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grams of which the objective is given by the ratio of a convex by a positive (over a convex domain) concave function. As observed by Sniedovich (Ref. [102, 103]) most of the properties of fractional pro grams could be found in other programs, given that the objective function could be written as a particular composition of functions. He called this new field C programming, standing for composite concave programming. In his seminal book on dynamic programming (Ref. [104]), Sniedovich shows how the study of such com positions can help tackling non-separable dynamic programs that otherwise would defeat solution. Barros and Frenk (Ref. [9]) developed a cutting plane algorithm capable of optimizing C-programs. More recently, this algorithm has been used by Carrizosa and Plastria to solve a global optimization problem in facility location (Ref. [16]). The distinction between global optimization problems (Ref. [54]) and generalized convex problems can sometimes be hard to establish. That is exactly the reason why so much effort has been placed into finding an exhaustive classification of the different weak forms of convexity, establishing a new definition just to satisfy some desirable property in the most general way possible. This book does not aim at all the subtleties of the different generalizations of convexity, but concentrates on the most general of them all, quasiconvex programming. Chapter 5 shows clearly where the real difficulties appear.
This book presents a unified optimal control approach to a large class of problems arising in the field of production planning and scheduling. It introduces a leading optimal flow control paradigm which results in efficient solutions for planning and scheduling problems. This book also introduces the reader to analytical and numerical methods of the maximum principle, used here as a mathematical instrument in modeling and solving production planning and scheduling problems. The book examines control of production flows rather than sequencing of distinct jobs. Methodologically, this paradigm allows us to progress from initial assumptions about a manufacturing environment, through mathematical models and construction of numerical methods, up to practical applications which prove the relevance of the theory developed here to the real world. Given a manufacturing system, the goal is to control the production, subject to given constraints, in such a way that the demands are tracked as closely as possible. The book considers a wide variety of problems encountered in actual production planning and scheduling. Among the problems are production flow sequencing and timing, capacity expansion and deterioration, subcontracting and overtime. The last chapter is entirely devoted to applications of the theory to scheduling production flows in real-life manufacturing systems. The enclosed disk provides software implementations of the developed methods with easy, convenient user interface. We aimed this book at a student audience - final year undergraduates as weIl as master and Ph. D.
Since I started working in the area of nonlinear programming and, later on, variational inequality problems, I have frequently been surprised to find that many algorithms, however scattered in numerous journals, monographs and books, and described rather differently, are closely related to each other. This book is meant to help the reader understand and relate algorithms to each other in some intuitive fashion, and represents, in this respect, a consolidation of the field. The framework of algorithms presented in this book is called Cost Approxi mation. (The preface of the Ph.D. thesis [Pat93d] explains the background to the work that lead to the thesis, and ultimately to this book.) It describes, for a given formulation of a variational inequality or nonlinear programming problem, an algorithm by means of approximating mappings and problems, a principle for the update of the iteration points, and a merit function which guides and monitors the convergence of the algorithm. One purpose of this book is to offer this framework as an intuitively appeal ing tool for describing an algorithm. One of the advantages of the framework, or any reasonable framework for that matter, is that two algorithms may be easily related and compared through its use. This framework is particular in that it covers a vast number of methods, while still being fairly detailed; the level of abstraction is in fact the same as that of the original problem statement.
Optimality and stability are two important notions in applied mathematics. This book is a study of these notions and their relationship in linear and convex parametric programming models. It begins with a survey of basic optimality conditions in nonlinear programming. Then new results in convex programming, using LFS functions, for single-objective, multi-objective, differentiable and non-smooth programs are introduced. Parametric programming models are studied using basic tools of point-to-set topology. Stability of the models is introduced, essentially, as continuity of the feasible set of decision variables under continuous perturbations of the parameters. Perturbations that preserve this continuity are regions of stability. It is shown how these regions can be identified. The main results on stability are characterizations of locally and globally optimal parameters for stable and also for unstable perturbations. The results are straightened for linear models and bi-level programs. Some of the results are extended to abstract spaces after considering parameters as `controls'. Illustrations from diverse fields, such as data envelopment analysis, management, von Stackelberg games of market economy, and navigation problems are given and several case studies are solved by finding optimal parameters. The book has been written in an analytic spirit. Many results appear here for the first time in book form. Audience: The book is written at the level of a first-year graduate course in optimization for students with varied backgrounds interested in modeling of real-life problems. It is expected that the reader has been exposed to a prior elementary course in optimization, such as linear or non-linear programming. The last section of the book requires some knowledge of functional analysis.
Semidefinite programming has been described as linear programming for the year 2000. It is an exciting new branch of mathematical programming, due to important applications in control theory, combinatorial optimization and other fields. Moreover, the successful interior point algorithms for linear programming can be extended to semidefinite programming. In this monograph the basic theory of interior point algorithms is explained. This includes the latest results on the properties of the central path as well as the analysis of the most important classes of algorithms. Several "classic" applications of semidefinite programming are also described in detail. These include the Lovász theta function and the MAX-CUT approximation algorithm by Goemans and Williamson. Audience: Researchers or graduate students in optimization or related fields, who wish to learn more about the theory and applications of semidefinite programming.
This book is devoted to the PSI method. Its appearance was a reaction to the unsatisfactory situation in applications of optimization methods in engineering. After comprehensive testing of the PSI method in various fields of machine engineering it has become obvious that this method substantially surpasses all other available techniques in many respects. It has now become known that the PSI method is successfully used not only in machine design, at which it was initially aimed, but also in polymer chemistry, pharmacy, nuclear energy, biology, geophysics, and many other fields of human activity. To all appearances this method has become so popular for its potential of taking into account the specific features of applied optimization better than other methods, being, at the same time, comparatively simple and friendly, and because, unlike traditional optimization methods which are intended only for searching for optimal solutions, the PSI method is also aimed at correctly formulating engineering optimization problems. One well-known aircraft designer once said, "To solve an optimization problem in engineering means, first of all, to be able to state this problem properly". In this sense the PSI method has no competitors. Although this method has been presented in Russia in numerous papers and books, Western readers have had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with this method only recently (Ozernoy 1988; Lieberman 1991; Stadler and Dauer 1992; Dyer, Fishburn, Steuer, Wallenius, and Zionts 1992; Steuer and Sun 1995, etc. ).
The book discusses a new approach to the classification problem following the decision support orientation of multicriteria decision aid. The book reviews the existing research on the development of classification methods, investigating the corresponding model development procedures, and providing a thorough analysis of their performance both in experimental situations and real-world problems from the field of finance. Audience: Researchers and professionals working in management science, decision analysis, operations research, financial/banking analysis, economics, statistics, computer science, as well as graduate students in management science and operations research.
Operations Research in Space and Air is a selection of papers reflecting the experience and expertise of international OR consulting companies and academic groups. The global market and competition play a crucial part in the decision making processes within the Space and Air industries and this book gives practical examples of how advanced applications can be used by Space and Air industry management. The material within the book provides both the basic background for the novice modeler and a useful reference for experienced modelers. Students, researchers and OR practitioners will appreciate the details of the modeling techniques, the processes that have been implemented and the computational results that demonstrate the benefits in applying OR in the Space and Airline industries. Advances in PC and Workstations technology, in optimiza tion engines and in modeling techniques now enable solving problems, never before attained by Operations Research. In recent years the Ital ian OR Society (AfRO, www. airo. org) has organized annual forums for researchers and practitioners to meet together to present and dis cuss the various scientific and technical OR achievements. The OR in Space 8 Air session of AfR02001 and AfR02002 Conferences, together with optimization tools' applications, presented recent results achieved by Alenia Spazio S. p. A. (Turin), Alitalia, Milan Polytechnic and Turin Polytechinc. With additional contributions from academia and indus try they have enabled us to capture, in print, today's 'state-of-the-art' optimization and data mining solutions.
This chapter describes a study conducted at the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, in their School of Business. The study was to explore the applicability of a judgment-analytic decision support system to the assessment of the likelihood of an applicant being selected for admission to the School's Graduate Certificate in Business Administration (GCBA) program. The likelihood of a program administrator selecting a particular applicant is directly linked to the assessment of the likelihood of that applicant's success in the GCBA program. The purpose of this study, in effect, was to analyze the administrative judgment process in assessment of an applicant's likelihood of success in the program. THE PROCESS OF HUMAN JUDGMENT Human judgment is a process through which an individual uses social infonnation to make decisions. The social infonnation is obtained from an individual's environment and is interpreted through the individual's cognitive image of the environment. The. cognitive image provides a representation of the environment based on past experiences and training, and essentially predisposes the person to respond to social infonnation in predictable ways. An individual's policies or beliefs about the environment represent these patterns. Human judgments are based then upon one's interpretation of available infonnation. They are probability statements about one's environment and how one reacts to it. This condition leads to the human judgment process being inherently limited. It is fundamentally a covert process. It is seldom possible for an individual to accurately describe his or her judgment process accurately.