine neoclassical and institutionalist approaches to argue that partnerships generate networks that enable more efficient and equitable resource allocation within places. [source] The impact of prognosis without treatment on doctors' and patients' resource allocation decisions and its relevance to new drug recommendation processesBRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 2 2008D. Ross Camidge What is already known about this subject ,,The dominant health economic units upon which new treatment funding decisions are made are the incremental cost per life year gained (LYG) or the cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. ,,Neither of these units modifies the amount of health gained, by the amount of health patients would have had if they had not been given the treatment under consideration, which may unfairly undervalue the treatments for poor prognosis conditions. ,,How certain patients make decisions about their own treatment has previously been explored, but not how they, or doctors, would allocate hypothetical resource within a healthcare system given information on disease-treatment scenarios' prognoses with and without treatment. What this study adds ,,Information on prognosis without treatment is used within the resource allocation strategies of many doctors and most patients. ,,Individuals use this information in a variety of different ways and a single dominant strategy for quantitative modification of health units is not apparent. ,,Information on prognosis without treatment, or prognosis with standard treatment, is available from the control arm of randomized controlled clinical trials and should be used qualitatively to facilitate decision-making around the second inflexion point on cost per QALY/LYG acceptability curves. Aims Health economic assessments increasingly contribute to funding decisions on new treatments. Treatments for many poor prognosis conditions perform badly in such assessments because of high costs and modest effects on survival. We aimed to determine whether underlying shortness of prognosis should also be considered as a modifier in such assessments. Methods Two hundred and eighty-three doctors and 201 oncology patients were asked to allocate treatment resource between hypothetical patients with unspecified life-shortening diseases. The prognoses with and without treatment were varied such that consistent use of one of four potential allocation strategies could be deduced: life years gained (LYGs) , which did not incorporate prognosis without treatment information; percentage increase in life years (PILY); life expectancy with treatment (LEWT) or immediate risk of death (IRD). Results Random choices were rare; 47% and 64% of doctors and patients, respectively, used prognosis without treatment in their strategies; while 50% and 32%, respectively, used pure LYG-based strategies. Ranking orders were LYG > PILY > IRD > LEWT (doctors) and LEWT > LYG > IRD > PILY (patients). When LYG information alone could not be used, 76% of doctors prioritized shorter prognoses, compared with 45% of patients. Conclusions Information on prognosis without treatment is used within the resource allocation strategies of many doctors and most patients, and should be considered as a qualitative modifier during the health economic assessments of new treatments for life-shortening diseases. A single dominant strategy incorporating this information for any quantitative modification of health units is not apparent. [source] | ||||||||||||||||