Multi-phase Algorithms for Throughput Maximization for Real-Time Scheduling

We consider the problem of off-line throughput maximization for job scheduling on one or more machines, where each job has a release time, a deadline and a profit. Most of the versions of the problem discussed here were already treated by Bar-Noy et al. (Proc. 31st ACM STOC, 1999, pp. 622–631; http://www.eng.tau.ac.il/amotz/). Our main contribution is to provide algorithms that do not use linear programming, are simple and much faster than the corresponding ones proposed in Bar-Noy et al. (ibid., 1999), while either having the same quality of approximation or improving it. More precisely, compared to the results of in Bar-Noy et al. (ibid., 1999), our pseudo-polynomial algorithm for multiple unrelated machines and all of our strongly-polynomial algorithms have better performance ratios, all of our algorithms run much faster, are combinatorial in nature and avoid linear programming. Finally, we show that algorithms with better performance ratios than 2 are possible if the stretch factors of the jobs are bounded; a straightforward consequence of this result is an improvement of the ratio of an optimal solution of the integer programming formulation of the JISP2 problem (see Spieksma, Journal of Scheduling, vol. 2, pp. 215–227, 1999) to its linear programming relaxation.     

Growth of tuber crops and almost sure band for quantiles

Some tuber crops are governed by memoryless property of exponential distribution leading to a mixture distribution with heavy tail. Quantile-based estimators may then be appropriate than mean as a measure of central tendency. We prove almost sure representation theorems for sample quantiles in a general setup of U statistics, under slightly stronger assumption than assuming the existence of a continuously differentiable distribution function F for the kernel h. We obtain almost sure (a.s.) upper and lower estimate for F^{? 1}(p), p ∈ (0, 1) as a band for p varying. As an application, dataset arising from two varieties of potato cultivation are analyzed.     

Estimation of multiple gamma scale-parameters: bayes estimation subject to uniform domination

Simultaneous estimation of p gamma scale-parameters is considered under squared-error loss. The problem of minimizing, subject to uniform risk domination, the Bayes risk (or more generally the posterior expected loss) against certain conjugate or mixtures of conjugate priors is considered. Rather surprisingly, it is shown that the minimization can be done conditionally, thus avoiding variational arguments. Relative savings loss (and a posterior version thereof) are found, and it is found that in the most favorable situations, Bayesian robustness can be achieved without sacrificing substantial subjective Bayesian gains.     

An economic inspection interval for control of defective items in a hot rolling mill

The article addresses a real-life problem on determining the optimum sampling interval for control of defective items in a hot rolling mill. Having observed that the pattern of appearance of mill defects indicates a geometric process failure mechanism, an economic model is developed in line with the method suggested by Taguchi and critically examined by Nayebpour & Woodall. An expression for the expected loss per product as a function of the sampling interval is derived and the optimum interval is obtained by minimizing this loss function. The practical issues involved in this exercise, such as estimation of various cost components, are also discussed and the effect of erroneous estimation of cost components is studied through a sensitivity analysis.     

A new approach to default priors and robust bayes methodology

Following the developments in DasGupta et al. (2000), the authors propose and explore a new method for constructing proper default priors and a method for selecting a Bayes estimate from a family. Their results are based on asymptotic expansions of certain marginal correlations. For ease of exposition, most results are presented for location families and squared error loss only. The default prior methodology amounts, ultimately, to the minimization of Fisher information, and hence, Bickel's prior works out as the default prior if the location parameter is bounded. As for the selected Bayes estimate, it corresponds to ‘Gaussian tilting’ of an initial reference prior.     

Transitivity and fuzzy preferences

The authors would like to thank a referee at Social Choice and Welfare for insightful comments.     

Charting the Course: An Overview of Domestic Violence in the South Asian Community in the United States

In the South Asian community in the United States, domestic violence is a prevalent problem of significant magnitude. Although the community stridently denies the existence of this horror, women have been systematically organizing antiviolence-against-women work for the last 15 years. At this time, it is a vibrant movement struggling with several complex issues that are perhaps less common in the dominant white community. As in the lives of immigrant women of color, much of the intricacies of domestic violence in the South Asian context emerge from the intersections of race, class, and residency status problems. Consequently, a slew of personal, institutional, and cultural barriers commingle to form roadblocks for battered South Asian women, who attempt to escape family violence. As the needs of battered South Asian first and second generation women enlarge and become more perceptible, the community-based organizations have to ready themselves for more complicated activities in the future.     

Participation as a Health Communication Strategy in HIV/AIDS Intervention Projects: an Examination of a Project Targeting Commercial Sex Workers in India

This article examines how participation frames health communication strategies in the Sonagachi Project. The current research, which involves a study of 37 commercial female sex workers in a red-light district of India, investigates how the participation of target audiences in the enunciation of health problems in HIV/AIDS intervention projects engenders change. The study analyzed how a participatory framework in an HIV/sexually transmitted infection intervention project among sex workers addresses sociostructural constraints that affect the lives of the sex workers. The article aims to investigate how participation engages the sex workers in roles of power and decision-making within a health intervention program directed toward curbing sexually transmitted infections.