This paper presents research methodologies for collecting speech data and gives observations from a recent set of conversational speech collections before describing their outcomes. The presentation begins with a comparison of the relative challenges offered by broadcast news, telephone conversation and meeting recordings. The remainder of the discussion focuses on methods for collection of con...

This paper studies optimal switching on and off the full capacity of an M/M/∞ queue with holding, running and switching costs. The main result is that an average-cost optimal policy either always runs the system or is defined by two thresholds M and N, such that the system is switched on at arrival epochs when the number of customers in the system accumulates to N and it is switched off at depa...

Absract : The success of third-generation mobile communication systems, e.g., UMTS, will depend on the Quality of Service (QoS) that the mobile users will perceive, and whether the QoS levels will be provided in a cost efficient manner. In this perspective, the importance of tools for “proper” planning of a mobile system becomes straightforward. In the context of this paper, we present such pla...

The purpose of this study is to explore the emerging applications of E-Government, both in the United States and in the International Community. Information technology allows governments to service citizens in a more timely, effective, and cost-efficient method. E-Government implementation may meet initial citizen resistance, require cultural sensitivity, and change the way citizens and governm...

Although small, medium and micro enterprises (SMEs, mEs) play a decisive role in the European digital economy, they have been identified as one of the weakest links in information security. Identifying these security weaknesses and needs we parameterize our open collaborative environment STORM in order to offer a cost-efficient tool to the SMEs and mEs for self-managing their security.

Traditional financial asset lease operates in an asset provider centred mode, inwhich financiers passively provide financial solutions to the customers of their allied asset vendors. To capture the highly customised asset lease demands from the mass market, this paper advocates adopting a financier-led asset lease model shifting the asset lease to be customer-oriented. In this model, a financie...

BJOLP, The Big Joint Optimal Landmarks Planner uses landmarks to derive an admissible heuristic, which is then used to guide a search for a cost-optimal plan. In this paper we review landmarks and describe how they can be used to derive an admissible heuristic. We conclude with presenting the BJOLP

A cost-optimal nonperiodic inspection policy is derived for complex multicomponent systems. The model takes into consideration the degradation of all the components in the system with the use of a Bessel process with drift. The inspection times are determined by a deterministic function and depend on the system’s performance measure. The nonperiodic policy is developed by evaluating the expecte...

When designing a sourcing strategy in practice, a key task is to determine the average order rates placed to each source because that affects costs and supplier management. We consider a firm that has access to a responsive near-shore source (e.g., Mexico) and a low-cost offshore source (e.g., China). The firm must determine an inventory sourcing policy to satisfy random demand over time. Unfor...

bstract: The paper analyzes the efficiency and productivity of the Romanian banks from 2006-08. It uses a non-parametric approach, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) to analyze banks’ efficiency. Based on a sample of 15 commercial banks, our findings reveal that although the efficiency of the Romanian commercial banks improved since 2006, the cost efficiency scores are relatively low. Also, ev...