An Analysis of Sum-Based Incommensurable Belief Base Merging

International audienceDifferent methods have been proposed for merging multiple and potentially conflicting informations. Sum-based operators offer a natural method for merging commensurable prioritized belief bases. Their popularity is due to the fact that they satisfy the majority property and they adopt a non cautious attitude in deriving plausible conclusions. This paper analyses the sum-based merging operator when sources to merge are incommensurable, namely they do not share the same meaning of uncertainty scales. We first show that the obtained merging operator can be equivalently characterized either in terms of an infinite set of compatible scales, or by a well-known Pareto ordering on a set of models. We then study different families of compatible scales useful for merging process. This paper also provides a postulates-based analysis of our merging operators

Analyse du comportement d'opérateurs de fusion basés sur la somme : du cadre commensurable au cadre incommensurable

National audienceDifferent methods have been proposed in the literature for merging multiple and potentially conflicting informations. Sum-based operators offer a natural method for merging commensurable prioritized belief bases. Their popularity is due to the fact that they satisfy the majority property and they adopt a non cautious attitude in deriving plausible conclusions. This paper analyses the sum-based merging operator when sources to merge are incommensurable, namely they do not share the same meaning of uncertainty scales. We first show that the obtained merging operator can be equivalently characterized either in terms of an infinite set of compatible scales, or by a well-known Pareto ordering on a set of models. We then study different families of compatible scales useful for merging process. This paper also provides a postulates-based analysis of our merging operators

Weighted logics for artificial intelligence : an introductory discussion

International audienceBefore presenting the contents of the special issue, we propose a structured introductory overview of a landscape of the weighted logics (in a general sense) that can be found in the Artificial Intelligence literature, highlighting their fundamental differences and their application areas

03-11 "Clocks, Creation, and Clarity: Insights on Ethics and Economics from a Feminist Perspective"

This essay discusses the origins, biases, and effects on contemporary discussions of economics and ethics of the unexamined use of the metaphor “an economy is a machine.” The neoliberal view that the self-regulated workings of free markets should be kept free of impediments is based on this metaphor. Many of the critiques of capitalist systems are, as well. The belief that economists simply uncover universal “laws of motion” of economies, however, is shown to be based on a variety of rationalist thinking that—while widely held—is inadequate for explaining lived human experience. Feminist scholarship in philosophy of science and economics has brought to light some of the biases that have supported the mechanistic worldview. By structuring thought and language in dualistic categories such that alternatives to a mechanistic worldview are labeled as “soft,” the mechanistic view maintains some of its power by seeming “masculine” and “tough.” Possible alternatives to the “an economy is a machine” metaphor are discussed in their relation to developments in philosophy, psychology, and the natural sciences. The essay argues that metaphors such as “an economy is a creative process” and “an economy is an organism” are both intellectually defensible as guides to scientific inquiry and provide a richer ground for moral imagination.

Publication trends and interdisciplinary collaboration across the archaeological science/humanities-divide: Investigations into the epistemological structure of the archaeological discipline

The present master thesis is an article-based dissertation, comprising two individual research papers and an introductory essay. Both papers correspond to a shared set of overarching aims: 1. To investigate the composition and state of archaeological epistemology, focusing on comparability and integration between sub-fields of the archaeological discipline. 2. To better understand the potential impact of the science/humanities-divide upon archaeological practice in publishing and applied epistemology in research strategies. These aims are mostly examined separately in the two papers. When put together, the main ambition is to provide a deeper understanding of the relation between the structure and properties of archaeological epistemology and diverse practice (within archaeology and in interdisciplinary cooperation), as influenced by the science/humanities-divide. "Measuring incommensurability: A bibliometric inquiry into what papers are presented in archaeological journals (2009-13), and the epistemic consequences" This paper presents the results of bibliometric analyzes conducted on a data set consisting of 926 archaeological papers. The data comprises all original research papers published in six top ranking archaeological journals in the period 2009-2013. The included journals are taken to represent different sub-fields in archaeology: Historical, anthropological, social, scientific, environmental and general archaeology. The aim is to map general features of archaeological publishing. Significant differences are identified amongst the journals on an array of parameters, covering journal statistics, citation network, thematic distribution, the application of methods and the direction of relevance to other sub-fields. Furthermore, the paper engages in an extended discussion over the epistemological consequences of the bibliometric results, focusing on disciplinary fragmentation, incommensurability, vagueness and the purported significance of the science/humanities-divide. "Identifying key factors affecting the two cultures -relation of archaeology – Outlining a common epistemological platform for archaeology and archaeometry" In relating to the debate over the nature of archaeology along the science/humanities-spectrum, this paper seeks to understand some epistemological challenges arising from integrating scientific methodologies with archaeology. The main objective is to evaluate what epistemological platform might integrate archaeology and archaeometry in interdisciplinary research projects, and how such a platform might provide productive interdisciplinary research strategies. Four epistemic factors at individual levels are examined, consisting of 1) communication, 2) specialization, 3) explanatory ideals and 4) uncertainty levels and types. A model of interdisciplinary research strategies is put forth in order to cope with these epistemic challenges. The opposing results of stable isotope analysis and faunal remains regarding diet during the Mesolithic/Neolithic-transition are presented as a case study, identifying general epistemological factors affecting the application of scientific methodologies in archaeology

Monoculture versus diversity in competition economics

Economics rightfully represents the major basis for competition policy. Next to generating knowledge about competition and its welfare effects, the currently popular 'more-economic approach' is charged with a number of additional hopes and expectations, leading to a reduction of the ambiguities of real-world competition policy. While this article highlights the benefits of economics-based competition policy, it takes a cautious stance towards excessive expectations in particular regarding the idea that a monocultural, 'unified' competition theory as an exact, objective, and unerring scientific approach to antitrust makes normative assessment and generalizations superfluous. In a combination of two lines of argumentation, diversity in competition economics is advocated. Firstly, competition economics is empirically characterized by a considerable pluralism of theories and policy paradigms. This includes deviating views on core concepts like the nature of competition, the meaning of efficiency, or the goals of antitrust. Secondly, it is demonstrated that diversity of theories represents no imperfection of the state of science. In contrast, it is theoretically beneficial for future scientific progress. Therefore, no ultimate competition theory can ever be expected. As a consequence, the 'more-economic approach' must be extended in order to embrace diversity. This does not decrease its meaning and importance but instead puts some of the related high hopes into perspective. --antitrust,more-economic approach,competition policy paradigms,industrial economics,methodology of science

Power, discursive practices and the construction of the "real"

Starting with a critique of the epistemological and ontological bases of neo-institutionalism, in this article we defend the potential for the application of post-structuralist perspectives to the institutional approach. We contend that this theoretical approach, which incorporates an element, traditionally overlooked in institutional analyses, namely power, has the advantage of contributing to an enhanced comprehension of the dynamics of institutionalization. In conclusion, we believe that the area of organizational studies would benefit by a more all-encompassing vision of the processes of institutionalization, which would include power at its core, instead of considering institutions as non-changing variables. Undoubtedly, if we take empirical research into consideration, what we need is, from a historical perspective, understand the way by which the main discourses or narratives constitute, transform and are transformed by our objects of investigation, among which organizations certainly occupy a central place