bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A small university allocates resources
Authors: Schweppe Cynthia S. D.
Published: January 2007

The Feldberg Computer Center which houses a Decsystem-10 timesharing computer opened in 1972 with the purpose of serving the research community at Brandeis University. Since its opening the user community has grown to include students in academic courses, a few users from the administrative community, and some non-profit agencies.One of the problems facing a center with a heterogeneous user base is the equitable allocation of resources. We must decide when users can access the machine, how much disk storage space each may have, etc. Tlne problem has been complicated by the shifts in the types of users from each of these communities. Professors have become more sophisticated about the value of using computers in conjunction with courses. Students are requesting more courses in Computer Science. A growing percentage of our researchers are social scientists. And, of course, professors as well as students have discovered that computer editors and text processing programs make producing papers, theses, and books easier. Further complications are the federal regulations relating to the way overhead is calculated for grants.We have developed a policy which we believe is humane and equitable. We have found that most people are satisfied. This paper will describe that resource allocation policy.
Computer-based conferencing via UNIX at NCECS
Authors: Parker Louis T.
Published: January 2007

The North Carolina Educational Computing Service (NCECS), a division of the university system, serves a statewide network of over sixty public and private institutions. NCECS has traditionally been a retailer of computing service, purchasing machine time from the Triangle Universities Computation Center (TUCC), plus other suppliers including EDUNET. The associated services have included training, consulting, information services, software libraries and data communication facilities. However, in the case of the conferencing service described below, the system is operated entirely by NCECS.
Reflections on the 1982 SIGUCCS newsletter contest
Authors: Hagen-Wittbecker Carolyn
Published: January 2007

What is the secret of a successful newsletter? Is it a secret, or rather does success merely requires of us the same attention that the late English grammarian Henry Fowler gave when he never forgot that "pestilent fellow the critical reader"? By recognizing outstanding newsletters through its annual newsletter contests, SIGUCCS is decidedly on the side that says success can be cultivated, that newsletters in computing may be improved through the identification of models and by emulating newsletter techniques that critical readers appreciate.
User Services
Authors: Hodge Thea , Morgan Barbara , Wolfe Barbara , Little Elizabeth , Van Houweling Douglas
Published: January 2007

Thea Hodge opened the discussion, remarking on the apparent tendency of User Services staff to move, via promotion, from direct user contact to systems and senior management. She suggested that this tendency would produce more user-friendly management in university computing centers.
Changing your point of view
Authors: Peticolas Penny
Published: January 2007

For many years, and as recently as last week, I have heard that in the computer world it is "us against them". The systems staff is on one side of this debate and the user services staff is on the other. In the fourteen months since my promotion from Manager of User Services to Associate Director for Systems & Operations my experience and my personal convictions have required me to challenge that opinion.The common perception is that systems programmers are a strange breed who prefer machines to people and who want to be left alone to "do their own thing"; while user services is a people oriented group that crusades for every outlandish request that its users make.The truth is that the goal of both these groups should be and can be to provide the best possible computer service for their community by combining their knowledge of the Possible and the Desirable.This paper will discuss why it is in the best interest of each group to work with, rather than against, the other, and suggest some practical steps toward accomplishing this.
Computer assisted instruction
Authors: Broussard Michael
Published: January 2007

Modern man is irrevocably dependent upon the computer. Hardware and software technology is expanding and improving faster than most of us can keep pace. Computers are doing much of our work, from process control in industry to adjusting the fuel mixture in our carburetors. Some major industries, such as banking, process such large volumes of data that their task of information management would be impossible without computers.
SIGUCCS future directions
Authors: Moss James L.
Published: January 2007

SIGUCCS, the Special Interest Group of the Association for Computing Machinery in the University and College Computing Services, was established under the name of SIGUUC (University Computing Centers) in 1963 as an organization of computing professionals primarily involved in providing computing services to universities and colleges. The membership has remained relatively constant at around 1000 active and associate members for most of that time. In March 1982, the Futures Study Group was established by the SIGUCCS Board. The purpose of the study group was to obtain information and opinions from the membership and make recommendations with respect to future directions for SIGUCCS. This is the report of the Futures Study Group. A membership list of the Futures Study Group is attached.
Providing comprehensive user services in a diversified environment
Authors: Commisso Mary Beth
Published: January 2007

Providing computing user services in any academic environment implies a certain amount of challenge and complexity. At Pace University, the challenge is intensified by the number and diversity of users and applications.
The Japan connection
Authors: Gossman Patrick J.
Published: January 2007

Mr. E. Floyd Kvamme, Executive Vice-President of Apple Computer, offered some very interesting insights on the Japanese and United States computing industries in the first plenary session of CCMS/10. Mr. Kvamme visited Japan about 50 times in the last 15 years and feels that much of what has been written about the Japanese is incorrect. He began his presentation with a quick history of the development of semi-conductor technology and computing in the United States and in Japan. He followed with an elaboration on what he sees as essential elements of the Japanese plan:1. Competition breeds success.2. Creativity, not efficiency, brings productivity.3. Quality is directly related to the tools available to employees.
A director reflects back on a peer review
Authors: Peterson Don
Published: January 2007

The North Dakota Higher Education Computer Network (ND-HECN) benefited from an ACM-SIGUCCS peer review conducted in December 1982. Unlike other reviews conducted for a single institution, this review focused on a network.
Statement presented to the house subcommittee on crime
Authors: Miller Wilbur C.
Published: January 2007

Mr. Chairman. Members of the Subcommittee on Crime. My name is Wilbur C. Miller. I am the President of Drake University, which is located in Des Moines, Iowa. I am here today, by your invitation, to share my views on the ". . . future problems with electronic and computer fraud and the effect such innovations will have on educational institutions." At Drake, as with many institutions of higher education, this issue is not and has not been a consideration merely of problems for the future but has, in fact, been of great concern since the initial use of computers on the university campus. The views that I will be sharing with you are not hypothetical nor are they totally philosophical. On the evening of January 31, 1984, one of Drake University's computers was penetrated by hackers. These individuals had no connection with the University as students, faculty or staff and gained access to the computer through a telephone connection from an off-campus location. As a result of this unauthorized intrusion into the system, the University has been forced to dedicate scarce resources to the task of determining the extent and the effect of the intrusion. Many students and faculty members have been seriously inconvenienced by having their research and curricular efforts restricted. While new and additional security provisions have been introduced following the intrusion, it must be understood that it is probably not possible to make an academic computing system totally secure against penetration by hackers. Use of the computer system in question goes on, but there is a new aura of concern. Users wonder, "Are my materials that I have stored in the computer system secure or have they been compromised?" Prudence dictates that the integrity of the system must be viewed as suspect and the use of the system for sensitive purposes must be curtailed. Indeed, this is the nature of the problem.
A unique way to provide user services
Authors: Flott Nancy L.
Published: January 2007

Faculty members at Emporia State University can call the Data Processing and Measurements Center for assistance in data preparation, using the computer in the classroom, using the Center's statistical package and/or scoring services, help in evaluating software, and training on the Zenith microcomputer system. The assistance will be given by the current faculty member who has been chosen for an "on-campus" internship for the 1983-84 school year.
Organization of computing and information services for maximum flexibility and utility
Authors: Glicksman Maurice
Published: January 2007

I would like to preface my remarks by reminding us of some pertinent comments made by Peter Drucker in his 1974 book, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (Harper & Row, 1974). He devoted a short part of that volume to a discussion of service organizations. In discussing computer and information services in colleges and universities, we deal with a service organization within a service organization.
Panel discussion, CCMS/11 long-range issues of the widespread penetration of computing on campus
Authors: Gillespie Robert G. , Glicksman Maurice , McCredie John W.
Published: January 2007

McCredie We've organized a panel for you this morning. When discussing the program with Grey Freeman I thought it would be a good idea if we had a chance, in a relatively informal session, to discuss several of the ideas that I was sure the keynote speaker, Dr. Glicksman, was going to bring up, and to have a chance to discuss those in more detail; and so we scheduled a session in which he agreed to participate and in which we could continue discussing ideas which he had opened up yesterday. In putting the panel together I asked Bob Gillespie, from the University of Washington for fifteen years before he started his own consulting company recently, to join us, because he has paid attention to several of these issues. What we thought would be interesting is to take a slightly different tack from many of these sessions which are really very practical sessions about how to do our jobs better and more efficiently and more effectively, and deal with things like finding discount deals in telecommunications, and how to do networking better, and all of the things we earn our salaries for. We thought that it would be very useful to have a session in which we could sit back from all these day-to-day operational activities and say, "What happens in the next two years or five years or ten years, if many of these experiments we're all involved in with high goals and good objectives.
A file structure for a terminal reservation system
Authors: McGlinn Robert J
Published: January 2007

This paper describes a cyclic file structure which can be used in a terminal reservation system. The structure is designed so that the file reorganizes itself dynamically. Some considerations for an accompanying system are presented.
Implementation and management of a software lending library
Authors: Allen Karen W
Published: January 2007

Enrollment at Cornell consists of about 12,000 undergraduate students and 5,000 graduate and professional students. A wide range of disciplines is covered by instruction and research at Cornell and the University competes for students and faculty with the finest academic and research institutions in this country.
A view of Toledo from the Ozarks
Authors: Cromwell Susan Campbell
Published: January 2007

After digesting this year's ACM SIGUCCS User Services Conference for a month now (not only were rich food and drink in abundance, but feasts for thought as well), it is clear to me that the challenge posed by Fran Blake in the panel, "New Roles, New Services, New Strategies," was intended to energize us with the enthusiasm required to keep up with demand in this rapidly changing profession we call User Services. Fran's visuals (bold, vivid colors) illustrated the diffusion of energy and eventual demise of what we all know by now as "traditional" User Services. Our old standby techniques (workshops, consultation, documentation, newsletter) are being challenged as inadequate measures for remaining in touch with a user community so diverse and quickly growing that it defies definition. We are all faced with the challenge of turning the more passive, sit-back-and-answer-the-phone approach into an active learning process: a system a day keeps the hackers at bay!
Desktop publishing
Authors: Saari Susan Jenkins
Published: January 2007

Magazines that have devoted entire issues or special sections in issues to desktop publishing:
MacUser
, (June 1986) - Special supplement, Desktop Publishing on the Mac, articles include: introductory article with glossary of terms; how to publish a newsletter; business publishing; LaserWriter fonts; review of PageMaker for Mac; current directory of Mac hardware and software; creating resumes.
Understanding e-mail addresses
Authors: Gedney Carol
Published: January 2007

Electronic mail, with its gamut of benefits and advantages, can still cause some share of tribulation, especially when one tries to get a message to someone on a seemingly far-out network, or when that someone tries to send mail in return. This is the first in a series of articles designed to help the typical UIUCnet user understand the e-mail address environment.
HyperMail
Authors: Belew Richard K. , Rentzepis John
Published: January 2007

The huge flux of electronic information surrounding the modern researcher requires new tools for its management. HyperMail is a simple tool built on the HyperCard environment for use as a retrospective aid, for relatively stable collections of Email messages concerning a relatively focused topic. By allowing users to swiftly locate, examine and compare messages across authors and across time, the original conversation can become a rich source of subsequent study. Our goal is to treat Email as a form of
literature
, worthy of the same preservation and augmentation that is typical of traditional printed media.
Some suggested guidelines for serving customers with electronic mail
Authors: Bucher John E.
Published: January 2007

Electronic mail (usually referred to as e-mail) is no longer a luxury; for most of us it is a requisite of the academic computing life, a ubiquitous method of communication. Especially for individuals employed in university and college computing organizations, e-mail is now a very regular and important method for contacting and interacting with our customers. This is true for everyone in the organization: from the director to the administrative assistants to front line consultants and training staff. Not only do we use this medium to communicate with our traditional customers, i.e., faculty, staff, and students, but it is also a useful and necessary tool for intra-departmental communication as well.
Life on the Internet
Authors: Peterson Mary
Published: January 2007

This article was first published in the
North American Review
, University of Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa in November 1993. The interviews for this article were conducted over the Internet. A review copy of
Cardiyakking
in manuscript, which Ms. Peterson received over the network from Dr. Phillips, is the source for quoted material in this article.
Lassoing your modem's NVRAM (and other bis-ness)
Authors: DeSimone Albert
Published: January 2007

Interesting device, the modem. Either a small box attached externally to your computer or a card placed inside your computer, the modem can connect you to information sources all over the world. Modems have been around a long time. Like all computing devices, they have become more sophisticated and more complex. With this complexity, however, have come better ways to control how your modem operates.
Practical management of computer ethics problems
Authors: Smith John W.
Published: January 2007

There are three forms of deception that can involve people in information technology. These are misidentification, misattribution (plagiarism), and misinformation. A keystone to the openness of the academic culture is that of accountability. We tolerate wide ranges of inquiry and interpretation as long as we have the opportunity to question the holder of an unconventional or controversial position. Whether in the form of a lie or a half-truth, deceit is anathema to scholarship.
A proposed classification for computer program library subroutines
Authors: Bolstad John
Published: January 2007

Most computer installations maintain a subroutine library to supplement and support the efforts of their users. Over the years, these "software inventories" have grown in size and complexity. For example, at the Academic Computing Services Facility at Stanford (one of several computer installations here), there are over 1100 programs which are supported to some degree. These programs represent a very substantial investment in both manpower and dollars, and it becomes increasingly obvious that some sort of organization of them is needed. The situation is analagous to that of a library of books, but more difficult, since in the latter the primary object is the book, but in the former one has several primary entities: the code in source form, in object and load module forms, and perhaps several types of documents also.
The myth of throughput
Authors: Wrigley Charles
Published: January 2007

Twelve months ago, I outlined to you the priorities which I proposed for my assignment to the newly created position of Director of Users Services at Michigan State University. Our university has not yet made a long-term appointment to that position, but Dr. Tom Carroll, on returning from Korea about three months ago, has accepted it as a temporary assignment, so that I am, for the first time in many years, now free from any administrative responsibilities in the computer field, and accordingly able to speak with complete freedom about where we now are in the computer field and the problems which will have to be faced in the future in providing users with the services they need.
The vanishing user
Authors: Burner Wes
Published: January 2007

Computer users are an endangered species---not like the whooping cranes, but more like a bunch of lemmings running over a cliff. Why? Because the user is moving rapidly away from the source of power that made him as strong as he is today in the use of computers in education and research. He is moving away from "User Services" with all that good nourishing documentation, comforting consulting and protective software tools that he needs, whether he knows it or not.
The role of the university computer center in educational research (with remote hope)
Authors: Keller Mary K.
Published: January 2007

The principal functions of a university are education and research. In this environment these two activities go, or ought to go, hand in hand. In particular, the art of education is, itself, a proper target for research and development at a university. I am not referring here to the activities and programs of schools of education, but to all departments who are in the business of imparting knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities.
University computer support for state government
Authors: Robinson Robert J. , Tuecke John E.
Published: January 2007

The State University of New York at Albany and the State of New York have joined in what may be an historic experiment to improve the quality and reduce the cost of computing activities in New York State governmental agencies. The project has been actively underway since June, 1975. This paper attempts to ascertain the progress made during that initial year of operation.
Census-based education and its value in the national planning effort
Authors: Costello Donald F.
Published: January 2007

In the near future, the questionnaire for the 1980 census of the U.S. population will be locked up until it is time to administer the twentieth decenial census of the United States. At that time the Census Bureau will once more distribute and administer this document aimed at counting the over two hundred million inhabitants of the United States of America. In this bicentennial year it is reasonable to reflect on the origin of the census as well as some important technological advances that have accompanied the processing of this data. Perhaps from an historical view of the U.S. census, we may gain some insight into how this data may be used to shape our future and how we as computer professionals might participate in this shaping.
Some procedures for measuring computer service performance
Authors: King Kenneth M.
Published: January 2007

The main thesis of this paper is that it is important to establish quantitative criteria for measuring performance of a remote, or for that matter, a local computer service. The primary purpose of the measure should be to create in the minds of the users, a yardstick for determining reasonable expectations of the service; and in the minds of the people providing the service, a firm indication of what is expected of them.
Computing
Authors: Brzustowski T. A.
Published: January 2007

I wish to make some remarks to you which you might choose to call "Computing---one university's perspective in 1976", or perhaps to be more precise, "the perspective of one administrator [as Vice-President, Academic] in one university [the University of Waterloo]."
A lowering of voices
Authors: Johnson James W.
Published: January 2007

When the Vice President for Instruction hands you a book titled
Evaluating Instructional Computing
and says, "I've read it all, from cover to cover," what do you do? You read it very carefully; after all, in a period of restrictive budgets, competing inflated needs, and decreasing enrollments, how the adequacy of computing on your campus is viewed is going to determine the resources devoted to it. You read it very skeptically; is this yet another call for rigid controlled experiments carried out for several years to determine if computer aided methods help students attain behaviorial objectives more rapidly and efficiently? You read it defensively; aren't "assessment," "evaluation," "adequacy," and "effectiveness" fighting words?
Provision of user services in a network environment
Authors: Truitt Thomas D. , Emery James C.
Published: January 2007

There is a growing recognition that user services play a critical role in facilitating the use of computing resources. The need for formal aids is especially keen in a network environment, because a prospective user typically does not have face-to-face access to colleagues who can provide informal assistance. Important tasks that must be dealt with in improving user services include the creation of high-quality written documentation, establishing selective network standards, implementing automated user services, developing competent user service personnel, and establishing contractual relationships between suppliers of network services and local support personnel.
New directions in computer center decision-making
Authors: Sherman Gordon R.
Published: January 2007

Public speaking has never been a strength of mine, and it was a tough decision for me to accept the invitation from Howard Dockery to speak to you on "New Directions in Computer Center Decision-Making--What Are the Needs?" but I had to accept. I do consider it a high honor to be invited to address my peer group; and besides, there are several things I wanted to get off my chest.
Creating high computer impact in a small liberal arts college
Authors: Houseman B. L.
Published: January 2007

During the period from 1977 to 1979, computer usage at Goucher College went from an involvement of 10% to 60% of the student body; a goal of 90% appears to be within reach by 1981. During the past two years, approximately 40% of the faculty have begun to use the computer in some way. This rapid rise in computer usage was accomplished without the introduction of a required course in computing, without acquisition of an on-campus macrocomputer or mini-computer, and without creation of a Computer Center staff devoted to academic computing. It flowed from a discovery that the barriers to broad computer usage are not those which can be breached by increasing the quality of the hardware or the sophistication of the software. They must, rather, be breached by addressing sources of non-users' perceptions that they, the non-users, somehow are not appropriate to computer usage and that computers are not appropriate to their purposes. These perceptions give rise to questions and objections from faculty members which are not frivolous, and which must receive a sympathetic response in the design of a computer use program if it is to be broadly effective at a liberal arts college like Goucher College.
Visiting consultant
Authors: Bateman Barry L.
Published: January 2007

Those who have worked in the university environment for many years possibly have come up through the route of a faculty position. For such individuals, the concept of a sabbatical leave is familiar. Since I spent seven of the last ten years of my career primarily as a department chairman, I am very familiar with this concept and am aware that the individual, as well as the institution hosting the individual on a sabbatical leave, can benefit from this program. Conversely, the whole process may become a vacation where a professor "goes home" and visits with former major professors and colleagues at one of his prior institutions. All of this is background for the concept which I feel can be beneficial in a computing center environment, i.e., having a Visiting Research Consultant for a period of time, whether it be one month, one semester, or one year.
An over-the-shoulder look at discrete simulation languages
Authors: Kay Ira M.
Published: January 2007

The past of simulation languages resembles any other history of a subject. For those interested in computers, it presents an absorbing story with moments of outstanding achievement. When Shakespeare said: "The Past is the Prologue" he preceded the age of the computer, but he recognized that, regardless of the field, the history, the habits and the education of those engaged in any enterprise shape the way the future will be. Accepting this hypothesis, it then behooves us to look to the past if we are to see what the future holds in digital discrete simulation.
Non-uniform random number generation
Authors: Whipple Walter L.
Published: January 2007

A frequently used technique for generating non-uniform random numbers is to combine uniform random numbers. For example, the sum of two uniform random numbers yields a triangular distribution. The difference yields another which will be statistically independent. A normally distributed random number is obtained from the sum of n uniformly distributed random numbers if n is large according to the central limit theorem. Actually, each of the n linearly independent combinations of n random numbers will be a statistically independent normally distributed random number if n is sufficiently large. Exponential random numbers can be obtained approximately with a trigometric transformation of a normal random number. However, unless one wants a large array of random numbers {of length n or more}, the relatively long computation to produce multiple uniform random numbers is likely to determine the entire program execution time.
Simulation input data analysis
Authors: Mathusz Donald V.
Published: January 2007

Data Analysis seems to invoke images of everything from key punching to Extreme Value Theory. They indeed both have a place in it abiet, a small one. Rather than the single discipline or problem view, I would prefer to address the motley lot of considerations involved in the interactions of problem definition, simulation design and output analysis with Data Analysis. Data Analysis here then is defined as the analysis of the interactions between simulation variables and their associated data with the design and operational characteristics of the simulation.
Non-linear equation solving for continuous simulation
Authors: Whipple Walter L.
Published: January 2007

Most simultaneous algebraic equations encountered in simulation studies are non-linear or will be treated as if they were in order to obtain a solution in reasonable memory space. In some cases an assumption of piecewise linearity is warranted.
Software for simulating financial decisions
Authors: Berger Roger W.
Published: January 2007

The most important task for executives is making and implementing decisions. Many decisions, small and large, must be made every day to keep the organization effectively moving toward its long term goals. Major decisions, those which involve long-term committments of capital and personnel, are surely the most challenging ones.
Renaissance Rensselaer
Authors: Moss James L.
Published: January 2007

"For the purpose of instructing persons, who may choose to apply themselves, in the application of science to the common purposes of life".
Special issue on the workshop on MAthematical performance Modeling And Analysis (MAMA 2005)
Authors: Squillante Mark S.
Published: January 2007

The complexity of computer systems, networks and applications, as well as the advancements in computer technology, continue to grow at a rapid pace. Mathematical analysis, modeling and optimization have been playing, and continue to play, an important role in research studies to investigate fundamental issues and tradeoffs at the core of performance problems in the design and implementation of complex computer systems, networks and applications.
A statistical physics approach for modelling P2P systems
Authors: Carofiglio Giovanna , Gaeta Rossano , Garetto Michele , Giaccone Paolo , Leonardi Emilio , Sereno Matteo
Published: January 2007

We apply basic concepts of statistical physics to devise an approximate model describing the dynamics of content diffusion in large peer-to-peer networks. Our approach is based on fluid-diffusive equations, whose solution can be obtained by numerical evaluation with a complexity independent of the number of users and contents, thus allowing to analyze very large systems. The model is general and modular, and can incorporate the effect of both search and download processes.
Optimized pre-copy calibration of hard drives
Authors: Nicol David M.
Published: January 2007

In certain contexts a small window of time exists during which law enforcement has access to a hard-drive suspected of containing important information. Given legal authority to copy or seize this disk, a decision must be made whether to use that access time to make a copy of the disk (which may take more than an hour, depending on the size of the disk) and leave its owner unaware that it has been copied. The copying operation uses especially fast drivers that bypass normal error correction mechanisms. Therefore, for the copy to be successful it is necessary that the disk onto which the copy is placed yield exactly the same bits on subsequent reads as would the original disk. To gain confidence that the copy will be successful the copying software typically chooses some sectors at random, copies them, and determines whether their copies are identical to the original. We address the problem of quantifying the conditional probability that the disk will copy correctly given that some samples have copied correctly, as a function of the, number and placement of those samples. Our framework allows us then to choose the placement of those samples in such a way that this conditional probability is maximized.
A spectral approach to compute performance measures in a correlated single server queue
Authors: Kumaran J. , Mitchell K. , van de Liefvoort A.
Published: January 2007

The coupling matrix was introduced in [8] to compute the performance measures of a PH/PH/1 single server queue. This matrix was extended in [1, 2] to include arrival and service processes that are possibly serially correlated processes, although the service process remains independent of the arrival process and all marginal distributions are matrix exponential, and this current paper is an extended abstract of [2]. The coupling matrix is constructed from the arrival and the service distributions without any computational effort, and the performance measures (such as waiting times and queue length distributions) are derived directly from its spectrum.
A population based approach to model network lifetime in wireless sensor networks
Authors: Ramachandran Krishna K. , Sikdar Biplab
Published: January 2007

The physical constraints of battery-powered sensors impose limitations on their processing capacity and longetivity. As battery power in the nodes decays, certain parts of the network may become disconnected or the coverage may shrink, thereby reducing the reliability and the potency of the sensor network. Since sensor networks operate unattended and without maintainence, it is imperative that network failures are detected early enough so that corrective measures can be taken.Existing research has primarily concentrated on developing algorithms, be it distributed or centralized, to optimize network longetivity metrics. For instance, [4, 5] propose MAC layer optimizations to prolong longetivity, while [7, 6] look at the problem from a Layer 3 perspective. Works along the lines of actually building network models for energy consumption are addressed in [2], [3], but these models fail to capture the interplay between a node's spatial location and it's energy consumption.In our current work, we develop an unifying framework to characterize the lifetime of such energy constrained networks, and obtain insights into their working. In particular, we employ a framework similar to population models for biological systems, to model the network lifetime. We consider both
spatial
scenarios, where a node's power consumption is governed by it's position in space as well as
non spatial
scenarios, where the node's location and power consumption model are independent entities.
Data persistence in sensor networks
Authors: Kamra Abhinav , Feldman Jon , Misra Vishal , Rubenstein Dan
Published: January 2007

Sensor networks consist of a number of sensors spread across a geographical area. Each sensor has communication capability and some level of intelligence for signal processing and networking of data. Each sensor node in the network routinely 'senses' and stores data from its immediate environment. An important requirement of the sensor network is that the collected data be disseminated to the proper end users. In some cases, there are fairly strict requirements on this communication. For example, the detection of an intruder in a surveillance network should be immediately communicated to the police authorities. Each sensor node also has some storage capacity to store the collected data or to assemble the data prior to communicating it to another node.
Robustness of threshold policies in beneficiary-donor model
Authors: Harchol-Balter Mor , Osogami Takayuki , Scheller-Wolf Alan
Published: January 2007

A common problem in multiserver systems is deciding how to allocate resources among jobs so as to minimize mean response time. Since good parameter settings typically depend on environmental conditions such as system loads, an allocation policy that is optimal in one environment may provide poor performance when the environment changes, or when the prediction of the environment is wrong. We say that such a policy is not
robust.
In this paper, we analytically compare the robustness of several threshold-based allocation policies, in a dual server beneficiary-donor model. We introduce two types of robustness:
static robustness
, which measures robustness against mis-estimation of the true load, and
dynamic robustness
, which measures robustness against fluctuations in the load. We find that policies employing multiple thresholds offer significant benefit over single threshold policies with respect to static robustness. Yet they surprisingly offer much less benefit with respect to dynamic robustness.
Ecosystems modelling methodologies
Authors: Innis George
Published: January 2007

The construction of a simulation model proceeds from a statement of objectives, through hypothesis choice and formulation, to computer implementation and model experiments. Even the best of the modern simulation languages provide good support for only a portion of these activities. Ideally, we might specify objectives and environment and have the "system" develop the appropriate simulation model. We do not appear to be ready for such a system for several reasons: 1. The way in which objectives specify model structure is quite an art at the present, and while scenarios can be constructed in which certain properties of the model structure are clearly dictated by objectives, as yet the full model structure does not follow algorithmically from objectives; 2. A language for objective specification is needed. A natural language is too broad and ambiguous; 3. Ecosystem theory is not yet up to the task of defining, in detail, the ecosystem that would exist in a given environment although certain properties of that system can be predicted.
Design methodology for concurrent software systems employing modelling and simulation
Authors: Riddle William E.
Published: January 2007

There is no single attribute or characteristic which distinguishes a software system as complex - rather, software system complexity may be assessed only in terms of a complicated combination of a variety of quantitative and qualitative measurements. Typical quantitative measures are size, number of components and length of the construction period - generally these can be artificially increased by inexperienced or inept designers or programmers. Measures of a more qualitative nature are ones such as under-standability and modifiability - these are generally dependent upon the experience and ability of those trying to measure the system's complexity.
The SARA system for computer architecture design and modelling
Authors: Estrin Gerald
Published: January 2007

There are many practical forces at work which encourage improvement in design methods. "Structural programming", "hierarchical design" and "modularity" are terms which have become commonplace. However, the frequency of their use does not mean that design methods now exist which can guarantee that a particular complex system, whose programs are shared by many users, will have no design errors. Nor do design methods yet exist which can guarantee that a digital system, "simple" enough to be integrated into one device and reproduced in the millions, will have no design errors.
Structure characterization for system modelling in uncertain environments
Authors: Bens J. , Vansteenkiste G. C.
Published: January 2007

Systems from uncertain environments are characterized by uncertainties as to their geometry, their field parameters and their internal characteristics; moreover, the system observations are of relatively low quality. It is shown how system modelling is not likely to be surpassed by any other method in handling such problem measurements in an adequate way and in deciding on their control.
Modelling concepts for unifying performance and reliability evaluation
Authors: Meyer John F.
Published: January 2007

During the past decade, performance evaluation and reliability evaluation have emerged as important technical disciplines within computer science and engineering. Evaluations of computer performance and computer reliability are each concerned, in part, with the important question of computer system "effectiveness", i.e., the extent to which the user can expect to benefit from the tasks accomplished by a computer in its use environment. With regard to effectiveness issues, modelling of computer performance has stressed the need to represent the probabilistic nature of user demands (workload) and internal state behavior, under the assumption that the computer's structure is fixed, that is, there are no permanent changes in structure due to faults. On the other hand, modelling of computer reliability has stressed changes caused by transient and permanent faults of the computer. It has only been in some recent studies that reliability modelling has begun to account explicitly for the probabilistic nature of the use environment.
Sampling from the Weibull and gamma distributions in GPSS
Authors: Tadikamalla Pandu R. , Schriber Thomas J.
Published: January 2007

This paper presents a technique for sampling from the three-parameter Weibull distribution within the context of GPSS, and briefly discusses the routine extension of this technique to the case of sampling from the gamma distribution. The several alternative algorithms which appear in the literature for sampling from these important distributions cannot be implemented directly in GPSS, because they involve such things as evaluation of logarithms and exponentiation, capabilities which GPSS does not currently have. The Weibull sampling technique developed and illustrated here in detail consequently involves creating generalized tables of pertinent functions, then performing lookups in these tables to support the sampling process. Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Chi-square testing of a large variety of samples drawn via this technique support the hypothesis at the 0.05 significance level that the samples were drawn from Weibull populations. The Weibull and gamma distributions are important in describing the behavior of a variety of random phenomena which occur in the fields of inventory theory, queuing theory, reliability studies, and maintenance scheduling. Because of the wide variety of shapes which these distributions can assume, they are also of interest in fitting empirical data which, consistent with the Weibull and gamma distributions, are typically non-negative, skewed, and unimodal. The methodology presented here, although straightforward, has not previously appeared in the literature, and is thought to be of potential interest and utility to a large number of GPSS users.
A comparison on two techniques for collecting statistics in simulation
Authors: Rho Boo Ho
Published: January 2007

The purpose of the paper is to compare two techniques of collecting statistics: The method of batch means and the regenerative process method. The compairsons are in terms of accuracy and precision of sample performance measurements and exexution time.Two different queuing systems of M/M/1 and M/M/4 with traffic intensity factors of 0.1, 0.5, and 0.9 are designed for experimentation. The results indicate that the regenerative method in general shows better performance than the method of batch means.
"Some criteria for classification and evaluation of discrete event simulation languages"
Authors: Kreutzer Wolfgang
Published: January 2007

In order to describe (model) a given system in a more or less disciplined way, some kind of formal or informal "system description language", providing a "world view" for concept articulation and communication will be explicitely or implicitely used. To appreciate the importance of an "appropriate" frame of reference, it should be considered, that a system description methodology will necessarily be used as a device for structuring the thinking of its users. The severe problems encountered by large-scale software development projects have recently led to widespread recognition of the importance of structuring and levels of abstraction as a method supporting reliable engineering of systems; /DENNING74/.
Statistics, stationarity and random number generation
Authors: Bohrer Robert , Imrey Peter B.
Published: January 2007

This paper remarks upon some issues involved in evaluating the "randomness" of numerical sequences. The question of how much to test is addressed, particularly with respect to pseudorandom generators. Historical failures of seemingly random sequences are noted. The dependence of evaluation programme upon proposed use of the sequence is stressed. The meaning and importance of stationarity are considered, and results from statistical distribution theory useful in checking for it, and in further evaluation of a sequence, are described. An example illustrates differences in power of three tests directed against a particular class of stationary alternatives to Normal white noise.
Data Systems Dynamic Simulation
Authors: Hooper James W. , Rowe Dale W.
Published: January 2007

Data Systems Dynamic Simulation is a simulation system designed to reduce cost and time and increase the confidence and comprehensiveness of Data Systems Simulation. It is designed to simulate large data processing and communications systems from end-to-end or by subsystem.Those features relevant to system timing, control, sizing, personnel support activities, cost and external influences are modeled. Emphasis is placed on ease of use, comprehensive system performance measures, and extensive post simulation analysis capability. The system has been used to support trade studies of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration's data system needs in the 1985 to 1990 time frame.
Simulating a physical distribution system
Authors: Heier Valentine M. , Jones Lorna L.
Published: January 2007

Green Giant Company, a major Corporation in the Food Processing Industry, faced a Management problem of whether or not to capitalize a proposal made by the Food Service Division to expand its physical distribution system. This paper briefly describes the Company and the proposed expansion. The paper then describes a simulation model used to evaluate the proposal along with the analysis performed using the results from the model. Finally, the paper explains the decision made by management as a result of this study.
A manpower analysis of private practice dentistry thru simulation
Authors: Kisko Thomas M. , Kilpatrick Kerry E. , Mackenzie Richard S.
Published: January 2007

A simulation model of solo private practice dentistry has been developed to evaluate the effects of introducing expanded function auxiliary personnel. The model permits the experimental investigation of a variety of staffing patterns and facility configurations. Four task assignment schemes are examined over 208 experiments. Results indicate increases in net revenue of 118% can be realized by the addition of expanded function auxiliary personnel.
The Astro Spiral Jump
Authors: McHenry Raymond R.
Published: January 2007

An unusual application of a digital simulation of automobile dynamics to the design of a thrill show stunt is described. The rationale for development of the simulation, which is intended primarily for highway safety applications, is discussed and the general analytical approach is described. Computer graphics displays of simulation outputs, consisting of detailed perspective drawings of the vehicle and terrain features or obstacles at selected intervals of time during a simulated maneuver, are presented as figures in the text. For the presentation of the paper, computer graphics displays of simulation outputs will be animated through the use of motion picture film. Also, motion picture coverage of both developmental tests and public performances of the Astro Spiral Jump will be shown.