Bids

Any classifier with more than one action part could post more than one output message per input message. 

Classifiers that are satisfied by an input message, therefore, are required to make a bid for the privilege of posting an output message. The bid is 

Since generalists have low specificity, their bids for a given classifier strength will be lower than bids from specialists and they may fail in their bids unless they are of very general utility, so often receive a reward and, thus, have high strength. Notice that the generalist /action has a specificity of zero, so if this classifier is a member of the classifier list, any bid it makes cannot succeed. 

If conflicts arise when the messages are sent to the effectors, recourse is made to the bids that each classifier made to post the message. The probability that one message is accepted rather than another is proportional to the ratio of the bids made by the classifiers when the messages were posted  

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Thirumalai D and Klimov D K 1999 Deoiphering the timesoales and meohanisms of protein folding using minimal off-lattioe models Curr. Opin. Stmct. Bid. 9 197-207... 

A key factor in obtaining binding support for aquaculture is development of a sound business plan. The plan needs to demonstrate that the prospective culturist has identified all costs associated with estabhshment of the faciUty and its day-to-day operation. One or more suitable sites should have been identified and the species to be cultured selected before the business plan is submitted. Cost estimates should be verifiable. Having actual bids for a specific task at a specific location eg, pond constmction, well drilling, building constmction, and vehicle costs helps strengthen the business plan. 

The bulk of hydrauhc fluids is specified and purchased on bid. Specifications and approval fists are issued by some manufacturers of hydraulic pumps and system components that require lubrication as well as power for control signal transmission. U.S. government military specifications for hydraulic fluids are fisted ia Table 12, and ASTM tests that are applicable to hydraulic fluids iaclude the foUowiag ... 

The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), which maintains the U.S. National Defense Stockpile (NDS), sold 267 t of stockpiled mercury in 1992 (14). The DLA also sold 103 t of secondary mercury from the Department of Energy (DOE) stocks at Oak Ridge, Teimessee. The DLA accepts bids for prime virgin mercury on a daily basis, and for secondary mercury once a month. Inventories on December 31, 1992 were 4766 t of mercury in the NDS and 121 t of DOE mercury (14). The goal for both is zero. 

Example 12 Expected Value of Net Profit Let iis consider a contractor who stands to make a net profit of 100,000 on a contract. The cost of preparing the bid on the contract is 10,000. There are four competing contractors, each with a probability pi = 0.25 of obtaining the contract. Thus, each contractor has a probability p2 = 0.75 of not obtaining the contract. Therefore, the expected value of the project is... 

Types and Accuracy of Estimates Capital-cost estimates may be required for a variety of reasons, among others to enable feasibility studies to be carried out, to enable a manufacturing company to select from alternative investments, to assist in selection from alternative designs, to provide information for planning the appropriation of capital, and to enable a contractor to bid on a new project. It is therefore essential to achieve the greatest accuracy of estimation with a minimum expenditure of time and money. 

Contrac tors bids offer the most rehable information on cost. Order-of-magnitude costs, however, may be required for preliminary studies. One way of estimating them is to obtain cost information from similar facihties and scale it to the proposed installation. Costs of steel storage tanks and vessels have been found to vaiy approximately as the 0.6 to 0.7 power of their weight [see Happel, Chemical Process Economics, Wiley, 1958, p. 267 also Williams, Chem. Eng., 54(12), 124 (1947)]. AU estimates cased on the costs of existing eqiiipment must be corrected for changes in the price index from the date when the equipment was built. Considerable uncertainty is involved in adjusting data more than a few years old. 

E-F Prepare preliminary control plan and O-P Procure constmction bids. 

I-H Procure control-device bids. N-R Install control device. 

H-J Evaluate control-device bids. R-4 Complete constmction (system tie-in). 

Companies desiring to initiate a toll without the luxury of a special services group can adopt the questionnaire for their project development group to use. Candidate tollers may use this example as a preparatory tool for completing bid responses. 

A toller with a good histoiy of HS E performance is able to obtain advantageous insurance rates and expends less of their revenue on legal problems, thus helping with their potential for cost competitiveness in the final bid. A toller in good financial standing is more likely to expend capital to install adequate safeguards. 

In this phase of the toller selection process, we assume the long list became a short list and now one or more candidate tollers from the short list will be given an opportunity to prepare a commercial bid. This by no means indicates the short listed tollers are perfect. There may be deficiencies that need to be corrected in concert with the client. With proper effort, one will be successful and be engaged for the toll. Sometimes it is appropriate to decide on a backup toller, as complications can develop that prevent the primary candidate from executing the project as originally planned, due to an incident in their plant, departure of key personnel, or unexpected production demands on the toller. 

A confidentiality agreement is frequently required prior to the final selection process. Depending on the process technology, a confidentiality agreement may be required during initial discussions with the toller. Alternately, it may be included in the request for bid or when the final contract is executed. 

Each company seeking tollers has its own approach to how they bid toll contracts. In some cases, the candidate tollers have been ranked... 

A company selecting a toller will be well served if they ensure candidates received a clear set of proposal requirements. When qualified finalists are given a project scope based upon an accurate technology package, they can produce a bid that is easily evaluated. 

Once a toller has been selected and any required preliminary confidentiality protection is in place, the client typically shares more detailed information. The toller can then make an informed decision about the economic, technical, and safety aspects involved in bidding the work. If the two parties decide the project will be mutually beneficial, agreements and obligations are negotiated and then formalized in a written contract. Both parties—the client and the toller—have roles in fulfilling the contract and in carrying out their responsibilities to the workers and the public. The purpose of the written contract is to clarify and document those roles and responsibilities to effectively execute, maintain and eventually terminate the project. 

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