Fashion is a glamorous industry, one of beauty, money, fame, and huge profits. However, from the inside, it is clear the industry is suffering. An industry worth $3 Billion (USD), the fashion industry is characterized by products with a short shelf-life, wrong forecasts, low profits, and ever-increasing competition. On the periphery, technology is rapidly invading the fashion industry, with emerging forms such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Artificial Neural Networks, Human-Robot Interface, making their way into this industry in recent years. AI in Fashion Industry discusses recent developments in fashion forecasting, developing a 'framework of AI-based fashion forecasting' and validates the framework with a qualitative case study of the world's first fashion intelligence company based in Bengaluru, India. This book studies the relationship between fashion and social media engagement of consumers, before moving on to create a 'conceptual framework of fashion e-forecasting.' The case study addresses the forecasting-based business problem of a family-owned fashion retail business. This book is unique, suggesting a novel method of fashion product development in the light of data-driven intelligence; documenting some of the rapid developments in the field with the onset of technology and addressing some of the fundamental questions that are becoming more relevant in recent years.

Based on the "Fourth International Conference on Dynamics of Disasters" (Kalamata, Greece, July 2019), this volume includes contributions from experts who share their latest discoveries on natural and unnatural disasters. Authors provide overviews of the tactical points involved in disaster relief, outlines of hurdles from mitigation and preparedness to response and recovery, and uses for mathematical models to describe natural and man-made disasters. Topics covered include economics, optimization, machine learning, government, management, business, humanities, engineering, medicine, mathematics, computer science, behavioral studies, emergency services, and environmental studies will engage readers from a wide variety of fields and backgrounds.

This book examines inventory and production strategies that can reduce unexpected breakdown costs. It highlights different EPQ models to deal with such problems, providing optimal value derivations for decision variables. It provides proofs for concavity or convexity of objective functions. The chapters also include numerical examples for all the developed mathematical models. Imperfect Inventory Systems: Inventory and Production Management and Breakdown should be useful for professionals working on supply chains, but also researchers in operations research and inventory management.

This book offers an introduction to various models and methods for green supplier evaluation and selection (GSES) within different information settings. As such, it provides valuable knowledge, useful GSES methods and practical examples that can be considered by manufacturers in selecting appropriate green suppliers to improve their environmental performance and customer satisfaction. This book is useful for practitioners and researchers working in the fields of supply chain management, operation management, information science, industrial engineering, and management science. It is also useful as a textbook for postgraduate and senior undergraduate students.

This book develops a comprehensive approach, known as the Ranking Technique, for the assessment of decision options. It aims to provide a way of presenting a decision maker with a consistent method of making a thorough assessment of all the factors associated with complex decisions. The Ranking Technique is based on a detailed analysis of all the issues involved and presents the results in a simple manner which should be understandable by the lay public not versed in the complexities of the issues involved. Ranking Technique is illustrated by application to four major decisions that have caused controversy and one fuel resource evaluation, although it is stressed that the Technique is applicable to all decision-making situations. The study describes how technical, economic and socio-political factors can be evaluated and their significance integrated to give a comprehensive assessment of the decision options.

< p=""> The book covers the domain of multi-criteria decision making, a topic which has gained significant attention of researchers and practitioners spanning a variety of disciplines for enhancing their decision making in real life situation. The topics in this volume help readers understand the techniques in the model building and analysis stage. The chapters cover a variety of techniques and their applications for interesting problems. This book will be of interest to readers in diverse disciplines such as engineering, business, management, humanities, psychology and law. ^

This book presents state-of-the-art research on responsible operations practices. The book identifies the challenges and opportunities arising from the shift towards responsible business operations and examines these issues through the lenses of operations management, emphasizing the supply chain transformations associated with these changes. Developing a responsible business model presents a great opportunity for firms to differentiate in the marketplace through innovative models and insights around responsible operations and supply chain management. To do so, companies in many industries are changing their practices around sourcing materials, supplier compliance around processes and labor, scientific and sustainable approaches to farming in emerging countries, managing counterfeiting risks, and public health management. Responsible Business Operations: Challenges and Opportunities is divided into three sections. Section 1 focuses on environmental responsibility for companies. It also explores alternative energy solutions for both the developed and developing world, as well as worldwide carbon footprint reduction efforts. Section 2 is dedicated to social responsibility, with chapters covering topics including improving agricultural food chains and humanitarian challenges for businesses. Finally Section 3 promotes ethical responsibility, analyzing ways to improve supplier compliance to product, process and ethical standards.

This book bridges the fields of Supply Chain Management, Digital Transformation, and Dynamic Quality models in order to illustrate how digital transformation affects the work of researchers and managers in Supply Chain Quality problems. It aims to address the gap in scholarship regarding new technologies, updating the established literature to reimagine theoretical models, dynamic games, knowledge management, supply chain coordination solutions, interfaces in circular economies, and other functional spaces for a digital era. Written for researchers, managers, and practitioners, this book offers an accessible approach to the topics through clear, management-oriented chapters, reserving mathematical background for the Appendices. It discusses an array of modern challenges in digitization, including smart device installation, Cloud data accessibility, applications of AI systems, Supply Chain monitoring via Blockchains, using sensors in operations, and digital tool integration within traditional IS frameworks.

This book introduces the theory and applications of uncertain optimal control, and establishes two types of models including expected value uncertain optimal control and optimistic value uncertain optimal control. These models, which have continuous-time forms and discrete-time forms, make use of dynamic programming. The uncertain optimal control theory relates to equations of optimality, uncertain bang-bang optimal control, optimal control with switched uncertain system, and optimal control for uncertain system with time-delay. Uncertain optimal control has applications in portfolio selection, engineering, and games. The book is a useful resource for researchers, engineers, and students in the fields of mathematics, cybernetics, operations research, industrial engineering, artificial intelligence, economics, and management science.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the Joint 2018 National Conferences of the Australian Society for Operations Research (ASOR) and the Defence Operations Research Symposium (DORS). Offering a fascinating insight into the state of the art in Australian operations research, this book is of great interest to academics and other professional researchers working in operations research and analytics, as well as practitioners addressing strategic planning, operations management, and other data-driven decision-making challenges in the domains of commerce, industry, defence, the environment, humanitarianism, and agriculture. The book comprises 21 papers on topics ranging from methodological advances to case studies, and addresses application domains including supply chains, government services, defence, cybersecurity, healthcare, mining and material processing, agriculture, natural hazards, telecommunications and transportation. ASOR is the premier professional organization for Australian academics and practitioners working in optimization and other disciplines related to operations research. The conference was held in Melbourne, Australia, in December 2018.

Der Autor untersucht unter Berucksichtigung der Neuerungen durch das SanInsFoG, ob die mit der drohenden Zahlungsunfahigkeit i. S. d. 18 InsO verbundenen rechtspolitischen Ziele des Gesetzgebers erreicht wurden. Dabei nimmt er zu bisher wenig beachteten Rechtsfragen im Zusammenhang mit den Eroeffnungsgrunden nach 17 ff. InsO Stellung, entwickelt eine eigene Prufungssystematik fur den Tatbestand des 18 InsO und unterbreitet einen Reformvorschlag zur Abloesung des 19 InsO. Er beleuchtet die bestehenden Anreize fur eine fruhzeitige Verfahrenseinleitung mit Fokus auf die gesetzlichen Sanierungsinstrumente sowie die Konkurrenzsituation zum StaRUG und unterbreitet fur klarungsbedurftige Einzelfragen Loesungsvorschlage. Der Autor stellt fest, dass de lege lata kaum geeignete Anreize zur Foerderung einer Verfahrenseinleitung bereits bei drohender Zahlungsunfahigkeit vorhanden sind und der Gesetzgeber daher das mit 18 InsO verfolgte Ziel nach wie vor verfehlt. Anschliessend prasentiert er konkrete Vorschlage zur Weiterentwicklung des geltenden Rechts de lege ferenda.

This book presents the theory and methods of flexible and generalized uncertainty optimization. Particularly, it describes the theory of generalized uncertainty in the context of optimization modeling. The book starts with an overview of flexible and generalized uncertainty optimization. It covers uncertainties that are both associated with lack of information and are more general than stochastic theory, where well-defined distributions are assumed. Starting from families of distributions that are enclosed by upper and lower functions, the book presents construction methods for obtaining flexible and generalized uncertainty input data that can be used in a flexible and generalized uncertainty optimization model. It then describes the development of the associated optimization model in detail. Written for graduate students and professionals in the broad field of optimization and operations research, this second edition has been revised and extended to include more worked examples and a section on interval multi-objective mini-max regret theory along with its solution method.

This book analyses decision-making in dynamic economic environments. By applying a wide range of methodological approaches, combining both analytical and computational methods, the contributors examine various aspects of optimal firm behaviour and relevant policy areas. Topics covered include optimal control, dynamic games, economic decision-making, and applications in finance and economics, as well as policy implications in areas such as pollution regulation. This book is dedicated to Christophe Deissenberg, a well-known and distinguished scholar of economic dynamics and computational economics. It appeals to academics in the areas of optimal control, dynamic games and computational economics as well as to decision-makers working in policy domains such as environmental policy.

The third edition of this highly successful case book has been expanded and updated to reflect the increasing reliance upon comprehensive case material in the teaching of operations management. The text begins with an introduction to analysing operations management cases. Each of the subsequent parts deals with a key area of operations management and begins with an expanded introduction, allowing the book to serve as a stand alone text for introductory operations management courses.

This book is devoted to the study of a class of optimal control problems arising in mathematical economics, related to the Robinson-Solow-Srinivasan (RSS) model. It will be useful for researches interested in the turnpike theory, infinite horizon optimal control and their applications, and mathematical economists. The RSS is a well-known model of economic dynamics that was introduced in the 1960s and as many other models of economic dynamics, the RSS model is determined by an objective function (a utility function) and a set-valued mapping (a technology map). The set-valued map generates a dynamical system whose trajectories are under consideration and the objective function determines an optimality criterion. The goal is to find optimal trajectories of the dynamical system, using the optimality criterion. Chapter 1 discusses turnpike properties for some classes of discrete time optimal control problems. Chapter 2 present the description of the RSS model and discuss its basic properties. Infinite horizon optimal control problems, related to the RSS model are studied in Chapter 3. Turnpike properties for the RSS model are analyzed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 studies infinite horizon optimal control problems related to the RSS model with a nonconcave utility function. Chapter 6 focuses on infinite horizon optimal control problems with nonautonomous optimality criterions. Chapter 7 contains turnpike results for a class of discrete-time optimal control problems. Chapter 8 discusses the RSS model and compares different optimality criterions. Chapter 9 is devoted to the study of the turnpike properties for the RSS model. In Chapter 10 the one-dimensional autonomous RSS model is considered and the continuous time RSS model is studied in Chapter 11.

The topic of this book is known as dynamic scheduling, and is used to refer to three dimensions of project management and scheduling: the construction of a baseline schedule and the analysis of a project schedule s risk as preparation of the project control phase during project progress. This dynamic scheduling point of view implicitly assumes that the usability of a project s baseline schedule is rather limited and only acts as a point of reference in the project life cycle. Consequently, a project schedule should especially be considered as nothing more than a predictive model that can be used for resource efficiency calculations, time and cost risk analyses, project tracking and performance measurement, and so on.

In this book, the three dimensions of dynamic scheduling are highlighted in detail and are based on and inspired by a combination of academic research studies at Ghent University (www.ugent.be), in-company trainings at Vlerick Business School (www.vlerick.com) and consultancy projects at OR-AS (www.or-as.be). First, the construction of a project baseline schedule is a central theme throughout the various chapters of the book, and is discussed from a complexity point of view with and without the presence of project resources. Second, the creation of an awareness of the weak parts in a baseline schedule is discussed at the end of the two baseline scheduling parts as schedule risk analysis techniques that can be applied on top of the baseline schedule. Third, the baseline schedule and its risk analyses can be used as guidelines during the project control step where actual deviations can be corrected within the margins of the project s time and cost reserves.

The second edition of this book has seen corrections, additionsand amendments in detail throughout the book. Moreover Chapter 15 on "Dynamic Scheduling with ProTrack" has been completely rewritten and extended with a section on "ProTrack as a research tool.""

This indispensable text offers students a high quality treatment of strategic operations management. It provides the reader with a clear understanding of the importance and nature of operations strategy by determining exactly which management activities, core competencies, resources and technologies underpin an operational strategy. The book demonstrates how various operational elements and components can be combined and customised into unique operational strategies. When these strategies are correctly implemented, they provide sustainable competitive advantage and allow firms to provide a diverse range of services and goods in their increasingly demanding, complex and dynamic marketplaces and spaces.
Includes chapters covering customising operational strategies for retail, manufacturing, services and SMEs, and sections on eBusiness and complexity theory in relation to operations theory.
Features include:
*extended case-studies including several from Europe and the USA
*case vignettes
*learning objectives
*key terms
*chapter introduction and 'maps' to aid reader accessibility
*'time out' boxes to prompt the reader to reflect on what has been learnt
*'critical reflection' boxes that analyse theories and models.

Related link: www.routledge.com/textbooks/0415256542

Ghosts in the Machine examines the complex relationships between gender and information and communication technologies (ICT). Written by women in four countries on three continents, it discusses the educational, social, artistic, and political implications of a feminine voice in the design of technology. The research presented here explores the gendering of technology and, in doing so, describes the Internet, computer games, computer-based design and construction environments, and digital art from a perspective that puts the social context in a key role. As the rate of technology design continues to grow, it is imperative that books such as this provide an alternate voice to the prevailing descriptions of technology use. Ghosts in the Machine brings women's voices out of the shadows to the forefront where they belong.

2019 marked the 85th anniversary of Heinrich Freiherr von Stackelberg's habilitation thesis "Marktform und Gleichgewicht," which formed the roots of bilevel optimization. Research on the topic has grown tremendously since its introduction in the field of mathematical optimization. Besides the substantial advances that have been made from the perspective of game theory, many sub-fields of bilevel optimization have emerged concerning optimal control, multiobjective optimization, energy and electricity markets, management science, security and many more. Each chapter of this book covers a specific aspect of bilevel optimization that has grown significantly or holds great potential to grow, and was written by top experts in the corresponding area. In other words, unlike other works on the subject, this book consists of surveys of different topics on bilevel optimization. Hence, it can serve as a point of departure for students and researchers beginning their research journey or pursuing related projects. It also provides a unique opportunity for experienced researchers in the field to learn about the progress made so far and directions that warrant further investigation. All chapters have been peer-reviewed by experts on mathematical optimization.

Many decision problems in Operations Research are defined on temporal networks, that is, workflows of time-consuming tasks whose processing order is constrained by precedence relations. For example, temporal networks are used to model projects, computer applications, digital circuits and production processes. Optimization problems arise in temporal networks when a decision maker wishes to determine a temporal arrangement of the tasks and/or a resource assignment that optimizes some network characteristic (e.g. the time required to complete all tasks). The parameters of these optimization problems (e.g. the task durations) are typically unknown at the time the decision problem arises. This monograph investigates solution techniques for optimization problems in temporal networks that explicitly account for this parameter uncertainty. We study several formulations, each of which requires different information about the uncertain problem parameters.

This book examines application and methods to incorporating stochastic parameter variations into the optimization process to decrease expense in corrective measures. Basic types of deterministic substitute problems occurring mostly in practice involve i) minimization of the expected primary costs subject to expected recourse cost constraints (reliability constraints) and remaining deterministic constraints, e.g. box constraints, as well as ii) minimization of the expected total costs (costs of construction, design, recourse costs, etc.) subject to the remaining deterministic constraints. After an introduction into the theory of dynamic control systems with random parameters, the major control laws are described, as open-loop control, closed-loop, feedback control and open-loop feedback control, used for iterative construction of feedback controls. For approximate solution of optimization and control problems with random parameters and involving expected cost/loss-type objective, constraint functions, Taylor expansion procedures, and Homotopy methods are considered, Examples and applications to stochastic optimization of regulators are given. Moreover, for reliability-based analysis and optimal design problems, corresponding optimization-based limit state functions are constructed. Because of the complexity of concrete optimization/control problems and their lack of the mathematical regularity as required of Mathematical Programming (MP) techniques, other optimization techniques, like random search methods (RSM) became increasingly important. Basic results on the convergence and convergence rates of random search methods are presented. Moreover, for the improvement of the - sometimes very low - convergence rate of RSM, search methods based on optimal stochastic decision processes are presented. In order to improve the convergence behavior of RSM, the random search procedure is embedded into a stochastic decision process for an optimal control of the probability distributions of the search variates (mutation random variables).

This book broadly explains the requirement to focus on core components in a business and provides a case study of open-pit mining operations throughout the book to understand the management perspective of large organizations. With globalized approaches of large businesses and the rising requirement of understanding the needs of modern organizations, it is necessary to focus on key areas of businesses to ensure sustainability of operations. Organizations look into achieving a high return on investments and short-term measures in increasing sales or revenue is considered unsuitable. It is a necessity to look for sustainability and continuous methods of innovation to boost efficiency. This book provides a case study based on large organizations and uses qualitative methodologies where data was collected using in-depth interviews of respondents from various mining companies in the top and middle-level management from different parts of the world, detailing the state of the art of information systems currently used in large scale open-pit miming (LSOPM). This book provides a sound knowledge of cutting-edge factors to the reader for managing the business to attain operational excellence and long-term sustainability, and caters to a broad spectrum of management and technical readers.

This volume develops and describes an ontology of modern conflict. Modern conflict is a complex adaptive system. As such, it exhibits emergent properties, or properties that are not predictable from simple descriptions of the system. The Modern Conflict Ontology (MCO) creates a structure for collecting and analyzing information regarding both conventional and unconventional conflict in the face of uncertainty. The first three chapters of the book begin the discussion of the MCO. The first chapter introduces the foundational concepts. The second chapter discusses modern conflict in detail. The third chapter provides an overview of ontologies in sufficient detail to make the rest of the book understandable, but without covering the minutia of the subject. The next ten chapters describe the parts of the MCO. Each part is a sub-ontology and is discussed in detail, including connections to the other parts. Instances are used very liberally to ensure that the concepts are made concrete. The final chapter consolidates the descriptions of the ontology into a discussion of "what we can know." It describes the implementation history and changes from the predecessor Unconventional Conflict Ontology (UCO) to the MCO, plus some uses of the ontology and potential future enhancements. Providing an ontology that describes the entire modern conflict domain, this volume is appropriate for military professionals and academics and professionals in political science, computer science, and operations research.

This book presents recent work that analyzes general issues of green transportation. The contributed chapters consider environmental objectives in transportation, including topics such as battery swap stations for electric vehicles, efficient home healthcare routing, waste collection, and various vehicle routing problems. The content will be valuable for researchers and postgraduate students in computer science, operations research, and urban planning.