Does military spending promote social welfare? A comparative analysis of the BRICS and G7 countries

Whether military spending is capable of promoting social welfare is currently a controversial issue. The aim of this paper is to investigate how military spending affects the input and output of social welfare (i.e. social welfare expenditures and social welfare index). A panel cointegration analysis and an impulse response function are conducted with multi-country panel data, over two time periods, 1998–2011 and 1993–2007. In addition, to extend a comparative analysis over different economies, BRICS (i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and G7 (i.e. the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Canada) countries are selected as representatives of emerging economies and developed countries, respectively. The empirical results show that military spending enhances social welfare expenditures in developed countries, while the effect is ambiguous in emerging economies. Also, military spending is capable of promoting the social welfare index based on the FMOLS estimation. The comparative analyses indicate that unlike in the G7, the effect of the growth of military spending on the growth of social welfare expenditures is negative and shorter in the BRICS.     

A bicriterion approach to common flow allowances due window assignment and scheduling with controllable processing times

We investigate a single‐machine scheduling problem for which both the job processing times and due windows are decision variables to be determined by the decision maker. The job processing times are controllable as a linear or convex function of the amount of a common continuously divisible resource allocated to the jobs, where the resource allocated to the jobs can be used in discrete or continuous quantities. We use the common flow allowances due window assignment method to assign due windows to the jobs. We consider two performance criteria: (i) the total weighted number of early and tardy jobs plus the weighted due window assignment cost, and (ii) the resource consumption cost. For each resource consumption function, the objective is to minimize the first criterion, while keeping the value of the second criterion no greater than a given limit. We analyze the computational complexity, devise pseudo‐polynomial dynamic programming solution algorithms, and provide fully polynomial‐time approximation schemes and an enhanced volume algorithm to find high‐quality solutions quickly for the considered problems. We conduct extensive numerical studies to assess the performance of the algorithms. The computational results show that the proposed algorithms are very efficient in finding optimal or near‐optimal solutions. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 64: 41–63, 2017     

Strategic spectrum occupancy for secondary users in cognitive radio networks with retrials

This article investigates joining strategies and admission control policy for secondary users (SUs) with retrial behavior in a cognitive radio (CR) system where a single primary user (PU) coexists with multiple SUs. Under a certain reward‐cost structure, SUs opportunistically access the PU band when it is not occupied by the PU. If the band is available upon arrival, an SU decides with a probability either to use the band immediately or to balk the system. If the band is occupied, the SU must decide whether to enter the system as a retrial customer or to leave the system. Once the PU requests for service, the service of SU being served, if any, will be interrupted, and the interrupted SU leaves the band and retries for service after a random amount of time. In this article, we study the equilibrium behavior of non‐cooperative SUs who want to maximize their benefit in a selfish, distributed manner with delay‐sensitive utility function. The socially optimal strategies of SUs are also derived. To utilize the PU band more efficiently and rationally, an admission control policy is proposed to regulate SUs who enter the system in order to eliminate the gap between the individually and socially optimal strategies.     

美军联合军官管理制度发展简介

随着诸军种联合作战的规模和频率不断增加,为改进联合作战能力,美军对联合作战指挥结构进行了改革,出台了联合军官管理制度,对联合军官的选拔、教育和晋升等作出了具体的规定.     

1945—1987：台湾威权时代的军政关系考察

国民党蒋介石集团退踞台湾之后的威权时代,在强烈危机意识的作用下,全面改造党组织和军队,党军关系呈现新的局面。国民党从思想和组织两方面对军队进行的有效控制,不仅确保了蒋家王朝在台湾统治的延续,也使军队的地位和影响力得到前所未有的提高,震慑了各种异己力量包括“台独”势力在岛内的恶性生长。     

新中国成立以来人民军队对外军事交往的回顾与启示

新中国成立以来,人民军队坚持独立自主原则,通过军事援助、派出军事专家、参与联合国维和行动,以及军事互访、实施联合军事演习等多种方式,积极开展对外军事交往,开阔了眼界,借鉴了经验,有力促进了国防和军队现代化建设.     

PHM系统及其故障预测模型研究

PHM(Prognostic and Health Management)是装备实现自主保障的一项关键技术.通过对美军联合攻击机PHM系统功能和结构的分析,提出了一种基于扩展FMEA的PHM系统的实现方法,并阐明了其运作原理.在此基础上,引入模糊综合评判这一数学方法建立了PHM系统的故障预测模型.最后以飞机起落架的收放系统为例进行了实例分析.     

略论人类对战争与和平的理性探索

战争与和平对立统一、相互交织,构成了人类生活的主题,因其与社会进步和人类发展休戚相关,成为古今中外人们关注的焦点.从某种程度上说,人类的历史就是一部战争史,战争因对社会发展的巨大推动作用和给人类带来的深重浩劫而成为一体两面的价值体.战争的暴烈使人们渴望和平,并以不同形式展开了对和平的追求.在人类历史上,和平要比战争成熟得晚.在和平与发展的历史条件下,维护和平、制止战争是全人类共同的责任.     

新中国成立以来党和国家领导人论军事战略规划

新中国成立以来,在不同的历史时期,党和国家领导人对军事战略规划及相关问题作出过一系列指示和重要论述.这些重要论述,对全面和深入地了解军事战略规划发展演变的历程,指导人民军队在新的历史时期更好地规划国防和军队建设,有效应对未来面临的多种安全威胁、完成多样化军事任务,具有重要的现实意义.     

西藏反动上层发动全面武装叛乱始末

西藏和平解放后,西藏反动上层坚持分裂国家、维护封建农奴制度的反动立场,千方百计地阻挠、破坏和平解放西藏协议的实施,进行了一系列背叛和分裂祖国的活动.经过长期策划和准备,1959年3月10日,西藏上层反动分子借达赖喇嘛要到西藏军区机关驻地观看军区文工团演出之机,挑起事端,发动了全面武装叛乱.