Ranking kinematics for revising by contextual information

Probability kinematics is a leading paradigm in probabilistic belief change. It is based on the idea that conditional beliefs should be independent from changes of their antecedents’ probabilities. In this paper, we propose a re-interpretation of this paradigm for Spohn’s ranking functions which we call Generalized Ranking Kinematics as a new principle for iterated belief revision of ranking functions by sets of conditional beliefs with respect to their specific subcontext. By taking into account semantical independencies, we can reduce the complexity of the revision task to local contexts. We show that global belief revision can be set up from revisions on the local contexts via a merging operator. Furthermore, we formalize a variant of the Ramsey-Test based on the idea of local contexts which connects conditional and propositional revision in a straightforward way. We extend the belief change methodology of c-revisions to strategic c-revisions which will serve as a proof of concept

Creating a framework for eliciting consumer satisfaction in Second Life

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyUsing consumer satisfaction as an example of complex communication and a virtual world as a mediating platform, a novel framework for eliciting consumer satisfaction has been developed. Consumer satisfaction is a key element for business success, while the elicitation of satisfaction perceptions from consumers can help vendors to assess and to improve their business performance. The objectives here are: how consumer satisfaction is defined, understood and measured; how virtual worlds function, both as a platform and a product; how users typically perceive their experiences in virtual worlds; and how consumer satisfaction metrics can be translated into a virtual environment. Second Life is used as an enabling technology for gathering requirements as well as for the construction, refinement and validation of the framework. Second Life is a virtual world, a multi-user, 3D, immersive environment, which has its own internal economy. The choice of using this social virtual world was due to Second Life being a resilient and widely used platform. The main contribution of this thesis is a framework that can be used to identify and categorise the complex and inter-related factors that affect the use of Second Life in terms of consumer satisfaction perceptions. Another contribution here is a novel approach to Search Engine trend analysis, which focuses on the number or search results returned as opposed to the number of queries for a given search phrase. Based on the research conducted by the author and knowledge gained from the literature, a framework has been developed which identifies interrelated components that provide a wider context to perceive the user experience of Second Life. The approach taken by the framework enables it to be used as a means to comprehend Second Life both as a product and as a platform. A Straussian Grounded Theory approach was taken to data gathering, analysis and interpretation in the context of the framework; further refinements are made to the framework as a consequence of emergent themes revealed through the process of analysing the gathered data. Guidance is given in brief as to how the framework can be adapted to reveal consumer satisfaction perceptions from other internet based services

Computational Complexity of Strong Admissibility for Abstract Dialectical Frameworks

Abstract dialectical frameworks (ADFs) have been introduced as a formalism for modeling and evaluating argumentation allowing general logical satisfaction conditions. Different criteria used to settle the acceptance of arguments arecalled semantics. Semantics of ADFs have so far mainly been defined based on the concept of admissibility. Recently, the notion of strong admissibility has been introduced for ADFs. In the current work we study the computational complexityof the following reasoning tasks under strong admissibility semantics. We address 1. the credulous/skeptical decision problem; 2. the verification problem; 3. the strong justification problem; and 4. the problem of finding a smallest witness of strong justification of a queried argument

Cultural Consultations in Criminal Forensic Psychology: A Thematic Analysis of the Literature

The importance of culture as a reference point in clinical practices such as forensic psychology has been considerably valued yet poorly understood, especially in an age where precision and sophistication outlast cultural authenticity and patient-clinician relationship. This paper looks at the gaps and inconsistencies that exist in current forensic psychology research. The topic is introduced by delving into the understanding of the phenomenon of culture and its influences on our everyday conditioning. Aspects such as language, biological development, traditions, rituals, and narratives are emphasized as potent tools that drive individuals to create and mold culture according to needs and requirements of the moment. These elements are then used for signifying the inherent ways in which culture can result in both despair as well as positive enforcement, thereby being a powerful element of consideration in forensic assessment practice. The essential concept explored in this paper involves the clinicians’ perspectives on the meaning of cultural values, norms and beliefs that shape the behavior of the patient. Through this exploration I attempted to understand how the clinical practice of forensic psychology can be made more authentic and less cold and calculated by consideration of cultural malleability. By using thematic analysis, I reviewed a large collection of the relevant literature in an attempt to understand the core concepts that drive clinicians in their cultural considerations. I emphasized attention to the malleable nature of culture and the intricate ways in which culture is related to biological, psychological, anthropological, and legal aspects of forensic psychology. The conclusions of the paper include specific considerations for creating a well-structured cultural consultation model, which emphasizes attention to aspects like clinical approach, patient’s family of origin, current community, as well as biological and psychological conditions of the patient and the patient’s cultural perspective on those conditions

Ontology-based representation and generation of workflows for micro-task human-machine computation

Doctoral Program in Computer ScienceA crescente popularidade das plataformas de crowdsourcing de micro-tarefas levou ao aparecimento de novas abordagens baseadas em fluxos e workflows de micro-tarefas. Juntamente com estas novas abordagens, surgem novos desafios. A falta de estruturação dos dados das micro-tarefas torna difícil, por parte de quem solicita as tarefas, a inclusão de participantes máquina no processo de execução dos workflows. Outro desafio deve-se á falta de componentes que permitam o controlo do fluxo em workflows de micro-tarefas, embora estes componentes sejam comuns em abordagens de workflow tradicionais e em processos de negócio. Nesta tese, é proposto um método para a representação, construção, instanciação e execução de workflows de tarefas em ambientes de computação pessoa-máquina, baseado em ontologias. A representação é capaz de capturar a estrutura e a semântica das operações e dos seus dados, ao mesmo tempo que se mantém próxima do nível conceptual humano. Os workflows são construidos em duas dimensões: a dimensão de domínio estático e a dimensão (da tarefa) dinâmica. Isto permite que os dados de entrada e de saída dos workflows possam ser descritos exclusivamente de acordo com uma ontologia de domínio, de forma completamente independente da representação do workflow. Para que possa ser efetuada a instanciação e a execução da representação do workflow, foi implementado um motor de workflows baseado no método proposto. Para facilitar o papel do solicitador (ou requester) na criação de novas representações de workflows (ou workflow-definitions), um processo de construção semi-automático baseado em ontologias de domínio é também proposto. O processo foi implementado numa ferramenta de construção que permite a construção assistida, iterativa e visual de representações de workflows. O método de representação e o processo de construção propostos são avaliados através de múltiplos cenários de aplicação em diferentes domínios.The growing popularity of micro-task crowdsourcing platforms has led to new approaches based on workflows of micro-tasks. Along with these new approaches, new challenges have emerged. The unstructured nature of micro-tasks in terms of domain representation makes it difficult for task requesters to include machine workers in the workflow execution process. Also, the representation of these human-machine computation workflows lack the flow control components often found in traditional workflow and business process approaches. In this thesis, a method for the representation, construction, instantiation and execution of human-machine computation task workflows through ontologies is proposed. The representation captures the structure and semantics of the tasks and their domain, while remaining close to the human conceptual level. Workflows are built according to two dimensions: the static domain dimension and the dynamic (task) dimension. This allows the input and the output of workflows to be described according to a domain ontology, completely independent from the workflow representation. The instantiation and execution of the represented workflow can be performed through the implemented workflow engine. To aid the requester in the creation of new workflow representations (or workflowdefinitions), a semi-automatic construction process based on domain ontologies is also proposed. The process has been implemented into a construction framework that allows the aided, iterative and visual construction of workflow-definitions. The proposed method and construction process is evaluated through several application scenarios in different domains.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology within the doctoral grant SFRH/BD/ 70302/2010