On a New Construction of Pseudo BL-Algebras

We present a new construction of a class pseudo BL-algebras, called kite pseudo BL-algebras. We start with a basic pseudo hoop $A$. Using two injective mappings from one set, $J$, into the second one, $I$, and with an identical copy $\overline A$ with the reverse order we construct a pseudo BL-algebra where the lower part is of the form $(\overline A)^J$ and the upper one is $A^I$. Starting with a basic commutative hoop we can obtain even a non-commutative pseudo BL-algebra or a pseudo MV-algebra, or an algebra with non-commuting negations. We describe the construction, subdirect irreducible kite pseudo BL-algebras and their classification

On ideal theory of hoops

summary:In this paper, we define and characterize the notions of (implicative, maximal, prime) ideals in hoops. Then we investigate the relation between them and prove that every maximal implicative ideal of a $\vee$-hoop with double negation property is a prime one. Also, we define a congruence relation on hoops by ideals and study the quotient that is made by it. This notion helps us to show that an ideal is maximal if and only if the quotient hoop is a simple MV-algebra. Also, we investigate the relationship between ideals and filters by exploiting the set of complements

An examination of automatic video retrieval technology on access to the contents of an historical video archive

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an initial understanding of the constraints that historical video collections pose to video retrieval technology and the potential that online access offers to both archive and users. Design/methodology/approach – A small and unique collection of videos on customs and folklore was used as a case study. Multiple methods were employed to investigate the effectiveness of technology and the modality of user access. Automatic keyframe extraction was tested on the visual content while the audio stream was used for automatic classification of speech and music clips. The user access (search vs browse) was assessed in a controlled user evaluation. A focus group and a survey provided insight on the actual use of the analogue archive. The results of these multiple studies were then compared and integrated (triangulation). Findings – The amateur material challenged automatic techniques for video and audio indexing, thus suggesting that the technology must be tested against the material before deciding on a digitisation strategy. Two user interaction modalities, browsing vs searching, were tested in a user evaluation. Results show users preferred searching, but browsing becomes essential when the search engine fails in matching query and indexed words. Browsing was also valued for serendipitous discovery; however the organisation of the archive was judged cryptic and therefore of limited use. This indicates that the categorisation of an online archive should be thought of in terms of users who might not understand the current classification. The focus group and the survey showed clearly the advantage of online access even when the quality of the video surrogate is poor. The evidence gathered suggests that the creation of a digital version of a video archive requires a rethinking of the collection in terms of the new medium: a new archive should be specially designed to exploit the potential that the digital medium offers. Similarly, users' needs have to be considered before designing the digital library interface, as needs are likely to be different from those imagined. Originality/value – This paper is the first attempt to understand the advantages offered and limitations held by video retrieval technology for small video archives like those often found in special collections

A Holistic View of Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud

This thesis attempts to explain what identity theft tax refund fraud is and how the issue has developed over the years. It presents a holistic, historic view of the problem as well as how it has been addressed. It primarily relies on reports from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Government Accountability Office (GAO) and National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) in its assessment. It does not examine foreign tax administrations’ methods of dealing with identity theft refund fraud or the extent of the issue in other principalities, and therefore this is an area in need of further research. This thesis does not attempt to make an argument for the efficacy of funding for the IRS either, which is an area that could be further studied. It also does not deal with employment-related identity fraud, which some relate to identity theft refund fraud

Quantifier elimination and other model-theoretic properties of BL-algebras

This work presents a model-theoretic approach to the study of firstorder theories of classes of BL-chains. Among other facts, we present several classes of BL-algebras, generating the whole variety of BL-algebras whose firstorder theory has quantifier elimination. Model-completeness and decision problems are also investigated. Then we investigate classes of BL-algebras having (or not having) the amalgamation property or the joint embedding property and we relate the above properties to the existence of ultrahomogeneous models. © 2011 by University of Notre Dame.Peer Reviewe

Why most papers on filters are really trivial (including this one)

The aim of this note is to show that many papers on various kinds of filters (and related concepts) in (subreducts of) residuated structures are in fact easy consequences of more general results that have been known for a long time

A Conversation with Alan Gelfand

Alan E. Gelfand was born April 17, 1945, in the Bronx, New York. He attended public grade schools and did his undergraduate work at what was then called City College of New York (CCNY, now CUNY), excelling at mathematics. He then surprised and saddened his mother by going all the way across the country to Stanford to graduate school, where he completed his dissertation in 1969 under the direction of Professor Herbert Solomon, making him an academic grandson of Herman Rubin and Harold Hotelling. Alan then accepted a faculty position at the University of Connecticut (UConn) where he was promoted to tenured associate professor in 1975 and to full professor in 1980. A few years later he became interested in decision theory, then empirical Bayes, which eventually led to the publication of Gelfand and Smith [J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 85 (1990) 398-409], the paper that introduced the Gibbs sampler to most statisticians and revolutionized Bayesian computing. In the mid-1990s, Alan's interests turned strongly to spatial statistics, leading to fundamental contributions in spatially-varying coefficient models, coregionalization, and spatial boundary analysis (wombling). He spent 33 years on the faculty at UConn, retiring in 2002 to become the James B. Duke Professor of Statistics and Decision Sciences at Duke University, serving as chair from 2007-2012. At Duke, he has continued his work in spatial methodology while increasing his impact in the environmental sciences. To date, he has published over 260 papers and 6 books; he has also supervised 36 Ph.D. dissertations and 10 postdocs. This interview was done just prior to a conference of his family, academic descendants, and colleagues to celebrate his 70th birthday and his contributions to statistics which took place on April 19-22, 2015 at Duke University.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/15-STS521 in the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org