This book is a compilation of a selected subset of research articles presented at the Eighth INFORMS Computing Society Conference, held in Chandler, Arizona, from January 8 to 10, 2003. The articles in this book represent the diversity and depth of the interface between ORiMS (operations research and the management sciences) and CS/AI (computer science and artificial intelligence ). This volume starts with two papers that represent the reflective and integrative thinking that is critical to any scientific discipline. These two articles present philosophical perspectives on computation, covering a variety of traditional and newer methods for modeling, solving, and explaining mathematical models. The next set includes articles that study machine learning and computational heuristics, and is followed by articles that address issues in performance testing of solution algorithms and heuristics. These two sets of papers demonstrate the richness of thought that takes place at the ORiMS and CSI AI interface. The final set of articles demonstrates the usefulness of these and other methods at the interface towards solving problems in the real world, covering e-commerce, workflow, electronic negotiation, music, parallel computation, and telecommunications. The articles in this collection represent the results of cross-fertilization between ORiMS and CSI AI, making possible advances that could have not been achieved in isolation. The continuing aim ofthe INFORMS Computing Society and this research conference is to invigorate and further develop this interface.

"The Contractor Fight" is what HGTV host and best-selling author Tom Reber calls the battle between your ears. We all have stories and experiences that have formed us into who we are. We are what we think, and the battleground is our mind. The Fight is not with the people you think are "cheap customers." It's not with the unlicensed competitors or the "illegals," as many contractors think. The Fight is with yourself. Sadly, most of the struggles contractors have are self-imposed. It's friendly fire. The negative ways we think about ourselves and our worth... friendly fire. The growing debt, working too much, small bank account... friendly fire. Winning the Fight is a choice. You're noble and full of integrity. You bend over backward to serve your family and clients. You have taken it on the chin more times than you can count. Now, it's time to get yours. Earn what you're worth. Create a business that serves you and energizes you, instead of one that beats you down. Choose to own your crap and get better today.

Construction industry business coach, speaker, and author, Shawn Van Dyke, has taken the core concepts of Mike Michalowicz's Profit First and customized them to address the specific needs of the construction industry. Profit First for Contractors addresses the major struggles contractors face and provides clear and actionable guidance on how to overcome them. Shawn shows contractors how to go from simply getting by to becoming permanently profitable. This book is for every construction business owner who dreams of prosperity. Using Van Dyke's Profit First for Contractors system, readers will learn how to break out of the "craftsman cycle" - the seemingly never-ending loop of urgent tasks and responsibilities that keep contractors from gaining traction toward their important goals. He guides construction business owners how to understand their financial statements and how to use them to determine the markup and margin that lead to profits. You will also learn hot to develop solid rules of thumb for the operation of your construction businesses, and how to implement an effective cash management plan that simplifies accounting and leverages normal human behavior. Using real-life stories from actual construction business owners, step-by-step advice, and his conversational twang, Van Dyke puts permanent profitability within reach of every construction business owner.

Disk contains: CSUC, CHICO Cost-estimating program, LOAD-AND-HAUL programs for off-highway end-dump trucks and push-loaded scrapers, and an indirect cost computer spreadsheet template.

The most complete guide to the modern methods of standard bidding for bridge, from one of America's leading players, teachers, and authorities. With a logical, easy-to-follow style, William Root covers all the bidding essentials.

Electricity is an essential commodity traded at power exchanges. Its price is very volatile within a day and over the year. This raises questions about the efficiency of the trading rules. The author develops a non-cooperative auction model analyzing the bidding behavior of producers at power exchanges. Producers are limited by the production capacity of their power plants. Production costs are affiliated. This allows for independence or positive correlation. The author analyzes and compares a uniform-price, a discriminatory, and a generalized second-price auction. Optimal bids, cost efficiency, profits, and consumer prices are examined. A simple probability density function of affiliated production costs is given and used for examples. Numerical results are presented. The results of the analysis can help improving the bidding strategies of producers, selecting the best auction type at power exchanges or detecting price manipulations.