An exact algorithm for optimal redundancy in a series system with multiple component choices

In this paper, an exact algorithm was proposed for optimal redundancy in a series system with multiple component choices. A reformulation of the nonseparable reliability function was approximated by a separable integer programming problem. The resulting separable nonlinear integer programming problem is used to compute upper bounds by Lagrangian relaxation and dual search. A special partition scheme was derived to reduce the duality gap in a branch-and-bound process, thus ensure the convergence of the algorithm. Computational results show that the algorithm is efficient for solving this class of reliability optimization problems.

Discrete Choice Models and Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Predicting the Determinants of Transport Mode Choice--A Systematic Review

Forecasting travel demand requires a grasp of individual decision-making behavior.However,transport mode choice(TMC)is determined by personal and contextual factors that vary from person to person.Numerous characteristics have a substantial impact on travel behavior(TB),which makes it important to take into account while studying transport options.Traditional statistical techniques frequently presume linear correlations,but real-world data rarely follows these presumptions,which may make it harder to grasp the complex interactions.Thorough systematic review was conducted to examine how machine learning(ML)approaches might successfully capture nonlinear correlations that conventional methods may ignore to overcome such challenges.An in-depth analysis of discrete choice models(DCM)and several ML algorithms,datasets,model validation strategies,and tuning techniques employed in previous research is carried out in the present study.Besides,the current review also summarizes DCM and ML models to predict TMC and recognize the determinants of TB in an urban area for different transport modes.The two primary goals of our study are to establish the present conceptual frameworks for the factors influencing the TMC for daily activities and to pinpoint methodological issues and limitations in previous research.With a total of 39 studies,our findings shed important light on the significance of considering factors that influence the TMC.The adjusted kernel algorithms and hyperparameter-optimized ML algorithms outperform the typical ML algorithms.RF(random forest),SVM(support vector machine),ANN(artificial neural network),and interpretable ML algorithms are the most widely used ML algorithms for the prediction of TMC where RF achieved an R2 of 0.95 and SVM achieved an accuracy of 93.18%;however,the adjusted kernel enhanced the accuracy of SVM 99.81%which shows that the interpretable algorithms outperformed the typical algorithms.The sensitivity analysis indicates that the most significant parameters influencing TMC are the age,total trip time,and the number of drivers.

Modeling commuters' route choice behavior under pre-trip information system

Research about the auto commuter＇s pre-trip route choice behavior ignores the combined influence of the real-time information and all respondents＇ historical information in the existing documents.To overcome this shortcoming,an approach to describing the pre-trip route choice behavior with the incorporation of the real-time and historical information is proposed.Two types of real-time information are investigated,which are quantitative information and prescriptive information.By using the bounded rationality theory,the influence of historical information on the real-time information reference process is examined first.Estimation results show that the historical information has a significant influence on the quantitative information reference process,but not on the prescriptive information reference process.Then the route choice behavior is modeled.A comparison is also made among three route choice models,one of which does not incorporate the real-time information reference process,while the others do.Estimation results show that the route choice behavior is better described with the consideration of the reference process of both quantitative and prescriptive information.

A Greedy Algorithm for Task Offloading in Mobile Edge Computing System

Mobile edge computing （MEC） is a novel technique that can reduce mobiles＇ com- putational burden by tasks offioading, which emerges as a promising paradigm to provide computing capabilities in close proximity to mobile users. In this paper, we will study the scenario where multiple mobiles upload tasks to a MEC server in a sing cell, and allocating the limited server resources and wireless chan- nels between mobiles becomes a challenge. We formulate the optimization problem for the energy saved on mobiles with the tasks being dividable, and utilize a greedy choice to solve the problem. A Select Maximum Saved Energy First （SMSEF） algorithm is proposed to realize the solving process. We examined the saved energy at different number of nodes and channels, and the results show that the proposed scheme can effectively help mobiles to save energy in the MEC system.

Using Multi-agent System for Residential Expansion Models——A Case Study of Hongshan District,Wuhan City

Residential expansion is gaining more and more attention from government authorities and urban planners.However,most of the current urban models focus heavily on presenting economic,political and ecological objectives of urban development,while seldom taking the effects of human behavior into consideration.Multi-agent systems for land use/cover change(MAS/LUCC),which mainly concern the behavioral effects of stakeholders on the processes of land use/cover change,are promising to fill the gap.This article,based on the concepts of MAS/LUCC model,con-structs a multi-agent system for residential expansion model(MAS/RE)through the analysis of the behavior of gov-ernment authorities and households.The model takes complex human actions into account,namely urban master plan-ning,planning review and approval,policies of traffic,economy and environment,location and allocation choices of the households and their interrelationships.Taking Hongshan District of Wuhan City,Hubei Province as an illustration,the model is implemented on Arc/info platform to simulate residential expansion between 1996 and 2002.The study result shows that the model is suitable for understanding the process of residential expansion with the effects of human actions,and is especially effective for its capacity in presenting spatio-temporal and behavioral complexity.Therefore,the model can be a reference for policy-making for government authorities and urban planners.

Driving factors and the implications of work choices of rural laborers in ecologically vulnerable areas in North China

Using rural survey data for the year 2009,we provide evidence of work choices of rural laborers in ecologically vulnerable areas in North China,and model these choices as a function of characteristics of individuals,households,and land endowments.The findings reveal large differences between males and females,and between non-farm employment and part-time farming engagement Land scarcity is still an important driving factor in non-farming participation of rural laborers in the study area;and in the current case of land productivity and the total amount of land,there are still surplus rural labor forces in the study area.Diversification of livelihood reduces the pressure on land,thus facilitating ecosystem conservation.So,the paper concludes with the argument that establishing coordination mechanisms among non-farm employment of rural laborers,agricultural production,and restoration of ecosystems are essential for mitigating the conflicts of ecological security,agricultural production,and rural development in mis area.

Modeling the criminal's location choices in urban areas

With the method of dynamic programming, two spatial variables,the expected utility and the probability of success of each crime, are used to model the criminal's location choices in urban areas in this paper.The modeling results show that a criminal optimizes his crime locations according to the expected utility and the success probability during his planned period A criminal usually commits his first offense in the district that has the highest probability of success but a lower expected utility, and commits his last crime in the district where the expected utility is the highest and success probability is lower.If a location has both an expected utility and a higher probability of success, the criminal might commit all his offenses in thes place. The model also suggests that crime prevention measures should be adopted in accordance with local conditions. 'Covering' measures, such as patrolling, should be taken in the poor residential districts or juvenile delinquency districts, while more sophisticated and advanced measures should be introduced in the richer districts or the districts where professional criminals haunt.

Choice of Adaptation Strategies to Climate Variability among Smallholder Farmers in the Maize Based Cropping System in Namutumba District, Uganda

Smallholder farmers in Namutumba district draw on a combination of adaptation strategies to respond to effects of climate variability. However, there is limited scholarly evidence and explanation that has been conducted on the factors that influence the choice of alternative sets of strategies that smallholder farmers use in response to climate variability specific stress and literature that disentangles climatic stressors specific adaptation options. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select the study area and household respondents. The study used cross-sectional research design to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. Household data was collected from 160 respondents with a structured questionnaire supported by key informant interviews. Multinomial logit modeling (MNL) was used to determine the relative influence of selected household socio-demographic factors on the choice of adaptation strategies against the dry spell. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was used to create weighted adaptation index for categorizing various similar adaptation strategies. In order to respond to the impact of climate variability stresses, smallholder farmers have adapted growing drought-resistant crops (12.2%), extension of the agricultural frontier into wetlands during the dry spells (37%), whereas use of crop rotation (9.8%) is the most dominant strategies used to manage pest and diseases, similarly soil and water conservation (15.3%) and climate-smart planning basin (11%) are the most dominant adaptation strategies use to manage flood. Empirical results from multinomial logit modeling showed that predictor variables gender, level of education, years of farming, house size, access to credit, and own radio have a significant influence on the choice of adaptation strategies with differences significant level during the dry spell. The study recommends that future policies should focus on strengthening the existing extension training package, strengthening the existing farmer’s groups and cooperatives, encouraging informal social networks in order to boost smallholder farmers’ adaptation to climate variability.

Psychological Influence Factors Analysis of the New Generation Employees’ Moral Choices from the Perspective of Cognitive Neurology

At present,the academic researches on moral choices focus mainly on the individuals’external behaviors,without fully considering the influences of the individuals’internal psychological factors.Based on the model of complete information static games in the Non-cooperative Game theory,the present research has designed a“Red and Blue Experiment”to explore the psychological influencing factors of the new generation employees’moral choices.The research has conducted psychoanalysis on the new generation employees through experiments and interviews with 118 data sources,and concluded the characteristics in relation to the different stages of psychological processes and moral choices of the experimental population.Through comparative analysis,it is found that:the psychological factors,such as trust,doubt,and guilt will influence the new generation employees’moral choices,guiding them to make choices,such as risk aversion and mutual benefit and win-win,in the process.Additionally,the research has also provided effective scientific evidence for the new generation employees’mental health development and career planning.

Farming systems and crop-livestock land use consensus. Tanzanian perspectives

Agriculture is an important source of economic survival of rural populations, and with great power for poverty reduction in the economy. For this reason farming systems that are most efficient have to be sought. This paper explores crop-based and pastoralism farming systems under conflicting land use relations. Incidences of violent conflicts are highlighted, which usually assume a depoliticised expression as inter-group conflicts. Competition for resources (land and water) is an important reason for such conflict, but the role of the state in protection of property rights is also advocated to nurture rivalry. Very wide difference in conception, that to the pastoralists property is cattle, land is common property open to herds, while to crop farmers land is property, which is divided between households, complicates the conflict resolution. State bias exists in the protection of property rights. Mechanisms for the state bias arebriefly cited. This paper suggests a farming systems educational approach as a way to reduce environmentally stressful practice, and strengthen the study of administrative regulation that harmonizes equity in conflicting land use.

Reproductive health and rights in the COVID-19 era:Why and how are rights and choices still the answer?

Amidst the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,the concern over the potential‘baby boom’or‘baby bust’had drawn renewed attention across the globe[1-3].However,historically alarmism over fertility rates gave rise to restrictive and coercive policies with an aim of‘controlling the population’that violated people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights(SRHR).In this perspective,the author argued that whether countries of the world face a COVID-19-induced short-term baby boom or bust,the solution lies in prioritizing the rights and choices of all people,especially their SRHR;not in adopting target-oriented population policies or coercive family planning programs.

Lord Jim： Jim＇s moral dilemmas and his tragic choices

The colonist culture of the imperialism nourished Jim＇s heroic dreams in which the protagonist sees himself as an apotheosis of morality and heroic deeds, but it also isolated him from the reality of the world. As a result, he often finds himself caught in moral dilemmas and ends up making tragic choices. His tragedy indicated that the alluring and illusive myth of the imperialism was bound to fall apart.

Consumer Choice, Firm Performance and Channel Coordination in a Dual-Channel Distribution System

The expanding role of the Internet in consumer purchasing activities has created substantial new opportunities accessing to end-consumers. More and more manufacturers are beginning to sell products to potential consumers directly online while continuing to sell through the traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, a phenomenon leading to intense channel competition and conflicts. Using game theory, this research examines the effect of market segments, consumer choice and the acceptance of direct online channels on firm performance and the whole system’s profit. The analysis indicates that the addition of direct online channel does not necessarily harm the incumbent retailers. A win-win zone is proposed, in which both the manufacturer and the retailer benefit from the encroachment.

Literary Analysis of Choices and Identity in War Dances

War Dances, a remarkable collection of brilliant short stories and poems written by Sherman Alexie, is brimming with ingenuity and thrill. This impressive collection of short stories and poems has different characters that are from all walks of life and have various different roles to play in the society, such as artists, husbands and wives and mistresses, workers, fathers and sons, etc. All these men and women are at the turn of their lives because of the choices and decisions they made, which would steered their lives into a road with no returns. One of the most profound themes of War Dances is about the choices people made when they are tested, which make all the difference about people's identities and exert a significant impact upon their lives in the days to come. This paper seeks to unpack the choices of different people have made that have changed their lives for better or for worse.

Real-time routing control design for traffic networks with multi-route choices

This work considers those road networks in which there are multi-route choices for bifurcation-destination(or origin-destination) pairs, and designs a real-time variable message sign(VMS)-based routing control strategy in the model predictive control(MPC) framework. The VMS route recommendation provided by the traffic management authority is directly considered as the control variable, and the routing control model is established, in which a multi-dimensional control vector is introduced to describe the influence of route recommendations on flow distribution. In the MPC framework, a system optimum routing strategy with the constraints regarding drivers' acceptability with recommended routes is designed, which can not only meet the traffic management authority's control requirement but also improve drivers' satisfaction with the route guidance system. The simulation carried out shows that the proposed routing control can effectively mitigate traffic congestion, reduces followers' time delay, and improves drivers' satisfaction with routing control in road networks.

Choices of Varieties and Demand for Improved Rice Seed in Fogera District of Ethiopia

In this study, 151 households were randomly drawn from three randomly selected Kebele in probability proportional to size method. The demographic and socio-economic factors that determine the participation in improved varieties were household labor availability, education level of the household head,land holdings, distance to the nearest village market, proximity to the main market, and distance to access agricultural extension and access to the source of rice seeds. However, determinants of choice decision varied from cultivar to cultivar. The evidence of the study from the interdependence among the decision of adoption of improved rice varieties suggested that technology adoption will be accelerated by launching a progressively developing package and scheme of rice technology generation, and points to the importance of mobilising additional resources to augment households' efforts at popularization and promotion of improved rice cultivars.The findings from Linearized Almost Ideal Demand Systems(LA/AIDS) model showed that compelling evidence for small proportion changes in own prices and cross price of improved rice varieties led to greater than unitary proportionate changes in their purchases. The results generally showed that farmers were very sensitive to changes in improved rice seed prices and incomes. The major implication of the findings was that any intervention to improve farmers' seed purchases should take into account efforts to increase farmers' purchasing power of agricultural inputs like improved seeds and fertilizers.

Methods for Industrial Measurement and Basic Principles of Their Choices

In this paper,a variety of industrial objects are systematically analyzed.Ten methods for industrial measurement are summarized.For each method,its nature,advantages,disadvantages and adaptability are briefly given.The basic principles to choose the right industrial method are indicated.

Combinatorial Model Involving Stochastic Choices of Destination, Mode and Route

Traffic assignment models are one of the basic tools for the analysis and design of transportation systems. However, the existing models have some defects. Considering the characteristics of Chinese urban mixed traffic and the randomness of transportation information, the author develops a combinatorial model involving stochastic choices of destination, mode and route. Its uniqueness and equivalance are also proved by the optimization theory.

Structural choice based on knowledge discovery system

Structural choice is a significant decision having an important influence on structural function, social economics, structural reliability and construction cost. A Case Based Reasoning system with its retrieval part constructed with a KDD subsystem, is put forward to make a decision for a large scale engineering project. A typical CBR system consists of four parts: case representation, case retriever, evaluation, and adaptation. A case library is a set of parameterized excellent and successful structures. For a structural choice, the key point is that the system must be able to detect the pattern classes hidden in the case library and classify the input parameters into classes properly. That is done by using the KDD Data Mining algorithm based on Self Organizing Feature Maps (SOFM), which makes the whole system more adaptive, self organizing, self learning and open.

Chromatic and achromatic differences of melanin-and carotenoid-based plumage coloration in five minivet species(Pericrocotus spp.)under conspecific and predator visual systems

Adaptive mate choice has been accepted as the leading theory to explain the colorful plumage of birds.This theory hypothesizes that conspicuous colors act as signals to advertise the qualities of the owners.However,a dilemma arises in that conspicuous colors may not only attract mates,but also alert predators.The"private channels of communication"hypothesis proposes that some intraspecific signals may not be visible to heterospecific animals because of different visual systems.To better understand the evolution of plumage colors and sexual selection in birds,here we studied the chromatic difference and achromatic differences of melanin-and carotenoid-based plumage coloration in five minivet species(Pericrocotus spp.)under conspecific and predator visual systems.We found that either the chromatic or achromatic difference among male or female minivets’plumage was consistently higher under conspecific vision than under predator vision for all five studied species of minivets.This result indicated that individual differences in plumage colors of minivets were visible to the conspecific receivers and hidden from potential predators as a result of evolution under predation risk and conspecific communication.However,males were under a higher risk of predation because they were more conspicuous than females to the vision of a nocturnal predator.