Tactical production and distribution planning with dependency issues on the production process

Tactical production-distribution planning models have attracted a great deal of attention in the past decades. In these models, production and distribution decisions are considered simultaneously such that the combined plans are more advantageous than the plans resolved in a hierarchical planning process. We consider a two-stage production process, where in the first stage raw materials are transformed into continuous resources that feed the discrete production of end products in the second stage. Moreover, the setup times and costs of resources depend on the sequence in which they are processed in the first stage. The minimum scheduling unit is the product family which consists of products sharing common resources and manufacturing processes. Based on different mathematical modelling approaches to the production in the first stage, we develop a sequence-oriented formulation and a product-oriented formulation, and propose decomposition-based heuristics to solve this problem efficiently. By considering these dependencies arising in practical production processes, our model can be applied to various industrial cases, such as the beverage industry or the steel industry. Computation tests on instances from an industrial application are provided at the end of the paper.     

儒家“义—利”价值结构与西方“财富”价值结构比较研究简

通过中国儒家和西方经济价值结构的比较研究，发现儒家以“义一利”为价值结构模型，西方以“财富”为价值结构模型。儒家价值结构的基本特征是“义体利用”，表现方式是：强国的道义在于顺天时、尽地利、忠人和；安国的道义在于民朴民富；治国的道义在于蓄储俭用。西方价值结构的基本特征是“利体义用”，表现方式是：鼓励获取财富、财富规则和财富责任。儒家“义一利”价值结构与西方“财富”价值结构是两种不同的价值评判话语体系，在中国现代“义利共体”的价值结构建构中，儒家价值结构提供着人文精神基础，西方价值结构提供着物质文明建设可资借鉴的经验。     

任务分解式教学法在检测技术实训中的应用

如何提高实践教学的教学质量是高校教育中亟待解决的问题。以安全检测技术实训为例,采用任务分解式教学方法对这一问题进行了探讨,在实训过程中,通过不断增加具体任务难度、分组打擂、优秀组讲解程序等方式,将安全检测技术各个部分内容有机结合起来,从而为实践教学环节提供一些有益的思路。     

Goodness—of—fit for the two—parameter weibull distribution with estimated parameters

Goodness—of—fit statistics based on the empirical distribution function (EDF) are not distribution—free when parameters for the hypothesized distribution are estimated. Tables are percentile values of several EDF statistics are available for the two—parameter Weibull distribution when parameters are estimated by maximum likelihood. To determine how these tabled values change when simpler estimators are employed, percentile scores for EDF goodness—of—fit tests were obtained by Monte—Carlo simulation for maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs), good linear unbiased estimators (GLUEs), and modified Cramer—von Mises, Anderson—Darling, and Watson statistics are presented for GLUEs for both complete and censored samples. Critical values for Kolmogorov—Smirnov statistics were less affected by the method of estimation than were closer for MLEs and MGLUEs than for MGLUEs and GLUEs. On the other hand, MGLUE and GLUE results were much more similar to each other than to the MLE results when censoring was light and sample sizes were large.     

Empirical Likelihood Inference for the Rao‐Hartley‐Cochran Sampling Design

The Hartley‐Rao‐Cochran sampling design is an unequal probability sampling design which can be used to select samples from finite populations. We propose to adjust the empirical likelihood approach for the Hartley‐Rao‐Cochran sampling design. The approach proposed intrinsically incorporates sampling weights, auxiliary information and allows for large sampling fractions. It can be used to construct confidence intervals. In a simulation study, we show that the coverage may be better for the empirical likelihood confidence interval than for standard confidence intervals based on variance estimates. The approach proposed is simple to implement and less computer intensive than bootstrap. The confidence interval proposed does not rely on re‐sampling, linearization, variance estimation, design‐effects or joint inclusion probabilities.     

An Agent‐Based Model for Pathogen Persistence and Cross‐Contamination Dynamics in a Food Facility

We used an agent‐based modeling (ABM) framework and developed a mathematical model to explain the complex dynamics of microbial persistence and spread within a food facility and to aid risk managers in identifying effective mitigation options. The model explicitly considered personal hygiene practices by food handlers as well as their activities and simulated a spatially explicit dynamic system representing complex interaction patterns among food handlers, facility environment, and foods. To demonstrate the utility of the model in a decision‐making context, we created a hypothetical case study and used it to compare different risk mitigation strategies for reducing contamination and spread of Listeria monocytogenes in a food facility. Model results indicated that areas with no direct contact with foods (e.g., loading dock and restroom) can serve as contamination niches and recontaminate areas that have direct contact with food products. Furthermore, food handlers’ behaviors, including, for example, hygiene and sanitation practices, can impact the persistence of microbial contamination in the facility environment and the spread of contamination to prepared foods. Using this case study, we also demonstrated benefits of an ABM framework for addressing food safety in a complex system in which emergent system‐level responses are predicted using a bottom‐up approach that observes individual agents (e.g., food handlers) and their behaviors. Our model can be applied to a wide variety of pathogens, food commodities, and activity patterns to evaluate efficacy of food‐safety management practices and quantify contamination reductions associated with proposed mitigation strategies in food facilities.     

Agent‐Based Recovery Model for Seismic Resilience Evaluation of Electrified Communities

In this article, an agent‐based framework to quantify the seismic resilience of an electric power supply system (EPSS) and the community it serves is presented. Within the framework, the loss and restoration of the EPSS power generation and delivery capacity and of the power demand from the served community are used to assess the electric power deficit during the damage absorption and recovery processes. Damage to the components of the EPSS and of the community‐built environment is evaluated using the seismic fragility functions. The restoration of the community electric power demand is evaluated using the seismic recovery functions. However, the postearthquake EPSS recovery process is modeled using an agent‐based model with two agents, the EPSS Operator and the Community Administrator. The resilience of the EPSS–community system is quantified using direct, EPSS‐related, societal, and community‐related indicators. Parametric studies are carried out to quantify the influence of different seismic hazard scenarios, agent characteristics, and power dispatch strategies on the EPSS–community seismic resilience. The use of the agent‐based modeling framework enabled a rational formulation of the postearthquake recovery phase and highlighted the interaction between the EPSS and the community in the recovery process not quantified in resilience models developed to date. Furthermore, it shows that the resilience of different community sectors can be enhanced by different power dispatch strategies. The proposed agent‐based EPSS–community system resilience quantification framework can be used to develop better community and infrastructure system risk governance policies.     

The cost‐effectiveness of UK parenting programmes for preventing children's behaviour problems – a review of the evidence

Parenting programmes are widely used in the UK, promoted in policy documents as a cost‐effective way for children's services to address behaviour problems and thereby the longer‐term costs associated with conduct disorders, particularly antisocial behaviour and criminality. To explore whether these programmes are a cost‐effective component of family intervention, this paper examines evidence from cost‐effectiveness studies based on randomized controlled trials, modelling studies estimating longer‐term costs and outcomes, and studies estimating costs of UK parenting programmes, including evidence from routine practice. Findings indicate that parenting programmes have the potential to be cost‐saving in the long term; however, gaps in the evidence include: lack of follow‐up of families who drop out of programmes, absence of control groups in longer‐term follow‐ups, and little information about costs and effects of programmes in routine practice. The size of savings resulting from implementation of effective parenting programmes will depend on the extent to which families likely to be most costly to society attend and experience lasting benefit.     

在碎片中破土——从“震惊”看《发达资本主义时代的抒情诗人》

本雅明《发达资本主义时代的抒情诗人》一书充满了形形色色的人与物,但在纷繁复杂的意象中,"震惊"一以贯之,成为探寻问题的一个起点和动因。文章从"震惊"的心理溯源开始来梳理本雅明的美学思想和社会学思想,以期从这一特定角度对本雅明的现代性思想有一个较为明晰的理解。心理层面,人们以牺牲事物的完整性和鲜活性为代价,发展出一套针对"震惊"的戒备机制。美学领域,"震惊"剥夺了传统艺术的"光晕",而波德莱尔的伟大之处正在于把"震惊"引入了抒情诗。"震惊"还引发了新的社会现象,这就是以游荡者为代表的人群,以及以摄影为代表的物象,人的异化不可避免地产生了。     

关于高校管理中“双肩挑”问题的探讨

为了做好专业技术岗位聘用工作,高校应该认真研究普遍存在的“双肩挑”人员的管理现状和探索新的使用方法。笔者对高校中“双肩挑”管理模式现行管理政策与措施进行了调查和研究,提出了应加强对“双肩挑”岗位设置的管理,同时,应注重管理队伍朝着专职和专业的方向发展,并在高校中逐步提高学术权力的领导地位、建立新时期高校管理体制的新格局和确保高校人事管理科学发展的建议。