Non-uniform random variate generation is an established research area in the intersection of mathematics, statistics and computer science. Although random variate generation with popular standard distributions have become part of every course on discrete event simulation and on Monte Carlo methods, the recent concept of universal (also called automatic or black-box) random variate generation can only be found dispersed in literature. This new concept has great practical advantages that are little known to most simulation practitioners. Being unique in its overall organization the book covers not only the mathematical and statistical theory, but also deals with the implementation of such methods. All algorithms introduced in the book are designed for practical use in simulation and have been coded and made available by the authors. Examples of possible applications of the presented algorithms (including option pricing, VaR and Bayesian statistics) are presented at the end of the book.

Non-uniform random variate generation is an established research area in the intersection of mathematics, statistics and computer science. Although random variate generation with popular standard distributions have become part of every course on discrete event simulation and on Monte Carlo methods, the recent concept of universal (also called automatic or black-box) random variate generation can only be found dispersed in literature. This new concept has great practical advantages that are little known to most simulation practitioners. Being unique in its overall organization the book covers not only the mathematical and statistical theory, but also deals with the implementation of such methods. All algorithms introduced in the book are designed for practical use in simulation and have been coded and made available by the authors. Examples of possible applications of the presented algorithms (including option pricing, VaR and Bayesian statistics) are presented at the end of the book.

The aim of this work is to determine the best values of total printing volume of magazines and the amounts that are sent to sales points, through forecasting and determination of optimum service level to be provided. The first part of the book deals with forecasting the sales endpoint demands for the future issue. Especially, the handling of the censored demand in case of sellout is analyzed. Also, studies are carried out for nding the optimum parameters of the forecasting method. The two main strategies used for planning are mentioned: top-down and bottom-up. The top-down approach rst determines the printing volume and distributes it to the endpoints. In the second part, three alternative ways of applying the top-down approach are discussed. The third part presents the existing bottom-up optimization approach that is valid under the assumption of normal probability demand distribution. It then deduces formulas for finding return and lost sales that would occur. Then, a simulation based approach is described that nds these performance measures, under any demand distribution assumption. In the end, a computer based illustration of these methods is given.