On the Intuition of Rank-Dependent Utility

Among the most popular models for decision under risk and uncertainty are the rank-dependent models, introduced by Quiggin and Schmeidler.Central concepts in these models are rank-dependence and comonotonicity.It has been suggested in the literature that these concepts are technical tools that have no intuitive or empirical content.This paper describes such contents.As a result, rank-dependence and comonotonicity become natural concepts upon which preference conditions, empirical tests, and improvements for utility measurement can be based.Further, a new derivation of the rank-dependent models is obtained.It is not based on observable preference axioms or on empirical data, but naturally follows from the intuitive perspective assumed.We think that the popularity of the rank-dependent theories is mainly due to the natural concepts adopted in these theories.rank-dependence;comonotonicity;Choquet integral;pessimism;uncertainty aversion;prospect theory

The Guppy Effect as Interference

People use conjunctions and disjunctions of concepts in ways that violate the rules of classical logic, such as the law of compositionality. Specifically, they overextend conjunctions of concepts, a phenomenon referred to as the Guppy Effect. We build on previous efforts to develop a quantum model that explains the Guppy Effect in terms of interference. Using a well-studied data set with 16 exemplars that exhibit the Guppy Effect, we developed a 17-dimensional complex Hilbert space H that models the data and demonstrates the relationship between overextension and interference. We view the interference effect as, not a logical fallacy on the conjunction, but a signal that out of the two constituent concepts, a new concept has emerged.Comment: 10 page

Discovering qualitative empirical laws

In this paper we describe GLAUBER, an AI system that models the scientific discovery of qualitative empirical laws. We have tested the system on data from the history of early chemistry, and it has rediscovered such concepts as acids, alkalis, and salts, as well as laws relating these concepts. After discussing GLAUBER we examine the program's relation to other discovery systems, particularly methods for conceptual clustering and language acquisition

Causality and the semantics of provenance

Provenance, or information about the sources, derivation, custody or history of data, has been studied recently in a number of contexts, including databases, scientific workflows and the Semantic Web. Many provenance mechanisms have been developed, motivated by informal notions such as influence, dependence, explanation and causality. However, there has been little study of whether these mechanisms formally satisfy appropriate policies or even how to formalize relevant motivating concepts such as causality. We contend that mathematical models of these concepts are needed to justify and compare provenance techniques. In this paper we review a theory of causality based on structural models that has been developed in artificial intelligence, and describe work in progress on a causal semantics for provenance graphs.Comment: Workshop submissio

Review Essay: Basil Bernstein (1996). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity

This paper reviews Basil Bernstein’s (1996) book Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity, focussing specifically on the usefulness of Bernstein’s concepts for an analysis of curricular justice in schooling. The review details five concepts from Bernstein’s model and demonstrates the relevance of these to analyses of equity policies and curricular justice in Queensland schools. These five concepts include: (1) classification and framing; (2) instructional and regulative discourse; (3) recontextualisation; (4) micro-politics of curricular justice and (5) pedagogic models. The paper also links theory to empirical data demonstrating how the Bernsteinian theoretical corpus is illustrative of adaptive theory – simultaneously cumulative and evolving, macro and micro, deductive and inductive