HpMC: An Energy- Aware Management System for Multi-Level Memory Architectures

DRAM technology faces density and power challenges to increase capacity because of limitations of physical cell design. To overcome these limitations, system designers are exploring alternative solutions that combine DRAM and emerging NVRAM technologies. Previous work on heterogeneous memories focuses, mainly, on two system designs: PCache, a hierarchical, inclusive memory system, and HRank, a flat, non-inclusive memory system. We demonstrate that neither of these designs can universally achieve high performance and energy efficiency across a suite of HPC workloads. In this work, we investigate the impact of a number of multilevel memory designs on the performance, power, and energy consumption of applications. To achieve this goal and overcome the limited number of available tools to study heterogeneous memories, we created HMsim, an infrastructure that enables n-level, heterogeneous memory studies by leveraging existing memory simulators. We, then, propose HpMC, a new memory controller design that combines the best aspects of existing management policies to improve performance and energy. Our energy-aware memory management system dynamically switches between PCache and HRank based on the temporal locality of applications. Our results show that HpMC reduces energy consumption from 13% to 45% compared to PCache and HRank, while providing the same bandwidth and higher capacity than a conventional DRAM system.

Hierarchical energy management system for multi-source multi-product microgrids

This paper proposes a hierarchical energy management system for multi-source multi-product (MSMP) microgrids. Traditional energy hub based scheduling method is combined with a hierarchical control structure to incorporate transient characteristics of natural gas flow and dynamics of energy converters in microgrids. The hierarchical EMS includes a supervisory control layer, an optimizing control layer, and an execution control layer. In order to efficiently accommodate the systems multi time-scale characteristics, the optimizing control layer is decomposed into three sub-layers: slow, medium and fast. Thermal, gas and electrical management systems are integrated into the slow, medium, and fast control layer, respectively. Compared with wind energy, solar energy is easier to integrate and more suitable for the microgrid environment, therefore, potential impacts of the hierarchical EMS on MSMP microgrids is investigated based on a building energy system integrating photovoltaic and microturbines. Numerical studies indicate that by using a hierarchical EMS, MSMP microgrids can be economically operated. Also, interactions among thermal, gas, and electrical system can be effectively managed.

Knowledge Management Techniques to Augment Textual CBR (PhD Thesis)

The past decade had witnessed an unprecedented growth in the amount of available digital content, and its volume is expected to continue to grow the next few years. Unstructured text data generated from web and enterprise sources form a large fraction of such content. Many of these contain large volumes of reusable data such as solutions to frequently occurring problems, and general know-how that may be reused in appropriate contexts. In this work, we address issues around leveraging unstructured text data from sources as diverse as the web and the enterprise within the Case-based Reasoning framework. Case-based Reasoning (CBR) provides a framework and methodology for systematic reuse of historical knowledge that is available in the form of problemsolution
pairs, in solving new problems. Here, we consider possibilities of enhancing Textual CBR systems under three main themes: procurement, maintenance and retrieval. We adapt and build upon the stateof-the-art techniques from data mining and natural language processing in addressing various challenges therein. Under procurement, we investigate the problem of extracting cases (i.e., problem-solution pairs) from data sources such as incident/experience
reports. We develop case-base maintenance methods specifically tuned to text targeted towards retaining solutions such that the utility of the filtered case base in solving new problems is maximized. Further, we address the problem of query suggestions for textual case-bases and show that exploiting the problem-solution partition can enhance retrieval effectiveness by prioritizing more useful query suggestions. Additionally, we illustrate interpretable clustering as a tool to drill-down to domain specific text collections (since CBR systems are usually very domain specific) and develop techniques for improved similarity assessment in social media sources such as microblogs. Through extensive empirical evaluations, we illustrate the improvements that we are able to
achieve over the state-of-the-art methods for the respective tasks.

Assessing elements of a family approach to reduce adolescent drinking frequency: parent-adolescent relationship, knowledge management, and keeping secrets

AIMS: To estimate 1) the associations between parent-adolescent relationship, parental knowledge and subsequent adolescent drinking frequency and 2) the influence of alcohol use on parental knowledge.

DESIGN: Path analysis of school based cohort study with annual surveys SETTING: Post primary schools from urban and intermediate/rural areas in Northern Ireland PARTICIPANTS: 4,937 post primary school students aged around 11 years in 2000 followed until around age 16 in 2005.

MEASUREMENTS: Pupil reported measures of: frequency of alcohol use; parental-child relationship quality; sub-dimensions of parental monitoring: parental control, parental solicitation, child disclosure and child secrecy.

FINDINGS: Higher levels of parental control (Ordinal logistic OR 0.86 95% CI 0.78, 0.95) and lower levels of child secrecy (OR 0.83 95% CI 0.75 0.92) were associated with less frequent alcohol use subsequently. Parental solicitation and parent-child relationship quality were not associated with drinking frequency. Weekly alcohol drinking was associated with higher subsequent secrecy (Beta -0.42 95% CI -0.53, -0.32) and lower parental control (Beta -0.15 95% CI -0.26, -0.04). Secrecy was more strongly predictive of alcohol use at younger compared with older ages (P=0.02), and alcohol use was less strongly associated with parental control among families with poorer relationships (P=0.04).

CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent alcohol use appears to increase as parental control decreases and child secrecy increases. Greater parental control is associated with less frequent adolescent drinking subsequently, while parent-child attachment and parental solicitation have little influence on alcohol use. 

Conflict Management in Public-Private Partnerships: The Case of the London Underground

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have become common inter-organizational arrangements associated with “new public management.” Discussion about their effective operation has often focused on successful management methods, with less discussion about how these arrangements specifically overcome obstacles and problems. In this article, we seek to address this deficiency in the literature by analyzing the conflict management system employed within the London Underground PPP (when it was still in operation). We conclude by identifying several lessons from this case that we believe should inform the design of such systems, one of which is the role of knowledge management.

Review of virtual power plant applications for the power system management and V2G market development

Utilization of renewable energy sources and energy storage systems is increasing with fostering new policies on energy industries. However, the increase of distributed generation hinders the reliability of power systems. In order to stabilize them, a virtual power plant emerges as a novel power grid management system. The VPP has a role to make a participation of different distributed energy resources and energy storage systems. This paper defines core technology of the VPP which are demand response and ancillary service concerning about Korea, America and Europe cases. It also suggests application solutions of the VPP to V2G market for restructuring national power industries in Korea.

Performance Management in the UK Public Sector: addressing multiple stakeholder complexity

Purpose The aim of this paper is to explore the issues involved in developing and applying performance management approaches within a large UK public sector department using a multiple stakeholder perspective and an accompanying theoretical framework. Design/methodology/approach An initial short questionnaire was used to determine perceptions about the implementation and effectiveness of the new performance management system across the organisation. In total, 700 questionnaires were distributed. Running concurrently with an ethnographic approach, and informed by the questionnaire responses, was a series of semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Findings Staff at all levels had an understanding of the new system and perceived it as being beneficial. However, there were concerns that the approach was not continuously managed throughout the year and was in danger of becoming an annual event, rather than an ongoing process. Furthermore, the change process seemed to have advanced without corresponding changes to appraisal and reward and recognition systems. Thus, the business objectives were not aligned with motivating factors within the organisation. Research limitations/implications Additional research to test the validity and usefulness of the theoretical model, as discussed in this paper, would be beneficial. Practical implications The strategic integration of the stakeholder performance measures and scorecards was found to be essential to producing an overall stakeholder-driven strategy within the case study organisation. Originality/value This paper discusses in detail the approach adopted and the progress made by one large UK public sector organisation, as it attempts to develop better relationships with all of its stakeholders and hence improve its performance. This paper provides a concerted attempt to link theory with practice.

The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard. Linking Sustainability Management to Business Strategy.

The Balanced Scorecard of Kaplan and Norton is a management tool that supports the successful implementation of corporate strategies. It has been discussed and considered widely in both practice and research. By linking operational and non-financial corporate activities with causal chains to the firm's long-term strategy, the Balanced Scorecard supports the alignment and management of all corporate activities according to their strategic relevance. The Balanced Scorecard makes it possible to take into account non-monetary strategic success factors that significantly impact the economic success of a business. The Balanced Scorecard is thus a promising starting-point to also incorporate environmental and social aspects into the main management system of a firm. Sustainability management with the Balanced Scorecard helps to overcome the shortcomings of conventional approaches to environmental and social management systems by integrating the three pillars of sustainability into a single and overarching strategic management tool. After a brief discussion of the different possible forms of a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard the article takes a closer look at the process and steps of formulating a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard for a business unit. Before doing so, the basic conventional approach of the Balanced Scorecard and its suitability for sustainability management will be outlined in brief.

Values based supply chain management and emergent organizational structure

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe an emergent supply chain management system that supports a sustainable values based organization (VBO) using a structuration theory-based framework.

Design/methodology/approach – A case study of a sustainable beef cooperative employing a structuration theory framework provides insights into sustainable supply chain management models.

Findings – The supply chain design and management afford the key to the VBO’s success. In order to attain the necessary price premium, the unique product attributes acquired through the natural beef production process must be sustained along the entire supply chain and communicated to the end customer. Structuration theory is useful in understanding supply chain management in VBOs.
Research limitations/implications – The paper has implications for studying VBOs, particularly those prioritizing sustainability values. The descriptive model presented is useful in settings where organizational structure and the supply chain are needed to support sustainable products and processes and whose success is facilitated by establishing strategic partners, especially those that make possible economies of scale. The study is limited to one, privately owned firm, operating in a specialty industry sector.

Practical implications – The paper has implications for those entities with an identified values set that endows the product with unique characteristics that must be conveyed to their end consumer in order to command a price premium and/or differentiate the product from a commodity. The case study provides an example of how a unique product as well as a facilitating organizational structure and supply chain emerge out of the application of a set of core values.

Originality/value – Little previous research focuses on implications of supply chain management in VBOs. In addition, the paper contributes to both the supply chain management and sustainability literature by relating supply chain management to a more comprehensive sustainability agenda including social, environmental, and long-term economic sustainability and by a theoretically based structuring.

Keywords Sustainable development, Supply chain management, Food industry, Organizational culture, Animal husbandry

Food intake, milk production, and tissue changes of Holstein-Friesian and Jersey x Holstein-Friesian dairy cows within a medium-input grazing system and a high-input total confinement system

Although interest in crossbreeding within dairy systems has increased, the role of Jersey crossbred cows within high concentrate input systems has received little attention. This experiment was designed to examine the performance of Holstein-Friesian (HF) and Jersey x Holstein-Friesian (J x HF) cows within a high concentrate input total confinement system (CON) and a medium concentrate input grazing system (GRZ). Eighty spring-calving dairy cows were used in a 2 (cow genotype) x 2 (milk production system) factorial design experiment. The experiment commenced when cows calved and encompassed a full lactation. With GRZ, cows were offered diets containing grass silage and concentrates [70:30 dry matter (DM) ratio] until turnout, grazed grass plus 1.0 kg of concentrate/day during a 199-d grazing period, and grass silage and concentrates (75:25 DM ratio) following rehousing and until drying-off. With CON, cows were confined throughout the lactation and offered diets containing grass silage and concentrates (DM ratio; 40:60, 50:50, 40:40, and 75:25 during d 1 to 100, 101 to 200, 201 to 250, and 251 until drying-off, respectively). Full-lactation concentrate DM intakes were 791 and 2,905 kg/cow for systems GRZ and CON, respectively. Although HF cows had a higher lactation milk yield than J x HF cows, the latter produced milk with a higher fat and protein content, so that solids-corrected milk yield (SCM) was unaffected by genotype. Somatic cell score was higher with the J x HF cows. Throughout lactation, HF cows were on average 37 kg heavier than J x HF cows, whereas the J x HF cows had a higher body condition score. Within each system, food intake did not differ between genotypes, whereas full-lactation yields of milk, fat plus protein, and SCM were higher with CON than with GRZ. A significant genotype x environment interaction was observed for milk yield, and a trend was found for an interaction with SCM. Crossbred cows on CON gained more body condition than HF cows, and overall pregnancy rate was unaffected by either genotype or management system. In summary, milk and SCM yields were higher with CON than with GRZ, whereas genotype had no effect on SCM. However, HF cows exhibited a greater milk yield response and a trend toward a greater SCM yield response with increasing concentrate levels compared with the crossbred cows.

EXPERT-SYSTEM SUPPORT USING BAYESIAN BELIEF NETWORKS IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION BIOPSY SPECIMENS OF THE BREAST

Aim-To develop an expert system model for the diagnosis of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the breast.

Methods-Knowledge and uncertainty were represented in the form of a Bayesian belief network which permitted the combination of diagnostic evidence in a cumulative manner and provided a final probability for the possible diagnostic outcomes. The network comprised 10 cytological features (evidence nodes), each independently linked to the diagnosis (decision node) by a conditional probability matrix. The system was designed to be interactive in that the cytopathologist entered evidence into the network in the form of likelihood ratios for the outcomes at each evidence node.

Results-The efficiency of the network was tested on a series of 40 breast FNAC specimens. The highest diagnostic probability provided by the network agreed with the cytopathologists' diagnosis in 100% of cases for the assessment of discrete, benign, and malignant aspirates. A typical probably benign cases were given probabilities in favour of a benign diagnosis. Suspicious cases tended to have similar probabilities for both diagnostic outcomes and so, correctly, could not be assigned as benign or malignant. A closer examination of cumulative belief graphs for the diagnostic sequence of each case provided insight into the diagnostic process, and quantitative data which improved the identification of suspicious cases.

Conclusion-The further development of such a system will have three important roles in breast cytodiagnosis: (1) to aid the cytologist in making a more consistent and objective diagnosis; (2) to provide a teaching tool on breast cytological diagnosis for the non-expert; and (3) it is the first stage in the development of a system capable of automated diagnosis through the use of expert system machine vision.

Managing knowledge in internationalizing universities through foreign assignments

Purpose: This article discusses the opportunities presented by the globalization of education and the role of knowledge management in successful global expansion. It seeks to explain why the tacit dimensions of the knowledge transferred during international education provision makes it difficult to provide educational services in offshore campuses, absent the transfer of people. Design/methodology/approach: The article draws on literature in the discipline of international business to explain why internationalizing universities need to consider the role of knowledge transfer as a strategic imperative. As this is a conceptual article, arguments are built on insights from extant theoretical and empirical work. Findings: Based on the analysis of a diverse body of academic literature in the areas of international business, knowledge management and education theory, this article demonstrates the role of foreign assignments in the transfer of tacit knowledge in universities with offshore campuses. Research limitations/implications: The implications of the proposition raised in this article are presented with a focus on how they affirm the need for foreign assignments for effective knowledge management in internationalizing universities. Those implications include the need to use assignments to deliver courses offshore and to create face-to-face interactions with academics at partner universities. Originality/value: Drawing on a diverse body of academic literature, this article provides theoretical and practical insights into how assignments can be utilized in international educational management, international educational delivery, and the creation of an environment in which knowledge resources can be utilized on an international basis. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.