Resource Allocation Capabilities Research Articles

Interactive effects of elevated CO2, warming, and drought on photosynthesis of Deschampsia flexuosa in a temperate heath ecosystem

Global change factors affect plant carbon uptake in concert. In order to investigate the response directions and potential interactive effects, and to understand the underlying mechanisms, multifactor experiments are needed. The focus of this study was on the photosynthetic response to elevated CO2 [CO2; free air CO2 enrichment (FACE)], drought (D; water-excluding curtains), and night-time warming (T; infrared-reflective curtains) in a temperate heath. A/Ci curves were measured, allowing analysis of light-saturated net photosynthesis (Pn), light- and CO2-saturated net photosynthesis (Pmax), stomatal conductance (gs), the maximal rate of Rubisco carboxylation (Vcmax), and the maximal rate of ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP) regeneration (Jmax) along with leaf δ13C, and carbon and nitrogen concentration on a monthly basis in the grass Deschampsia flexuosa. Seasonal drought reduced Pn via gs, but severe (experimental) drought decreased Pn via a reduction in photosynthetic capacity (Pmax, Jmax, and Vcmax). The effects were completely reversed by rewetting and stimulated Pn via photosynthetic capacity stimulation. Warming increased early and late season Pn via higher Pmax and Jmax. Elevated CO2 did not decrease gs, but stimulated Pn via increased Ci. The T×CO2 synergistically increased plant carbon uptake via photosynthetic capacity up-regulation in early season and by better access to water after rewetting. The effects of the combination of drought and elevated CO2 depended on soil water availability, with additive effects when the soil water content was low and D×CO2 synergistic stimulation of Pn after rewetting. The photosynthetic responses appeared to be highly influenced by growth pattern. The grass has opportunistic water consumption, and a biphasic growth pattern allowing for leaf dieback at low soil water availability followed by rapid re-growth of active leaves when rewetted and possibly a large resource allocation capability mediated by the rhizome. This growth characteristic allowed for the photosynthetic capacity up-regulations that mediated the T×CO2 and D×CO2 synergistic effects on photosynthesis. These are clearly advantageous characteristics when exposed to climate changes. In conclusion, after 1 year of experimentation, the limitations by low soil water availability and stimulation in early and late season by warming clearly structure and interact with the photosynthetic response to elevated CO2 in this grassland species.

The impact of technological innovation capabilities on innovation performance

PurposeRecent studies have advocated the impact of technological innovation capabilities (TIC) on firms' competitive performances. This paper adopts a study framework of innovation audit to examine the relevance of TIC on the innovation performance of the electronics industry in Hong Kong (HK)/Pearl River Delta region.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data were acquired through a recent survey of electronics firms in the region. Pearson correlation and regression analysis were employed to examine the relationship between TIC and innovation performance.FindingsThe results verify that R&D, resource allocation, learning, and strategy planning capabilities can significantly improve the innovation sales. R&D and resource allocation capabilities can also significantly improve new product introduction.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper contributes to existing literature by studying the impact of TIC on innovation performance in HK. It also explores two out of seven TIC – R&D and resource allocation capabilities – to improve firms' innovation performance in the region.Originality/valueThis paper is one of very few that provide empirical evidence of the TIC and innovation performance in HK. It also revisits the audit framework proposed by recent innovation studies, which helps theoretical development.

On peak to average power ratio of generalized frequency division multiple access

We propose a generalized frequency division multiple access (GFDMA) scheme which realizes a low PAPR characteristic compared with OFDMA, maintaining the sufficient capability of the frequency scheduling. GFDMA transmits the data with one or more frequency resources which can be divided into several pieces in the frequency domain. We can adaptively configure GFDMA between PAPR-oriented configuration like as SC-FDMA and throughput-oriented configuration like as OFDMA, depending on requirements. We focus on the investigation on the PAPR characteristic of GFDMA. Computer simulation confirms that GFDMA has a low PAPR property compared with OFDMA, still keeping sufficient frequency resource allocation capability.

S4HARA: System for HIV/AIDS resource allocation

BackgroundHIV/AIDS resource allocation decisions are influenced by political, social, ethical and other factors that are difficult to quantify. Consequently, quantitative models of HIV/AIDS resource allocation have had limited impact on actual spending decisions. We propose a decision-support System for HIV/AIDS Resource Allocation (S4HARA) that takes into consideration both principles of efficient resource allocation and the role of non-quantifiable influences on the decision-making process for resource allocation.MethodsS4HARA is a four-step spreadsheet-based model. The first step serves to identify the factors currently influencing HIV/AIDS allocation decisions. The second step consists of prioritizing HIV/AIDS interventions. The third step involves allocating the budget to the HIV/AIDS interventions using a rational approach. Decision-makers can select from several rational models of resource allocation depending on availability of data and level of complexity. The last step combines the results of the first and third steps to highlight the influencing factors that act as barriers or facilitators to the results suggested by the rational resource allocation approach. Actionable recommendations are then made to improve the allocation. We illustrate S4HARA in the context of a primary healthcare clinic in South Africa.ResultsThe clinic offers six types of HIV/AIDS interventions and spends US$750,000 annually on these programs. Current allocation decisions are influenced by donors, NGOs and the government as well as by ethical and religious factors. Without additional funding, an optimal allocation of the total budget suggests that the portion allotted to condom distribution be increased from 1% to 15% and the portion allotted to prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections be increased from 43% to 71%, while allocation to other interventions should decrease.ConclusionCondom uptake at the clinic should be increased by changing the condom distribution policy from a pull system to a push system. NGOs and donors promoting antiretroviral programs at the clinic should be sensitized to the results of the model and urged to invest in wellness programs aimed at the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections. S4HARA differentiates itself from other decision support tools by providing rational HIV/AIDS resource allocation capabilities as well as consideration of the realities facing authorities in their decision-making process.

End-to-end QoS support for SIP sessions in CDMA2000* networks

With the increasing demand for wireless packet data services, third-generation (3G) wireless carriers today are faced with the challenge of offering multimedia applications with quality of service (QoS) requirements while at the same time effectively utilizing precious wireless bandwidth. According to the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) framework, end-to-end QoS support requires signaling, traffic regulation, and resource allocation capabilities. IMS uses Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) as the application-level signaling protocol to establish sessions. In this paper, we discuss how QoS parameters are negotiated in SIP. We explain how the policy decision point (PDP) determines the allowed QoS parameters based on SIP negotiation and local policy of the network. Further, we discuss how QoS parameters are enforced using the policy enforcement point (PEP) as part of PDSN in CDMA2000. <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">∗</sup> We also report a prototype implementation of the QoS control in IMS, including implementation of SIP related to QoS negotiation including SIP user agents (UAs), SIP proxy, SIP registrar, and an implementation of PEP in Linux <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">∗</sup> to conduct traffic regulation.

Resource allocation with project management software

We present results of a benchmark test evaluating the resource allocation capabilities of the project management software packages Acos Plus.1 8.2, CA SuperProject 5.0a, CS Project Professional 3.0, MS Project 2000, and Scitor Project Scheduler 8.0.1. The tests are based on 1560 instances of precedence--- and resource---constrained project scheduling problems. For different complexity scenarios, we analyze the deviation of the makespan obtained by the software packages from the best feasible makespan known. Among the tested software packages, Acos Plus.1 and Project Scheduler show the best resource allocation performance. Moreover, our numerical analysis reveals a considerable performance gap between the implemented methods and state---of---the---art project scheduling algorithms, especially for large---sized problems. Thus, there is still a significant potential for improving solutions to resource allocation problems in practice.

Resource Allocation Capabilities of Commercial Project Management Software Packages

This study concerns the quality of seven commercial project management software packages in allocating resources. Since the methods employed in these packages are proprietary, the quality is measured in terms of the deviation from an upper bound of the minimum makespan. As benchmark instances, a set of problems generated under a factorial design is used. Statistical tests are performed to investigate the impact of the problem parameters and to detect significant differences in quality among the packages.