A Note on the Art of Network Design Problems

Abstract

In this study, we describe some Network Design Problems (NDPs) as well as the network flowbased improvement algorithm for neighbourhood search defined by cycles. The main part of the study is structured around the formulation of the expected duration of stay in the educational system as a NDP. The fundamental matrix of the absorbing Markov chain is employed in computing the expected duration of each flow in the system. We shall illustrate the new graphtheoretic formulation for the educational system using datasets from a university setting. The paper concludes with suggestions for future directions of research.