A psychometric modeling approach to fuzzy rating data

Modeling fuzziness and imprecision in human rating data is a crucial problem in many research areas, including applied statistics, behavioral, social, and health sciences. Because of the interplay between cognitive, affective, and contextual factors, the process of answering survey questions is a complex task, which can barely be captured by standard (crisp) rating responses. Fuzzy rating scales have progressively been adopted to overcome some of the limitations of standard rating scales, including their inability to disentangle decision uncertainty from individual responses. The aim of this article is to provide a novel fuzzy scaling procedure which uses Item Response Theory trees (IRTrees) as a psychometric model for the stage-wise latent response process. In so doing, fuzziness of rating data is modeled using the overall rater's pattern of responses instead of being computed using a single-item based approach. This offers a consistent system for interpreting fuzziness in terms of individual-based decision uncertainty. A simulation study and two empirical applications are adopted to assess the characteristics of the proposed model and provide converging results about its effectiveness in modeling fuzziness and imprecision in rating data

Modeling random and non-random decision uncertainty in ratings data: A fuzzy beta model

Modeling human ratings data subject to raters' decision uncertainty is an attractive problem in applied statistics. In view of the complex interplay between emotion and decision making in rating processes, final raters' choices seldom reflect the true underlying raters' responses. Rather, they are imprecisely observed in the sense that they are subject to a non-random component of uncertainty, namely the decision uncertainty. The purpose of this article is to illustrate a statistical approach to analyse ratings data which integrates both random and non-random components of the rating process. In particular, beta fuzzy numbers are used to model raters' non-random decision uncertainty and a variable dispersion beta linear model is instead adopted to model the random counterpart of rating responses. The main idea is to quantify characteristics of latent and non-fuzzy rating responses by means of random observations subject to fuzziness. To do so, a fuzzy version of the Expectation-Maximization algorithm is adopted to both estimate model's parameters and compute their standard errors. Finally, the characteristics of the proposed fuzzy beta model are investigated by means of a simulation study as well as two case studies from behavioral and social contexts.Comment: 24 pages, 0 figures, 5 table

Observations from Canadian practitioners about the investigation and prosecution of crimes involving child and adult witnesses

Hundreds of scientific studies on the competencies and limitations of eyewitnesses have been published, but few have sought input from front-line forensic interviewers. In the current study, a research agenda was established with in-depth input from 13 forensic interviewers. Interviewers indicated which techniques they use most often, rated the usefulness of various interview techniques, and disclosed common challenges when interviewing. Although many recommended techniques were used (e.g., the Cognitive Interview and Rapport Building), some techniques shown to be effective in eliciting quality testimony in scientific studies were not always used or considered useful by front-line interviewers (e.g., permission to correct the interviewer, permission to say ‘I don’t know’). Key areas were identified to guide future research (e.g., techniques when interviewing very young children, witnesses with developmental delays)

Search Results: Predicting Ranking Algorithms With User Ratings and User-Driven Data

The purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to examine the possible relationship between user-driven parameters, user ratings, and ranking algorithms. The study’s population consisted of students and faculty in the information technology (IT) field at a university in Huntington, WV. Arrow’s impossibility theorem was used as the theoretical framework for this study. Complete survey data were collected from 47 students and faculty members in the IT field, and a multiple regression analysis was used to measure the correlations between the variables. The model was able to explain 85% of the total variability in the ranking algorithm. The overall model was able to significantly predict the algorithm ranking discounted cumulative gain, R2 = .852, F(3,115) = 220.13, p \u3c .01. The Respondent DCG and Search term variables were the most significant predictor with p = .0001. The overall findings can potentially be useful to content providers who focus their content on a specific niche. The content created by these providers would most likely be focused entirely on that subgroup of interested users. While it is necessary to focus content to the interested users, it may be beneficial to expand the content to more generic terms to help reach potential new users outside of the subgroups of interest. User’s searching for more generic terms could potentially be exposed to more content that would generally require more specific search terms. This exposure with more generic terms could help users expand their knowledge of new content more quickly

Semantic transferability and prototypicality in Chinese and English: a study of the semantic acquisition of thin by Chinese learners of English

In the field of second language (L2) acquisition, researchers as well as L2 teachers have long been aware of the difference in lexical usage patterns and in the meaning ascribed to L2 words by native speakers and by L2 learners. It has been observed that L2 learners appear to use more words of general than of specific meaning, tend to both overextend and underextend word meanings, and often fail to respond to constraints of register and collocation. In the case of polysemous words, it is also found that L2 learners acquire some meanings but not others. Idioms and figurative language present great problems for L2 learners. All these facts seem to indicate there are constraints on L2 learners\u27 lexical acquisition. However, what these constraints are is not fully known

BUILDING TRUST FOR SERVICE ASSESSMENT IN INTERNET-ENABLED COLLABORATIVE PRODUCT DESIGN & REALIZATION ENVIRONMENTS

Reducing costs, increasing speed and leveraging the intelligence of partners involved during product design processes are important benefits of Internet-enabled collaborative product design and realization environments. The options for cost-effective product design, re-design or improvement are at their peak during the early stages of the design process and designers can collaborate with suppliers, manufacturers and other relevant contributors to acquire a better understanding of associated costs and product viability. Collaboration is by no means a new paradigm. However, companies have found distrust of collaborative partners to be the most intractable obstacle to collaborative commerce and Internet-enabled business especially in intellectual property environments, which handle propriety data on a constant basis. This problem is also reinforced in collaborative environments that are distributed in nature. Thus trust is the main driver or enabler of successful collaborative efforts or transactions in Internet-enabled product design environments. Focus is on analyzing the problem of ¡®trust for services¡¯ in distributed collaborative service provider assessment and selection, concentrating on characteristics specific to electronic product design (e-Design) environments. Current tools for such collaborative partner/provider assessment are inadequate or non-existent and researching network, user, communication and service trust problems, which hinder the growth and acceptance of true collaboration in product design, can foster new frontiers in manufacturing, business and technology. Trust and its associated issues within the context of a secure Internet-enabled product design & realization platform is a multifaceted and complex problem, which demands a strategic approach crossing disciplinary boundaries. A Design Environment Trust Service (DETS) framework is proposed to incorporate trust for services in product design environments based on client specified (or default) criteria. This involves the analysis of validated network (objective) data and non-network (subjective) data and the use of Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methodology for the selection of the most efficient service provision alternative through the minimization of distance from a specified ideal point and interpreted as a Dynamic (Design) Trust Index (DTI) or rank. Hence, the service requestor is provided with a quantifiable degree of belief to mitigate information asymmetry and enable knowledgeable decision-making regarding trustworthy service provision in a distributed environment

An Observation Framework for Recognising Learning Evidence in 3D Collaborative Virtual Environments

Immersive environments such as 3D virtual spaces enable collaborative learning and facilitate better connections between students, virtually. Learners do acquire new knowledge or skills while practising collaborative activities in such spaces. However, recognising evidence of learning to assess students is a critical issue which must be considered when organising learning activities in virtual environments. Although there is extensive coverage in the empirical literature regarding assessing learning in real-world classrooms, there is a lack of research focused on identifying learning evidence and assessing students who are performing educational activities within virtual worlds. This thesis aims to fill this research gap, exploit the affordances of immersive environments, and investigate appropriate methods for identifying users’ performance within these. This research proposes a computational framework, and a number of virtual observation models, for classifying learning evidence in immersive environments – and then maps all these elements to an appropriate learning design. In order to implement the computational framework required, the research includes the construction of a proof-of-concept prototype. The prototype employs virtual observation components and applies fuzzy logic and multi-agents approaches in order to assess students’ performance in real-time; this is from a number of different perspectives and based on multiple pedagogical frameworks. The present study also goes on to evaluate the research framework proposed by putting together a large number of educational sessions which are then carried out in a virtual world. These evaluation sessions involve both student and expert participants collaborating together to validate the model used. Subsequently, the thesis discusses the findings from the experimental sessions and their broader significance for the research area. Overall, the results strongly supported the effectiveness and usefulness of using the proposed virtual observation method when assessing collaborative students performing within immersive environments

Methodology for integrated multicriteria decision-making with uncertainty (MIMDU) for robust analysis. Case study about agricultural efficiency in Colombia

Selecting the best among different alternatives may require asking for experts’ opinions to weight key criteria and assess the alternatives. Their opinions can be: 1) hesitant, and 2) difficult to quantify on a numerical scale. The Methodology for Integrated Multicriteria Decision-making with Uncertainty (MIMDU) allows performing robust multicriteria analysis considering both factors of uncertainty. Fuzzy rating scales are integrated into the Compromise Ranking Method to finally rank alternatives based on a comparison of a crisp ranking (without uncertainty) and a fuzzy-based ranking (with uncertainty). The soundness of MIMDU is shown with an example case which highlights its capacity of precisely modelling uncertain opinions and assist decision-making. Finally, MIMDU is used to select the most sustainable technology to improve agriculture efficiency in rural underprivileged areas by means of a real small-scale farm in Colombia.Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No Contaminant::7.1 - Per a 2030, garantir l’accés universal a serveis d’energia assequibles, confiables i modernsObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No ContaminantObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No Contaminant::7.2 - Per a 2030, augmentar substancialment el percentatge d’energia renovable en el con­junt de fonts d’energiaObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No Contaminant::7.3 - Per a 2030, duplicar la taxa mundial de millora de l’eficiència energèticaPostprint (author's final draft