Marilyn T. Lucas

Applications of location analysis in agriculture: a survey

This article presents a survey of applications of operations research-based techniques to location problems in agriculture. From the early work in the field to more recent applications, researchers have successfully applied, adapted, and improved theoretical location models to fulfil the fields specific needs. This article discusses earlier work in agricultural location theory starting with the seminal work by von Thünen. It then introduces diverse and innovative applications of location models from the 1950s and 1960s. The authors then identify distinguishing features of location problems in agriculture, and discuss their impact on the analysis. In order to illustrate these features and the variety of operations research-based applications to agricultural location, the article turns to six real-world examples. It then considers, in Conclusion, some of the directions that agricultural location theory may take in the future.

Subsidized Vehicle Acquisition and Earned Income in the Transition from Welfare to Work

Availability and affordability of reliable transportation – either through public transportation or individual ownership of automobiles – appears necessary to support a successful transition from welfare to work. One approach adopted by state and local governments is to subsidize vehicle acquisition by welfare recipients in transition. To date there are no empirical studies that analyze the impacts or effectiveness of these vehicle subsidy programs. The objective of this study is to examine the extent to which participation in a small-scale vehicle donation-and-sales program in Vermont increases earned income by individuals in transition from welfare to work. Using reduced-form random effects and censored regression models to account for the simultaneity of decisions to work and participate in welfare programs, we examine the impacts of this vehicle acquisition program for a small group of individuals. Our analyses indicate that the program results in a statistically significant increase in both earned income and the probability of employment.

Reconciling the resource‐based and competitive positioning perspectives on manufacturing flexibility

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reconcile two different perspectives on manufacturing flexibility found in the operations management literature.Design/methodology/approach – Conceptual in nature, the paper examines manufacturing flexibility from the perspective of the resource‐based view of the firm as a complement to the competitive positioning view of strategic management. It draws upon both these views to better understand the role of manufacturing flexibility in firms.Findings – The paper emphasizes the proactive use of manufacturing flexibility, as a means to create opportunities, in addition to its reactive use in response to environmental uncertainties. The integration of the resource‐based and competitive positioning views has implications for researchers in explaining inter‐firm performance differences and for practitioners in incorporating the role of manufacturing flexibility in their strategic thinking.Research limitations/implications – The integration of these two theories should b...

Managing blood inventory with multiple independent sources of supply

This paper focuses on the management of red blood cells (RBCs) by a large medical center within a regional blood exchange network. We provide both a theoretical and managerial contribution to the periodic-review fixed lifetime perishable inventory literature by considering multiple independent sources of supply. One source supplies blood via a typical standing order process. The other sources are smaller lower usage hospitals that randomly transfer blood to the medical center. Transferred blood is characterized by a much shorter average lifetime than blood supplied via standing order and introduces additional uncertainty into the inventory management process. We propose a solution approach that can be readily applied in practice and solve the multi-period cost minimization problem using a dynamic program. We provide numerical examples and demonstrate that our solution approach outperforms a corresponding base stock policy as well as the ordering policy that was actually used by the medical center.

The Community-Business Matching Project: New Tools for Rural Development

ABSTRACT Sound rural development strategies must consider the delicate tradeoffs necessary between economic, environmental, and social goals or run the risk of unintended long-term effects, such as sprawl at the expense of the environment. This paper introduces Community-Business Matching, a step toward the creation of a more holistic methodology for identifying appropriate economic development opportunities for rural communities and small towns. This paper presents the CBM framework and describes its application in a pilot case, where a small preservation land trust used CBM to identify development opportunities that would help them ensure the long-term preservation of three historic barns. The pilot study found, contrary to the land trusts expectations, that wood products would be more promising businesses for the site than traditional agricultural firms.