Number Cruncher Research Articles

Participation in formal mentoring programme in South African construction industry: A perspective of new knowledge workers

This study examined mentoring relationships within organizations, important characteristics of mentors, important mentoring functions, effectively achieved mentoring functions, potential negative outcomes or problems in mentoring relationships as reported by new knowledge workers and the implications of cultural divide in relation to gender and race. A descriptive survey was used to conduct this research, using a structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and the Number Cruncher Statistical System version 6.0. Reliability for internal consistency for the objectives, were determined using Cronbach’s alpha test. A list wise deletion analysis was conducted to verify the valid cases to be analyzed. Results indicated that male mentors still dominate in the South African construction industry. Important characteristics that mentors should possess were identified, including important and adequately achieved mentoring functions which were ranked using their mean values. Potential negative outcomes or problems did not often occur, while race disparity was not a hindrance in the formal mentoring relationship. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on mentoring as mentoring relationships of new knowledge workers’ perspective has not been thoroughly researched in the construction industry in South Africa. The need for future research is also discussed. Key words: Construction industry, mentoring program, new knowledge workers.

Failure of the GnRH antagonist ganirelix to block the positive feedback effect of exogenous estrogen in normal women

This study investigated whether the GnRH antagonist ganirelix is able to block the positive-feedback effect of E2 in normal women. Ganirelix was unable to block the positive-feedback effect, suggesting that the clinical efficacy of GnRH antagonists in IVF cycles is determined by the hyperstimulation process.

Effect of genistein therapy on plasma levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine in healthy postmenopausal women: a randomized, placebo-controlled study

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pure genistein therapy on asymmetric dimethylarginine in healthy postmenopausal women. Healthy postmenopausal women received pure genistein (n=21) or placebo (n=17) for 6 months, and no statistically significant effects on plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine levels were found with pure genistein treatment.

The Effects of Crystalloid and Colloid Preload on Cardiac Output in the Parturient Undergoing Planned Cesarean Delivery Under Spinal Anesthesia: A Randomized Trial

Hypotension after spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery remains a major clinical problem. Fluid preloading regimens together with vasopressors have been used to reduce its incidence. Previous studies have used noninvasive arterial blood pressure measurement and vasopressor requirements to evaluate the effect of preload. We used a suprasternal Doppler flow technique to measure maternal cardiac output (CO) and corrected flow time (FTc, a measure of intravascular volume) before and after spinal anesthesia after 3 fluid preload regimens. We hypothesized that colloid solutions, compared with crystalloid, would produce the largest increase in CO and have the lowest incidence of hypotension. Sixty healthy term women scheduled for planned cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia were recruited for this randomized, double-blind study. Baseline heart rate, systolic blood pressure (SBP), CO, and FTc were recorded in the left lateral tilt position. Patients were randomized to receive 1 of 3 fluid preload regimens given over 15 min: 1.5 L crystalloid (Hartman's solution), 0.5 L of 6% w/v hydroxyethyl starch (HES) solution (HES 0.5), or 1 L of 6% w/v HES solution (HES 1.0). Further measurements were made after fluid loading every 5 min for 30 min. After 30 min, spinal anesthesia was induced with hyperbaric bupivacaine 12.5 mg with fentanyl 15 microg and recordings were continued every 5 min for 20 min or until surgery started. The primary outcome, CO, was compared among groups. The incidence of hypotension (defined as a 20% reduction in SBP from the baseline), ephedrine use, and umbilical cord blood gases were also compared. Patient characteristics, heart rate, SBP, and cord gases were similar among groups. Although CO and FTc increased after preload in all groups (P < 0.005), this was only maintained with HES 1.0 after spinal anesthesia (P < 0.005). There were no differences among groups in the incidence of hypotension (70% vs 35% vs 65% for Hartman's solution, HES 0.5, and HES 1.0, respectively; P = 0.069) or mean ephedrine dose (10.4 vs 5.7 vs 9.7 mg; P = 0.26). Despite CO and FTc increases after fluid preload, particularly with HES 1.0 L, hypotension still occurred. The data suggest that CO increases after these preload regimens cannot compensate for reductions in arterial blood pressure after spinal anesthesia.

Excel as a Qualitative Data Analysis Tool

Qualitative research seeks to examine the interconnections in rich, complex data sources. The statistical tools of quantitative methods separate out pieces of data in a manner that defeats the purpose. But, like quantitative researchers, qualitative researchers often still find themselves overwhelmed by the amount of data and equally in need of tools to extend their human senses. This has led the development of a number of software packages designed for this purpose. An often overlooked option, however, is Microsoft Excel. Excel is generally considered a number cruncher. However, its structure and data manipulation and display features can be utilized for qualitative analysis. In this article, the authors discuss data preparation, analysis, and presentation, including discussion of lesser known features of Excel.

Britain upgrades its number cruncher

Britain upgrades its number cruncher

Advance Care Planning by or on Behalf of Peritoneal Dialysis Patients in Long-Term Care

Advance care planning (ACP) is recommended for dialysis patients, especially those living in long-term-care facilities. Factors influencing ACP and the effect of plans on outcome are incompletely studied. We performed a retrospective chart review and follow-up of all peritoneal dialysis patients admitted to an academic nursing home between 1986 and 2000 and abstracted demographics, comorbidities, functional status as activities of daily living (ADL) score, documentation of ACP, and actual interventions. Of 109 patients, 108 had ACP; of these, patients participated in 71%. Plans to do not attempt resuscitation (DNAR) were associated with the presence of coronary disease (odds ratio, 4.24; confidence interval [CI], 1.49 to 12.02), lower ADL score (odds ratio, 1.22; CI, 1.08 to 1.38), and older age (odds ratio, 1.04; CI, 1.0007 to 1.09). Plans to do not hospitalize (DNH) were associated with ADL score only (odds ratio, 1.26; CI, 1.07 to 1.48). Patients with DNAR plans had poorer 3-, 6-, and 12-month survival (P < 0.02), but not after adjustment for age of 75 years or older, poor functional status, coronary disease, and decubiti. Plan compliance was limited. DNH plans were not associated with the likelihood of hospitalization (5 of 14 versus 42 of 93 patients) or length of stay (11.0 +/- 16.4 versus 8.0 +/- 15.1 days). Compliance with DNAR plans was determined for 81 of 108 patients. No patient with a DNAR plan had resuscitation attempted. Only 7 of 46 patients with plans to undergo resuscitation had it attempted. For these chronically ill patients, age and functional status strongly influence DNAR and DNH plans. ACP was not decisive in determining events during acute illness.

Computational universes

Suspicions that the world might be some sort of a machine or algorithm existing ``in the mind'' of some symbolic number cruncher have lingered from antiquity. Although popular at times, the most radical forms of this idea never reached mainstream. Modern developments in physics and computer science have lent support to the thesis, but empirical evidence is needed before it can begin to replace our contemporary world view.

The Gulf/2000 Project

The computer has gone through several metamorphoses since all of us began to make room for it on our desktops more than a decade ago. First it was a nimble and versatile typewriter, then a hefty number cruncher, and now it is becoming the ultimate communications device, connected by modem and telephone lines to an amorphous global network called the Internet. I eagerly invested in one of the earliest personal computers, a quaint little machine that I now realize was the research equivalent of training wheels. I also bought a modem when such devices were little more than clumsy novelties and dutifully plugged into a telephone jack, only to discover there was nothing of any significance on the other end of the line.

Bale o’Cotton: The Mechanical Art of Cotton Ginning by Karen G. Britton

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 621 There are a number of strengths to Eggert’s book. First, he deals with both entrepreneurs and workers and with their interactions. Second, he considers the impact that economic and technological changes had on the spatial, social, and political life of the community. Third, Harrisburg and its experience probably is far more typical of what happened in 19th-century America than are the more dramatic accounts of the rise of massive enterprises in large cities. Most of 19th-century America still lived in small cities, towns, and farms; only a small percentage lived in large metropolitan areas or in bleak mill towns. Nor did most firms grow to become U.S. Steel or General Motors. The typical experience was for firms to be born, grow modestly, and then either remain stagnant or die after two or three generations. Harrisburg fits that pattern. Also, by dealing with firms that were not “first movers” in terms of technological innovation, firms that adopted new technologies slowly and hesitantly, Eggert is examining a technological experience closer to the norm. Despite these very real strengths, there are also some shortcomings to Eggert’s work. The most important of these is simply that it is not very exciting to read. I can hear my students complaining if I assigned it for class—“It’s boring!” “It’s dull!”—despite all my protestations about the importance and significance of the book. Perhaps its rather turgid nature has to do with the subject itself—Harrisburg. Since it was so typical, there was nothing dramatic to present. Eggert himself seems to believe that. At one point he says, “Harrisburg’s politics, as so much else about the community, tended to be steady, bland, and relatively unexciting” (p. 315). Maybe even John Updike could not find the drama, romance, and excitement in 19th-century Harrisburg, but I do suspect Anthony F. C. Wallace would have been able to present more drama in the small patterns and normality of the city. Eggert seems most comfortable as a number cruncher, as he masterfully analyzes data from the census and other sources. In most respects, this is an excellent and very important book for our understanding of industrialization in 19th-century America. John N. Ingham Dr. Ingham is professor of history at the University of Toronto. His most recent book is Making Iron and Steel: Independent Mills in Pittsburgh, 1820-1920 (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1991). Bale o’Cotton: The Mechanical Art of Cotton Ginning. By Karen G. Britton. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1992. Pp. xvii+138; illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $27.50. November 1993 marked the 200th anniversary of a patent granted to Eli Whitney for a “new invented cotton gin, or machine for cleansing and separating cotton from its seeds.” And, if allowance is made for the priority of invention of certain important features of the machine by Hogden Holmes of South Carolina, Whitney’s reputation as the “father 622 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE of the cotton gin” has remained intact, quite unlike the situation regarding the claims for his parenthood of the “American system” of interchangeable parts manufacture. Karen Gerhardt Britton, a freelance writer from Houston, Texas, provides us with an overview of the history of the domestication of Gossypium, the rise of the cotton textile industry, and the familiar story of Whitney’s invention. She then chronicles the expansion of cotton culture with an emphasis on the role of the crop in Texas and a detailed discussion of ginning technology and the antebellum cotton trade. If the technical legacy of Whitney provides the basis for the first half of Bale o Cotton, it is the innovations introduced by Robert S. Munger which constitute the core developments chronicled in the later chapters of the book. During the mid-1880s, Munger developed what came to be called “system ginning,” a series of interrelated pneumatic materials-handling devices that conveyed the raw seed cotton from the farmer’s wagon through air ducts to a separator and distributed it to a battery ofgins from which the cleaned lint went to a condenser that, after further cleaning, produced a batt of cotton and then conveyed...

The effect of dietary protein content on aggression and hyperactivity in dogs

Some behaviorists recommend feeding a low protein diet to aggressive and hyperactive dogs to modify this behavior. Evidence for the efficacy of this strategy has been largely anecdotal, though studies in laboratory animals are generally supportive. We investigated the effects of three different levels of dietary protein (18, 25 and 31%) on aggression, hyperactivity and fear in four groups of dogs. All diets were nutritionally complete and their energy densities were made equivalent by modifying the fat content. Groups 1-3 ( 12 dogs per group) comprised dogs with territorial aggression, dominance aggression and hyperactivity, respectively. Group 4 ( 14 dogs) was a control group of dogs whose owners did not consider them to have a behavior problem. The three diets were fed for 2 weeks each in a repeated Latin square design. The owners were unaware of the composition of any of the three diets. Each behavior was scored on a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the most severe rating. The data were entered into the Number Cruncher Statistical System (NCSS) statistical analysis system and analyzed using two-way General Linear Model (GLM) analysis of variance. Territorial aggression (in group 1 ) was most marked on the high protein ration and lowest on the low protein ration, with the dogs fed medium protein ration scoring midway between these extremes. The difference between scores for the high protein group, and medium and low protein group was significant (P< 0.035 ). Post-hoc analysis of a subset of the territorial group, those with a fear component to their territoriality, showed that these seven dogs responded dramatically and significantly to the reduction in dietary protein (P<0.0001). There was no significant change in the subset denoted territorial/ dominant (five dogs). Dominance aggression and hyperactivity were not significantly changed by the protein content of the diet in study groups 2 and 3. There were no changes in any of the behaviors in the control group with any of the diets. The reduced level of aggression in the territorial group when lower protein rations were fed was interpreted in terms of serotonin metabolism. It was hypothesized that low protein diets encouraged the formation of serotonin by facilitating L-tryptophan transfer across the blood brain barrier. Serotonin is thought to reduce the impact of aversive events, thus increased brain sero-

Digital signal processors for computation intensive statistics and simulation

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the feasibility of using a digital signal processor (DSP) as a statistical computation "number cruncher" in a PC environment. The specific goals were to demonstrate that a DSP has high-speed, low-cost statistical computation and simulation capability, and that it is easy to interface to a conventional personal computer (PC). Through testing a variety of statistical algorithms, the DSP computational speedup was found to be effective. The next phase of our research will consist of prototyping a DSP-based statistics workstation.

Data-Based Graphics: Visual Display in the Decades to Come

Visual display based on data deserves careful attention to a long list of ideas and questions (19 are discussed below). While classical views of graphical display need to be re-examined and selectively used, the computer-mainly as display maker, but significantly as number cruncher- has so greatly enhanced our potentialities that we have much to explore and many important steps to take. In particular, we need to pay serious and continuing attention to securing: (a) immediate and strong impact, (b) easy flow of attention across parallel elements, (c) planning to show phe- nomena, not numbers, (d) attention to both prospecting for what the data might show and transfer (to others) of what we have learned from it, (e) partnership with computation, and (f) putting disproportionate response to work. The next decade or two should see major advances.

SUPRENUM: A trendsetter in modern supercomputer development

The designer of a numerical supercomputer is confronted with fundamental design decisions stemming from some basic dichotomies in supercomputer technology and architecture. On the side of the hardware technology there exists the dichotomy between the use of very high-speed circuitry or very large-scale integrated circuitry. On the side of the architecture there exists the dichotomy between the SIMD vector machine and the MIMD multiprocessor architecture. In the latter case, the ‘nodes’ of the system may communicate through shared memory, or each node has only private memory, and communication takes place through the exchange of messages. All these design decisions have implications with respect to performance, cost-effectiveness, software complexity, and fault-tolerance. In the paper the various dichotomies are discussed and a rationale is provided for the decision to realize the SUPRENUM supercomputer, a large ‘number cruncher’ with 5 Gflops peak performance, in the form of a massively parallel MIMD/SIMD multicomputer architecture. In its present incorporation, SUPRENUM is configurable to up to 256 nodes, where each node is a pipeline vector machine with 20 Mflops peak performance, IEEE double precision. The crucial issues of such an architecture, which we consider the trendsetter for future numerical supercomputer architecture in general, are on the hardware side the need for a bottleneck-free interconnection structure as well as the highest possible node performance obtained with the highest possible packaging density, in order to accommodate a node on a single circuit board. On the side of the system software the design goal is to obtain an adequately high degree of operational safety and data security with minimum software overhead. On the side of the user an appropriate program development environment must be provided. Last but not least, the system must exhibit a high degree of fault tolerance, if for nothing else but for the sake of obtaining a sufficiently high MTBF. In the paper a detailed discussion of the hardware and software architecture of the SUPRENUM supercomputer, whose design is based upon the considerations discussed, is presented. A largely bottleneck-free interconnection structure is accomplished in a hierarchical manner: the machine consists of up to 16 ‘clusters’, and each cluster consists of 16 working ‘nodes’ plus some organisational nodes. The node is accommodated on a single circuit board; its architecture is based on the principle of data structure architecture explained in the paper. SUPRENUM is strictly a message-based system; consequently, the local node operating system has been designed to handle a secured message exchange with a considerable degree of hardware support and with the lowest possible software overhead. SUPRENUM is organized as a distributed system—a prerequisite for the high degree of fault tolerance required; therefore, there exists no centralized global operating system. The paper concludes with an outlook on the performance limits of a future supercomputer architecture of the SUPRENUM type.

Soundoff: Computers and Mathematics—An Unholy Alliance?

Ask your fellow citizens what a computer is, and guess what you will hear. “A giant calculator,” “A number cruncher.” “A machine that does math very fast.” And so on. In the minds of most people, the modern computer is tied closely to the world of arithmetic. Yet most electronic computers hardly do arithmetic at all. About a dozen years ago, a study at a major scientific research laboratory aimed at finding out what fraction of the time its giant “number cruncher” actually did arithmetic. Only 5 percent of the time involved adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers. The other 95 percent involved the moving of information from place to place, testing for logical truth, and counting. In actual practice today, a computer is an information machine, not an arithmetic machine.

Analysis of an unbalanced two-way anova on the microcomputer

Five microcomputer statistical programs, SPSS/PC, SYSTAT, Number Cruncher Statistical System, Walonick STATPAC and Statpal are compared using an unbalanced two-way analysis of variance as an example. Using a data set from Kutner (1972), each program is compared concerning sums of squares calculated and hypotheses tested under various program options.

Experiences with writing library software for an attached processor

AbstractThe Floating Point Systems AP120B attached processor (AP) offers a Fortran system which is aimed at making the machine an easy‐to‐use, low‐cost ‘number cruncher’. We report on experience of writing library mathematical software for a PRIME system with an AP120B. An ordinary differential equation code was chosen because it exemplifies a common requirement: the user supplies a subroutine that, on an AP system, forms part of the code executing on the AP. This turned out to be hard to organize conveniently on this system. We discuss the program design, and the deficiencies of the AP120B system that make it less promising than it appears for general scientific computation, and make suggestions concerning the design and implementation of the support software for attached processors.

Is a LISP machine different from a fortran machine?

Over the past ten years or more a question repeatedly asked of algebraic manipulation buffs is "Can you give me a deck to load on my computer center machine?" When the machine is a CDC 6600, 7600, or similar "number cruncher," the answer I give is a conditional "yes." There are a number of systems (SYMBAL, SCHOONSCHIP, ALTRAN, SAC-I, to name a few) which run on these machines; but no, the most interesting of the interactive general systems (I admit my biases: MACSYMA, SCRATCHPAD, REDUCE-2) do not run on these machines. I add my opinion that a software conversion effort to produce a MACSYMA (the most ambitious of the systems) for a CDC 7600 would be money wasted: one can more cheaply buy appropriate hardware than re-program.

Data management requirements

Memory management, database management, and message processing have in the past been defined in a relatively narrow way. With memory management the problem was to obtain cost effective use of real memory. Given a multiprogrammed environment, virtual memory systems allowed more effective use of expensive real memory. Memory management has become even more important with the development of very large and complex memory hierarchies. Database management systems were developed to allow the more effective use, sharing, and control of data resources - objectives which operating systems had previously provided for hardware resources. The driving force behind message processing has been the increased use of data communications and computer networks. This paper will consider the basis of the overlap in these areas, their common data management functions. Data management, as defined in this paper, includes the locating, routing, moving, and translating of data resources and the locating, reserving, and releasing of physical resources, i.e., primary and secondary storage. The analysis performed in this paper is essential because of trends in computer architecture discussed below. Early hardware was designed for general purpose environments with software used to tailor it to specific applications. However, according to Gagliardi 9 future systems will consist of a set of subsystems, including a storage subsystem at the core surrounded by computational, spooling, and communications subsystems. The computational subsystem is the traditional “number cruncher” part of the system. The spooling subsystem provides the I/O interface between the system and the outside world. The communications subsystem links the various subsystems together and provides an interface to the rest of the network if the system is part of a larger distributed system. The storage subsystem consists of all the system's storage resources and their control processes. It controls all levels of the system memory and storage hierarchy. The storage subsystem controls the allocation of the physical storage resources and the movement of the data resources through the system. Depending on how these resources are used, they may be non-conserved or conserved, and if conserved, either serially reusable or sharable. Physical and data resources may be located, and if necessary reserved, independently or jointly.

Data management requirements

Memory management, database management, and message processing have in the past been defined in a relatively narrow way. With memory management the problem was to obtain cost effective use of real memory. Given a multiprogrammed environment, virtual memory systems allowed more effective use of expensive real memory. Memory management has become even more important with the development of very large and complex memory hierarchies. Database management systems were developed to allow the more effective use, sharing, and control of data resources - objectives which operating systems had previously provided for hardware resources. The driving force behind message processing has been the increased use of data communications and computer networks. This paper will consider the basis of the overlap in these areas, their common data management functions. Data management, as defined in this paper, includes the locating, routing, moving, and translating of data resources and the locating, reserving, and releasing of physical resources, i.e., primary and secondary storage. The analysis performed in this paper is essential because of trends in computer architecture discussed below. Early hardware was designed for general purpose environments with software used to tailor it to specific applications. However, according to Gagliardi 9 future systems will consist of a set of subsystems, including a storage subsystem at the core surrounded by computational, spooling, and communications subsystems. The computational subsystem is the traditional “number cruncher” part of the system. The spooling subsystem provides the I/O interface between the system and the outside world. The communications subsystem links the various subsystems together and provides an interface to the rest of the network if the system is part of a larger distributed system. The storage subsystem consists of all the system's storage resources and their control processes. It controls all levels of the system memory and storage hierarchy. The storage subsystem controls the allocation of the physical storage resources and the movement of the data resources through the system. Depending on how these resources are used, they may be non-conserved or conserved, and if conserved, either serially reusable or sharable. Physical and data resources may be located, and if necessary reserved, independently or jointly.