Showing papers by "Takming University of Science and Technology published in 2009"

A fuzzy goal programming approach for green supply chain optimisation under activity-based costing and performance evaluation with a value-chain structure

Abstract: Supply chain operation with sustainable consideration has become an increasingly important issue in recent years. However, the decision framework with integrated costing and performance evaluation for green supply chain (GSC) has not been well developed so far in the literature. For this reason, this paper is aimed to propose a fuzzy goal programming (FGP) approach that integrates activity-based costing (ABC) and performance evaluation in a value-chain structure for optimal GSC supplier selection and flow allocation. The FGP approach is particularly suitable for such a decision model which includes flexible goals, financial and non-financial measures, quantitative and qualitative methods, multi-layer structure, multiple criteria, multiple objectives, and multiple strategies. An activity-based example of structural GSC with relevant costs and performances is presented for computing the composite performance indices of the GSC suppliers. A green supply chain of a mobile phone is used as an illustrative case...

Treatment and recycling system optimisation with activity-based costing in WEEE reverse logistics management: an environmental supply chain perspective

Abstract: Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) reverse logistics management has increasingly received much attention in recent years not only because of the fast increase of WEEE but also the legislations in many developed countries. This paper focuses on the treatment and recycling system, and proposes a two-stage multi-objective decision framework. In the treatment stage, the responsible producer selects treatment suppliers under extended producer responsibility by a pre-emptive goal programming model. After the wastes are depolluted and transformed to recyclable materials, the process enters the recycling stage in which the decision-maker plans the reclaimed material production by a linear programming model for profit maximisation. An illustrative case study is presented, and the sensitivity analyses show that the ranking of suppliers is more stable than the quantities allocated to suppliers under different priority structures, so ranking of suppliers should also be given attention in such multi-obje...

Dynamic pricing and revenue management process in Internet retailing under uncertainty: An integrated real options approach

Abstract: Competition and demand volatility often cause modern enterprises to be confronted by uncertain environments. When a firm manages revenue in such competitive and risky environments, the optimization of pricing and capacity allocation, subject to a fixed time and capacity, becomes a complicated problem. Many previous papers concerning revenue management (RM) and pricing require that the firm possesses the ability to know the demand curve (or demand distribution) and set prices on it to maximize profits. However, this assumption may not be the case in some industries. Therefore, this paper focuses on the dynamic lead indicators rather than assumptive lag indicators to establish a concise and flexible decision model for practical use. This paper provides an integrated real options (IRO) approach with analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for the auction RM problem under competitive/dynamic pricing and revenue uncertainty in Internet retailing. A numerical example is also presented to illustrate that the IRO approach can generate better decisions than the nai¨ve (or risk unawareness) approach in revenue quality of safety and profitability. The new perspective and approach proposed by this paper can be extended to other RM fields whenever both profitability and risk are critical to decision making.

A hybrid genetic algorithm for no-wait job shop scheduling problems

Abstract: A no-wait job shop (NWJS) describes a situation where every job has its own processing sequence with the constraint that no waiting time is allowed between operations within any job. A NWJS problem with the objective of minimizing total completion time is a NP-hard problem and this paper proposes a hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) to solve this complex problem. A genetic operation is defined by cutting out a section of genes from a chromosome and treated as a subproblem. This subproblem is then transformed into an asymmetric traveling salesman problem (ATSP) and solved with a heuristic algorithm. Subsequently, this section with new sequence is put back to replace the original section of chromosome. The incorporation of this problem-specific genetic operator is responsible for the hybrid adjective. By doing so, the course of the search of the proposed genetic algorithm is set to more profitable regions in the solution space. The experimental results show that this hybrid genetic algorithm can accelerate the convergence and improve solution quality as well.

Hybrid metaheuristics for unrelated parallel machine scheduling with sequence-dependent setup times.

Abstract: This paper proposes several hybrid metaheuristics for the unrelated parallel-machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times given the objective of minimizing the weighted number of tardy jobs. The metaheuristics begin with effective initial solution generators to generate initial feasible solutions; then, they improve the initial solutions by an approach, which integrates the principles of the variable neighborhood descent approach and tabu search. Four reduced-size neighborhood structures and two search strategies are proposed in the metaheuristics to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency. Five factors are used to design 32 experimental conditions, and ten test problems are generated for each condition. Computational results show that the proposed hybrid metaheuristics are significantly superior to several basic tabu search heuristics under all the experimental conditions.

The pricing of deposit insurance considering bankruptcy costs and closure policies

Abstract: The paper aims to study the pricing issue of deposit insurance with explicit consideration of bankruptcy costs and closure policies. Full coverage from deposit insurance is imposed by many regulators to stabilize the banking system in the current financial crisis, despite of the potential moral hazard problems. We argue that bankruptcy cost is an important factor in pricing deposit insurance, especially when the insured institution is insolvent. Applying the isomorphic relationship between deposit insurance and put option, we first derive a closed-form solution for the pricing model with bankruptcy costs and closure policies. Then, we modify the barrier option approach to price the deposit insurance in which the bankruptcy cost is set as a function of asset return volatility and more realistic closure policies considering possible forbearance can be accounted for. The properties of the models are supported by numerical simulations and are consistent with the risk-based pricing scheme.

Diversification, Performance, and the Corporate Life Cycle

Abstract: This paper investigates the relation between the extent of diversification in firms and their performance at different life cycle stages. To illustrate the joint endogeneity of diversification and performance, we treat both the extent of diversification and firm performance as endogenous variables in a simultaneous equation system. Empirical results reveal that corporate diversification erodes firm value. Overall, firms in their growing stages experience a significant diversification discount; however, mature firms do not show such findings. Although unrelated diversification leads to trading at a discount in all growing and mature firms, conversely, related diversification exhibits an evident premium in mature firms.

An efficient replenishment model of deteriorating items for a supplier–buyer partnership in hi-tech industry

Abstract: Due to rapid technological innovation and global competitiveness, the selling price of products in hi-tech industries usually declines significantly with time. This study develops a deteriorating inventory model for the product experiencing continuous decrease in unit price. This inventory model, from the perspective of supplier, proposes an efficient replenishment policy for a single-supplier-and-single-buyer supply chain in which the buyer conducts JIT through a realisation of multiple deliveries and the supplier performs one-time production. The objective of this model is, on the basis of the buyer's economic ordering decisions, to maximise the supplier's profit during a finite planning horizon and then to determine the optimal production cycle and product life cycle. A simple heuristic algorithm is developed to derive the optimal solution for the model. Numerical examples and sensitivity analyses confirm the performances of the proposed model and reveal some interesting managerial implications.

A novel approach to construct grey principal component analysis evaluation model

Abstract: This research integrates the merits of Grey theory and principal component analysis (PCA). In addition to the revision on the calculation of grey absolute degree of incidence (GADI), it uses the matrix constructed by GADI to replace the traditional PCA correlation matrix, establishing the Grey PCA evaluation model. Based on the model, this research dynamically evaluates the financial performance of six maritime companies within a five-year period and obtains a stable evaluation result. Thus, this model can provide an easy-to-use theoretical and computational framework for multi-criteria decision making (MCDM).

The impact of loyalty and promotion effects on retention rate

Abstract: Researching customer retention rates is made difficult because of the lack of suitable systems with which to measure it. From a first-order Markov brand-switching model, serial equations are derived to estimate the retention rate using market share and loyalty. To explore the impact of loyalty and promotion programme on retention rate, data from five leading brands for three product categories were obtained to fit the developed model. Findings suggest that: (1) when the loyalty effect remains unchanged over a period of time, the greater the effect of a promotion programme, the greater the retention rate; (2) when the promotion effects among brands are similar, the retention rate varies depending on level of loyalty; and (3) when the proportion of loyal customers is high, the proportion of potential switchers affected by promotion programmes is low. In this case, the impact of a promotion programme on the retention rate is not significant. This model successfully demonstrates how the Markov brand-switching model can be employed to estimate a measure of retention rate from consumer panel data as well as to better understand how promotion affects loyalty, switching behaviour, and retention rate.

Multiscale entropy approach to physiological fatigue during long-term Web browsing

Abstract: Physiological fatigue during long-term Web browsing was investigated by the entropy-based method. A noninvasive instrument was used to gather 8-hour continuous electrocardiography signals from subjects who were asked to answer the psychological fatigue questionnaire every 2 hours. These data were used to calculate the heart rate (HR), traditional sample entropy (SampEn), and multiscale entropy (MSE). HR decreased as the browsing task began, but increased slightly after 4.5 hours. The psychological fatigue score gradually increased, implying that more severe subjective fatigue was experienced as Web browsing proceeded. In contrast, the traditional SampEn first increased and then oscillated after 2.5 hours. The browsing time of 2.5 hours may be a clue to physiological fatigue. The MSE results showed that the cardiac dynamic systems of undergraduates and males were more complex than those of graduates and females, respectively. Thus, SampEn may have the potential for estimating physiological fatigue during long-term Web browsing. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Implementing virtual metrology for in-line quality control in semiconductor manufacturing

Abstract: The in-line quality control measured data plays an increasingly important role in both the control and the improvement of yields in the production process of semiconductor manufacturing, especially in 300 mm semiconductor factories Thus, a breakthrough in the measuring methodology associated with wafer level production is highly desirable This article addresses this issue and proposes an extended concept of virtual metrology (VM) that utilises the status variables identification of process equipments to predict process quality of wafer level In this article, we will discuss two modelling techniques, namely multiple linear regression and partial least square regression, to build prediction models for the film thickness and critical dimensions for the on-line production of semiconductor manufacturing This article proposes to use statistical process control rules to enhance the credibility of the VM applications based on the tendency and characteristics of the residuals of the VM models Finally, this study presents an architecture for the control and alarm mechanism of the VM approach in semiconductor manufacturing and illustrates the results on the application of this architecture with two real cases as well

Solving the Reentrant Permutation Flow-Shop Scheduling Problem with a Hybrid Genetic Algorithm

Abstract: Most production scheduling-related research assumes that a job visits certain machines once at most, but this is often untrue in practical situations. A reentrant permutation flow-shop (RPFS) describes situations in which a job must be processed on machines in M1, M2, …, Mm, M1, M2, …, Mm, …, and M1, M2, …, Mm order and no job is allowed to pass a previous job. This study minimizes makespan by using the genetic algorithm to move from local optimal solutions to near-optimal solutions for RPFS scheduling problems. In addition, the hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) improves the genetic algorithm’s performance in solving RPFS.

Evaluating optimal choice of the energy fund by using AHP-TOPSIS model

Abstract: With raw materials increases, various types of energy funds, such as natural resources and public utilities in Taiwan fund management industry, or even financial circles, has clearly become a hot fund product. However, raw material price fluctuations of Taiwan, but the risks of high, if investors do not have the energy to any concept will be exposed in a highrisk investment environment. But only for the assessment of compensation for performance analysis, there is no in-depth study of the impact of fund performance major causes. Thus, this study general consensus among experts can be reached to establish a hierarchical structure. The proposed model incorporates the AHP to determine the evaluation weights, and TOPSIS selects the optimal energy fund to determine the effectiveness of the proposed evaluation model. Investment targets obtained based on assessment is also resented for the reference of investors and academic institutions.

A study on foreign exchange dealers' bid–ask spread quote behavior☆

Abstract: Based on a questionnaire surveying dealers in the Taipei inter-bank foreign exchange market that was conducted in March 2001, I attempted to answer the question of who initiated the wider currency spread. It was found that the risk-averse dealers of small banks quoted wider spreads in order to conceal their inferior positions regarding information and inventory or to avoid market volatility risk. Some of the dealers of large multinational banks in major financial centers who normally quote conventional spreads were found to quote wider spreads in response to the request for quotations by small Taiwanese bank dealers who widened their spread quotes.

Core/periphery structure of the technological network

Abstract: By applying a network analytical approach, this paper examines the position of technological network in shaping the contribution of a technology in technological development. Between the core and the periphery of the technological network structure, we argue that technologies which occupy an intermediate position are in propensity to seminal technologies, on the contrary, which occupy a peripheral position are to more tendency to succeed or derivative technologies. We empirically test the patent data of insurance business method and the theoretical implications of the results are discussed.

The Empirical Study on the Vitality Index of Organization for the Taiwanese Hospitality

Abstract: Chinese cuisine has a long history. Therefore, it guide Taiwanese hospitality industry have positive development. This study is based on Taiwanese hospitality industry as the research object. The research introduced the concepts of "life" and "death" into analyses and diagnoses of operation of the organization and constructed an index of evaluation of "vitality" to provide operators with a different perspective to the evaluation model. The exploration of conception of vitality index of organization will help people inside and outside of the organization to evaluate it. Like a doctor who examines human body, this research could find the reason why the organization is underperforming and take remedial action. The results found that by taking advantage of Analytic Hierarchy Process to analyze, we could obtain weighted indexes of evaluation of vitality and figure out importance and orders of individual systems for maintaining case life and understand the extent to which the functioning of individual systems can provide operators with a reference.

Study of comments on official movie blogs

Abstract: This study employed content analysis to investigate the attributes of comments on official movie weblogs (blogs), and the possible influences of these attributes on the consumers or companies of the blog. The analysis of 1500 comments on official movie blogs indicated that subjective comments allow the blog companies to recognize consumer attitudes toward movies. Emotional comments positively increase the hit rate of blogs. Moreover, paralinguistic devices enhance emotional comments, and dialogues enhance the interaction of blogs. The results serve as a reference for movie blog companies and other online companies concerned with blog operation and management.

Patent analysis of technology-performance by integrating patent family and patent citation

Abstract: The value of mechanical engineering patents often lies in innovative graphic designs and detailed complementary context Therefore, without having the contents of a patent thoroughly examined by experts, we cannot understand its true innovation value by using the current information analysis technology Since, the process of qualitative research, on the other hand, is a complicated and time-consuming task, this paper proposes a Key Patent Analysis Process (KPAP) KPAP uses the “focusing first, and then finding the details” idea to prove the feasibility of this method by giving a specific case Firstly, we propose using a patent family to effectively retrieve the key patents to meet the requirements of the innovation design; then we propose proceeding to the next step using a patent citation to broaden the search field to thoroughly comprehend the development in a specific technology field Finally, we use TRIZ to create a technology performance map and technology development niche, and to effectively solve the possible engineering obstacles that may come to mind at the detail designing stage The model suggested by this research can indeed promote the effectiveness of patent technology to extract useful patent intelligence; moreover, it improves the overall efficiency of new product designs

Fabrication and analysis of microfluidic mold insert by micro electrical discharge machining

Abstract: This study develops an improved method for generating aluminum mold inserts used in the replication of polymer-based microfluidic chip. Since molding masters that are suitable for microfluidic chip replication must have features whose dimensions are of the order of tens to hundreds of microns, micro electrical discharge machining is employed herein to fabricate an aluminum mold insert of a microfluidic chip. The width and depth of the aluminum mold insert for the microfluidic chip are 61.50 µm and 49.61 µm, respectively. The surface roughness values of the microchannel and the sample reservoir in aluminum mold insert for the microfluidic chip are 59.92 nm and 34.34 nm, respectively. PMMA material is adopted as the molded microfluidic chip that is produced by micro-hot embossing molding. The PMMA material can replicate the microchannel and sample reservoir very well when the aluminum mold insert is used in micro-hot embossing molding. The results indicate that the most important parameter in the replication of molded microfluidic chip is the embossing pressure, which is also the most important parameter in determining the surface roughness of the molded microfluidic chip.

An Efficient Supplier-Buyer Partnership for Hi-Tech Industry

Abstract: Due to rapid technological innovation and global competitiveness, the selling price and the demand rate of hi-tech industries usually decline significantly with time. In some industries such as computers, communication and consumer products, component cost and product prices can decrease even at 1% per week. This study develops a deteriorating inventory model for product experiencing continuous decrease in unit price. We proposes an inventory model with efficient replenishment policy for a single supplier-buyer partnership in which the buyer considers multiple JIT deliveries considering the buyer’s EOQ ordering strategy. The market possesses characters that the selling price decreases exponentially over time, while the customer demand increases linearly with the selling price down. Besides considering short life cycle, a single production-setup of the supplier is allowed and the objective of this model is to maximize the supplier’s profit during a finite planning horizon. A simple heuristic algorithm is developed to derive the optimal solution for the model. Numerical examples and sensitivity analyses are done to validate the model.

Using AI Approach to Solve an Integrated Three-Echelon Supply Chain Model with Strategic Alliances

Abstract: This paper develops a mathematical inventory model of deteriorating item taking into account a three-echelon supply chain vertical integration through strategic alliances. The objective of this model is to minimize the joint total relevant cost and to devise a compensation policy. Due to the complexity of the non-linear problems, it is not possible to find the global optimum analytically. Following the physical phenomenon of annealing, a soft computing method, Simulated Annealing (SA), has been developed to find the global optimum for the complex cost function through stochastic search process. A numerical example, sensitivity analysis, and the effects of the compensation policy on the optimal results are presented to validate the results of the proposed integrated model. The proposed mathematical model shows how an integrated approach to decision making can achieve a global optimum.