Central European Journal of Operations Research最新文献

Ranking and rating methods have outstanding significance in sports, mainly due to their capacity to predict results. In this paper we turn to their capacity to aggregate separate groups' rankings based on a small piece of information. We investigate under which conditions two or more separate groups can be trustworthily interwoven applying Thurstone motivated methods and an AHP based method. A theorem is proved which guarantees adequate unified ranking based on some links between the groups. We also analyse the robustness of the results.

Optimal distribution of vaccines to achieve high population immunity levels is a desirable aim in infectious disease epidemiology. A distributed optimal control epidemiological model that accounts for vaccination was developed and applied to the case of the COVID-19 pandemic. The model proposed here is nonstandard and takes into account the heterogeneity of the infected sub-population with respect to the time since infection, which is essential in the case of COVID-19. Based on the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 we analyze several vaccination scenarios and an optimal vaccination policy. In particular we consider random vaccination over the whole population and the prioritization of age groups such as the elderly and compare the effects with the optimal solution. Numerical results of the model show that random vaccination is efficient in reducing the overall number of infected individuals. Prioritization of the elderly leads to lower mortality though. The optimal strategy in terms of total deaths is early prioritization of those groups having the highest contact rates.

One of the most important issues related to the management of an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) network is the correct forecasting of the demand for cash. Typically, this demand, expressed as the value or number of ATM withdrawals, has some regularities that can be used to evaluate future values for these variables. However, forecasting becomes a challenge when a crisis occurs that could affect the behavior of ATM users. In this context, it is important to identify how the development of the crisis and the various information concerning it may affect people's attitudes to cash. This study aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the behavior of ATM customers. On the basis of daily data from 81 ATMs, we analyze the changes in the value and number of withdrawals just before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. An event study analysis allows us to determine precisely the moments in which changes in user behavior took place. This means that it is also possible to examine the reaction of ATM users to the announcement and implementation of the pandemic restrictions, and to determine the factors that had an impact on the change in people's attitude to cash. Such a study is also important from a sociological point of view, as it enables one to understand people's reactions to the emerging crisis. Hence, its results may be useful not only for managers of ATM networks, but also for various authorities and policy makers.

This paper focuses on an innovative asset allocation strategy for risk averse investors who operate on very long-time horizons, such as endowments and the Italian foundations of banking origin (FBOs). FBOs play a pivotal role in supporting economic, financial and sustainable growth in the long term. In the search for a model which optimizes FBO portfolio choices in the light of regulatory constraints on their sizeable investable portfolio, we highlight the risk-adjusted performances obtained using a robust conditional VaR (R-CVaR) approach-assuming different risk profiles-which corrects some of the Markowitz approach pitfalls and accounts for tail risk. We compare the two models using a buy and hold strategy: the R-CVaR delivers better returns than a Markowitz portfolio, even when those performances are measured with a mean-variance metric.

The COVID19 virus, which first appeared in Wuhan, China, and has become a pandemic in a short time, has threatened the health system in many countries and put it into a bottleneck. Simultaneously, the second wave's expectation spread it necessary to plan the health services correctly. In this study, a location-allocation problem in the two-echelon system, which considers different test sampling alternatives, is examined to obtain test sampling centers' location-allocation. The problem is modeled as a goal programming model to create a network that tests samples at a minimum total distance, establishes a minimum number of test sampling centers, and reaches the distance of PCR test laboratories at minimum total distances. The proposed model is applied as a case study for the two cities located in Turkey, and the obtained locations and inventory levels of each location are presented. Besides, different scenarios are examined to understand the structure of the model. As a result, only testing in hospitals will increase the risk of contamination. Since testing at all points will not be possible administratively, it will be ensured that the most appropriate location-allocation decisions are taken by considering all the proposed model's objectives.