A bivariate extension to Box and Jenkins (1963) “machine tool” problem is presented in this paper. The model balances the fixed cost of making an adjustment, which is independent of the magnitude of the adjustment, with the cost of running the process off-target, which is assumed quadratic. It is assumed that two controllable factors are available to compensate for the deviations from target of...

Expert valuation, a process used to determine how much stakeholders value eco-system aspects, places experts as intermediaries for public-preference input into the environmental policy process. While the rise and refinement of expert valuation might capture ecosystem values more comprehensively, two dilemmas are also worth of consideration: (1) will expert valuation and benefit cost analysis su...

There are three essential problems in building software systems [1]: complexity, evolution, and scale. The evolution of large-scale systems is compounded both by the problems of complexity and by the problems of scale. Thus, process models for the evolution of large-scale systems must define approaches to manage the compounding effect of complexity as well as to manage the multiplicative effect...

In the modern world, government policy makers engage in the decision making process to pursue the interests of their countries. Think tanks play a significant role in this complicated process by giving advice to decision makers. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, think tanks increasingly emerged in the world, especially in Western European countries and the United States of America (...