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Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons™

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2016

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Articles 271 - 300 of 455

Full-Text Articles in Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering

Heterogeneous Air Defense Battery Location: A Game Theoretic Approach, Nicholas T. Boardman Mar 2016

Heterogeneous Air Defense Battery Location: A Game Theoretic Approach, Nicholas T. Boardman

Theses and Dissertations

The Unites States and its allies confront a persistent and evolving threat from missile attacks as nations around the world continue to invest and advance their current capabilities. Within the air defense context of a missile-and-interceptor engagement, a challenge for the defender is that surface to air interceptor missile batteries often must be located to protect high-value targets dispersed over a vast area, subject to an attacker observing the disposition of batteries prior to developing and implementing an attack plan. To model this scenario, we formulate a two-player, three-stage, perfect information, sequential move, zero-sum game that accounts for, respectively, a …

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Simulation Of Modeling Sortie Generation Process In Turaf, Bahadir Aykiri Mar 2016

Simulation Of Modeling Sortie Generation Process In Turaf, Bahadir Aykiri

Theses and Dissertations

Simulation is a useful technique for engineers and operations researchers. One of the primary advantages of simulation models is that they are able to provide users with practical feedback when analyzing real-world systems. This thesis builds a discrete event simulation of the sortıe generatıon process, to help decision makers in performing analyses regarding quantity of manpower, bottlenecks in supply and maintenance activities; as well as utilization of maintenance manpower, cost and number of sorties produced in a specific time. We only model one aircraft system with four Line Replacement Units (LRU), but any system and its LRUs can be included …

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The Impact Of Reducing Full Time Support Positions In The U.S. Army National Guard And Reserves, Lucas J. Lease Mar 2016

The Impact Of Reducing Full Time Support Positions In The U.S. Army National Guard And Reserves, Lucas J. Lease

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Army is at a point in its history in which it, along with the other branches of the military, are experiencing cuts, constraints and a tightening of resources. The days of seemingly large budgets, abundant financial resources and high amounts of manpower are becoming a thing of the past. As the government reduces the allocations to the military, it is examining ways to reduce costs and improve its financial prospects. One of the positions examined for reduction or outright elimination is the full time support position in the U.S. Army National Guard (ARNG) and Reserves (USAR). The …

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Long-Term Impacts Of Military Drawdown On The Industrial Base, Anton H. Martyn Mar 2016

Long-Term Impacts Of Military Drawdown On The Industrial Base, Anton H. Martyn

Theses and Dissertations

Since World War II, competition in the defense industry has fallen by over 90 percent. Over half of contracts currently executed by the United States Navy and Air Force are awarded without any competition. With the recent defense budget cuts, and an extended period of reduced defense spending ahead, more of which is going to sustainment and overhead than ever before, each year prime contractors are fighting over an even smaller piece of the procurement pie, which could have a deleterious effect on national security if these contractors go out of business or further consolidate through mergers. This study used …

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Epidemiology, Cost, And Aircraft Choice For Aeromedical Evacuation In Africom, Daniel A. Griffith Mar 2016

Epidemiology, Cost, And Aircraft Choice For Aeromedical Evacuation In Africom, Daniel A. Griffith

Theses and Dissertations

A significant shortfall exists in the medical capability provided to US Service members deployed to the African Area of Responsibility because of unknown epidemiology, large distances, limited resources, and high patient movement cost. The first step in closing this gap is to understand the types, demographics, diagnoses, and distribution of the patients requiring aeromedical evacuation. This research examined the DoD’s aeromedical evacuation missions from Africa between 2010 and 2014. Of the 274 patients and 170 missions identified from available data, a gap is evident in aeromedical evacuation capability with over 23% of Priority patients and almost 10% of Urgent patients …

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Overhaul Facility Planning And Control Tool Selection And Implementation Analysis, Santiago L. Martin Mar 2016

Overhaul Facility Planning And Control Tool Selection And Implementation Analysis, Santiago L. Martin

Theses and Dissertations

The Argentine Air Force Materiel General Directorate (AAFMGD) has initiated an effort to assure logistical support and to gradually increase the productivity and efficiency of related processes. Within the efforts of increased productivity and efficiency over the AAF Overhauling Facilities, the Planning and Control Departments (PCD) became targets for improvements. These departments are tasked with providing the best certainty and visibility of all assets within their facilities to feed the logistics pipeline, and better support air operations. This thesis, sponsored by the MGD, is focused on achieving improvements in the PCD processes, through an academically rigorous evaluation of confounding factors …

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A "Big Bang" Versus A "Small Bang" Approach: A Case Study Of The Expeditionary Combat Support System (Ecss) And The Maintenance, Repair, And Overhaul Initiative (Mroi), George B. Lafiguera Mar 2016

A "Big Bang" Versus A "Small Bang" Approach: A Case Study Of The Expeditionary Combat Support System (Ecss) And The Maintenance, Repair, And Overhaul Initiative (Mroi), George B. Lafiguera

Theses and Dissertations

In 2003, the United States Air Force embarked on one of the largest and most comprehensive logistical transformation to delineate the logistics community’s strategy for supporting the warfighter. A key aspect of this campaign plan was to leverage information technology through an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution called the Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS), a “big-bang” approach. In early 2012, the ECSS program was cancelled mainly due to uncontrollable increases in costs and schedule overruns. In late 2012, the Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) launched the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul initiative (MROi), a “small-bang” approach, to increase enterprise visibility and …

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Using Multiple Objective Decision Analysis To Position Federal Product And Service Codes Within The Kraljic Portfolio Matrix, Robert T. Montgomery Mar 2016

Using Multiple Objective Decision Analysis To Position Federal Product And Service Codes Within The Kraljic Portfolio Matrix, Robert T. Montgomery

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the best efforts of the Federal Government to implement strategic sourcing, recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports highlight major procurement deficiencies and encourage the use of commercial best practices to identify and reap substantial savings. The Kraljic Portfolio Matrix (KPM) is considered the premier tool for purchasing organizations to determine which commercial best practices to utilize for different categories of spend. However, critics of the KPM point to its lack of analytical rigor and the absence of a simplistic quantitative methodology for implementation. The Air Force Installation Contracting Agency (AFICA), the centralized procurement arm for 79 USAF installations worldwide, …

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Modeling And Economy’S Dynamics And External Influences Through A System Of Differential Equations, Thomas M. Dickey Mar 2016

Modeling And Economy’S Dynamics And External Influences Through A System Of Differential Equations, Thomas M. Dickey

Theses and Dissertations

This research proposes a methodology to develop models for the greater understanding of the application of the economic instrument of national power through a selection of factors that define the economic condition of a country. The major components of an economy are identified as GDP per capita, a treasury bond yield, and a major stock market index. The components have interconnected dynamics along with external influences from the United Stated Federal Funds Rate and foreign direct investment. These connections are considered through a metamodel in the form of a system of differential equations which is solved as an inverse problem. …

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Sortie Generation Simulation Of A Fighter Squadron, Abdurrahman Sevimli Mar 2016

Sortie Generation Simulation Of A Fighter Squadron, Abdurrahman Sevimli

Theses and Dissertations

The Turkish Air Force utilizes several fighter squadrons to enhance its military capabilities. One of the most critical challenges for these squadrons is generating sorties to meet the currency and demand during both peacetime and wartime. This sortie generation process directly affects the success of both training and operations. In this study, this process is assessed using a discrete event simulation. Air Force decision makers require a simulation tool to conduct “what-if” analysis on how potential changes in the environment affect an F-16 fighter squadron’s sortie generation process. Creating a usable simulation provides decision makers with a flexible tool to …

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A Model Of Ambient Noise Caused By Wind Flow, Jovan Popovich Mar 2016

A Model Of Ambient Noise Caused By Wind Flow, Jovan Popovich

Theses and Dissertations

The generation of noise caused by wind owing past a human ear is an important yet vastly understudied factor in determining the ambient noise of an environment experienced by a human observer. Sound level measurements were obtained from wind tunnel tests simulating a human experiencing wind ows at various speeds and from various directions. This data set was used in this thesis. This thesis presents a collection of models for predicting wind noise levels across a broad spectrum of frequencies based on wind speed and angle inputs. Graphical approaches are included to characterize the observed data and illustrate the models' …

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Methods To Address Extreme Class Imbalance In Machine Learning Based Network Intrusion Detection Systems, Russell W. Walter Mar 2016

Methods To Address Extreme Class Imbalance In Machine Learning Based Network Intrusion Detection Systems, Russell W. Walter

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the considerable academic interest in using machine learning methods to detect cyber attacks and malicious network traffic, there is little evidence that modern organizations employ such systems. Due to the targeted nature of attacks and cybercriminals’ constantly changing behavior, valid observations of attack traffic suitable for training a classifier are extremely rare. Rare positive cases combined with the fact that the overwhelming majority of network traffic is benign create an extreme class imbalance problem. Using publically available datasets, this research examines the class imbalance problem by using small samples of the attack observations to create multiple training sets that …

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An Examination Of Economic Metrics As Indicators Of Air Force Retention, Helen L. Jantscher Mar 2016

An Examination Of Economic Metrics As Indicators Of Air Force Retention, Helen L. Jantscher

Theses and Dissertations

Fluctuations in the economy can cause military recruitment and retention plans to go awry. By focusing on various economic metrics, it is possible to anticipate changes in retention rates for specific Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs). To address the challenge of maintaining a robust and mission capable Air Force, a correlation analysis is employed to determine the relationship between certain economic indicators and AFSC retention rates. As one might suspect, retention rates follow the trend of decreasing when the economy is strong. Of interest, we found two AFSCs which go against this trend. Namely, the retention rates for officers in …

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Rate Setting Analysis: A Statistical Approach To Outlier Analysis In The Rate Setting Process Within The United States Transportation Command, Warren B. Mcgriff Mar 2016

Rate Setting Analysis: A Statistical Approach To Outlier Analysis In The Rate Setting Process Within The United States Transportation Command, Warren B. Mcgriff

Theses and Dissertations

The rate setting process implemented by the USTRANSCOM J8 Program Analysis & Financial Management Directorate (USTC J8 or TCJ8) is of importance, as accurate rates yield proper and equitable recoupment of costs from customers and ensure USTC can achieve an accurate Net Operating Result (NOR) in each given year. This research sought to identify areas in which the current rate setting methodology can be improved. We initially examined the use of six months of historical cost data versus a full year of data to set rates, concluding that there is not a statistically significant difference with respect to their relative …

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Increased Capacity Utilizing Aggregation And Consolidation Of Contingency Cargo, Cassidy L. Wilson Mar 2016

Increased Capacity Utilizing Aggregation And Consolidation Of Contingency Cargo, Cassidy L. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Maximizing use of limited airlift assets is a common problem during large contingency operations. Requirements often exceed airlift capacity and fiscal constraints driving the need to aggregate conveyance loads both within and across business lines (Unit Line Number (ULN), Special Assignment Airlift Mission (SAAM), and sustainment). Current methods of consolidation are completed by planners at the 618th Air Operations Center. This process is completed by piecing email correspondence and making individual localized decisions which are not always consistent with big picture efficiency. United States Transportation Command requested a study to create standard business rules or a methodology that can benefit …

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Modeling The Components Of An Economy As A Complex Adaptive System, Richard J. Mickelsen Mar 2016

Modeling The Components Of An Economy As A Complex Adaptive System, Richard J. Mickelsen

Theses and Dissertations

Complex systems science is a relatively new discipline and has not been widely applied to the field of economics. Much of current economic theory relies on principles of constrained optimization and often fails to see economic variables as part of an interconnected network. While tools for forecasting economic indicators are based primarily on autoregressive techniques, these techniques are not always well-suited to predicting the future performance of highly volatile data sets such as the stock market. This research portrays the stock market as one component of a networked system of economic variables, with the federal funds rate acting as an …

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A Logistic Regression And Markov Chain Model For The Prediction Of Nation-State Violent Conflicts And Transitions, Nicholas Shallcross Mar 2016

A Logistic Regression And Markov Chain Model For The Prediction Of Nation-State Violent Conflicts And Transitions, Nicholas Shallcross

Theses and Dissertations

Using open source data, this research formulates and constructs a suite of statistical models that predict future transitions into and out of violent conflict and forecasts the regional and global incidences of violent conflict over a ten-year time horizon. A total of thirty predictor variables are tested and evaluated for inclusion in twelve conditional logistic regression models, which calculate the probability that a nation will transition from its current conflict state, either In Conflict or Not in Conflict, to a new state in the following year. These probabilities are then used to construct a series of nation-specific Markov chain models …

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Determining The Degree Of The Routinization Of Additive Manufacturing In The Air Logistics Complexes, Candis A. Woods Mar 2016

Determining The Degree Of The Routinization Of Additive Manufacturing In The Air Logistics Complexes, Candis A. Woods

Theses and Dissertations

Fiscal constraints have affected the USAF’s spending and sustainment of weapons systems that are being utilized beyond their programmed life cycle; therefore, it is imperative that processes be given the critical eye for improvement, innovative approaches, and/or best practice implementation. The AFSC, part of the AFMC, has embarked on a groundbreaking effort to transform operations and leverage industry best practices, while maintaining focus on warfighter support to create “The AFSC Way.” The AFSC Way is based on a shared leadership model that emphasizes speed, safety, and quality, which gives way to innovative ideas and new technologies in order to achieve …

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The Efficacy Of Implementing A Small, Low-Cost, Real Time Kinematic Gps System Into A Small Unmanned Aerial System Architecture, Kevin J. Hendricks Mar 2016

The Efficacy Of Implementing A Small, Low-Cost, Real Time Kinematic Gps System Into A Small Unmanned Aerial System Architecture, Kevin J. Hendricks

Theses and Dissertations

Along with the growing uses for small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) within the Department of Defense (DoD), is the utility of small UAS within the civilian market is also increasing. This has led to significant research and development on small UAS subsystems by the commercial market. The focus of this research is characterizing and investigating the application considerations of a small, low-cost real time kinematic (RTK) GPS receiver system. Work was also accomplished to characterize the accuracy and precision of the commonly used GPS receiver subsystem in small UAS to show the increased utility of the RTK GPS system. The …

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Additive Manufacturing Process Parameter Effects On The Mechanical Properties Of Fused Filament Fabrication Nylon, Eric S. Holm Mar 2016

Additive Manufacturing Process Parameter Effects On The Mechanical Properties Of Fused Filament Fabrication Nylon, Eric S. Holm

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine how varying Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) process parameters affect the mechanical properties of PA6 nylon dog-bone specimens produced on the Mark One 3D Printer. A design of experiment (DOE) was conducted using the factors of layer height and raster angle orientation. The mechanical properties measured in the experiment were tensile modulus, yield stress, percent strain at yield, ultimate tensile strength and percent strain at break. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to identify which factors were statistically significant in influencing mechanical properties. Results of the ANOVA showed that layer height was …

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Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Uav) Operators’ Workload Reduction: The Effect Of 3d Audio On Operators’ Workload And Performance During Multi-Aircraft Control, Sungbin Kim Mar 2016

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Uav) Operators’ Workload Reduction: The Effect Of 3d Audio On Operators’ Workload And Performance During Multi-Aircraft Control, Sungbin Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The importance and number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations are rapidly growing in both military and civilian applications. This growth has produced significant manpower issues, producing a desire that multiple aircraft are controlled by a single operator as opposed to the current model where one aircraft may require multiple operators. A potential issue is the need for an operator to monitor radio traffic for the call signs of multi-aircraft. An investigation of the use of 3D sound was undertaken to investigate whether an automatic parser, which preselected the spatial location of relevant versus irrelevant call signs, could aid UAV …

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Analysis Of Inpatient Hospital Staff Mental Workload By Means Of Discrete-Event Simulation, Erich W. Maxheimer Mar 2016

Analysis Of Inpatient Hospital Staff Mental Workload By Means Of Discrete-Event Simulation, Erich W. Maxheimer

Theses and Dissertations

Many process improvement tools have been applied to the healthcare industry to improve safety and efficiency. However, nearly all of these tools have neglected to explicitly quantify mental workload of healthcare providers despite the consensus that it is related to human performance. This research uses the Improved Performance Research Integration Tool (IMPRINT), a discrete-event simulation (DES), to quantify mental workload. Specifically, this research examines staff members in an inpatient unit at the Wright-Patterson Medical Center to detect workload differences between staff, identify trends which lead to high workload demands, evaluate the influence of patient load on mental workload, and test …

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Application Of Non-Rated Line Officer Attrition Levels And Career Field Stability, Christine L. Zens Mar 2016

Application Of Non-Rated Line Officer Attrition Levels And Career Field Stability, Christine L. Zens

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force monitors the strength of its active duty officer force and attempts to achieve the difficult challenge of employing a diversity of talent among career specialties and experience levels. This study completes two objectives, predicting future manning levels for 23 career fields, and providing a statistical framework to assess the stability of these fields. The first part of the study applies regression and survival analysis to subpopulations within the active duty Air Force officer corps, and then aggregates them by year to forecast future personnel levels. Four career fields are considered, including Acquisitions (ACQ), Logistics (LOG), Support (SPT), …

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Lifecycle Cost Evaluation Of Flexible Facility Designs, Trevor P. Ellis Mar 2016

Lifecycle Cost Evaluation Of Flexible Facility Designs, Trevor P. Ellis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to ascertain the type of facility design, standard, robust, or flexible, that yields the greatest lower lifecycle costs (LCC) savings to the USAF. To this aim, the researcher constructed a Monte Carlo simulation to determine the LCC for flexible, robust, and standard administrative facility designs for thousands of potential facility lifecycles. The simulation also illustrates the circumstances under which each type of design would result in the lowest LCC. The results of this research will show the USAF the importance of focusing on LCC and designing flexible facilities. Standard and robust designs are the …

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Determining Air Base Installation Capacity Through Multivariate Analysis, Perry L. Cansick Mar 2016

Determining Air Base Installation Capacity Through Multivariate Analysis, Perry L. Cansick

Theses and Dissertations

Per the Air Force Strategic Master Plan, the Air Force will adjust their current basing structure to provide the most effective and efficient installations to support national defense objectives. The Air Force may be required to make strategic basing decisions that close installations and relocate missions to achieve an optimal basing structure. However, before making these decisions, the Air Force needs to have a comprehensive understanding of installation capacity. This research provides an operational definition of installation capacity, which is necessary for measuring installation-level, infrastructure capacity. Using this definition, the research evaluates a set of capacity indicators using principal component …

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Measuring The Effectiveness Of Us Military Humanitarian Construction Projects Through Geospatial Analysis Of Public Opinion In Belize, Arthur Z. Dietrich Mar 2016

Measuring The Effectiveness Of Us Military Humanitarian Construction Projects Through Geospatial Analysis Of Public Opinion In Belize, Arthur Z. Dietrich

Theses and Dissertations

As part of broader US foreign policy efforts the Department of Defense (DoD) increasingly conducts complex operations which focus on efforts to influence local populations. These \hearts and minds" operations often include humanitarian and development construction projects. The wider impact on US foreign policy effort from the US military's participation in projects traditionally conducted by civilian agencies is not well understood. This research examined the effects on local public opinion from two US Air Force led \Operation New Horizons" Humanitarian and Civic Assistance (HCA) missions conducted in the nation of Belize in 2013 and 2014. The study specifically looked for …

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A Time-Variant Value-Focused Methodology For Supporting Pre-Acquisition, Brian K. Scheller Mar 2016

A Time-Variant Value-Focused Methodology For Supporting Pre-Acquisition, Brian K. Scheller

Theses and Dissertations

Military operations are dynamic in nature, as time-dependent requirements or adversary actions can contribute to differing levels of mission performance among systems. Future military operations commonly use multi-criteria decision analysis techniques that rely on value-focused thinking (VFT) to analyze and ultimately rank alternatives during the Analysis of Alternatives phase of the acquisition process. Traditional VFT approaches are not typically employed with the intention of analyzing time-variant performance of alternatives. In this research, a holistic approach towards integrating fundamental practices such as VFT, systems architecture, and modeling and simulation is used to analyze time-dependent data outputs of an alternative’s performance within …

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Consistency Analysis For Judgment Quantification In Hierarchical Decision Model, Mustafa Sulaiman Abbas Mar 2016

Consistency Analysis For Judgment Quantification In Hierarchical Decision Model, Mustafa Sulaiman Abbas

Dissertations and Theses

The objective of this research is to establish consistency thresholds linked to alpha (α) levels for HDM’s (Hierarchical Decision Model) judgment quantification method. Measuring consistency in order to control it is a crucial and inseparable part of any AHP/HDM experiment. The researchers on the subject recommend establishing thresholds that are statistically based on hypothesis testing, and are linked to the number of decision variables and (α) level. Such thresholds provide the means with which to evaluate the soundness and validity of an AHP/HDM decision. The linkage of thresholds to (α) levels allows the decision makers to set an appropriate inconsistency …

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A Recommendation System For Meta-Modeling: A Meta-Learning Based Approach, Can Cui, Mengqi Hu, Jeffery D. Weir, Teresa Wu Mar 2016

A Recommendation System For Meta-Modeling: A Meta-Learning Based Approach, Can Cui, Mengqi Hu, Jeffery D. Weir, Teresa Wu

Faculty Publications

Various meta-modeling techniques have been developed to replace computationally expensive simulation models. The performance of these meta-modeling techniques on different models is varied which makes existing model selection/recommendation approaches (e.g., trial-and-error, ensemble) problematic. To address these research gaps, we propose a general meta-modeling recommendation system using meta-learning which can automate the meta-modeling recommendation process by intelligently adapting the learning bias to problem characterizations. The proposed intelligent recommendation system includes four modules: (1) problem module, (2) meta-feature module which includes a comprehensive set of meta-features to characterize the geometrical properties of problems, (3) meta-learner module which compares the performance of instance-based …

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Health Monitoring Device, Prim Boonwisut, Askar Zhapbassov, Tahmeed Rafee Mar 2016

Health Monitoring Device, Prim Boonwisut, Askar Zhapbassov, Tahmeed Rafee

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.

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