Interrelated Decisions Research Articles

Books and Periodicals in Brazil 1768–1930: A Transatlantic Perspective by Ana Claudia Suriani da Silva and Sandra Guardini Vasconcellos (eds)

Reviews 110 in the world and the largest Pentecostal, and also the world capital of Spiritism (Kardecism). Here she traces the three main currents of Protestantism in Brazil to early twentieth century, then ‘conversion Protestantism’ which originated in US Protestant Revivalism, and, lastly to Neo-Pentecostalism, which has emerged recently and which is characterized by the ‘Theology of Prosperity’. She makes the important point that there is no separation between before/after Brazil/London; rather they are interconnected transnational religious spaces. Moreover, Brazilian immigrants in the UK do not fit neatly into the dichotomy of ‘local’ and ‘global’. She is interested in how Brazilian immigrants negotiate their religious beliefs and how they create new connections between different practices in different places and, what they ‘do’ with religion. She aptly explains to the reader how religion is ‘practiced, experienced, imagined and embodied by migrants as they create and inhabit spaces that span multiple scales’ (p. 7). Religious remittances is a concept she explores commendably. Sheringham found common patterns of downward mobility among migrants, and that Brazilians are most likely to be irregular in their legal status. She underscored current threads in her research, which include how the church became ‘family’ (the church as a refuge); a search for a sense of belonging (religious community or immigrant); that faith was a way to suppress saudades (a Portuguese word for ‘homesickness’); that returning to Brazil presented a further challenge of re-adaptation; and, lastly, that religious remittances play an important role in the return context as well as in the migration process. She argues that economic reasons should not mask multiple and inter-related decisions to migrate including the role of religion — which she makes convincingly. She concludes that transnational religious spaces are exclusionary as much as they are inclusionary. Sheringham effectively and skilfully reveals the interplay between religion and transnationalism. This is a well-researched book with excellent sources. This book is a must-read for all levels of diaspora and immigrant students and scholars. Ana Claudia Suriani da Silva and Sandra Guardini Vasconcellos (eds), Books and Periodicals in Brazil 1768–1930: A Transatlantic Perspective (Oxford: Legenda, 2014). 294 pages. Print. Reviewed by Orna Levin (Unicamp, Brazil) Although many essays been written about the expansion of the British book market and the corresponding increase in readership during the nineteenth century, British transatlantic exchanges have usually been considered within the framework of the English-speaking world, to the exclusion of Brazil. Recent studies, however, suggest that after the Portuguese court moved to Rio de Janeiro, in 1808, as a result of the Napoleonic invasion of southern Europe, the British traders and European commercial agents who followed did more Reviews 111 than simply settle there, introducing new cultural patterns that affected various aspects of daily life and providing local people with new political references and liberal ideas. This new collection of essays recently published by Legenda, which has the suggestive title of Books and Periodicals in Brazil, 1768–1930: A Transatlantic Perspective, edited by Ana Cláudia Suriani, Lecturer in the School of European Languages, Culture and Society, University College London, and Sandra Vasconcelos, Lecturer in English Literature at the University of São Paulo, should help to overcome the lack of familiarity on the part of European readers with topics relating to this aspect of Brazil’s place in international book history. The thirteen essays included in the publication will help readers better understand how the advance in printing techniques and the publishing trade contributed to a larger circulation of books, magazines and musical scores, among other forms of printed production. In particular, they turn our attention to less evident issues behind the editorial enterprises, which were run mainly by British, Portuguese and French dealers. The chapters encourage a deep analysis of the cultural transference that was made possible, to a large extent, by the increasing availability of foreign titles for reading. Foreign periodicals, such as the Edinburgh Review, Monthly Magazine, Blackwood’s Magazine, Revue Britannique and Journal de Débats, along with a variety of fictional and non-fictional books, provided readers with a constant source of information. They also provided a literary model for local editors to launch Brazilian periodicals. Furthermore...

Principles and objectives of information and analytical support for prenatal care

IT-based prenatal care and outpatient counseling of pregnant women are aimed at more effective medical decisions and, therefore, a lower risk of medical errors and their consequences. A system analysis of contemporary clinical examination of pregnant women signals of lack of adequate valid information and analytical support for the medical sector. The technological models of hospitals and research institutions as well as the role of scientists in solving the problems of reproductive health require revision and normative regulation. The study has proved that the system of clinical examination and counseling of pregnant women has a complex structure; it is a multi-stage long process of interrelated decisions. We have decomposed the process into separate objectives and classified the latter. In general, all the relevant objectives may be classified as follows: objectives of classifying and clustering the objects, objective of structural and parametric identification of unknown dependencies, objectives of prognosis, and objectives of pre-processing the data and identifying informative features. We have provided the above stated objectives with correspondent mathematical models and analyzed the possibility of applying familiar methods. It is proved that objectives using subjective conclusions as input data should exploit an apparatus of the theory of fuzzy sets as well as relevant fuzzy models and methods of their solution.

Delegation Within Hierarchies: How Information Processing and Knowledge Characteristics Influence the Allocation of Formal and Real Decision Authority

We investigate trade-offs associated with delegating authority over multiple interrelated decisions in a complex task structure. The empirical setting is a business process of a global Fortune 50 firm. The firm decentralized its organization and redefined decision authority across organizational hierarchies between 2008 and 2011. We employ regression analysis of microlevel data on the allocation of decision authority between formal and real authority, and further on the organization design of 761 decision tasks within a hierarchy. Our findings show how the specialization of decision-relevant knowledge, the matching of required knowledge and managers’ expertise, and information processing intensity affect (a) the occurrence of delegation and, (b) if delegation occurs, how far down the organizational hierarchy authority is delegated. We discuss how these findings complement existing theories on delegation by providing insights into when and how interrelated decisions are delegated across multiple levels of an organizational hierarchy.

Charting Dynamic Trajectories: Multinational Enterprises in India

In this article, we provide a synthesizing framework that we call the “dynamic trajectories” framework to study the evolution of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in host countries over time. We argue that a change in the policy environment in a host country presents an MNE with two sets of interrelated decisions. First, the MNE has to decide whether to enter, exit, or stay in the host country at the onset of each policy epoch; second, conditional on the first choice, it has to decide on its local responsiveness strategy at the onset of each policy epoch. India, which experienced two policy shocks—shutting down to MNEs in 1970 and then opening up again in 1991—offers an interesting laboratory to explore the “dynamic trajectories” perspective. We collect and analyze a unique dataset of all entry and exit events for Fortune 50 and FTSE 50 firms (as of 1991) in India in the period from 1858 to 2013 and, additionally, we document detailed case studies of four MNEs (that arguably represent outliers in our sample).

Solving a multi-floor layout design model of a dynamic cellular manufacturing system by an efficient genetic algorithm

This paper presents a mixed-integer programming model for a multi-floor layout design of cellular manufacturing systems (CMSs) in a dynamic environment. A novel aspect of this model is to concurrently determine the cell formation (CF) and group layout (GL) as the interrelated decisions involved in the design of a CMS in order to achieve an optimal (or near-optimal) design solution for a multi-floor factory in a multi-period planning horizon. Other design aspects are to design a multi-floor layout to form cells in different floors, a multi-rows layout of equal area facilities in each cell, flexible reconfigurations of cells during successive periods, distance-based material handling cost, and machine depot keeping idle machines. This model incorporates with an extensive coverage of important manufacturing features used in the design of CMSs. The objective is to minimize the total costs of intra-cell, inter-cell, and inter-floor material handling, purchasing machines, machine processing, machine overhead, and machine relocation. Two numerical examples are solved by the CPLEX software to verify the performance of the presented model and illustrate the model features. Since this model belongs to NP-hard class, an efficient genetic algorithm (GA) with a matrix-based chromosome structure is proposed to derive near-optimal solutions. To verify its computational efficiency in comparison to the CPLEX software, several test problems with different sizes and settings are implemented. The efficiency of the proposed GA in terms of the objective function value and computational time is proved by the obtained results.

Measuring the effects of reducing subsidies for private insurance on public expenditure for health care

This paper investigates the effects of reducing subsidies for private health insurance on public sector expenditure for hospital care. An econometric framework using simultaneous equation models is developed to analyse the interrelated decisions on the intensity and type of health care use and private insurance. The framework is applied to the context of the mixed public–private system in Australia. The simulation projections show that reducing premium subsidies is expected to generate net cost savings. This arises because the cost savings achieved from reducing subsidies are larger than the potential increase in public expenditure on hospital care.

Optimal Commuting and Migration Decisions under Commuting Cost Uncertainty

The aim of this paper is to assess the implications of economic uncertainty on individual mobility behaviour at the local and regional levels. Focusing especially on uncertainty with respect to the evolution of commuting costs, a model is developed that describes the interrelated decisions of residential choice and the appropriate type of mobility connecting workplace and residence. Results indicate that higher uncertainty about commuting costs increases the number of residentially immobile individuals in that the decision regarding a relocation of residence is accordingly deferred to a later point in time. This also means that individuals initially commuting between residence and workplace remain in this mobility mode despite an apparently favourable net present value of moving to the workplace region.

A window on urban sustainability: Integration of environmental interests in urban planning through ‘decision windows’

Sustainable urban development requires the integration of environmental interests in urban planning. Although various methods of environmental assessment have been developed, plan outcomes are often disappointing due to the complex nature of decision-making in urban planning, which takes place in multiple arenas within multiple policy networks involving diverse stakeholders. We argue that the concept of ‘decision windows’ can structure this seemingly chaotic chain of interrelated decisions. First, explicitly considering the dynamics of the decision-making process, we further conceptualized decision windows as moments in an intricate web of substantively connected deliberative processes where issues are reframed within a decision-making arena, and interests may be linked within and across arenas. Adopting this perspective in two case studies, we then explored how decision windows arise, which factors determine their effectiveness and how their occurrence can be influenced so as to arrive at more sustainable solutions. We conclude that the integration of environmental interests in urban planning is highly dependent on the ability of the professionals involved to recognize and manipulate decision windows. Finally, we explore how decision windows may be opened.

Decentralization of Decision Authority in Complex Task Structures: An empirical Investigation

We investigate tradeoffs associated with delegating authority over multiple interrelated decisions in a complex task structure. The empirical setting is a business process of a global Fortune 50 fi...

Choosing Sides in the Horn of Africa: Wikileaks, the Ethiopia Imperative, and American Responses to Post-9/11 Regional Conflicts

The United States has faced at times the policy dilemma of seeing conflict erupt between two countries with which it maintains friendly diplomatic relations. The bureaucratic biases of relevant agencies can play an important role in determining whether to choose sides or remain neutral in these conflicts. In the early 1960s the Africa Bureau adopted a pro-Ethiopia bias that shaped American policy in the Horn of Africa. With the insights provided by the 2010 Wikileaks cables, this analysis explores how the “Ethiopia imperative” affected three inter-related American policy decisions in the Horn of Africa in the early twenty-first century: the decision to support Ethiopia despite its refusal to abide by a legally binding decision that favoured Eritrea following the 1998–2000 Eritrea–Ethiopia border war; to give Ethiopia what amounted to a “blank cheque” to invade Somalia in December 2006 and overthrow the Council of Islamic Courts (CIC); and to confront and isolate Eritrea diplomatically for waging proxy war against Ethiopia in Somalia.

Participation in Organizations, Trust, and Social Capital Formation: Evidence from Chile

This paper introduces an ordinal rational choice model for multiple kinds of social participation intensities to empirically investigate the relevance of several theoretical determinants of formation of Social Capital (SC) introduced in the literature. The framework is rich enough to investigate the importance of demographic individual variables, social/peer effects interactions, endogenous trust, and politico-institutional factors as sources of participation. Using Chilean data, we find that politico-institutional factors are jointly important to account for SC formation, as well as social interactions. Trusting community is a highly significant factor behind political participation and non-participation in religious activities. In addition, there are clear interrelated decisions among different kinds of participation. The evidence shows that SC formation is a multidimensional complex process, as advocated by prevailing theories in the literature.

Meta-Heuristic Algorithms for a Multi-Product Dynamic Lot-Sizing Problem with a Freight Container Cost

Lot sizing and shipment scheduling are two interrelated decisions made by a manufacturing plant and a third-party logistics distribution center. This paper analyzes a dynamic inbound ordering problem and shipment problem with a freight container cost, in which the order size of multiple products and single container type are simultaneously considered. In the problem, each ordered product placed in a period is immediately shipped by some freight containers in the period, and the total freight cost is proportional to the number of containers employed. It is assumed that the load size of each product is equal and backlogging is not allowed. The objective of this study is to simultaneously determine the lot-sizes and the shipment schedule that minimize the total costs, which consist of production cost, inventory holding cost, and freight cost. Because the problem is NP-hard, we propose three meta-heuristic algorithms: a simulated annealing algorithm, a genetic algorithm, and a new population-based evolutionary meta-heuristic called selfevolution algorithm. The performance of the meta-heuristic algorithms is compared with a local search heuristic proposed by the previous paper in terms of the average deviation from the optimal solution in small size problems and the average deviation from the best one among the replications of the meta-heuristic algorithms in large size problems.

A genetic algorithm for solving a multi-floor layout design model of a cellular manufacturing system with alternative process routings and flexible configuration

This paper presents a novel integer linear programming model for designing multi-floor layout of cellular manufacturing systems (CMS). Three major and interrelated decisions are involved in the design of a CMS; namely cell formation (CF), group layout (GL), and group scheduling (GS). A novel aspect of this model is concurrently making the CF and GL decisions to achieve an optimal design solution in a multi-floor factory. Other compromising aspects are: multi-floor layout to form cells in different floors is considered, multi-rows layout of equal area facilities in each cell is allowed, cells in flexible shapes are configured, and material handling cost based on the distance between the locations assigned to machines are calculated. Such an integrated CMS model with an extensive coverage of important manufacturing features has not been proposed before and this model incorporates several design features including alternative process routings, operation sequence, processing time, production volume of parts, duplicate machines, machine capacity, new machine purchasing, lot splitting, material flow between machines, intra-cell layout, inter-cell layout, multi-floor layout and flexible configuration. The objective is to minimize the total costs of intra-cell, inter-cell, and inter-floor material handling, new machines purchasing and machine processing. Two numerical examples are solved by the Lingo software to verify the performance of the proposed model and illustrate the model features. Sensitive analysis is also implemented on some model parameters. An improved genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed to derive near-optimal solutions for the integrated model because of its NP hardness. It is then tested using several problems with different sizes and settings to verify the computational efficiency of the developed algorithm in comparison to a classic simulated annealing algorithm and the Lingo software. The obtained results show the efficiency of proposed GA in terms of objective function value and computational time.

Heuristics for the multi-depot petrol station replenishment problem with time windows

In the multi-depot petrol station replenishment problem with time windows (MPSRPTW), the delivery of petroleum products stored in a number of different petroleum depots to a set of petrol distribution stations has to be optimized. Each depot has its own fleet of heterogeneous and compartmented tank trucks. Stations specify their demand by indicating the minimum and maximum quantities to be delivered for each ordered product and require the delivery within a predetermined time window. Several inter-related decisions must be made simultaneously in order to solve the problem. For this problem, the set of feasible routes to deliver all the demands, the departure depot for each route, the quantities of each product to be delivered, the assignment of these routes to trucks, the time schedule for each trip, and the loading of the ordered products to different tanks of the trucks used need to be determined. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model that selects, among a set of feasible trips, the subset that allows the delivery of all the demands while maximizing the overall daily net revenue. If this model is provided with all possible feasible trips, it determines the optimal solution for the corresponding MPSRPTW. However, since the number of such trips is often huge, we developed a procedure to generate a restricted set of promising feasible trips. Using this restricted set, the model produces a good but not necessarily optimal solution. Thus the proposed solution process can be seen as a heuristic. We report the results of the extensive numerical tests carried out to assess the performance of the proposed heuristic. In addition, we show that, for the special case of only one depot, the proposed heuristic outperforms a previously published solution method.

Solving a group layout design model of a dynamic cellular manufacturing system with alternative process routings, lot splitting and flexible reconfiguration by simulated annealing

This paper presents a novel mixed-integer non-linear programming model for the layout design of a dynamic cellular manufacturing system (DCMS). In a dynamic environment, the product mix and part demands are varying during a multi-period planning horizon. As a result, the best cell configuration for one period may not be efficient for successive periods, and thus it necessitates reconfigurations. Three major and interrelated decisions are involved in the design of a CMS; namely cell formation (CF), group layout (GL) and group scheduling (GS). A novel aspect of this model is concurrently making the CF and GL decisions in a dynamic environment. The proposed model integrating the CF and GL decisions can be used by researchers and practitioners to design GL in practical and dynamic cell formation problems. Another compromising aspect of this model is the utilization of multi-rows layout to locate machines in the cells configured with flexible shapes. Such a DCMS model with an extensive coverage of important manufacturing features has not been proposed before and incorporates several design features including alternate process routings, operation sequence, processing time, production volume of parts, purchasing machine, duplicate machines, machine capacity, lot splitting, intra-cell layout, inter-cell layout, multi-rows layout of equal area facilities and flexible reconfiguration. The objective of the integrated model is to minimize the total costs of intra and inter-cell material handling, machine relocation, purchasing new machines, machine overhead and machine processing. Linearization procedures are used to transform the presented non-linear programming model into a linearized formulation. Two numerical examples taken from the literature are solved by the Lingo software using a branch-and-bound method to illustrate the performance of this model. An efficient simulated annealing (SA) algorithm with elaborately designed solution representation and neighborhood generation is extended to solve the proposed model because of its NP-hardness. It is then tested using several problems with different sizes and settings to verify the computational efficiency of the developed algorithm in comparison with the Lingo software. The obtained results show that the proposed SA is able to find the near-optimal solutions in computational time, approximately 100 times less than Lingo. Also, the computational results show that the proposed model to some extent overcomes common disadvantages in the existing dynamic cell formation models that have not yet considered layout problems.

Decentralization of Formal and Real Decision Authority: An Empirical Investigation

We investigate tradeoffs associated with delegating authority over multiple interrelated decisions in a complex task structure. The empirical setting is a business process of a global Fortune 50 firm. The firm decentralized its organization and redefined decision authority across organizational hierarchies between 2008 and 2011. We employ regression analysis of micro-level data on the allocation of decision authority between formal and real authority, and further on the organization design of 761 decision tasks within a hierarchy. Our findings show how the specialization of decision-relevant knowledge, the matching of required knowledge and managers’ expertise, and information processing intensity affect (a) the occurrence of delegation, and (b), if delegation occurs, how far down the organizational hierarchy authority is delegated. We discuss how these findings complement existing theories on delegation by providing insights into when and how interrelated decisions are delegated across multiple levels of an organizational hierarchy.

Measuring the Effects of Removing Subsidies for Private Insurance on Public Expenditure for Health Care

This paper investigates the effects of removing subsidies for private health insurance on public sector expenditure for hospital care. An econometric framework using simultaneous equation models is developed to analyze the interrelated decisions on the intensity and type of health care use and insurance. The results indicate that while privately insured individuals are more likely to seek hospital care as a private patient, they do not differ in the intensity of hospital care use compared with those without private insurance. The simulation results suggest that eliminating subsides could potentially yield substantial public sector savings.

Optimizing international portfolios with options and forwards

We develop a stochastic programming model to address in a unified manner a number of interrelated decisions in international portfolio management: optimal portfolio diversification and mitigation of market and currency risks. The goal is to control the portfolio’s total risk exposure and attain an effective balance between risk and expected return. By incorporating options and forward contracts in the portfolio optimization model we are able to numerically assess the performance of alternative tactics for mitigating exposure to the primary risks. We find that control of market risk with options has more significant impact on portfolio performance than currency hedging. We demonstrate through extensive empirical tests that incremental benefits, in terms of reducing risk and generating profits, are gained when both the market and currency risks are jointly controlled through appropriate means.

Multi-floor layout design of cellular manufacturing systems

This paper presents a novel integer linear programming model for designing multi-floor layout of cellular manufacturing systems. Three major and interrelated decisions are involved in the design of a cellular manufacturing system (CMS); namely cell formation (CF), group layout (GL) and group scheduling (GS). A novel aspect of this model is concurrently making the CF and GL decisions to achieve an optimal design solution. The proposed model integrating the CF and GL decisions can be used by researchers and practitioners to design GL of a CMS in a multi-floor factory. Other compromising aspects are: considering multi-floor layout to form cells in the different floors, considering multi-rows layout of equal area facilities in each cell, configuring cells in flexible shapes, calculating material handling cost based on the distance between the locations assigned to machines. The proposed model incorporates several design features including alternative process routings, operation sequence, processing time, production volume of parts, duplicate machines, machine capacity, purchasing machine, lot splitting, material flow between machines, intra-cell layout, inter-cell layout, multi-floor layout and flexible configuration. The objective is to minimize the total costs of intra-cell, inter-cell and inter-floor material handling, purchasing new machines and machine processing. The main constraints are demand satisfaction, cell size, machine time-capacity, material flow conservation and machine location. Two numerical examples are solved by the Lingo software to verify the performance of the proposed model and illustrate the model features.

A fuzzy linear programming approach to layout design of dynamic cellular manufacturing systems with route selection and cell reconfiguration

This paper presents a novel integer non-linear programming model for the layout design of dynamic cellular manufacturing systems (DCMS) under an uncertain environment. A novel aspect of this model is concurrently making the interrelated cell formation and intracell layout decisions in a dynamic and uncertain environment. Other compromising aspects are: considering single-row layout of equal area facilities to locate machines in each cell, machine relocation based on locations assigned to a machine during two successive periods, calculation of material handling cost based on the distance between the locations assigned to machines, and presenting the existence of uncertainty in the model parameters by fuzzy numbers. Such an integrated model with an extensive coverage of important manufacturing features has not been proposed before and incorporates several design features including intracell layout, operation sequence, operation time, alternative process routing, duplicate machines, machine capacity, route selection, production volume of parts and cell reconfiguration. The uncertainty stems from part demand fluctuation and machine capacity. Linearization procedures are used to transform the proposed non-linear programming model into a linearized formulation. Finally, a new fuzzy linear programming approach which can consider the fuzziness of whole parameters in a mathematical model is developed to solve the linearized model. A comprehensive example is solved by the Lingo software to verify the performance of the proposed model and developed fuzzy approach. Also, the computational results show that the proposed model to some extent overcomes common disadvantages in the existing dynamic cell formation models that have not yet considered layout problems and fuzzy issues.