Scheduling of parallel processors: A posterior bound on LPT sequencing and a two-step algorithm

This article considers the problem of scheduling parallel processors to minimize the makespan. The article makes two key contributions: (1) It develops a new lower bound on the makespan for an optimal schedule, and (2) it proposes an efficient two-step algorithm to find schedules of any desired accuracy, or percent above optimal. In addition, a posterior bound on LPT (longest processing time) sequencing is developed in the article. It is proved that this bound dominates the previously reported bounds on LPT sequencing.     

Some elementary ideas concerning the complexity of system structure

A system of iid Bernoulli components is the starting point in the statistical theory of reliability. This simplification allows for the development of a rich, though elementary, theory for the structure of the system. Two representations play a prominent role in the study of structural reliability. One is the minimal path set representation and the other is the signature representation. By combining the two representations with the Gibbs measure for the state of components, one obtains terms that can be interpreted as the complexity of the system structure. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010     

Strength in Numbers: The Labour Government and the Size of the Polaris Force

Previous historical accounts have simplified the Labour government's decision to commission a four-boat strategic nuclear deterrent, or ‘Polaris force’, in early 1965. Utilising previously classified sources, this article shows that a number of key strategic concerns led the decision-making process. Nevertheless, broader economic and diplomatic considerations were also important in determining the size of the Polaris force. A tremendous balance of payments deficit and ongoing debates regarding levels of conventional and nuclear involvement in NATO certainly influenced the government's final decision. Moreover, competing strategic and economic interests resulted in continued debate throughout the decision-making process.     

The multidimensional nature of the Boko Haram conflict

ABSTRACT

The debate concerning the Nigerian terrorist Boko Haram is typically simplified across two false dichotomies. First, it is treated as either a local conflict in northeast Nigeria with its epicentre in Borno State or part of a broader conflict in Northwest Africa (and beyond), encompassing northern Cameroon, southern Chad, Niger, and reaching into Libya and Mali. The second dichotomy concerns whether it is animated by local material conditions on the ground, or is part of a broader anti-West jihad. The Boko Haram insurgency is not that simple. It is, rather, a multidimensional conflict and can change overtime.     

Encircled by enemies: Stalin's Perceptions of the capitalist world, 1918 – 1941

The article examines Stalin's intelligence on the capitalist world, including materials from military archives, diplomatic archives, and Stalin's private papers. It explores how these materials were collected, interpreted and shaped by Stalin's prejudices. It concludes that, from the end of the Civil War to the Nazi invasion, Stalin and the Soviet leadership believed that the Soviet Union was under a nearly constant threat of invasion from shifting coalitions of capitalist powers. No such threat existed until the late 1930s, but Stalin's perceptions have important implications for our understanding of Soviet foreign and domestic politics in the interwar period.