1,720,965 research outputs found

    The stochastic generalized bin packing problem

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    The Generalized Bin Packing Problem (GBPP) is a recently introduced packing problem where, given a set of bins characterized by volume and cost and a set of items characterized by volume and profit (which also depends on bins), we want to select a subset of items to be loaded into a subset of bins which maximizes the total net profit, while satisfying the volume and bin availability constraints. The total net profit is given by the difference between the total profit of the loaded items and the total cost of the used bins. In this paper, we consider the stochastic version of the GBPP (S-GBPP), where the item profits are random variables to take into account the profit oscillations due to the handling operations for bin loading. The probability distribution of these random variables is assumed to be unknown. By using the asymptotic theory of extreme values a deterministic approximation for the S-GBPP is derived. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

    A dynamically consistent discretization method for the Goodwin model with nonlinear Phillips curve. Comparing qualitative and quantitative dynamics

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    The Goodwin model is a widely used economic growth model able to explain endogenous fluctuations in employment rate andwage share; in its initial version, the standard Phillips curve is used. In the present work, we suggest a revised Phillips curve that takes into account how the wage share influences the rate of changes of the wage itself thus obtaining a continuous-time modified Goodwin model. Since applying models to real data often requires working in a discrete-time setup, we then move from the continuous-time to the discrete-time version of the proposed model, by using a general polynomial discretization method in backward and forward-looking (hybrid discretization). By comparing the continuous-time system to its discrete-time counterpart we prove that fixed points and local dynamics do not change, as long as the time step is not too high. Moreover, numerical simulations employing Dynamic Time Warping, cross-correlation, and semblance analysis consistently affirm that enhancing the similarity of quantitative dynamics is achieved by reducing the time step

    New heuristics for the Stochastic Tactical Railway Maintenance Problem

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    Efficient methods have been proposed in the literature for the management of a set of railway maintenance operations. However, these methods consider maintenance operations as deterministic and known a priori. In the Stochastic Tactical Railway Maintenance Problem (STRMP), maintenance operations are not known in advance. In fact, since future track conditions can only be predicted, maintenance operations become stochastic. The STRMP is based on a rolling horizon. For each month of the rolling horizon, an adaptive plan must be addressed. Each adaptive plan becomes deterministic, since it consists of a particular subproblem of the whole STRMP. Nevertheless, an exact resolution of each plan along the rolling horizon would be too time-consuming. Therefore, a heuristic approach that can provide efficient solutions within a reasonable computational time is required. Although the STRMP has already been introduced in the literature, little work has been done in terms of solution methods and computational results. The main contributions of this paper include new methodology developments, a linear model for the deterministic subproblem, three efficient heuristics for the fast and effective resolution of each deterministic subproblem, and extensive computational results

    A Generalized Bin Packing Problem for parcel delivery in last-mile logistics

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    In this paper, we present a new problem arising at a tactical level of setting a last-mile parcel delivery service in a city by considering different Transportation Companies (TC), which differ in cost and service quality. The courier must decide which TCs to select for the service in order to minimize the total cost and maximize the total service quality. We show that the problem can be modeled as a new packing problem, the Generalized Bin Packing Problem with bin-dependent item profits (GBPPI), where the items are the parcels to deliver and the bins are the TCs. The aim of the GBPPI is to select the appropriate fleet from TCs and determine the optimal assignment of parcels to vehicles such that the overall net cost is minimized. This cost takes into account both transportation costs and service quality. We provide a Mixed Integer Programming formulation of the problem, which is the starting point for the development of efficient heuristics that can address the GBPPI for instances involving up to 1000 items. Extensive computational tests show the accuracy of the proposed methods. Finally, we present a last-mile logistics case study of an international courier which addresses this problem

    The capacitated transshipment location problem with stochastic handling utilities at the facilities

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    The problem consists in finding a transshipment facilities location that maximizes the total net utility when the handling utilities at the facilities are stochastic variables, under supply, demand, and lower and upper capacity constraints. The total net utility is given by the expected total shipping utility minus the total fixed cost of the located facilities. Shipping utilities are given by a deterministic utility for shipping freight from origins to destinations via transshipment facilities plus a stochastic handling utility at the facilities, whose probability distribution is unknown. After giving the stochastic model, by means of some results of the extreme values theory, the probability distribution of the maximum stochastic utilities is derived and the expected value of the optimum of the stochastic model is found. An efficient heuristics for solving real-life instances is also given. Computational results show a very good performance of the proposed methods both in terms of accuracy and efficiency. © 2012 International Federation of Operational Research Societies

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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