bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Web-based Workflow Framework with CORBA
Authors: Va Leong Hong , Ho Kei Shiu , Lam Wai
Published: March 2007

Workflow is an important class of applications in the daily business. A number of web-based workflow systems have been de veloped recently as a natural extension to traditional workflow systems to exploit the growing popularity of the Internet. However, most of them are designed based on the specific application at hand. In this paper, we distill out the fundamental elements of a workflow system into a general workflow framework. The framework provides appropriate application programming interfaces for programmers to fill in the application specific requirements of a workflow system at hand. This is realized through two object-wrappers: the Task interface and the Resource interface, which support the specification of the tasks involved in the workflow schedule and the resources accessed re spectively. A major characteristic of the framework is that the particular workflow schedule under execution is fluid, in the sense that the tasks involved as well as their precedence relationships can be modified dynamically. Consistency constraints will be examined in this paper which determine when such modifications are allowed. To maximize flexibility, we adhere our design to the CORBA architecture, which has been becoming highly popular in recent years, thus allowing tasks and resources of different types to interoperate in our framework. We demonstrate the feasibility of our framework with a small prototype that allows tasks in a workflow system to be sched uled and executed.
Cooperative Evaluation of XML Queries in Mediators
Authors: Yang Liang-Huai , Tang Shi-Wei , Yang Dong-Qing
Published: March 2007

As XML becomes the de facto standard for data representation and exchange over Internet, there are ever increasing applica tions using XML as a middleware model. Network-computing paradigm is also changing; it shifts to mobile agent paradigm. Building a mediated query system by combining both XML and mobile agent technologies is very promising.

In this paper, we address the problem of cooperative evaluation of XML queries by exploiting mobile agent technologies. Our contribu tions are as follows: By introducing a new operator—the variable binding operator, we represent XML queries' pattern body as a special operator tree, and an evaluation method of the variable binding operator is presented to match the XML queries' pattern body with the XML data graph by exploiting automaton theory. In the case of XML data involving XML-Link, by introducing a proxy operator, a novel al gorithm is given to evaluate the XML queries cooperatively, that is, by representing the subquery operator tree with XML, it can be sent to the remote site or brought along with a mobile agent to execute at the remote site. Under the new computing paradigm, how to reduce data shipment and cope with unpredictable network delay is a critical issue, we explore the opportunities that our strategies can bring to optimize the wide-area query processing as well.
Collaborative Design among Different Fields in Mobile-Agent Environments
Authors: Yoshimura Masataka , Takahashi Kouji
Published: March 2007

Today's product design problems are increasingly large-scaled due to the diversification of engineering technologies as well as consumer needs. Designers must meet these needs rapidly, evaluate wide-ranging engineering requirements at the product design stage, and develop designs that distinguish their product from others in the marketplace. This type of work often involves multi disciplinary large-scaled optimization problems. When more than one discipline is involved in product design decision making, technical experts in different fields or divisions can benefit from sharing specific knowledge as they cooperatively and concurrently work to solve such problems. In this study, methodologies are constructed that feature mobile-agent systems capable of supporting collaborative product design activities.
The Structure of Students' Perceptions of Impactful, Helpful Events in Career Exploration Classes
Authors: Gold Paul B. , Kivlighan Dennis M. , Kerr Amy E. , Kramer Laurel A.
Published: March 2007

We assessed perceptions of helpful events reported by college students enrolled in career exploration classes. Perceptions were collected through written, narrative self-reports, which were coded using an adapted classification scheme of therapeutic impact (Elliott, 1986). Factor analysis of codings indicated that three dimensions (Affective Factors, Identifying and Coping with Problems, Insight Gained) could describe the helpful events reported by the participants and indicated the usefulness of the scheme to assess impact of career class interventions. Affective Factors was the best predictor of change in vocational identity, but neither participant sex nor level of pretreatment vocational identity were related to perceptions of helpfulness, nor did sex predict changes in vocational identity. Implications for use of perceptual assessment schemes in career exploration classes are offered.
Presenting Two Brief Versions of the Scientist Practitioner Inventory
Authors: Leong Frederick T. L. , Zachar Peter
Published: March 2007

In the interest of advancing theory and research on the Boulder model of training in psychology and as an aid to career counseling for specialty choice in psychology, Leong and Zachar (1991) developed the Scientist Practitioner Inventory, which measures interests in activities associated with the role of academic-scientist in psychology and activities associated with the role of clinical-practitioner in psychology. The present article reports the refinement of the SPI into two brief versions. Brief Version A (SPI-18) is an 18-item inventory aimed at efficiency in measurement. Brief Version B (SPI-20) is a 20- item inventory aimed at purity of measurement. Factorial structure of both versions are investigated. Evidence for internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity is demonstrated.
Career Development: A Ten-Year Longitudinal Study in Population Scientists
Authors: Richards James M.
Published: March 2007

This research addressed two trends in vocational psychology: (a) an increased emphasis on career development and (b) a renewed interest in the psychology of science. It was conducted in the context of longitudinal research on 2,710 population scientists. Holland type scores were derived for these scientists' undergraduate majors, highest degree fields, and positions in 1980, 1985, and 1989. Productivity measures for the years 1981-90 were compiled for convention presentations, journal publications, service as an editorial consultant and as a Principal Investigator, and citations by other scientists. The same pattern of type scores, IES, was obtained on all five occasions; longitudinal correlations within types were substantial; and Investigative and Congruence scores were significantly associated with persistence and productivity in population science. Individually, these findings are consistent with Holland's theory; in combination, they provide impressive support for it.
Barriers to Women in Management Careers: Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Women as Managers Scale
Authors: Stockdale Margaret S. , Leong Frederick T. L.
Published: March 2007

Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination serve as major barriers to women's career adjustment and advancement. To assess the current level of attitudes and the change in attitudes toward members of diverse populations in a variety of occupational roles, psychometrically sound assessment instruments are needed. The Women as Managers Scale is one such instrument. Exploratory factor and principle components analyses have been used in past research to challenge the dimensionality and reliability of the Women as Managers Scale. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a three-factor model was superior to a one-factor model, and was stable across subgroups. Evidence for discriminant validity among the factors was, however, weak. A possible explanation of the lack of discriminant validity is offered.
The Relationship Between Task-Specific Self-Efficacy Egalitarianism and Career Indecision for Females
Authors: Temple Richard D. , Osipow Samuel H.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between task-specific self-efficacy as measured by the Task-Specific Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale (Osipow & Rooney, 1989) and career indecision as measured by the Career Decision Scale—3rd Rev. (Osipow, Carney, Winer, Yanico, & Koschier, 1976) for females classified as possessing high or low egalitarian sex-role attitudes. Subjects were 168 female college students who were classified as high or low egalitarian according to their scores on the Sex-role Egalitarianism Scale form KK (Beere, King, Beere, & King, 1984). Pearson-product moment correlations were computed between self- efficacy scores and career indecision scores for the two groups. The results provide minimal support for the hypothesis that there would be a significant relationship between career indecision and self- efficacy as moderated by sex-role orientation. These results are limited due to a negatively skewed distribution on the egalitarianism measure.
Possible Selves and Occupational Choices
Authors: Chalk Linda M. , Meara Naomi M. , Day Jeanne D.
Published: March 2007

These studies explore the usefulness of thinking about one's occupational future in gender-linked jobs from the perspective of "possible selves." We developed lists of feminine, masculine, and neutral occupations and asked 31 women and 66 men how possible they thought these jobs were for them, and how much they feared them (i.e., believed they would be unhappy doing them). Women feared masculine jobs more than they rated such jobs as possible. Both women and men feared feminine jobs more than they viewed these jobs as possible. The occupational list was revised and a second sample of 34 women was asked how much they expected, feared, and hoped for these gender-typed jobs. The results were similar. Women feared both the masculine and feminine jobs more than they saw these jobs as possible, and there was some indication they hoped for the masculine jobs more than they expected them. The results are discussed in terms of how a possible selves approach could facilitate career assessment and counseling.
Validity of the Career Factors Inventory
Authors: Lewis Daniel M. , Savickas Mark L.
Published: March 2007

The present study examined the construct and concurrent validity of the Career Factors Inventory (CFI; Chartrand, Robbins, & Morrill, 1989). The CFI, along with the Career Choice Status Inventory (Savickas, 1993), the Vocational Identity Scale (VIS; Holland, Daiger, & Power, 1980), and the Career Development Inventory—Adult Form II (CDI-A; Super, Zelkowitz, & Thompson, 1975), were completed by 227 college students. Strong support for the CFI's construct validity was provided by a principal components analysis showing four components that paralleled the four scales in the inventory and correlations in the expected direction with age and year in school. Evidence in support of the CFI's concurrent validity was provided by correlations in the expected direction with career decidedness, vocational identity, and career development.
Elaboration of the Relation Between Interest Congruence and Satisfaction
Authors: Meir Elchanan I.
Published: March 2007

In two meta-analyses (Assouline & Meir, 1987; Tranberg, Slane, & Ekeberg, 1993) of studies investigating Holland's (1985) theory of congruence, the mean congruence-satisfaction correlations were found to be around .20. It is argued that this relation is meaningful (a) despite the lack of statistical significance in each of these studies, and (b) because adequate breakdown of the correlations by content and methodological moderators reveals statistically significant mean correlations ranging from .29 to .42, p < .05.
The Categorization of Serendipitous Career Development Events
Authors: Betsworth Deborah G. , Hansen Jo-Ida C.
Published: March 2007

This study explored two aspects of the construct of serendipity. First, it explored the incidence of serendipitous events influencing career development as perceived by a sample of older adults. Second, it developed categories to describe the events that people reported as significant. The sample was comprised of 237 older adults. Participants responded to a brief questionnaire that asked if their careers were influenced by serendipitous events. Those participants who responded yes were asked to describe the serendipitous events. The results indicated that 63% of the men and 57% of the women felt that their careers were influenced by serendipitous events. Eleven serendipity categories were identified, based on the participants' descriptions of these events.
Relationships Among Measures of Perceived Self-Efficacy With Respect to Basic Domains of Vocational Activity
Authors: Betz Nancy , Schifano Ross , Kaplan Allison
Published: March 2007

This study provides evidence concerning the construct validity of the Task-Specific Self-Efficacy Scale (TSOSS) and the Skills Confidence Inventory (SCI), both measures of self-efficacy with respect to basic domains of vocational behavior. Relationships between similarly named scales, that is, TSOSS-Verbal/interpersonal with SCI-Social, TSOSS-Quantitative with SCI-Investigative, TSOSS- Physical with SCI-Realistic, and TSOSS-Aesthetic with SCI-Artistic, were high, ranging from r = .50 to .80. Negligible relationships of self- efficacy to measured ability and significant relationships of self- efficacy with respect to Verbal/interpersonal and Social dimensions to career indecision were also reported and discussed.
Career Exploration and Self-Efficacy of High School Students: Are There Urban/Suburban Differences?
Authors: Brown Chris , Darden Elbert E. , Shelton Matthew L. , Dipoto Marc C.
Published: March 2007

Career exploration and career decision-making self-efficacy differences between urban and suburban high school students were investigated. The relationship of career exploration to career decision-making self-efficacy was also explored. The findings suggested that urban students scored significantly higher on career exploration than their suburban counterparts. Additional findings revealed an interaction between ethnicity and setting such that minority urban students reported the greatest amount of confidence in their career decision-making skills. Findings also indicated that beliefs about exploratory behavior were a significant predictor of career decision-making self-efficacy.
Holland's Typology and the Five-Factor Model: A Rational-Empirical Analysis
Authors: Blake Rex J. , Sackett Sharon A.
Published: March 2007

This study investigated the relationship between Holland's typology and the Five-Factor Model of personality. Raters coded the adjective descriptors of Holland's six personality types according to their perceived reference to the dimensions of the Five-Factor Model: Extraversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness to Experience. Ratings were tallied to provide an index of each adjective's "loading" on each of the Big Five. The loadings for the descriptive adjectives were aggregated within each of the Holland types to yield a quantitative index of each type's relationship to each of the Big Five. The relationships between the Holland types and the dimensions of the Five-Factor Model that had been predicted from the adjective rating task were then compared with actual correlations obtained between Big Five marker scales and operational measures of Holland's typology. Results supported a pattern of empirical relationships between interest and personality scales that was consistent with Holland's qualitative description of his typology.
Encouraging Environmental Cooperation Through the Pelly Amendment
Authors: Charnovitz Steve
Published: March 2007

How can sovereign nations encourage each other to cooperate on the environment? This is not a new question, but it has taken on greater importance in each new decade. There are three methods used for attaining cooperation - ropes, carrots and sticks. The article focuses on one type of stick — unilateral vigilantism through trade sanctions. In particular, it focuses on the history and operation of the U.S. Pelly amendment. Based upon case studies, it finds that since the Pelly amendment was enacted in 1971, this law has proven relatively effective in encouraging nations to join or adhere to international environmental treaties. In the 18 episodes reviewed, 50 percent were successful, 11 percent were partly successful, and 39 percent were unsuccessful. The overall success average success rate is 56 percent. In recent years, the success in using the Pelly amendment has declined. The Clinton Administration has been the least successful of any Administration in using this leverage. There are many valid grounds for objecting to the threatened use of such sanctions. But the objection most commonly raised — that such sanctions will be ineffective — appears to be invalid. The Pelly amendment should remain available as a tool of last resort. The U.S. government should aim to achieve a better balance between caution and credibility in the use of this tool.
Enforcement of Environmental Measures: Negotiating the NAFTA Environmental Side Agreement
Authors: Winham Gilbert R.
Published: March 2007

This paper traces the negotiation of the NAFTA Environmental Side Agreement, conducted during the summer of 1993. It contrasts the original position of theNAFTAparties to the final agreement,and finds that the initial demand by the United States for an international mechanism (specifically, trade sanctions) to enforce the NAFTA parties' environmental legislation became heavily qualified in the final agreement. The reasons for this outcome were: (i) environmental enforcement posed a threat to national sovereignty; (ii) trade sanctions represented a special concern for smaller NAFTA part ners, and presented problems of workability in practice; and (iii) a cooperative rather than prosecutorial approach promised more positive benefits in an international environmental agreement. These conclusions are likely to pertain to future accession negotiations should NAFTA be expanded to include new members.
Protecting Wildlife from Trade: Japan's Involvement in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
Authors: Mofson Phyllis
Published: March 2007

The recent proliferation of multilateral environmental agreements sug gests that states have come to assume that such agreements, and resulting institutions, are effective. There is disagreement in the international rela tions theoretical literature, however, about whether membership in an inter national regime causes states to change their behaviors in ways they would not in the absence of the regime. This paper examines the behavior of Japan as a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), and concludes that regimes, by changing the memberstate's cost/benefit calculation of a potential behaviorchange, can make a difference, but do not always do so. In Japan's case, CITES participation did lead to unexpected cessation of trade in elephant ivory and endangered sea turtle shells, but will not likely affect Japan's trade behavior regarding most marine species-including whales-and commercially impor tant tropical timber. The findings differ from the realist contention that regimes merely serve to codify existing balance of power relationships between sovereign states, and do not cause states to change their behaviors. The findings also differ from the institutionalist position that regimes represent a voluntary surrender of some degree of national sovereignty, and suggest that a regime's effectiveness will be limited by the political and economic sensitivity of the behavior changes it demands.
Social support systems in elder homebound clients
Authors: Zink Margo R.
Published: March 2007

An individual's social support system comprises multiple networks. A lack in one system may cause an increased need for support in another. Social support has been found to be of vital impor tance to the health of the older adult client and caregiver. It has been found to have a significant influence on health outcomes, acting as a buffer and altering recovery patterns. This article de scribes the concept of social support and relates how the home health care nurse can assess this dimension and use the findings to better plan patient care in the home setting. Key words: social support, home care, older adult
Helping the elderly cope with mental changes
Authors: Woodward Wendy
Published: March 2007

Mental changes in the elderly occur as the result of normal aging, medications, and structural and functional loss. The most common mental impairments include memory loss, dementia, grief, de pression, and anxiety. Several well-known nursing interventions have been assembled to assist the home health care nurse to support the elderly and their families in the home. These interventions, coupled with individualistic care, enable nurses to meet their mandate of providing dignified, holistic care to the elders of our society. Key words: mental changes, elderly, depression, coping, dementia
Screening patients for nutrition risk
Authors: Tonore Mary F.
Published: March 2007

Decline in nutritional status is not an inevitable part of the aging process. Rather, it is environmen tally determined and frequently results from inattention to risk factors that can be improved by nutrition screening, assessment, and treatment. Identifying patients who are at risk and providing intervention will save lives and money. This article discusses risk factors and indicators of poor nutritional status and also includes standard tools used to impact clinical outcomes and provide high quality patient care. Key words: nutrition, screening, home care
Older adult daily living centers: A new alternative for care
Authors: Killian A. Marie
Published: March 2007

This article was written to give the health care professional a general overview of an adult day care center. The reader should find answers to questions concerning referrals, typical client diagnoses, and concerns of the caregivers. Another section describes a typical day at our center and some characteristic examples of activities provided. The section on staff requirements and selection deals with hiring appropriate personnel. Various duties required of the director/manager of a cen ter are discussed, as well as the working relationship with the client case manager. A section deals with client management at the center and termination. The advantages of a hospital-based adult center are discussed, as is the Pennsylvania Adult Day Care Association. The article closes with personal perspectives of this field of nursing. Key words: nursing, elderly, aging, adult day care
Attitudes and knowledge of the elderly home health client toward community resources in a rural setting
Authors: Esposito Linda
Published: March 2007

A study was conducted using a cross-sectional design to determine the attitudes and knowledge of elderly home health care clients toward community resources. The clients were asked to rank ser vices in degree of importance and to identify the services they were not familiar with. Two hypoth eses were tested: (1) the geriatric population would rank the direct personal care services higher than the indirect services and (2) the clients' needs were met by the existing community services. Statisti cally, the clients ranked direct personal care services similar in importance to indirect services. Cli ents' needs were met; however, issues such as transportation, lack of knowledge of community ser vices, and decreased access to health care were identified. Key words: rural elderly, community services, health care cost/quality, program development
Risk management in home health care
Authors: Hogue Elizabeth E.
Published: March 2007

Home health care staff members often feel that they are literally drowning in paper. There is also increasing concern among agencies about cost-effectiveness in view of recent cuts in Medicare reimbursement, increasing enrollments in managed care plans, and the possibility of health care reform. Some are exploring the possibilities of electronic record keeping in attempts to address these issues. Key words: risk management, home health care
Discharge planning to home care: Earlier identification through automatic assessment
Authors: Krebs Kathleen
Published: March 2007

A process called "automatic assessment" was designed to expedite the discharge planning proc ess through earlier identification of potential home care patients. The physician and referral nurse identified high-risk populations and outlined generic standing orders so that patients meeting these criteria could be identified earlier and assessed for home health and hospice services. This process contributed to more efficient and effective discharge planning. Key words: discharge planning, automatic assessment
Healthy Beginnings Plus: An innovative approach to prenatal care
Authors: Husson Nancy M.
Published: March 2007

This article describes an innovative prenatal program developed by the Pennsylvania Depart ment of Public Welfare. The program, Healthy Beginnings Plus, offers an array of educational and counseling services to pregnant women in an effort to improve birth outcomes. The feature element of Healthy Beginnings Plus is the care coordinator, who provides the client with health promotion teaching, home assessments/visitation, and a variety of counseling services. The ar ticle describes the operation of the Healthy Beginnings Plus Program at the Lancaster General Hospital Family Health Service. It further suggests that this full service program may be a cre ative, cost-saving model that other states could replicate to help improve infant outcomes. Key words: prenatal education, maternal child outreach
Home health care services: A vital component of managed care
Authors: Hamill C. Taney , Parver Corrine Propas
Published: March 2007

Health care reform—stalled on the national level—is taking place on the local and state levels. New health care networks and alliances are being formed every day, and they are increasingly creating new managed care organizations. Since the health care reform movement is seeing a large influx of such integrated managed care organizations, the home care services industry must remain a vital component of these managed care systems. Home care services businesses need to have a comprehensive understanding of how these systems work to control the impact these managed care organizations will have on the home care environment. Key words: health care reform, home health care, managed care
The discernible differences in financial success with managed care
Authors: Menard K. Becky
Published: March 2007

Many home health care providers developed operational expertise and attained financial suc cess based on a traditional Medicare model of cost reimbursement established in 1965. The new managed care environment poses a new and varied set of rules for both patient care delivery and reimbursement. Agencies endeavoring to participate in managed care contracts must have the required commitment and resources to provide the information related to cost analyses and outcome accomplishment necessary to remain fiscally astute and competitive in the market place. Key words: cost analysis, financial management, managed care, outcomes
Termination of services: Legal pitfalls for home health care providers
Authors: Hogue Elizabeth E.
Published: March 2007

Home care providers are at risk of legal liability when they terminate services to patients. As payers become more aggressive about controlling the costs of health care services, agencies are more likely to encounter instances in which they must terminate services to patients because they cannot afford to continue care without payment. Violence or threatened violence, noncom pliance by patients or primary caregivers, or inappropriateness for home care may also warrant termination of services. Practitioners are understandably concerned about the possibility of le gal liability associated with the termination of beneficial services. Specifically they frequently express concern about the possibility of liability for abandonment of patients. The purpose of this article is to help providers understand what patients must prove to establish liability for abandonment and thus what practitioners can do to avoid this type of liability. Key words: legal issues, termination of services
Managed care for persons needing long-term care: Implications for home health care
Authors: Brown Thomas E. , Byrd Michael D. , Baskins Judith Pinner
Published: March 2007

Palmetto SeniorCare, located in Columbia, South Carolina, is one of the original replication sites for the Program for All-Inclusive Care. Through Medicare and Medicaid waivers, Palmetto SeniorCare (PSC) coordinates financing and delivery of all health, medical, and social services for a population of frail older persons. This article identifies ways in which this approach can enhance home-based care. PSC's methods of care planning and service delivery are described, and program utilization data and evaluation results are provided. PSC's relationship with home health agencies illustrates opportunities for collaboration and contracting in this form of man aged care. Key words: elderly persons, long-term care, managed care
Health care reform and implications for nursing
Authors: Malloy Catherine
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on the implications for the nursing profession and the education of nurses in the era of health care reform. With the uncertainty of health care arrangements and the cer tainty of change, nurses have an opportunity to use their unique skills to improve health out comes. The Pew Health Professions Commission recommendations for preparing health care professionals are reviewed in light of the implications they have for the nursing profession, including education and home care. Policy implications also are highlighted and educators are challenged to design new learning approaches. Key words: community-based care, health care reform, interdisciplinary, nursing education, Pew Health Professions Commission
Information systems: An asset or a liability to home health care providers?
Authors: McKeon Tad
Published: March 2007

Managed care is changing the way home health providers do business. Information system ven dors need to be responsive to the changing needs of their clients. At a minimum, information systems should be evaluated in the same fashion that managed care organizations are evaluating home health services, that is, from the perspective of cost, quality, and service. Key words: cost, information, quality, service, systems
History Matching for Multiphase Reservoir Models On Shared Memory Supercomputers
Authors: Jianping Zhu  , Yung Ming Chen
Published: March 2007

A parallel algorithm using the generalized pulse spec trum technique and multilevel grid method for solving reservoir structural parameter identification problems is discussed here. The algorithm can be used to iden tify the reservoir's absolute permeability distributions by matching the computed pressure values with mea sured historical pressure values obtained at observa tion wells (history matching). Use of a multilevel grid improves the quality of the identified permeability dis tributions significantly. The whole parameter identifica tion process is very computationally intensive since a group of coupled nonlinear partial differential equa tions (PDEs) and a regularized least square problem must be solved repeatedly with different parameter values. Several hundred megabyte memory is required for reservoir models involving thousands of grid points. The block SOR scheme with red and black or dering and a parallel Householder transformation scheme were used to solve the algebraic equations resulting from the discretization of the PDEs. High speedup has been achieved by exploring parallefisnl, refining the whole program, rather than just the hot- spots, and utilizing the high-speed cache memory effi ciently.
Increasing Our Understanding of Biological Models Through Visual and Sonic Representations: a Cortical Case Study
Authors: Witten Matthew , Wyatt Robert E.
Published: March 2007

In this study, general aspects of the rendering of data are discussed, with applications to visual and auditory representations of neurobiological data. Scientific sim ulations or real-world models frequently lead to large quantities of complex numerical output. The generat ing model is often realized through a set of static and/ or dynamic descriptors. The rendering of this descrip tor set is formally considered in terms of mappings that result in visual, sonic, and other sensorial simula tions. The visual and sonic maps are described for complex data resulting from a simulation of the mam malian cerebral cortex. A computational model of sig nal flow in a vertically organized slab of neural tissue in cat area 17 has been developed. The complexity of the data requires both visual and sonic rendering. In this study, a number of issues concerned with render ing complex descriptor sets are discussed, but the em phasis is on sonic orchestration, termed BioSymphics.™
Benchmarking High-Performance Computing Systems By Means of Local-Creutz Simulations of the d = 2 Ising Model
Authors: Brower R.C. , Rebbi C. , Tamayo P. , Moriarty K.J.M. , Sanielevici S.
Published: March 2007

We have benchmarked various high-performance com puter systems by means of a code that solves the Ising model in two dimensions. We use a simple and porta ble Fortran implementation of the local-Creutz algo rithm. We compare the wall-clock times needed to per form 250,000 iterations of the algorithm on a lattice of 162 spins, for the Thinking Machines Corporation CM-2, the NEC SX-2, one CRAY Y-MP 4/32 processor, the Alliant FX/2800 with a variable number of proces sors, the IBM 3090-200 VF, an IBM 6000 RISC worksta tion, and a Silicon Graphics Iris workstation.
Multitasking for Local Parallelism in Applications To Chemically Reacting Supersonic Flows On Cray Y-Mp
Authors: Moon S.Y. , Yoon C.S. , Chung T.J.
Published: March 2007

This article is concerned with research on parallel pro cessing for chemically reactive supersonic flows. Effi ciency of autotasking and microtasking is examined for the problems of linear algebra and two-dimensional Euler equations with the finite element method. For microtasking, satisfactory improvements in speedup (2.63 for 4 CPUs and 1.67 for 2 CPUs) are achieved, with the load balance and the amount of parallelism being the dominant factors for the speedup. Autotask ing has advantages in providing automatic paralleliza tion, but it has been shown that in the solution of finite element Euler equations based on conventional algo rithms, parallelization by means of user's intervention is required for significant speedups (3.35 for 4 CPUs and 1.79 for 2 CPUs). A much better performance may be achieved with a combination of autotasking and microtasking. These results are verified from various example problems of linear algebra and supersonic diffuser flow field calculations with hydrogen-oxygen chemical reactions.
Correspondence
Authors: Wholey Skef , Lasser Clifford , Bhanot Gyan
Published: March 2007

We describe a scalable version of the FLO67 program written in the loop style that is characteristic of Fortran 77. This single scalable source program can be com piled and run on conventional scalar processors, vec tor computers, or massively parallel computers, with respectable performance on all platforms. Initial runs have been on the IBM RISC System/6000, the Sun SPARC, and the Connection Machine supercomputer. This article presents and discusses interesting frag ments of the program, focusing on issues of code scalability.
An Efficient Parallel Algorithm for Extreme Eigenvalues of Sparse Nonsymmetric Matrices
Authors: Kim S.K. , Chronopoulos A.T.
Published: March 2007

Main memory accesses for shared-memory systems or global communications (synchronizations) in message passing systems decrease the computation speed. In this paper, the standard Arnoldi algorithm for approxi mating a small number of eigenvalues, with largest (or smallest) real parts for nonsymmetric large sparse ma trices, is restructured so that only one synchronization point is required; that is, one global communication in a message passing distributed-memory machine or one global memory sweep in a shared-memory ma chine per each iteration is required. We also introduce an s-step Arnoldi method for finding a few eigenvalues of nonsymmetric large sparse matrices. This method generates reduction matrices that are similar to those generated by the standard method. One iteration of the s-step Arnoldi algorithm corresponds to s itera tions of the standard Arnoldi algorithm. The s-step method has improved data locality, minimized global communication, and superior parallel properties. These algorithms are implemented on a 64-node NCUBE/7 Hypercube and a CRAY-2, and performance results are presented.
Exact Monte Carlo Calculations for Fermions On a Parallel Machine
Authors: Shiwei Zhang  , Kalos M.H.
Published: March 2007

We describe how a recently published algorithm, which addresses the sign problem within the context of the Green's function Monte Carlo method, can be implemented in a parallel distributed environment. The method of parallelization maintains large granularity and therefore low overhead. Despite the stochastic na ture of the algorithm, good load-balancing can be ac complished and reproducibility is ensured.
Forward Looking Behavior and Learning in Stochastic Control
Authors: Amman Hans M. , Kendrick David A.
Published: March 2007

One drawback of the standard control methods in eco nomics is that they lack the possibility to model for ward looking behavior. We present a method that in corporates forward looking behavior into the stochas tic control framework by augmenting the system equation with expectational variables. By adapting the Fair-Taylor approach for simulation models, we have constructed an algorithm for solving stochastic linear quadratic control models with expectations and learn ing. The resulting algorithm is numerically intensive; consequently, vectorization and parallel computing are necessary to compute the optimal solution of the con trol variables. Our first experiments with the algorithm, done with the MacRae model and a modified version of the Sargent and Wallace model, indicate that the standard result of ineffectiveness of monetary policy might not hold in the stochastic control framework. With parameter uncertainty, discretionary policy gener ally performs better than a fixed control rule. The rea son is that when there is parameter uncertainty the learning of these parameters can influence the expec tation effect counteracting the discretionary policy.
A Numerical Algorithm for Solving Models With Incomplete Markets
Authors: Imrohoroğlu Ayşe , Imrohoroglu Selahattin , Joines Douglas H.
Published: March 2007

We describe an incomplete markets model and outline a numerical solution algorithm to compute its steady- state equilibrium. The model departs from the Arrow- Debreu world of complete contingent claims markets by assuming the presence of borrowing constraints. Solution methods that rely on approximations around some reference point or those that use the Euler equa tions in an interior solution are not suitable for the present model. Rather, we outline a numerical solution algorithm that discretizes the state space and the deci sion space and iterates on a numerical procedure that obtains the decision rules and distributions of agent types for all cohorts in an attempt to find the steady- state equilibrium of the model. The algorithm is imple mented using the Fortran compilers on the Minnesota CRAY X-MP and San Diego CRAY Y-MP/8-864.
Efficient, Massively Parallel Eigenvalue Computation
Authors: Yan Huo  , Schreiber Robert
Published: March 2007

In numerical simulations of disordered electronic sys tems, one of the most common approaches is to diag onalize random Hamiltonian matrices and to study the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of a single electron in the presence of a random potential. We describe an effort to implement a matrix diagonalization routine for real symmetric dense matrices on massively parallel SIMD computers, the Maspar MP-1 and MP-2 systems. Results of numerical tests and timings are also presented.
Massively Parallel Proximal Algorithms for Solving Linear Stochastic Network Programs
Authors: Nielsen Soren S. , Zenios Stavros A.
Published: March 2007

We develop an algorithm for solving two-stage sto chastic linear programs with network recourse. The algorithm is based on the proximal minimization algo rithm with D-functions and uses a primal-dual row- action algorithm to solve the resulting, strictly convex subproblems. The stochastic program is reformulated into a form that decomposes by scenario, thus making the algorithm suitable for parallel implementation. In addition, the constraints of each scenario subproblem (which are network problems) can be iterated upon concurrently, allowing for a massively parallel imple mentation. The algorithm is implemented on a Con nection Machine 2 with up to 32k processors. It is shown to be very effective in solving problems with up to 2,048 scenarios, where the deterministic equivalent program has 217,103 constraints and 618,529 variables.
Early Applications in the Message-Passing Interface (Mpi)
Authors: Skjellum Anthony , Lusk Ewing , Gropp William
Published: March 2007

We describe a number of early efforts to make use of the Message-Passing Interface (MPI) standard in appli cations, based on an informal survey conducted in May-June, 1994. Rather than a definitive statement of all MPI developmental work, this paper addresses the initial successes, progress, and impressions that appli cation developers have had with MPI, according to the responses received. We summarize the important as pects of each survey response, and draw conclusions about the spread of MPI into applications.

An understanding of message passing and access to the MPI standard are prerequisites for appreciating this paper. Some background material is provided to ease this requirement.
A Data-Parallel Implementation of Hierarchical N-Body Methods
Authors: Yu Hu  , Johnsson S. Lennart
Published: March 2007

The O( N) hierarchical N-body algorithms and mas sively parallel processors allow particle systems of 100 million particles or more to be simulated in acceptable time. We describe a data-parallel implementation of Anderson's method and demonstrate both efficiency and scalability of the implementation on the Connec tion Machine CM-5/5E systems. The communication time for large particle systems amounts to about 10%- 25%, and the overall efficiency is about 35%, corre sponding to a performance of about 60 Mflop/s per CM-5E node, independent of the number of nodes.
Parallel Implementations of Iterated Runge-Kutta Methods
Authors: Rauber Thomas , Rünger Gudula
Published: March 2007

We investigate different parallel algorithms for the iter ated Runge-Kutta method on distributed memory mul tiprocessors for the solution of systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The iterated Runge-Kutta method is an iteration scheme for the numerical solu tion of initial-value problems of nonstiff ODEs; embed ded approximation formulae are used to control the step size. The parallel algorithms realize potential par allelism across the method and the system in a group- SPMD (single-program, multiple-data) programming style, using an appropriate set of communication prim itives that can be implemented on all common topolo gies. A theoretical performance analysis with run-time formulae and a run-time simulation show the value of the algorithms. The implementation on the Intel iPSC/ 860 confirms the predicted run times. The speedup values depend strongly on the particular system of ODEs to be solved. The parallel iterated Runge-Kutta method is applied to a typical discretization problem, the discretized Brusselator equation. Application-spe cific modifications of the general parallel ODE solver are developed, which result in a considerable reduc tion in the parallel execution time.
Factor Analysis of Applications Performance Data for the Cray Y-MP
Authors: Delic George , Haller Richard I.
Published: March 2007

Factor analysis was applied to supercomputer applica tions performance data recorded by the hpm hardware performance monitor on the Cray Y-MP for a sample of 146 user codes. The analysis reduced the volumi nous hpm data to five dominant factors which were used as performance metrics for applications code ex ecution on the Y-MP. Case studies of Fortran kernels demonstrated that the proposed metrics accurately reflect changes in performance due to source code modifications. Therefore, the factor-analysis model so lution provides a supercomputer performance metric that is both parsimonious and simple to interpret as an alternative to the complexities of hpm-derived perfor mance attributes. Metrics such as these should prove to be of value in code optimization, user training, and characterization of site-specific workloads.
Galaxies Collide On the I-Way: an Example of Heterogeneous Wide-Area Collaborative Supercomputing
Authors: Norman Michael L. , Beckman Peter , Bryan Greg , Dubinski John , Gannon Dennis , Hernquist Lars , Keahey Kate , Ostriker Jeremiah P. , Shalf John , Welling Joel , Yang Shelby
Published: March 2007

As a part of the Supercomputing '95 High Performance Computing Challenge, the authors have used the re sources of three of the National Science Foundation (NSF) supercomputing centers as a single, distributed, heteroge neous metacomputer to carry out the largest simulation of colliding galaxies yet attempted. The metacomputer con sisted of the following machines: TMC CM-5, Cray C90/T3D, IBM SP-2, and SGI Power Challenge. This paper describes the scalable parallel numerical algorithms used to carry out the hybrid N-body/gas dynamical simulation, as well as the inter-MPP communication system the authors developed to connect them. The system, called sclib, is simple yet flexible, and consists of a network of communicating objects, or agents. Each communication agent is a process that resides on the front-end processor of a parallel supercomputer and brokers the interactions between the various components of the distributed com putation. The design is independent of host architecture and execution model yet takes advantage of scheduling resources local to the compute servers. As such, it serves as a useful prototype for future research in distributed, heterogeneous, high-performance computing.
Implementing a Collaboratory for Microscopic Digital Anatomy
Authors: Young Stephen J. , Gary Guo You Fan  , Hessler David , Lamont Stephan , Elvins T. Todd , Hadida-Hassan Martin , Hanyzewski Gary Alan , Durkin James W. , Hubbard Philip , Kindlmann Gordon , Wong Eric , Greenberg Donald , Karin Sidney , Ellisman Mark H.
Published: March 2007

The Collaboratory for Microscopic Digital Anatomy (CMDA) will allow biologists at remote locations to acquire over the network three-dimensional data on biological structure using a sophisticated high-voltage electron mi croscope (HVEM) located in San Diego. The CMDA will transparently distribute to high-performance machines on the network computationally intensive tasks for the deriva tion of three-dimensional datasets from HVEM images using tomography and for volume visualization. Implemen tation of the CMDA includes development of automated microscope functions for specimen positioning, image fo cus, registration, and acquisition; an asynchronous com munications system for transporting messages and large data sets between processes; a resource manager for access control and routing of tasks to computing or acqui sition resources; and systems for tomographic reconstruc tion and three-dimensional volume visualization. The CMDA is designed to be extensible to other unique cen tralized instruments. It will increase access to and use of these instruments and high-performance computers by biologists and facilitate remote collaboration.