Glenn R. Luecke, Ying Li and Martin Cuma
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how to use nodes in a cluster efficiently by studying the NAS Parallel Benchmarks (NASPB) on Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron dual CPU Linux…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how to use nodes in a cluster efficiently by studying the NAS Parallel Benchmarks (NASPB) on Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron dual CPU Linux clusters.
Design/methodology/approach
The performance results of the NASPB are presented both with one MPI process per node (1 ppn) and with two MPI processes per node (2 ppn). These benchmark results were analyzed by considering the impact of cache effects, code scalability, memory bandwidth within nodes, and the impact of MPI and the MPI communication network. Memory bandwidth was benchmarked using MPI versions of the Streams benchmarks. The impact of MPI and the MPI communication network are evaluated by benchmarking the performance of MPI sends and receives, MPI broadcast, and the MPI all‐to‐all routines.
Findings
The performance results from running the NASPB and from the memory bandwidth benchmarks show that better performance can sometimes be achieved using 1 ppn. Performance results show that the AMD Opteron/Myrinet cluster is able to achieve significantly better utilization of the second processor than the Intel Xeon/Myrinet cluster.
Practical implications
Most Linux clusters are purchased with two processors per node. One would like to run all applications on a cluster with two processors per node using 2 ppn instead of 1 ppn in order to utilize the second processor on each node. However, our results show that this is not always the best choice. Users should always assess their program performance with both 1 ppn and 2 ppn before running production calculations. This issue becomes even more important with the emergence of multi‐core processors.
Originality/value
To the authors' best knowledge, this is the only detailed comparison of AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon dual processor node parallel performance on large Myrinet clusters. The paper should be of value to everybody considering running on or purchasing AMD or Intel‐based Linux cluster.
Details
Keywords
The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is…
Abstract
The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is especially relevant in the context of Indonesian Airline companies. Therefore, many airline customers in Indonesia are still in doubt about it, or even do not use it. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for e-services adoption and empirically examines the factors influencing the airlines customers in Indonesia in using e-services offered by the Indonesian airline companies. Taking six Indonesian airline companies as a case example, the study investigated the antecedents of e-services usage of Indonesian airlines. This study further examined the impacts of motivation on customers in using e-services in the Indonesian context. Another important aim of this study was to investigate how ages, experiences and geographical areas moderate effects of e-services usage.
The study adopts a positivist research paradigm with a two-phase sequential mixed method design involving qualitative and quantitative approaches. An initial research model was first developed based on an extensive literature review, by combining acceptance and use of information technology theories, expectancy theory and the inter-organizational system motivation models. A qualitative field study via semi-structured interviews was then conducted to explore the present state among 15 respondents. The results of the interviews were analysed using content analysis yielding the final model of e-services usage. Eighteen antecedent factors hypotheses and three moderating factors hypotheses and 52-item questionnaire were developed. A focus group discussion of five respondents and a pilot study of 59 respondents resulted in final version of the questionnaire.
In the second phase, the main survey was conducted nationally to collect the research data among Indonesian airline customers who had already used Indonesian airline e-services. A total of 819 valid questionnaires were obtained. The data was then analysed using a partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to produce the contributions of links in the e-services model (22% of all the variances in e-services usage, 37.8% in intention to use, 46.6% in motivation, 39.2% in outcome expectancy, and 37.7% in effort expectancy). Meanwhile, path coefficients and t-values demonstrated various different influences of antecedent factors towards e-services usage. Additionally, a multi-group analysis based on PLS is employed with mixed results. In the final findings, 14 hypotheses were supported and 7 hypotheses were not supported.
The major findings of this study have confirmed that motivation has the strongest contribution in e-services usage. In addition, motivation affects e-services usage both directly and indirectly through intention-to-use. This study provides contributions to the existing knowledge of e-services models, and practical applications of IT usage. Most importantly, an understanding of antecedents of e-services adoption will provide guidelines for stakeholders in developing better e-services and strategies in order to promote and encourage more customers to use e-services. Finally, the accomplishment of this study can be expanded through possible adaptations in other industries and other geographical contexts.
Details
Keywords
Ayudya Puti Ramadhanty and Taufik Faturohman
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the demand for steel products and their derivatives by 40–50%. As a result, productivity and factory operations will inevitably suffer. Therefore, when…
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the demand for steel products and their derivatives by 40–50%. As a result, productivity and factory operations will inevitably suffer. Therefore, when fulfilling funding demands that will arise if the company has an appropriate capital structure, the corporation must choose between rising debt (on the liability side) or issuing shares for external funding as viable financial alternatives. This empirical study examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on capital structure before and during the pandemic. This study implemented a descriptive quantitative approach, measured using a method based on panel regression and system Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) using the secondary data quarterly from 2018 to 2021 with the samples of eight steel companies listed on the IDX. The study findings show that COVID-19 influences the capital structure; firm-specific variables like COVID-19 profitability positively affect the capital structure, whereas liquidity, earning volatility, and non-debt tax shield negatively affect the capital structure. Meanwhile, the result of system GMM shows that only COVID-19 and liquidity significantly affect the debt ratio.
Details
Keywords
Based on eighteen-months of fieldwork in Sulawesi, Indonesia, this paper advances two arguments concerning gender. First, it contends that gender is a concept of great…
Abstract
Based on eighteen-months of fieldwork in Sulawesi, Indonesia, this paper advances two arguments concerning gender. First, it contends that gender is a concept of great significance in Sulawesi. Unlike some observers who have undervalued the centrality of gender in the region by asserting that factors such as social status are more salient in daily life than gender, this paper argues that gender actually underscores other factors such as status considerations. The second argument the paper advances is that gender in Sulawesi is a holist concept resulting from various compositions of biology, subjectivity, sexuality, performativity, and ideology. A multitude of amalgamations are possible and so gendered identities transcend binary constructions. As such, Sulawesi acknowledges a variety of gendered identities. Using ethnographic data to examine how these various aspects contribute to an individual's gender identity, this paper reveals the importance of gender in Sulawesi, and introduces a holistic way of thinking of gender.
Nazife Karamullaoglu and Ozlem Sandikci
This purpose of this paper is to explore how Western design, fashion and aesthetic styles influenced advertising practice in Turkey in the post-Second World War era. Specifically…
Abstract
Purpose
This purpose of this paper is to explore how Western design, fashion and aesthetic styles influenced advertising practice in Turkey in the post-Second World War era. Specifically, the authors focus on the key targets of the consumerist ideology of the period, women and discuss the representations of females in Turkish advertisements.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were analysed using a combination of social semiotic and compositional analysis methods. Compositional analysis focused on the formal qualities and design elements of the ads; social semiotic analysis sought to uncover their meaning potentials in relation to social, cultural, political and economic dynamics of the period. The advertisements of a prominent Turkish pasta brand, Piyale, published in the local adaptation of the American Life magazine, between 1956 and 1966, constitute the data set.
Findings
The analysis reveals that Piyale followed the stylistic and thematic trends prevailing in American and European advertisements at the time and crafted ads that constructed and communicated a Westernized image of Turkish women and families. In line with the cultural currents of the 1950s and 1960s, the ads emphasize patriarchal gender roles and traditional family values and address the woman as a consumer whose priority is to please her husband and take good care of her children.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the advertising history in non-Western contexts and provides an understanding of the influence Western advertising conventions and fashion trends had on developing country markets. The findings indicate that Western-inspired representations and gender roles dominated advertisements of local brands during the post-war period.