Fuzzy cardinality based evaluation of quanti®ed sentences

Quantified statements are used in the resolution of a great variety of problems. Several methods have been proposed to evaluate statements of types I and II. The objective of this paper is to study these methods, by comparing and generalizing them. In order to do so, we propose a set of properties that must be fulfilled by any method of evaluation of quantified statements, we discuss some existing methods from this point of view and we describe a general approach for the evaluation of quantified statements based on the fuzzy cardinality and fuzzy relative cardinality of fuzzy sets. In addition, we discuss some concrete methods derived from the mentioned approach. These new methods fulfill all the properties proposed and, in some cases, they provide an interpretation or generalization of existing methods

Application of decision trees and multivariate regression trees in design and optimization

Induction of decision trees and regression trees is a powerful technique not only for performing ordinary classification and regression analysis but also for discovering the often complex knowledge which describes the input-output behavior of a learning system in qualitative forms;In the area of classification (discrimination analysis), a new technique called IDea is presented for performing incremental learning with decision trees. It is demonstrated that IDea\u27s incremental learning can greatly reduce the spatial complexity of a given set of training examples. Furthermore, it is shown that this reduction in complexity can also be used as an effective tool for improving the learning efficiency of other types of inductive learners such as standard backpropagation neural networks;In the area of regression analysis, a new methodology for performing multiobjective optimization has been developed. Specifically, we demonstrate that muitiple-objective optimization through induction of multivariate regression trees is a powerful alternative to the conventional vector optimization techniques. Furthermore, in an attempt to investigate the effect of various types of splitting rules on the overall performance of the optimizing system, we present a tree partitioning algorithm which utilizes a number of techniques derived from diverse fields of statistics and fuzzy logic. These include: two multivariate statistical approaches based on dispersion matrices, an information-theoretic measure of covariance complexity which is typically used for obtaining multivariate linear models, two newly-formulated fuzzy splitting rules based on Pearson\u27s parametric and Kendall\u27s nonparametric measures of association, Bellman and Zadeh\u27s fuzzy decision-maximizing approach within an inductive framework, and finally, the multidimensional extension of a widely-used fuzzy entropy measure. The advantages of this new approach to optimization are highlighted by presenting three examples which respectively deal with design of a three-bar truss, a beam, and an electric discharge machining (EDM) process

Fuzzy logic: An analysis of logical connectives and their characterizations

The focus of this thesis is to determine exactly which functions serve as appropriate fuzzy negation, conjunction and disjunction functions. To this end, the first chapter serves as motivation for why fuzzy logic is needed, and includes an original demonstration of the inadequacy of many valued logics to resolve the sorites paradox. Chapter 2 serves as an introduction to fuzzy sets and logic. The canonical fuzzy set of tall men is examined as a motivating example, and the chapter concludes with a discussion of membership functions. Four desirable conditions of the negation function are given in Chapter 3, but it is shown that they are not independent. It suffices to take two of these conditions, monotonicity and involutiveness, as negation axioms. Two characterization proofs are given, one with an increasing generator and the other with a decreasing generator. An example of a general class of negation functions is studied, along with their corresponding increasing and decreasing generators. Chapters 4 and 5 provide an analysis of fuzzy conjunction and disjunction functions, respectively. Five axioms for each are given: boundary conditions, commutativity, associativity, monotone non-decreasing, and continuity. Yager\u27s class of conjunction and disjunction functions are each shown to satisfy all five of these axioms. The additional assumption of strict monotonicity is added to obtain pseudo-characterizations analogous to the characterizations of the negation function. Finally, it is shown that although the min function is a conjunction function, it does not have a decreasing or an increasing generator. Similar results are obtained in Chapter 5 for disjunction functions, with a concluding theorem that the max function has no generators. The interactions of these three connectives is the content of Chapter 6. In this chapter, negation, conjunction, and disjunction triples are considered that satisfy both of DeMorgan\u27s laws. Distributivity of conjunction and disjunction over each other is examined. It is then shown that the only conjunction and disjunction pair that satisfies the distributivity axiom is the min, max pair. In conclusion, Chapter 7 discusses why having unique functions serve as conjunction and disjunction is desirable. It also contains a brief discussion of the implication connective and some areas for further investigation

A Radical Cure: Thomas Dimsdale, Radical Republicanism, and the Montana Vigilantes During the Civil War

In late December of 1863, a group of men in the fledgling Idaho Territory formed a vigilance committee to rid the area of criminals. In little more than a month, the committee hanged twenty-one men, including the area\u27s sheriff, Henry Plummer. This work deals with these events which took place in and around the mining camps of Bannack and Virginia City in Idaho Territory, now in the state of Montana, during the winter of 1863-64. It attempts to answer the following questions: What circumstances led to this significant outbreak of lynch law? Who decided that a vigilance committee was the only method capable of dealing with the situation existing in the territory? How did people throughout the United States learn about these events, which had occurred in the obscurity of the Far West and in the midst of America\u27s Civil War? This work demonstrates the political nature of the vigilante movement in Montana and its lasting impact on interpretations of the vigilance movement. Radical Republicans in Montana during the Civil War, like their counterparts in Washington, D.C., favored government intervention against slavery. From this abolitionist stand against slavery based on moral principles grew a willingness to use personal definitions of morality as the basis for intervention in political and judicial affairs. The Radical Republican political views held by influential men in Montana such as Sidney Edgerton and Wilbur Sanders caused them to form a vigilance committee in place of the legitimate legal system represented by miners\u27 courts, while also prompting Thomas Dimsdale, another Radical Republican, to present the issue to the public in terms of morality versus immorality, making his version of events both easier for the public to accept and also more enduring. This paper accounts for both the vigilantes\u27 actions, and the acceptance of their views by the public as the true story of what really happened and why. Chapter I addresses the issue of the judicial system as it existed in Idaho during the period prior to the formation of the vigilance committee. An assessment of the situation shows that even though the territorial court system was not yet functioning, the miners\u27 courts provided a working court system for the mining camps in the area. Chapter II looks at the actual formation of the vigilance committee, detailing the actions of the vigilantes and their leaders to determine what caused them to ignore the miners\u27 court system in favor of mob law. Their Radical Republican ideology of a powerful government acting against individuals based on moral principles provided the vigilante leaders with a concept of government conducive to extralegal action. Chapter III focuses on the acceptance of the Radical Republican interpretation of the vigilantes\u27 actions, as presented by Thomas Dimsdale in his book, The Vigilantes of Montana. By presenting the lynchings in a dramatic story of good against evil based on the moralistic Radical Republican political views, Dimsdale convinced his readers of the ultimate justification of the vigilante hangings

A Radical Cure: Thomas Dimsdale, Radical Republicanism, and the Montana Vigilantes During the Civil War

In late December of 1863, a group of men in the fledgling Idaho Territory formed a vigilance committee to rid the area of criminals. In little more than a month, the committee hanged twenty-one men, including the area\u27s sheriff, Henry Plummer. This work deals with these events which took place in and around the mining camps of Bannack and Virginia City in Idaho Territory, now in the state of Montana, during the winter of 1863-64. It attempts to answer the following questions: What circumstances led to this significant outbreak of lynch law? Who decided that a vigilance committee was the only method capable of dealing with the situation existing in the territory? How did people throughout the United States learn about these events, which had occurred in the obscurity of the Far West and in the midst of America\u27s Civil War? This work demonstrates the political nature of the vigilante movement in Montana and its lasting impact on interpretations of the vigilance movement. Radical Republicans in Montana during the Civil War, like their counterparts in Washington, D.C., favored government intervention against slavery. From this abolitionist stand against slavery based on moral principles grew a willingness to use personal definitions of morality as the basis for intervention in political and judicial affairs. The Radical Republican political views held by influential men in Montana such as Sidney Edgerton and Wilbur Sanders caused them to form a vigilance committee in place of the legitimate legal system represented by miners\u27 courts, while also prompting Thomas Dimsdale, another Radical Republican, to present the issue to the public in terms of morality versus immorality, making his version of events both easier for the public to accept and also more enduring. This paper accounts for both the vigilantes\u27 actions, and the acceptance of their views by the public as the true story of what really happened and why. Chapter I addresses the issue of the judicial system as it existed in Idaho during the period prior to the formation of the vigilance committee. An assessment of the situation shows that even though the territorial court system was not yet functioning, the miners\u27 courts provided a working court system for the mining camps in the area. Chapter II looks at the actual formation of the vigilance committee, detailing the actions of the vigilantes and their leaders to determine what caused them to ignore the miners\u27 court system in favor of mob law. Their Radical Republican ideology of a powerful government acting against individuals based on moral principles provided the vigilante leaders with a concept of government conducive to extralegal action. Chapter III focuses on the acceptance of the Radical Republican interpretation of the vigilantes\u27 actions, as presented by Thomas Dimsdale in his book, The Vigilantes of Montana. By presenting the lynchings in a dramatic story of good against evil based on the moralistic Radical Republican political views, Dimsdale convinced his readers of the ultimate justification of the vigilante hangings

CREATING HEAVEN ON EARTH: JIM BAKKER AND THE BIRTH OF A SUNBELT PENTECOSTALISM

This dissertation traces the rise of Jim and Tammy Bakker and analyzes the birth and growth of prosperity theology in the United States of America. It highlights how Jim and Tammy created a form of Pentecostalism that grew alongside and because of the growth of the Sunbelt. It blossomed in the new suburban enclaves of this region. Jim Bakker\u27s religious ideas had their roots in an increasingly powerful anti-New Deal coalition that was led by the conservative business community. Positive thinking and the prosperity gospel reinforced their beliefs in unfettered markets and their opposition to activist government. Bakker combined these ideas with an emphasis on the family, creating a power new kind of religion. It became a form of cultural conservatism that increasingly shaped American society in the 1970s and 1980s, helping transform political issues into moral and religious questions

The Iowa Academy of Science: 1875-1975

In tracing the beginnings of the Iowa Academy of Science, Jacob Swisher acknowledged in 1930 that the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Dubuque in 1872 probably had much to do with the formation of the first Iowa Academy in 1875. The Dubuque meeting was the first meeting of the AAAS west of the Mississippi River, and it was at that meeting that many of the charter members of the first Academy began to develop a closer association with one another. An excursion across Iowa following the AAAS meeting touched various points of scientific interest and led to a better understanding of the materials of Iowa available for scientific study. The group of about 40 included several state geologists, botanists, and others interested in natural history; the excursion was probably a significant event in the early development of scientific research in the state. A number of Iowans joined the AAAS at the Dubuque meeting in 1872, including C. E. Bessey, of Ames, Asa Horr and T. M. Irish of Dubuque, J. C. Arthur of Charles City, and W. C. Preston of Iowa City. Samuel Calvin and Thomas H. Macbride also attended the meeting. Most of these men were involved in the formation of the first Iowa Academy of Science three years later

A rule-based method for scalable and traceable evaluation of system architectures

Despite the development of a variety of decision-aid tools for assessing the value of a conceptual design, humans continue to play a dominant role in this process. Researchers have identified two major challenges to automation, namely the subjectivity of value and the existence of multiple and conflicting customer needs. A third challenge is however arising as the amount of data (e.g., expert judgment, requirements, and engineering models) required to assess value increases. This brings two challenges. First, it becomes harder to modify existing knowledge or add new knowledge into the knowledge base. Second, it becomes harder to trace the results provided by the tool back to the design variables and model parameters. Current tools lack the scalability and traceability required to tackle these knowledge-intensive design evaluation problems. This work proposes a traceable and scalable rule-based architecture evaluation tool called VASSAR that is especially tailored to tackle knowledge-intensive problems that can be formulated as configuration design problems, which is demonstrated using the conceptual design task for a laptop. The methodology has three main steps. First, facts containing the capabilities and performance of different architectures are computed using rules containing physical and logical models. Second, capabilities are compared with requirements to assess satisfaction of each requirement. Third, requirement satisfaction is aggregated to yield a manageable number of metrics. An explanation facility keeps track of the value chain all along this process. This paper describes the methodology in detail and discusses in particular different implementations of preference functions as logical rules. A full-scale example around the design of Earth observing satellites is presented