Decision making in most universities is taught within the conventional OR/MS (Operations Research/Management Science) paradigm. This paradigm is known to be "hard" since it is consisted of mathematical tools, and normally suitable for solving structured problems. In complex situations the conventional OR/MS paradigm proves to be…

Sensitivity analysis is the study of how the different input variations of a mathematical model influence the variability of its output. In this paper, we review the principle of global and local sensitivity analyses of a complex black-box system. A simulated case of application is given at the end of this paper to compare both approaches.…

There are many definitions that are attributable to the meaning of sustainability. Sustainability can be viewed as long-lasting, effective result of a project, venture, action, or investment without consuming additional future resources. Because of the wide nature of its applicability, a universal measure of sustainability is hard to come by. This…

We develop a simple model of teacher behavior that offers a solution to the ''class size puzzle'' and is useful for analyzing the potential effects of the No Child Left Behind Act. When teachers must allocate limited classroom time between multiple instructional methods, rational teachers may respond to reductions in class size by reallocating…