The goal of the first part of this thesis is to obtain a high-level theoretical understanding of how an alliance can be managed such that its resources are used in an optimal manner. We propose a pricing mechanism to manage the interactions of carriers, through the allocation of alliance resources and profits, in a manner that encourages individual carriers to make decisions that are optimal for the alliance. Our methodology is based on modeling carrier behavior as linear programs, which are incorporated into a mechanism that manages carrier interactions by appropriately setting resource prices. After introducing two distinct behavioral models, the performance of the mechanism using each model is analyzed for its ability to ensure alliance optimal behavior is attained. We find that the behavioral model selected can significantly impact the characteristics of allocations obtained using the mechanism. In the second part of the thesis, we seek to establish practical insights regarding how the characteristics of potential partners impact the benefit that can be gained by collaborating with these partners. Computational experiments are conducted to evaluate the impact of network size, fleet capacity, demand distribution, and network compatibility on the benefit associated with collaborating. A comprehensive study for simulated two and three-carrier alliances establishes general insights regarding the compatibility of carriers with varying network sizes and fleet capacities. The impact of increasing hub-to-hub connectivity between partnering carriers is then investigated, followed by a study of the effect of market overlap on alliance success. Finally, a real-world cargo alliance is analyzed. In the third and final part of this thesis, we develop new approaches for determining and inducing fair profit allocations in alliances, providing alternatives to traditional approaches which equate minimum acceptance requirements and satisfaction. The mechanism established in the first part of the thesis is adapted to more precisely control the profit allocations obtained, in particular so that an allocation as close to some predetermined fair" allocation is obtained. Several measures of fairness are proposed and implemented, and their performance analyzed for each of the behavioral models discussed in the first part of the thesis.

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing¡]OFDM¡^systems play an important role in modern wireless communications due to following advantages: bandwidth saving¡Bcombat with frequency selective fading channel and high throughput. The performance of wireless communications is often degraded by fading channel . adaptive modulation and subcarrier allocation are proposed to overcome the degration to meet the quality of servie¡]QoS¡^. Lagrange method and heuristics method, two of the subcarrier allocation technology under multi-user OFDM, can achieve the goal that maximizing bit rate with minimizing transmitted power. However, significantly high complexity of either Lagrange method or heuristics method makes the implementation difficult. Zhang and Letaief proposed a method of making subcarriers detected one by one to reduce the complexity. However, in piratical, an OFDM system accommodates hundred of , or even thousand of subcarriers, so the method can be improved. In this thesis, we propose a subcarrier allocation method. The users that are not satisfied with the QOS requirement are named demander, and the users satisfied with the QOS requirement are named supplier. In the proposed subcarrier allocation method, we evaluate the number of subcarriers that demanders need and remove the subcarriers from supplier to directly compensate demander. Then the system has lower complexity due to less iterations.

This article aims at exploring how the monopolist determines the optimal allocation of advertising and pricing when he faces the threat of the potential firm entering the market. When consumers are unable to distinguish the quality of a commodity, they will use the weighted average willingness to pay of the high quality and the low quality goods to be the willingness to pay for the commodity. Because that the average willingness to pay is different among consumers of different types, thus the monopolist¡¦s decisions concerning the allocation of advertising budget and pricing will be influenced. We found that no matter what the average willingness to pay is, as long as the monopolist has the ability to compete against price, the expenditure on advertising will be larger; otherwise, the expenditure on advertising will be smaller.

Quality-of-service (QoS) guarantees will play a critically important role in future mobile wireless networks. In this dissertation, we study a set of QoS-driven resource allocation problems for mobile wireless communications and networks. In the first part of this dissertation, we investigate resource allocation schemes for statistical QoS provisioning. The schemes aim at maximizing the system/network throughput subject to a given queuing delay constraint. To achieve this goal, we integrate the information theory with the concept of effective capacity and develop a unified framework for resource allocation. Applying the above framework, we con-sider a number of system infrastructures, including single channel, parallel channel, cellular, and cooperative relay systems and networks, respectively. In addition, we also investigate the impact of imperfect channel-state information (CSI) on QoS pro-visioning. The resource allocation problems can be solved e±ciently by the convex optimization approach, where closed-form allocation policies are obtained for different application scenarios. Our analyses reveal an important fact that there exists a fundamental tradeoff between throughput and QoS provisioning. In particular, when the delay constraint becomes loose, the optimal resource allocation policy converges to the water-filling scheme, where ergodic capacity can be achieved. On the other hand, when the QoS constraint gets stringent, the optimal policy converges to the channel inversion scheme under which the system operates at a constant rate and the zero-outage capacity can be achieved. In the second part of this dissertation, we study adaptive antenna selection for multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems. System resources such as subcarriers, antennas and power are allocated dynamically to minimize the symbol-error rate (SER), which is the key QoS metric at the physical layer. We propose a selection diversity scheme for MIMO multicarrier direct-sequence code- division-multiple-access (MC DS-CDMA) systems and analyze the error performance of the system when considering CSI feedback delay and feedback errors. Moreover, we propose a joint antenna selection and power allocation scheme for space-time block code (STBC) systems. The error performance is derived when taking the CSI feedback delay into account. Our numerical results show that when feedback delay comes into play, a tradeoff between performance and robustness can be achieved by dynamically allocating power across transmit antennas.

Multichannel marketing is the practice of simultaneously offering information, goods, services, and support to customers through two or more synchronized channels. In this dissertation, I develop an integrated framework of multichannel marketing and develop models to assist managers in their marketing resource allocation decisions. In the first essay of the dissertation, I investigate the factors that drive customers multichannel shopping behavior and identify its consequences for retailers. In the second essay, I build on this work and develop a model that enables firms to optimize their allocation of marketing resources across different customer-channel segments. In the first essay, I develop a framework comprising the factors that drive consumers’ channel choice, the consequences of channel choice, and their implications for managing channel equity. The results show that customer-channel choice is driven in a nonlinear fashion by a customer demographic variable such as age and is also influenced by consumer shopping traits such as number of categories bought and the duration of relationship with a retailer. I show that by controlling for the moderating effects of channel-category associations, the influence of customers’ demographics and shopping traits on their channel choices can vary significantly across product categories. Importantly, the results show that multichannel shoppers buy more often, buy more items, and spend considerably more than single channel shoppers. The channel equity of multichannel customers is nearly twice that of the closest single channel customers (online or offline). In the second essay, I propose a model for optimal allocation of marketing efforts across multiple customer-channel segments. I first develop a set of models for consumer response to marketing efforts for each channel-customer segment. This set comprises four models, the first for purchase frequency, the second for purchase quantity, the third for product return behavior, and the fourth for contribution margin of purchase. The results show that customers’ responses to firm marketing efforts vary significantly across the customer-channel segments. They also suggest that marketing efforts influence purchase frequency, purchase quantity and monetary value in different ways. The resource allocation results show that profits can be substantially improved by reallocating marketing efforts across the different customer-channel segments.

In order to maximize the capacities of resources constraints in the multiple projects environment, it is firstly necessary to make sure where the resources constraints are, and to schedule them. And then, add a set of time buffer to protect the bottle-neck resources. For some purposes, the project schedule is not easy to be altered in enterprises. Instead of adding a set of time buffer, we use others ways to protect resource constraints and to improve capacities. 4 cases are discussed in this research respectively, and the characteristics in this research contain whether the project plan is announced at the year beginning, whether the number of team members is fixed, and whether the project is outsourced or in-house. The main purpose is to investigate how the enterprises arrange the resources in 3 different periods: the projects at the year beginning, new projects joined during a year , and new demands in the existing projects during a year. The research results show: (1) Enterprises usually recruit employees at the beginning of the year, which prevents from the unqualified human resource as the projects going. (2) The teams with fixed member are allocated members in the projects which are the same domain. It¡¦s not easy to support between projects of different domains in the same team, except IT support. It¡¦s also difficult to support between teams, because the relationship of teams is competitive. (3) In the established team in terms of projects, enterprises assign team members in project which are the same domain by the function. It¡¦s easy to support between members with the same domain. It¡¦s not easy to support between members with different domain, except IT support. (4) Carrying out outsourcing projects in the enterprises, complete project in the different period to explore the resource constraints. (5) Carrying out in-house projects in the enterprise, reduce insignificance project scope or to reschedule insignificance project to explore the resource constraints. (6) Carrying outsourcing and in-house projects in the enterprises, reduce insignificance project scope or to reschedule insignificance project to explore the resource constraints.

In this thesis, we consider a capacity allocation problem in flexible manufacturing systems. We assume limited time and tool magazine capacities on the Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines. We have a set of operations that have to be assigned to the machines and each operation requires a set of tools to be processed. Our problem is to allocate the available capacity of the CNC machines to operations and their required tools. We consider two problems in this study: maximizing the total weight of operations where there are a limited number of tools of each type available and maximizing total weight minus total tooling cost where the tools can be used or purchased at a cost. We model the problems as Integer Linear Programs and show that they are NP-hard in the strong sense. For the total weight problem, we propose upper bounds, branch and bound algorithm for exact solutions and several heuristics for approximate solutions. For the bicriteria problem, we use Lagrangean relaxation technique to obtain lower and upper bounds. Our computational results have revealed that all solution approaches give satisfactory results in reasonable times.

This thesis studies three asset allocation strategies under a defined-contribution pension plan: Buy-and-hold (BH), constant mix (CM), and time-invariant portfolio protection (TIPP). First in this paper, the actuarial assumptions follow Frees et al (1998), as well as Chang and Lin (1999): the age of the beneficiaries is between 25 to 65 and follows the uniform distribution. As to the investment environment, the portfolio includes a risk-free asset, certificate deposit (CD), and a risky asset--the stock. The interest rate of CD is fixed and the return of stock varies according to 14 scenarios. Then the concept of an open-ended fund is applied to compute the NAV (Net Asset Value) of three strategies for each month and a model of defined-contribution pension funds was developed. Moreover, this thesis also discussed the relationship between the trends of the stock and the changes of stock weights, as well as the terminal wealth of pension fund and the income-replacement ratio under each asset allocation strategy. The characteristics and timing of each strategy can be investigated clearly. Finally, the input parameters derived from the data of historical stock market in Taiwan is used to implement Monte Carlo simulation so that the study of the performance of asset allocation strategies can go more close to reality. The endeavor and results of this thesis will be a useful reference to facilitate both the government and private sector to manage the pension fund.

In this thesis, we proposed a call admission control algorithm (CAC) and an adaptive allocation of resource algorithm (AAR) for 3G wireless multimedia data transmission. The proposed CAC algorithm uses a measurement-based method by measuring real-time network load to modulate the parameters of the CAC algorithm and to decide whether to accept a call or not. When a call is admitted, the proposed AAR algorithm uses a low complexity algorithm to adaptively allocate bandwidth for the call to improve resource utilization. Taking advantages of the proposed CAC and AAR algorithms, the desired quality of service (QoS) can be maintained, the call forced termination probabilities can be reduced, and the call completion probabilities can be increased. In addition, there are a variety of types of data in 3G wireless communication networks. To set a proper priority for different data to maintain a desired QoS is important. Therefore, we also proposed a scheme to set priority for each call. On the basis of this scheme, simulation results show that the proposed CAC algorithm and the AAR algorithm can forward the call with higher priority to get relative higher QoS, and guarantee that an emergency call can go through and complete at any time in a normal situation.

The purpose of this research is to study how to raise the educational funds and allocate the budgets of the private junior colleges in Taiwan. By exploring the related theories, systems, and case analysis, the results are as following: 1.The tuition and fees are the main source for private junior colleges. 2.Grants and subsidy from the government benefit private junior colleges greatly. 3.The funds management has a large room for improvement. 4.Fund-raising is not as effective as expected. 5.The personnel costs are the major part of the hardcover of school operation. The suggestions of the researcher are listed as below: 1.The decision for tuition and fees should be made in accordance with the free market system, in order to benefit the running of the school. 2.In order to encourage contribution, the government should offer tax exempt to the contributors. 3.To increase the budget of the coming year, it should be set on the ¡§Zero Based Budget¡¨ to prevent making unnecessary items in tuition and fees for private colleges.