Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a configurational comparative method that is still hotly debated among scholars. Nonetheless, the method has made major inroads into the field of International Relations. The present chapter has three main goals. First, it argues that QCA can add significantly to our accumulation of knowledge about cause-effect relations. Second, using an existing study…
The great advances in information technology (IT) have implications for many sectors, such as bioinformatics, and has considerably increased their possibilities. This book presents a collection of 11 original research papers, all of them related to the application of IT-related techniques within the bioinformatics sector: from new applications created from the adaptation and application of exis…
The goal of this book is to present the main ideas and techniques in the field of continuous smooth and nonsmooth optimization. Starting with the case of differentiable data and the classical results on constrained optimization problems, and continuing with the topic of nonsmooth objects involved in optimization theory, the book concentrates on both theoretical and practical aspects of this fie…
The concept of information freshness has developed over the last few years into an active and rapidly growing area of research. It has become known as the Age of Information (AoI). After its initial formal introduction, it became clear that it was very relevant (if not crucial) for numerous applications, ranging from autonomous vehicle systems, the Internet of Things, real-time computing to dat…
This paper comprehensively reviews the spiral dynamics optimization (SDO) algorithm and investigates its characteristics. SDO algorithm is one of the most straightforward physics-based optimization algorithms and is successfully applied in various broad fields
The Internet of Things (IoT) encompasses a wide range of applications and service domains, from smart cities, autonomous vehicles, surveillance, medical devices, to crop control. Virtualization in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is widely regarded as the most revolutionary technological technique used in these areas
This open access book is an introduction to the regularity theory for free boundary problems. The focus is on the one-phase Bernoulli problem, which is of particular interest as it deeply influenced the development of the modern free boundary regularity theory and is still an object of intensive research. The exposition is organized around four main theorems, which are dedicated to the on…
This open access book demonstrates all the steps required to design heuristic algorithms for difficult optimization. The classic problem of the travelling salesman is used as a common thread to illustrate all the techniques discussed. This problem is ideal for introducing readers to the subject because it is very intuitive and its solutions can be graphically represented. The book features a we…
Many science and engineering applications require the user to find solutions to systems of nonlinear constraints or to optimize a nonlinear function subject to nonlinear constraints. The field of global optimization is the study of methods to find all solutions to systems of nonlinear constraints and all global optima to optimization problems. Numerica is modeling language for global optimizati…
"Online decision making under uncertainty and time constraints represents one of the most challenging problems for robust intelligent agents. In an increasingly dynamic, interconnected, and real-time world, intelligent systems must adapt dynamically to uncertainties, update existing plans to accommodate new requests and events, and produce high-quality decisions under severe time constraints. S…