Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

About: Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad is a education organization based out in Ahmedabad, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Emerging markets. The organization has 1828 authors who have published 4011 publications receiving 59269 citations. The organization is also known as: IIMA & IIM Ahmedabad.

Optimal component selection of cots based software system under consensus recovery block scheme incorporating execution time

Abstract: Computer based systems have increased dramatically in scope, complexity, pervasiveness. Most industries are highly dependent on computers for their basic day to day functioning. Safe & reliable software operations are an essential requirement for many systems across different industries. The number of functions to be included in a software system is decided during the software development. Any software system must be constructed in such a way that execution can resume even after the occurrence of failure with minimal loss of data and time. Such software systems which can continue execution even in presence of faults are called fault tolerant software. When failure occurs one of the redundant software modules get executed and prevent system failure. The fault tolerant software systems are usually developed by integrating COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) software components. The motivation for using COTS components is that they will reduce overall system development costs and reduce development time. In this paper, reliability models for fault tolerant consensus recovery blocks are analyzed. In first optimization model, we formulate joint optimization problem in which reliability maximization of software system and execution time minimization for each function of software system are considered under budgetary constraint. In the second model the issue of compatibility among alternatives available for different modules, is discussed. Numerical illustrations are provided to demonstrate the developed models.

A simulation framework for studying blocking effects in warehouse systems with autonomous vehicles

Abstract: Autonomous vehicles-based storage and retrieval systems (AVS/RS) have been shown to offer greater flexibility to improve cycle time and throughput capacity in the transfer of unit loads in high-density storage areas of warehouses. In these systems, loads are transferred by autonomous vehicles that move horizontally along aisles and cross-aisles within a tier, while lifts support vertical movement of loads between tiers. For analytical tractability, prior studies on performance evaluation of AVS/RS have ignored the blocking effects of vehicles and lifts while estimating throughput capacity and cycle times. To evaluate the effects of blocking on system performance, this paper first develops protocols to address vehicle blocking that are subsequently incorporated in a detailed simulation model. The blocking effects are studied for a variety of tier configurations that differ in depth/width ratio, number of locations, number of available vehicles, and transaction arrival rates. Results suggest that blocking delays could account for 2%-20% of the transaction cycle times. [Received 17 October 2013; Revised 28 August 2014; Revised 23 December 2014; Accepted 2 April 2015]

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption: A Critical Overview

Abstract: Corruption is a global problem which poses serious threat to the development of a country and its people. States, developed or developing, are equal victims of this problem. Corruption, apart from affecting the public at large, also causes reduced investment, lack of respect for the rule of law and human rights, undemocratic practices and diversion of funds intended for development and essential services, affects government's ability to provide basic services to its citizens. Most importantly, corruption has the greatest impact on the most vulnerable part of a country's population, the poor. Further, corruption today has become one of the most salient manifestations of the organized crime syndicate of the globalized world, which has grave national and international ramifications. Establishing a legal framework to combat corruption at the national and international levels is not an easy task. While many States have already embarked upon a national strategy to deal with corruption, and criminalized it when committed domestically, there is no uniformity in approach taken by these countries. Further, the issue of corruption as a transnational crime poses many challenges. The different legal systems do not have the same notion about establishing "criminality" regarding corruption as a crime. The lack of effective cooperation in sharing of information and investigation, the complications in judicial assistance, bank secrecy regulations etc., are just few examples which pose problems of great magnitude. As causes of corruption differ from one country to another, and preventive, enforcement and prosecutorial measures that work in some countries may not work in others, the United Nations, an organization with universal membership and a global mandate, is ideally positioned to deal with global challenges. It was in this context that the States mandated the UN Office for Drugs and Crime (ODC) through the UN General Assembly to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to negotiate a comprehensive United Nations Convention against Corruption, which was finalized and adopted in 2003. The Convention came into force on 14 December 2005, when it attained thirty ratifications. The United Nations Convention against Corruption 2003 is now the most important anti-corruption instrument with global scope of application. The UNCAC obligates Member States to undertake certain obligations and common standards, which need to be implemented or incorporated into their respective domestic legal systems. Most of the obligations require State Parties to enact new laws or incorporate/amend the existing laws. To achieve this, the Convention attempts to set certain minimum standards, which could be used by the States within their domestic legal system and in international cooperation. This paper attempts to provide a critical overview of the UN Convention against Corruption, with a comparative analysis of the other regional anti-corruption instruments.