This paper examines the influence of two major aspects on the solution quality of surrogate model algorithms for computationally expensive black-box global optimization problems, namely the surrogate model choice and the method of iteratively selecting sample points. A random sampling strategy...

"Addressing the infrastructural, legal and moral complexities in contemporary world trade, this book uses an ethnographic analysis of the interface of multinational brand manufacturers and popular traders in the Bolivian Andes. It offers a situated account of traders' understanding of regulatory...

We present the AQUARS (A QUAsi-multistart Response Surface) framework for finding the global minimum of a computationally expensive black-box function subject to bound constraints. In a traditional multistart approach, the local search method is blind to the trajectories of the previous local...

Mobile users want mobile services tailored to their current context and needs. These context-aware services have primarily focused on position information; using other types of user information would enhance the development of smarter services. There is a range of frameworks that manage and...

According to the volatility feedback effect, an unexpected increase in squared volatility leads to an immediate decline in the price–dividend ratio. In this paper, we consider the properties of stock price dynamics and option valuations under the volatility feedback effect by modeling the...

The Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (VRPTW) is a combinatorial optimization problem. It deals with route planning and the distribution of goods from a depot to geographically dispersed customers by a fleet of vehicles with constrained capacities. The customers' demands are known and...