How to measure competition? The role of price dispersion in B2B supply markets

Since the formation of close relationships with suppliers requires a considerable amount of resources, the capacities for such relationships are limited. Thus, recently, research points into the direction that it might not be conducive to unconditionally engage in strategic buyer-supplier alliances. Specifically, in those cases where there is a vivid competition within the supply market, it might not be necessary to cooperate closely. However, a convenient measurement method for competition has been missing in the literature so far. Accordingly, this conceptual paper translates insights from the field of economics for an application in purchasing and supply management. It is recommended to evaluate the product price dispersion of supplier quotations in order to assess the intensity of competition in supply markets. As a consequence, this conceptual paper paves the way for future research on competition between suppliers. For managers, the proposed method could support the development of efficient purchasing strategies

Estimates of heterosis and inbreeding depression for crosses of lowa maize populations

Relative success of maize (Zea mays L.) breeding programs depends on the proper choice of parental germplasm and the recognition and the use of heterotic groups. Our objective was to identify maize populations with exotic germplasm that would be potentially useful germplasm sources in temperate area maize breeding programs. A factorial mating design was used to produce 35 crosses between seven Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic and five non-Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic populations. The 12 parental populations and their 35 population crosses also were selfed to produce F2 generation. The two sets of genetic materials were evaluated at five Iowa locations for two years. Estimates of general combining ability (GCA) for each parental population and specific combining ability (SCA), heterosis (H) and inbreeding depression (ID) for each population cross were determined for grain yield. The population cross, BS10(FR)C14 by BS29(R)C3, had the greatest significant estimate of SCA (0.55* t ha-1), the greatest grain yield at the F1 (8.30 t ha-1) and F2 (6.71 t ha-1) generations, the lowest estimate of ID (1.59 t ha-1), but the estimate of H (1.90 t ha-1) was similar to the average estimate of H (1.74 t ha-1) for all crosses. BS10(FR)C14 is a selected strain within the Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic heterotic group, whereas BS29(R)C3 is an adapted strain of Suwan-1 a tropical cultivar that originated in Thailand. BSSS(R)C14 (0.63* t ha-1) and BS13(S)C9 (0.54* t ha-1), both selected strains of Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic, had the greatest estimates of GCA of all parental populations; BS10(FR)C14 had a significantly positive GCA estimate (0.25* t ha-1), which was similar in magnitude to the GCA estimates for BS11(FR)C14, BS29(R)C3, and BSCB1(R)C14 of the non-Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic heterotic group. The data provide information on the relative performance of the populations assigned to the respective heterotic groups of the U.S. Corn Belt, and that BS29(R)C3 includes germplasm that could enhance the genetic variation of the non-Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic heterotic group

Near-Memory Parallel Indexing and Coalescing: Enabling Highly Efficient Indirect Access for SpMV

Sparse matrix vector multiplication (SpMV) is central to numerous data-intensive applications, but requires streaming indirect memory accesses that severely degrade both processing and memory throughput in state-of-the-art architectures. Near-memory hardware units, decoupling indirect streams from processing elements, partially alleviate the bottleneck, but rely on low DRAM access granularity, which is highly inefficient for modern DRAM standards like HBM and LPDDR. To fully address the end-to-end challenge, we propose a low-overhead data coalescer combined with a near-memory indirect streaming unit for AXI-Pack, an extension to the widespread AXI4 protocol packing narrow irregular stream elements onto wide memory buses. Our combined solution leverages the memory-level parallelism and coalescence of streaming indirect accesses in irregular applications like SpMV to maximize the performance and bandwidth efficiency attained on wide memory interfaces. Our solution delivers an average speedup of 8x in effective indirect access, often reaching the full memory bandwidth. As a result, we achieve an average end-to-end speedup on SpMV of 3x. Moreover, our approach demonstrates remarkable on-chip efficiency, requiring merely 27kB of on-chip storage and a very compact implementation area of 0.2-0.3mm^2 in a 12nm node.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to DATE 202

A High-performance, Energy-efficient Modular DMA Engine Architecture

Data transfers are essential in today's computing systems as latency and complex memory access patterns are increasingly challenging to manage. Direct memory access engines (DMAEs) are critically needed to transfer data independently of the processing elements, hiding latency and achieving high throughput even for complex access patterns to high-latency memory. With the prevalence of heterogeneous systems, DMAEs must operate efficiently in increasingly diverse environments. This work proposes a modular and highly configurable open-source DMAE architecture called intelligent DMA (iDMA), split into three parts that can be composed and customized independently. The front-end implements the control plane binding to the surrounding system. The mid-end accelerates complex data transfer patterns such as multi-dimensional transfers, scattering, or gathering. The back-end interfaces with the on-chip communication fabric (data plane). We assess the efficiency of iDMA in various instantiations: In high-performance systems, we achieve speedups of up to 15.8x with only 1 % additional area compared to a base system without a DMAE. We achieve an area reduction of 10 % while improving ML inference performance by 23 % in ultra-low-energy edge AI systems over an existing DMAE solution. We provide area, timing, latency, and performance characterization to guide its instantiation in various systems.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted by an IEEE journal for publicatio

The Grizzly, November 5, 1982

Clinic Offered for Ski-Bums • Outstanding Choral Students Chosen • U.C. Poses for Posterity • Letters to the Editor: Greeks Piqued • USGA Notes • President\u27s Corner • Ropes and Chains or Can You Eat Plasterboard? • Protheatre Presents Comedy at its Best • The Messiah is Coming! • The World\u27s Largest Picture at Ursinus: Get Yours Now! • Take That, West Chester! • Soccer Season Ends With Win Over Widener • Bear Pack Waltzes to Victory • Bears Battle But Lose War • Lady Bears Dominatehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1087/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, October 15, 1982

Students for Peace and Progress Get Started • Homecoming 1982 • Annual Parents Day a Success • Letters to the Editor • Opinion: Sorority Rushing Needs Revision • Lantern Format Undecided • Dance-a-Thon for Lupus • Japan: Big and Real • New Art at Myrin • Bear Booters Win Three • Now Hold it Just a Minute! • Grizzlies Win Third Straight • X-Country Wins • Penn Blasts Lady Bears 3-0https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1084/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, November 19, 1982

Dorm Intrusion: Attack Prompts Security Changes • Council Approves Precalc • Student Apathy: Who Cares? • Elephants and Donkeys Revived on Campus • President\u27s Corner • Pledging Changes Planned • Commentary: Be a Good Boy, Johnny - Take Back Your Tray • Lewis on Wall Street • Applying for the Job • Robert Hazard: The Grizzly Interview • Final Exam Schedule • Grizzly Paws Boost Football Program • Women\u27s Basketball Set to Have Big Season • X-Country Takes a Disappointing Sixth • Soccer Team Was Tough All Year • Men\u27s Swimming Falls to Dickinson in Openerhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1089/thumbnail.jp