Traditional information search in which queries are posed against a known and rigid schema over a structured database is shifting towards a Web scenario in which exposed schemas are vague or absent and data comes from heterogeneous sources. In this framework, query answering cannot be precise and needs to be relaxed, with the goal of matching user requests with accessible data. In this paper, w...

Local search services allow a user to search for businesses that satisfy a given geographical constraint. In contrast to traditional web search engines, current local search services rely heavily on static, structured data. Although this yields very accurate systems, it also implies a limited coverage, and limited support for using landmarks and neighborhood names in queries. To overcome these ...

The philosophical account of vagueness I call “transvaluationism” makes three fundamental claims. First, vagueness is logically incoherent in a certain way: it essentially involves mutually unsatisfiable requirements that govern vague language, vague thought-content, and putative vague objects and properties. Second, vagueness in language and thought (i.e., semantic vagueness) is a genuine phen...

In this paper we are seeking general definitions of vagueness. They have much to do with dialectical reasoning since we are interested in vagueness caused by differing opinions, or points of view, about the definition of concepts. After giving three definitions for vagueness we sketch ways of choosing meaning for vague concepts, using “direct democracy”. In this context we also define open text...

Vagueness is a common human knowledge and linguistic phenomenon, typically manifested by predicates that lack clear applicability conditions and boundaries such as High, Expert or Bad. In the context of ontologies and semantic data, the usage of such predicates within ontology element definitions (classes, relations etc.) can hamper the latter’s quality, primarily in terms of shareability and m...

Soft set theory, proposed by Molodtsov has been regarded as an effective mathematical tool to deal with uncertainties. Vague set is a set of objects, each of which has a grade of membership whose value is a continuous subinterval of [0, 1]. Such a set is characterized by a truth-membership function and a falsemembership function. Thus, a vague set is actually a form of fuzzy set, albeit a more ...

The unprecedented and unanticipated economic and financial shocks of the past couple of years have led parties to look for contractual escapes from deals. Some parties exercise options embedded in their contracts by paying liquidated damages or cancellation fees. Others invoke excuse provisions such as force majeure, material adverse change or market-out clauses, to terminate at no cost. Under ...