Application and roles of management science tools and techniques to effective decision making in the academic settings

AbstractThe major purpose of the study was to discover to what extent selected educational systems were using specified management science tools and techniques in their decision making processes. The familiarity of the administrators and the employees with such techniques, and which of the models were used the most were also studied. Finally, the purpose of study was to discover economic and managerial benefits provided by using MS. methods. The results indicated that although academic administrators of Southern California universities used management science models and techniques, but the models were used less than industrial and business organizations

A Simulated Annealing method to solve a generalized maximal covering location problem

The maximal covering location problem (MCLP) seeks to locate a predefined number of facilities in order to maximize the number of covered demand points. In a classical sense, MCLP has three main implicit assumptions: all or nothing coverage, individual coverage, and fixed coverage radius. By relaxing these assumptions, three classes of modelling formulations are extended: the gradual cover models, the cooperative cover models, and the variable radius models. In this paper, we develop a special form of MCLP which combines the characteristics of gradual cover models, cooperative cover models, and variable radius models. The proposed problem has many applications such as locating cell phone towers. The model is formulated as a mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP). In addition, a simulated annealing algorithm is used to solve the resulted problem and the performance of the proposed method is evaluated with a set of randomly generated problems

Optimization Modeling and Analysis of Customer-Centric Delivery Logistics

Distribution of products and services is an essential part of production and service systems. Customer-centric delivery systems that are considered in this research are a class of logistics systems that focuses on minimizing the delivery time by making decisions on questions such as vehicle routing, locations of distribution centers, and capacity planning. The minimum delivery time plays a crucial role in both disaster relief operations and commercial delivery systems. While disaster relief logistics seek to minimize loss and damage, commercial delivery systems aim at enhancing customer satisfaction and profit maximization. In this research, first a taxonomy of customer-centric routing problems is developed. Then, the first part of the research considers the customer-centric routing problems with large customer demands which result in split delivery among more than a vehicle. Assuming multiple commodities are distributed to customers, the goal is to find the optimal routes of the vehicles allowing the split delivery. This problem is mathematically formulated in two models and valid inequalities are provided to enhance the understandings of the problem and strengthen the computational performance of the mathematical models. The properties of the problem are used to develop an efficient algorithm which combines the concepts and operators of Simulated Annealing and Variable Neighborhood Search. The second part of the research studies the customer-centric routing problems in combination with location problem due to their interrelated nature. In this research, the goal is to decide distribution center locations and vehicle routes simultaneously to minimize delivery time. The problem is formulated and two efficient metaheuristic algorithms are designed to deal with large-scale problems: Memetic Algorithm (MA) and Recursive Granular Algorithm (RGA). In the third study, the goal is to study how we can benefit from the emerging “drone technology” in reducing delivery time. This research assumes a combined system of vehicles and drones in which a vehicle carries both supplies and drones and launches drones at some points in its route to deliver packages to recipients. The objective is to decide vehicle route, drone launching locations, and customers to serve by the vehicle and drones. The problem is then extended to the multi-trip case in which each drone can be relaunched to serve several customers at each stop. These problems are mathematically formulated and a bound analysis is conducted to investigate the maximum possible savings achievable by employing drones. The models are tested and analyzed in various hypothetical problems and in a case study developed upon Richmond, Virginia

NEED ASSESSMENT OF CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN THE CULTURE HOUSES (CULTURAL CENTERS) OF CITY

Abstract The present study aims to investigate needs of education of a culture of citizenship in Isfahan i

NEED ASSESSMENT OF CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN THE CULTURE HOUSES (CULTURAL CENTERS) OF CITY

Abstract The present study aims to investigate needs of education of a culture of citizenship in Isfahan i

Solving a pickup and delivery routing problem for fourth-party logistics providers

This paper studies a pickup and delivery routing problem for fourth-party logistics providers. The problem aims to schedule routes of vehicles to pick up orders from suppliers and deliver them to factory locations considering multiple time windows at suppliers and factory locations, a non-conventional cost structure, and certain factory dock constraints. We formulate the problem as a mathematical model and develop an efficient algorithm based on the adaptive large neighborhood search to solve the problem. The algorithm incorporates several heuristics to efficiently explore the search space for optimal solutions. The algorithm is refined through extensive statistical experiments to optimize the performances of the heuristics and to tune the parameters of the algorithm. The mathematical model and algorithm are evaluated on several problem instances based on a real case study in Europe. The numerical results demonstrate that the solution algorithm consistently obtains near-optimal solutions to real-sized problem instances.publishedVersio

Studying the Relationship between Humor and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between humor and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OC

The Role of Information Technology in Reduction of Administrative Corruption through Increasing of Information transparency, Improvement of Accountability and Promotion of Integrity; A Case Study of Saderat Bank Branches in Isfahan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between information transparency, improve accountability and enhance the reliability and accuracy of the use of information technology (telephone, fax, computer and electronic banking services) to reduce corruption in Saderat Bank Branches in Isfahan. The method of this study is Solidarity-Survey. This study uses Cohen, Morgan and Krejcie table and selectes 269 samples randomly among the 900 employees of Saderat Bank Branches. The data were obtained from the two questionnaires with content validity that confirmed by experts and stationary with Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the 0.96 and 0.92. Results were analyzed statistically with the use of descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, multiple regression analysis and path analysis. Results showed that information transparency, improve accountability and enhance the reliability and integrity of information technology, including telephone and fax, computer and electronic banking services and have a direct relation with the reduction of corruption

Concepts in submarine shape design

100-104This paper uses CFD method for analysis of six different models of submarines. The resistance coefficients of each shape are presented and compared so that could understand the reason of submarine shape selection with tapered stern and curved bow. Focus of this paper is on the cylindrical middle body submarine such as the most of naval submarines and ROVs. Determination of diameter and length of submarine is related to the L/D ratio that is somewhat discussed here by CFD modeling. The tools of CFD modeling is Flow Vision (v.2.3) software that is known as a skilled software in CFD modeling

Optimum L/D for Submarine Shape

38-43This paper discusses about an optimum length on diameter (L/D) for hydrodynamic shape of submarine with parallel (cylindrical) middle body hull. L/D parameter is an important hydrodynamic parameter that plays a unique role in submarine hydrodynamic design. In addition, the amount of L/D is depended on the internal architecture and general arrangements of submarine. Submarines have two major categories for hydrodynamic shape: tear drop shape and cylindrical middle body shape. For tear drop shape, the optimum hydrodynamic L/D in several scientific references is mentioned, equal to 7. However most real and naval submarines and ROV's have cylindrical middle body shape. This paper wants to propose an optimum L/D for this type of shape by CFD method and Flow Vision software. Major parameter in hydrodynamic design is resistance. The focus of this paper is on resistance at fully submerge mode without free surface effects. For this purpose, the total volume of shape is supposed constant and only varies L/D ratio