Flexible supply contracts for short life‐cycle goods: The buyer's perspective

In this paper we analyze a two‐period supply contract which allows for order adjustment by the buyer. The buyer is required to place orders for two periods. After observing initial demand, the buyer is then allowed to adjust the second order, paying a per unit order adjustment penalty. We describe the optimal behavior of the buyer under such a contract, both in determining the initial order quantities and in subsequently adjusting the order. We compare the solution to a contract where no adjustment is allowed and to the case where adjustment is allowed without penalty. We demonstrate that flexible contracts can reduce the potentially negative effect of correlation of demand between two periods. Further, we investigate how the duration of the first period vis‐à‐vis the second period affects the profitability of the buyer as a function of the degree of correlation. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 49: 25–45, 2002; DOI 10.1002/nav.10002     

Exact algorithms for integrated facility location and production planning problems

We consider a class of facility location problems with a time dimension, which requires assigning every customer to a supply facility in each of a finite number of periods. Each facility must meet all assigned customer demand in every period at a minimum cost via its production and inventory decisions. We provide exact branch‐and‐price algorithms for this class of problems and several important variants. The corresponding pricing problem takes the form of an interesting class of production planning and order selection problems. This problem class requires selecting a set of orders that maximizes profit, defined as the revenue from selected orders minus production‐planning‐related costs incurred in fulfilling the selected orders. We provide polynomial‐time dynamic programming algorithms for this class of pricing problems, as well as for generalizations thereof. Computational testing indicates the advantage of our branch‐and‐price algorithm over various approaches that use commercial software packages. These tests also highlight the significant cost savings possible from integrating location with production and inventory decisions and demonstrate that the problem is rather insensitive to forecast errors associated with the demand streams. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2011     

The United States Coast Guard Computer-Assisted Search Planning system (CASP)

This paper provides an overview of the Computer-Assisted Search Planning (CASP) system developed for the United States Coast Guard. The CASP information processing methodology is based upon Monte Carlo simulation to obtain an initial probability distribution for target location and to update this distribution to account for drift due to currents and winds. A multiple scenario approach is employed to generate the initial probability distribution. Bayesian updating is used to reflect negative information obtained from unsuccessful search. The principal output of the CASP system is a sequence of probability “maps” which display the current target location probability distributions throughout the time period of interest. CASP also provides guidance for allocating search effort based upon optimal search theory.     

A heuristic procedure for allocating tasks in fault-tolerant distributed computer systems

One way of achieving the increased levels of system reliability and availability demanded by critical computer-based control systems is through the use of fault-tolerant distributed computer systems. This article addresses the problem of allocating a set of m tasks among a set of n processors in a manner that will satisfy various task assignment, system capacity, and task scheduling constraints while balancing the workload across processors. We discuss problem background, problem formulation, and a known heuristic procedure for the problem. A new solution-improving heuristic procedure is introduced, and computational experience with the heuristics is presented. With only a modest increase in the amount of computational effort, the new procedure is demonstrated to improve dramatically solution quality as well as obtain near-optimal solutions to the test problems.     

The dynamic and stochastic knapsack Problem with homogeneous‐sized items and postponement options

This article generalizes the dynamic and stochastic knapsack problem by allowing the decision‐maker to postpone the accept/reject decision for an item and maintain a queue of waiting items to be considered later. Postponed decisions are penalized with delay costs, while idle capacity incurs a holding cost. This generalization addresses applications where requests of scarce resources can be delayed, for example, dispatching in logistics and allocation of funding to investments. We model the problem as a Markov decision process and analyze it through dynamic programming. We show that the optimal policy with homogeneous‐sized items possesses a bithreshold structure, despite the high dimensionality of the decision space. Finally, the value (or price) of postponement is illustrated through numerical examples. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 62: 267–292, 2015     

A standardized scan statistic for detecting spatial clusters with estimated parameters

The scan statistic based on likelihood ratios (LRs) have been widely discussed for detecting spatial clusters. When developing the scan statistic, it uses the maximum likelihood estimates of the incidence rates inside and outside candidate clusters to substitute the true values in the LR statistic. However, the parameter estimation has a significant impact on the sensitivity of the scan statistic, which favors the detection of clusters in areas with large population sizes. By presenting the effects of parameter estimation on Kulldorff's scan statistic, we suggest a standardized scan statistic for spatial cluster detection. Compared to the traditional scan statistic, the standardized scan statistic can account for the varying mean and variance of the LR statistic due to inhomogeneous background population sizes. Extensive simulations have been performed to compare the power of the two cluster detection methods with known or/and estimated parameters. The simulation results show that the standardization can help alleviate the effects of parameter estimation and improve the detection of localized clusters. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2012     

Damage to aircraft composite structures caused by directed energy system: A literature review

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the research studies on direct energy system effect on aircraft composite structures to develop a good understanding of state-of-the-art research and devel-opment in this area. The review begins with the application of composite materials in the aircraft structures and highlights their particular areas of application and limitations. An overview of directed energy system is given. Some of the commonly used systems in this category are discussed and the working principles of laser energy systems are described. The experimental and numerical studies re-ported regarding the aircraft composite structures subject to the effect of directed energy systems, especially the laser systems are reviewed in detail. In particularly, the general effects of laser systems and the relevant damage mechanisms against the composite structures are reported. The review draws attention to the recent research and findings in this field and is expected to guide engineers/researchers in future theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies.     

Designing and pricing menus of extended warranty contracts

Extended warranties provide “piece of mind” to a consumer in that product failures which occur after the base warranty expires are rectified at little or no cost. They also provide an additional source of revenue for manufacturers or third‐party providers, such as retailers or insurance providers, and help cultivate consumer loyalty. In this article, we analyze a number of extended warranty contracts which differ in design, including restrictions on deferrals and renewals. With the use of dynamic programming, we compute the optimal strategy for a consumer with perfect information and determine the optimal pricing policy for the provider given the consumer's risk characterization. We also provide insight into when different contracts should be issued. Finally, we illustrate how profits can be dramatically increased by offering menus of warranty contracts, as opposed to stand alone contracts, with the use of integer programming. Surprisingly, risk‐taking consumers provide the greatest benefit to offering menus. These insights can help a company develop a comprehensive warranty planning strategy for given products or product lines. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 2009     

Fostering nonviolent elections in Africa through conflict-sensitive reportage of elections

Given that most Africans view political aspirants in terms of their ethnic and religious lineage rather than political ideology, and since most Africans rely on the media for information, there is a tendency to fall prey to biased and insensitive reportage, capable of inciting violence elicited by the prejudiced information often presented as news, features, commentaries, documentaries, etc. This article hypothesises that with appropriate training on conflict-sensitive reportage, journalists can foster peaceful and nonviolent elections through their reportage. The article recommends the adoption of an alternative method of news reportage using the peace-journalism model. The model, developed by Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick, encourages journalists to report social issues in ways that create opportunities for a society to consider and value nonviolent responses toward conflict by using the insights from conflict analysis and transformation to update concepts of balance, fairness and accuracy in reporting. It also provides a new route map that traces the connections between journalists, their sources, the stories they cover and the consequences of their reportage. In addition, it builds awareness of nonviolence and brings creativity into the practical job of everyday editing and reporting. This article holds theoretical significance in that it explicitly identifies conditions that encourage journalists to apply conflict sensitivity to their reportage, thereby promoting societal peace, particularly during elections.