Minimizing logistic costs in multistage supply chains

We consider the problem in which a set of products has to be shipped from a common origin to a common destination through one or several intermediate nodes with the objective of minimizing the sum of inventory and transportation costs when a set of possible shipping frequencies is given on each link. From the theoretical point of view, the main issue is the computation of the inventory cost in the intermediate nodes. From the computational point of view, given that the simpler single link problem is known to be NP-hard, we present four classes of heuristic algorithms. The first two classes are based on the decomposition of the sequence in links, the third class on the adaptation of the EOQ-type solution known for the continuous case, and the fourth on the optimal solution of a simpler problem through dynamic programming techniques. Finally, we compare them on a set of randomly generated problem instances. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 46: 399–417, 1999     

From the ESS to the EU Global Strategy: external policy,internal purpose

Security strategies are important sites for narrating the EU into existence as a security actor. The unveiling of a new global strategy on foreign and security policy for the EU immediately post-Brexit could be conceived as a pledge to remain together as a Union for the purposes of contributing to global security in a particular way. This paper offers a brief stock-taking of the EU’s way of writing security from the European Security Strategy (2003) to the EU Global Strategy (2016). A concise exegesis of these documents exposes an interesting dynamic: as exercises in ordering the world, both strategic guidelines have turned out to be major exercises in ordering the self. The comparative snapshot shows the EU as increasingly anxious to prove its relevance for its own citizens, yet notably less confident about its actual convincingness as an ontological security framework for the EU’s constituent members over time.     

Change as a cost driver in defence procurement

This paper discusses change transactions that occur in connection with the procurement of defence systems. The bases for the reasoning are the ideas of Miller and Vollman (1985 Miller JG Vollman TE (1985) The hidden factory – cutting the explosive growth of overhead costs requires mastery of more than just what happens on the shop floor Harvard Business Review Sept–Oct 142 150  [Google Scholar]) and Eppinger (2001 Eppinger DE (2001) Innovation at the speed of information Harvard Business Review January 149 158  [Google Scholar]). These researchers argue that unplanned flows of information lead to change transactions, causing significant overhead costs. According to this paper, change transactions in defence procurement could be caused by (a) the changes in technology taking place during the long lifetime of a defence system and (b) the structure and contents of the agreements between the defence agent (the procurer) and the defence industry (the supplier).     

THE NUCLEAR THRESHOLD STATES

“Nuclear threshold states”—those that have chosen nuclear restraint despite having significant nuclear capabilities—seem like the perfect partners for the reinvigorated drive toward global nuclear disarmament. Having chosen nuclear restraint, threshold states may embrace disarmament as a way to guarantee the viability of their choice (which may be impossible in a proliferating world). Supporting disarmament efforts affirms their restraint, both self-congratulating and self-fulfilling. Additionally, the commitment to their non-nuclear status springs at least in part from a moral stance against nuclear weapons that lends itself to energetic support of global disarmament. However, threshold states also offer significant challenges to the movement for nuclear weapons elimination, in particular in relation to acquisition of enrichment and reprocessing facilities. This article analyzes both the challenges and opportunities posed by threshold states by examining the cases of Brazil and Japan.     

Scheduling twin robots on a line

This article introduces the twin robots scheduling problem (TRSP), in which two robots positioned at the opposite ends of a rail are required to deliver items to positions along the rail, and the objective is to minimize the makespan. A proof of ‐hardness of the TRSP is presented, along with exact and heuristic algorithms. Computational results on challenging instances are provided.Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 119–130, 2014     

‘Full spectrum dominance’: Donald Rumsfeld,the Department of Defense,and US irregular warfare strategy, 2001–2008

This article examines the evolution of US irregular warfare (IW) doctrine and practice from 2001 onwards. It argues that, after 9/11, top-tier civilian policymakers in the US Department of Defense (DoD) and across the US government developed a heightened awareness of asymmetric threats and non-conventional forms of warfare, especially those shaped by contemporary globalisation. The result was a gradual turn towards irregular warfare, led by Rumsfeld and the DoD, designed to ensure ‘full spectrum dominance’ across all modes of conflict. This pre-dated the insurgency in Iraq and the promotion of counterinsurgency in the US Army by General David Petraeus and others. Policymakers' reluctance to acknowledge the insurgency in Iraq was not down to a failure to understand the concept of IW, but because they had viewed Iraq in conventional terms for so many years and were reluctant to admit their mistake.     

EU armed forces and social media: convergence or divergence?

This article explores how armed forces in EU member states work with and view social media in national and international settings, and what the patterns of convergence/divergence are on these issues. To that end, a questionnaire targeted at EU armed forces was constructed. An index of qualitative variation was calculated to explore the relative convergence among respondents (n = 25) on issues of risks and opportunities with using social media nationally and internationally. Consistent with previous research on European armed forces, we found higher levels of divergence than convergence. Contrary to our expectations that similar challenges, joint international standards, and membership in international organizations would foster convergence with regard to social media use in areas of deployment, we found that convergence appeared foremost pertaining to the domestic level. Policy divergence was strongest in areas of deployment.     

Who’s at Risk? Reflections on In/Security When Working With/Through Military Brokers in Conflict Settings

ABSTRACT

In this paper, I reflect upon my experience of working with active military officers-cum-research brokers in research on the Congolese (DRC) armed forces. Drawing upon the traditions of autoethnography and Narrative International Relations, I recount the story of an evolving relationship between one particular military broker and myself. It highlights how military research brokers, while frequently cast not only as capable of handling their own security, but as prime sources of insecurity, often share the general (civilian) research broker’s predicaments of insecurity. In doing so, the narrative also challenges dominant gendered, as well as racialized, ideas of who is at risk when conducting research in conflict settings.