Investigation into an improved modular rule-based testing framework for business rules

Rule testing in scheduling applications is a complex and potentially costly business problem. This thesis reports the outcome of research undertaken to develop a system to describe and test scheduling rules against a set of scheduling data. The overall intention of the research was to reduce commercial scheduling costs by minimizing human domain expert interaction within the scheduling process. This thesis reports the outcome of research initiated following a consultancy project to develop a system to test driver schedules against the legal driving rules in force in the UK and the EU. One of the greatest challenges faced was interpreting the driving rules and translating them into the chosen programming language. This part of the project took considerable effort to complete the programming, testing and debugging processes. A potential problem then arises if the Department of Transport or the European Union alter or change the driving rules. Considerable software development is likely to be required to support the new rule set. The approach considered takes into account the need for a modular software component that can be used in not just transport scheduling systems which look at legal driving rules but may also be integrated into other systems that have the need to test temporal rules. The integration of the rule testing component into existing systems is key to making the proposed solution reusable. The research outcome proposes an alternative approach to rule definition, similar to that of RuleML, but with the addition of rule metadata to provide the ability of describing rules of a temporal nature. The rules can be serialised and deserialised between XML (eXtensible Markup Language) and objects within an object oriented environment (in this case .NET with C#), to provide a means of transmission of the rules over a communication infrastructure. The rule objects can then be compiled into an executable software library, allowing the rules to be tested more rapidly than traditional interpreted rules. Additional support functionality is also defined to provide a means of effectively integrating the rule testing engine into existing applications. Following the construction of a rule testing engine that has been designed to meet the given requirements, a series of tests were undertaken to determine the effectiveness of the proposed approach. This lead to the implementation of improvements in the caching of constructed work plans to further improve performance. Tests were also carried out into the application of the proposed solution within alternative scheduling domains and to analyse the difference in computational performance and memory usage across system architectures, software frameworks and operating systems, with the support of Mono. Future work that is expected to follow on from this thesis will likely reside in investigations into the development of graphical design tools for the creation of the rules, improvements in the work plan construction algorithm, parallelisation of elements of the process to take better advantage of multi-core processors and off-loading of the rule testing process onto dedicated or generic computational processors

An expert advisor system for college management.

This thesis has explored the economic, political, legal and technological changes that have an impact on decision support requirements in many organisations. It has looked particularly at the Public Sector and the FE Sector and has established the need for an intelligent decision support system. Critical Success Factors have been identified that have influenced the design of a specific Expert Advisor System experimental prototype, the development of which has been central to the research. A range of system development methodologies have been reviewed, and justification has been provided for the selection of the CommonKADS methodology. Technologies and techniques to be used in the development of the Expert Advisor System have also been reviewed and justification has been provided for incorporating Case-Based Reasoning and Data Warehousing. The analysis, design and development of the system has been strongly influenced by the Critical Success Factors that were identified to ensure the system met the decision support needs. The experimental prototype has been developed specifically to assist Senior Managers at an FE college with the decision making that is used to complete ISR Funding Returns. The system gives access to historic data, provides auditable data trails to substantiate decisions and facilitates what-if projections. Case-based knowledge discovery, data-based knowledge discovery, graph-based knowledge discovery and projection-based knowledge discovery have been achieved through the use of the prototype. An important part of the development process was the adaptation of cases and the adaptation of queries that extracted and aggregated data to provide system adaptation. The research has focused around addressing two research hypotheses. Evidence has been provided to show that the two research hypotheses have been addressed. This demonstrates that (hypothesis 1) CommonKADS Models are well suited to providing a template for the design and documentation of Decision Support Systems that need to operate in rapidly changing domains. Justification has also been given to show that (hypothesis 2) CBR principles can be used together with other knowledge discovery techniques to provide useful adaptive systems. The research concludes by looking at how new technologies could be incorporated in later versions of the Expert Advisor System

The Arts of Persuasion in Science and Law: Conflicting Norms in the Courtroom

Epistemology is important in the debate about science and technology in the courtroom. The epistemological issues and the arguments about them in the context of scientific and technical evidence are now well developed. Of equal importance, though, is an understanding of norms of persuasion and how those norms may differ across disciplines and groups. Norms of persuasion in the courtroom and in legal briefs differ from norms at a scientific conference and in scientific journals. Here, Kritzer examines the disconnect between science and the courtroom in terms of the differing norms of persuasion found within the scientific community and within the legal community

Merton and the Hot Tub: Scientific Conventions and Expert Evidence in Australian Civil Procedure

Recently in Australia, common-law judges began to modify the way expert evidence is prepared and presented. Judges from a range of civil jurisdictions have conscientiously sought to reduce expert partisanship and the extent of expert disagreement in an attempt to enhance procedural efficiency and improve access to justice. One of these reforms, concurrent evidence, enables expert witnesses to participate in a joint session with considerable testimonial latitude. This represents a shift away from an adversarial approach and a conscientious attempt to foster scientific values and norms. Here, Edmond describes how changes to Australian civil procedure, motivated by judicial concerns about the prevalence of partisanship among expert witnesses, may have been enfeebled because they were based upon enduring scientific conventions such as the ethos of science

Merton and the Hot Tub: Scientific Conventions and Expert Evidence in Australian Civil Procedure

Recently in Australia, common-law judges began to modify the way expert evidence is prepared and presented. Judges from a range of civil jurisdictions have conscientiously sought to reduce expert partisanship and the extent of expert disagreement in an attempt to enhance procedural efficiency and improve access to justice. One of these reforms, concurrent evidence, enables expert witnesses to participate in a joint session with considerable testimonial latitude. This represents a shift away from an adversarial approach and a conscientious attempt to foster scientific values and norms. Here, Edmond describes how changes to Australian civil procedure, motivated by judicial concerns about the prevalence of partisanship among expert witnesses, may have been enfeebled because they were based upon enduring scientific conventions such as the ethos of science

How Does Science Come to Speak in the Courts? Citations Intertexts, Expert Witnesses, Consequential Facts, and Reasoning

Citations, in their highly conventionalized forms, visibly indicate each texts explicit use of the prior literature that embodies the knowledge and contentions of its field. This relation to prior texts has been called intertextuality in literary and literacy studies. Here, Bazerman discusses the citation practices and intertextuality in science and the law in theoretical and historical perspective, and considers the intersection of science and law by identifying the judicial rules that limit and shape the role of scientific literature in court proceedings. He emphasizes that from the historical and theoretical analysis, it is clear that, in the US, judicial reasoning is an intertextually tight and self-referring system that pays only limited attention to documents outside the laws, precedents, and judicial rules. The window for scientific literature to enter the courts is narrow, focused, and highly filtered. It serves as a warrant for the expert witnesses\u27 expertise, which in turn makes opinion admissible in a way not available to ordinary witnesses

An Independent Evaluation of the Strategic Legal Fund for Vulnerable Young Migrants

The Strategic Legal Fund for Vulnerable Young Migrants1 (SLF) was set up by the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund (DPOWMF) in 2011. When the Diana Fund closed down in late 2012, Trust for London agreed to take over the hosting of the SLF and provided additional funding with Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for a second phase (December 2012 to March 2014 initially, though this has now been extended).In 2012 an interim evaluation of the SLF concluded that it was achieving results, and suggested some changes of focus and operation for the future. One year on, the purpose of this further evaluation is: a. to identify the full range of outcomes, benefits and changes to which the SLF project has contributed in order to understand the value of what has been funded to date. b. to help Trust for London, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and other potential funders discuss and decide if and how they want to take forward the funding of strategic legal work on migration issues in the current climate. c. to take stock of the model being used to identify, assess, support and review SLF grants and learn lessons about this which can: i) help improve current ways of working; ii) enable decisions about how such a fund should be administered in the future. d. to stimulate discussions about the potential use of such a model in funding strategic legal work in other areas of law

The Empirical Turn In Family Law

Historically, the legal system justified family law’s rules and policies through morality, common sense, and prevailing cultural norms. In a sharp departure, and consistent with a broader trend across the legal system, empirical evidence increasingly dominates the regulation of families. There is much to celebrate in this empirical turn. Properly used, empirical evidence in family law can help the state act more effectively and efficiently, unmask prejudice, and depoliticize contentious battles. But the empirical turn also presents substantial concerns. Beyond perennial issues of the quality of empirical evidence and the ability of legal actors to use it, there are more fundamental problems: Using empirical evidence focuses attention on the outcomes of legal rules, discouraging a debate about contested and competing values. Reliance on empirical evidence overlays a veneer of neutrality on normative judgments. And uncritically adopting evidence about present conditions without interrogating the role of historical discrimination that continues to disadvantage some families can replicate that discrimination. Given the promise and peril of the empirical turn in family law, this Essay proposes a framework to guide the use of this evidence. The framework preserves space for debating multiple values and advises decisionmakers when to use empirical evidence, with particular attention to the dangers for nondominant families. The framework also recommends strengthening evidentiary gatekeeping and elevating the potential for legal scholarship to serve as a bridge from the broader research base to the courts. With this guidance in place, empirical evidence can take its rightful place as a useful but cabined tool in the legal regulation of families

Information Processing, Psychopathy, and Juror Decision Making in a Capital Murder Case

The United States legal system relies on the ability of jurors to impartially consider complex psychological testimony despite research indicating that they are unable to distinguish between scientifically rigorous evidence and evidence based on less objective methods. The purpose of this study was to better understand how different forms of expert testimony and juror information processing mode influence decision making in a capital case. Mock jurors completed a measure identifying their preferences for processing information in a rational, logical manner (Rationality) and an affect-driven, emotional manner (Experientiality). Following this, participants were instructed to alter their cognitive processing through written instructions given by the judge. Specifically, participants were primed to employ a rational, analytical mindset or rely on their gut-instincts and intuition. Participants were then presented with a capital murder case vignette and expert testimony (clinical opinion or actuarial) concerning defendant likelihood for future violence (high or low) and psychopathy diagnosis (psychopath or no diagnosis). Finally, a sub sample of participants participated in a deliberations activity. Results suggest testimony type did not have a significant influence on juror ratings of future dangerousness or ultimate verdict. However, participants who reviewed clinical opinion testimony asserting the defendant was a psychopath perceived the defendant to be more psychopathic than participants who heard actuarial testimony making the same assertions. This effect was driven specifically by participants’ higher ratings of the defendant’s affective and interpersonal psychopathy traits. In addition, participation in the deliberations activity resulted in significant changes in perceptions of psychopathy. Specifically, participants who heard clinical opinion testimony asserting that the defendant was a psychopath perceived the defendant as significantly more psychopathic following the deliberations activity compared to their pre-deliberations ratings. Future research examining the relationship between psychopathy evidence and legal decision making should consider the relationship between individual information processing and perception of psychopathic traits. Further, these data support the importance of including deliberations in mock jury research. Finally, these data lend further support to the effectiveness of clinical opinion testimony, particularly in regards to its influence on juror perceptions of defendant psychopathic traits

Behavioural Genetics in Criminal Cases: Past, Present and Future

Researchers studying human behavioral genetics have made significant scientific progress in enhancing our understanding of the relative contributions of genetics and the environment in observed variations in human behavior. Quickly outpacing the advances in the science are its applications in the criminal justice system. Already, human behavioral genetics research has been introduced in the U.S. criminal justice system, and its use will only become more prevalent. This essay discusses the recent historical use of behavioral genetics in criminal cases, recent advances in two gene variants of particular interest in the criminal law, MAOA and SLC6A4, the recent expert testimony on behalf of criminal defendants with respect to these two gene variants, and the future direction of behavioral genetics evidence in criminal cases