High Performance Computing Instrumentation and Research Productivity in U.S. Universities

This paper studies the relationship between investments in High-Performance Computing (HPC) instrumentation and research competitiveness. Measures of institutional HPC investment are computed from data that is readily available from the Top 500 list, a list that has been published twice a year since 1993 that lists the fastest 500 computers in the world at that time. Institutions that are studied include US doctoral-granting institutions that fall into the very high or high research rankings according to the Carnegie Foundation classifications and additional institutions that have had entries in the Top 500 list. Research competitiveness is derived from federal funding data, compilations of scholarly publications, and institutional rankings. Correlation and Two Stage Least Square regression is used to analyze the research-related returns to investment in HPC. Two models are examined and give results that are both economically and statistically significant. Appearance on the Top 500 list is associated with a contemporaneous increase in NSF funding levels as well as a contemporaneous increase in the number of publications. The rate of depreciation in returns to HPC is rapid. The conclusion is that consistent investments in HPC at even modest levels are strongly correlated to research competitiveness

Multi-level DEA Approach in Research Evaluation

It is well known that the discrimination power of DEA models will be diminishing if too many inputs or outputs are used. It is a dilemma if the decision makers want to select comprehensive indicators to present a relatively holistic evaluation using DEA. In this work we show that by utilizing hierarchical structures of input-output data DEA can handle quite large numbers of inputs and outputs. We present two approaches in a pilot evaluation of 15 institutes for basic research in Chinese Academy of Sciences using DEA models

Maintaining the Public Sector's Essential Role in Crop Varietal Improvement

Outlines the international public-sector agricultural research system, its role in developing and disseminating enhanced crop varieties, its relationship with for-profit research and breeding programs, and issues of intellectual property rights

A bibliometric analysis of Australia's international research collaboration in science and technology: analytical methods and initial findings

This paper presents the initial findings from an exploratory bibliometric analysis of Australia's international collaboration in science and technology. This paper is focusses on: (a) Assessing the methodological challenges faced in comprehensively mapping Australia's science and technology research activity from an international engagement perspective; (b) Suggesting solutions to these challenges; (c) Providing some policy-relevant findings of potential use to the Australian Government and the European Commission

The Effect of National Standard and Curriculum-Based Exams on Achievement

[Excerpt] Two presidents, the National Governors Association and numerous blue ribbon panels have called for the development of state or national content standards for core subjects and examinations that assess the achievement of these standards. The Competitiveness Policy Council, for example, advocates that external assessments be given to individual students at the secondary level and that the results should be a major but not exclusive factor qualifying for college and better jobs at better wages (1993, p. 30). It is claimed that curriculum-based external exit exam systems (CBEEEs) based on world class content standards will improve teaching and learning of core subjects. What evidence is there for this claim? Outside the United States such systems are the rule, not the exception. What impacts have such systems had on school policies, teaching and student learning

Homology of holomorphs of free groups

The holomorph of a free group $F_n$ is the semidirect product $F_n \rtimes Aut(F_n)$. Using the methods of Hatcher and Vogtmann, we derive stability results and calculate the mod-$p$ homology of these holomorphs for odd primes $p$ in dimensions 1 and 2, and their rational homology in dimensions 1 through 5. Calculations of the twisted (where $Aut(F_n)$ acts by first projecting to $Gl_n(\Z)$ and then including in Gl_n(\Q)) homology H_*(Aut(F_n); \Q^n) follow in corresponding dimensions.Comment: Revised using helpful comments of referee. Accepted by J. Algebra. J. Algebra has agreed to host the Maple program files (currently on my web page) on their sit