Informs Annual Meeting 2017

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INFORMS Houston – 2017

5 - Last-Mile Distribution and Horizontal Cooperation in Urban Logistics Javier Faulin, Public University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain, javier.faulin@unavarra.es, Adrian Serrano-Hernandez, Christian Fikar, Patrick Hirsch, Alejandro Garcia del Valle This talk introduces the topics of Last-Mile Distribution and Horizontal Cooperation in an integrated way showing the key role of Horizontal Cooperation as a new strategy for goods distribution optimization in urban logistics. This approximation is particularly interesting knowing the importance of smart distribution as a new paradigm of e-commerce. We have used an agent-based simulation to measure savings in lead times in an assorted group of Horizontal Cooperation agreements among some distribution companies. Moreover, the impact of store-wholesaler structure is investigated to improve the final urban delivery. Finally, we have provided some computational results to enhance the role of Horizontal Cooperation in urban distribution 352F Decision Analysis Contributed Session Chair: Jie Zhang, Virginia Institute of Technology, Blacksburg, VA, United States, jiezhang@vt.edu 1 - Coalition with out Trust: the Intra-brain Connectivity and Inter-brain Synchronization of Herd Behaviors in an Economic Bubble Game Jonathan Tong, Phd. program Student, National Taiwan University, 7F., No. 28, Ln. 325, Zhungjing Rd.,, Taipei, 110, Taiwan, d03323003@ntu.edu.tw Economic bubbles form and burst because of human beings’ higher-order reasoning, believing in earning pure capital gains due to other people’s similar beliefs. We design a two-person investment game that simulates the natural situation of the form and the burst of economic bubbles. Using hyper-scanning fMRI to look into the correlation and the interaction of subjects’ brain activities, we are able to gain insights about the coupling phenomenon of the two minds in the context of strategic interaction. 2 - Phases of Physical 3D Networks Soodabeh Milanlouei, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02130, United States, milanlouei.s@husky.neu.edu, Nima Dehmamy, Albert-Laszlo Barabasi In many real networks, from neural cells forming a brain to bundles of cables, the nodes and links have physical reality, unable to cross each other. Therefore, their physical layouts are jointly determined by these non-crossing conditions and their tight-packed nature, limiting how they can evolve. By ignoring the physical reality and dimensions of the links and nodes, current network layout algorithms are inherently unable to capture the properties of such real networks. Hence, we develop and study a series of 3D layout models that observe the physical constraints we encounter, allowing us to systematically explore how these limitations affect the network layout. 3 - From Mind Reading to Mind Sharing: A Study on Neural Correlates of Cognitive and Affective Tom and their Applications to Salesforce Enhancement Jonathan Tong, PhD Program Student, National Taiwan University, 7F., No. 28, Ln.325, Zhungjing Rd.,, Taipei, 110, Taiwan, d03323003@ntu.edu.tw Adopting the approaches of neuromarketing and social cognitive neuroscience, our purpose is to study the neural dynamics of sales’ mind reading capabilities via a Chinese Drinking Game experiment with hyper-scanning of fMRI and how mind reading predicts their real performance. 4- Determinants of Alcohol Consumption Among College Students Lu Xu, Ph.D candidate, University of North Texas, 1155 Union This research examines factors influencing the amount of alcohol consumed by college students. Predictor variables include demographics, academic factors, social factors, and alcohol-related factors. Data from 431 college students was collected using a Qualtrics survey that incorporates the Student Alcohol questionnaire. Linear regression was employed to analyze the data. The findings emphasize when effective intervention is needed. 5 - Budget Constraint Newsvendor Model in Reverse Supply Chain with Customer Driven Substitution Jie Zhang, Virginia Institute of Technology, 820 Newport Terrace, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, United States, jiezhang@vt.edu, Subhash C.Sarin In our model, there exist uncertain demand of new product and remanufactured product. Customers can choose the other product if their first choice product is Circle #305249, Denton, TX, 76203-5017, United States, lu.xu@unt.edu, Gayle Prybutok, Victor R.Prybutok, Alexandra Ruuska WB41

out of stock. The quantity of remanufactured products is limited by the quantity of the collected cores. The budget consists of collection cost, and production cost for each products. We determine the optimal quantity of each products and analyze the effect of the substitution rate.

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360A Planning Contributed Session Chair: Zahra Banakar, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United States, zahra.banakar@mavs.uta.edu 1 - Evaluating System Quality in Healthcare Industry by using Hybrid MCDM Methods Maryam Soltanpour Gharibdosuti, Binghamton University, 62 Floral Ave, Apt 8, Binghamton, NY, 13905, United States, msoltan1@binghamton.edu With the birth of electronic commerce, monitoring and enhancing the electronic service quality (e-sq.), hospitals use it as an appropriate media to facilitate information exchange between patients and providers, to improve their offered services This paper presents a quality evaluation model for measuring the performance of hospitals’ web sites. The model is developed on the basis of a conceptual framework, which consists of three major e-service quality dimensions, including reliability, responsiveness and quality of information, which are main issues of Web sites. A hybrid multi criteria decision-making methods are used in the evaluation procedure. 2 - Cultivation of Soft Skills in the Construction Industry Mahdi Safa, Assistant Professor, Lamar University, 5350 Old Dowlen Rd, Apt. 127, Beaumont, TX, 77706, United States, msmahdisafa@gmail.com, Kelly Weeks, Jeff Dyson, Shiblee Shakik Ahmed Success in the construction industry largely depends on an amalgamation of technical skills and soft skills. Construction companies striving to survive on limited budgets and tight profit margins are looking for ways to improve workforce productivity. A key consideration for the workforce productivity improvement is to identify key soft skill gaps that need to be prioritized for training and development of professionals. Hence, a questionnaire based survey has been conducted with 250 professionals from Texas. The results show that among various soft skills, communication, time management, and work ethics have been identified as the most fundamental and relevant skills required to excel. 3 - A Parametric Activity Based Cost Estimation Framework Utilizing Conceptual Process Modeling Zahra Banakar, P.h.D Candidate, University of Texas at Arlington, 2211 Twin Elms Dr, Arlington, TX, 76012, United States, zahra.banakar@mavs.uta.edu, Brian L.Huff In order to have the most accurate production costs estimation, accurate cost information in a useful form is needed. This paper presents a cost estimation framework that integrates both activity and parametric cost estimation methods to increase the ease, accuracy, and speed of producing cost estimates for a family of products or services. The paper will discuss how process description capture methods can be used to identify the activities that drive cost. Also, a costing model based on the conceptual system description method will provide a more generic costing tool. 360B Strategic Decisions in Humanitarian Setting: Empirical and Analytical Approaches Sponsored: Public Sector OR Sponsored Session Chair: Mahyar Eftekhar, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, United States, eftekhar@asu.edu 1 - A Multi-attribute Simulator for Policy Evaluation in Humanitarian Fleet Management Liyi Gu, University of Maryland, 7621 Mowatt Ln, College Park, MD, 20742, United States, lgu@rhsmith.umd.edu, Ilya O. Ryzhov, Mahyar Eftekhar We develop a stochastic, dynamic multi-attribute simulation framework for fleet management in humanitarian development programs, which encompasses purchase, sale and vehicle assignment decisions. We empirically estimate demand (mission distances) and vehicle operational costs, and build a simulator to compare different policies. Preliminary results are discussed. WB43

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