Gender,feminism and food studies

Policy research and scholarship on food has rapidly increased in recent decades. The attention to ‘gender' within this work appears to signal important practical and academic efforts to mainstream gendered understandings of food consumption, distribution and production into expansive conceptualisations of human security. This article argues that the gender-related work on food has wide-ranging and often troubling political and theoretical foundations and implications. Often growing out of knowledge regimes for managing social crises and advancing neo-liberal solutions, much gender and food security work provides limited interventions into mainstream gender-blind work on the nexus of power struggles, food resources and globalisation. A careful analysis of knowledge production about gender and food is therefore crucial to understanding how and why feminist food studies often transcends and challenges dominant forms of scholarship and research on food security. This article's critical assessment of what food security studies in South Africa has entailed at the regional level and in global terms also focuses on the methodological and theoretical feminist interventions that can stimulate rigorous conceptual, research and practical attention to what has come to be understood as food sovereignty.     

基于效用分析的武器装备发展方案决策

武器装备发展方案效用决策分析的目的就是以一定的方法和途径,根据决策者对武器装备发展所涉及的各项决策准则的偏好及其对各决策备选方案可能出现风险程度的态度,诱导出决策者对于各项准则的效用函数,从而以诱导的形式综合出各决策备选方案的综合效用,以获得决策者认为是最满意的决策方案.     

An interactive branch-and-bound algorithm for bicriterion nonconvex/mixed integer programming

Although there has been extensive research on interactive multiple objective decision making in the last two decades, there is still a need for specialized interactive algorithms that exploit the relatively simple structure of bicriterion programming problems. This article develops an interactive branch-and-bound algorithm for bicriterion nonconvex programming problems. The algorithm searches among only the set of nondominated solutions since one of them is a most preferred solution that maximizes the overall value function of the decision maker over the set of achievable solutions. The interactive branch-and-bound algorithm requires only pairwise preference comparisons from the decision maker. Based on the decision maker's responses, the algorithm reduces the set of nondominated solutions and terminates with his most preferred nondominated solution. Branching corresponds to dividing the subset of nondominated solutions considered at a node into two subsets. The incumbent solution is updated based on the preference of the decision maker between two nondominated solutions. Fathoming decisions are based on the decision maker's preference between the incumbent solution and the ideal solution of the node in consideration.     

Comparative evaluation of prior versus progressive articulation of preference in bicriterion optimization

Procedures for solving multiple criteria problems are receiving increasing attention. Two major solution approaches are those involving prior articulation and progressive articulation of preference information. A progressive articulation (interactive) optimization approach, called the Paired Comparison Method (PCM) is compared to the prior articulation approach of a priori utility function measurement in a quality control decision environment from the perspective of the decision maker. The three major issues investigated included: (1) the ease of use of each method, (2) the preferences of solutions obtained, and (3) the insight provided by the methodology into the nature and structure of the problem. The problem setting involved management students who were rquired to determine an acceptance sampling plan using both methods. The PCM provided the most preferred solutions and was considered easier to use and understand. The prior articulation of preference method was found to give more insight into the problem structure. The results suggest that a hybrid approach, combining both prior preference assessment and an interactive procedure exploiting the advantages of each, should be employed to solve multiple criteria problems.     

气象水文装备退役决策物元模型

分析了影响气象水文装备退役决策的主要因素,建立气象水文装备退役的物元模型及关联函数。运用层次分析法确定各指标权重,计算各待退役装备的关联度,并以此优选退役的气象水文装备,为决策提供依据。     

An interactive approach to multicriteria sorting for quasiconcave value functions

In this article, we develop an interactive algorithm to place alternatives in ordered preference classes for a decision maker (DM) with an increasing quasiconcave value function. Such value functions are quite general in that they include linear and concave value functions. Our aim is to elicit sorting information from the DM as few times as possible; our algorithm places other alternatives using previous responses from the DM utilizing properties of quasiconcave value functions. As an application, we sort 81 global MBA programs into preference classes using criteria such as alumni career progress, idea generation, and diversity. We study the performance of our proposed algorithm, when we change the number of criteria, number of alternatives, and introduce response errors. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 447–457, 2014     

Capacity investment decisions under risk aversion

This article studies the optimal capacity investment problem for a risk‐averse decision maker. The capacity can be either purchased or salvaged, whereas both involve a fixed cost and a proportional cost/revenue. We incorporate risk preference and use a consumption model to capture the decision maker's risk sensitivity in a multiperiod capacity investment model. We show that, in each period, capacity and consumption decisions can be separately determined. In addition, we characterize the structure of the optimal capacity strategy. When the parameters are stationary, we present certain conditions under which the optimal capacity strategy could be easily characterized by a static two‐sided (s, S) policy, whereby, the capacity is determined only at the beginning of period one, and held constant during the entire planning horizon. It is purchased up to B when the initial capacity is below b, salvaged down to Σ when it is above σ, and remains constant otherwise. Numerical tests are presented to investigate the impact of demand volatility on the optimal capacity strategy. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 63: 218–235, 2016     

计划中的时序偏好表示和非单调推理

针对行动序列计划中的时序偏好问题开展研究,重点关注时序偏好集合内部存在不一致性时完成行动计划的方法。论文的难点和创新点体现在两个方面。针对时序偏好的表示问题,建立了一种二元描述结构,能够实现对时序约束和时序偏好的归一化描述。使用计算辩论技术建立推理框架,用以排除约束/偏好集合中的冲突关系,获得具有最大一致性的约束/偏好子集。在此基础上建立了一种新的计划生成策略,通过映射的方法得到行动序列片段,组合这些片段后形成完整的行动序列计划。通过实例验证了方法的可行性。     

舰艇自防御的威胁排序方法研究

威胁评估与排序是舰艇自防御系统必须具备的重要功能。在多指标决策理论的基础上,结合灰色系统理论和逼近理想解方法,提出了灰色逼近理想解的威胁排序算法。首先通过建立舰艇自防御的空中威胁排序指标体系,得到各个指标的隶属度函数,再通过主客观结合的有序二元比较法得到威胁评估指标的权重,最后通过逼近理想解的灰色关联度方法对空中目标进行威胁评估与排序,并研究了分辨系数对威胁排序的影响。通过舰艇自防御防空作战实例证明了算法的有效性和工程实用性。     

基于直觉模糊时间Petri网的不确定性时间推理方法

针对Petri网模型在对复杂不确定性时间信息描述和推理方面的局限性,在定义直觉模糊时间函数以及网络变迁约减规则的基础上,融合直觉模糊时序逻辑(IFTL)、直觉模糊Petri网(IFPN)以及线性逻辑推理的理论优势,构建了直觉模糊时间Petri网(IFTPN)推理模型,并提出了基于IFTPN的不确定性时间推理算法,较好地解决了态势评估中冲突事件间的不确定性时间推理问题。最后,通过典型的战场想定验证了该时间推理方法的有效性和优越性。     

Constructing a strict total order for alternatives characterized by multiple criteria: An extension

The problem of finding a strict total order for a finite set of multiple criteria alternatives is considered. Our research extends previous work by us, which considered finding a partial order for a finite set of alternatives. We merge the preference information extracted from the preference cones and corresponding polyhedral sets, with the information derived from pairwise comparisons of two alternatives, yielding a preference matrix. This preference matrix is used as input to an integer programming model to obtain a strict total order that provides a transitive ranking for the set of alternatives. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 155–163, 2014     

新型小规模装备备件品种确定的犹豫模糊粗糙集决策方法

针对新研装备备件品种确定过程中决策信息“犹豫性”和“模糊性”特点突出、难以运用传统备件品种确定方法进行决策的问题,提出一种基于犹豫模糊粗糙集的备件品种确定方法。利用风险偏好系数对不完备犹豫模糊信息进行数值延拓,为构建不同风险偏好下备件品种确定的犹豫模糊决策信息系统奠定了基础；考虑得分函数和数值延拓边界的综合因素影响给出了改进的包含度计算公式,并基于包含度定义进行了证明；给出了基于改进包含度计算的备件品种决策属性的约简条件和规则获取方法,实现了犹豫模糊决策信息的深度挖掘和有效利用。以某新研装备备件品种确定为例进行了方法验证,研究结果表明：通过该法能够有效处理犹豫模糊决策信息,获取精简实用的备件品种决策规则集,验证了方法的可行性。     

National security,military spending and the business cycle

This paper develops a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model where national security is an argument in the agent’s utility function and the government chooses optimally the level of military spending to maximize social welfare. National defense depends on military expenditure and on the strategic environment reflecting a potential hostile external threat. We use aggregate data on consumption, investment, and military spending for the US economy to estimate the parameters of the model. Estimation results suggest that consumption and national defense are complements and that military spending variability is mainly explained by external threat shocks although it also depends on the macroeconomic conditions. We compute impulse response functions of the main macroeconomic variables to several shocks: a total factor productivity shock, a defense technology shock, and a strategic environment shock. Surprisingly, we find that the optimal response to an increase in the external threat (a worsening in the strategic environment) will rise output by reducing consumption and increasing investment.     

用户偏好提取MDP建模研究

将马尔可夫判决过程和智能强化学习算法相结合,给出了异构无线网络环境下用户业务偏好评估模型的技术框架。为动态环境下用户需求的感知、量化和适配特征的研究提供了基本的数学描述,对解决用户体验的评价问题和业务与业务环境的适配问题提供了新的研究思路。仿真结果表明所构建的MDP模型能够在多状态条件下学习用户偏好,根据用户需求智能选择业务。     

The Shifting Determinants of Defense Spending Preferences Between 1980 and 2008

This paper analyzes defense spending preferences using ordered logit regression analysis of American National Election Survey data from 1980 through 2008. Our results indicate that as opposed to having the ideology of isolationism, political party identification towards the Republican Party or having economic stakes in defense spending always play a significant role in increased preference towards defense spending. Demographic groups such as Native Americans, Hispanics, and retired women, a demographic subgroup, display generally positive preferences towards defense spending. Somewhat surprisingly, another demographic subgroup, ‘security moms,’ do not show a preference. Our analysis also displays lower (higher) preference in the early 1990s (2000s) for defense spending compared to the year 2008.     

基于乘积偏好关系的专家模糊核聚类赋权方法

多属性、多目标性决策中,针对专家给出各方案偏好关系下的决策问题,提出一种基于乘积偏好关系的专家模糊核聚类赋权方法。该方法运用模糊核聚类的思想实现对决策专家的聚类,并通过放宽归一化约束条件,克服了传统模糊核聚类算法中离群点对聚类结果的影响。同时,在专家类内赋权过程中,运用CI-IOWG算子集结同类专家的意见,依据不同专家对于形成类别一致性意见的贡献程度来确定专家权重;克服了传统基于熵权或判断矩阵一致性的赋权方法的局限性。算例表明,该方法可行、有效。     

一种发动机万有特性曲面拟合的新方法

通过分析发动机实测试验数据,提出了燃油消耗率同转速和扭矩之间存在类似幂指函数的关系,运用多元回归的方法对发动机的万有特性曲面进行了拟合,对拟合结果用数理统计的方法进行了检验,最后指出对发动机万有特性曲面的拟合采用分段函数进行数值计算,将得到更为精确的结果。     

A ‘transparent gold’ rush?

Abstract

The signing of a new treaty on the equitable sharing of the Nile waters – signed last May in Kampala by Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania – has the potential of derailing relations with Sudan and Egypt. According to the latter countries, this new agreement replaces the 1959 Nile agreement – that awarded them with 90 per cent control over the Nile water – giving other Nile Basin countries the possibility to implement water-related projects in agriculture and energy. This new development, according to Egypt and Sudan, places their water level security in jeopardy. Furthermore, the use of land grabs and water consumption for food security by wealthy foreign countries contributes to the sensitive situation the nine Nile Basin countries are now facing. Water is a red line when it comes to Egypt and Sudan and the future of the whole region depends on whether this line will be crossed.     

具有策略偏好的模糊双矩阵对策模型及其应用

针对局中人对策略有偏好、支付值模糊的双矩阵对策给出了一种具体的求解方法,首先根据加权算子集结得到局中人的策略偏好向量、利用模糊数排序方式将模型转化为清晰的双矩阵对策,再利用粒子群优化算法求解.最后以雷达电子对抗为例,建立了具有策略偏好的模糊双矩阵对策的作战效能评估模型,研究结果对于双方资源分配,提高作战效能具有一定的军...     

A bicriterion approach to common flow allowances due window assignment and scheduling with controllable processing times

We investigate a single‐machine scheduling problem for which both the job processing times and due windows are decision variables to be determined by the decision maker. The job processing times are controllable as a linear or convex function of the amount of a common continuously divisible resource allocated to the jobs, where the resource allocated to the jobs can be used in discrete or continuous quantities. We use the common flow allowances due window assignment method to assign due windows to the jobs. We consider two performance criteria: (i) the total weighted number of early and tardy jobs plus the weighted due window assignment cost, and (ii) the resource consumption cost. For each resource consumption function, the objective is to minimize the first criterion, while keeping the value of the second criterion no greater than a given limit. We analyze the computational complexity, devise pseudo‐polynomial dynamic programming solution algorithms, and provide fully polynomial‐time approximation schemes and an enhanced volume algorithm to find high‐quality solutions quickly for the considered problems. We conduct extensive numerical studies to assess the performance of the algorithms. The computational results show that the proposed algorithms are very efficient in finding optimal or near‐optimal solutions. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 64: 41–63, 2017