Double jeopardy, the equal value of lives and the veil of ignorance: a rejoinder to Harris.

PubMed

McKie, J; Kuhse, H; Richardson, J; Singer, P

1996-08-01

Harris levels two main criticisms against our original defence of QALYs (Quality Adjusted Life Years). First, he rejects the assumption implicit in the QALY approach that not all lives are of equal value. Second, he rejects our appeal to Rawls's veil of ignorance test in support of the QALY method. In the present article we defend QALYs against Harris's criticisms. We argue that some of the conclusions Harris draws from our view that resources should be allocated on the basis of potential improvements in quality of life and quantity of life are erroneous, and that others lack the moral implications Harris claims for them. On the other hand, we defend our claim that a rational egoist, behind a veil of ignorance, could consistently choose to allocate life-saving resources in accordance with the QALY method, despite Harris's claim that a rational egoist would allocate randomly if there is no better than a 50% chance of being the recipient.

Double jeopardy, the equal value of lives and the veil of ignorance: a rejoinder to Harris.

PubMed Central

McKie, J; Kuhse, H; Richardson, J; Singer, P

1996-01-01

Harris levels two main criticisms against our original defence of QALYs (Quality Adjusted Life Years). First, he rejects the assumption implicit in the QALY approach that not all lives are of equal value. Second, he rejects our appeal to Rawls's veil of ignorance test in support of the QALY method. In the present article we defend QALYs against Harris's criticisms. We argue that some of the conclusions Harris draws from our view that resources should be allocated on the basis of potential improvements in quality of life and quantity of life are erroneous, and that others lack the moral implications Harris claims for them. On the other hand, we defend our claim that a rational egoist, behind a veil of ignorance, could consistently choose to allocate life-saving resources in accordance with the QALY method, despite Harris's claim that a rational egoist would allocate randomly if there is no better than a 50% chance of being the recipient. PMID:8863144

Patient- and ward-level determinants of nursing time in nursing facilities.

PubMed

Laine, Juha; Noro, Anja; Finne-Soveri, Harriet; Häkkinen, Unto

2005-10-01

To explore the patient- and ward-level determinants of wage-adjusted nursing time in long-term care wards for the elderly with a view to improving efficiency of the use of labour resources. The wage-adjusted nursing time given to patients was obtained from a time measurement study. Patient characteristics were based on the Minimum Data Set 2.0 of the Resident Assessment Instrument for nursing homes. Ordinary least-squares regression analysis and multilevel modelling were used to disentangle the effect of patient- and ward-level factors on nursing time. A significant difference in wage-adjusted nursing time between wards was detected, which was partly explained by characteristics of patients in wards. The combination of patients' physical functioning and cognition and the Resource Utilization Groups RUG-III/22 resource use classification explained 20-25% of patients' nursing time over a 24-hour period. Variables related to the operational environment of the ward did not explain differences in wage-adjusted nursing time once the patient profile of the ward had been controlled for. The results also showed notable unmeasured patient and ward level effects, inefficiency and randomness in the allocation of nursing time. By improving the allocation and use of labour resources, the substantial variation in nursing time between wards could be diminished. Managers should allocate their staff primarily according to patients' resource needs.

Simulation Of Research And Development Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miles, Ralph F.

1987-01-01

Measures of preference for alternative project plans calculated. Simulation of Research and Development Projects (SIMRAND) program aids in optimal allocation of research and development resources needed to achieve project goals. Models system subsets or project tasks as various network paths to final goal. Each path described in terms of such task variables as cost per hour, cost per unit, and availability of resources. Uncertainty incorporated by treating task variables as probabilistic random variables. Written in Microsoft FORTRAN 77.

Effects of spatial allocation and parameter variability on lakewide estimates from surveys of Lake Superior, North America’s largest lake

EPA Science Inventory

Lake Superior was sampled in 2011 using a Generalized Random Tessellation Stratified design (n=54 sites) to characterize biological and chemical properties of this huge aquatic resource, with statistical confidence. The lake was divided into two strata (inshore <100m and offsh...

Randomly biased investments and the evolution of public goods on interdependent networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wei; Wu, Te; Li, Zhiwu; Wang, Long

2017-08-01

Deciding how to allocate resources between interdependent systems is significant to optimize efficiency. We study the effects of heterogeneous contribution, induced by such interdependency, on the evolution of cooperation, through implementing the public goods games on two-layer networks. The corresponding players on different layers try to share a fixed amount of resources as the initial investment properly. The symmetry breaking of investments between players located on different layers is able to either prevent investments from, or extract them out of the deadlock. Results show that a moderate investment heterogeneity is best favorable for the evolution of cooperation, and random allocation of investment bias suppresses the cooperators at a wide range of the investment bias and the enhancement effect. Further studies on time evolution with different initial strategy configurations show that the non-interdependent cooperators along the interface of interdependent cooperators also are an indispensable factor in facilitating cooperative behavior. Our main results are qualitatively unchanged even diversifying investment bias that is subject to uniform distribution. Our study may shed light on the understanding of the origin of cooperative behavior on interdependent networks.

Factors influencing resource allocation decisions and equity in the health system of Ghana.

PubMed

Asante, A D; Zwi, A B

2009-05-01

Allocation of financial resources in the health sector is often seen as a formula-driven activity. However, the decision to allocate a certain amount of resources to a particular health jurisdiction or facility may be based on a broader range of factors, sometimes not reflected in the existing resource allocation formula. This study explores the 'other' factors that influence the equity of resource allocation in the health system of Ghana. The extent to which these factors are, or can be, accounted for in the resource allocation process is analysed. An exploratory design focusing on different levels of the health system and diverse stakeholders. Data were gathered through semi-structured qualitative interviews with health authorities at national, regional and district levels, and with donor representatives and local government officials in 2003 and 2004. The availability of human resources for health, local capacity to utilize funds, donor involvement in the health sector, and commitment to promote equity have considerable influence on resource allocation decisions and affect the equity of funding allocations. However, these factors are not accounted for adequately in the resource allocation process. This study highlights the need for a more transparent resource allocation system in Ghana based on needs, and takes into account key issues such as capacity constraints, the inequitable human resource distribution and donor-earmarked funding.

Analysis and Research on the Optimal Allocation of Regional Water Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

rui-chao, Xi; yu-jie, Gu

2018-06-01

Starting from the basic concept of optimal allocation of water resources, taking the allocation of water resources in Tianjin as an example, the present situation of water resources in Tianjin is analyzed, and the multi-objective optimal allocation model of water resources is used to optimize the allocation of water resources. We use LINGO to solve the model, get the optimal allocation plan that meets the economic and social benefits, and put forward relevant policies and regulations, so as to provide theoretical which is basis for alleviating and solving the problem of water shortage.

How to Do Random Allocation (Randomization)

PubMed Central

Shin, Wonshik

2014-01-01

Purpose To explain the concept and procedure of random allocation as used in a randomized controlled study. Methods We explain the general concept of random allocation and demonstrate how to perform the procedure easily and how to report it in a paper. PMID:24605197

Children’s Recognition of Fairness and Others’ Welfare in a Resource Allocation Task: Age Related Changes

PubMed Central

Rizzo, Michael T.; Elenbaas, Laura; Cooley, Shelby; Killen, Melanie

2016-01-01

The present study investigated age-related changes regarding children’s (N = 136) conceptions of fairness and others’ welfare in a merit-based resource allocation paradigm. To test whether children at 3- to 5-years-old and 6- to 8-years-old took others’ welfare into account when dividing resources, in addition to merit and equality concerns, children were asked to allocate, judge, and reason about allocations of necessary (needed to avoid harm) and luxury (enjoyable to have) resources to a hardworking and a lazy character. While 3- to 5-year-olds did not differentiate between distributing luxury and necessary resources, 6- to 8-year-olds allocated luxury resources more meritoriously than necessary resources. Further, children based their allocations of necessary resources on concerns for others’ welfare, rather than merit, even when one character was described as working harder. The findings revealed that, with age, children incorporated the concerns for others’ welfare and merit into their conceptions of fairness in a resource allocation context, and prioritized these concerns differently depending on whether they were allocating luxury or necessary resources. Further, with age, children weighed multiple moral concerns including equality, merit, and others’ welfare, when determining the fair allocation of resources. PMID:27455189

The ontogeny of postmaturation resource allocation in turtles.

PubMed

Bowden, R M; Paitz, Ryan T; Janzen, Fredric J

2011-01-01

Resource-allocation decisions vary with life-history strategy, and growing evidence suggests that long-lived endothermic vertebrates direct resources toward growth and self-maintenance when young, increasing allocation toward reproductive effort over time. Few studies have tracked the ontogeny of resource allocation (energy, steroid hormones, etc.) in long-lived ectothermic vertebrates, limiting our understanding of the generality of life-history strategies among vertebrates. We investigated how reproductively mature female painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) from two distinct age classes allocated resources over a 4-yr period and whether resource-allocation patterns varied with nesting experience. We examined age-related variation in body size, egg mass, reproductive frequency, and yolk steroids and report that younger females were smaller and allocated fewer resources to reproduction than did older females. Testosterone levels were higher in eggs from younger females, whereas eggs from second (seasonal) clutches contained higher concentrations of progesterone and estradiol. These allocation patterns resulted in older, larger females laying larger eggs and producing second clutches more frequently than their younger counterparts. We conclude that resource-allocation patterns do vary with age in a long-lived ectotherm.

Optimized maritime emergency resource allocation under dynamic demand.

PubMed

Zhang, Wenfen; Yan, Xinping; Yang, Jiaqi

2017-01-01

Emergency resource is important for people evacuation and property rescue when accident occurs. The relief efforts could be promoted by a reasonable emergency resource allocation schedule in advance. As the marine environment is complicated and changeful, the place, type, severity of maritime accident is uncertain and stochastic, bringing about dynamic demand of emergency resource. Considering dynamic demand, how to make a reasonable emergency resource allocation schedule is challenging. The key problem is to determine the optimal stock of emergency resource for supplier centers to improve relief efforts. This paper studies the dynamic demand, and which is defined as a set. Then a maritime emergency resource allocation model with uncertain data is presented. Afterwards, a robust approach is developed and used to make sure that the resource allocation schedule performs well with dynamic demand. Finally, a case study shows that the proposed methodology is feasible in maritime emergency resource allocation. The findings could help emergency manager to schedule the emergency resource allocation more flexibly in terms of dynamic demand.

Optimized maritime emergency resource allocation under dynamic demand

PubMed Central

Yan, Xinping; Yang, Jiaqi

2017-01-01

Emergency resource is important for people evacuation and property rescue when accident occurs. The relief efforts could be promoted by a reasonable emergency resource allocation schedule in advance. As the marine environment is complicated and changeful, the place, type, severity of maritime accident is uncertain and stochastic, bringing about dynamic demand of emergency resource. Considering dynamic demand, how to make a reasonable emergency resource allocation schedule is challenging. The key problem is to determine the optimal stock of emergency resource for supplier centers to improve relief efforts. This paper studies the dynamic demand, and which is defined as a set. Then a maritime emergency resource allocation model with uncertain data is presented. Afterwards, a robust approach is developed and used to make sure that the resource allocation schedule performs well with dynamic demand. Finally, a case study shows that the proposed methodology is feasible in maritime emergency resource allocation. The findings could help emergency manager to schedule the emergency resource allocation more flexibly in terms of dynamic demand. PMID:29240792

[Equity of Health Resources Allocation in Minority Regions of Sichuan Province].

PubMed

Chen, Nan; Tang, Wen; Liang, Zhi; Zou, Bo; Li, Xiao-song

2016-03-01

To determine equity of health resources allocation in minority regions of Sichuan province from 2009 to 2013. Health resources distribution equity among populations and across geographic catchments were measured using coefficients of Inter-Individual differences and Individual-Mean differences. Health resources, especially human resources, in minority regions increased slowly over the years. Poorer allocation equity was found in nursing resources compared with doctors and hospital beds. Better distribution equity was found among populations than across geographic catchments. High levels of equity in resource distributions among populations and across geographic catchments were found in Aba. In Liangshan, more equitable distributions were found in doctors and hospital beds compared with nurses. The rest of minority regions had poor absolute allocation equity in doctors and hospital beds among populations. Appropriate allocation of health resources can promote health development. Health resources allocation in minority regions of Sichuan province is unreasonable. The government and relevant departments should take actions to optimize health resources allocations.

Opinions of Swedish citizens, health-care politicians, administrators and doctors on rationing and health-care financing.

PubMed

Rosén, Per; Karlberg, Ingvar

2002-06-01

To compare the views of citizens and health-care decision-makers on health-care financing, the limits of public health-care, and resource allocation. A postal survey based on a randomized sample of adults taken by the national registration and stratified samples of health-care politicians, administrators, and doctors in five Swedish counties. A total number of 1194 citizens (response rate 60%) and 427 decision-makers (response rate 69%). The general public have high expectations of public health-care, expectations that do not fit with the decision-makers' views on what should be offered. To overcome the discrepancy between demand and resources, physicians prefer increased patient fees and complementary private insurance schemes to a higher degree than do the other respondents. Physicians take a more favourable view of letting politicians on a national level exert a greater influence on resource allocation within public health-care. A majority of physicians want politicians to assume a greater responsibility for the exclusion of certain therapies or diagnoses. Most politicians, on the other hand, prefer physicians to make more rigorous decisions as to which medical indications should entitle a person to public health-care. The gap between public expectations and health-care resources makes it more important to be clear about who should be accountable for resource-allocation decisions in public health-care. Significant differences between physicians' and politicians' opinions on financing and responsibility for prioritization make the question of accountability even more important.

Fort Benning Land-Use Planning and Management Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-04-01

process is three-tiered: (a) an initial phase that results in preliminary allocations for natural resources, (b) a second phase that focuses on...allocations of military training requirements, and (c) a final phase that resolves conflicts between the military and natural resource requirements and...assigns final allocations. 34. Initial phase : Natural resource allocations. The first step in this phase was to make allocations among natural resource

The past, present and future of HIV, AIDS and resource allocation

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background How should HIV and AIDS resources be allocated to achieve the greatest possible impact? This paper begins with a theoretical discussion of this issue, describing the key elements of an "evidence-based allocation strategy". While it is noted that the quality of epidemiological and economic data remains inadequate to define such an optimal strategy, there do exist tools and research which can lead countries in a way that they can make allocation decisions. Furthermore, there are clear indications that most countries are not allocating their HIV and AIDS resources in a way which is likely to achieve the greatest possible impact. For example, it is noted that neighboring countries, even when they have a similar prevalence of HIV, nonetheless often allocate their resources in radically different ways. These differing allocation patterns appear to be attributable to a number of different issues, including a lack of data, contradictory results in existing data, a need for overemphasizing a multisectoral response, a lack of political will, a general inefficiency in the use of resources when they do get allocated, poor planning and a lack of control over the way resources get allocated. Methods There are a number of tools currently available which can improve the resource-allocation process. Tools such as the Resource Needs Model (RNM) can provide policymakers with a clearer idea of resource requirements, whereas other tools such as Goals and the Allocation by Cost-Effectiveness (ABCE) models can provide countries with a clearer vision of how they might reallocate funds. Results Examples from nine different countries provide information about how policymakers are trying to make their resource-allocation strategies more "evidence based". By identifying the challenges and successes of these nine countries in making more informed allocation decisions, it is hoped that future resource-allocation decisions for all countries can be improved. Conclusion We discuss the future of resource allocation, noting the types of additional data which will be required and the improvements in existing tools which could be made. PMID:19922688

An inexact mixed risk-aversion two-stage stochastic programming model for water resources management under uncertainty.

PubMed

Li, W; Wang, B; Xie, Y L; Huang, G H; Liu, L

2015-02-01

Uncertainties exist in the water resources system, while traditional two-stage stochastic programming is risk-neutral and compares the random variables (e.g., total benefit) to identify the best decisions. To deal with the risk issues, a risk-aversion inexact two-stage stochastic programming model is developed for water resources management under uncertainty. The model was a hybrid methodology of interval-parameter programming, conditional value-at-risk measure, and a general two-stage stochastic programming framework. The method extends on the traditional two-stage stochastic programming method by enabling uncertainties presented as probability density functions and discrete intervals to be effectively incorporated within the optimization framework. It could not only provide information on the benefits of the allocation plan to the decision makers but also measure the extreme expected loss on the second-stage penalty cost. The developed model was applied to a hypothetical case of water resources management. Results showed that that could help managers generate feasible and balanced risk-aversion allocation plans, and analyze the trade-offs between system stability and economy.

System Resource Allocations | High-Performance Computing | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Allocations System Resource Allocations To use NREL's high-performance computing (HPC) resources : Compute hours on NREL HPC Systems including Peregrine and Eagle Storage space (in Terabytes) on Peregrine , Eagle and Gyrfalcon. Allocations are principally done in response to an annual call for allocation

Wide brick tunnel randomization - an unequal allocation procedure that limits the imbalance in treatment totals.

PubMed

Kuznetsova, Olga M; Tymofyeyev, Yevgen

2014-04-30

In open-label studies, partial predictability of permuted block randomization provides potential for selection bias. To lessen the selection bias in two-arm studies with equal allocation, a number of allocation procedures that limit the imbalance in treatment totals at a pre-specified level but do not require the exact balance at the ends of the blocks were developed. In studies with unequal allocation, however, the task of designing a randomization procedure that sets a pre-specified limit on imbalance in group totals is not resolved. Existing allocation procedures either do not preserve the allocation ratio at every allocation or do not include all allocation sequences that comply with the pre-specified imbalance threshold. Kuznetsova and Tymofyeyev described the brick tunnel randomization for studies with unequal allocation that preserves the allocation ratio at every step and, in the two-arm case, includes all sequences that satisfy the smallest possible imbalance threshold. This article introduces wide brick tunnel randomization for studies with unequal allocation that allows all allocation sequences with imbalance not exceeding any pre-specified threshold while preserving the allocation ratio at every step. In open-label studies, allowing a larger imbalance in treatment totals lowers selection bias because of the predictability of treatment assignments. The applications of the technique in two-arm and multi-arm open-label studies with unequal allocation are described. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Equity in health care in Namibia: developing a needs-based resource allocation formula using principal components analysis

PubMed Central

Zere, Eyob; Mandlhate, Custodia; Mbeeli, Thomas; Shangula, Kalumbi; Mutirua, Kauto; Kapenambili, William

2007-01-01

Background The pace of redressing inequities in the distribution of scarce health care resources in Namibia has been slow. This is due primarily to adherence to the historical incrementalist type of budgeting that has been used to allocate resources. Those regions with high levels of deprivation and relatively greater need for health care resources have been getting less than their fair share. To rectify this situation, which was inherited from the apartheid system, there is a need to develop a needs-based resource allocation mechanism. Methods Principal components analysis was employed to compute asset indices from asset based and health-related variables, using data from the Namibia demographic and health survey of 2000. The asset indices then formed the basis of proposals for regional weights for establishing a needs-based resource allocation formula. Results Comparing the current allocations of public sector health car resources with estimates using a needs based formula showed that regions with higher levels of need currently receive fewer resources than do regions with lower need. Conclusion To address the prevailing inequities in resource allocation, the Ministry of Health and Social Services should abandon the historical incrementalist method of budgeting/resource allocation and adopt a more appropriate allocation mechanism that incorporates measures of need for health care. PMID:17391533

Equity in health care in Namibia: developing a needs-based resource allocation formula using principal components analysis.

PubMed

Zere, Eyob; Mandlhate, Custodia; Mbeeli, Thomas; Shangula, Kalumbi; Mutirua, Kauto; Kapenambili, William

2007-03-29

The pace of redressing inequities in the distribution of scarce health care resources in Namibia has been slow. This is due primarily to adherence to the historical incrementalist type of budgeting that has been used to allocate resources. Those regions with high levels of deprivation and relatively greater need for health care resources have been getting less than their fair share. To rectify this situation, which was inherited from the apartheid system, there is a need to develop a needs-based resource allocation mechanism. Principal components analysis was employed to compute asset indices from asset based and health-related variables, using data from the Namibia demographic and health survey of 2000. The asset indices then formed the basis of proposals for regional weights for establishing a needs-based resource allocation formula. Comparing the current allocations of public sector health car resources with estimates using a needs based formula showed that regions with higher levels of need currently receive fewer resources than do regions with lower need. To address the prevailing inequities in resource allocation, the Ministry of Health and Social Services should abandon the historical incrementalist method of budgeting/resource allocation and adopt a more appropriate allocation mechanism that incorporates measures of need for health care.

Stochastic resource allocation in emergency departments with a multi-objective simulation optimization algorithm.

PubMed

Feng, Yen-Yi; Wu, I-Chin; Chen, Tzu-Li

2017-03-01

The number of emergency cases or emergency room visits rapidly increases annually, thus leading to an imbalance in supply and demand and to the long-term overcrowding of hospital emergency departments (EDs). However, current solutions to increase medical resources and improve the handling of patient needs are either impractical or infeasible in the Taiwanese environment. Therefore, EDs must optimize resource allocation given limited medical resources to minimize the average length of stay of patients and medical resource waste costs. This study constructs a multi-objective mathematical model for medical resource allocation in EDs in accordance with emergency flow or procedure. The proposed mathematical model is complex and difficult to solve because its performance value is stochastic; furthermore, the model considers both objectives simultaneously. Thus, this study develops a multi-objective simulation optimization algorithm by integrating a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA II) with multi-objective computing budget allocation (MOCBA) to address the challenges of multi-objective medical resource allocation. NSGA II is used to investigate plausible solutions for medical resource allocation, and MOCBA identifies effective sets of feasible Pareto (non-dominated) medical resource allocation solutions in addition to effectively allocating simulation or computation budgets. The discrete event simulation model of ED flow is inspired by a Taiwan hospital case and is constructed to estimate the expected performance values of each medical allocation solution as obtained through NSGA II. Finally, computational experiments are performed to verify the effectiveness and performance of the integrated NSGA II and MOCBA method, as well as to derive non-dominated medical resource allocation solutions from the algorithms.

Mobile access to virtual randomization for investigator-initiated trials.

PubMed

Deserno, Thomas M; Keszei, András P

2017-08-01

Background/aims Randomization is indispensable in clinical trials in order to provide unbiased treatment allocation and a valid statistical inference. Improper handling of allocation lists can be avoided using central systems, for example, human-based services. However, central systems are unaffordable for investigator-initiated trials and might be inaccessible from some places, where study subjects need allocations. We propose mobile access to virtual randomization, where the randomization lists are non-existent and the appropriate allocation is computed on demand. Methods The core of the system architecture is an electronic data capture system or a clinical trial management system, which is extended by an R interface connecting the R server using the Java R Interface. Mobile devices communicate via the representational state transfer web services. Furthermore, a simple web-based setup allows configuring the appropriate statistics by non-statisticians. Our comprehensive R script supports simple randomization, restricted randomization using a random allocation rule, block randomization, and stratified randomization for un-blinded, single-blinded, and double-blinded trials. For each trial, the electronic data capture system or the clinical trial management system stores the randomization parameters and the subject assignments. Results Apps are provided for iOS and Android and subjects are randomized using smartphones. After logging onto the system, the user selects the trial and the subject, and the allocation number and treatment arm are displayed instantaneously and stored in the core system. So far, 156 subjects have been allocated from mobile devices serving five investigator-initiated trials. Conclusion Transforming pre-printed allocation lists into virtual ones ensures the correct conduct of trials and guarantees a strictly sequential processing in all trial sites. Covering 88% of all randomization models that are used in recent trials, virtual randomization becomes available for investigator-initiated trials and potentially for large multi-center trials.

A review of alternative approaches to healthcare resource allocation.

PubMed

Petrou, S; Wolstenholme, J

2000-07-01

The resources available for healthcare are limited compared with demand, if not need, and all healthcare systems, regardless of their financing and organisation, employ mechanisms to ration or prioritise finite healthcare resources. This paper reviews alternative approaches that can be used to allocate healthcare resources. It discusses the problems encountered when allocating healthcare resources according to free market principles. It then proceeds to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of alternative resource allocation approaches that can be applied to public health systems. These include: (i) approaches based on the concept of meeting the needs of the population to maximising its capacity to benefit from interventions; (ii) economic approaches that identify the most efficient allocation of resources with the view of maximising health benefits or other measures of social welfare; (iii) approaches that seek to ration healthcare by age; and (iv) approaches that resolve resource allocation disputes through debate and bargaining. At present, there appears to be no consensus about the relative importance of the potentially conflicting principles that can be used to guide resource allocation decisions. It is concluded that whatever shape tomorrow's health service takes, the requirement to make equitable and efficient use of finite healthcare resources will remain.

National equity of health resource allocation in China: data from 2009 to 2013.

PubMed

Liu, Wen; Liu, Ying; Twum, Peter; Li, Shixue

2016-04-19

The inequitable allocation of health resources is a worldwide problem, and it is also one of the obstacles facing for health services utilization in China. A new round of health care reform which contains the important aspect of improving the equity in health resource allocation was released by Chinese government in 2009. The aim of this study is to understand the changes of equity in health resource allocation from 2009 to 2013, and make a further inquiry of the main factors which influence the equity conditions in China. Data resources are the China Health Statistics Yearbook (2014) and the China Statistical Yearbook (2014). Four indicators were chosen to measure the trends in equity of health resource allocation. Data were disaggregated by three geographical regions: west, central, and east. Theil index was used to calculate the degree of unfairness. The total amount of health care resources in China had been increasing in recent years. However, the per 10, 000 km(2) number of health resources showed a huge gap in different regions, and per 10, 000 capita health resources ownership showed a relatively small disparities at the same time. The index of health resources showed an overall downward trend, in which health financial investment the most unfair from 2009 to 2012 and the number of health institutions the most unfair in 2013. The equity of health resources allocation in eastern regions was the worst except for the aspect of health technical personnel allocation. The regional contribution rates were lower than that of the inter-regional contribution rates which were all beyond 60 %. The equity of health resource allocation improved gradually from 2009 to 2013. However, the internal differences within the eastern region still have a huge impact on the overall equity in health resource allocation. The tough issues of inequitable in health resource allocation should be resolved by comprehensive measures from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Resource Allocation Based on Evaluation of Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fransson, Rune

1985-01-01

At Sweden's Karolinska Institute, a resource allocation model for medical research in use since 1970 allows the research activity of the different departments to affect resource allocation direclty. (MSE)

PRACTICAL: Planning and Resource Allocation in C2-Domains With Time Critical Algorithms (PRACTICAL: Planning en Allocatie in C2-Domeinen Met Tijdkritische Algoritmen)

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-02-01

the (re)planning framework, incorporating the demonstrators CALIGULA and ALLOCATOR for resource allocation and scheduling respectively. In the Command...demonstrator CALIGULA for the problem of allocating frequencies to a radio link network. The problems in the domain of scheduling are dealt with. which has...demonstrating the (re)planning framework, incorporating the demonstrators CALIGULA and ALLOCATOR for resource allocation and scheduling respectively

Research on memory management in embedded systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xian-ying; Yang, Wu

2005-12-01

Memory is a scarce resource in embedded system due to cost and size. Thus, applications in embedded systems cannot use memory randomly, such as in desktop applications. However, data and code must be stored into memory for running. The purpose of this paper is to save memory in developing embedded applications and guarantee running under limited memory conditions. Embedded systems often have small memory and are required to run a long time. Thus, a purpose of this study is to construct an allocator that can allocate memory effectively and bear a long-time running situation, reduce memory fragmentation and memory exhaustion. Memory fragmentation and exhaustion are related to the algorithm memory allocated. Static memory allocation cannot produce fragmentation. In this paper it is attempted to find an effective allocation algorithm dynamically, which can reduce memory fragmentation. Data is the critical part that ensures an application can run regularly, which takes up a large amount of memory. The amount of data that can be stored in the same size of memory is relevant with the selected data structure. Skills for designing application data in mobile phone are explained and discussed also.

US neurologists: attitudes on rationing.

PubMed

Holloway, R G; Ringel, S P; Bernat, J L; Keran, C M; Lawyer, B L

2000-11-28

To assess neurologists' attitudes on rationing health care and to determine whether neurologists would set healthcare priorities in ways that are consistent with cost-effectiveness research. Cost-effectiveness research can suggest ways to maximize health benefits within fixed budgets but is currently being underused in resource allocation decisions. The authors surveyed a random sample of neurologists practicing in the United States (response rate, 44.4%) with three hypothetical scenarios. Two scenarios were designed to address general attitudes on allocating finite resources with emphasis on formulary decisions for costly drugs. The third scenario was designed to assess whether neurologists would optimize the allocation of a fixed budget as recommended by cost-effectiveness analysis. Three-quarters of respondents thought that neurologists make daily decisions that effectively ration healthcare resources, and 60% felt a professional responsibility to consider the financial impact of individualized treatment decisions on other patients. Only 25% of respondents thought that there should be no restrictions placed on any of the five newer antiepileptic agents. In a 1995 survey, 75% of similarly sampled neurologists agreed that no restrictions should be placed on the availability of FDA-approved medications. Nearly half (46%) of respondents favored a less effective test and would be willing to let patients die to ensure the offering of a more equitable alternative. Most neurologists recognize the need to ration health care, and although they think cost-effectiveness research is one method to achieve efficient distribution of resources, many think that considerable attention should also be given to equity.

Examination of Resource Allocation in Education: Connecting Spending to Student Performance. Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pan, Diane; Rudo, Zena H.; Schneider, Cynthia L.; Smith-Hansen, Lotte

This document reports on a study on the relationship between resources and student performance. The study examined district-level patterns of resource allocation, district and school resource practices implemented to improve student performance, and barriers and challenges to efficient resource allocation faced by districts and schools. The study…

A data-driven allocation tool for in-kind resources distributed by a state health department.

PubMed

Peterson, Cora; Kegler, Scott R; Parker, Wende R; Sullivan, David

2016-10-02

The objective of this study was to leverage a state health department's operational data to allocate in-kind resources (children's car seats) to counties, with the proposition that need-based allocation could ultimately improve public health outcomes. This study used a retrospective analysis of administrative data on car seats distributed to counties statewide by the Georgia Department of Public Health and development of a need-based allocation tool (presented as interactive supplemental digital content, adaptable to other types of in-kind public health resources) that relies on current county-level injury and sociodemographic data. Car seat allocation using public health data and a need-based formula resulted in substantially different recommended allocations to individual counties compared to historic distribution. Results indicate that making an in-kind public health resource like car seats universally available results in a less equitable distribution of that resource compared to deliberate allocation according to public health need. Public health agencies can use local data to allocate in-kind resources consistent with health objectives; that is, in a manner offering the greatest potential health impact. Future analysis can determine whether the change to a more equitable allocation of resources is also more efficient, resulting in measurably improved public health outcomes.

Explanation of random experiment sheduling and its application to space station analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, J. E.

1970-01-01

The capability of the McDonnell-Douglas Phase B space station concept to complete the Blue Book Experiment program is analyzed and the Random experiment program with Resource Impact (REPRI) which was used to generate the data is described. The results indicate that station manpower and electrical power are the two resources which will constrain the amount of the Blue Book program that the station can complete. The station experiment program and its resource requirements are sensitive to levels of manpower and electrical power 13.5 men and 11 kilowatts. Continuous artificial gravity experiments have much less impact on the experiment program than experiments using separate artificial gravity periods. Station storage volume presently allocated for the FPE's and their supplies (1600 cu ft) is more than adequate. The REPRI program uses the Monte Carlo technique to generate a set of feasible experiment schedules for a space station. The schedules are statistically analyzed to determine the impact of the station experiment program resource requirements on the station concept. Also, the sensitivity of the station concept to one or more resources is assessed.

Theory of Mind is Related to Children’s Resource Allocations in Gender Stereotypic Contexts

PubMed Central

Rizzo, Michael T.; Killen, Melanie

2017-01-01

The present study investigated the relations between 4- to 6-year-old children’s (N = 67) gender stereotypes, resource allocations, and mental state knowledge in gender stereotypic contexts. Participants were told vignettes about female and male characters completing gender-stereotyped activities (making dolls or trucks). Children held stereotypic expectations regarding doll- and truck-making abilities, and these expectations predicted the degree of bias in their allocations of resources to the characters. Critically, children’s performance on a ToM scale (Diverse Desires, Contents False-Belief, Belief-Emotion) was significantly related to their allocations of resources to individuals whose effort did not fit existing gender stereotypes (e.g., a boy who was good at making dolls). With increasing ToM competence, children allocated resources based on merit (even when the character’s effort did not fit existing gender stereotypes) rather than based on stereotypes. The present results provide novel information regarding the emergence of gender stereotypes about abilities, the influence of stereotypes on children’s resource allocations, and the role of ToM in children’s ability to challenge gender stereotypes when allocating resources. PMID:29083217

Critical phenomena in communication/computation networks with various topologies and suboptimal to optimal resource allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cogoni, Marco; Busonera, Giovanni; Anedda, Paolo; Zanetti, Gianluigi

2015-01-01

We generalize previous studies on critical phenomena in communication networks [1,2] by adding computational capabilities to the nodes. In our model, a set of tasks with random origin, destination and computational structure is distributed on a computational network, modeled as a graph. By varying the temperature of a Metropolis Montecarlo, we explore the global latency for an optimal to suboptimal resource assignment at a given time instant. By computing the two-point correlation function for the local overload, we study the behavior of the correlation distance (both for links and nodes) while approaching the congested phase: a transition from peaked to spread g(r) is seen above a critical (Montecarlo) temperature Tc. The average latency trend of the system is predicted by averaging over several network traffic realizations while maintaining a spatially detailed information for each node: a sharp decrease of performance is found over Tc independently of the workload. The globally optimized computational resource allocation and network routing defines a baseline for a future comparison of the transition behavior with respect to existing routing strategies [3,4] for different network topologies.

Complex Genetic Effects on Early Vegetative Development Shape Resource Allocation Differences Between Arabidopsis lyrata Populations

PubMed Central

Remington, David L.; Leinonen, Päivi H.; Leppälä, Johanna; Savolainen, Outi

2013-01-01

Costs of reproduction due to resource allocation trade-offs have long been recognized as key forces in life history evolution, but little is known about their functional or genetic basis. Arabidopsis lyrata, a perennial relative of the annual model plant A. thaliana with a wide climatic distribution, has populations that are strongly diverged in resource allocation. In this study, we evaluated the genetic and functional basis for variation in resource allocation in a reciprocal transplant experiment, using four A. lyrata populations and F2 progeny from a cross between North Carolina (NC) and Norway parents, which had the most divergent resource allocation patterns. Local alleles at quantitative trait loci (QTL) at a North Carolina field site increased reproductive output while reducing vegetative growth. These QTL had little overlap with flowering date QTL. Structural equation models incorporating QTL genotypes and traits indicated that resource allocation differences result primarily from QTL effects on early vegetative growth patterns, with cascading effects on later vegetative and reproductive development. At a Norway field site, North Carolina alleles at some of the same QTL regions reduced survival and reproductive output components, but these effects were not associated with resource allocation trade-offs in the Norway environment. Our results indicate that resource allocation in perennial plants may involve important adaptive mechanisms largely independent of flowering time. Moreover, the contributions of resource allocation QTL to local adaptation appear to result from their effects on developmental timing and its interaction with environmental constraints, and not from simple models of reproductive costs. PMID:23979581

S4HARA: System for HIV/AIDS resource allocation.

PubMed

Lasry, Arielle; Carter, Michael W; Zaric, Gregory S

2008-03-26

HIV/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. S4HARA 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. The 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. Condom 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.

An Optimization Framework for Dynamic, Distributed Real-Time Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eckert, Klaus; Juedes, David; Welch, Lonnie; Chelberg, David; Bruggerman, Carl; Drews, Frank; Fleeman, David; Parrott, David; Pfarr, Barbara

2003-01-01

Abstract. This paper presents a model that is useful for developing resource allocation algorithms for distributed real-time systems .that operate in dynamic environments. Interesting aspects of the model include dynamic environments, utility and service levels, which provide a means for graceful degradation in resource-constrained situations and support optimization of the allocation of resources. The paper also provides an allocation algorithm that illustrates how to use the model for producing feasible, optimal resource allocations.

Rate Adaptive Based Resource Allocation with Proportional Fairness Constraints in OFDMA Systems

PubMed Central

Yin, Zhendong; Zhuang, Shufeng; Wu, Zhilu; Ma, Bo

2015-01-01

Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), which is widely used in the wireless sensor networks, allows different users to obtain different subcarriers according to their subchannel gains. Therefore, how to assign subcarriers and power to different users to achieve a high system sum rate is an important research area in OFDMA systems. In this paper, the focus of study is on the rate adaptive (RA) based resource allocation with proportional fairness constraints. Since the resource allocation is a NP-hard and non-convex optimization problem, a new efficient resource allocation algorithm ACO-SPA is proposed, which combines ant colony optimization (ACO) and suboptimal power allocation (SPA). To reduce the computational complexity, the optimization problem of resource allocation in OFDMA systems is separated into two steps. For the first one, the ant colony optimization algorithm is performed to solve the subcarrier allocation. Then, the suboptimal power allocation algorithm is developed with strict proportional fairness, and the algorithm is based on the principle that the sums of power and the reciprocal of channel-to-noise ratio for each user in different subchannels are equal. To support it, plenty of simulation results are presented. In contrast with root-finding and linear methods, the proposed method provides better performance in solving the proportional resource allocation problem in OFDMA systems. PMID:26426016

Resource Allocation in Public Research Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos, Jose L.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct an econometric analysis of internal resource allocation. Two theories are used for this study of resource allocation in public research universities, and these are: (1) Theory of the Firm; and (2) Resource Dependence Theory. This study used the American Association of Universities Data Exchange (AAUDE)…

Biomass Allocation of Stoloniferous and Rhizomatous Plant in Response to Resource Availability: A Phylogenetic Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Xie, Xiu-Fang; Hu, Yu-Kun; Pan, Xu; Liu, Feng-Hong; Song, Yao-Bin; Dong, Ming

2016-01-01

Resource allocation to different functions is central in life-history theory. Plasticity of functional traits allows clonal plants to regulate their resource allocation to meet changing environments. In this study, biomass allocation traits of clonal plants were categorized into absolute biomass for vegetative growth vs. for reproduction, and their relative ratios based on a data set including 115 species and derived from 139 published literatures. We examined general pattern of biomass allocation of clonal plants in response to availabilities of resource (e.g., light, nutrients, and water) using phylogenetic meta-analysis. We also tested whether the pattern differed among clonal organ types (stolon vs. rhizome). Overall, we found that stoloniferous plants were more sensitive to light intensity than rhizomatous plants, preferentially allocating biomass to vegetative growth, aboveground part and clonal reproduction under shaded conditions. Under nutrient- and water-poor condition, rhizomatous plants were constrained more by ontogeny than by resource availability, preferentially allocating biomass to belowground part. Biomass allocation between belowground and aboveground part of clonal plants generally supported the optimal allocation theory. No general pattern of trade-off was found between growth and reproduction, and neither between sexual and clonal reproduction. Using phylogenetic meta-analysis can avoid possible confounding effects of phylogeny on the results. Our results shown the optimal allocation theory explained a general trend, which the clonal plants are able to plastically regulate their biomass allocation, to cope with changing resource availability, at least in stoloniferous and rhizomatous plants. PMID:27200071

Children's Evaluations of Resource Allocation in the Context of Group Norms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooley, Shelby; Killen, Melanie

2015-01-01

This study investigated children's evaluations of peer group members who deviated from group norms about equal and unequal allocation of resources. Children, ages 3.5 to 4 years and 5 to 6 years (N = 73), were asked to evaluate a peer group member who deviated from 1 of 2 group allocation norms: (a) equal allocation of resources, or (b) unequal…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hussain, Hameed; Malik, Saif Ur Rehman; Hameed, Abdul

An efficient resource allocation is a fundamental requirement in high performance computing (HPC) systems. Many projects are dedicated to large-scale distributed computing systems that have designed and developed resource allocation mechanisms with a variety of architectures and services. In our study, through analysis, a comprehensive survey for describing resource allocation in various HPCs is reported. The aim of the work is to aggregate under a joint framework, the existing solutions for HPC to provide a thorough analysis and characteristics of the resource management and allocation strategies. Resource allocation mechanisms and strategies play a vital role towards the performance improvement ofmore » all the HPCs classifications. Therefore, a comprehensive discussion of widely used resource allocation strategies deployed in HPC environment is required, which is one of the motivations of this survey. Moreover, we have classified the HPC systems into three broad categories, namely: (a) cluster, (b) grid, and (c) cloud systems and define the characteristics of each class by extracting sets of common attributes. All of the aforementioned systems are cataloged into pure software and hybrid/hardware solutions. The system classification is used to identify approaches followed by the implementation of existing resource allocation strategies that are widely presented in the literature.« less

Intergenerational resource transfers with random offspring numbers

PubMed Central

Arrow, Kenneth J.; Levin, Simon A.

2009-01-01

A problem common to biology and economics is the transfer of resources from parents to children. We consider the issue under the assumption that the number of offspring is unknown and can be represented as a random variable. There are 3 basic assumptions. The first assumption is that a given body of resources can be divided into consumption (yielding satisfaction) and transfer to children. The second assumption is that the parents' welfare includes a concern for the welfare of their children; this is recursive in the sense that the children's welfares include concern for their children and so forth. However, the welfare of a child from a given consumption is counted somewhat differently (generally less) than that of the parent (the welfare of a child is “discounted”). The third assumption is that resources transferred may grow (or decline). In economic language, investment, including that in education or nutrition, is productive. Under suitable restrictions, precise formulas for the resulting allocation of resources are found, demonstrating that, depending on the shape of the utility curve, uncertainty regarding the number of offspring may or may not favor increased consumption. The results imply that wealth (stock of resources) will ultimately have a log-normal distribution. PMID:19617553

Distributed Multi-Cell Resource Allocation with Price Based ICI Coordination in Downlink OFDMA Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Gangming; Zhu, Shihua; Hui, Hui

Multi-cell resource allocation under minimum rate request for each user in OFDMA networks is addressed in this paper. Based on Lagrange dual decomposition theory, the joint multi-cell resource allocation problem is decomposed and modeled as a limited-cooperative game, and a distributed multi-cell resource allocation algorithm is thus proposed. Analysis and simulation results show that, compared with non-cooperative iterative water-filling algorithm, the proposed algorithm can remarkably reduce the ICI level and improve overall system performances.

Probabilistic resource allocation system with self-adaptive capability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yufik, Yan M. (Inventor)

1996-01-01

A probabilistic resource allocation system is disclosed containing a low capacity computational module (Short Term Memory or STM) and a self-organizing associative network (Long Term Memory or LTM) where nodes represent elementary resources, terminal end nodes represent goals, and directed links represent the order of resource association in different allocation episodes. Goals and their priorities are indicated by the user, and allocation decisions are made in the STM, while candidate associations of resources are supplied by the LTM based on the association strength (reliability). Reliability values are automatically assigned to the network links based on the frequency and relative success of exercising those links in the previous allocation decisions. Accumulation of allocation history in the form of an associative network in the LTM reduces computational demands on subsequent allocations. For this purpose, the network automatically partitions itself into strongly associated high reliability packets, allowing fast approximate computation and display of allocation solutions satisfying the overall reliability and other user-imposed constraints. System performance improves in time due to modification of network parameters and partitioning criteria based on the performance feedback.

Probabilistic resource allocation system with self-adaptive capability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yufik, Yan M. (Inventor)

1998-01-01

A probabilistic resource allocation system is disclosed containing a low capacity computational module (Short Term Memory or STM) and a self-organizing associative network (Long Term Memory or LTM) where nodes represent elementary resources, terminal end nodes represent goals, and weighted links represent the order of resource association in different allocation episodes. Goals and their priorities are indicated by the user, and allocation decisions are made in the STM, while candidate associations of resources are supplied by the LTM based on the association strength (reliability). Weights are automatically assigned to the network links based on the frequency and relative success of exercising those links in the previous allocation decisions. Accumulation of allocation history in the form of an associative network in the LTM reduces computational demands on subsequent allocations. For this purpose, the network automatically partitions itself into strongly associated high reliability packets, allowing fast approximate computation and display of allocation solutions satisfying the overall reliability and other user-imposed constraints. System performance improves in time due to modification of network parameters and partitioning criteria based on the performance feedback.

Bayesian dose selection design for a binary outcome using restricted response adaptive randomization.

PubMed

Meinzer, Caitlyn; Martin, Renee; Suarez, Jose I

2017-09-08

In phase II trials, the most efficacious dose is usually not known. Moreover, given limited resources, it is difficult to robustly identify a dose while also testing for a signal of efficacy that would support a phase III trial. Recent designs have sought to be more efficient by exploring multiple doses through the use of adaptive strategies. However, the added flexibility may potentially increase the risk of making incorrect assumptions and reduce the total amount of information available across the dose range as a function of imbalanced sample size. To balance these challenges, a novel placebo-controlled design is presented in which a restricted Bayesian response adaptive randomization (RAR) is used to allocate a majority of subjects to the optimal dose of active drug, defined as the dose with the lowest probability of poor outcome. However, the allocation between subjects who receive active drug or placebo is held constant to retain the maximum possible power for a hypothesis test of overall efficacy comparing the optimal dose to placebo. The design properties and optimization of the design are presented in the context of a phase II trial for subarachnoid hemorrhage. For a fixed total sample size, a trade-off exists between the ability to select the optimal dose and the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis. This relationship is modified by the allocation ratio between active and control subjects, the choice of RAR algorithm, and the number of subjects allocated to an initial fixed allocation period. While a responsive RAR algorithm improves the ability to select the correct dose, there is an increased risk of assigning more subjects to a worse arm as a function of ephemeral trends in the data. A subarachnoid treatment trial is used to illustrate how this design can be customized for specific objectives and available data. Bayesian adaptive designs are a flexible approach to addressing multiple questions surrounding the optimal dose for treatment efficacy within the context of limited resources. While the design is general enough to apply to many situations, future work is needed to address interim analyses and the incorporation of models for dose response.

OxMaR: open source free software for online minimization and randomization for clinical trials.

PubMed

O'Callaghan, Christopher A

2014-01-01

Minimization is a valuable method for allocating participants between the control and experimental arms of clinical studies. The use of minimization reduces differences that might arise by chance between the study arms in the distribution of patient characteristics such as gender, ethnicity and age. However, unlike randomization, minimization requires real time assessment of each new participant with respect to the preceding distribution of relevant participant characteristics within the different arms of the study. For multi-site studies, this necessitates centralized computational analysis that is shared between all study locations. Unfortunately, there is no suitable freely available open source or free software that can be used for this purpose. OxMaR was developed to enable researchers in any location to use minimization for patient allocation and to access the minimization algorithm using any device that can connect to the internet such as a desktop computer, tablet or mobile phone. The software is complete in itself and requires no special packages or libraries to be installed. It is simple to set up and run over the internet using online facilities which are very low cost or even free to the user. Importantly, it provides real time information on allocation to the study lead or administrator and generates real time distributed backups with each allocation. OxMaR can readily be modified and customised and can also be used for standard randomization. It has been extensively tested and has been used successfully in a low budget multi-centre study. Hitherto, the logistical difficulties involved in minimization have precluded its use in many small studies and this software should allow more widespread use of minimization which should lead to studies with better matched control and experimental arms. OxMaR should be particularly valuable in low resource settings.

How to allocate limited healthcare resources: Lessons from the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in rural Mozambique

PubMed Central

Dodson, Zan M.; Agadjanian, Victor; Driessen, Julia

2016-01-01

Proper allocation of limited healthcare resources is a challenging task for policymakers in developing countries. Allocation of and access to these resources typically varies based on how need is defined, thus determining how individuals access and acquire healthcare. Using the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in southern Mozambique as an example, we examine alternative definitions of need for rural populations and how they might impact the allocation of this vital health service. Our results show that how need is defined matters when allocating limited healthcare resources and the use of need-based metrics can help ensure more optimal distribution of services. PMID:28596630

Resource Allocation and Public Policy in Alberta's Postsecondary System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barneston, Bob; Boberg, Alice

2000-01-01

Resource allocation in Alberta's postsecondary system has changed substantially since 1994, designed to reapportion financial responsibility for higher education, increase vocational outcomes of postsecondary education, and increase transfer of knowledge and technology to the private sector. This paper outlines how resource allocation has been…

Phylogeny determines flower size-dependent sex allocation at flowering in a hermaphroditic family.

PubMed

Teixido, A L; Guzmán, B; Staggemeier, V G; Valladares, F

2017-11-01

In animal-pollinated hermaphroditic plants, optimal floral allocation determines relative investment into sexes, which is ultimately dependent on flower size. Larger flowers disproportionally increase maleness whereas smaller and less rewarding flowers favour female function. Although floral traits are considered strongly conserved, phylogenetic relationships in the interspecific patterns of resource allocation to floral sex remain overlooked. We investigated these patterns in Cistaceae, a hermaphroditic family. We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among Cistaceae species and quantified phylogenetic signal for flower size, dry mass and nutrient allocation to floral structures in 23 Mediterranean species using Blomberg's K-statistic. Lastly, phylogenetically-controlled correlational and regression analyses were applied to examine flower size-based allometry in resource allocation to floral structures. Sepals received the highest dry mass allocation, followed by petals, whereas sexual structures increased nutrient allocation. Flower size and resource allocation to floral structures, except for carpels, showed a strong phylogenetic signal. Larger-flowered species allometrically allocated more resources to maleness, by increasing allocation to corollas and stamens. Our results suggest a major role of phylogeny in determining interspecific changes in flower size and subsequent floral sex allocation. This implies that flower size balances the male-female function over the evolutionary history of Cistaceae. While allometric resource investment in maleness is inherited across species diversification, allocation to the female function seems a labile trait that varies among closely related species that have diversified into different ecological niches. © 2017 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

On System Engineering a Barter-Based Re-allocation of Space System Key Development Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosmann, William J.

NASA has had a decades-long problem with cost growth during the development of space science missions. Numerous agency-sponsored studies have produced average mission level development cost growths ranging from 23 to 77%. A new study of 26 historical NASA science instrument set developments using expert judgment to re-allocate key development resources has an average cost growth of 73.77%. Twice in history, during the Cassini and EOS-Terra science instrument developments, a barter-based mechanism has been used to re-allocate key development resources. The mean instrument set development cost growth was -1.55%. Performing a bivariate inference on the means of these two distributions, there is statistical evidence to support the claim that using a barter-based mechanism to re-allocate key instrument development resources will result in a lower expected cost growth than using the expert judgment approach. Agent-based discrete event simulation is the natural way to model a trade environment. A NetLogo agent-based barter-based simulation of science instrument development was created. The agent-based model was validated against the Cassini historical example, as the starting and ending instrument development conditions are available. The resulting validated agent-based barter-based science instrument resource re-allocation simulation was used to perform 300 instrument development simulations, using barter to re-allocate development resources. The mean cost growth was -3.365%. A bivariate inference on the means was performed to determine that additional significant statistical evidence exists to support a claim that using barter-based resource re-allocation will result in lower expected cost growth, with respect to the historical expert judgment approach. Barter-based key development resource re-allocation should work on science spacecraft development as well as it has worked on science instrument development. A new study of 28 historical NASA science spacecraft developments has an average cost growth of 46.04%. As barter-based key development resource re-allocation has never been tried in a spacecraft development, no historical results exist, and an inference on the means test is not possible. A simulation of using barter-based resource re-allocation should be developed. The NetLogo instrument development simulation should be modified to account for spacecraft development market participant differences. The resulting agent-based barter-based spacecraft resource re-allocation simulation would then be used to determine if significant statistical evidence exists to prove a claim that using barter-based resource re-allocation will result in lower expected cost growth.

Equity in resource allocation for health: a comparative study of the Ashanti and Northern Regions of Ghana.

PubMed

Asante, Augustine Danso; Zwi, Anthony Barry; Ho, Maria Theresa

2006-10-01

Debate over the equitable allocation of financial resources in the health sector has focused overwhelmingly on allocation from national to regional levels. More equitable allocation of such resources within regions has been virtually ignored, creating a vacuum in knowledge regarding how resources are allocated intra-regionally and their potential influence on promoting health equity. In this paper, we report an empirical study examining progress towards equity in intra-regional resource allocation in the Ashanti and Northern regions of Ghana. Relative deprivation across the 31 districts of the two regions was measured as a proxy of health needs. The result was used to develop an equity-adjusted share index (EAS) applied as a yardstick against which progress towards equity was assessed. The study found a significant correlation between districts' share of donor pooled funds (DPF) and the EAS in the Northern region for three of the 4 years investigated. In Ashanti region, a worsening trend in relation to equity in DPF allocation was discovered. The proportion of variance in the share of DPF that could be explained by the EAS reduced incrementally from 56% in 1999 to less than 1% in 2002. The study highlights the need for more emphasis on intra-regional equity in resource allocation in Ghana.

Resource allocation for mitigating regional air pollution–related mortality: A summertime case study for five cities in the United States

PubMed Central

Liao, Kuo-Jen; Hou, Xiangting; Strickland, Matthew J.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT An important issue of regional air quality management is to allocate air quality management funds to maximize environmental and human health benefits. In this study, we use an innovative approach to tackle this air quality management issue. We develop an innovative resource allocation model that allows identification of air pollutant emission control strategies that maximize mortality avoidances subject to a resource constraint. We first present the development of the resource allocation model and then a case study to show how the model can be used to identify resource allocation strategies that maximize mortality avoidances for top five Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) (i.e., New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Philadelphia) in the continental United States collectively. Given budget constraints in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Air Act assessment, the results of the case study suggest that controls of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and primary carbon (PC) emissions from EPA Regions 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9 would have significant health benefits for the five selected cities collectively. Around 30,800 air pollution–related mortalities could be avoided during the selected 2-week summertime episode for the five cities collectively if the budget could be allocated based on the results of the resource allocation model. Although only five U.S. cities during a 2-week episode are considered in the case study, the resource allocation model can be used by decision-makers to plan air pollution mitigation strategies to achieve the most significant health benefits for other seasons and more cities over a region or the continental U.S.Implications: Effective allocations of air quality management resources are challenging and complicated, and it is desired to have a tool that can help decision-makers better allocate the funds to maximize health benefits of air pollution mitigation. An innovative resource allocation model developed in this study can help decision-makers identify the best resource allocation strategies for multiple cities collectively. The results of a case study suggest that controls of primary carbon and sulfur dioxides emissions would achieve the most significant health benefits for five selected cities collectively. PMID:27441782

The Differential Effects of Reward on Space- and Object-Based Attentional Allocation

PubMed Central

Shomstein, Sarah

2013-01-01

Estimating reward contingencies and allocating attentional resources to a subset of relevant information are the most important contributors to increasing adaptability of an organism. Although recent evidence suggests that reward- and attention-based guidance recruits overlapping cortical regions and has similar effects on sensory responses, the exact nature of the relationship between the two remains elusive. Here, using event-related fMRI on human participants, we contrasted the effects of reward on space- and object-based selection in the same experimental setting. Reward was either distributed randomly or biased a particular object. Behavioral and neuroimaging results show that space- and object-based attention is influenced by reward differentially. Space-based attentional allocation is mandatory, integrating reward information over time, whereas object-based attentional allocation is a default setting that is completely replaced by the reward signal. Nonadditivity of the effects of reward and object-based attention was observed consistently at multiple levels of analysis in early visual areas as well as in control regions. These results provide strong evidence that space- and object-based allocation are two independent attentional mechanisms, and suggest that reward serves to constrain attentional selection. PMID:23804086

Multimedia transmission in MC-CDMA using adaptive subcarrier power allocation and CFO compensation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chitra, S.; Kumaratharan, N.

2018-02-01

Multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) system is one of the most effective techniques in fourth-generation (4G) wireless technology, due to its high data rate, high spectral efficiency and resistance to multipath fading. However, MC-CDMA systems are greatly deteriorated by carrier frequency offset (CFO) which is due to Doppler shift and oscillator instabilities. It leads to loss of orthogonality among the subcarriers and causes intercarrier interference (ICI). Water filling algorithm (WFA) is an efficient resource allocation algorithm to solve the power utilisation problems among the subcarriers in time-dispersive channels. The conventional WFA fails to consider the effect of CFO. To perform subcarrier power allocation with reduced CFO and to improve the capacity of MC-CDMA system, residual CFO compensated adaptive subcarrier power allocation algorithm is proposed in this paper. The proposed technique allocates power only to subcarriers with high channel to noise power ratio. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated using random binary data and image as source inputs. Simulation results depict that the bit error rate performance and ICI reduction capability of the proposed modified WFA offered superior performance in both power allocation and image compression for high-quality multimedia transmission in the presence of CFO and imperfect channel state information conditions.

Looking Across and Looking Beyond the Knowledge Frontier: Intellectual Distance, Novelty, and Resource Allocation in Science

PubMed Central

Boudreau, Kevin J.; Guinan, Eva C.; Lakhani, Karim R.; Riedl, Christoph

2016-01-01

Selecting among alternative projects is a core management task in all innovating organizations. In this paper, we focus on the evaluation of frontier scientific research projects. We argue that the “intellectual distance” between the knowledge embodied in research proposals and an evaluator’s own expertise systematically relates to the evaluations given. To estimate relationships, we designed and executed a grant proposal process at a leading research university in which we randomized the assignment of evaluators and proposals to generate 2,130 evaluator–proposal pairs. We find that evaluators systematically give lower scores to research proposals that are closer to their own areas of expertise and to those that are highly novel. The patterns are consistent with biases associated with boundedly rational evaluation of new ideas. The patterns are inconsistent with intellectual distance simply contributing “noise” or being associated with private interests of evaluators. We discuss implications for policy, managerial intervention, and allocation of resources in the ongoing accumulation of scientific knowledge. PMID:27746512

Looking Across and Looking Beyond the Knowledge Frontier: Intellectual Distance, Novelty, and Resource Allocation in Science.

PubMed

Boudreau, Kevin J; Guinan, Eva C; Lakhani, Karim R; Riedl, Christoph

2016-10-01

Selecting among alternative projects is a core management task in all innovating organizations. In this paper, we focus on the evaluation of frontier scientific research projects. We argue that the "intellectual distance" between the knowledge embodied in research proposals and an evaluator's own expertise systematically relates to the evaluations given. To estimate relationships, we designed and executed a grant proposal process at a leading research university in which we randomized the assignment of evaluators and proposals to generate 2,130 evaluator-proposal pairs. We find that evaluators systematically give lower scores to research proposals that are closer to their own areas of expertise and to those that are highly novel. The patterns are consistent with biases associated with boundedly rational evaluation of new ideas. The patterns are inconsistent with intellectual distance simply contributing "noise" or being associated with private interests of evaluators. We discuss implications for policy, managerial intervention, and allocation of resources in the ongoing accumulation of scientific knowledge.

Children's understanding of equity in the context of inequality.

PubMed

Rizzo, Michael T; Killen, Melanie

2016-11-01

In the context of a pre-existing resource inequality, the concerns for strict equality (allocating the same number of resources to all recipients) conflict with the concerns for equity (allocating resources to rectify the inequality). This study demonstrated age-related changes in children's (3-8 years old, N = 133) ability to simultaneously weigh the concerns for equality and equity through the analysis of children's judgements, allocations, and reasoning in the context of a pre-existing inequality. Three- to 4-year-olds took equity into account in their judgements of allocations, but allocated resources equally in a behavioural task. In contrast, 5- to 6-year-olds rectified the inequality in their allocations, but judged both equitable and equal allocations to be fair. It was not until 7-8 years old that children focused on rectifying the inequality in their allocations and judgements, as well as judged equal allocations less positively than equitable allocations, thereby demonstrating a more complete understanding of the necessity of rectifying inequalities. The novel findings revealed age-related changes from 3 to 8 years old regarding how the concerns for equity and equality develop, and how children's judgements, allocations, and reasoning are coordinated when making allocation decisions. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Intelligence Level and the Allocation of Resources for Creative Tasks: A Pupillometry Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ojha, Amitash; Indurkhya, Bipin; Lee, Minho

2017-01-01

This pupillometry study examined the relationship between intelligence and creative cognition from the resource allocation perspective. It was hypothesized that, during a creative metaphor task, individuals with higher intelligence scores would have different resource allocation patterns than individuals with lower intelligence scores. The study…

Allocating Resources for Learning Support: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharp, Stephen

2000-01-01

Examines how learning-support resources are allocated to Scottish secondary schools, drawing on data from an Edinburgh education authority. Although a rationale for allocating resources based on socioeconomic indices can be constructed, basing decisions on a combination of standardized attainment tests and special-needs audits is preferable.…

Resource Allocation in British Universities. SRHE Monograph 56.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shattock, Michael, Ed.; Rigby, Gwynneth, Ed.

The ways that British universities allocate their resources are discussed, with attention to different styles, techniques, and decison-making structures. Since the purpose is to describe institutional models of resource allocation, specific universities are not identified by name. After identifying the sources of income and the breakdown of…

Resource Allocation in a Repetitive Project Scheduling Using Genetic Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samuel, Biju; Mathew, Jeeno

2018-03-01

Resource Allocation is procedure of doling out or allocating the accessible assets in a monetary way and productive way. Resource allocation is the scheduling of the accessible assets and accessible exercises or activities required while thinking about both the asset accessibility and the total project completion time. Asset provisioning and allocation takes care of that issue by permitting the specialist co-ops to deal with the assets for every individual demand of asset. A probabilistic selection procedure has been developed in order to ensure various selections of chromosomes

Stigmatizing attitudes about mental illness and allocation of resources to mental health services.

PubMed

Corrigan, Patrick W; Watson, Amy C; Warpinski, Amy C; Gracia, Gabriela

2004-08-01

This study tests a social psychological model (Skitka & Tetlock, 1992). Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 28, 491-522; [1993]. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 65, 1205-1223 stating that policy maker decisions regarding the allocation of resources to mental health services are influenced by their attitudes towards people with mental illness and treatment efficacy. Fifty four individuals participated in a larger study of education about mental health stigma. Participants completed various measures of resource allocation preferences for mandated treatment and rehabilitation services, attributions about people with mental illness, and factors that influence allocation preferences including perceived treatment efficacy. Results showed significant attitudinal correlates with resource allocation preferences for mandated treatment, but no correlates to rehabilitation services. In particular, people who pity people with mental illness as well as those that endorse coercive and segregated treatments, were more likely to rate resource allocation to mandated care as important. Perceived treatment efficacy was also positively associated with resource allocation preferences for mandated treatment. A separate behavioral measure that involved donating money to NAMI was found to be inversely associated with blaming people for their mental illness and not being willing to help them. Implications of these findings on strategies that seek to increase resources for mental health programs are discussed.

How to get the most bang for your buck: the evolution and physiology of nutrition-dependent resource allocation strategies.

PubMed

Ng'oma, Enoch; Perinchery, Anna M; King, Elizabeth G

2017-06-28

All organisms use resources to grow, survive and reproduce. The supply of these resources varies widely across landscapes and time, imposing ultimate constraints on the maximal trait values for allocation-related traits. In this review, we address three key questions fundamental to our understanding of the evolution of allocation strategies and their underlying mechanisms. First, we ask: how diverse are flexible resource allocation strategies among different organisms? We find there are many, varied, examples of flexible strategies that depend on nutrition. However, this diversity is often ignored in some of the best-known cases of resource allocation shifts, such as the commonly observed pattern of lifespan extension under nutrient limitation. A greater appreciation of the wide variety of flexible allocation strategies leads directly to our second major question: what conditions select for different plastic allocation strategies? Here, we highlight the need for additional models that explicitly consider the evolution of phenotypically plastic allocation strategies and empirical tests of the predictions of those models in natural populations. Finally, we consider the question: what are the underlying mechanisms determining resource allocation strategies? Although evolutionary biologists assume differential allocation of resources is a major factor limiting trait evolution, few proximate mechanisms are known that specifically support the model. We argue that an integrated framework can reconcile evolutionary models with proximate mechanisms that appear at first glance to be in conflict with these models. Overall, we encourage future studies to: (i) mimic ecological conditions in which those patterns evolve, and (ii) take advantage of the 'omic' opportunities to produce multi-level data and analytical models that effectively integrate across physiological and evolutionary theory. © 2017 The Author(s).

How to get the most bang for your buck: the evolution and physiology of nutrition-dependent resource allocation strategies

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

All organisms use resources to grow, survive and reproduce. The supply of these resources varies widely across landscapes and time, imposing ultimate constraints on the maximal trait values for allocation-related traits. In this review, we address three key questions fundamental to our understanding of the evolution of allocation strategies and their underlying mechanisms. First, we ask: how diverse are flexible resource allocation strategies among different organisms? We find there are many, varied, examples of flexible strategies that depend on nutrition. However, this diversity is often ignored in some of the best-known cases of resource allocation shifts, such as the commonly observed pattern of lifespan extension under nutrient limitation. A greater appreciation of the wide variety of flexible allocation strategies leads directly to our second major question: what conditions select for different plastic allocation strategies? Here, we highlight the need for additional models that explicitly consider the evolution of phenotypically plastic allocation strategies and empirical tests of the predictions of those models in natural populations. Finally, we consider the question: what are the underlying mechanisms determining resource allocation strategies? Although evolutionary biologists assume differential allocation of resources is a major factor limiting trait evolution, few proximate mechanisms are known that specifically support the model. We argue that an integrated framework can reconcile evolutionary models with proximate mechanisms that appear at first glance to be in conflict with these models. Overall, we encourage future studies to: (i) mimic ecological conditions in which those patterns evolve, and (ii) take advantage of the ‘omic’ opportunities to produce multi-level data and analytical models that effectively integrate across physiological and evolutionary theory. PMID:28637856

Cognitive Aspects and Behavioral Effects of Transitions Between Levels of Automation

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-06

operator’s mental load: − changes in performance due to the allocation of resources to multiple tasks; − operator’s self-reports (e.g., NASA - TLX , SWAT...difficulty was randomized across participants. After each block participants compiled the NASA -Task Load indeX ( NASA - TLX : Hart & Staveland, 1988) for...the subjective assessment of mental workload. DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS NASA - TLX weighted scores and number of completed lines (an index of

Evaluation of health resource utilization efficiency in community health centers of Jiangsu Province, China.

PubMed

Xu, Xinglong; Zhou, Lulin; Antwi, Henry Asante; Chen, Xi

2018-02-20

While the demand for health services keep escalating at the grass roots or rural areas of China, a substantial portion of healthcare resources remain stagnant in the more developed cities and this has entrenched health inequity in many parts of China. At its conception, China's Deepen Medical Reform started in 2012 was intended to flush out possible disparities and promote a more equitable and efficient distribution of healthcare resources. Nearly half a decade of this reform, there are uncertainties as to whether the attainment of the objectives of the reform is in sight. Using a hybrid of panel data analysis and an augmented data envelopment analysis (DEA), we model human resources, material, finance to determine their technical and scale efficiency to comprehensively evaluate the transverse and longitudinal allocation efficiency of community health resources in Jiangsu Province. We observed that the Deepen Medical Reform in China has led to an increase concern to ensure efficient allocation of community health resources by health policy makers in the province. This has led to greater efficiency in health resource allocation in Jiangsu in general but serious regional or municipal disparities still exist. Using the DEA model, we note that the output from the Community Health Centers does not commensurate with the substantial resources (human resources, materials, and financial) invested in them. We further observe that the case is worst in less-developed Northern parts of Jiangsu Province. The government of Jiangsu Province could improve the efficiency of health resource allocation by improving the community health service system, rationalizing the allocation of health personnel, optimizing the allocation of material resources, and enhancing the level of health of financial resource allocation.

Brick tunnel randomization and the momentum of the probability mass.

PubMed

Kuznetsova, Olga M

2015-12-30

The allocation space of an unequal-allocation permuted block randomization can be quite wide. The development of unequal-allocation procedures with a narrower allocation space, however, is complicated by the need to preserve the unconditional allocation ratio at every step (the allocation ratio preserving (ARP) property). When the allocation paths are depicted on the K-dimensional unitary grid, where allocation to the l-th treatment is represented by a step along the l-th axis, l = 1 to K, the ARP property can be expressed in terms of the center of the probability mass after i allocations. Specifically, for an ARP allocation procedure that randomizes subjects to K treatment groups in w1 :⋯:wK ratio, w1 +⋯+wK =1, the coordinates of the center of the mass are (w1 i,…,wK i). In this paper, the momentum with respect to the center of the probability mass (expected imbalance in treatment assignments) is used to compare ARP procedures in how closely they approximate the target allocation ratio. It is shown that the two-arm and three-arm brick tunnel randomizations (BTR) are the ARP allocation procedures with the tightest allocation space among all allocation procedures with the same allocation ratio; the two-arm BTR is the minimum-momentum two-arm ARP allocation procedure. Resident probabilities of two-arm and three-arm BTR are analytically derived from the coordinates of the center of the probability mass; the existence of the respective transition probabilities is proven. Probability of deterministic assignments with BTR is found generally acceptable. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Resource allocation processes at multilateral organizations working in global health

PubMed Central

Chi, Y-Ling; Bump, Jesse B

2018-01-01

Abstract International institutions provide well over US$10 billion in development assistance for health (DAH) annually and between 1990 and 2014, DAH disbursements totaled $458 billion but how do they decide who gets what, and for what purpose? In this article, we explore how allocation decisions were made by the nine convening agencies of the Equitable Access Initiative. We provide clear, plain language descriptions of the complete process from resource mobilization to allocation for the nine multilateral agencies with prominent agendas in global health. Then, through a comparative analysis we illuminate the choices and strategies employed in the nine international institutions. We find that resource allocation in all reviewed institutions follow a similar pattern, which we categorized in a framework of five steps: strategy definition, resource mobilization, eligibility of countries, support type and funds allocation. All the reviewed institutions generate resource allocation decisions through well-structured and fairly complex processes. Variations in those processes seem to reflect differences in institutional principles and goals. However, these processes have serious shortcomings. Technical problems include inadequate flexibility to account for or meet country needs. Although aid effectiveness and value for money are commonly referenced, we find that neither performance nor impact is a major criterion for allocating resources. We found very little formal consideration of the incentives generated by allocation choices. Political issues include non-transparent influence on allocation processes by donors and bureaucrats, and the common practice of earmarking funds to bypass the normal allocation process entirely. Ethical deficiencies include low accountability and transparency at international institutions, and limited participation by affected citizens or their representatives. We find that recipient countries have low influence on allocation processes themselves, although within these processes they have some influence in relatively narrow areas. PMID:29415239

Protecting resources for primary health care under fiscal federalism: options for resource allocation.

PubMed

Okorafor, Okore A; Thomas, Stephen

2007-11-01

The introduction of fiscal federalism or decentralization of functions to lower levels of government is a reform not done primarily with health sector concerns. A major concern for the health sector is that devolution of expenditure responsibilities to sub-national levels of government can adversely affect the equitable distribution of financial resources across local jurisdictions. Since the adoption of fiscal federalism in South Africa, progress towards achieving a more equitable distribution of public sector health resources (financial) has slowed down considerably. This study attempts to identify appropriate resource allocation mechanisms under the current South African fiscal federal system that could be employed to promote equity in primary health care (PHC) allocations across provinces and districts. The study uses data from interviews with government officials involved in the budgeting and resource allocation process for PHC, literature on fiscal federalism and literature on international experience to inform analysis and recommendations. The results from the study identify historical incremental budgeting, weak managerial capacity at lower levels of government, poor accounting of PHC expenditure, and lack of protection for PHC funds as constraints to the realization of a more equitable distribution of PHC allocations. Based on interview data, no one resource allocation mechanism received unanimous support from stakeholders. However, the study highlights the particularly high level of autonomy enjoyed by provincial governments with regards to decision making for allocations to health and PHC services as the major constraint to achieving a more equitable distribution of PHC resources. The national government needs to have more involvement in decision making for resource allocation to PHC services if significant progress towards equity is to be achieved.

Toward a Multilevel Perspective on the Allocation of Educational Resources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monk, David H.

1981-01-01

The importance of the following is demonstrated: (1) striking a balance between the attention given to resource allocation practices at macro compared to microlevels of decision making; and (2) learning more about how resource allocation decisions made at one level affect practices at other levels of the educational system. (Author/GK)

The Effects of Charter School Competition on School District Resource Allocation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arsen, David; Ni, Yongmei

2012-01-01

Purpose: This article examines two questions: (a) How does resource allocation change in school districts experiencing sustained charter school competition? (b) Among districts exposed to charter competition, are there differences in the resource allocation adjustments between those that do and do not succeed in stemming further enrollment loss to…

Minority Threat, Crime Control, and Police Resource Allocation in the Southwestern United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes, Malcolm D.; Smith, Brad W.; Freng, Adrienne B.; Munoz, Ed A.

2008-01-01

Numerous studies have examined political influences on communities' allocations of fiscal and personnel resources to policing. Rational choice theory maintains that these resources are distributed in accordance with the need for crime control, whereas conflict theory argues that they are allocated with the aim of controlling racial and ethnic…

Gaps, conflicts, and consensus in the ethics statements of professional associations, medical groups, and health plans.

PubMed

Berkman, N D; Wynia, M K; Churchill, L R

2004-08-01

Patients today interact with physicians, physician groups, and health plans, each of which may follow distinct ethical guidelines. We systematically compared physician codes of ethics with ethics policies at physician group practices and health plans, using the 1998-99 policies of 38 organisations-18 medical associations (associations), nine physician group practices (groups), and 12 health plans (plans)-selected using random and stratified purposive sampling. A clinician and a social scientist independently abstracted each document, using a 397-item health care ethics taxonomy; a reconciled abstraction form was used for analysis. This study focuses on ethics policies regarding professional obligation towards patients, resource allocation, and care for the vulnerable in society. A majority in all three groups mention "fiduciary obligations" of one sort or another, but associations generally address physician/patient relations but not health plan obligations, while plans rarely endorse physicians' obligations of advocacy, beneficence, and non-maleficence. Except for occasional mentions of cost effectiveness or efficiency, ethical considerations in resource allocation rarely arise in the ethics policies of all three organisational types. Very few associations, groups, or plans specifically endorse obligations to vulnerable populations. With some important exceptions, we found that the ethics policies of associations, groups, and plans are narrowly focused and often ignore important ethical concerns for society, such as resource allocation and care for vulnerable populations. More collaborative work is needed to build integrated sets of ethical standards that address the aims and responsibilities of the major stakeholders in health care delivery.

How resource allocation decisions are made in the health care market.

PubMed

Vogel, W B

2000-10-01

This paper describes how economists view resource allocation decisions in health care markets. The basic economic decisions that must be made in any economic system and the resource allocation decisions in a perfectly competitive market are described. An idealized market can achieve an efficient allocation of resources and is contrasted with a more realistic description of the numerous ways in which health care markets depart from the perfectly competitive ideal. The implications of these departures for health care policy are discussed, along with key controversies concerning reliance upon markets for resource allocation in health care. In particular, the failure of competitive markets to achieve what many consider an equitable distribution of health care is emphasized. The paper concludes with some practical observations on how pharmacists can use the increasing emphasis on economic efficiency to the advantage of their profession.

Suggestions to ameliorate the inequity in urban/rural allocation of healthcare resources in China.

PubMed

Chen, Yiyi; Yin, Zhou; Xie, Qiong

2014-05-01

The imbalance in the allocation in healthcare resources between urban and rural areas has become a main focus of the recent medical reforms adopted in China. However, systematic analysis has identified wide differences in the allocation of healthcare resources between urban and rural areas, including healthcare expenditures and the number of healthcare facilities, available beds, and personnel. Therefore, the aim of this report was to identify ethical considerations in current governmental policies to rectify existing problems in the distribution of healthcare resources. Our findings indicate that the inequality in the distribution of healthcare resources does not adhere to ethical standards and the policies are flawed because they give rise to differences in the availability of medical care to urban and rural communities. To optimize the allocation of medical healthcare resources, countermeasures are proposed to formulate policies to urge the flow of public healthcare resources to rural areas, strengthen the responsibilities of both governmental and public financial investments, increase the construction of public healthcare facilities in rural areas, promote the quality of healthcare resources, adjust resource allocations to rural public healthcare facilities, and improve resource utilization efficiency by establishing two-way referral mechanisms.

Tactical resource allocation and elective patient admission planning in care processes.

PubMed

Hulshof, Peter J H; Boucherie, Richard J; Hans, Erwin W; Hurink, Johann L

2013-06-01

Tactical planning of resources in hospitals concerns elective patient admission planning and the intermediate term allocation of resource capacities. Its main objectives are to achieve equitable access for patients, to meet production targets/to serve the strategically agreed number of patients, and to use resources efficiently. This paper proposes a method to develop a tactical resource allocation and elective patient admission plan. These tactical plans allocate available resources to various care processes and determine the selection of patients to be served that are at a particular stage of their care process. Our method is developed in a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) framework and copes with multiple resources, multiple time periods and multiple patient groups with various uncertain treatment paths through the hospital, thereby integrating decision making for a chain of hospital resources. Computational results indicate that our method leads to a more equitable distribution of resources and provides control of patient access times, the number of patients served and the fraction of allocated resource capacity. Our approach is generic, as the base MILP and the solution approach allow for including various extensions to both the objective criteria and the constraints. Consequently, the proposed method is applicable in various settings of tactical hospital management.

Complexity as a Factor of Quality and Cost in Large Scale Software Development.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-12-01

allocating testing resources." [69 69I V. THE ROLE OF COMPLEXITY IN RESOURCE ESTIMATION AND ALLOCATION A. GENERAL It can be argued that blame for the...and allocation of testing resource by - identifying independent substructures and - identifying heavily used logic paths. 2. Setting a Design Threshold... RESOURCE ESTIMATION -------- 70 1. New Dynamic Field ------------------------- 70 2. Quality and Testing ----------------------- 71 3. Programming Units of

A person based formula for allocating commissioning funds to general practices in England: development of a statistical model.

PubMed

Dixon, Jennifer; Smith, Peter; Gravelle, Hugh; Martin, Steve; Bardsley, Martin; Rice, Nigel; Georghiou, Theo; Dusheiko, Mark; Billings, John; Lorenzo, Michael De; Sanderson, Colin

2011-11-22

To develop a formula for allocating resources for commissioning hospital care to all general practices in England based on the health needs of the people registered in each practice Multivariate prospective statistical models were developed in which routinely collected electronic information from 2005-6 and 2006-7 on individuals and the areas in which they lived was used to predict their costs of hospital care in the next year, 2007-8. Data on individuals included all diagnoses recorded at any inpatient admission. Models were developed on a random sample of 5 million people and validated on a second random sample of 5 million people and a third sample of 5 million people drawn from a random sample of practices. All general practices in England as of 1 April 2007. All NHS inpatient admissions and outpatient attendances for individuals registered with a general practice on that date. All individuals registered with a general practice in England at 1 April 2007. Power of the statistical models to predict the costs of the individual patient or each practice's registered population for 2007-8 tested with a range of metrics (R(2) reported here). Comparisons of predicted costs in 2007-8 with actual costs incurred in the same year were calculated by individual and by practice. Models including person level information (age, sex, and ICD-10 codes diagnostic recorded) and a range of area level information (such as socioeconomic deprivation and supply of health facilities) were most predictive of costs. After accounting for person level variables, area level variables added little explanatory power. The best models for resource allocation could predict upwards of 77% of the variation in costs at practice level, and about 12% at the person level. With these models, the predicted costs of about a third of practices would exceed or undershoot the actual costs by 10% or more. Smaller practices were more likely to be in these groups. A model was developed that performed well by international standards, and could be used for allocations to practices for commissioning. The best formulas, however, could predict only about 12% of the variation in next year's costs of most inpatient and outpatient NHS care for each individual. Person-based diagnostic data significantly added to the predictive power of the models.

Playing Games with Optimal Competitive Scheduling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frank, Jeremy; Crawford, James; Khatib, Lina; Brafman, Ronen

2005-01-01

This paper is concerned with the problem of allocating a unit capacity resource to multiple users within a pre-defined time period. The resource is indivisible, so that at most one user can use it at each time instance. However, different users may use it at different times. The users have independent, selfish preferences for when and for how long they are allocated this resource. Thus, they value different resource access durations differently, and they value different time slots differently. We seek an optimal allocation schedule for this resource.

Hybrid Resource Allocation Scheme with Proportional Fairness in OFDMA-Based Cognitive Radio Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Li; Xu, Changqing; Fan, Pingzhi; He, Jian

In this paper, the resource allocation problem for proportional fairness in hybrid Cognitive Radio (CR) systems is studied. In OFDMA-based CR systems, traditional resource allocation algorithms can not guarantee proportional rates among CR users (CRU) in each OFDM symbol because the number of available subchannels might be smaller than that of CRUs in some OFDM symbols. To deal with this time-varying nature of available spectrum resource, a hybrid CR scheme in which CRUs are allowed to use subchannels in both spectrum holes and primary users (PU) bands is adopted and a resource allocation algorithm is proposed to guarantee proportional rates among CRUs with no undue interference to PUs.

HIV epidemic control-a model for optimal allocation of prevention and treatment resources.

PubMed

Alistar, Sabina S; Long, Elisa F; Brandeau, Margaret L; Beck, Eduard J

2014-06-01

With 33 million people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worldwide and 2.7 million new infections occurring annually, additional HIV prevention and treatment efforts are urgently needed. However, available resources for HIV control are limited and must be used efficiently to minimize the future spread of the epidemic. We develop a model to determine the appropriate resource allocation between expanded HIV prevention and treatment services. We create an epidemic model that incorporates multiple key populations with different transmission modes, as well as production functions that relate investment in prevention and treatment programs to changes in transmission and treatment rates. The goal is to allocate resources to minimize R 0, the reproductive rate of infection. We first develop a single-population model and determine the optimal resource allocation between HIV prevention and treatment. We extend the analysis to multiple independent populations, with resource allocation among interventions and populations. We then include the effects of HIV transmission between key populations. We apply our model to examine HIV epidemic control in two different settings, Uganda and Russia. As part of these applications, we develop a novel approach for estimating empirical HIV program production functions. Our study provides insights into the important question of resource allocation for a country's optimal response to its HIV epidemic and provides a practical approach for decision makers. Better decisions about allocating limited HIV resources can improve response to the epidemic and increase access to HIV prevention and treatment services for millions of people worldwide.

30 CFR 1206.459 - Allocation of washed coal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Allocation of washed coal. 1206.459 Section... RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Coal § 1206.459 Allocation of washed coal. (a) When coal is subjected to washing, the washed coal must be allocated to the leases from which it was extracted. (b) When...

30 CFR 1206.459 - Allocation of washed coal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Allocation of washed coal. 1206.459 Section... RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Coal § 1206.459 Allocation of washed coal. (a) When coal is subjected to washing, the washed coal must be allocated to the leases from which it was extracted. (b) When...

30 CFR 1206.260 - Allocation of washed coal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Allocation of washed coal. 1206.260 Section... INTERIOR Natural Resources Revenue PRODUCT VALUATION Federal Coal § 1206.260 Allocation of washed coal. (a) When coal is subjected to washing, the washed coal must be allocated to the leases from which it was...

30 CFR 1206.260 - Allocation of washed coal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Allocation of washed coal. 1206.260 Section... RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Federal Coal § 1206.260 Allocation of washed coal. (a) When coal is subjected to washing, the washed coal must be allocated to the leases from which it was extracted. (b) When...

30 CFR 1206.459 - Allocation of washed coal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Allocation of washed coal. 1206.459 Section... INTERIOR Natural Resources Revenue PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Coal § 1206.459 Allocation of washed coal. (a) When coal is subjected to washing, the washed coal must be allocated to the leases from which it was...

30 CFR 1206.260 - Allocation of washed coal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Allocation of washed coal. 1206.260 Section... RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Federal Coal § 1206.260 Allocation of washed coal. (a) When coal is subjected to washing, the washed coal must be allocated to the leases from which it was extracted. (b) When...

30 CFR 1206.459 - Allocation of washed coal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Allocation of washed coal. 1206.459 Section... RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Coal § 1206.459 Allocation of washed coal. (a) When coal is subjected to washing, the washed coal must be allocated to the leases from which it was extracted. (b) When...

30 CFR 1206.260 - Allocation of washed coal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Allocation of washed coal. 1206.260 Section... RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Federal Coal § 1206.260 Allocation of washed coal. (a) When coal is subjected to washing, the washed coal must be allocated to the leases from which it was extracted. (b) When...

Space Station Freedom resource allocation accommodation of technology payload requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Avery, Don E.; Collier, Lisa D.; Gartrell, Charles F.

1990-01-01

An overview of the Office of Aeronautics, Exploration, and Technology (OAET) Space Station Freedom Technology Payload Development Program is provided, and the OAET Station resource requirements are reviewed. The requirements are contrasted with current proposed resource allocations. A discussion of the issues and conclusions are provided. It is concluded that an overall 20 percent resource allocation is appropriate to support OAET's technology development program, that some resources are inadequate even at the 20 percent level, and that bartering resources among U.S. users and international partners and increasing the level of automation may be viable solutions to the resource constraint problem.

A survey and taxonomy on energy efficient resource allocation techniques for cloud computing systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hameed, Abdul; Khoshkbarforoushha, Alireza; Ranjan, Rajiv

In a cloud computing paradigm, energy efficient allocation of different virtualized ICT resources (servers, storage disks, and networks, and the like) is a complex problem due to the presence of heterogeneous application (e.g., content delivery networks, MapReduce, web applications, and the like) workloads having contentious allocation requirements in terms of ICT resource capacities (e.g., network bandwidth, processing speed, response time, etc.). Several recent papers have tried to address the issue of improving energy efficiency in allocating cloud resources to applications with varying degree of success. However, to the best of our knowledge there is no published literature on this subjectmore » that clearly articulates the research problem and provides research taxonomy for succinct classification of existing techniques. Hence, the main aim of this paper is to identify open challenges associated with energy efficient resource allocation. In this regard, the study, first, outlines the problem and existing hardware and software-based techniques available for this purpose. Furthermore, available techniques already presented in the literature are summarized based on the energy-efficient research dimension taxonomy. The advantages and disadvantages of the existing techniques are comprehensively analyzed against the proposed research dimension taxonomy namely: resource adaption policy, objective function, allocation method, allocation operation, and interoperability.« less

Risk-based decision making for staggered bioterrorist attacks : resource allocation and risk reduction in "reload" scenarios.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lemaster, Michelle Nicole; Gay, David M.; Ehlen, Mark Andrew

2009-10-01

Staggered bioterrorist attacks with aerosolized pathogens on population centers present a formidable challenge to resource allocation and response planning. The response and planning will commence immediately after the detection of the first attack and with no or little information of the second attack. In this report, we outline a method by which resource allocation may be performed. It involves probabilistic reconstruction of the bioterrorist attack from partial observations of the outbreak, followed by an optimization-under-uncertainty approach to perform resource allocations. We consider both single-site and time-staggered multi-site attacks (i.e., a reload scenario) under conditions when resources (personnel and equipment whichmore » are difficult to gather and transport) are insufficient. Both communicable (plague) and non-communicable diseases (anthrax) are addressed, and we also consider cases when the data, the time-series of people reporting with symptoms, are confounded with a reporting delay. We demonstrate how our approach develops allocations profiles that have the potential to reduce the probability of an extremely adverse outcome in exchange for a more certain, but less adverse outcome. We explore the effect of placing limits on daily allocations. Further, since our method is data-driven, the resource allocation progressively improves as more data becomes available.« less

Where Does the Money Go? Resource Allocation in Elementary and Secondary Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Picus, Lawrence O., Ed.; Wattenbarger, James L., Ed.

The 13 Chapters in this book address the important issue of how schools and school districts allocate their resources. The book summarizes the emerging research in educational resource allocations (tax dollars) at the district, school, and classroom levels. Following the preface by Lawrence O. Picus, the chapters include: (1) "Why Do We Need to…

Allocation Anatomy: How District Policies That Deploy Resources Can Support (or Undermine) District Reform Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roza, Marguerite

2008-01-01

The goal of this paper is to explore the effects of micro-budgeting decisions and show how they might support or hamper district reform strategies. The study draws on public and private sector resource allocation literature to identify key elements of resource allocation decisions. These elements are used to highlight different allocation…

A Model of Resource Allocation in Public School Districts: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chambers, Jay G.

This paper formulates a comprehensive model of resource allocation in a local public school district. The theoretical framework specified could be applied equally well to any number of local public social service agencies. Section 1 develops the theoretical model describing the process of resource allocation. This involves the determination of the…

Resource Allocation Models and Accountability: A Jamaican Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nkrumah-Young, Kofi K.; Powell, Philip

2008-01-01

Higher education institutions (HEIs) may be funded privately, by the state or by a mixture of the two. Nevertheless, any state financing of HE necessitates a mechanism to determine the level of support and the channels through which it is to be directed; that is, a resource allocation model. Public funding, through resource allocation models,…

A cross-sectional survey of Australian and New Zealand public opinion on methods totriage intensive care patients in an influenza pandemic.

PubMed

Cheung, Winston; Myburgh, John; McGuinness, Shay; Chalmers, Debra; Parke, Rachael; Blyth, Fiona; Seppelt, Ian; Parr, Michael; Hooker, Claire; Blackwell, Nikki; DeMonte, Shannon; Gandhi, Kalpesh; Kol, Mark; Kerridge, Ian; Nair, Priya; Saunders, Nicholas M; Saxena, Manoj K; Thanakrishnan, Govindasamy; Naganathan, Vasi

2017-09-01

An influenza pandemic has the potential to overwhelm intensive care resources, but the views of the general public on how resources should be allocated in such a scenario were unknown. We aimed to determine Australian and New Zealand public opinion on how intensive care unit beds should be allocated during an influenza pandemic. A postal questionnaire was sent to 4000 randomly selected registered voters; 2000 people each from the Australian Electoral Commission and New Zealand Electoral Commission rolls. The respondents' preferred method to triage ICU patients in an influenza pandemic. Respondents chose from six methods: use a "first in, first served" approach; allow a senior doctor to decide; use pre-determined health department criteria; use random selection; use the patient's ability to pay; use the importance of the patient to decide. Respondents also rated each of the triage methods for fairness. Australian respondents preferred that patients be triaged to the ICU either by a senior doctor (43.2%) or by pre-determined health department criteria (38.7%). New Zealand respondents preferred that triage be performed by a senior doctor (45.9%). Respondents from both countries perceived triage by a senior doctor and by pre-determined health department criteria to be fair, and the other four methods of triage to be unfair. In an influenza pandemic, when ICU resources would be overwhelmed, survey respondents preferred that ICU triage be performed by a senior doctor, but also perceived the use of pre-determined triage criteria to be fair.

MTOR-driven quasi-programmed aging as a disposable soma theory

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

If life were created by intelligent design, we would indeed age from accumulation of molecular damage. Repair is costly and limited by energetic resources, and we would allocate resources rationally. But, albeit elegant, this design is fictional. Instead, nature blindly selects for short-term benefits of robust developmental growth. “Quasi-programmed” by the blind watchmaker, aging is a wasteful and aimless continuation of developmental growth, driven by nutrient-sensing, growth-promoting signaling pathways such as MTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin). A continuous post-developmental activity of such gerogenic pathways leads to hyperfunctions (aging), loss of homeostasis, age-related diseases, non-random organ damage and death. This model is consistent with a view that (1) soma is disposable, (2) aging and menopause are not programmed and (3) accumulation of random molecular damage is not a cause of aging as we know it. PMID:23708516

Public and private health-care financing with alternate public rationing rules.

PubMed

Cuff, Katherine; Hurley, Jeremiah; Mestelman, Stuart; Muller, Andrew; Nuscheler, Robert

2012-02-01

We develop a model to analyze parallel public and private health-care financing under two alternative public sector rationing rules: needs-based rationing and random rationing. Individuals vary in income and severity of illness. There is a limited supply of health-care resources used to treat individuals, causing some individuals to go untreated. Insurers (both public and private) must bid to obtain the necessary health-care resources to treat their beneficiaries. Given individuals' willingnesses-to-pay for private insurance are increasing in income, the introduction of private insurance diverts treatment from relatively poor to relatively rich individuals. Further, the impact of introducing parallel private insurance depends on the rationing mechanism in the public sector. We show that the private health insurance market is smaller when the public sector rations according to need than when allocation is random. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

MTOR-driven quasi-programmed aging as a disposable soma theory: blind watchmaker vs. intelligent designer.

PubMed

Blagosklonny, Mikhail V

2013-06-15

If life were created by intelligent design, we would indeed age from accumulation of molecular damage. Repair is costly and limited by energetic resources, and we would allocate resources rationally. But, albeit elegant, this design is fictional. Instead, nature blindly selects for short-term benefits of robust developmental growth. "Quasi-programmed" by the blind watchmaker, aging is a wasteful and aimless continuation of developmental growth, driven by nutrient-sensing, growth-promoting signaling pathways such as MTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin). A continuous post-developmental activity of such gerogenic pathways leads to hyperfunctions (aging), loss of homeostasis, age-related diseases, non-random organ damage and death. This model is consistent with a view that (1) soma is disposable, (2) aging and menopause are not programmed and (3) accumulation of random molecular damage is not a cause of aging as we know it.

Rail-Highway Crossing Resource Allocation Procedure - User's Guide. Third Edition

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1987-08-01

To assist states and railroads in determining effective allocations of Federal funds for rail-highway crossing improvements, the U.S. Department of Transportation has developed the DOT Rail-Highway Crossing Resource Allocation Procedure. The procedur...

The dynamics of resource allocation and costs of reproduction in a sexually dimorphic, wind-pollinated dioecious plant.

PubMed

Teitel, Z; Pickup, M; Field, D L; Barrett, S C H

2016-01-01

Sexual dimorphism in resource allocation is expected to change during the life cycle of dioecious plants because of temporal differences between the sexes in reproductive investment. Given the potential for sex-specific differences in reproductive costs, resource availability may contribute to variation in reproductive allocation in females and males. Here, we used Rumex hastatulus, a dioecious, wind-pollinated annual plant, to investigate whether sexual dimorphism varies with life-history stage and nutrient availability, and determine whether allocation patterns differ depending on reproductive commitment. To examine if the costs of reproduction varied between the sexes, reproduction was either allowed or prevented through bud removal, and biomass allocation was measured at maturity. In a second experiment to assess variation in sexual dimorphism across the life cycle, and whether this varied with resource availability, plants were grown in high and low nutrients and allocation to roots, aboveground vegetative growth and reproduction were measured at three developmental stages. Males prevented from reproducing compensated with increased above- and belowground allocation to a much larger degree than females, suggesting that male reproductive costs reduce vegetative growth. The proportional allocation to roots, reproductive structures and aboveground vegetative growth varied between the sexes and among life-cycle stages, but not with nutrient treatment. Females allocated proportionally more resources to roots than males at peak flowering, but this pattern was reversed at reproductive maturity under low-nutrient conditions. Our study illustrates the importance of temporal dynamics in sex-specific resource allocation and provides support for high male reproductive costs in wind-pollinated plants. © 2015 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Resource allocation and budgetary mechanisms for decentralized health systems: experiences from Balochistan, Pakistan.

PubMed

Green, A; Ali, B; Naeem, A; Ross, D

2000-01-01

This paper identifies key political and technical issues involved in the development of an appropriate resource allocation and budgetary system for the public health sector, using experience gained in the Province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The resource allocation and budgetary system is a critical, yet often neglected, component of any decentralization policy. Current systems are often based on historical incrementalism that is neither efficient nor equitable. This article describes technical work carried out in Balochistan to develop a system of resource allocation and budgeting that is needs-based, in line with policies of decentralization, and implementable within existing technical constraints. However, the development of technical systems, while necessary, is not a sufficient condition for the implementation of a resource allocation and decentralized budgeting system. This is illustrated by analysing the constraints that have been encountered in the development of such a system in Balochistan.

A Protocol for Generating and Exchanging (Genome-Scale) Metabolic Resource Allocation Models.

PubMed

Reimers, Alexandra-M; Lindhorst, Henning; Waldherr, Steffen

2017-09-06

In this article, we present a protocol for generating a complete (genome-scale) metabolic resource allocation model, as well as a proposal for how to represent such models in the systems biology markup language (SBML). Such models are used to investigate enzyme levels and achievable growth rates in large-scale metabolic networks. Although the idea of metabolic resource allocation studies has been present in the field of systems biology for some years, no guidelines for generating such a model have been published up to now. This paper presents step-by-step instructions for building a (dynamic) resource allocation model, starting with prerequisites such as a genome-scale metabolic reconstruction, through building protein and noncatalytic biomass synthesis reactions and assigning turnover rates for each reaction. In addition, we explain how one can use SBML level 3 in combination with the flux balance constraints and our resource allocation modeling annotation to represent such models.

Resource allocation and budgetary mechanisms for decentralized health systems: experiences from Balochistan, Pakistan.

PubMed Central

Green, A.; Ali, B.; Naeem, A.; Ross, D.

2000-01-01

This paper identifies key political and technical issues involved in the development of an appropriate resource allocation and budgetary system for the public health sector, using experience gained in the Province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The resource allocation and budgetary system is a critical, yet often neglected, component of any decentralization policy. Current systems are often based on historical incrementalism that is neither efficient nor equitable. This article describes technical work carried out in Balochistan to develop a system of resource allocation and budgeting that is needs-based, in line with policies of decentralization, and implementable within existing technical constraints. However, the development of technical systems, while necessary, is not a sufficient condition for the implementation of a resource allocation and decentralized budgeting system. This is illustrated by analysing the constraints that have been encountered in the development of such a system in Balochistan. PMID:10994286

Opportunistic Capacity-Based Resource Allocation for Chunk-Based Multi-Carrier Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Huang, Jie; Zeng, Xiaoping; Jian, Xin; Tan, Xiaoheng; Zhang, Qi

2017-01-01

The spectrum allocation for cognitive radio sensor networks (CRSNs) has received considerable research attention under the assumption that the spectrum environment is static. However, in practice, the spectrum environment varies over time due to primary user/secondary user (PU/SU) activity and mobility, resulting in time-varied spectrum resources. This paper studies resource allocation for chunk-based multi-carrier CRSNs with time-varied spectrum resources. We present a novel opportunistic capacity model through a continuous time semi-Markov chain (CTSMC) to describe the time-varied spectrum resources of chunks and, based on this, a joint power and chunk allocation model by considering the opportunistically available capacity of chunks is proposed. To reduce the computational complexity, we split this model into two sub-problems and solve them via the Lagrangian dual method. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed opportunistic capacity-based resource allocation algorithm can achieve better performance compared with traditional algorithms when the spectrum environment is time-varied. PMID:28106803

Evaluation on equality and efficiency of health resources allocation and health services utilization in China.

PubMed

Sun, Jian; Luo, Hongye

2017-07-14

China is faced with a daunting challenge to equality and efficiency in health resources allocation and health services utilization in the context of rapid economic growth. This study sought to evaluate the equality and efficiency of health resources allocation and health services utilization in China. Demographic, economic, and geographic area data was sourced from China Statistical Yearbook 2012-2016. Data related to health resources and health services was obtained from China Health Statistics Yearbook 2012-2016. Furthermore, we evaluated the equality of health resources allocation based on Gini coefficient. Concentration index was used to measure the equality in utilization of health services. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was employed to assess the efficiency of health resources allocation. From 2011 to 2015, the Gini coefficients for health resources by population ranged between 0.0644 and 0.1879, while the Gini coefficients for the resources by geographic area ranged from 0.6136 to 0.6568. Meanwhile, the concentration index values for health services utilization ranged from -0.0392 to 0.2110. Moreover, in 2015, 10 provinces (32.26%) were relatively efficient in terms of health resources allocation, while 7 provinces (22.58%) and 14 provinces (45.16%) were weakly efficient and inefficient, respectively. There exist distinct regional disparities in the distribution of health resources in China, which are mainly reflected in the geographic distribution of health resources. Furthermore, the people living in the eastern developed areas are more likely to use outpatient care, while the people living in western underdeveloped areas are more likely to use inpatient care. Moreover, the efficiency of health resources allocation in 21 provinces (67.74%) of China was low and needs to be improved. Thus, the government should pay more attention to the equality based on geographic area, guide patients to choose medical treatment rationally, and optimize the resource investments for different provinces.

Fundamental resource-allocating model in colleges and universities based on Immune Clone Algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Mengdie

2017-05-01

In this thesis we will seek the combination of antibodies and antigens converted from the optimal course arrangement and make an analogy with Immune Clone Algorithms. According to the character of the Algorithms, we apply clone, clone gene and clone selection to arrange courses. Clone operator can combine evolutionary search and random search, global search and local search. By cloning and clone mutating candidate solutions, we can find the global optimal solution quickly.

Resource Allocation in High Schools. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartman, William T.

This study investigated the resource allocation process--how school administrators obtain the proper resources to operate their schools, distribute the available resources among the various school programs appropriately, and manage resources for effective educational results--in four high schools during the 1984-85 school year. Information was…

Preventing child pedestrian injury: pedestrian education or traffic calming?

PubMed

Roberts, I; Ashton, T; Dunn, R; Lee-Joe, T

1994-06-01

The traditional approach to the prevention of child pedestrian injuries in New Zealand is pedestrian education. However, none of the programs currently being implemented in New Zealand have ever been shown to reduce injury rates. The allocation of scarce resources to pedestrian education must therefore be questioned. In this paper we estimate the number of serious child pedestrian injuries which might be prevented if the resources allocated to pedestrian education were allocated instead to environmental approaches, in particular, to traffic calming. It is estimated that approximately 18 hospitalisations of child pedestrians could be prevented each year under this alternative resource allocation, disregarding any other benefits of traffic calming. These results emphasise the need to consider the potential sacrifices involved in the allocation of scarce resources to child pedestrian education.

Summary of Research 1997 Department of Systems Management.

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-01-01

formulation and execution; impacts of budget allocation , reallocation, and reduction; imple- mentation of Defense Resource Management Systems; and the...flexible structure that can be applied to a wide range of resource allocation problems. PUBLICATIONS: Dolk, D., Murphy, M., and Thomas, G...policies, procedures, and rationale in deter- mining recruiting resource allocation decisions. The methodology relies on a review of the literature

The Role of Temporal Context and Expectancy in Resource Allocation to and Perception of Rapid Serial Events

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kranczioch, Cornelia; Dhinakaran, Janani

2013-01-01

The perception of target events presented in a rapid stream of non-targets is impaired for early target positions, but then gradually improves, a phenomenon known as attentional awakening. This phenomenon has been associated with better resource allocation. It is unclear though whether improved resource allocation and attentional awakening are a…

Budgeting and Resource Allocation at Princeton University. Report of a Demonstration Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benacerraf, Paul; And Others

This report summarizes the work done to date on a study of resource allocation in universities. This report specifically is concerned with budgeting and resource allocation at Princeton University. The document consists of 4 sections. The first section deals with the process of budgeting at Princeton as it has evolved over the last 4 years. After…

Strategic costs and preferences revelation in the allocation of resources for health care.

PubMed

Levaggi, Laura; Levaggi, Rosella

2010-09-01

This article examines the resources allocation process in the internal market for health care in an environment characterised by asymmetry of information. We analyse the strategic behaviour of the provider and show how, by misreporting its cost function and reservation utility, it might shift the allocation of resources away from the purchaser's objectives. Although the fundamental importance of equity, efficiency and risk aversion considerations which have been the traditional focus of the literature on allocation of resources should not be denied, this paper shows that contracts and internal markets are not neutral instruments and more research should be devoted to studying their effects.

Performance Evaluation Model for Application Layer Firewalls.

PubMed

Xuan, Shichang; Yang, Wu; Dong, Hui; Zhang, Jiangchuan

2016-01-01

Application layer firewalls protect the trusted area network against information security risks. However, firewall performance may affect user experience. Therefore, performance analysis plays a significant role in the evaluation of application layer firewalls. This paper presents an analytic model of the application layer firewall, based on a system analysis to evaluate the capability of the firewall. In order to enable users to improve the performance of the application layer firewall with limited resources, resource allocation was evaluated to obtain the optimal resource allocation scheme in terms of throughput, delay, and packet loss rate. The proposed model employs the Erlangian queuing model to analyze the performance parameters of the system with regard to the three layers (network, transport, and application layers). Then, the analysis results of all the layers are combined to obtain the overall system performance indicators. A discrete event simulation method was used to evaluate the proposed model. Finally, limited service desk resources were allocated to obtain the values of the performance indicators under different resource allocation scenarios in order to determine the optimal allocation scheme. Under limited resource allocation, this scheme enables users to maximize the performance of the application layer firewall.

Motion-related resource allocation in dynamic wireless visual sensor network environments.

PubMed

Katsenou, Angeliki V; Kondi, Lisimachos P; Parsopoulos, Konstantinos E

2014-01-01

This paper investigates quality-driven cross-layer optimization for resource allocation in direct sequence code division multiple access wireless visual sensor networks. We consider a single-hop network topology, where each sensor transmits directly to a centralized control unit (CCU) that manages the available network resources. Our aim is to enable the CCU to jointly allocate the transmission power and source-channel coding rates for each node, under four different quality-driven criteria that take into consideration the varying motion characteristics of each recorded video. For this purpose, we studied two approaches with a different tradeoff of quality and complexity. The first one allocates the resources individually for each sensor, whereas the second clusters them according to the recorded level of motion. In order to address the dynamic nature of the recorded scenery and re-allocate the resources whenever it is dictated by the changes in the amount of motion in the scenery, we propose a mechanism based on the particle swarm optimization algorithm, combined with two restarting schemes that either exploit the previously determined resource allocation or conduct a rough estimation of it. Experimental simulations demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approaches.

Research on Evaluation of resource allocation efficiency of transportation system based on DEA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhehui; Du, Linan

2017-06-01

In this paper, we select the time series data onto 1985-2015 years, construct the land (shoreline) resources, capital and labor as inputs. The index system of the output is freight volume and passenger volume, we use Quantitative analysis based on DEA method evaluated the resource allocation efficiency of railway, highway, water transport and civil aviation in China. Research shows that the resource allocation efficiency of various modes of transport has obvious difference, and the impact on scale efficiency is more significant. The most important two ways to optimize the allocation of resources to improve the efficiency of the combination of various modes of transport is promoting the co-ordination of various modes of transport and constructing integrated transportation system.

Extended resource allocation index for link prediction of complex network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Shuxin; Ji, Xinsheng; Liu, Caixia; Bai, Yi

2017-08-01

Recently, a number of similarity-based methods have been proposed to predict the missing links in complex network. Among these indices, the resource allocation index performs very well with lower time complexity. However, it ignores potential resources transferred by local paths between two endpoints. Motivated by the resource exchange taking places between endpoints, an extended resource allocation index is proposed. Empirical study on twelve real networks and three synthetic dynamic networks has shown that the index we proposed can achieve a good performance, compared with eight mainstream baselines.

On-Line Allocation Of Robot Resources To Task Plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyons, Damian M.

1989-02-01

In this paper, I present an approach to representing plans that make on-line decisions about resource allocation. An on-line decision is the evaluation of a conditional expression involving sensory information as the plan is being executed. I use a plan representation called 7ZS10'1 1,12that has been especially designed for the domain of robot programming, and in particular, for the problem of on-line decisions. The resource allocation example is based on the robot assembly cell architecture outlined by Venkataraman and Lyons16. I begin by setting forth a definition of on-line decision making and some arguments as to why this form of decision making is important and useful. To set the context for the resource allocation example, I take some care in categorizing the types of on-line decision making and the approaches adopted by other workers so far. In particular, I justify a plan-based approach to the study of on-line decision making. From that, the focus shifts to one type of decision making: on-line allocation of robot resources to task plans. Robot resources are the physical manipulators (grippers, wrists, arms, feeders, etc) that are available to carry out the task. I formulate the assembly cell architecture of Venkataraman and Lyons16 as an R.S plan schema, and show how the on-line allocation specified in that architecture can be implemented. Finally, I show how considering the on-line allocation of logical resources, that is a physical resource plus some model information, can be used as a non-traditional approach to some problems in robot task planning.

Resource-oriented coaching for reduction of examination-related stress in medical students: an exploratory randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Kötter, Thomas; Niebuhr, Frank

2016-01-01

The years spent in acquiring medical education is considered a stressful period in the life of many students. Students whose mental health deteriorates during this long period of study are less likely to become empathic and productive physicians. In addition to other specific stressors, academic examinations seem to further induce medical school-related stress and anxiety. Combined group and individual resource-oriented coaching early in medical education might reduce examination-related stress and anxiety and, consequently, enhance academic performance. Good quality evidence, however, remains scarce. In this study, therefore, we explored the question of whether coaching affects examination-related stress and health in medical students. We conducted a randomized controlled trial. Students who registered for the first medical academic examination in August 2014 at the University of Lübeck were recruited and randomized into three groups. The intervention groups 1 and 2 received a 1-hour psychoeducative seminar. Group 1 additionally received two 1-hour sessions of individual coaching during examination preparation. Group 3 served as a control group. We compared changes in self-rated general health (measured by a single item), anxiety and depression (measured by the hospital anxiety and depression scale), as well as medical school stress (measured by the perceived medical school stress instrument). In order to further investigate the influence of group allocation on perceived medical school stress, we conducted a linear regression analysis. We saw a significant deterioration of general health and an increase in anxiety and depression scores in medical students while preparing for an examination. We found a small, but statistically significant, effect of group allocation on the development of perceived medical school stress. However, we could not differentiate between the effects of group coaching only and group coaching in combination with two sessions of individual coaching. The health of medical students deteriorated while preparing for an examination. Short-term resource-oriented coaching might be an effective means of reducing medical school stress in candidates preparing for an examination.

Resource allocation processes at multilateral organizations working in global health.

PubMed

Chi, Y-Ling; Bump, Jesse B

2018-02-01

International institutions provide well over US$10 billion in development assistance for health (DAH) annually and between 1990 and 2014, DAH disbursements totaled $458 billion but how do they decide who gets what, and for what purpose? In this article, we explore how allocation decisions were made by the nine convening agencies of the Equitable Access Initiative. We provide clear, plain language descriptions of the complete process from resource mobilization to allocation for the nine multilateral agencies with prominent agendas in global health. Then, through a comparative analysis we illuminate the choices and strategies employed in the nine international institutions. We find that resource allocation in all reviewed institutions follow a similar pattern, which we categorized in a framework of five steps: strategy definition, resource mobilization, eligibility of countries, support type and funds allocation. All the reviewed institutions generate resource allocation decisions through well-structured and fairly complex processes. Variations in those processes seem to reflect differences in institutional principles and goals. However, these processes have serious shortcomings. Technical problems include inadequate flexibility to account for or meet country needs. Although aid effectiveness and value for money are commonly referenced, we find that neither performance nor impact is a major criterion for allocating resources. We found very little formal consideration of the incentives generated by allocation choices. Political issues include non-transparent influence on allocation processes by donors and bureaucrats, and the common practice of earmarking funds to bypass the normal allocation process entirely. Ethical deficiencies include low accountability and transparency at international institutions, and limited participation by affected citizens or their representatives. We find that recipient countries have low influence on allocation processes themselves, although within these processes they have some influence in relatively narrow areas. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Assessing and Improving Performance: A Longitudinal Evaluation of Priority Setting and Resource Allocation in a Canadian Health Region

PubMed Central

Hall, William; Smith, Neale; Mitton, Craig; Urquhart, Bonnie; Bryan, Stirling

2018-01-01

Background: In order to meet the challenges presented by increasing demand and scarcity of resources, healthcare organizations are faced with difficult decisions related to resource allocation. Tools to facilitate evaluation and improvement of these processes could enable greater transparency and more optimal distribution of resources. Methods: The Resource Allocation Performance Assessment Tool (RAPAT) was implemented in a healthcare organization in British Columbia, Canada. Recommendations for improvement were delivered, and a follow up evaluation exercise was conducted to assess the trajectory of the organization’s priority setting and resource allocation (PSRA) process 2 years post the original evaluation. Results: Implementation of RAPAT in the pilot organization identified strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s PSRA process at the time of the original evaluation. Strengths included the use of criteria and evidence, an ability to reallocate resources, and the involvement of frontline staff in the process. Weaknesses included training, communication, and lack of program budgeting. Although the follow up revealed a regression from a more formal PSRA process, a legacy of explicit resource allocation was reported to be providing ongoing benefit for the organization. Conclusion: While past studies have taken a cross-sectional approach, this paper introduces the first longitudinal evaluation of PSRA in a healthcare organization. By including the strengths, weaknesses, and evolution of one organization’s journey, the authors’ intend that this paper will assist other healthcare leaders in meeting the challenges of allocating scarce resources. PMID:29626400

Resource Allocation and Seed Size Selection in Perennial Plants under Pollen Limitation.

PubMed

Huang, Qiaoqiao; Burd, Martin; Fan, Zhiwei

2017-09-01

Pollen limitation may affect resource allocation patterns in plants, but its role in the selection of seed size is not known. Using an evolutionarily stable strategy model of resource allocation in perennial iteroparous plants, we show that under density-independent population growth, pollen limitation (i.e., a reduction in ovule fertilization rate) should increase the optimal seed size. At any level of pollen limitation (including none), the optimal seed size maximizes the ratio of juvenile survival rate to the resource investment needed to produce one seed (including both ovule production and seed provisioning); that is, the optimum maximizes the fitness effect per unit cost. Seed investment may affect allocation to postbreeding adult survival. In our model, pollen limitation increases individual seed size but decreases overall reproductive allocation, so that pollen limitation should also increase the optimal allocation to postbreeding adult survival. Under density-dependent population growth, the optimal seed size is inversely proportional to ovule fertilization rate. However, pollen limitation does not affect the optimal allocation to postbreeding adult survival and ovule production. These results highlight the importance of allocation trade-offs in the effect pollen limitation has on the ecology and evolution of seed size and postbreeding adult survival in perennial plants.

Laboratory animal research published in plastic surgery journals in 2014 has extensive waste: A systematic review.

PubMed

Freshwater, M Felix

2015-11-01

Laboratory animal research must be designed in a manner that minimizes bias if it is to yield valid and reproducible results. In 2009, a survey that examined 271 animal studies found that 87% did not use randomization and 86% did not use blinding. This has been called "research waste" because it wasted time and resources. This systematic review measured the quantity of research waste in plastic surgery journals in 2014. The PRISMA-P protocol was used. SCOPUS and PubMed searches were done for all animal studies published in 2014 in Aesthetic Plast Surg, Aesthet Surg J, Ann Plast Surg, JPRAS, J Plast Surg Hand Surg and Plast Reconstr Surg. These were supplemented by manual searches of the 2014 issues not indexed. Articles were analyzed for descriptions of randomization, randomization methodology, allocation concealment, and blinding of the primary outcome assessment. Corresponding authors who mentioned randomization without elaborating were emailed for details. 112 of 154 articles met the inclusion criteria. Only 24/112 (21.4%) had blinding of the primary outcome measure, 28/110 (25.5%) of articles that required randomization mentioned it. While 12/28 articles clearly described randomizing the intervention, only 4/28 described the method of randomization, and 2/28 mentioned allocation concealment. Only two authors responded and described the randomization methodology. The quality of plastic surgery laboratory animal research published in 2014 was poor. Use of the National Centre for the Replacement Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research's "Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments" (ARRIVE) Guidelines by authors, and enforcement of them by editors and reviewers could improve research quality and reduce waste. Copyright © 2015 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Budgeting by Objectives--How Goals and Objectives, Operational Activities, and Resource Allocation Are Integrated in a Planning System. AIR 1984 Annual Forum Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capoor, Madan

The Objective-Based Assessment, Planning, and Resource Allocation System (OAPRAS) that was developed and implemented at Middlesex County College is described. The integrated self-assessment planning and budgeting system was developed in 1981. The central purpose of OAPRAS was to link resource allocation decisions to the prioritized objectives that…

Personnel Resource Allocation Strategies in a Time of Fiscal Crisis: Case Study of Elementary Schools in a California District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sais, Melissa Marie

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze human resource allocation data for all elementary schools in large urban school district to determine whether resources were allocated in ways in that research suggests can lead to improved student achievement. Data from all 46 elementary schools that participated in the study were compared to the…

Effects of web-based stress and depression literacy intervention on improving work engagement among workers with low work engagement: An analysis of secondary outcome of a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Imamura, Kotaro; Kawakami, Norito; Tsuno, Kanami; Tsuchiya, Masao; Shimada, Kyoko; Namba, Katsuyuki; Shimazu, Akihito

2017-01-24

The purpose of this randomized, controlled trial was to examine the effects of a psychoeducational information website on improving work engagement among individual workers with low work engagement, where work engagement was measured as a secondary outcome. Participants were recruited from registered members of a web survey site in Japan. Participants who fulfilled the eligibility criteria were randomly allocated to intervention or control groups. Immediately after the baseline survey, the intervention group was invited to study a psychoeducational website called the "UTSMed," which provided general mental health literacy and cognitive behavioral skills. Work engagement was assessed by using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale at baseline, 1-, and 4-month follow-ups for both intervention and control groups. An exploratory analysis was conducted for a subgroup with low (lower than the median scores) work engagement scores at baseline. A total of 1,236 workers completed the baseline survey. In the low work engagement subgroup, a total of 313 and 300 participants were allocated to an intervention and control group, respectively. In the high work engagement subgroup, 305 and 318 participants were allocated to an intervention and control group, respectively. The program showed a significant effect on work engagement (t = 1.98, P = 0.048) at the 4-month follow-up in the low work engagement subgroup, with a small effect size (d = 0.17). A web-based psychoeducation resource of mental health literacy and cognitive behavioral skills may be effective for improving work engagement among individual workers with low work engagement.

Resource Allocation in Healthcare: Implications of Models of Medicine as a Profession

PubMed Central

Kluge, Eike-Henner W.

2007-01-01

For decades, the problem of how to allocate healthcare resources in a just and equitable fashion has been the subject of concerted discussion and analysis, yet the issue has stubbornly resisted resolution. This article suggests that a major reason for this is that the discussion has focused exclusively on the nature and status of the material resources, and that the nature and role of the medical profession have been entirely ignored. Because physicians are gatekeepers to healthcare resources, their role in allocation is central from a process perspective. This article identifies 3 distinct interpretations of the nature of medicine, shows how each mandates a different method of allocation, and argues that unless an appropriate model of medicine is developed that acknowledges the valid points contained in each of the 3 approaches, the allocation problem will remain unsolvable. PMID:17435657

A mathematical modeling approach to resource allocation for railroad-highway crossing safety upgrades.

PubMed

Konur, Dinçer; Golias, Mihalis M; Darks, Brandon

2013-03-01

State Departments of Transportation (S-DOT's) periodically allocate budget for safety upgrades at railroad-highway crossings. Efficient resource allocation is crucial for reducing accidents at railroad-highway crossings and increasing railroad as well as highway transportation safety. While a specific method is not restricted to S-DOT's, sorting type of procedures are recommended by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), United States Department of Transportation for the resource allocation problem. In this study, a generic mathematical model is proposed for the resource allocation problem for railroad-highway crossing safety upgrades. The proposed approach is compared to sorting based methods for safety upgrades of public at-grade railroad-highway crossings in Tennessee. The comparison shows that the proposed mathematical modeling approach is more efficient than sorting methods in reducing accidents and severity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study of network resource allocation based on market and game theoretic mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yingmei; Wang, Hongwei; Wang, Gang

2004-04-01

We work on the network resource allocation issue concerning network management system function based on market-oriented mechanism. The scheme is to model the telecommunication network resources as trading goods in which the various network components could be owned by different competitive, real-world entities. This is a multidisciplinary framework concentrating on the similarity between resource allocation in network environment and the market mechanism in economic theory. By taking an economic (market-based and game theoretic) approach in routing of communication network, we study the dynamic behavior under game-theoretic framework in allocating network resources. Based on the prior work of Gibney and Jennings, we apply concepts of utility and fitness to the market mechanism with an intention to close the gap between experiment environment and real world situation.

Ethical triage and scarce resource allocation during public health emergencies: tenets and procedures.

PubMed

Kuschner, Ware G; Pollard, John B; Ezeji-Okoye, Stephen C

2007-01-01

Public health emergencies may result in mass casualties and a surge in demand for hospital-based care. Healthcare standards may need to be altered to respond to an imbalance between demands for care and resources. Clinical decisions that involve triage and scarce resource allocation may present unique ethical challenges. To address these challenges, the authors detailed tenets and procedures to guide triage and scarce resource allocation during public health emergencies. The authors propose health care organizations deploy a Triage and Scarce Resource Allocation Team to over-see and guide ethically challenging clinical decision-making during a crisis period. The authors' goal is to help healthcare organizations and clinicians balance public health responsibilities and their duty to individual patients during emergencies in as equitable and humane a manner as possible.

Decentralization and equity of resource allocation: evidence from Colombia and Chile.

PubMed Central

Bossert, Thomas J.; Larrañaga, Osvaldo; Giedion, Ursula; Arbelaez, José Jesus; Bowser, Diana M.

2003-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between decentralization and equity of resource allocation in Colombia and Chile. METHODS: The "decision space" approach and analysis of expenditures and utilization rates were used to provide a comparative analysis of decentralization of the health systems of Colombia and Chile. FINDINGS: Evidence from Colombia and Chile suggests that decentralization, under certain conditions and with some specific policy mechanisms, can improve equity of resource allocation. In these countries, equitable levels of per capita financial allocations at the municipal level were achieved through different forms of decentralization--the use of allocation formulae, adequate local funding choices and horizontal equity funds. Findings on equity of utilization of services were less consistent, but they did show that increased levels of funding were associated with increased utilization. This suggests that improved equity of funding over time might reduce inequities of service utilization. CONCLUSION: Decentralization can contribute to, or at least maintain, equitable allocation of health resources among municipalities of different incomes. PMID:12751417

Self-Regulated Reading in Adulthood

PubMed Central

Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A. L.; Soederberg Miller, Lisa M.; Gagne, Danielle D.; Hertzog, Christopher

2008-01-01

Younger and older adults read a series of passages of three different genres for an immediate assessment of text memory (measured by recall and true-false questions). Word-by-word reading times were measured and decomposed into components reflecting resource allocation to particular linguistic processes using regression. Allocation to word and textbase processes showed some consistency across the three text types and was predictive of memory performance. Older adults allocated more time to word and textbase processes than the young did, but showed enhanced contextual facilitation. Structural equation modeling showed that greater resource allocation to word processes was required among readers with relatively low working memory spans and poorer verbal ability, and that greater resource allocation to textbase processes was engendered by higher verbal ability. Results are discussed in terms of a model of self-regulated language processing suggesting that older readers may compensate for processing deficiencies through greater reliance on discourse context and on increases in resource allocation that are enabled through growth in crystallized ability. PMID:18361662

Rectifying Social Inequalities in a Resource Allocation Task

PubMed Central

Elenbaas, Laura; Rizzo, Michael T.; Cooley, Shelby; Killen, Melanie

2016-01-01

To investigate whether children rectify social inequalities in a resource allocation task, participants (N = 185 African-American and European-American 5–6 year-olds and 10–11 year-olds) witnessed an inequality of school supplies between peers of different racial backgrounds. Assessments were conducted on how children judged the wrongfulness of the inequality, allocated new resources to racial ingroup and outgroup recipients, evaluated alternative allocation strategies, and reasoned about their decisions. Younger children showed ingroup favorability; their responses differed depending on whether they had witnessed their ingroup or an outgroup at a disadvantage. With age, children increasingly reasoned about the importance of equal access to school supplies and correcting past disparities. Older children judged the resource inequality negatively, allocated more resources to the disadvantaged group, and positively evaluated the actions of others who did the same, regardless of whether they had seen their racial ingroup or an outgroup at a disadvantage. Thus, balancing moral and social group concerns enabled individuals to rectify inequalities and ensure fair access to important resources regardless of racial group membership. PMID:27423813

A comparative study of restricted randomization procedures for multiarm trials with equal or unequal treatment allocation ratios.

PubMed

Ryeznik, Yevgen; Sverdlov, Oleksandr

2018-06-04

Randomization designs for multiarm clinical trials are increasingly used in practice, especially in phase II dose-ranging studies. Many new methods have been proposed in the literature; however, there is lack of systematic, head-to-head comparison of the competing designs. In this paper, we systematically investigate statistical properties of various restricted randomization procedures for multiarm trials with fixed and possibly unequal allocation ratios. The design operating characteristics include measures of allocation balance, randomness of treatment assignments, variations in the allocation ratio, and statistical characteristics such as type I error rate and power. The results from the current paper should help clinical investigators select an appropriate randomization procedure for their clinical trial. We also provide a web-based R shiny application that can be used to reproduce all results in this paper and run simulations under additional user-defined experimental scenarios. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Gaps, conflicts, and consensus in the ethics statements of professional associations, medical groups, and health plans

PubMed Central

Berkman, N; Wynia, M; Churchill, L

2004-01-01

Background: Patients today interact with physicians, physician groups, and health plans, each of which may follow distinct ethical guidelines. Method: We systematically compared physician codes of ethics with ethics policies at physician group practices and health plans, using the 1998–99 policies of 38 organisations—18 medical associations (associations), nine physician group practices (groups), and 12 health plans (plans)—selected using random and stratified purposive sampling. A clinician and a social scientist independently abstracted each document, using a 397-item health care ethics taxonomy; a reconciled abstraction form was used for analysis. This study focuses on ethics policies regarding professional obligation towards patients, resource allocation, and care for the vulnerable in society. Results: A majority in all three groups mention "fiduciary obligations" of one sort or another, but associations generally address physician/patient relations but not health plan obligations, while plans rarely endorse physicians' obligations of advocacy, beneficence, and non-maleficence. Except for occasional mentions of cost effectiveness or efficiency, ethical considerations in resource allocation rarely arise in the ethics policies of all three organisational types. Very few associations, groups, or plans specifically endorse obligations to vulnerable populations. Conclusions: With some important exceptions, we found that the ethics policies of associations, groups, and plans are narrowly focused and often ignore important ethical concerns for society, such as resource allocation and care for vulnerable populations. More collaborative work is needed to build integrated sets of ethical standards that address the aims and responsibilities of the major stakeholders in health care delivery. PMID:15289536

Stochastic Averaging for Constrained Optimization With Application to Online Resource Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Tianyi; Mokhtari, Aryan; Wang, Xin; Ribeiro, Alejandro; Giannakis, Georgios B.

2017-06-01

Existing approaches to resource allocation for nowadays stochastic networks are challenged to meet fast convergence and tolerable delay requirements. The present paper leverages online learning advances to facilitate stochastic resource allocation tasks. By recognizing the central role of Lagrange multipliers, the underlying constrained optimization problem is formulated as a machine learning task involving both training and operational modes, with the goal of learning the sought multipliers in a fast and efficient manner. To this end, an order-optimal offline learning approach is developed first for batch training, and it is then generalized to the online setting with a procedure termed learn-and-adapt. The novel resource allocation protocol permeates benefits of stochastic approximation and statistical learning to obtain low-complexity online updates with learning errors close to the statistical accuracy limits, while still preserving adaptation performance, which in the stochastic network optimization context guarantees queue stability. Analysis and simulated tests demonstrate that the proposed data-driven approach improves the delay and convergence performance of existing resource allocation schemes.

A cognitive gateway-based spectrum sharing method in downlink round robin scheduling of LTE system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Hongyu; Wu, Cheng; Wang, Yiming

2017-07-01

A key technique of LTE is how to allocate efficiently the resource of radio spectrum. Traditional Round Robin (RR) scheduling scheme may lead to too many resource residues when allocating resources. When the number of users in the current transmission time interval (TTI) is not the greatest common divisor of resource block groups (RBGs), and such a phenomenon lasts for a long time, the spectrum utilization would be greatly decreased. In this paper, a novel spectrum allocation scheme of cognitive gateway (CG) was proposed, in which the LTE spectrum utilization and CG’s throughput were greatly increased by allocating idle resource blocks in the shared TTI in LTE system to CG. Our simulation results show that the spectrum resource sharing method can improve LTE spectral utilization and increase the CG’s throughput as well as network use time.

Models of resource allocation optimization when solving the control problems in organizational systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menshikh, V.; Samorokovskiy, A.; Avsentev, O.

2018-03-01

The mathematical model of optimizing the allocation of resources to reduce the time for management decisions and algorithms to solve the general problem of resource allocation. The optimization problem of choice of resources in organizational systems in order to reduce the total execution time of a job is solved. This problem is a complex three-level combinatorial problem, for the solving of which it is necessary to implement the solution to several specific problems: to estimate the duration of performing each action, depending on the number of performers within the group that performs this action; to estimate the total execution time of all actions depending on the quantitative composition of groups of performers; to find such a distribution of the existing resource of performers in groups to minimize the total execution time of all actions. In addition, algorithms to solve the general problem of resource allocation are proposed.

Contrarian behavior in a complex adaptive system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Y.; An, K. N.; Yang, G.; Huang, J. P.

2013-01-01

Contrarian behavior is a kind of self-organization in complex adaptive systems (CASs). Here we report the existence of a transition point in a model resource-allocation CAS with contrarian behavior by using human experiments, computer simulations, and theoretical analysis. The resource ratio and system predictability serve as the tuning parameter and order parameter, respectively. The transition point helps to reveal the positive or negative role of contrarian behavior. This finding is in contrast to the common belief that contrarian behavior always has a positive role in resource allocation, say, stabilizing resource allocation by shrinking the redundancy or the lack of resources. It is further shown that resource allocation can be optimized at the transition point by adding an appropriate size of contrarians. This work is also expected to be of value to some other fields ranging from management and social science to ecology and evolution.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Hao; Garzoglio, Gabriele; Ren, Shangping

FermiCloud is a private cloud developed in Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory to provide elastic and on-demand resources for different scientific research experiments. The design goal of the FermiCloud is to automatically allocate resources for different scientific applications so that the QoS required by these applications is met and the operational cost of the FermiCloud is minimized. Our earlier research shows that VM launching overhead has large variations. If such variations are not taken into consideration when making resource allocation decisions, it may lead to poor performance and resource waste. In this paper, we show how we may use an VMmore » launching overhead reference model to minimize VM launching overhead. In particular, we first present a training algorithm that automatically tunes a given refer- ence model to accurately reflect FermiCloud environment. Based on the tuned reference model for virtual machine launching overhead, we develop an overhead-aware-best-fit resource allocation algorithm that decides where and when to allocate resources so that the average virtual machine launching overhead is minimized. The experimental results indicate that the developed overhead-aware-best-fit resource allocation algorithm can significantly improved the VM launching time when large number of VMs are simultaneously launched.« less

Geometric Distribution-Based Readers Scheduling Optimization Algorithm Using Artificial Immune System.

PubMed

Duan, Litian; Wang, Zizhong John; Duan, Fu

2016-11-16

In the multiple-reader environment (MRE) of radio frequency identification (RFID) system, multiple readers are often scheduled to interrogate the randomized tags via operating at different time slots or frequency channels to decrease the signal interferences. Based on this, a Geometric Distribution-based Multiple-reader Scheduling Optimization Algorithm using Artificial Immune System (GD-MRSOA-AIS) is proposed to fairly and optimally schedule the readers operating from the viewpoint of resource allocations. GD-MRSOA-AIS is composed of two parts, where a geometric distribution function combined with the fairness consideration is first introduced to generate the feasible scheduling schemes for reader operation. After that, artificial immune system (including immune clone, immune mutation and immune suppression) quickly optimize these feasible ones as the optimal scheduling scheme to ensure that readers are fairly operating with larger effective interrogation range and lower interferences. Compared with the state-of-the-art algorithm, the simulation results indicate that GD-MRSOA-AIS could efficiently schedules the multiple readers operating with a fairer resource allocation scheme, performing in larger effective interrogation range.

Geometric Distribution-Based Readers Scheduling Optimization Algorithm Using Artificial Immune System

PubMed Central

Duan, Litian; Wang, Zizhong John; Duan, Fu

2016-01-01

In the multiple-reader environment (MRE) of radio frequency identification (RFID) system, multiple readers are often scheduled to interrogate the randomized tags via operating at different time slots or frequency channels to decrease the signal interferences. Based on this, a Geometric Distribution-based Multiple-reader Scheduling Optimization Algorithm using Artificial Immune System (GD-MRSOA-AIS) is proposed to fairly and optimally schedule the readers operating from the viewpoint of resource allocations. GD-MRSOA-AIS is composed of two parts, where a geometric distribution function combined with the fairness consideration is first introduced to generate the feasible scheduling schemes for reader operation. After that, artificial immune system (including immune clone, immune mutation and immune suppression) quickly optimize these feasible ones as the optimal scheduling scheme to ensure that readers are fairly operating with larger effective interrogation range and lower interferences. Compared with the state-of-the-art algorithm, the simulation results indicate that GD-MRSOA-AIS could efficiently schedules the multiple readers operating with a fairer resource allocation scheme, performing in larger effective interrogation range. PMID:27854342

The Advantage of Standardisation as a Management Instrument in Companies

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-09-01

possible synergistic effects between different but related business units and allocate all kinds of resources in the best possible way. The management... allocating the necessary resources. This pragmatic approach corresponds to the "structure follows strategy thesis". Under the term strategy this thesis...implementation of the necessary arrangements in the functional areas as well as the allocation of existing resources. In this connection the demand for

Resource Allocation and Budgeting for the 1972-73 Mini-Schools of the Alum Rock Voucher Demonstration. Analysis of the Education Voucher Demonstration. A Working Note.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haggart, S. A.; Furry, W. S.

This Working Note documents the first year's events and outcomes in developing the budgeting system and resource allocation rules to support the Education Voucher Demonstration. The district now has systems for per pupil resource allocation and school/minischool cost center accounting. The basic voucher of $1,041 for grades 7-8, and $788 for…

Joint Rhythmic Movement Increases 4-Year-Old Children's Prosocial Sharing and Fairness Toward Peers.

PubMed

Rabinowitch, Tal-Chen; Meltzoff, Andrew N

2017-01-01

The allocation of resources to a peer partner is a prosocial act that is of fundamental importance. Joint rhythmic movement, such as occurs during musical interaction, can induce positive social experiences, which may play a role in developing and enhancing young children's prosocial skills. Here, we investigated whether joint rhythmic movement, free of musical context, increases 4-year-olds' sharing and sense of fairness in a resource allocation task involving peers. We developed a precise procedure for administering joint synchronous experience, joint asynchronous experience, and a baseline control involving no treatment. Then we tested how participants allocated resources between self and peer. We found an increase in the generous allocation of resources to peers following both synchronous and asynchronous movement compared to no treatment. At a more theoretical level, this result is considered in relation to previous work testing other aspects of child prosociality, for example, peer cooperation, which can be distinguished from judgments of fairness in resource allocation tasks. We draw a conceptual distinction between two types of prosocial behavior: resource allocation (an other-directed individual behavior) and cooperation (a goal-directed collaborative endeavor). Our results highlight how rhythmic interactions, which are prominent in joint musical engagements and synchronized activity, influence prosocial behavior between preschool peers.

Joint Rhythmic Movement Increases 4-Year-Old Children’s Prosocial Sharing and Fairness Toward Peers

PubMed Central

Rabinowitch, Tal-Chen; Meltzoff, Andrew N.

2017-01-01

The allocation of resources to a peer partner is a prosocial act that is of fundamental importance. Joint rhythmic movement, such as occurs during musical interaction, can induce positive social experiences, which may play a role in developing and enhancing young children’s prosocial skills. Here, we investigated whether joint rhythmic movement, free of musical context, increases 4-year-olds’ sharing and sense of fairness in a resource allocation task involving peers. We developed a precise procedure for administering joint synchronous experience, joint asynchronous experience, and a baseline control involving no treatment. Then we tested how participants allocated resources between self and peer. We found an increase in the generous allocation of resources to peers following both synchronous and asynchronous movement compared to no treatment. At a more theoretical level, this result is considered in relation to previous work testing other aspects of child prosociality, for example, peer cooperation, which can be distinguished from judgments of fairness in resource allocation tasks. We draw a conceptual distinction between two types of prosocial behavior: resource allocation (an other-directed individual behavior) and cooperation (a goal-directed collaborative endeavor). Our results highlight how rhythmic interactions, which are prominent in joint musical engagements and synchronized activity, influence prosocial behavior between preschool peers. PMID:28694786

Atypical resource allocation may contribute to many aspects of autism

PubMed Central

Goldknopf, Emily J.

2013-01-01

Based on a review of the literature and on reports by people with autism, this paper suggests that atypical resource allocation is a factor that contributes to many aspects of autism spectrum conditions, including difficulties with language and social cognition, atypical sensory and attentional experiences, executive and motor challenges, and perceptual and conceptual strengths and weaknesses. Drawing upon resource theoretical approaches that suggest that perception, cognition, and action draw upon multiple pools of resources, the approach hypothesizes that compared with resources in typical cognition, resources in autism are narrowed or reduced, especially in people with strong sensory symptoms. In narrowed attention, resources are restricted to smaller areas and to fewer modalities, stages of processing, and cognitive processes than in typical cognition; narrowed resources may be more intense than in typical cognition. In reduced attentional capacity, overall resources are reduced; resources may be restricted to fewer modalities, stages of processing, and cognitive processes than in typical cognition, or the amount of resources allocated to each area or process may be reduced. Possible neural bases of the hypothesized atypical resource allocation, relations to other approaches, limitations, and tests of the hypotheses are discussed. PMID:24421760

Strategically Allocating Resources to Support Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynch, Matthew

2012-01-01

As the enduring economic recession forces state and local governments to cut education budgets, astute allocation of resources is becoming more important. The author analyses three basic categories of educational resources: money, human capital, and time before moving to a discussion of resources as a component of school reform. The author…

Ground data systems resource allocation process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berner, Carol A.; Durham, Ralph; Reilly, Norman B.

1989-01-01

The Ground Data Systems Resource Allocation Process at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory provides medium- and long-range planning for the use of Deep Space Network and Mission Control and Computing Center resources in support of NASA's deep space missions and Earth-based science. Resources consist of radio antenna complexes and associated data processing and control computer networks. A semi-automated system was developed that allows operations personnel to interactively generate, edit, and revise allocation plans spanning periods of up to ten years (as opposed to only two or three weeks under the manual system) based on the relative merit of mission events. It also enhances scientific data return. A software system known as the Resource Allocation and Planning Helper (RALPH) merges the conventional methods of operations research, rule-based knowledge engineering, and advanced data base structures. RALPH employs a generic, highly modular architecture capable of solving a wide variety of scheduling and resource sequencing problems. The rule-based RALPH system has saved significant labor in resource allocation. Its successful use affirms the importance of establishing and applying event priorities based on scientific merit, and the benefit of continuity in planning provided by knowledge-based engineering. The RALPH system exhibits a strong potential for minimizing development cycles of resource and payload planning systems throughout NASA and the private sector.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hameed, Abdul; Khoshkbarforoushha, Alireza; Ranjan, Rajiv

In a cloud computing paradigm, energy efficient allocation of different virtualized ICT resources (servers, storage disks, and networks, and the like) is a complex problem due to the presence of heterogeneous application (e.g., content delivery networks, MapReduce, web applications, and the like) workloads having contentious allocation requirements in terms of ICT resource capacities (e.g., network bandwidth, processing speed, response time, etc.). Several recent papers have tried to address the issue of improving energy efficiency in allocating cloud resources to applications with varying degree of success. However, to the best of our knowledge there is no published literature on this subjectmore » that clearly articulates the research problem and provides research taxonomy for succinct classification of existing techniques. Hence, the main aim of this paper is to identify open challenges associated with energy efficient resource allocation. In this regard, the study, first, outlines the problem and existing hardware and software-based techniques available for this purpose. Furthermore, available techniques already presented in the literature are summarized based on the energy-efficient research dimension taxonomy. The advantages and disadvantages of the existing techniques are comprehensively analyzed against the proposed research dimension taxonomy namely: resource adaption policy, objective function, allocation method, allocation operation, and interoperability.« less

Discrete Resource Allocation in Visual Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barton, Brian; Ester, Edward F.; Awh, Edward

2009-01-01

Are resources in visual working memory allocated in a continuous or a discrete fashion? On one hand, flexible resource models suggest that capacity is determined by a central resource pool that can be flexibly divided such that items of greater complexity receive a larger share of resources. On the other hand, if capacity in working memory is…

Sustainability in health care by allocating resources effectively (SHARE) 3: examining how resource allocation decisions are made, implemented and evaluated in a local healthcare setting.

PubMed

Harris, Claire; Allen, Kelly; Waller, Cara; Brooke, Vanessa

2017-05-09

This is the third in a series of papers reporting a program of Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. Leaders in a large Australian health service planned to establish an organisation-wide, systematic, integrated, evidence-based approach to disinvestment. In order to introduce new systems and processes for disinvestment into existing decision-making infrastructure, we aimed to understand where, how and by whom resource allocation decisions were made, implemented and evaluated. We also sought the knowledge and experience of staff regarding previous disinvestment activities. Structured interviews, workshops and document analysis were used to collect information from multiple sources in an environmental scan of decision-making systems and processes. Findings were synthesised using a theoretical framework. Sixty-eight respondents participated in interviews and workshops. Eight components in the process of resource allocation were identified: Governance, Administration, Stakeholder engagement, Resources, Decision-making, Implementation, Evaluation and, where appropriate, Reinvestment of savings. Elements of structure and practice for each component are described and a new framework was developed to capture the relationships between them. A range of decision-makers, decision-making settings, type and scope of decisions, criteria used, and strengths, weaknesses, barriers and enablers are outlined. The term 'disinvestment' was not used in health service decision-making. Previous projects that involved removal, reduction or restriction of current practices were driven by quality and safety issues, evidence-based practice or a need to find resource savings and not by initiatives where the primary aim was to disinvest. Measuring resource savings is difficult, in some situations impossible. Savings are often only theoretical as resources released may be utilised immediately by patients waiting for beds, clinic appointments or surgery. Decision-making systems and processes for resource allocation are more complex than assumed in previous studies. There is a wide range of decision-makers, settings, scope and type of decisions, and criteria used for allocating resources within a single institution. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to report this level of detail and to introduce eight components of the resource allocation process identified within a local health service.

The international environment UNISPACE '82 and the ITU: A relationship between orbit-spectrum resource allocation and orbital debris

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olmstead, D.

1985-01-01

The 1985 Space WARC will examine and potentially modify the current geostationary orbit spectrum resource allocation methodology. Discussions in this international political environment could likely associate the geostationary orbital debris issue with the politicized issue of orbit spectrum allocation.

On the Allocation of Resources for Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haelermans, Carla; De Witte, Kristof; Blank, Jos L. T.

2012-01-01

This paper studies the optimal allocation of resources--in terms of school management, teachers, supporting employees and materials--in secondary schools. We use a flexible budget constrained output distance function model to estimate both technical and allocative efficiency scores for 448 Dutch secondary schools between 2002 and 2007. The results…

The use of an integrated variable fuzzy sets in water resources management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Qingtai; Liu, Jia; Li, Chuanzhe; Yu, Xinzhe; Wang, Yang

2018-06-01

Based on the evaluation of the present situation of water resources and the development of water conservancy projects and social economy, optimal allocation of regional water resources presents an increasing need in the water resources management. Meanwhile it is also the most effective way to promote the harmonic relationship between human and water. In view of the own limitations of the traditional evaluations of which always choose a single index model using in optimal allocation of regional water resources, on the basis of the theory of variable fuzzy sets (VFS) and system dynamics (SD), an integrated variable fuzzy sets model (IVFS) is proposed to address dynamically complex problems in regional water resources management in this paper. The model is applied to evaluate the level of the optimal allocation of regional water resources of Zoucheng in China. Results show that the level of allocation schemes of water resources ranging from 2.5 to 3.5, generally showing a trend of lower level. To achieve optimal regional management of water resources, this model conveys a certain degree of accessing water resources management, which prominently improve the authentic assessment of water resources management by using the eigenvector of level H.

The need for randomization in animal trials: an overview of systematic reviews.

PubMed

Hirst, Jennifer A; Howick, Jeremy; Aronson, Jeffrey K; Roberts, Nia; Perera, Rafael; Koshiaris, Constantinos; Heneghan, Carl

2014-01-01

Randomization, allocation concealment, and blind outcome assessment have been shown to reduce bias in human studies. Authors from the Collaborative Approach to Meta Analysis and Review of Animal Data from Experimental Studies (CAMARADES) collaboration recently found that these features protect against bias in animal stroke studies. We extended the scope the work from CAMARADES to include investigations of treatments for any condition. We conducted an overview of systematic reviews. We searched Medline and Embase for systematic reviews of animal studies testing any intervention (against any control) and we included any disease area and outcome. We included reviews comparing randomized versus not randomized (but otherwise controlled), concealed versus unconcealed treatment allocation, or blinded versus unblinded outcome assessment. Thirty-one systematic reviews met our inclusion criteria: 20 investigated treatments for experimental stroke, 4 reviews investigated treatments for spinal cord diseases, while 1 review each investigated treatments for bone cancer, intracerebral hemorrhage, glioma, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and treatments used in emergency medicine. In our sample 29% of studies reported randomization, 15% of studies reported allocation concealment, and 35% of studies reported blinded outcome assessment. We pooled the results in a meta-analysis, and in our primary analysis found that failure to randomize significantly increased effect sizes, whereas allocation concealment and blinding did not. In our secondary analyses we found that randomization, allocation concealment, and blinding reduced effect sizes, especially where outcomes were subjective. Our study demonstrates the need for randomization, allocation concealment, and blind outcome assessment in animal research across a wide range of outcomes and disease areas. Since human studies are often justified based on results from animal studies, our results suggest that unduly biased animal studies should not be allowed to constitute part of the rationale for human trials.

A Two-Phase Model of Resource Allocation in Visual Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ye, Chaoxiong; Hu, Zhonghua; Li, Hong; Ristaniemi, Tapani; Liu, Qiang; Liu, Taosheng

2017-01-01

Two broad theories of visual working memory (VWM) storage have emerged from current research, a discrete slot-based theory and a continuous resource theory. However, neither the discrete slot-based theory or continuous resource theory clearly stipulates how the mental commodity for VWM (discrete slot or continuous resource) is allocated.…

Resource Allocation Procedure at Queensland University: A Dynamic Modelling Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galbraith, Peter L.; Carss, Brian W.

A structural reorganization of the University of Queensland, Australia, was undertaken to promote efficient resource management, and a resource allocation model was developed to aid in policy evaluation and planning. The operation of the restructured system was based on creating five resource groups to manage the distribution of academic resources…

Conic Sampling: An Efficient Method for Solving Linear and Quadratic Programming by Randomly Linking Constraints within the Interior

PubMed Central

Serang, Oliver

2012-01-01

Linear programming (LP) problems are commonly used in analysis and resource allocation, frequently surfacing as approximations to more difficult problems. Existing approaches to LP have been dominated by a small group of methods, and randomized algorithms have not enjoyed popularity in practice. This paper introduces a novel randomized method of solving LP problems by moving along the facets and within the interior of the polytope along rays randomly sampled from the polyhedral cones defined by the bounding constraints. This conic sampling method is then applied to randomly sampled LPs, and its runtime performance is shown to compare favorably to the simplex and primal affine-scaling algorithms, especially on polytopes with certain characteristics. The conic sampling method is then adapted and applied to solve a certain quadratic program, which compute a projection onto a polytope; the proposed method is shown to outperform the proprietary software Mathematica on large, sparse QP problems constructed from mass spectometry-based proteomics. PMID:22952741

Simple versus composite indicators of socioeconomic status in resource allocation formulae: the case of the district resource allocation formula in Malawi

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The district resource allocation formula in Malawi was recently reviewed to include stunting as a proxy measure of socioeconomic status. In many countries where the concept of need has been incorporated in resource allocation, composite indicators of socioeconomic status have been used. In the Malawi case, it is important to ascertain whether there are differences between using single variable or composite indicators of socioeconomic status in allocations made to districts, holding all other factors in the resource allocation formula constant. Methods Principal components analysis was used to calculate asset indices for all districts from variables that capture living standards using data from the Malawi Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006. These were normalized and used to weight district populations. District proportions of national population weighted by both the simple and composite indicators were then calculated for all districts and compared. District allocations were also calculated using the two approaches and compared. Results The two types of indicators are highly correlated, with a spearman rank correlation coefficient of 0.97 at the 1% level of significance. For 21 out of the 26 districts included in the study, proportions of national population weighted by the simple indicator are higher by an average of 0.6 percentage points. For the remaining 5 districts, district proportions of national population weighted by the composite indicator are higher by an average of 2 percentage points. Though the average percentage point differences are low and the actual allocations using both approaches highly correlated (ρ of 0.96), differences in actual allocations exceed 10% for 8 districts and have an average of 4.2% for the remaining 17. For 21 districts allocations based on the single variable indicator are higher. Conclusions Variations in district allocations made using either the simple or composite indicators of socioeconomic status are not statistically different to recommend one over the other. However, the single variable indicator is favourable for its ease of computation. PMID:20053274

Healthcare resource allocation decisions affecting uninsured services

PubMed Central

Harrison, Krista Lyn; Taylor, Holly A.

2017-01-01

Purpose Using the example of community access programs (CAPs), the purpose of this paper is to describe resource allocation and policy decisions related to providing health services for the uninsured in the USA and the organizational values affecting these decisions. Design/methodology/approach The study used comparative case study methodology at two geographically diverse sites. Researchers collected data from program documents, meeting observations, and interviews with program stakeholders. Findings Five resource allocation or policy decisions relevant to providing healthcare services were described at each site across three categories: designing the health plan, reacting to funding changes, and revising policies. Organizational values of access to care and stewardship most frequently affected resource allocation and policy decisions, while economic and political pressures affect the relative prioritization of values. Research limitations/implications Small sample size, the potential for social desirability or recall bias, and the exclusion of provider, member or community perspectives beyond those represented among participating board members. Practical implications Program directors or researchers can use this study to assess the extent to which resource allocation and policy decisions align with organizational values and mission statements. Social implications The description of how healthcare decisions are actually made can be matched with literature that describes how healthcare resource decisions ought to be made, in order to provide a normative grounding for future decisions. Originality/value This study addresses a gap in literature regarding how CAPs actually make resource allocation decisions that affect access to healthcare services. PMID:27934550

Scarcity, Conflict, and Equity in Allocating Public Recreation Resources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shelby, Bo; Danley, Mark

The conflict between the interests of commercial outfitters and private boaters in the use of whitewater rivers is examined. A discussion is presented on the literature on scarcity, allocation, and conflict among groups. These concepts are applied to the allocation of public resources on whitewater rivers. The conflicting interest groups are…

77 FR 42749 - Proposed Change in State Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Allocations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-20

... Change in State Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Allocations AGENCY: Health Resources and... the State Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Block Grant allocations. Through the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Title V MCH Block Grant...

Equity in the allocation of public sector financial resources in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Anselmi, Laura; Lagarde, Mylene; Hanson, Kara

2015-05-01

This review aims to identify, assess and analyse the evidence on equity in the distribution of public health sector expenditure in low- and middle-income countries. Four bibliographic databases and five websites were searched to identify quantitative studies examining equity in the distribution of public health funding in individual countries or groups of countries. Two different types of studies were identified: benefit incidence analysis (BIA) and resource allocation comparison (RAC) studies. Quality appraisal and data synthesis were tailored to each study type to reflect differences in the methods used and in the information provided. We identified 39 studies focusing on African, Asian and Latin American countries. Of these, 31 were BIA studies that described the distribution, typically across socio-economic status, of individual monetary benefit derived from service utilization. The remaining eight were RAC studies that compared the actual expenditure across geographic areas to an ideal need-based distribution. Overall, the quality of the evidence from both types of study was relatively weak. Looking across studies, the evidence confirms that resource allocation formulae can enhance equity in resource allocation across geographic areas and that the poor benefits proportionally more from primary health care than from hospital expenditure. The lack of information on the distribution of benefit from utilization in RAC studies and on the countries' approaches to resource allocation in BIA studies prevents further policy analysis. Additional research that relates the type of resource allocation mechanism to service provision and to the benefit distribution is required for a better understanding of equity-enhancing resource allocation policies. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

Sustainability in health care by allocating resources effectively (SHARE) 4: exploring opportunities and methods for consumer engagement in resource allocation in a local healthcare setting.

PubMed

Harris, Claire; Ko, Henry; Waller, Cara; Sloss, Pamela; Williams, Pamela

2017-05-05

This is the fourth in a series of papers reporting a program of Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. Healthcare decision-makers have sought to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services through removal or restriction of practices that are unsafe or of little benefit, often referred to as 'disinvestment'. A systematic, integrated, evidence-based program for disinvestment was being established within a large Australian health service network. Consumer engagement was acknowledged as integral to this process. This paper reports the process of developing a model to integrate consumer views and preferences into an organisation-wide approach to resource allocation. A literature search was conducted and interviews and workshops were undertaken with health service consumers and staff. Findings were drafted into a model for consumer engagement in resource allocation which was workshopped and refined. Although consumer engagement is increasingly becoming a requirement of publicly-funded health services and documented in standards and policies, participation in organisational decision-making is not widespread. Several consistent messages for consumer engagement in this context emerged from the literature and consumer responses. Opportunities, settings and activities for consumer engagement through communication, consultation and participation were identified within the resource allocation process. Sources of information regarding consumer values and perspectives in publications and locally-collected data, and methods to use them in health service decision-making, were identified. A model bringing these elements together was developed. The proposed model presents potential opportunities and activities for consumer engagement in the context of resource allocation.

Factors that influence case managers' resource allocation decisions in pediatric home care: an ethnographic study.

PubMed

Fraser, Kimberly D; Estabrooks, Carole; Allen, Marion; Strang, Vicki

2009-03-01

Case managers make decisions that directly affect the amount and type of services home care clients receive and subsequently affect the overall available health care resources of home care programs. A recent systematic review of the literature identified significant knowledge gaps with respect to resource allocation decision-making in home care. Using Spradley's methodology, we designed an ethnographic study of a children's home care program in Western Canada. The sample included 11 case managers and program leaders. Data sources included interviews, card sorts, and participant observation over a 5-month period. Data analyses included open coding, domain, taxonomic, and componential analysis. One of the key findings was a taxonomy of factors that influence case manager resource allocation decisions. The factors were grouped into one of four main categories: system-related, home care program-related, family related, or client-related. Family related factors have not been previously reported as influencing case manager resource allocation decision-making and nor has the team's role been reported as an influencing factor. The findings of this study are examined in light of Daniels and Sabin's Accountability for Reasonableness framework, which may be useful for future knowledge development about micro-level resource allocation theory.

Mathematical programming for the efficient allocation of health care resources.

PubMed

Stinnett, A A; Paltiel, A D

1996-10-01

Previous discussions of methods for the efficient allocation of health care resources subject to a budget constraint have relied on unnecessarily restrictive assumptions. This paper makes use of established optimization techniques to demonstrate that a general mathematical programming framework can accommodate much more complex information regarding returns to scale, partial and complete indivisibility and program interdependence. Methods are also presented for incorporating ethical constraints into the resource allocation process, including explicit identification of the cost of equity.

Assessing and Improving Performance: A Longitudinal Evaluation of Priority Setting and Resource Allocation in a Canadian Health Region.

PubMed

Hall, William; Smith, Neale; Mitton, Craig; Urquhart, Bonnie; Bryan, Stirling

2017-08-22

In order to meet the challenges presented by increasing demand and scarcity of resources, healthcare organizations are faced with difficult decisions related to resource allocation. Tools to facilitate evaluation and improvement of these processes could enable greater transparency and more optimal distribution of resources. The Resource Allocation Performance Assessment Tool (RAPAT) was implemented in a healthcare organization in British Columbia, Canada. Recommendations for improvement were delivered, and a follow up evaluation exercise was conducted to assess the trajectory of the organization's priority setting and resource allocation (PSRA) process 2 years post the original evaluation. Implementation of RAPAT in the pilot organization identified strengths and weaknesses of the organization's PSRA process at the time of the original evaluation. Strengths included the use of criteria and evidence, an ability to reallocate resources, and the involvement of frontline staff in the process. Weaknesses included training, communication, and lack of program budgeting. Although the follow up revealed a regression from a more formal PSRA process, a legacy of explicit resource allocation was reported to be providing ongoing benefit for the organization. While past studies have taken a cross-sectional approach, this paper introduces the first longitudinal evaluation of PSRA in a healthcare organization. By including the strengths, weaknesses, and evolution of one organization's journey, the authors' intend that this paper will assist other healthcare leaders in meeting the challenges of allocating scarce resources. © 2018 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Multiresource allocation and scheduling for periodic soft real-time applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopalan, Kartik; Chiueh, Tzi-cker

2001-12-01

Real-time applications that utilize multiple system resources, such as CPU, disks, and network links, require coordinated scheduling of these resources in order to meet their end-to-end performance requirements. Most state-of-the-art operating systems support independent resource allocation and deadline-driven scheduling but lack coordination among multiple heterogeneous resources. This paper describes the design and implementation of an Integrated Real-time Resource Scheduler (IRS) that performs coordinated allocation and scheduling of multiple heterogeneous resources on the same machine for periodic soft real-time application. The principal feature of IRS is a heuristic multi-resource allocation algorithm that reserves multiple resources for real-time applications in a manner that can maximize the number of applications admitted into the system in the long run. At run-time, a global scheduler dispatches the tasks of the soft real-time application to individual resource schedulers according to the precedence constraints between tasks. The individual resource schedulers, which could be any deadline based schedulers, can make scheduling decisions locally and yet collectively satisfy a real-time application's performance requirements. The tightness of overall timing guarantees is ultimately determined by the properties of individual resource schedulers. However, IRS maximizes overall system resource utilization efficiency by coordinating deadline assignment across multiple tasks in a soft real-time application.

Ethical considerations in resource allocation in a cochlear implant program.

PubMed

Westerberg, Brian D; Pijl, Sipke; McDonald, Michael

2008-04-01

To review processes of resource allocation and the ethical considerations relevant to the fair allocation of a limited number of cochlear implants to increasing numbers of potential recipients. Review of relevant considerations. Tertiary referral hospital. Editorial discussion of the ethical issues of resource allocation. Heterogeneity of audiometric thresholds, self-reported disability of hearing loss, age of the potential cochlear implant recipient, cost-effectiveness, access to resources, compliance with follow-up, social support available to the recipient, social consequences of hearing impairment, and other recipient-related factors. In a publicly funded health care system, there will always be a need for decision-making processes for allocation of finite fiscal resources. All candidates for cochlear implantation deserve fair consideration. However, they are a heterogeneous group in terms of needs and expected outcomes consisting of traditional and marginal candidates, with a wide range of benefit from acoustic amplification. We argue that implant programs should thoughtfully prioritize treatment on the basis of need and potential benefit. We reject queuing on the basis of "first-come, first-served" or on the basis of perceived social worth.

What is so important about completing lives? A critique of the modified youngest first principle of scarce resource allocation.

PubMed

Gamlund, Espen

2016-04-01

Ruth Tallman has recently offered a defense of the modified youngest first principle of scarce resource allocation [1]. According to Tallman, this principle calls for prioritizing adolescents and young adults between 15-40 years of age. In this article, I argue that Tallman's defense of the modified youngest first principle is vulnerable to important objections, and that it is thus unsuitable as a basis for allocating resources. Moreover, Tallman makes claims about the badness of death for individuals at different ages, but she lacks an account of the loss involved in dying to support her claims. To fill this gap in Tallman's account, I propose a view on the badness of death that I call 'Deprivationism'. I argue that this view explains why death is bad for those who die, and that it has some advantages over Tallman's complete lives view in the context of scarce resource allocation. Finally, I consider some objections to the relevance of Deprivationism to resource allocation, and offer my responses.

Asynchronous Incremental Stochastic Dual Descent Algorithm for Network Resource Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedi, Amrit Singh; Rajawat, Ketan

2018-05-01

Stochastic network optimization problems entail finding resource allocation policies that are optimum on an average but must be designed in an online fashion. Such problems are ubiquitous in communication networks, where resources such as energy and bandwidth are divided among nodes to satisfy certain long-term objectives. This paper proposes an asynchronous incremental dual decent resource allocation algorithm that utilizes delayed stochastic {gradients} for carrying out its updates. The proposed algorithm is well-suited to heterogeneous networks as it allows the computationally-challenged or energy-starved nodes to, at times, postpone the updates. The asymptotic analysis of the proposed algorithm is carried out, establishing dual convergence under both, constant and diminishing step sizes. It is also shown that with constant step size, the proposed resource allocation policy is asymptotically near-optimal. An application involving multi-cell coordinated beamforming is detailed, demonstrating the usefulness of the proposed algorithm.

Resource allocation and compensation during development in holometabolous insects.

PubMed

Nestel, David; Papadopoulos, Nikos T; Pascacio-Villafán, Carlos; Righini, Nicoletta; Altuzar-Molina, Alma R; Aluja, Martín

2016-12-01

We provide an extensive review on current knowledge and future research paths on the topic of resource allocation and compensation during development in holometabolous insects, emphasizing the role of resource management during development, and how compensatory mechanisms may be acting to remediate nutritional deficiencies carried over from earlier stages of development. We first review resource allocation in "open" and "closed" developmental stages and then move on to the topic of modelling resource allocation and its trade-offs. In doing so, we review novel methodological developments such as response-surface methods and mixture experiments as well as nutritional geometry. We also dwell on the fascinating topic of compensatory physiology and behavior. We finish by discussing future research paths, among them the emerging field of nutrigenomics and gut microbiome, which will shed light into the yet poorly understood role of the symbiotic microbiota in nutrient compensation or assimilation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Arithmetic and algebraic problem solving and resource allocation: the distinct impact of fluid and numerical intelligence.

PubMed

Dix, Annika; van der Meer, Elke

2015-04-01

This study investigates cognitive resource allocation dependent on fluid and numerical intelligence in arithmetic/algebraic tasks varying in difficulty. Sixty-six 11th grade students participated in a mathematical verification paradigm, while pupil dilation as a measure of resource allocation was collected. Students with high fluid intelligence solved the tasks faster and more accurately than those with average fluid intelligence, as did students with high compared to average numerical intelligence. However, fluid intelligence sped up response times only in students with average but not high numerical intelligence. Further, high fluid but not numerical intelligence led to greater task-related pupil dilation. We assume that fluid intelligence serves as a domain-general resource that helps to tackle problems for which domain-specific knowledge (numerical intelligence) is missing. The allocation of this resource can be measured by pupil dilation. Copyright © 2014 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

A person based formula for allocating commissioning funds to general practices in England: development of a statistical model

PubMed Central

Smith, Peter; Gravelle, Hugh; Martin, Steve; Bardsley, Martin; Rice, Nigel; Georghiou, Theo; Dusheiko, Mark; Billings, John; Lorenzo, Michael De; Sanderson, Colin

2011-01-01

Objectives To develop a formula for allocating resources for commissioning hospital care to all general practices in England based on the health needs of the people registered in each practice Design Multivariate prospective statistical models were developed in which routinely collected electronic information from 2005-6 and 2006-7 on individuals and the areas in which they lived was used to predict their costs of hospital care in the next year, 2007-8. Data on individuals included all diagnoses recorded at any inpatient admission. Models were developed on a random sample of 5 million people and validated on a second random sample of 5 million people and a third sample of 5 million people drawn from a random sample of practices. Setting All general practices in England as of 1 April 2007. All NHS inpatient admissions and outpatient attendances for individuals registered with a general practice on that date. Subjects All individuals registered with a general practice in England at 1 April 2007. Main outcome measures Power of the statistical models to predict the costs of the individual patient or each practice’s registered population for 2007-8 tested with a range of metrics (R2 reported here). Comparisons of predicted costs in 2007-8 with actual costs incurred in the same year were calculated by individual and by practice. Results Models including person level information (age, sex, and ICD-10 codes diagnostic recorded) and a range of area level information (such as socioeconomic deprivation and supply of health facilities) were most predictive of costs. After accounting for person level variables, area level variables added little explanatory power. The best models for resource allocation could predict upwards of 77% of the variation in costs at practice level, and about 12% at the person level. With these models, the predicted costs of about a third of practices would exceed or undershoot the actual costs by 10% or more. Smaller practices were more likely to be in these groups. Conclusions A model was developed that performed well by international standards, and could be used for allocations to practices for commissioning. The best formulas, however, could predict only about 12% of the variation in next year’s costs of most inpatient and outpatient NHS care for each individual. Person-based diagnostic data significantly added to the predictive power of the models. PMID:22110252

Perceptions and Attitudes of Health Professionals in Kenya on National Health Care Resource Allocation Mechanisms: A Structural Equation Modeling

PubMed Central

Owili, Patrick Opiyo; Hsu, Yi-Hsin Elsa; Chern, Jin-Yuan; Chiu, Chiung-Hsuan Megan; Wang, Bill; Huang, Kuo-Cherh; Muga, Miriam Adoyo

2015-01-01

Background Health care resource allocation is key towards attaining equity in the health system. However, health professionals’ perceived impact and attitude towards health care resource allocation in Sub-Saharan Africa is unknown; furthermore, they occupy a position which makes them notice the impact of different policies in their health system. This study explored perceptions and attitudes of health professionals in Kenya on health care resource allocation mechanism. Method We conducted a survey of a representative sample of 341 health professionals in Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital from February to April 2012, consisting of over 3000 employees. We assessed health professionals’ perceived impact and attitudes on health care resource allocation mechanism in Kenya. We used structural equation modeling and applied a Confirmatory Factor Analysis using Robust Maximum Likelihood estimation procedure to test the hypothesized model. Results We found that the allocation mechanism was negatively associated with their perceived positive impact (-1.04, p < .001), health professionals’ satisfaction (-0.24, p < .01), and professionals’ attitudes (-1.55, p < .001) while it was positively associated with perceived negative impact (1.14, p < .001). Perceived positive impact of the allocation mechanism was negatively associated with their overall satisfaction (-0.08) and attitude (-0.98) at p < .001, respectively. Furthermore, overall satisfaction was negatively associated with attitude (-1.10, p <.001). On the other hand, perceived negative impact of the allocation was positively associated with overall satisfaction (0.29, p <.001) but was not associated with attitude. Conclusion The result suggests that health care resource allocation mechanism has a negative effect towards perceptions, attitudes and overall satisfaction of health professionals who are at the frontline in health care. These findings can serve as a crucial reference for policymakers as the Kenyan health system move towards devolving the system of governance. PMID:26039053

Criteria-Based Resource Allocation: A Tool to Improve Public Health Impact.

PubMed

Graham, J Ross; Mackie, Christopher

2016-01-01

Resource allocation in local public health (LPH) has been reported as a significant challenge for practitioners and a Public Health Services and Systems Research priority. Ensuring available resources have maximum impact on community health and maintaining public confidence in the resource allocation process are key challenges. A popular strategy in health care settings to address these challenges is Program Budgeting and Marginal Analysis (PBMA). This case study used PBMA in an LPH setting to examine its appropriateness and utility. The criteria-based resource allocation process PBMA was implemented to guide the development of annual organizational budget in an attempt to maximize the impact of agency resources. Senior leaders and managers were surveyed postimplementation regarding process facilitators, challenges, and successes. Canada's largest autonomous LPH agency. PBMA was used to shift 3.4% of the agency budget from lower-impact areas (through 34 specific disinvestments) to higher-impact areas (26 specific reinvestments). Senior leaders and managers validated the process as a useful approach for improving the public health impact of agency resources. However, they also reported the process may have decreased frontline staff confidence in senior leadership. In this case study, PBMA was used successfully to reallocate a sizable portion of an LPH agency's budget toward higher-impact activities. PBMA warrants further study as a tool to support optimal resource allocation in LPH settings.

Allocation of health resources according to the type and size of Iranian governmental hospitals.

PubMed

Hassani, Sa; Abolhallaje, M; Inanlo, S; Hosseini, H; Pourmohammadi, K; Bastani, P; Ramezanian, M; Marnani, A Barati

2013-01-01

Due to consuming about 50%-80% of health resources, hospitals are the greatest and costly operational units in Iranian Health system. so allocation of resources specially human and space resources as the most expensive ones is really important for further controlling of costs, analysis of costs and making suitable policies for increasing the profitability and allocation of resources and improvement of quality. This paper intends to describe and analyze any allocation of resources in 530 university hospitals in Iran. The final goal of this research is to provide a data bank according which there is a basis for more scientific budget allocation of state's hospitals from the size and type of application points of view. The relevant index of person to bed was 2.04 for human resources. All hospitals more than 300 beds are located in benefiting areas from which 17 cases are educational and 2 cases are therapeutic. This is necessary to mention that the rate of management group forces to total personnel at deprived areas is about 2.5% more than benefiting areas. Because 60-80% of hospital costs are applied for human forces, all managers of hospitals are obliged to revise their policies in attraction and employment of human force in order to benefit from such a valuable resource and prevent from expensive costs. So any employment of personnel should be based upon real needs of hospital.

Optimal Resource Allocation under Fair QoS in Multi-tier Server Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akai, Hirokazu; Ushio, Toshimitsu; Hayashi, Naoki

Recent development of network technology realizes multi-tier server systems, where several tiers perform functionally different processing requested by clients. It is an important issue to allocate resources of the systems to clients dynamically based on their current requests. On the other hand, Q-RAM has been proposed for resource allocation in real-time systems. In the server systems, it is important that execution results of all applications requested by clients are the same QoS(quality of service) level. In this paper, we extend Q-RAM to multi-tier server systems and propose a method for optimal resource allocation with fairness of the QoS levels of clients’ requests. We also consider an assignment problem of physical machines to be sleep in each tier sothat the energy consumption is minimized.

Children Rectify Inequalities for Disadvantaged Groups

PubMed Central

Elenbaas, Laura; Killen, Melanie

2016-01-01

Children’s decisions regarding the allocation of societal resources in the context of preexisting inequalities were investigated. African-American and European-American children ages 5–6 years (n = 91) and 10–11 years (n = 94) judged the acceptability of a medical resource inequality on the basis of race, allocated medical supplies, evaluated different resource allocation strategies, and completed a measure of status awareness based on race. With age, children were increasingly aware of wealth status disparities between African-Americans and European-Americans, and judged a medical resource inequality between groups more negatively. Further, with age, children rectified the resource inequality over perpetuating it, but only when African-American children were disadvantaged. With age, children also referenced rights when reasoning about their judgments concerning the disadvantaged African-American group. When European-American children were disadvantaged, children did not systematically allocate more resources to one group over another. The results are discussed in terms of social inequalities, disadvantaged status, moral judgments, and intergroup attitudes. PMID:27455190

Flexibility of resource allocation in a hermaphroditic-gynomonoecious herb through deployment of female and male resources in perfect flowers.

PubMed

Mamut, Jannathan; Xiong, Ying-Ze; Tan, Dun-Yan; Huang, Shuang-Quan

2017-03-01

It has been hypothesized that two flower types permit flexible allocation of resources to female and male functions, yet empirical evidence for the sex-allocation hypothesis remains scarce in gynomonoecious species. To characterize resource allocation to pistillate and perfect flowers and allocation of perfect flowers between gynomonoecious and hermaphroditic individuals, we examined the flexibility and whether female-biased allocation increases with plant size in the hermaphroditic-gynomonoecious herb Eremurus anisopterus . Frequency of gynomonoecious individuals, flower production, and plant size were investigated in different populations. Floral allocation was compared among the three flower types of E. anisopterus . Frequency of gynomonoecious plants varied from 2-17% in nine populations. Only larger plants produced female flowers at the bottom of racemes. Both female and perfect flower production tended to increase proportionately with plant size in gynomonoecious individuals. Female flowers did not produce less biomass than perfect flowers from hermaphroditic or gynomonoecious plants. However, both female and perfect flowers from gynomonoecious individuals had lighter stamen mass, but larger pistil mass, than perfect flowers from hermaphrodites. Although the prediction of an increase in female flower number with plant size was not observed in E. anisopterus , the flexibility of sex allocation in gynomonoecious species was confirmed in that gynomonoecious individuals had a female-biased floral allocation compared to hermaphroditic individuals. Such comparisons of gynomonoecious to hermaphroditic individuals permit us to unveil a sexual adjustment strategy: flexibility of sexual investments within plants. © 2017 Botanical Society of America.

Effects of web-based stress and depression literacy intervention on improving work engagement among workers with low work engagement: An analysis of secondary outcome of a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

Imamura, Kotaro; Kawakami, Norito; Tsuno, Kanami; Tsuchiya, Masao; Shimada, Kyoko; Namba, Katsuyuki; Shimazu, Akihito

2016-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this randomized, controlled trial was to examine the effects of a psychoeducational information website on improving work engagement among individual workers with low work engagement, where work engagement was measured as a secondary outcome. Methods: Participants were recruited from registered members of a web survey site in Japan. Participants who fulfilled the eligibility criteria were randomly allocated to intervention or control groups. Immediately after the baseline survey, the intervention group was invited to study a psychoeducational website called the "UTSMed," which provided general mental health literacy and cognitive behavioral skills. Work engagement was assessed by using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale at baseline, 1-, and 4-month follow-ups for both intervention and control groups. An exploratory analysis was conducted for a subgroup with low (lower than the median scores) work engagement scores at baseline. Results: A total of 1,236 workers completed the baseline survey. In the low work engagement subgroup, a total of 313 and 300 participants were allocated to an intervention and control group, respectively. In the high work engagement subgroup, 305 and 318 participants were allocated to an intervention and control group, respectively. The program showed a significant effect on work engagement (t = 1.98, P = 0.048) at the 4-month follow-up in the low work engagement subgroup, with a small effect size (d = 0.17). Conclusion: A web-based psychoeducation resource of mental health literacy and cognitive behavioral skills may be effective for improving work engagement among individual workers with low work engagement. PMID:27885247

The Health Resources Allocation Model (HRAM) for the 21st century.

PubMed

Maire, Nicolas; Hegnauer, Michael; Nguyen, Dana; Godelmann, Lucas; Hoffmann, Axel; de Savigny, Don; Tanner, Marcel

2012-05-01

The Health Resources Allocation Model (HRAM) is an eLearning tool for health cadres and scientists introducing basic concepts of sub-national, rational district-based health planning and systems thinking under resources constraint. HRAM allows the evaluation of resource allocation strategies in relation to key outcome measures such as coverage, equity of services achieved and number of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) prevented. In addition, the model takes into account geographical and demographic characteristics and populations' health seeking behaviour. It can be adapted to different socio-ecological and health system settings.

From Districts to Schools: The Distribution of Resources across Schools in Big City School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubenstein, Ross; Schwartz, Amy Ellen; Stiefel, Leanna; Amor, Hella Bel Hadj

2007-01-01

While the distribution of resources across school districts is well studied, relatively little attention has been paid to how resources are allocated to individual schools inside those districts. This paper explores the determinants of resource allocation across schools in large districts based on factors that reflect differential school costs or…

Tailoring Software for Multiple Processor Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-10-01

resource management decisions . Despite the lack of programming support, the use of multiple processor systems has grown sub- -stantially. Software has...making resource management decisions . Specifically, program- 1 mers need not allocate specific hardware resources to individual program components...Instead, such allocation decisions are automatically made based on high-level resource directives stated by ap- plication programmers, where each directive

Assessing system reliability and allocating resources: a bayesian approach that integrates multi-level data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Graves, Todd L; Hamada, Michael S

2008-01-01

Good estimates of the reliability of a system make use of test data and expert knowledge at all available levels. Furthermore, by integrating all these information sources, one can determine how best to allocate scarce testing resources to reduce uncertainty. Both of these goals are facilitated by modern Bayesian computational methods. We apply these tools to examples that were previously solvable only through the use of ingenious approximations, and use genetic algorithms to guide resource allocation.

Improving the Success of Strategic Management Using Big Data.

PubMed

Desai, Sapan S; Wilkerson, James; Roberts, Todd

2016-01-01

Strategic management involves determining organizational goals, implementing a strategic plan, and properly allocating resources. Poor access to pertinent and timely data misidentifies clinical goals, prevents effective resource allocation, and generates waste from inaccurate forecasting. Loss of operational efficiency diminishes the value stream, adversely impacts the quality of patient care, and hampers effective strategic management. We have pioneered an approach using big data to create competitive advantage by identifying trends in clinical practice, accurately anticipating future needs, and strategically allocating resources for maximum impact.

Regional Disparities in the Allocation of China's Higher Education Resources from the Perspective of Equity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wei, Bao

2012-01-01

This article attempts to analyze the changing circumstances of the regional disparities in the allocation of China's higher educational resources before and after the increase in college enrollments, as well as the mechanisms that have affected these circumstances. The conclusions are that regional disparities in the allocation of China's funding…

Resources for health promotion: rhetoric, research and reality.

PubMed

Minke, Sharlene Wolbeck; Raine, Kim D; Plotnikoff, Ronald C; Anderson, Donna; Khalema, Ernest; Smith, Cynthia

2007-01-01

Canadian political discourse supports the importance of health promotion and advocates the allocation of health resources to health promotion. Furthermore, the current literature frequently identifies financial and human resources as important elements of organizational capacity for health promotion. In the Alberta Heart Health Project (AHHP), we sought to learn if the allocation of health resources in a regionalized health system was congruent with the espoused support for health promotion in Alberta, Canada. The AHHP used a mixed method approach in a time series design. Participants were drawn from multiple organizational levels (i.e., service providers, managers, board members) across all Regional Health Authorities (RHAs). Data were triangulated through multiple collection methods, primarily an organizational capacity survey, analysis of organizational documents, focus groups, and personal interviews. Analysis techniques were drawn from quantitative (i.e., frequency distributions, ANOVAs) and qualitative (i.e., content and thematic analysis) approaches. In most cases, small amounts (<5%) of financial resources were allocated to health promotion in RHAs' core budgets. Respondents reported seeking multiple sources of public health financing to support their health promotion initiatives. Human resources for health promotion were characterized by fragmented responsibilities and short-term work. Furthermore, valuable human resources were consumed in ongoing searches for funding that typically covered short time periods. Resource allocations to health promotion in Alberta RHAs are inconsistent with the current emphasis on health promotion as an organizational priority. Inadequate and unstable funding erodes the RHAs' capacity for health promotion. Sustainable health promotion calls for the assured allocation of adequate, sustainable financial resources.

A Greedy Double Auction Mechanism for Grid Resource Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Ding; Luo, Siwei; Gao, Zhan

To improve the resource utilization and satisfy more users, a Greedy Double Auction Mechanism(GDAM) is proposed to allocate resources in grid environments. GDAM trades resources at discriminatory price instead of uniform price, reflecting the variance in requirements for profits and quantities. Moreover, GDAM applies different auction rules to different cases, over-demand, over-supply and equilibrium of demand and supply. As a new mechanism for grid resource allocation, GDAM is proved to be strategy-proof, economically efficient, weakly budget-balanced and individual rational. Simulation results also confirm that GDAM outperforms the traditional one on both the total trade amount and the user satisfaction percentage, specially as more users are involved in the auction market.

Optimal resource allocation for novelty detection in a human auditory memory.

PubMed

Sinkkonen, J; Kaski, S; Huotilainen, M; Ilmoniemi, R J; Näätänen, R; Kaila, K

1996-11-04

A theory of resource allocation for neuronal low-level filtering is presented, based on an analysis of optimal resource allocation in simple environments. A quantitative prediction of the theory was verified in measurements of the magnetic mismatch response (MMR), an auditory event-related magnetic response of the human brain. The amplitude of the MMR was found to be directly proportional to the information conveyed by the stimulus. To the extent that the amplitude of the MMR can be used to measure resource usage by the auditory cortex, this finding supports our theory that, at least for early auditory processing, energy resources are used in proportion to the information content of incoming stimulus flow.

Allocative and implementation efficiency in HIV prevention and treatment for people who inject drugs.

PubMed

Benedikt, Clemens; Kelly, Sherrie L; Wilson, David; Wilson, David P

2016-12-01

Estimated global new HIV infections among people who inject drugs (PWID) remained stable over the 2010-2015 period and the target of a 50% reduction over this period was missed. To achieve the 2020 UNAIDS target of reducing adult HIV infections by 75% compared to 2010, accelerated action in scaling up HIV programs for PWID is required. In a context of diminishing external support to HIV programs in countries where most HIV-affected PWID live, it is essential that available resources are allocated and used as efficiently as possible. Allocative and implementation efficiency analysis methods were applied. Optima, a dynamic, population-based HIV model with an integrated program and economic analysis framework was applied in eight countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). Mathematical analyses established optimized allocations of resources. An implementation efficiency analysis focused on examining technical efficiency, unit costs, and heterogeneity of service delivery models and practices. Findings from the latest reported data revealed that countries allocated between 4% (Bulgaria) and 40% (Georgia) of total HIV resources to programs targeting PWID - with a median of 13% for the eight countries. When distributing the same amount of HIV funding optimally, between 9% and 25% of available HIV resources would be allocated to PWID programs with a median allocation of 16% and, in addition, antiretroviral therapy would be scaled up including for PWID. As a result of optimized allocations, new HIV infections are projected to decline by 3-28% and AIDS-related deaths by 7-53% in the eight countries. Implementation efficiencies identified involve potential reductions in drug procurement costs, service delivery models, and practices and scale of service delivery influencing cost and outcome. A high level of implementation efficiency was associated with high volumes of PWID clients accessing a drug harm reduction facility. A combination of optimized allocation of resources, improved implementation efficiency and increased investment of non-HIV resources is required to enhance coverage and improve outcomes of programs for PWID. Increasing efficiency of HIV programs for PWID is a key step towards avoiding implicit rationing and ensuring transparent allocation of resources where and how they would have the largest impact on the health of PWID, and thereby ensuring that funding spent on PWID becomes a global best buy in public health. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A Modeling Framework for Optimal Computational Resource Allocation Estimation: Considering the Trade-offs between Physical Resolutions, Uncertainty and Computational Costs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moslehi, M.; de Barros, F.; Rajagopal, R.

2014-12-01

Hydrogeological models that represent flow and transport in subsurface domains are usually large-scale with excessive computational complexity and uncertain characteristics. Uncertainty quantification for predicting flow and transport in heterogeneous formations often entails utilizing a numerical Monte Carlo framework, which repeatedly simulates the model according to a random field representing hydrogeological characteristics of the field. The physical resolution (e.g. grid resolution associated with the physical space) for the simulation is customarily chosen based on recommendations in the literature, independent of the number of Monte Carlo realizations. This practice may lead to either excessive computational burden or inaccurate solutions. We propose an optimization-based methodology that considers the trade-off between the following conflicting objectives: time associated with computational costs, statistical convergence of the model predictions and physical errors corresponding to numerical grid resolution. In this research, we optimally allocate computational resources by developing a modeling framework for the overall error based on a joint statistical and numerical analysis and optimizing the error model subject to a given computational constraint. The derived expression for the overall error explicitly takes into account the joint dependence between the discretization error of the physical space and the statistical error associated with Monte Carlo realizations. The accuracy of the proposed framework is verified in this study by applying it to several computationally extensive examples. Having this framework at hand aims hydrogeologists to achieve the optimum physical and statistical resolutions to minimize the error with a given computational budget. Moreover, the influence of the available computational resources and the geometric properties of the contaminant source zone on the optimum resolutions are investigated. We conclude that the computational cost associated with optimal allocation can be substantially reduced compared with prevalent recommendations in the literature.

Money, Time and Learning. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, J. Alan; Kemmerer, Frances

Chapter 1 of this study discusses sources of educational inequality in terms of criteria for resource allocation, definitions of educational equity, and equity and efficiency in the classroom. Following the second chapter's review of literature on how resources affect learning, chapter 3 offers a theory of resource allocation education. The fourth…

Children's Allocation of Resources in Social Dominance Situations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charafeddine, Rawan; Mercier, Hugo; Clément, Fabrice; Kaufmann, Laurence; Reboul, Anne; Van der Henst, Jean-Baptiste

2016-01-01

Two experiments with preschoolers (36 to 78 months) and 8-year-old children (Experiment 1, N = 173; Experiment 2, N = 132) investigated the development of children's resource distribution in dominance contexts. On the basis of the distributive justice literature, 2 opposite predictions were tested. Children could match resource allocation with the…

Multi-Agent Coordination Techniques for Naval Tactical Combat Resources Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-07-01

resource coordination and cooperation problems. The combat resource allocation planning problem is treated in the companion report [2]. 2.3 Resource...report focuses on the resource coordination problem, while allocation algorithms are discussed in the companion report [2]. First, coordination in...classification of each should be indicated as with the title.) Canada’s Leader in Defence and National Security Science and Technology Chef de file au Canada en

Challenges in defining an optimal approach to formula-based allocations of public health funds in the United States.

PubMed

Buehler, James W; Holtgrave, David R

2007-03-29

Controversy and debate can arise whenever public health agencies determine how program funds should be allocated among constituent jurisdictions. Two common strategies for making such allocations are expert review of competitive applications and the use of funding formulas. Despite widespread use of funding formulas by public health agencies in the United States, formula allocation strategies in public health have been subject to relatively little formal scrutiny, with the notable exception of the attention focused on formula funding of HIV care programs. To inform debates and deliberations in the selection of a formula-based approach, we summarize key challenges to formula-based funding, based on prior reviews of federal programs in the United States. The primary challenge lies in identifying data sources and formula calculation methods that both reflect and serve program objectives, with or without adjustments for variations in the cost of delivering services, the availability of local resources, capacity, or performance. Simplicity and transparency are major advantages of formula-based allocations, but these advantages can be offset if formula-based allocations are perceived to under- or over-fund some jurisdictions, which may result from how guaranteed minimum funding levels are set or from "hold-harmless" provisions intended to blunt the effects of changes in formula design or random variations in source data. While fairness is considered an advantage of formula-based allocations, the design of a formula may implicitly reflect unquestioned values concerning equity versus equivalence in setting funding policies. Whether or how past or projected trends are taken into account can also have substantial impacts on allocations. Insufficient attention has been focused on how the approach to designing funding formulas in public health should differ for treatment or service versus prevention programs. Further evaluations of formula-based versus competitive allocation methods are needed to promote the optimal use of public health funds. In the meantime, those who use formula-based strategies to allocate funds should be familiar with the nuances of this approach.

Weighted re-randomization tests for minimization with unbalanced allocation.

PubMed

Han, Baoguang; Yu, Menggang; McEntegart, Damian

2013-01-01

Re-randomization test has been considered as a robust alternative to the traditional population model-based methods for analyzing randomized clinical trials. This is especially so when the clinical trials are randomized according to minimization, which is a popular covariate-adaptive randomization method for ensuring balance among prognostic factors. Among various re-randomization tests, fixed-entry-order re-randomization is advocated as an effective strategy when a temporal trend is suspected. Yet when the minimization is applied to trials with unequal allocation, fixed-entry-order re-randomization test is biased and thus compromised in power. We find that the bias is due to non-uniform re-allocation probabilities incurred by the re-randomization in this case. We therefore propose a weighted fixed-entry-order re-randomization test to overcome the bias. The performance of the new test was investigated in simulation studies that mimic the settings of a real clinical trial. The weighted re-randomization test was found to work well in the scenarios investigated including the presence of a strong temporal trend. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Self-benefiting in the allocation of scarce resources: leader-follower effects and the moderating effect of social value orientations.

PubMed

van Dijk, Eric; De Cremer, David

2006-10-01

Previous research on the allocation of scarce resources suggests that people who are assigned to higher positions (e.g., leaders) are more likely to make self-benefiting allocations than people who are assigned to lower positions (e.g., followers). In this article, the authors investigated the proposition that these findings would be moderated by people's social value orientations. In two experimental studies, the authors assigned participants either to the role of leader or follower and assessed the participants' social value orientations. In agreement with predictions, the findings show that position effects are moderated by social value orientation. Social value orientations only affected the allocation behavior of the leaders: Proself leaders allocated more resources to themselves than did prosocial leaders. Additional analyses indicate that these effects are mediated by feelings of entitlement.

[Mechanisms for allocating financial resources after decentralization in the state of Jalisco].

PubMed

Pérez-Núñez, Ricardo; Arredondo-López, Armando; Pelcastre, Blanca

2006-01-01

To analyze, from the decision maker's perspective, the financial resource allocation process of the health services of the state of Jalisco (SSJ, per its abbreviation in spanish), within the context of decentralization. Through a qualitative approximation using semi-structured individual interviews of key personnel in managerial positions as the method for compiling information, the experience of the SSJ in financial resource allocation was documented. From September to November 2003, the perception of managers and administrators regarding their level of autonomy in decision-making was explored as well as the process they follow for the allocation of financial resources, in order to identify the criteria they use and their justifications. From the point of view of decision-makers, autonomy of the SSJ has increased considerably since decentralization was implemented, although the degree of decision-making freedom remains limited due mainly to high adminstrative costs associated with salaries. In this sense, the implications attributable to labor situations that are still centralized are evident. Some innovative systems for financial resource allocation have been established in the SSJ for the sanitary regions and hospitals based upon administrative-managerial and productivity incentives. Adjustments were also made for degree of marginalization and population lag, under the equity criterion. General work conditions and decision-making autonomy of the sanitary regions constitute outstanding aspects pending decentralization. Although decentralization has granted more autonomy to the SSJ, the level of decision-making freedom for allocating financial resources has been held within the highest hierarchical levels.

[Strategic decisions in public psychiatric institutions: a proposed method for resource analysis and allocation].

PubMed

Micheletti, Pierre; Chierici, Piero; Durang, Xavier; Salvador, Nathalie; Lopez, Nathalie

2011-01-01

Because of its sector-based organization and extra-hospital care, public psychiatry has a unique position in healthcare. This paper describes the tools and procedures used to analyze and allocate the resources of the "Centre Hospitalier Alpes-Isère", a hospital serving a catchment population of 530,000 adults. A consensus-based approach was used to validate the selected indicators and included the participation of a geographer. Five levels of resource allocation were identified and classified using a decision tree. At each level, the relevant authorities and criteria were identified as key components of the decision-making process. This paper describes the first three levels of care provision. Focusing on adult care, a comparative assessment of the resources allocated to general psychiatric care and specialist care was conducted, in addition to a comparative assessment of the resources allocated to each of the hospital's four local centers. Geographical accessibility to extramural facilities was also assessed. A study of the characteristics of each general psychiatry clinic revealed significant disparities. The paper highlights several issues: the poor knowledge of psychiatric epidemiological data relating to the population within the catchment area, the difficulty of assessing non-consolidated data or indicators from multiple sources, and the limited and partial nature of geographical data for characterizing and evaluating health care in the hospital's peripheral clinics. Several studies are currently underway to assess the operational effectiveness of the tools and procedures used to analyze and allocate resources.

Impact on learning of an e-learning module on leukaemia: a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Morgulis, Yuri; Kumar, Rakesh K; Lindeman, Robert; Velan, Gary M

2012-05-28

e-learning resources may be beneficial for complex or conceptually difficult topics. Leukaemia is one such topic, yet there are no reports on the efficacy of e-learning for leukaemia. This study compared the learning impact on senior medical students of a purpose-built e-learning module on leukaemia, compared with existing online resources. A randomised controlled trial was performed utilising volunteer senior medical students. Participants were randomly allocated to Study and Control groups. Following a pre-test on leukaemia administered to both groups, the Study group was provided with access to the new e-learning module, while the Control group was directed to existing online resources. A post-test and an evaluation questionnaire were administered to both groups at the end of the trial period. Study and Control groups were equivalent in gender distribution, mean academic ability, pre-test performance and time studying leukaemia during the trial. The Study group performed significantly better than the Control group in the post-test, in which the group to which the students had been allocated was the only significant predictor of performance. The Study group's evaluation of the module was overwhelmingly positive. A targeted e-learning module on leukaemia had a significant effect on learning in this cohort, compared with existing online resources. We believe that the interactivity, dialogic feedback and integration with the curriculum offered by the e-learning module contributed to its impact. This has implications for e-learning design in medicine and other disciplines.

Cost of equity in homeland security resource allocation in the face of a strategic attacker.

PubMed

Shan, Xiaojun; Zhuang, Jun

2013-06-01

Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in homeland security since September 11, 2001. Many mathematical models have been developed to study strategic interactions between governments (defenders) and terrorists (attackers). However, few studies have considered the tradeoff between equity and efficiency in homeland security resource allocation. In this article, we fill this gap by developing a novel model in which a government allocates defensive resources among multiple potential targets, while reserving a portion of defensive resources (represented by the equity coefficient) for equal distribution (according to geographical areas, population, density, etc.). Such a way to model equity is one of many alternatives, but was directly inspired by homeland security resource allocation practice. The government is faced with a strategic terrorist (adaptive adversary) whose attack probabilities are endogenously determined in the model. We study the effect of the equity coefficient on the optimal defensive resource allocations and the corresponding expected loss. We find that the cost of equity (in terms of increased expected loss) increases convexly in the equity coefficient. Furthermore, such cost is lower when: (a) government uses per-valuation equity; (b) the cost-effectiveness coefficient of defense increases; and (c) the total defense budget increases. Our model, results, and insights could be used to assist policy making. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

Land Resources Allocation Strategies in an Urban Area Involving Uncertainty: A Case Study of Suzhou, in the Yangtze River Delta of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Shasha; Guan, Xingliang; Zhou, Min; Wang, Yang

2014-05-01

A large number of mathematical models have been developed to support land resource allocation decisions and land management needs; however, few of them can address various uncertainties that exist in relation to many factors presented in such decisions (e.g., land resource availabilities, land demands, land-use patterns, and social demands, as well as ecological requirements). In this study, a multi-objective interval-stochastic land resource allocation model (MOISLAM) was developed for tackling uncertainty that presents as discrete intervals and/or probability distributions. The developed model improves upon the existing multi-objective programming and inexact optimization approaches. The MOISLAM not only considers economic factors, but also involves food security and eco-environmental constraints; it can, therefore, effectively reflect various interrelations among different aspects in a land resource management system. Moreover, the model can also help examine the reliability of satisfying (or the risk of violating) system constraints under uncertainty. In this study, the MOISLAM was applied to a real case of long-term urban land resource allocation planning in Suzhou, in the Yangtze River Delta of China. Interval solutions associated with different risk levels of constraint violation were obtained. The results are considered useful for generating a range of decision alternatives under various system conditions, and thus helping decision makers to identify a desirable land resource allocation strategy under uncertainty.

Influence of mate preference and laying order on maternal allocation in a monogamous parrot species with extreme hatching asynchrony.

PubMed

Lahaye, Stefanie E P; Eens, Marcel; Iserbyt, Arne; Groothuis, Ton G G; de Vries, Bonnie; Müller, Wendt; Pinxten, Rianne

2015-05-01

It is well established that in many avian species, prenatal maternal resource allocation varies both between and within clutches and may affect offspring fitness. Differential allocation of maternal resources, in terms of egg weight and yolk composition, may therefore allow the female to adjust brood reduction and to fine-tune reproductive investment in accordance with the expected fitness returns. The adaptive value of such maternal resource allocation is thought to be context-dependent as well as species-specific. We investigated the effects of female preference for her mate on the allocation of prenatal maternal resources in the budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus, a monogamous species of parrot that shows an extreme hatching asynchrony. We assessed mate preferences in a two-way preference test and allowed females two breeding rounds: one with the preferred and one with the non-preferred partner. We found no effect of preference on either latency to lay or clutch size, but females mated with the preferred partner laid eggs that contained significantly more yolk. Their eggs also contained significantly more androstenedione but not testosterone. Our results suggest that in this species, female preference may influence maternal resource allocation, and that the functional roles of each androgen in the yolk should be considered separately. In addition, we found a significant effect of laying order on egg and yolk weight as well as on yolk testosterone and androstenedione levels. These measures, however, did not change linearly with the laying order and render it unlikely that female budgerigars compensate for the extreme hatching asynchrony by adjusting within-clutch allocation of prenatal maternal resources. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Some practical problems in implementing randomization.

PubMed

Downs, Matt; Tucker, Kathryn; Christ-Schmidt, Heidi; Wittes, Janet

2010-06-01

While often theoretically simple, implementing randomization to treatment in a masked, but confirmable, fashion can prove difficult in practice. At least three categories of problems occur in randomization: (1) bad judgment in the choice of method, (2) design and programming errors in implementing the method, and (3) human error during the conduct of the trial. This article focuses on these latter two types of errors, dealing operationally with what can go wrong after trial designers have selected the allocation method. We offer several case studies and corresponding recommendations for lessening the frequency of problems in allocating treatment or for mitigating the consequences of errors. Recommendations include: (1) reviewing the randomization schedule before starting a trial, (2) being especially cautious of systems that use on-demand random number generators, (3) drafting unambiguous randomization specifications, (4) performing thorough testing before entering a randomization system into production, (5) maintaining a dataset that captures the values investigators used to randomize participants, thereby allowing the process of treatment allocation to be reproduced and verified, (6) resisting the urge to correct errors that occur in individual treatment assignments, (7) preventing inadvertent unmasking to treatment assignments in kit allocations, and (8) checking a sample of study drug kits to allow detection of errors in drug packaging and labeling. Although we performed a literature search of documented randomization errors, the examples that we provide and the resultant recommendations are based largely on our own experience in industry-sponsored clinical trials. We do not know how representative our experience is or how common errors of the type we have seen occur. Our experience underscores the importance of verifying the integrity of the treatment allocation process before and during a trial. Clinical Trials 2010; 7: 235-245. http://ctj.sagepub.com.

Virtual colonoscopy, optical colonoscopy, or fecal occult blood testing for colorectal cancer screening: results of a pilot randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

You, John J; Liu, Yudong; Kirby, John; Vora, Parag; Moayyedi, Paul

2015-07-09

No head-to-head randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the superiority of one colorectal screening modality over another in reducing colorectal cancer mortality. We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial of fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), optical colonoscopy (OC), and virtual colonoscopy (VC), to inform the planning of a larger evaluative trial. Eligible patients (aged 50 to 70) were recruited from five primary care practices in Hamilton, ON, Canada, between March 23, 2010 and August 11, 2010, and randomized 1:1:1 in a parallel design using an automated, centralized telephone service to either FOBT, OC, or VC. To reflect conventional practice, patients received no additional reminders to complete their allocated screening test beyond those received in usual practice. The primary outcome was completion of the assigned screening procedure. Results of the index test and any follow-up investigations were ascertained at 6 months. Participants, caregivers, and outcome assessors were not blinded to group assignment. The trial was stopped early due to lack of ongoing funding. A total of 198 participants were enrolled, of whom 67 were allocated to FOBT, 66 to OC, and 65 to VC. The allocated screening procedure was completed by 43 (64%) subjects allocated to FOBT (95% confidence interval [CI], 52-75%), 53 (80%) subjects allocated to OC (95% CI, 69-88%), and 50 (77%) subjects allocated to VC (95% CI, 65-85%); because the trial stopped early, we had insufficient statistical power to detect clinically relevant differences in completion rates. During 6 months follow-up, colorectal adenomas were detected in 0 (0%) subjects allocated to FOBT, 12 (18%) subjects allocated to OC, and 2 (3%) subjects allocated to VC. One subject in the OC arm had histological evidence of high-grade dysplasia. No subjects were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. In this pilot randomized controlled trial of colorectal cancer screening in a primary care setting, 64-80% of subjects completed their allocated screening test. These findings may be of value to investigators planning clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00865527. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00865527.

Waste management: how reducing partiality can promote efficient resource allocation.

PubMed

Choshen-Hillel, Shoham; Shaw, Alex; Caruso, Eugene M

2015-08-01

Two central principles that guide resource-allocation decisions are equity (providing equal pay for equal work) and efficiency (not wasting resources). When these two principles conflict with one another, people will often waste resources to avoid inequity. We suggest that people wish to avoid inequity not because they find it inherently unfair, but because they want to avoid the appearance of partiality associated with it. We explore one way to reduce waste by reducing the perceived partiality of inequitable allocations. Specifically, we hypothesize that people will be more likely to favor an efficient (albeit inequitable) allocation if it puts them in a disadvantaged position than if it puts others in a disadvantaged position. To test this hypothesis, we asked participants to choose between giving some extra resource to one person (thereby creating inequity between this person and equally deserving others) and not giving the resource to anyone (thereby wasting the resource). Six studies, using realistic scenarios and behavioral paradigms, provide robust evidence for a self-disadvantaging effect: Allocators were consistently more likely to create inequity to avoid wasting resources when the resulting inequity would put them at a relative disadvantage than when it would put others at a relative disadvantage. We further find that this self-disadvantaging effect is a direct result of people's concern about appearing partial. Our findings suggest the importance of impartiality even in distributive justice, thereby bridging a gap between the distributive and procedural justice literatures. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Allocation of Health Resources According To the Type and Size of Iranian Governmental Hospitals

PubMed Central

Hassani, SA; Abolhallaje, M; Inanlo, S; Hosseini, H; Pourmohammadi, K; Bastani, P; Ramezanian, M; Marnani, A Barati

2013-01-01

Background: Due to consuming about 50%–80% of health resources, hospitals are the greatest and costly operational units in Iranian Health system. so allocation of resources specially human and space resources as the most expensive ones is really important for further controlling of costs, analysis of costs and making suitable policies for increasing the profitability and allocation of resources and improvement of quality. Method: This paper intends to describe and analyze any allocation of resources in 530 university hospitals in Iran. The final goal of this research is to provide a data bank according which there is a basis for more scientific budget allocation of state’s hospitals from the size and type of application points of view. Results: The relevant index of person to bed was 2.04 for human resources. All hospitals more than 300 beds are located in benefiting areas from which 17 cases are educational and 2 cases are therapeutic. This is necessary to mention that the rate of management group forces to total personnel at deprived areas is about 2.5% more than benefiting areas. Conclusion: Because 60–80% of hospital costs are applied for human forces, all managers of hospitals are obliged to revise their policies in attraction and employment of human force in order to benefit from such a valuable resource and prevent from expensive costs. So any employment of personnel should be based upon real needs of hospital. PMID:23865036

Effect of physician perspective on allocation of Medicare resources for patients with advanced cancer.

PubMed

Rocke, Daniel J; Beumer, Halton W; Thomas, Steven; Lee, Walter T

2014-05-01

To assess how physician perspective (perspective of patient vs perspective of physician) affects Medicare resource allocation for patients with advanced cancer and compare physician allocations with actual cancer patient and caregiver allocations. Cross-sectional assessment. National assessment. Otolaryngologists. Physicians used a validated tool to create a Medicare plan for patients with advanced cancer. Participants took the perspective of an advanced cancer patient and made resource allocations between 15 benefit categories (assessment 2, November/December 2012). Results were compared with data from a prior assessment made from a physician's perspective (assessment 1, February/March 2012) and with data from a separate study with patients with cancer and caregivers. In total, 767 physicians completed assessment 1 and 237 completed assessment 2. Results were compared with 146 cancer patient and 114 caregiver assessments. Assessment 1 physician responses differed significantly from patients/caregivers in 14 categories (P < .05), while assessment 2 differed in 11. When comparing physician data, assessment 2 allocations differed significantly from assessment 1 in 7 categories. When these 7 categories were compared with patient/caregiver data, assessment 2 allocations in emotional care, drug coverage, and nursing facility categories were not significantly different. Assessment 1 allocations in cosmetic care, dental, home care, and primary care categories were more similar to patient/caregiver preferences, although all but home care were still significantly different. Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery physician perspectives on end-of-life care differ significantly from cancer patient/caregiver perspectives, even when physicians take a patient's perspective when allocating resources. This demonstrates the challenges inherent in end-of-life discussions.

A system dynamics model of a large R&D program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahn, Namsung

Organizations with large R&D activities must deal with a hierarchy of decision regarding resource allocation. At the highest level of allocation, the decision is related to the total allocation to R&D as some portion of revenue. The middle level of allocation deals with the allocation among phases of the R&D process. The lowest level of decisions relates to the resource allocation to specific projects within a specific phase. This study focuses on developing an R&D model to deal with the middle level of allocation, i.e., the allocation among phases of research such as basic research, development, and demonstration. The methodology used to develop the R&D model is System Dynamics. Our modeling concept is innovative in representing each phase of R&D as consisting of two parts: projects under way, and an inventory of successful but not-yet- exploited projects. In a simple world, this concept can yield an exact analytical solution for allocation of resources among phases. But in a real world, the concept should be improved by adding more complex structures with nonlinear behaviors. Two particular nonlinear feedbacks are incorporated into the R&D model. The probability of success for any specific project is assumed partly dependent upon resources allocated to the project. Further, the time required to reach a conclusion regarding the success or failure of a project is also assumed dependent upon the level of resources allocated. In addition, the number of successful projects partly depends on the inventory of potential ideas in the previous stage that can be exploited. This model can provide R&D management with insights into the effect of changing allocations to phases whether those changes are internally or externally driven. With this model, it is possible to study the effectiveness of management decisions in a continuous fashion. Managers can predict payoffs for a host of different policies. In addition, as new research results accumulate, a re- assessment of program goals can be implemented easily and allocations adjusted to enhance continuously the likelihood of success, and to optimize payoffs. Finally, this model can give managers a quantitative rationale for program evaluation and permit the quantitative assessment of various externally imposed changes. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)

Decision maker perceptions of resource allocation processes in Canadian health care organizations: a national survey.

PubMed

Smith, Neale; Mitton, Craig; Bryan, Stirling; Davidson, Alan; Urquhart, Bonnie; Gibson, Jennifer L; Peacock, Stuart; Donaldson, Cam

2013-07-02

Resource allocation is a key challenge for healthcare decision makers. While several case studies of organizational practice exist, there have been few large-scale cross-organization comparisons. Between January and April 2011, we conducted an on-line survey of senior decision makers within regional health authorities (and closely equivalent organizations) across all Canadian provinces and territories. We received returns from 92 individual managers, from 60 out of 89 organizations in total. The survey inquired about structures, process features, and behaviours related to organization-wide resource allocation decisions. We focus here on three main aspects: type of process, perceived fairness, and overall rating. About one-half of respondents indicated that their organization used a formal process for resource allocation, while the others reported that political or historical factors were predominant. Seventy percent (70%) of respondents self-reported that their resource allocation process was fair and just over one-half assessed their process as 'good' or 'very good'. This paper explores these findings in greater detail and assesses them in context of the larger literature. Data from this large-scale cross-jurisdictional survey helps to illustrate common challenges and areas of positive performance among Canada's health system leadership teams.

Divergence in plant and microbial allocation strategies explains continental patterns in microbial allocation and biogeochemical fluxes.

PubMed

Averill, Colin

2014-10-01

Allocation trade-offs shape ecological and biogeochemical phenomena at local to global scale. Plant allocation strategies drive major changes in ecosystem carbon cycling. Microbial allocation to enzymes that decompose carbon vs. organic nutrients may similarly affect ecosystem carbon cycling. Current solutions to this allocation problem prioritise stoichiometric tradeoffs implemented in plant ecology. These solutions may not maximise microbial growth and fitness under all conditions, because organic nutrients are also a significant carbon resource for microbes. I created multiple allocation frameworks and simulated microbial growth using a microbial explicit biogeochemical model. I demonstrate that prioritising stoichiometric trade-offs does not optimise microbial allocation, while exploiting organic nutrients as carbon resources does. Analysis of continental-scale enzyme data supports the allocation patterns predicted by this framework, and modelling suggests large deviations in soil C loss based on which strategy is implemented. Therefore, understanding microbial allocation strategies will likely improve our understanding of carbon cycling and climate. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Optimal Resource Allocation in Library Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rouse, William B.

1975-01-01

Queueing theory is used to model processes as either waiting or balking processes. The optimal allocation of resources to these processes is defined as that which maximizes the expected value of the decision-maker's utility function. (Author)

Resource allocation in shared spectrum access communications for operators with diverse service requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kibria, Mirza Golam; Villardi, Gabriel Porto; Ishizu, Kentaro; Kojima, Fumihide; Yano, Hiroyuki

2016-12-01

In this paper, we study inter-operator spectrum sharing and intra-operator resource allocation in shared spectrum access communication systems and propose efficient dynamic solutions to address both inter-operator and intra-operator resource allocation optimization problems. For inter-operator spectrum sharing, we present two competent approaches, namely the subcarrier gain-based sharing and fragmentation-based sharing, which carry out fair and flexible allocation of the available shareable spectrum among the operators subject to certain well-defined sharing rules, traffic demands, and channel propagation characteristics. The subcarrier gain-based spectrum sharing scheme has been found to be more efficient in terms of achieved throughput. However, the fragmentation-based sharing is more attractive in terms of computational complexity. For intra-operator resource allocation, we consider resource allocation problem with users' dissimilar service requirements, where the operator supports users with delay constraint and non-delay constraint service requirements, simultaneously. This optimization problem is a mixed-integer non-linear programming problem and non-convex, which is computationally very expensive, and the complexity grows exponentially with the number of integer variables. We propose less-complex and efficient suboptimal solution based on formulating exact linearization, linear approximation, and convexification techniques for the non-linear and/or non-convex objective functions and constraints. Extensive simulation performance analysis has been carried out that validates the efficiency of the proposed solution.

Challenges associated with tracking resources allocation for reproductive health in sub-Saharan African countries: the UNFPA/NIDI resource flows project experience.

PubMed

Sidze, Estelle M; Beekink, Erik; Maina, Beatrice W

2015-05-05

Universal access to reproductive health services entails strengthening health systems, but requires significant resource commitments as well as efficient and effective use of those resources. A number of international organizations and governments in developing countries are putting efforts into tracking the flow of health resources in order to inform resource mobilization and allocation, strategic planning, priority setting, advocacy and general policy making. The UNFPA/NIDI-led Resource Flows Project ("The UNFPA/NIDI RF Project") has conducted annual surveys since 1997 to monitor progress achieved by developing countries in implementing reproductive health financial targets. This commentary summarizes the Project experiences and challenges in gathering data on allocation of resources for reproductive health at the domestic level in sub-Saharan African countries. One key lesson learnt from the Project experience is the need for strengthening tracking mechanisms in sub-Saharan African countries and making information on reproductive health resources and expenditures available, in particular the private sector resources.

Energy-efficient downlink resource management in self-organized OFDMA-based two-tier femtocell networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahid, Adnan; Aslam, Saleem; Kim, Hyung Seok; Lee, Kyung-Geun

2015-12-01

Femtocell is a novel technology that is used for escalating indoor coverage as well as the capacity of traditional cellular networks. However, interference is the limiting factor for performance improvement due to co-channel deployment between macrocells and femtocells. The traditional network planning is not feasible because of the random deployment of femtocells. Therefore, self-organization approaches are the key to having successful deployment of femtocells. This study presents the joint resource block (RB) and power allocation task for the two-tier femtocell network in a self-organizing manner, with the concern to minimizing the impact of interference and maximizing the energy efficiency. In this study, we analyze the performance of the system in terms of the energy efficiency, which is composed of both the transmission and circuit power. Most of the previous studies investigate the performance regarding the throughput requirement of the two-tier femtocell network while the energy efficiency aspect is largely ignored. Here, the joint allocation task is modeled as a non-cooperative game which is demonstrated to exhibit pure and unique Nash equilibrium. In order to reduce the complexity of the proposed non-cooperative game, the joint RB and power allocation task is divided into two subproblems: an RB allocation and a particle swarm optimization-based power allocation. The analysis of the proposed game is carried out in terms of not only energy efficiency but also throughput. With practical 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) parameters, the simulation results illustrate the superior performance of the proposed game as compared to the traditional methods. Also, the comparison is carried out with the joint allocation scheme which only considers the throughput as the objective function. The results illustrate that significant performance improvement is achieved in terms of energy efficiency with slight loss in the throughput. The analysis in regard to energy efficiency and throughput of the two-tier femtocell network is carried out in terms of the performance metrics, which include convergence, impact of varying RBs, impact of femtocell density, and the fairness index.

Service guidelines based on Resource Utilization Groups Version III for Home Care provide decision-making support for case managers.

PubMed

Collister, Barbara; Stein, Glenda; Katz, Deborah; DeBruyn, Joan; Andrusiw, Linda; Cloutier, Sheila

2012-01-01

Increasing costs and budget reductions combined with increasing demand from our growing, aging population support the need to ensure that the scarce resources allocated to home care clients match client needs. This article details how Integrated Home Care for the Calgary Zone of Alberta Health Services considered ethical and economic principles and used data from the Resident Assessment Instrument for Home Care (RAI-HC) and case mix indices from the Resource Utilization Groups Version III for Home Care (RUG-III/HC) to formulate service guidelines. These explicit service guidelines formalize and support individual resource allocation decisions made by case managers and provide a consistent and transparent method of allocating limited resources.

Informing the Gestalt: An Ethical Framework for Allocating Scarce Federal Public Health and Medical Resources to States During Disasters

PubMed Central

Knebel, Ann R.; Sharpe, Virginia A.; Danis, Marion; Toomey, Lauren M.; Knickerbocker, Deborah K.

2017-01-01

During catastrophic disasters, government leaders must decide how to efficiently and effectively allocate scarce public health and medical resources. The literature about triage decision making at the individual patient level is substantial, and the National Response Framework provides guidance about the distribution of responsibilities between federal and state governments. However, little has been written about the decision-making process of federal leaders in disaster situations when resources are not sufficient to meet the needs of several states simultaneously. We offer an ethical framework and logic model for decision making in such circumstances. We adapted medical triage and the federalism principle to the decision-making process for allocating scarce federal public health and medical resources. We believe that the logic model provides a values-based framework that can inform the gestalt during the iterative decision process used by federal leaders as they allocate scarce resources to states during catastrophic disasters. PMID:24612854

Ising game: Nonequilibrium steady states of resource-allocation systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, C.; Yang, G.; Huang, J. P.

2017-04-01

Resource-allocation systems are ubiquitous in the human society. But how external fields affect the state of such systems remains poorly explored due to the lack of a suitable model. Because the behavior of spins pursuing energy minimization required by physical laws is similar to that of humans chasing payoff maximization studied in game theory, here we combine the Ising model with the market-directed resource-allocation game, yielding an Ising game. Based on the Ising game, we show theoretical, simulative and experimental evidences for a formula, which offers a clear expression of nonequilibrium steady states (NESSs). Interestingly, the formula also reveals a convertible relationship between the external field (exogenous factor) and resource ratio (endogenous factor), and a class of saturation as the external field exceeds certain limits. This work suggests that the Ising game could be a suitable model for studying external-field effects on resource-allocation systems, and it could provide guidance both for seeking more relations between NESSs and equilibrium states and for regulating human systems by choosing NESSs appropriately.

Resource allocation using ANN in LTE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yigit, Tuncay; Ersoy, Mevlut

2017-07-01

LTE is the 4th generation wireless network technology, which provides flexible bandwidth, higher data speeds and lower delay. Difficulties may be experienced upon an increase in the number of users in LTE. The objective of this study is to ensure a faster solution to any such resource allocation problems which might arise upon an increase in the number of users. A fast and effective solution has been obtained by making use of Artificial Neural Network. As a result, fast working artificial intelligence methods may be used in resource allocation problems during operation.

The Cost Structure of Higher Education: Implications for Governmental Policy in Steady State.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyell, Edward H.

The historical pattern of resource allocation in American higher education as exemplified by public colleges in Colorado was examined. The reliance upon average cost information in making resource allocation decisions was critiqued for the special problems that arise from student enrollment decline or steady state. A model of resource allocation…

The Role of Research and Analysis in Resource Allocation Decisions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lea, Dennis; Polster, Patty Poppe

2011-01-01

In a time of diminishing resources and increased accountability, it is important for school leaders to make the most of every dollar they spend. One approach to ensuring responsible resource allocation is to closely examine the organizational culture surrounding decision making and provide a structure and process to incorporate research and data…

Resource Allocation Strategies in Doctoral/Research University (Extensive) Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blake Gonzalez, Barbara

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the management of resources by library directors at 151 Public and Private Carnegie classified extensive university libraries in an environment of limited funding for higher education. This study examined the following research questions: 1. What resource allocation strategies are used by…

Resource Allocation and Improved Student Performance: Teachers' Perspectives on School Finance Administration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudo, Zena H.

As expectations rise for students to perform at higher levels, the question of how best to support student performance through resources becomes paramount. In determining new ways to better allocate resources, administrators must consider teacher input on what has/has not been effective in supporting increased student performance. Teachers…

Underwater Robot Task Planning Using Multi-Objective Meta-Heuristics

PubMed Central

Landa-Torres, Itziar; Manjarres, Diana; Bilbao, Sonia; Del Ser, Javier

2017-01-01

Robotics deployed in the underwater medium are subject to stringent operational conditions that impose a high degree of criticality on the allocation of resources and the schedule of operations in mission planning. In this context the so-called cost of a mission must be considered as an additional criterion when designing optimal task schedules within the mission at hand. Such a cost can be conceived as the impact of the mission on the robotic resources themselves, which range from the consumption of battery to other negative effects such as mechanic erosion. This manuscript focuses on this issue by devising three heuristic solvers aimed at efficiently scheduling tasks in robotic swarms, which collaborate together to accomplish a mission, and by presenting experimental results obtained over realistic scenarios in the underwater environment. The heuristic techniques resort to a Random-Keys encoding strategy to represent the allocation of robots to tasks and the relative execution order of such tasks within the schedule of certain robots. The obtained results reveal interesting differences in terms of Pareto optimality and spread between the algorithms considered in the benchmark, which are insightful for the selection of a proper task scheduler in real underwater campaigns. PMID:28375160

Underwater Robot Task Planning Using Multi-Objective Meta-Heuristics.

PubMed

Landa-Torres, Itziar; Manjarres, Diana; Bilbao, Sonia; Del Ser, Javier

2017-04-04

Robotics deployed in the underwater medium are subject to stringent operational conditions that impose a high degree of criticality on the allocation of resources and the schedule of operations in mission planning. In this context the so-called cost of a mission must be considered as an additional criterion when designing optimal task schedules within the mission at hand. Such a cost can be conceived as the impact of the mission on the robotic resources themselves, which range from the consumption of battery to other negative effects such as mechanic erosion. This manuscript focuses on this issue by devising three heuristic solvers aimed at efficiently scheduling tasks in robotic swarms, which collaborate together to accomplish a mission, and by presenting experimental results obtained over realistic scenarios in the underwater environment. The heuristic techniques resort to a Random-Keys encoding strategy to represent the allocation of robots to tasks and the relative execution order of such tasks within the schedule of certain robots. The obtained results reveal interesting differences in terms of Pareto optimality and spread between the algorithms considered in the benchmark, which are insightful for the selection of a proper task scheduler in real underwater campaigns.

Corporate financial decision-makers' perceptions of workplace safety.

PubMed

Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Leamon, Tom B; Courtney, Theodore K; Chen, Peter Y; DeArmond, Sarah

2007-07-01

This study, through a random national survey, explored how senior financial executives or managers (those who determined high-level budget, resource allocation, and corporate priorities) of medium-to-large companies perceive important workplace safety issues. The three top-rated safety priorities in resource allocation reported by the participants (overexertion, repetitive motion, and bodily reaction) were consistent with the top three perceived causes of workers' compensation losses. The greatest single safety concerns reported were overexertion, repetitive motion, highway accidents, falling on the same level and bodily reaction. A majority of participants believed that the indirect costs associated with workplace injury were higher than the direct costs. Our participants believed that money spent improving workplace safety would have significant returns. The perceived top benefits of an effective workplace safety program were increased productivity, reduced cost, retention, and increased satisfaction among employees. The perceived most important safety modification was safety training. The top reasons senior financial executives gave for believing their safety programs were better than those at other companies were that their companies paid more attention to and emphasized safety, they had better classes and training focused on safety, and they had teams/individuals focused specifically on safety.

Cross-cultural differences in distributive justice: a comparison of Turkey and the U.S.

PubMed

Murphy-Berman, Virginia A; Berman, John J; Cukur, Cem Safak

2012-01-01

When allocators make decisions about distributing resources, they face a dilemma if the expectations for consequences that will flow from particular choices are incongruent with each other. For example, a certain allocation choice might be expected to make an allocator appear warm and likable but unfair. Previous research has found that culture can shape these perceptions and, thus, their congruence or incongruence. The present study further investigated these ideas. Differences between Turkish and U.S. students' perceptions of allocators who distributed resources on the basis of merit vs. need were investigated. Results revealed an allocation dilemma among the U.S. but not among the Turkish students. Specifically, the U.S. students perceived greater incongruence among allocation consequences for both merit and need choices than did the students from Turkey for whom perceptions of allocator's fairness were more aligned with perceptions of allocator's warmth.

Health Resources Priority and Allocations System (HRPAS). Interim final rule.

PubMed

2015-07-17

This interim final rule establishes standards and procedures by which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may require that certain contracts or orders that promote the national defense be given priority over other contracts or orders. This rule also sets new standards and procedures by which HHS may allocate materials, services, and facilities to promote the national defense. This rule will implement HHS's administration of priorities and allocations actions, and establish the Health Resources Priorities and Allocation System (HRPAS). The HRPAS will cover health resources pursuant to the authority under Section 101(c) of the Defense Production Act as delegated to HHS by Executive Order 13603. Priorities authorities (and other authorities delegated to the Secretary in E.O. 13603, but not covered by this regulation) may be re-delegated by the Secretary. The Secretary retains the authority for allocations.

Are Indirect Benefits Relevant to Health Care Allocation Decisions?

PubMed Central

Du Toit, Jessica; Millum, Joseph

2016-01-01

Abstract When allocating scarce healthcare resources, the expected benefits of alternative allocations matter. But, there are different kinds of benefits. Some are direct benefits to the recipient of the resource such as the health improvements of receiving treatment. Others are indirect benefits to third parties such as the economic gains from having a healthier workforce. This article considers whether only the direct benefits of alternative healthcare resource allocations are relevant to allocation decisions, or whether indirect benefits are relevant too. First, we distinguish different conceptions of direct and indirect benefits and argue that only a recipient conception could be morally relevant. We analyze four arguments for thinking that indirect benefits should not count and argue that none is successful in showing that the indirectness of a benefit is a good reason not to count it. We conclude that direct and indirect benefits should be evaluated in the same way. PMID:27465773

SLA-based optimisation of virtualised resource for multi-tier web applications in cloud data centres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bi, Jing; Yuan, Haitao; Tie, Ming; Tan, Wei

2015-10-01

Dynamic virtualised resource allocation is the key to quality of service assurance for multi-tier web application services in cloud data centre. In this paper, we develop a self-management architecture of cloud data centres with virtualisation mechanism for multi-tier web application services. Based on this architecture, we establish a flexible hybrid queueing model to determine the amount of virtual machines for each tier of virtualised application service environments. Besides, we propose a non-linear constrained optimisation problem with restrictions defined in service level agreement. Furthermore, we develop a heuristic mixed optimisation algorithm to maximise the profit of cloud infrastructure providers, and to meet performance requirements from different clients as well. Finally, we compare the effectiveness of our dynamic allocation strategy with two other allocation strategies. The simulation results show that the proposed resource allocation method is efficient in improving the overall performance and reducing the resource energy cost.

Allocation of Resources to Communication of Research Result Summaries.

PubMed

Richards, Julie E; Bane, Emmi; Fullerton, Stephanie M; Ludman, Evette J; Jarvik, Gail

2016-10-01

Researchers and policymakers recommend communicating summary research results to biobank participants when feasible. To date, however, there have been few explorations of participant preferences for dedicating resources to this activity. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants of a genetic medicine biobank. Participants were interviewed by phone about their motivation for participation, and opinions about the allocation of resources to communicating summary results. De-identified transcripts were used for a directed content analysis. Most biobank participation was altruistic. All participants were not only interested in receiving summary results but also expressed a clear preference for allocating limited funds to conducting additional genetic research. The results suggest that participants have a nuanced view about the allocation of biobank resources to returning summary results, and asking their opinion is a valuable exercise. Researchers may benefit from transparency about research goals and involving biobank participants in decisions about return of summary results.

Curvilinear relationships between resource allocation and life domain-specific interference.

PubMed

Waldrop, Jessica S; Erb, Kaitlyn R; Grawitch, Matthew J

2017-10-01

This study investigated the inherent complexities of the work-life interface (WLI) by examining the relationship between resource allocation (i.e., time and energy dedicated to a particular domain) and perceived interference of individual life domains. Much of the research on the WLI is based on the assumption that a linear pattern best describes the relationship between resource allocation and the interference caused by various life domains; however, this study examined the possibility that curvilinear relationships may be a more appropriate representation. Results indicated that resource allocation is a meaningful predictor of interference, and for many life domains a curvilinear relationship accounts for more variance than a linear one; a breakdown of the sample also revealed this relationship varies by gender. Overall, findings suggest that the nature of the WLI is more individualized and complex than is currently conceptualized in the field. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Proposing integrated Shannon's entropy-inverse data envelopment analysis methods for resource allocation problem under a fuzzy environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Çakır, Süleyman

2017-10-01

In this study, a two-phase methodology for resource allocation problems under a fuzzy environment is proposed. In the first phase, the imprecise Shannon's entropy method and the acceptability index are suggested, for the first time in the literature, to select input and output variables to be used in the data envelopment analysis (DEA) application. In the second step, an interval inverse DEA model is executed for resource allocation in a short run. In an effort to exemplify the practicality of the proposed fuzzy model, a real case application has been conducted involving 16 cement firms listed in Borsa Istanbul. The results of the case application indicated that the proposed hybrid model is a viable procedure to handle input-output selection and resource allocation problems under fuzzy conditions. The presented methodology can also lend itself to different applications such as multi-criteria decision-making problems.

The social power of regret: the effect of social appraisal and anticipated emotions on fair and unfair allocations in resource dilemmas.

PubMed

van der Schalk, Job; Kuppens, Toon; Bruder, Martin; Manstead, Antony S R

2015-02-01

We investigated how another person's emotions about resource allocation decisions influence observers' resource allocations by influencing the emotions that observers anticipate feeling if they were to act in the same way. Participants were exposed to an exemplar who made a fair or unfair division in an economic game and expressed pride or regret about this decision. Participants then made their own resource allocation decisions. Exemplar regret about acting fairly decreased the incidence of fair behavior (Studies 1A and 1B). Likewise, exemplar regret about acting unfairly increased the incidence of fair behavior (Study 2). The effect of others' emotions on observers' behavior was mediated by the observers' anticipated emotions. We discuss our findings in light of the view that social appraisal and anticipated emotions are important tools for social learning and may contribute to the formation and maintenance of social norms about greed and fairness.

Space Network Control Conference on Resource Allocation Concepts and Approaches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moe, Karen L. (Editor)

1991-01-01

The results are presented of the Space Network Control (SNC) Conference. In the late 1990s, when the Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System is operational, Space Network communication services will be supported and controlled by the SNC. The goals of the conference were to survey existing resource allocation concepts and approaches, to identify solutions applicable to the Space Network, and to identify avenues of study in support of the SNC development. The conference was divided into three sessions: (1) Concepts for Space Network Allocation; (2) SNC and User Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) Human-Computer Interface Concepts; and (3) Resource Allocation Tools, Technology, and Algorithms. Key recommendations addressed approaches to achieving higher levels of automation in the scheduling process.

Resource allocation and funding challenges for regional local health departments in Nebraska.

PubMed

Chen, Li-Wu; Jacobson, Janelle; Roberts, Sara; Palm, David

2012-01-01

This study examined the mechanism of resource allocation among member counties and the funding challenges of regional health departments (RHDs) in Nebraska. DESIGN AND STUDY SETTING: In 2009, we conducted a qualitative case study of 2 Nebraska RHDs to gain insight into their experiences of making resource allocation decisions and confronting funding challenges. The 2 RHD sites were selected for this case study on the basis of their heterogeneity in terms of population distribution in member counties. Sixteen semistructured in-person interviews were conducted with RHD directors, staff, and board of health members. Interview data were coded and analyzed using NVivo qualitative analysis software (QSR International [Americas] Inc., Cambridge, MA). Our findings suggested that the directors of RHDs play an integral role in making resource allocation decisions on the basis of community needs, not on a formula or on individual county population size. Interviewees also reported that the size of the vulnerable population served by the RHD had a significant impact on the level of resources for RHD's programs. The RHD's decisions about resource allocation were also dependent on the amount and type of resources received from the state. Interviewees identified inadequacy and instability of funding as the 2 main funding challenges for their RHD. These challenges negatively impacted workforce capacity and the long-term sustainability of some programs. Regional health departments may not benefit from better leveraging resources and building a stronger structural capacity unless the issues of funding inadequacy and instability are addressed. Strategies that can be used by RHDs to address these funding challenges include seeking grants to support programs, leveraging existing resources, and building community partnerships to share resources. Future research is needed to identify RHDs' optimal workforce capacity, required funding level, and potential funding mechanisms.

Supportive and palliative care for metastatic breast cancer: resource allocations in low- and middle-income countries. A Breast Health Global Initiative 2013 consensus statement.

PubMed

Cleary, James; Ddungu, Henry; Distelhorst, Sandra R; Ripamonti, Carla; Rodin, Gary M; Bushnaq, Mohammad A; Clegg-Lamptey, Joe N; Connor, Stephen R; Diwani, Msemo B; Eniu, Alexandru; Harford, Joe B; Kumar, Suresh; Rajagopal, M R; Thompson, Beti; Gralow, Julie R; Anderson, Benjamin O

2013-10-01

Many women diagnosed with breast cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) present with advanced-stage disease. While cure is not a realistic outcome, site-specific interventions, supportive care, and palliative care can achieve meaningful outcomes and improve quality of life. As part of the 5th Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) Global Summit, an expert international panel identified thirteen key resource recommendations for supportive and palliative care for metastatic breast cancer. The recommendations are presented in three resource-stratified tables: health system resource allocations, resource allocations for organ-based metastatic breast cancer, and resource allocations for palliative care. These tables illustrate how health systems can provide supportive and palliative care services for patients at a basic level of available resources, and incrementally add services as more resources become available. The health systems table includes health professional education, patient and family education, palliative care models, and diagnostic testing. The metastatic disease management table provides recommendations for supportive care for bone, brain, liver, lung, and skin metastases as well as bowel obstruction. The third table includes the palliative care recommendations: pain management, and psychosocial and spiritual aspects of care. The panel considered pain management a priority at a basic level of resource allocation and emphasized the need for morphine to be easily available in LMICs. Regular pain assessments and the proper use of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions are recommended. Basic-level resources for psychosocial and spiritual aspects of care include health professional and patient and family education, as well as patient support, including community-based peer support. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Robust allocation of a defensive budget considering an attacker's private information.

PubMed

Nikoofal, Mohammad E; Zhuang, Jun

2012-05-01

Attackers' private information is one of the main issues in defensive resource allocation games in homeland security. The outcome of a defense resource allocation decision critically depends on the accuracy of estimations about the attacker's attributes. However, terrorists' goals may be unknown to the defender, necessitating robust decisions by the defender. This article develops a robust-optimization game-theoretical model for identifying optimal defense resource allocation strategies for a rational defender facing a strategic attacker while the attacker's valuation of targets, being the most critical attribute of the attacker, is unknown but belongs to bounded distribution-free intervals. To our best knowledge, no previous research has applied robust optimization in homeland security resource allocation when uncertainty is defined in bounded distribution-free intervals. The key features of our model include (1) modeling uncertainty in attackers' attributes, where uncertainty is characterized by bounded intervals; (2) finding the robust-optimization equilibrium for the defender using concepts dealing with budget of uncertainty and price of robustness; and (3) applying the proposed model to real data. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

An Overview of Randomization and Minimization Programs for Randomized Clinical Trials

PubMed Central

Saghaei, Mahmoud

2011-01-01

Randomization is an essential component of sound clinical trials, which prevents selection biases and helps in blinding the allocations. Randomization is a process by which subsequent subjects are enrolled into trial groups only by chance, which essentially eliminates selection biases. A serious consequence of randomization is severe imbalance among the treatment groups with respect to some prognostic factors, which invalidate the trial results or necessitate complex and usually unreliable secondary analysis to eradicate the source of imbalances. Minimization on the other hand tends to allocate in such a way as to minimize the differences among groups, with respect to prognostic factors. Pure minimization is therefore completely deterministic, that is, one can predict the allocation of the next subject by knowing the factor levels of a previously enrolled subject and having the properties of the next subject. To eliminate the predictability of randomization, it is necessary to include some elements of randomness in the minimization algorithms. In this article brief descriptions of randomization and minimization are presented followed by introducing selected randomization and minimization programs. PMID:22606659

Resource allocation. The cost of care: two troublesome cases in health care ethics.

PubMed

Armstrong, C R; Whitlock, R

1998-01-01

With the cost of health care rising rapidly, both physicians and administrators regularly face resource allocation decisions. Under these conditions of relative scarcity, the equitable and appropriate distribution of limited resources becomes an ethical as well as a financial issue. Through ethical analysis, physician executives can assist their physician colleagues and fellow administrators to find rationally defensible answers to questions regarding the distribution of limited resources. Six criteria are frequently "weighted in the balance" by ethicists when analyzing whether justice is served in the distribution of a limited resource: need, equality, contribution, ability to pay, effort, and merit. The authors argue that, from an ethical standpoint, the best single criterion upon which one can base an allocation decision is that of merit, defined as the potential to benefit from the investment of additional resources.

Tying Resources to Results: Integrating the Resource Allocation Process into Planning and Management in a Public Two-Year College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bers, John A.

A budgetary process that serves a college in an era of expansion is likely to break down when the resource base is reduced and tough-minded decisions about priorities are required. This paper describes a resource allocation system that Gadsden State Junior College developed and tested over a two-year period to respond to fiscal contraction. Key…

National assessment of geologic carbon dioxide storage resources: allocations of assessed areas to Federal lands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buursink, Marc L.; Cahan, Steven M.; Warwick, Peter D.

2015-01-01

Following the geologic basin-scale assessment of technically accessible carbon dioxide storage resources in onshore areas and State waters of the United States, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that an area of about 130 million acres (or about 200,000 square miles) of Federal lands overlies these storage resources. Consequently, about 18 percent of the assessed area associated with storage resources is allocated to Federal land management. Assessed areas are allocated to four other general land-ownership categories as follows: State lands about 4.5 percent, Tribal lands about 2.4 percent, private and other lands about 72 percent, and offshore areas about 2.6 percent.

Market Model for Resource Allocation in Emerging Sensor Networks with Reinforcement Learning

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yue; Song, Bin; Zhang, Ying; Du, Xiaojiang; Guizani, Mohsen

2016-01-01

Emerging sensor networks (ESNs) are an inevitable trend with the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), and intend to connect almost every intelligent device. Therefore, it is critical to study resource allocation in such an environment, due to the concern of efficiency, especially when resources are limited. By viewing ESNs as multi-agent environments, we model them with an agent-based modelling (ABM) method and deal with resource allocation problems with market models, after describing users’ patterns. Reinforcement learning methods are introduced to estimate users’ patterns and verify the outcomes in our market models. Experimental results show the efficiency of our methods, which are also capable of guiding topology management. PMID:27916841

A note on resource allocation scheduling with group technology and learning effects on a single machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Yuan-Yuan; Wang, Ji-Bo; Ji, Ping; He, Hongyu

2017-09-01

In this article, single-machine group scheduling with learning effects and convex resource allocation is studied. The goal is to find the optimal job schedule, the optimal group schedule, and resource allocations of jobs and groups. For the problem of minimizing the makespan subject to limited resource availability, it is proved that the problem can be solved in polynomial time under the condition that the setup times of groups are independent. For the general setup times of groups, a heuristic algorithm and a branch-and-bound algorithm are proposed, respectively. Computational experiments show that the performance of the heuristic algorithm is fairly accurate in obtaining near-optimal solutions.

75 FR 76975 - 2015 Resource Pool-Sierra Nevada Region

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-10

...The Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal power marketing administration of DOE, announces the Final 2015 Resource Pool allocations pursuant to its 2004 Power Marketing Plan (Marketing Plan) for the Sierra Nevada Customer Service Region (SNR). This notice includes a summary of the comments received on Western's proposed 2015 Resource Pool allocations and Western's responses.

The Unconscious Allocation of Cognitive Resources to Task-Relevant and Task-Irrelevant Thoughts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuldas, Seffetullah; Hashim, Shahabuddin; Ismail, Hairul Nizam; Samsudin, Mohd Ali; Bakar, Zainudin Abu

2014-01-01

Conscious allocation of cognitive resources to task-relevant thoughts is necessary for learning. However, task-irrelevant thoughts often associated with fear of failure can enter the mind and interfere with learning. Effects like this prompt the question of whether or not learners consciously shift their cognitive resources from task-relevant to…

An integrated model of water resources optimization allocation based on projection pursuit model - Grey wolf optimization method in a transboundary river basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Sen; Lu, Hongwei

2018-04-01

Under the effects of global change, water crisis ranks as the top global risk in the future decade, and water conflict in transboundary river basins as well as the geostrategic competition led by it is most concerned. This study presents an innovative integrated PPMGWO model of water resources optimization allocation in a transboundary river basin, which is integrated through the projection pursuit model (PPM) and Grey wolf optimization (GWO) method. This study uses the Songhua River basin and 25 control units as examples, adopting the PPMGWO model proposed in this study to allocate the water quantity. Using water consumption in all control units in the Songhua River basin in 2015 as reference to compare with optimization allocation results of firefly algorithm (FA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms as well as the PPMGWO model, results indicate that the average difference between corresponding allocation results and reference values are 0.195 bil m3, 0.151 bil m3, and 0.085 bil m3, respectively. Obviously, the average difference of the PPMGWO model is the lowest and its optimization allocation result is closer to reality, which further confirms the reasonability, feasibility, and accuracy of the PPMGWO model. And then the PPMGWO model is adopted to simulate allocation of available water quantity in Songhua River basin in 2018, 2020, and 2030. The simulation results show water quantity which could be allocated in all controls demonstrates an overall increasing trend with reasonable and equal exploitation and utilization of water resources in the Songhua River basin in future. In addition, this study has a certain reference value and application meaning to comprehensive management and water resources allocation in other transboundary river basins.

Introducing priority setting and resource allocation in home and community care programs.

PubMed

Urquhart, Bonnie; Mitton, Craig; Peacock, Stuart

2008-01-01

To use evidence from research to identify and implement priority setting and resource allocation that incorporates both ethical practices and economic principles. Program budgeting and marginal analysis (PBMA) is based on two key economic principles: opportunity cost (i.e. doing one thing instead of another) and the margin (i.e. resource allocation should result in maximum benefit for available resources). An ethical framework for priority setting and resource allocation known as Accountability for Reasonableness (A4R) focuses on making sure that resource allocations are based on a fair decision-making process. It includes the following four conditions: publicity; relevance; appeals; and enforcement. More recent literature on the topic suggests that a fifth condition, that of empowerment, should be added to the Framework. The 2007-08 operating budget for Home and Community Care, excluding the residential sector, was developed using PBMA and incorporating the A4R conditions. Recommendations developed using PBMA were forwarded to the Executive Committee, approved and implemented for the 2007-08 fiscal year operating budget. In addition there were two projects approved for approximately $200,000. PBMA is an improvement over previous practice. Managers of Home and Community Care are committed to using the process for the 2008-09 fiscal year operating budget and expanding its use to include mental health and addictions services. In addition, managers of public health prevention and promotion services are considering using the process.

Fair Resource Allocation to Health Research: Priority Topics for Bioethics Scholarship.

PubMed

Pratt, Bridget; Hyder, Adnan A

2017-07-01

This article draws attention to the limited amount of scholarship on what constitutes fairness and equity in resource allocation to health research by individual funders. It identifies three key decisions of ethical significance about resource allocation that research funders make regularly and calls for prioritizing scholarship on those topics - namely, how health resources should be fairly apportioned amongst public health and health care delivery versus health research, how health research resources should be fairly allocated between health problems experienced domestically versus other health problems typically experienced by disadvantaged populations outside the funder's country, and how domestic and non-domestic health research funding should be further apportioned to different areas, e.g. types of research and recipients. These three topics should be priorities for bioethics research because their outcomes have a substantial bearing on the achievement of health justice. The proposed agenda aims to move discussion on the ethics of health research funding beyond its current focus on the mismatch between worldwide basic and clinical research investment and the global burden of disease. Individual funders' decision-making on whether and to what extent to allocate resources to non-domestic health research, health systems research, research on the social determinants of health, capacity development, and recipients in certain countries should also be the focus of ethical scrutiny. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Trade-offs between reproductive allocation and storage in species of Oenothera L. (Onagraceae) native to Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vilela, Alejandra; Cariaga, Rodrigo; González-Paleo, Luciana; Ravetta, Damián

2008-01-01

A trade-off between reproduction and survival arises because current reproduction diminishes levels of a limiting resource such that less can be placed in storage organs for the survival of an organism during the unfavorable season. Oenothera is a particularly suited genus for studying those kind of trade-offs because it contains species with different life-history strategies (annual, biennial and perennial). Since allocation to leaves is a major factor associated with changes in life-history, here we tested the hypothesis that Oenothera leaf attributes would affect plant reproductive effort and therefore, root reserves. We selected two groups of taxa differing in their leaf area ratio (low- and high-LAR) and we compared their pattern of resource allocation to growth, reproduction and storage. Path analysis confirmed our hypothesis that LAR is the most important variable in explaining variation in allocation to reproduction or storage. The group with high allocation to leaves assigned resources preferentially to storage while the other group allocated more resources to reproduction, as predicted. A trade-off between reproduction and storage was only confirmed for the high-LAR group. The low-LAR group showed the life-history tactic of annual plants, while the high-LAR group exhibited a strategy generally associated with perenniality.

Resource allocation in public health practice: a national survey of local public health officials.

PubMed

Baum, Nancy M; DesRoches, Catherine; Campbell, Eric G; Goold, Susan Dorr

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to gain an empirical understanding of the types of allocation decisions local health officials (LHOs) make and the factors that influence those allocation decisions. We conducted a national survey of LHOs in the United States in 2008 to 2009. The sample was stratified by the size of the population served by the department. We merged our data with data from the 2008 National Association of County and City Health Officials Profile survey. Descriptive statistics were generated using weighted data. Our final sample size was 608 respondents, with an average of 10 years experience. The LHOs reported little shifting of resources among population groups but greater capacity to redirect staffing time. Less than half of LHOs reported using economic analyses or conducting needs assessments when setting priorities. Having sole provider status in a community strongly influenced LHOs' allocation decisions. In addition, the effectiveness of activities, previous budget allocations, and input from boards of health were influential factors in allocation decisions. Public expectations were moderately to very influential, but direct public input had a low impact on allocation decisions. Survey findings provide a clearer understanding of how LHOs fulfill their obligations as stewards of public health resources and ensure effective activities and access to needed services. It may be useful to assess the value of more structured allocation methods (eg, decision frameworks) in the allocation process. Expanding opportunities for public engagement in priority setting may also be valuable for difficult allocation decisions.

Administrators' Decisions about Resource Allocation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knight, William E.; Folkins, John W.; Hakel, Milton D.; Kennell, Richard P.

2011-01-01

Do academic administrators make decisions about resource allocation differently depending on the discipline receiving the funding? Does an administrator's academic identity influence these decisions? This study explored those questions with a sample of 1,690 academic administrators at doctoral-research universities. Participants used fictional…

Effects of parental care on resource allocation into immune defense and buccal microbiota in mouthbrooding cichlid fishes.

PubMed

Keller, Isabel S; Bayer, Till; Salzburger, Walter; Roth, Olivia

2018-05-01

Sexual dimorphism is founded upon a resource allocation trade-off between investments in reproduction versus other life-history traits including the immune system. In species with conventional parental care roles, theory predicts that males maximize their lifetime reproductive success by allocating resources toward sexual selection, while females achieve this through prolonging their lifespan. Here, we examine the interrelation between sexual dimorphism and parental care strategies in closely related maternal and biparental mouthbrooding cichlid fishes from East African Lake Tanganyika. We measured cellular immune parameters, examined the relative expression of 28 immune system and life history-related candidate genes and analyzed the microbiota composition in the buccal cavity. According to our predictions, maternal mouthbrooders are more sexually dimorphic in immune parameters than biparental mouthbrooders, which has possibly arisen through a differential resource allocation into parental care versus secondary sexual traits. Biparental mouthbrooders, on the other hand, which share the costs of parental care, feature an upregulated adaptive immune response and stronger antiviral properties, while their inflammation response is reduced. Overall, our results suggest a differential resource allocation trade-off between the two modes of parental investment. © 2018 The Author(s). Evolution © 2018 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Optimal allocation of resources for suppressing epidemic spreading on networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hanshuang; Li, Guofeng; Zhang, Haifeng; Hou, Zhonghuai

2017-07-01

Efficient allocation of limited medical resources is crucial for controlling epidemic spreading on networks. Based on the susceptible-infected-susceptible model, we solve the optimization problem of how best to allocate the limited resources so as to minimize prevalence, providing that the curing rate of each node is positively correlated to its medical resource. By quenched mean-field theory and heterogeneous mean-field (HMF) theory, we prove that an epidemic outbreak will be suppressed to the greatest extent if the curing rate of each node is directly proportional to its degree, under which the effective infection rate λ has a maximal threshold λcopt=1 / , where is the average degree of the underlying network. For a weak infection region (λ ≳λcopt ), we combine perturbation theory with the Lagrange multiplier method (LMM) to derive the analytical expression of optimal allocation of the curing rates and the corresponding minimized prevalence. For a general infection region (λ >λcopt ), the high-dimensional optimization problem is converted into numerically solving low-dimensional nonlinear equations by the HMF theory and LMM. Counterintuitively, in the strong infection region the low-degree nodes should be allocated more medical resources than the high-degree nodes to minimize prevalence. Finally, we use simulated annealing to validate the theoretical results.

Decision maker perceptions of resource allocation processes in Canadian health care organizations: a national survey

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Resource allocation is a key challenge for healthcare decision makers. While several case studies of organizational practice exist, there have been few large-scale cross-organization comparisons. Methods Between January and April 2011, we conducted an on-line survey of senior decision makers within regional health authorities (and closely equivalent organizations) across all Canadian provinces and territories. We received returns from 92 individual managers, from 60 out of 89 organizations in total. The survey inquired about structures, process features, and behaviours related to organization-wide resource allocation decisions. We focus here on three main aspects: type of process, perceived fairness, and overall rating. Results About one-half of respondents indicated that their organization used a formal process for resource allocation, while the others reported that political or historical factors were predominant. Seventy percent (70%) of respondents self-reported that their resource allocation process was fair and just over one-half assessed their process as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. This paper explores these findings in greater detail and assesses them in context of the larger literature. Conclusion Data from this large-scale cross-jurisdictional survey helps to illustrate common challenges and areas of positive performance among Canada’s health system leadership teams. PMID:23819598

Water Market-scale Agricultural Planning: Promoting Competing Water Resource Use Efficiency Through Agro-Economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delorit, J. D.; Block, P. J.

2017-12-01

Where strong water rights law and corresponding markets exist as a coupled econo-legal mechanism, water rights holders are permitted to trade allocations to promote economic water resource use efficiency. In locations where hydrologic uncertainty drives the assignment of annual per-water right allocation values by water resource managers, collaborative water resource decision making by water rights holders, specifically those involved in agricultural production, can result in both resource and economic Pareto efficiency. Such is the case in semi-arid North Chile, where interactions between representative farmer groups, treated as competitive bilateral monopolies, and modeled at water market-scale, can provide both price and water right allocation distribution signals for unregulated, temporary water right leasing markets. For the range of feasible per-water right allocation values, a coupled agricultural-economic model is developed to describe the equilibrium distribution of water, the corresponding market price of water rights and the net surplus generated by collaboration between competing agricultural uses. Further, this research describes a per-water right inflection point for allocations where economic efficiency is not possible, and where price negotiation among competing agricultural uses is required. An investigation of the effects of water right supply and demand inequality at the market-scale is completed to characterize optimal market performance under existing water rights law. The broader insights of this research suggest that water rights holders engaged in agriculture can achieve economic benefits from forming crop-type cooperatives and by accurately assessing the economic value of allocation.

Lay public's understanding of equipoise and randomisation in randomised controlled trials.

PubMed

Robinson, E J; Kerr, C E P; Stevens, A J; Lilford, R J; Braunholtz, D A; Edwards, S J; Beck, S R; Rowley, M G

2005-03-01

To research the lay public's understanding of equipoise and randomisation in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and to look at why information on this may not be not taken in or remembered, as well as the effects of providing information designed to overcome barriers. Investigations were informed by an update of systematic review on patients' understanding of consent information in clinical trials, and by relevant theory and evidence from experimental psychology. Nine investigations were conducted with nine participants. Access (return to education), leisure and vocational courses at Further Education Colleges in the Midlands, UK. Healthy adults with a wide range of educational backgrounds and ages. Participants read hypothetical scenarios and wrote brief answers to subsequent questions. Sub-samples of participants were interviewed individually to elaborate on their written answers. Participants' background assumptions concerning equipoise and randomisation were examined and ways of helping participants recognise the scientific benefits of randomisation were explored. Judgments on allocation methods; treatment preferences; the acceptability of random allocation; whether or not individual doctors could be completely unsure about the best treatment; whether or not doctors should reveal treatment preferences under conditions of collective equipoise; and how sure experts would be about the best treatment following random allocation vs doctor/patient choice. Assessments of understanding hypothetical trial information. Recent literature continues to report trial participants' failure to understand or remember information about randomisation and equipoise, despite the provision of clear and readable trial information leaflets. In current best practice, written trial information describes what will happen without offering accessible explanations. As a consequence, patients may create their own incorrect interpretations and consent or refusal may be inadequately informed. In six investigations, most participants identified which methods of allocation were random, but judged the random allocation methods to be unacceptable in a trial context; the mere description of a treatment as new was insufficient to engender a preference for it over a standard treatment; around half of the participants denied that a doctor could be completely unsure about the best treatment. A majority of participants judged it unacceptable for a doctor to suggest letting chance decide when uncertain of the best treatment, and, in the absence of a justification for random allocation, participants did not recognise scientific benefits of random allocation over normal treatment allocation methods. The pattern of results across three intervention studies suggests that merely supplementing written trial information with an explanation is unlikely to be helpful. However, when people manage to focus on the trial's aim of increasing knowledge (as opposed to making treatment decisions about individuals), and process an explanation actively, they may be helped to understand the scientific reasons for random allocation. This research was not carried out in real healthcare settings. However, participants who could correctly identify random allocation methods, yet judged random allocation unacceptable, doubted the possibility of individual equipoise and saw no scientific benefits of random allocation over doctor/patient choice, are unlikely to draw upon contrasting views if invited to enter a real clinical trial. This suggests that many potential trial participants may have difficulty understanding and remembering trial information that conforms to current best practice in its descriptions of randomisation and equipoise. Given the extent of the disparity between the assumptions underlying trial design and the assumptions held by the lay public, the solution is unlikely to be simple. Nevertheless, the results suggest that including an accessible explanation of the scientific benefits of randomisation may be beneficial provided potential participants are also enabled to reflect on the trial's aim of advancing knowledge, and to think actively about the information presented. Further areas for consideration include: the identification of effective combinations of written and oral information; helping participants to reflect on the aim of advancing knowledge; and an evidence-based approach to leaflet construction.

Family Resource Allocation after Firstborns Leave Home: Implications for Secondborns' Academic Functioning.

PubMed

Jensen, Alexander C; Whiteman, Shawn D; Bernard, Julia M; McHale, Susan M

2017-09-01

This study assessed secondborn adolescents' perceptions of changes in the allocation of family resources following their firstborn siblings' departure from home after high school, and whether perceived changes were related to changes over 1 year in secondborns' academic functioning. Participants were secondborn siblings (mean age = 16.58, SD = 0.91) from 115 families in which the older sibling had left the family home in the previous year. Allocation of resources was measured via coded qualitative interviews. Most (77%) secondborns reported increases in at least one type of family resource (i.e., parental companionship, attention, material goods), and many reported an increase in multiple types of resources in the year following their older sibling's departure. Consistent with resource dilution theory, perceptions of increases in fathers' companionship, fathers' attention, and mothers' companionship were related to improvements over time in secondborns' academic functioning. © 2015 Family Process Institute.

Allocating resources to large wildland fires: a model with stochastic production rates

Treesearch

Romain Mees; David Strauss

1992-01-01

Wildland fires that grow out of the initial attack phase are responsible for most of the damage and burned area. We model the allocation of fire suppression resources (ground crews, engines, bulldozers, and airdrops) to these large fires. The fireline at a given future time is partitioned into homogeneous segments on the basis of fuel type, available resources, risk,...

Resource Allocation with the Use of the Balanced Scorecard and the Triple Bottom Line in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Chi Hong

2007-01-01

In terms of the economic bottom line, effective school leaders are now supposed to pay close attention to two central tasks which involve managing resources and devising operational strategies in their action plans. Taking a postmodern viewpoint, the first part of this paper aims to discuss the significance of resource allocation in education and…

Resource Allocation and Educational Adequacy: Case Studies of School-Level Resource Use in Southern California with Budget Reductions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hobbs, Alysia Jocelyn

2010-01-01

This study selected a purposeful sample of eight high performing southern California elementary schools which achieved API scores above 900 over a three year period. A review of instructional strategies for each study school during the improvement process and resource allocation patterns was determined. Case studies of each school include…

Within-District Resource Allocation and the Marginal Costs of Providing Equal Educational Opportunity: Evidence from Texas and Ohio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Bruce D.

2009-01-01

This study explores within-district fiscal resource allocation across elementary schools in Texas and Ohio large city school districts and in their surrounding metropolitan areas. Specifically, I ask whether districts widely reported as achieving greater resource equity through adoption of Weighted Student Funding (WSF) have in fact done so. I…

An Examination of Resource Allocation Strategies That Promote Student Achievement: Case Studies of Rural Elementary Schools in Hawaii

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acopan-Tuasivi, C. K.

2012-01-01

This study presents case studies of rural elementary schools in Hawaii that examine resource allocation strategies that promote student achievement. The combined frame work of the Evidence Based Model (Odden & Picus, 2008) and the 10 Strategies for Doubling Student Performance (Odden, 2009) were utilized to compare actual school resources and…

Resource Allocation Modelling in Vocational Rehabilitation: A Prototype Developed with the Michigan and Rhode Island VR Agencies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leff, H. Stephen; Turner, Ralph R.

This report focuses on the use of linear programming models to address the issues of how vocational rehabilitation (VR) resources should be allocated in order to maximize program efficiency within given resource constraints. A general introduction to linear programming models is first presented that describes the major types of models available,…

Personnel Resource Allocation Strategies in a Time of Fiscal Stress: A Gap Analysis of Five Southern California Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Araya, Saba Q.

2013-01-01

As pressure increases to ensure that limited resources are utilized as effectively as possible, funding adequacy remains a priority for all California public schools. The research was conducted through a multi-methods approach of principal interviews, site level resource allocation data, and overall student achievement on state assessments. The…

Educational Resource Allocation at the Elementary Level: A Case Study of One Elementary School District in California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Dominic

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the dispersion of human capital resources within one school district in southern California and compare the use of personnel at each school to the desired allocation informed by the district's strategies and staffing formula. The district's resource distribution was also compared to that of the Evidence…

Children's Recognition of Fairness and Others' Welfare in a Resource Allocation Task: Age Related Changes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rizzo, Michael T.; Elenbaas, Laura; Cooley, Shelby; Killen, Melanie

2016-01-01

The present study investigated age-related changes regarding children's (N = 136) conceptions of fairness and others' welfare in a merit-based resource allocation paradigm. To test whether children at 3- to 5-years-old and 6- to 8-years-old took others' welfare into account when dividing resources, in addition to merit and equality concerns,…

76 FR 21003 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Possible Land...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-14

... Allocation of Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources on Lands Administered by the Bureau of Land Management in... to prepare a Programmatic EIS for Allocation of Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources on Lands... following methods: Web site: http://blm.gov/st5c . Mail: BLM Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources Leasing...

An Examination of Resource Allocation Strategies and Finance Adequacy: Case Studies of American Samoa Department of Education Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nikolao-Mutini, Akenese Epifania

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze American Samoa Department of Education (ASDE) and collect allocation of resources data and determine how the resources are used to increase student performance among a purposeful sample of three public high schools with similar demographics, challenges, fiscal constraints and funding sources located in the…

District Allocation of Human Resources Utilizing the Evidence Based Model: A Study of One High Achieving School District in Southern California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane, Amber Marie

2013-01-01

This study applies the Gap Analysis Framework to understand the gaps that exist in human resource allocation of one Southern California school district. Once identified, gaps are closed with the reallocation of human resources, according to the Evidenced Based Model, requiring the re-purposing of core classroom teachers, specialists, special…

GIS and Game Theory for Water Resource Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganjali, N.; Guney, C.

2017-11-01

In this study, aspects of Game theory and its application on water resources management combined with GIS techniques are detailed. First, each term is explained and the advantages and limitations of its aspect is discussed. Then, the nature of combinations between each pair and literature on the previous studies are given. Several cases were investigated and results were magnified in order to conclude with the applicability and combination of GIS- Game Theory- Water Resources Management. It is concluded that the game theory is used relatively in limited studies of water management fields such as cost/benefit allocation among users, water allocation among trans-boundary users in water resources, water quality management, groundwater management, analysis of water policies, fair allocation of water resources development cost and some other narrow fields. Also, Decision-making in environmental projects requires consideration of trade-offs between socio-political, environmental, and economic impacts and is often complicated by various stakeholder views. Most of the literature on water allocation and conflict problems uses traditional optimization models to identify the most efficient scheme while the Game Theory, as an optimization method, combined GIS are beneficial platforms for agent based models to be used in solving Water Resources Management problems in the further studies.

Steps Toward Optimal Competitive Scheduling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frank, Jeremy; Crawford, James; Khatib, Lina; Brafman, Ronen

2006-01-01

This paper is concerned with the problem of allocating a unit capacity resource to multiple users within a pre-defined time period. The resource is indivisible, so that at most one user can use it at each time instance. However, different users may use it at different times. The users have independent, se@sh preferences for when and for how long they are allocated this resource. Thus, they value different resource access durations differently, and they value different time slots differently. We seek an optimal allocation schedule for this resource. This problem arises in many institutional settings where, e.g., different departments, agencies, or personal, compete for a single resource. We are particularly motivated by the problem of scheduling NASA's Deep Space Satellite Network (DSN) among different users within NASA. Access to DSN is needed for transmitting data from various space missions to Earth. Each mission has different needs for DSN time, depending on satellite and planetary orbits. Typically, the DSN is over-subscribed, in that not all missions will be allocated as much time as they want. This leads to various inefficiencies - missions spend much time and resource lobbying for their time, often exaggerating their needs. NASA, on the other hand, would like to make optimal use of this resource, ensuring that the good for NASA is maximized. This raises the thorny problem of how to measure the utility to NASA of each allocation. In the typical case, it is difficult for the central agency, NASA in our case, to assess the value of each interval to each user - this is really only known to the users who understand their needs. Thus, our problem is more precisely formulated as follows: find an allocation schedule for the resource that maximizes the sum of users preferences, when the preference values are private information of the users. We bypass this problem by making the assumptions that one can assign money to customers. This assumption is reasonable; a committee is usually in charge of deciding the priority of each mission competing for access to the DSN within a time period while scheduling. Instead, we can assume that the committee assigns a budget to each mission.This paper is concerned with the problem of allocating a unit capacity resource to multiple users within a pre-defined time period. The resource is indivisible, so that at most one user can use it at each time instance. However, different users may use it at different times. The users have independent, se@sh preferences for when and for how long they are allocated this resource. Thus, they value different resource access durations differently, and they value different time slots differently. We seek an optimal allocation schedule for this resource. This problem arises in many institutional settings where, e.g., different departments, agencies, or personal, compete for a single resource. We are particularly motivated by the problem of scheduling NASA's Deep Space Satellite Network (DSN) among different users within NASA. Access to DSN is needed for transmitting data from various space missions to Earth. Each mission has different needs for DSN time, depending on satellite and planetary orbits. Typically, the DSN is over-subscribed, in that not all missions will be allocated as much time as they want. This leads to various inefficiencies - missions spend much time and resource lobbying for their time, often exaggerating their needs. NASA, on the other hand, would like to make optimal use of this resource, ensuring that the good for NASA is maximized. This raises the thorny problem of how to measure the utility to NASA of each allocation. In the typical case, it is difficult for the central agency, NASA in our case, to assess the value of each interval to each user - this is really only known to the users who understand their needs. Thus, our problem is more precisely formulated as follows: find an allocation schedule for the resource that maximizes the sum ofsers preferences, when the preference values are private information of the users. We bypass this problem by making the assumptions that one can assign money to customers. This assumption is reasonable; a committee is usually in charge of deciding the priority of each mission competing for access to the DSN within a time period while scheduling. Instead, we can assume that the committee assigns a budget to each mission.

Allocating scarce medical resources to the overweight.

PubMed

Furnham, Adrian; Loganathan, Niroosha; McClelland, Alastair

2010-01-01

A programmatic research effort investigated how lay people weigh information on hypothetical patients when making decisions regarding the allocation of scarce medical resources. This study is partly replicative and partly innovative, and looks particularly at whether overweight patients would be discriminated against in allocating resources. This study aims to determine the importance given to specific patient characteristics when lay participants are asked to allocate scarce medical resources. In all, 156 British adults (82 males, 73 females), aged 19 to 84 years, took part. There were few students. Participants completed a questionnaire requiring them to rank 16 hypothetical patients for access to a kidney dialysis machine.The demographic information presented regarding each hypothetical patient differed on four dimensions: gender, weight, mental health, and religiousness. There were significant main effects for gender, weight, and mental health; females, patients of normal weight, and the mentally well were ranked the highest priority for access to a kidney dialysis machine. Participants discriminated most regarding the weight of hypothetical patients. Different patient characteristics, unrelated to medical prognoses, particularly being overweight, may have an impact on decisions regarding the use of scarce medical resources.

Resource Allocation Patterns and Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Lori; Pate, James; Leech, Donald; Martin, Ellice; Brockmeier, Lantry; Dees, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

This quantitative research study was designed to examine the relationship between system resource allocation patterns and student achievement, as measured by eighth grade Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) mathematics, eighth grade CRCT reading, eleventh grade Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) mathematics, eleventh grade and…

Resource allocation and purchasing in the health sector: the English experience.

PubMed

Smith, Peter C

2008-11-01

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has extensive experience in allocating health service funds to regions and localities using funding formulae. This paper focuses on England. Special attention is given to recent policy concerns to reduce avoidable health inequalities by broadening the remit of the resource allocation formulae. The paper also examines the issues that arise when seeking to allocate funds to very small organizational units, such as general practices. The English example is relevant to less-developed health systems, especially for those governments seeking to decentralize, to improve accountability and to promote equity.

Statistical Evaluation of Utilization of the ISS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andrews, Ross; Andrews, Alida

2006-01-01

PayLoad Utilization Modeler (PLUM) is a statistical-modeling computer program used to evaluate the effectiveness of utilization of the International Space Station (ISS) in terms of the number of research facilities that can be operated within a specified interval of time. PLUM is designed to balance the requirements of research facilities aboard the ISS against the resources available on the ISS. PLUM comprises three parts: an interface for the entry of data on constraints and on required and available resources, a database that stores these data as well as the program output, and a modeler. The modeler comprises two subparts: one that generates tens of thousands of random combinations of research facilities and another that calculates the usage of resources for each of those combinations. The results of these calculations are used to generate graphical and tabular reports to determine which facilities are most likely to be operable on the ISS, to identify which ISS resources are inadequate to satisfy the demands upon them, and to generate other data useful in allocation of and planning of resources.

Gender differences in loss of psychological resources following experimentally-induced vicarious stress.

PubMed

Ben-Zur, Hasida; Zeidner, Moshe

2012-07-01

The present research focuses on gender differences in resource loss, perceived threat, and negative affective reactions induced by experimental manipulation of vicarious stress. Israeli students (54.7% women) were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: (1) Threat Condition (n=98), in which participants were exposed to a video film depicting terror attacks and (2) Control Condition (n=30), in which participants viewed a video film depicting a series of non-emotive news broadcasts. Participants also completed measures of mastery, optimism, and self-esteem. The data indicated that whereas under the Threat Condition women scored lower on psychological resources and higher on perceived threat than men, no significant gender differences were observed under the Control Condition. A path analysis revealed that gender was directly related to perceived threat and resource loss, which, in turn, were related to negative affect. In addition, a greater sense of mastery was related to lower resource loss. Overall, these experimental findings suggest that gender and mastery bear prominent effects on cognitive and emotional reactions to vicarious life threat.

Competing Principles for Allocating Health Care Resources.

PubMed

Carter, Drew; Gordon, Jason; Watt, Amber M

2016-10-01

We clarify options for conceptualizing equity, or what we refer to as justice, in resource allocation. We do this by systematically differentiating, expounding, and then illustrating eight different substantive principles of justice. In doing this, we compare different meanings that can be attributed to "need" and "the capacity to benefit" (CTB). Our comparison is sharpened by two analytical tools. First, quantification helps to clarify the divergent consequences of allocations commended by competing principles. Second, a diagrammatic approach developed by economists Culyer and Wagstaff offers a visual and conceptual aid. Of the eight principles we illustrate, only two treat as relevant both a person's initial health state and a person's CTB per resource unit expended: (1) allocate resources so as to most closely equalize final health states and (2) allocate resources so as to equally restore health states to population norms. These allocative principles ought to be preferred to the alternatives if one deems relevant both a person's initial health state and a person's CTB per resource unit expended. Finally, we examine some possibilities for conceptualizing benefits as relative to how badly off someone is, extending Parfit's thought on Prioritarianism (a prioritizing of the worst off). Questions arise as to how much intervention effects accruing to the worse off count for more and how this changes with improving health. We explicate some recent efforts to answer these questions, including in Dutch and British government circles. These efforts can be viewed as efforts to operationalize need as an allocative principle. Each effort seeks to maximize in the aggregate quanta of effect that are differentially valued in favor of the worst off. In this respect, each effort constitutes one type of Prioritarianism, which Parfit failed to differentiate from other types. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

76 FR 45551 - Post-2014 Resource Pool; Loveland Area Projects, Proposed Power Allocation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-29

... Proposed Power Allocation. SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal power marketing... Pool Proposed Power Allocation developed under the requirements of the Power Marketing Initiative of Western's Energy Planning and Management Program (Program). Western notified the public of allocation...

Holding-time-aware asymmetric spectrum allocation in virtual optical networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyu, Chunjian; Li, Hui; Liu, Yuze; Ji, Yuefeng

2017-10-01

Virtual optical networks (VONs) have been considered as a promising solution to support current high-capacity dynamic traffic and achieve rapid applications deployment. Since most of the network services (e.g., high-definition video service, cloud computing, distributed storage) in VONs are provisioned by dedicated data centers, needing different amount of bandwidth resources in both directions, the network traffic is mostly asymmetric. The common strategy, symmetric provisioning of traffic in optical networks, leads to a waste of spectrum resources in such traffic patterns. In this paper, we design a holding-time-aware asymmetric spectrum allocation module based on SDON architecture and an asymmetric spectrum allocation algorithm based on the module is proposed. For the purpose of reducing spectrum resources' waste, the algorithm attempts to reallocate the idle unidirectional spectrum slots in VONs, which are generated due to the asymmetry of services' bidirectional bandwidth. This part of resources can be exploited by other requests, such as short-time non-VON requests. We also introduce a two-dimensional asymmetric resource model for maintaining idle spectrum resources information of VON in spectrum and time domains. Moreover, a simulation is designed to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, and results show that our proposed asymmetric spectrum allocation algorithm can improve the resource waste and reduce blocking probability.

Feedback and the rationing of time and effort among competing tasks.

PubMed

Northcraft, Gregory B; Schmidt, Aaron M; Ashford, Susan J

2011-09-01

The study described here tested a model of how characteristics of the feedback environment influence the allocation of resources (time and effort) among competing tasks. Results demonstrated that performers invest more resources on tasks for which higher quality (more timely and more specific) feedback is available; this effect was partially mediated by task salience and task expectancies. Feedback timing and feedback specificity demonstrated both main and interaction effects on resource allocations. Results also demonstrated that performers do better on tasks for which higher quality feedback is available; this effect was mediated by resources allocated to tasks. The practical and theoretical implications of the role of the feedback environment in managing performance are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved

Impact on learning of an e-learning module on leukaemia: a randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background e-learning resources may be beneficial for complex or conceptually difficult topics. Leukaemia is one such topic, yet there are no reports on the efficacy of e-learning for leukaemia. This study compared the learning impact on senior medical students of a purpose-built e-learning module on leukaemia, compared with existing online resources. Methods A randomised controlled trial was performed utilising volunteer senior medical students. Participants were randomly allocated to Study and Control groups. Following a pre-test on leukaemia administered to both groups, the Study group was provided with access to the new e-learning module, while the Control group was directed to existing online resources. A post-test and an evaluation questionnaire were administered to both groups at the end of the trial period. Results Study and Control groups were equivalent in gender distribution, mean academic ability, pre-test performance and time studying leukaemia during the trial. The Study group performed significantly better than the Control group in the post-test, in which the group to which the students had been allocated was the only significant predictor of performance. The Study group’s evaluation of the module was overwhelmingly positive. Conclusions A targeted e-learning module on leukaemia had a significant effect on learning in this cohort, compared with existing online resources. We believe that the interactivity, dialogic feedback and integration with the curriculum offered by the e-learning module contributed to its impact. This has implications for e-learning design in medicine and other disciplines. PMID:22640463

The Canadian STOP-PAIN project - Part 2: What is the cost of pain for patients on waitlists of multidisciplinary pain treatment facilities?

PubMed

Guerriere, Denise N; Choinière, Manon; Dion, Dominique; Peng, Philip; Stafford-Coyte, Emma; Zagorski, Brandon; Banner, Robert; Barton, Pamela M; Boulanger, Aline; Clark, Alexander J; Gordon, Allan S; Guertin, Marie-Claude; Intrater, Howard M; Lefort, Sandra M; Lynch, Mary E; Moulin, Dwight E; Ong-Lam, May; Racine, Mélanie; Rashiq, Saifee; Shir, Yoram; Taenzer, Paul; Ware, Mark

2010-06-01

The Canadian STOP-PAIN Project was designed to document the human and economic burden of chronic pain in individuals on waitlists of Multidisciplinary Pain Treatment Facilities (MPTF). This paper describes the societal costs of their pain. A subgroup of 370 patients was selected randomly from The Canadian STOP-PAIN Project. Participants completed a self-administered costing tool (the Ambulatory and Home Care Record) on a daily basis for three months. They provided information about publicly financed resources, such as health care professional consultations and diagnostic tests as well as privately financed costs, including out-of-pocket expenditures and time devoted to seeking, receiving, and providing care. To determine the cost of care, resources were valued using various costing methods, and multivariate linear regression was used to predict total cost. Overall, the median monthly cost of care was $1,462 (CDN) per study participant. Ninety-five percent of the total expenditures were privately financed. The final regression model consisted of the following determinants: educational level, employment status, province, pain duration, depression, and health-related quality of life. This model accounted for 35% of the variance in total expenditure (P < 0.001). The economic burden of chronic pain is substantial in patients on waitlists of MPTFs. Consequently, it is essential to consider this burden when making decisions regarding resource allocation and waitlist assignment for a MPTF. Resource allocation decision-making should include the economic implications of having patients wait for an assessment and for care.

Allocation of control rights in the PPP Project: a cooperative game model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yunhua; Feng, Jingchun; Yang, Shengtao

2017-06-01

Reasonable allocation of control rights is the key to the success of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects. PPP are services or ventures which are financed and operated through cooperation between governmental and private sector actors and which involve reasonable control rights sharing between these two partners. After professional firm with capital and technology as a shareholder participating in PPP project firms, the PPP project is diversified in participants and input resources. Meanwhile the allocation of control rights of PPP project tends to be complicated. According to the diversification of participants and input resources of PPP projects, the key participants are divided into professional firms and pure investors. Based on the cost of repurchase of different input resources in markets, the cooperative game relationship between these two parties is analyzed, on the basis of which the allocation model of the cooperative game for control rights is constructed to ensure optimum allocation ration of control rights and verify the share of control rights in proportion to the cost of repurchase.

Improved personalized recommendation based on a similarity network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ximeng; Liu, Yun; Xiong, Fei

2016-08-01

A recommender system helps individual users find the preferred items rapidly and has attracted extensive attention in recent years. Many successful recommendation algorithms are designed on bipartite networks, such as network-based inference or heat conduction. However, most of these algorithms define the resource-allocation methods for an average allocation. That is not reasonable because average allocation cannot indicate the user choice preference and the influence between users which leads to a series of non-personalized recommendation results. We propose a personalized recommendation approach that combines the similarity function and bipartite network to generate a similarity network that improves the resource-allocation process. Our model introduces user influence into the recommender system and states that the user influence can make the resource-allocation process more reasonable. We use four different metrics to evaluate our algorithms for three benchmark data sets. Experimental results show that the improved recommendation on a similarity network can obtain better accuracy and diversity than some competing approaches.

Are Indirect Benefits Relevant to Health Care Allocation Decisions?

PubMed

Du Toit, Jessica; Millum, Joseph

2016-10-01

When allocating scarce healthcare resources, the expected benefits of alternative allocations matter. But, there are different kinds of benefits. Some are direct benefits to the recipient of the resource such as the health improvements of receiving treatment. Others are indirect benefits to third parties such as the economic gains from having a healthier workforce. This article considers whether only the direct benefits of alternative healthcare resource allocations are relevant to allocation decisions, or whether indirect benefits are relevant too. First, we distinguish different conceptions of direct and indirect benefits and argue that only a recipient conception could be morally relevant. We analyze four arguments for thinking that indirect benefits should not count and argue that none is successful in showing that the indirectness of a benefit is a good reason not to count it. We conclude that direct and indirect benefits should be evaluated in the same way. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Inc. 2016.

Topology for Dominance for Network of Multi-Agent System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szeto, K. Y.

2007-05-01

The resource allocation problem in evolving two-dimensional point patterns is investigated for the existence of good strategies for the construction of initial configuration that leads to fast dominance of the pattern by one single species, which can be interpreted as market dominance by a company in the context of multi-agent systems in econophysics. For hexagonal lattice, certain special topological arrangements of the resource in two-dimensions, such as rings, lines and clusters have higher probability of dominance, compared to random pattern. For more complex networks, a systematic way to search for a stable and dominant strategy of resource allocation in the changing environment is found by means of genetic algorithm. Five typical features can be summarized by means of the distribution function for the local neighborhood of friends and enemies as well as the local clustering coefficients: (1) The winner has more triangles than the loser has. (2) The winner likes to form clusters as the winner tends to connect with other winner rather than with losers; while the loser tends to connect with winners rather than losers. (3) The distribution function of friends as well as enemies for the winner is broader than the corresponding distribution function for the loser. (4) The connectivity at which the peak of the distribution of friends for the winner occurs is larger than that of the loser; while the peak values for friends for winners is lower. (5) The connectivity at which the peak of the distribution of enemies for the winner occurs is smaller than that of the loser; while the peak values for enemies for winners is lower. These five features appear to be general, at least in the context of two-dimensional hexagonal lattices of various sizes, hierarchical lattice, Voronoi diagrams, as well as high-dimensional random networks. These general local topological properties of networks are relevant to strategists aiming at dominance in evolving patterns when the interaction between the agents is local.

Resource Allocation--The Case of the Australian National University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, G. W.

1982-01-01

A historical, incremental method for allocating resources in the Institute for Advanced Studies in recent years is being replaced by a new approach involving the identification of purposes and pursuits and evaluation of their importance. Greater responsiveness to unit needs is the objective. (MSE)

Administrative Decision Making and Resource Allocation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sardy, Susan; Sardy, Hyman

This paper considers selected aspects of the systems analysis of administrative decisionmaking regarding resource allocations in an educational system. A model of the instructional materials purchase system is presented. The major components of this model are: environment, input, decision process, conversion structure, conversion process, output,…

Financial Resource Allocation in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ušpuriene, Ana; Sakalauskas, Leonidas; Dumskis, Valerijonas

2017-01-01

The paper considers a problem of financial resource allocation in a higher education institution. The basic financial management instruments and the multi-stage cost minimization model created are described involving financial instruments to constraints. Both societal and institutional factors that determine the costs of educating students are…

The Social Power of Regret: The Effect of Social Appraisal and Anticipated Emotions on Fair and Unfair Allocations in Resource Dilemmas

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

We investigated how another person’s emotions about resource allocation decisions influence observers’ resource allocations by influencing the emotions that observers anticipate feeling if they were to act in the same way. Participants were exposed to an exemplar who made a fair or unfair division in an economic game and expressed pride or regret about this decision. Participants then made their own resource allocation decisions. Exemplar regret about acting fairly decreased the incidence of fair behavior (Studies 1A and 1B). Likewise, exemplar regret about acting unfairly increased the incidence of fair behavior (Study 2). The effect of others’ emotions on observers’ behavior was mediated by the observers’ anticipated emotions. We discuss our findings in light of the view that social appraisal and anticipated emotions are important tools for social learning and may contribute to the formation and maintenance of social norms about greed and fairness. PMID:25384163

Sex differences in the effects of juvenile and adult diet on age-dependent reproductive effort.

PubMed

Houslay, T M; Hunt, J; Tinsley, M C; Bussière, L F

2015-05-01

Sexual selection should cause sex differences in patterns of resource allocation. When current and future reproductive effort trade off, variation in resource acquisition might further cause sex differences in age-dependent investment, or in sensitivity to changes in resource availability over time. However, the nature and prevalence of sex differences in age-dependent investment remain unclear. We manipulated resource acquisition at juvenile and adult stages in decorated crickets, Gryllodes sigillatus, and assessed effects on sex-specific allocation to age-dependent reproductive effort (calling in males, fecundity in females) and longevity. We predicted that the resource and time demands of egg production would result in relatively consistent female strategies across treatments, whereas male investment should depend sharply on diet. Contrary to expectations, female age-dependent reproductive effort diverged substantially across treatments, with resource-limited females showing much lower and later investment in reproduction; the highest fecundity was associated with intermediate lifespans. In contrast, long-lived males always signalled more than short-lived males, and male age-dependent reproductive effort did not depend on diet. We found consistently positive covariance between male reproductive effort and lifespan, whereas diet altered this covariance in females, revealing sex differences in the benefits of allocation to longevity. Our results support sex-specific selection on allocation patterns, but also suggest a simpler alternative: males may use social feedback to make allocation decisions and preferentially store resources as energetic reserves in its absence. Increased calling effort with age therefore could be caused by gradual resource accumulation, heightened mortality risk over time, and a lack of feedback from available mates. © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Optimal resource allocation for defense of targets based on differing measures of attractiveness.

PubMed

Bier, Vicki M; Haphuriwat, Naraphorn; Menoyo, Jaime; Zimmerman, Rae; Culpen, Alison M

2008-06-01

This article describes the results of applying a rigorous computational model to the problem of the optimal defensive resource allocation among potential terrorist targets. In particular, our study explores how the optimal budget allocation depends on the cost effectiveness of security investments, the defender's valuations of the various targets, and the extent of the defender's uncertainty about the attacker's target valuations. We use expected property damage, expected fatalities, and two metrics of critical infrastructure (airports and bridges) as our measures of target attractiveness. Our results show that the cost effectiveness of security investment has a large impact on the optimal budget allocation. Also, different measures of target attractiveness yield different optimal budget allocations, emphasizing the importance of developing more realistic terrorist objective functions for use in budget allocation decisions for homeland security.

Threshold considerations in fair allocation of health resources: justice beyond scarcity.

PubMed

Alvarez, Allen Andrew A

2007-10-01

Application of egalitarian and prioritarian accounts of health resource allocation in low-income countries have both been criticized for implying distribution outcomes that allow decreasing/undermining health gains and for tolerating unacceptable standards of health care and health status that result from such allocation schemes. Insufficient health care and severe deprivation of health resources are difficult to accept even when justified by aggregative efficiency or legitimized by fair deliberative process in pursuing equality and priority oriented outcomes. I affirm the sufficientarian argument that, given extreme scarcity of public health resources in low-income countries, neither health status equality between populations nor priority for the worse off is normatively adequate. Nevertheless, the threshold norm alone need not be the sole consideration when a country's total health budget is extremely scarce. Threshold considerations are necessary in developing a theory of fair distribution of health resources that is sensitive to the lexically prior norm of sufficiency. Based on the intuition that shares must not be taken away from those who barely achieve a minimal level of health, I argue that assessments based on standards of minimal physical/mental health must be developed to evaluate the sufficiency of the total resources of health systems in low-income countries prior to pursuing equality, priority, and efficiency based resource allocation. I also begin to examine how threshold sensitive health resource assessment could be used in the Philippines.

What to Do with the Bounty? Organizational Patterns for the Implementation of Resources Allocated by the Courage to Change (Oz Letmura) Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamir, Emanuel; Shaked, Lea

2016-01-01

The research investigated the way in which school administrations implement resources provided by Israel's "Courage to Change" reform. The uniqueness of this reform stems from the fact that the allocated resources come in the form of "weekly instruction time" rather than finance, and the school management needs to decide how to…

A Bayesian sequential design with adaptive randomization for 2-sided hypothesis test.

PubMed

Yu, Qingzhao; Zhu, Lin; Zhu, Han

2017-11-01

Bayesian sequential and adaptive randomization designs are gaining popularity in clinical trials thanks to their potentials to reduce the number of required participants and save resources. We propose a Bayesian sequential design with adaptive randomization rates so as to more efficiently attribute newly recruited patients to different treatment arms. In this paper, we consider 2-arm clinical trials. Patients are allocated to the 2 arms with a randomization rate to achieve minimum variance for the test statistic. Algorithms are presented to calculate the optimal randomization rate, critical values, and power for the proposed design. Sensitivity analysis is implemented to check the influence on design by changing the prior distributions. Simulation studies are applied to compare the proposed method and traditional methods in terms of power and actual sample sizes. Simulations show that, when total sample size is fixed, the proposed design can obtain greater power and/or cost smaller actual sample size than the traditional Bayesian sequential design. Finally, we apply the proposed method to a real data set and compare the results with the Bayesian sequential design without adaptive randomization in terms of sample sizes. The proposed method can further reduce required sample size. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Efficient Pricing Technique for Resource Allocation Problem in Downlink OFDM Cognitive Radio Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdulghafoor, O. B.; Shaat, M. M. R.; Ismail, M.; Nordin, R.; Yuwono, T.; Alwahedy, O. N. A.

2017-05-01

In this paper, the problem of resource allocation in OFDM-based downlink cognitive radio (CR) networks has been proposed. The purpose of this research is to decrease the computational complexity of the resource allocation algorithm for downlink CR network while concerning the interference constraint of primary network. The objective has been secured by adopting pricing scheme to develop power allocation algorithm with the following concerns: (i) reducing the complexity of the proposed algorithm and (ii) providing firm power control to the interference introduced to primary users (PUs). The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested for OFDM- CRNs. The simulation results show that the performance of the proposed algorithm approached the performance of the optimal algorithm at a lower computational complexity, i.e., O(NlogN), which makes the proposed algorithm suitable for more practical applications.

Resource allocation for multichannel broadcasting visible light communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, Nam-Tuan; Jang, Yeong Min

2015-11-01

Visible light communication (VLC), which offers the possibility of using light sources for both illumination and data communications simultaneously, will be a promising incorporation technique with lighting applications. However, it still remains some challenges especially coverage because of field-of-view limitation. In this paper, we focus on this issue by suggesting a resource allocation scheme for VLC broadcasting system. By using frame synchronization and a network calculus QoS approximation, as well as diversity technology, the proposed VLC architecture and QoS resource allocation for the multichannel-broadcasting MAC (medium access control) protocol can solve the coverage limitation problem and the link switching problem of exhibition service.

Some dynamic resource allocation problems in wireless networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berry, Randall

2001-07-01

We consider dynamic resource allocation problems that arise in wireless networking. Specifically transmission scheduling problems are studied in cases where a user can dynamically allocate communication resources such as transmission rate and power based on current channel knowledge as well as traffic variations. We assume that arriving data is stored in a transmission buffer, and investigate the trade-off between average transmission power and average buffer delay. A general characterization of this trade-off is given and the behavior of this trade-off in the regime of asymptotically large buffer delays is explored. An extension to a more general utility based quality of service definition is also discussed.

MROrchestrator: A Fine-Grained Resource Orchestration Framework for MapReduce Clusters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharma, Bikash; Prabhakar, Ramya; Kandemir, Mahmut

2012-01-01

Efficient resource management in data centers and clouds running large distributed data processing frameworks like MapReduce is crucial for enhancing the performance of hosted applications and boosting resource utilization. However, existing resource scheduling schemes in Hadoop MapReduce allocate resources at the granularity of fixed-size, static portions of nodes, called slots. In this work, we show that MapReduce jobs have widely varying demands for multiple resources, making the static and fixed-size slot-level resource allocation a poor choice both from the performance and resource utilization standpoints. Furthermore, lack of co-ordination in the management of mul- tiple resources across nodes prevents dynamic slotmore » reconfigura- tion, and leads to resource contention. Motivated by this, we propose MROrchestrator, a MapReduce resource Orchestrator framework, which can dynamically identify resource bottlenecks, and resolve them through fine-grained, co-ordinated, and on- demand resource allocations. We have implemented MROrches- trator on two 24-node native and virtualized Hadoop clusters. Experimental results with a suite of representative MapReduce benchmarks demonstrate up to 38% reduction in job completion times, and up to 25% increase in resource utilization. We further show how popular resource managers like NGM and Mesos when augmented with MROrchestrator can hike up their performance.« less

Leisure Today: Equity Issues in Leisure Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dustin, Daniel L., Ed.; And Others

1990-01-01

Seven articles on equity issues in leisure services focus on conservation for the future, resource allocation inequities in wildland recreation, leisure services for people of color and people with disabilities, serving all children in community recreation, women and leisure services, and equity in public sector resource allocations. (JD)

Linking Performance Measures to Resource Allocation: Exploring Unmapped Terrain.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ewell, Peter T.

1999-01-01

Examination of how (and whether) particular types of institutional performance measures can be beneficially used in making resource allocation decisions finds that only easily verifiable "hard" statistics should be used in classic performance funding approaches, although surveys and the use of good practices by institutions may…

Short Range Planning for Educational Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turksen, I. B.; Holzman, A. G.

A planning cycle for any autonomous university entity contains five basic processes: information storage and retrieval forecasting, resource allocation, scheduling, and a term of study with a feedback loop. The resource allocation process is investigated for the development of shortrange planning models. Dynamic models wth linear and quadratic…

Auctions for coastal energy resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffin, Robert M.

It is becoming increasingly common to allocate public resources to the private sector for the purpose of developing these resources. One of the earliest uses of auctions in the U.S. for allocating rights to public resources was in the offshore oil and gas industry. The U.S. Federal government, through the Department of Interior (DOI), has used auctions to allocate development rights to offshore oil and gas resources to the private sector since the 1950's. Since then many things have changed. Oil and gas markets have gone through boom and bust cycles, giant technological advances in extraction and assessment have taken place, and alternative energy based in the coastal zone is now in demand in markets as well. There has been an enormous amount of research into the drivers of bidder behavior in auctions and optimal auction design in the last 60 years as well. Throughout all of this, the DOI has continued to use basically the same exact auction design to allocate oil and gas leases. The U.S. offshore oil and gas resources sold by the Department of Interior have accounted for more than $65 billion in revenue since the program started. These offshore resources are an important source of government revenue and national wealth. Additionally, the expansion of the energy sector offshore has enormous potential for electricity generation in the U.S., estimated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as approaching 54 gigawatts by 2030 (U.S. Department of Energy, 2008). Taken together, the DOI controls access to a large part of the future of energy in the U.S. The research herein assesses the auction formats used to allocate both fossil fuels and renewable resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The first manuscript looks at the current method used by the DOI to allocate oil and gas leases on the OCS, and is primarily interested in how bidders behave in this environment. Using latent class estimation techniques to separate distinct bidding behavior in a laboratory simulation of current U.S. policy, it compares lab results to field data and identifies efficiency and revenue losses stemming from the endogenous entry aspect of current policy. The second manuscript identifies an alternative auction method for allocating these development rights and develops a bidding model based on that of Milgrom (2000) for private value auctions. When tested against laboratory data, the model is favorably predictive of outcomes, but the path of bidding significantly deviates from predictions due to jump bidding and bidder impatience. The final manuscript provides a qualitative assessment of alternative auction arrangements for allocating access to wind energy on the OCS. In consideration of the relative state of the wind energy and oil and gas industries, the DOI may want to employ an allocation policy that better fits the current status of the wind energy industry. Considering the federal mandates regarding allocation that the DOI is required to follow, several allocation methods are identified for the short and medium term that meet federal mandates and promote the growth of the industry.

18 CFR 367.28 - Methods of allocation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Methods of allocation... Instructions § 367.28 Methods of allocation. Indirect costs and compensation for use of capital must be allocated to projects in accordance with the service company's applicable and currently effective methods of...

18 CFR 367.28 - Methods of allocation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Methods of allocation... Instructions § 367.28 Methods of allocation. Indirect costs and compensation for use of capital must be allocated to projects in accordance with the service company's applicable and currently effective methods of...

Consumer-Resource Dynamics: Quantity, Quality, and Allocation

PubMed Central

Getz, Wayne M.; Owen-Smith, Norman

2011-01-01

Background The dominant paradigm for modeling the complexities of interacting populations and food webs is a system of coupled ordinary differential equations in which the state of each species, population, or functional trophic group is represented by an aggregated numbers-density or biomass-density variable. Here, using the metaphysiological approach to model consumer-resource interactions, we formulate a two-state paradigm that represents each population or group in a food web in terms of both its quantity and quality. Methodology and Principal Findings The formulation includes an allocation function controlling the relative proportion of extracted resources to increasing quantity versus elevating quality. Since lower quality individuals senesce more rapidly than higher quality individuals, an optimal allocation proportion exists and we derive an expression for how this proportion depends on population parameters that determine the senescence rate, the per-capita mortality rate, and the effects of these rates on the dynamics of the quality variable. We demonstrate that oscillations do not arise in our model from quantity-quality interactions alone, but require consumer-resource interactions across trophic levels that can be stabilized through judicious resource allocation strategies. Analysis and simulations provide compelling arguments for the necessity of populations to evolve quality-related dynamics in the form of maternal effects, storage or other appropriate structures. They also indicate that resource allocation switching between investments in abundance versus quality provide a powerful mechanism for promoting the stability of consumer-resource interactions in seasonally forcing environments. Conclusions/Significance Our simulations show that physiological inefficiencies associated with this switching can be favored by selection due to the diminished exposure of inefficient consumers to strong oscillations associated with the well-known paradox of enrichment. Also our results demonstrate how allocation switching can explain observed growth patterns in experimental microbial cultures and discuss how our formulation can address questions that cannot be answered using the quantity-only paradigms that currently predominate. PMID:21283752

Assessing DRG cost accounting with respect to resource allocation and tariff calculation: the case of Germany

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the German diagnosis related groups (G-DRG) cost accounting scheme by assessing its resource allocation at hospital level and its tariff calculation at national level. First, the paper reviews and assesses the three steps in the G-DRG resource allocation scheme at hospital level: (1) the groundwork; (2) cost-center accounting; and (3) patient-level costing. Second, the paper reviews and assesses the three steps in G-DRG national tariff calculation: (1) plausibility checks; (2) inlier calculation; and (3) the “one hospital” approach. The assessment is based on the two main goals of G-DRG introduction: improving transparency and efficiency. A further empirical assessment attests high costing quality. The G-DRG cost accounting scheme shows high system quality in resource allocation at hospital level, with limitations concerning a managerially relevant full cost approach and limitations in terms of advanced activity-based costing at patient-level. However, the scheme has serious flaws in national tariff calculation: inlier calculation is normative, and the “one hospital” model causes cost bias, adjustment and representativeness issues. The G-DRG system was designed for reimbursement calculation, but developed to a standard with strategic management implications, generalized by the idea of adapting a hospital’s cost structures to DRG revenues. This combination causes problems in actual hospital financing, although resource allocation is advanced at hospital level. PMID:22935314

PS-CARA: Context-Aware Resource Allocation Scheme for Mobile Public Safety Networks.

PubMed

Kaleem, Zeeshan; Khaliq, Muhammad Zubair; Khan, Ajmal; Ahmad, Ishtiaq; Duong, Trung Q

2018-05-08

The fifth-generation (5G) communications systems are expecting to support users with diverse quality-of-service (QoS) requirements. Beside these requirements, the task with utmost importance is to support the emergency communication services during natural or man-made disasters. Most of the conventional base stations are not properly functional during a disaster situation, so deployment of emergency base stations such as mobile personal cell (mPC) is crucial. An mPC having moving capability can move in the disaster area to provide emergency communication services. However, mPC deployment causes severe co-channel interference to the users in its vicinity. The problem in the existing resource allocation schemes is its support for static environment, that does not fit well for mPC. So, a resource allocation scheme for mPC users is desired that can dynamically allocate resources based on users’ location and its connection establishment priority. In this paper, we propose a public safety users priority-based context-aware resource allocation (PS-CARA) scheme for users sum-rate maximization in disaster environment. Simulations results demonstrate that the proposed PS-CARA scheme can increase the user average and edge rate around 10.3% and 32.8% , respectively because of context information availability and by prioritizing the public safety users. The simulation results ensure that call blocking probability is also reduced considerably under the PS-CARA scheme.

Assessing DRG cost accounting with respect to resource allocation and tariff calculation: the case of Germany.

PubMed

Vogl, Matthias

2012-08-30

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the German diagnosis related groups (G-DRG) cost accounting scheme by assessing its resource allocation at hospital level and its tariff calculation at national level. First, the paper reviews and assesses the three steps in the G-DRG resource allocation scheme at hospital level: (1) the groundwork; (2) cost-center accounting; and (3) patient-level costing. Second, the paper reviews and assesses the three steps in G-DRG national tariff calculation: (1) plausibility checks; (2) inlier calculation; and (3) the "one hospital" approach. The assessment is based on the two main goals of G-DRG introduction: improving transparency and efficiency. A further empirical assessment attests high costing quality. The G-DRG cost accounting scheme shows high system quality in resource allocation at hospital level, with limitations concerning a managerially relevant full cost approach and limitations in terms of advanced activity-based costing at patient-level. However, the scheme has serious flaws in national tariff calculation: inlier calculation is normative, and the "one hospital" model causes cost bias, adjustment and representativeness issues. The G-DRG system was designed for reimbursement calculation, but developed to a standard with strategic management implications, generalized by the idea of adapting a hospital's cost structures to DRG revenues. This combination causes problems in actual hospital financing, although resource allocation is advanced at hospital level.

PS-CARA: Context-Aware Resource Allocation Scheme for Mobile Public Safety Networks

PubMed Central

Khaliq, Muhammad Zubair; Khan, Ajmal; Ahmad, Ishtiaq

2018-01-01

The fifth-generation (5G) communications systems are expecting to support users with diverse quality-of-service (QoS) requirements. Beside these requirements, the task with utmost importance is to support the emergency communication services during natural or man-made disasters. Most of the conventional base stations are not properly functional during a disaster situation, so deployment of emergency base stations such as mobile personal cell (mPC) is crucial. An mPC having moving capability can move in the disaster area to provide emergency communication services. However, mPC deployment causes severe co-channel interference to the users in its vicinity. The problem in the existing resource allocation schemes is its support for static environment, that does not fit well for mPC. So, a resource allocation scheme for mPC users is desired that can dynamically allocate resources based on users’ location and its connection establishment priority. In this paper, we propose a public safety users priority-based context-aware resource allocation (PS-CARA) scheme for users sum-rate maximization in disaster environment. Simulations results demonstrate that the proposed PS-CARA scheme can increase the user average and edge rate around 10.3% and 32.8% , respectively because of context information availability and by prioritizing the public safety users. The simulation results ensure that call blocking probability is also reduced considerably under the PS-CARA scheme. PMID:29738499

Antibiotic prophylaxis at elective cesarean section: a randomized controlled trial in a low resource setting.

PubMed

Kandil, Mohamed; Sanad, Zakaria; Gaber, Wael

2014-04-01

To determine the best time to administer prophylactic antibiotics at Cesarean delivery in order to reduce the postoperative maternal infectious morbidity in a low resource setting. One hundred term primigravidae with singleton pregnancy were recruited and randomly allocated to two equal groups. Each woman received 2 g intravenous Cefazoline. Women in Group I received it prior to skin incision while those in Group II had it immediately after cord clamping. We measured the following outcome parameters: (1) Surgical site wound infection; (2) Endometritis and (3) Urinary tract infection. There was no significant difference in any of the patients' characteristics between both groups. In Group I, three cases developed surgical site infections but four in Group II (p > 0.05). In Group I, the infected cases had Cesarean because of malpresentations while in Group II, two cases had Cesarean because of patients' request, one because of maternal heart disease and one due to intra-uterine growth restriction. Seven and nine cases had urinary tract infection in Groups I and II, respectively, (p > 0.05). Prophylactic antibiotic administration either prior to surgery or after cord clamping is probably equally effective in reducing the postoperative infectious morbidity after Cesarean in low resource settings.

Predicting losing and gaining river reaches in lowland New Zealand based on a statistical methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jing; Zammit, Christian; Dudley, Bruce

2017-04-01

The phenomenon of losing and gaining in rivers normally takes place in lowland where often there are various, sometimes conflicting uses for water resources, e.g., agriculture, industry, recreation, and maintenance of ecosystem function. To better support water allocation decisions, it is crucial to understand the location and seasonal dynamics of these losses and gains. We present a statistical methodology to predict losing and gaining river reaches in New Zealand based on 1) information surveys with surface water and groundwater experts from regional government, 2) A collection of river/watershed characteristics, including climate, soil and hydrogeologic information, and 3) the random forests technique. The surveys on losing and gaining reaches were conducted face-to-face at 16 New Zealand regional government authorities, and climate, soil, river geometry, and hydrogeologic data from various sources were collected and compiled to represent river/watershed characteristics. The random forests technique was used to build up the statistical relationship between river reach status (gain and loss) and river/watershed characteristics, and then to predict for river reaches at Strahler order one without prior losing and gaining information. Results show that the model has a classification error of around 10% for "gain" and "loss". The results will assist further research, and water allocation decisions in lowland New Zealand.

Resource Management for Distributed Parallel Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neuman, B. Clifford; Rao, Santosh

1993-01-01

Multiprocessor systems should exist in the the larger context of distributed systems, allowing multiprocessor resources to be shared by those that need them. Unfortunately, typical multiprocessor resource management techniques do not scale to large networks. The Prospero Resource Manager (PRM) is a scalable resource allocation system that supports the allocation of processing resources in large networks and multiprocessor systems. To manage resources in such distributed parallel systems, PRM employs three types of managers: system managers, job managers, and node managers. There exist multiple independent instances of each type of manager, reducing bottlenecks. The complexity of each manager is further reduced because each is designed to utilize information at an appropriate level of abstraction.

Dancing for Parkinson Disease: A Randomized Trial of Irish Set Dancing Compared With Usual Care.

PubMed

Shanahan, Joanne; Morris, Meg E; Bhriain, Orfhlaith Ni; Volpe, Daniele; Lynch, Tim; Clifford, Amanda M

2017-09-01

To examine the feasibility of a randomized controlled study design and to explore the benefits of a set dancing intervention compared with usual care. Randomized controlled design, with participants randomized to Irish set dance classes or a usual care group. Community based. Individuals with idiopathic Parkinson disease (PD) (N=90). The dance group attended a 1.5-hour dancing class each week for 10 weeks and undertook a home dance program for 20 minutes, 3 times per week. The usual care group continued with their usual care and daily activities. The primary outcome was feasibility, determined by recruitment rates, success of randomization and allocation procedures, attrition, adherence, safety, willingness of participants to be randomized, resource availability, and cost. Secondary outcomes were motor function (motor section of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale), quality of life (Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39), functional endurance (6-min walk test), and balance (mini-BESTest). Ninety participants were randomized (45 per group). There were no adverse effects or resource constraints. Although adherence to the dancing program was 93.5%, there was >40% attrition in each group. Postintervention, the dance group had greater nonsignificant gains in quality of life than the usual care group. There was a meaningful deterioration in endurance in the usual care group. There were no meaningful changes in other outcomes. The exit questionnaire showed participants enjoyed the classes and would like to continue participation. For people with mild to moderately severe PD, set dancing is feasible and enjoyable and may improve quality of life. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Resource allocation decisions in low-income rural households.

PubMed

Franklin, D L; Harrell, M W

1985-05-01

This paper is based on the theory that a society's nutritional well-being is both a cause and a consequence of the developmental process within that society. An approach to the choices made by poor rural households regarding food acquisition and nurturing behavior is emerging from recent research based on the new economic theory of household production. The central thesis of this approach is that household decisions related to the fulfillment of basic needs are strongly determined by decisions on the allocation of time to household production activities. Summarized are the results of the estimation of a model of household production and consumption behavior with data from a cross-sectional survey of 30 rural communities in Veraguas Province, Panama. The struture of the model consists of allocation of resources to nurturing activities and to production activities. The resources to be allocated are time and market goods, and in theory, these are allocated according to relative prices. The empirical results of this study are generally consistent with the predictions of the neoclassical economic model of household resource allocation. The major conclusions that time allocations and market price conditions matter in the determination of well-being in low-income rural households and, importantly, that nurturing decisions significantly affect the product and factor market behavior of these households form the basis for a discussion on implucations for agricultural and rural development. Programs and policies that seek nutritional improvement should be determined with explicit recognition of the value of time and the importance of timing in the decisions of the poor.

A two-phase model of resource allocation in visual working memory.

PubMed

Ye, Chaoxiong; Hu, Zhonghua; Li, Hong; Ristaniemi, Tapani; Liu, Qiang; Liu, Taosheng

2017-10-01

Two broad theories of visual working memory (VWM) storage have emerged from current research, a discrete slot-based theory and a continuous resource theory. However, neither the discrete slot-based theory or continuous resource theory clearly stipulates how the mental commodity for VWM (discrete slot or continuous resource) is allocated. Allocation may be based on the number of items via stimulus-driven factors, or it may be based on task demands via voluntary control. Previous studies have obtained conflicting results regarding the automaticity versus controllability of such allocation. In the current study, we propose a two-phase allocation model, in which the mental commodity could be allocated only by stimulus-driven factors in the early consolidation phase. However, when there is sufficient time to complete the early phase, allocation can enter the late consolidation phase, where it can be flexibly and voluntarily controlled according to task demands. In an orientation recall task, we instructed participants to store either fewer items at high-precision or more items at low-precision. In 3 experiments, we systematically manipulated memory set size and exposure duration. We did not find an effect of task demands when the set size was high and exposure duration was short. However, when we either decreased the set size or increased the exposure duration, we found a trade-off between the number and precision of VWM representations. These results can be explained by a two-phase model, which can also account for previous conflicting findings in the literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Adult age differences in the storage of information in working memory.

PubMed

Foos, P W; Wright, L

1992-01-01

The performance of 97 young and 91 old persons were compared to determine if a deficiency in working memory resources for processing, storage, or allocation could be detected. Persons simultaneously performed a storage and one of two processing tasks while instructed to allocate resources to processing, storage, or both tasks. The storage task involved remembering the names of one, three, or five persons. Processing tasks involved solving addition problems presented on flashcards or answering common knowledge questions. Results showed increased age differences on the storage task as demands for resources increased but no differences on processing tasks. Individuals seemed unable to allocate resources as instructed. A comparison of young-old and old-old groups showed the same results as those obtained comparing young and old groups and support the hypothesis of a deficiency of storage, but not processing, resources in working memory for old, especially old-old, adults.

SECURITY MODELING FOR MARITIME PORT DEFENSE RESOURCE ALLOCATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harris, S.; Dunn, D.

2010-09-07

Redeployment of existing law enforcement resources and optimal use of geographic terrain are examined for countering the threat of a maritime based small-vessel radiological or nuclear attack. The evaluation was based on modeling conducted by the Savannah River National Laboratory that involved the development of options for defensive resource allocation that can reduce the risk of a maritime based radiological or nuclear threat. A diverse range of potential attack scenarios has been assessed. As a result of identifying vulnerable pathways, effective countermeasures can be deployed using current resources. The modeling involved the use of the Automated Vulnerability Evaluation for Risksmore » of Terrorism (AVERT{reg_sign}) software to conduct computer based simulation modeling. The models provided estimates for the probability of encountering an adversary based on allocated resources including response boats, patrol boats and helicopters over various environmental conditions including day, night, rough seas and various traffic flow rates.« less

Variability in Parameter Estimates and Model Fit across Repeated Allocations of Items to Parcels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sterba, Sonya K.; MacCallum, Robert C.

2010-01-01

Different random or purposive allocations of items to parcels within a single sample are thought not to alter structural parameter estimates as long as items are unidimensional and congeneric. If, additionally, numbers of items per parcel and parcels per factor are held fixed across allocations, different allocations of items to parcels within a…

Higher-Education Budgeting at the State Level: Concepts and Principles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Dennis P.

New approaches to allocating state resources to colleges are discussed. Budgeting and resource allocation principles are considered that: (1) reflect the unique context of higher education; (2) are consistent with sound budgeting and management principles; and (3) represent institutional mechanisms applied at the state level rather than approaches…

Role of Working Memory in Children's Understanding Spoken Narrative: A Preliminary Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montgomery, James W.; Polunenko, Anzhela; Marinellie, Sally A.

2009-01-01

The role of phonological short-term memory (PSTM), attentional resource capacity/allocation, and processing speed on children's spoken narrative comprehension was investigated. Sixty-seven children (6-11 years) completed a digit span task (PSTM), concurrent verbal processing and storage (CPS) task (resource capacity/allocation), auditory-visual…

Scheduling language and algorithm development study. Volume 1, phase 2: Design considerations for a scheduling and resource allocation system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morrell, R. A.; Odoherty, R. J.; Ramsey, H. R.; Reynolds, C. C.; Willoughby, J. K.; Working, R. D.

1975-01-01

Data and analyses related to a variety of algorithms for solving typical large-scale scheduling and resource allocation problems are presented. The capabilities and deficiencies of various alternative problem solving strategies are discussed from the viewpoint of computer system design.

Financial Planning in Australian Universities. AIR 1996 Annual Forum Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Raj; And Others

This paper describes resource allocation in Australian universities including the broader context of national restructuring and a case study of one university's attempt to restructure resource allocation within the university. The 1987 restructuring of the Australian system from a binary system to a unified national system and the associated…

Coping with Quality Assurance Challenges Faced by Secondary Schools' Headteachers in Gucha District, Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mobegi, Florence Osiri; Ondigi, Benjamin A.

2011-01-01

Since independence, the Kenyan government has demonstrated its commitment to the provision of quality secondary school education through allocation of financial resources, provision of trained teachers and establishment of quality assurance department. However, despite the substantial allocation of resources, secondary schools still face major…

Does reproduction compromise defense in woody plants?

Treesearch

Daniel A. Herms; William J. Mattson

1991-01-01

A general principle of adaptive allocation was proposed by Cody (1966) who hypothesized that 1) all living organisms have finite resources to partition among growth and competing physiological processes such as reproduction and defense; and 2) natural selection results in the evolution of unique resource allocation patterns that maximize fitness in different...

30 CFR 220.014 - Allocation of joint costs and credits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Allocation of joint costs and credits. 220.014 Section 220.014 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINING NET PROFIT SHARE PAYMENT FOR OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF OIL AND...

Predictors of Department Viability in Periods of Decline.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Jane

Characteristics of academic departments that affect resource allocation to departments by the college or university are discussed, especially in times of retrenchment. Attention is focused on the ability of academic departments to maintain or increase their share of the resources allocated by the central governing board. Relevant departmental…

Funding the Plan: Integration of Strategic Planning and Resource Allocation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pagel, Richard T.

2011-01-01

California Community Colleges are facing increased accountability while at the same time experiencing reduced and uncertain state funding. When resources are not properly allocated there is waste, public criticism, and ultimately increased oversight. A review of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) sanction letters…

Children Rectify Inequalities for Disadvantaged Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elenbaas, Laura; Killen, Melanie

2016-01-01

Children's decisions regarding the allocation of societal resources in the context of preexisting inequalities were investigated. African American and European American children ages 5 to 6 years (n = 91) and 10 to 11 years (n = 94) judged the acceptability of a medical resource inequality on the basis of race, allocated medical supplies,…

A Multi-Objective Method to Align Human Resource Allocation with University Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouillard, Philippe

2016-01-01

Universities are currently under considerable pressure to reach their stakeholders' expectations. Management tools that use strategic plans, key performance indicators and quality assurance methods are increasingly deployed. This paper aims to demonstrate how resource allocation can be aligned with institutional strategic plans with a very simple…

Health care market deviations from the ideal market.

PubMed

Mwachofi, Ari; Al-Assaf, Assaf F

2011-08-01

A common argument in the health policy debate is that market forces allocate resources efficiently in health care, and that government intervention distorts such allocation. Rarely do those making such claims state explicitly that the market they refer to is an ideal in economic theory which can only exist under very strict conditions. This paper explores the strict conditions necessary for that ideal market in the context of health care as a means of examining the claim that market forces do allocate resources efficiently in health care.

Optimality versus stability in water resource allocation.

PubMed

Read, Laura; Madani, Kaveh; Inanloo, Bahareh

2014-01-15

Water allocation is a growing concern in a developing world where limited resources like fresh water are in greater demand by more parties. Negotiations over allocations often involve multiple groups with disparate social, economic, and political status and needs, who are seeking a management solution for a wide range of demands. Optimization techniques for identifying the Pareto-optimal (social planner solution) to multi-criteria multi-participant problems are commonly implemented, although often reaching agreement for this solution is difficult. In negotiations with multiple-decision makers, parties who base decisions on individual rationality may find the social planner solution to be unfair, thus creating a need to evaluate the willingness to cooperate and practicality of a cooperative allocation solution, i.e., the solution's stability. This paper suggests seeking solutions for multi-participant resource allocation problems through an economics-based power index allocation method. This method can inform on allocation schemes that quantify a party's willingness to participate in a negotiation rather than opt for no agreement. Through comparison of the suggested method with a range of distance-based multi-criteria decision making rules, namely, least squares, MAXIMIN, MINIMAX, and compromise programming, this paper shows that optimality and stability can produce different allocation solutions. The mismatch between the socially-optimal alternative and the most stable alternative can potentially result in parties leaving the negotiation as they may be too dissatisfied with their resource share. This finding has important policy implications as it justifies why stakeholders may not accept the socially optimal solution in practice, and underlies the necessity of considering stability where it may be more appropriate to give up an unstable Pareto-optimal solution for an inferior stable one. Authors suggest assessing the stability of an allocation solution as an additional component to an analysis that seeks to distribute water in a negotiated process. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing the effects of adaptation measures on optimal water resources allocation under varied water availability conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Dedi; Guo, Shenglian; Shao, Quanxi; Liu, Pan; Xiong, Lihua; Wang, Le; Hong, Xingjun; Xu, Yao; Wang, Zhaoli

2018-01-01

Human activities and climate change have altered the spatial and temporal distribution of water availability which is a principal prerequisite for allocation of different water resources. In order to quantify the impacts of climate change and human activities on water availability and optimal allocation of water resources, hydrological models and optimal water resource allocation models should be integrated. Given that increasing human water demand and varying water availability conditions necessitate adaptation measures, we propose a framework to assess the effects of these measures on optimal allocation of water resources. The proposed model and framework were applied to a case study of the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River Basin in China. Two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP4.5) were employed to project future climate, and the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrological model was used to simulate the variability of flows under historical (1956-2011) and future (2012-2099) conditions. The water availability determined by simulating flow with the VIC hydrological model was used to establish the optimal water resources allocation model. The allocation results were derived under an extremely dry year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 95%), a very dry year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 90%), a dry year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 75%), and a normal year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 50%) during historical and future periods. The results show that the total available water resources in the study area and the inflow of the Danjiangkou Reservoir will increase in the future. However, the uneven distribution of water availability will cause water shortage problems, especially in the boundary areas. The effects of adaptation measures, including water saving, and dynamic control of flood limiting water levels (FLWLs) for reservoir operation, were assessed and implemented to alleviate water shortages. The negative impacts from the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (Middle Route) in the mid-lower reaches of the Hanjiang River Basin can be avoided through the dynamic control of FLWLs in Danjiangkou Reservoir, under the historical and future RCP2.6 and RCP4.5 scenarios. However, the effects of adaptation measures are limited due to their own constraints, such as the characteristics of the reservoirs influencing the FLWLs. The utilization of storm water appears necessary to meet future water demand. Overall, the results indicate that the framework for assessing the effects of adaptation measures on water resources allocation might aid water resources management, not only in the study area but also in other places where water availability conditions vary due to climate change and human activities.

Distribution of Health Resource Allocation in the Fars Province Using the Scalogram Analysis Technique in 2011.

PubMed

Hatam, Nahid; Kafashi, Shahnaz; Kavosi, Zahra

2015-07-01

The importance of health indicators in the recent years has created challenges in resource allocation. Balanced and fair distribution of health resources is one of the main principles in achieving equity. The goal of this cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted in 2010, was to classify health structural indicators in the Fars province using the scalogram technique. Health structural indicators were selected and classified in three categories; namely institutional, human resources, and rural health. The data were obtained from the statistical yearbook of Iran and was analyzed according to the scalogram technique. The distribution map of the Fars province was drawn using ArcGIS (geographic information system). The results showed an interesting health structural indicator map across the province. Our findings revealed that the city of Mohr with 85 and Zarindasht with 36 had the highest and the lowest scores, respectively. This information is valuable to provincial health policymakers to plan appropriately based on factual data and minimize chaos in allocating health resources. Based on such data and reflecting on the local needs, one could develop equity based resource allocation policies and prevent inequality. It is concluded that, as top priority, the provincial policymakers should place dedicated deprivation programs for Farashband, Eghlid and Zaindasht regions.

[Ethical Debates Related to the Allocation of Medical Resources During the Response to the Mass Casualty Incident at Formosa Fun Coast Water Park].

PubMed

Tang, Jing-Shia; Chen, Chia-Jung; Huang, Mei-Chih

2017-02-01

Disasters are unpredictable and often result in mass casualties. Limited medical resources often affect the response to mass casualty incidents, undermining the ability of responders to adequately protect all of the casualties. Thus, the injuries of casualties are classified in hopes of fully utilizing medical resources efficiently in order to save the maximum possible number of people. However, as opinions on casualty prioritization are subjective, disagreements and disputes often arise regarding allocating medical resources. The present article focused on the 2015 explosion at Formosa Fun Coast, a recreational water park in Bali, New Taipei City, Taiwan as a way to explore the dilemma over the triage and resource allocation for casualties with burns over 90% and 50-60% of their bodies. The principles of utilitarianism and deontology in Western medicine were used to discuss the reasons and rationale behind the allocation of medical resources during this incident. Confucianism, a philosophical mindset that significantly influences Taiwanese society today, was then discussed to describe the "miracles" that happened during the incident, including the acquisition of assistance from the public and medical professionals. External supplies and professional help (social resources) were provided voluntarily after this incident, which had a profound impact on both the immediate response and the longer-term recovery efforts.

Randomized Sequential Individual Assignment in Social Experiments: Evaluating the Design Options Prospectively

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lohr, Sharon L.; Zhu, Xiaoshu

2017-01-01

Many randomized experiments in the social sciences allocate subjects to treatment arms at the time the subjects enroll. Desirable features of the mechanism used to assign subjects to treatment arms are often (1) equal numbers of subjects in intervention and control arms, (2) balanced allocation for population subgroups and across covariates, (3)…

Methodological reporting quality of randomized controlled trials: A survey of seven core journals of orthopaedics from Mainland China over 5 years following the CONSORT statement.

PubMed

Zhang, J; Chen, X; Zhu, Q; Cui, J; Cao, L; Su, J

2016-11-01

In recent years, the number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the field of orthopaedics is increasing in Mainland China. However, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are inclined to bias if they lack methodological quality. Therefore, we performed a survey of RCT to assess: (1) What about the quality of RCTs in the field of orthopedics in Mainland China? (2) Whether there is difference between the core journals of the Chinese department of orthopedics and Orthopaedics Traumatology Surgery & Research (OTSR). This research aimed to evaluate the methodological reporting quality according to the CONSORT statement of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in seven key orthopaedic journals published in Mainland China over 5 years from 2010 to 2014. All of the articles were hand researched on Chongqing VIP database between 2010 and 2014. Studies were considered eligible if the words "random", "randomly", "randomization", "randomized" were employed to describe the allocation way. Trials including animals, cadavers, trials published as abstracts and case report, trials dealing with subgroups analysis, or trials without the outcomes were excluded. In addition, eight articles selected from Orthopaedics Traumatology Surgery & Research (OTSR) between 2010 and 2014 were included in this study for comparison. The identified RCTs are analyzed using a modified version of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT), including the sample size calculation, allocation sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding and handling of dropouts. A total of 222 RCTs were identified in seven core orthopaedic journals. No trials reported adequate sample size calculation, 74 (33.4%) reported adequate allocation generation, 8 (3.7%) trials reported adequate allocation concealment, 18 (8.1%) trials reported adequate blinding and 16 (7.2%) trials reported handling of dropouts. In OTSR, 1 (12.5%) trial reported adequate sample size calculation, 4 (50.0%) reported adequate allocation generation, 1 (12.5%) trials reported adequate allocation concealment, 2 (25.0%) trials reported adequate blinding and 5 (62.5%) trials reported handling of dropouts. There were statistical differences as for sample size calculation and handling of dropouts between papers from Mainland China and OTSR (P<0.05). The findings of this study show that the methodological reporting quality of RCTs in seven core orthopaedic journals from the Mainland China is far from satisfaction and it needs to further improve to keep up with the standards of the CONSORT statement. Level III case control. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Cerebral hemovelocity reveals differential resource allocation strategies for extraverts and introverts during vigilance.

PubMed

Shaw, Tyler H; Nguyen, Cynthia; Satterfield, Kelly; Ramirez, Raul; McKnight, Patrick E

2016-02-01

Extraversion--one of the Big 5 personality factors--correlates negatively with vigilance, but most studies focus on performance outcomes and not the performance process. Previous research has shown that transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD), which measures cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV), can be used to examine resource allocation strategies during vigilance performance. Hence, this study was designed to assess the attentional resource allocation strategies of introverts and extraverts using the CBFV measure. Twelve extroverts and 13 introverts monitored a 60-min vigilance task for a critical signal--the absence of a line on a five-circle array. The results revealed an overall performance decrement that was not modulated by extraversion. We observed an interaction between extraversion and time; CBFV declined in the introversion group, but not in the extraversion group. Additionally, an interaction between cerebral hemisphere and personality revealed that extraverts were recruiting resources from both the left and right cerebral hemispheres, while introverts only recruited resources from the right hemisphere. The results suggest that extraverts can allocate compensatory effort to mask performance differences. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and offer future research directions that may help us understand these effects.

A generic minimization random allocation and blinding system on web.

PubMed

Cai, Hongwei; Xia, Jielai; Xu, Dezhong; Gao, Donghuai; Yan, Yongping

2006-12-01

Minimization is a dynamic randomization method for clinical trials. Although recommended by many researchers, the utilization of minimization has been seldom reported in randomized trials mainly because of the controversy surrounding the validity of conventional analyses and its complexity in implementation. However, both the statistical and clinical validity of minimization were demonstrated in recent studies. Minimization random allocation system integrated with blinding function that could facilitate the implementation of this method in general clinical trials has not been reported. SYSTEM OVERVIEW: The system is a web-based random allocation system using Pocock and Simon minimization method. It also supports multiple treatment arms within a trial, multiple simultaneous trials, and blinding without further programming. This system was constructed with generic database schema design method, Pocock and Simon minimization method and blinding method. It was coded with Microsoft Visual Basic and Active Server Pages (ASP) programming languages. And all dataset were managed with a Microsoft SQL Server database. Some critical programming codes were also provided. SIMULATIONS AND RESULTS: Two clinical trials were simulated simultaneously to test the system's applicability. Not only balanced groups but also blinded allocation results were achieved in both trials. Practical considerations for minimization method, the benefits, general applicability and drawbacks of the technique implemented in this system are discussed. Promising features of the proposed system are also summarized.

Comparison of two scores for allocating resources to doctors in deprived areas.

PubMed

Hutchinson, A; Foy, C; Sandhu, B

1989-11-04

Current proposals in the general practitioner contract include additional payments to doctors working among deprived populations. The underprivileged area score will be used to identify local authority wards with the greatest levels of deprivation, thus acting as the basis for distributing considerable resources. Two methods of identifying deprived populations--the underprivileged area score and the material deprivation score--were compared to determine whether they result in similar allocation of resources to regions. Financial allocations to regions based on figures derived from the contract differed considerably if the material deprivation score was used instead of the underprivileged area score: Northern and Mersey regions gained over 50% of their allocation whereas East Anglia, Oxford, and South West Thames regions lost more than 30% of theirs. Such differences have considerable implications for doctors working among deprived populations as up to 60m pounds each year might be distributed by these payments.

Computer software tool REALM for sustainable water allocation and management.

PubMed

Perera, B J C; James, B; Kularathna, M D U

2005-12-01

REALM (REsource ALlocation Model) is a generalised computer simulation package that models harvesting and bulk distribution of water resources within a water supply system. It is a modeling tool, which can be applied to develop specific water allocation models. Like other water resource simulation software tools, REALM uses mass-balance accounting at nodes, while the movement of water within carriers is subject to capacity constraints. It uses a fast network linear programming algorithm to optimise the water allocation within the network during each simulation time step, in accordance with user-defined operating rules. This paper describes the main features of REALM and provides potential users with an appreciation of its capabilities. In particular, it describes two case studies covering major urban and rural water supply systems. These case studies illustrate REALM's capabilities in the use of stochastically generated data in water supply planning and management, modelling of environmental flows, and assessing security of supply issues.

Sharing the Wealth: Factors Influencing Resource Allocation in the Sharing Game

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fantino, Edmund; Kennelly, Arthur

2009-01-01

Students chose between two allocation options, one that gave the allocator more and another participant still more (the "optimal" choice) and one which gave the allocator less and the other participant still less (the "competitive" choice). In a within-subjects design, students' behavior patterns were significantly correlated across the two rounds…

A Web- and Mobile-Based Map of Mental Health Resources for Postsecondary Students (Thought Spot): Protocol for an Economic Evaluation

PubMed Central

Kaur, Amandeep; Isaranuwatchai, Wanrudee; Jaffer, Aliya; Ferguson, Genevieve; Abi-Jaoude, Alexxa; Johnson, Andrew; Hollenberg, Elisa

2018-01-01

Background Youth demonstrate a low propensity to seek help for mental health issues and exhibit low use of health services despite the high prevalence of mental health challenges in this population. Research has found that delivering interventions via the internet and mobile devices is an effective way to reach youth. Thought Spot, a Web- and mobile-based map, was developed to help transition-aged youth in postsecondary settings overcome barriers to help-seeking, thereby reducing the economic burden associated with untreated mental health issues. Objective This paper presents the protocol for an economic evaluation that will be conducted in conjunction with a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness and cost of Thought Spot compared with usual care in terms of self-efficacy for mental health help-seeking among postsecondary students. Methods A partially blinded RCT will be conducted to assess the impact of Thought Spot on the self-efficacy of students for mental health help-seeking. Students from 3 postsecondary institutions in Ontario, Canada will be randomly allocated to 1 of 2 intervention groups (resource pamphlet or Thought Spot) for 6 months. The economic evaluation will focus on the perspective of postsecondary institutions or other organizations interested in using Thought Spot. Costs and resources for operating and maintaining the platform will be reported and compared with the costs and resource needs associated with usual care. The primary outcome will be change in help-seeking intentions, measured using the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire. The cost-effectiveness of the intervention will be determined by calculating the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, which will then be compared with willingness to pay. Results The RCT is scheduled to begin in February 2018 and will run for 6 months, after which the economic evaluation will be completed. Conclusions We expect to demonstrate that Thought Spot is a cost-effective way to improve help-seeking intentions and encourage help-seeking behavior among postsecondary students. The findings of this study will help inform postsecondary institutions when they are allocating resources for mental health initiatives. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03412461; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03412461 (Archived at WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6xy5lWpnZ) PMID:29599106

A critical appraisal of the reporting quality of published randomized controlled trials in the fall injuries.

PubMed

Asghari Jafarabadi, Mohammad; Sadeghi-Bazrgani, Homayoun; Dianat, Iman

2018-06-01

To evaluate the quality of reporting in published randomized controlled trials (RTCs) in the field of fall injuries. The 188 RTCs published between 2001 and 2011, indexed in EMBASE and Medline databases were extracted through searching by appropriate keywords and EMTree classification terms. The evaluation trustworthiness was assured through parallel evaluations of two experts in epidemiology and biostatistics. About 40%-75% of papers had problems in reporting random allocation method, allocation concealment, random allocation implementation, blinding and similarity among groups, intention to treat and balancing benefits and harms. Moreover, at least 10% of papers inappropriately/not reported the design, protocol violations, sample size justification, subgroup/adjusted analyses, presenting flow diagram, drop outs, recruitment time, baseline data, suitable effect size on outcome, ancillary analyses, limitations and generalizability. Considering the shortcomings found and due to the importance of the RCTs for fall injury prevention programmes, their reporting quality should be improved.

Efficient Allocation of Resources for Defense of Spatially Distributed Networks Using Agent-Based Simulation.

PubMed

Kroshl, William M; Sarkani, Shahram; Mazzuchi, Thomas A

2015-09-01

This article presents ongoing research that focuses on efficient allocation of defense resources to minimize the damage inflicted on a spatially distributed physical network such as a pipeline, water system, or power distribution system from an attack by an active adversary, recognizing the fundamental difference between preparing for natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or even accidental systems failures and the problem of allocating resources to defend against an opponent who is aware of, and anticipating, the defender's efforts to mitigate the threat. Our approach is to utilize a combination of integer programming and agent-based modeling to allocate the defensive resources. We conceptualize the problem as a Stackelberg "leader follower" game where the defender first places his assets to defend key areas of the network, and the attacker then seeks to inflict the maximum damage possible within the constraints of resources and network structure. The criticality of arcs in the network is estimated by a deterministic network interdiction formulation, which then informs an evolutionary agent-based simulation. The evolutionary agent-based simulation is used to determine the allocation of resources for attackers and defenders that results in evolutionary stable strategies, where actions by either side alone cannot increase its share of victories. We demonstrate these techniques on an example network, comparing the evolutionary agent-based results to a more traditional, probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) approach. Our results show that the agent-based approach results in a greater percentage of defender victories than does the PRA-based approach. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

Resource allocation on the frontlines of public health preparedness and response: report of a summit on legal and ethical issues.

PubMed

Barnett, Daniel J; Taylor, Holly A; Hodge, James G; Links, Jonathan M

2009-01-01

In the face of all-hazards preparedness challenges, local and state health department personnel have to date lacked a discrete set of legally and ethically informed public health principles to guide the distribution of scarce resources in crisis settings. To help address this gap, we convened a Summit of academic and practice experts to develop a set of principles for legally and ethically sound public health resource triage decision-making in emergencies. The invitation-only Summit, held in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2006, assembled 20 experts from a combination of academic institutions and nonacademic leadership, policy, and practice settings. The Summit featured a tabletop exercise designed to highlight resource scarcity challenges in a public health infectious disease emergency. This exercise served as a springboard for Summit participants' subsequent identification of 10 public health emergency resource allocation principles through an iterative process. The final product of the Summit was a set of 10 principles to guide allocation decisions involving scarce resources in public health emergencies. The principles are grouped into three categories: obligations to community; balancing personal autonomy and community well-being/benefit; and good preparedness practice. The 10 Summit-derived principles represent an attempt to link law, ethics, and real-world public health emergency resource allocation practices, and can serve as a useful starting framework to guide further systematic approaches and future research on addressing public health resource scarcity in an all-hazards context.

Optimal conservation resource allocation under variable economic and ecological time discounting rates in boreal forest.

PubMed

Mazziotta, Adriano; Pouzols, Federico Montesino; Mönkkönen, Mikko; Kotiaho, Janne S; Strandman, Harri; Moilanen, Atte

2016-09-15

Resource allocation to multiple alternative conservation actions is a complex task. A common trade-off occurs between protection of smaller, expensive, high-quality areas versus larger, cheaper, partially degraded areas. We investigate optimal allocation into three actions in boreal forest: current standard forest management rules, setting aside of mature stands, or setting aside of clear-cuts. We first estimated how habitat availability for focal indicator species and economic returns from timber harvesting develop through time as a function of forest type and action chosen. We then developed an optimal resource allocation by accounting for budget size and habitat availability of indicator species in different forest types. We also accounted for the perspective adopted towards sustainability, modeled via temporal preference and economic and ecological time discounting. Controversially, we found that in boreal forest set-aside followed by protection of clear-cuts can become a winning cost-effective strategy when accounting for habitat requirements of multiple species, long planning horizon, and limited budget. It is particularly effective when adopting a long-term sustainability perspective, and accounting for present revenues from timber harvesting. The present analysis assesses the cost-effective conditions to allocate resources into an inexpensive conservation strategy that nevertheless has potential to produce high ecological values in the future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Power corrupts co-operation: cognitive and motivational effects in a double EEG paradigm.

PubMed

Kanso, Riam; Hewstone, Miles; Hawkins, Erin; Waszczuk, Monika; Nobre, Anna Christina

2014-02-01

This study investigated the effect of interpersonal power on co-operative performance. We used a paired electro-encephalogram paradigm: pairs of participants performed an attention task, followed by feedback indicating monetary loss or gain on every trial. Participants were randomly allocated to the power-holder, subordinate or neutral group by creating different levels of control over how a joint monetary reward would be allocated. We found that power was associated with reduced behavioural accuracy. Event-related potential analysis showed that power-holders devoted less motivational resources to their targets than did subordinates or neutrals, but did not differ at the level of early conflict detection. Their feedback potential results showed a greater expectation of rewards but reduced subjective magnitude attributed to losses. Subordinates, on the other hand, were asymmetrically sensitive to power-holders' targets. They expected fewer rewards, but attributed greater significance to losses. Our study shows that power corrupts balanced co-operation with subordinates.

Power corrupts co-operation: cognitive and motivational effects in a double EEG paradigm

PubMed Central

Kanso, Riam; Hewstone, Miles; Hawkins, Erin; Waszczuk, Monika; Nobre, Anna Christina

2014-01-01

This study investigated the effect of interpersonal power on co-operative performance. We used a paired electro-encephalogram paradigm: pairs of participants performed an attention task, followed by feedback indicating monetary loss or gain on every trial. Participants were randomly allocated to the power-holder, subordinate or neutral group by creating different levels of control over how a joint monetary reward would be allocated. We found that power was associated with reduced behavioural accuracy. Event-related potential analysis showed that power-holders devoted less motivational resources to their targets than did subordinates or neutrals, but did not differ at the level of early conflict detection. Their feedback potential results showed a greater expectation of rewards but reduced subjective magnitude attributed to losses. Subordinates, on the other hand, were asymmetrically sensitive to power-holders’ targets. They expected fewer rewards, but attributed greater significance to losses. Our study shows that power corrupts balanced co-operation with subordinates. PMID:23160813

How selection structures species abundance distributions

PubMed Central

Magurran, Anne E.; Henderson, Peter A.

2012-01-01

How do species divide resources to produce the characteristic species abundance distributions seen in nature? One way to resolve this problem is to examine how the biomass (or capacity) of the spatial guilds that combine to produce an abundance distribution is allocated among species. Here we argue that selection on body size varies across guilds occupying spatially distinct habitats. Using an exceptionally well-characterized estuarine fish community, we show that biomass is concentrated in large bodied species in guilds where habitat structure provides protection from predators, but not in those guilds associated with open habitats and where safety in numbers is a mechanism for reducing predation risk. We further demonstrate that while there is temporal turnover in the abundances and identities of species that comprise these guilds, guild rank order is conserved across our 30-year time series. These results demonstrate that ecological communities are not randomly assembled but can be decomposed into guilds where capacity is predictably allocated among species. PMID:22787020

The relationship between budget allocated and budget utilized of faculties in an academic institution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aziz, Wan Noor Hayatie Wan Abdul; Aziz, Rossidah Wan Abdul; Shuib, Adibah; Razi, Nor Faezah Mohamad

2014-06-01

Budget planning enables an organization to set priorities towards achieving certain goals and to identify the highest priorities to be accomplished with the available funds, thus allowing allocation of resources according to the set priorities and constraints. On the other hand, budget execution and monitoring enables allocated funds or resources to be utilized as planned. Our study concerns with investigating the relationship between budget allocation and budget utilization of faculties in a public university in Malaysia. The focus is on the university's operations management financial allocation and utilization based on five categories which are emolument expenditure, academic or services and supplies expenditure, maintenance expenditure, student expenditure and others expenditure. The analysis on financial allocation and utilization is performed based on yearly quarters. Data collected include three years faculties' budget allocation and budget utilization performance involving a sample of ten selected faculties of a public university in Malaysia. Results show that there are positive correlation and significant relationship between quarterly budget allocation and quarterly budget utilization. This study found that emolument give the highest contribution to the total allocation and total utilization for all quarters. This paper presents some findings based on statistical analysis conducted which include descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.

Exercise training reveals trade-offs between endurance performance and immune function, but does not influence growth, in juvenile lizards.

PubMed

Husak, Jerry F; Roy, Jordan C; Lovern, Matthew B

2017-04-15

Acquired energetic resources allocated to a particular trait cannot then be re-allocated to a different trait. This often results in a trade-off between survival and reproduction for the adults of many species, but such a trade-off may be manifested differently in juveniles not yet capable of reproduction. Whereas adults may allocate resources to current and/or future reproduction, juveniles can only allocate to future reproduction. Thus, juveniles should allocate resources toward traits that increase survival and their chances of future reproductive success. We manipulated allocation of resources to performance, via endurance exercise training, to examine trade-offs among endurance capacity, immune function and growth in juvenile green anole lizards. We trained male and female captive anoles on a treadmill for 8 weeks, with increasing intensity, and compared traits with those of untrained individuals. Our results show that training enhanced endurance capacity equally in both sexes, but immune function was suppressed only in females. Training had no effect on growth, but males had higher growth rates than females. Previous work showed that trained adults have enhanced growth, so juvenile growth is either insensitive to stimulation with exercise, or they are already growing at maximal rates. Our results add to a growing body of literature indicating that locomotor performance is an important part of life-history trade-offs that are sex and age specific. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Application of case mix index in the allocation of nursing human resources.

PubMed

Han, Binru; Chen, Xi; Li, Qiuping

2018-02-23

To investigate the feasibility of the case mix index and compare the allocation of nursing human resources between two departments of a hospital with different case mix indexes in China. The case mix index is used to assess the resource allocation of all cases in two departments of a hospital. Its values can determine the resource allocation required to diagnose and treat the patients. Clinical data were obtained from 23 different departments in 2015 and analysed retrospectively from October to November, 2016. Factors influencing the allocation of registered nurses were identified, and balanced quantities of patients with different case mix indexes were chosen from two departments. Spearman correlation analysis was performed. The per capita nursing workload was significant (r = .669, p = .000). The length of hospital stay, quantity of nurses, and department case mix index were correlated with the nursing workload (t = 4.211, p = .000; t = 2.962, p = .008; t = 2.266, p = .035). Education levels (Z = -1.391, p = .164) and the professional titles (Z = -1.832, p = .067) of the nurses were not statistically significant, whereas the registered nurse level differed between two departments (Z = -2.125, p = .034). The case management index provides references for the efficient allocation of registered nurses in clinical practice. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Phosphorus deficiency affects the allocation of below-ground resources to combined cluster roots and nodules in Lupinus albus.

PubMed

Thuynsma, Rochelle; Valentine, Alex; Kleinert, Aleysia

2014-02-15

Lupins can rely on both cluster roots and nodules for P acquisition and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), respectively. The resource allocation (C, N and P) between cluster roots and nodules has been largely understudied during P-deficient conditions. The aim of this investigation was therefore to determine the changes in resource allocation between these organs during fluctuations in P supply. Lupinus albus was cultivated in sand culture for 3 weeks, with either sufficient (2 mM high) or limiting (0.1 mM low) P supply. Although variation on P supply had no effect on the total biomass, there were significant differences in specialised below-ground organ allocation to cluster roots and nodule formation. Cluster root formation and the associated C-costs increased during low P supply, but at sufficient P-supply the construction and growth respiration costs of cluster roots declined along with their growth. In contrast to the cluster root decline at high P supply, there was an increase in nodule growth allocation and corresponding C-costs. However, this was not associated with an increase in BNF. Since cluster roots were able to increase P acquisition under low P conditions, this below-ground investment may also have benefited the P nutrition of nodules. These findings provide evidence that when lupins acquire N via BNF in their nodules, there may be a trade-off in resource allocation between cluster roots and nodules. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Statistical Power and Optimum Sample Allocation Ratio for Treatment and Control Having Unequal Costs Per Unit of Randomization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Xiaofeng

2003-01-01

This article considers optimal sample allocation between the treatment and control condition in multilevel designs when the costs per sampling unit vary due to treatment assignment. Optimal unequal allocation may reduce the cost from that of a balanced design without sacrificing any power. The optimum sample allocation ratio depends only on the…

An observational study showed that explaining randomization using gambling-related metaphors and computer-agency descriptions impeded randomized clinical trial recruitment.

PubMed

Jepson, Marcus; Elliott, Daisy; Conefrey, Carmel; Wade, Julia; Rooshenas, Leila; Wilson, Caroline; Beard, David; Blazeby, Jane M; Birtle, Alison; Halliday, Alison; Stein, Rob; Donovan, Jenny L

2018-07-01

To explore how the concept of randomization is described by clinicians and understood by patients in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and how it contributes to patient understanding and recruitment. Qualitative analysis of 73 audio recordings of recruitment consultations from five, multicenter, UK-based RCTs with identified or anticipated recruitment difficulties. One in 10 appointments did not include any mention of randomization. Most included a description of the method or process of allocation. Descriptions often made reference to gambling-related metaphors or similes, or referred to allocation by a computer. Where reference was made to a computer, some patients assumed that they would receive the treatment that was "best for them". Descriptions of the rationale for randomization were rarely present and often only came about as a consequence of patients questioning the reason for a random allocation. The methods and processes of randomization were usually described by recruiters, but often without clarity, which could lead to patient misunderstanding. The rationale for randomization was rarely mentioned. Recruiters should avoid problematic gambling metaphors and illusions of agency in their explanations and instead focus on clearer descriptions of the rationale and method of randomization to ensure patients are better informed about randomization and RCT participation. Copyright © 2018 University of Bristol. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Resource Allocation and Productivity in Education: Theory and Practice. Contributions to the Study of Education, Number 71.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartman, William T., Ed.; Boyd, William Lowe, Ed.

This book analyzes microlevel resource-allocation practices from a variety of levels within the educational system: the school board, district administration, building level, and classroom. Chapters include: "Productive Schools from a Policy Perspective: Desiderata, Designs, and Dilemmas" (W. L. Boyd); "The Politics of Educational Productivity"…

Employing Needs-Based Funding Formulae--Some Unavoidable Tradeoffs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilead, Tal; BenDavid-Hadar, Iris

2017-01-01

Purpose: The method by which the state allocates resources to its schooling system can serve as an important instrument for achieving desired improvements in levels of educational attainment, social equity and other social policy goals. In many school systems, the allocation of school resources is done according to a needs-based funding formula.…

A Model for Resource Allocation Using Operational Knowledge Assets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andreou, Andreas N.; Bontis, Nick

2007-01-01

Purpose: The paper seeks to develop a business model that shows the impact of operational knowledge assets on intellectual capital (IC) components and business performance and use the model to show how knowledge assets can be prioritized in driving resource allocation decisions. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative data were collected from 84…

The Financial Resource Allocation Process at Compton Community College: A Redirection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Compton Community Coll. Federation of Teachers, CA.

This paper presents a historical portrait of the process of financial resource allocation at Compton Community College (CCC). Introductory material provides information on the college, its organization, and its budgeting and accounting procedures. Next, changes in finances occurring between 1974-75 and 1977-78 are outlined, including the growth of…

Research versus Advocacy in the Allocation of Resources: Problems, Causes, Solutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menolascino, Frank J.; Stark, Jack A.

1990-01-01

This commentary on EC 231 901 discusses whether resource allocations and service policies for mentally retarded individuals should be based upon purported findings of scientific theory or the purported needs of service systems. The paper calls for improved research utilization and understanding of what makes a social movement work. (JDD)

Linking Strategic Planning, Institutional Assessment, and Resource Allocation: Paradise Valley Community College's Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kranitz, Gina; Hart, Kenneth R.

As an institution having undergone many changes over the past 13 years in the Maricopa Community College District, Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) in Arizona has developed and implemented its strategic planning process, institutional effectiveness and student outcomes assessment model, and resource allocation (budget) process over the…

Resource Allocation in Successful Schools: Case Studies of California Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hyder, Syed N.

2010-01-01

This study was conducted to examine instructional strategies and resource allocation in successful schools. The study was based on analysis of six effective Southern California elementary schools. All the analyzed schools were Title I, non-charter public schools that had demonstrated consistent student achievement, had narrowed the achievement gap…

Resources Allocation in Chinese Universities: Hierarchy, Academic Excellence, or Both?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ying, Qianwei; Fan, Yongmao; Luo, Danglun; Christensen, Tom

2017-01-01

Scholars are aware that the higher education sector in China is highly affected by its administrative system, but the questions of how and to what extent the Chinese administrative system impacts academic resources allocation have yet to be answered. By examining the empirical data from 2003 to 2010 of China's National Excellent Doctoral…

University and Polytechnic Objectives, Resource Allocation and Performance Indices in the Central Services. Program on Institutional Management in Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norris, Graeme, Ed.

Research progress by member institutions is reviewed with regard to university administration, computing, committees, libraries, and student welfare. Consideration is given to effectiveness and efficiency, management information, management by objectives, periodic review of objectives, strategy, and analytic resource allocation. Two research…

Theory of Mind Is Related to Children's Resource Allocations in Gender Stereotypic Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rizzo, Michael T.; Killen, Melanie

2018-01-01

The present study investigated the relations between 4- to 6-year-old children's (N = 67) gender stereotypes, resource allocations, and mental state knowledge in gender-stereotypic contexts. Participants were told vignettes about female and male characters completing gender-stereotyped activities (making dolls or trucks). Children held stereotypic…

The Accounting System and Resource Allocation Reform in a Public University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spathis, Charalambos; Ananiadis, John

2004-01-01

This paper studies the accounting system reform practised in Greek universities since January 2000, and more particularly at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). It specifically examines the allocation of resources to faculties by university management based on certain criteria. The AUTH is the largest public university in Greece and…

Applications of artificial intelligence to mission planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ford, Donnie R.; Floyd, Stephen A.; Rogers, John S.

1990-01-01

The following subject areas are covered: object-oriented programming task; rule-based programming task; algorithms for resource allocation; connecting a Symbolics to a VAX; FORTRAN from Lisp; trees and forest task; software data structure conversion; software functionality modifications and enhancements; portability of resource allocation to a TI MicroExplorer; frontier of feasibility software system; and conclusions.

Resource expenditure not resource allocation: response to McDougall on cloning and dignity.

PubMed

Williams, M J

2009-05-01

This paper offers some comments on bioethical debates about resource allocation in healthcare. It is stimulated by Rosalind McDougall's argument that it is an affront to the human dignity of people with below "liberties-level" health to fund human reproductive cloning. McDougall is right to underline the relevance of resource prioritisation to the ethics of research and provision of new biomedical technologies. This paper argues that bioethicists should be careful when offering comments about such issues. In particular, it emphasises the need to represent accurately the reality of the situation-especially when we are passing judgement on technologies that are in their infancy and whose practical application is yet to be confirmed. The paper also emphasises the importance of the actual context to bioethical debate, and note that it would be better to talk about resource expenditure rather than resource allocation when it comes to discussing the rights and wrongs of how money is spent. It also reiterates the claims made by other writers that social and political philosophy need to have a transparent and considered role in debates about resources.

A Decision Support System For The Real-Time Allocation Of The Water Resource Of The Tarim River Basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, J.; Wang, G.; Liu, R.

2008-12-01

The Tarim River Basin is the longest inland river in China. Due to water scarcity, ecologically-fragile is becoming a significant constraint to sustainable development in this region. To effectively manage the limited water resources for ecological purposes and for conventional water utilization purposes, a real-time water resources allocation Decision Support System (DSS) has been developed. Based on workflows of the water resources regulations and comprehensive analysis of the efficiency and feasibility of water management strategies, the DSS includes information systems that perform data acquisition, management and visualization, and model systems that perform hydrological forecast, water demand prediction, flow routing simulation and water resources optimization of the hydrological and water utilization process. An optimization and process control strategy is employed to dynamically allocate the water resources among the different stakeholders. The competitive targets and constraints are taken into considered by multi-objective optimization and with different priorities. The DSS of the Tarim River Basin has been developed and been successfully utilized to support the water resources management of the Tarim River Basin since 2005.

A heuristic method for consumable resource allocation in multi-class dynamic PERT networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaghoubi, Saeed; Noori, Siamak; Mazdeh, Mohammad Mahdavi

2013-06-01

This investigation presents a heuristic method for consumable resource allocation problem in multi-class dynamic Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) networks, where new projects from different classes (types) arrive to system according to independent Poisson processes with different arrival rates. Each activity of any project is operated at a devoted service station located in a node of the network with exponential distribution according to its class. Indeed, each project arrives to the first service station and continues its routing according to precedence network of its class. Such system can be represented as a queuing network, while the discipline of queues is first come, first served. On the basis of presented method, a multi-class system is decomposed into several single-class dynamic PERT networks, whereas each class is considered separately as a minisystem. In modeling of single-class dynamic PERT network, we use Markov process and a multi-objective model investigated by Azaron and Tavakkoli-Moghaddam in 2007. Then, after obtaining the resources allocated to service stations in every minisystem, the final resources allocated to activities are calculated by the proposed method.

Justice and the allocation of healthcare resources: should indirect, non-health effects count?

PubMed

Lippert-Rasmussen, Kasper; Lauridsen, Sigurd

2010-08-01

Alternative allocations of a fixed bundle of healthcare resources often involve significantly different indirect, non-health effects. The question arises whether these effects must figure in accounts of the conditions under which a distribution of healthcare resources is morally justifiable. In this article we defend a Scanlonian, affirmative answer to this question: healthcare resource managers should sometimes select an allocation which has worse direct, health-related effects but better indirect, nonhealth effects; they should do this when the interests served by such a policy are more urgent than the healthcare interests better served by an alternative allocation. We note that there is a prima facie case for the claim that such benefits (and costs) are relevant--i.e. they are real benefits, and in other contexts our decisions can permissibly be guided by them. We then proceed to rebut three lines of argument that might be thought to defeat this prima facie case: they appeal to fairness, the Kantian Formula of Humanity as an End in Itself, and the equal moral worth of persons, respectively.

Titrating versus targeting home care services to frail elderly clients: an application of agency theory and cost-benefit analysis to home care policy.

PubMed

Weissert, William; Chernew, Michael; Hirth, Richard

2003-02-01

The article summarizes the shortcomings of current home care targeting policy, provides a conceptual framework for understanding the sources of its problems, and proposes an alternative resource allocation method. Methods required for different aspects of the study included synthesis of the published literature, regression analysis of risk predictors, and comparison of actual resource allocations with simulated budgets. Problems of imperfect agency ranging from unclear goals and inappropriate incentives to lack of information about the marginal effectiveness of home care could be mitigated with an improved budgeting method that combines client selection and resource allocation. No program can produce its best outcome performance when its goals are unclear and its technology is unstandardized. Titration of care would reallocate resources to maximize marginal benefit for marginal cost.

Research on strategy and optimization method of PRT empty vehicles resource allocation based on traffic demand forecast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Yu; Tao, Cheng

2018-05-01

During the operation of the personal rapid transit system(PRT), the empty vehicle resources is distributed unevenly because of different passenger demand. In order to maintain the balance between supply and demand, and to meet the passenger needs of the ride, PRT empty vehicle resource allocation model is constructed based on the future demand forecasted by historical demand in this paper. The improved genetic algorithm is implied in distribution of the empty vehicle which can reduce the customers waiting time and improve the operation efficiency of the PRT system so that all passengers can take the PRT vehicles in the shortest time. The experimental result shows that the improved genetic algorithm can allocate the empty vehicle from the system level optimally, and realize the distribution of the empty vehicle resources reasonably in the system.

A QoS Aware Resource Allocation Strategy for 3D A/V Streaming in OFDMA Based Wireless Systems

PubMed Central

Chung, Young-uk; Choi, Yong-Hoon; Park, Suwon; Lee, Hyukjoon

2014-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) video is expected to be a “killer app” for OFDMA-based broadband wireless systems. The main limitation of 3D video streaming over a wireless system is the shortage of radio resources due to the large size of the 3D traffic. This paper presents a novel resource allocation strategy to address this problem. In the paper, the video-plus-depth 3D traffic type is considered. The proposed resource allocation strategy focuses on the relationship between 2D video and the depth map, handling them with different priorities. It is formulated as an optimization problem and is solved using a suboptimal heuristic algorithm. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme provides a better quality of service compared to conventional schemes. PMID:25250377

Advanced Technology System Scheduling Governance Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ang, Jim; Carnes, Brian; Hoang, Thuc

In the fall of 2005, the Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) Program appointed a team to formulate a governance model for allocating resources and scheduling the stockpile stewardship workload on ASC capability systems. This update to the original document takes into account the new technical challenges and roles for advanced technology (AT) systems and the new ASC Program workload categories that must be supported. The goal of this updated model is to effectively allocate and schedule AT computing resources among all three National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) laboratories for weapons deliverables that merit priority on this class of resource. Themore » process outlined below describes how proposed work can be evaluated and approved for resource allocations while preserving high effective utilization of the systems. This approach will provide the broadest possible benefit to the Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP).« less

A Multi-layer Dynamic Model for Coordination Based Group Decision Making in Water Resource Allocation and Scheduling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Wei; Zhang, Xingnan; Li, Chenming; Wang, Jianying

Management of group decision-making is an important issue in water source management development. In order to overcome the defects in lacking of effective communication and cooperation in the existing decision-making models, this paper proposes a multi-layer dynamic model for coordination in water resource allocation and scheduling based group decision making. By introducing the scheme-recognized cooperative satisfaction index and scheme-adjusted rationality index, the proposed model can solve the problem of poor convergence of multi-round decision-making process in water resource allocation and scheduling. Furthermore, the problem about coordination of limited resources-based group decision-making process can be solved based on the effectiveness of distance-based group of conflict resolution. The simulation results show that the proposed model has better convergence than the existing models.

A linear goal programming model for human resource allocation in a health-care organization.

PubMed

Kwak, N K; Lee, C

1997-06-01

This paper presents the development of a goal programming (GP) model as an aid to strategic planning and allocation for limited human resources in a health-care organization. The purpose of this study is to assign the personnel to the proper shift hours that enable management to meet the objective of minimizing the total payroll costs while patients are satisfied. A GP model is illustrated using the data provided by a health-care organization in the midwest area. The goals are identified and prioritized. The model result is examined and a sensitivity analysis is performed to improve the model applicability. The GP model application adds insight to the planning functions of resource allocation in the health-care organizations. The proposed model is easily applicable to other human resource planning process.

Disappointment and adherence among parents of newborns allocated to the control group: a qualitative study of a randomized clinical trial.

PubMed

Meinich Petersen, Sandra; Zoffmann, Vibeke; Kjærgaard, Jesper; Graff Stensballe, Lone; Graff Steensballe, Lone; Greisen, Gorm

2014-04-15

When a child participates in a clinical trial, informed consent has to be given by the parents. Parental motives for participation are complex, but the hope of getting a new and better treatment for the child is important. We wondered how parents react when their child is allocated to the control group of a randomized controlled trial, and how it will affect their future engagement in the trial. We included parents of newborns randomized to the control arm in the Danish Calmette study at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. The Calmette study is a randomized clinical trial investigating the non-specific effects of early BCG-vaccine to healthy neonates. Randomization is performed immediately after birth and parents are not blinded to the allocation. We set up a semi-structured focus group with six parents from four families. Afterwards we telephone-interviewed another 19 mothers to achieve saturation. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes across the data sets. The parents reported good understanding of the randomization process. Their most common reaction to allocation was disappointment, though relief was also seen. A model of reactions to being allocated to the control group was developed based on the participants' different positions along two continuities from 'Our participation in trial is not important' to 'Our participation in trial is important', and 'Vaccine not important to us' to 'Vaccine important to us'. Four very disappointed families had thought of getting the vaccine elsewhere, and one had actually had their child vaccinated. All parents involved in the focus group and the telephone interviews wanted to participate in the follow-ups planned for the Calmette study. This study identified an almost universal experience of disappointment among parents of newborns who were randomized to the control group, but also a broad expression of understanding and accepting the idea of randomization. The trial staff might use the model of reactions in understanding the parents' disappointment and in this way support their motives for participation. A generalized version might be applicable across randomized controlled trials at large. The Calmette study is registered in EudraCT (https://eudract.ema.europa.eu/) with trial number 2010-021979-85.

Speaking truth to power: the effect of candid feedback on how individuals with power allocate resources.

PubMed

Oc, Burak; Bashshur, Michael R; Moore, Celia

2015-03-01

Subordinates are often seen as impotent, able to react to but not affect how powerholders treat them. Instead, we conceptualize subordinate feedback as an important trigger of powerholders' behavioral self-regulation and explore subordinates' reciprocal influence on how powerholders allocate resources to them over time. In 2 experiments using a multiparty, multiround dictator game paradigm, we found that when subordinates provided candid feedback about whether they found prior allocations to be fair or unfair, powerholders regulated how self-interested their allocations were over time. However, when subordinates provided compliant feedback about powerholders' prior allocation decisions (offered consistently positive feedback, regardless of the powerholders' prior allocation), those powerholders made increasingly self-interested allocations over time. In addition, we showed that guilt partially mediates this relationship: powerholders feel more guilty after receiving negative feedback about an allocation, subsequently leading to a less self-interested allocation, whereas they feel less guilty after receiving positive feedback about an allocation, subsequently taking more for themselves. Our findings integrate the literature on upward feedback with theory about moral self-regulation to support the idea that subordinates are an important source of influence over those who hold power over them. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Allocating HIV prevention funds in the United States: recommendations from an optimization model.

PubMed

Lasry, Arielle; Sansom, Stephanie L; Hicks, Katherine A; Uzunangelov, Vladislav

2012-01-01

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had an annual budget of approximately $327 million to fund health departments and community-based organizations for core HIV testing and prevention programs domestically between 2001 and 2006. Annual HIV incidence has been relatively stable since the year 2000 and was estimated at 48,600 cases in 2006 and 48,100 in 2009. Using estimates on HIV incidence, prevalence, prevention program costs and benefits, and current spending, we created an HIV resource allocation model that can generate a mathematically optimal allocation of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention's extramural budget for HIV testing, and counseling and education programs. The model's data inputs and methods were reviewed by subject matter experts internal and external to the CDC via an extensive validation process. The model projects the HIV epidemic for the United States under different allocation strategies under a fixed budget. Our objective is to support national HIV prevention planning efforts and inform the decision-making process for HIV resource allocation. Model results can be summarized into three main recommendations. First, more funds should be allocated to testing and these should further target men who have sex with men and injecting drug users. Second, counseling and education interventions ought to provide a greater focus on HIV positive persons who are aware of their status. And lastly, interventions should target those at high risk for transmitting or acquiring HIV, rather than lower-risk members of the general population. The main conclusions of the HIV resource allocation model have played a role in the introduction of new programs and provide valuable guidance to target resources and improve the impact of HIV prevention efforts in the United States.

30 CFR 206.459 - Allocation of washed coal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Allocation of washed coal. 206.459 Section 206... MANAGEMENT PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Coal § 206.459 Allocation of washed coal. (a) When coal is subjected to washing, the washed coal must be allocated to the leases from which it was extracted. (b) When the net...

30 CFR 206.260 - Allocation of washed coal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Allocation of washed coal. 206.260 Section 206... MANAGEMENT PRODUCT VALUATION Federal Coal § 206.260 Allocation of washed coal. (a) When coal is subjected to washing, the washed coal must be allocated to the leases from which it was extracted. (b) When the net...

Cooperative network clustering and task allocation for heterogeneous small satellite network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Jing

The research of small satellite has emerged as a hot topic in recent years because of its economical prospects and convenience in launching and design. Due to the size and energy constraints of small satellites, forming a small satellite network(SSN) in which all the satellites cooperate with each other to finish tasks is an efficient and effective way to utilize them. In this dissertation, I designed and evaluated a weight based dominating set clustering algorithm, which efficiently organizes the satellites into stable clusters. The traditional clustering algorithms of large monolithic satellite networks, such as formation flying and satellite swarm, are often limited on automatic formation of clusters. Therefore, a novel Distributed Weight based Dominating Set(DWDS) clustering algorithm is designed to address the clustering problems in the stochastically deployed SSNs. Considering the unique features of small satellites, this algorithm is able to form the clusters efficiently and stably. In this algorithm, satellites are separated into different groups according to their spatial characteristics. A minimum dominating set is chosen as the candidate cluster head set based on their weights, which is a weighted combination of residual energy and connection degree. Then the cluster heads admit new neighbors that accept their invitations into the cluster, until the maximum cluster size is reached. Evaluated by the simulation results, in a SSN with 200 to 800 nodes, the algorithm is able to efficiently cluster more than 90% of nodes in 3 seconds. The Deadline Based Resource Balancing (DBRB) task allocation algorithm is designed for efficient task allocations in heterogeneous LEO small satellite networks. In the task allocation process, the dispatcher needs to consider the deadlines of the tasks as well as the residue energy of different resources for best energy utilization. We assume the tasks adopt a Map-Reduce framework, in which a task can consist of multiple subtasks. The DBRB algorithm is deployed on the head node of a cluster. It gathers the status from each cluster member and calculates their Node Importance Factors (NIFs) from the carried resources, residue power and compute capacity. The algorithm calculates the number of concurrent subtasks based on the deadlines, and allocates the subtasks to the nodes according to their NIF values. The simulation results show that when cluster members carry multiple resources, resource are more balanced and rare resources serve longer in DBRB than in the Earliest Deadline First algorithm. We also show that the algorithm performs well in service isolation by serving multiple tasks with different deadlines. Moreover, the average task response time with various cluster size settings is well controlled within deadlines as well. Except non-realtime tasks, small satellites may execute realtime tasks as well. The location-dependent tasks, such as image capturing, data transmission and remote sensing tasks are realtime tasks that are required to be started / finished on specific time. The resource energy balancing algorithm for realtime and non-realtime mixed workload is developed to efficiently schedule the tasks for best system performance. It calculates the residue energy for each resource type and tries to preserve resources and node availability when distributing tasks. Non-realtime tasks can be preempted by realtime tasks to provide better QoS to realtime tasks. I compared the performance of proposed algorithm with a random-priority scheduling algorithm, with only realtime tasks, non-realtime tasks and mixed tasks. It shows the resource energy reservation algorithm outperforms the latter one with both balanced and imbalanced workloads. Although the resource energy balancing task allocation algorithm for mixed workload provides preemption mechanism for realtime tasks, realtime tasks can still fail due to resource exhaustion. For LEO small satellite flies around the earth on stable orbits, the location-dependent realtime tasks can be considered as periodical tasks. Therefore, it is possible to reserve energy for these realtime tasks. The resource energy reservation algorithm preserves energy for the realtime tasks when the execution routine of periodical realtime tasks is known. In order to reserve energy for tasks starting very early in each period that the node does not have enough energy charged, an energy wrapping mechanism is also designed to calculate the residue energy from the previous period. The simulation results show that without energy reservation, realtime task failure rate can reach more than 60% when the workload is highly imbalanced. In contrast, the resource energy reservation produces zero RT task failures and leads to equal or better aggregate system throughput than the non-reservation algorithm. The proposed algorithm also preserves more energy because it avoids task preemption. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

Health Care Market Deviations from the Ideal Market

PubMed Central

Mwachofi, Ari; Al-Assaf, Assaf F.

2011-01-01

A common argument in the health policy debate is that market forces allocate resources efficiently in health care, and that government intervention distorts such allocation. Rarely do those making such claims state explicitly that the market they refer to is an ideal in economic theory which can only exist under very strict conditions. This paper explores the strict conditions necessary for that ideal market in the context of health care as a means of examining the claim that market forces do allocate resources efficiently in health care. PMID:22087373

Synaptic Tagging During Memory Allocation

PubMed Central

Rogerson, Thomas; Cai, Denise; Frank, Adam; Sano, Yoshitake; Shobe, Justin; Aranda, Manuel L.; Silva, Alcino J.

2014-01-01

There is now compelling evidence that the allocation of memory to specific neurons (neuronal allocation) and synapses (synaptic allocation) in a neurocircuit is not random and that instead specific mechanisms, such as increases in neuronal excitability and synaptic tagging and capture, determine the exact sites where memories are stored. We propose an integrated view of these processes, such that neuronal allocation, synaptic tagging and capture, spine clustering and metaplasticity reflect related aspects of memory allocation mechanisms. Importantly, the properties of these mechanisms suggest a set of rules that profoundly affect how memories are stored and recalled. PMID:24496410

47 CFR 1.1417 - Allocation of Unusable Space Costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Allocation of Unusable Space Costs. 1.1417... by Random Selection Pole Attachment Complaint Procedures § 1.1417 Allocation of Unusable Space Costs... providing unusable space on a pole so that such apportionment equals two-thirds of the costs of providing...

47 CFR 1.1417 - Allocation of Unusable Space Costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Allocation of Unusable Space Costs. 1.1417... by Random Selection Pole Attachment Complaint Procedures § 1.1417 Allocation of Unusable Space Costs... providing unusable space on a pole so that such apportionment equals two-thirds of the costs of providing...

47 CFR 1.1417 - Allocation of Unusable Space Costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Allocation of Unusable Space Costs. 1.1417... by Random Selection Pole Attachment Complaint Procedures § 1.1417 Allocation of Unusable Space Costs... providing unusable space on a pole so that such apportionment equals two-thirds of the costs of providing...

Optimizing the resource usage in Cloud based environments: the Synergy approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zangrando, L.; Llorens, V.; Sgaravatto, M.; Verlato, M.

2017-10-01

Managing resource allocation in a cloud based data centre serving multiple virtual organizations is a challenging issue. In fact, while batch systems are able to allocate resources to different user groups according to specific shares imposed by the data centre administrator, without a static partitioning of such resources, this is not so straightforward in the most common cloud frameworks, e.g. OpenStack. In the current OpenStack implementation, it is only possible to grant fixed quotas to the different user groups and these resources cannot be exceeded by one group even if there are unused resources allocated to other groups. Moreover in the existing OpenStack implementation, when there aren’t resources available, new requests are simply rejected: it is then up to the client to later re-issue the request. The recently started EU-funded INDIGO-DataCloud project is addressing this issue through “Synergy”, a new advanced scheduling service targeted for OpenStack. Synergy adopts a fair-share model for resource provisioning which guarantees that resources are distributed among users following the fair-share policies defined by the administrator, taken also into account the past usage of such resources. We present the architecture of Synergy, the status of its implementation, some preliminary results and the foreseen evolution of the service.

Dynamic Resource Allocation in Disaster Response: Tradeoffs in Wildfire Suppression

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-13

S, Martı́nez-Falero E, Pérez-González JM (2002) Optimiza- tion of the resources management in fighting wildfires . Environmental Management 30: 352...Dynamic Resource Allocation in Disaster Response: Tradeoffs in Wildfire Suppression Nada Petrovic1*, David L. Alderson2, Jean M. Carlson3 1Center for...inspire fundamentally new theoretical questions for dynamic decision making in coupled human and natural systems. Wildfires are one of several types of

Assessing the Impact of Model Parameter Uncertainty in Simulating Grass Biomass Using a Hybrid Carbon Allocation Strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reyes, J. J.; Adam, J. C.; Tague, C.

2016-12-01

Grasslands play an important role in agricultural production as forage for livestock; they also provide a diverse set of ecosystem services including soil carbon (C) storage. The partitioning of C between above and belowground plant compartments (i.e. allocation) is influenced by both plant characteristics and environmental conditions. The objectives of this study are to 1) develop and evaluate a hybrid C allocation strategy suitable for grasslands, and 2) apply this strategy to examine the importance of various parameters related to biogeochemical cycling, photosynthesis, allocation, and soil water drainage on above and belowground biomass. We include allocation as an important process in quantifying the model parameter uncertainty, which identifies the most influential parameters and what processes may require further refinement. For this, we use the Regional Hydro-ecologic Simulation System, a mechanistic model that simulates coupled water and biogeochemical processes. A Latin hypercube sampling scheme was used to develop parameter sets for calibration and evaluation of allocation strategies, as well as parameter uncertainty analysis. We developed the hybrid allocation strategy to integrate both growth-based and resource-limited allocation mechanisms. When evaluating the new strategy simultaneously for above and belowground biomass, it produced a larger number of less biased parameter sets: 16% more compared to resource-limited and 9% more compared to growth-based. This also demonstrates its flexible application across diverse plant types and environmental conditions. We found that higher parameter importance corresponded to sub- or supra-optimal resource availability (i.e. water, nutrients) and temperature ranges (i.e. too hot or cold). For example, photosynthesis-related parameters were more important at sites warmer than the theoretical optimal growth temperature. Therefore, larger values of parameter importance indicate greater relative sensitivity in adequately representing the relevant process to capture limiting resources or manage atypical environmental conditions. These results may inform future experimental work by focusing efforts on quantifying specific parameters under various environmental conditions or across diverse plant functional types.

Governance of preventive Health Intervention and On time Verification of its Efficiency: the GIOVE Study

PubMed Central

Baio, Gianluca; Montagano, Giuseppe; Cauzillo, Gabriella; Locuratolo, Francesco; Becce, Gerardo; Gitto, Lara; Marcellusi, Andrea; Zweifel, Peter; Capone, Alessandro; Favato, Giampiero

2012-01-01

Objectives The GIOVE Study was aimed to the achievement of allocative efficiency of the budget allocated to the prevention of human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced diseases. An ex-ante determination of the most efficient allocation of resources between screening and multicohort quadrivalent immunisation programmes was followed by the ex-post assessment of the allocative efficiency actually achieved after a 12-month period. Design A bound optimisation model was developed to determine the ex-ante allocative efficiency of resources. The alternatives compared were the screening programme alone and the quadrivalent immunisation with access to screening. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to assess the uncertainty associated with the main inputs of the model. Subsequently, a cohort of girls with a complete recorded vaccination history were enrolled in an observational retrospective study for 18 months to ensure full compliance with the recommended schedule of vaccination (0, 2, 6 months) within a 12-month time horizon. Setting Basilicata region, in the south of Italy. Participants 12 848 girls aged 12, 15, 18 or 25 years. Intervention Immunisation with quadrivalent anti-HPV vaccine. Outcome measures The vaccination coverage rate was considered to be the indicator of the best achievable benefit, given the budgetary constraints. Results Assuming a vaccine price of €100 per dose, a vaccination coverage rate of 59.6% was required for the most effective allocation of resources. The optimal rate of coverage was initially in favour of the multicohort strategy of vaccination against HPV (72.8%±2%). When the price paid for the quadrivalent vaccine dropped to €85 per dose, the most efficient coverage rate (69.5%) shifted closer to the immunisation rate actually achieved during the 12-month observation period. Conclusions The bound optimisation model demonstrated to be a useful approach to the ex-ante allocation and the ex-post assessment of the resources allocated to the implementation of a multicohort quadrivalent anti-HPV vaccination programme. PMID:22422918

The Rational Approach to Budget Cuts: One University's Experience. ASHE 1987 Annual Meeting Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardy, Cynthia

The experiences of the University of Montreal in using a rational-analytic framework to allocate resources at a time of budget costs are discussed. The following characteristics for rational decision-making are identified and applied to the University of Montreal: whether goals were known, whether alternative methods of resource allocation were…

Allocation of Public Resources for Psychological Therapy between Types of Mental Health Condition: Towards Structural Balance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tustin, Don

2009-01-01

This paper addresses issues of allocating public resources efficiently between mental health conditions that are associated with different levels of disability, and presents an adaptation of an established framework to help decision-making in this area. The adapted framework refers to psychological interventions that are universal, indicated,…

Investigation of Education Databases in Four States To Support Policy Research on Resource Allocation. Policy Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pan, Diane; Smith-Hansen, Lotte; Jones, Debra Hughes; Rudo, Zena H.; Alexander, Celeste; Kahlert, Rahel Kahlert, Rahel

2004-01-01

Information is one of the most important tools education decision makers need to help them effectively spend taxpayer money, allocate qualified staff, and determine the effectiveness of education investments. Decision makers must understand the role and influence of monetary and staff resources on the education system, and they must have…

RANGE RAM: a long-term planning method for managing grazing lands

Treesearch

Henricus C. Jansen

1976-01-01

Range RAM (Resource Allocation Method) is a computerized planning method designed to assist range managers in developing and selecting alternatives in spatial and temporal allocation of resources. The technique is applicable at the frest or district management levels, or their equivalents. Range RAM can help formulate plans that maximize the production of range outputs...

Determining Optimal Allocation of Naval Obstetric Resources with Linear Programming

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA MBA PROFESSIONAL REPORT DETERMINING OPTIMAL ALLOCATION OF NAVAL OBSTETRIC RESOURCES...Davis Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved...OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for

18 CFR 366.5 - Allocation of costs for non-power goods and services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Allocation of costs for non-power goods and services. 366.5 Section 366.5 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL... ACT OF 2005, FEDERAL POWER ACT AND NATURAL GAS ACT BOOKS AND RECORDS Definitions and Provisions Under...

18 CFR 366.5 - Allocation of costs for non-power goods and services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Allocation of costs for non-power goods and services. 366.5 Section 366.5 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL... ACT OF 2005, FEDERAL POWER ACT AND NATURAL GAS ACT BOOKS AND RECORDS Definitions and Provisions Under...

77 FR 5833 - Notice of Availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Allocation of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-06

... of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Allocation of Oil Shale and Tar Sands... of Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources on Lands Administered by the BLM in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming... preferred method of commenting. Mail: Addressed to: Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources Draft Programmatic EIS...

Allocation model for firefighting resources ... a progress report

Treesearch

Frederick W. Bratten

1970-01-01

A study is underway at the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station to develop computer techniques for planning suppression efforts in large wildfires. A mathematical model for allocation of firefighting resources in a going fire has been developed. Explicit definitions are given for strategic and tactical planning functions. How the model might be used is...

Analog Processor To Solve Optimization Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duong, Tuan A.; Eberhardt, Silvio P.; Thakoor, Anil P.

1993-01-01

Proposed analog processor solves "traveling-salesman" problem, considered paradigm of global-optimization problems involving routing or allocation of resources. Includes electronic neural network and auxiliary circuitry based partly on concepts described in "Neural-Network Processor Would Allocate Resources" (NPO-17781) and "Neural Network Solves 'Traveling-Salesman' Problem" (NPO-17807). Processor based on highly parallel computing solves problem in significantly less time.

The evolution of PBMA: towards a macro-level priority setting framework for health regions.

PubMed

Mitton, Craig R; Donaldson, Cam; Waldner, Howard; Eagle, Chris

2003-11-01

To date, relatively little work on priority setting has been carried out at a macro-level across major portfolios within integrated health care organizations. This paper describes a macro marginal analysis (MMA) process for setting priorities and allocating resources in health authorities, based on work carried out in a major urban health region in Alberta, Canada. MMA centers around an expert working group of managers and clinicians who are charged with identifying areas for resource re-allocation on an ongoing basis. Trade-offs between services are based on locally defined criteria and are informed by multiple inputs such as evidence from the literature and local expert opinion. The approach is put forth as a significant improvement on historical resource allocation patterns.

Values, participatory democracy, and healthcare resource allocation: an application to a campus community.

PubMed

Bentley, J P; Larson, L N; Brenton, M A

1995-03-01

As healthcare reform is debated, it is important that decision makers consider the values of all citizens, that is, what people find desirable or useful about healthcare services. Several states have used town meetings in an effort to determine their citizens' views on the values in the realm of healthcare. In this article, the authors describe a process in which individuals actively participate in an open discussion about issues surrounding allocation of healthcare resources in a university setting. Three different groups from the university community participated in separate, structured meetings to discuss their values concerning the allocation of scarce healthcare resources. Such meetings give participants opportunities to learn about their values and those of other persons in the community.

Optima Nutrition: an allocative efficiency tool to reduce childhood stunting by better targeting of nutrition-related interventions.

PubMed

Pearson, Ruth; Killedar, Madhura; Petravic, Janka; Kakietek, Jakub J; Scott, Nick; Grantham, Kelsey L; Stuart, Robyn M; Kedziora, David J; Kerr, Cliff C; Skordis-Worrall, Jolene; Shekar, Meera; Wilson, David P

2018-03-20

Child stunting due to chronic malnutrition is a major problem in low- and middle-income countries due, in part, to inadequate nutrition-related practices and insufficient access to services. Limited budgets for nutritional interventions mean that available resources must be targeted in the most cost-effective manner to have the greatest impact. Quantitative tools can help guide budget allocation decisions. The Optima approach is an established framework to conduct resource allocation optimization analyses. We applied this approach to develop a new tool, 'Optima Nutrition', for conducting allocative efficiency analyses that address childhood stunting. At the core of the Optima approach is an epidemiological model for assessing the burden of disease; we use an adapted version of the Lives Saved Tool (LiST). Six nutritional interventions have been included in the first release of the tool: antenatal micronutrient supplementation, balanced energy-protein supplementation, exclusive breastfeeding promotion, promotion of improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, public provision of complementary foods, and vitamin A supplementation. To demonstrate the use of this tool, we applied it to evaluate the optimal allocation of resources in 7 districts in Bangladesh, using both publicly available data (such as through DHS) and data from a complementary costing study. Optima Nutrition can be used to estimate how to target resources to improve nutrition outcomes. Specifically, for the Bangladesh example, despite only limited nutrition-related funding available (an estimated $0.75 per person in need per year), even without any extra resources, better targeting of investments in nutrition programming could increase the cumulative number of children living without stunting by 1.3 million (an extra 5%) by 2030 compared to the current resource allocation. To minimize stunting, priority interventions should include promotion of improved IYCF practices as well as vitamin A supplementation. Once these programs are adequately funded, the public provision of complementary foods should be funded as the next priority. Programmatic efforts should give greatest emphasis to the regions of Dhaka and Chittagong, which have the greatest number of stunted children. A resource optimization tool can provide important guidance for targeting nutrition investments to achieve greater impact.

Local public health resource allocation: limited choices and strategic decisions.

PubMed

Bekemeier, Betty; Chen, Anthony L-T; Kawakyu, Nami; Yang, Youngran

2013-12-01

Local health department leaders are expected to improve the health of their populations as they "use and contribute to" the evidence base for practice, but effectively providing and utilizing data and evidence for local public health decision making has proven difficult. This study was conducted in 2011 and initiated by Washington State's public health practice-based research network to identify factors influencing local resource allocation and programmatic decisions among public health leaders facing severe funding losses. Quantitative data informed sampling for the collection of interview data. Qualitative methods were used to capture diverse insights of Washington State's local public health leaders in making decisions regarding resource allocation. Local decision-making authority was perceived as greatly restricted by what public health activities were legally mandated and the categoric nature of funding sources, even as some leaders exercised deliberate strategic approaches. One's workforce and board of health were also influential in making decisions regarding resource allocations. Challenges were expressed regarding making use of data and research evidence for decision making. Data were analyzed in 2011-2012. Programmatic mandates, funding restrictions, local stakeholders, and workforce capacity appear to trump factors such as research evidence and perceived community need in public health resource allocation. Study findings highlight tensions between the literature descriptions of what "should" influence decision making in local public health and the realities of practice. Advancements in practice-based research and evidence-based decision making, however, provide opportunities for strengthening the development of evidence and research translation for local decision making to maximize resources and promote effective service provision. © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine Published by American Journal of Preventive Medicine All rights reserved.

Size-dependent sex allocation in Aconitum gymnandrum (Ranunculaceae): physiological basis and effects of maternal family and environment.

PubMed

Zhao, Z-G; Meng, J-L; Fan, B-L; Du, G-Z

2008-11-01

Theory predicts size-dependent sex allocation (SDS): flowers on plants with a high-resource status should have larger investment in females than plants with a low-resource status. Through a pot experiment with Aconitum gymnandrum (Ranunculaceae) in the field, we examined the relationship between sex allocation of individual flowers and plant size for different maternal families under different environmental conditions. We also determined the physiological base of variations in plant size. Our results support the prediction of SDS, and show that female-biased allocation with plant size is consistent under different environmental conditions. Negative correlations within families showed a plastic response of sex allocation to plant size. Negative genetic correlations between sex allocation and plant size at the family level indicate a genetic cause of the SDS pattern, although genetic correlation was influenced by environmental factors. Hence, the size-dependency of sex allocation in this species had both plastic and genetic causes. Furthermore, genotypes that grew large also had higher assimilation ability, thus showing a physiological basis for SDS.

Grid accounting service: state and future development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levshina, T.; Sehgal, C.; Bockelman, B.; Weitzel, D.; Guru, A.

2014-06-01

During the last decade, large-scale federated distributed infrastructures have been continually developed and expanded. One of the crucial components of a cyber-infrastructure is an accounting service that collects data related to resource utilization and identity of users using resources. The accounting service is important for verifying pledged resource allocation per particular groups and users, providing reports for funding agencies and resource providers, and understanding hardware provisioning requirements. It can also be used for end-to-end troubleshooting as well as billing purposes. In this work we describe Gratia, a federated accounting service jointly developed at Fermilab and Holland Computing Center at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Open Science Grid, Fermilab, HCC, and several other institutions have used Gratia in production for several years. The current development activities include expanding Virtual Machines provisioning information, XSEDE allocation usage accounting, and Campus Grids resource utilization. We also identify the direction of future work: improvement and expansion of Cloud accounting, persistent and elastic storage space allocation, and the incorporation of WAN and LAN network metrics.

Sort-Mid tasks scheduling algorithm in grid computing.

PubMed

Reda, Naglaa M; Tawfik, A; Marzok, Mohamed A; Khamis, Soheir M

2015-11-01

Scheduling tasks on heterogeneous resources distributed over a grid computing system is an NP-complete problem. The main aim for several researchers is to develop variant scheduling algorithms for achieving optimality, and they have shown a good performance for tasks scheduling regarding resources selection. However, using of the full power of resources is still a challenge. In this paper, a new heuristic algorithm called Sort-Mid is proposed. It aims to maximizing the utilization and minimizing the makespan. The new strategy of Sort-Mid algorithm is to find appropriate resources. The base step is to get the average value via sorting list of completion time of each task. Then, the maximum average is obtained. Finally, the task has the maximum average is allocated to the machine that has the minimum completion time. The allocated task is deleted and then, these steps are repeated until all tasks are allocated. Experimental tests show that the proposed algorithm outperforms almost other algorithms in terms of resources utilization and makespan.

Sort-Mid tasks scheduling algorithm in grid computing

PubMed Central

Reda, Naglaa M.; Tawfik, A.; Marzok, Mohamed A.; Khamis, Soheir M.

2014-01-01

Scheduling tasks on heterogeneous resources distributed over a grid computing system is an NP-complete problem. The main aim for several researchers is to develop variant scheduling algorithms for achieving optimality, and they have shown a good performance for tasks scheduling regarding resources selection. However, using of the full power of resources is still a challenge. In this paper, a new heuristic algorithm called Sort-Mid is proposed. It aims to maximizing the utilization and minimizing the makespan. The new strategy of Sort-Mid algorithm is to find appropriate resources. The base step is to get the average value via sorting list of completion time of each task. Then, the maximum average is obtained. Finally, the task has the maximum average is allocated to the machine that has the minimum completion time. The allocated task is deleted and then, these steps are repeated until all tasks are allocated. Experimental tests show that the proposed algorithm outperforms almost other algorithms in terms of resources utilization and makespan. PMID:26644937

The soft constraints hypothesis: a rational analysis approach to resource allocation for interactive behavior.

PubMed

Gray, Wayne D; Sims, Chris R; Fu, Wai-Tat; Schoelles, Michael J

2006-07-01

Soft constraints hypothesis (SCH) is a rational analysis approach that holds that the mixture of perceptual-motor and cognitive resources allocated for interactive behavior is adjusted based on temporal cost-benefit tradeoffs. Alternative approaches maintain that cognitive resources are in some sense protected or conserved in that greater amounts of perceptual-motor effort will be expended to conserve lesser amounts of cognitive effort. One alternative, the minimum memory hypothesis (MMH), holds that people favor strategies that minimize the use of memory. SCH is compared with MMH across 3 experiments and with predictions of an Ideal Performer Model that uses ACT-R's memory system in a reinforcement learning approach that maximizes expected utility by minimizing time. Model and data support the SCH view of resource allocation; at the under 1000-ms level of analysis, mixtures of cognitive and perceptual-motor resources are adjusted based on their cost-benefit tradeoffs for interactive behavior. ((c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

Hospital competition, resource allocation and quality of care

PubMed Central

Mukamel, Dana B; Zwanziger, Jack; Bamezai, Anil

2002-01-01

Background A variety of approaches have been used to contain escalating hospital costs. One approach is intensifying price competition. The increase in price based competition, which changes the incentives hospitals face, coupled with the fact that consumers can more easily evaluate the quality of hotel services compared with the quality of clinical care, may lead hospitals to allocate more resources into hotel rather than clinical services. Methods To test this hypothesis we studied hospitals in California in 1982 and 1989, comparing resource allocations prior to and following selective contracting, a period during which the focus of competition changed from quality to price. We estimated the relationship between clinical outcomes, measured as risk-adjusted-mortality rates, and resources. Results In 1989, higher competition was associated with lower clinical expenditures levels compared with 1982. The trend was stronger for non-profit hospitals. Lower clinical resource use was associated with worse risk adjusted mortality outcomes. Conclusions This study raises concerns that cost reductions may be associated with increased mortality. PMID:12052258

Cellular trade-offs and optimal resource allocation during cyanobacterial diurnal growth

PubMed Central

Knoop, Henning; Bockmayr, Alexander; Steuer, Ralf

2017-01-01

Cyanobacteria are an integral part of Earth’s biogeochemical cycles and a promising resource for the synthesis of renewable bioproducts from atmospheric CO2. Growth and metabolism of cyanobacteria are inherently tied to the diurnal rhythm of light availability. As yet, however, insight into the stoichiometric and energetic constraints of cyanobacterial diurnal growth is limited. Here, we develop a computational framework to investigate the optimal allocation of cellular resources during diurnal phototrophic growth using a genome-scale metabolic reconstruction of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942. We formulate phototrophic growth as an autocatalytic process and solve the resulting time-dependent resource allocation problem using constraint-based analysis. Based on a narrow and well-defined set of parameters, our approach results in an ab initio prediction of growth properties over a full diurnal cycle. The computational model allows us to study the optimality of metabolite partitioning during diurnal growth. The cyclic pattern of glycogen accumulation, an emergent property of the model, has timing characteristics that are in qualitative agreement with experimental findings. The approach presented here provides insight into the time-dependent resource allocation problem of phototrophic diurnal growth and may serve as a general framework to assess the optimality of metabolic strategies that evolved in phototrophic organisms under diurnal conditions. PMID:28720699

The Role of Resource Density on Energy Allocation in the Neotropical Termite Nasutitermes aff. coxipoensis (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae).

PubMed

Cristaldo, P F; Almeida, C S; Cruz, N G; Ribeiro, E J M; Rocha, M L C; Santos, A A; Santana, A S; Araújo, A P A

2018-06-01

Organisms acquire energy from environment and must allocate it among different life traits (growth, maintenance and reproduction). Social insects must manage the energy allocation to various levels such as colony growth and caste functions. Here, we addressed the question of whether resource density affects the energy allocation to the number of individuals and caste functions as well as nest's growth rate in the Neotropical termite Nasutitermes aff. coxipoensis (Homgren) (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae). In a manipulative field experiment, colonies of N. aff. coxipoensis, with known volume, were maintained in plots with three different resource's density (0.32, 0.64 and 1.92 baits/m 2 ) over 3 months. After this period, the number of individuals as well as the caste identity and nest volume were measured. Surprisingly, our results showed that colonies reared in the extremes of resource's density (0.32 and 1.92 baits/m 2 ) produced a higher number of individuals compared with colonies reared with intermediate resource density (0. 64 baits/m 2 ). The mean number of workers increased linearly with resource density; however, the average number of immature was higher in colonies reared with 0.32 baits/m 2 compared with colonies reared with 0.64 and 1.92 baits/m 2 . No significant differences of resource density were observed in the mean number of soldiers, worker/soldier ratio as well as in the nest's growth rate. In conclusion, the resource's density seems to play an important role in determining the investment of energy in the number of individuals and caste in N. aff. coxipoensis colonies.

The Effect of Trimethoprim on Serum Folate Levels in Humans: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Meidahl Petersen, Kasper; Eplov, Kasper; Kjær Nielsen, Torben; Jimenez-Solem, Espen; Petersen, Morten; Broedbaek, Kasper; Daugaard Popik, Sara; Kallehave Hansen, Lina; Enghusen Poulsen, Henrik; Trærup Andersen, Jon

2016-01-01

Trimethoprim antagonize the actions of folate by inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase. This could diminish serum folate levels in humans and causes folate deficiency in some patients. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, to investigate the effect of trimethoprim on serum folate levels in healthy participants after a 7-day trial period. Thirty young, healthy males were randomly allocated to receive trimethoprim, 200 mg twice daily, and 30 were randomly allocated to placebo. Before trial initiation, participant numbers were given randomly generated treatment allocations within sealed opaque envelopes. Participants and all staff were kept blinded to treatment allocations during the trial. Serum folate was measured at baseline and at end of trial. In the 58 participants analyzed (30 in the trimethoprim group and 28 in the placebo group), 8 had folate deficiency at baseline. Within the trimethoprim group, serum folate was significantly decreased (P = 0.018) after the trial. We found a mean decrease in serum folate among trimethoprim exposed of 1.95 nmol/L, compared with a 0.21 nmol/L mean increase in the placebo group (P = 0.040). The proportion of folate-deficient participants increased significantly within the trimethoprim group (P = 0.034). No serious adverse events were observed. In conclusion, we found that a daily dose of 400 mg trimethoprim for 7 days significantly lowered serum folate levels in healthy study participants.

Is subjective well-being a useful parameter for allocating resources among public interventions?

PubMed

Gandjour, A

2001-01-01

Scarce public resources require trade-offs between competing programs in different sectors, and the careful allocation of fixed resources within a single sector. This paper argues that a general quality of life instrument encompassing health-related and non-health-related components is suitable for determining the best trade-offs between sectors. Further, this paper suggests that subjective well-being shows the properties crucial to a general quality of life measure and has additional advantages that makes it particularly useful for the allocation of public and health care resources. The paper argues that Western societies are in an unusually prosperous situation today which allows to concentrate efforts not only on reducing harm but also on improving positive states of health. Further, subjective well-being can be evaluated from the patient's perspective and incorporates a valuation of life expectancy. Criteria required for an appropriate questionnaire that measures subjective well-being are presented.

Subregional resource allocations in the National Health Service.

PubMed Central

Snaith, A H

1978-01-01

The Resource Allocation Working Party in its report Sharing Resources for Health in England proposes a formula for the identification of both regional and district financial targets (Department of Health and Social Security, 1976). In this paper it is argued that the national formula is not a valid instrument for the latter purpose. Furthermore, research into medical needs and outcomes will not be adequate to bring about real changes in resource distribution at local levels unless it is recognised that the health authorities can meet needs in different ways and that a change in resource management from institutional to service budgeting is required. PMID:262582

A market-based optimization approach to sensor and resource management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schrage, Dan; Farnham, Christopher; Gonsalves, Paul G.

2006-05-01

Dynamic resource allocation for sensor management is a problem that demands solutions beyond traditional approaches to optimization. Market-based optimization applies solutions from economic theory, particularly game theory, to the resource allocation problem by creating an artificial market for sensor information and computational resources. Intelligent agents are the buyers and sellers in this market, and they represent all the elements of the sensor network, from sensors to sensor platforms to computational resources. These agents interact based on a negotiation mechanism that determines their bidding strategies. This negotiation mechanism and the agents' bidding strategies are based on game theory, and they are designed so that the aggregate result of the multi-agent negotiation process is a market in competitive equilibrium, which guarantees an optimal allocation of resources throughout the sensor network. This paper makes two contributions to the field of market-based optimization: First, we develop a market protocol to handle heterogeneous goods in a dynamic setting. Second, we develop arbitrage agents to improve the efficiency in the market in light of its dynamic nature.

Non-egalitarian allocations among preschool peers in a face-to-face bargaining task.

PubMed

Melis, Alicia P; Floedl, Anja; Tomasello, Michael

2015-01-01

In face-to-face bargaining tasks human adults almost always agree on an equal split of resources. This is due to mutually recognized fairness and equality norms. Early developmental studies on sharing and equality norms found that egalitarian allocations of resources are not common before children are 5 or 6 years old. However, recent studies have shown that in some face-to face collaborative situations, or when recipients express their desires, children at much younger ages choose equal allocations. We investigated the ability of 3.5 and 5-year-olds to negotiate face-to-face, whether to collaborate to obtain an equal or an unequal distribution of rewards. We hypothesized that the face-to-face interaction and interdependency between partners would facilitate egalitarian outcomes at both ages. In the first experiment we found that 5-year-olds were more egalitarian than 3.5-year-olds, but neither of the age classes shared equally. In the second experiment, in which we increased the magnitude of the inequality, we found that children at both ages mostly agreed on the unequal distribution. These results show that communication and face-to-face interactions are not sufficient to guarantee equal allocations at 3-5 years of age. These results add to previous findings suggesting that in the context of non-collaboratively produced resources it is only after 5 years of age that children use equality norms to allocate resources.

Community resource centres to improve the health of women and children in Mumbai slums: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Shah More, Neena; Das, Sushmita; Bapat, Ujwala; Rajguru, Mahesh; Alcock, Glyn; Joshi, Wasundhara; Pantvaidya, Shanti; Osrin, David

2013-05-08

The trial addresses the general question of whether community resource centers run by a non-government organization improve the health of women and children in slums. The resource centers will be run by the Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action, and the trial will evaluate their effects on a series of public health indicators. Each resource center will be located in a vulnerable Mumbai slum area and will serve as a base for salaried community workers, supervised by officers and coordinators, to organize the collection and dissemination of health information, provision of services, home visits to identify and counsel families at risk, referral of individuals and families to appropriate services and support for their access, meetings of community members and providers, and events and campaigns on health issues. A cluster randomized controlled trial in which 20 urban slum areas with resource centers are compared with 20 control areas. Each cluster will contain approximately 600 households and randomized allocation will be in three blocked phases, of 12, 12 and 16 clusters. Any resident of an intervention cluster will be able to participate in the intervention, but the resource centers will target women and children, particularly women of reproductive age and children under 5.The outcomes will be assessed through a household census after 2 years of resource center operations. The primary outcomes are unmet need for family planning in women aged 15 to 49 years, proportion of children under 5 years of age not fully immunized for their ages, and proportion of children under 5 years of age with weight for height less than 2 standard deviations below the median for age and sex. Secondary outcomes describe adolescent pregnancies, home deliveries, receipt of conditional cash transfers for institutional delivery, other childhood anthropometric indices, use of public sector health and nutrition services, indices of infant and young child feeding, and consultation for violence against women and children. ISRCTN Register: ISRCTN56183183Clinical Trials Registry of India: CTRI/2012/09/003004.

How to Fairly Allocate Scarce Medical Resources: Ethical Argumentation under Scrutiny by Health Professionals and Lay People.

PubMed

Krütli, Pius; Rosemann, Thomas; Törnblom, Kjell Y; Smieszek, Timo

2016-01-01

Societies are facing medical resource scarcities, inter alia due to increased life expectancy and limited health budgets and also due to temporal or continuous physical shortages of resources like donor organs. This makes it challenging to meet the medical needs of all. Ethicists provide normative guidance for how to fairly allocate scarce medical resources, but legitimate decisions require additionally information regarding what the general public considers to be fair. The purpose of this study was to explore how lay people, general practitioners, medical students and other health professionals evaluate the fairness of ten allocation principles for scarce medical resources: 'sickest first', 'waiting list', 'prognosis', 'behaviour' (i.e., those who engage in risky behaviour should not be prioritized), 'instrumental value' (e.g., health care workers should be favoured during epidemics), 'combination of criteria' (i.e., a sequence of the 'youngest first', 'prognosis', and 'lottery' principles), 'reciprocity' (i.e., those who provided services to the society in the past should be rewarded), 'youngest first', 'lottery', and 'monetary contribution'. 1,267 respondents to an online questionnaire were confronted with hypothetical situations of scarcity regarding (i) donor organs, (ii) hospital beds during an epidemic, and (iii) joint replacements. Nine allocation principles were evaluated in terms of fairness for each type of scarcity along 7-point Likert scales. The relationship between demographic factors (gender, age, religiosity, political orientation, and health status) and fairness evaluations was modelled with logistic regression. Medical background was a major predictor of fairness evaluations. While general practitioners showed different response patterns for all three allocation situations, the responses by lay people were very similar. Lay people rated 'sickest first' and 'waiting list' on top of all allocation principles-e.g., for donor organs 83.8% (95% CI: [81.2%-86.2%]) rated 'sickest first' as fair ('fair' is represented by scale points 5-7), and 69.5% [66.2%-72.4%] rated 'waiting list' as fair. The corresponding results for general practitioners: 'prognosis' 79.7% [74.2%-84.9%], 'combination of criteria' 72.6% [66.4%-78.5%], and 'sickest first' 74.5% [68.6%-80.1%); these were the highest-rated allocation principles for donor organs allocation. Interestingly, only 44.3% [37.7%-50.9%] of the general practitioners rated 'instrumental value' as fair for the allocation of hospital beds during a flu epidemic. The fairness evaluations by general practitioners obtained for joint replacements: 'sickest first' 84.0% [78.8%-88.6%], 'combination of criteria' 65.6% [59.2%-71.8%], and 'prognosis' 63.7% [57.1%-70.0%]. 'Lottery', 'reciprocity', 'instrumental value', and 'monetary contribution' were considered very unfair allocation principles by both groups. Medical students' ratings were similar to those of general practitioners, and the ratings by other health professionals resembled those of lay people. Results are partly at odds with current conclusions proposed by some ethicists. A number of ethicists reject 'sickest first' and 'waiting list' as morally unjustifiable allocation principles, whereas those allocation principles received the highest fairness endorsements by lay people and to some extent also by health professionals. Decision makers are advised to consider whether or not to give ethicists, health professionals, and the general public an equal voice when attempting to arrive at maximally endorsed allocations of scarce medical resources.

RARtool: A MATLAB Software Package for Designing Response-Adaptive Randomized Clinical Trials with Time-to-Event Outcomes.

PubMed

Ryeznik, Yevgen; Sverdlov, Oleksandr; Wong, Weng Kee

2015-08-01

Response-adaptive randomization designs are becoming increasingly popular in clinical trial practice. In this paper, we present RARtool , a user interface software developed in MATLAB for designing response-adaptive randomized comparative clinical trials with censored time-to-event outcomes. The RARtool software can compute different types of optimal treatment allocation designs, and it can simulate response-adaptive randomization procedures targeting selected optimal allocations. Through simulations, an investigator can assess design characteristics under a variety of experimental scenarios and select the best procedure for practical implementation. We illustrate the utility of our RARtool software by redesigning a survival trial from the literature.

Proof of impact and pipeline planning: directions and challenges for social audit in the health sector.

PubMed

Andersson, Neil

2011-12-21

Social audits are typically observational studies, combining qualitative and quantitative uptake of evidence with consultative interpretation of results. This often falters on issues of causality because their cross-sectional design limits interpretation of time relations and separation out of other indirect associations.Social audits drawing on methods of randomised controlled cluster trials (RCCT) allow more certainty about causality. Randomisation means that exposure occurs independently of all events that precede it--it converts potential confounders and other covariates into random differences. In 2008, CIET social audits introduced randomisation of the knowledge translation component with subsequent measurement of impact in the changes introduced. This "proof of impact" generates an additional layer of evidence in a cost-effective way, providing implementation-ready solutions for planners.Pipeline planning is a social audit that incorporates stepped wedge RCCTs. From a listing of districts/communities as a sampling frame, individual entities (communities, towns, districts) are randomly assigned to waves of intervention. Measurement of the impact takes advantage of the delay occasioned by the reality that there are insufficient resources to implement everywhere at the same time. The impact in the first wave contrasts with the second wave, which in turn contrasts with a third wave, and so on until all have received the intervention. Provided care is taken to achieve reasonable balance in the random allocation of communities, towns or districts to the waves, the resulting analysis can be straightforward.Where there is sufficient management interest in and commitment to evidence, pipeline planning can be integrated in the roll-out of programmes where real time information can improve the pipeline. Not all interventions can be randomly allocated, however, and random differences can still distort measurement. Other issues include contamination of the subsequent waves, ambiguity of indicators, "participant effects" that result from lack of blinding and lack of placebos, ethics and, not least important, the skills to do pipeline planning correctly.

Proof of impact and pipeline planning: directions and challenges for social audit in the health sector

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Social audits are typically observational studies, combining qualitative and quantitative uptake of evidence with consultative interpretation of results. This often falters on issues of causality because their cross-sectional design limits interpretation of time relations and separation out of other indirect associations. Social audits drawing on methods of randomised controlled cluster trials (RCCT) allow more certainty about causality. Randomisation means that exposure occurs independently of all events that precede it – it converts potential confounders and other covariates into random differences. In 2008, CIET social audits introduced randomisation of the knowledge translation component with subsequent measurement of impact in the changes introduced. This “proof of impact” generates an additional layer of evidence in a cost-effective way, providing implementation-ready solutions for planners. Pipeline planning is a social audit that incorporates stepped wedge RCCTs. From a listing of districts/communities as a sampling frame, individual entities (communities, towns, districts) are randomly assigned to waves of intervention. Measurement of the impact takes advantage of the delay occasioned by the reality that there are insufficient resources to implement everywhere at the same time. The impact in the first wave contrasts with the second wave, which in turn contrasts with a third wave, and so on until all have received the intervention. Provided care is taken to achieve reasonable balance in the random allocation of communities, towns or districts to the waves, the resulting analysis can be straightforward. Where there is sufficient management interest in and commitment to evidence, pipeline planning can be integrated in the roll-out of programmes where real time information can improve the pipeline. Not all interventions can be randomly allocated, however, and random differences can still distort measurement. Other issues include contamination of the subsequent waves, ambiguity of indicators, “participant effects” that result from lack of blinding and lack of placebos, ethics and, not least important, the skills to do pipeline planning correctly. PMID:22376386

Biomass Resource Allocation among Competing End Uses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Newes, E.; Bush, B.; Inman, D.

The Biomass Scenario Model (BSM) is a system dynamics model developed by the U.S. Department of Energy as a tool to better understand the interaction of complex policies and their potential effects on the biofuels industry in the United States. However, it does not currently have the capability to account for allocation of biomass resources among the various end uses, which limits its utilization in analysis of policies that target biomass uses outside the biofuels industry. This report provides a more holistic understanding of the dynamics surrounding the allocation of biomass among uses that include traditional use, wood pellet exports,more » bio-based products and bioproducts, biopower, and biofuels by (1) highlighting the methods used in existing models' treatments of competition for biomass resources; (2) identifying coverage and gaps in industry data regarding the competing end uses; and (3) exploring options for developing models of biomass allocation that could be integrated with the BSM to actively exchange and incorporate relevant information.« less

Short-term storage allocation in a filmless hospital

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strickland, Nicola H.; Deshaies, Marc J.; Reynolds, R. Anthony; Turner, Jonathan E.; Allison, David J.

1997-05-01

Optimizing limited short term storage (STS) resources requires gradual, systematic changes, monitored and modified within an operational PACS environment. Optimization of the centralized storage requires a balance of exam numbers and types in STS to minimize lengthy retrievals from long term archive. Changes to STS parameters and work procedures were made while monitoring the effects on resource allocation by analyzing disk space temporally. Proportions of disk space allocated to each patient category on STS were measured to approach the desired proportions in a controlled manner. Key factors for STS management were: (1) sophisticated exam prefetching algorithms: HIS/RIS-triggered, body part-related and historically-selected, and (2) a 'storage onion' design allocating various exam categories to layers with differential deletion protection. Hospitals planning for STS space should consider the needs of radiology, wards, outpatient clinics and clinicoradiological conferences for new and historical exams; desired on-line time; and potential increase in image throughput and changing resources, such as an increase in short term storage disk space.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ali, Amjad Majid; Albert, Don; Andersson, Par

SLURM is an open source, fault-tolerant, and highly scalable cluster management and job scheduling system for large and small computer clusters. As a cluster resource manager, SLURM has three key functions. First, it allocates exclusive and/or non-exclusive access to resources (compute nodes) to users for some duration of time so they can perform work. Second, it provides a framework for starting, executing, and monitoring work 9normally a parallel job) on the set of allocated nodes. Finally, it arbitrates conflicting requests for resources by managing a queue of pending work.

Resource physiology of conifers: Acquisition, allocation, and utilization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, W.K.; Hinckley, T.M.

1995-03-01

This book focuses on a synthetic view of the resource physiology of conifer trees with an emphasis on developing a perspective that can integrate across the biological hierarchy. This objective is in concert with more scientific goals of maintaining biological diversity and the sustainability of forest systems. The preservation of coniferous forest ecosystems is a major concern today. This volume deals with the topics of resource acquisition, allocation, and utilization in conifers. Selected papers are indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

Who gets how much: funding formulas in federal public health programs.

PubMed

Buehler, James W; Holtgrave, David R

2007-01-01

Federal public health programs use a mix of formula-based and competitive methods to allocate funds among states and other constituent jurisdictions. Characteristics of formula-based allocations used by a convenience sample of four programs, three from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and one from the Health Resources and Services Administration, are described to illustrate formula-based allocation methods in public health. Data sources in these public health formulas include population counts and funding proportions based on historical precedent. None include factors that adjust allocations based on variations in the availability of local resources or the cost of delivering services. Formula-funded activities are supplemented by programs that target specific prevention needs or encourage development of innovative methods to address emerging problems, using set-aside funds. A public health finance research agenda should address ways to improve the fit between funding allocation formulas and program objectives.

Automation Applications in an Advanced Air Traffic Management System : Volume 3. Methodology for Man-Machine Task Allocation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-08-01

Volume 3 describes the methodology for man-machine task allocation. It contains a description of man and machine performance capabilities and an explanation of the methodology employed to allocate tasks to human or automated resources. It also presen...

Differential resource allocation in deer mice exposed to sin nombre virus.

PubMed

Lehmer, Erin M; Clay, Christine A; Wilson, Eric; St Jeor, Stephen; Dearing, M Denise

2007-01-01

The resource allocation hypothesis predicts that reproductive activity suppresses immunocompetence; however, this has never been tested in an endemic disease system with free-ranging mammals. We tested the resource allocation hypothesis in wild deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) with natural exposure to Sin Nombre Virus (SNV). Immunocompetence was estimated from the extent of swelling elicited after deer mice were injected with phytohemagglutinin (PHA); swelling is positively correlated with immunocompetence. After livetrapping deer mice, we determined their reproductive state and SNV infection status. Males were more likely to be seropositive for SNV than females (37% vs. 25%) and exhibited 10% less swelling after PHA injection. The swelling response of females differed with both infection status and reproductive condition. There was also a significant infection status by reproductive condition interaction: non-reproductive, seropositive females experienced the least amount of swelling, whereas females in all other categories experienced significantly greater swelling. The swelling response of males differed with both SNV infection status and reproductive condition, but there was no significant infection status by reproductive condition interaction. Seronegative males elicited greater swelling than seropositive males regardless of reproductive status. In contrast to the resource allocation hypothesis, these results do not indicate that reproductive activity suppresses immunocompetence of deer mice but rather suggest that chronic SNV infection reduces immunocompetence. Sex-based differences in swelling indicate that SNV modulates the immune system of female deer mice differently than it does that of males, particularly during reproduction. We propose that differences in resource allocation between males and females could result from inherent sex-based differences in parental investment.

Neural circuitry governing anxious individuals' mis-allocation of working memory to threat.

PubMed

Stout, Daniel M; Shackman, Alexander J; Pedersen, Walker S; Miskovich, Tara A; Larson, Christine L

2017-08-18

Dispositional anxiety is a trait-like phenotype that confers increased risk for a range of debilitating neuropsychiatric disorders. Like many patients with anxiety disorders, individuals with elevated levels of dispositional anxiety are prone to intrusive and distressing thoughts in the absence of immediate threat. Recent electrophysiological research suggests that these symptoms are rooted in the mis-allocation of working memory (WM) resources to threat-related information. Here, functional MRI was used to identify the network of brain regions that support WM for faces and to quantify the allocation of neural resources to threat-related distracters in 81 young adults. Results revealed widespread evidence of mis-allocation. This was evident in both face-selective regions of the fusiform cortex and domain-general regions of the prefrontal and parietal cortices. This bias was exaggerated among individuals with a more anxious disposition. Mediation analyses provided compelling evidence that anxious individuals' tendency to mis-allocate WM resources to threat-related distracters is statistically explained by heightened amygdala reactivity. Collectively, these results provide a neurocognitive framework for understanding the pathways linking anxious phenotypes to the development of internalizing psychopathology and set the stage for developing improved intervention strategies.

Three-level global resource allocation model for hiv control: A hierarchical decision system approach.

PubMed

Kassa, Semu Mitiku

2018-02-01

Funds from various global organizations, such as, The Global Fund, The World Bank, etc. are not directly distributed to the targeted risk groups. Especially in the so-called third-world-countries, the major part of the fund in HIV prevention programs comes from these global funding organizations. The allocations of these funds usually pass through several levels of decision making bodies that have their own specific parameters to control and specific objectives to achieve. However, these decisions are made mostly in a heuristic manner and this may lead to a non-optimal allocation of the scarce resources. In this paper, a hierarchical mathematical optimization model is proposed to solve such a problem. Combining existing epidemiological models with the kind of interventions being on practice, a 3-level hierarchical decision making model in optimally allocating such resources has been developed and analyzed. When the impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is included in the model, it has been shown that the objective function of the lower level decision making structure is a non-convex minimization problem in the allocation variables even if all the production functions for the intervention programs are assumed to be linear.

Out of Alignment? Limitations of the Global Burden of Disease in Assessing the Allocation of Global Health Aid

PubMed Central

Voigt, Kristin; King, Nicholas B

2017-01-01

Abstract The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project quantifies the impact of different health conditions by combining information about morbidity and premature mortality within a single metric, the Disability Adjusted Life Year. One important goal for the GBD project has been to inform decisions about global health priorities. A number of recent studies have used GBD data to argue that global health funding fails to align with the GBD. We argue that these studies’ shared assumption that global health resources should ‘align’ with the burden of disease is unfounded and has troubling implications. First, since the allocation of resources involves difficult trade-offs between different, potentially competing goals, any ‘misalignment’ of allocation and disease burdens need not necessarily indicate that the allocation of funds fails to meet recipient countries’ needs or interests. Second, using alignment as a baseline implicitly makes controversial assumptions about how harms of different magnitudes affecting different numbers of individuals should be aggregated. We discuss two alternative ways in which GBD data could help inform decisions about resource allocation, neither of which gives more than a limited role to GBD data. PMID:29731809

Improved Cloud resource allocation: how INDIGO-DataCloud is overcoming the current limitations in Cloud schedulers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez Garcia, Alvaro; Zangrando, Lisa; Sgaravatto, Massimo; Llorens, Vincent; Vallero, Sara; Zaccolo, Valentina; Bagnasco, Stefano; Taneja, Sonia; Dal Pra, Stefano; Salomoni, Davide; Donvito, Giacinto

2017-10-01

Performing efficient resource provisioning is a fundamental aspect for any resource provider. Local Resource Management Systems (LRMS) have been used in data centers for decades in order to obtain the best usage of the resources, providing their fair usage and partitioning for the users. In contrast, current cloud schedulers are normally based on the immediate allocation of resources on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning that a request will fail if there are no resources (e.g. OpenStack) or it will be trivially queued ordered by entry time (e.g. OpenNebula). Moreover, these scheduling strategies are based on a static partitioning of the resources, meaning that existing quotas cannot be exceeded, even if there are idle resources allocated to other projects. This is a consequence of the fact that cloud instances are not associated with a maximum execution time and leads to a situation where the resources are under-utilized. These facts have been identified by the INDIGO-DataCloud project as being too simplistic for accommodating scientific workloads in an efficient way, leading to an underutilization of the resources, a non desirable situation in scientific data centers. In this work, we will present the work done in the scheduling area during the first year of the INDIGO project and the foreseen evolutions.

How a new funding model will shift allocations from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

PubMed

Fan, Victoria Y; Glassman, Amanda; Silverman, Rachel L

2014-12-01

Policy makers deciding how to fund global health programs in low- and middle-income countries face important but difficult questions about how to allocate resources across countries. In this article we present a typology of three allocation methodologies to align allocations with priorities. We then apply our typology to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. We examined the Global Fund's historical HIV allocations and its predicted allocations under a new funding model that creates an explicit allocation methodology. We found that under the new funding model, substantial shifts in the Global Fund's portfolio are likely to result from concentrating resources in countries with more HIV cases and lower per capita incomes. For example, South Africa, which had 15.8 percent of global HIV cases in 2009, could see its Global Fund HIV funding more than triple, from historic levels that averaged 3.0 percent to 9.7 percent of total Global Fund allocations. The new funding model methodology is expected, but not guaranteed, to improve the efficiency of Global Fund allocations in comparison to historical practice. We conclude with recommendations for the Global Fund and other global health donors to further develop their allocation methodologies and processes to improve efficiency and transparency. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Optimal investment in a portfolio of HIV prevention programs.

PubMed

Zaric, G S; Brandeau, M L

2001-01-01

In this article, the authors determine the optimal allocation of HIV prevention funds and investigate the impact of different allocation methods on health outcomes. The authors present a resource allocation model that can be used to determine the allocation of HIV prevention funds that maximizes quality-adjusted life years (or life years) gained or HIV infections averted in a population over a specified time horizon. They apply the model to determine the allocation of a limited budget among 3 types of HIV prevention programs in a population of injection drug users and nonusers: needle exchange programs, methadone maintenance treatment, and condom availability programs. For each prevention program, the authors estimate a production function that relates the amount invested to the associated change in risky behavior. The authors determine the optimal allocation of funds for both objective functions for a high-prevalence population and a low-prevalence population. They also consider the allocation of funds under several common rules of thumb that are used to allocate HIV prevention resources. It is shown that simpler allocation methods (e.g., allocation based on HIV incidence or notions of equity among population groups) may lead to alloctions that do not yield the maximum health benefit. The optimal allocation of HIV prevention funds in a population depends on HIV prevalence and incidence, the objective function, the production functions for the prevention programs, and other factors. Consideration of cost, equity, and social and political norms may be important when allocating HIV prevention funds. The model presented in this article can help decision makers determine the health consequences of different allocations of funds.

Shifts in Aboveground Biomass Allocation Patterns of Dominant Shrub Species across a Strong Environmental Gradient

PubMed Central

Kumordzi, Bright B.; Gundale, Michael J.; Nilsson, Marie-Charlotte; Wardle, David A.

2016-01-01

Most plant biomass allocation studies have focused on allocation to shoots versus roots, and little is known about drivers of allocation for aboveground plant organs. We explored the drivers of within-and between-species variation of aboveground biomass allocation across a strong environmental resource gradient, i.e., a long-term chronosequence of 30 forested islands in northern Sweden across which soil fertility and plant productivity declines while light availability increases. For each of the three coexisting dominant understory dwarf shrub species on each island, we estimated the fraction of the total aboveground biomass produced year of sampling that was allocated to sexual reproduction (i.e., fruits), leaves and stems for each of two growing seasons, to determine how biomass allocation responded to the chronosequence at both the within-species and whole community levels. Against expectations, within-species allocation to fruits was least on less fertile islands, and allocation to leaves at the whole community level was greatest on intermediate islands. Consistent with expectations, different coexisting species showed contrasting allocation patterns, with the species that was best adapted for more fertile conditions allocating the most to vegetative organs, and with its allocation pattern showing the strongest response to the gradient. Our study suggests that co-existing dominant plant species can display highly contrasting biomass allocations to different aboveground organs within and across species in response to limiting environmental resources within the same plant community. Such knowledge is important for understanding how community assembly, trait spectra, and ecological processes driven by the plant community vary across environmental gradients and among contrasting ecosystems. PMID:27270445

Gender Discrimination in the Allocation of Migrant Household Resources.

PubMed

Antman, Francisca M

2015-07-01

This paper considers the relationship between international migration and gender discrimination through the lens of decision-making power over intrahousehold resource allocation. The endogeneity of migration is addressed with a difference-in-differences style identification strategy and a model with household fixed effects. The results suggest that while a migrant household head is away, a greater share of resources is spent on girls relative to boys and his spouse commands greater decision-making power. Once the head returns home, however, a greater share of resources goes to boys and there is suggestive evidence of greater authority for the head of household.

Health care costs attributable to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

PubMed

Sørensen, J

2004-01-01

A 'programme budget' for the resources used in the treatment and care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was developed with a view of helping decision-makers assess the appropriateness of the current use of resources and to discuss future resource allocation. The programme budget was developed using data from several national administrative registers. Patients with RA were identified by hospital diagnostic codes. The incremental cost of treating RA was defined as the difference in resource use for patients with and without RA. Incremental mortality due to RA was defined in similar way. Cost data were estimated for 5-year age groups. Patients with RA used on average 3.2 times as many health care resources as people without RA. The average 1997 incremental costs of primary and hospital care were EUR 253 and EUR 2.660 per patient respectively, corresponding to a national incremental cost of EUR 30 million (2000 price level). RA resulted in an annual loss of 1,549 life years. The programme budget approach is a useful tool in resource allocation decision-making, but discussions of alternative resource allocations must be based on robust studies of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in the treatment of patients with RA.

A Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation Approach to Improving Resource Allocations for School Systems. Administering for Change Program. A Professional Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Temkin, Sanford

This dissertation begins with a description of some methods employed in making public-sector resource-allocation decisions, with conclusions on the appropriateness of each method for evaluating the ongoing programs of a school system. The second section has been rewritten and published as "A Comprehensive Theory of Cost-Effectiveness" (EA 002…

Evaluating the Supports Intensity Scale as a Potential Assessment Instrument for Resource Allocation for Persons with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chou, Yueh-Ching; Lee, Yue-Chune; Chang, Shu-chuan; Yu, Amy Pei-Lung

2013-01-01

This study evaluated the potential of using the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) for resource allocation for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Taiwan. SIS scores were compared with those obtained from three tools that are currently used in Taiwan for homecare services: the medical diagnosis issued by local authorities and two scales…

Going International: What We Can Learn about International Strategy, Market Entry, and Resource Allocation from the Game of Go

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Andrew; Chatterjee, Sangit

2006-01-01

We identify three aspects of management particularly crucial in the environment of globalization: the formulation of international strategy; entry into foreign markets; and resource allocation. We advocate the board game Go as an aid to learning management amidst globalization. Our advocacy is based on drawing links between Go and each of the…

The Incentive Grant Approach in Higher Education: A 15 Year Record. Institute for Educational Leadership Reports: Nine.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finkelstein, Martin

The incentive grant approach in higher Education is a resource allocation strategy that may have significant positive impact on educational performance. This document covers: (1) the incentive grant approach to resource allocation; (2) the evolution during the past 15 years of types of incentive grant programs and the contrasting roles played by…

Instructional Investment or Administrative Bloat: The Effects of Charter System Conversion on Resource Allocations and Staffing Patterns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kramer, Dennis A., II; Lane, Megan; Tanner, Melvin

2017-01-01

Despite the growing call for local autonomy and flexibility, few scholars have examined the role of school district-level flexibility on resource allocation and staffing patterns. Leveraging the charter system law within the State of Georgia, we utilize a generalized difference-in-differences approach to estimate the impact of flexibility of…

Resource Allocation Practices in Three Charter Middle Schools in Relation to Student Achievement Improvement Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campo-Contreras, Susana

2013-01-01

The purpose of the study was to develop a better understanding of the allocation of resources used to improve student learning outcomes in three middle schools within a Charter Management Organization (CMO). The three middle schools that participated in the study have similar demographics and serve students in low socio-economic areas of Los…

Nonprofit Decision Making and Resource Allocation: The Importance of Membership Preferences, Community Needs, and Interorganizational Ties.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markham, William T.; Johnson, Margaret A.; Bonjean, Charles M.

1999-01-01

Results of a study of community service organizations (n=12) and their communities indicate that distribution of volunteer funds and time was unrelated to community needs as measured by objective indicators. The most important determinants of resource allocation are members' perceptions of the severity of problems and their willingness to work in…

Pressure Point On Campus: Academic Program Planning and Resource Allocation in Conflict with the Bargaining Table.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kieft, Raymond

Considered are the nature and extent of some of the basic conflicts that arise when two, future-oriented, decision-making processes--institutional program planning/resource allocation and collective bargaining--are both present on the same campus. The identified conflicts come from the experiences of a university that was one of the first in the…

Linking Resource Allocation to Student Achievement: A Study of Title 1 and Title 1 Stimulus Utilization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krumpe, Kati P.

2012-01-01

With the emphasis on high standards and fiscal accountability, there is a heightened need to inform the research linking student achievement to the allocation of resources. This mixed methods inquiry sought to study how schools utilized Title 1 and Title 1 stimulus funding from 2009-2011 to determine if correlations existed between areas of…

Revenue Generation and Resource Allocation and Deployment Practices in Smaller Learning Communities: Lessons Learned from Three High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Springer, Matthew G.; Houck, Eric A.; Ceperley, Patricia E.; Hange, Jane

2007-01-01

The primary objective of this study was to examine revenue generation and resource allocation and deployment practices associated with the implementation of three smaller learning communities (SLC) project high schools in a single school district. The study used a variation of Levin and McEwan's (2001) ingredients approach. District- and…

Accounting for reasonableness: Exploring the personal internal framework affecting decisions about cancer drug funding.

PubMed

Sinclair, Shane; Hagen, Neil A; Chambers, Carole; Manns, Braden; Simon, Anita; Browman, George P

2008-05-01

Drug decision-makers are involved in developing and implementing policy, procedure and processes to support health resource allocation regarding drug treatment formularies. A variety of approaches to decision-making, including formal decision-making frameworks, have been developed to support transparent and fair priority setting. Recently, a decision tool, 'The 6-STEPPPs Tool', was developed to assist in making decisions about new cancer drugs within the public health care system. We conducted a qualitative study, utilizing focus groups and participant observation, in order to investigate the internal frameworks that supported and challenged individual participants as they applied this decision tool within a multi-stakeholder decision process. We discovered that health care resource allocation engaged not only the minds of decision-makers but profoundly called on the often conflicting values of the heart. Objective decision-making frameworks for new drug therapies need to consider the subjective internal frameworks of decision-makers that affect decisions. Understanding the very human, internal turmoil experienced by individuals involved in health care resource allocation, sheds additional insight into how to account for reasonableness and how to better support difficult decisions through transparent, values-based resource allocation policy, procedures and processes.

Nash Social Welfare in Multiagent Resource Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramezani, Sara; Endriss, Ulle

We study different aspects of the multiagent resource allocation problem when the objective is to find an allocation that maximizes Nash social welfare, the product of the utilities of the individual agents. The Nash solution is an important welfare criterion that combines efficiency and fairness considerations. We show that the problem of finding an optimal outcome is NP-hard for a number of different languages for representing agent preferences; we establish new results regarding convergence to Nash-optimal outcomes in a distributed negotiation framework; and we design and test algorithms similar to those applied in combinatorial auctions for computing such an outcome directly.

Bringing the Budget Back into Academic Work Allocation Models: A Management Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Michael; Germov, John

2015-01-01

Issues surrounding increasingly constrained resources and reducing levels of sector-based funding require consideration of a different Academic Work Allocation Model (AWAM) approach. Evidence from the literature indicates that an effective work allocation model is founded on the principles of equity and transparency in the distribution and…

76 FR 64085 - Post-2014 Resource Pool-Loveland Area Projects, Final Power Allocation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-17

... power allocation. SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal power marketing..., Final Power Allocation developed under the requirements of subpart C-Power Marketing Initiative of the Energy Planning and Management Program (Program) Final Rule, 10 CFR part 905. These final power...

18 CFR 367.17 - Comprehensive inter-period income tax allocation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Comprehensive inter... NATURAL GAS ACT General Instructions § 367.17 Comprehensive inter-period income tax allocation. (a) Where... tax method. In general, comprehensive inter-period tax allocation should be followed whenever...

Assessment of Registration Information on Methodological Design of Acupuncture RCTs: A Review of 453 Registration Records Retrieved from WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform

PubMed Central

Gu, Jing; Wang, Qi; Wang, Xiaogang; Li, Hailong; Gu, Mei; Ming, Haixia; Dong, Xiaoli; Yang, Kehu; Wu, Hongyan

2014-01-01

Background. This review provides the first methodological information assessment of protocol of acupuncture RCTs registered in WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). Methods. All records of acupuncture RCTs registered in the ICTRP have been collected. The methodological design assessment involved whether the randomization methods, allocation concealment, and blinding were adequate or not based on the information of registration records (protocols of acupuncture RCTs). Results. A total of 453 records, found in 11 registries, were examined. Methodological details were insufficient in registration records; there were 76.4%, 89.0%, and 21.4% records that did not provide information on randomization methods, allocation concealment, and blinding respectively. The proportions of adequate randomization methods, allocation concealment, and blinding were only 107 (23.6%), 48 (10.6%), and 210 (46.4%), respectively. The methodological design improved year by year, especially after 2007. Additionally, methodology of RCTs with ethics approval was clearly superior to those without ethics approval and different among registries. Conclusions. The overall methodological design based on registration records of acupuncture RCTs is not very well but improved year by year. The insufficient information on randomization methods, allocation concealment, and blinding maybe due to the relevant description is not taken seriously in acupuncture RCTs' registration. PMID:24688591

Assessment of Registration Information on Methodological Design of Acupuncture RCTs: A Review of 453 Registration Records Retrieved from WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.

PubMed

Gu, Jing; Wang, Qi; Wang, Xiaogang; Li, Hailong; Gu, Mei; Ming, Haixia; Dong, Xiaoli; Yang, Kehu; Wu, Hongyan

2014-01-01

Background. This review provides the first methodological information assessment of protocol of acupuncture RCTs registered in WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). Methods. All records of acupuncture RCTs registered in the ICTRP have been collected. The methodological design assessment involved whether the randomization methods, allocation concealment, and blinding were adequate or not based on the information of registration records (protocols of acupuncture RCTs). Results. A total of 453 records, found in 11 registries, were examined. Methodological details were insufficient in registration records; there were 76.4%, 89.0%, and 21.4% records that did not provide information on randomization methods, allocation concealment, and blinding respectively. The proportions of adequate randomization methods, allocation concealment, and blinding were only 107 (23.6%), 48 (10.6%), and 210 (46.4%), respectively. The methodological design improved year by year, especially after 2007. Additionally, methodology of RCTs with ethics approval was clearly superior to those without ethics approval and different among registries. Conclusions. The overall methodological design based on registration records of acupuncture RCTs is not very well but improved year by year. The insufficient information on randomization methods, allocation concealment, and blinding maybe due to the relevant description is not taken seriously in acupuncture RCTs' registration.

Work-family conflict and self-discrepant time allocation at work.

PubMed

Dahm, Patricia C; Glomb, Theresa M; Manchester, Colleen Flaherty; Leroy, Sophie

2015-05-01

We examine the relationships between work-to-family conflict, time allocation across work activities, and the outcomes of work satisfaction, well-being, and salary in the context of self-regulation and self-discrepancy theories. We posit work-to-family conflict is associated with self-discrepant time allocation such that employees with higher levels of work-to-family conflict are likely to allocate less time than preferred to work activities that require greater self-regulatory resources (e.g., tasks that are complex, or those with longer term goals that delay rewards and closure) and allocate more time than preferred to activities that demand fewer self-regulatory resources or are replenishing (e.g., those that provide closure or are prosocial). We suggest this self-discrepant time allocation (actual vs. preferred time allocation) is one mechanism by which work-to-family conflict leads to negative employee consequences (Allen, Herst, Bruck, & Sutton, 2000; Mesmer-Magnus & Viswesvaran, 2005). Using polynomial regression and response surface methodology, we find that discrepancies between actual and preferred time allocations to work activities negatively relate to work satisfaction, psychological well-being, and physical well-being. Self-discrepant time allocation mediates the relationship between work-to-family conflict and work satisfaction and well-being, while actual time allocation (rather than the discrepancy) mediates the relationship between work-to-family conflict and salary. We find that women are more likely than men to report self-discrepant time allocations as work-to-family conflict increases. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

[Need-based resource allocation--experiences with the RAWP formula in Great Britain].

PubMed

Brand, H; Menke, R

1997-07-01

The RAWP formula used for resource allocation in Great Britain between 1976 and 1991 is a morbidity-oriented instrument of controlling, which has so far received only little attention in Germany. The development of this model was supported by the intention to intervene in the regional pattern of hospital supply by means of resource allocation and to refine it according to the guiding principles of equity and efficiency. The basic elements-regional population, average bed use, ICD chapter-specific SMRs-are discussed and the various modifications outlined. The RAWP formula's potentials of controlling resulted in a progressive reduction of the apparent disparities between regions in hospital supply, and knee was considered to be a "qualified success". The future development in the sense of an internal market addressed.

Temporal Uncoupling between Energy Acquisition and Allocation to Reproduction in a Herbivorous-Detritivorous Fish.

PubMed

Villamarín, Francisco; Magnusson, William E; Jardine, Timothy D; Valdez, Dominic; Woods, Ryan; Bunn, Stuart E

2016-01-01

Although considerable knowledge has been gathered regarding the role of fish in cycling and translocation of nutrients across ecosystem boundaries, little information is available on how the energy obtained from different ecosystems is temporally allocated in fish bodies. Although in theory, limitations on energy budgets promote the existence of a trade-off between energy allocated to reproduction and somatic growth, this trade-off has rarely been found under natural conditions. Combining information on RNA:DNA ratios and carbon and nitrogen stable-isotope analyses we were able to achieve novel insights into the reproductive allocation of diamond mullet (Liza alata), a catadromous, widely distributed herbivorous-detritivorous fish. Although diamond mullet were in better condition during the wet season, most reproductive allocation occurred during the dry season when resources are limited and fish have poorer body condition. We found a strong trade-off between reproductive and somatic investment. Values of δ13C from reproductive and somatic tissues were correlated, probably because δ13C in food resources between dry and wet seasons do not differ markedly. On the other hand, data for δ15N showed that gonads are more correlated to muscle, a slow turnover tissue, suggesting long term synthesis of reproductive tissues. In combination, these lines of evidence suggest that L. alata is a capital breeder which shows temporal uncoupling of resource ingestion, energy storage and later allocation to reproduction.

Temporal Uncoupling between Energy Acquisition and Allocation to Reproduction in a Herbivorous-Detritivorous Fish

PubMed Central

Villamarín, Francisco; Magnusson, William E.; Jardine, Timothy D.; Valdez, Dominic; Woods, Ryan; Bunn, Stuart E.

2016-01-01

Although considerable knowledge has been gathered regarding the role of fish in cycling and translocation of nutrients across ecosystem boundaries, little information is available on how the energy obtained from different ecosystems is temporally allocated in fish bodies. Although in theory, limitations on energy budgets promote the existence of a trade-off between energy allocated to reproduction and somatic growth, this trade-off has rarely been found under natural conditions. Combining information on RNA:DNA ratios and carbon and nitrogen stable-isotope analyses we were able to achieve novel insights into the reproductive allocation of diamond mullet (Liza alata), a catadromous, widely distributed herbivorous-detritivorous fish. Although diamond mullet were in better condition during the wet season, most reproductive allocation occurred during the dry season when resources are limited and fish have poorer body condition. We found a strong trade-off between reproductive and somatic investment. Values of δ13C from reproductive and somatic tissues were correlated, probably because δ13C in food resources between dry and wet seasons do not differ markedly. On the other hand, data for δ15N showed that gonads are more correlated to muscle, a slow turnover tissue, suggesting long term synthesis of reproductive tissues. In combination, these lines of evidence suggest that L. alata is a capital breeder which shows temporal uncoupling of resource ingestion, energy storage and later allocation to reproduction. PMID:26938216

A cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled, maternal vitamin a or beta-carotene supplementation trial in bangladesh: design and methods

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background We present the design, methods and population characteristics of a large community trial that assessed the efficacy of a weekly supplement containing vitamin A or beta-carotene, at recommended dietary levels, in reducing maternal mortality from early gestation through 12 weeks postpartum. We identify challenges faced and report solutions in implementing an intervention trial under low-resource, rural conditions, including the importance of population choice in promoting generalizability, maintaining rigorous data quality control to reduce inter- and intra- worker variation, and optimizing efficiencies in information and resources flow from and to the field. Methods This trial was a double-masked, cluster-randomized, dual intervention, placebo-controlled trial in a contiguous rural area of ~435 sq km with a population of ~650,000 in Gaibandha and Rangpur Districts of Northwestern Bangladesh. Approximately 120,000 married women of reproductive age underwent 5-weekly home surveillance, of whom ~60,000 were detected as pregnant, enrolled into the trial and gave birth to ~44,000 live-born infants. Upon enrollment, at ~ 9 weeks' gestation, pregnant women received a weekly oral supplement containing vitamin A (7000 ug retinol equivalents (RE)), beta-carotene (42 mg, or ~7000 ug RE) or a placebo through 12 weeks postpartum, according to prior randomized allocation of their cluster of residence. Systems described include enlistment and 5-weekly home surveillance for pregnancy based on menstrual history and urine testing, weekly supervised supplementation, periodic risk factor interviews, maternal and infant vital outcome monitoring, birth defect surveillance and clinical/biochemical substudies. Results The primary outcome was pregnancy-related mortality assessed for 3 months following parturition. Secondary outcomes included fetal loss due to miscarriage or stillbirth, infant mortality under three months of age, maternal obstetric and infectious morbidity, infant infectious morbidity, maternal and infant micronutrient status, fetal and infant growth and prematurity, external birth defects and postnatal infant growth to 3 months of age. Conclusion Aspects of study site selection and its "resonance" with national and rural qualities of Bangladesh, the trial's design, methods and allocation group comparability achieved by randomization, field procedures and innovative approaches to solving challenges in trial conduct are described and discussed. This trial is registered with http://Clinicaltrials.gov as protocol NCT00198822. PMID:21510905

A cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled, maternal vitamin A or beta-carotene supplementation trial in Bangladesh: design and methods.

PubMed

Labrique, Alain B; Christian, Parul; Klemm, Rolf D W; Rashid, Mahbubur; Shamim, Abu Ahmed; Massie, Allan; Schulze, Kerry; Hackman, Andre; West, Keith P

2011-04-21

We present the design, methods and population characteristics of a large community trial that assessed the efficacy of a weekly supplement containing vitamin A or beta-carotene, at recommended dietary levels, in reducing maternal mortality from early gestation through 12 weeks postpartum. We identify challenges faced and report solutions in implementing an intervention trial under low-resource, rural conditions, including the importance of population choice in promoting generalizability, maintaining rigorous data quality control to reduce inter- and intra- worker variation, and optimizing efficiencies in information and resources flow from and to the field. This trial was a double-masked, cluster-randomized, dual intervention, placebo-controlled trial in a contiguous rural area of ~435 sq km with a population of ~650,000 in Gaibandha and Rangpur Districts of Northwestern Bangladesh. Approximately 120,000 married women of reproductive age underwent 5-weekly home surveillance, of whom ~60,000 were detected as pregnant, enrolled into the trial and gave birth to ~44,000 live-born infants. Upon enrollment, at ~ 9 weeks' gestation, pregnant women received a weekly oral supplement containing vitamin A (7000 ug retinol equivalents (RE)), beta-carotene (42 mg, or ~7000 ug RE) or a placebo through 12 weeks postpartum, according to prior randomized allocation of their cluster of residence. Systems described include enlistment and 5-weekly home surveillance for pregnancy based on menstrual history and urine testing, weekly supervised supplementation, periodic risk factor interviews, maternal and infant vital outcome monitoring, birth defect surveillance and clinical/biochemical substudies. The primary outcome was pregnancy-related mortality assessed for 3 months following parturition. Secondary outcomes included fetal loss due to miscarriage or stillbirth, infant mortality under three months of age, maternal obstetric and infectious morbidity, infant infectious morbidity, maternal and infant micronutrient status, fetal and infant growth and prematurity, external birth defects and postnatal infant growth to 3 months of age. Aspects of study site selection and its "resonance" with national and rural qualities of Bangladesh, the trial's design, methods and allocation group comparability achieved by randomization, field procedures and innovative approaches to solving challenges in trial conduct are described and discussed. This trial is registered with http://Clinicaltrials.gov as protocol NCT00198822.

[Food and nutrition security policy in Brazil: an analysis of resource allocation].

PubMed

Custódio, Marta Battaglia; Yuba, Tânia Yuka; Cyrillo, Denise Cavallini

2013-02-01

To describe the progression and distribution of federal funds for programs and activities that fall within the scope of the guidelines of the Brazilian National Policy on Food and Nutrition Security (PNSAN) in the period from 2004 to 2010. This descriptive study used data from the Transparency Website maintained by the Brazilian Public Sector Internal Control Office. Search results were exported to Excel spreadsheets. To determine the resources allocated to food security initiatives, a database was set up containing all actions developed by the federal government between 2004 and 2010. This database was reviewed and the actions that were not related to PNSAN were discarded. The annual amounts obtained were corrected by the Consumer Price Index and updated for the year 2010. Since actions are part of specific programs, the sum of the resources allocated for all the actions of a program amounted to the resources invested in the program as a whole. The programs were then prioritized according to the amount of resources received in 2010. Of the 5 014 actions receiving federal funds in the study period, 814 were related to PNSAN (229 programs). There was growth in resources allocated for PNSAN programs, reaching US$ 15 billion in 2010 (an 82% increase over the previous year). The largest amount was invested in Bolsa Família, a cash transfer program. Ten programs received 90% of the funds, of which five were linked to food production processes. The amount of resources invested in the PNSAN and in actions and programs that promote food and nutrition security is increasing in Brazil.

Molecular genetics research in ADHD: ethical considerations concerning patients' benefit and resource allocation.

PubMed

Rothenberger, Lillian Geza

2012-12-01

Immense resource allocations have led to great data output in genetic research. Concerning ADHD resources spent on genetic research are less than those spent on clinical research. But there are successful efforts made to increase support for molecular genetics research in ADHD. Concerning genetics no evidence based conclusive results have significant impact on prevention, diagnosis or treatment yet. With regard to ethical aspects like the patients' benefit and limited resources the question arises if it is indicated to think about a new balance of resource allocation between molecular genetics and non-genetics research in ADHD. An ethical reflection was performed focusing on recent genetic studies and reviews based on a selective literature search. There are plausible reasons why genetic research results in ADHD are somehow disappointing for clinical practice so far. Researchers try to overcome these gaps systematically, without knowing what the potential future benefits for the patients might be. Non-genetic diagnostic/therapeutic research may lead to clinically relevant findings within a shorter period of time. On the other hand, non-genetic research in ADHD may be nurtured by genetic approaches. But, with the latter there exist significant risks of harm like stigmatization and concerns regarding data protection. Isolated speeding up resources of genetic research in ADHD seems questionable from an ethical point of view. There is a need to find a new balance of resource allocation between genetic and non-genetic research in ADHD, probably by integrating genetics more systematically into clinical research. A transdisciplinary debate is recommended. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Medium of exchange matters: what's fair for goods is unfair for money.

PubMed

DeVoe, Sanford E; Iyengar, Sheena S

2010-02-01

Organized groups face a fundamental problem of how to distribute resources fairly. We found people view it as less fair to distribute resources equally when the allocated resource invokes the market by being a medium of exchange than when the allocated resource is a good that holds value in use. These differences in fairness can be attributed to being a medium of exchange, and not to other essential properties of money (i.e., being a unit of account or a store of value). These findings suggest that egalitarian outcomes have a greater likelihood of being accepted as fair when the resources being distributed take the form of in-kind goods rather than of cash transfers.

Male-female differences in households' resource allocation and decision to seek healthcare in south-eastern Nigeria: Results from a mixed methods study.

PubMed

Onah, Michael Nnachebe; Horton, Susan

2018-05-01

Ability to influence household decision-making has been shown to increase with improved social capital and power and is linked to better access to household financial resources and other services outside the household including healthcare. To examine the male-female differences in household custody of financial resources, decision-making, and type of healthcare utilised, we used a mixed methods approach of cross-sectional household surveys and focus-group discussions (FGDs). Data was collected between 10 January-28 February 2011. We analyzed a sample of 411 households and a sub-sample of 223 households with a currently married head. We conducted six single-sex FGDs in 3 communities (1 urban, 2 rural) among a random sub-sample of participants in the survey. We performed univariate, bivariate, and logistic regression analyses with a 95% confidence interval. For the qualitative data, we performed thematic analysis where broad themes relevant to the research objective were abstracted. In all households and in those with a married head, sick male members were less likely to forgo healthcare (aOR all 0.87, 95% CI 0.80-0.90; aOR married 0.52, 95% CI 0.18-0.83) and more likely to utilise formal healthcare relative to female sick members (aOR all 3.36, 95% CI 3.20-3.87; aOR married 19.50, 95% CI 9.62-39.52). Formal healthcare providers are medically trained while informal providers are untrained vendors that dispense medications for profit. There were more reports of sole custody of household resources among men within households with married heads. Joint decision-making on healthcare expenditure improved women's access to healthcare but is not reflective of unhindered access to household financial resources. Qualitatively, women spoke of seeking permission from male household head before expenditure was incurred, while male heads spoke of concealing household financial resources from their spouse. Gender constructs and male-female differences have important effects on household resource allocation and healthcare utilisation. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 1470.4 - Allocation and management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... needs associated with agricultural production in each State based on natural resource factors that... program participation. (b) The State Conservationist will allocate acres to ranking pools, to the extent...

Economic aspects of spectrum management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stibolt, R. D.

1979-01-01

Problems associated with the allocation of the radio frequency spectrum are addressed. It is observed that the current method very likely does not allocate the resource to those most valuing its use. Ecomonic criteria by which the effectiveness of resource allocation schemes can be judged are set forth and some thoughts on traditional objections to implementation of market characteristics into frequency allocation are offered. The problem of dividing orbit and spectrum between two satellite services sharing the same band but having significantly different system characteristics is discussed. The problem is compounded by the likelihood that one service will commence operation much sooner than the other. Some alternative schemes are offered that, within proper international constraints, could achieve a desired flexibility in the division of orbit and frequency between the two services domestically over the next several years.

Trends in E & G Expenditure Allocations. Indicators of Recession or Increased Productivity?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minter, John

1992-01-01

A random sample of 300 financial officers at public and independent 4-year and public 2-year institutions reveal their projected fiscal 1992 year-end expenditures and 1992-93 budget allocations. Summarized in chart form are the findings on changes in growth rates on salary and wage allocations for a variety of institutional functions. (GLR)

Design and Implementation of USAF Avionics Integration Support Facilities

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-12-01

specification for taking the bbranch Vt -Routing indicator (No activity): Allocate Node: All’ocation of resources: R= Allocation rule. Res Resource type number...problems, and the integration and testing of the ECS. The purpose of this investigation is to establish a standard software development system...Corrections to equipment problems. -Compensation for equipment degradation. -New Developments . This approach is intended to centralize essential

How Do College Campuses Make Decisions about Allocating Resources for Student Mental Health? Findings from Key Participant Interviews

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunt, Justin B.; Watkins, Daphne; Eisenberg, Daniel

2012-01-01

Given the significant burden of mental illness among young adults, colleges offer a promising venue for prevention and treatment, which can help set late adolescents and young adults on a path to success and wellbeing. Despite the potential benefits, there have been no published studies of how campuses decide about allocating resources for mental…