Strategic commitment to price to stimulate downstream innovation in a supply chain

It is generally in a firm’s interest for its supply chain partners to invest in innovations. To the extent that these innovations either reduce the partners’ variable costs or stimulate demand for the end product, they will tend to lead to higher levels of output for all of the firms in the chain. However, in response to the innovations of its partners, a firm may have an incentive to opportunistically increase its own prices. The possibility of such opportunistic behavior creates a hold-up problem that leads supply chain partners to underinvest in innovation. Clearly, this hold-up problem could be eliminated by a pre-commitment to price. However, by making an advance commitment to price, a firm sacrifices an important means of responding to demand uncertainty. In this paper we examine the trade-off that is faced when a firm’s channel partner has opportunities to invest in either cost reduction or quality improvement, i.e. demand enhancement. Should it commit to a price in order to encourage innovation, or should it remain flexible in order to respond to demand uncertainty. We discuss several simple wholesale pricing mechanisms with respect to this trade-off.     

A Tandem Queue with Coupled Processors: Computational Issues

In Resing and Örmeci [16] it is shown that the two-stage tandem queue with coupled processors can be solved using the theory of boundary value problems. In this paper we consider the issues that arise when calculating performance measures like the mean queue length and the fraction of time a station is empty. It is assumed that jobs arrive at the first station according to a Poisson process and require service at both stations before leaving the system. The amount of work that a job requires at each of the stations is an independent, exponentially distributed random variable. When both stations are nonempty, the total service capacity is shared among the stations according to fixed proportions. When one of the stations becomes empty, the total service capacity is given to the nonempty station. We study the two-dimensional Markov process representing the numbers of jobs at the two stations. The problem of finding the generating function of the stationary distribution can be reduced to two different Riemann-Hilbert boundary value problems, where both problems yield a complete analytical solution. We discuss the similarities and differences between the two problems, and relate them to the computational aspects of obtaining performance measures.     

关于"太阳在银河系中所受引力与到银心距离r的关系"的讨论

讨论了银道面内的引力场强分布和太阳在银河系中所受引力与到银心距离r的关系，指出引力场强g并不是与r的平方成反比，这是由于银河系的大小和形状不能忽略造成的．强调了万有引力定律的适用条件．     

关于三维Minkowski空间中直线汇的一些注记

本文研究了三维Minkowski空间中直线汇的一些性质,特别是关于类时线汇的性质．讨论了线汇基本元素的存在性,并证明了关于三维Minkowski空间中类时线汇的配分参数的一个结果,推广了苏步青1927年的—个成果．     

Simplified and complex modeling of self-sustained discharge-pumped,Ne-buffered XeCl laser kinetics

Two simple kinetic models of a Ne-buffered XeCl laser discharge are presented based on different simplifications of the chemical kinetics of a complex model that recently appeared in the literature. When applied to the study of a small-volume XeCl laser, the results of both simple and complex models are in satisfactory agreement with the experiments. Shifting to a larger-volume laser, both models show problems due to loss of stability of the discharge. A one-dimensional modelling is performed, and it is found that different assumptions on the kinetics of the NeXe⁺ ion in the discharge lead to completely different results as regards the effect of a preionization-triggered instability.     

Some New Results on Key Distribution Patterns and Broadcast Encryption

This paper concerns methods by which a trusted authority can distribute keys and/or broadcast a message over a network, so that each member of a privileged subset of users can compute a specified key or decrypt the broadcast message. Moreover, this is done in such a way that no coalition is able to recover any information on a key or broadcast message they are not supposed to know. The problems are studied using the tools of information theory, so the security provided is unconditional (i.e., not based on any computational assumption).In a recent paper st95a, Stinson described a method of constructing key predistribution schemes by combining Mitchell-Piper key distribution patterns with resilient functions; and also presented a construction method for broadcast encryption schemes that combines Fiat-Naor key predistribution schemes with ideal secret sharing schemes. In this paper, we further pursue these two themes, providing several nice applications of these techniques by using combinatorial structures such as orthogonal arrays, perpendicular arrays, Steiner systems and universal hash families.     

指数型寿命数据中异常值的检验

本文讨论了在指数型寿命数据中,对同时存在的异常大数据和异常小数据的检验方法,给出了一个明确的判别标准,并以一例说明其应用。     

Number albedo measurements from stratified layers of iron,concrete and aluminium

A layer of stratified combination composed of selected radiation shielding materials acquires better shielding property. Albedo is used in such measurements as an integral measure ofγ-ray scattering. The stratified slabs of alternating heterogeneous layers have been found to have a virtual homogeneous property with a definite effective atomic number. The angular distribution of back-scattered photons as well as the total number albedo values for iron, aluminium and concrete in stratified combination for 662 keV and 1250 keV photons are reported.     

一种实用的MTBF分配方法

本文提出一种简单实用的MTBF(Mean time between failures-平均无故障工作时间)分配方法.这种方法适合于工程系统设计的对分系统的结构(可靠性模型)有了初步的了解,并能估算出各分系统故障率的情况.同时对于需要进行可靠性分配,又苦于对可靠性理论知识缺乏深入了解的人员也非常适用.