Speed,Gradient and Workrate in Uphill Running

A series of treadmill experiments is described concerned with a runner's speed, heart-rate and the gradient. Together with the results of similar experiments, some of them carried out over 50 years ago, the results suggest that for a given heart-rate, log(speed) is linearly related to gradient, and that for a given gradient, heart-rate is linearly related to speed. The results suggest:

1. 1)
   that athletes who run p% faster on the level will run p% faster up a slope, if they maintain the same heart-rate;
    
2. 2)
   that athletes will use the same number of heart beats running up a hill of uniform slope no matter how fast or slowly they run;
    
3. 3)
   that athletes should run directly up any slope of less than about 20° and try to zigzag up slopes greater than this.
    

     

Multi-invariant measures and subsets on nilmanifolds

Given a Z^r-action α on a nilmanifold X by automorphisms and an ergodic α-invariant probability measure μ, we show that μ is the uniform measure on X unless, modulo finite index modification, one of the following obstructions occurs for an algebraic factor action

1. (1)
   the factor measure has zero entropy under every element of the action
    
2. (2)
   the factor action is virtually cyclic.
    

We also deduce a rigidity property for invariant closed subsets.

     

Swing Analysis and Electoral Forecasting

This paper examines the procedure by which votes are converted into seats at U.K. General Elections. In particular it seeks to answer these questions.

1. i)
   What is the meaning of swing when more than two parties fight an election?
    
2. ii)
   How can the distribution of seats at an election be determined from a prediction of national swing?
    
3. iii)
   How can swing analysis be extended to help determine an electoral strategy for political parties?
    
4. iv)
   What explanation can be provided for the swing in Scotland?
    
5. v)
   What explanation can be provided for variations in the English swing?
    

     

Linear Programming in Air Defence Modelling

The paper describes the use of an optimizing model, together with a simulation model, to determine the most effective mix and deployment of air defence weapons to defend a given set of assets against a range of air threats. The advantages of using an optimizing model in such studies are that it:

1. a
   —Gives more consistent results by reducing player variance.
    
2. b
   —Can generate solutions that are robust to variations in threat and environment.
    
3. c
   —Ensures that good solutions are not overlooked.
    
4. d
   —Reduces the total processing time required to complete the study.
    

     

Flow equivalence of sofic shifts

We classify certain sofic shifts (the irreducible Point Extension Type, or PET, sofic shifts) up to flow equivalence, using invariants of the canonical Fischer cover. There are two main ingredients.

1. (1)
   An extension theorem, for extending flow equivalences of subshifts to flow equivalent irreducible shifts of finite type which contain them.
    
2. (2)
   The classification of certain constant to one maps from SFTs via algebraic invariants of associated G-SFTs.
    

     

Some topics in the history of harmonic analysis in the twentieth century

In December 2015 I gave a series of six lectures at the Indian Institute of Science in which I sketched the thematic development of some of the main techniques and results of 20th-century harmonic analysis. The subjects of the lectures were, briefly, as follows:

1. 1.
   Fourier series, 1900-1950.
    
2. 2.
   Singular integrals (part I).
    
3. 3.
   H ^p , BMO, and singular integrals (part II).
    
4. 4.
   Littlewood-Paley theory: the history of a technique.
    
5. 5.
   Harmonic analysis on groups.
    
6. 6.
   Wavelets.
    

I emphasized interconnections, both the way in which the material in the first lecture provided the roots out of which most of the developments in the other lectures grew, and the ways in which those developments interacted with each other. I included sketches of as many proofs as the time would permit: some very brief, but some fairly complete, especially those whose methodology is an important part of the subject. Much was omitted, of course, and there was a natural bias toward the areas where I have spent periods of my own mathematical life. Many developments, particularly those of the final quarter-century, received at most a brief mention.This paper is a written account of these lectures with a few more details fleshed out, a few topics reorganized, and a few items added. I hope that others may find it an interesting narrative and a useful reference, and that it may lead some of them to share my enjoyment of exploring the original sources. I have tried to provide the references to those sources wherever possible, and for the more recent developments I also provide references to various expository works as the occasion arises. For the pre-1950 results discussed here and their proofs, however, there is one canonical reference, which I give here once and for all: Antoni Zygmund’s treatise [96]. (The more fundamental ones can also be found in Folland [29].)     

Chains of saturated models in AECs

We study when a union of saturated models is saturated in the framework of tame abstract elementary classes (AECs) with amalgamation. We prove:

Theorem 0.1. If K is a tame AEC with amalgamation satisfying a natural definition of superstability (which follows from categoricity in a high-enough cardinal), then for all high-enough \(\lambda {:}\)

1. (1)
   The union of an increasing chain of \(\lambda \)-saturated models is \(\lambda \)-saturated.
    
2. (2)
   There exists a type-full good \(\lambda \) -frame with underlying class the saturated models of size \(\lambda \).
    
3. (3)
   There exists a unique limit model of size \(\lambda \).
    

Our proofs use independence calculus and a generalization of averages to this non first-order context.

     

Linear Optimization with Box Constraints in Banach Spaces

Let X be a partially ordered real Banach space, let a,b∈X with a≤b. Let φ be a bounded linear functional on X. We say that X satisfies the box-optimization property (or X is a BOP space) if the box-constrained linear program: max 〈φ,x〉, s.t. a≤x≤b, has an optimal solution for any φ,a and b. Such problems arise naturally in solving a class of problems known as interval linear programs. BOP spaces were introduced (in a different language) and systematically studied in the first author’s doctoral thesis. In this paper, we identify new classes of Banach spaces that are BOP spaces. We present also sufficient conditions under which answers are in the affirmative for the following questions:

1. (i)
   When is a closed subspace of a BOP space a BOP space?
    
2. (ii)
   When is the range of a bounded linear map a BOP space?
    
3. (iii)
   Is the quotient space of a BOP space a BOP space?
    

     

Operational Research Projects in Health and Welfare Services in the United Kingdom and Ireland

The paper presents a comparison of Health and Welfare O.R. in the U.K. and Ireland as represented by two registers of current projects, compiled in 1972 and 1977 respectively. The survey shows that

1. i)
   There appear to be very few O.R. studies of social services;
    
2. ii)
   The major focus has apparently moved away from hospital-based tactical studies, towards more broadly-based strategic studies;
    
3. iii)
   Related to this, the number of projects labelled as concerned with "planning" has increased;
    
4. iv)
   The number of projects involving "optimisation" has decreased, whilst those involving simulation have shown some increase; and
    
5. v)
   The majority of projects in both years were described as involving "applied common sense", rather than any specific technique.
    

     

Mathematical Aspects of Manpower Planning

In this paper, concepts of linear programming-in particular the Simplex algorithm and the Dual Simplex algorithm-are used within a discrete renewal model for the development of a graded population, when the transfer rates between the various grades are given, and "wastage" is replaced by suitable recruiting.The following questions are dealt with:

1. 1)
   Which population structures (i.e. partitions into grades) can be attained from a given structure, after one or more steps?
    
2. 2)
   From which structures can a given structure be attained in one or more steps?
    
3. 3)
   If the present structure as well as a desired future structure are given, can the latter be attained from the former in one or more steps? If so, how?
    
4. 4)
   The last problem is of special interest if the starting structure is identical with that to be attained and is called re-attaining after more than one step, or strictly maintaining after one step.
    

Examples are given to illustrate the procedure, and some attention is given to the possibility of alternative routes in cases (3) and (4). It is observed that if a structure is attainable (or re-attainable) after n steps, then it is not necessarily attainable (or re-attainable) after n + 1 steps.     

An Algorithm for the Vehicle-dispatching Problem

The vehicle-scheduling problem involves the design of several vehicle tours to meet a given set of requirements for customers with known locations, subject to a capacity constraint for the vehicles and a distance (or time) constraint for vehicle tours. Three methods of solution are considered in this paper:

1. a
   A branch-and-bound approach.
    
2. b
   The "savings" approach.
    
3. c
   The 3-optimal tour method.
    

The excessive computation time and computer storage required for the first method renders it impracticable for large problems. Ten problems are examined and the results suggest that method C is superior to the other two methods.     

A Production Planning and Stock Control Problem in the Textile Industry

This paper describes the techniques used in an enquiry into production planning and stock holding problems encountered by one of our member firms.The investigation of the problem falls into three parts:

1. i)
   The analysis of demand.
    
2. ii)
   The determination of optimum stock levels.
    
3. iii)
   The solution of the allocation problem which arises if the capacity available for the production of stock lines is not equal to the amount required to bring stocks back to the optimum levels. This problem has not been fully investigated, but a proposed method of solution is given in an appendix.
    

     

Semistability and Restrictions of tangent bundle to curves

We consider all complex projective manifolds X that satisfy at least one of the following three conditions:

1. (1)
   There exists a pair \({(C\,,\varphi)}\) , where C is a compact connected Riemann surface and

   $\varphi\,:\, C\,\longrightarrow\, X$

   a holomorphic map, such that the pull back \({\varphi^* {\it TX}}\) is not semistable.
    
2. (2)
   The variety X admits an étale covering by an abelian variety.
    
3. (3)
   The dimension dim X ≤ 1.
    

We prove that the following classes are among those that are of the above type.

• All X with a finite fundamental group.
• All X such that there is a nonconstant morphism from \({{\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^1}\) to X.
• All X such that the canonical line bundle K _X is either positive or negative or \({c_1(K_X)\,\in\,H^2(X,\, {\mathbb Q})}\) vanishes.
• All X with \({{\rm dim}_{\mathbb C} X\, =\,2}\).

     

On relaxations of contraction constants and Caristi’s theorem in <Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>-metric spaces

In this paper, the following facts are stated in the setting of b-metric spaces.

1. (1)
   The contraction constant in the Banach contraction principle fully extends to [0, 1), but the contraction constants in Reich’s fixed point theorem and many other fixed point theorems do not fully extend to [0, 1), which answers the early stated question on transforming fixed point theorems in metric spaces to fixed point theorems in b-metric spaces.
    
2. (2)
   Caristi’s theorem does not fully extend to b-metric spaces, which is a negative answer to a recent Kirk–Shahzad’s question (Remark 12.6) [Fixed Point Theory in Distance Spaces. Springer, 2014].
    

     

Operational Research and Management

The purpose of this paper is to discuss and if possible to dispel the industrialist's misunderstanding of operational research. The author lists some of the varied ideas held by industrialists of operational research including several which are contradictory, as for example (a) That operational research is new and revolutionary; and (b) That operational research proves nothing new and has always been practised without being so named.A number of suggestions are then made and developed, which should lead to a better understanding. These include, clearer definitions of operational research and a better adaptation of the specialized literature to the needs of industrial management, with particular emphasis on the publication of real rather than synthetic case histories. Headings of sections are:

1. 1
   The attitude of industrialists.
    
2. 2
   The exact nature of operational research.
    
3. 3
   Problems, criteria, models.
    
4. 4
   The practice of operational research in business.
    

     

Mean dimension of $${\mathbb{Z}^k}$$-actions

Mean dimension is a topological invariant for dynamical systems that is meaningful for systems with infinite dimension and infinite entropy. Given a \({\mathbb{Z}^k}\)-action on a compact metric space X, we study the following three problems closely related to mean dimension.

1. (1)
   When is X isomorphic to the inverse limit of finite entropy systems?
    
2. (2)
   Suppose the topological entropy \({h_{\rm top}(X)}\) is infinite. How much topological entropy can be detected if one considers X only up to a given level of accuracy? How fast does this amount of entropy grow as the level of resolution becomes finer and finer?
    
3. (3)
   When can we embed X into the \({\mathbb{Z}^k}\)-shift on the infinite dimensional cube \({([0,1]^D)^{\mathbb{Z}^k}}\)?
    

These were investigated for \({\mathbb{Z}}\)-actions in Lindenstrauss (Inst Hautes Études Sci Publ Math 89:227–262, 1999), but the generalization to \({\mathbb{Z}^k}\) remained an open problem. When X has the marker property, in particular when X has a completely aperiodic minimal factor, we completely solve (1) and a natural interpretation of (2), and give a reasonably satisfactory answer to (3).A key ingredient is a new method to continuously partition every orbit into good pieces.     

Regularly weakly based modules over right perfect rings and Dedekind domains

A weak basis of a module is a generating set of the module minimal with respect to inclusion. A module is said to be regularly weakly based provided that each of its generating sets contains a weak basis. We study

1. (1)
   rings over which all modules are regularly weakly based, refining results of Nashier and Nichols, and
    
2. (2)
   regularly weakly based modules over Dedekind domains.
    

     

A Three-Dimensional Optimization Problem in Water-Resources Engineering

The problem under consideration is related to a system consisting of two storage facilities in series. Part of the water reaching the upstream reservoir may be diverted for storage in the downstream facility. However, there is a certain lag between the time when water is released from the upper reservoir and the time when it is available for utilization in the lower one. Thus the vector describing the state of the system at any one time consists of three elements:

1. a)
   amount of water stored in the upstream reservoir;
    
2. b)
   amount of water stored in the downstream reservoir;
    
3. c)
   amount of water in transit.
    

An optimum operating policy for the system had to be derived.The method of dynamic programming was applied in the analysis of this problem. The algorithm obtained was programmed for solution on an IBM 7090 digital computer. Optimal policies were obtained for each admissible state of the system.     

On a problem of P. Hall for Engel words

Let θ be a word in n variables and let G be a group; the marginal and verbal subgroups of G determined by θ are denoted by θ(G) and θ ^*(G), respectively. The following problems are generally attributed to P. Hall:

1. (I)
   If π is a set of primes and |G : θ ^*(G)| is a finite π-group, is θ(G) also a finite π-group?
    
2. (II)
   If θ(G) is finite and G satisfies maximal condition on its subgroups, is |G : θ ^*(G)| finite?
    
3. (III)
   If the set \({\{\theta(g_1,\ldots,g_n) \;|\; g_1,\ldots,g_n\in G\}}\) is finite, does it follow that θ(G) is finite?
    

We investigate the case in which θ is the n-Engel word e _n  = [x, _n y] for \({n\in\{2,3,4\}}\) .

     

The Geographical Allocation of Community Care Resources — A Case Study

The paper presents a case study of methods of allocating a given amount of home help resource between a number of geographical areas within a County Social Services Department. Questionnaires were completed for a sample of clients covering such information as:

1. i)
   the type of client,
    
2. ii)
   the amount of home help actually received, and
    
3. iii)
   the "ideal" amount of help judged necessary.
    

Various allocations were presented to the decision makers, ranging from the simple assumption that the number of hours provided to each type of client should be the same throughout the County, to more "sophisticated" allocations which took account of such geographical differences as the level of provision of other support services and the current and forecast population structure.Although developed within the context of the home help service, the approach is general enough to be applicable to the allocation of other such services to clients, e.g. home nursing.