SCHEDULING IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRIES:AN OVERVIEW

Scheduling plays an important role in many different service industries.In this paper we provide an overview of some of the more important scheduling problems that appear in the various service industries.We focus on the formulations of such problems as well as on the techniques used for solving those problems.We consider five areas of scheduling in service industries,namely(i) project scheduling,(ii) workforce scheduling,(iii) timetabling,reservations,and appointments,(iv)transportation scheduling,and(v) scheduling in entertainment.The first two areas are fairly general and have applications in many different service industries.The third,fourth and fifth areas are more related to some very specific service industries,namely the hospitality and health care industries,the transportation industries(of passengers as well as of cargo),and the entertainment industries.In our conclusion section we discuss the similarities and the differences between the problem formulations and solution techniques used in the various different industries and we also discuss the design of the decision support systems that have been developed for scheduling in the service industries.     

An innovative orders-of-magnitude AHP approach of leading industries selection: Case study of Jiangbei Industrial Clusters in China

In current stage of China Industrial Transfer, how to select the leading industries is an extremely difficult decision. In this research, we study the selection problem of Jiangbei Industrial Clusters in Anhui Province. Total thirty-three industries can be transferred to Jiangbei Industrial Clusters, however due to limited capacity, Jiangbei Industrial Clusters can only accommodate a few of them. The difficulties of such decision include： 1） the decisions are qualitative within a complex and uncertain environment; 2） the number of alternatives is beyond the upper bound of comparing elements in general decision making methods. We introduce a new methodology-the Orders-of-Magnitude approach of the Analytic Hierarchy Process （OM-AHP） to solve such selection decision. The OM-AHP follows AHP philosophy to structure qualitative questions and uses ＂pivot＂ element to handle the situation when the alternatives become more than seven. By employing OM-AHP methodology, we found the modern logistics industry and ship ＆ marine equipment etc., are identified to be the leading industries; particularly, we recommend to give higher priority in modern logistics industry and the advanced equipment manufacturing industry, given these two industries could dramatically improve the overall comprehensive economic strength and significantly enhance competitive advantages of the Jiangbei Industrial Clusters.     

Research and Reflection: Potential Impact on the Professional Development of Undergraduate Occupational Therapy Students

In occupational therapy education in South Africa, community service (CS) focuses learning opportunities during fieldwork placements. CS therefore enabled the researcher to utilise successive small scale research projects to guide learning of students during fieldwork while simultaneously developing the occupational therapy service at a residential care facility. This community setting provided a powerful environment through which research, in combination with opportunities for reflection, contributed to nurturing skills needed by these future health professionals. A technical action research (AR) approach incorporated AR cycles and opportunities for structured reflection. Therefore situations were created for the students to embrace experiential learning. Experiential learning in the form of anticipatory reflection, reflection-in-action, reflection on reflection and retrospective reflection impacted on the quality of the students’ work. Besides encouraging unique leaning opportunities for students when engaging in research during their fieldwork placement, engagement in AR cycles simultaneously improved service delivery to residents in the facility. Key benefits of this investigation were that fieldwork education utilising AR cycles within a CS situation promoted students to identify voids in their theoretical background as well as practice skills; to apply reflective practice that could contribute to their personal and professional development; and to utilize learning opportunities optimally. Despite positive gains showed by this study, the role of power relations between the researcher as fieldwork educator and the students prohibited the AR cycles from being more emancipatory in nature and should be addressed in follow-up studies.     

中国酒店企业资产重组模式的探索

研究了酒店企业资产重组中多种模式 .从推动力特征给出了 :政府 (行政 )主导式 ,市场 (企业 )自主式 ,行政与市场相结合的三种酒店企业资产重组模式 ;从行为特征研究了合并式 ,控制式 ,吸纳式三种酒店企业资产重组模式 ;从行为动因特征 ,又研究了产权考虑型 ,债务考虑型 ,人员考虑型 ,无形资产考虑型 ,酒店企业资助重组的模式 ;从目标形态特征又研究了组织连锁化 ,组建企业酒店集团 ,跨行业混合联合体 ,酒店管理公司 ,酒店企业的四种资产重组模式 ,为中国酒店企业的发展与国有酒店企业严重亏损给出了解决的新途径 .     

盘式单牙轮钻头工作行为仿真研究

随着油气勘探开发的不断深入，现有牙轮(钢齿、镶齿)钻头已难以对一些复杂地层进行有效的钻进。针对这一现状，西南石油学院研制开发出一种新型盘式单牙轮钻头。该钻头具有井底覆盖率高、轴承寿命长等优点，在深井和超深井小井眼钻井中有着广阔的应用前景。着重讨论了在该新产品开发过程中进行的工作行为仿真研究。在适当的假设条件之下，建立了盘式单牙轮钻头工作行为仿真模型，并在此基础上开发出盘式单牙轮钻头工作行为仿真软件。通过将仿真模型的计算结果与西南石油学院钻头研究室部分台架实验结果进行对比，验证了该仿真模型的正确性。完成了不同钻井参数、不同钻头结构和不同岩石性能等条件下盘式单牙轮钻头工作行为仿真分析，为盘式单牙轮钻头的设计提供了理论依据。     

基于改进列生成算法的受扰航班优化调度

受扰航班恢复问题是一个非常复杂的实时网络优化问题,属于NP-hard问题.同时考虑了飞机资源短缺、机场关闭和计划外的飞机维修情况,并采用航班延误、航班取消、航班交换等多种恢复措施.基于Dantzig-Wolfe分解原理,分别建立主问题和子问题的数学优化模型,采用列生成算法框架求解该大规模整数规划问题.在求解过程中,首先,构造初始可行航线,基于航线调用CPLEX软件对主问题进行求解;其次,针对研究问题的特征,提出一些性质,并采用改进的"label-setting algorithm"对子问题求解,每次迭代过程中加入多条具有简约成本为负的列,降低迭代次数,对于求得的非整数解采用分支定界法进行处理.最后,通过对多种规模的实际算例进行测试,验证了所采用精确算法的正确性及效果,并对测试结果进行分析总结.     

HEALTH CONSUMER DIVERSITY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

1. Introduction The health care scene in the Western world is shifting rapidly. Health care consumers have abandoned their traditionally respectful attitudes and behaviours. In the past the roles of the health consumers and providers were quite clear. The patients consumed and the health care providers provided (Edgren 1998). Today theJOURNAL OF SYSTEMS SCIENCE AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING 35 picture is more complex. Many health care consumers no longer want to be passive receiv…     

一类资源价格调控的数学模型和它的求解方法

为了抑制高耗能产业过度消耗资源和支持低耗能产业并保障供给,实现宏观调控,保证可持续发展, 职能部门往往通过适当上调高耗能产业消耗资源的价格和下调低耗能产业消耗资源的价格来达到这样的目的. 本文研究表明,确定合理的资源价格调控政策可以归纳为求解一个隐式互补问题.此外,文章对这类问题的性质和求解方法也作了讨论.     

A Theoretical Framework for Facilitating Methodological Choice

Total Systems Intervention, in a recent version, facilitates the intervention process via three modes: problem solving, critical reflection, and critical review. Of these modes, there has been relatively little attention paid to the critical review mode, the purpose of which is to assess the value of different methodologies within a given problem situation. This paper takes as its basis the only major work in this area and seeks to build on this in order to improve the mixing of methodologies within a single intervention.     

Artificial Intelligence Embedded Object-Oriented Methodology For Model Based

ＡｒｔｉｆｉｃｉａｌＩｎｔｅｌｌｉｇｅｎｃｅＥｍｂｅｄｄｅｄＯｂｊｅｃｔ－ＯｒｉｅｎｔｅｄＭｅｔｈｏｄｏｌｏｇｙＦｏｒＭｏｄｅｌＢａｓｅｄＤｅｃｉｓｉｏｎＳｕｐｐｏｒｔ￥ＦｅｎｇＳｈａｎ；ＴｉａｎＹｕａｎ；ＬｉＴｏｎｇ＆ＣａｉＪｕｎ（Ｉｎｓｔｉｔｕｔ...     

Managing Complexity Through Methodic Participation: The Case of Air Quality in Santiago,Chile

Three concrete results have been achieved over a 5-year period in Santiago, Chile, in a process addressed to managing through participation the difficult air quality situation of this 5-million-person metropolis: (1) a highly complex problem has become manageable, (2) a legitimate and effective Prevention and Decontamination Plan is in operation, and (3) citizens and the government are mutually committed to this process. This paper describes how these results have been achieved by applying Innovative Development, a social systems methodology developed by the author and co-workers and applied in many fields over the last 20 years. Following a review of the problem and results that have been achieved, an explanation is offered for why a participative methodology is necessary for dealing with a highly complex problem like the current one. The fourth section provides a brief outline of the Innovative Development methodology. The last section presents the case itself, describing three stages. In the short space available we have tried to balance the practical, methodological, and conceptual issues of this case and this approach.     

论SSM中的文化问询

SSM（软系统方法论，Soft Systems Methodology）是指英国系统管理学家切克兰德教授提出的一个旨在改善问题情境（Problem Situadon）的学习过程，此过程是反复进行的。SSM与其它分析方法最大的不同就在于此方法在进行逻辑分析的同时也引入了文化问询（Cultural Inquiry）。因此本文主要就文化问询之于问题情境、文化问询中的“文化”和文化问询的“三项分析”及其作用这三点进行分析。     

CONFLICT ANALYSIS OF CITARUM RIVER BASIN POLLUTION IN INDONESIA： A DRAMA-THEORETIC MODEL

The need to manage water resource within a holistic approach is crucial in Indonesia. Conflict situation which involves a variety of stakeholder needs an appropriate methodology to handle it. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrated framework of a river basin pollution case in Indonesia. This research try to obtain an understanding of the complexity of inter-relationship between stakeholders of the Citarum River Basin and to give feasible recommendations based on a new developed integrated framework. We first describe the problem in a comprehensive way, then develop a framework to analyze the conflict. Next, we propose a general procedure to apply it, which we call Drama-theoretic Dilemma Analysis (DtDA). After analyzing the conflicts that arise there between stakeholders using DtDA, we will show how to resolve the dilemmas by using holistic as well as intensive approaches. By applying DtDA in stakeholder analysis and resolving the dilemmas that arise in the interactions between them, we can identify barriers for collaboration.     

Storying Systems: Managing Everyday Flux Using Mode 2 Soft Systems Methodology

This paper examines work with managers who used a narrative approach to systemic thinking. Storytelling is incorporated within Mode 2 SSM involving a flexible approach to the analysis of complex or "messy" situations at work. Mode 2 SSM is presented as a thinking mode by those within the problem situation, involving the use of various devices of rich pictures, relevant systems, and root definitions, whereby managers and others may make sense of their experiences from within the flux of everyday life. The focus of the approach is learning through reflection on events and activities to consider potential actions and improvements in difficult situations. The findings show the initial difficulty and disappointment of learning to deal with complexity and the unexpected but how quickly the "gain outweighs the pain," as managers learned to attune themselves to the flux of situations, to identify how to work with flows and energies more creatively, and to become conscious of what was happening on the edge of awareness.     

能源型城市主导产业选择的理论模型及其实证研究

依据可持续发展、生产资源密集度、区位优势、关联带动这四个原则构建了一个能源型城市主导产业选择的两层指标体系.在此基础上,为解决PCA不适合多指标综合分析中非线性主成分分析的问题,采用KPCA建立了一个能源型城市主导产业选择的理论模型.最后以陕西省铜川为例,证明了KPCA不仅适用于非线性问题,而且具有优秀的主元提取功能.     

Applying Systemic Project Management Approaches for the UK National Health Service

This paper sets out some observations arising from on-going research into the use of systemic methods in the planning of complex projects within the National Health Service (NHS) in Staffordshire and Shropshire in the UK. This brief paper sets out the main reasons for the application of systemic approaches, the nature of the methodologies put in place and some of the outcomes and reflections of those involved in the various workshops. Whilst not attempting to be definitive in our conclusions, the authors believe that the results of the application of systemic methods by Health and Care professionals show a range of strengths going forward.Published with the kind permission of Staffordshire and Shropshire Workforce Development Directorate.     

Optimization of dynamic sequential test strategy for equipment health management

Testing is the premise and foundation of realizing equipment health management (EHM). To address the problem that the static periodic test strategy may cause deficient test or excessive test, a dynamic sequential test strategy (DSTS) for EHM is presented. Considering the situation that equipment health state is not completely observable in reality, a DSTS optimization method based on partially observable semi-Markov decision process (POSMDP) is proposed. Firstly, an equipment health state degradation model is constructed by Markov process, and the control limit maintenance policy is also introduced. Secondly, POSMDP is formulated in great detail. And then, POSMDP is converted to completely observable belief semi-Markov decision process (BSMDP) through belief state. The optimal equation and the corresponding optimal DSTS, which minimize the long-run expected average cost per unit time, are obtained with BSMDP. The results of application in complex equipment show that the proposed DSTS is feasible and effective.     

近圆参考轨道卫星编队脉冲控制方法

针对高斯摄动方程在描述近圆轨道时其近地点幅角和平近点角存在奇异性的问题,采用非奇异轨道要素描述卫星轨道运动,推导了适用于近圆参考轨道编队的非奇异轨道要素脉冲控制模型。基于该模型,首先设计了一个法向脉冲同时调整轨道倾角和升交点赤经偏差;然后,先假定采取在两个位置分别同时施加切向和径向脉冲的策略调整其余轨道要素偏差,分析了如在第一个位置施加切向脉冲时将会导致的复杂非线性问题,从而提出了一种在轨道上的某两个位置分别仅施加径向和切向脉冲的双脉冲控制修正算法,并且分析了该算法的燃料消耗情况。最后通过数值仿真验证了算法的简单性和有效性。     

A Method of Problem Situation Decomposing to Support Goal Finding

ＡＭｅｔｈｏｄｏｆＰｒｏｂｌｅｍＳｉｔｕａｔｉｏｎＤｅｃｏｍｐｏｓｉｎｇｔｏＳｕｐｐｏｒｔＧｏａｌＦｉｎｄｉｎｇＤＩＮＧＲｏｎｇｇｕｉ；ＨＡＮＷｅｎｘｉｕ（ＩｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅｏｆＳｙｓｔｅｍｓＥｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇ，ＴｉａｎｊｉｎＵｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ...     

单机订单接受与加工调度问题的拉格朗日松弛算法

针对不同类型订单加工切换时机器需要准备时间的实际生产情况，研究了单机订单接受与加工调度优化决策问题，旨在最大化企业净收益。鉴于研究问题的强NP难属性，设计了基于拉格朗日松弛理论的启发式算法。首先，该算法通过加入相邻订单相异性约束以提高松弛解质量；其次，应用动态规划递推公式求解拉格朗日松弛问题；最后，利用问题的优化性质并基于贪婪规则构造原问题可行解。不同规模问题的实验结果表明，该算法能在合理计算时间内得到满意的近优解。