Quality control chart design under Jidoka

We consider design of control charts in the presence of machine stoppages that are exogenously imposed (as under jidoka practices). Each stoppage creates an opportunity for inspection/repair at reduced cost. We first model a single machine facing opportunities arriving according to a Poisson process, develop the expressions for its operating characteristics and construct the optimization problem for economic design of a control chart. We, then, consider the multiple machine setting where individual machine stoppages may create inspection/repair opportunities for other machines. We develop exact expressions for the cases when all machines are either opportunity‐takers or not. On the basis of an approximation for the all‐taker case, we then propose an approximate model for the mixed case. In a numerical study, we examine the opportunity taking behavior of machines in both single and multiple machine settings and the impact of such practices on the design of an X – Q C chart. Our findings indicate that incorporating inspection/repair opportunities into QC chart design may provide considerable cost savings. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 2009     

A nonidentical parallel processor scheduling problem

The problem considered in this article is a generalization of the familiar makespan problem, in which n jobs are allocated among m parallel processors, so as to minimize the maximum time (or cost) on any processor. Our problem is more general, in that we allow the processors to have (a) different initial costs, (b) different utilization levels before new costs are incurred, and (c) different rates of cost increase. A heuristic adapted from the bin-packing problem is shown to provide solutions which are close to optimal as the number of iterations is allowed to increase. Computational testing, over a large number of randomly generated problem instances, suggests that heuristic errors are, on average, very small.     

A duality model for a generalized minmax program

We consider a generalized minmax programming problem, and establish, under certain weaker convexity assumptions, the Fritz John sufficient optimality conditions for such a problem. A dual program is introduced and using those optimality conditions duality theorems are proved relating the dual and the primal. Duality for the generalized fractional programming problem is considered as an application of the results proved.     

Approximation algorithms for sequential batch‐testing of series systems

We introduce and study a generalization of the classic sequential testing problem, asking to identify the correct state of a given series system that consists of independent stochastic components. In this setting, costly tests are required to examine the state of individual components, which are sequentially tested until the correct system state can be uniquely identified. The goal is to propose a policy that minimizes the expected testing cost, given a‐priori probabilistic information on the stochastic nature of each individual component. Unlike the classic setting, where variables are tested one after the other, we allow multiple tests to be conducted simultaneously, at the expense of incurring an additional set‐up cost. The main contribution of this article consists in showing that the batch testing problem can be approximated in polynomial time within factor , for any fixed . In addition, we explain how, in spite of its highly nonlinear objective function, the batch testing problem can be formulated as an approximate integer program of polynomial size, while blowing up its expected cost by a factor of at most . Finally, we conduct extensive computational experiments, to demonstrate the practical effectiveness of these algorithms as well as to evaluate their limitations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 63: 275–286, 2016     

A note on efficient sequences with respect to total flow time and number of tardy jobs

For the single‐machine scheduling problem with the objective of simultaneously minimizing total flow time and number of tardy jobs, a lower bound on the number of efficient sequences is known. However, the proof thereof, which makes use of a modified version of Smith's algorithm, is unduly lengthy and sophisticated. Adopting a totally new point of view, we present in this short article a much simpler proof based on the naive idea of pairwise interchange. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 63: 346–348, 2016     

Military expenditures,economic growth and spatial spillovers

The relationship between economic growth and military expenditure has been the subject of a large literature in defence economics. This study analyses the influence of military expenditures on economic growth in a global perspective for the time period 2000–2010 taking spatial dimension into account. The augmented Solow model is employed to investigate the defence-growth nexus using the cross-sectional data relating to 128 countries. Following a traditional regression analysis, spatial variations in the relationships are examined utilizing different spatial econometric specifications estimated by maximum likelihood. The regressions are compared with each other via likelihood ratio tests, and the spatial Durbin model is found to be the most appropriate one suggesting that the typical least-squares model is misspecified. Empirical evidence indicates that military expenditure has a positive effect on economic growth with a significant spatial dependence for the time period under consideration.     

Russia's pivot to China goes astray: the impact on the Asia-Pacific security architecture

High-level declarations in Moscow and Beijing on the steady progress in upgrading their strategic partnership depart increasingly far from the reality of shrinking economic ties and diverging political perspectives. In late 2014, the dynamic development of this partnership appeared to have the potential of becoming a major shift in the fluid security balance in the Asia-Pacific region; in late 2015, however, the concerned neighbours have more reasons to worry about the deformations in the development of Russia–China relations. President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping are eager to demonstrate perfect personal rapport but their mutual trust is open to doubt and their views on priorities of domestic and international order are in fact strikingly dissimilar. The deep contraction of trade and the lack of interest from Chinese investors propels the Russian leadership towards increasing the emphasis on the security dimension of the partnership, and this makes Russia one of the key sources of instability in the Asia-Pacific region and a challenge to the East Asian peace. It is also entirely possible that the Russian challenge to the stability of the world system would result in strengthening of the key institutions of its governance, thus leaving the revisionist Russia in isolation.     

Note on “An Optimal Recursive Method for Various Inventory Replenishment Models with Increasing Demand and Shortages” by Teng et al.

In a recent paper, Teng, Chern, and Yang consider four possible inventory replenishment models and determine the optimal replenishment policies for them. They compare these models to identify the best alternative on the basis of minimum total relevant inventory costs. The total cost functions for Model 1 and Model 4 as derived by them are not exact for the comparison. As a result, their conclusion on the least expensive replenishment policy is incorrect. The present article provides the actual total costs for Model 1 and Model 4 to make a correct comparison of the four models. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 47: 602–606, 2000     

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