CHINA: WATER RESOURCE PROBLEMS

Fresh water resources are a fundamental condition for mankind’s existence and social development.At present mankind is consuming the limited fresh water resources at an unprecedented scale and speed.From 1955 to 1990,the countries in the world short of water have amounted to 20 from seven. According to statistical figures from the UN Population Action International,by 2025,10-15 more countries will be short of water.

A Pre-Selection-Based Ant Colony System for Integrated Resources Scheduling Problem at Marine Container Terminal

Marine container terminal(MCT)plays a key role in the marine intelligent transportation system and international logistics system.However,the efficiency of resource scheduling significantly influences the operation performance of MCT.To solve the practical resource scheduling problem(RSP)in MCT efficiently,this paper has contributions to both the problem model and the algorithm design.Firstly,in the problem model,different from most of the existing studies that only consider scheduling part of the resources in MCT,we propose a unified mathematical model for formulating an integrated RSP.The new integrated RSP model allocates and schedules multiple MCT resources simultaneously by taking the total cost minimization as the objective.Secondly,in the algorithm design,a pre-selection-based ant colony system(PACS)approach is proposed based on graphic structure solution representation and a pre-selection strategy.On the one hand,as the RSP can be formulated as the shortest path problem on the directed complete graph,the graphic structure is proposed to represent the solution encoding to consider multiple constraints and multiple factors of the RSP,which effectively avoids the generation of infeasible solutions.On the other hand,the pre-selection strategy aims to reduce the computational burden of PACS and to fast obtain a higher-quality solution.To evaluate the performance of the proposed novel PACS in solving the new integrated RSP model,a set of test cases with different sizes is conducted.Experimental results and comparisons show the effectiveness and efficiency of the PACS algorithm,which can significantly outperform other state-of-the-art algorithms.

Approximate Dynamic Programming for Stochastic Resource Allocation Problems

A stochastic resource allocation model, based on the principles of Markov decision processes(MDPs), is proposed in this paper. In particular, a general-purpose framework is developed, which takes into account resource requests for both instant and future needs. The considered framework can handle two types of reservations(i.e., specified and unspecified time interval reservation requests), and implement an overbooking business strategy to further increase business revenues. The resulting dynamic pricing problems can be regarded as sequential decision-making problems under uncertainty, which is solved by means of stochastic dynamic programming(DP) based algorithms. In this regard, Bellman’s backward principle of optimality is exploited in order to provide all the implementation mechanisms for the proposed reservation pricing algorithm. The curse of dimensionality, as the inevitable issue of the DP both for instant resource requests and future resource reservations,occurs. In particular, an approximate dynamic programming(ADP) technique based on linear function approximations is applied to solve such scalability issues. Several examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Latest Developments and Problems in Standardization of Resource Control Technologies for NGN

As a hot spot of next generation network, research over resource control has been carried out for years both in China and abroad. With a gradual progress in standardization, this field presents new development trends and features. Based on latest progresses in standardization promoted by ITU-T, TISPAN and 3GPP, new technologies concerned with resource control are introduced. Considering the problems faced in standardization deployment, relevant resource control functions are also analyzed in this article.

Solving resource availability cost problem in project scheduling by pseudo particle swarm optimization

This paper considers a project scheduling problem with the objective of minimizing resource availability costs appealed to finish al activities before the deadline. There are finish-start type precedence relations among the activities which require some kinds of renewable resources. We predigest the process of sol-ving the resource availability cost problem （RACP） by using start time of each activity to code the schedule. Then, a novel heuris-tic algorithm is proposed to make the process of looking for the best solution efficiently. And then pseudo particle swarm optimiza-tion （PPSO） combined with PSO and path relinking procedure is presented to solve the RACP. Final y, comparative computational experiments are designed and the computational results show that the proposed method is very effective to solve RACP.

Resource Planning and Allocation Problem Under Uncertain Environment

This paper generalizes the classic resource allocation problem to the resource planning and allocation problem, in which the resource itself is a decision variable and the cost of each activity is uncertain when the resource is determined. The authors formulate this problem as a two-stage stochastic programming. The authors first propose an efficient algorithm for the case with finite states. Then, a sudgradient method is proposed for the general case and it is shown that the simple algorithm for the unique state case can be used to compute the subgradient of the objective function. Numerical experiments are conducted to show the effectiveness of the model.

A New Algorithm for Resource Constraint Project Scheduling Problem Based on Multi-Agent Systems

The resource constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) and a decision-making model based on multi-agent systems (MAS) and general equilibrium marketing are proposed. An algorithm leading to the resource allocation decision involved in RCPSP has also been developed. And this algorithm can be used in the multi-project scheduling field as well.Finally, an illustration is given.

An Intelligent System for a Resource Allocation Problem Based on Fuzzy Reasoning

The development of the assistive abilities regarding the decision-making process o fan Intelligent Control System （ICS） like a fuzzy expert system implies the development of its functionality and its ability of specification. Fuzzy expert systems can model fuzzy controllers, i.e., the knowledge representation and the abilities of making decisions corresponding to fuzzy expert systems are much more complicated that in the case of standard fuzzy controllers. The expert system acts also as a supervisor, creating meta-level reasoning on a set of fuzzy controllers, in order to choose the best one for the management of the process. Knowledge Management Systems （KMSs） is a new development paradigm of Intelligent Systems which has resulted from a synergy between fuzzy sets, artificial neural networks, evolutionary computation, machine learning, etc., broadening computer science, physics, economics, engineering, mathematics. This paper presents, after a synergic new paradigm of intelligent systems, as a practical case study the fuzzy and temporal properties of knowledge formalism embedded in an ICS. We are not dealing high with level reasoning methods, because we think that real-time problems can only be solved by rather low-level reasoning. Solving the match-time predictability problem would allow us to build much more powerful reasoning techniques.

Multi-Mode Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Models for Progress and Equal Time Interval Payments

This study utilizes a time-precedence network technique to construct two models of multi-mode resource constrained project scheduling problem with discounted cash flows （MRCPSPDCF）, individually including the progress payment （PP） and the payment at an equal time interval （ETI）. The objective of each model is to maximize the net present value （NPV） for all cash flows in the project, subject to the related operational constraints. The models are characterized as NP-hard. A heuristic algorithm, coupled with two upper bound solutions, is proposed to efficiently solve the models and evaluate the heuristic algorithm performance which was not performed in past studies. The results show that the performance of proposed models and heuristic algorithm is good.

A COMPREHENSIVE DEA APPROACH FOR THE RESOURCE ALLOCATION PROBLEM BASED ON SCALE ECONOMIES CLASSIFICATION

This paper is concerned with the resource allocation problem based on data envelopment analysis （DEA） which is generally found in practice such as in public services and in production process. In management context, the resource allocation has to achieve the effective-efficient-equality aim and tries to balance the different desires of two management layers： central manager and each sector. In mathematical programming context, to solve the resource allocation asks for introducing many optimization techniques such as multiple-objective programming and goal programming. We construct an algorithm framework by using comprehensive DEA tools including CCR, BCC models, inverse DEA model, the most compromising common weights analysis model, and extra resource allocation algorithm. Returns to scale characteristic is put major place for analyzing DMUs＇ scale economies and used to select DMU candidates before resource allocation. By combining extra resource allocation algorithm with scale economies target, we propose a resource allocation solution, which can achieve the effective-efficient-equality target and also provide information for future resource allocation. Many numerical examples are discussed in this paper, which also verify our work.

Distributed stochastic mirror descent algorithm for resource allocation problem

In this paper,we consider a distributed resource allocation problem of minimizing a global convex function formed by a sum of local convex functions with coupling constraints.Based on neighbor communication and stochastic gradient,a distributed stochastic mirror descent algorithm is designed for the distributed resource allocation problem.Sublinear convergence to an optimal solution of the proposed algorithm is given when the second moments of the gradient noises are summable.A numerical example is also given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Distributed Communication-Sliding Mirror-Descent Algorithm for Nonsmooth Resource Allocation Problem

This paper considers a distributed nonsmooth resource allocation problem of minimizing a global convex function formed by a sum of local nonsmooth convex functions with coupled constraints.A distributed communication-efficient mirror-descent algorithm,which can reduce communication rounds between agents over the network,is designed for the distributed resource allocation problem.By employing communication-sliding methods,agents can find aε-solution in O(1/ε)communication rounds while maintaining O(1/ε^(2))subgradient evaluations for nonsmooth convex functions.A numerical example is also given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

China Has The Serious Problem Of Insufficient Guarantee Of Nonferrous Metal Resources

'China has made positive achievements in major nonferrous metal mineral prospecting,yet without any significant breakthrough;with the increase of mining intensity,the declining reserve-production ratio is becoming more and more obvious,'said Shang Fushan,Vice President of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association.