Small Space Stream Summary for Matroid Center

In the matroid center problem, which generalizes the k-center problem, we need to pick a set of centers that is an independent set of a matroid with rank r. We study this problem in streaming, where elements of the ground set arrive in the stream. We first show that any randomized one-pass streaming algorithm that computes a better than Delta-approximation for partition-matroid center must use Omega(r^2) bits of space, where Delta is the aspect ratio of the metric and can be arbitrarily large. This shows a quadratic separation between matroid center and k-center, for which the Doubling algorithm [Charikar et al., 1997] gives an 8-approximation using O(k)-space and one pass. To complement this, we give a one-pass algorithm for matroid center that stores at most O(r^2 log(1/epsilon)/epsilon) points (viz., stream summary) among which a (7+epsilon)-approximate solution exists, which can be found by brute force, or a (17+epsilon)-approximation can be found with an efficient algorithm. If we are allowed a second pass, we can compute a (3+epsilon)-approximation efficiently. We also consider the problem of matroid center with z outliers and give a one-pass algorithm that outputs a set of O((r^2+rz)log(1/epsilon)/epsilon) points that contains a (15+epsilon)-approximate solution. Our techniques extend to knapsack center and knapsack center with z outliers in a straightforward way, and we get algorithms that use space linear in the size of a largest feasible set (as opposed to quadratic space for matroid center)

VICTORS: A New Framework for Managing Customer Experience in Gaming

With competition increasing all over the world, integrated casino resorts are finding it increasingly difficult to acquire new customers and retain existing customers. The days of “build it and they will come” are well and truly behind us. Offering a superior customer experience (CX) is the only way for operators to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Based on an exhaustive literature review and validated by real world implementation, this presentation will introduce the audience to a new framework of customer experience management for gaming companies. Discussed under the acronym VICTORS, the author argues that a superior customer experience is comprised of six ingredients: Voice of Customer, Incentives, Culture, Touchpoints, Organization, Relationships, and Strategy. This paper (presentation) will first establish the salience of customer experience for casino companies. Each of the components of VICTORS and their interrelationships among them will also be discussed. The tone of the paper will be research-driven with strong practical applications

CRM In Gaming: It\u27s No Crapshoot!

CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, though slightly more than a decade old, has become the management craze of the 21st century. Yet, managerial understanding of what CRM is, what it does, how to implement it, and the grounds for success or failure in CRM implementation, seem far from crystallized. This paper looks at why so many CRM endeavors fail, and proceeds to discuss issues critical to CRM\u27s success. CRM projects in casinos will have a higher chance of success if CRM is viewed as a business philosophy and becomes a part of the corporate culture. Appropriate customer strategy, organizational transformation, and due attention to issues such as business processes, organizational collaboration, training, and data integration will enhance the success rates of CRM ventures

An investigation of vitamin D metabolism in kiwi (Apteryx mantelli), tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) and New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) and the relationship of vitamin D metabolism with their life history characteristics : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Veterinary Studies at Massey University, Turitea, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, has a wide range of functions in vertebrates. The aim of the study was to determine if the evolutionary history of different animal species affects their predominant route of vitamin D metabolism. The species chosen in this study were Brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) for their nocturnalism, tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) for their diurnal sun basking nature and New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri), as a marine mammal species. A survey of plasma or serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 (25(OH)D2) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) in kiwi, tuatara and New Zealand sea lion and analysed the ability of skin to produce vitamin D3 in response to UV exposure from post mortem samples of these three species. Assessment of morepork (Ninox novaseelandiae) skin was also carried out as an additional example of a nocturnal species. Wild kiwi had lower plasma 25(OH)D3 concentrations than captive kiwi and this variation was most likely of dietary origin. The low concentrations of plasma 25(OH)D3 in wild kiwi in their natural habitat, suggest that these minimal levels are sufficient to fulfill their vitamin D requirements in the body or they utilise calcium independent of vitamin D. Captive diets for kiwi may be over-supplemented with vitamin D. In contrast to this finding, the skin of both kiwi and morepork was able to produce small but measureable amounts of vitamin D3 in response to UV exposure. This result was unexpected, considering their nocturnal nature and the overall pattern of vitamin D metabolism in the kiwi is still unclear. Vitamin D metabolism in tuatara suggests that both dietary and dermal pathways are important. The survey of plasma 25(OH)D3 concentrations in captive tuatara showed variation between the five zoological institutions, which was correlated to the variation in the dietary vitamin D provided between captive institutions. However, analysis of tuatara skin showed that tuatara had a strong ability to synthesise vitamin D dermally, indicating that it is an important route of vitamin D metabolism in tuatara. New Zealand sea lion showed overall higher serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations than kiwi and tuatara, which might be attributed to the high UV-B radiation exposure they receive in their natural habitat. New Zealand sea lion skin also had comparatively higher vitamin D concentrations both prior to and in response to UV exposure, which shows that dermal route of vitamin D is an important route of metabolism in these marine mammals

Internal Marketing: An Antidote for Macau\u27s Labor Shortage

Gaming scholars the world over are in consensus about Macau\u27s bright future as a gaming Mecca. The phenomenal growth in gaming facilities over the last three years has created an acute labor shortage in this Special Administrative Region of China. Moreover, around twenty additional gaming and hotel projects have been committed so far, all slated for completion in the next five years. Expansion on such massive scale will further intensify competition among employers to recruit and retain employees, particularly if the provincial government maintains its current restrictions on importing labor into the region. One, and arguably the only way to hire and retain manpower in the dynamic gaming market of Macau, is practicing internal marketing. This paper reviews the gaming business environment in Macau and proceeds to suggest ten internal marketing tools and techniques that casino establishments can use to recruit and retain service employees in a tight labor market

Load Balancing Regular Meshes on SMPS with MPI

Domain decomposition for regular meshes on parallel computers has traditionally been performed by attempting to exactly partition the work among the available processors (now cores). However, these strategies often do not consider the inherent system noise which can hinder MPI application scalability to emerging peta-scale machines with 10000+ nodes. In this work, we suggest a solution that uses a tunable hybrid static/dynamic scheduling strategy that can be incorporated into current MPI implementations of mesh codes. By applying this strategy to a 3D jacobi algorithm, we achieve performance gains of at least 16% for 64 SMP nodes

Emergence of the Biosimilar Sector and Opportunities of Developing Country Suppliers

As biologic products begin to come off-patent, a market is emerging for biosimilars (also known as biogenerics or follow-on biologics). Firms from emerging countries such as India and China have dominated the production of active ingredients in pharmaceutical industries all over the world and are now developing capabilities in biosimilar production. This emergence of a new market dynamic is disruptive to current key players as it has potential challenge their current dominant hold over the market, while for firms from developing countries it creates a sea of opportunities. This rise of biosimilars and capabilities for cheap production in developing country firms has potential to transform patient care in developing countries as well as advanced countries. This paper reviews study data collected at Innogen and the most recent literature to understand how the sector for biosimilars is evolving and the opportunities and challenges faced by emerging suppliers. The aim of the paper is to identify the gaps in the current literature and opportunities for further study in this area