Is there a need for fuzzy logic?

“Is there a need for fuzzy logic?” is an issue which is associated with a long history of spirited discussions and debate. There are many misconceptions about fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic is not fuzzy. Basically, fuzzy logic is a precise logic of imprecision and approximate reasoning. More specifically, fuzzy logic may be viewed as an attempt at formalization/mechanization of two remarkable human capabilities. First, the capability to converse, reason and make rational decisions in an environment of imprecision, uncertainty, incompleteness of information, conflicting information, partiality of truth and partiality of possibility - in short, in an environment of imperfect information. And second, the capability to perform a wide variety of physical and mental tasks without any measurements and any computations [L.A. Zadeh, From computing with numbers to computing with words - from manipulation of measurements to manipulation of perceptions, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems 45 (1999) 105-119; L.A. Zadeh, A new direction in AI - toward a computational theory of perceptions, AI Magazine 22 (1) (2001) 73-84]. In fact, one of the principal contributions of fuzzy logic - a contribution which is widely unrecognized - is its high power of precisiation.Fuzzy logic is much more than a logical system. It has many facets. The principal facets are: logical, fuzzy-set-theoretic, epistemic and relational. Most of the practical applications of fuzzy logic are associated with its relational facet.In this paper, fuzzy logic is viewed in a nonstandard perspective. In this perspective, the cornerstones of fuzzy logic - and its principal distinguishing features - are: graduation, granulation, precisiation and the concept of a generalized constraint.A concept which has a position of centrality in the nontraditional view of fuzzy logic is that of precisiation. Informally, precisiation is an operation which transforms an object, p, into an object, p^∗, which in some specified sense is defined more precisely than p. The object of precisiation and the result of precisiation are referred to as precisiend and precisiand, respectively. In fuzzy logic, a differentiation is made between two meanings of precision - precision of value, v-precision, and precision of meaning, m-precision. Furthermore, in the case of m-precisiation a differentiation is made between mh-precisiation, which is human-oriented (nonmathematical), and mm-precisiation, which is machine-oriented (mathematical). A dictionary definition is a form of mh-precisiation, with the definiens and definiendum playing the roles of precisiend and precisiand, respectively. Cointension is a qualitative measure of the proximity of meanings of the precisiend and precisiand. A precisiand is cointensive if its meaning is close to the meaning of the precisiend.A concept which plays a key role in the nontraditional view of fuzzy logic is that of a generalized constraint. If X is a variable then a generalized constraint on X, GC(X), is expressed as X isr R, where R is the constraining relation and r is an indexical variable which defines the modality of the constraint, that is, its semantics. The primary constraints are: possibilistic, (r = blank), probabilistic (r = p) and veristic (r = v). The standard constraints are: bivalent possibilistic, probabilistic and bivalent veristic. In large measure, science is based on standard constraints.Generalized constraints may be combined, qualified, projected, propagated and counterpropagated. The set of all generalized constraints, together with the rules which govern generation of generalized constraints, is referred to as the generalized constraint language, GCL. The standard constraint language, SCL, is a subset of GCL.In fuzzy logic, propositions, predicates and other semantic entities are precisiated through translation into GCL. Equivalently, a semantic entity, p, may be precisiated by representing its meaning as a generalized constraint.By construction, fuzzy logic has a much higher level of generality than bivalent logic. It is the generality of fuzzy logic that underlies much of what fuzzy logic has to offer. Among the important contributions of fuzzy logic are the following:

1.

FL-generalization. Any bivalent-logic-based theory, T, may be FL-generalized, and hence upgraded, through addition to T of concepts and techniques drawn from fuzzy logic. Examples: fuzzy control, fuzzy linear programming, fuzzy probability theory and fuzzy topology.

2.

Linguistic variables and fuzzy if-then rules. The formalism of linguistic variables and fuzzy if-then rules is, in effect, a powerful modeling language which is widely used in applications of fuzzy logic. Basically, the formalism serves as a means of summarization and information compression through the use of granulation.

3.

Cointensive precisiation. Fuzzy logic has a high power of cointensive precisiation. This power is needed for a formulation of cointensive definitions of scientific concepts and cointensive formalization of human-centric fields such as economics, linguistics, law, conflict resolution, psychology and medicine.

4.

NL-Computation (computing with words). Fuzzy logic serves as a basis for NL-Computation, that is, computation with information described in natural language. NL-Computation is of direct relevance to mechanization of natural language understanding and computation with imprecise probabilities. More generally, NL-Computation is needed for dealing with second-order uncertainty, that is, uncertainty about uncertainty, or uncertainty² for short.

In summary, progression from bivalent logic to fuzzy logic is a significant positive step in the evolution of science. In large measure, the real-world is a fuzzy world. To deal with fuzzy reality what is needed is fuzzy logic. In coming years, fuzzy logic is likely to grow in visibility, importance and acceptance.     

Is there a case for domestic inflation target?

This paper evaluates the consequences of a central bank stabilizing alternative measures of inflation in a model with several exchange rate channels of transmission for the monetary policy. The real exchange rate affects the equilibrium conditions and the utility-based welfare objective places higher weight on output gap stabilization. There is an endogenous stabilization trade-off and policy rules derived from private agents’ optimizing behavior perform better than alternative monetary policy arrangements. The optimal policy is PPI inflation target, under which the exchange rate follows a controlled floating. Contrary to central bank practices, CPI target should be considered only by highly open economies.     

Is there a Need for Survivable Computation in Critical Infrastructures?

Which critical infrastructures are vulnerable to cyber terrorist and information warfare attacks today is decided on an ad-hoc basis. This has lead to incorrect conclusions and may imply a waste of money. Moreover, the issue of which infrastructures are the most critical to the survival of our economy is not obvious. Methods to evaluate these questions are discussed. We also discuss some of the methods that can be used to increase the survivability of computation.     

Using ICT for school purposes: Is there a student-school disconnect?

Today's students are often portrayed in the literature as enthusiastic and wholehearted users of the Internet for school purposes, in contrast with today's schools, in which the situation is of high ICT access and low use. Via interviews with 25 post-primary students, this study examined student attitudes toward using the Internet for school purposes, revealing the reasoning behind patterns of after school ICT use and underlying perceptions of learning, the teacher's role and the desired role of ICT in schooling. Students were revealed to be ambivalent: they considered the Internet to be easy to use, reducing workload and “fun”, but at the same time “unreliable”, not “serious” enough, and not containing what they “need to know”. Thus, they primarily used it for “unimportant” assignments such as routine homework. Students described their learning goal as getting required “material” into their heads and saw the teachers as an (almost) exclusive authority regarding this required body of information, in line with schooling's information-focused agenda and teacher-centered practices. They were also less than enthusiastic about the integration of ICT into their curriculum. Although there is no apparent disconnect between school and students, it is argued that school should change in order to capitalize on the affordances of ICT and to better prepare students for life in the knowledge age.     

Performance on a simple response time task: Is sleep or work more important for miners?

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impact of work- and sleep-related factors on an objective measure of response time in a field setting. Thirty-five mining operators working 12-h shift patterns completed daily sleep and work diaries, wore activity monitors continuously and completed palm-based psychomotor vigilance tests (palmPVT) at the start and end of each shift. Linear mixed models were used to test the main effects on response time of roster, timing of test, sleep history and prior wake. The time at which the test occurred was a significant predictor of response time (F_3,403.4 = 6.72, p < .01) with the end of night shifts being associated with significantly slower response times than the start of night shifts, and the start or end of day shifts. Further, the amount of sleep obtained in the 24 h prior to the test was also a significant predictor of response time (F_3,407.0 = 3.05, p < .01). The results suggest that, as expected, the end of night shift is associated with changes in response time indicative of performance impairments. Of more interest however is that immediate sleep history was also predictive of changes in response time with lower amounts of prior sleep related to slower response times. The current data provides further evidence that sleep is a primary mediator of performance, independent of roster pattern.     

Dinosaur meets Archaeopteryx? or: Is there an alternative for Rational’s Unified Process?

Since 1999, Rationals Unified Process (RUP) is being offered as a guideline for software projects using the Unified Modeling Language (UML). RUP has been advertised to be iterative, and incremental, use case-driven and architecture-centric. These claims are discussed while RUP core concepts like phase, iteration, discipline (formerly: workflow) and milestone are reviewed in more detail. It turns out that the RUP constitutes a considerable step towards a broad dissemination of software process modelling ideas but some of the RUP definitions and structures lack clear structure and are too complex and overloaded for practical use.Among others, I see the following particular problems: (1) phases do still dominate the process and iteration structure, (2) the term software architecture is not clearly defined and its role is still underestimated, (3) RUP disciplines are a partly redundant concept complicating the process more than supporting it, (4) powerful and transparent structuring principles like recursion and orthogonality do not get the attention they deserve. As an alternative, our model for Evolutionary, Object-oriented Software development (EOS) is contrasted with the RUP.     

‘Requirements-Uncertainty’: Is it best formulated as a latent,aggregate or profile construct?

This paper identifies the strategies that experienced information systems (IS) project managers say they use to cope with requirements-uncertainty (RU) when managing development projects for external clients. It is shown that project managers (PMs) claim to use different strategies for coping with the different dimensions of requirements-uncertainty, as this notion has been formulated in IS literature. Based on this finding, it is proposed that perhaps requirements-uncertainty should be formulated as a profile construct, and not as a latent or aggregate construct, if it is to have pragmatic validity as a guide to action for project managers.     

What happens where during disasters? A Workflow for the multifaceted characterization of crisis events based on Twitter data

Twitter data are a valuable source of information for rescue and helping activities in case of natural disasters and technical accidents. Several methods for disaster‐ and event‐related tweet filtering and classification are available to analyse social media streams. Rather than processing single tweets, taking into account space and time is likely to reveal even more insights regarding local event dynamics and impacts on population and environment. This study focuses on the design and evaluation of a generic workflow for Twitter data analysis that leverages that additional information to characterize crisis events more comprehensively. The workflow covers data acquisition, analysis and visualization, and aims at the provision of a multifaceted and detailed picture of events that happen in affected areas. This is approached by utilizing agile and flexible analysis methods providing different and complementary views on the data. Utilizing state‐of‐the‐art deep learning and clustering methods, we are interested in the question, whether our workflow is suitable to reconstruct and picture the course of events during major natural disasters from Twitter data. Experimental results obtained with a data set acquired during hurricane Florence in September 2018 demonstrate the effectiveness of the applied methods but also indicate further interesting research questions and directions.     

Is the smartwatch an IT product or a fashion product? A study on factors affecting the intention to use smartwatches

Smartwatches, among many wearable form factors, have become an important starting point for the wide dissemination of wearable devices. Not only are smartwatches a new IT product, they are also a fashion product. Recognizing the smartwatch as the converging point of IT innovation and fashion, the current study examines whether factors germane to the characteristics of fashion products affect the intention to use smartwatches. Utilizing the technology acceptance model (TAM) as the base framework, the current study extended the model by incorporating perceived enjoyment and perceived self-expressiveness, which are influenced by an individual’s vanity and need for uniqueness. The findings from 562 Korean respondents indicated that the characteristics of smartwatches as fashion products significantly explain the intention to use a smartwatch, particularly the individual’s desire for uniqueness. A limited effect of vanity on self-expressiveness implies that the smartwatch is not yet deemed a luxury commodity. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as the limitations of the study are further discussed.     

Is it a tool suitable for learning? A critical review of the literature on Facebook as a technology‐enhanced learning environment

Despite its continuing popularity as the social network site par excellence, the educational value of Facebook has not been fully determined, and results from the mainstream educational paradigms are contradictory, with some scholars emphasizing its pedagogical affordances (e.g., widening context of learning, mixing information and learning resources, hybridization of expertise) and others cautioning against its use for educational purposes. Moreover, systematic reviews about documented educational usage of Facebook as a learning environment are lacking. This article attempts to provide a critical overview of current studies focusing on the use of Facebook as a technology‐enhanced learning environment, with the aim of exploring the extent to which its pedagogical potential is actually translated into practice. Only empirical studies published in peer‐reviewed academic journals with a specific focus on Facebook as a learning environment have been considered for the review. The authors conducted a comprehensive literature search that identified 23 relevant articles that were subsequently analysed according to a simplified list of guidelines. These articles were further analysed and recoded through a set of emerging categories. The results show that pedagogical affordances of Facebook have only been partially implemented and that there are still many obstacles that may prevent a full adoption of Facebook as a learning environment such as implicit institutional, teacher and student pedagogies, and cultural issues. Finally, a broad observation on the implications of the study is developed with some suggestions for future research.     

Is internet the cherry on top or a crutch? Offline social support as moderator of the outcomes of online social support on Problematic Internet Use

The study is part of a research whose goal is identifying what predictors determine either a positive or a dysfunctional use of Internet. The factor at stake is here social support. Specifically our study, carried out through an online questionnaire, hypothesized a moderation of Offline Social Support in the relationship between Online Social Support, Problematic Internet Use, and Life Satisfaction. The study found that while Offline Social Support reduces the chances of developing a Problematic Internet Use, Online Social Support increases them. Furthermore the data supported the moderation of Offline Social Support in the outcomes of Online Social Support: when the first is low, as the latter increases the Problematic Internet Use gets higher; when Offline Social Support is high, an increase in Online Social Support determines a decrease in Problematic Internet Use. By contrast the moderation of Offline Social Support on the relationship between Online Social Support and Life Satisfaction was not confirmed. Our research show that when investigating psychological constructs related to Internet activity these must be considered in their offline and online variations to provide an answer to the debate on psychological outcomes of undertaking social interactions in Internet land. Our results suggest that the usage of the Web may become dysfunctional when it is meant to compensate for lacks of the “offline life”.