Testwiki:Articles for creation/2008-07-16

Template:Afc c{{Wikipedia:Articles for creation/Daily header}}

Ralph D. Abernathy Freeway

1. REDIRECT Interstate 20 in Georgia

Sources

75.47.129.198 (talk) 04:13, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

• Redirect created. -IcĕwedgЁ (ťalķ) 05:02, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Ralph David Abernathy Freeway

1. REDIRECT Interstate 20 in Georgia

Sources

75.47.129.198 (talk) 04:31, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

• Redirect created. -IcĕwedgЁ (ťalķ) 05:02, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

ITAREPS

The Information Technology Aided Relapse Prevention Programme in Schizophrenia (ITAREPS) developed in Prague Psychiatric Center, Czech Republic, enables early pharmacological intervention in psychosis (schizophrenia and related disorders) by identification of prodromal symptoms of relapse using home telemonitoring via a phone-to-PC SMS platform. ITAREPS helps to prevent relapses and recurrent hospitalisations.

Each participant, a patient and her/his family member enrolled in the ITAREPS programme, completes a 10-item Early Warning Signs Questionnaire (EWSQ, Patient and the Family member version respectively). Reminder for a completion of the EWSQ is sent weekly by an automated system to their mobile phones as a SMS. Individual EWSQ scores are sent by participants back to ITAREPS as a SMS message.

No specific training is provided for ITAREPS participants except information detailed in the ITAREPS User Guide distributed to the program participants.

If a total EWSQ score exceeds a given score threshold, an automatically generated ALERT is declared and a treating psychiatrist is notified by an e-mail message. According to the Early Intervention Algorithm, a part of ITAREPS, the presence of early warning signs warrants an immediate increase of baseline maintenance dose of antipsychotic by 20% within the next 24 hours.

An ITAREPS web-based interface (www.itareps.com) offers an authorised physician a user-friendly process to enter patients´ data. It also provides summaries and continuous reporting on current clinical status of each patient participating in the ITAREPS.

Findings from an one-year mirror-image design (i.e. one group, uncontrolled, non-blind, before-after design) follow-up evaluation of clinical effectiveness of the ITAREPS programme in 45 patients with psychotic illness showed statistically significant 60% decrease in the number of hospitalisations during the mean 283.3 ±111.9 days of participation in ITAREPS compared to the same time period before entering the programme (sign test, P<0.004).

ŠPANIEL F, VOHLÍDKA P, HRDLIČKA J, et al. ITAREPS: information technology aided relapse prevention programme in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2008; 98: 312-317.
Declined. I'm sorry, but your article appears to read more like an advertisement than an entry in an encyclopedia. If you still feel that this subject is appropriate for Wikipedia, please rewrite your proposed article in the form of an encyclopedia entry. Encyclopedia entries should be written from a neutral point of view, and should refer to a range of published, verifiable sources, not just to materials produced by the creator of the item being discussed. Sceptre ^(talk) 11:20, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

'donkey'

Template:Afc r All you need to understand this complex and enigmatic contemporary play which Richard Foreman has created can be summed up with a single word..." Dooonkey.

Sources

76.90.30.217 (talk) 05:50, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Declined. This article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. Please see tips on how to better format your article. MSGJ (talk) 08:01, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Todd J. Williams

Todd J. Williams, Ph.D. is the first alumnus to serve as President of the University. He holds a B.S. in Bible degree from Philadelphia Biblical University, an M.Ed. and a Ph.D. from Temple University. His academic career began at PBU in 1994 when he joined the faculty in the School of Arts and Sciences. He rose through the ranks to Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education and then was appointed Vice President and Academic Dean of Undergraduate Studies. In 2001, he left the University to become Headmaster and CEO at Trinity Christian School in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C. While there, he led that institution through a major transition and several strategic initiatives including the construction of a new campus.

In June 2005, Dr. Williams returned to the University to serve as its Senior Vice President and Provost. In this role, he partnered with then-President W. Sherrill Babb to lead the faculty and Board of Trustees through a two-year review of the University’s mission statement, objectives, and statement of faith. This, in turn, led to the development of a new core curriculum and community life statement. Dr. Williams was also instrumental in the establishment of the Center for University Studies and the appointment of its first faculty scholar, Professor Nancy Pearcey.

As a visiting teacher and speaker on issues of Christianity, culture, education, and leadership, Dr. Williams has served churches, schools, colleges, businesses, and professional organizations. He was Visiting Lecturer for Spiritual Formation at the Witherspoon Fellowship in Washington, D.C. and serves on the Board of Governors of the John Jay Institute for Faith, Society and Law in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Sources

http://www.pbu.edu/

Comment: Can you provide any third-party sources? MSGJ (talk) 08:04, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Declined. This suggestion doesn't sufficiently explain the importance or significance of the subject. See the speedy deletion criteria A7 and/or guidelines on biographies. Please provide more information on why the person or group is worthy of inclusion in an encyclopedia, and cite reliable, published third-party sources, so that the information in the article is verifiable. Thank you. Sceptre ^(talk) 11:19, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Matty Hughes

Matty Hughes is a professional footballer with Celtic FC. In July 2008 whilst 16 years of age he signed a 3 year contract with the Scottish club. Born in Salford and raised in Stockport he is a product of Rochdale AFC academy. In 2007, aged 15 years and still in his last year at secondary school he played and captained the Rochdale Reserve side. His development attracted the attention of a number of top English Premier Clubs. Celtic won his signature over Liverpool, Everton and Manchester United

Sources

Matty Hughes Celtic 212.32.71.137 (talk) 07:32, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Declined. We cannot accept unsourced suggestions or sources that are not reliable per the verifiability policy. Please provide reputable, third-party sources with your suggestions. Third party sources are needed both to establish the verifiability of the submission as well as its notability. MSGJ (talk) 08:06, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

SYLVIA'S BAKLAVA MOVIE

BEYOND BAKLAVA: THE FAIRY TALE STORY OF SYLVIA'S BAKLAVA, is a very creative feature film that was made on a shoestring guerilla shoot, exploring this delicious dessert and its potentially very addictive qualities... it's also about singing and finding ways to achieve lasting peace in the world. Features Academy Award winning actress Patricia Neal, Grandma Sylvia Rousso, actress and singer Silvana Vienne, Broadway producer Philip Langner, agent to the stars Mort Viner, Juilliard-trained composer Peter Rosenblatt, and Lady Arlene Kieta. Voicevers by Turkish baklava expert Jim Akman, with Ryan O'Quinn; and special animations by Ken Scribner and John Patrick Jewell III, and interviews with Jann Castor, the composer. Grandma Sylvia is the maker of the baklava everyone around the world wants so badly.. what is the secret ingredient? Baklava and all its possibilities, captured forever on film. Baklava ice cream... baklava flavored donuts.. even brewed baklava coffee..Yummy!

Sources

STEP 3: www.filmlightsmusic.com

75.84.207.24 (talk) 09:20, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Declined. Your article does not appear to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. Entries should be written from a neutral point of view, and should refer to a range of published material. If you still feel that this subject is appropriate for Wikipedia, please rewrite your proposed article in the form of an encyclopedia entry, and make sure to avoid certain terms meant to show off the subject. MSGJ (talk) 13:17, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Robert Stearns

One of the founders of JP Morgan's nearly merged acquisition Bear Stearns. Robert Stearns and Josepth Bear founded the investment bank in 1923.

Sources

210.3.7.231 (talk) 09:40, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Declined. We cannot accept unsourced suggestions or sources that are not reliable per the verifiability policy. Please provide reputable, third-party sources with your suggestions. Third party sources are needed both to establish the verifiability of the submission as well as its notability. Sceptre ^(talk) 11:19, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

...And So It Goes

...And So It Goes was the "actual" debut full-lenght album by the North Carolina post-hardcore band Beloved (us). It was released independently and sold exclusively at thier concerts. While most people consider "The Running" to be their first album, this is actually thier first true release.

History

The original members of the Beloved were Joe Musten (drums/vocals), Shawn Dallas (guitar), Dusty Redmon (guitar) and John Brehm (bass guitar). They all attended East Forsyth High School in Kernersville, NC from 1996-2000.

Everyone in the band had a WIDE variety of influences... from Classic Rock to Hardcore/Metal, and Punk/Rockabilly to the now hated "EMO", they set out to redefine the local music scene. (which had dwindled some since the heday of the Swift and Codeseven scene)

What made Beloved so unique was thier ability to perfectly combine Emo/Indie (very up-and-coming at the time) and Hardcore.

Josh Moore actually did not appear on thier first demo cassete tape. Joe Musten used to play drums and do vocals. They asked Josh to join the band a few months later and proceeded to record a second demo tape. They had a sort of "release concert" at First Christian Church in Kernersville, NC. The tape sold very well and they decided to record a full lenght including newly recorded versions of the 4 tracks that appeared on the demo tapes. The demo tapes included the songs "In Dreams", "Tears Of Blood", "Things Change" and "Restless Hearts".

The long-awaited album was finally released in the summer of 2000. Jamie King (of Swift) recorded the album at his studio "The Basement" in King, NC.

There is a "bonus/goof" track at the end of the last track. (fast forward some ways into) It is rumored that John (their bassist) wrote the bulk of this little diddy. The only "vocals" on the hidden track are of the band members making strange noises into modulators with effects.

The album was released only once. Best guess, there were maybe 1000 copies ever made.

To many fans, THIS was their greatest release to date. In the months after it's release, Shawn Dallas was asked to leave the band and was replaced by Matt Harrison (a long-time friend of the other members). The band (and their sound) was never the same again (for better or worse).

Track Listing

• Today Is The Day
• In Dreams
• Things Change (And Apparently So Do People)
• Restless Hearts
• A Dear Friend
• A Fallen Petal
• All Consuming Fire
• New Wine
• Tears Of Blood
• Outro

Ex-Members

Shawn Dallas went on to play in several bands after Beloved. Korea saw some success before disbanding and reforming as Monday In London; however, Shawn did not return. He relocated to High Point. His next musical endeavor came nearly 5 years after leaving Beloved. He joined a short-lived band with Drew Fulk, Michael Whitaker and Kyle Laster, called The Actor And The Son. They later reformed with a different drummer (Jordan McGee replacing Michael Whitaker) called Anadora. That too was short-lived, but made way for a bigger project, "Yosemite Mudflap And The Fireball Wizards". They released an album "Slaughter" on Tragic Hero Records in the summer of 2007. Shawn left the band shortly after to pursue other interests. He now resides in Kernersville. He currently shares a clothing company cattered exclusively to the "drifting" scene called Driftstar Apparel with graphic designer Michael Whitaker. ( www.DriftstarApparel.com )

In the coming years after Shawn departed, John Brehm too was asked to leave the band (shortly after the original release of "The Running"). He was replaced by short-lived bassist Mitch Britt. Mitch left the band to pursue other interests and the band asked Johnny Smrdel to join. Brehm went on to play bass in the band Monday In London (now defunct) and toured for 3 years. He released a full lenght album and an e.p. with them. He then joined Dead Poetic (now defunct) and toured for 2 years. He released 1 full lenght album with them before the band abruptly disbanded in late 2006. He currently resides in Kernersville as a tattoo artist for Ink Well tattoos in Winston-Salem, NC. He also has a clothing company called OMBIE. ( www.OMBIE.bigcartel.com )

Sources

• Interview with Dusty (27 April 2004).
• Archive of Belovedrock.com (2 August 2002)
• Eric Alexy (January 2004). Beloved - "Failure On". HM Magazine Internet Exclusive
• Official website, where a goodbye message can be found.
• Beloved at Myspace
• [1]

Comment: Band has article, Beloved (band) and seems to have borderline notability. This request does not seem to be written from a neutral point of view, in my opinion. MSGJ (talk) 13:57, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Declined. Your article does not appear to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. Entries should be written from a neutral point of view, and should refer to a range of published material. If you still feel that this subject is appropriate for Wikipedia, please rewrite your proposed article in the form of an encyclopedia entry, and make sure to avoid certain terms meant to show off the subject. The Evil Spartan (talk) 22:14, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Return of the invaders (Video game)

Return of the invaders Is a 1985 Sequel to Space invaders. It was created by Taito It is simalar to space invaders, but with many notable Differances:

1. The game is in full color and the invader's looks are diffrent.
2. Shields no longer gain holes when they are attacked: They can take a ammount of

damage, and explode when shot enough.

1. Certain invaders have the ability to reflect the players shots.
2. The mothership is huge and will drop a powerup when destroyed.
3. Certain waves has the invaders in a circle instead of the usual line.

Ports

Due to it's release after the video game crash of 1983, there were no ports to popular systems. The game was included in Taito Legends For the Playstation 2, Xbox And The PC.

Sources

    KLOV Return of the invaders

--Manty64 (talk) 14:29, 16 July 2008 (UTC)Manty64 (Delete this after approved, if nessesary)
Article created. Thank you for your contribution to Wikipedia! MSGJ (talk) 20:34, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Eugene A. Obregon Memorial Interchange

1. REDIRECT East Los Angeles Interchange

Sources

75.47.129.198 (talk) 16:29, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Redirect created. Thank you for your contribution to Wikipedia! Sceptre ^(talk) 00:30, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Eugene Arnold Obregon Memorial Interchange

1. REDIRECT East Los Angeles Interchange

Sources

75.47.129.198 (talk) 16:30, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Redirect created. Thank you for your contribution to Wikipedia! Sceptre ^(talk) 00:30, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Astrotheology

Theology founded on observation or knowledge of the celestial bodies

Astrotheology of the ancients

Destruction of cultures and endless genocide worldwide, based on the religious divisiveness of the past millennia.

Zeitgeist-Movie Part 1

In the Zeitgeist film Part 1:The greatest story every told, tries to debunk the Bible's new testament and the story of Jesus Christ as being based on astrological principles documented by many ancient civilizations, especially pertaining to the movement of the sun through the sky and stars.

Sources

http://tribes.tribe.net/solarmythologynastrotheology http://jesusastrotheology.netfirms.com/ Brotherhood of the Sun: A Modern Story about an Ancient Order

Sr24087 (talk) 16:33, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Comment: I have no idea what this is about! MSGJ (talk) 20:39, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Declined. Neologisms are not considered notable unless they receive substantial use and press coverage; this requires strong sourcing. Links to sites specifically intended to promote the neologism itself do not establish notability. The Evil Spartan (talk) 22:16, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

The Tungsten Political Current

Copyrighted text removed.

24.189.231.135 (talk) 18:14, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Declined. This article appears to be taken from http://www.opednews.com/articles/Creating-the-Tungsten-Poli-by-Ronald-Doda-Jr-080716-237.html. We cannot accept copyrighted content taken from web sites or printed sources. Note that copyright protection is granted to all works automatically, whether it is asserted or not. Unless stated otherwise, assume that most content on the internet is copyrighted and not suitable for Wikipedia. Please write in your own words, and in continuous prose.

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Carol Sumner

AROL SUMNER, a former Soloist with the New York City Ballet, was born in Brooklyn, New York and began her professional ballet training in Manhattan with Eileen O'Connor on West 56th Street. At the age of fourteen she auditioned for the School of American Ballet and was accepted. There she studied with Antonina Tumkovsky, Helene Dudin, Felia Doubrovska, Pierre Vladimiroff, Anatol Ouboukoff and Muriel Stuart. After three years of study at the School, she was invited to join the New York City Ballet as a member of the Corps de Ballet. Much to her surprise she was immediately given demi-solo and solo roles to dance. When the Company moved from City Center to its present home at Lincoln Center, she was officially promoted to Soloist. Soon Carol Sumner was dancing such a large repertoire of ballets, Hubert Saal, at that time the dance critic for Newsweek magazine dubbed her, "the backbone of the Company."

Among the many ballets in which Miss Sumner danced principal roles were, George Balanchine's Concerto Barocco, Divertimento No. 15, Agon, Western Symphony and The Nutcracker. She danced the role of Sacred Love in Frederick Ashton's Illuminations and leading roles in Todd Bolender's Souvenirs and Jerome Robbins' Fanfare. Soloist roles were specifically choreographed for her by George Balanchine in Raymonda Variations, Harlequinade, Donizetti Variations, Coppelia, Clarinade, Diamonds (in the ballet Jewels), Don Quixote (divertissement), and Pulchinella, in which she was partnered by Edward Villella.

In 1971, with Balanchine's approval, Miss Sumner began teaching classes at the School of American Ballet. Discovering she had a passion for teaching equal to that of performing, opened her own school in 1976 called American Ballet Academy (now Stamford City Ballet) in Stamford, Connecticut. As founder and Artistic Director, she acquired the right from the Balanchine Trust for the school to perform his legendary ballet, The Nutcracker, at the Palace Theater in Stamford. From 1985 to 1989, she was Resident Choreographer for the Connecticut Grande Opera.

Miss Sumner has taught at some of the most prestigious schools in the country--North Carolina School of the Arts, Missouri State Ballet School, Dance Theater of Harlem, New York University, Brian Sky Dance Center in Saratoga Springs, Catechu Summer Dance Festival.

Carol Sumner lives in New York City with her three dogs and two cats, where she teaches private ballet classes and coaches young dancers aspiring to careers in professional dance.
Declined. We cannot accept unsourced suggestions or sources that are not reliable per the verifiability policy. Please provide reputable, third-party sources with your suggestions. Third party sources are needed both to establish the verifiability of the submission as well as its notability. MSGJ (talk) 20:42, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Down-down & Down-Down

1. REDIRECT Hash House Harriers#Traditions and naming conventions

Sources

http://www.cantabhash.fsnet.co.uk/Glossary.htm (last line)

see also Hash House Harriers & Down Down articles

58.8.17.103 (talk) 18:33, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Redirect created. Thank you for your contribution to Wikipedia! MSGJ (talk) 19:19, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Down down

1. REDIRECT Down Down

Sources

58.8.17.103 (talk) 18:37, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Redirect created. Thank you for your contribution to Wikipedia! MSGJ (talk) 19:19, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Naruto:Rise of a Ninja (Series)

This serie its xbox 360 exclusive and the gameplay its similiar to clash of ninja serie.In e3 was anounced the secuel of naruto: rise of a ninja under the name of naruto: broken bond.This is the only game of naruto created by a american company (Ubisoft).

Naruto: Rise of a Ninja

main article: Naruto: Rise of a Ninja

Characters

• Naruto Uzumaki
• Sasuke Uchiha
• Sakura Haruno
• Kakashi Hatake
• Gaara of the Desert
• Haku
• Zabuza Momochi
• Orochimaru
• Kiba Inuzuka
• Rock Lee
• Neji Hyuga

Downloadable Characters

• Shikamaru Nara
• Choji Akimichi
• Temari
• Sarutobi
• Jiraiya

This characters come in pacage of two, for example: Choji and Temari,Sarutobi and Jiraiya.Each pack come with 2 stages.Each have a price of 500 microsoft points wich is $6.25.

Naruto: The Broken Bond

main article: Naruto:_The_Broken_Bond Naruto: The Broken Bond its going to be released in fall 2008.In this game you can do a 3 man team,each with its own special ability (for example neji can use byakugan to see traps in a video from the game).When you are jumping from tree to tree will change the camera to a first person shooter.This game will have free roaming like its previous instalment, the only thing diferent from the first one free roaming is that this game you can use other characters than naruto to explore.The game will have a new mode 2v2 battle mode and the tournament mode, this modes are played online.You can use 25 characters and play with friends to defeat other teams online.This game will feature the voice-acting and music from the anime.The world its now biger with more path.This game have new technique and jutsu.

characters

This characters have been confirmed in videos and pics from e3 and the demo

• Naruto Uzumaki
• Neji Hyuga
• Shikamaru Nara
• Choji Akimichi
• Kabuto Yakushi
• Kidomaru
• Jirobo
• Tsunade
• Jiraiya
• Orochimaru

Sources

http://narutoxbox360game.uk.ubi.com/# http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/narutothebrokenbond/index.html?tag=result;title;0 http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/narutothebrokenbond/news.html?sid=6194176&om_act=convert&om_clk=newlyadded&tag=newlyadded;title;1 http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/narutothebrokenbond/video_player.html?id=dyA3xTL_5b0Ksj_W http://gamekyo.com/video12300_naruto-the-broken-bond-first-gameplay-video.html 67.224.154.61 (talk) 19:57, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Comment: This doesn't really seem to add anything substantial onto the existing articles. MSGJ (talk) 20:58, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Declined. This article already exists in Wikipedia. You can find it at Naruto: Rise of a Ninja. Sceptre ^(talk) 00:29, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

derek foley

Sources

Declined. We cannot accept blank suggestions. Please consider submitting to Wikipedia:Requested articles instead. MSGJ (talk) 22:03, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Brygmophyseter

Template:Tlx

Brygmophyseter is an extinct genus of sperm whale from the Miocene to the Pliocene. Unlike the sperm whale which has lower teeth only, Brygmophyseter has teeth on its upper and lower jaw.

Sources

• Brygmophyseter - Ancient Whale: History.com

Template:Tlx Template:Tlx 69.218.76.82 (talk) 21:28, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Article created. Thank you for your contribution to Wikipedia! MSGJ (talk) 22:29, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Unnamed request

Though MSI Reports Ltd is still selling reports, it went bankrupt. There's somebody answering the phone, to pretend there's nothing wrong...
Declined. The proposed article is not suitable for Wikipedia. MSGJ (talk) 22:26, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}

Crew Scheduling

Crew Scheduling deals with the assignment of employees (crews) to a set of tasks. Typically, the term crew scheduling is used within the transportation industry. In the transportation industry crews are needed to operate e.g. aircrafts, trains, or vehicles. The tasks for the crews depend on the context, e.g., pilots need to fly aircrafts and cabin crews need to serve passengers during a flight. One common element to all crew scheduling contexts is the need to cover all tasks of a specific planning period. At the same time, a wide variety of operational and contractual requirements has to be respected. These requirements originate from legal regulations or union agreements. Depending on the context, the requirements can have many facets, and, typically, each crew scheduling application has several unique characteristics.

Companies seek to minimize the costs of a crew schedule. A crew schedule is a feasible assignment of crews to tasks, such that all tasks are covered. The crew scheduling problem is to find a cost-minimal feasible crew schedule. The costs typically refer to planned costs, but may also consider costs due to uncertain events on the day of operations (crew scheduling under uncertainty).

A crew schedule refers to a planning period and there are several levels of analysis. The planning period may be a week, a weekday, or a specific date. Strategic crew scheduling analyzes long-term decisions (e.g., crew capacities), tactical crew scheduling considers the near future (e.g., two months), and operational crew scheduling reacts to events that affect the next 24-48 hours (e.g., breakdowns). Crew re-scheduling reacts to events on the day of operations (e.g., cancelled flights).

The tasks for crews depend on the flight/train/vehicle schedules, i.e., tasks are the result of preceding planning stages. Often, preceding planning stages contain side constraints that facilitate the scheduling of crews. If the problem size allows it, crews are also planned in an integrated approach with preceding (or subsequent) planning stages. To generate tasks, the flight/train/vehicle schedules are broken down to atomic planning units (legs) that have to be serviced by the same crew without breaks. A sequence of legs is called trip (also shift or duty period). A trip usually starts with a briefing period at a crew base (also depot) and ends with a debriefing period at the same crew base. In airline crew scheduling, especially long-haul airlines, a trip may not end where it begins. Then, several consecutive trips form a pairing. A pairing starts and ends at the same crew base and involves one or more hotel rests at away locations.

Crew scheduling is of high interest to both practioners and researchers. Sophisticated crew scheduling methods may generate substantial savings. Crew cost constitute large shares of the overall cost of transportation companies. It is not uncommon for an airline crew scheduling application to generate savings of several million dollars annually for a single company. Sophisticated algorithms as opposed to a manual planning process may save percentages in crew cost. Even small percentages translate to big absolute savings and the motviation for optimization methods is high. Many exact and heuristic crew scheduling methods have been developed over the past decades.

An interesting aspect of optimized crew schedules is that crews themselves are more content, because optimized schedules contain less boring idle times.

Mathematical Model

The crew scheduling problem can be formulated as a set partitioning problem as follows:

$min\sum _{j=1}^n{c}_j{x}_j$

$s.t.Px=e$

$x_j\in \{0,1\},j=1,2,\dots ,n$

The columns of matrix $P$ correspond to feasible pairings, the rows correspond to legs. That is, an entry $p_{ij}$ of matrix $P$ is 1 if pairing $j$ contains leg $i$ and 0 otherwise. The right hand side vector $e$ has $m$ entries, one for each leg $i$ that needs to be covered. A cost $c_j$ is associated with each pairing $j$. A binary decision variable $x_j$ determines for each pairing $j$ if it becomes part of the crew schedule ($x_j=1$) or not ($x_j=0$).

Solution Strategies

Crew scheduling problems are highly complex from a mathematical point of view due to an extremely large number of possible pairings, complex work rules, and highly non-linear costs.

A typical solution strategy for many crew scheduling applications involves two major parts: 1. pairing generation and 2. crew schedule optimization. While the pairing generation part generates a number of feasible pairings, the optimization part uses these pairings to build a cost-minimal crew schedule from these pairings.

While early work in crew scheduling applied local improvement methods to an initial feasible solution, most modern crew scheduling approaches involve branch-and-price to some degree between two extremes: the one extreme generates pairings only at the root node and then solves the resulting integer programming formulation, the other extreme uses a delayed column generation approach and generates pairings throughout the search tree.

Pairings are usually generated using a network representation of the problem. In this representation a pairing corresponds to a feasible path in a network. Depending on the context, a two-stage approach may be used. In this approach, the first stage uses a leg-based network to generate trips and the second stage uses a trip-based network to generate pairings.

References

Barnhart, C., A. Cohn, E.L. Johnson, D. Klabjan, G.L. Nemhauser, P.H. Vance. 2003. Airlne Crew Scheduling. Randolph W. Hall, ed., Handbook of Transportation Science, 2nd ed., Part 5, Chap. 1. Springer, New York, 517-560.

Caprara, A., L. Kroon, M. Monaci, M. Peeters, P. Toth. 2007. Passenger Railway Optimization. C. Barnhart, G. Laporte, eds., Handbooks in Operations Research and Management Science, Chap. 3. Elsevier, 129-187.

Ernst, A. T., H. Jiang, M. Krishnamoorthy, D. Sier. 2004. Staff Scheduling and Rostering: A Review of Applications, Methods and Models. European Journal of Operational Research 152(4) 3-27.

Etschmaier, M.M., D. F. X. Mathaisel. 1985. Airline Crew Scheduling: An Overview. Transportation Science 19(2) 127-138.

Gopalakrishnan, B., E. L. Johnson. 2005. Airline Crew Scheduling: State-of-the-art. Annals of Operations Research 140, 305-337.

Schaefer, A. J. , E. L. Johnson, A. J. Kleywegt, G. L. Nemhauser. 2005. Airline Crew Scheduling under Uncertainty. Transportation Science 39(3) 340-348.

Wren, A., J. Rousseau. 1995. Bus Driver Scheduling - an Overview. J. Daduna, I. Branco, J. Paixao, eds., Computer-Aided Transit Scheduling 430, Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems. Springer, Berlin, 173-187.

87.79.44.129 (talk) 23:41, 16 July 2008 (UTC)
Declined. This article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. Please see tips on how to better format your article. The subject seems notable enough, but I have trouble figuring out what exactly the subject is; the wording is a bit complex and tends to run on. Robert Skyhawk (Talk) 04:20, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

|- | style="text-align:center;" | This is an archived discussion. Please do not modify it. |}