Advances and Applications of Dezert-Smarandache Theory (DSmT) for Information Fusion (Collected Works), Vol. 4

The fourth volume on Advances and Applications of Dezert-Smarandache Theory (DSmT) for information fusion collects theoretical and applied contributions of researchers working in different fields of applications and in mathematics. The contributions (see List of Articles published in this book, at the end of the volume) have been published or presented after disseminating the third volume (2009, http://fs.unm.edu/DSmT-book3.pdf) in international conferences, seminars, workshops and journals. First Part of this book presents the theoretical advancement of DSmT, dealing with Belief functions, conditioning and deconditioning, Analytic Hierarchy Process, Decision Making, Multi-Criteria, evidence theory, combination rule, evidence distance, conflicting belief, sources of evidences with different importance and reliabilities, importance of sources, pignistic probability transformation, Qualitative reasoning under uncertainty, Imprecise belief structures, 2-Tuple linguistic label, Electre Tri Method, hierarchical proportional redistribution, basic belief assignment, subjective probability measure, Smarandache codification, neutrosophic logic, Evidence theory, outranking methods, Dempster-Shafer Theory, Bayes fusion rule, frequentist probability, mean square error, controlling factor, optimal assignment solution, data association, Transferable Belief Model, and others. More applications of DSmT have emerged in the past years since the apparition of the third book of DSmT 2009. Subsequently, the second part of this volume is about applications of DSmT in correlation with Electronic Support Measures, belief function, sensor networks, Ground Moving Target and Multiple target tracking, Vehicle-Born Improvised Explosive Device, Belief Interacting Multiple Model filter, seismic and acoustic sensor, Support Vector Machines, Alarm classification, ability of human visual system, Uncertainty Representation and Reasoning Evaluation Framework, Threat Assessment, Handwritten Signature Verification, Automatic Aircraft Recognition, Dynamic Data-Driven Application System, adjustment of secure communication trust analysis, and so on. Finally, the third part presents a List of References related with DSmT published or presented along the years since its inception in 2004, chronologically ordered

Proceedings of the Fifth European Workshop on Probabilistic Graphical Models

Peer reviewe

Knowledge Acquisition Analytical Games: games for cognitive systems design

Knowledge discovery from data and knowledge acquisition from experts are steps of paramount importance when designing cognitive systems. The literature discusses extensively on the issues related to current knowledge acquisition techniques. In this doctoral work we explore the use of gaming approaches as a knowledge acquisition tools, capitalising on aspects such as engagement, ease of use and ability to access tacit knowledge. More specifically, we explore the use of analytical games for this purpose. Analytical game for decision making is not a new class of games, but rather a set of platform independent simulation games, designed not for entertainment, whose main purpose is research on decision-making, either in its complete dynamic cycle or a portion of it (i.e. Situational Awareness). Moreover, the work focuses on the use of analytical games as knowledge acquisition tools. To this end, the Knowledge Acquisition Analytical Game (K2AG) method is introduced. K2AG is an innovative game framework for supporting the knowledge acquisition task. The framework introduced in this doctoral work was born as a generalisation of the Reliability Game, which on turn was inspired by the Risk Game. More specifically, K2AGs aim at collecting information and knowledge to be used in the design of cognitive systems and their algorithms. The two main aspects that characterise those games are the use of knowledge cards to render information and meta-information to the players and the use of an innovative data gathering method that takes advantage of geometrical features of simple shapes (e.g. a triangle) to easily collect players\u2019 beliefs. These beliefs can be mapped to subjective probabilities or masses (in evidence theory framework) and used for algorithm design purposes. However, K2AGs might use also different means of conveying information to the players and to collect data. Part of the work has been devoted to a detailed articulation of the design cycle of K2AGs. More specifically, van der Zee\u2019s simulation gaming design framework has been extended in order to account for the fact that the design cycle steps should be modified to include the different kinds of models that characterise the design of simulation games and simulations in general, namely a conceptual model (platform independent), a design model (platform independent) and one or more implementation models (platform dependent). In addition, the processes that lead from one model to the other have been mapped to design phases of analytical wargaming. Aspects of game validation and player experience evaluation have been addressed in this work. Therefore, based on the literature a set of validation criteria for K2AG has been proposed and a player experience questionnaire for K2AGs has been developed. This questionnaire extends work proposed in the literature, but a validation has not been possible at the time of writing. Finally, two instantiations of the K2AG framework, namely the Reliability Game and the MARISA Game, have been designed and analysed in details to validate the approach and show its potentialities

Women in Artificial intelligence (AI)

This Special Issue, entitled "Women in Artificial Intelligence" includes 17 papers from leading women scientists. The papers cover a broad scope of research areas within Artificial Intelligence, including machine learning, perception, reasoning or planning, among others. The papers have applications to relevant fields, such as human health, finance, or education. It is worth noting that the Issue includes three papers that deal with different aspects of gender bias in Artificial Intelligence. All the papers have a woman as the first author. We can proudly say that these women are from countries worldwide, such as France, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Australia, Bangladesh, Yemen, Romania, India, Cuba, Bangladesh and Spain. In conclusion, apart from its intrinsic scientific value as a Special Issue, combining interesting research works, this Special Issue intends to increase the invisibility of women in AI, showing where they are, what they do, and how they contribute to developments in Artificial Intelligence from their different places, positions, research branches and application fields. We planned to issue this book on the on Ada Lovelace Day (11/10/2022), a date internationally dedicated to the first computer programmer, a woman who had to fight the gender difficulties of her times, in the XIX century. We also thank the publisher for making this possible, thus allowing for this book to become a part of the international activities dedicated to celebrating the value of women in ICT all over the world. With this book, we want to pay homage to all the women that contributed over the years to the field of AI

Advances and Applications of DSmT for Information Fusion. Collected Works, Volume 5

This fifth volume on Advances and Applications of DSmT for Information Fusion collects theoretical and applied contributions of researchers working in different fields of applications and in mathematics, and is available in open-access. The collected contributions of this volume have either been published or presented after disseminating the fourth volume in 2015 in international conferences, seminars, workshops and journals, or they are new. The contributions of each part of this volume are chronologically ordered. First Part of this book presents some theoretical advances on DSmT, dealing mainly with modified Proportional Conflict Redistribution Rules (PCR) of combination with degree of intersection, coarsening techniques, interval calculus for PCR thanks to set inversion via interval analysis (SIVIA), rough set classifiers, canonical decomposition of dichotomous belief functions, fast PCR fusion, fast inter-criteria analysis with PCR, and improved PCR5 and PCR6 rules preserving the (quasi-)neutrality of (quasi-)vacuous belief assignment in the fusion of sources of evidence with their Matlab codes. Because more applications of DSmT have emerged in the past years since the apparition of the fourth book of DSmT in 2015, the second part of this volume is about selected applications of DSmT mainly in building change detection, object recognition, quality of data association in tracking, perception in robotics, risk assessment for torrent protection and multi-criteria decision-making, multi-modal image fusion, coarsening techniques, recommender system, levee characterization and assessment, human heading perception, trust assessment, robotics, biometrics, failure detection, GPS systems, inter-criteria analysis, group decision, human activity recognition, storm prediction, data association for autonomous vehicles, identification of maritime vessels, fusion of support vector machines (SVM), Silx-Furtif RUST code library for information fusion including PCR rules, and network for ship classification. Finally, the third part presents interesting contributions related to belief functions in general published or presented along the years since 2015. These contributions are related with decision-making under uncertainty, belief approximations, probability transformations, new distances between belief functions, non-classical multi-criteria decision-making problems with belief functions, generalization of Bayes theorem, image processing, data association, entropy and cross-entropy measures, fuzzy evidence numbers, negator of belief mass, human activity recognition, information fusion for breast cancer therapy, imbalanced data classification, and hybrid techniques mixing deep learning with belief functions as well

Queer Spiritual Spaces

Drawn from extensive, new and rich empirical research across the UK, Canada and USA, Queer Spiritual Spaces investigates the contemporary socio-cultural practices of belief, by those who have historically been, and continue to be, excluded or derided by mainstream religions and alternative spiritualities. As the first monograph to be directly informed by 'queer' subjectivities whilst dealing with divergent spiritualities on an international scale, this book explores the recently emerging innovative spaces and integrative practices of queer spiritualities. Its breadth of coverage and keen critical engagement mean it will serve as a theoretically fertile, comprehensive entry point for any scholar wishing to explore the queer spiritual spaces of the twenty-first century

Redemption and Recovery: An Ethnographic Comparison of Two Drug Rehabilitation Programs, a Faith Community and a Therapeutic Community

This ethnography of long-term residential programs for drug users compares a therapeutic community (TC) with an evangelical Christian training program. Using participant observation and life history interviews, it pursues three themes. The first is comparative and descriptive. It poses a basic similarity between the ideologically disparate programs. Parallels in program process and personal experience of identity transformation (conversion) are described. Despite the religious/secular divide, important similarities in anthropological assumptions are also identified. Contrary to earlier research, the singularity of the clientele is demonstrated. Other parallels include the ritual function of prayer and encounter, the centrality of selective biographical reconstruction, and the uses of vocabularies of motive. These comparisons suggest that any significant difference between the TC treatment and discipleship training will be largely rhetorical. Both programs employ analogous social and psychological methods, but construct their meanings differently. One uses a supernatural rationale; the other, a scientific one. This leaves the TC open to criticism for employing science ideologically to mask its (latent) social control and moral re-education functions, not unlike the faith community. This is further bolstered by a descriptive analysis of the TC\u27s use of an exclusivistic religious outlook to re-socialize residents. A second comparative theme is the role of the doctrine of abstinence as both method and goal. It is suggested that this is a reflection of both regimes\u27 grounding in earlier movements for moral reform: temperance, revivalism, perfectionist utopianism, and the inebriate asylum\u27s moral treatment. The centrality of this zero tolerance rhetoric suggests the TC is no alternative to the drug war, but a player in the prohibitionist regime. The treatment industry\u27s abstinence-based monopoly impedes reliable alternative approaches, e.g., Harm Reduction. This further casts the TC as an ideological movement rather than a genuine medical or scientific treatment. The concluding theme compares the effectiveness of the modalities. Using a quasi-statistical analysis, similar completion rates (ca. 10%) are demonstrated in strict program terms, i.e., abstinence. That abstinence is not the industry\u27s standard of evaluation for its more sanguine conclusions poses another ideological obfuscation. The claim that treatment works is considered the practical equivalent of the slogan Jesus Saves