Study on the livestock diet is one of the main priorities in the management of rangeland in Iran. So, this study was conducted to compare preference values of plant species in three age classes of Kaboudeh sheep (one, three and five year old ones) in rangelands of Bavanat, Fars province, Iran. For each age class, four sheep were selected and their grazing times from different plant species were...

In order to estimate the relationship between forage quality and preference value of plant species for Raini goats(Capra aegagrus hircus), a field study was carried out on Raini goats’ grazing behavior in some desert habitats.Crude protein (as the most important factor affecting forage quality) of all plant species was measured at twophenological stages (spring and summer, 2010) in the dry rang...

There is wide-ranging evidence, much of it deriving from economics experiments, of ‘anomalies’ in behaviour that challenge standard preference theories. This paper explores the implications of these anomalies for preference elicitation methods. Because methods that are used to inform public policy, such as contingent valuation, are based on standard preference theories, their validity may be ca...

In decision analysis, difficulties of obtaining complete information about model parameters make it advisable to seek robust solutions that perform reasonably well across the full range of feasible parameter values. In this paper, we develop the Robust Portfolio Modeling (RPM) methodology which extends Preference Programming methods into portfolio problems where a subset of project proposals ar...

By combining practical relevance with novel types of prediction problems, the learning from/of preferences has recently received a lot of attention in the machine learning literature. Just as other types of complex learning tasks, preference learning deviates strongly from the standard problems of classification and regression. It is particularly challenging because it involves the prediction o...

Some decision situations are so objectionable or repugnant that people refuse to make a choice. This paper seeks to better understand taboo responses, and to distinguish choices that are truly taboo from those that are merely difficult or confusing. Using 22 scenarios that describe potentially taboo issues, Experiment 1 explores reasons for disapproval of the scenarios. We measure a large numbe...

level as “visit the website to provide information,” which may involve clickstreams or a process of sharing identity information or interest in the product. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/19145.html?wlc= 1292379670, retrieved on Oct. 22, 2011. Assuming an opportunity cost of time of roughly $20/ hour, the inconvenience cost t can be on the order of (1 second to 1 minute)9$20/hour = $0.005 ...