IFORS Developing Countries Online Resources - User contributions [en]

Web-HIPRE 2.0

2026-05-20T11:44:14Z

Dcadmin:

Web-HIPRE (v.2.0) is a new browser based version of the earlier popular web-HIPRE (v.1.22) software for multiple criteria decision analysis.

Decision analysis is a very useful approach in in evaluating decision alternatives in an interactive way with the stakeholders. Applications in environmental decision making are very common.

This software has been extremely popular when teaching the methods. There is a related site for e-learning the approaches.

In Web-HIPRE the decision problem is structured hierarchically to form a value tree/ AHP model of the criteria. weights of the criteria can be elicited by different weighting methods. Web-HIPRE supports value functions and the AHP, SMART, SWING and the rank based SMARTER methods. The same model can be analyzed with different combinations of the methods which is a unique feature of the software. This allows the user to compare the results when using different methods. This feature is most valuable in practical applications and in the class-room when teaching multi-criteria decision analysis.

The software is available for free for academic use.

link to material: https://hipre.aalto.fi/

[[Category: Free OR Software]]

International Abstracts in OR (IAOR)

2026-05-16T13:20:26Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "To our regret the last issue of International Abstracts in Operations Research (IAOR) was published in 2017. As a direct consequence of the merger with Springer, in 2016 Palgrave announced its decision not to renew its agreement with IFORS beyond the contract period that expires at the end of 2017. The main reason for this was a technical one – after close analysis, the publisher concluded that the enhanced content platform to which all Palgrave Journals migrated could..."

To our regret the last issue of International Abstracts in Operations Research (IAOR) was published in 2017. As a direct consequence of the merger with Springer, in 2016 Palgrave announced its decision not to renew its agreement with IFORS beyond the contract period that expires at the end of 2017. The main reason for this was a technical one – after close analysis, the publisher concluded that the enhanced content platform to which all Palgrave Journals migrated could not support the unique needs of IAOR. Palgrave, originally Macmillan Press, had been publishing IAOR since 1991.

At the second conference of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) held in Aix-en-Provence in 1961, it was proposed, and formally agreed later by mail ballot, that the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) would publish the journal for IFORS. Each member society would be invited to become a “contributing society”, and thus be responsible for the production and submission of all abstracts of articles published in its own country, by appointing a contributing editor, and for circulating the journal to all its members. The responsibility for publishing IAOR was passed to IFORS in 1970. The national contributing editors were later augmented by editors who were responsible for subject areas.

The first issue of IAOR appeared in November 1961, containing 116 abstracts. The editor was Herbert P. Galliher (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). During 1968, Herbert Galliher handed over the editorship to Hugh Bradley of the Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo. He continued to edit IAOR until 1979, when Graham Rand, of the University of Lancaster U.K. was appointed as his successor. He served for 12 years before the editorship passed to David Smith, University of Exeter, UK, in 1992. Both successors to Hugh Bradley had previously been the UK contributing editor to IAOR for several years.

The 10,000th abstract was published in 1971, the 20,000th in 1979, the 50,000th in 1992, the 100,000th in 2007. 2017 saw the publication of the 140,000th abstract. This increase in publication rate reflects, to some extent, constraints in the budget, as OR literature has proliferated over the years.

In the early years of this century, under the leadership of David Smith, a comprehensive plan of action was undertaken to completely transform IAOR from a paper-based publication to an online journal capable of meeting the challenges created by the widespread availability of powerful browsers on the Internet. The objectives of this transformation were to regain IAOR’s role as the “First Source” for those researching the OR literature by being: a one-stop-source format; easily searched; possessing added value; up-to-date; and with a printed version also available.

After 18 years as editor, in 2010 David Smith handed over the editorship to K. Preston White Jr. of the University of Virginia (USA). N. Peter Whitehead joined the team, and they were designated Executive Editor and Editor respectively, in 2015. In a case study available at http://www.palgrave-journals.com/iaor/iaor_case_study_2012_08_14.pdf, White and his research student, Lawrence Bonczar, compared literature search and retrieval in the OR/MS field using IAOR and Google Scholar. The authors showed that the results of IAOR and GS searches were complementary. As more and more OR papers are published, and not added to the database which is provided here, It is with regret that this complementarity will no longer apply for researchers in the OR and MS community.

Graham K. Rand, Chair IFORS Publications committee, and UK contributing editor for IAOR (1974-79), editor IAOR (1979-91), specialist contributing editor for IAOR (1990-2008)

All of us at IFORS regret the need to end the publication of IAOR. Throughout its lifetime, IAOR provided organization and insight into the burgeoning literature of operational research. We are tremendously grateful to the editors and contributors to IAOR over the years, and gain satisfaction from knowing that their work through IAOR has been invaluable to the field for the last 56 years. We hope that the gap created by the ending of the journal will be filled by increasingly powerful online search, but we know that those systems will never fully replace what we have lost.

Michael Trick, President, IFORS

Main Page

2026-05-16T13:14:47Z

Dcadmin:

Main Page

2026-05-16T13:12:25Z

Dcadmin:

Welcome to the IFORS Developing Countries OR Resources Website

The aim of the Developing Countries On-Line Resources page is to offer the OR worker all publicly-available materials on the topic of Operations Research for Development. It also aims to provide a venue for people who are working in the area to share their completed or in-process work, learn from others, and stimulate comments and discussions on the work. click to read more

Main Page

2026-05-16T13:10:43Z

Dcadmin:

The aim of the Developing Countries On-Line Resources page is to offer the OR worker all publicly-available materials on the topic of Operations Research for Development. It also aims to provide a venue for people who are working in the area to share their completed or in-process work, learn from others, and stimulate comments and discussions on the work. click to read more

MOOCs: OR Courses for Free!

2026-05-16T13:02:59Z

Dcadmin:

Luciana Salete Buriol buriol@inf.ufrgs.br

Several courses in Operational Research and related subjects are available for free in MOOCS - Massive Open Online Courses. Many of these courses address Computer Science, Maths and other OR related subjects, but a range of courses from other areas are also available, from Artificial Intelligence to Writing. People all over the world can attend these for free: it is a great opportunity for many operations researchers!

The courses last for about 2-10 weeks, taking 2-6 hours per week. The classes are given by video/audio-classes, and each course can have such extra resources as student discussion forums, student work, lecture notes, assessments, online textbook, interactive simulations. Some of the courses charge (about US$60 per course) for having access to some of the extra resources, even giving a certificate at the end. However, a free version of the course is usually available.

Although courses are available in about 17 languages, most of them are in English. Some courses have subtitles in other languages. The courses are offered dynamically, usually announced 2-4 months before they start.

To find a course of interest, you can access the MOOC aggregator at https://www.class-central.com. Searcher need only to type a keyword at the top bar. Be aware that the term “Operational Research” is not a very useful keyword – it is better to search on the specific subject or topic within OR. For example, searching on November 9th 2016 on Dynamic Programming gave a list of 36 courses (many of which had taken place and some which were not relevant) including one by Stanford University starting on 5th December on ‘Greedy algorithms minimum spanning trees and dynamic programming’. A search on Linear Programming gave 30 results, one of which was for ‘Discrete optimisation’ by Melbourne University starting on 11 December.

MOOCs: OR Courses for Free!

2026-05-16T12:49:57Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "Luciana Salete Buriol buriol@inf.ufrgs.br Several courses in Operational Research and related subjects are available for free in MOOCS - Massive Open Online Courses. Many of these courses address Computer Science, Maths and other OR related subjects, but a range of courses from other areas are also available, from Artificial Intelligence to Writing. People all over the world can attend these for free: it is a great opportunity for many operations researchers! The cours..."

Luciana Salete Buriol buriol@inf.ufrgs.br

Several courses in Operational Research and related subjects are available for free in MOOCS - Massive Open Online Courses. Many of these courses address Computer Science, Maths and other OR related subjects, but a range of courses from other areas are also available, from Artificial Intelligence to Writing. People all over the world can attend these for free: it is a great opportunity for many operations researchers!

The courses last for about 2-10 weeks, taking 2-6 hours per week. The classes are given by video/audio-classes, and each course can have such extra resources as student discussion forums, student work, lecture notes, assessments, online textbook, interactive simulations. Some of the courses charge (about US$60 per course) for having access to some of the extra resources, even giving a certificate at the end. However, a free version of the course is usually available.

Although courses are available in about 17 languages, most of them are in English. Some courses have subtitles in other languages. The courses are offered dynamically, usually announced 2-4 months before they start.

To find a course of interest, you can access the MOOC aggregator at www.class-central.com. Searcher need only to type a keyword at the top bar. Be aware that the term “Operational Research” is not a very useful keyword – it is better to search on the specific subject or topic within OR. For example, searching on November 9th 2016 on Dynamic Programming gave a list of 36 courses (many of which had taken place and some which were not relevant) including one by Stanford University starting on 5th December on ‘Greedy algorithms minimum spanning trees and dynamic programming’. A search on Linear Programming gave 30 results, one of which was for ‘Discrete optimisation’ by Melbourne University starting on 11 December.

Main Page

2026-05-16T12:47:42Z

Dcadmin: Blanked the page

Using Integer Programming for Airport Service Planning in Staff Scheduling

2026-05-12T04:46:36Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "By '''W.H. Ip, Nick Chung and George Ho''' '''Abstract''' Reliability and safety in flight is extremely necessary and that depend on the adoption of proper maintenance system. Therefore, it is essential for aircraft maintenance companies to perform the manpower scheduling efficiently. One of the objectives of this paper is to provide an Integer Programming approach to determine the optimal solutions to aircraft maintenance planning and scheduling and hence the planning..."

By '''W.H. Ip, Nick Chung and George Ho'''

'''Abstract'''

Reliability and safety in flight is extremely necessary and that depend on the adoption of proper maintenance system. Therefore, it is essential for aircraft maintenance companies to perform the manpower scheduling efficiently. One of the objectives of this paper is to provide an Integer Programming approach to determine the optimal solutions to aircraft maintenance planning and scheduling and hence the planning and scheduling processes can become more efficient and effective. Another objective is to develop a set of computational schedules for maintenance manpower to cover all scheduled flights. In this paper, a sequential methodology consisting of 3 stages is proposed. They are initial maintenance demand schedule, the maintenance pairing and the maintenance group(s) assignment. Since scheduling would split up into different stages, different mathematical techniques have been adopted to cater for their own problem characteristics. Microsoft Excel would be used. Results from the first stage and second stage would be inputted into integer programming model using Microsoft Excel Solver to find the optimal solution. Also, Microsoft Excel VBA is used for devising a scheduling system in order to reduce the manual process and provide a user friendly interface. For the results, all can be obtained optimal solution and the computation time is reasonable and acceptable. Besides, the comparison of the peak time and non-peak time is discussed.

'''Keywords:''' airport service, aircraft, manpower scheduling, maintenance.

Link to material: http://www.intechopen.com/journals/international_journal_of_engineering_business_management/using-integer-programming-for-airport-service-planning-in-staff-scheduling

[[Category: Transportation]]

Solving a Large Real-world Bus Driver Scheduling Problem with a Multi-assignment based Heuristic Algorithm

2026-05-12T04:44:55Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Constantino, A. A., Mendonça, C. F. X., Araujo, S. A., Landa-Silva, D., Calvi, R. and Santos, A. F.''' '''Abstract:''' The bus driver scheduling problem (BDSP) under study consists in finding a set of duties that covers the bus schedule from a Brazilian public transportation bus company with the objective of minimizing the total cost. A deterministic 2-phase heuristic algorithm is proposed using multiple assignment problems that arise from a model based on a we..."

by: '''Constantino, A. A., Mendonça, C. F. X., Araujo, S. A., Landa-Silva, D., Calvi, R. and Santos, A. F.'''

'''Abstract:'''

The bus driver scheduling problem (BDSP) under study consists in finding a set of duties that covers the bus schedule from a Brazilian public transportation bus company with the objective of minimizing the total cost. A deterministic 2-phase heuristic algorithm is proposed using multiple assignment problems that arise from a model based on a weighted multipartite graph. In the first phase, the algorithm constructs an initial feasible solution by solving a number of assignment problems. In the second phase, the algorithm attempts to improve the solution by two different procedures. One procedure takes the whole set of duties and divides them in a set of partial duties which are recombined. The other procedure seeks to improve single long duties by eliminating the overtime time and inserting it into another duty. Computational tests are performed using large-scale real-world data with more than 2,300 tasks and random instances extracted from real data. Three different objective functions are analyzed. The overall results indicate that the proposed approach is competitive to solve large BDSP.

'''Keywords:'''

bus driver scheduling, crew management, heuristic, transportation, large real-world instances.

Link to material: http://gpea.uem.br/PaperBSP.pdf

[[Category: Transportation]]

Proactive Overbooking Management to Ensure the Sky is Friendly to Fly

2026-05-12T04:43:29Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Christopher S. Tang''' Consumers around the world were disturbed by the video that showed a passenger was dragged off United’s flight 3411 by at least 3 security guards on April 10, 2017. Influenced by Confucius’ teachings on respect for elders, Asians were particularly upset because this passenger was a 69 year old Asian man. Due to an on-going lawsuit, I shall not comment on the incident that happened. Instead, I would like to propose a plan that can help U..."

by: '''Christopher S. Tang'''

Consumers around the world were disturbed by the video that showed a passenger was dragged off United’s flight 3411 by at least 3 security guards on April 10, 2017. Influenced by Confucius’ teachings on respect for elders, Asians were particularly upset because this passenger was a 69 year old Asian man. Due to an on-going lawsuit, I shall not comment on the incident that happened. Instead, I would like to propose a plan that can help United to develop a cost effective and yet customer friendly mechanism to manage overbooking.

On April 27, 2017, United printed a full page announcement with a title “Actions Speak Louder Than Words” in all major newspapers and sent email to all United Mileage Plus members. United claimed that it will identify volunteers to give up their seats earlier in case of overbooking, and will increase incentives for voluntary rebooking up to $10,000. However, these pledges are still “words”: the airline did not explain the action regarding ways to implement these changes. How can United identify volunteers earlier? How should United compensate volunteers in a fair and cost effective manner?

As an Operations Management Professor, I fully agree that overbooking is necessary in order for airlines to manage their seat capacity because of “no shows”. However, when more passengers show up for a particular flight, airlines need to develop a proactive mechanism to treat customers fairly without breaking the bank. Here is how airlines can utilize Information Technology and Business Analytics to ensure the sky is friendly to fly:

1. Collect check-in information early. Encourage more customers to check in early over the internet or mobile phones.

2. Identify potential volunteers early using a sealed bid process. During online check-in, United can gently ask the passenger if he/she is willing to be added to the volunteer list. At the same time, United can ask this passenger to state the dollar value (up to $10,000) that he/she will accept as compensation for volunteering his/her seat (i.e., ask the passenger to submit a “sealed bid”). Tell the passenger that the lowest bid will be selected to give up his/her seat when needed, and the airline will make alternative travel arrangement accordingly. This way, United can identify potential volunteers and their requested compensations in advance.

In the auction literature, it is well known that this process will entice passengers to reveal the “true value” of their seats. Clearly, some passengers will refuse to be added to the volunteer list, but some are willing to volunteer if the airline will compensate him/her according to his/her bid. This process is consistent with volunteerism. By doing so, it is unlikely for the airline to overpay the volunteers. [Delta airlines set the dollar amounts for volunteers. By doing so, it can attract too few (too many) volunteers if the suggested dollar amount is too low (high).
3. Inform volunteers early via internet / mobile phone and at the gate early. Using the early check in records along with millions (if not billions) of past flight records, United can conduct “predictive analysis” to estimate the number of volunteers that is needed for a particular flight. As time progresses, United can compensate those pre-registered volunteers and make alternative travel arrangements way before boarding time. This way, volunteers feel respected.

By leveraging Information Technology and Business Analytics and by developing a proactive process, United can fly the friendly sky again!

Link to material: http://blogs.anderson.ucla.edu/global-supply-chain/

[[Category: Transportation]]

Integrated Bus Transit Scheduling for the Beijing Bus Group based on a Unified Mode of Operation

2026-05-12T04:41:57Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "By: '''Yindong Shen,Jiahong Xia''' '''Abstract''' This paper presents an applied study of scheduling buses and drivers for the Beijing Bus Group (BJBUS), the largest bus company in China. This is pioneering research in China for bus transit scheduling using computers based on a unified mode of operation. It is anticipated that the research fruits and experiences obtained would be of benefit to other bus operators in China. The bus transit scheduling problem in BJBUS is..."

By: '''Yindong Shen,Jiahong Xia'''

'''Abstract'''

This paper presents an applied study of scheduling buses and drivers for the Beijing Bus Group (BJBUS), the largest bus company in China. This is pioneering research in China for bus transit scheduling using computers based on a unified mode of operation. It is anticipated that the research fruits and experiences obtained would be of benefit to other bus operators in China. The bus transit scheduling problem in BJBUS is first presented in the paper. The particular characteristics are pointed out, which are different from those in developed countries, while many are common in China. After a brief review and analysis of the appropriateness of some currently successful approaches, the paper focuses on reporting the solution ideas and methods for BJBUS, especially those developed to solve the specific problems of BJBUS, such as scheduling buses with built-in meal periods, multi-type bus scheduling, restricting drivers to one or two particular buses, etc. Finally, the implementation and computational results are reported before the concluding remarks.

'''Keywords:'''

public transport scheduling, Beijing Bus Group, unified operation mode, bus scheduling, driver scheduling

Link to material: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-3995.2009.00673.x/abstract

[[Category: Transportation]]

Improving Carpool Flexibility without Compromising Trust or Guaranteed Rides

2026-05-12T04:40:44Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Fernando Lobo Pimentel''' '''Abstract''' Aiming at the same transport with less car usage, carpool systems are a more economical and ecological way to travel when compared to drive-alone behaviour. However, carpooling is difficult to promote. People do not carpool for schedule flexibility and trust concerns, and when addressing the first issue by bringing more people to the carpools to increase schedule options, one loses on the trust side because prior acquaint..."

by: '''Fernando Lobo Pimentel'''

'''Abstract'''

Aiming at the same transport with less car usage, carpool systems are a more economical and ecological way to travel when compared to drive-alone behaviour. However, carpooling is difficult to promote. People do not carpool for schedule flexibility and trust concerns, and when addressing the first issue by bringing more people to the carpools to increase schedule options, one loses on the trust side because prior acquaintance is no longer guaranteed, or one looses a guaranteed ride. We tried to address this problem.

We used operations research (OR) methodology to formulate the problem, then we relaxed a carpool system's restriction: the schedule coincidence requirement. This allowed the design of a several departure time carpool. Next we optimized the system using LP (linear programming) for a sub problem. Finally two preliminary surveys were conducted. The first in Oeiras municipality (Portugal), to test potential carpoolers adherence to the model, and the second through an email chain, to anticipate effective enrolment in a carpool with a specific several departure time schedule.

We found that a small group of people with different but compatible schedules, and who meet each other previously, can join the same carpool and benefit from it, provided that the system operates under the optimised configurations presented, so that the increase in the number of departure times available does not decrease vehicle occupancy rates more than necessary. Surveys revealed the likely readiness and schedule compatibility of about 10% of car commuters to enrol in such system.

By designing the carpool system around the idea of several guaranteed departures available, groups can be smaller and steadier because they self-contain wider schedule options. Scale increases are no longer mandatory and riding with strangers or unpredictable ride availability can be prevented. Therefore our model is a contribution to improve carpool flexibility without compromising trust concerns or guaranteed rides.

'''Keywords:''' Carpooling, Carpool flexibility, Operations Research, Optimization

Link to material: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fernando_Pimentel4/publication/312061841_Improving_carpool_flexibility_without_compromising_trust_or_guaranteed_rides/links/587278eb08aebf17d3af580d.pdf

[[Category: Transportation]]

Forward Supply Chain Network Design Problem: Heuristic Approaches

2026-05-12T04:38:46Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Cagri Koc, Eren Ozceylan, Saadettin Erhan Kesen, Zeynel Abidin Cil and Süleyman Mete''' '''Abstract''' Determining positions and counting of actors, amount of product flow between and decreasing transportation costs are handled as a network design problem in supply chain management. Supply chain network design (SCND) problem belongs to the class of NP-hard problems. It has therefore appealed to a number of researchers’ close attention. However, existing liter..."

by: '''Cagri Koc, Eren Ozceylan, Saadettin Erhan Kesen, Zeynel Abidin Cil and Süleyman Mete'''

'''Abstract'''

Determining positions and counting of actors, amount of product flow between and decreasing transportation costs are handled as a network design problem in supply chain management. Supply chain network design (SCND) problem belongs to the class of NP-hard problems. It has therefore appealed to a number of researchers’ close attention. However, existing literature lacks of common benchmark instances for forward SCND problems so as to make a fair comparison between developed and applied heuristic approaches. To this end, 450 new benchmark instances ranging from small to large size for forward SCND problems with two, three and four-echelon are generated and a mathematical model for each of the problems is formulated. Due to the complexity issues, we develop two heuristic solution approaches, genetic algorithm (GA) and hybrid heuristic algorithm (HHA), and we apply them to the large pool of benchmark instances. Comparative experiments show that both the GA and HHA can yield feasible solutions in much less computational time and, in particular, outperforms CPLEX regarding the solution quality as the number of echelon grows

'''Keywords:'''Supply chain network design, mixed integer programming; genetic algorithm; hybrid heuristic algorithm.

link to material: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/524982

[[Category: Transportation]]

Exploring Green Supply Chain Performance Measures Framework for Indian Manufacturing Practices

2026-05-12T04:36:10Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Sadia Samar Ali''' '''Abstract:''' The world has come a long way from the time of abundant and affordable energy to a time of limited and expensive energy. It is the need of the hour to preserve the lead resources and in the wake of the need for environmental protection, logistics and supply chain managers are required to reduce costs while maintaining good environmental performance standards. Manufacturing firms around the globe are opting for cradle to cradle..."

by: '''Sadia Samar Ali'''

'''Abstract:'''

The world has come a long way from the time of abundant and affordable energy to a time of limited and expensive energy. It is the need of the hour to preserve the lead resources and in the wake of the need for environmental protection, logistics and supply chain managers are required to reduce costs while maintaining good environmental performance standards.

Manufacturing firms around the globe are opting for cradle to cradle products that are more energy efficient and environmental friendly. Henceforth, it is now essential that all processes in the supply chain rely on resources that are cost effective and incur minimum cost possible.

Researchers started on focusing on the green supply chain management (GrSCM), reverse logistics, in particular, closed-loop logistics in the wake of the growing concerns about global warming and alarming consistent increase in amount of e-waste (comprising majorly of end-of-life ,EoL) electronic and electrical products. Green supply chain management GrSCM ensures the optimal use of resources by integrating the concept of disposal, recycling, reusing or remanufacturing of the product or its parts (Lund 1984).

Here researcher has done literature review to derive research objectives to further develop a theoretical framework on identified constructs that are under-going for Green Supply Chain Management practices with the effect of environmental aspects on supply chain management. The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents of Indian firms practicing green supply chain management on firm performance in terms of tangible performance measures (i.e. Business performance) and intangible performance measure (i.e. environmental performance).

Keywords: Green supply chain management, Indian manufacturing industries, practices

link to material: https://www.ifors.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/059-0133.pdf

[[Category: Transportation]]

Effective Local Search Algorithms for High School Timetabling Problems

2026-05-12T04:33:56Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Saviniec, L. and Constantino, A. A.''' '''Highlights''' - We propose Iterated Local Search and Variable Neighborhood Search based algorithms for high school timetabling problems. - We devise two generic neighborhood operators that can be easily adapted to similar problems. - The hybridization between these neighborhood operators improves hugely the effectiveness of local search procedures. - The proposed algorithms outperform state-of-the-art approaches in tw..."

by: '''Saviniec, L. and Constantino, A. A.'''

'''Highlights'''

- We propose Iterated Local Search and Variable Neighborhood Search based algorithms for high school timetabling problems.

- We devise two generic neighborhood operators that can be easily adapted to similar problems.

- The hybridization between these neighborhood operators improves hugely the effectiveness of local search procedures.

- The proposed algorithms outperform state-of-the-art approaches in two datasets tested for two variants of the problem.

- New instances collected from different Brazilian high schools are made available for next studies.

'''Abstract'''

This paper addresses the high school timetabling problem. The problem consists in building weekly timetables for meetings between classes and teachers with the goal of minimizing violations of specific requirements. In the last decades, several mixed-integer programs have been proposed and tested for this family of problems. However, medium and large size instances are still not effectively solved by these programs using state-of-the-art solvers and the scientific community has given special attention to the devising of alternative soft computing algorithms. In this paper, we propose a soft computing approach based on Iterated Local Search and Variable Neighborhood Search metaheuristic frameworks. Our algorithms incorporate new neighborhood structures and local search routines to perform an effective search. We validated the proposed algorithms on variants of the problem using seven public instances and a new dataset with 34 real-world instances including large cases. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms outperform the state-of-the-art approaches in both cases, finding the best solutions in 38 out of the 41 tested instances.

'''Keywords'''

Class–teacher timetabling, Iterated Local Search, Variable Neighborhood Search, Minimum Cost Assignment Problem, Conflict graph

Link to material: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568494617303903?via%3Dihub

[[Category: Transportation]]

Applications of Fast-Moving RFID Tags in High-speed Railway Systems

2026-05-12T04:03:41Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by '''Xiaoqiang Zhang and Manos Tentzeris''' '''Abstract''' RFID technology has been widely utilized for the tracking and identification of numerous stationary and moving objects. One of the most challenging RFID applications has to do with the improvement in reliability, scheduling and efficiency of large‐scale transportation infrastructure. As an example, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in Ultra High Friency （UHF） frequencies (840‐845MHz and..."

by '''Xiaoqiang Zhang and Manos Tentzeris'''

'''Abstract'''

RFID technology has been widely utilized for the tracking and identification of numerous stationary and moving objects. One of the most challenging RFID applications has to do with the improvement in reliability, scheduling and efficiency of large‐scale transportation infrastructure. As an example, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in Ultra High Friency （UHF） frequencies (840‐845MHz and 920‐925MHz) is one of several technologies currently being utilized in China to monitor and regulate the railway system. Despite the very successful performance of ATIS RFID‐based system for conventional trains with speeds up to 150kph, numerous challenges have to be resolved for the extension of this technology to modern high‐speed and ultra high‐speed railway systems with speeds up to 500kph. This paper identifies these issues, such as collision and insufficient reading time, and proposes various ways to alleviate their effect in UHF‐RFID enabled railway systems

'''Keywords:''' RFID, fast moving, train,tracking systems

Link to material: http://www.intechopen.com/journals/international_journal_of_engineering_business_management/applications-of-fast-moving-rfid-tags-in-high-speed-railway-systems

[[Category: Transportation]]

A Heuristic Decomposition Method for Large-Scale Traffic Assignment: Aburra Valley Case Study

2026-05-12T03:59:43Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Laura Lotero, Patricia Jaramillo & Claudia Rave''' '''Abstract''' Traffic assignment is one of the most important stages in transportation planning; however, its application to real case studies in medium- to largesized cities makes the solution of the model difficult because of the scale and high computational complexity related to the combinatorial and non-linear nature of the problem. The aim of this paper is to present a decomposition method based on sub-reg..."

by: '''Laura Lotero, Patricia Jaramillo & Claudia Rave'''

'''Abstract'''

Traffic assignment is one of the most important stages in transportation planning; however, its application to real case studies in medium- to largesized cities makes the solution of the model difficult because of the scale and high computational complexity related to the combinatorial and non-linear nature of the problem. The aim of this paper is to present a decomposition method based on sub-region analysis, and a simple heuristic rule for solving large-scale traffic assignment problems. This reduces the total amount of variables and equations of the model and offers a practical solution in a reasonable computing time. The proposed traffic assignment model is applied to the multimodal main road network of the Aburra Valley, Colombia. Such an application of a great amount of variables and equations converts the model into a large-scale problem. The proposed method considerably reduces the computational complexity of the problem, and it reveals accurate solutions in an execution time which is reasonable for such a large-scale model.

Link to material: http://aprendeenlinea.udea.edu.co/revistas/index.php/ingenieria/article/viewFile/17225/14890

[[Category: Transportation]]

WCMFO (hybrid water cycle moth-flame optimization algorithm) source code

2026-05-12T03:56:47Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Soheyl Khalilpour''' '''Overview''' This paper proposes a hybrid algorithm based on Water Cycle and Moth-Flame Optimization algorithms for solving numerical and constrained engineering optimization problems. The spiral movement of moths in Moth-Flame Optimization algorithm is introduced into the Water Cycle Algorithm to enhance its exploitation ability. In addition, to increase randomization in the new hybrid method, the streams in the Water Cycle Algorithm are..."

by: '''Soheyl Khalilpour'''

'''Overview'''

This paper proposes a hybrid algorithm based on Water Cycle and Moth-Flame Optimization algorithms for solving numerical and constrained engineering optimization problems. The spiral movement of moths in Moth-Flame Optimization algorithm is introduced into the Water Cycle Algorithm to enhance its exploitation ability. In addition, to increase randomization in the new hybrid method, the streams in the Water Cycle Algorithm are allowed to update their position using a random walk (Levy flight). The random walk significantly improves the exploration ability of the Water Cycle Algorithm. The performance of the new hybrid Water Cycle–Moth-Flame Optimization algorithm (WCMFO) is investigated in 23 benchmark functions such as unimodal, multimodal and fixed-dimension multimodal benchmark functions. The results of the WCMFO are compared to the other state-of-the-art metaheuristic algorithms.

The results show that the hybrid method is able to outperform the other state-of-the-art metaheuristic algorithms in majority of the benchmark functions. To evaluate the efficiency of the WCMFO in solving complex constrained engineering and real-life problems, three well-known structural engineering problems are solved using WCMFO and the results are compared with the ones of the other metaheuristics in the literature. The results of the simulations revealed that the WCMFO is able to provide very competitive and promising results comparing to the other hybrid and metaheuristic algorithms.

link to website: https://nl.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/67168-wcmfo-hybrid-water-cycle-moth-flame-optimization-algorithm-source-code

[[Category: General Articles]]

USAID Research: Policy Framework, Principles and Operational Guidance

2026-05-12T03:55:57Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "This policy document describes US Agency for International Development (USAID) policy with regard to Agency-funded research. It supersedes all previous research and science and technology policy statements. Principles, criteria and objectives described herein apply to all USAID organizational units (e.g. bureaus, centers, missions and other field-based units). Link to material: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pdacg263.pdf Category: General Articles"

This policy document describes US Agency for International Development (USAID) policy with regard to Agency-funded research. It supersedes all previous research and science and technology policy statements. Principles, criteria and objectives described herein apply to all USAID organizational units (e.g. bureaus, centers, missions and other field-based units).

Link to material: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pdacg263.pdf

[[Category: General Articles]]

USA Green Jobs and Green New Deal Manufacturing Jobs

2026-05-12T03:54:55Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Roger H. Bezdek''' '''Abstract''' In the USA and other nations there is intense interest in the Green New Deal (GND) and its jobs implications. However, there has not be a comprehensive analysis of the potential jobs impacts of the GND. This paper remedies this deficiency and provides estimates of the jobs likely to be created by the GND, including jobs in the manufacturing sector and specific occupational jobs. We first estimate the current size of the environm..."

by: '''Roger H. Bezdek'''

'''Abstract'''

In the USA and other nations there is intense interest in the Green New Deal (GND) and its jobs implications. However, there has not be a comprehensive analysis of the potential jobs impacts of the GND. This paper remedies this deficiency and provides estimates of the jobs likely to be created by the GND, including jobs in the manufacturing sector and specific occupational jobs. We first estimate the current size of the environmental industry in the USA and find that it totals $640 billion in industry sales and 7.8 million jobs. We estimate that the GND would by 2030 generate more than 18.3 million jobs additional throughout the economy. Of these jobs, 2.25 million would be “green” manufacturing jobs, and these are disaggregated by major industrial components (2 and 3 digit NAICS Code). The GND jobs are concentrated within a number of sectors, including manufacturing and professional, information, and scientific, and technical services. Thus, not only is the relationship between the GND and jobs positive, but the types of jobs created are disproportionately scientific, professional, technical, high-skilled, manufacturing, and high-wage jobs – the very types of jobs highly sought after. The vast majority of the GND jobs are standard jobs for accountants, engineers, computer analysts, clerks, factory workers, truck drivers, etc., and classic environmental jobs (environmental engineer, ecologist, conservation technician, etc.) constitute only a small portion of the jobs created. Thus most of the persons employed in the jobs created may not even realize that they owe their livelihood to the GND.

'''Keywords:''' Green New Deal, Green New Deal jobs, environmental jobs, green manufacturing jobs, sustainable jobs, renewable energy jobs.

link to material: https://www.ifors.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/USA-Green-Jobs-and-Green-New-Deal-Manufacturing-Jobs.pdf

[[Category: General Articles]]

Unicriterion Model: A Qualitative Decision Making Method That Promotes Ethics

2026-05-12T03:53:41Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Fernando Lobo Pimentel''' '''Abstract''' Management decision making methods frequently adopt quantitative models of several criteria that bypass the question of why some criteria are considered more important than others, which makes more difficult the task of delivering a transparent view of preference structure priorities that might promote ethics and learning and serve as a basis for future decisions. To tackle this particular shortcoming of usual methods, an..."

by: '''Fernando Lobo Pimentel'''

'''Abstract'''

Management decision making methods frequently adopt quantitative models of several criteria that bypass the question of why some criteria are considered more important than others, which makes more difficult the task of delivering a transparent view of preference structure priorities that might promote ethics and learning and serve as a basis for future decisions. To tackle this particular shortcoming of usual methods, an alternative qualitative methodology of aggregating preferences based on the ranking of criteria is proposed. Such an approach delivers a simple and transparent model for the solution of each preference conflict faced during the management decision making process. The method proceeds by breaking the decision problem into ‘two criteria – two alternatives’ scenarios, and translating the problem of choice between alternatives to a problem of choice between criteria whenever appropriate. The unicriterion model method is illustrated by its application in a car purchase and a house purchase decision problem.

Link to material: https://ideas.repec.org/a/mgt/youmng/v6y2011i2p127-146.html

[[Category: General Articles]]

The Wisdom of OR

2026-05-12T03:52:46Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "by: '''Subhash Datta''' '''INTRODUCTION''' Operational Research(OR)can be defined as a scientific method for problem solving. The methodologies and principles of OR have been applied to the problems of agriculture, food production, health, education, infrastructure and other related fields in the developed economies. Such applications in the case of developing economies have been scarce.OR has a major role in solving the complex problems of inclusive growth and sustain..."

by: '''Subhash Datta'''

'''INTRODUCTION'''

Operational Research(OR)can be defined as a scientific method for problem solving. The methodologies and principles of OR have been applied to the problems of agriculture, food production, health, education, infrastructure and other related fields in the developed economies. Such applications in the case of developing economies have been scarce.OR has a major role in solving the complex problems of inclusive growth and sustainable development with interdisciplinary and innovative approaches.

Link to Article: http://ifors.org/developing_countries/downloads/Wisdom_of_OR.pdf

[[Category: General Articles]]

The Role of the Public Sector in Introducing Operations Research/Management Science within Developing Countries

2026-05-12T03:51:47Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "This article examines the role the public sector has played in introducing operations research/ management science (OR/MS) in developing countries. To this end, some of the difficulties in applying OR/MS within the environment of a developing country in general, and within their public sector in particular, are briefly discussed, and the first applications of OR/MS in some such countries are reviewed. In spite of the fact that the application of OR/MS in the public secto..."

This article examines the role the public sector has played in introducing operations research/ management science (OR/MS) in developing countries. To this end, some of the difficulties in applying OR/MS within the environment of a developing country in general, and within their public sector in particular, are briefly discussed, and the first applications of OR/MS in some such countries are reviewed. In spite of the fact that the application of OR/MS in the public sector is generally more difficult than that in the private sector, it is shown that OR/MS has, in most cases, entered countries through the public sector. Possible reasons for this phenomenon are discussed and an assessment of the contribution of OR/MS to public sector decision-making is made.

Link to material: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pad.4230140306/abstract

[[Category: General Articles]]

The Communication Initiative Network - convening the communication and media development, social and behaviour change community

2026-05-12T03:46:53Z

Dcadmin:

'''THE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE – Strategic Positioning and Added Value'''

'''Mission:'''

Convene the communication and media development, social and behavioural change community for more effective local, national, and international development action.

'''Rationale – Relevance and Added Value'''

1. In the search for improved impact of international development action, online, social networks and democratically shared knowledge will assume an even higher priority.

2. The capacities of social networks and shared knowledge processes match some key principles for effective development action that will become even stronger imperatives over the next 5 years; for example:

- south-south cooperation for action, networks and learning

- stronger voice/analysis from country and community experience

- inclusive planning and monitoring/evaluation processes

- "democratised" knowledge

- integrated action across development issues to avoid issue "silos"

- consultative policy development

3. Social networks and democratically shared knowledge processes provide:

- new ways of organising and working for development agencies …

- … and potentially challenge some of the major strategic lines of international development action - for example the way in which "technical assistance" is organized, provided and funded.

4. These online, network and democratic knowledge processes also provide considerable efficiencies as international development action faces budget pressures around factors such as travel, meeting, office and other costs.

5. The ability to quickly reach and communicate with large numbers of key people in Development (as a large community or filtered to particular interests or contexts) is important and influential in the context of the rapid spread of digital technologies.

6. These strategic principles and capacities apply at local, national, regional and global levels. For example, the 1,500 people in the network from Kenya provide an immediate network for the Kenya work of an organisation.

7. Being the convening and owning agent for processes such as these will be even more important in the future international development tapestry.

link to website: https://www.comminit.com/global/category/sites/global

[[Category: Communication]]
[[Category: General Articles]]

The Anticipative Concept in Warehouse Optimization using Simulation in an Uncertain Environment

2026-05-12T03:46:06Z

Dcadmin: Created page with "By '''Davorin Kofjacˇ, Miroljub Kljajic´, Valter Rejec''' '''Abstract''' The modern business environment is highly unpredictable. An anticipation approach in a real case study is presented to cope with such instability and minimize the total inventory cost without stock-outs occurring and inventory capacity being exceeded. The antici- pation concept is performed using simulation models supported by inventory control algorithms on a selected sample of representative i..."

By '''Davorin Kofjacˇ, Miroljub Kljajic´, Valter Rejec'''

'''Abstract'''

The modern business environment is highly unpredictable. An anticipation approach in a real case study is presented to cope with such instability and minimize the total inventory cost without stock-outs occurring and inventory capacity being exceeded. The antici- pation concept is performed using simulation models supported by inventory control algorithms on a selected sample of representative items. The inventory control algorithms include Silver–Meal, Part period balancing, Least-unit cost, and Fuzzy inventory control algorithm based on fuzzy stock-outs, highest inventory level and total cost. Transportation cost is explicitly defined as a discrete function of ship- ment size. The algorithms are tested on historic data. Simulation results are presented and the risk of accepting them as reliable is dis- cussed. The process of simulation model implementation is briefly discussed to further validate the model and train order managers to use the simulation model in their order placement process.

Link to material: http://ifors.org/developing_countries/downloads/sept2_2011/Kofjac_2009_European-Journal-of-Operational-Research.pdf

[[Category: General Articles]]