John Hooker

This book provides a novel and unifying perspective on the structural properties of fair solutions in optimization formulations. The book also addresses a growing interest in incorporating fairness into the models that lie behind many business and public policy decisions. Since there are several ways to formulate fairness mathematically, the authors characterize optimal solutions that result from different formulations with the aim of informing the choice of an appropriate model for a given application. The focus is on fairness criteria that combine efficiency with fairness since typically both are important in practice. Most of these results are new and do not appear in the current literature. The book is directed towards a wide range of audiences including practitioners, researchers in mathematical optimization, and welfare economists. In addition, this book: Presents practical linear, nonlinear, or mixed integer programming formulations and a wide variety of fairness modelsIncludes detailed proofs that provide insight into the properties of each criterionProvides guidelines for selecting a fairness model and the tendency to incentivize cooperation or competition About the Authors Özgün Elçi, Ph. D., is a Research Scientist on the Modeling and Optimization team at Amazon. John Hooker, Ph. D. is University Professor of Operations Research and T. Jerome Holleran Professor of Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, Emeritus, at Carnegie Mellon University. Peter Zhang, Ph. D, is an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy.

This book is the first comprehensive guide to logic-based Benders decomposition (LBBD), a general and versatile method for breaking large, complex optimization problems into components that are small enough for practical solution. The author introduces logic-based Benders decomposition for optimization, which substantially generalizes the classical Benders method. It can reduce solution times by orders of magnitude and allows decomposition to be applied to a much wider variety of optimization problems. On the theoretical side, this book provides a full account of inference duality concepts that underlie LBBD, as well as a description of how LBBD can be combined with stochastic and robust optimization, heuristic methods, and decision diagrams. It also clarifies the connection between LBBD and combinatorial Benders cuts for mixed integer programming. On the practical side, it explains how LBBD has been applied to a rapidly growingvariety of problem domains. After describing basic theory, this book provides a comprehensive review of the rapidly growing literature that describes these applications, in each case explaining how LBBD is adapted to the problem at hand. In doing so this work provides a sourcebook of ideas for applying LBBD to new problems as they arise.

This book is the first comprehensive guide to logic-based Benders decomposition (LBBD), a general and versatile method for breaking large, complex optimization problems into components that are small enough for practical solution. The author introduces logic-based Benders decomposition for optimization, which substantially generalizes the classical Benders method. It can reduce solution times by orders of magnitude and allows decomposition to be applied to a much wider variety of optimization problems. On the theoretical side, this book provides a full account of inference duality concepts that underlie LBBD, as well as a description of how LBBD can be combined with stochastic and robust optimization, heuristic methods, and decision diagrams. It also clarifies the connection between LBBD and combinatorial Benders cuts for mixed integer programming. On the practical side, it explains how LBBD has been applied to a rapidly growingvariety of problem domains. After describing basic theory, this book provides a comprehensive review of the rapidly growing literature that describes these applications, in each case explaining how LBBD is adapted to the problem at hand. In doing so this work provides a sourcebook of ideas for applying LBBD to new problems as they arise.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This concise and engaging Advanced Introduction provides the conceptual tools necessary to make ethical decisions in today’s business world. John Hooker provides an objective and closely-reasoned analysis of ethical issues based on a unified conceptual framework that distils the best of ethical thought into three clearly articulated principles: the generalization, utilitarian, and autonomy principles. Key features include:examples and case studies that illustrate ethical reasoning in complex business dilemmasexploration of business ethics in relation to environmental, social, and financial sustainability factorscoverage of cross-cultural business ethics, technological unemployment, and the ethics of artificial intelligence and machine learning. This Advanced Introduction will be a valuable resource for academics and advanced students of business ethics and trust, business leadership, and corporate social responsibility. It will also be beneficial for business managers who wish to build an ethical organization, as well as technical personnel who incorporate ethics into automated systems.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This concise and engaging Advanced Introduction provides the conceptual tools necessary to make ethical decisions in today’s business world. John Hooker provides an objective and closely-reasoned analysis of ethical issues based on a unified conceptual framework that distils the best of ethical thought into three clearly articulated principles: the generalization, utilitarian, and autonomy principles. Key features include:examples and case studies that illustrate ethical reasoning in complex business dilemmasexploration of business ethics in relation to environmental, social, and financial sustainability factorscoverage of cross-cultural business ethics, technological unemployment, and the ethics of artificial intelligence and machine learning. This Advanced Introduction will be a valuable resource for academics and advanced students of business ethics and trust, business leadership, and corporate social responsibility. It will also be beneficial for business managers who wish to build an ethical organization, as well as technical personnel who incorporate ethics into automated systems.

This book introduces a novel approach to discrete optimization, providing both theoretical insights and algorithmic developments that lead to improvements over state-of-the-art technology. The authors present chapters on the use of decision diagrams for combinatorial optimization and constraint programming, with attention to general-purpose solution methods as well as problem-specific techniques. The book will be useful for researchers and practitioners in discrete optimization and constraint programming. "Decision Diagrams for Optimization is one of the most exciting developments emerging from constraint programming in recent years. This book is a compelling summary of existing results in this space and a must-read for optimizers around the world." [Pascal Van Hentenryck]

The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars. Rich in titles on English life and social history, this collection spans the world as it was known to eighteenth-century historians and explorers. Titles include a wealth of travel accounts and diaries, histories of nations from throughout the world, and maps and charts of a world that was still being discovered. Students of the War of American Independence will find fascinating accounts from the British side of conflict. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++British LibraryT138609With a list of subscribers. A compilation of 'The discription of the cittie of Excester', originally published ca. 1575, and two other works not previously published. Exon: now first printed together by Andrew Brice, 1765. 2], ii, 4],192p.; 4

This book develops an intellectual framework for analyzing ethical dilemmas that is both grounded in theory and versatile enough to deal rigorously with real-world issues. It sees ethics as a necessary foundation for the social infrastructure that makes modern life possible, much as engineering is a foundation for physical infrastructure. It is not wedded to any particular ethical philosophy but draws from several traditions to construct a unified and principled approach to ethical reasoning. Rather than follow the common academic practice of seeking a reflective equilibrium of moral intuitions and principles, it builds on a few bedrock principles of rational thought that serve as criteria for valid argumentation. It develops the ideas from the ground up, without presupposing any background in ethics or philosophy. Epistemologically, the book views ethics as parallel to mathematics, in that it relies on generally accepted proof techniques to establish results. Whereas mathematics rests on such proof paradigms as mathematical induction and proof by contradiction, ethics can be seen as relying on proof by applying consistency tests, such as generalizability and respect for autonomy. Utilitarianism also plays a key role, but it is reconceived as a deontological criterion. This approach obviously requires that these criteria be formulated more rigorously than is normally the case. To accomplish this, the book begins with the classical idea that an action is distinguishable from mere behavior by virtue of its having a coherent rationale, where coherence requires passing certain consistency tests such as generalizability. An action is therefore inseparable from its rationale, and generalizability is defined in terms of consistency with the rationale. A utilitarian criterion receives a similar treatment with respect to a means-end rationale. Respect for autonomy is grounded in a carefully developed action theory that takes into account such concepts as joint autonomy, implied consent, and the permissibility of interference with unethical behavior. It provides an account of responsibility that is both practical and theoretically satisfying, and it yields a novel solution of the much-discussed trolley car dilemmas. The book is written for a general audience and strives to be as readable and engaging as possible, while maintaining rigor. It begins by dispelling a raft of misconceptions that trivialize ethics and block its development as an essential tool of modern life, such as the notion that ethics is just a matter of opinion without rational foundation. After presenting the ethical principles just described, along with many examples, it provides several chapters that analyze real-life dilemmas, many obtained from the author’s students and professional workshop participants. One cannot understand physics or chemistry without seeing how their principles are applied to real problems, and the same is true of ethics. These chapters demonstrate that a unified normative theory can deal with a wide range of real cases while achieving a reasonable level of objectivity and rigor.

This book introduces a novel approach to discrete optimization, providing both theoretical insights and algorithmic developments that lead to improvements over state-of-the-art technology. The authors present chapters on the use of decision diagrams for combinatorial optimization and constraint programming, with attention to general-purpose solution methods as well as problem-specific techniques. The book will be useful for researchers and practitioners in discrete optimization and constraint programming. "Decision Diagrams for Optimization is one of the most exciting developments emerging from constraint programming in recent years. This book is a compelling summary of existing results in this space and a must-read for optimizers around the world." [Pascal Van Hentenryck]

Mycenaean Greece, first published in 1976, investigates from an historical point of view some of the crucial periods in the Greek Bronze Age. The principal subject is the so-called ‘Mycenaean’ culture which arose during the sixteenth century BC, as assimilation of the previous ‘Helladic’ culture of mainland Greece with some of the developments of Minoan Crete. Many of the material aspects of the Mycenaean civilisation are examined, as are the extent of Mycenaean expansion overseas and the eventual destruction of Mycenaean sites which marked the end of their civilisation. The author also considers the evidence relating to the religious beliefs of the Mycenaeans and their social, political and economic organisations, and he relates the Mycenaean culture to the later civilisation of Archaic and Classical Greece. There is an Appendix containing a list of Mycenaean sites, with reference to excavation reports, and a full bibliography.

Mycenaean Greece, first published in 1976, investigates from an historical point of view some of the crucial periods in the Greek Bronze Age. The principal subject is the so-called ‘Mycenaean’ culture which arose during the sixteenth century BC, as assimilation of the previous ‘Helladic’ culture of mainland Greece with some of the developments of Minoan Crete. Many of the material aspects of the Mycenaean civilisation are examined, as are the extent of Mycenaean expansion overseas and the eventual destruction of Mycenaean sites which marked the end of their civilisation. The author also considers the evidence relating to the religious beliefs of the Mycenaeans and their social, political and economic organisations, and he relates the Mycenaean culture to the later civilisation of Archaic and Classical Greece. There is an Appendix containing a list of Mycenaean sites, with reference to excavation reports, and a full bibliography.

Build business ethics expertise through application. Business Ethics as Rational Choice focuses on building decision-making skills so that readers can arrive at, and defend, personal or company decisions in an objective, and convincing, manner.