On the measure of conflicts: Shapley Inconsistency Values

There are relatively few proposals for inconsistency measures for propositional belief bases. However inconsistency measures are potentially as important as information measures for artificial intelligence, and more generally for computer science. In particular, they can be useful to define various operators for belief revision, belief merging, and negotiation. The measures that have been proposed so far can be split into two classes. The first class of measures takes into account the number of formulae required to produce an inconsistency: the more formulae required to produce an inconsistency, the less inconsistent the base. The second class takes into account the proportion of the language that is affected by the inconsistency: the more propositional variables affected, the more inconsistent the base. Both approaches are sensible, but there is no proposal for combining them. We address this need in this paper: our proposal takes into account both the number of variables affected by the inconsistency and the distribution of the inconsistency among the formulae of the base. Our idea is to use existing inconsistency measures in order to define a game in coalitional form, and then to use the Shapley value to obtain an inconsistency measure that indicates the responsibility/contribution of each formula to the overall inconsistency in the base. This allows us to provide a more reliable image of the belief base and of the inconsistency in it.     

Multiple criteria decision-making for the resolution of conflicting ergonomic knowledge in manual materials handling

The ergonomic design of manual materials handling tasks typically utilizes one or more of three approaches; biomechanical, physiological, and psychophysical. Unfortunately, a comprehensive design is rarely obtained because of the difficulty of resolving the conflicting guidelines and criteria for each of the three approaches. This paper describes a methodology utilizing the multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) process for resolving this conflict. This approach calculates the ratio of the contribution from each type of stress to an overall stress level as determined by the unacceptability of this stress to the user. An example is presented to demonstrate this technique.     

An exploratory study of buyers’ participation intentions in reputation systems: The relationship quality perspective

Drawing upon a relationship quality framework, this study identifies how satisfaction, trust and different styles of handling conflict influence online buyers’ participation intentions in reputation systems associated with a C2C online shopping platform. Furthermore, we investigate how these effects are moderated by social conformity and the perceived value of knowledge. The results of a survey of 269 online buyers indicate that satisfaction, trust and an accommodating conflict handling style positively impact the intention to submit positive ratings, whereas an avoiding conflict handling style negatively affects the intention to submit positive ratings. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.     

多元分辨方法比较分析不同莪术油指纹图谱

为了解不同种莪术的挥发油,其化学成分的差异及相应的色谱指纹图谱的特征,运用化学计量学中的多元分辨方法,比较分析中药温莪术、广西莪术与蓬莪术挥发油的化学指纹图谱,并用模拟数据考察光谱相似程度与正交投影残差曲线形状的关系。温莪术、广西莪术与蓬莪术的挥发油色谱指纹图谱中,分别有至少25、12和28种化学成分,其中,牻牛儿酮与莪术醇等7种为三种莪术所共有。(表2)关于化学成分的相互关系,光谱相似程度越高,投影残差曲线越接近于零。     

Comparison of spectral indices obtained using multiple spectroradiometers

To determine the degree of comparability between three spectrometers (Analytical Spectral Devices FieldSpec Pro FR (FR), Analytical Spectral Devices HandHeld (HH), and UniSpec Spectral Analysis System (UN)), leaf spectra of three species (Cafea arabica, Lantana camara, Eriobotrya japonica), recorded from each instrument, were compared using two illumination, viewing, and field of view (FOV) scenarios. Scenario 1 eliminated differences due to illumination, viewing, and FOV conditions. Scenario 2 represented a ‘typical’ illumination and viewing set-up for each instrument. Six vegetation indices were computed from the raw spectra as well as spectra (1) interpolated to 1-nm intervals (the sampling interval of the FR) and (2) interpolated to 3.3 nm (the sampling interval of the UN). The spectra measured from the three instruments differed in both shape and amplitude, more so for scenario 2 than scenario 1. In many cases, indices obtained using one instrument differed significantly from the same indices obtained using the other two instruments (but the same leaves), regardless of scenario. The severity of these differences varied between indices. Interpolation was generally ineffective in ‘matching’ the spectra from the various instruments. Care should be exercised when comparing indices generated from spectra measured from different instruments.