Leader-follower Game in VMI System with Limited Production Capacity Considering Wholesale and Retail Prices

VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) is a widely used cooperative inventory policy in supply chains in which each enterprise has its autonomy in pricing. This paper discusses a leader-follower Stackelberg game in a VMI supply chain where the manufacturer, as a leader, produces a single product with a limited production capacity and delivers it at a wholesale price to multiple different retailers, as the followers, who then sell the product in dispersed and independent markets at retail prices. An algorithm is then developed to determine the equilibrium of the Stackelberg game. Finally, a numerical study is conducted to understand the influence of the Stackelberg equilibrium and market related parameters on the profits of the manufacturer and its retailers. Through the numerical example, our research demonstrates that: (a) the market related parameters have significant influence on the manufacturer’ and its retailers’ profits; (b) a retailer’s profit may not be necessarily lowered when it is charged with a higher inventory cost by the manufacturer; (c) the equilibrium of the Stackelberg equilibrium benefits the manufacturer.Stackelberg Game;Supply Chain;Vendor Managed Inventory

Probabilistic Settlement Analysis of Granular Soft Soil Foundation in Southern China Considering Spatial Variability

In this chapter, the method of combining the theory of random field and numerical analysis was used to systematically analyze the settlement probability of the soft soil foundation in the south of China, considering the effect of spatial variability of soil parameters. Based on the midpoint discretization and Cholesky decomposition, the cross-correlated non-Gaussian random field of cohesion and internal friction angle was constructed, which had considered the cross-correlation, and a single parameter random field of modulus was also constructed. The Monte-Carlo stochastic finite element program for two-dimensional foundation probabilistic settlement was developed in APDL language. The influence of spatial variability of soil parameters on probability foundation settlement was studied. The results indicate that the foundation settlement increases with the increase of coefficient variation and correlation distance. Modulus is the most important parameter for foundation settlement. The settlement of foundation is more sensitive to the correlation distance in vertical direction. Based on exponential square autocorrelation function, the continuity of random fields is obviously better, and the foundation settlement is larger. On the contrary, the fluctuation of random fields is larger, and the foundation settlement is smaller with single exponential autocorrelation function

The Influence of the Scripted Task on Learning Outcomes in Collaborative Learning

Scripting task is one of the key issues on the study of collaborative learning thatprimarily focuses on the influence of scripted task on learners’ knowledge building. It is known that the outcomes of collaborative learning entail learners’ knowledge building as well as their acquirement of collaborative skills. The paper, through a quasi-experiment, examines the effects of individual characteristics (gender and learning style), group characteristics (task type and group production), and their interaction effect on learners’ knowledge acquisition and acquirement of collaborative skills. The result shows that (a) the group with the scripted task and the group with scripted task and sequence do better than the group with an unscripted task in both knowledge acquisition and collaborative skills, (b) the effect of scripted task on knowledge acquisition and collaborative skills has significant difference among students with surface approach, strategic approach and deep approach, and (c) the group with the scripted task is not significantly different from the group with scripted task and sequence on knowledge acquisition and collaborative skills. As a result, future study on scripted task is supposed to pay closer attention to its impact on learners’ collaborative skills and the way to improve their collaborative skills