Pre-war Planning in Belgium

in Janz, Oliver; Apostolopoulos, Nicolas (Eds.) 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War (in press)

Abstract: Since the Treaty of London in 1839, pre-war planning theories in Belgium oscillated between two positions: on one hand secure and defend which border would be endangered, on the other hand ... [more ▼]

Abstract: Since the Treaty of London in 1839, pre-war planning theories in Belgium oscillated between two positions: on one hand secure and defend which border would be endangered, on the other hand constitute in Antwerp a powerful national sanctuary. This concentration of most of the available military means in Antwerp was far more appropriate in the event of a French invasion. But this perspective decreased after the Franco-Prussian war in 1870, while the possibility of a trespassing by the two belligerents became greater and greater. The fortifications of Namur and Liège were voted by the Chambers in 1887 as a deterrent to both France and Germany. Nevertheless, without totally putting aside the defence of the Belgian southwestern border, high-ranking officers seemed to fear more and more a violation of the eastern border. Due to the completion of fortifications on the Meuse in 1892, German columns were supposed to move forward south of the river, through the Belgian Ardennes. On the eve of the Great War, King Albert I would have preferred to concentrate the army on the Meuse but his Chief of Staff selected a central position in order to maintain and secure his line of communication with Antwerp. The lack of a determined and “standardized” doctrine at the highest level of the army led to a “mixed” or compromise plan adopted in a hurry during the first days of mobilization in August 1914. [less ▲]

La fin du Paléolithique moyen dans le Nord de l’Europe : la question des origines du Lincombien-Ranisien-Jerzmanowicien

in Depaepe, Pascal (Ed.) Les plaines du Nord-Ouest : carrefour de l’Europe au Paléolithique moyen ? (in press)

Les dieux et la cité. Représentations des divinités tutélaires entre Grèce et Phénicie

in Zenzen, Nicolas; Hölscher, Tonio; Trampedach, Kai (Eds.) Aneignung und Abgrenzung. Wechselnde Perspektiven auf die Antithese von ‘Ost’ und ‘West’ in der griechischen Antike (in press)

Wich Gravettians at Spy?

in Rougier, Hélène; Semal, Patrick (Eds.) Spy Cave. State of 125 Years of Pluridisciplinary Research on the Betche-aux-Rotches from Spy (Jemeppe-sur-Sambre, Province of Namur, Belgium) (in press)

Compte-rendu de l'ouvrage d'Éric Lavanchy: Étude du Cahier bleu d’André Juillard : Une approche narratologique de la bande dessinée

in COnTEXTES : Revue de Sociologie de la Littérature (in press)

L’ouvrage d’Éric Lavanchy a pour but, comme le souligne son titre, d’appliquer les concepts de la narratologie à l’étude de la bande dessinée. Pour ce faire, il est organisé en deux parties : une partie ... [more ▼]

L’ouvrage d’Éric Lavanchy a pour but, comme le souligne son titre, d’appliquer les concepts de la narratologie à l’étude de la bande dessinée. Pour ce faire, il est organisé en deux parties : une partie théorique, dans laquelle l’auteur décrit et combine les concepts des narratologies littéraire et cinématographique pour créer une grille d’analyse adaptée à la bande dessinée, et une partie pratique, où ces concepts sont utilisés pour analyser une œuvre en particulier, Le Cahier bleu d’André Juillard. [less ▲]

An algorithm for the separation of two-row cuts

in Mathematical Programming (in press)

We consider the question of finding deep cuts from a model with two rows of the type PI = {(x,s) ∈ Z2 ×Rn+ : x = f +Rs}. To do that, we show how to reduce the complexity of setting up the polar of conv(PI ... [more ▼]

We consider the question of finding deep cuts from a model with two rows of the type PI = {(x,s) ∈ Z2 ×Rn+ : x = f +Rs}. To do that, we show how to reduce the complexity of setting up the polar of conv(PI ) from a quadratic number of integer hull computations to a linear number of integer hull computations. Furthermore, we present an algorithm that avoids computing all integer hulls. A polynomial running time is not guaranteed but computational results show that the algorithm runs quickly in practice. [less ▲]

Compte-rendu de l'ouvrage de Fl. Gherchanoc, L'oikos en fête. Célébrations familiales et sociabilité en Grèce ancienne

in Antiquité Classique : Revue Interuniversitaire d'Etudes Classiques (in press)

Scenario Trees and Policy Selection for Multistage Stochastic Programming Using Machine Learning

in INFORMS Journal on Computing (in press)

In the context of multistage stochastic optimization problems, we propose a hybrid strategy for generalizing to nonlinear decision rules, using machine learning, a finite data set of constrained vector ... [more ▼]

In the context of multistage stochastic optimization problems, we propose a hybrid strategy for generalizing to nonlinear decision rules, using machine learning, a finite data set of constrained vector-valued recourse decisions optimized using scenario-tree techniques from multistage stochastic programming. The decision rules are based on a statistical model inferred from a given scenario-tree solution and are selected by out-of-sample simulation given the true problem. Because the learned rules depend on the given scenario tree, we repeat the procedure for a large number of randomly generated scenario trees and then select the best solution (policy) found for the true problem. The scheme leads to an ex post selection of the scenario tree itself. Numerical tests evaluate the dependence of the approach on the machine learning aspects and show cases where one can obtain near-optimal solutions, starting with a “weak” scenario-tree generator that randomizes the branching structure of the trees. [less ▲]

Le symbolique et le social. La réception internationale de la pensée de Pierre Bourdieu

Book published by Presses Universitaires de Liège (in press)

Reining in Excessive Risk Taking by Executives: The Effect of Accountability

in Theory and Decision (in press)

Performance-contingent compensation by means of stock options may induce risk taking in agents that is excessive from the point of view of the company or the shareholders. We test whether increasing ... [more ▼]

Performance-contingent compensation by means of stock options may induce risk taking in agents that is excessive from the point of view of the company or the shareholders. We test whether increasing shareholder control may be an effective checking mechanism to rein in such excessive risk taking. We thus tell one group of experimental CEOs that they may have to justify their decision making processes in front of their shareholders. This indeed reduces risk taking and increases the performance of the companies they manage. Implications are discussed. [less ▲]