A note on optimal pricing for finite capacity queueing systems with multiple customer classes

This article investigates optimal static prices for a finite capacity queueing system serving customers from different classes. We first show that the original multi‐class formulation in which the price for each class is a decision variable can be reformulated as a single dimensional problem with the total load as the decision variable. Using this alternative formulation, we prove an upper bound for the optimal arrival rates for a fairly large class of queueing systems and provide sufficient conditions that ensure the existence of a unique optimal arrival rate vector. We show that these conditions hold for M/M/1/m and M/G/s/s systems and prove structural results on the relationships between the optimal arrival rates and system capacity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008     

Competitive location and capacity decisions for firms serving time‐sensitive customers

In this article we explore how two competing firms locate and set capacities to serve time‐sensitive customers. Because customers are time‐sensitive, they may decline to place an order from either competitor if their expected waiting time is large. We develop a two‐stage game where firms set capacities and then locations, and show that three types of subgame perfect equilibria are possible: local monopoly (in which each customer is served by a single firm, but some customers may be left unserved), constrained local monopoly (in which firms serve the entire interval of customers but do not compete with each other), and constrained competition (in which firms also serve the entire interval of customers, but now compete for some customers). We perform a comparative statics analysis to illustrate differences in the equilibrium behavior of a duopolist and a coordinated monopolist. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008     

Rethinking military behavior during the Arab Spring

Why did some Arab militaries remain loyal to authoritarian rulers amid mass uprisings during the Arab Spring while others defected to the opposition? One popular explanation shows this variation with reference to the degree of military institutionalization: institutionalized militaries defected, while patrimonial militaries remained loyal. This article argues that the institutionalization hypothesis does not provide a complete account of the mechanisms through which the degree of military institutionalization leads to either defection or continued loyalty. This shortcoming stems from the fact that scholars have treated military institutionalization as a catch-all concept for three distinct variables: ethnic stacking of the military, patronage distribution, and organizational factionalization. Examining the interaction between these variables highlights the mechanisms through which military defection occurs, and therefore that disaggregating institutionalization into its component parts provides a more complete explanation of military behavior during the Arab Spring.     

Revisiting the rise and fall of the Somali Armed Forces, 1960–2012

The history of the Somali Armed Forces, principally the army, forms an important part of studying the Somali civil war. Two key themes are evident from 1960: the pursuit of an irredentist agenda beyond reasonable limits, which led to the downfall of Siad Barre’s regime, and the clan divisions and agendas that Barre used to shore up his rule in the 1980s and that have bedeviled the rebirth of the Somali Army in the twenty-first century. With the twentieth-century context covered, and in some places reinterpreted, this article then focuses on the uncertain rebirth of the Somali Armed Forces since 2008, using a host of primary and United Nations official sources. Assistance efforts have been focused on Mogadishu, but limited success has been made in forming truly national armed forces. Future prospects are uncertain, but there are some signs of hope.     

Dirty war: chemical weapon use and domestic repression

The utilization of chemical weapons to quash domestic rebellion is a drastic action for a regime facing domestic challengers to take, especially given the reputation costs and risk of international intervention. However, recent developments have illustrated that some regimes have contemplated and implemented extraordinary measures (including the use of chemical munitions) to quash rebellion. This study addresses the question of why some states utilize chemical weapons against domestic challengers while others refrain from this level of state repression. I argue that the utilization of chemical weapons has both domestic and international elements. Specifically, that ethnic cleavages that lead to secessionist challenges and factors associated with inter-state rivalry impact the likelihood that a state utilizes the employment of chemical munitions. I test my argument and other explanations regarding repression with a casestudy approach utilizing captured Iraqi Government documents comparing Iraq’s Al-Anfal campaigns with developments during the recent Syrian Civil War.     

军队科研机构推进国防知识产权转化运用

军队科研机构作为国家科技创新体系的重要组成部分,承担了大量科技创新任务,产生了许多具有自主知识产权的高水平科技成果,推动军队科研机构国防知识产权转化运用,是贯彻军民融合发展战略的必要途径。分析了军队科研机构国防知识产权转化的现状及制约转化的现实障碍,并结合实际探讨了推进军队科研机构国防知识产权转化的建议举措。     

大容量数据下基于DTN的链路中断优化传输技术

激光或GHz以上的高频链路的应用将导致DTN(Delay Tolerant Network)网络链路数据容量的增大,大容量数据链路的间歇性中断将严重影响数据的传输效率。针对DTN网络中大容量数据链路频繁中断和节点的剩余缓存空间剧烈变化的问题,提出在DTN路由算法上增加拥塞状态预测机制和易中断链路判定机制,根据节点的拥塞程度定义惩罚函数,缓解链路中断和节点资源受限导致的拥塞。仿真结果表明,该机制可以有效提高DTN网络的传输性能。     

基于事故树和贝叶斯的军民航飞行冲突风险研究

为充分了解当前军民航飞行冲突、危险接近事故征候的成因,并对其发生原因进行有重点的预防和对事件发生概率的精确预测,首先建立事故树模型,对其原因进行分析;总结导致其发生的基本事件,计算事故树模型的最小割集和各个基本事件的结构重要度;其次对军民航飞行冲突、危险接近事故征候的发生概率进行合理的取值,得出基本事件的概率重要度,指出基本事件发生概率对顶事件发生概率的影响;最后构建军民航飞行冲突、危险接近事故征候贝叶斯网络模型,计算中间事件的条件概率和顶事件发生概率,并与实际结果进行对比,验证方法可行性。     

相同高度两相邻建筑防火间距设计

防火间距设计是建筑工程消防安全设计中很重要的一项内容。通过相同高度两相邻民用建筑防火间距设计工程实例,结合国家现行《建筑设计防火规范》中的有关规定,探讨了《建筑设计防火规范》对相同高度两相邻建筑防火间距设计要求方面存在的问题。     

基于粗糙集理论的一种综合定权法

基于粗糙集理论中信息量的概念提出了一种新的主观定权法,再以优化理论为依据建立了综合定权的优化模型,并给出了模型的精确解,据此推导出了一种兼顾主观偏好和客观信息的综合权重赋值法,最后给出了一个应用实例说明了这种定权方法的有效性.