Robust Approval Process in the Face of Strategic Adversaries and Normal Applicants

该奖项的目的是探索一类新的决策模型，以便在处理适应性申请者和不完全信息时为稳健的筛选提供结构性见解。这项研究的动机是公众对平衡由于安全检查而造成的拥堵和安全的担忧。这种筛选被用来识别和威慑希望进入组织、地点或设施的正常申请者中的潜在威胁(例如，恐怖分子、袭击者、走私者、间谍)。深入筛查可以降低受到攻击的风险。然而，它也可能造成延误并阻止正常申请者，这降低了审批者(权威、经理、筛选者)和正常申请者的福利。这项研究将考虑安全、拥堵、公平等因素，以及不同类型申请者的战略性和非战略性反应。特别是，本研究将研究申请者的申请、违背、学习和欺骗策略。本研究还将研究审批者的筛选策略、动态服务费率策略、多服务器优先处理策略、多层筛选策略以及保密和欺骗策略。如果成功，这项研究将带来新的框架，决策者可以用来筛选不同的战略申请者群体。这些新框架有可能降低成本，避免不必要的等待和不便，并提高审批程序的效力和效率。这项研究的潜在应用包括移民系统、就业市场背景调查和机场/集装箱/边境管制。最近关于选择性“搜身”和“高级成像”筛查的全国性辩论以及与之相关的不断变化的旅行模式说明了这种相关性。这项研究将吸引许多研究生、本科生和高中生，包括那些来自代表性不足群体的学生。这项研究的结果将广泛传播给地方、国家和国际社会。

The objective of this award is to explore a new class of decision models to provide structural insights for robust screening when dealing with adaptive applicants and incomplete information. This research is motivated by public concerns on balancing congestion and safety due to security screening. Such screening has been used to identify and deter potential threats (e.g., terrorists, attackers, smugglers, spies) among normal applicants wishing to enter an organization, location, or facility. In-depth screening could reduce the risk of being attacked. However it may also create delays and deter normal applicants, which decreases the welfare of both the approver (authority, manager, screener) and the normal applicants. This research will consider the factors of security, congestion, equity, and the strategic and non-strategic responses from various applicant types. In particular, this research will study the applicants' strategies of applying, reneging, learning, and deceiving. This research will also study the approver's strategies of screening, dynamic service rates, multiple-servers and priority processing, multi-layer screening, and secrecy and deception. If successful, this research will lead to new frameworks that decision makers can use for screening diverse groups of strategic applicants. These new frameworks have the potential to reduce costs, avoid unnecessary waiting and inconvenience, and improve effectiveness and efficiency of the approval processes. Potential applications of this research include immigration systems, job market background checks, and airport/container/border controls. The relevance is illustrated by the recent national debate on selective "pat-downs" and "advanced imaging" screening, and the associated changing travel patterns. This research will engage many graduate, undergraduate, and high school students, including those from under-represented groups. The results of this research will be disseminated broadly to local, national and international communities.