Algorithms Applied to Global Optimisation – Visual Evaluation

Evaluation and assessment of various search and optimisation algorithms is subject of large research efforts. Particular interest of this study is global optimisation and presented approach is based on observation and visual evaluation of Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm, Particle Swarm Optimisation, Differential Evolution and Free Search, which are briefly described and used for experiments. 3D graphical views, generated by visualisation tool VOTASA, illustrate essential aspects of global search process such as divergence, convergence, dependence on initialisation and utilisation of accidental events. Discussion on potential benefits of visual analysis, supported with numerical results, which could be used for comparative assessment of other methods and directions for further research conclude presented study

Optimisation of Mobile Communication Networks - OMCO NET

The mini conference “Optimisation of Mobile Communication Networks” focuses on advanced methods for search and optimisation applied to wireless communication networks. It is sponsored by Research & Enterprise Fund Southampton Solent University. The conference strives to widen knowledge on advanced search methods capable of optimisation of wireless communications networks. The aim is to provide a forum for exchange of recent knowledge, new ideas and trends in this progressive and challenging area. The conference will popularise new successful approaches on resolving hard tasks such as minimisation of transmit power, cooperative and optimal routing

A Survey on Particle Swarm Optimization for Association Rule Mining

Association rule mining (ARM) is one of the core techniques of data mining to discover potentially valuable association relationships from mixed datasets. In the current research, various heuristic algorithms have been introduced into ARM to address the high computation time of traditional ARM. Although a more detailed review of the heuristic algorithms based on ARM is available, this paper differs from the existing reviews in that we expected it to provide a more comprehensive and multi-faceted survey of emerging research, which could provide a reference for researchers in the field to help them understand the state-of-the-art PSO-based ARM algorithms. In this paper, we review the existing research results. Heuristic algorithms for ARM were divided into three main groups, including biologically inspired, physically inspired, and other algorithms. Additionally, different types of ARM and their evaluation metrics are described in this paper, and the current status of the improvement in PSO algorithms is discussed in stages, including swarm initialization, algorithm parameter optimization, optimal particle update, and velocity and position updates. Furthermore, we discuss the applications of PSO-based ARM algorithms and propose further research directions by exploring the existing problems.publishedVersio

Cognitive finance: Behavioural strategies of spending, saving, and investing.

Research in economics is increasingly open to empirical results. The advances in behavioural approaches are expanded here by applying cognitive methods to financial questions. The field of "cognitive finance" is approached by the exploration of decision strategies in the financial settings of spending, saving, and investing. Individual strategies in these different domains are searched for and elaborated to derive explanations for observed irregularities in financial decision making. Strong context-dependency and adaptive learning form the basis for this cognition-based approach to finance. Experiments, ratings, and real world data analysis are carried out in specific financial settings, combining different research methods to improve the understanding of natural financial behaviour. People use various strategies in the domains of spending, saving, and investing. Specific spending profiles can be elaborated for a better understanding of individual spending differences. It was found that people differ along four dimensions of spending, which can be labelled: General Leisure, Regular Maintenance, Risk Orientation, and Future Orientation. Saving behaviour is strongly dependent on how people mentally structure their finance and on their self-control attitude towards decision space restrictions, environmental cues, and contingency structures. Investment strategies depend on how companies, in which investments are placed, are evaluated on factors such as Honesty, Prestige, Innovation, and Power. Further on, different information integration strategies can be learned in decision situations with direct feedback. The mapping of cognitive processes in financial decision making is discussed and adaptive learning mechanisms are proposed for the observed behavioural differences. The construal of a "financial personality" is proposed in accordance with other dimensions of personality measures, to better acknowledge and predict variations in financial behaviour. This perspective enriches economic theories and provides a useful ground for improving individual financial services

Towards adaptive multi-robot systems: self-organization and self-adaptation

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.The development of complex systems ensembles that operate in uncertain environments is a major challenge. The reason for this is that system designers are not able to fully specify the system during specification and development and before it is being deployed. Natural swarm systems enjoy similar characteristics, yet, being self-adaptive and being able to self-organize, these systems show beneficial emergent behaviour. Similar concepts can be extremely helpful for artificial systems, especially when it comes to multi-robot scenarios, which require such solution in order to be applicable to highly uncertain real world application. In this article, we present a comprehensive overview over state-of-the-art solutions in emergent systems, self-organization, self-adaptation, and robotics. We discuss these approaches in the light of a framework for multi-robot systems and identify similarities, differences missing links and open gaps that have to be addressed in order to make this framework possible

Cash and the Counter: Capabilities and Preferences in the Demand for Banking Technologies

The main argument of this paper is that consumption and demand, like production, are discovery processes guided by trial-and-error and learning by consuming. The key question that is addressed is: how do consumers deal with innovation? By bringing together a number of threads within the innovation literature my claim is that consumers, akin to firms, follow routines that shape their consumption bundle, conceived here as an ensemble of activities rather than a bunch of goods. The analysis developed in the paper takes a very specific angle by elaborating on empirical evidence on the patterns of use of retail payment services in the United Kingdom to appreciate how consumption and demand can be shaped by the intertwined evolution of capabilities and preferences.Retail Banking; Innovation; Demand; Consumer Capabilities