In this paper, we argue that computer simulations can provide valuable insights into the performance of voting methods on different collective decision problems. This could improve institutional design, even when there is no general theoretical result to support the optimality of a voting method. To support our claim, we first describe a decision problem that has not received much theoretical attention

In recent years, commodity prices have swiftly decreased, narrowing the profit margin for many mining operations and forcing them to find effective cost management strategies to respond to low prices. Given that equipment is one of the most significant assets of a mining company, efficient equipment utilization has strong potential to reduce costs. This paper focuses on the relationship between the

Numerous studies have confirmed the negative impact of the lack of coordination on supply chain performance. In particular, the lack of coordination leads to the bullwhip effect, which has severe impacts on supply chain stability. This paper evaluates a proposed coordination mechanism that allows a decentralized information sharing in multi-echelon supply chains. The proposed mechanism “Info-Smooth”

The growing complexity of embedded and cyber-physical systems makes the design of all system components from scratch increasingly impractical. Consequently, already from early stages of a design flow, designers rely on prior experience, which comes in the form of legacy code or third-party intellectual property (IP) blocks. Current approaches partly address the co-simulation problem for specific scenarios

Waterflooding is considered as one of the most common methods for improving the ultimate recovery of oil reservoirs. The efficiency of a waterflooding operation strongly depends on the determination and quantification of the relative connections between the injection and production wells. Injection and production rates are the most accessible data and they can provide useful information about the interwell

The optimization of man–machine systems is a critical component in the research and development of products but it has been a struggle to improve the optimization accuracy. This study presents an ergonomic optimization method driven by a posture load regulatory network (PLRN). Considering that the differences in work-related musculoskeletal disorders are caused by different occupations, human body

Urban development usually deteriorates the transportation system. For sustainable urban development, policymakers often face the challenging problem of how to optimally allocate overall land use quotas across a number of residential locations according to the performance of the transportation system. This is a kind of Stackelberg competition, where policymakers make land use decisions and travelers

This paper presents the application of information gap decision theory (IGDT) to deal with uncertainties associated with load forecasting in dynamic, environment constrained, coordinated generation and transmission expansion planning. Traditionally, the gaseous emissions are constrained over the whole system. Conventional methods cannot guarantee a practical expansion plan since huge emissions can

Regardless of its origin, in the near future the challenge will not be how to generate data, but rather how to manage big and highly distributed data to make it more easily handled and more accessible by users on their personal devices. VELaSSCo (Visualization for Extremely Large-Scale Scientific Computing) is a platform developed to provide new visual analysis methods for large-scale simulations serving

The efficient utilization and management of a scarce resource such as the intensive care unit (ICU) is critical to the smooth functioning of a hospital. This study investigates the impact of a set of operational policies on ICU behavior and performance. Specifically, the implemented policies are (a) wait time thresholds on how long patients can wait for an ICU bed, (b) the time windows during which

This study examines the feasibility and potential benefits of using simulation to aid designers of large industrial processes. A demon stration of simulations is provided in the basic oxygen furnace shop and subsequent steel-making operations prior to rolling slabs. We explore three design situations: (1) a new processing technology, (2) the removal of bottlenecks in current operations, and (3) sensitivities

A new dynamic modeling methodology, SLIN, allows for the analysis of systems defined by linguistic variables. SLIN applies a set of logical rules which include base, tactical, strategic and structural change. To make the transition from qualitative to quantitative modes, logical rules are also used. SLIN is advanta geously implemented in a very high-level language such as PRO LOG. A simple ecological

A method whereby a parameter optimization program, written in FORTRAN, can be used in conjunction with ACSL (Advanced Continuous Simulation Language) models of dynamic systems is described. The optimization of a projectile's trajectory is used as an example.

Hierarchical, modular specification of discrete-event models of fers a basis for reusable model bases and hence for enhanced simulation of truly varied design alternatives. We describe an envi ronment which realizes the DEVS formalism developed in Zeigler (1984) for hierarchical, modular models. It is implemented in PC-Scheme, a powerful Lisp dialect for microcomputers contain ing an object-oriented

The study of the impact phenomenon on rubber-like materials has been traditionally related to lumped parameter modeling or discrete Finite Element models that require experimentation associated with the material behavior at a level of constitutive modeling, and additional testing to validate their operation in case of engineering applications. This article presents an Artificial Neural Network approach

To study the effects of spatial variability on groundwater flow simulation, some stochastic methods are proposed in this study. The Karhunen–Loeve expansion is utilized to generate the random field of the parameter conductivity. The conventional and pseudo-random, Latin hypercube, and quasi-random sampling methods are employed to generate random vectors in the Karhunen–Loeve expansion. Various Monte

The traditional clock-driven algorithm is very time-consuming when performed on large-scale neuronal networks due to the huge number of synaptic currents computation and low performance of the parallel implementation of the algorithm. We find in this paper that the conductance coefficients of all the synapses coming from the same presynaptic neuron (neuron i for example) does not need to be computed

This paper focuses on controlling traction for a four-wheel electric vehicle by using the longitudinal slip ratio control technique. By keeping the slip ratio value inside an optimal limit, it can be ensured that the maximum driving force is obtainable by increasing the friction force between tire and road. The usefulness of the sliding mode control method is to provide robust performance from the

Urban livability is an important factor in decisions regarding modern urban construction. Based on multi-agent modeling theory, a model of the changes in urban safety livability is proposed to analyze the present situation and the trends in urban safety livability in complex urban systems. Considering safety as an example, five environmental indicators, namely public security, fire protection, traffic

The growing size and complexity of molecular network models makes them increasingly difficult to construct and understand. Modifying a model that consists of tens of reactions is no easy task. Attempting the same on a model containing hundreds of reactions can seem nearly impossible. We present the JigCell Model Connector, a software tool that supports large-scale molecular network modeling. Our approach

The use of computer-based automation and control systems for smart sustainable buildings, often so-called Automated Buildings (ABs), has become an effective way to automatically control, optimize, and supervise a wide range of building performance applications over a network while achieving the minimum energy consumption possible, and in doing so generally refers to Building Automation and Control

We describe a general framework for modeling and stochastic simulation of epidemics in realistic dynamic social networks, which incorporates heterogeneity in the types of individuals, types of interconnecting risk-bearing relationships, and types of pathogens transmitted across them. Dynamism is supported through arrival and departure processes, continuous restructuring of risk relationships, and changes

Several fields have created ontologies for their subdomains. For example, the biological sciences have developed extensive ontologies such as the Gene Ontology, which is considered a great success. Ontologies could provide similar advantages to the Modeling and Simulation community. They provide a way to establish common vocabularies and capture knowledge about a particular domain with community-wide

We extend our basic discrete-event model of Plasmodium falciparum malaria to encompass circumstances in which multiple phenotypic variants of the parasite circulate within interacting human and mosquito populations, and we compare a version in which variants behave independently to one in which they interact through shared host immune responses. Relative to the standard hypothesis of statistical independence

We develop discrete-event simulation models using a single "timeline" variable to represent the Plasmodium falciparum lifecycle in individual hosts and vectors within interacting host and vector populations. Where they are comparable our conclusions regarding the relative importance of vector mortality and the durations of host immunity and parasite development are congruent with those of classic

The fitting of mathematical models to physiological systems can be tedious and difficult, whether one uses analog or digital computer methods. Both methods have their pros and cons depending on the available hardware and software and on the type of modeling. In recent years many digital simulation languages have been written combining analog-like and digital features to facilitate modeling, but, for