Warranty costs: An age‐dependent failure/repair model

An age‐dependent repair model is proposed. The notion of the “calendar age” of the product and the degree of repair are used to define the virtual age of the product. The virtual failure rate function and the virtual hazard function related to the lifetime of the product are discussed. Under a nonhomogeneous Poisson process scenario the expected warranty costs for repairable products associated with linear pro‐rata, nonrenewing free replacement and renewing free replacement warranties are evaluated. Illustration of the results is given by numerical and graphical examples. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004.     

On the uncapacitated K‐commodity network design problem with zero flow‐costs

Extending Sastry's result on the uncapacitated two‐commodity network design problem, we completely characterize the optimal solution of the uncapacitated K‐commodity network design problem with zero flow costs for the case when K = 3. By solving a set of shortest‐path problems on related graphs, we show that the optimal solutions can be found in O(n³) time when K = 3, where n is the number of nodes in the network. The algorithm depends on identifying a list of “basic patterns”; the number of basic patterns grows exponentially with K. We also show that the uncapacitated K‐commodity network design problem can be solved in O(n³) time for general K if K is fixed; otherwise, the time for solving the problem is exponential. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004     

A general approach to the shape of failure rate and MRL functions

Failure rate and mean residual life are two important characteristics for studying reliability of products. In literature, some work studied the shape of failure rate function based on the knowledge of the associated probability density function; some other work investigated the shape of mean residual life function based on the shape of the associated failure rate function separately for continuous case and discrete case. In this article, a general approach is developed which can be applied to the aforementioned studies. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004     

Higher‐order Markov chain models for categorical data sequences*

In this paper we study higher‐order Markov chain models for analyzing categorical data sequences. We propose an efficient estimation method for the model parameters. Data sequences such as DNA and sales demand are used to illustrate the predicting power of our proposed models. In particular, we apply the developed higher‐order Markov chain model to the server logs data. The objective here is to model the users' behavior in accessing information and to predict their behavior in the future. Our tests are based on a realistic web log and our model shows an improvement in prediction. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004     

Optimization of schedule stability and efficiency under processing time variability and random machine breakdowns in a job shop environment

The ability to cope with uncertainty in dynamic scheduling environments is becoming an increasingly important issue. In such environments, any disruption in the production schedule will translate into a disturbance of the plans for several external activities as well. Hence, from a practical point of view, deviations between the planned and realized schedules are to be avoided as much as possible. The term stability refers to this concern. We propose a proactive approach to generate efficient and stable schedules for a job shop subject to processing time variability and random machine breakdowns. In our approach, efficiency is measured by the makespan, and the stability measure is the sum of the variances of the realized completion times. Because the calculation of the original measure is mathematically intractable, we develop a surrogate stability measure. The version of the problem with the surrogate stability measure is proven to be NP‐hard, even without machine breakdowns; a branch‐and‐bound algorithm is developed for this problem variant. A tabu search algorithm is proposed to handle larger instances of the problem with machine breakdowns. The results of extensive computational experiments indicate that the proposed algorithms are quite promising in performance. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2011     

A spatial rank‐based multivariate EWMA control chart

Nonparametric control charts are useful in statistical process control when there is a lack of or limited knowledge about the underlying process distribution, especially when the process measurement is multivariate. This article develops a new multivariate self‐starting methodology for monitoring location parameters. It is based on adapting the multivariate spatial rank to on‐line sequential monitoring. The weighted version of the rank‐based test is used to formulate the charting statistic by incorporating the exponentially weighted moving average control scheme. It is robust to non‐normally distributed data, easy to construct, fast to compute and also very efficient in detecting multivariate process shifts, especially small or moderate shifts which occur when the process distribution is heavy‐tailed or skewed. As it avoids the need for a lengthy data‐gathering step before charting and it does not require knowledge of the underlying distribution, the proposed control chart is particularly useful in start‐up or short‐run situations. A real‐data example from white wine production processes shows that it performs quite well. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 59: 91–110, 2012     

Optimal pricing for a short life‐cycle product when customer price‐sensitivity varies over time

Technology products often experience a life‐cycle demand pattern that resembles a diffusion process, with weak demand in the beginning and the end of the life cycle and high demand intensity in between. The customer price‐sensitivity also changes over the life cycle of the product. We study the prespecified pricing decision for a product that exhibits such demand characteristics. In particular, we determine the optimal set of discrete prices and the times to switch from one price to another, when a limited number of price changes are allowed. Our study shows that the optimal prices and switching times show interesting patterns that depend on the product's demand pattern and the change in the customers' price sensitivity over the life cycle of the product. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2012     

武警院校“四位一体”心理服务模式探索与实践

武警院校“四位一体”心理服务模式的主要职能任务包括课堂教学、测试咨询、心理训练和部队服务,在制度保障机制、组织保障机制和物质保障机制下有效运行,能够增强院校心理课堂教学的效果,拓宽官兵维护心理健康的渠道,提升部队心理骨干的业务能力。     

基于调整型的战术导弹批检试验抽样方案设计

为通过批检试验准确检验导弹的质量,提出基于调整型的战术导弹批检试验抽样方案设计思路。调整型抽样检验方法的应用,可适时调整抽样方案的宽严程度,提高检验效率,并为订货方和生产方提供适当的风险保护,把抽样检验和导弹的质量变化联系在一起形成一个动态检验过程。     

中亚来华留学生汉语学习动机差异性分析

本文通过对新疆师范大学的中亚来华留学生学习动机进行调查,用差异性检验方法,从性别、学历方面进行数据统计分析,从而发现问题,得出结论,为留学生汉语学习动机问题的研究提供参考。