Dominance Measuring Method Performance under Incomplete Information about Weights.

In multi-attribute utility theory, it is often not easy to elicit precise values for the scaling weights representing the relative importance of criteria. A very widespread approach is to gather incomplete information. A recent approach for dealing with such situations is to use information about each alternative?s intensity of dominance, known as dominance measuring methods. Different dominancemeasuring methods have been proposed, and simulation studies have been carried out to compare these methods with each other and with other approaches but only when ordinal information about weights is available. In this paper, we useMonte Carlo simulation techniques to analyse the performance of and adapt such methods to deal with weight intervals, weights fitting independent normal probability distributions orweights represented by fuzzy numbers.Moreover, dominance measuringmethod performance is also compared with a widely used methodology dealing with incomplete information on weights, the stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis (SMAA). SMAA is based on exploring the weight space to describe the evaluations that would make each alternative the preferred one

The utility of knowledge in inductive learning

In this paper, we demonstrate how different forms of background knowledge can be integrated with an inductive method for generating constant-free Horn clause rules. Furthermore, we evaluate, both theoretically and empirically, the effect that these types of knowledge have on the cost of learning a rule and on the accuracy of a learned rule. Moreover, we demonstrate that a hybrid explanation-based and inductive learning method can advantageously use an approximate domain theory, even when this theory is incorrect and incomplete

Efficient schemes on solving fractional integro-differential equations

Fractional integro-differential equation (FIDE) emerges in various modelling of physical phenomena. In most cases, finding the exact analytical solution for FIDE is difficult or not possible. Hence, the methods producing highly accurate numerical solution in efficient ways are often sought after. This research has designed some methods to find the approximate solution of FIDE. The analytical expression of Genocchi polynomial operational matrix for left-sided and right-sided Caputo’s derivative and kernel matrix has been derived. Linear independence of Genocchi polynomials has been proved by deriving the expression for Genocchi polynomial Gram determinant. Genocchi polynomial method with collocation has been introduced and applied in solving both linear and system of linear FIDE. The numerical results of solving linear FIDE by Genocchi polynomial are compared with certain existing methods. The analytical expression of Bernoulli polynomial operational matrix of right-sided Caputo’s fractional derivative and the Bernoulli expansion coefficient for a two-variable function is derived. Linear FIDE with mixed left and right-sided Caputo’s derivative is first considered and solved by applying the Bernoulli polynomial with spectral-tau method. Numerical results obtained show that the method proposed achieves very high accuracy. The upper bounds for th

Reduction of Behavioural Food Risks: An Analysis of Economic Incentives and Social Context Factors in the German Poultry Chains

This paper describes an interdisciplinary research project carried out on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture. The project combines the knowledge of food experts with decision-orientated approaches from microeconomics and the social sciences. It examines what it is that makes food business operators (from the feed industry to the retail trade) break (or not break) rules. Through the analysis of both economic incentives and social context factors, the project aims at contributing to an adequate design of prevention measures. Four offence-prone regulations identified in the course of the ongoing project are exemplarily examined with regard to the present incentive situation.asymmetric information, moral hazard, opportunistic malpractice, poultry, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Towards the implementation of a preference-and uncertain-aware solver using answer set programming

Logic programs with possibilistic ordered disjunction (or LPPODs) are a recently defined logic-programming framework based on logic programs with ordered disjunction and possibilistic logic. The framework inherits the properties of such formalisms and merging them, it supports a reasoning which is nonmonotonic, preference-and uncertain-aware. The LPPODs syntax allows to specify 1) preferences in a qualitative way, and 2) necessity values about the certainty of program clauses. As a result at semantic level, preferences and necessity values can be used to specify an order among program solutions. This class of program therefore fits well in the representation of decision problems where a best option has to be chosen taking into account both preferences and necessity measures about information. In this paper we study the computation and the complexity of the LPPODs semantics and we describe the algorithm for its implementation following on Answer Set Programming approach. We describe some decision scenarios where the solver can be used to choose the best solutions by checking whether an outcome is possibilistically preferred over another considering preferences and uncertainty at the same time.Postprint (published version

Putting Into Practice the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries

This document is an abridged version of the FAO Fisheries Technical Guidelines No. 4, Suppl. 2, entitled Fisheries management. 2. The ecosystem approach to fisheries. It is intended to provide a more concise and less technical outline of the purpose and meaning of the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) and guidance as to how to implement the approach. Although the principles of an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) are not new, there is very little practical experience in their implementation. Translating high-level policy goals on EAF into operational objectives and actions is now the key challenge to sustainable fisheries.This booklet provides an overview of EAF, for marine capture fisheries, and its benefits. It considers what is required to implement EAF and the range of management measures available. It provides an overview of the management process, outlines any outstanding research requirements, and lists the main threats to the implementation of EAF