Application of reduced-set pareto-lipschitzian optimization to truss optimization

In this paper, a recently proposed global Lipschitz optimization algorithm Pareto-Lipschitzian Optimization with Reduced-set (PLOR) is further developed, investigated and applied to truss optimization problems. Partition patterns of the PLOR algorithm are similar to those of DIviding RECTangles (DIRECT), which was widely applied to different real-life problems. However here a set of all Lipschitz constants is reduced to just two: the maximal and the minimal ones. In such a way the PLOR approach is independent of any user-defined parameters and balances equally local and global search during the optimization process. An expanded list of other well-known DIRECT-type algorithms is used in investigation and experimental comparison using the standard test problems and truss optimization problems. The experimental investigation shows that the PLOR algorithm gives very competitive results to other DIRECT-type algorithms using standard test problems and performs pretty well on real truss optimization problems

The Effects of Family Life: A Study of Marital Instability, Activity, and Educational Outcomes

Marital disruptions, such as divorced parents or absent fathers, are associated with lower educational attainment for the children of these families. The present study examines how youth volunteerism and employment mitigate the effect of these marital disruptions. The hypothesis is that youth volunteerism and employment increase the likelihood that these youths will graduate from high school or obtain a GED by the typical time of high school graduation, at around age 19. The primary outcome measure was the completion of a high school diploma or GED by age 19 or 20. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and accompanying Child/Young Adult (CYA) supplements, the estimated effects of youth volunteerism and employment on the probability of obtaining a high school diploma or GED by the age of 19 or 20 among those who ever obtain their high school diploma or GED, as compared to the base group of a nuclear family with the child neither volunteering nor employed, are 3.05 percentage points (p = 0.008) and 2.49 percentage points (p = 0.064), respectively, with employment having a (negative) differential effect for children who end up with a GED (–15.31 percentage points total, p \u3c 0.1). There were no other significant interaction terms, indicating that volunteering is beneficial in its own right. These findings indicate that volunteer activities should be studied and utilized as a means to improve the outcomes of children of non-nuclear families