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We propose a class of functions, called multiple objective satisficing (MOS) criteria, for evaluating the level of compliance of a set of objectives in meeting their targets collectively under uncertainty. The MOS criteria include the targets' achievement probability (success probability criterion) as a special case and also extend to situations when the probability distribution is not fully characterized. We focus on a class of MOS criteria that favors diversification, which has the potential to mitigate severe shortfalls in scenarios when an objective fails to achieve its target. Naturally, this class excludes success probability and we propose the shortfall-aware MOS criterion (S-MOS), which is diversification favoring and is a lower bound to success probability. We also show how to build tractable approximations of the S-MOS criterion. As S-MOS criterion maximization is not a convex optimization problem, we propose improvement algorithms via solving sequences of convex optimization problems. We report encouraging computational results on a blending problem in meeting specification targets even in the absence of full probability distribution description.

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The approach of thinking about systems as a whole with the explicit consideration of complex interactions between its constituents is the key conceptual framework underlying systems thinking. Such an approach is particularly useful for unraveling the dynamic interactions that confounds present-day maritime systems. In this work, we propose the DIVER systems inquiry framework as a logical and platform to guide the systems thinking process in elucidating the maritime dynamics. We describe the implementation of system dynamics modeling and simulation as a particularly relevant tool within this framework. Its role as a structural modeling and analysis tool for various supply-demand problems is described. Furthermore, as a means to facilitate the systems thinking process in this framework, we propose a set of archetypical system structures that can explain some commonly observed maritime dynamics. Finally, a case study on the evolution of global container ship capacity based on DIVER is presented.