Inspired by the optimal value approach, we propose a new reformulation of the optimistic Bilevel programming Problem (BP) as a suitable Generalized Nash Equilibrium Problem (GNEP). We provide a complete analysis of the relationship between the original hierarchical BP and the corresponding “more democratic” GNEP. Moreover, we investigate solvability and convexity issues of our reformulation. Fi...

People are optimistic about problem solving. This paper identifies hallmarks of optimistic human problem solving and how people control for the errors it often engenders. It describes an architecture that permits a controlled version of optimistic problem solving and recounts experiments with it in three very different domains. Results indicate that, controlled for error, optimistic problem sol...

We consider a class of generalized dynamic programming models based on weighted sup-norm contractions. We provide an analysis that parallels the one available for discounted MDP and for generalized models based on unweighted sup-norm contractions. In particular, we discuss the main properties and associated algorithms of these models, including value iteration, policy iteration, and their optim...

In cloud computing environments, data storage systems often rely on optimistic replication to provide good performance and availability even in the presence of failures or network partitions. In this scenario, it is important to be able to accurately and efficiently identify updates executed concurrently. Current approaches to causality tracking in optimistic replication have problems with conc...

Distributed simulation is a widely studied technique for the networked virtual environment. Among existing technologies, High Level Architecture (HLA) establishes a common distributed simulation framework that facilitates the interoperability and reuse of simulation components. However, some HLA services are very low-level and difficult to use, especially when a simulation is designed using a p...

Due to its potential for a high degree of parallelism, optimistic concurrency control is expected to perform better than two-phase locking when integrated with priority-driven CPU scheduling in real-time database systems. In this paper, we examine the overall effects and the impact of the overheads involved in implementing real-time optimistic concurrency control. Using a locking mechanism to e...

This paper considers the global optimization problem of a continuous nonconvex piecewise affine (PWA) function over a polytope. This type of optimization problem often arises in the context of control of continuous PWA systems. In literature, it has been shown that the given problem can be formulated as a mixed integer linear programming problem, the worst-case complexity of which grows exponen...

In this work we address state recoverability in advanced optimistic simulation systems by proposing an Evolutionary Algorithm to optimize at run-time the parameters associated with state log/restore activities. Optimization takes place by adaptively selecting for each simulation object both (i) the best suited log mode (incremental vs non-incremental) and (ii) the corresponding optimal value of...