Shareable Resource Research Articles

Perturbation Analysis of Stochastic Hybrid Systems and Applications to Some Non-Cooperative Games

We establish some conditions under which Infinitesimal Perturbation Analysis (IPA) for general Stochastic Hybrid Systems (SHS) becomes particularly simple and efficient. We then apply IPA to a class of stochastic non-cooperative games termed “resource contention games” modeled through Stochastic Flow Models (SFMs), where two or more players (users) compete for the use of a sharable resource. Simulation examples are provided for a simple version of such games to illustrate and contrast system-centric and user-centric optimization.

Optimal Repetitive Scheduling Model with Shareable Resource Constraint

An optimal repetitive scheduling model for precast production with the consideration of resource constraints and resource sharing is proposed in this paper. A repetitive schedule, like precast production, needs to take into consideration the impact of limited resources, including equipment (such as cranes, forms, and steaming curing facilities) and skilled labor, on production makespan. Moreover, to economically and effectively utilize these valuable resources (such as cranes and work crews), it is worth taking resource sharing into consideration in precast production. A genetic algorithm-based searching technique is adopted to establish an optimal resource-constrained repetitive precast production scheduling system with the consideration of resource sharing. The system can effectively provide the optimal or near-optimal combination of production durations, resource amounts, and minimum makespan under the constraint of limited resources and with the consideration of resource sharing.

Augmenting formal semantic representation for NLP: The story of SMEARR

The centerpiece of the paper is SMEARR, an enriched and augmented lexical database with a database management system and several peripherals. It is presented as a polytheoretical shareable resource in computational semantics and justified as a manageable empirically-based study of the meaning bottleneck in NLP. The relation between SMEARR entries and the examples of formal semantic descriptions in the generative and post-generative semantic literature is explored, revealing a significant discrepancy in the formalisms and in the very nature of formality between computational and theoretical semantics. Finally, the idea of variable-depth semantics, developed in earlier publications, is brought up in the context of SMEARR.

Class structure in a rhesus monkey group: the interplay between dominance and tolerance

Tests of competitive dominance are usually designed to eliminate social tolerance and variations in motivation. The present study applied a more naturalistic test paradigm to a large captive group of rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta). The monkeys were deprived of water for only 3 h, after which a shareable resource was presented. Twenty such tests were videotaped over a 6-month period. Drinking priority and the nature and duration of interactions around the water basin were compared to the group's clear-cut formal hierarchy, as defined by the direction of submissive teeth-baring. The adult hierarchy could be subdivided into two classes: precedence in drinking tests was as expected from formal dominance between classes but was not clear-cut within classes. This seemed due to variations in tolerance. Kin always belonged to the same class and showed high tolerance. Tolerant behaviour was also more common among unrelated adult females of the same class than of different classes. An alternative hypothesis to class structure, explaining the differences in tolerance on the basis of rank-distance effects, was rejected. The class division may be maintained through special intolerance between females ranking at the class borders.

On access to temporary resources

The shareable resources of a multiprogramming system can be classified as either permanent or temporary, and their use can be classified as either exclusive or non-exclusive. While semaphores, as defined by Dijkstra synchronize access to permanent resources, this article proposes two new primitives for synchronizing access to temporary resources. Their usefulness is demonstrated by examining the problem of a number of concurrent «readers» and »writers« sharing a single file. Finally, a high-level language notation is proposed which synchronizes access to a declared, shareable resource of any of the categories classified above.

A microprogramming language for the MLP-900

This paper describes a language, for programming a microprocessor, which combines the features of assembly languages with those of higher-level languages. The goal of the language design was to provide a convenient microprogramming language for the MLP-900 microprocessor project at USC/Information Sciences Institute. This goal was accomplished by designing a language with careful consideration of the hardware instruction set. Additionally, the language was constrained not to implicitly affect the machine state at runtime. These considerations provided freedom and low-level control for the programmer. The compiler needed some flexibility to allow for higher-level language forms. This flexibility was provided by allowing the language to produce several microinstructions for each language statement. This project is sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency. This work is directed toward an ARPANET-based sharable resource as a means of exploring computer architecture, language development and special purpose processor design, all of which are of particular relevance to DOD selection and use of computer equipment.