Forming efficient agent groups for completing complex tasks

In this paper we produce complexity and impossibility results and develop algorithms for a task allocation problem that needs to be solved by a group of autonomous agents working together. In particular, each task is assumed to be composed of several subtasks and involves an associated predetermined and known overall payment (set by the task’s owner) for its completion. However, the division of this payment among the corresponding contributors is not predefined. Now to accomplish a particular task, all its subtasks need to be allocated to agents with the necessary capabilities and the agents’ corresponding costs need to fall within the preset overall task payment. For this scenario, we first provide a cooperative agent system designer with a practical solution that achieves an efficient allocation. However, this solution is not applicable for non-cooperative settings. Consequently, we go on to provide a detailed analysis where we prove that certain design goals cannot be achieved if the agents are self interested. Specifically, we prove that for the general case, no protocol achieving the efficient solution can exist that is individually rational and budget balanced. We show that although efficient protocols may exist in some settings, these will inevitably be setting-specific

All Maximal Independent Sets and Dynamic Dominance for Sparse Graphs

We describe algorithms, based on Avis and Fukuda's reverse search paradigm, for listing all maximal independent sets in a sparse graph in polynomial time and delay per output. For bounded degree graphs, our algorithms take constant time per set generated; for minor-closed graph families, the time is O(n) per set, and for more general sparse graph families we achieve subquadratic time per set. We also describe new data structures for maintaining a dynamic vertex set S in a sparse or minor-closed graph family, and querying the number of vertices not dominated by S; for minor-closed graph families the time per update is constant, while it is sublinear for any sparse graph family. We can also maintain a dynamic vertex set in an arbitrary m-edge graph and test the independence of the maintained set in time O(sqrt m) per update. We use the domination data structures as part of our enumeration algorithms.Comment: 10 page

Distinct Quantum States Can Be Compatible with a Single State of Reality

Perhaps the quantum state represents information about reality, and not reality directly. Wave function collapse is then possibly no more mysterious than a Bayesian update of a probability distribution given new data. We consider models for quantum systems with measurement outcomes determined by an underlying physical state of the system but where several quantum states are consistent with a single underlying state---i.e., probability distributions for distinct quantum states overlap. Significantly, we demonstrate by example that additional assumptions are always necessary to rule out such a model.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Dynamics of a quantum reference frame undergoing selective measurements and coherent interactions

We consider the dynamics of a quantum directional reference frame undergoing repeated interactions. We first describe how a precise sequence of measurement outcomes affects the reference frame, looking at both the case that the measurement record is averaged over and the case wherein it is retained. We find, in particular, that there is interesting dynamics in the latter situation which cannot be revealed by considering the averaged case. We then consider in detail how a sequence of rotationally invariant unitary interactions affects the reference frame, a situation which leads to quite different dynamics than the case of repeated measurements. We then consider strategies for correcting reference frame drift if we are given a set of particles with polarization opposite to the direction of drift. In particular, we find that by implementing a suitably chosen unitary interaction after every two measurements we can eliminate the rotational drift of the reference frame.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Infall, Outflow, Rotation, and Turbulent Motions of Dense Gas within NGC 1333 IRAS 4

Millimeter wavelength observations are presented of NGC 1333 IRAS 4, a group of highly-embedded young stellar objects in Perseus, that reveal motions of infall, outflow, rotation, and turbulence in the dense gas around its two brightest continuum objects, 4A and 4B. These data have finest angular resolution of approximately 2" (0.0034 pc) and finest velocity resolution of 0.13 km/s. Infall motions are seen from inverse P-Cygni profiles observed in H2CO 3_12-2_11 toward both objects, but also in CS 3-2 and N2H+ 1-0 toward 4A, providing the least ambiguous evidence for such motions toward low-mass protostellar objects. Outflow motions are probed by bright line wings of H2CO 3_12-2_11 and CS 3-2 observed at positions offset from 4A and 4B, likely tracing dense cavity walls. Rotational motions of dense gas are traced by a systematic variation of the N2H+ line velocities, and such variations are found around 4A but not around 4B. Turbulent motions appear reduced with scale, given N2H+ line widths around both 4A and 4B that are narrower by factors of 2 or 3 than those seen from single-dish observations. Minimum observed line widths of approximately 0.2 km/s provide a new low, upper bound to the velocity dispersion of the parent core to IRAS 4, and demonstrate that turbulence within regions of clustered star formation can be reduced significantly. A third continuum object in the region, 4B', shows no detectable line emission in any of the observed molecular species.Comment: LateX, 51 pages, 9 figures, accepted by Ap

A Pillar For Successful Business School Accreditation: Conducting The Curriculum Review Process A Systematic Approach

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) describes their accreditation as the hallmark of business education. According to information at BestBizSchools.com (n.d.), AACSB accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Being AACSB accredited means a business school is able to continuously pass a strict set of standards that ensure quality. As of December 2010, only 5%, or 607, of the academic business programs globally were accredited by AACSB. This number represents schools in 38 countries where the majority of programs incorporate both undergraduate and graduate education covering business, accounting, or both. An institution must be a member of AACSB in order to apply for accreditation. It is important to note, however, that membership does not imply that the program is accredited (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, n.d.-a). Recent emphasis demanding external validation on the quality of Business Schools has resulted in the promotion of AACSB accreditation as the de facto quality standard. Earning this quality seal of approval, business programs can verify they have met the 21 AACSB standards that cover strategic, participant, and assurance of learning achievements and processes. Programs with AACSB accreditation are encouraged to promote the standard using it to externally validate their quality and to market their programs to external groups including students, employers, and contributors (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, n.d.-b). Despite established standards, no single approach to meeting standards for accreditation is suggested by AACSB. Rather, varying approaches to meeting standards should be developed to fit individual programs of institutions (Bryant & Scherer, 2009). This position by AACSB underscores its recognition of the diversity across accredited programs and allows educators wide latitude in developing and implementing approaches to excellence. Small programs are not disadvantaged so long as their students, faculty, graduates, and the employers who hire them receive the quality outputs that help them meet the external competitive requirements (Olian, 2007). In recognition of member institutions diversity, the AACSB has established the Affinity Group program where school administrators from schools sharing similar characteristics can interact, exchange ideas, and present views on a wide range of issues (Olian, 2007). This allows AACSB member schools, who have varying missions and constituents, to find and link with other programs of a similar nature where creativity and synergy can more easily occur. The AACSB wants the accreditation process to help facilitate creativity in designing business school strategies rather than being viewed as an impediment to a programs push to quality (Romero, 2008)

A Pillar For Successful Business School Accreditation: Conducting The Curriculum Review Process A Systematic Approach

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) describes their accreditation as the hallmark of business education. According to information at BestBizSchools.com (n.d.), AACSB accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Being AACSB accredited means a business school is able to continuously pass a strict set of standards that ensure quality. As of December 2010, only 5%, or 607, of the academic business programs globally were accredited by AACSB. This number represents schools in 38 countries where the majority of programs incorporate both undergraduate and graduate education covering business, accounting, or both. An institution must be a member of AACSB in order to apply for accreditation. It is important to note, however, that membership does not imply that the program is accredited (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, n.d.-a). Recent emphasis demanding external validation on the quality of Business Schools has resulted in the promotion of AACSB accreditation as the de facto quality standard. Earning this quality seal of approval, business programs can verify they have met the 21 AACSB standards that cover strategic, participant, and assurance of learning achievements and processes. Programs with AACSB accreditation are encouraged to promote the standard using it to externally validate their quality and to market their programs to external groups including students, employers, and contributors (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, n.d.-b). Despite established standards, no single approach to meeting standards for accreditation is suggested by AACSB. Rather, varying approaches to meeting standards should be developed to fit individual programs of institutions (Bryant & Scherer, 2009). This position by AACSB underscores its recognition of the diversity across accredited programs and allows educators wide latitude in developing and implementing approaches to excellence. Small programs are not disadvantaged so long as their students, faculty, graduates, and the employers who hire them receive the quality outputs that help them meet the external competitive requirements (Olian, 2007). In recognition of member institutions diversity, the AACSB has established the Affinity Group program where school administrators from schools sharing similar characteristics can interact, exchange ideas, and present views on a wide range of issues (Olian, 2007). This allows AACSB member schools, who have varying missions and constituents, to find and link with other programs of a similar nature where creativity and synergy can more easily occur. The AACSB wants the accreditation process to help facilitate creativity in designing business school strategies rather than being viewed as an impediment to a programs push to quality (Romero, 2008)

The WAY theorem and the quantum resource theory of asymmetry

The WAY theorem establishes an important constraint that conservation laws impose on quantum mechanical measurements. We formulate the WAY theorem in the broader context of resource theories, where one is constrained to a subset of quantum mechanical operations described by a symmetry group. Establishing connections with the theory of quantum state discrimination we obtain optimal unitaries describing the measurement of arbitrary observables, explain how prior information can permit perfect measurements that circumvent the WAY constraint, and provide a framework that establishes a natural ordering on measurement apparatuses through a decomposition into asymmetry and charge subsystems.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Assessment of the Water Quality in the Salt River Prior to Its Impoundment in Anderson and Spencer Counties, Kentucky

Monthly water samples were taken and analyzed to determine the water quality of the Salt River in Anderson and Spencer counties Kentucky prior to the river\u27s impoundment. Sediments from the area watershed were analyzed to total acid digestion, barium chloride extraction, and aqueous extraction methods. Rainwater and runoff water were collected and analyzed for major cations and anions from two sites in the watershed. The Salt River at Taylorsville is characterized by hard water with high levels of calcium (33.5-74.8 mg/1), bicarbonate (136-236 mg/l), specific conductance (200-535 μmhos/cm), and sulfate (16.5-71.5 mg/l). Nitrates (0.6-5.7 mg/l), phosphates (0.2-2.4 mg/l), sodium (3.2-20.3 mg/l), and potassium (1.3-5.6 mg/l), are moderate. Iron, manganese, copper, and nitrites are less than 0.5 mg/1. Suspended solids in the river (4.0-l ,684.0 mg/l) are highly variable and directly related to fluctuations in discharge. Sediments from the Salt River Basin are high in potassium (12.4-213.3 mg/g) and iron (23.4-135.1 mg/g), with moderate levels of calcium (0.8-45.7 mg/g), sodium (4.5-10.5 mg/g), magnesium (3.2-6.3 mg/g), and phosphate (1.3-15.3 mg/g). Approximately 10% of the total ionic composition of these sediments is exchangeable and may be extracted with barium chloride. Calcium (309-3,292 μg/g), was the most readily adsorbed cation, with lower levels of potassium (17.6-490.5 μg/g), sodium (12.9-458.1 μg/g), and magnesium (89.4-266.2 μg/g). In the aqueous extractions, calcium (18-486 μg/g), potassium (16.6-69.5 μg/g), sodium (11.1-30.8 μg/g), and magnesium (6.6-68.7 μg/g) comprised about 10% of the exchangeable fraction. Ranges of rainwater ions from the Salt River Basin were: sulfate (8.3-27.8 mg/l), calcium (0.3-10.7 mg/l), potassium (0.4-15.4 mg/l), sodium (0.0-0.7 mg/l), and magnesium (0.1-2.8 mg/l). Ionic composition and sediment yield of runoff water was variable and was related to magnitude of rainfall and runoff sampler placement. Ranges for selected constituents at the two samplers near Taylorsville were: suspended solids (44.0-8,808.0 mg/l), potassium (1.1-84.0 mg/l), magnesium (l.5-7.1 mg/l), calcium (9.5-33.0 mg/l), and sodium (0.6-3.0 mg/l). Calcium and bicarbonate in the Salt River originate from weathering of calcite, although mole ratios of these two ions greater than 1:2 suggest that weathering of magnesium carbonates also contributes bicarbonate to the water. Carbonate equilibrium calculations using field pH and ionic strength suggest calcium is at saturation in the Salt River. High levels of sulfate in rainwater indicate some of this anion may be introduced into the area watershed by atmospheric precipitation