An MX/G/1 queueing system with disasters and repairs under a multiple adapted vacation policy

We consider a queueing system with batch Poisson arrivals subject to disasters which occur independently according to a Poisson process but affect the system only when the server is busy, in which case the system is cleared of all customers. Following a disaster that affects the system, the server initiates a repair period during which arriving customers accumulate without receiving service. The server operates under a Multiple Adapted Vacation policy. The stationary regime of this process is analyzed using the supplementary variables method. We obtain the probability generating function of the number of customers in the system, the fraction of customers who complete service, and the Laplace transform of the system time of a typical customer in stationarity. The stability condition for the system and the Laplace transform of the time between two consecutive disasters affecting the system is obtained by analyzing an embedded Markov renewal process. The statistical characteristics of the batches that complete service without being affected by disasters and those of the partially served batches are also derived. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 62: 171–189, 2015     

The contexts of strategy as a guide for defense planning in the Philippines

Efforts toward developing an independent and credible Philippine defense policy were revived when Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III was elected President of the Philippines in 2010. President Aquino renewed the military modernization program in 2012 and emphasized the necessity of a “minimum credible defense posture.” Given the modernization efforts of the government, this article aims to contribute to the development of the concept of minimum credible defense posture by exploring how theory contributes to defense planning. It argues that the contexts of strategy are useful in planning for national defense because these contexts can provide a conceptual framework for defense planners. It proceeds in three parts: the opening section reviews the literature on defense planning; the second surveys the context of developing strategies as discussed in the General Theory of Strategy; and the last provides a definition of minimum credible defense and applies the context of developing strategies to the case of the Philippines.     

The Nepalese Army: From counterinsurgency to peacekeeping?

Can peacekeeping participation help reform military institutions in democratizing states? Drawing on evidence from Nepal – one of the world's largest troop contributors to UN peacekeeping operations – this essay illustrates that participation in peace missions can sometimes undermine security sector reform and deteriorate civil–military relations. Furthermore, this analysis shows that peacekeeping participation will not necessarily reorient troops away from their conventional internal roles (such as counterinsurgency) or improve civilian control over the armed forces. Hence, civilians can lose control over soldiers just as frequently when they are deployed overseas as when they are at home.     

Modeling multiple stage manufacturing systems with generalized costs and capacity issues

This study introduces one modeling methodology that describes a broad range of multiple stage production planning issues, including multiple limited resources with setup times and joint fixed cost relationships. An existing production system is modeled in this fashion, creating a new set of 1350 highly generalized benchmark problems. A computational study is conducted with the 1350 benchmark problems introduced in this paper and 2100 benchmark problems, with more restrictive assumptions, from the existing literature. The relative merits of a decomposition‐based algorithm and a neighborhood search technique known as NIPPA, or the Non‐sequential Incremental Part Period Algorithm, are assessed. NIPPA is generally the more successful of the two techniques, although there are specific instances in which the decomposition‐based algorithm displayed a distinct advantage. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2005     

A multi‐objective model for bank ATM networks

In this paper we present an application of the core solution concepts for multi‐objective games to a bank ATM network model. In these games, the worth of a coalition is given by a subset of vectors of the k‐dimensional space rather than by a scalar. The paper investigates how an ATM network model based on multi‐objective cooperative game theory could be used as an alternative way of setting interchange fees paid by the customer's bank to the one that owns the ATM. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2005     

On‐line algorithms for minimizing makespan on batch processing machines

We consider problem of scheduling jobs on‐line on batch processing machines with dynamic job arrivals to minimize makespan. A batch machine can handle up to B jobs simultaneously. The jobs that are processed together from a batch, and all jobs in a batch start and complete at the same time. The processing time of a batch is given by the longest processing time of any job in the batch. Each job becomes available at its arrival time, which is unknown in advance, and its processing time becomes known upon its arrival. In the first part of this paper, we address the single batch processing machine scheduling problem. First we deal with two variants: the unbounded model where B is sufficiently large and the bounded model where jobs have two distinct arrival times. For both variants, we provide on‐line algorithms with worst‐case ratio (the inverse of the Golden ratio) and prove that these results are the best possible. Furthermore, we generalize our algorithms to the general case and show a worst‐case ratio of 2. We then consider the unbounded case for parallel batch processing machine scheduling. Lower bound are given, and two on‐line algorithms are presented. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 48: 241–258, 2001     

Party preferences and institutional transformation: revisiting France’s relationship with NATO (and the common wisdom on Gaullism)

ABSTRACT

France’s so-called exceptionalism in multilateral security policy is often explained with its Gaullist political culture. However, a closer look shows that Gaullism cannot easily capture different French policies, particularly toward NATO. To unearth what can explain policy variance, this paper asks the question of whether French political parties value NATO differently and, if so, to what effect? Looking at French governments from 1991 to 2014, I argue that political parties in France carry different values, which lead them to interpret NATO’s role for France’s security policy differently. As a result, French parties in power encouraged, delayed, or halted NATO institutional transformation at specific junctures. This argument builds on the insights of the study of ideational factors in IR and the study of party politics in Comparative Politics. Through an analysis of French governments’ policy preferences toward NATO, this paper stresses that institutional transformation can be understood through the study of veto points in conjunction with national preference formation.     

Two‐agent scheduling on a single sequential and compatible batching machine

We study two‐agent scheduling on a single sequential and compatible batching machine in which jobs in each batch are processed sequentially and compatibility means that jobs of distinct agents can be processed in a common batch. A fixed setup time is required before each batch is started. Each agent seeks to optimize some scheduling criterion that depends on the completion times of its own jobs only. We consider several scheduling problems arising from different combinations of some regular scheduling criteria, including the maximum cost (embracing lateness and makespan as its special cases), the total completion time, and the (weighted) number of tardy jobs. Our goal is to find an optimal schedule that minimizes the objective value of one agent, subject to an upper bound on the objective value of the other agent. For each problem under consideration, we provide either a polynomial‐time or a pseudo‐polynomial‐time algorithm to solve it. We also devise a fully polynomial‐time approximation scheme when both agents’ scheduling criteria are the weighted number of tardy jobs.     

Makespan minimization in the two‐machine flowshop batch scheduling problem

In this paper we consider a practical scheduling problem commonly arising from batch production in a flexible manufacturing environment. Different part‐types are to be produced in a flexible manufacturing cell organized into a two‐stage production line. The jobs are processed in batches on the first machine, and the completion time of a job is defined as the completion time of the batch containing it. When processing of all jobs in a batch is completed on the first machine, the whole batch of jobs is transferred intact to the second machine. A constant setup time is incurred whenever a batch is formed on any machine. The tradeoff between the setup times and batch processing times gives rise to the batch composition decision. The problem is to find the optimal batch composition and the optimal schedule of the batches so that the makespan is minimized. The problem is shown to be strongly NP‐hard. We identify some special cases by introducing their corresponding solution methods. Heuristic algorithms are also proposed to derive approximate solutions. We conduct computational experiments to study the effectiveness of the proposed heuristics. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 47: 128–144, 2000