We present a decision tree evaluation method integrated with a common framework for analyzing multi-attribute decisions under risk, where information is numerically imprecise. The approach extends the use of additive and multiplicative utility functions for supporting evaluation of imprecise statements, relaxing requirements for precise estimates of decision parameters. Information is modeled i...

We study the problem of finding optimal strategies for a life insurance company or pension fund that acts on behalf of an insured so as to maximize the expected utility (in a general form) of the pension benefits through dividend allocation and investment in a financial market. We take the uncertain course of life of the insured into account and provide the full picture of the policy’s financia...

Self-directed e-learning focuses on the independent learner, one who engages in education at his own pace, free from curricular obligation. A number of tools, some purposefully and others serendipitously, have become key enablers of this learning paradigm. For example, tools such a Google Scholar, CiteSeer Research Index, etc. make it possible to do literature search without stepping out of one...

The design of games can be an unfortunately indirect endeavour: the designer’s objective may be to present the player with a particular set of possible experiences, or playspace, but what the designer actually creates (i.e. the game) is instead an artifact intended to produce the desired playspace only upon interaction. In this work we develop both a general framework and specific implementatio...

Simple presentation graphics are intuitive and easyto-use, but show only highly aggregated data and present only a very limited number of data values (as in the case of bar charts), and may have a high degree of overlap which may occlude a significant portion of the data values (as in the case of the x-y plots). In this paper, we therefore propose a generalization of traditional bar charts and ...

Planar linear motors, e.g. Sawyer motors, operate in an open-loop stepping manner. This mode of operation makes them i) susceptible to loss of steps, ii) unable to reject external disturbances, iii) unable to provide controlled forces, and iv) unable to provide high sti ness. These limitations, in turn, restrict their usefulness in a wide range of robotic applications. Suitable position sensing...

We characterize the class of (possibly incomplete) preference relations over lotteries that can be represented by a compact set of (continuous) expected utility functions which preserve both indifferences and strict preferences. This finding contrasts with the representation theorem of Dubra, Maccheroni and Ok (2004) which either delivers a noncompact set of utility functions, or at least one f...

In the context of the maximizing behaviour assumption (Becker, 1976), an individual usually maximizes the utility function, minimizes the cost or, finally, can also maximizes the profit function in consumption, with each of these three optimization problems providing a type of demand function: the Marshallian, the Hicksian, and the Frischian. In all three cases, an important concept for both th...

Weight and cardinality constraints constitute a very useful programming construct widely adopted in Answer Set Programming (ASP). In recent work we have proposed RASP, an extension to plain ASP where complex forms of preferences can be flexibly expressed. In this paper, we illustrate an application of these preferences within weight/cardinality constraints. We emphasize, mainly by simple exampl...

Sufficient conditions for the existence and Lipschitz continuity of optimal strategies for static team optimization problems are studied. Revised statements and proofs of some results in “Kim K.H., Roush F.W., Team Theory. Ellis Horwood Limited Publishers, Chichester, UK, 1987” are presented. Keywords—Statistical information structure, team utility function, value of a team, Lipschitz continuity.