Optimal location of a single service center of certain types

Hakimi has considered the problem of finding an optimal location for a single service center, such as a hospital or a police station. He used a graph theoretic model to represent the region being serviced. The communities are represented by the nodes while the road network is represented by the ares of the graph. In his work, the objective is one of minimizing the maximum of the shortest distances between the vertices and the service center. In the present work, the region being serviced is represented by a convex polygon and communities are spread over the entire region. The objective is to minimize the maximum of Euclidian distances between the service center and any point in the polygon. Two methods of solution presented are (i) a geometric method, and (ii) a quadratic programming formulation. Of these, the geometric method is simpler and more efficient. It is seen that for a class of problems, the geometric method is well suited and very efficient while the graph theoretic method, in general, will give only approximate solutions in spite of the increased efforts involved. But, for a different class of problems, the graph theoretic approach will be more appropriate while the geometric method will provide only approximate solutions though with ease. Finally, some feasible applications of importance are outlined and a few meaningful extensions are indicated.     

Optimal control of an M/G/1 queue with impatient priority customers

An optimal operating policy is characterized for the infinite‐horizon average‐cost case of a single server queueing control problem. The server may be turned on at arrival epochs or off at departure epochs. Two classes of customers, each of them arriving according to an independent Poisson processes, are considered. An arriving 1‐customer enters the system if the server is turned on upon his arrival, or if the server is on and idle. In the former case, the 1‐customer is selected for service ahead of those customers waiting in the system; otherwise he leaves the system immediately. 2‐Customers remain in the system until they complete their service requirements. Under a linear cost structure, this paper shows that a stationary optimal policy exists such that either (1) leaves the server on at all times, or (2) turns the server off when the system is empty. In the latter case, we show that the stationary optimal policy is a threshold strategy, this feature being commonplace in most of priority queueing systems and inventory models. However, the optimal policy in our model is determined by two thresholds instead of one. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 48: 201–209, 2001     

Explicit solution of partitioning problems over a 1‐dimensional parameter space

We consider a class of partitioning problems where the partitioned set is a finite set of real numbers and the objective function of a partition is a function of the vector whose coordinates are the sums of the elements in each part of the given partition (the number of such parts is assumed given). We obtain an explicit solution of such partitioning problem with polynomial complexity bounds. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 47: 531–540, 2000     

Optimal scheduling of reader—systems

We consider a reader—writer system consisting of a single server and a fixed number of jobs (or customers) belonging to two classes. Class one jobs are called readers and any number of them can be processed simultaneously. Class two jobs are called writers and they have to be processed one at a time. When a writer is being processed no other writer or readers can be processed. A fixed number of readers and writers are ready for processing at time 0. Their processing times are independent random variables. Each reader and writer has a fixed waiting cost rate. We find optimal scheduling rules that minimize the expected total waiting cost (expected total weighted flowtime). We consider both nonpreemptive and preemptive scheduling. The optimal nonpreemptive schedule is derived by a variation of the usual interchange argument, while the optimal schedule in the preemptive case is given by a Gittins index policy. These index policies continue to be optimal for systems in which new writers enter the system in a Poisson fashion. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 45: 483–495, 1998     

Heuristic procedures for scheduling job families with setups and due dates

This paper examines heuristic solution procedures for scheduling jobs on a single machine to minimize the maximum lateness in the presence of setup times between different job families. It reviews the state of knowledge about the solution of this problem, which is known to be difficult to solve in general, and examines natural solution approaches derived from some of the underlying theory. The emphasis is on the design and computational evaluation of new heuristic procedures. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 46: 978–991, 1999     

Cyclical schedules for the joint replenishment problem with dynamic demands

The Joint Replenishment Problem (JRP) involves production planning for a family of items. The items have a coordinated cost structure whereby a major setup cost is incurred whenever any item in the family is produced, and an item-specific minor setup cost is incurred whenever that item is produced. This paper investigates the performance of two types of cyclical production schedules for the JRP with dynamic demands over a finite planning horizon. The cyclical schedules considered are: (1) general cyclical schedules—schedules where the number of periods between successive production runs for any item is constant over the planning horizon—and (2) power-of-two schedules—a subset of cyclical schedules for which the number of periods between successive setups must be a power of 2. The paper evaluates the additional cost incurred by requiring schedules to be cyclical, and identifies problem characteristics that have a significant effect on this additional cost. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 44: 577–589, 1997.     

Computational study of the multiechelon production planning problem

In this article we try to identify appropriate solution procedures for different types of multiechelon production planning problems. We conduct an extensive computational study on uncapacitated multiechelon production planning problems with serial and assembly types of bill-of-material structures. Problems are formulated as both single-source fixed charge network problems and as multicommodity flow problems with fixed charges. Solution procedures considered are branch and cut, Lagrangean relaxation (for the network formulation), and branch and bound (for the multicommodity formulation). Three hundred problems with various problem structures are tested. Our conclusions suggest the best approach for each type of problem structure. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Reassessing Military Assistance to the Civil Powers: Are Traditional British Anti-Terrorist Responses Still Effective?

The provision of Military Assistance to the Civil Powers (MACP) encapsulates the traditional approach towards countering terrorism on the British mainland, which emphasises minimum force, proportionality, police primacy and the rule of law, with the military retained as a supporting instrument, being employed only as a measure of last resort. Recent terrorist incidents in major urban centres do, however, question the effectiveness of these established methods. This analysis initially codifies the conceptual issues that underscore the tensions between civil policing and military anti-terrorist approaches in the UK, and proceeds to evaluate and compare a number of operations that indicate the nature of the challenges facing the MACP apparatus. In particular, potential shortcomings in the MACP provisions are identified in the form of threat perception and deployment and enforcement gaps. The assessment finds that there are facets of MACP that are of enduring relevance in the current era, yet a continuing need persists to reconcile police and military imperatives toward serious civil disorder contingencies and conditions of emergency.     

Attrition through a partially coordinated area defense

An area defense consists of several groups that act independently, i.e., do not communicate with each other. Each group has a fixed number of defenders and a controller that allocates these defenders optimally against the individual attackers comprising an attack. We analyze the effectiveness of this partially coordinated defense against a simultaneous attack of known size in which all attackers are considered to be equally lethal. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2005.     

Equity in genetic newborn screening

State‐level newborn screening allows for early treatment of genetic disorders, which can substantially improve health outcomes for newborns. As the cost of genetic testing decreases, it is becoming an essential part of newborn screening. A genetic disorder can be caused by many mutation variants; therefore, an important decision is to determine which variants to search for (ie, the panel design), under a testing budget. The frequency of variants that cause a disorder and the incidence of the disorder vary by racial/ethnic group. Consequently, it is important to consider equity issues in panel design, so as to reduce disparities among different groups. We study the panel design problem using cystic fibrosis (CF) as a model disorder, considering the trade‐offs between equity and accuracy, under a limited budget. Most states use a genetic test in their CF screening protocol, but panel designs vary, and, due to cost, no state's panel includes all CF‐causing variants. We develop models that design equitable genetic testing panels, and compare them with panels that maximize sensitivity in the general population. Our case study, based on realistic CF data, highlights the value of equitable panels and provides important insight for newborn screening practices.