Big Geo Data Surface Approximation using Radial Basis Functions: A Comparative Study

Approximation of scattered data is often a task in many engineering problems. The Radial Basis Function (RBF) approximation is appropriate for big scattered datasets in $n-$dimensional space. It is a non-separable approximation, as it is based on the distance between two points. This method leads to the solution of an overdetermined linear system of equations. In this paper the RBF approximation methods are briefly described, a new approach to the RBF approximation of big datasets is presented, and a comparison for different Compactly Supported RBFs (CS-RBFs) is made with respect to the accuracy of the computation. The proposed approach uses symmetry of a matrix, partitioning the matrix into blocks and data structures for storage of the sparse matrix. The experiments are performed for synthetic and real datasets.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1806.0424

The search for Columbus’ egg - finding a new formula to determine quotas at the IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is undergoing profound changes, not only in its policies, but also in its internal governance. These changes reflect the structural developments in the global economy, and in particular the growing role of emerging economies that demand a greater say at the Fund. In addition, the Fund has recognised that it needs to strengthen the voice of developing economies in order to increase ownership of IMF programmes and policy recommendations from this very large country group. At the heart of IMF governance lies the distribution of its quota: quotas are the percent share at the IMF that are attributed to the various members. Quotas play a central role in the Fund, because they determine not only member countries’ financial contributions, but also their rights to draw on IMF financial support and their voting rights within the institution. Therefore, quotas are essentially a matter of representation, visibility, and influence of countries at the IMF. Quotas are being calculated as a function of various economic variables and also include a certain degree of judgement. This paper provides a systematic analysis of the way IMF quota have been calculated in the past and of the current challenges of reform. It shows the importance for individual variables for specific country groups and the sensitivity of changes in the formula of overall distribution. The paper provides an extensive and comprehensive overview of various technical issues involved in choosing an appropriate quota formula. It analyses the current quota system and its functioning, and shows which countries and groups are most under and over-represented. It also puts forward an analysis of the various avenues of quota-reform that are currently under discussion.

Fast Algorithm for Finding Maximum Distance with Space Subdivision in E2

Finding an exact maximum distance of two points in the given set is a fundamental computational problem which is solved in many applications. This paper presents a fast, simple to implement and robust algorithm for finding this maximum distance of two points in E2. This algorithm is based on a polar subdivision followed by division of remaining points into uniform grid. The main idea of the algorithm is to eliminate as many input points as possible before finding the maximum distance. The proposed algorithm gives the significant speed up compared to the standard algorithm