SCAT AND SPAT: LARGE-SCALE COMPUTER-BASED OPTIMIZATION SYSTEMS FOR THE PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM

The personnel assignment problem involves the assignment of people to tasks, projects, etc., in a manner that maximizes a measure of aggregate utility for the assignees subject to several assignment constraints. In addition to computationally efficient solution algorithms, the effective implementation of mathematical models to solve the personnel assignment problem must include data processing systems with comprehensive error checking/resolution procedures, end user reports, documentation, and training. This paper summarizes two successful computer-based systems for solving large-scale personnel assignment problems that frequently occur in university settings. SCAT, the Student-Company Assignment Technique, assigns students to job interview slots. SPAT, the Student-Project Assignment Technique, assigns students to project teams in an MBA field project course. The SCAT and SPAT approaches can be generalized to a wide variety of personnel assignment problems in university, industry, government, and military settings.     

A MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING APPROACH TO THE SELECTION OF ACCESS PATHS FOR LARGE MULTIUSER DATA BASES*

The selection of an efficient set of access paths is critical to the design of large multiuser data bases. This task is formulated as an integer, linear mathematical program, and an approach to its solution is presented. A series of experiments support the assertion that this approach is sufficient for quickly producing an efficient, if not optimal, set of access paths for data-base problems of practical significance.     

EFFECTS OF CONFLICTING ANALYSES ON MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING: A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT

Researchers in a variety of disciplines have recommended the use of multiple conflicting data analyses to improve managerial decision making through the challenging of assumptions. This study deals with the effects of single data analyses and conflicting analyses on managers' solutions to a case analysis task. Results showed that managers who received conflicting analyses produced solutions with higher expected profits than those who received single analyses. Implications for the use of analytic decision aids are noted.     

清代至民国时期晋中南地区的土地流转及其中间环节问题研究

清代至民国时期晋中南地区的地权主要是通过土地买卖发生流转。在分析土地流转状况、土地买卖双方身份的基础上,用多子析产制尝试性地解释晋中南地区地权能够长期流转的主因。     

论海外华人女作家的网络写作

海外华人女作家的网上写作以“怀乡体”、“漂泊史”、“现代女性的私人生活”等为主要内容,其文学宗旨与创作倾向代表了“民间文学”的新的主张,代表了“网上写字”式的休闲写作,代表了“告别家国文化”的生存策略、“国际漂泊一族”的文化立场与“流散作家”的创作视角。     

BARGAINING WITH SHARED INFORMATION*

This paper formulates and analyzes models of two-party bargaining behavior where each side possesses private information about its preferences that is unavailable to the other. We examine the strategic behavior that bargainers might exhibit when disclosing information either to an arbitrator or to each other. Our results show that when bargaining is over one issue, it is relatively uncomplicated analytically to calculate the optimal strategy, but, despite this, even sophisticated bargainers tend to make wrong assumptions about the behavior of others and to use strategies that are far from optimal. When the bargaining encompasses several factors, computation of optimal strategies becomes very cumbersome and the use of an optimal strategy does not gain a bargainer much over what he could have achieved with truthful revelation. Thus, in theory, truthful revelation is not the best course of action to adopt for a bargainer interested in maximizing individual gain, but in practice the alternatives may involve mistaken assumptions about the behavior of others and may therefore turn out to be inferior to truthful revelation.     

A NOTE ON THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG FINENESS,GARBLING, AND SUFFICIENCY FOR THE COMPARISON OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS*

Choice among competing information systems is an important problem for both the providers and users of information. When the attributes of the decision makers and decision problems for which information is produced are unknown or heterogeneous, it is difficult to choose among alternative information sources. Three criteria for such comparisons of information systems are available in the theory of information economics. These criteria may be distinguished by the differing restrictions that they impose on the generality of the studies in which they are used. This note explicates the relationships among these criteria and discusses the various limitations that they impose on generality.     

PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES IN THE USE OF GRAPHIC AND TABULAR DISPLAYS OF MULTIVARIATE DATA

It has been suggested that graphically displayed multivariate data help decision makers better understand information they are called on to analyze. This study compares judgments made from one recently suggested multivariate display technique with judgments made from traditional tabular displas of financial figures. Significant differences in task performance are found to be related both to differences in the stimulus sets and to individual differences among the subjects. Our results suggest that the relative contribution of graphic displays to decision making may vary considerably from situation to situation.     

Impact of Visiting an Onsite Casino Information Centre on Perceptions about Randomness and Gambling Behaviours

At the beginning of 2000, some educational initiatives in the field of responsible gambling resulted in the implementation of Onsite Casino Information Centres (OCICs). However, no study has yet empirically evaluated the impact of visiting an OCIC. This paper includes two studies evaluating the OCIC Au Centre du Hasard, located in Montreal, Quebec. The goal of the first study was to identify the profile of the visitors and to assess their appreciation. After a visit, 336 patrons accepted to complete a pen and paper questionnaire. The goal of the second study was to evaluate the impact of a visit on the perceptions about randomness and the gambling behaviours of the visitors. For this study, 67 visitors were evaluated before, after, and 3 months following a visit and their results were compared to a control group. Data showed that most visitors were seniors, occasional slot machine gamblers, and in control of their gambling activities. The majority of guests greatly appreciated their visit. A visit to Au Centre du Hasard seemed to modify the misconceptions towards the notion of randomness but not the gambling behaviours. These gains were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Results with respect to other prevention programs are discussed, and future research avenues are suggested.