Combinatorial scientific computing plays an important enabling role in computational science, particularly in high performance scientific computing. In this thesis, we will describe our work on optimizing matrix-vector multiplication using combinatorial techniques. Our research has focused on two different problems in combinatorial scientific…

The topic of this article is the interpretation of structural equation modeling (SEM) solutions. Its purpose is to augment structural modeling's metatheoretic resources while enhancing awareness of how problematic is the causal significance of SEM-parameter solutions. Part I focuses on the nonuniqueness and consequent dubious interpretability of…

This paper presents and tests a general model to predict emergent exchange patterns and power differences in reciprocal exchange networks when individual actors follow the norm of reciprocity. With an interesting qualification, the experimental results reported here support the power-dependence approach (Emerson 1972a, b): those who acquire the…

A simple mathematical model for the behaviour of how vehicles follow each other along a looped stretch of road is described. The resulting coupled first order differential equations are solved using appropriate matrix techniques and the physical significance of the model is discussed. A number possible classroom exercises are suggested to help…

At United States Military Academy, a unit on biological modeling applications forms the culminating component of the first semester core mathematics course for freshmen. The course emphasizes the use of problem-solving strategies and modeling to solve complex and ill-defined problems. Topic areas include functions and their shapes, data fitting,…

This article details the application of an economic theory to the fiscal operation of a small engineering consulting firm. Nobel Prize-winning economist Wassily Leontief developed his general input-output economic theory in the mid-twentieth century to describe the flow of goods and services in the U.S. economy. We use one mathematical model that…