The characteristics of population growth of the Dongxiang nationality and the necessity of carrying out family planning]

For a long time, the Dongxiang nationality has lived in the area of Dongxiang, which is a part of Gu Hezhou in Gansu Province. Among the various minorities in China, the Dongxiang people has been noted for their small population. In recent years, however, their population growth rate has been very high. Statistics show their annual population growth rate was 13.5% in 1970 and 32.8% in 1980. This situation is caused mainly by the young age of the population (young persons under the age of 19 constitute 55.7% of the entire population). Because of the popularity of Islam among the people, the custom of early marriage and having children at an early age has long been a tradition. Rapid population growth has created numerous problems. Food production has been unable to keep up with the speed of the population growth, and economic development cannot satisfy the needs of the rapid growing population. The Dongxiang people are physically healthy and strong, and marriages between close relatives is prohibited. Because of the backward condition in education and culture, efforts to promote the quality of the Dongxiang population have remained slow and ineffective. Starting in 1974, the local government in Dongxiang launched extensive birth control projects and positive results have been achieved. At the present time, about 62% of its population have taken birth control measures, and the natural population growth rate dropped to 15.34% in 1982.     

Optimizing multi-stage production with constant lot size and varying numbers of batches

The model presented in this paper assumes that a uniform lot size is produced through a series of manufacturing stages, with a single set-up and without interruption at each stage. Transportation of partial lots, called batches, is allowed between stages after the whole batch is completed. The batch sizes must be equal at any particular stage, but the optimal number of equal-sized batches may differ across stages. Of course, the set-up costs, the inventory-holding costs and the transportation costs influence both the optimal batch-sizes at the various stages and the uniform lot size. An optimization method for this deterministic model is developed and is illustrated by an example.     

The topology aware file distribution problem

We present theoretical results for large-file distribution on general networks of known topology (known link bandwidths and router locations). We show that the problem of distributing a file in minimum time is NP-hard in this model, and we give an O(logn) approximation algorithm, where n is the number of workstations that require the file. We also characterize our method as optimal amongst the class of “no-link-sharing” algorithms.     

A mathematical model and genetic algorithm-based approach for parallel two-sided assembly line balancing problem

Assembly lines are usually constructed as the last stage of the entire production system and efficiency of an assembly line is one of the most important factors which affect the performance of a complex production system. The main purpose of this paper is to mathematically formulate and to provide an insight for modelling the parallel two-sided assembly line balancing problem, where two or more two-sided assembly lines are constructed in parallel to each other. We also propose a new genetic algorithm (GA)-based approach in alternatively to the existing only solution approach in the literature, which is a tabu search algorithm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first formal presentation of the problem as well as the proposed algorithm is the first attempt to solve the problem with a GA-based approach in the literature. The proposed approach is illustrated with an example to explain the procedures of the algorithm. Test problems are solved and promising results are obtained. Statistical tests are designed to analyse the advantage of line parallelisation in two-sided assembly lines through obtained test results. The response of the overall system to the changes in the cycle times of the parallel lines is also analysed through test problems for the first time in the literature.     

Evaluation of scheduling strategies for a dynamic job shop in a tool-shared,flexible manufacturing environment

A two-phase approach is used to examine the impact of job scheduling rules and tool selection policies for a dynamic job shop system in a tool-shared, flexible manufacturing environment. The first phase develops a generalized simulation model and analyses 'simple' job scheduling rules and tool selection policies under various operating scenarios. The results from this investigation are then used to develop and analyse various bi-criteria rules in the second phase of this study. The results show that the scheduling rules have the most significant impact on system performance, particularly at high shop load levels. Tool selection policies affect some of the performance measures, most notably, proportion of tardy jobs, to a lesser degree. Higher machine utilizations can be obtained at higher tool duplication levels but at the expense of increased tooling costs and lower tool utilization. The results also show that using different processing time distributions may have a significant impact on shop performance.     

环状区域的车辆路径方案生成系统及优化模型

针对顾客满足环状区域分布的车辆路径问题(VRP),以大幅度地缩减问题求解的状态空间为突破口,引入人工智能和运筹学理论,提出求解这类特殊车辆路径问题的两阶段方法.第1阶段考虑行车时间和车载容量,提出带有控制策略的深度优先搜索算法自动生成备选的车辆路径方案集合.第2阶段将此备选方案集合归结为整数规划模型.采用VB6.0编程语言构建了车辆路径方案生成系统,并实现该系统与运筹学求解软件lindo的集成.通过案例验证了上述方法及自动求解系统的有效性.该项研究为解决环状配送区域的车辆路径问题这一难题提供了新方法.     

Bureaucracy Redux: Management Reformism and the Welfare State

Bureaucratic discretion is a fundamental feature of social provision,one that presents enduring difficulties for management. In general,management reform has taken two, divergent paths. One, utilizingthe familiar public bureaucratic model, seeks to control discretionthrough hierarchical command structures and standardization.The other, utilizing decentralization and privatization, regulatesand relocates discretion, using incentive structures associatedwith market or quasi-market institutions. However, it may bethat discretion will prove to be as problematic for the newpublic management (NPM) as it was for the old. This articleoffers a critical political history of management reformism,reviewing efforts to reorganize the public welfare provisionby applying new public management models to old public bureaucracyproblems. It considers the dynamics of bureaucratic discretionand reform not only as a problem of public management but aspart of the contested politics of social policymaking.     

NEGOTIATING CONTINUITY: Family and Religious Socialization for Second-Generation Asian Americans

This article examines second-generation Asian Americans' explanations of the significant influences on their own religious identities. Data include interviews (N = 73) with college-aged Asian Americans from different religious traditions and ethnic backgrounds. Respondents viewed families as the most significant influence on current religiosity. Mothers and fathers were mentioned most often, followed by extended kin, siblings, and relatives, who acted as what we call "reinforcers,""substitutes," or "contrasts" to the roles that parents played in religious socialization. These roles occurred along two religious configurations within families: heterogeneous or homogeneous degrees of religious commitment and religious affiliation. Directions for future research and contributions to the religious transmission literature follow.