This paper presents an overview of several important areas of operations research applications in the air transport industry. Specific areas covered are: the various stages of aircraft and crew schedule planning; revenue management, including overbooking and leg-based and network-based seat inventory management; and the planning and operations of aviation infrastructure (airports and air traffic management). For each of these areas, the paper provides a historical perspective on OR contributions, as well as a brief summary of the state of the art. It also identifies some of the main challenges for future research.

https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/pdf/10.1287/trsc.37.4.368.23276

Applications of Operations Research in the Air Transport Industry

This paper describes a systematic process for examining complex public policy choices that has been developed and refined over the past 50 years and is often called policy analysis. Its purpose is to assist policymakers in choosing preferred courses of action by clarifying the problem, outlining the alternative solutions and displaying tradeoffs among their consequences. In most real-world policy situations there are many possible alternatives, many uncertainties, many stakeholders and many consequences of interest. Also, there is usually no single decisionmaker and little chance of obtaining agreement on a single set of preferences among the consequences. As a result, there is no way to identify an optimal solution. Instead, policy analysis uses a variety of tools to develop relevant information and present it to the parties involved in the policymaking process in a manner that helps them come to a decision. It is a problem-oriented approach that does not presume a model structure for assessing the consequences of a policy or ranking the alternatives. The paper provides a brief history of policy analysis, describes the most important elements of the policy analysis process, provides an illustrative example of the use of the approach and suggests directions for future developments that can enrich the approach and increase the chances for successful use of the results. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Policy analysis: a systematic approach to supporting policymaking in the public sector

Decision analysis in energy and environmental modeling

While the goal of OR/MS is to aid decision makers, implementation of published models occurs less frequently than one might hope. However, one area that has been significantly impacted by management science is emergency response systems. Dozens of papers on emergency service management appeared in the OR/MS literature in the 1970s alone, many of which were published inManagement Science. Three of these papers won major prizes. More importantly, many of these papers led to the implementation of substantially new policies and practices, particularly in policing and firefighting. Much of this work originated in New York City, though many other cities subsequently adopted the resulting models and strategies. In this paper, we look at the context, content, and nature of the research and the factors that led to these early implementation successes. We then track the extent to which these original models are still affecting decision making in emergency response systems. We also examine the pace of development of new OR/MS models and applications in the area. Finally, we look at issues in emergency responsiveness that have emerged recently as a result of the national focus on terrorism and discuss the potential for future OR/MS modeling and application.

ANNIVERSARY ARTICLE: Improving Emergency Responsiveness with Management Science

W the goal of OR/MS is to aid decision makers, implementation of published models occurs less frequently than one might hope. However, one area that has been significantly impacted by management science is emergency response systems. Dozens of papers on emergency service management appeared in the OR/MS literature in the 1970s alone, many of which were published in Management Science. Three of these papers won major prizes. More importantly, many of these papers led to the implementation of substantially new policies and practices, particularly in policing and firefighting. Much of this work originated in New York City, though many other cities subsequently adopted the resulting models and strategies. In this paper, we look at the context, content, and nature of the research and the factors that led to these early implementation successes. We then track the extent to which these original models are still affecting decision making in emergency response systems. We also examine the pace of development of new OR/MS models and applications in the area. Finally, we look at issues in emergency responsiveness that have emerged recently as a result of the national focus on terrorism and discuss the potential for future OR/MS modeling and application.

/pdf/improving-emergency-responsiveness-with-management-science-47sx894nzt.pdf

Improving Emergency Responsiveness with Management Science

This book presents leading recent studies on the application of formal modeling for improved delivery of public services It very significantly updates and extends the type of material found in "Operations Research for Public Systems" (MIT Press, 1967), which began to organize studies about public systems Most of the chapters can be read with or without detailed consideration of their technical content For clarity and compactness, much of the intermediate mathematical detail is referenced to other sources The editors and authors have striven to make it possible for administrators, who may have limited analytic backgrounds, to use this book to develop their own views on the place of formal analysis in system planning and operationContents: "Introduction, " Alvin W Drake, Ralph L Keeney, and Philip M Morse; "From Inside the System, " Frederick O'R Hayes; "Analysis and Urban Government, " Peter L Szanton; "Public Systems Analysis: A Consultant's View, " Martin L Ernst; "Afterthoughts on Four Urban Systems Studies Performed with Small Cities, " W Edward Cushen; "A Critique of Formal Analysis in Public Decision Making, " Ralph L Keeney and Howard Raiffa; "Quantitative Models in Public Administration: Some Educational Needs, " Alvin W Drake; "The New York City Fire Project, " Edward H Blum; "Emergency Ambulance Transportation, " Keith A Stevenson; "Improving the Effectiveness of New York City's 911, " Richard C Larson; "Methods for Allocating Urban Emergency Units, " Jan M Chaiken and Richard C Larson; "Blood Bank Inventory Control, " John B Jennings; "Library Models, " Philip M Morse; "Efficient Operation of Runways, " Amedeo Odoni; "Post Office Mail Processing Operations, " Charles C McBride; "Driver Accident Models and Their Use in Policy Evaluation, " Joseph Ferreira, Jr; "Analysis of a Total Criminal Justice System, " Alfred Blumstein and Richard C Larson; "Water Quality Management, " David H Marks; "A Rational Approach for Government Decisions concerning Air Pollution, " Howard M Ellis and Ralph L Keeney; "Analysis in Health Planning, " Robert N Grosse; "Puerto Rico's Citizen Feedback System, " John D C Little, Chandler H Stevens, and Peter Tropp; "A Study of the Education Process: The Structure of a Lesson, " R W Revans; "Operations Research in University Planning, " Robert M Oliver; "Use of Decision Analysis in Airport Development for Mexico City, " Richard deNeufville and Ralph L Keeney

Alvin W. Drake

Papers

Analysis of Public Systems.