A note on allocating jobs to two machines

A recent article in this journal by Mehta, Chandrasekaran, and Emmons [1] described a dynamic programming algorithm for assigning jobs to two identical parallel processors in a way that minimizes the average delay of these jobs. Their problem has a constraint on the sequence of the jobs such that any group of jobs assigned to a processor must be processed in the order of the sequence. This note has two purposes. First, we wish to point out a relationship between this work and some prior work [2]. Second, we wish to point out that Mehta, Chandrasekaran, and Emmons formulation, slightly generalized, can be used to find the optimum assignment of jobs to two machines in a more general class of problems than they considered including a subclass in which the jobs are not constrained to be processed in a given sequence.     

The Illusion of Afghanistan’s Electoral Representative Democracy: The Cases of Afghan Presidential and National Legislative Elections

This article is the latest in a series of published articles systematically examining Afghan Presidential and legislative elections. Structural problems including fraud, ethno-linguistic block voting, and the Single Non-Transferable Vote have had significant impacts on the development of Afghan democratic elections. The challenge now facing the current Afghan government and future elections is the daunting task of uniting the Afghan people while not repeating the electoral mistakes of the past. The tricky balancing act of fostering an overarching national identity without being perceived as privileging particular identities requires strong leadership and a willingness to challenge traditional ethnic, linguistic, and religious norms when need be. Karzai and Ghani Administrations have seriously failed relative to this dynamic.     

A simulation study of the efficiency of empirical Bayes' estimators of multiple correlated probability vectors

Empirical Bayes' methods had been used by Brier, Zacks, and Marlow [1] for estimating performance characteristic vectors of success probabilities. The problem is that of estimating k-dimensional success probabilities of dependent binomial random variables, which are highly correlated. The present study reinforces the results of the previous one by showing, via simulations, that the relative efficiency of the empirical Bayes estimators, compared to the Stein-type and to the maximum-likelihood ones, is very high. This holds even if the success proportions are based on a small number of trials. We study the case of equicorrelation structure with positive correlations.     

Utility assessment procedures for polynomial-exponential functions

This article develops a methodology for testing constant exchange risk properties and identifying an appropriate form for a decision maker's utility function. These risk properties characterize six different utility functions which are sums of products of polynomials and exponential functions. Such functional forms are commonly used in decision analysis applications. The practical advantage of this methodology is that these constant exchange risk properties eliminate the usual arbitrariness in the selection of a parametric utility function and often reduce the data requirements for subsequent estimation. The procedure is straightforward to apply. The decision maker need only provide certainty equivalents for two-outcome gambles and determine the more-preferred gamble in paired comparisons. The technical details of the procedure can be handled by interactive computer software.     

An approach for solving discrete alternative multiple criteria problems involving ordinal criteria

The existence of ordinal criteria is a factor that complicates multiple criteria problems. In this article we develop an approach for the problem of choosing among discrete alternatives assuming that criteria are ordinal. The approach requires pairwise comparisons of alternatives by the decision maker. Based on these comparisons, presumably inferior alternatives are eliminated. Experience on randomly generated problems indicates that the approach usually chooses one of the most preferred alternatives and requires a small number of pairwise comparisons.     

The impact of Syrian refugees on the labor market in neighboring countries: empirical evidence from Jordan

This paper analyzes time-sensitive data on a humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. It aims to assess the impact of the steep influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan on the country’s labor market since the onset of the conflict in Syria (March 2011). As of August 2014, nearly three million registered Syrians have sought refuge in neighboring countries (Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey), according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Jordan and Lebanon are hosting the majority of them. This paper utilizes data regarding unemployment rates, employment rates, labor force participation, the number of refugees, and economic activity at the level of governorates. The vector autoregressive methodology is used to examine time series data from the most affected governorates in Jordan. The empirical results of Granger causality tests and impulse response functions show that there is no relationship between the influx of Syrian refugees and the Jordanian labor market. Our results are verified through a set of robustness checks.     

‘The People are Revolting’: An Anatomy of Authoritarian Counterinsurgency

Rather than win hearts and minds, authoritarian counterinsurgency is said to rely heavily on coercion. It has a reputation for effectiveness, if also for its amorality. Still, the research into authoritarian counterinsurgency is surprisingly lacking. By distilling common features from key cases, this article concludes that this approach goes beyond the indiscriminate violence that typically captures the imagination. Like their democratic counterparts but differently, authoritarian regimes also engage in mobilisation, create narratives, and turn military advantage into political gain. The analysis explains how these tasks are undertaken and, by contradistinction, sheds light on more liberal approaches as well.