Are non‐lethal weapons a viable military option to strengthen the hearts and minds approach in Afghanistan?

Commanders of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have repeatedly stressed the hearts and minds approach in Afghanistan, in saying that the human terrain is decisive for a successful outcome of the mission. Avoidance of civilian casualties is considered of strategic importance, and by nature highly dependent on the management of tactical level Escalation of Force (EoF) situations. Non‐lethal weapons (NLWs) are expected to enable tactical commanders to avoid innocent civilian casualties in such situations. This article considers a selected NLW on its potential to accomplish this requirement. It uses a defence technology assessment approach to analyse EoF situations experienced by Dutch ISAF forces in which the NLW is inserted. The analysis demonstrates that a range of contextual factors in the Afghanistan high‐risk environment tend to narrow down the window of opportunity for the NLW to help defuse the risk of unintended civil casualties.     

改进的前向信息修补算法及其应用

前向信息修补算法可以对离散动态贝叶斯网络的缺失数据进行预测,该算法只适用于所有观测节点是相互独立的网络,却不能处理观测节点有依赖关系网络的缺失数据。针对该算法的这一缺陷,提出了改进的前向信息修补算法,在分析离散动态贝叶斯网络的缺失数据具有二种基本形式的基础上,推导出了每种形式的相应预测公式。继而构建了用于识别威胁源离散动态贝叶斯网络的模型。仿真实验验证了改进的前向信息修补算法的有效性。     

水面舰艇对海作战可靠性的新型评价方法

针对水面舰艇对海作战网络的特点,基于复杂网络"反社区"性质,将对海作战网络描述成"反社区"有向赋权图。结合传统可靠性分析方法,提出了一种新的可靠性评价指标,进一步扩展了传统可靠性指标的4个特性,并通过实例仿真,证明了该指标的有效性。该方法将传统可靠性理论与复杂网络理论有效地结合起来,将进一步扩大复杂网络的适用范围。     

分布式系统仿真技术研究及其实现

以舰炮武器系统全数字仿真为例 ,讨论了分布式仿真系统的设计过程 ,提出了仿真系统的体系结构、网络通信方案、多任务并发控制等分布式仿真中关键问题的解决方法     

战场目标声/震侦察与识别

介绍了一个采用被动侦察体制的多传感器侦察系统。在研究了地面战场典型目标的噪声场和地震动场产生机理的基础上 ,对战场目标噪声信号和地震动信号进行功率谱估计 ,分析了各种目标的线谱特性。设计了拓扑结构合适的 BP神经网络分类器 ,可以有效地分类识别战场典型目标     

Waiting time analysis for a queueing system with time‐limited service and exponential timer

We consider a single‐queue with exhaustive or gated time‐limited services and server vacations, in which the length of each service period at the queue is controlled by a timer, i.e., the server serves customers until the timer expires or the queue becomes empty, whichever occurs first, and then takes vacations. The customer whose service is interrupted due to the timer expiration may be attended according to nonpreemptive or preemptive service disciplines. For the M/G/1 exhaustive/gated time‐limited service queueing system with an exponential timer and four typical preemptive/nonpreemptive service disciplines, we derive the Laplace—Stieltjes transforms and the moment formulas for waiting times and sojourn times through a unified approach, and provide some new results for these time‐limited service disciplines. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 48: 638–651, 2001.     

Generating Pareto‐optimal boundary points in multiparty negotiations using constraint proposal method

In this paper a constraint proposal method is developed for computing Pareto‐optimal solutions in multiparty negotiations over continuous issues. Constraint proposal methods have been previously studied in a case where the decision set is unconstrained. Here we extend the method to situations with a constrained decision set. In the method the computation of the Pareto‐optimal solutions is decentralized so that the DMs do not have to know each others' value functions. During the procedure they have to indicate their optimal solutions on different sets of linear constraints. When the optimal solutions coincide, the common optimum is a candidate for a Pareto‐optimal point. The constraint proposal method can be used to generate either one Pareto‐optimal solution dominating the status quo solution or several Pareto‐optimal solutions. In latter case a distributive negotiation among the efficient points can be carried out afterwards. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 48: 210–225, 2001     

The resource constrained project scheduling problem with multiple crashable modes: An exact solution method

We introduce a formulation and an exact solution method for a nonpreemptive resource constrained project scheduling problem in which the duration/cost of an activity is determined by the mode selection and the duration reduction (crashing) within the mode. This problem is a natural combination of the time/cost tradeoff problem and the resource constrained project scheduling problem. It involves the determination, for each activity, of its resource requirements, the extent of crashing, and its start time so that the total project cost is minimized. We present a branch and bound procedure and report computational results with a set of 160 problems. Computational results demonstrate the effectiveness of our procedure. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 48: 107–127, 2001     

Optimal material control in an assembly system with component commonality

Allocation of scarce common components to finished product orders is central to the performance of assembly systems. Analysis of these systems is complex, however, when the product master schedule is subject to uncertainty. In this paper, we analyze the cost—service performance of a component inventory system with correlated finished product demands, where component allocation is based on a fair shares method. Such issuing policies are used commonly in practice. We quantify the impact of component stocking policies on finished product delays due to component shortages and on product order completion rates. These results are used to determine optimal base stock levels for components, subject to constraints on finished product service (order completion rates). Our methodology can help managers of assembly systems to (1) understand the impact of their inventory management decisions on customer service, (2) achieve cost reductions by optimizing their inventory investments, and (3) evaluate supplier performance and negotiate contracts by quantifying the effect of delivery lead times on costs and customer service. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 48:409–429, 2001     

Effectiveness of (R,Q) policies in one‐warehouse multiretailer systems with deterministic demand and backlogging

Consider a distribution system with a central warehouse and multiple retailers. Customer demand arrives at each of the retailers continuously at a constant rate. The retailers replenish their inventories from the warehouse which in turn orders from an outside supplier with unlimited stock. There are economies of scale in replenishing the inventories at both the warehouse and the retail level. Stockouts at the retailers are backlogged. The system incurs holding and backorder costs. The objective is to minimize the long‐run average total cost in the system. This paper studies the cost effectiveness of (R, Q) policies in the above system. Under an (R, Q) policy, each facility orders a fixed quantity Q from its supplier every time its inventory position reaches a reorder point R. It is shown that (R, Q) policies are at least 76% effective. Numerical examples are provided to further illustrate the cost effectiveness of (R, Q) policies. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 47: 422–439, 2000