Understanding and supporting pricing decisions using multicriteria decision analysis: an application to antique silver in South Africa

This dissertation presents an application of multicriteria decision analysis to understand and support pricing decisions in fields where goods are unique and described by their characteristics. The specific application area of this research is antique silver objects, where a complete iteration of the multicritia decision process is performed. This includes two problem structurings using SODA which provide rich detail into this application area. Multi-attribute additive models are constructed, with attribute partial value functions elicited using different methods: directly (bisection methods), indirectly (MACBETH and linear interpolation) and with discrete choice experiments. The applicability and advantages of each method is discussed. Additionally, an open source R package to implement the design of discrete choice experiments is created. The multi-attribute models provide key insights into decision maker's reasoning for price; and contrasting different decision maker's models explains the market. A risk adverse relationship between multicriteria model score and price is characterised and various inverse utility functions investigated. Two decision support systems are fully developed to address the needs of Cape silver decision makers in South Africa

Data Association for Semantic World Modeling from Partial Views

Autonomous mobile-manipulation robots need to sense and interact with objects to accomplish high-level tasks such as preparing meals and searching for objects. To achieve such tasks, robots need semantic world models, defined as object-based representations of the world involving task-level attributes. In this work, we address the problem of estimating world models from semantic perception modules that provide noisy observations of attributes. Because attribute detections are sparse, ambiguous, and are aggregated across different viewpoints, it is unclear which attribute measurements are produced by the same object, so data association issues are prevalent. We present novel clustering-based approaches to this problem, which are more efficient and require less severe approximations compared to existing tracking-based approaches. These approaches are applied to data containing object type-and-pose detections from multiple viewpoints, and demonstrate comparable quality using a fraction of the computation time.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF Grant No. 1117325)United States. Office of Naval Research (ONR MURI grant N00014-09-1-1051)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR grant FA2386-10-1-4135)Singapore. Ministry of Education (Grant to the the Singapore-MIT International Design Center

Modelling dependency in multivariate paired comparisons:a log-linear approach.

A log-linear representation of the Bradley-Terry model is presented for multivariate paired comparison data, where judges are asked to compare pairs of objects on more than one attribute. By converting such data to multiple binomial responses, dependencies between the decisions of the judges as well as possible association structures between the attributes can be incorporated in the model, providing an advantage over parallel univariate analyses of individual attributes. The approach outlined gives parameters which can be interpreted as (conditional) log–odds and log–odds ratios. As the model is a generalised linear model, parameter estimation can use standard software and the GLM framework can be used to test hypotheses on these parameters

BDEF : the behavioral design data exchange format

BDDB is a Behavioral Design Data Base that manages the design data produced and consumed by different behavioral synthesis tools. These different design tools retrieve design data from BDDB, manipulate the data, and then store the results back into the data base. BDDB thus needs to address the following two issues: (1) a design data exchange approach and (2) customized design data interfaces. To address the first issue, we have developed a textual description format for describing design data objects and relationships. This language, referred to as the Behavioral Design Data Exchange Format (BDEF), is used as common format for exchanging design data between BDDB and the design tools in the behavioral synthesis environment. To address the second issue, we have developed a behavioral object type description language (generally referred to as schema definition language) for describing the global data structures required by design tools as well as the desired design subviews of this global BDDB design information. One design view class, namely, BDEF, is the topic of this report.In this report we give a formal definition of the BDEF format. Then we describe a comprehensive example of applying BDEF to the behavioral synthesis domain. That is, we present the complete BDEF syntax for the Extended Control/Data Flow Graph Model (ECDFG), which is the design representation model used by most behavioral synthesis tools in the UCI CADLAB synthesis system. We also present several example descriptions of designs using this ECDFG model. A parser/graph compiler from BDEF into the generalized ECDFG design representation as well as a BDEF generator from the ECDFG data structures into the BDEF format have been implemented

Converting relational databases into object relational databases

This paper proposes an approach for migrating existing Relational DataBases (RDBs) into Object-Relational DataBases (ORDBs). The approach is superior to existing proposals as it can generate not only the target schema but also the data instances. The solution takes an existing RDB as input, enriches its metadata representation with required semantics, and generates an enhanced canonical data model, which captures essential characteristics of the target ORDB, and is suitable for migration. A prototype has been developed, which migrates successfully RDBs into ORDBs (Oracle 11g) based on the canonical model. The experimental results were very encouraging, demonstrating that the proposed approach is feasible, efficient and correct