On conditional belief functions in directed graphical models in the Dempster-Shafer theory

The primary goal is to define conditional belief functions in the Dempster-Shafer theory. We do so similarly to probability theory's notion of conditional probability tables. Conditional belief functions are necessary for constructing directed graphical belief function models in the same sense as conditional probability tables are necessary for constructing Bayesian networks. We provide examples of conditional belief functions, including those obtained by Smets' conditional embedding. Besides defining conditional belief functions, we state and prove a few basic properties of conditionals. In the belief-function literature, conditionals are defined starting from a joint belief function. Conditionals are then defined using the removal operator, an inverse of Dempster's combination operator. When such conditionals are well-defined belief functions, we show that our definition is equivalent to these definitions

Reasoning in evidential networks with conditional belief functions

AbstractIn the existing evidential networks applicable to belief functions, the relations among the variables are always represented by joint belief functions on the product space of the variables involved. In this paper, we use conditional belief functions to represent such relations in the network and show some relations between these two kinds of representations. We also present a propagation algorithm for such networks. By analyzing the properties of some special networks with conditional belief functions, called networks with partial dependency, we show that the computation for reasoning can be simplified

Decision-Making with Belief Functions: a Review

Approaches to decision-making under uncertainty in the belief function framework are reviewed. Most methods are shown to blend criteria for decision under ignorance with the maximum expected utility principle of Bayesian decision theory. A distinction is made between methods that construct a complete preference relation among acts, and those that allow incomparability of some acts due to lack of information. Methods developed in the imprecise probability framework are applicable in the Dempster-Shafer context and are also reviewed. Shafer's constructive decision theory, which substitutes the notion of goal for that of utility, is described and contrasted with other approaches. The paper ends by pointing out the need to carry out deeper investigation of fundamental issues related to decision-making with belief functions and to assess the descriptive, normative and prescriptive values of the different approaches

Structural Analysis of Audit Evidence Using Belief Functions

This article performs two types of analysis using Dempster-Shafer theory of belief functions for evidential reasoning. The first analysis deals with the impact of the structure of audit evidence on the overall belief at each variable in the network, variables being the account balance to be audited, the related transaction streams, and the associated audit objectives. The second analysis deals with the impact of the relationship (logical "and" and "algebraic relationship") among various variables in the network on the overall belief. For our first analysis, we change the evidential structure from a network to a tree and determine its impact

Representation of Interrelationships among Binary Variables under Dempster-Shafer Theory of Belief Functions

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Srivastava, R. P., L. Gao, and P. Gillett. " Representation of Interrelationships among Binary Variables under Dempster-Shafer Theory of Belief Functions" (pre-publication version), 2009, International Journal of Intelligent Systems, Volume 24 Issue 4, pp. 459 - 475, which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1002/int.20347. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.This paper presents an algorithm for developing models under Dempster-Shafer theory of belief functions for categorical and 'uncertain' logical relationships among binary variables. We illustrate the use of the algorithm by developing belief-function representations of the following categorical relationships: 'AND', 'OR', 'Exclusive OR (EOR)' and 'Not Exclusive OR (NEOR)', and 'AND-NEOR' and of the following uncertain relationships: 'Discounted AND', 'Conditional OR', and 'Weighted Average'. Such representations are needed to fully model and analyze a problem with a network of interrelated variables under Dempster-Shafer theory of belief functions. In addition, we compare our belief-function representation of the 'Weighted Average' relationship with the 'Weighted Average' representation developed and used by Shenoy and Shenoy8. We find that Shenoy and Shenoy representation of the weighted average relationship is an approximation and yields significantly different values under certain conditions