Systems Engineering Commons^™

Comparing Actively Managed Mutual Fund Categories To Index Funds Using Linear Regression Forecasting And Portfolio Optimization, Luke Weiner

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The global investment industry offers a wide variety of investment products especially for individual investors. One such product, index funds, which are younger than actively managed mutual funds, have typically outperformed managed funds. Despite this phenomenon, investors have displayed a tendency to continue investing in actively managed funds. Although only a small percentage of actively managed funds outperform index funds, the costs of actively managed funds are significantly higher. Also, managed fund performances are most often determined by their fund category such as growth or real estate. I wanted to answer the following question for individual investors: can we …

Improving Logistics Efficiency Through Collaborative Truck Routing, Patrick Dougherty

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The logistics industry is among the world’s largest and most essential. Specifically, trucking is a massive component of the modern logistics system. In 2012, truck transportation carried 68% of all freight tonnage in the U.S. However, trucking currently faces significant problems with efficiency and sustainability. Of all miles driven by trucks yearly in the U.S., 25% are driven with empty loads and 36% are driven with underutilized loads. In addition to this economic inefficiency, the industry faces social and environmental challenges. Driver turnover rates are near 100%, and trucking accounts for a significant level of greenhouse gas emissions. One potential …

Decision Making Within An Nfl Context Using Multiple Objective Decision Analysis, Lawson Porter

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The National Football League (NFL) is the most popular sports league in the world, with millions of viewers every game and billions of dollars generated every season. Statistics are an important part of an NFL team’s business operating model and contribute greatly towards their decision making. Every season, general managers try to sign players that give the team the highest probability of winning games throughout the year. There are many factors that go into this decision, including the amount of money the team has to spend and the value that available players can bring to a team. Teams must abide …

Intruder Preference And Route Selection: A Gis Data Approach, Griffin Mathews

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requested an Engineering Research and Development Center study incorporating modeling and simulation to determine the selection, amount, and optimal location of sensor suites along the U.S. Border. The study objective is to maximize the probability of detection and apprehension of illegal elements attempting to enter. A study on intruders and their preferences were conducted to create an intruder preference value map to determine the preferred intruder routes taken after crossing the border. The results of this research were integrated into another study on the selection and simulation of sensor suites.

Intruder context and preferences …

Curriculum Optimization Via Activity-On-Node Network Modeling, Caroline Rhomberg

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

University degree plans must be carefully planned so that they allow students the best chance of succeeding. Although for the better, with the advancement of technology and its incorporation into the classroom, it can be argued that the complexity and difficulty of some long-established engineering core classes has changed. With this trend certain combinations of engineering courses have become unfavorable in terms of course withdrawal and fail rates stemming from the interaction of course challenges. A wealth of data has been collected on this topic and will be utilized in this project. As one can imagine, the probability of success …

Simulating Alternative Tuberculosis Diagnosis Methods In Underdeveloped Countries, Luke Turner

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tuberculosis is the deadliest infectious disease in the world; it is especially rampant in underdeveloped countries because they do not have the infrastructure, technology, or funding to properly combat the infection. However, the development of portable point-of-care diagnosis machines can reverse this epidemic as they far surpass conventional laboratory identification. The question now is where to place these machines, which is a difficult decision with a lack of data. Therefore, a flexible simulation model is created to test the implementation of these machines with different countries and configurations. The simulation tests the baseline model and three proposed implementations of the …

Dispensing Medical Countermeasures In Public Health Emergencies Via Home Health Agencies And Points Of Distribution, Anna Hudgeons

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A major concern regarding emergency preparedness on the state government level involves the handling and dispensing of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) of medicinal supplies. Each state is required to update and maintain a plan of action for dispensing SNS materials that would effectively provide care to the state’s population in times of distress. This research evaluates a state’s ability to dispense an adequate amount of medicine to her population in a timely manner, specifically after it has been received by the state government. Although simulation modeling has previously been utilized to replicate the dispensing process at pre-designated points of …

Modeling Supply Chain Resiliency, Jeff A. Hazel

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Engineered Resilient Systems (ERS) is a Department of Defense (DoD) program focusing on the effective and efficient design and development of complex engineered systems throughout their life cycle. There is a growing literature with qualitative definitions of resilience and quantitative models for systems with one performance measure. This paper uses a quantitative resilience framework (the Framework for ERS) that includes system design options, reliability, threats, vulnerabilities, responses, and consequences assessed in multiple system performance measures. The framework assists in establishing a model for any system to evaluate resiliency. This paper applies this framework using Multiple Objective Decision Analysis (MODA) to …

Engineered Resilient Systems Model Applied To Network Design, Zephan W. Wade

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Engineered Resilient Systems (ERS) is a Department of Defense (DoD) program focusing on the effective and efficient design and development of resilient complex engineered systems throughout their lifecycle. There is growing literature with qualitative definitions of resilience and quantitative models for systems, but these focus typically on systems with one performance measure. In application, many systems have multiple functions and multiple performance measures. This research uses a quantitative resilience framework for ERS that includes system design options, reliability, external threats, vulnerabilities, responses, and consequences assessed on multiple system performance measures. This paper applies the ERS framework to designing resilient networks.

Using Value-Focused Thinking For Engineered Resilient Systems, Colin A. Small

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The DoD needs their systems to be resilient in the face of an ever changing world. To increase resilience in future systems the DoD has created a program called Engineered Resilient Systems. Resilience can be broken down into two parts, mission and platform resilience. Mission resilience is the ability of a system to repel, resist, absorb, and recover from environments and threats that occur on planned missions. Platform resilience is the ability of a system platform to adapt to new missions and new threats.

The University of Arkansas department of Industrial Engineering is working for the ERS program researching resilience. …