A Generalized Maximum Entropy Principle for Decision Analysis,

Abstract

A generalized maximum entropy principle is described for dealing with decision problems involving uncertainty but with some prior knowledge about the probability space corresponding to nature. This knowledge about the probabilistic structure is expressed through known bounds on event probabilities and moments, which is incorporated into a nonlinear programming problem. The solution provides a maximum entropy distribution which is then used in treating the decision problem as one involving risk. An example application is described that involves the selection of oil spill recovery systems for inland harbor regions. Other areas of application are identified and tables of some maximum entropy distributions resulting from a variety of moment constraints are provided.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1977
Accession Number
ADA039926

Entities

People

  • Marlin U. Thomas

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Classification
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Contracts
  • Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Nonlinear Programming
  • Oil Spills
  • Operations Research
  • Probability
  • Probability Distributions
  • Random Variables
  • Recovery
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Uncertainty

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Operations Research
  • Statistical inference.

Technology Areas

  • Space