Intelligent control based on fuzzy logic and neural net theory

In the conception and design of intelligent systems, one promising direction involves the use of fuzzy logic and neural network theory to enhance such systems' capability to learn from experience and adapt to changes in an environment of uncertainty and imprecision. Here, an intelligent control scheme is explored by integrating these multidisciplinary techniques. A self-learning system is proposed as an intelligent controller for dynamical processes, employing a control policy which evolves and improves automatically. One key component of the intelligent system is a fuzzy logic-based system which emulates human decision making behavior. It is shown that the system can solve a fairly difficult control learning problem. Simulation results demonstrate that improved learning performance can be achieved in relation to previously described systems employing bang-bang control. The proposed system is relatively insensitive to variations in the parameters of the system environment

Implicit Logic in Managerial Discourse: A Case Study in Choice of Selection Criteria

Little attention has been paid in mainstream selection theory to how selectors choose to justify criteria and whether there is evidence of any consistency or logic in the manner in which they do so. This paper addresses these questions within a socio-cognitive framework. A newly developed coding system is used to analyse and explain the discourse of 22 managers in justifying selection criteria for technical operators in a European broadcasting company. It was found that, even for a very technical position, managers with experience of the job for which candidates were being selected were more concerned with the values, beliefs and personalities of candidates. It also was found that, independently of their different levels of seniority and experience of selection or interviewing, all managers are more concerned with Person-Organisation Fit for both present and future needs than with immediate Person-Job Fit. The consistency of the findings suggests that there is an ‘implicit logic’ in the manner in which managers as selectors adopt criteria derived from implicit learning and tacit knowledge of both operational and organisational experience.

Linking the double helix of learning and work to the triple helix of university – industry – government in the Europe of knowledge

The present paper presents results of research in progress. Its purpose is to highlight the relevance of the helix logic for the understanding and speeding up of the processes of innovation and learning in the knowledge based society with a particular emphasis on the European higher education and research area, more specifically Romania. Two representative models are presented and considered promising for their applications in education and research strategizing: the „Double Helix” of Learning and Work and, respectively, the „Triple Helix” of University-Industry-Government. The paper is based on (1) the authors' experience in Romanian higher education, from various university management positions to government positions related to higher education and (2) the author’s experience of dealing with the business environment during the transition, experience encompassing areas from policy generation and implementation to evaluation of projects and research. This experience is captured by a critical exploration of the realities addressed in the paper and turned into an academic piece of qualitative research by using the conceptual artefacts approach. The specific difference the paper presents consists of providing a common framework for analysis for the two models which are based on the same logic, but were developed in different contexts both from a conceptual and an operational point of view. The paper also puts forward the hypothesis of the convergence of the two models with arguments that contribute to including the issues presented on the research agenda of the sociology of science and the theory of the policies fostering learning and innovation. The conceptual limits of the Triple Helix model are underlined, as well as the distortions that might appear during the implementation under real conditions of the partnership for innovation among universities, industry and government. Some elements of qualitative diagnosis of the degree of Romania’s readiness for the adoption of the Triple Helix model are also presented. The paper puts forward the proposition for the convergence of the two models for further international research and study with the very practical view of finding means to render this proposal operational at both institutional and strategic levels.double helix of learning and work; the triple helix of university – industry – government; emerging economies; university governance; higher education quality; triple helix of university – industry – government.

Dynamics in Business and its Consequences for Learning Business, Learning by Sharing as a model for revitalization

Currently there is much debate about the gap between business schools and the business world (Mintzberg, 2004; Bennis & O’Toole, 2005). One of the arguments is that business schools focus too much on ‘scientific’ research and lack relevant business context and real world experience. Our proposition is that the dynamics in the business environment force businesses and business schools to revitalize together through learning by sharing. This article advocates that researchers, teachers, students (business schools) and practitioners (business) should engage in a mutual learning process. Close cooperation, shared understanding, and shared learning can foster adaptation to the dynamics of the business environment, and encourage both business schools and business corporations to build new academic theory and new business logic. The learning by sharing model (Thijssen, Maes and Vernooij, 2002) can be applied to both the academic world and the business world in concert. The present paper conceptualizes how business corporations and business schools can learn from each other and develop closer links

The Music Experience: Phenomenology in Music Education

Music is a powerful part of our world. It touches our daily lives and surrounds us more than we even realize. It connects us to others, builds culture, and is appreciated by many. Music has been taught in schools for many years and is a part of many memories of students from elementary school. Music is full of theory. From the note names and sounds, rhythm and beats, time signature…the list of theoretical aspects goes on and on. Although these components are the measurable forms of music, these are not what people remember and what makes music powerful. It is the combination of all of those components created into a musical song that creates power. The way music makes people feel and what they experience is what sets music apart and makes it a staple in culture. Our education system is highly influenced by behavioristic theories. Behaviorism tells us that learning is quantifiable and measurable. We see in our education system music being taught and placed under behaviorism, which is not a place that it fits. Music is not based on theory or logic but on emotion and experience. There has been a great deal of research done on the way that we experience the natural world and the ways that these experiences shape us as people

Democracy, populism, and economic globalization : an extension of the selectorat theory

Tese de doutoramento, Ciência Política (Política Comparada), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, 2018This dissertation presents a theory of regimes and trade liberalization in complementary stages. The three chapters share a unifying theme which is an approach to trade liberalization as a locus of distributive struggles that is interrelated with the distributive struggles of regime change. The first chapter is a conceptual piece on the relationship of democracy and globalization that includes a comprehensive review of the field. It proposes the coupling of a Stolper-Samuelson-inspired theory with the selectorate theory (Mesquita, 2003) as an avenue of theory-building that mitigates the weaknesses of previous theory and better reflects empirical evidence on democracy and trade. The second chapter develops a game-theoretic model of political regimes and trade liberalization — the extended selectorate theory (ESM) — and presents a computer program to study the model. Namely, it examines how the interaction of institutional variables, policy learning and inequality, influence policy output. The results contradict some features from previous explanations and build upon some others, indicating that: 1) inequality changes the effects of learning, and the latter are biased towards capital ; 2) learning from other countries trade policy experience changes individual preferences on trade policy and changes other redistributive policies ; 3) democratization does not equate to an increase in labor’s leverage in trade policy making; 4) capital’s preferences on redistribution influences which comes first: democracy or trade liberalization. The third and final chapter expands on the analytical utility of the model by offering an interpretation of populism and globalization based on its central predictions and underlying logic. A method for the classification of populist phenotypes, based on the ESM, is developed and illustrated with two European and two Latin American populism. It concludes with a short analysis on how different populist phenotypes may affect free trade and, concomitantly, economic globalization

Nelson Goodman’s general theory of symbols: can it help characterise some educational concerns?

Nelson Goodman was active between 1941 and the end of the century. From 1968 he was Professor of Philosophy at Harvard. He died in 1998 at the age of 92 having made contributions in the field of logic and analytical philosophy. His unremitting nominalism led to a radical constructivist or irrealist position. He was a constructivist not only in the sense of acknowledging the constitutive nature of our classifications of things, ultimately amounting to versions of the world, but also in the way that, following Carnap, he saw it as part of the responsibility of philosophy to construct robust and consistent systems of statements that serve as correctives to the logical disarray of natural language. He also took to its logical conclusions another of Carnap’s principles namely that the truth of a statement is dependent on a particular frame of reference... In this paper I consider how Goodman's analysis of the forms of reference might fruitfully be applied to some educational concerns. He identifies two main species of reference, denotation and exemplification, and two main sub-species, representation and expression. Symbols may be labels or samples. I first present his theory of notation and then the operation of labels and samples in turn and consider how we might use them to describe teaching and learning. I further apply them to explain the role that experience plays in a teacher’s professional development and how they might help to characterise the personal dimension of teaching. I then present his theory of metaphor and expression and finally suggest ways in which these and his other concepts may help theorise parental choice of school as part of a re-conceptualised theory of social practice

Putting theory oriented evaluation into practice

Evaluations of gaming simulations and business games as teaching devices are typically end-state driven. This emphasis fails to detect how the simulation being evaluated does or does not bring about its desired consequences. This paper advances the use of a logic model approach which possesses a holistic perspective that aims at including all elements associated with the situation created by a game. The use of the logic model approach is illustrated as applied to Simgame, a board game created for secondary school level business education in six European Union countries

Symmetry as an organizational principle in cognitive sensor networks

technical reportCognitive sensor networks are able to perceive, learn, reason and act by means of a distributed, sensor/actuator, computation and communication system. In animals, cognitive capabilities do not arise from a tabula rasa, but are due in large part to the intrinsic architecture (genetics) of the animal which has been evolved over a long period of time and depends on a combination of constraints: e.g., ingest nutrients, avoid toxins, etc. We have previously shown how organism morphology arises from genetic algorithms responding to such constraints[6]. Recently, it has been suggested that abstract theories relevant to speci c cognitive domains are likewise genetically coded in humans (e.g., language, physics of motion, logic, etc.); thus, these theories and models are abstracted from experience over time. We call this the Domain Theory Hypothesis, and other proponents include Chomsky [2] and Pinker [11] (universal language), Sloman [16, 17] (arti cial intelligence), and Rosenberg [13] (cooperative behavior). Some advantages of such embedded theories are that they (1) make learning more ef cient, (2) allow generalization across models, and (3) allow determination of true statements about the world beyond those available from direct experience. We have shown in previous work how theories of symmetry can dramatically improve representational ef ciency and aid reinforcement learning on various problems [14]. However, it remains to be shown sensory data can be organized into appropriate elements so as to produce a model of a given theory. We address this here by showing how symmetric elements can be perceived by a sensor network and the role this plays in a cognitive system's ability to discover knowledge about its own structure as well as about the surrounding physical world. Our view is that cognitive sensor networks which can learn these things will not need to be pre-programmed in detail for specific tasks