In this paper, an Artificial Immune System (AIS) algorithm for the resource availability cost problem (RACP) is presented, in which the total cost of the (unlimited) renewable resources required to complete the project by a pre-specified project deadline should be minimized. The AIS algorithm...

In this paper, we consider the problem of scheduling a number of jobs on a number of unrelated parallel machines in order to minimize the makespan. We develop two heuristic approaches, i.e. a genetic algorithm and a tabu search algorithm and the hybridization of these heuristics with a truncated...

We study the evolution of the public debt to GDP ratio during 40 fiscal consolidation episodes in 21 OECD countries in 1980-2008. We test within a multivariate regression framework seven hypotheses put forward in the literature on the success or failure of consolidation programmes. These...

Personnel costs typically are the second largest costs for airline operations after fuel costs. Since efficient crew employment can drastically reduce operational costs of airline companies, the crew scheduling problem in the airline industry has been extensively investigated in the operations...

In this paper, an overview is presented of the existing metaheuristic solution procedures to solve the multi-mode resource-constrained-project scheduling problem, in which multiple execution modes are available for each of the activities of the project. A fair comparison is made between the...

In contrast to the extant research on audit fees of for-profit companies, literature on nonprofit audit fees is scant. In this paper, audit fee determinants of previous research are tested in a nonprofit market that is characterized by a relatively low dominance of BIG4 auditors, low litigation...

We analyze the time series properties of the S&P500 dividend-price ratio in the light of long memory, structural breaks and rational bubbles. We find an increase in the long memory parameter in the early 1990s by applying a recently proposed test by Sibbertsen and Kruse (2009). An application of...

The scope and purpose of this special issue is to reassess the relationships between private equity investors and their portfolio companies in the light of the need for VC/PE firms to adapt their strategies for value creation in the light of the recent financial crisis. We particularly focus...

To explain the question-behavior effect, that is, the effect of answering an intention question on subsequent behavior, this article takes on a motivational perspective and proposes that answering an intention question automatically activates an intention. The activation of this motivational...

Objective: The objective of this study was to set up a standard cost model for breast-cancer treatment to be able to complete a cost-effectiveness analysis of Herceptin®. This is a new biotechnological pharmaceutical developed by Genentech. Herceptin® is a humanized monoclonal antibody that...