Reconciling Continuous Attribute Values from Multiple Data Sources

Because of the heterogeneous nature of different data sources, data integration is often one of the most challenging tasks in managing modern information systems. The challenges exist at three different levels: schema heterogeneity, entity heterogeneity, and data heterogeneity. The existing literature has largely focused on schema heterogeneity and entity heterogeneity; and the very limited work on data heterogeneity either avoid attribute value conflicts or resolve them in an ad-hoc manner. The focus of this research is on data heterogeneity. We propose a decision-theoretical framework that enables attribute value conflicts to be resolved in a cost-efficient manner. The framework takes into consideration the consequences of incorrect data values and selects the value that minimizes the total expected error costs for all application problems. Numerical results show that significant savings can be achieved by adopting the proposed framework instead of other ad-hoc approaches

Three Remarks on “Reflective Equilibrium“

John Rawls’ “reflective equilibrium” ranges amongst the most popular conceptions in contemporary ethics when it comes to the basic methodological question of how to justify and trade off different normative positions and attitudes. Even where Rawls’ specific contractualist account is not adhered to, “reflective equilibrium” is readily adopted as the guiding idea of coherentist approaches, seeking moral justification not in a purely deductive or inductive manner, but in some balancing procedure that will eventually procure a stable adjustment of relevant doctrines and standpoints. However, it appears that the widespread use of this idea has led to some considerable deviations from its meaning within Rawls’ original framework and to a critical loss of conceptual cogency as an ethico-hermeneutical tool. This contribution identifies three kinds of “balancing” constellations that are frequently, but inadequately brought forth under the heading of Rawlsian “reflective equilibrium”: balancing theoretical accounts against intuitive convictions; balancing general principles against particular judgements; balancing opposite ethical conceptions or divergent moral statements, respectively. It is argued that each of these applications departs from Rawls’ original construction of “reflective equilibrium” and also deprives the idea of its reliability in clarifying and weighing moral stances

A reason for unreason: returns based beliefs in game theory

Players cooperate in experiments more than game theory would predict. We introduce the ‘returns-based beliefs’ approach: the expected returns of a particular strategy in proportion to total expected returns of all strategies. Using a decision analytic solution concept, Luce’s (1959) probabilistic choice model, and ‘hyperpriors’ for ambiguity in players’ cooperability, our approach explains empirical observations in various classes of games including the Prisoner’s and Traveler’s Dilemmas. Testing the closeness of fit of our model on Selten and Chmura (2008) data for completely mixed 2 × 2 games shows that with loss aversion, returns-based beliefs explain the data better than other equilibrium concepts

The legacy of 50 years of fuzzy sets: A discussion

International audienceThis note provides a brief overview of the main ideas and notions underlying fifty years of research in fuzzy set and possibility theory, two important settings introduced by L.A. Zadeh for representing sets with unsharp boundaries and uncertainty induced by granules of information expressed with words. The discussion is organized on the basis of three potential understanding of the grades of membership to a fuzzy set, depending on what the fuzzy set intends to represent: a group of elements with borderline members, a plausibility distribution, or a preference profile. It also questions the motivations for some existing generalized fuzzy sets. This note clearly reflects the shared personal views of its authors

Reconciliation, Restoration and Reconstruction of a Conflict Ridden Country

Conflict has sadly been a constant part of history. Winning a conflict and making a lasting peace are often not the same thing. While a peace treaty ends a conflict and often dictates terms from the winners’ perspective, it may not create a lasting peace. Short of unconditional surrender, modern conflict ends with a negotiated cessation of hostilities. Such accords may have some initial reconstruction agreements, but Reconciliation, Restoration and Reconstruction (RRR) is a long term process. This study maintains that to achieve a lasting peace: 1) The culture and beliefs of the conflict nation must be continuously considered and 2) RRR is a long term effort which will occur over years not just in the immediate wake of signing a treaty or agreement. To assure the inclusion of all stakeholders and gain the best results in dealing with this “wicked problem”, an array of Operations Research techniques can be used to support the long term planning and execution of a RRR effort. The final decisions will always be political, but the analysis provided by an OR support team will guide the decision makers to better execute consensus decisions that consider all stakeholder needs. The development of the value hierarchy framework in this dissertation is a keystone of building a rational OR supported long term plan for a successful RRR. The primary aim of the research is to propose a framework and associated set of guidelines derived from appropriate techniques of OR, Decision Analysis and Project Management (right from development of a consensus based value hierarchy to its implementation, feedback and steering corrections) that may be applied to help RRR efforts in any conflict ridden country across the globe. The framework is applicable to any conflict ridden country after incorporating changes particular to any country witnessing a prolonged conflict

Anticipating the impacts of the Social, Political, and Biophysical Landscape on Long-Term Connectivity for Reintroduced Plains Bison

Intense anthropogenic pressures on the natural environment have created the need for implementing strategies that promote or restore habitat connectivity. The ability for animals to move between habitat patches allows animals to find mates, access resources, and shift their range in response to the changing climate and ensures that ecological and evolutionary processes persist. Connectivity conservation typically focuses on biophysical barriers to animal movement, but for many species reintroductions, establishing and maintaining connectivity often requires overcoming both ecological and socio-political barriers. Despite the need to navigate complex socio-political landscapes to implement connectivity conservation plans, datasets depicting those conditions are rarely used in the connectivity models that underlie connectivity conservation plans. In this research, I demonstrate an approach for leveraging social, political, institutional, and ecological datasets to model long-term connectivity for reintroduced Plains bison (Bison bison) in part of the Northern Great Plains, where no habitat connectivity currently exists. Efforts to reintroduce bison, both for cultural and ecological reasons, have been ongoing since their near extirpation in the late 1800s due to colonial forces. There are currently more than 20 international, federal, non-profit, and Tribally-led efforts to reintroduce bison to parts of Plains bison expansive historic range. These reintroduction efforts have occasionally been met with intense socio-political backlash highlighting the need for conservation interventions that address important socio-political obstacles in order to achieve long-term connectivity. Some of the socio-political barriers that practitioners seeking to restore bison face are a lack of social acceptance, political opposition from the Republican party and cattle ranching industry, and the need to navigate complex jurisdictional boundaries across a large landscape. I analyzed the impacts of these specific barriers by using responses from an international wildlife governance preference survey, republican voting trends, cattle sales, and parcel density as a measure of jurisdictional complexity. I integrated these datasets with spatial surfaces depicting bison habitat suitability and human modification to develop a suite of resistance surfaces that depict both the challenges of a bison moving through the landscape and the challenges of conserving important movement pathways for the species. I used these resistance surfaces to compare the costs and probabilities for implementing a variety of connectivity conservation plans. My results highlight where social-ecological mismatches and fit occur throughout the landscape. The analysis shows that the most ecologically ideal pathway is also socio-politically costly, and that choosing a slightly less ecologically valuable pathway may cost less in terms of socio-political resistance. I also analyzed the potential spatial footprints of three commonly used interventions for promoting conservation outcomes by manipulating the socio-political resistance to reflect three hypothetical conservation interventions using the wildlife governance preference survey. I explored the interventions of creating public land tolerance zones (e.g., shift in jurisdictional complexity), economic incentives aimed at promoting social acceptance, and a Tribal and First Nations governance intervention given the cultural importance of bison to Indigenous people in North America. I found that the economic incentive did little to shift the probability of implementing a connectivity plan for bison when compared to the public land tolerance zone and Tribal and First Nations governance scenario, suggesting that those strategies may have a greater impact on bison’s long-term connectivity in the region. This approach can help conservation managers make more informed decisions regarding where to implement bison connectivity plans, as well as what levers may lead more successful conservation outcomes. My approach could be applied in research for other wide-ranging, reintroduced, or otherwise controversial species to characterize the potential trade-offs involved with different conservation interventions and ultimately lead to conservation plans that have a higher probability of successful implementation

CBR and MBR techniques: review for an application in the emergencies domain

The purpose of this document is to provide an in-depth analysis of current reasoning engine practice and the integration strategies of Case Based Reasoning and Model Based Reasoning that will be used in the design and development of the RIMSAT system. RIMSAT (Remote Intelligent Management Support and Training) is a European Commission funded project designed to: a.. Provide an innovative, 'intelligent', knowledge based solution aimed at improving the quality of critical decisions b.. Enhance the competencies and responsiveness of individuals and organisations involved in highly complex, safety critical incidents - irrespective of their location. In other words, RIMSAT aims to design and implement a decision support system that using Case Base Reasoning as well as Model Base Reasoning technology is applied in the management of emergency situations. This document is part of a deliverable for RIMSAT project, and although it has been done in close contact with the requirements of the project, it provides an overview wide enough for providing a state of the art in integration strategies between CBR and MBR technologies.Postprint (published version

Development of Systems of Objectives in Early Product Engineering. Entwicklung von Zielsystemen in der frühen Produktentstehung

Early stages are characterised by high uncertainty regarding a future product and its environment. This thesis investigates technical product objectives especially regarding their alignment to future constraints. It presents a strategy and systemic modelling approach based on the integrated product engineering model (iPeM) to enable operative planning and management during the generation of objectives in early stages. Insights base on an empirical study conducted in the automotive industry

The Hidden Clash: Spacetime Outlook and Quantum-State Reductions

It is generally assumed that compatibility with special relativity is guaranteed by the invariance of the fundamental equations of quantum physics under Lorentz transformations and the impossibility of transferring energy or information faster than the speed of light. Despite this, various contradictions persist, which make us suspect the solidity of that compatibility. This paper focuses on collapse theories—although they are not the only way of interpreting quantum theory—in order to examine what seems to be insurmountable difficulties we encounter when trying to construct a space–time picture of such typically quantum processes as state vector reduction or the non-separability of entangled systems. The inescapable nature of such difficulties suggests the need to go further in the search for new formulations that surpass our current conceptions of matter and space–time