scholarly journals Cost efficiency of institutional incentives for promoting cooperation in finite populations

2021 ◽  
Vol 477 (2254) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manh Hong Duong ◽  
The Anh Han
Keyword(s):  
Phase Transition ◽  
Optimization Problem ◽  
Cost Functions ◽  
Critical Threshold ◽  
Minimum Level ◽  
Weak Selection ◽  
Optimal Cost ◽  
Institutional Incentives ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Over Time

Institutions can provide incentives to enhance cooperation in a population where this behaviour is infrequent. This process is costly, and it is thus important to optimize the overall spending. This problem can be mathematically formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem where one wishes to minimize the cost of providing incentives while ensuring a minimum level of cooperation, sustained over time. Prior works that consider this question usually omit the stochastic effects that drive population dynamics. In this paper, we provide a rigorous analysis of this optimization problem, in a finite population and stochastic setting, studying both pairwise and multi-player cooperation dilemmas. We prove the regularity of the cost functions for providing incentives over time, characterize their asymptotic limits (infinite population size, weak selection and large selection) and show exactly when reward or punishment is more cost efficient. We show that these cost functions exhibit a phase transition phenomenon when the intensity of selection varies. By determining the critical threshold of this phase transition, we provide exact calculations for the optimal cost of the incentive, for any given intensity of selection. Numerical simulations are also provided to demonstrate analytical observations. Overall, our analysis provides for the first time a selection-dependent calculation of the optimal cost of institutional incentives (for both reward and punishment) that guarantees a minimum level of cooperation over time. It is of crucial importance for real-world applications of institutional incentives since the intensity of selection is often found to be non-extreme and specific for a given population.

scholarly journals Cost efficiency of institutional incentives in finite populations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manh Hong Duong ◽  
The Anh Han
Keyword(s):  
Phase Transition ◽  
Cost Function ◽  
Optimization Problem ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Critical Threshold ◽  
Weak Selection ◽  
Optimal Cost ◽  
Analytical Results ◽  
Institutional Incentives ◽  
The Cost

AbstractInstitutions can provide incentives to increase cooperation behaviour in a population where this behaviour is infrequent. This process is costly, and it is thus important to optimize the overall spending. This problem can be mathematically formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem where one wishes to minimize the cost of providing incentives while ensuring a desired level of cooperation within the population. In this paper, we provide a rigorous analysis for this problem. We study cooperation dilemmas in both the pairwise (the Donation game) and multi-player (the Public Goods game) settings. We prove the regularity of the (total incentive) cost function, characterize its asymptotic limits (infinite population, weak selection and large selection) and show exactly when reward or punishment is more efficient. We prove that the cost function exhibits a phase transition phenomena when the intensity of selection varies. We calculate the critical threshold in regards to the phase transition and study the optimization problem when the intensity of selection is under and above the critical value. It allows us to provide an exact calculation for the optimal cost of incentive, for a given intensity of selection. Finally, we provide numerical simulations to demonstrate the analytical results. Overall, our analysis provides for the first time a selection-dependent calculation of the optimal cost of institutional incentives (for both reward and punishment) that guarantees a minimum amount of cooperation. It is of crucial importance for real-world applications of institutional incentives since intensity of selection is specific to a given population and the underlying game payoff structure.In this Supplementary Information, we provide detailed calculations and proofs as well as illustrative figures for the analytical results in the main text of the present paper.

scholarly journals Online Bi-Criteria Scheduling on Batch Machines with Machine Costs

Mathematics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenhua Li ◽  
Weina Zhai ◽  
Xing Chai
Keyword(s):  
Online Algorithms ◽  
Competitive Ratio ◽  
Processing Time ◽  
Positive Root ◽  
Batch Scheduling ◽  
Cost Functions ◽  
Fixed Cost ◽  
Machine Cost ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Over Time

We consider online scheduling with bi-criteria on parallel batch machines, where the batch capacity is unbounded. In this paper, online means that jobs’ arrival is over time. The objective is to minimize the maximum machine cost subject to the makespan being at its minimum. In unbounded parallel batch scheduling, a machine can process several jobs simultaneously as a batch. The processing time of a job and a batch is equal to 1. When job J j is processed on machine M i , it results cost c i j . We only consider two types of cost functions: c i j = a + c j and c i j = a · c j , where a is the fixed cost of machines and c j is the cost of job J j . The number of jobs is n and the number of machines is m. For this problem, we provide two online algorithms, which are showed to be the best possible with a competitive ratio of ( 1 + β m , ⌈ n m ⌉ ) , where β m is the positive root of the equation ( 1 + β m ) m + 1 = β m + 2 .

The cost of homelessness: Assessing change over time

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Spano ◽  
P. Toro ◽  
M. Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Change Over Time ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Over Time

The Internet Trap

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Hindman
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Net Neutrality ◽  
The Public ◽  
Attention Economy ◽  
Digital News ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Over Time

The Internet was supposed to fragment audiences and make media monopolies impossible. Instead, behemoths like Google and Facebook now dominate the time we spend online—and grab all the profits from the attention economy. This book explains how this happened. It sheds light on the stunning rise of the digital giants and the online struggles of nearly everyone else—and reveals what small players can do to survive in a game that is rigged against them. The book shows how seemingly tiny advantages in attracting users can snowball over time. The Internet has not reduced the cost of reaching audiences—it has merely shifted who pays and how. Challenging some of the most enduring myths of digital life, the book explains why the Internet is not the postindustrial technology that has been sold to the public, how it has become mathematically impossible for grad students in a garage to beat Google, and why net neutrality alone is no guarantee of an open Internet. It also explains why the challenges for local digital news outlets and other small players are worse than they appear and demonstrates what it really takes to grow a digital audience and stay alive in today's online economy. The book shows why, even on the Internet, there is still no such thing as a free audience.

Statistical Evaluation for claims and disputes in construction contracts

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-96
Author(s):  
Raid Saleem Abd Ali ◽  
Nooran kanaan Yassin
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Statistical Evaluation ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Minimum Level ◽  
Construction Contracts ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Price Schedule ◽  
Questionnaire Form ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Cost

This research aims to diagnose and identify the causes of claims and disputes between the contractor and the employer, also review the methods used to resolve disputes in construction contracts. In order to achieve the goal of the research, scientific methodology is followed to collect information and data on the subject of claims and disputes in construction projects in Iraq through personal interviews and questionnaire form. The most important results in this research are: the price schedule contract as a kind of competitive contracts is the most important and guarantee for the completion of minimum level of claims and disputes with relative importance of (84.1), compared with the (cost plus a percentage of the cost contract) as a kind of negotiating contracts is the most relative importance of (79.6), and the turnkey contract as a kind of special contracts is the most relative importance of (74.2). The  contractor and  his agents are one of the most influence sources in occurring claims and disputes in construction contracts with relative importance of (77.4) followed by the contract documents with relative importance of (74.2) and then the employer with relative importance of (73.2). In addition to the long period of litigation and the multiplicity of veto grades are most negative when contractual disputes have resolved by it, and with relative importance of (86), followed by the large number of issues and lack of efficiency and specialty of Judges with relative importance (78.4). Finally, the direct negotiation method (relative importance of 77) is one of the most friendly settlement ways favored by conflicted parties, while the resolution of disputes and claims board (relative importance of 10) occupied the last rank in the friendly settlement ways.

scholarly journals Application of the theory of decision making under risk and uncertainty at modelling of costs

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (No. 5) ◽  
pp. 201-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Beranová ◽  
D. Martinovičová
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Cost Functions ◽  
Risk And Uncertainty ◽  
Managerial Decision ◽  
Managerial Decision Making ◽  
Bayesian Theorem ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Cost

The costs functions are mentioned mostly in the relation to the Break-even Analysis where they are presented in the linear form. But there exist several different types and forms of cost functions. Fist of all, it is necessary to distinguish between the short-run and long-run cost function that are both very important tools of the managerial decision making even if each one is used on a different level of management. Also several methods of estimation of the cost function's parameters are elaborated in the literature. But all these methods are based on the past data taken from the financial accounting while the financial accounting is not able to separate the fixed and variable costs and it is also strongly adjusted to taxation in the many companies. As a tool of the managerial decision making support, the cost functions should provide a vision to the future where many factors of risk and uncertainty influence economic results. Consequently, these random factors should be considered in the construction of cost functions, especially in the long-run. In order to quantify the influences of these risks and uncertainties, the authors submit the application of the Bayesian Theorem.

scholarly journals Uncertainty Cost Functions in Climate-Dependent Controllable Loads in Commercial Environments

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2885
Author(s):  
Daniel Losada ◽  
Ameena Al-Sumaiti ◽  
Sergio Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo Simulation ◽  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Cost Functions ◽  
Density Estimator ◽  
Monte Carlo Simulation Method ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Complementary Method ◽  
The Cost

This article presents the development, simulation and validation of the uncertainty cost functions for a commercial building with climate-dependent controllable loads, located in Florida, USA. For its development, statistical data on the energy consumption of the building in 2016 were used, along with the deployment of kernel density estimator to characterize its probabilistic behavior. For validation of the uncertainty cost functions, the Monte-Carlo simulation method was used to make comparisons between the analytical results and the results obtained by the method. The cost functions found differential errors of less than 1%, compared to the Monte-Carlo simulation method. With this, there is an analytical approach to the uncertainty costs of the building that can be used in the development of optimal energy dispatches, as well as a complementary method for the probabilistic characterization of the stochastic behavior of agents in the electricity sector.

Value-based dentistry: Putting the patient first

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 126-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sreenivas Koka ◽  
Galya Raz
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Safety Risk ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Over Time

What does ‘value’ mean? In the context of dental care, it can be defined as the quality of care received by a patient divided by the cost to the patient of receiving that care. In other words: V =Q/C, where Q equals the quality improvement over time, which most patients view in the context of the outcome, the service provided and safety/risk management, and C equals the financial, biological and time cost to the patient. Here, the need for, and implications of, value-based density for clinicians and patients alike are explored.

The Calculation of Photovoltaic System Generation Access Capacity in Distribution Network Based on Probabilistic Power Flow and the PSO Optimization

2012 ◽  
Vol 529 ◽  
pp. 371-375
Author(s):  
Lu Yao Ma ◽  
Shu Jun Yao ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Jing Yang ◽  
Long Hui Liu
Keyword(s):  
Distributed Generation ◽  
Power Flow ◽  
Optimization Problem ◽  
Flow Model ◽  
Expansion Method ◽  
Pso Algorithm ◽  
Photovoltaic System ◽  
System Generation ◽  
Probabilistic Power Flow ◽  
The Cost

With the distributed generation such as photovoltaic power system (PVS) is largely introduced into power grid, some significant problems such as system instability problem increase seriously. In order to make full use of PVS and make sure the voltage exceeding probability is limited within a certain range to ensure the power quality, as well as consider the cost of access device, the suitable PVS access node and capacity is important. Based on this problem, this paper establishes the probabilistic power flow model of PVS by introducing the combined Cumulants and the Gram-Charlier expansion method. Also, to solve the nonlinear combinatorial optimization problem, this paper uses PSO algorithm. Finally to get the suitable PVS access node and capacity, also calculate the solution of voltage exceeding probability.

Optimization of the Robot Calibration Process

1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Zak ◽  
R. G. Fenton ◽  
B. Benhabib
Keyword(s):  
Optimization Problem ◽  
Kinematic Model ◽  
Optimization Procedure ◽  
Calibration Procedure ◽  
Residual Error ◽  
Industrial Robots ◽  
Multiple Objective Optimization ◽  
Robot Calibration ◽  
Calibration Process ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Most industrial robots cannot be off-line programmed to carry out a task accurately, unless their kinematic model is suitably corrected through a calibration procedure. However, proper calibration is an expensive and time-consuming procedure due to the highly accurate measurement equipment required and due to the significant amount of data that must be collected. To improve the efficiency of robot calibration, an optimization procedure is proposed in this paper. The objective of minimizing the cost of the calibration is combined with the objective of minimizing the residual error after calibration in one multiple-objective optimization. Prediction of the residual error for a given calibration process presents the main difficulty for implementing the optimization. It is proposed that the residual error is expressed as a polynomial function. This function is obtained as a result of fitting a response surface to either experimental or simulated sample estimates of the residual error. The optimization problem is then solved by identifying a reduced set of possible solutions, thus greatly simplifying the decision maker’s choice of an effective calibration procedure. An application example of this method is also included.

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