Abstract: One of the critical functions of public management is efficient, economic and effective use of resources to provide value-for-money service delivery to citizens. Performance management in the public service is an attempt to balance an institutional centredness with a citizen orientation and it incorporates issues such as productivity (outputs over inputs), quality, accountability and policy outcomes. Measuring performance in the public sector is not a simple task because various qualitative and sometimes, unquantifiable variables have to be considered. These qualitative aspects - such as the general welfare of a community - are complex and intangible and hence make performance improvement and productivity measurement extremely difficult. The improvement of performance embraces far more than calculable or quantitative criteria to determine how many resources have been expended to achieve specified objectives. Performance improvement should become a way of evaluating the entire institutional context within which services and/or products are provided.

Abstract: This paper uses basic principles from complexity theory, psychology and management theory to demonstrate that many traditional methods of identifying performance measures may not result in improvements in overall performance. In order to illustrate this, the paper first identifies the answers to six fundamental questions that are critical to the success of Process measurement, if it is to move away from just measuring performance to a fully integrated approach to improving process performance. The paper then addresses a final question on the type of measurement approach that is most likely to improve organizational performance. The answers to these seven questions make a compelling argument for a reassessment of many different established approaches to measurement. However, rather than proposing yet another, different approach, it outlines the steps that integrate other approaches into a single, unified measurement approach to improving process performance.

Abstract: Many methodologies and techniques for improving operational performance have been developed over the years – these provide structured ways of improving company performance, but they do not explicitly tell us where to start. To be able to improve performance effectively, it is important to identify the particular factors of performance to work with. Furthermore, it is important to find those factors that have a high impact on performance. The paper presents a definition of performance, productivity and profitability and two main views of the relationships between the terms – a hierarchical view and a subset view. Each has its merits. Offers brief descriptions of some improvement techniques to show where the ideas for the suggested improvement method are taken from, i.e. a part of the analysis and synthesis process. Most of the techniques described are analysis tools, as the focus here is on identifying areas to improve – when it comes to the actual improvement, the actual solution is often quite easy. Finally, proposes a methodology for improvement work – this is to be evaluated in later research.

Abstract: Active harmony provides a way to automate performance tuning. We apply the Active Harmony system to improve the performance of a cluster-based web service system. The performance improvement cannot easily be achieved by tuning individual components for such a system. The experimental results show that there is no single configuration for the system that performs well for all kinds of workloads. By tuning the parameters, Active Harmony helps the system adapt to different workloads and improve the performance up to 16%. For scalability, we demonstrate how to reduce the time when tuning a large system with many tunable parameters. Finally an algorithm is proposed to automatically adjust the structure of cluster-based web systems, and the system throughput is improved up to 70% using this technique.

Abstract: Parallelism can be used for major performance improvement in large Data warehouses (DW) with performance and scalability challenges. A simple low-cost shared-nothing architecture with horizontally fully-partitioned facts can be used to speedup response time of the data warehouse significantly. However, extra overheads related to processing large replicated relations and repartitioning requirements between nodes can significantly degrade speedup performance for many query patterns if special care is not taken during placement to minimize such overheads. In this paper we show these problems experimentally with the help of the performance evaluation benchmark TPC-H and identify simple modifications that can minimize such undesirable extra overheads. We analyze experimentally a simple and easy-to-apply partitioning and placement decision that achieves good performance improvement results.

Abstract: The use of a switched-mode rectifier (SMR) allows automotive alternators to operate at a load-matched condition at all operating speeds, overcoming the limitation of optimum performance at just one speed , . While use of an SMR and load matching control enables large improvements in output power at cruising speed, no extra power is obtained at idle. This document introduces a new SMR modulation strategy capable of improving alternator output power at idle speed without violating thermal or current limits of the alternator. The new modulation scheme may be implemented with simple control hardware, and without the use of expensive current or position sensors. After introducing the new modulation method, we develop approximate analytical models that establish the underlying basis for the approach. Implementation considerations are addressed, and both simulation and experimental results are provided that demonstrate the advantages of the proposed control method.

Abstract: In this paper we study bus-based and switch-based on-chip networks for an embedded video application, the smart camera SoC (system on chip). We analyze network performance and overall system performance in detail. We explore system performance using crossbars with different sizes, fixed size but different numbers of ports, and different numbers of shared memories. We find that network is a performance bottleneck in our design, and the system using an optimized NoC can outperform one using a bus by 132%. Our simulations are based upon recorded real communication traces, which give more accurate system performance. Our study finds that for the Smart Camera system, a 16-bit/port 3/spl times/3 crossbar with two shared memories shows 85.7% performance improvement over the bus-based model and also has less maximum network throughput than the bus-based model. This design example illustrates a methodology to quickly and accurately estimate the performance of NoC's at architecture level.

Abstract: Because processor architectures are increasingly complex, it is increasingly difficult to embed accurate machine models within compilers. As a result, compiler efficiency tends to decrease. Currently, the trend is on top-down approaches: static compilers are progressively augmented with information from the architecture as in profile-based, iterative or dynamic compilation techniques. However, for the moment, fairly elementary architectural information is used. In this article, we adopt a bottom-up approach to the architecture complexity issue: we assume we know everything about the behavior of the program on the architecture. We present a manual but systematic process for optimizing a program on a complex processor architecture using extensive dynamic analysis, and we find that a small set of run-time information is sufficient to drive an efficient process. We have experimentally observed on an Alpha 21264 that this approach can yield significant performance improvement on Spec benchmarks, beyond peak Spec. We are currently using this approach for optimizing customer applications.

Abstract: This work describes a technique for improving network performance in Grid environments that we refer to as "logistics." We demonstrate that by using storage and cooperative forwarding "in" the network, we can improve end to end throughput in many cases. Our approach uses TCP connections in series and offers performance benefits for high-bandwidth, high-latency networks. First, we examine the underlying causes of the logistical effect. Next, we present a graph based scheduling approach that can be solved quickly and, within our assumptions, optimally. Finally, we present a large-scale empirical evaluation of the system in order to validate our scheduling approach for taking advantage of network logistics. This study demonstrates performance improvement in many situations and aggregate speedup results are presented.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for simulating a modification to or expansion of a communications network and for determining whether the simulated modified or expanded network meets cost criteria. First logic forecasts an increase in network traffic. Second logic simulates a modification to or expansion of the network based on the forecasted increase in network traffic and/or based on performance improvement criteria and/or based on coverage expansion criteria. Third logic determines whether the simulated modified or expanded network meets cost criteria.

Abstract: In a distributed environment, materialized views are used to integrate data from different information sources and then store them in some centralized location. In order to maintain such materialized views, maintenance queries need to be sent to information sources by the data warehouse management system. Due to the independence of the information sources and the data warehouse, concurrency issues are raised between the maintenance queries and the local update transactions at each information source. Recent solutions such as ECA and Strobe tackle such concurrent maintenance, however with the requirement of quiescence of the information sources. SWEEP and POSSE overcome this limitation by decomposing the global maintenance query into smaller subqueries to be sent to every information source and then performing conflict correction locally at the data warehouse. Note that all these previous approaches handle the data updates one at a time. Hence either some of the information sources or the data warehouse is likely to be idle during most of the maintenance process. In this paper, we propose that a set of updates should be maintained in parallel by several concurrent maintenance processes so that both the information sources as well as the warehouse would be utilized more fully throughout the maintenance process. This parallelism should then improve the overall maintenance performance. For this we have developed a parallel view maintenance algorithm, called PVM, that substantially improves upon the performance of previous maintenance approaches by handling a set of data updates at the same time. The parallel handling of a set of updates is orthogonal to the particular maintenance algorithm applied to the handling of each individual update. In order to perform parallel view maintenance, we have identified two critical issues that must be overcome: (1) detecting maintenance-concurrent data updates in a parallel mode and (2) correcting the problem that the data warehouse commit order may not correspond to the data warehouse update processing order due to parallel maintenance handling. In this work, we provide solutions to both issues. For the former, we insert a middle-layer timestamp assignment module for detecting maintenance-concurrent data updates without requiring any global clock synchronization. For the latter, we introduce the negative counter concept to solve the problem of variant orders of committing effects of data updates to the data warehouse. We provide a proof of the correctness of PVM that guarantees that our strategy indeed generates the correct final data warehouse state. We have implemented both SWEEP and PVM in our EVE data warehousing system. Our performance study demonstrates that a manyfold performance improvement is achieved by PVM over SWEEP.

Abstract: Managing firms in complex contexts demands high levels of integration. In order to satisfy this increasing need, firms facing competitive environments are extensively investing in IT, namely in ERP systems. As matter of fact, the mere implementation of ERP systems can only support one of the dimensions through which integration is enacted: the information dimension. Other dimensions (cognitive and managerial) have to be reinforced in order to get effective integration. Moving from the proposition of a multidimensional concept of organizational integration, the paper analyses the integrative properties of process based performance measurement systems. It is contended that process based performance measures, on the one hand, make processes visible and relevant to people, so addressing their decisions and actions in an integrative perspective; on the other hand, the same measures drive performance improvement based upon effective integration. The paper is structured in three parts. The first part proposes a multidimensional view of the concept of integration. The second part presents a framework for the design of process based performance measurement systems. The third part discusses the case of a large multinational chemical company that has re‐focused its performance management systems on the process dimension, after the partially successful implementation of a company wide ERP system.

Abstract: Energy dissipation devices (EDDs) have been accepted as one of the viable strategies for enhancing the seismic performance of building structures. However, the current design provisions do not provide guidelines for optimizing the EDD configurations on structures. For many building structures an efficient configuration of EDDs may provide considerable performance improvement. Similarly, an optimized configuration may reduce the number of EDDs required to achieve a target performance objective. In this paper an existing building with added linear viscous dampers is redesigned based on different performance index optimization. The results indicate that the optimal device configurations are highly related to the dynamic properties of the structure and its required performance index. In one instance, where the cost is the major concern and a performance requirement is placed on story drift limitation, the total device damping coefficient can be reduced by 26%.

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to describe a method for selecting optimal engine technology solution sets while simultaneously accounting for the presence of technology risk. This method uses a genetic algorithm in conjunction with technology identification, evaluation, and selection methods to find optimal combinations of technologies. The unique feature of this method is that the technology evaluation itself is probabilistic in nature. This allows the performance impact and associated risk of each technology to be quantified in terms of a distribution on key engine technology metrics. The resulting method can best be characterized as a concurrent genetic algorithm/Monte Carlo analysis that yields a performance and risk-optimal technology solution set. This solution set is inherently a robust solution because the method will naturally strive to find those technologies representing the best compromise between performance improvement and technology risk. Finally, a practical demonstration of the method and accompanying results is given for a typical commercial aircraft engine technology selection problem.

Abstract: This paper proposes an enhanced RBF network that enhances learning algorithms between input layer and middle layer and between middle layer and output layer individually for improving the efficiency of learning The proposed network applies ART2 network as the learning structure between input layer and middle layer And the auto-tuning method of learning rate and momentum is proposed and applied to learning between middle layer and output layer, which arbitrates learning rate and momentum dynamically by using the fuzzy control system for the arbitration of the connected weight between middle layer and output layer The experiment for the classification of number patterns extracted from the citizen registration card shows that compared with conventional networks such as delta-bar-delta algorithm and the ART2-based RBF network, the proposed method achieves the improvement of performance in terms of learning speed and convergence.

Abstract: In recent years, Wireless Local Area Networks(WLANs) play a key role in the data communications and networking areas, having witnessed significant research and development. WLANs are extremely popular being almost everywhere including business,office and home deployments.In order to deal with the modem Wireless connectivity needs,the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) has developed the 802.11 standard family utilizing mainly radio transmission techniques, whereas the Infrared Data Association (IrDA) addressed the requirement for multipoint connectivity with the development of the Advanced Infrared(Alr) protocol stack. This work studies the collision avoidance procedures of the IEEE 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) protocol and suggests certain protocol enhancements aiming at maximising performance. A new, elegant and accurate analysis based on Markov chain modelling is developed for the idealistic assumption of unlimited packet retransmissions as well as for the case of finite packet retry limits. Simple equations are derived for the through put efficiency, the average packet delay, the probability of a packet being discarded when it reaches the maximum retransmission limit, the average time to drop such a packet and the packet inter-arrival time for both basic access and RTS/CTS medium access schemes.The accuracy of the mathematical model is validated by comparing analytical with OPNET simulation results. An extensive and detailed study is carried out on the influence of performance of physical layer, data rate, packet payload size and several backoff parameters for both medium access mechanisms. The previous mathematical model is extended to take into account transmission errors that can occur either independently with fixed Bit Error Rate(BER) or in bursts. The dependency of the protocol performance on BER and other factors related to independent and burst transmission errors is explored. Furthermore, a simple-implement appropriate tuning of the back off algorithm for maximizing IEEE 802-11 protocol performance is proposed depending on the specific communication requirements. The effectiveness of the RTS/CTS scheme in reducing collision duration at high data rates is studied and an all-purpose expression for the optimal use of the RTS/CTS reservation scheme is derived. Moreover, an easy-to-implement backoff algorithm that significantly enhances performance is introduced and an alternative derivation is developed based on elementary conditional probability arguments rather than bi-dimensional Markov chains. Finally, an additional performance improvement scheme is proposed by employing packet bursting in order to reduce overhead costs such as contention time and RTS/CTSex changes. Fairness is explored in short-time and long-time scales for both the legacy DCF and packet bursting cases. AIr protocol employs the RTS/CTS medium reservation scheme to cope with hidden stations and CSMA/CA techniques with linear contention window (CW) adjustment for medium access. A 1-dimensional Markov chain model is constructed instead of the bi-dimensional model in order to obtain simple mathematical equations of the average packet delay.This new approach greatly simplifies previous analyses and can be applied to any CSMA/CA protocol.The derived mathematical model is validated by comparing analytical with simulation results and an extensive Alr packet delay evaluation is carried out by taking into account all the factors and parameters that affect protocol performance. Finally, suitable values for both backoff and protocol parameters are proposed that reduce average packet delay and, thus, maximize performance.

Abstract: ARMS is an agent-based resource management system for grid computing in which agents are organized into a hierarchy and cooperate with each other to discover available grid resources using decentralized resource advertisement and discovery. Since a large-scale application of ARMS is not available, the most straightforward way to investigate the ARMS performance is through a modeling and simulation approach. In this work, an ARMS performance modeling and simulation environment (ARMSim) is presented. The ARMSim kernel is composed of a model composer and a simulation engine, while users can input related information and get simulation outputs from corresponding GUIs. A case study is included using an example model with more than 1000 agents, and several experiments carried out each involve nearly 100,000 requests. ARMSim enables the ARMS agent performance to be investigated quantitatively, and simulation results have the potential to be used at running time for online ARMS performance improvement.

Abstract: Workflow Management (WfM) systems have acquired a respectable place in the market of enterprise information systems. Although it is clear that implementation of a WfM system may shorten process execution and increase efficiency, little is known about the extent of these effects on business process performance. In this paper, we report on a running longitudinal multi-case study into the quantitative effects of WfM systems on logistic parameters such as lead time and service time. We conclude that in most cases significant decreases of lead time and service time will take place for the cases under consideration. In the presentation of our research outline, we show how we use process simulation for the validation of our measurements, the prediction of performance improvement, and the comparison of the preand postimplementation situation. As a side effect of this study, we present some interesting characteristics of actual business processes and the way WfM systems are implemented in practice.

Abstract: Although typically applied to entire enterprises, the concept of business models applies to training and performance improvement groups. Business models are “the method by which firm[s] build and use [their] resources to offer ...v alue.” Business models affect the types of projects, services offered, skills required, business processes, and type of respect accorded the training and performance improvement group. Six business models characterize training and performance improvement groups: (a) consulting firm—a group from outside an organization that advises on strategic and performance issues and implements them; (b) internal profit center—an internal group that offers services such as performance consulting and classroom and e-learning courses for a fee and makes a profit; (c) internal cost center—an internal group that provides classroom and e-learning courses and related administration at cost; (d) leveraged expertise—a small internal group of trainers who identify training needed, train subject matter experts to provide it, and handle related logistics; (e) development shop—an external group that develops training programs on contract; and (f) cours em arketers—an organization that builds courses.

Abstract: Now that the number of electronic commerce (hereunder called e-commerce) users has been explosively increasing, the consequent heavy network traffic leads to the delayed service of the e-commerce systems. This paper focuses on operational efficiency and response speed of the e-commerce systems. An e-commerce system, with a hierarchical structure based on the local server, is designed. And we proposed a web object replacement algorithm with heterogeneity of a web object. The algorithm is designed with a divided scope that considered size reference characteristic and reduced size heterogeneity on web object. The performances of the system and algorithm are analyzed with an experiment. With the experiment results, the algorithm is compared with previous replacement algorithms, and we confirm with 10–20% performance improvement of object-hit ratio gain. And we get with 15–30% performance improvement of response speed with proposed system.

Abstract: The paper presents a study of improving the dynamic performance of a synchronous generator based wind power generation system, where a power electronic interface system is used for the variable speed wind turbine Operation and control of the generation system are discussed A method of improving the system dynamic performance, the use of a thyristor controlled resistor bank braking system, is studied Simulations have been carried out to investigate the system performance and results are presented

Abstract: Business performance measurement, across industries, has significantly changed over the past two decades, integrating non-financial with financial measures. Moreover, the Egan and Latham reports have advocated performance improvement in the construction industry, with performance measurement being a key element. The purpose of this paper is to theoretically formulate a framework for measuring business performance in construction. The framework builds upon the well-established principles of the Balanced Scorecard and Business Excellence models. Formulation is based on integrating the criteria / perspectives of the founding frameworks into performance factors, and integrating the underlying logic. The formulation process is evaluated by comparing the proposed framework against the Balanced Scorecard, Excellence models, Total Quality Management frameworks in literature, and to the Performance Prism. The proposed framework is further adapted for construction companies and is shown to include the Construction Best Practice Programme - Key Performance Indicators that are based on Egan's industry report.

Abstract: A new beyond-3G system, named dynamic parameter controlled orthogonal frequency and time division multiple access (DPC/OF-TDMA) is being developed in Japan. In this system, a decision-directed channel estimation (DDCE) technique can be employed for increased channel estimation accuracy in a fast fading environment. This technique, however, has a structurally unavoidable processing delay due to the decision for the generation of new reference data. In the fast fading environment, propagation characteristics vary during this delay, resulting in channel estimation error or considerable output delay. The paper proposes a novel DDCE method to reduce such estimation error. The proposed channel estimation method is performed by introducing circuits that are independent of the system output process. These independent circuits enable considerable output delay to be avoided. In addition, the paper proposes a method of detecting inaccurate channel estimates obtained for errors of decoded data to increase channel estimation accuracy.

Abstract: Performance is an essential aspect of many software systems, and it is important for programmers to understand performance issues. However, most undergraduate curricula do not explicitly cover performance issues---performance monitoring and profiling tools, performance improvement techniques, and case studies---in their curricula. This paper describes how we address this topic as part of a third-year programming course. We focus on tools and techniques for monitoring and improving performance, as well as the interaction between clean program design and performance tuning.

Abstract: An increasing number of systems are adopting orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) as their high-speed wireless transmission method supporting multiple users, and impacts on performance of OFDMA systems under mobile cellular environments are currently being investigated. In this paper, channel state and quality estimation performance issues are addressed for varying types of pilot structures in the transmitted burst. It is demonstrated that significant performance variations can occur in estimation of the state and quality of the wireless link depending on the pilot pattern used in the preamble symbol. In particular, advantages of using disjoint patterns for downlink transmission from adjacent cells are quantitatively presented, by evaluating the bit error rate and the carrier-to-interference ratio (CIR) estimation performance.

Abstract: An analytic expression is derived for closed-loop output behavior under a multiloop PID control. Based on the analytic expression obtained, optimization problems are formulated to assess 1) best achievable quadratic performance using multiloop PID control, 2) best achievable quadratic performance on key process variables while maintaining reasonable performance on other less critical process variables, 3) achievable performance improvement with decouplers, and 4) effects of loop pairing on achievable performance. It is shown through a simulated example that individual loop performance as well as the overall multiloop PID control performance can be assessed by using the proposed method.

Abstract: This column will highlight insights and best practices from the field that can be utilized around the country to be successful in the new accreditation process. I invite you to freely share your ideas, tips, strategies, and experiences, or pose questions that others may have experienced to share their insight and approaches. Please feel free to contact me to submit ideas/best practices for future columns. The first column presents a strategy for sharing and disseminating critical information for one of the National Patient Safety Goals.