A computer system uses several serial files. The files reside on a direct-access storage device in which storage space is limited. Records are added to the files either by jobs in batch processing mode, or by on-line transactions. Each transaction (or job) generates a demand vector which designates the space required in each file for record addition. Whenever one file runs out of space, the sys...

This paper addresses the mixed integer reliability redundancy allocation problems to determine simultaneous allocation of optimal reliability and redundancy level of components based on three objective goals. System engineering principles suggest that the best design is the design that maximizes the system operational effectiveness and at the same time minimizes the total cost of ownership (TCO...

In this paper we consider the problem of allocating bandwidth to two transmitters/queues with arbitrary arrival processes, so as to minimize the total expected (discounted) holding cost of backlogged packets in the system over a finite (infinite) horizon. The bandwidth is in the form of time slots in a TDMA schedule. Allocation decisions are made based on the queue backlog information, which is...

Recently, Charnov (1996) investigated the consequences of sperm competition for optimal sex allocation in simultaneous hermaphrodites. Charnov argued that the optimal sex allocation strategy can be derived on the basis of the ‘sperm displacement rule’; that is, the function describing the relationship between sperm production and sperm displacement. Based on three specific examples of such sper...

We present a new Lagrangian-based iterative technique for rate{distortion optimization under multiple rate constraints. We show how for sets of \lin-ear" constraints this technique can be proven to be optimal up to a convex hull approximation. As an application we consider the problem of optimal buuer-constrained bit allocation. Our technique can be used to nd an excellent approximation to the ...

We study optimal allocation and pricing on a network of competing buyers. Buyers have private information about the value of an item being sold (such as franchise contract, good, service). Furthermore, buyers place a premium on obtaining the item exclusively, i.e., if no competitors obtain the item at the same time. We show that the seller limited to offering posted price contracts should infla...

The delivery of large files to single users, such as application programs for some versions of the envisioned network computer, or movies, is expected by many to be one of the main requirements of communication networks. This requires expensive high bandwidth capacity as well as fast and high storage servers. This motivates multimedia providers to optimize the delivery distances, as well as the...

Often an organization or government must allocate goods without collecting payment in return. This may pose a di¢ cult problem either when agents receiving those goods have private information in regards to their values or needs or when discriminating among agents using known di¤erences is not a viable option. In this paper, we …nd an optimal mechanism to allocate goods when the designer is ben...

Suppose we wish to decide which of two treatments is better, where the outcomes are Bernoulli random variables, the success probabilities of which, themselves, are modeled as independent beta random variables. Assume that the maximal population size for the experiment is xed, but that the length of the study and the number and order of patients assigned to each treatment may be random. Our goal...