Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Ict For Poverty Alleviation In Pacific Island Nations: Study Of Icts4d In Fiji, Deogratias Harorimana, Opeti Rokotuinivono, Emali Sewale, Fane Salaiwai, Marica Naulu, Evangelin Roy

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

ICT for Poverty Alleviation in Pacific Island Nations: Study of ICTs4D in Fiji There has been a vague and little knowledge on the role or potential of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in relation to addressing poverty in Fiji. This may be probably due to the newness of the technology in the South Pacific Region as a whole but also probably due to the fact that only 9.7% of the current Fiji 931,000 populations are internet users (ITC Figures 2011). This paper reports on finding how ICTs is contributing towards poverty alleviation in Fiji. On the basis of reviewed best …

Heuristic Algorithms For Balanced Multi-Way Number Partitioning, Jilian Zhang, Kyriakos Mouratidis, Hwee Hwa Pang

Kyriakos MOURATIDIS

Balanced multi-way number partitioning (BMNP) seeks to split a collection of numbers into subsets with (roughly) the same cardinality and subset sum. The problem is NP-hard, and there are several exact and approximate algorithms for it. However, existing exact algorithms solve only the simpler, balanced two-way number partitioning variant, whereas the most effective approximate algorithm, BLDM, may produce widely varying subset sums. In this paper, we introduce the LRM algorithm that lowers the expected spread in subset sums to one third that of BLDM for uniformly distributed numbers and odd subset cardinalities. We also propose Meld, a novel strategy for …

Institutional Support For Computing Faculty Research Productivity: Does Gender Matter?, Monica M. Mcgill, Amber Settle

Amber Settle

Incremental Dcop Search Algorithms For Solving Dynamic Dcop Problems, William Yeoh, Pradeep Varakantham, Xiaoxun Sun, Sven Koenig

Dr Xiaoxun Sun

Distributed constraint optimization problems (DCOPs) are well-suited for modeling multi-agent coordination problems. However, most research has focused on developing algorithms for solving static DCOPs. In this paper, we model dynamic DCOPs as sequences of (static) DCOPs with changes from one DCOP to the next one in the sequence. We introduce the ReuseBounds procedure, which can be used by any-space ADOPT and any-space BnB-ADOPT to find cost-minimal solutions for all DCOPs in the sequence faster than by solving each DCOP individually. This procedure allows those agents that are guaranteed to remain unaffected by a change to reuse their lower and upper …

Adaptive Algorithms For Coverage Control And Space Partitioning In Mobile Robotic Networks, Jerome Le Ny, George J. Pappas

George J. Pappas

We consider deployment problems where a mobile robotic network must optimize its configuration in a distributed way in order to minimize a steady-state cost function that depends on the spatial distribution of certain probabilistic events of interest. Three classes of problems are discussed in detail: coverage control problems, spatial partitioning problems, and dynamic vehicle routing problems. Moreover, we assume that the event distribution is a priori unknown, and can only be progressively inferred from the observation of the location of the actual event occurrences. For each problem we present distributed stochastic gradient algorithms that optimize the performance objective. The stochastic …

Adaptive Algorithms For Coverage Control And Space Partitioning In Mobile Robotic Networks, Jerome Le Ny, George J. Pappas

George J. Pappas

We consider deployment problems where a mobile robotic network must optimize its configuration in a distributed way in order to minimize a steady-state cost function that depends on the spatial distribution of certain probabilistic events of interest. Three classes of problems are discussed in detail: coverage control problems, spatial partitioning problems, and dynamic vehicle routing problems. Moreover, we assume that the event distribution is a priori unknown, and can only be progressively inferred from the observation of the location of the actual event occurrences. For each problem we present distributed stochastic gradient algorithms that optimize the performance objective. The stochastic …

Adaptive Algorithms For Coverage Control And Space Partitioning In Mobile Robotic Networks, Jerome Le Ny, George J. Pappas

George J. Pappas

We consider deployment problems where a mobile robotic network must optimize its configuration in a distributed way in order to minimize a steady-state cost function that depends on the spatial distribution of certain probabilistic events of interest. Three classes of problems are discussed in detail: coverage control problems, spatial partitioning problems, and dynamic vehicle routing problems. Moreover, we assume that the event distribution is a priori unknown, and can only be progressively inferred from the observation of the location of the actual event occurrences. For each problem we present distributed stochastic gradient algorithms that optimize the performance objective. The stochastic …

Social Networks And Web2.0 Among Youth: Lessons For Pacific Island Nations, Deogratias Harorimana Sr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

This study is on social networks and web2 among youths and the lessons for Pacific Island nation. This study defines commonly used social networking sites used by the Pacific youths, average time spent, reasons behind the use of social networking sites and how social networking sites can be used as a development tool for Pacific Island nation. It was found that the popularity of social networking amongst youths in Pacific Island Countries is fast growing, increasing more than three folds year on year in the last 3years. Social Networks are a vital part of life for PIC youths, where, now …

Integrated Methods For Optimization, 2nd Ed, John Hooker

John Hooker

No abstract provided.

A Hybrid Tabu Search And Constraint Programming Algorithm For The Dynamic Dial-A-Ride Problem, Gerardo Berbeglia

Gerardo Berbeglia

No abstract provided.

Hydrogen Production From Biogas By Oxy-Reforming: Reaction System Analysis, Aleksandra Terlecka, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

Oxy-reforming is emerging as an interesting alternative to conventional methods of hydrogen generation. The current article characterises this process through analysis of individual reactions: SMR (steam methane reforming), WGS (water gas shift) and CPO (catalytic partial oxidation). Analyses relate to optimisation of thermal conditions thus enabling cost-effectivenes of the process.