The contribution of this paper is in demonstrating the impact of AND/OR search spaces view on solutions counting. In contrast to the traditional (OR) search space view, the AND/OR search space displays independencies present in the graphical model explicitly and may sometimes reduce the search space exponentially. Empirical evaluation focusing on counting demonstrates the spectrum of search and...

Attitudes play a significant role in determining how individuals process information and behave. In this paper we have developed a new computational model of population wide attitude change that captures the social level: how individuals interact and communicate information, and the cognitive level: how attitudes and concept interact with each other. The model captures the cognitive aspect by r...

background and aims: one of the principles of the quality management systems in organizations is attention to customer centered approach and one of the scales for evaluation of the efficacy of provided services is customer satisfaction. this research aimed to compare satisfaction levels of customers attending primary health care centers in bardsir (with iso certificate) and zarand (without iso ...

Constraint modelling is widely recognised as a key bottleneck in applying constraint solving to a problem of interest. The CONJURE automated constraint modelling system addresses this problem by automatically refining constraint models from problem specifications written in the ESSENCE language. ESSENCE provides familiar mathematical concepts like sets, functions and relations nested to any dep...

A statistical model is constructed describing spot freight rates in terms of the operating costs of the marginal ship, the size of the various vessels relative to the marginal ship, the proportion of the tanker fleet operating in the spot market and the proportion of the fleet which is laid up for more than two months. The model is tested over the entire period from September 1971 to December 1...

In this research we develop, operationalize, and empirically test a model for explaining/predicting the satisfaction of customers with Internet-based services at different stages of adoption. We argue and empirically demonstrate the need to consider the evolutionary nature of satisfaction and the variability of its determinants. Our model identifies desire disconfirmation, expectation disconfir...

A major problem in the measurement of patient satisfaction is the lack of an adequate theory to explain the meaning of satisfaction, and hence how it should be measured and how the findings are interpreted. Because of the lack of a fully developed theory, when developing patient satisfaction questionnaires for use in general practice, a simple model was used. This model was pragmatic in that it...

In this paper, the problem of assigning channel slots to a number of contending stations is modeled as a Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP). A learning MAC protocol that uses deterministic backoffs after successful transmissions is used as a decentralized solver for the CSP. The convergence process of the solver is modeled by an absorbing Markov chain (MC), and analytical, closed-form expres...