bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Systems Research Laboratory's Air Defense Experiments
Authors: Chapman Robert L. , Kennedy John L. , Newell Allen , Biel William C. 
Published: November 2008

The “off-the-top” findings of the air-defense experiments conducted in RAND's Systems Research Laboratory between 1952 and 1954 were the training principles that are the basis of the system training program being implemented by the System Development Corporation. There are, however, other theoretical and methodological implications. The desired performance of complex systems can be realized only through designing and managing them for operational flexibility. This can be done by harnessing the learning ability of men in organizations. Conditions for encouraging men to adapt system's resources to most efficient use follow from the organism analogy—a key notion for explaining the behavior of the four crews studied. In addition, the simulation techniques developed in the course of the research provide a means for continued “head-on” attacks on a crucial problem of the present day—that of better understanding the adaptation process in organizations, so that it can be used and controlled. The paper is in the form of a report of a scientific search. The story of experimental mistakes, modifications in method, and successive insights is presented to convey the essence of an ambitious investigation at the frontier of knowledge where the terrain is not well-mapped and the research tools are being developed as needed.
Scheduling with Deadlines and Loss Functions
Authors: McNaughton Robert 
Published: November 2008

The problem of this paper is that of scheduling several one-stage tasks on several processors, which are capable of handling the tasks with varying degrees of efficiency, to minimize the total loss, which is a sum of losses associated with the individual tasks. Each task has a deadline; the individual loss associated with it is a function of amount of time between the deadline and the time of completion if the former precedes the latter, and zero otherwise.
The Optimum Reject Allowance Problem
Authors: Levitan R. E. 
Published: November 2008

The problem of specifying an allowance for defects in a production lot is that of balancing the cost of producing too many items against the risk of not having enough to meet requirements. A model of these costs is here proposed. Sufficient conditions are developed on the probability distribution of defectives for total cost to have a single minimum with respect to the allowance. A sequential algorithm is investigated and shown to produce an optimum allowance if certain further conditions on the probability are met. Next, it is shown for a special class of probability distributions that the above conditions are satisfied. This class is that for which the probability of an item being defective is independent of previous defects in the lot, and includes the binomial distribution. Finally some computational aspects of this algorithm are discussed, and an easily computable starting value is given.
Mathematical Methods of Organizing and Planning Production
Authors: Kantorovich L. V. 
Published: November 2008

The author of the work “Mathematical Methods of Organizing and Planning Production”, Professor L. V. Kantorovich, is an eminent authority in the field of mathematics. This work is interesting from a purely mathematical point of view since it presents an original method, going beyond the limits of classical mathematical analysis, for solving extremal problems. On the other hand, this work also provides an application of mathematical methods to questions of organizing production which merits the serious attention of workers in different branches of industry. This is the English translation of the famous 1939 article by L. V. Kantorovich, originally published in Russian.
Summary of a Heuristic Line Balancing Procedure
Authors: Tonge Fred M. 
Published: November 2008

This paper presents a heuristic procedure for balancing production assembly lines and a computer program for carrying out that procedure. This research was undertaken to investigate the application of complex information processing techniques (as used in producing the Chess Machine and Logic Theorist) to a typical industrial problem. The assembly line balancing problem is stated as: Given an assembly process made up of elemental tasks, each with a time required per unit of product and an ordering with other tasks, what is the least number of work stations needed to attain a desired production rate? The heuristic procedure for assembly line balancing consists of three phases: repeated simplification of the initial problem by grouping adjacent elemental tasks into compound tasks; solution of the simpler problems thus created by assigning tasks to work stations at the least complex level possible, breaking up the compound tasks into their elements only when necessary for a solution; smoothing the resulting balance by transferring tasks among work stations until the distribution of assigned time is as even as possible. The heuristics used in each phase are considered in some detail. Appropriate means for mechanizing such a procedure are discussed, and operating results of the program on actual problems are presented.
Characteristics of Optimal Maintenance Policies
Authors: Bovaird Robert L. 
Published: November 2008

This paper presents an approach to maintenance planning which utilizes mathematics and economic theory to help select an optimal maintenance condition. The maintenance problem is discussed first with respect to short run (daily) routine operating decisions, and then with respect to long run decisions as they relate to equipment design and to maintenance facilities. The maintenance problem is then stated in mathematical terms. A cost minimizing maintenance model is described which takes account of such factors as deterioration and failure probabilities, manhours for preventive inspection and preventive repair, elapsed time for emergency diagnosis and repair, cost of setting up for periodic maintenance, cost of maintenance men, and cost of system downtime. A numerical example illustrates how the model can be used to determine the least cost combination of time between periodic maintenance, the number of maintenance men, and the number of periodics between inspections of each item for a required level of system operation.
Inventory Valuations—An Analytic Technique
Authors: Mills Harlan D. 
Published: November 2008

Recursive inventory decision processes, when formulated as dynamic programs, lead to functional equations. The unknown functions in these equations have arguments which range over the set of possible inventory conditions in the process, and values which represent the minimum possible expected present value of the costs of operating the process through the indefinite future. We call these functions “inventory valuations.” The realism of such formulations and the difficulties of solving for the implicitly defined functions lead to an alternative proposal: that approximate inventory valuations be induced more directly from the context of the recursive inventory process. Methods of developing such valuations are illustrated in sample analyses.
On Some Works of Kantorovich, Koopmans and Others
Authors: Charnes A. , Cooper W. W. 
Published: November 2008

The July, I960, issue of Management Science contains an English translation of an important original article by L. V. Kantorovich [Kantorovich, L. V. Mathematical Methods of Organizing and Planning Production. Leningrad University, 1939, with a Foreword by A. R. Marchenko (Russian). An English translation, prepared by R. W. Campbell and W. H. Marlow, appears under this same title in Management Science Vol. 6, No. 4, (July, 1960), pp. 366–422.] and an introductory note by T. C. Koopmans [Koopmans, T. C. 1960. A note about Kantorovich's paper, ‘Mathematical Methods of Organizing and Planning Production'. Management Sci. 6 (4, July) 363–365.] which is both evaluative and explanatory. In his penultimate paragraph, Professor Koopmans accords a tribute to this writing of Kantorovich which is at least partly deserved, although it is also paid for, we think, at too high a price in modesty for Professor Koopman's own work as well as the work of others. There is a certain lack of precision at critical points in the Kantorovich article which may tend to compound this price if allowed to stand through time. Professor Koopmans does not take adequate account of this lack of precision—e.g., in his discussion of the computing methods—perhaps because he restricted himself to a very short preface. Also, he runs together various major ideas (resolving multipliers, duality and efficiency prices) which need to be separated for more careful examination. Finally, the discussion is so cryptic as to raise some questions as to what Koopmans had in mind in his closing references wherein he compares Kantorovich's accomplishments (in the instant article) to those of von Neumann, Dantzig, et al. In this paper we shall examine some of these ideas at greater length than Koopmans permitted himself but without necessarily confining ourselves to the instant article by Kantorovich or to its preface by Koopmans.
A Family of Dynamic Inventory Models
Authors: Hadley G. , Whitin T. M. 
Published: November 2008

A family of inventory models in which demand is allowed to change with time is studied. One general model is presented which includes every member of the “family” as a special case. The general model assumes that demand is a random variable. The mean rate of demand may vary over time but demands in different time periods are assumed independent. It is assumed that there is a date of obsolescence for the item with no demands occurring after this date. The time of obsolescence may be either known or alternatively a finite number of obsolescence dates and their probable occurrence may be specified. Procurement lead times are allowed to be random variables, subject to certain restrictions which are discussed. Procurements are allowed only at a finite number of predetermined times which may be specified in any way desired. Demands occurring when the system is out of stock are assumed to be backordered. The procurement quantities are determined by solving a dynamic programming problem which minimizes the sum of the expected costs of procurement, carrying inventory, stockouts, and losses from obsolescence. The dynamic programming problem is within the range of feasibility computationally, because only tables involving a single parameter are required. A number of special cases of the general model are studied and it is shown that most dynamic models which have appeared in the literature are special cases of the general model.
Replacement of Randomly Deteriorating Equipment
Authors: Eisen M. , Leibowitz M. 
Published: November 2008

The replacement of a machine which deteriorates at a random rate is considered. We measure this deterioration in terms of a cost per unit time—i.e., a cost-density γ(t) where t is the age of the machine. Given the probability distribution of γ(t) and the replacement cost R(c, t) when γ(t) = c, we discuss optimal replacement using two different procedures: (1) replacement at a fixed age (2) replacement when the cost-density reaches a given value Expressions are derived for the resulting costs incurred in using either procedure over a long period of time. Method (2) is in general preferable.
The Dissemination and Use of Recorded Scientific Information
Authors: Martin Miles W. , Ackoff Russell L. 
Published: November 2008

Two separate field studies of chemists and physicists were made which were concerned with how scientists spend their time, especially the amount and kind of communication in which they engage. Approximately 2,200 chemists and physicists were observed. The studies were also concerned with finding out what journals scientists read, what parts of journals, the purposes for which they are read, and the variance of costs of disseminating information through journals, as well as the effect which characteristics of employing organizations have on the way a scientist spends his time. Outstanding features of the research design and those results which are most likely to be of general scientific interest are presented in this article.
The X of X
Authors: Churchman C. West 
Published: November 2008

A featured presentation at the Ninth Annual International Meeting of The Institute of Management Sciences, jointly with the Econometric Society, at Ann Arbor, Michigan, September 11, 1962. “A unified science of management.” Is it a matter of faith or of enterprise? A unified science of management conceals the self-reflective paradox. Science is an organized activity. Hence it operates according to some managerial principles. A unified science of management implies a management of science: a science of science, a self-reflective science.
Optimal Replacement Policies for a Ballistic Missile
Authors: Jorgenson D. W. , McCall J. J. 
Published: November 2008

This paper applies, to ballistic missile systems, replacement policies for equipment subject to stochastic failures in which the actual state of the system—good or failed—is not known with certainty. Although it applies these policies only to the missile itself, optimal maintenance policies for the system as a whole are conceptually similar. The criterion employed for comparison of alternative maintenance policies is to minimize the total cost per expected piece of equipment good per period of time. Maximization of system reliability is a special case of this criterion which ignores the financial costs of maintenance actions. The range of maintenance policies examined may be subdivided in two ways. First, it may be assumed that the distribution of times to failure for parts not subject to inspection is known. Secondly, it may be assumed that the distribution is known but that one or more parameters characterizing the distribution are unknown. The central feature of these latter policies is that the interval between replacements is adapted to new information as it accumulates. A second subdivision encompasses those maintenance policies in which the time to replacement for the non-monitored part depends on the state of the remaining parts of the system, and those in which only the failure rate of the uninspected part and the cost of maintenance actions are taken into account in determining the replacement interval. The first class of policies is called “opportunistic,” since optimal policies are designed to take advantage of opportunities arising through failures of the remaining parts. Opportunistic policies have a structure which may be described by a critical number N and a set of such critical numbers n1,n2, …, each corresponding to one of the parts under inspection. The optimal policy may be described as follows: For 0 ≦ x ≦ ni, the non-monitored part is not replaced if the i-th monitored part fails; for ni ≦ x ≦ N, the non-monitored part and the i-th monitored part are replaced whenever the i-th monitored part fails. For illustrative purposes, optimal policies of each type are computed for a hypothetical ballistic missile system. They are then compared with each other and with a rule of thumb frequently proposed for replacement policy: Replace at the mean time to failure.
A Heuristic Program for Locating Warehouses
Authors: Kuehn Alfred A. , Hamburger Michael J. 
Published: November 2008

The linear programing algorithms available for optimizing the routing of shipments in multi-plant, multi-destination systems cannot, in the current state of knowledge, be applied directly to the more general problem of determining the number and location of regional warehouses in large-scale distribution networks. This paper outlines a heuristic computer program for locating warehouses and compares it with recently published efforts at solving the problem either by means of simulation or as a variant of linear programing. The heuristic approach outlined in this paper appears to offer significant advantages in the solution of this class of problems in that it (1) provides considerable flexibility in the specification (modeling) of the problem to be solved, (2) can be used to study large-scale problems, that is, complexes with several hundred potential warehouse sites and several thousand shipment destinations, and (3) is economical of computer time. The results obtained in applying the program to small scale problems have been equal to or better than those provided by the alternative methods considered.
Experiences in Commercial Operations Research
Authors: Levinson Horace C. 
Published: November 2008

The operations-research practitioner who studies problems of industrial or business operations may be either external or internal to his customer's organization; i.e., either he may be working under contract to the company (as an individual or as a member of an independent firm), or he may actually be an employee of the company. Most of my own experience has been in the latter situation, my research being directed to the analysis of operations of the company with which I was associated. I shall therefore take that point of view here. Operations Research, ISSN 0030-364X, was published as Journal of the Operations Research Society of America from 1952 to 1955 under ISSN 0096-3984.
Letter to the Editor—The Output of an M/G/∞ Queuing System is Poisson
Authors: Mirasol Noel M. 
Published: November 2008

Burke [Burke, P. J. 1956. The output of a queuing system. Opns. Res. 4 699–704.] has shown that, in steady state, a queuing system with a Poisson input and independent (negative) exponential service times has an output that is also a Poisson process with a rate equal to the input rate, regardless of the number of channels. He has also shown that the interdeparture interval is independent of the state of the system at the end of the interval. We will show that if a queuing system has a Poisson input and an infinite number of channels, the output is also Poisson, regardless of the distribution of service times, provided that these times are independent.
An Approximate Measure of Value
Authors: Churchman C. West , Ackoff Russell L. 
Published: November 2008

Selection of an optimum decision depends on two types of measures: (1) the efficiency of a course of action for an outcome; (2) the importance or weight of the outcomes. That course of action that maximizes the expected total weighted efficiency (effectiveness) is optimum. A method for estimating importance on a scale of value is provided. It is based on actual or verbal choices of decision-makers. The method can be applied to any number of objectives or outcomes, and to any number of decision-makers. Reliability of the results can be measured. Operations Research, ISSN 0030-364X, was published as Journal of the Operations Research Society of America from 1952 to 1955 under ISSN 0096-3984.
Organization and Information Handling in Task Groups
Authors: Christie Lee S. 
Published: November 2008

Organizational factors in information handling in task-oriented groups have been studied recently at M.I.T. Laboratory groups were given very simple information-collection tasks under rigidly controlled conditions and the communication recorded completely. Decisions were restricted to choices of message destination and the influence of various imposed communication nets on the adequacy of group performance analysed. A technique of group-action quantization was used, which made possible a well-defined measure of group efficiency and an easily understood group goal. Experimental results show that an equiprobable random assumption is a poor model even for initial behavior. Centralized nets are shown to learn to do as well as the net permits fairly rapidly but to be characterized by high minimum-action. A net designed to give the lowest average action for task completion with random message-destination choices is shown to be essentially incapable of achieving its limiting minimum. Another similar net with a higher random average and a favorable minimum is shown to learn its minimum readily. Differences among the results for different nets are found to be explained in terms of a concept of “locally rational behavior” and the combinatorial characteristics of the nets. Operations Research, ISSN 0030-364X, was published as Journal of the Operations Research Society of America from 1952 to 1955 under ISSN 0096-3984.
Some Applications of the Theory of Dynamic Programming—A Review
Authors: Bellman Richard 
Published: November 2008

The purpose of this paper is to provide an expository account of the theory of dynamic programming. To illustrate the general principles, two particular problems, one of deterministic type and one of stochastic type, are treated. Operations Research, ISSN 0030-364X, was published as Journal of the Operations Research Society of America from 1952 to 1955 under ISSN 0096-3984.
Parametric Objective Function (Part 1)
Authors: Saaty Thomas , Gass Saul 
Published: November 2008

In the linear programming problem where there is a linear function to be optimized (called the objective function), it is desirable to study the behaviour of solutions when the (cost) coefficients in the objective function are parametrized. The problem is then to find the set of xj (j = 1, 2, …, n) which minimizes the linear form ∑(cj + λ cj′) xj and satisfy the constraints xj ≥ 0 and ∑aıjxj = aı0 (i = 1, 2, …, m) where cj, cj′, aıj, and aı0 are constants, with at least one cj ≠ 0, and λ a parameter. Using the simplex method, a computational procedure is described which enables one, given a feasible solution, to determine the values of the parameter (if any) for which the solution minimizes the objective function; and given a minimum feasible solution how one can generate by the simplex algorithm all minimum feasible solutions and the corresponding values of the parameter. To a minimum solution there corresponds one interval of values of λ (nondegeneracy assumed). The process indicates how to obtain a new solution and the corresponding interval of values of λ which is contiguous to the previous one both having only one point in common. Operations Research, ISSN 0030-364X, was published as Journal of the Operations Research Society of America from 1952 to 1955 under ISSN 0096-3984.
Erich Schneider's Inventory Control Analysis
Authors: Whitin T. M. 
Published: November 2008

Much attention has been focussed on inventory control problems in this country in recent years by statisticians, economists, logisticians, and operations researchers. The author is aware of several instances where the discussion of these problems could have been substantially improved by knowledge of work completed by Professor Erich Schneider in 1938. The present article summarizes the principal results of this work, relates them to recent work accomplished in similar areas of operations research, and points out several similarities between Schneider's approach to the problem and the general philosophy of operations research. Operations Research, ISSN 0030-364X, was published as Journal of the Operations Research Society of America from 1952 to 1955 under ISSN 0096-3984.
Letter to the Editor—A Comment on Edie's “Traffic Delays at Toll Booths”
Authors: Dantzig George B. 
Published: November 2008

E. W. Paxson of Rand has suggested that linear programming methods could be used as an alternative procedure in the scheduling section of Leslie C. Edie's interesting paper on “Traffic Delays at Toll Booths” (Leslie C. Edie. 1954. Traffic delays at toll booths. J. Opns. Res. Soc. Am. 2 107.). The purpose of this note is to elaborate on this suggestion. Operations Research, ISSN 0030-364X, was published as Journal of the Operations Research Society of America from 1952 to 1955 under ISSN 0096-3984.