Fuzzy Logic

Fuzzy Logic is becoming an essential method of solving problems in all domains. It gives tremendous impact on the design of autonomous intelligent systems. The purpose of this book is to introduce Hybrid Algorithms, Techniques, and Implementations of Fuzzy Logic. The book consists of thirteen chapters highlighting models and principles of fuzzy logic and issues on its techniques and implementations. The intended readers of this book are engineers, researchers, and graduate students interested in fuzzy logic systems

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for people with dementia experiencing psychological distress

Introduction: People with dementia can experience a high level of psychological distress (Muliyala & Varghese, 2010; Badrakalimuthu & Tarbuck, 2012). Although psychological approaches have been proposed as potential treatments for this population (NICE, 2018), there is indication that older adults (Laidlaw, 2013) and people with dementia have reduced opportunities for psychological treatments designed to improve their wellbeing. An increasing number of studies have evidenced the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for anxiety, depression (Ӧst, 2014), distress in older adults (Gould et al., 2021; O’Keeffe et al., 2021) and illness-related distress (Mccracken & Gutiérrez-martínez, 2011). But, to date, no studies have investigated the effectiveness of ACT specifically for a dementia population, despite a conceptual case for its suitability, which is empirically supported by its use with parallel populations (other long-term and neurological conditions). Furthermore, no dementia studies involving therapeutic intervention have used a case series approach to explicitly examine change processes, integral for understanding and refining interventions. Therefore, the current research aims to investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of ACT for people with dementia. Methods: A hermeneutic single case efficacy design (HSCED) series was used to analyse therapy process and outcome data to ascertain whether and how changes may have occurred over the ACT intervention. Three clients with a diagnosis of dementia, who experienced psychological distress, and their caregivers were recruited from a National Health Service (NHS) Memory Assessment Service (MAS) in Nottinghamshire and the Dementia Research UK website. Clients were offered 12 sessions of ACT. Quantitative and qualitative clinical data was collated (‘rich case records’) and subject to critical analyses by three independent psychotherapy experts who identified change processes and determined the outcome for each client. Results: Adjudication concluded that one client made positive changes which were largely attributable to ACT, whilst two clients remained unchanged. Where change occurred, ACT-specific processes, namely values, committed action and acceptance, seemed to mediate change, alongside the client-carer relationship. Moderating factors included client willingness, resilience and perseverance, a history of values-based behaviour and established coping and hobbies. Discussion/Conclusion: The HSCED enabled a dismantling of therapy components to understand change processes for people with dementia. For the client who demonstrated change, ACT processes and a strong working alliance between client and carer, in combination with existing client interests and individualised therapy adaptations, appeared to provide the setting in which an ACT intervention was effective. Reliable distress reduction occurred for this client without therapeutic aims to change their distressing thoughts, which has important theoretical implications for understanding the use of acceptance-based approaches for people with dementia. ACT may be a feasible, effective vehicle for therapeutic change by helping carers to better meet the needs of their loved ones. Based on the outcomes of the current study (one improved case and two cases of no change), future research to optimise ACT delivery in this population may be beneficial. Furthermore, to explore whether change processes occur by proxy, assessing carer factors (e.g., their psychological flexibility, the client-carer relationship) may enhance the evidence-base for systemic ACT-use

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for people with dementia experiencing psychological distress

Introduction: People with dementia can experience a high level of psychological distress (Muliyala & Varghese, 2010; Badrakalimuthu & Tarbuck, 2012). Although psychological approaches have been proposed as potential treatments for this population (NICE, 2018), there is indication that older adults (Laidlaw, 2013) and people with dementia have reduced opportunities for psychological treatments designed to improve their wellbeing. An increasing number of studies have evidenced the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for anxiety, depression (Ӧst, 2014), distress in older adults (Gould et al., 2021; O’Keeffe et al., 2021) and illness-related distress (Mccracken & Gutiérrez-martínez, 2011). But, to date, no studies have investigated the effectiveness of ACT specifically for a dementia population, despite a conceptual case for its suitability, which is empirically supported by its use with parallel populations (other long-term and neurological conditions). Furthermore, no dementia studies involving therapeutic intervention have used a case series approach to explicitly examine change processes, integral for understanding and refining interventions. Therefore, the current research aims to investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of ACT for people with dementia. Methods: A hermeneutic single case efficacy design (HSCED) series was used to analyse therapy process and outcome data to ascertain whether and how changes may have occurred over the ACT intervention. Three clients with a diagnosis of dementia, who experienced psychological distress, and their caregivers were recruited from a National Health Service (NHS) Memory Assessment Service (MAS) in Nottinghamshire and the Dementia Research UK website. Clients were offered 12 sessions of ACT. Quantitative and qualitative clinical data was collated (‘rich case records’) and subject to critical analyses by three independent psychotherapy experts who identified change processes and determined the outcome for each client. Results: Adjudication concluded that one client made positive changes which were largely attributable to ACT, whilst two clients remained unchanged. Where change occurred, ACT-specific processes, namely values, committed action and acceptance, seemed to mediate change, alongside the client-carer relationship. Moderating factors included client willingness, resilience and perseverance, a history of values-based behaviour and established coping and hobbies. Discussion/Conclusion: The HSCED enabled a dismantling of therapy components to understand change processes for people with dementia. For the client who demonstrated change, ACT processes and a strong working alliance between client and carer, in combination with existing client interests and individualised therapy adaptations, appeared to provide the setting in which an ACT intervention was effective. Reliable distress reduction occurred for this client without therapeutic aims to change their distressing thoughts, which has important theoretical implications for understanding the use of acceptance-based approaches for people with dementia. ACT may be a feasible, effective vehicle for therapeutic change by helping carers to better meet the needs of their loved ones. Based on the outcomes of the current study (one improved case and two cases of no change), future research to optimise ACT delivery in this population may be beneficial. Furthermore, to explore whether change processes occur by proxy, assessing carer factors (e.g., their psychological flexibility, the client-carer relationship) may enhance the evidence-base for systemic ACT-use

A Pattern Approach to Examine the Design Space of Spatiotemporal Visualization

Pattern language has been widely used in the development of visualization systems. This dissertation applies a pattern language approach to explore the design space of spatiotemporal visualization. The study provides a framework for both designers and novices to communicate, develop, evaluate, and share spatiotemporal visualization design on an abstract level. The touchstone of the work is a pattern language consisting of fifteen design patterns and four categories. In order to validate the design patterns, the researcher created two visualization systems with this framework in mind. The first system displayed the daily routine of human beings via a polygon-based visualization. The second system showed the spatiotemporal patterns of co-occurring hashtags with a spiral map, sunburst diagram, and small multiples. The evaluation results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed design patterns to guide design thinking and create novel visualization practices

Proceedings of the 21st Conference on Formal Methods in Computer-Aided Design – FMCAD 2021

The Conference on Formal Methods in Computer-Aided Design (FMCAD) is an annual conference on the theory and applications of formal methods in hardware and system verification. FMCAD provides a leading forum to researchers in academia and industry for presenting and discussing groundbreaking methods, technologies, theoretical results, and tools for reasoning formally about computing systems. FMCAD covers formal aspects of computer-aided system design including verification, specification, synthesis, and testing

Resolution-based decision procedures for subclasses of first-order logic

This thesis studies decidable fragments of first-order logic which are relevant to the field of nonclassical logic and knowledge representation. We show that refinements of resolution based on suitable liftable orderings provide decision procedures for the subclasses E+, K, and DK of first-order logic. By the use of semantics-based translation methods we can embed the description logic ALB and extensions of the basic modal logic K into fragments of first-order logic. We describe various decision procedures based on ordering refinements and selection functions for these fragments and show that a polynomial simulation of tableaux-based decision procedures for these logics is possible. In the final part of the thesis we develop a benchmark suite and perform an empirical analysis of various modal theorem provers.Diese Arbeit untersucht entscheidbare Fragmente der Logik erster Stufe, die mit nicht-klassischen Logiken und Wissensrepräsentationsformalismen im Zusammenhang stehen. Wir zeigen, daß Entscheidungsverfahren für die Teilklassen E+, K, und DK der Logik erster Stufe unter Verwendung von Resolution eingeschränkt durch geeignete liftbare Ordnungen realisiert werden können. Durch Anwendung von semantikbasierten Übersetzungsverfahren lassen sich die Beschreibungslogik ALB und Erweiterungen der Basismodallogik K in Teilklassen der Logik erster Stufe einbetten. Wir stellen eine Reihe von Entscheidungsverfahren auf der Basis von Resolution eingeschränkt durch liftbare Ordnungen und Selektionsfunktionen für diese Logiken vor und zeigen, daß eine polynomielle Simulation von tableaux-basierten Entscheidungsverfahren für diese Logiken möglich ist. Im abschließenden Teil der Arbeit führen wir eine empirische Untersuchung der Performanz verschiedener modallogischer Theorembeweiser durch