Constraint-wish and satisfied-dissatisfied: an overview of two approaches for dealing with bipolar querying

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in dealing with user preferences in flexible database querying, expressing both positive and negative information in a heterogeneous way. This is what is usually referred to as bipolar database querying. Different frameworks have been introduced to deal with such bipolarity. In this chapter, an overview of two approaches is given. The first approach is based on mandatory and desired requirements. Hereby the complement of a mandatory requirement can be considered as a specification of what is not desired at all. So, mandatory requirements indirectly contribute to negative information (expressing what the user does not want to retrieve), whereas desired requirements can be seen as positive information (expressing what the user prefers to retrieve). The second approach is directly based on positive requirements (expressing what the user wants to retrieve), and negative requirements (expressing what the user does not want to retrieve). Both approaches use pairs of satisfaction degrees as the underlying framework but have different semantics, and thus also different operators for criteria evaluation, ranking, aggregation, etc

Bipolar SQLf: a Flexible Querying Language for Relational Databases

International audienceFlexible querying of information systems allows expressing complex preferences in user queries. Such preferences can be modeled by fuzzy bipolar conditions which are made of constraints c and wishes w and interpreted as "to satisfy c and if possible to satisfy w".We de ne in this article the main elements of the Bipolar SQLf language, which is an SQL-like querying language based on a bipolar relational algebra. This language is an extension of the SQLf language. Basic statements (projection, selection, etc.) are firstly defined in terms of syntax, evaluation and calibration. Then, complex statements, such as bipolar queries based on nesting operators are studied in terms of expression, evaluation, query equivalence and backward compatibility with the SQLf language

The you turn

This introductory paper sets out a framework for approaching some of the claims about the second person made by the papers collected in the special edition of Philosophical Explorations on The Second Person (2014, 17:3). It does so by putting centre stage the notion of a ‘bipolar second person relation’, and examining ways of giving it substance suggested by the authors of these papers. In particular, it focuses on claims made (and denied) in these papers (a) about the existence and/or nature of second person thought, second person reasons for action and second person reasons for belief and (b) about possible connections among thought-theoretical, ethical and epistemological issues and debates in this area

Bipolarity and multipolarity in aggregation structures

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On various forms of bipolarity in flexible querying

International audienceThe paper discusses the modeling of “if possible" in requirements of the form “A and if possible B". We distinguish between two types of understanding: either i) A and B are requirements of the same nature and are viewed as constraints with different levels of priority, or ii) they are of different nature (only A induces constraint(s) and B is only used for breaking ties among items that are equally satisfying A). We indicate that the two views are related to different types of bipolarity, and discuss them in relation with possibilistic logic. The disjunctive dual of the first view (“A or at least B") is then presented in this logical setting. We also briefly mention the idea of an extension of the second view where B may refer both to bonus conditions or malus conditions that may increase or decrease respectively the interest in an item satisfying A

Relationship Competency: An Exploration of Training and Relationship Assessment in an APA Doctoral Program

Relational competency is regarded as foundational to doctoral psychology training (Mangione & Nadkarni, 2010), yet defining this competency has proven to be an arduous and nebulous task. The connection between relationship competency and strong therapeutic alliance, combined with the lack of knowledge and research around effective assessment and training of the nontangible relational attitudes, knowledge, and skills begs for more research on the implementation of this competency. The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between student therapists’ technique and relational characteristics and therapeutic alliance outcome during 10 therapy sessions. Participants were 24 first year doctoral students in an APA-accredited doctoral program in clinical psychology. A Q-sort method was used to evaluate the students’ therapeutic approach in working with undergraduate pseudo-clients. The Q-sort results were then factor analyzed, resulting in four distinct therapeutic process variables. Scores on these process variables were then used to explore which therapy techniques or characteristics contribute most to therapeutic alliance, which is indicative of relationship competency. Therapists who were rated higher on relational based factors did not show stronger therapeutic alliance or better therapeutic outcome than those rated higher on technical based factors. The only therapist characteristic found in this study that is shown to impact therapy outcome is the area of therapist intelligence. Nuanced secondary findings between therapist factors and therapy alliance were found and implications for future research are discusse

The end of the ‘new world order’? security governance and US imperialism after 9/11

The concept of global governance has emerged as a key theoretical approach since the 1990s. Applied to the transformation of international security, it has suggested a shift from the state-dominated bipolar system of the Cold War era to a new multipolar and multilateral security architecture in which state, non-state and international actors collaborate in the making and implementation of security policies. Then came September 11, 2001 and the war in Iraq. Today we appear to be more likely to discuss the nature of American hegemony and the stability of a unipolar international system. Observing the clash between these two competing perspectives of international security, the aims of this paper are threefold. First, this paper seeks to examine the respective theoretical assumptions underlying the concepts of hegemony and governance. Second, it examines the competing hypotheses proposed by these two theories with regard to international security. Third, it discusses in how far the empirical evidence since September 11, can be taken as indication of either a hegemonic strategy by the United States and balancing or bandwagoning behaviour by other major powers, or the continuation of security governance

American hegemony or global governance? Competing visions of international security

An overview is given of two competing visions of contemporary international security: United States hegemony and security governance. According to these perspectives, the current generation is either witnessing the return to classical balance-of-power politics, in which the US as the sole surviving superpower can impose hegemonic or imperialist policies upon other nations, or the continuation of a new era of security governance that began after the end of the Cold War. To better understand these two visions, an attempt is made to clarify the concepts of hegemony and security governance and the hypotheses linked to these two approaches. Specifically, it is illustrated why the policies of the US since September 11 might not only be perceived as hegemonic, but also as imperialist within the context of neorealist theorizing

A critique of Tractarian semantics

This is a critique of the principal claims made within Ludwig Wittgenstein\u27s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. It traces the development of his thought from the time he dictated the pre-Tractarian Notes on Logic to Russell up until about 1932 when he began work on the Philosophical Grammar. The influence exercised upon him by Frege, Russell and Moore are considered at length. Chapter one examines Moore\u27s relational theory of judgment which Wittgenstein apparently accepted upon his arrival at Cambridge in 1911. From Moore Wittgenstein would inherit one of the fundamental metaphysical theses of the Tractatus, namely, that the world consists of facts rather than things. Wittgenstein\u27s attempt to overcome the relational theory\u27s inability to account for falsehood, negation, and the possibility of truly ascribing false beliefs to others would herald some of the principal theses of Tractarian semantics: that propositional signs must exhibit bipolarity, that a distinction must be drawn between Sinn and Bedeutung, and that a distinction holds between what can be said and what can only be shown. Chapter Two examines how these theses are sharpened by considering the influence of Frege and the manner in which Wittgenstein disposes of Russell\u27s Paradox. considerable attention is given to the issue of whether Frege is to be interpreted as a semantic Platonist. It is argued that he is not, and that Tractarian semantics shores up the problematic features of Frege\u27s philosophy which make it susceptible to the paradox. From Frege Wittgenstein derives the idea that all representation requires a structured medium. The chapter concludes by considering how this entails the falsehood of semantic Platonism. Chapter Three studies Wittgenstein\u27s argument for logical atomism and gives it a favorable assessment. The influence of Russell\u27s conception of logical analysis is considered. The chapter concludes by showing the way Wittgenstein\u27s thesis that there must be simple subsistent objects depends upon the truth of his Grundgedanke, i.e., the claim that the logical constants are not referring terms. Chapter Four examines the argument for the Grundgedanke, and defends it against criticism based upon phenomenological considerations for objectifying negativity. It is demonstrated that Wittgenstein\u27s view entails that a distinction must be drawn between propositions possessing sense and those that are senseless but no less a part of our language. Chapter Five examines Wittgenstein\u27s claim that the essence of a proposition consists in a propositional sign\u27s projective relation to the world, and it considers the Tractarian analysis of propositional attitude ascriptions. It is argued that the analysis of these sorts of sentences forms the principal problem with the Tractatus. The chapter includes a discussion of why the Color Exclusion Problem need not be considered problematic for the author of the Tractatus, and it defends the realistic interpretation given of the Tractatus throughout the dissertation against criticisms arising from a consideration of Wittgenstein\u27s remarks on solipsism

Testing a global city hypothesis : an assessment of polarization across US cities

Social polarization is perhaps most evident within the world's large cities where we can easily observe stark contrasts between wealth and poverty. A world city theoretical perspective has emerged that associates large cities importance in a global network of cities to the degree of internal polarization within these cities. The research reported here locates 57 large US cities within this world city hierarchy and then empirically examines the hypothesized positive association between global centrality and social polarization using a multivariate, cross-city analysis. The findings are mixed, with some evidence that global centrality increases income polarization, but only in the context of higher levels of immigration. There is no evidence that a city's centrality affects occupational polarization. We conclude by suggesting implications for the world city literature and future research