Book reviews

Third World Military Expenditure: Determinants and Implications. By Robert McKinlay. Frances Pinter, London (1989)

The UK Defence Industrial Base: Development and Future Policy Options. By Trevor Taylor and Keith Hayward. Brassey's, London, for Royal United Services Institute (1989), ISBN 0-08-036713-5, £22.50

Mutiny. By Lawrence James. Buchan & Enright, London (1987), ISBN 0-907675-70-0, £12.95; Scapegoat! Famous Courts Martial. By John Harris. Severn House, London (1988), ISBN 0-7278-2103-2, £12.95; In Glass Houses. By Robert Boyes. Military Provost Staff Corps Association, Colchester (1986), ISBN 0-9513467-0-9, £6.50 (paperback)

The Nuclear Weapons World: Who, How and Where. Edited by Patrick Burke. Frances Pinter, London (1988), ISBN 086187-705-5, £50.00

Merchants of Treason—America's Secrets for Sale. By Thomas B. Allen and Norman Polmar. Robert Hale, London (1988), ISBN 0-7090-3543-8, £14.95 ($21.95); Intelligence and Intelligence Policy in a Democratic Society. Edited by Stephen J. Cimbala. Transnational Publishers, Dobbs Ferry, NY (1987), ISBN 0-941320-44-8, $37.50; Catching Spies—Principles and Practices of Counterespionage. By H. H. A. Cooper and Lawrence J. Redlinger. Paladin Press, Boulder, CO (1988), ISBN 0-87364-466-2, $24.95

The BattleshipRoyal Sovereignand Her Sister Ships. By Peter C. Smith. William Kimber, Wellingborough (1988), ISBN 0-7183-0704-6, £12.95; Air Power at Sea, 1945 to Today. By John Winton. Sidgwick & Jackson, London (1987), £9.95     

Weapon acquisition with target uncertainty

This article is concerned with choosing a mix of weapons, subject to constraints, when the targets to be attacked are known imprecisely. It is shown that the correct method for optimizing the mix of weapons involves a pair of nested optimization problems (two-stage optimization). Two methods for optimizing the expected utility of a mix are discussed. The first involves a simultaneous attack model, in which it is implicitly assumed that all weapons are used at once. The second involves a sequential attack model, in which targets appear in random order and are attacked one at a time. Particular attention is given to the question of the appropriate mix of general-purpose and special-purpose weapons.     

Comparative evaluation of prior versus progressive articulation of preference in bicriterion optimization

Procedures for solving multiple criteria problems are receiving increasing attention. Two major solution approaches are those involving prior articulation and progressive articulation of preference information. A progressive articulation (interactive) optimization approach, called the Paired Comparison Method (PCM) is compared to the prior articulation approach of a priori utility function measurement in a quality control decision environment from the perspective of the decision maker. The three major issues investigated included: (1) the ease of use of each method, (2) the preferences of solutions obtained, and (3) the insight provided by the methodology into the nature and structure of the problem. The problem setting involved management students who were rquired to determine an acceptance sampling plan using both methods. The PCM provided the most preferred solutions and was considered easier to use and understand. The prior articulation of preference method was found to give more insight into the problem structure. The results suggest that a hybrid approach, combining both prior preference assessment and an interactive procedure exploiting the advantages of each, should be employed to solve multiple criteria problems.     

On a large sample test for the traffic intensity in GI|G|s queue

A large sample test based on normal approximation for the traffic intensity parameter ρ in the cases of single and multiple-server queues has been proposed. The test procedure is developed without imposing steady-state assumptions and is applicable to queueing systems with general interarrival and service-time distributions.     

A Lanchester-type model of combat with stochastic rates

The effects of environmental stochasticity in a Lanchester-type model of combat are investigated. The methodology is based on a study of stochastic differential equations with random parameters characterized by dichotomous Markov processes. Exact expressions for the Laplace transforms of the time evolution of the first- and second-order moments of the system are obtained. A special case when the fluctuations in the parameters occur with great rapidity in comparison with the natural time scale of the system is also analyzed. The stochastic stability in the mean-square sense is discussed by using the Routh–Hurwitz criterion and it is found that the stochastic perturbations tend to destabilize the system.     

The capital supply curve in capacity expansion models: Some economic and algorithmic aspects

Capacity expansion models typically minimize the discounted cost of acquisition and operation over a given planning horizon. In this article we generalize this idea to one in which a capital supply curve replaces the usual discount rate. A capital supply curve is a means to model financial outlook, investment limits, and risk. We show that when such a curve is included in a capacity expansion model, it will, under certain conditions, provide a less capital intensive solution than one which incorporates a discount rate. In this article, we also provide an algorithm that solves capacity expansion models that incorporate a capital supply curve. The attractive feature of this algorithm is that it provides a means to utilize the “discount rate” models efficiently. Throughout, we give applications in power generation planning and computational experience for this application is also presented.     

An optimum t-test for the scale parameter of an extreme-value distribution

A Student's t-test proposed by Ogawa is considered for the hypothesis Ho: σ=σo against the alternative hypothesis H₁: σ ≠ σo, where σ is the scale parameter of the Extremevalue distribution of smallest values with known location parameter μ. The test is based on a few sample quantiles chosen from a large sample so as to give asymptotically maximum power to the test when the number of sample quantiles is fixed. A table which facilitates the computation of the test statistic is given. Several schemes for determining the ranks of the sample quantiles by the optimal spacings are compared and the effect of the bias of the estimate of σ on the test is investigated through a Monte Carlo study.     

On the theory of semi-infinite programming and a generalization of the kuhn-tucker saddle point theorem for arbitrary convex functions

We first present a survey on the theory of semi-infinite programming as a generalization of linear programming and convex duality theory. By the pairing of a finite dimensional vector space over an arbitrarily ordered field with a generalized finite sequence space, the major theorems of linear programming are generalized. When applied to Euclidean spaces, semi-infinite programming theory yields a dual theorem associating as dual problems minimization of an arbitrary convex function over an arbitrary convex set in n-space with maximization of a linear function in non-negative variables of a generalized finite sequence space subject to a finite system of linear equations. We then present a new generalization of the Kuhn-Tucker saddle-point equivalence theorem for arbitrary convex functions in n-space where differentiability is no longer assumed.     

筒形桅杆有限元振动计算模型的研究及空间杆系结构奇点的消除方法

本文建立了筒形桅杆的有限元计算模型并对其进行了计算、讨论,计算结果精确。本文还对空间杆系结构有限元振动计算模型中的无刚度“奇点”进行了研究,提出了一个可用于消除空间杆系结构有限元振动计算模型中的无刚度“奇点”的方法。