We introduce taboo evolutionary programming, a very efficient global optimization method which combines features of single-point mutation evolutionary programming (SPMEP) and taboo search. As demonstrated by solving 18 benchmark problems, the algorithm is not trapped in local minima and quickly approaches the global minimum. The results are superior to those from SPMEP, fast evolutionary progra...

We compare in this paper the best heuristic methods known up to now to solve the flow shop sequencing problem and we improve the complexity of the best one. Next, we apply to this problem taboo search, a new technique to solve combinatorial optimization problems, and we report computational experiments. Finally a parallel taboo search algorithm is presented and experimental results show that th...

We introduce a multistart local search-based method with a taboo step for solving continuous global optimization problems with bound constraints. Since this algorithm has a characteristic taboo step[5, 1995] by removing candidate points that converge to the current local optimum in each iteration, the step enables us to avoid repeated convergence to one of an already known optima in a local sea...

This article examines whether recent changes in the security environment, including North Korea’s nuclear test of October 2006, are driving Japan to consider the acquisition of its own nuclear deterrent. It argues that a combination of three factors have thus far sustained Japan’s nuclear restraint: (1) national identity as a non-nuclear weapon state, (2) commitment to global nuclear nonprolife...

We consider automated generation of humorous texts by substitution of a single word in a given short text. In this setting, several factors that potentially contribute to the funniness of texts can be integrated into a unified framework as constraints on the lexical substitution. We discuss three types of such constraints: formal constraints concerning the similarity of sounds or spellings betw...