Sequential learning versus no learning in Bayesian regression models

We consider two regression models: linear and logistic. The dependent variable is observed periodically and in each period a Bayesian formulation is used to generate updated forecasts of the dependent variable as new data is observed. One would expect that including new data in the Bayesian updates results in improved forecasts over not including the new data. Our findings indicate that this is not always true. We show there exists a subset of the independent variable space that we call the “region of no learning.” If the independent variable values for a given period in the future are in this region, then the forecast does not change with any new data. Moreover, if the independent variable values are in a neighborhood of the region of no learning, then there may be little benefit to wait for the new data and update the forecast. We propose a statistical approach to characterize this neighborhood which we call the “region of little learning.” Our results provide insights into the trade‐offs that exist in situations when the decision maker has an incentive to make an early decision based on an early forecast versus waiting to make a later decision based on an updated forecast. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 532–548, 2014     

The sixteenth-century antecedents of special operations ‘small war’

The first conceptual, theoretical treatises about small war (la petite guerre) as special operations appeared only from the middle of the seventeenth century. The term is not used in the eighteenth-century sense of ‘special operations’ in older sources. The supposed absence of any treatment of the subject is surprising considering the obsession with the ‘art of war’ in the Renaissance, but other authors attribute it to a supposed antinomy between chivalric ideals and irregular warfare. But the absence of explicit manuals on the subject is not evidence of absence of advanced reflection on this kind of operations in the Middle Ages and in Early Modern times. We should thus look elsewhere, in other genres, for writings that contain and pass on military knowledge. Epics, romances, educational and military treatises, and memoirs in fact contain elements of a theory of special operations, even though these genres differ from our conception of rationality inherited from the Enlightenment.     

Guerrillas and bandits in the Serranía de Ronda, 1810–1812

The Spanish Guerrilla (1808–1812) which has given its name to ideologically motivated insurgencies is usually portrayed as a patriotic uprising against the French occupation forces of Napoleon. It was that, in part, but also many other things besides. This case study illustrates its overlap and convergence with banditry but also with social unrest turned into uprisings directed by poor Spaniards against their creditors, as in the storming of Ronda by insurgents in 1810. From the propaganda of the day to the subsequent Spanish patriotic historiography, there has been a tendency to exaggerate the amplitude of events and also the damage that was done to the French forces and the casualty figures inflicted on them.     

强军目标统领下的“合训”学员素质培育

强军目标对培养高素质军事人才提出了新的更高要求。培养高素质“合训”学员必须坚持把夯实思想政治素质作为学员素质的根本,把打牢科学文化素质作为学员素质的基础,把练就过硬军事素质作为学员素质的核心,把强化指挥管理素质作为学员素质的关键,全面提升“合训”学员的综合素质。     

Optimal pricing and inventory control policy in periodic‐review systems with fixed ordering cost and lost sales

This paper studies a periodic‐review pricing and inventory control problem for a retailer, which faces stochastic price‐sensitive demand, under quite general modeling assumptions. Any unsatisfied demand is lost, and any leftover inventory at the end of the finite selling horizon has a salvage value. The cost component for the retailer includes holding, shortage, and both variable and fixed ordering costs. The retailer's objective is to maximize its discounted expected profit over the selling horizon by dynamically deciding on the optimal pricing and replenishment policy for each period. We show that, under a mild assumption on the additive demand function, at the beginning of each period an (s,S) policy is optimal for replenishment, and the value of the optimal price depends on the inventory level after the replenishment decision has been done. Our numerical study also suggests that for a sufficiently long selling horizon, the optimal policy is almost stationary. Furthermore, the fixed ordering cost (K) plays a significant role in our modeling framework. Specifically, any increase in K results in lower s and higher S. On the other hand, the profit impact of dynamically changing the retail price, contrasted with a single fixed price throughout the selling horizon, also increases with K. We demonstrate that using the optimal policy values from a model with backordering of unmet demands as approximations in our model might result in significant profit penalty. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2006     

任务空间概念模型VV&A研究

任务空间概念模型是现实世界军事知识的第一层抽象,是仿真系统开发的业务基础。所以任务空间概念模型的质量直接影响到仿真系统的质量,任务空间概念模型自身的VV&A是一个非常值得关注的问题。任务空间概念建模本质上看是军事领域的知识表示或者需求描述,定性描述占主要,定量成分非常少。因此,传统的通过分析输出数据的方法不能适应任务空间概念模型的特点。概要介绍了任务空间概念模型建模,并且提出了从专家法、静态校核机制、概念执行机制三个角度来考察模型质量的思路。     

云模型及其在指挥控制系统可靠性分析中的应用

根据指挥控制系统的特点及作战应用的具体情况,从指挥控制系统的可靠性出发,提出了适合指控系统可靠性分析的云模型。通过拟定性能评价指标,导出各指标的云模型及其多维加权综合云的重心,应用云重心评价方法进行分析;并通过案例,运用基于PC-L INM AP的云重心评价方法,以影响指挥控制系统可靠性的两个重要性能指标为依据,分析了未来联合作战中指挥控制系统的可靠性,比较贴近作战实际,可信度较高。     

Rational Rose在HLA联邦开发中的应用

作为“建模与仿真”(M&S)的高层体系结构 ,HLA能带给用户的好处将是巨大的。HLA联邦开发与运行过程 (FEDEP)的自动化是促进HLA应用的关键。文中研究了将功能强大的CASE工具RationalRose用于支持FEDEP自动化的可行性 ,指出了应用中应特别注意的问题 ,重点说明了应用中的关键技术 ,并给出一应用实例     

军事工程技术院校争取基金项目的实践与思考

本文阐述了军校开展基金项目研究的重要性,论证了军校申报科学基金项目的可行性,探讨了获取基金项目立项工作的基础和有效途径,并针对军校特点,提出了加强基金申报工作的切实可行的措施和策略。     

梁的蠕变脆性各向同性弯曲损伤模型

本文在梁的纯弯曲损伤基本假设条件下,导出了弯曲损伤的基本方程,与Ｋａｃｈａｎｏｖ的材料刚度劣化（受载横截面积减小）定义拉伸损伤变量类似,以梁的弯曲刚度劣化（惯性矩减小）定义弯曲损伤变量,从而建立了与Ｋａｃｈａｎｏｖ拉伸损伤模型相类似的梁的各向同性弯曲损伤模型。最后,以受蠕变纯弯曲梁为实例进行了损伤分析,在一次近似条件下,该弯曲损伤模型的材料常数可由Ｋａｃｈａｎｏｖ拉伸损伤模型的材料常数确定,且所得计算结果与Ｋａｃｈａｎｏｖ拉伸损伤模型所得结果比较吻和,表明该弯曲损伤模型是合理适用的。