Fuzzy qualitative reasoning (FQR) is a form of approximate reasoning that can be defined loosely as the fusion of Fuzzy Reasoning (FR) with Qualitative Reasoning (QR). Both these research areas have as one of their goals the construction of computational reasoning tools that can predict and explain the behaviour of, often dynamic, systems whose analytic relations are incompletely specified. Whe...

Transportation planning in general, and planning for intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) in particular, are notable for multiple goals and for multiple constituencies. A review of the current literature offers several ITS investment evaluation methods that provide frameworks for the quantification of risks and benefits. Nevertheless, the traditional selection methods overemphasize quantit...

This paper presents a comparison of the three fuzzy based image segmentation methods namely Fuzzy C-Means (FCM), TYPE-II Fuzzy C-Means (T2FCM), and Intuitionistic Fuzzy C-Means (IFCM) for digital images with varied levels of noise. Apart from qualitative performance, the paper also presents quantitative analysis of these three algorithms using four validity functions-Partition coefficient (Vpc)...

Qualitative modeling of technical processes may be accomplished by dynamic fuzzy systems. A new inference method with interpolating rules is proposed as an essential basis for the analysis of this class of systems. Using this approach, the system output is dependent on both an interpolating rule derived from the fuzzy input and the fuzzy input itself. A simple example shows the typical behavior...

A formal logical system dealing with both uncertainty (possibility) and vagueness (fuzziness) is investigated. It is many-valued and modal. The system is related to a many-valued tense logic. A completeness theorem is exhibited. K E Y W O R D S : fuzzy logic, modal logic, possibilistic logic, comparative approach

This article critiques the Fuzzy-set Qualitative Analysis (fs/QCA) methodology by examining its applicability in three studies in the field of comparative social policy. In each of these three test cases, I focus on the validity of fuzzy-set’s claimed function – its ability to combine theoretic discourse and evidence analysis. All three studies investigate welfare state reform in the late twent...

Sets can be subsets of larger sets. For example, the set of grad students is a subset of the set of university students. The set of cats is a subset of the set of mammals. Sometimes, these subsets are definitional (as in the previous examples), but sometimes they can be causal. For example, the set of students who studied constitute a subset of students who did well on the test. The set of zip ...

Product planning is one of four important processes in new product development (NPD) using quality function deployment (QFD), which is a widely used customer-driven approach. In our opinion, the first problem to be solved is how to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative information regarding relationships between customer requirements (CRs) and engineering characteristics (ECs) as well a...