On patrolling a channel

A simple formula is found to be just as accurate as a complicated one for estimating the probability of detection achievable by an ingenious searcher patrolling a channel or barrier. The difference between “detection” and “closure” is emphasized in an extension.     

Scheduling with parallel processors and linear delay costs

This paper deals with the sequencing problem of minimizing linear delay costs with parallel identical processors. The theoretical properties of this m-machine problem are explored, and the problem of determining an optimum scheduling procedure is examined. Properties of the optimum schedule are given as well as the corresponding reductions in the number of schedules that must be evaluated in the search for an optimum. An experimental comparison of scheduling rules is reported; this indicates that although a class of effective heuristics can be identified, their relative behavior is difficult to characterize.