Assignment Problems is a useful tool for researchers, practitioners and graduate students. In 10 self-contained chapters, it provides a comprehensive treatment of assignment problems from their conceptual beginnings through present-day theoretical, algorithmic and practical developments. The topics covered include bipartite matching algorithms, linear assignment problems, quadratic assignment problems, multi-index assignment problems and many variations of these. Researchers will benefit from the detailed exposition of theory and algorithms related to assignment problems, including the basic linear sum assignment problem and its variations. Practitioners will learn about practical applications of the methods, the performance of exact and heuristic algorithms, and software options. This book also can serve as a text for advanced courses in areas related to discrete mathematics and combinatorial optimisation. The revised reprint provides details on a recent discovery related to one of Jacobi's results, new material on inverse assignment problems and quadratic assignment problems, and an updated bibliography.
This book provides a comprehensive treatment of assignment problems from their conceptual beginnings in the 1920s through present-day theoretical, algorithmic, and practical developments. The revised reprint provides details on a recent discovery related to one of Jacobi's results, new material on inverse assignment problems and quadratic assignment problems, and an updated bibliography. The authors have organized the book into 10 self-contained chapters to make it easy for readers to use the specific chapters of interest to them without having to read the book linearly. The topics covered include bipartite matching algorithms, linear assignment problems, quadratic assignment problems, multi-index assignment problems, and many variations of these problems. Exercises in the form of numerical examples provide readers with a method of self-study or students with homework problems, and an associated webpage offers applets that readers can use to execute some of the basic algorithms as well as links to computer codes that are available online. Researchers will benefit from the book's detailed exposition of theory and algorithms related to assignment problems, including the basic linear sum assignment problem and its many variations. Practitioners will learn about practical applications of the methods, the performance of exact and heuristic algorithms, and software options. This book also can serve as a text for advanced courses in discrete mathematics, integer programming, combinatorial optimization, and algorithmic computer science.
This is a supplementary volume to the major three-volume Handbook of Combinatorial Optimization set. It can also be regarded as a stand-alone volume presenting chapters dealing with various aspects of the subject in a self-contained way.
Praise for the Second Edition: "This is quite a well-done book: very tightly organized, better-than-average exposition, and numerous examples, illustrations, and applications." —Mathematical Reviews of the American Mathematical Society An Introduction to Linear Programming and Game Theory, Third Edition presents a rigorous, yet accessible, introduction to the theoretical concepts and computational techniques of linear programming and game theory. Now with more extensive modeling exercises and detailed integer programming examples, this book uniquely illustrates how mathematics can be used in real-world applications in the social, life, and managerial sciences, providing readers with the opportunity to develop and apply their analytical abilities when solving realistic problems. This Third Edition addresses various new topics and improvements in the field of mathematical programming, and it also presents two software programs, LP Assistant and the Solver add-in for Microsoft Office Excel, for solving linear programming problems. LP Assistant, developed by coauthor Gerard Keough, allows readers to perform the basic steps of the algorithms provided in the book and is freely available via the book's related Web site. The use of the sensitivity analysis report and integer programming algorithm from the Solver add-in for Microsoft Office Excel is introduced so readers can solve the book's linear and integer programming problems. A detailed appendix contains instructions for the use of both applications. Additional features of the Third Edition include: A discussion of sensitivity analysis for the two-variable problem, along with new examples demonstrating integer programming, non-linear programming, and make vs. buy models Revised proofs and a discussion on the relevance and solution of the dual problem A section on developing an example in Data Envelopment Analysis An outline of the proof of John Nash's theorem on the existence of equilibrium strategy pairs for non-cooperative, non-zero-sum games Providing a complete mathematical development of all presented concepts and examples, Introduction to Linear Programming and Game Theory, Third Edition is an ideal text for linear programming and mathematical modeling courses at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as a valuable reference for professionals who use game theory in business, economics, and management science.
The quadratic assignment problem (QAP) was introduced in 1957 by Koopmans and Beckmann to model a plant location problem. Since then the QAP has been object of numerous investigations by mathematicians, computers scientists, ope- tions researchers and practitioners. Nowadays the QAP is widely considered as a classical combinatorial optimization problem which is (still) attractive from many points of view. In our opinion there are at last three main reasons which make the QAP a popular problem in combinatorial optimization. First, the number of re- life problems which are mathematically modeled by QAPs has been continuously increasing and the variety of the fields they belong to is astonishing. To recall just a restricted number among the applications of the QAP let us mention placement problems, scheduling, manufacturing, VLSI design, statistical data analysis, and parallel and distributed computing. Secondly, a number of other well known c- binatorial optimization problems can be formulated as QAPs. Typical examples are the traveling salesman problem and a large number of optimization problems in graphs such as the maximum clique problem, the graph partitioning problem and the minimum feedback arc set problem. Finally, from a computational point of view the QAP is a very difficult problem. The QAP is not only NP-hard and - hard to approximate, but it is also practically intractable: it is generally considered as impossible to solve (to optimality) QAP instances of size larger than 20 within reasonable time limits.
An overview of the basic concepts, methods and applications of nonlinear low-dimensional solid state physics based on the Frenkel--Kontorova model and its generalizations. The book covers many important topics such as the nonlinear dynamics of discrete systems, the dynamics of solitons and their interaction, commensurate and incommensurate systems, statistical mechanics of nonlinear systems, and nonequilibrium dynamics of interacting many-body systems.
Knowledge updating is a never-ending process and so should be the revision of an effective textbook. The book originally written fifty years ago has, during the intervening period, been revised and reprinted several times. The authors have, however, been thinking, for the last few years that the book needed not only a thorough revision but rather a substantial rewriting. They now take great pleasure in presenting to the readers the twelfth, thoroughly revised and enlarged, Golden Jubilee edition of the book. The subject-matter in the entire book has been re-written in the light of numerous criticisms and suggestions received from the users of the earlier editions in India and abroad. The basis of this revision has been the emergence of new literature on the subject, the constructive feedback from students and teaching fraternity, as well as those changes that have been made in the syllabi and/or the pattern of examination papers of numerous universities. Knowledge updating is a never-ending process and so should be the revision of an effective textbook. The book originally written fifty years ago has, during the intervening period, been revised and reprinted several times. The authors have, however, been thinking, for the last few years that the book needed not only a thorough revision but rather a substantial rewriting. They now take great pleasure in presenting to the readers the twelfth, thoroughly revised and enlarged, Golden Jubilee edition of the book. The subject-matter in the entire book has been re-written in the light of numerous criticisms and suggestions received from the users of the earlier editions in India and abroad. The basis of this revision has been the emergence of new literature on the subject, the constructive feedback from students and teaching fraternity, as well as those changes that have been made in the syllabi and/or the pattern of examination papers of numerous universities. Knowledge updating is a never-ending process and so should be the revision of an effective textbook. The book originally written fifty years ago has, during the intervening period, been revised and reprinted several times. The authors have, however, been thinking, for the last few years that the book needed not only a thorough revision but rather a substantial rewriting. They now take great pleasure in presenting to the readers the twelfth, thoroughly revised and enlarged, Golden Jubilee edition of the book. The subject-matter in the entire book has been re-written in the light of numerous criticisms and suggestions received from the users of the earlier editions in India and abroad. The basis of this revision has been the emergence of new literature on the subject, the constructive feedback from students and teaching fraternity, as well as those changes that have been made in the syllabi and/or the pattern of examination papers of numerous universities. Some prominent additions are given below: 1. Variance of Degenerate Random Variable 2. Approximate Expression for Expectation and Variance 3. Lyapounov’s Inequality 4. Holder’s Inequality 5. Minkowski’s Inequality 6. Double Expectation Rule or Double-E Rule and many others
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.
Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.
