This paper presents an extension to generalized blockmodeling where there are more than two types of objects to be clustered based on valued network data. We use the ideas in homogeneity block modeling to develop an optimization model to perform the clustering of the objects and the resulting partitioning of the ties so as to minimize the inconsistency of an empirical block with an ideal block. The ideal block types used in this modeling are null, complete and a new type that is related to that developed in Ziberna (2007). Three case studies are presented, two based on the Southern Women dataset (Davis et al. 1941) and a third based on passenger air travel in the Continental United States.
A model of malicious intrusions in infrastructure facilities is developed, using a network representation of the system structure together with Markov models of intruder progress and strategy. This structure provides an explicit mechanism to estimate the probability of successful breaches of physical security, and to evaluate potential improvements. Simulation is used to analyze varying levels of imperfect information on the part of the intruders in planning their attacks. An example of an intruder attempting to place an explosive device on an airplane at an airport gate illustrates the structure and potential application of the model.
>This report describes the innovative modeling approach developed as a result of a 3-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development project. The overall goal of this project was to provide an effective suite of solvers for advanced production planning at facilities in the nuclear weapons complex (NWC). We focused our development activities on problems related to operations at the DOE's Pantex Plant. These types of scheduling problems appear in many contexts other than Pantex--both within the NWC (e.g., Neutron Generators) and in other commercial manufacturing settings. We successfully developed an innovative and effective solution strategy for these types of problems. We have tested this approach on actual data from Pantex, and from Org. 14000 (Neutron Generator production). This report focuses on the mathematical representation of the modeling approach and presents three representative studies using Pantex data. Results associated with the Neutron Generator facility will be published in a subsequent SAND report. The approach to task-based scheduling described here represents a significant addition to the literature for large-scale, realistic scheduling problems in a variety of production settings.