Case Study Commentary and Analysis: The Moral Sword of Damocles

Case summary, by James Cook (Case Study Editor):

In the final issue of the 2015 volume of the Journal of Military Ethics, we published a case study entitled “Coining an Ethical Dilemma: The Impunity of Afghanistan’s Indigenous Security Forces”, written by Paul Lushenko. The study detailed two extra-judicial killings (EJKs) by Afghan National Police (ANP) personnel in an area stabilized and overseen by a US-led Combined Task Force (CTF). To deter further EJKs following the first incident, the CTF’s commander reported the incidents up his chain of command and used the limited tools at his disposal to influence local indigenous officials directly. Apparently, the ANP unit took no notice. In his commentary on the case study, Paul Robinson considered moral compromise in war more generally. Coalition troops in Afghanistan, for instance, have encountered not just EJKs but also sexual abuse of minors, killing of non-combatants, kidnapping, torture, and widespread corruption. What should the soldier on the ground do if indigenous personnel violate Laws of Armed Conflict (LOAC) with impunity? Refusing to serve will not right or prevent moral wrongs, while staying on to fight the good but futile fight will mire the soldier in moral compromise. “?… [S]oldiers faced with this dilemma have no good options. The systemic failings surrounding them mean that it is probable that nothing they do will help”. In a concluding note, I suggested that while an individual soldier may indeed have no good options, as Paul Robinson suggests, that soldier’s military and nation at large are obliged to do what they can. At least, they must keep to the moral high ground so as not to give indigenous security forces an excuse to misbehave, and determine the nature of crimes such as EJKs: are they outlaw acts or in fact endorsed by the indigenous culture and perhaps even government? Below Colonel Dave Barnes, himself a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, analyzes Paul Lushenko’s case study at “?…?the local, tactical level: If a commander is in this situation – where her unit witnesses an EJK or other war crime – what should she do?”     

Algorithms and heuristics for variable-yield lot sizing

We consider the multiperiod lot-sizing problem in which the production yield (the proportion of usable goods) is variable according to a known probability distribution. We review two economic order quantity (EOQ) models for the stationary demand continuous-time problem and derive an EOQ model when the production yield follows a binomial distribution and backlogging of demand is permitted. A dynamic programming algorithm for an arbitrary sequence of demand requirements is presented. Heuristics based on both the EOQ model and appropriate modification of the underlying perfect-yield lot-sizing policies are discussed, and extensive computational evaluation of these heuristics is presented. Two of these heuristics are then modified to include the notion of supply safety stock. The modified heuristics consistently produce near-optimal lot-sizing policies for problems with stationary and time-varying demands.     

Likelihood estimation for generalized mixed exponential distributions

The class of functions expressed as linear (not necessarily convex) combinations of negative exponential functions is dense in the set of all square integrable functions on the nonnegative reals. Because of this and resultant mathematical properties, linear combinations of exponential densities have excellent potential for wide application in stochastic modeling. This work documents the development and testing of a practical procedure for maximum-likelihood estimation for these generalized exponential mixtures. The algorithm offered for the problem is of the Jacobi type and guarantees that the result will provide a legitimate probability function of the prescribed type. Extensive testing has been performed and results are very favorable: convergence is rapid and the use of computer resources rather limited.     

四轴超精密车床的改进坐标驱动装置

带微进给方式步进电机的PC控制轴系驱动装置可生产光学质量的表面。超精密车床可生产诸如球体和非球体之类的集合体,其表面粗糙度≤5nmRa,可用于光学装置的反光镜或空气轴承转轴的超精密零件。     

任意信号FFT频谱显示误差及消除方法

分析了任意信号FFT、变换频谱在计算机显示中产生误差的原因,介绍了频率轴坐标标定和显示引起的误差对高精度频谱图的影响,指出了无误差显示应满足的条件,并给出了相应的无误差频谱显示程序。     

超精密金刚石车床伺服进给数学模型

首先分析了车床进给系统各环节的传递函数,在此基础上采用频域估计建模和时域建模方法建立了车床伺服进给系统的Ｓ域和Ｚ域模型     

基于神经网络的超精密机床伺服进给非线性模型辨识

以双轴Ｔ型结构的超精密金刚石车床的伺服进给系统为研究对象,采用自构造神经网络技术,建立了系统的非线性动态数学模型,为系统非线性控制与补偿提供参考模型     

赛船自动固定启航装置的研制

设计了一种新型赛船固定启航装置。该装置主要由浮台、尾固定器和侧固定器组成。整个系统为全飘浮式,不需要水下作业,因而可用于多种竞赛水域,可快速转移赛程。第一届世界龙舟锦标赛应用实践证明,该装置结构简单,使用方便可靠。该装置已获中华人民共和国国家专利     

等值电路法列写线性网络的状态方程

本文介绍一种手算时用等值电路编写线性网络状态方程的方法。优点是不必列任何方程式,尤其是可以省略消去非状态变量的复杂计算过程。提出一种用检查“量纲”的办法,核对计算是否有误,以便及时纠正。