Teaching advanced quantitative techniques through a competitive project

Heuristics, metaheuristics and matheuristics are quantitative techniques that can be used to solve complex combinatorial optimisation problems for many engineering applications (industry, logistics, supply chain, scheduling, services, etc.). The course Quantitative Methods of Industrial Process Management II from the Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering of the Technical University of Catalonia addresses such topic. The course is organised into 3 session typologies: (1) master classes, where lecturers provide students the theoretical concepts; (2) practical classes, where students solve small-size problems based on real cases; and (3) competitive project, which is the core of the evaluation. On this regard, a real-based combinatorial optimisation problem is provided and, in 3-member groups, students have to develop an ad hoc (meta/math/hiper)heuristic, based on the theory concepts, and code it with standard language (Python, Java, C++, etc.). For the evaluation, each group solves 10 exam-instances of the problem. The qualification is based on the result achieved by each group for each instance in comparison with a minimum quality threshold, defined by the lecturers, and the results of the other groups. In this manner, students learn very complex concepts in a friendly but competitive environment, which invites them to work hard on the application of theory concepts into a problem close to those they will find in their professional career. Students' assessments show an increase in their performance and interest regarding the course

Business Case : Bakery Co.

2017/201

Tennis grunts communicate acoustic cues to sex and contest outcome

Despite their ubiquity in human behaviour, the communicative functions of nonverbal vocalisations remain poorly understood. Here, we analysed the acoustic structure of tennis grunts, nonverbal vocalisations produced in a competitive context. We predicted that tennis grunts convey information about vocalizer and context, similar to nonhuman vocal displays. Specifically, we tested whether the fundamental frequency (F0) of tennis grunts conveys static cues to a player’s sex, height, weight, and age, and covaries dynamically with tennis shot type (a proxy of body posture) and the progress and outcome of male and female professional tennis contests. We also performed playback experiments (using natural and resynthesised stimuli) to assess the perceptual relevance of tennis grunts. The F0 of tennis grunts predicted player sex, but not age or body size. Serve grunts had higher F0 than forehand and backhand grunts, grunts produced later in contests had higher F0 than those produced earlier, and grunts produced during contests that players won had a lower F0 than those produced during lost contests. This difference in F0 between losses and wins emerged early in matches, and did not change in magnitude as the match progressed, suggesting a possible role of physiological and/or psychological factors manifesting early or even before matches. Playbacks revealed that listeners use grunt F0 to infer sex and contest outcome. These findings indicate that tennis grunts communicate information about both vocalizer and contest, consistent with nonhuman mammal vocalisations