Ordered greed

Scheduling problems are among the most challenging and realistic problems application of problem solving heuristics, such as genetic algorithms (GAs). The naive greedy algorithm for scheduling simply assigns, in turn, each item to be scheduled the best yet untaken position for that item. We investigate using a genetic algorithm to search the space of orderings for this greedy algorithm. That is, the GA individuals are permuations that determine the permutations that are the schedules, rather than the GA individuals directly being the schedules. We have experimented with the classical N Queens problem anda realistic soccer tournament scheduling problem, comparing the GA individual as the assignment with our greedy hybrid algorithm ( ordered greed ). Warnsdorff\u27s heuristic is introduced to modify blind greed with excellent results. We also introduce the use of signatures in our GAs to represent permutations. Signatures are easy to create and manipulate in crossover and mutation operations

Ordered greed II: graph coloring

A popular application of genetic algorithms (GAs) is to attempt to generate good, rapid, approximate solutions to NP-complete or NP-hard problems. Previously, in [1], and [4], we introduced a hybrid algorithm combining a GA with simple greedy algorithms applied to the N-Queens problem and to sports tournament scheduling. The greedy algorithm makes locally optimal assignments (to Queens or matches) in some order. We treat that ordering as the sought after goal, and thus work with a population whose individuals are permutations. The subject of the present paper is the problem of graph coloring. We focus the present paper on the single benchmark problem of coloring a three-colorable graph that was constructed as a subgraph of the complete 3-partite graph Kp,q,r in which each edge exists with probability 0.1. (We have applied our method successfully to several other categories of graphs, but present space limitations dictate presenting the results for this special case.) (Refer to PDF file for exact formulas

Spirituality and business: An interdisciplinary overview

The paper gives an interdisciplinary overview of the emerging field of spirituality and business. It uses insights from business ethics, theology, neuroscience, psychology, gender studies, and philosophy to economics, management, organizational science, and banking and refers to different religious convictions including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, the Baha'i faith, and the North-American aboriginal worldview. The authors argue that the materialistic management paradigm has failed. They explore new values for post-materialistic management: frugality, deep ecology, trust, reciprocity, responsibility for future generations, and authenticity. Within this framework profit and growth are no longer ultimate aims but elements in a wider set of values. Similarly, cost-benefit calculations are no longer the essence of management but are part of a broader concept of wisdom in leadership. Spirit-driven businesses require intrinsic motivation for serving the common good and using holistic evaluation schemes for measuring success. The Palgrave Handbook of Business and Spirituality, edited by the authors, is a response to developments that simultaneously challenge the “business as usual” mindset

Adam Smith and Ordoliberalism : On the Political Form of Market Liberty

In the context of the contemporary crisis of neoliberal political economy, the politics of austerity has reasserted the liberal utility of the state as the political authority of market freedom. This article argues that economy has no independent existence, and that instead, economy is a political practice. It examines the political economy of Adam Smith and the German ordoliberal tradition to decipher the character of the political in political economy and its transformation from Smith's liberal theory into neoliberal theology. Ordoliberalism emerged in the late 1920s at a time of a manifest crisis of political economy, and its argument was fundamental for the development of the neoliberal conception that free economy is matter of strong state authority. The conclusion argues with Marx that the state is the concentrated force of free economy

Oil and the propensity to armed struggle in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

This paper attempts to explain the determinants of the propensity to armed struggle and the probability of participation by individuals in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria using primary (micro) data. While grievance appears to be pervasive among individuals and communities in the region and can be systematically explained, neither the grievance level nor its commonly cited causal factors appear to be strong enough to create a disposition toward armed rebellion. Rather, factors that reduce the opportunity cost and risk of participation or increase the perceived benefits appear to be more important. The study identifies three of these factors that are amenable to the policymaker's (government's) control as income level, educational attainment, and government presence.Social Conflict and Violence,Population Policies,Education and Society,Corporate Law,Community Development and Empowerment

Saving Disgorgement from Itself: SEC Enforcement After Kokesh v. SEC

Disgorgement is under threat. In Kokesh v. SEC , the Supreme Court held that disgorgement—a routine remedy that allows the SEC to recoup ill-gotten gains from financial wrongdoers—is subject to a 5-year statute of limitations because it functions as a “penalty.” This ruling threatens to upend the traditional conception of disgorgement as an ancillary remedy granted by the court’s equity power, because there are no penalties at equity. With the possibility that Kokesh’s penalty reasoning could be adopted beyond the statute of limitations context, the future of disgorgement in federal court is in doubt. This Note proposes a way forward that allows for disgorgement’s continued viability. The SEC should moderate its use of disgorgement for three reasons: because of a trend of suspicion toward strong government enforcement power by the Supreme Court, because it has been improperly used punitively, and because the rise of other statutory schemes has displaced disgorgement’s original justification. At the same time, disgorgement should be saved because of the uncertain future of administrative disgorgement proceedings, the intuitive notion of recovering money from wrongdoers, and the much-needed ability to compensate victims. To save disgorgement, the SEC should limit its use only to restoring the status quo of injured investors, thereby ensuring a remedial—not penal—purpose

Saving Disgorgement from Itself: SEC Enforcement After Kokesh v. SEC

Disgorgement is under threat. In Kokesh v. SEC , the Supreme Court held that disgorgement—a routine remedy that allows the SEC to recoup ill-gotten gains from financial wrongdoers—is subject to a 5-year statute of limitations because it functions as a “penalty.” This ruling threatens to upend the traditional conception of disgorgement as an ancillary remedy granted by the court’s equity power, because there are no penalties at equity. With the possibility that Kokesh’s penalty reasoning could be adopted beyond the statute of limitations context, the future of disgorgement in federal court is in doubt. This Note proposes a way forward that allows for disgorgement’s continued viability. The SEC should moderate its use of disgorgement for three reasons: because of a trend of suspicion toward strong government enforcement power by the Supreme Court, because it has been improperly used punitively, and because the rise of other statutory schemes has displaced disgorgement’s original justification. At the same time, disgorgement should be saved because of the uncertain future of administrative disgorgement proceedings, the intuitive notion of recovering money from wrongdoers, and the much-needed ability to compensate victims. To save disgorgement, the SEC should limit its use only to restoring the status quo of injured investors, thereby ensuring a remedial—not penal—purpose

Narasimha, Lord of Transitions, Transformations, and Theater Festivals: God and Evil in Hindu Cosmology, Myth, and Practice

This paper focuses on the multi-faceted nature of the divine depicted in Narasimha and the unique perspectives on God and evil offered by the myths of Narasimha, which is also subliminally represented within the religious practice and performance traditions associated with Narasimha

Politics, religion and the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda

This paper outlines the current situation in Northern Uganda and examines whether conventional approaches to conflict analysis produce a convincing diagnosis of the causes of the protracted conflict between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). It concludes that the reasons for the war are multifaceted and do not neatly fit within any contemporary conflict theory\ud without leaving significant gaps in the analysis. The paper highlights one of those gaps, the role of religion.\ud The paper draws on a variety of secondary sources and the author’s extensive work in Africa, including Uganda, between 1996 and 2008. The history of the conflict in northern Uganda and the evolution of the LRA are outlined. With no access to significant economic resources such as\ud diamonds or oil, no environmental driver, and no clash of civilizations, the war in northern Uganda appears to confound much conventional analysis of the rationality of violence in Africa. Clearly the key initial actors felt that they had lost out under the new regime and feared that Museveni would seek vengeance for the violence perpetrated by an Acholi-dominated military. However over time, those\ud involved with the initial drivers have become fewer, as the ranks of the LRA have become filled with younger fighters, frequently abducted and then initiated

Walrasian Solutions Without Utility Functions

SUMMARY: This note reviews consumers’ preference orderings in economics and shows that irrationality is a poor explanation for apparent violations of some axioms of order. Apparent violations seem to be better explained by the fact that consumers’ utility functions, if they exist at all, might not even belong to the class of quasi-concave functions. However, the main task of markets is the determination of equilibrium price vectors. The note shows in addition that, in Walrasian structures, quasi-concave utility functions are unnecessary for the determination of equilibrium price vectors.Walrasian structures, preference orderings, irrationality, utility functions, and equilibrium price vectors