An Introduction to Randomization in Computational Geometry.

International audienceThis paper is not a complete survey on randomized algorithms in computational geometry, but an introduction to this subject providing intuitions and references. In a first time, some basic ideas are illustrated by the sorting problem, and in a second time few results on computational geometry are briefly explained

Union and split operations on dynamic trapezoidal maps☆☆This work was partially supported by ESPRIT Basic Research Action r. 7141 (ALCOM II). A preliminary version appeared as [22].

AbstractWe propose algorithms to perform two new operations on an arrangement of line segments in the plane, represented by a trapezoidal map: the split of the map along a given vertical line D, and the union of two trapezoidal maps computed in two vertical slabs of the plane that are adjacent through a vertical line D. The data structure we use is a modified Influence Graph, still allowing dynamic insertions and deletions of line segments in the map. The algorithms for both operations run in O(sD logn+log2n) time, where n is the number of line segments in the map, and sD is the number of line segments intersected by D

A canonical theory of dynamic decision-making

Decision-making behavior is studied in many very different fields, from medicine and eco- nomics to psychology and neuroscience, with major contributions from mathematics and statistics, computer science, AI, and other technical disciplines. However the conceptual- ization of what decision-making is and methods for studying it vary greatly and this has resulted in fragmentation of the field. A theory that can accommodate various perspectives may facilitate interdisciplinary working. We present such a theory in which decision-making is articulated as a set of canonical functions that are sufficiently general to accommodate diverse viewpoints, yet sufficiently precise that they can be instantiated in different ways for specific theoretical or practical purposes. The canons cover the whole decision cycle, from the framing of a decision based on the goals, beliefs, and background knowledge of the decision-maker to the formulation of decision options, establishing preferences over them, and making commitments. Commitments can lead to the initiation of new decisions and any step in the cycle can incorporate reasoning about previous decisions and the rationales for them, and lead to revising or abandoning existing commitments. The theory situates decision-making with respect to other high-level cognitive capabilities like problem solving, planning, and collaborative decision-making. The canonical approach is assessed in three domains: cognitive and neuropsychology, artificial intelligence, and decision engineering

Pets that learn

Thesis (M.S.V.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1989.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-43).by William H. Coderre.M.S.V.S

Apperceptive patterning: Artefaction, extensional beliefs and cognitive scaffolding

In “Psychopower and Ordinary Madness” my ambition, as it relates to Bernard Stiegler’s recent literature, was twofold: 1) critiquing Stiegler’s work on exosomatization and artefactual posthumanism—or, more specifically, nonhumanism—to problematize approaches to media archaeology that rely upon technical exteriorization; 2) challenging how Stiegler engages with Giuseppe Longo and Francis Bailly’s conception of negative entropy. These efforts were directed by a prevalent techno-cultural qualifier: the rise of Synthetic Intelligence (including neural nets, deep learning, predictive processing and Bayesian models of cognition). This paper continues this project but first directs a critical analytic lens at the Derridean practice of the ontologization of grammatization from which Stiegler emerges while also distinguishing how metalanguages operate in relation to object-oriented environmental interaction by way of inferentialism. Stalking continental (Kapp, Simondon, Leroi-Gourhan, etc.) and analytic traditions (e.g., Carnap, Chalmers, Clark, Sutton, Novaes, etc.), we move from artefacts to AI and Predictive Processing so as to link theories related to technicity with philosophy of mind. Simultaneously drawing forth Robert Brandom’s conceptualization of the roles that commitments play in retrospectively reconstructing the social experiences that lead to our endorsement(s) of norms, we compliment this account with Reza Negarestani’s deprivatized account of intelligence while analyzing the equipollent role between language and media (both digital and analog)

The Legal Profession in the Age of Digitalization:An outline of Three Potential Transformations in Legal Education

There is consensus within the legal profession that it needs to adapt to the on-going digitalisation of the legal market and the changing means of production of the legal commodity. This adaptation will also necessitate a transformation of legal education to assimilate the changes that the legal profession will undergo. The question is, however, how might the legal profession adapt to its digitalisation? In this article, we will describe three possible pathways that the legal profession might follow. These are based on synchronous sociological models of the dynamics of the legal profession and the legal market as well as diachronous sociological descriptions of the history of the legal profession over the past century. In order to concretise these hypotheses, we will focus on the legal profession in three similar countries between which there is some level of comparability: Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The three hypothetical pathways are understood to be non-mutually exclusive. We will then answer our core question: how must legal education be transformed to take into consideration the digitalisation of the legal profession? To answer this question, we will describe three possible transformations in legal education that would consider the pathways that the legal profession might pursue to adapt to the digitalisation of its market and the production of its commodity

optimization of variable stiffness laminates and sandwiches undergoing impulsive dynamic loading

This paper, which deals with variable stiffness composites, is aimed at showing the effects of optimization on the response characteristics and stress fields of these materials. A new optimization technique that has recently been developed is used to find spatially variable distributions of stiffness properties at any point, which minimize the interlaminar stresses without significant stiffness loss. After solving the Euler–Lagrange equations obtained by the strain energy extremization with varying the stiffness properties, curvilinear paths of fibres are found in closed form that modify natural frequencies, improve dynamic response and aid in recovery of critical interlaminar stresses. In the current version of the optimization technique, a more realistic description of the optimized shear coefficients is provided in order to accurately describe local effects. As a structural model, a zig-zag model with variable through-the-thickness kinematics is adopted, which is able to adapt itself to variations in solutions, thus providing accurate results from constitutive equations. This model is adopted because an accurate description of strain energy is mandatory for an effective application of the optimization procedure proposed. The numerical results show that the optimization procedure effectively recovers the stress concentrations while simultaneously improving the dynamic response of laminates and sandwiches