Accreditation Fraud in Brazilian Military Hospitals: Why “Tone at the Top” Matters

This article shows under which circumstances fraudulent accreditation can occur in Brazilian military hospitals, calling attention to the tone at the top as a critical aspect of military fraud deterrence – and hence as a critical aspect of this branch of military ethics. The problems allegedly found in Brazilian military health institutions were revealed through in-depth interviews conducted with 29 professionals who reported to work or have worked in a Brazilian military hospital. These fraud allegations were mostly associated with false documentation and procedures designed to give the appearance that legal requirements for accreditation were met and could be traced back to a weak or corrupt “tone at the top” coming from military higher ranks.     

Bayesian inference for a Lanchester type combat model

We undertake inference for a stochastic form of the Lanchester combat model. In particular, given battle data, we assess the type of battle that occurred and whether or not it makes any difference to the number of casualties if an army is attacking or defending. Our approach is Bayesian and we use modern computational techniques to fit the model. We illustrate our method using data from the Ardennes campaign. We compare our results with previous analyses of these data by Bracken and Fricker. Our conclusions are somewhat different to those of Bracken. Where he suggests that a linear law is appropriate, we show that the logarithmic or linear‐logarithmic laws fit better. We note however that the basic Lanchester modeling assumptions do not hold for the Ardennes data. Using Fricker's modified data, we show that although his “super‐logarithmic” law fits best, the linear, linear‐logarithmic, and logarithmic laws cannot be ruled out. We suggest that Bayesian methods can be used to make inference for battles in progress. We point out a number of advantages: Prior information from experts or previous battles can be incorporated; predictions of future casualties are easily made; more complex models can be analysed using stochastic simulation techniques. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 47: 541–558, 2000     

Forecast horizons for the discounted dynamic lot-size problem allowing speculative motive

This article considers the dynamic lot-size problem under discounting, allowing speculative motive for holding inventory. A variable rolling-horizon procedure is presented, which, under certain regularity conditions, is guaranteed to generate an infinite-horizon optimal-production plan. We also discuss a fixed rolling-horizon procedure which provides a production plan that achieves an infinite-horizon cost within a user-specified tolerance ϵ of optimality. The fixed-horizon length T* needed in this procedure is given in terms of a closed-form formula that is independent of specific forecasted demands. We also present computational results for problems with a range of cost parameters and demand characteristics.     

Operating characteristics of a two-echelon inventory system for repairable and consumable items under batch ordering and shipment policy

In this article we have generalized previous models on multiechelon recoverable inventory systems to cover the cases of batch ordering and shipment policy, and when items can either be repaired or condemned. The batch ordering and shipment policy is appropriate when the setup cost for shipment and order and/or the demand rates of the items are relatively high. The operating characteristics of such a system have been studied. Specifically, the probability distribution of backorder levels at the bases are analyzed for different repair-time distributions. An approximation scheme is proposed for this distribution, and is evaluated using extensive simulation results. The results indicate that the scheme is very effective in providing near-optimal stocking levels in such a system.     

一类二阶微分方程Poincaré分岔极限环的不存在性

讨论一类二阶微分方程x¨+εf(x,x.)x.+g(x)=0的Poincar分岔极限环的不存在性,利用一阶Mel’nikov函数直接从整体上进行分析讨论,得出了若干充分条件和判别准则。     

DESO滤波器在DSP上的实现及其应用

针对工程实践中系统状态信号及其高阶微分量提取受测量噪声干扰的问题,分析了DESO(Differential Extended State Observer)滤波器的原理和数学表达式,在此基础上,采用TMS320F2808为控制核心,辅以相应的信号采集、数据传输和参数设置电路,设计了基于DSP的DESO滤波器。测试表明:所设计的硬件DESO滤波器具有良好的滤波和微分提取功能。最后将其应用于坦克炮控系统的状态提取中,为抑制噪声干扰和进一步提高炮控系统的性能奠定了基础。     

广义Liénard方程Poincaré分岔极限环的唯一性和不存在性

讨论了一类广义Linard方程x¨+f1(x)x.2+εf2(x)x.+g(x)=0的Poincar分岔极限环的唯一性和不存在性。将不对Abel积分进行分项,而是利用一阶Mel′nikov函数直接从整体上进行分析讨论,得出了若干判别准则和充分条件。     

海战场移动自组织网络构建设计

面向海战场信息网络建设需求,结合移动自组织网络无中心、组网灵活,抗毁性强等特点,从移动自组织网络体系结构设计入手,研究海上移动自组织网络的组网技术,并提出一种适用于海战场信息网络动态组网的构建方法。