Operational Research: Methods and Applications

Throughout its history, Operational Research has evolved to include a variety of methods, models and algorithms that have been applied to a diverse and wide range of contexts. This encyclopedic article consists of two main sections: methods and applications. The first aims to summarise the up-to-date knowledge and provide an overview of the state-of-the-art methods and key developments in the various subdomains of the field. The second offers a wide-ranging list of areas where Operational Research has been applied. The article is meant to be read in a nonlinear fashion. It should be used as a point of reference or first-port-of-call for a diverse pool of readers: academics, researchers, students, and practitioners. The entries within the methods and applications sections are presented in alphabetical order

Operational research:methods and applications

Throughout its history, Operational Research has evolved to include a variety of methods, models and algorithms that have been applied to a diverse and wide range of contexts. This encyclopedic article consists of two main sections: methods and applications. The first aims to summarise the up-to-date knowledge and provide an overview of the state-of-the-art methods and key developments in the various subdomains of the field. The second offers a wide-ranging list of areas where Operational Research has been applied. The article is meant to be read in a nonlinear fashion. It should be used as a point of reference or first-port-of-call for a diverse pool of readers: academics, researchers, students, and practitioners. The entries within the methods and applications sections are presented in alphabetical order

Operational Research: methods and applications

This is the final version. Available on open access from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordThroughout its history, Operational Research has evolved to include methods, models and algorithms that have been applied to a wide range of contexts. This encyclopedic article consists of two main sections: methods and applications. The first summarises the up-to-date knowledge and provides an overview of the state-of-the-art methods and key developments in the various subdomains of the field. The second offers a wide-ranging list of areas where Operational Research has been applied. The article is meant to be read in a nonlinear fashion and used as a point of reference by a diverse pool of readers: academics, researchers, students, and practitioners. The entries within the methods and applications sections are presented in alphabetical order. The authors dedicate this paper to the 2023 Turkey/Syria earthquake victims. We sincerely hope that advances in OR will play a role towards minimising the pain and suffering caused by this and future catastrophes

Antecedents and consequences of Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) success: a South Korean perspective

This thesis explores antecedents of Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP), successful outcomes of SISP and the organisational impact of successful SISP in the South Korean context. Since information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) are now an essential requirement supporting all aspects of business operations, the need for SISP is important for achieving success with IT investments and implementation. SISP helps identify organisational resources as well as considers the environmental, economic and organisational requirements for successful IT investment and implementation. SISP was introduced by Lederer and Sethi (1988), Lederer and Salmela (1996) and Salmela et al. (2000) as planning for the selection and implemention of IT in organisations, with the aim of achieving alignment of IS objectives with business objectives to sustain a competitive advantage from IT investments. Earlier studies on SISP have individually explored management issues, participation and communication of business and IT stakeholders, impact of environmental factors and SISP resources in relation to SISP success. However, to date, there has been a dearth of research that has explored SISP success factors for improving successful outcomes and the impact of SISP success in organisations. Further, earlier studies on SISP are generally from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Taiwan. Although the penetration of IT in South Korean organisations is high, to date there is no study on SISP in the South Korean context. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between SISP success factors for successful outcomes and the impact of SISP success in South Korean organisations. Since none of the earlier studies on SISP were undertaken in the context of South Korea, a qualitative research via interviews, with four business managers and four IT managers in South Korean organisations, was undertaken to establish if success factors of SISP identified from literature, were applicable in the South Korean context prior to the development of hypotheses and the conceptual model. The research model was constructed based on a literature analysis, interview findings and resulting hypotheses. A survey of 317 large organisations in South Korea that used SISP for IT investment and implementation was undertaken to understand SISP success factors, outcomes and the organisational impact of SISP in this context. The survey data was analysed utilising a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique, and the analysis of data confirmed 15 of 19 hypotheses. Research findings suggest that SISP success factors in the South Korean context include top management participation and support, effective communication and knowledge sharing between business and IT stakeholders, the impact of internal and external environment, adequate resources for SISP and inclusion of IS vendors in the SISP process. Successful outcomes of SISP from this study are IS planning effectiveness and business and IT alignment. The impact of SISP successful outcomes includes the following: organisational capabilities of recombining and reconfiguring overall business and IT processes, resources and structures; IS competencies for improving the ability and role of IS function and the potential impact of IT; and IT infrastructure flexibility in responding to internal and external changes, situations and trends. This study makes an original contribution to theory and practice through its development and validation of a research model for measuring the relationship between antecedents and the impact of SISP success on organisational outcomes. It adds to SISP literature by showing the relationship between SISP success factors, successful outcomes of SISP and the impact of SISP outcomes in organisations. Furthermore, practitioners will be able to use the findings from this study to successfully implement SISP for positive organisational impact. This study is from large organisations in the South Korean context. It offers a basis for researchers to explore further the relationship between SISP success factors, outcomes and impact on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and in other contexts. It also provides a starting point for practitioners including IT vendors to explore further the reason at the SISP level in South Korean organisations

Evolutionary Computation

This book presents several recent advances on Evolutionary Computation, specially evolution-based optimization methods and hybrid algorithms for several applications, from optimization and learning to pattern recognition and bioinformatics. This book also presents new algorithms based on several analogies and metafores, where one of them is based on philosophy, specifically on the philosophy of praxis and dialectics. In this book it is also presented interesting applications on bioinformatics, specially the use of particle swarms to discover gene expression patterns in DNA microarrays. Therefore, this book features representative work on the field of evolutionary computation and applied sciences. The intended audience is graduate, undergraduate, researchers, and anyone who wishes to become familiar with the latest research work on this field

Supply Chain

Traditionally supply chain management has meant factories, assembly lines, warehouses, transportation vehicles, and time sheets. Modern supply chain management is a highly complex, multidimensional problem set with virtually endless number of variables for optimization. An Internet enabled supply chain may have just-in-time delivery, precise inventory visibility, and up-to-the-minute distribution-tracking capabilities. Technology advances have enabled supply chains to become strategic weapons that can help avoid disasters, lower costs, and make money. From internal enterprise processes to external business transactions with suppliers, transporters, channels and end-users marks the wide range of challenges researchers have to handle. The aim of this book is at revealing and illustrating this diversity in terms of scientific and theoretical fundamentals, prevailing concepts as well as current practical applications

Future Transportation

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with transportation activities account for approximately 20 percent of all carbon dioxide (co2) emissions globally, making the transportation sector a major contributor to the current global warming. This book focuses on the latest advances in technologies aiming at the sustainable future transportation of people and goods. A reduction in burning fossil fuel and technological transitions are the main approaches toward sustainable future transportation. Particular attention is given to automobile technological transitions, bike sharing systems, supply chain digitalization, and transport performance monitoring and optimization, among others