Between the Cracks: Actor Fragmentation and Local Conflict Systems in the Libyan Civil War

Abstract

After nearly four years of civil war, Libya continues to be described as an ‘ungoverned space’ where the collapse of state institutions reignited tribal, political, religious and ideological tensions. These accounts, however, obscure Libya’s complex subnational governance, and the role of non-state armed groups in shaping the emerging political orders. By contrast, we contend that distinct subnational political orders have emerged in Libya since 2014 in which actors engage in state-making practices driven by local interests. Using empirical evidence to explore the activity of non-state armed groups during the Libyan civil conflict, we highlight that the local conflict environments in eastern, western and southern Libya provide specific incentives that shape the process of armed group splintering and patterns of violence. The findings demonstrate that claims to authority and notions of statehood extend far beyond the state whereby governance relations are negotiated between state and non-state actors. Conflict patterns, (in)stability and the prevailing political order are therefore conditional on the nature of the dominant actor, their strategies and modes of violence within their areas of influence. Through this analysis, the paper provides a more granular understanding of the local political dynamics that drive violence in Libya and civil wars more generally.     

基于复杂网络的防空武器系统目标选择研究

基于复杂网络的思想,通过对防空武器目标体系网络的拓扑参数分析,构建了防空武器目标体系网络,利用pajek软件,对网络进行了可视化分析,采用基于不同策略的攻击方式进行了模拟仿真,对仿真结果进行了分析。经过分析发现,基于节点度值和基于节点介数的攻击可以较好的降低网络效率,因此我们以节点度值和介数为主要依据,确定了目标打击顺序,为指挥决策人员进行防空目标选择提供了借鉴和参考。     

Service levels in distribution systems with random customer order size

An approximate method for measuring the service levels of the warehouse-retailer system operating under (s, S) policy is presented. All the retailers are identical and the demand process at each retailer follows a stationary stuttering Poisson process. This type of demand process allows customer orders to be for a random number of units, which gives rise to the undershoot quantity at both the warehouse and retailer levels. Exact analyses of the distribution of the undershoot quantity and the number of orders place by a retailer during the warehouse reordering lead time are derived. By using this distribution together with probability approximation and other heuristic approaches, we model the behavior of the warehouse level. Based on the results of the warehouse level and on an existing framework from previous work, the service level at the retailer level is estimated. Results of the approximate method are then compared with those of simulation. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Optimal control of a production‐inventory system with both backorders and lost sales

We consider the optimal control of a production inventory‐system with a single product and two customer classes where items are produced one unit at a time. Upon arrival, customer orders can be fulfilled from existing inventory, if there is any, backordered, or rejected. The two classes are differentiated by their backorder and lost sales costs. At each decision epoch, we must determine whether or not to produce an item and if so, whether to use this item to increase inventory or to reduce backlog. At each decision epoch, we must also determine whether or not to satisfy demand from a particular class (should one arise), backorder it, or reject it. In doing so, we must balance inventory holding costs against the costs of backordering and lost sales. We formulate the problem as a Markov decision process and use it to characterize the structure of the optimal policy. We show that the optimal policy can be described by three state‐dependent thresholds: a production base‐stock level and two order‐admission levels, one for each class. The production base‐stock level determines when production takes place and how to allocate items that are produced. This base‐stock level also determines when orders from the class with the lower shortage costs (Class 2) are backordered and not fulfilled from inventory. The order‐admission levels determine when orders should be rejected. We show that the threshold levels are monotonic (either nonincreasing or nondecreasing) in the backorder level of Class 2. We also characterize analytically the sensitivity of these thresholds to the various cost parameters. Using numerical results, we compare the performance of the optimal policy against several heuristics and show that those that do not allow for the possibility of both backordering and rejecting orders can perform poorly.© 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 2010     

An (s,q) inventory model with stochastic and interrelated lead times

In this article we introduce a lead time mechanism that allows simultaneous order arrivals. This mechanism ensures that orders never cross each other. For the continuous review (s, q) inventory system with constant demand, we show that the allowance of batch arrivals gives rise to a discontinuous cost function. By exploiting the special structure of this cost function, a search algorithm is derived that yields the optimal order strategy in a reasonable amount of time. The search is restricted to integer order strategies only. We also consider an approximate method of solution that is based on a related model with a continuous cost function. The results obtained by this approximation are, in general, very satisfactory. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

面向语义的作战命令形式化描述及本体构建

作战命令是联系C2系统与M&S系统之间的重要纽带。为保证进行联合作战训练的C2系统与M&S系统对作战命令具备一致的理解和认识,需要对作战命令进行统一的描述。首先从作战命令的形式化描述入手,在描述的基础上形成了作战命令本体,然后介绍作战命令本体构建方法九步法。最后,对作战命令本体进行了构建,为下一步利用基于本体的作战命令驱动仿真模型的研究打下良好的基础。     

Optimal cutoff strategies in capacity expansion problems

Capacity expansion refers to the process of adding facilities or manpower to meet increasing demand. Typical capacity expansion decisions are characterized by uncertain demand forecasts and uncertainty in the eventual cost of expansion projects. This article models capacity expansion within the framework of piecewise deterministic Markov processes and investigates the problem of controlling investment in a succession of same type projects in order to meet increasing demand with minimum cost. In particular, we investigate the optimality of a class of investment strategies called cutoff strategies. These strategies have the property that there exists some undercapacity level M such that the strategy invests at the maximum available rate at all levels above M and does not invest at any level below M. Cutoff strategies are appealing because they are straightforward to implement. We determine conditions on the undercapacity penalty function that ensure the existence of optimal cutoff strategies when the cost of completing a project is exponentially distributed. A by-product of the proof is an algorithm for determining the optimal strategy and its cost. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

小钝头锥体全目标流场与光电特性一体化数值模拟

从简化的或全ＮＳ方程出发,采用化学非平衡和热辐射非平衡模型,数值模拟了有烧蚀产物引射条件下小钝头锥体全目标流场与光电特性,旨在为防护设计提供气动物理环境数据。计算结果表明,本文流场模拟数据与实验数据基本吻合,壁面烧蚀产物引射和壁面催化特性对流场电子数密度均有量级影响。     

Inventory sharing under decentralized preventive transshipments

We consider preventive transshipments between two stores in a decentralized system with two demand subperiods. Replenishment orders are made before the first subperiod, and the stores may make transshipments to one another between the subperiods. We prove that the transshipment decision has a dominant strategy, called a control‐band conserving transfer policy, under which each store chooses a quantity to transship in or out that will keep its second‐subperiod starting inventory level within a range called a control band. We prove that the optimal replenishment policy is a threshold policy in which the threshold depends on the capacity level at the other store. Finally, we prove that there does not exist a transfer price that coordinates the decentralized supply chain. Our research also explains many of the differences between preventive and emergency transshipments, including differences in the optimal transfer policies and the existence or nonexistence of transfer prices that coordinate the system. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010     

兵团文化对兵团大学生价值观的影响及对策

兵团文化是兵团精神的集中反映,是兵团在长期历史发展过程中所形成的独特、稳固、持久而强烈的兵团精神的体现。兵团大学生作为兵团年轻一代的建设者和接班人,其价值观受到兵团文化的影响,在一定程度上对兵团文化的继承和创新起着举足轻重的作用。文章旨在调查兵团文化对兵团大学生价值观的影响,并为更好地弘扬兵团文化在大学生价值观教育中的作用提出相应对策。     

Dynamic pricing in a dual‐market environment

This article is concerned with the determination of pricing strategies for a firm that in each period of a finite horizon receives replenishment quantities of a single product which it sells in two markets, for example, a long‐distance market and an on‐site market. The key difference between the two markets is that the long‐distance market provides for a one period delay in demand fulfillment. In contrast, on‐site orders must be filled immediately as the customer is at the physical on‐site location. We model the demands in consecutive periods as independent random variables and their distributions depend on the item's price in accordance with two general stochastic demand functions: additive or multiplicative. The firm uses a single pool of inventory to fulfill demands from both markets. We investigate properties of the structure of the dynamic pricing strategy that maximizes the total expected discounted profit over the finite time horizon, under fixed or controlled replenishment conditions. Further, we provide conditions under which one market may be the preferred outlet to sale over the other. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 62: 531–549, 2015     

A two-station stochastic inventory model with exact methods of computing optimal policies

A method is presented for calculating optimal inventory levels in a two-station transactions reporting inventory system. The criterion of optimality is the minimization of expected cost. The computational properties of the model are stressed and the solution method is precise. It is shown that when the model represents a central warehouse which supplies several retail outlets, stocks carried at the central location affect the capacity of the system to handle orders. Stocks carried at the retail level affect only the size of the retail order backlog.     

Properties of some stochastic orders: A unified study

The notions of the likelihood ratio order of degree s (s ≥ 0) are introduced for both continuous and discrete integer‐valued random variables. The new orders for s = 0, 1, and 2 correspond to the likelihood ratio, hazard rate, and mean residual life orders. We obtain some basic properties of the new orders and their up shifted stochastic orders, and derive some closure properties of them. Such a study is meaningful because it throws an important light on the understanding of the properties of the likelihood ratio, hazard rate, and mean residual life orders. On the other hand, the properties of the new orders have potential applications. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004.     

Sequencing with setup time and order tardiness trade-offs

We consider the problem of scheduling customer orders on a single facility where each order consists of several jobs that can be clustered into several groups. When a facility is changed over to another group, a setup time associated with the new group is required. Two particular problems are considered in this context. One is to consider the total setup time and the number of tardy orders jointly. The other is to consider the total setup time and the maximum tardiness jointly. The total setup time in both problems represents a measure of internal efficiency, whereas the number of tardy orders and the maximum tardiness represent a measure of external efficiency. In any shop, the decision maker must consider the tradeoffs between large setup costs associated with a more frequent changeover schedule versus the cost of tardy orders that might be induced by a less-frequent changeover schedule. In this article branch-and-bound algorithms are proposed to identify the set of nondominated schedules for the two bicriteria problems. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Choosing the Right Sidekick: Economic Complements to US Military Grand Strategies

ABSTRACT

Scholars and practitioners of grand strategy agree that the use of military force should be supplemented by appropriate economic policies. However, strangely few accounts of economic complements to military grand strategies have been presented in recent discourse on US grand strategy. This paper takes a first step to fill this information gap. I first assess the role that could be played by economic measures under two types of grand strategies – one focusing on the balance of power and the other emphasising influence and order. Second, I introduce what I call ‘the influence-capability dilemma’ and discuss tradeoffs in adopting certain economic policies in order to help the US sustain pre-eminence in the international system. Third, I discuss how the US should address this dilemma of economic means in dealing with the rising China.     

不同的扩散模型对再入体等离子体鞘电子密度分布的影响

本文研究不同的扩散模型对再入体等离子体鞘电子密度分布的影响。由于电子和离子的质量相差三个量级以上,电子的浓度扩散速度比离子大得多,引起正负电荷分离。由此产生的诱导电场又阻碍带电粒子的扩散运动。本文同时考虑这二种影响扩散的因素,得到了非平衡等离子体鞘带电粒子分布的数值解,并与准中性模型、双极扩散模型等其它三种近似模型进行了比较。计算表明:流场的大部份区域满足等离子体准中性假定,但在物面和激波附近存在电荷分离较明显的薄层,其厚度约为Debye屏蔽长度的量级。这种边界效应对中性粒子的分布影响甚微,但对带电粒子的分布则产生一定的影响。由此可以判断各种扩散模型的适用性。     

Sole sourcing versus dual sourcing under stochastic demands and lead times

The use of a single vendor for each inventoried item is usually assumed in most of the inventory models. However, there are situations where the use of more than one vendor should be considered, especially when lead times are stochastic. This research presents a theoretical investigation of the effect of cost structures on the relative performance of sole-sourcing versus dual-sourcing inventory control policies. We show that except for cases where the ordering cost is high, the lead-time variability is low, or the customer service level is low, dual sourcing performs better than sole sourcing under the normally distributed demand and shifted-exponential lead times. Moreover, the computational results indicate the dual sourcing provides a better service level than sole sourcing at the optimal solutions, and that dual sourcing results in larger order quantities than sole sourcing, which suggests that attractive quantity discounts may not be in jeopardy when dual sourcing is employed. Finally, because it is generally known that multiple sourcing can enhance the competition among suppliers, material managers should consider splitting purchase orders when two equally qualified suppliers are available. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

民族宗教分裂势力对国家安全的影响及对策

极端民族宗教分裂势力恐怖活动已严重危害我国领土主权完整、威胁社会政治稳定,对国家安全构成严重威胁,必须采取相应对策予以打击。     

A selective newsvendor approach to order management

Consider a supplier offering a product to several potential demand sources, each with a unique revenue, size, and probability that it will materialize. Given a long procurement lead time, the supplier must choose the orders to pursue and the total quantity to procure prior to the selling season. We model this as a selective newsvendor problem of maximizing profits where the total (random) demand is given by the set of pursued orders. Given that the dimensionality of a mixed‐integer linear programming formulation of the problem increases exponentially with the number of potential orders, we develop both a tailored exact algorithm based on the L‐shaped method for two‐stage stochastic programming as well as a heuristic method. We also extend our solution approach to account for piecewise‐linear cost and revenue functions as well as a multiperiod setting. Extensive experimentation indicates that our exact approach rapidly finds optimal solutions with three times as many orders as a state‐of‐the‐art commercial solver. In addition, our heuristic approach provides average gaps of less than 1% for the largest problems that can be solved exactly. Observing that the gaps decrease as problem size grows, we expect the heuristic approach to work well for large problem instances. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 2008     

Trading coups for civil war

This paper investigates civil conflict as a product of the survival strategies of African leaders. Specifically, the paper offers a theory of risk substitution that predicts coup-fearing leaders will undermine the military effectiveness of the state when making an effort to extend their own tenure. While ‘coup-proofing’ practices have often been noted as contributors to political survival, considerably less attention has been paid to the influence of these strategies on other forms of conflict. Utilising data from a number of cross-national datasets, the analyses show that having a higher number of ‘coup-proofing’ counterweights significantly worsens a state's civil conflict prospects. A brief consideration of multiple episodes of conflict further suggests that in addition to coup-proofing undermining the counterinsurgency capacity of the state, some leaders are simply indifferent to – or can even potentially benefit from – the existence of an insurgency.