Combined DEMATEL technique with hybrid MCDM methods for creating the aspired intelligent global manufacturing & logistics systems

The concept of globalization has been prosperous in the past decades while manufacturing as well as logistics have already become one of the most significant issues in the globalization era. However, while modern globalized firms are leveraging both global manufacturing resources as well as logistics systems for pursuing higher quality, lower cost as well as product differentiation, how to evaluate, selecting an appropriate global manufacturing strategy by considering issues from both aspects of global manufacturing as well as logistics has become one of the most critical and difficult issues. Moreover, how the chosen intertwined global manufacturing as well as logistics system is to be optimized so that the aspired level of the global manufacturing system can be achieved have few been addressed. Thus, this research aims to resolve the above mentioned global manufacturing and logistics strategy selection as well as system reconfiguration issue. A Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique based novel multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) method with Analytic Network Process (ANP), Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) as well as VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) will be proposed for selecting and re-configuring the aspired global manufacturing and logistics system. An empirical study based on the global manufacturing and logistics system design of a semiconductor company will be provided for verifying the effectiveness of this proposed methodology.     

不带微结构的连续统中新的能量守恒定律和C-D不等式

对连续统力学中的基本定律和均衡方程以及C-D不等式进行了认真的再研究.指出了现有的动量矩均衡定律和能量守恒定律以及Clausius-Duhem不等式的不完整性,并且提出了不带微结构的局部和非局部非对称连续统中新的而且更为普遍的能量守恒定律和相应的能量均衡方程以及C-D不等式.     

Modeling of material failure by the discrete element method

In this paper a two-dimensional discrete element method with rigid, polygonal particles is used to model material failure of granular as well as quasi-brittle materials. Different models for soft contact as well as cohesion between the particles are presented. The capabilities of the method are demonstrated simulating simplistic granular model materials as well as complex concrete specimens with an artificial microstructure. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Bayesian estimation of system reliability in Brownian stress-strength models

A stress-strength system fails as soon as the applied stress,X, is at least as much as the strength,Y, of the system. Stress and strength are time-varying in many real-life systems but typical statistical models for stress-strength systems are static. In this article, the stress and strength processes are dynamically modeled as Brownian motions. The resulting stress-strength system is then governed by a time-homogeneous Markov process with an absorption barrier at O. Conjugate as well as non-informative priors are developed for the model parameters and Markov chain sampling methods are used for posterior inference of the reliability of the stress-strength system. A generalization of this model is described next where the different stress-strength systems are assumed to be exchangeable. The proposed Bayesian analyses are illustrated in two examples where we obtain posterior estimates as well as perform model checking by cross-validation.     

Three systems of balance equations and jump conditions for nonlocal polar thermomechanical continua

Three systems of balance equations and jump conditions as well as generalized Clausius-Duhem inequalities for nonlocal polar thermomechanical continua are naturally and systematically derived under the consideration of Euler angles as angular coordinates and the negligence of conservation law of microinertia as well as the introduction of some new definitions. These results are more general than those balance equations and jump conditions as well as generalized Clausius-Duhem inequalities proposed by Eringen for nonlocal micropolar thermomechanical continua and more suitable to treat the problems of finite deformations. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Research Foundation of Liaoning Province.     

Bipolarization of posets and natural interpolation

The Choquet integral w.r.t. a capacity can be seen in the finite case as a parsimonious linear interpolator between vertices of n[0,1]. We take this basic fact as a starting point to define the Choquet integral in a very general way, using the geometric realization of lattices and their natural triangulation, as in the work of Koshevoy.A second aim of the paper is to define a general mechanism for the bipolarization of ordered structures. Bisets (or signed sets), as well as bisubmodular functions, bicapacities, bicooperative games, as well as the Choquet integral defined for them can be seen as particular instances of this scheme.Lastly, an application to multicriteria aggregation with multiple reference levels illustrates all the results presented in the paper.     

State feedback stabilization of uncertain linear time‐delay systems: A nonlinear matrix inequality approach

A nonlinear matrix inequality is derived as a stabilizability condition of linear uncertain time‐delay systems. This inequality is seen as a less conservative one as well as efficient for numerical computation than the existing results as seen when solving by cone‐complementary algorithm. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two-function upward-downward minimax theorems

Two-function upward-downward minimax theorems are derived which contain Simons upward-downward minimax theorem as well as Domokos minimax theorem as special cases. Here the convexity assumptions on two functions are given by mixing up their values as means proposed by Lin and Quan.     

Optimal row and column ordering to improve table interpretation using estimation of distribution algorithms

A common information representation task in research as well as educational and statistical practice is to comprehensively and intuitively express data in two-dimensional tables. Examples include tables in scientific papers, as well as reports and the popular press.     

Web page importance ranking

An approach is proposed that uses a set of interesting Web pages as starting point for a minimum walk algorithm to provide recommendations of additionally important Web information within a m-clicks-ahead situation. A discussion of known page importance ranking techniques as well as examples of the application of the new algorithm show that Web link structure dependent approaches should be enriched by considerations as to how the analysis of additional data and the use of suited support tools can be incorporated. These considerations include aspects as, e.g., personalization, query dependence and topic sensitivity of the underlying pages, the dynamic nature of the Web, as well as the possibility to perform calculations online.     

Central factorial numbers; their main properties and some applications.

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic treatment of central factorial numbers (cfn), including their main properties, as well as to employ them in a variety of applications. The cfn are related more closely to the Stirling numbers than to the other well-known numbers of Bernoulli, Euler, etc., and they are at least as important as Stirling's numbers, said to be “as important as Bernoulli's, or even more so”.     

Beispiele endlicher und unendlicher K-Loops

In this note examples are given for non trivial K-loops. There are commutative examples as well as non commuative, finite examples as well as infinite. Furthermore it will be shown that under an additional condition K-loops and Brück loops coincide.     

The prediction of sequences

The problem of predicting the short-term future behavior of a sequence, after observing it as long as we please, so as to achieve a specified reliability against all possible sequences is considered. For a particular problem, namely, predicting when in a sequence of 0's and 1's the pair (1, 0) in that order is not coming next, a reliability of 3/4 can be approximated as closely as we please, but not achieved. This article appeared as a Research Memorandum of the Rand Corporation, RM-1570, 12 October 1955.     

Optimal payout policy in presence of downside risk

We analyze the determination of a value maximizing dividend payout policy for a broad class of cash reserve processes modeled as spectrally negative jump diffusions. We extend previous results based on continuous diffusion models and characterize the value of the optimal dividend distribution strategy explicitly. We also characterize explicitly the values as well as the optimal dividend thresholds for a class of associated optimal liquidation and sequential lump sum dividend control problems. Our results indicate that both the value as well as the marginal value of the optimal policies are increasing functions of policy flexibility in the discontinuous setting as well.      

关于Sigma-Pi神经网络中的逼近问题

研究Ｒ上不连续函数可作为Ｓｉｇｍａ－Ｐｉ神经网络激励函数的条件,给出了Ｒ一局部黎曼可积函数可作为Ｓｉｇｍａ－Ｐｉ神经网络激励函数的特征条件,本文的结果表明：局部黎曼可积函数作为Ｓｉｇｍａ－Ｐｉ神经网络激励函数的特征条件与连续函数时的情形是一致的。     

Computational aspects of assigning agents to a line

We consider the problem of assigning agents to slots on a line, where only one agent can be served at a slot and each agent prefers to be served as close as possible to his target. We introduce a general approach to compute aggregate gap-minimizing assignments, as well as gap-egalitarian assignments. The approach relies on an algorithm which is shown to be faster than general purpose algorithms for the assignment problem. We also extend the approach to probabilistic assignments and explore the computational features of existing, as well as new, methods for this setting.     

Some properties of a class of sparse polynomials

We study an infinite class of sequences of sparse polynomials that have binomial coefficients both as exponents and as coefficients. This generalizes a sequence of sparse polynomials which arises in a natural way as graph theoretic polynomials. After deriving some basic identities, we obtain properties concerning monotonicity and log-concavity, as well as identities involving derivatives. We also prove upper and lower bounds on the moduli of the zeros of these polynomials.     

Convolution, Average Sampling, and a Calderon Resolution of the Identity for Shift-Invariant Spaces

In this article, we study three interconnected inverse problems in shift invariant spaces: 1) the convolution/deconvolution problem; 2) the uniformly sampled convolution and the reconstruction problem; 3) the sampled convolution followed by sampling on irregular grid and the reconstruction problem. In all three cases, we study both the stable reconstruction as well as ill-posed reconstruction problems. We characterize the convolutors for stable deconvolution as well as those giving rise to ill-posed deconvolution. We also characterize the convolutors that allow stable reconstruction as well as those giving rise to ill-posed reconstruction from uniform sampling. The connection between stable deconvolution, and stable reconstruction from samples after convolution is subtle, as will be demonstrated by several examples and theorems that relate the two problems.     

Price optimization with reference price effects: A generalized Benders’ decomposition method and a myopic heuristic approach

We consider a multi-period revenue maximization and pricing optimization problem in the presence of reference prices. We formulate the problem as a mixed integer nonlinear program and develop a generalized Benders’ decomposition algorithm to solve it. In addition, we propose a myopic heuristic and discuss the conditions under which it produces efficient solutions. We provide analytical results as well as numerical computations to illustrate the efficiency of the solution approaches as well as some managerial pricing insights.