Integration Of Fuzzy Logic Control Into Continuous Passive Motion Machines

Thirty-five years ago, a method for approaching classes of problems having a continuum of grades of membership was developed by Zadeh (1965).  Although Zadeh recognized the potential use of this fuzzy logic-based method within the medical profession, its current use in this field has been limited when compared to other scientific disciplines (Steimann, 1997).  This paper builds on the existing literature in the medical discipline by applying fuzzy logic to a particular sub-discipline: physical therapy.  More specifically, this paper presents a fuzzy logic inference engine that controls a continuous passive motion (CPM) device for use with Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) patients post surgery

The Determination Of Optimal Reservation Price Setting For Homeowners

This paper considers the problem of determining the optimal reservation price for a seller of real estate.  Although there exists much literature regarding the appraisal of real estate and property valuation, little research has focused on the process through which the seller may set a minimum price that he is willing to accept when bids are received over time.  An exploratory and preliminary model is developed from which an optimal reservation price is determined as a function of pertinent cash flows and an ex-ante declared cumulative distribution of bids.  Bids arrive according to a Poisson process and are a function of the listing price.  A numerical example is provided to illustrate the results

Identifying Peer Institutions Using Cluster Analysis

The New York Institute of Technology's (NYIT) School of Management (SOM) wishes to develop a list of peer institutions for the purpose of benchmarking and monitoring/improving performance against other business schools. The procedure utilizes relevant criteria for the purpose of establishing this peer group by way of a cluster analysis. The resulting outcomes suggest five schools that the SOM intends to use for this purpose. The analysis can be extended to also determine the SOM competitive set as well as aspirant schools

The Application Of Neyman-Pearson Methodology To The Estimation Of Web Advertising Viewers

As electronic commerce continues to expand as a medium of choice in transaction markets, issues of advertising effectiveness and exposure have become increasingly salient. While the literature is replete concerning levels of exposure for more traditional forms of advertising and commerce, the extension of much of this work to the electronic commerce market is limited, despite the wealth of online tracking information that does not exist in more traditional markets.  This manuscript addresses this limitation by considering the important issue of estimating advertisement exposure for “banner” or “target” advertisements within electronic commerce through the utilization of standard Neyman-Pearson statistical methodology

A Mathematical Optimization Model To Support Decision Making For Fast Food Enterprises

This paper investigates the determination of the optimum time to begin shut down procedures for fast food establishments. The model developed in the paper provides conditions for the number of minutes prior to closing time to begin shut down procedures and the optimal number of items to have prepared together with a comparative static analysis. Illustrative results are presented based on empirical data obtained from a pretzel establishment study

An economic analysis of reliability-constrained service systems

This dissertation considers the problem of a welfare-maximizing monopolist, which must set prices and service quality levels so as to maximize a social welfare function. Demand for the services in question is stochastic and service quality levels are defined in terms of meeting pre-specified service standards at a given level of reliability. The monopolist may face further constraints, including a minimum profit level constraint. General results derived have a close resemblance to received theory for other public service systems. In particular, optimal prices are based on marginal costs, but the marginal costs at issue here are those corresponding to the reliability-constrained expected minimum cost of the system. Optimal reliability levels are also characterized by the requirement that reliability for each service offered be set to equate the marginal benefits to consumers to the marginal cost of the monopolist. The general results are applied to two important areas of public service: postal service and pay-for-service-tollway and bridge use. Both of these services exhibit stochastic demand and important consumer benefits from service quality related to speed of service. In both areas, public policy has at least implicitly also recognized the importance of service standards and reliability constraints. This dissertation contributes to the understanding of the efficient operation of these services by developing an explicit framework for pricing, capacity and reliability choices. In the context of toll-plazas, this study also includes an extended application to the theoretical results obtained to one of the most highly congested barrier toll-plazas on the New Jersey Garden State Parkway. The contributions of this dissertation are primarily the extension of previous analyses of efficient pricing and capacity decisions for public services to allow for explicit reliability constraints, jointly determined with capacity and pricing decisions, where consumer welfare is explicitly dependent not only on price, but also on the quality of service offerings

A Contemporary Policy-Making Perspective Concerning Supermarket Pricing and Quality

This manuscript presents a methodology from which supermarket management who, faced with competition, must provide recommendations for profit-maximizing price, quality, and capacity. It is assumed that service quality and price impact jointly on demand for service, and that both demand and service quality impact on the costs of providing service. A service quality constraint is applied to the mathematical optimization model in order to guarantee that recommended optimal service standards are met.  We generate conditions that characterize optimal solutions and provide illustrative results based on empirical data obtained from a supermarket study