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Vague
Terms modified by Vague Selected AbstractsCultural Industries and the Creative Economy , Vague but Useful ConceptsGEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2009Jeff Boggs For those new to it, the literature on cultural industries can be confusing. While some authors refer to cultural industries, others refer to cultural-products industries or creative industries. Collectively, this heterogeneous group of industries comprises the cultural economy or the creative economy. Four typologies are presented, enabling one to more easily compare and contrast the essential features of commonly used definitions. The paper then discusses how this vague bundle of concepts is still useful as a lens on contemporary trends in industrialized economies. [source] What do they know?: a content analysis of women's perceptions of trial informationBJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 12 2004Sara Kenyon Objective To examine interpretations of study information by women participating in ORACLE, a trial of antibiotics in preterm labour. Design Questionnaire survey sent to women recruited to the ORACLE trial. Setting United Kingdom. Population A questionnaire was sent to 3074 ORACLE participants in a purposively selected sample of 55 collaborating maternity units, chosen to reflect a range of regions and of district general and teaching hospitals. Methods Content analysis was applied to verbatim text provided in response to an open question. Responses were also compared with a framework based on key points about the purpose of ORACLE. Closed questions were analysed using descriptive statistics. Main outcome measures Participants' interpretations of the purpose of the study. Results A response rate of 61% was achieved, and 1462 participants provided written answers to a specific question on why the study was being carried out. Content analysis suggested that the information leaflet was highly valued as a source of information about the trial. There was evidence that women's interpretations of the purpose of the trial were not identical to those that the investigators intended. Of the five key points about the trial described in the information leaflet, 400 (27%) participants reported one key point, 550 (38%) two key points, 229 (16%) three key points and 23 (1.5%) four key points. None reported five key points and it was not possible to classify 46 responses (3%). Vague, confused understanding or poor recall were evident in 204 (14%) of responses. Conclusion Although the ORACLE trial was run as a model of good practice at the time, this study suggests that it may not be possible to demonstrate full understanding of trial purpose and design by all participants. Emphasis should be on the provision of full information that involves consumers in its design and evaluation. [source] Precise entities but irredeemably vague concepts?DIALECTICA, Issue 3 2002Enrique Romerales Various arguments have recently been put forward to support the existence of vague or fuzzy objects. Nevertheless, the only possibly compelling argument would support, not the existence of vague objects, but indeterminately existing objects. I argue for the non-existence of any vague entities,either particulars or properties - in the mind-independent world. Even so, many philosophers have claimed that to reduce vagueness to semantics is of no avail, since linguistic vagueness betrays semantic incoherence and this is no less a problem than is ontological incoherence. After spelling out why there are fewer essentially vague concepts than usually thought. I claim that only the linguistic competence of the whole speaking community for each word can draw the sharp boundaries for its concept, even if these are unknowable in practice and still leave a precise range of indetermination. This could explain both the existence of boundaries and our non-removable ignorance of them, fulfilling the intuitions of the epistemic theory of vagueness with the supervaluationist's indeterminacy. [source] Doppler Superior Vena Cava Flow Evolution and Respiratory Variation in Superior Vena Cava SyndromeECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2008Fa Qin Lv M.D. Background: Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) is a clinical expression of obstruction of blood flow through the superior vena cava. The patterns of the Doppler flow changes of superior vena cava (SVC), especially the respiratory effects on them have not yet been fully elucidated. This study was to examine SVC Doppler flow patterns and the respiratory effects on them in healthy subjects and patients with SVCS. Methods: The SVC Doppler flow patterns of 18 normal human subjects and 22 patients with SVCS were analyzed at initial diagnosis and were followed up every 2 months for at least 11 months. Results: Among the 22 patients, 5 patients with the tumor near the right atrium oppressing the inferior segment of the SVC had clear VR- and AR-waves, while in the other 17 patients the VR- and AR-waves disappeared or their outlines were vague. The respiratory variations of the S- and D-waves as a percentage change in inspiration compared to expiration in patient group were much lower than those in control group (S-wave: 1.67 ± 3.32% vs. 15.65 ± 16.15%, P = 0.0003; D-wave: 1.80 ± 1.12% vs. 23.55 ± 37%, P = 0.0087), which gradually became larger with treatment and showed no significant difference with those in control group after 7 months. Conclusions: The Doppler flows of the patients with SVCS correlate well with the images of CT scan of them. The respiratory variation of the S- and D-velocities could be used to evaluate the severity of SVC obstruction and its therapeutic effect. [source] Poetic Experience: Found or Made?ENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 3 2002Andrew Stables Abstract This article considers the arguments for seeing work rather than response as key to poetic experience, and therefore to the development of such experience in the classroom. This is worth exploring not only in terms of the 1iterature/literacy curriculum, but with respect to the curriculum as a whole, since poetry is often invoked as an important, and under exploited, resource for the development of both cross-curricular learning and responsible and sustainable citizenship. However, there is a danger of the poetic being reduced in such arguments to a vague and philosophically suspect notion of self-expression grounded in ,response'. This can be exacerbated by the adherence to the notion of a pre-existing Romantic Ego that often characterises ,personal growth' approaches to Englis/language teaching. [source] The Birth of the CAP Die Geburt der GAP La naissance de la PACEUROCHOICES, Issue 2 2008David R. Stead Summary The Birth of the CAP Fifty years ago, a Conference was held at Stresa which could be said to be the single event that most appropriately marks the birth of the CAP. Although five policy objectives had been written into the 1957 Treaty of Rome, these have been widely criticised for being vague and contradictory, and the Treaty contained very few stipulations on the specific policy instruments to be adopted. The Stresa Conference made important, but incomplete, progress towards finalising the policy framework. Most notably, it was generally agreed to avoid a level of price support that created unwanted commodity surpluses and inhibited structural adjustment. But these good intentions, and the positive ,European spirit' of the Conference, began to unravel as soon as the fraught decisions were taken on the details of unifying the protectionist agricultural policies of six different countries. In particular, the decision to fix the initial level of common cereals prices at the upper end of the national spread set an unsatisfactory reference point for other support prices; and an attempt to introduce a genuine common structural policy was rejected. At the turn of the 1970s, the CAP was clearly unbalanced and protectionist, but the Community's first fully-fledged common policy had been constructed. Il y a cinquante ans, s'est tenue à Stresa une Conférence qui pourrait être considérée comme l'évènement unique qui marque le mieux la naissance de la PAC. Bien que cinq objectifs pour l'action publique aient été inscrits dans le Traité de Rome en 1957, leur caractère imprécis et contradictoire a fait l'objet de nombreuses critiques et le Traité ne comportait que de très rares indications sur les instruments de politique à adopter. La Conférence de Stresa a permis de réaliser des progrès importants mais incomplets dans la définition du cadre de l'action publique. Intéressant à noter, il a généralement été convenu d'éviter un niveau de soutien des prix qui engendrerait des surplus excessifs de produits de base et empêcherait l'ajustement structurel. Mais ces bonnes intentions, ainsi que l'esprit "européen" positif de la Conférence, ont commencéà se dissoudre dès que des décisions problématiques furent prises sur le détail de l'uniformisation des politiques agricoles protectionnistes de six pays différents. En particulier, la décision consistant à fixer le niveau initial des prix communs des céréales à la borne supérieur du spectre des prix nationaux a constitué un point de référence peu satisfaisant pour les autres prix de soutien; et la tentative d'introduire une vraie politique commune des structures a avorté. Au tournant des années soixante dix, la PAC était nettement déséquilibrée et protectionniste, mais la première politique complètement commune de la Communautéétait en place. Vor 50 Jahren fand in Stresa eine Konferenz statt, bei welcher es sich wohl um das einzige Ereignis handelt, welches am zutreffendsten als Geburtstag der GAP betrachtet werden kann. Obgleich die politische Zielsetzung bereits 1957 in den Römischen Verträgen festgelegt worden war, standen diese wegen ihrer vagen Formulierung und Widersprüchlichkeit häufig im Kreuzfeuer der Kritik. Die Verträge enthielten nur sehr wenige konkrete Vereinbarungen im Hinblick auf die einzuführenden politischen Instrumente. Durch die Konferenz in Stresa konnten wichtige, jedoch unvollständige, Fortschritte bei der Ausarbeitung der politischen Rahmenbedingungen erzielt werden. Vor allem gab es den allgemeinen Konsens, dass es aufgrund der Preisstützung nicht zu unerwünschten Überschüssen bei Agrarprodukten und zu einer Hemmung der Strukturanpassungen kommen dürfe. Diese guten Absichten und die "europäische Gesinnung" der Konferenz schwanden jedoch, als die bedeutsamen Entscheidungen hinsichtlich der Einzelheiten für die Vereinheitlichung der protektionistischen Agrarpolitiken der sechs verschiedenen Länder getroffen wurden. Insbesondere die Entscheidung, das Anfangsniveau der gemeinsamen Preise für Getreide an der oberen Grenze der nationalen Preisspannen festzumachen, legte einen unbefriedigenden Referenzpunkt für die übrigen Stützpreise fest. Der Vorschlag, eine originär gemeinsame Strukturpolitik einzuführen, wurde abgelehnt. Um 1970 war die GAP eindeutig unausgewogen und protektionistisch; der Entwurf der ersten vollständigen gemeinsamen Politik der Gemeinschaft war jedoch abgeschlossen. [source] Populism as political communication style: An empirical study of political parties' discourse in BelgiumEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2007JAN JAGERS Within the broad discussion about populism and its relationship with extreme-right, this article is confined to three topics: a conceptual, an epistemological and an empirical issue. First, taking a clear position in the ongoing definition struggle, populism is defined primarily as a specific political communication style. Populism is conceived of as a political style essentially displaying proximity of the people, while at the same time taking an anti-establishment stance and stressing the (ideal) homogeneity of the people by excluding specific population segments. Second, it is pointed out that defining populism as a style enables one to turn it into a useful concept that has too often remained vague and blurred. Third, drawing on an operational definition of populism, a comparative discourse analysis of the political party broadcasts of the Belgian parties is carried out. The quantitative analysis leads to a clear conclusion. In terms of the degree and the kinds of populism embraced by the six political parties under scrutiny, the extreme-right party Vlaams Blok behaves very differently from the other Belgian parties. Its messages are a copybook example of populism. [source] Some applications of fuzzy logic in rule,based expert systemsEXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 4 2002Trung T. Pham Fuzzy logic has been used as a means of interpreting vague, incomplete and even contradictory information into a compromised rule base in artificial intelligence such as machine decision,making. Within this context, fuzzy logic can be applied in the field of expert systems to provide additional flexibilities in constructing a working rule base: different experts' opinions can be incorporated into the same rule base, and each opinion can be modeled in a rather vague notion of human language. As some illustrative application examples, this paper describes how fuzzy logic can be used in expert systems. More precisely, it demonstrates the following applications: (i) a healthcare diagnostic system, (ii) an autofocus camera lens system and (iii) a financial decision system. For each application, basic rules are described, the calculation method is outlined and numerical simulation is provided. These applications demonstrate the suitability and performance of fuzzy logic in expert systems. [source] Public Versus Private: The Empty Definitions of National AccountingFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2000Rowan Jones The policy-making processes and the policies of the two international systems of national accounts are addressed, from the perspective of the accounting discipline. The particular measurement issue that determines which parts of an economy are public and which are private - the reporting entity - is discussed. The main conclusion is that the definition of the reporting entities is so vague as to be empty; in other words, national accounting's definition of what is public and what is private is empty. [source] The carrying capacity of ecosystemsGLOBAL ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2004Pablo Del Monte-Luna ABSTRACT We analyse the concept of carrying capacity (CC), from populations to the biosphere, and offer a definition suitable for any level. For communities and ecosystems, the CC evokes density-dependence assumptions analogous to those of population dynamics. At the biosphere level, human CC is uncertain and dynamic, leading to apprehensive rather than practical conclusions. The term CC is widely used among ecological disciplines but remains vague and elusive. We propose the following definition: the CC is ,the limit of growth or development of each and all hierarchical levels of biological integration, beginning with the population, and shaped by processes and interdependent relationships between finite resources and the consumers of those resources'. The restrictions of the concept relate to the hierarchical approach. Emergent properties arise at each level, and environmental heterogeneity restrains the measurement and application of the CC. Because the CC entails a myriad of interrelated, ever-changing biotic and abiotic factors, it must not be assumed constant, if we are to derive more effective and realistic management schemes. At the ecosystem level, stability and resilience are dynamic components of the CC. Historical processes that help shape global biodiversity (e.g. continental drift, glaciations) are likely drivers of large-scale changes in the earth's CC. Finally, world population growth and consumption of resources by humanity will necessitate modifications to the paradigm of sustainable development, and demand a clear and fundamental understanding of how CC operates across all biological levels. [source] Oral and pharyngeal cancer: Analysis of patient delay at different tumor stagesHEAD & NECK: JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES & SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK, Issue 11 2005Xavier D. R. Brouha MD Abstract Background. The aim of this study was to examine which factors are related to patient delay in a cohort of consecutive patients with pharyngeal cancer and oral cancer and to determine whether the different stages of patient delay (ie, appraisal, illness, behavioral, and scheduling) were related to different tumor stages. Methods. Before treatment, 55 patients with pharyngeal cancer and 134 patients with oral cancer were interviewed about their prediagnostic period. To verify the data, a questionnaire was sent to the general practitioner and/or dentist and a close relative. Results. Patients with a delay of more than 30 days were significantly more often diagnosed with late-stage (T3,T4) disease (pharynx, p = .01, odds ratio [OR] = 4.5; oral, p = .01, OR = 3.2). No sociodemographic characteristics were associated with patient delay. Conclusions. Prolonged patient delay was associated with late-stage disease for both patients with pharyngeal cancer and patients with oral cancer. Although for most patients the symptoms are vague or might look like a common cold or infection, the general public should be better informed about tumor symptoms. This may enhance earlier visits to a health care professional. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck27: XXX,XXX, 2005 [source] Coherence and Ambiguity in HistoryHISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 2 2000Thijs Pollmann This article is about the logic of the concept of "coherence" as used by historians to justify an argument. Despite its effectiveness in historical arguments, coherence is problematic for epistemologists and some theorists of history. The main purpose of this article is to present some insights that bear upon the logical status of coherence. As will be demonstrated, this will also shed some light on the allegedly dubious epistemological position of coherence. In general I will argue that, logically seen, coherence is a property of a set of related beliefs that makes it possible to justify a choice out of different factually justifiable interpretations. Coherence disambiguates vague or ambiguous observations. As words lose their vagueness or ambiguity in contexts, so do contexts disambiguate historical facts. My argument will be based on some relatively recent findings about the cognitive processes underlying vision and reading. Research in the field of text linguistics is used to show what kinds of relationships exist between historical representations that might be considered to cohere. [source] Nuclear power plant communications in normative and actual practice: A field study of control room operators' communicationsHUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 1 2007Paulo V.R. Carvalho The safety and availability of sociotechnical critical systems still relies on human operators, both through human reliability and human ability to handle adequately unexpected events. In this article, the authors focus on ergonomic field studies of nuclear power plant control room operator activities, and more specifically on the analysis of communications within control room crews. They show how operators use vague and porous verbal exchanges to produce continuous, redundant, and diverse interactions to successfully construct and maintain individual and mutual awareness, which is paramount to achieve system stability and safety. Such continuous interactions enable the operators to prevent, detect, and reverse system errors or flaws by anticipation or regulation. This study helps in providing cues for the design of more workable systems for human cooperation in nuclear power plant operation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 17: 43,78, 2007. [source] The British partnership phenomenon: a ten year reviewHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009Stewart Johnstone This article presents a detailed review of the vast partnership literature that has emerged in the UK between 1998 and 2008. It begins by examining definitions of partnership, and suggests that while academic definitions are vague, practitioner definitions tend to conflate partnership processes with partnership outcomes. An alternative definition based upon processes and practices is offered. This is followed by a review of the conceptual advocates/critics debate, and the key themes of empirical partnership studies. It is proposed that while recent empirical evidence identifies a variety of outcomes and presents various typologies of partnership, there is an absence of debates on typologies in the literature. The article then identifies several limitations of the existing literature, including ideological positions, a lack of sensitivity to context and to different types of partnership, and a focus on outcomes. The article concludes by suggesting avenues for future partnership research. [source] Application of fuzzy logic to forecast seasonal runoffHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 18 2003C. Mahabir Abstract Each spring in Alberta, Canada, the potential snowmelt runoff is forecast for several basins to assess the water supply situation. Water managers need this forecast to plan water allocations for the following summer season. The Lodge Creek and Middle Creek basins, located in southeastern Alberta, are two basins that require this type of late winter forecast of potential spring runoff. Historically, the forecast has been based upon a combination of regression equations. These results are then interpreted by a forecaster and are modified based on the forecaster's heuristic knowledge of the basin. Unfortunately, this approach has had limited success in the past, in terms of the accuracy of these forecasts, and consequently an alternative methodology is needed. In this study, the applicability of fuzzy logic modelling techniques for forecasting water supply was investigated. Fuzzy logic has been applied successfully in several fields where the relationship between cause and effect (variable and results) are vague. Fuzzy variables were used to organize knowledge that is expressed ,linguistically' into a formal analysis. For example, ,high snowpack', ,average snowpack' and ,low snowpack' became variables. By applying fuzzy logic, a water supply forecast was created that classified potential runoff into three forecast zones: ,low', ,average' and ,high'. Spring runoff forecasts from the fuzzy expert systems were found to be considerably more reliable than the regression models in forecasting the appropriate runoff zone, especially in terms of identifying low or average runoff years. Based on the modelling results in these two basins, it is concluded that fuzzy logic has a promising potential for providing reliable water supply forecasts. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Is ,nocturnal hypothermia' a valid physiological concept in small birds?: a study on Bronze Mannikins Spermestes cucullatusIBIS, Issue 4 2003Barry G. Lovegrove The thermoregulatory capacity and metabolic responses to light,dark cycles under various mild food-deprivation treatments were measured in Bronze Mannikins Spermestes cucullatus (10,11 g). We measured the response of minimum oxygen consumption to ambient temperature in order to determine the basal metabolic rate (BMR), thermal conductance and limits of thermoneutrality of the Mannikins. In addition, we measured oxygen consumption in response to light,dark cycles and three mild food-deprivation treatments. Bronze Mannikins have a low BMR (1.67 mlO2/g/h) that is c. 50,60% of that predicted from phylogenetically independent allometric curves for all birds. A low BMR resulted in amplitudes of metabolism between the active and rest phases that were double those predicted allometrically from body mass. The reduced nocturnal metabolic rate did not represent torpor. Typically, Mannikins would need to reduce their metabolic rate during the rest phase to c. 17% of BMR to attain the average torpor metabolic rate of other birds. The data are, however, consistent with those of other group-living Afrotropical birds that benefit energetically from group huddling in environments in which moderate seasonality is accompanied by unpredictable climates , and thus unpredictable energy inputs in time and space. When food-deprived and placed under moderate cold stress (20 °C), Mannikins decreased their rest-phase metabolic rates to the same magnitude as several small Holarctic birds. We suggest that, in the context of the progress made to quantify and define proximate heterothermic responses in endotherms, such as torpor and hibernation, the term nocturnal hypothermia often applied to moderate nocturnal reductions in metabolic rate is vague, misleading and inappropriate. [source] Assessing early warning signals of currency crises: a fuzzy clustering approachINTELLIGENT SYSTEMS IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCE & MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2006Shuhua Liu In the period of 1990s alone, four waves of financial crises occurred around the world. The repeated occurrence of financial crises stimulated a large number of theoretical and empirical studies on the phenomena, in particular studies on the determinants of or early warning signals of financial crises. Nonetheless, the different studies of early warning systems have achieved mixed results and there remains much room for further investigation. Since, so far, the empirical studies have focused on conventional economic modelling methods such as simplified probabilistic models and regression models, in this study we examine whether new insights can be gained from the application of the fuzzy clustering method. The theories of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic offer us the means to deal with uncertainties inherent in a wide variety of tasks, especially when the uncertainty is not the result of randomness but the result of unknown factors and relationships that are difficult to explain. They also provide us with the instruments to treat vague and imprecise linguistic values and to model nonlinear relationships. This paper presents empirical results from analysing the Finnish currency crisis in 1992 using the fuzzy C-means clustering method. We first provide the relevant background knowledge and introduce the fuzzy clustering method. We then show how the use of fuzzy C-means method can help us to identify the critical levels of important economic indicators for predicting of financial crises. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Numerical simulation of the fracture process in cutting heterogeneous brittle materialINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 13 2002H. Y. Liu Abstract The process of cutting homogeneous soft material has been investigated extensively. However, there are not so many studies on cutting heterogeneous brittle material. In this paper, R-T2D (Rock and Tool interaction), based on the rock failure process analysis model, is developed to simulate the fracture process in cutting heterogeneous brittle material. The simulated results reproduce the process involved in the fragmentation of rock or rock-like material under mechanical tools: the build-up of the stress field, the formation of the crushed zone, surface chipping, and the formation of the crater and subsurface cracks. Due to the inclusion of heterogeneity in the model, some new features in cutting brittle material are revealed. Firstly, macroscopic cracks sprout at the two edges of the cutter in a tensile mode. Then with the tensile cracks releasing the confining pressure, the rock in the initially high confining pressure zone is compressed into failure and the crushed zone gradually comes into being. The cracked zone near the crushed zone is always available, which makes the boundary of the crushed zone vague. Some cracks propagate to form chipping cracks and some dip into the rock to form subsurface cracks. The chipping cracks are mainly driven to propagate in a tensile mode or a mixed tensile and shear mode, following curvilinear paths, and finally intersect with the free surface to form chips. According to the simulated results, some qualitative and quantitative analyses are performed. It is found that the back rake angle of the cutter has an important effect on the cutting efficiency. Although the quantitative analysis needs more research work, it is not difficult to see the promise that the numerical method holds. It can be utilized to improve our understanding of tool,rock interaction and rock failure mechanisms under the action of mechanical tools, which, in turn, will be useful in assisting the design of fragmentation equipment and fragmentation operations. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A goal-driven approach for service request modelingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 8 2010Chiung-Hon Leon Lee We propose a goal-driven approach to model the service request intention in service-oriented systems. The service request intention can be extracted from the user input and modeled by predefined goal models. We identify this problem as the service request intention extraction. If a service-oriented system has the abilities of user's intention extraction and can make some activities to satisfy the extracted intention, the system can provide a more convenient and efficient service for the user. We start the system construction from the view of goal-driven requirements engineering. The requirements specification is generated by the goal-based requirements analysis in which the functional and nonfunctional requirements will be extended with goal models. A set of computable goal models that represent the user requirements is selected and refined as the basis of system services. The designer can also design related system services based on the requirements specification. Based on the proposed intention extraction approach, the user's vague and imprecise intention will be extracted and mapped to computer understandable and computable goal models for representing the intention. A case-based method is developed to implement the intention extraction process. The intention interpretation knowledge is stored in a case base, and the intention interpretation is based on the process of case retrieval and adaptation. A general architecture for an intention-aware service-oriented system is proposed for demonstrating how to apply the proposed approach. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] A framework for linguistic logic programmingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 6 2010Tru H. Cao Lawry's label semantics for modeling and computing with linguistic information in natural language provides a clear interpretation of linguistic expressions and thus a transparent model for real-world applications. Meanwhile, annotated logic programs (ALPs) and its fuzzy extension AFLPs have been developed as an extension of classical logic programs offering a powerful computational framework for handling uncertain and imprecise data within logic programs. This paper proposes annotated linguistic logic programs (ALLPs) that embed Lawry's label semantics into the ALP/AFLP syntax, providing a linguistic logic programming formalism for development of automated reasoning systems involving soft data as vague and imprecise concepts occurring frequently in natural language. The syntax of ALLPs is introduced, and their declarative semantics is studied. The ALLP SLD-style proof procedure is then defined and proved to be sound and complete with respect to the declarative semantics of ALLPs. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Determining the importance weights for the design requirements in the house of quality using the fuzzy analytic network approachINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 5 2004Gülçin Büyüközkan Quality function deployment (QFD) has been used to translate customer needs (CNs) and wants into technical design requirements (DRs) in order to increase customer satisfaction. QFD uses the house of quality (HOQ), which is a matrix providing a conceptual map for the design process, as a construct for understanding CNs and establishing priorities of DRs to satisfy them. This article uses the analytic network process (ANP), the general form of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), to prioritize DRs by taking into account the degree of the interdependence between the CNs and DRs and the inner dependence among them. In addition, because human judgment on the importance of requirements is always imprecise and vague, this work concentrates on a fuzzy ANP approach in which triangular fuzzy numbers are used to improve the quality of the responsiveness to CNs and DRs. A numerical example is presented to show the proposed methodology. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Generalized rough approach to reduction of a decision tableINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 5 2003Shrabonti Ghosh In this article, Pawlak's rough approach for simplifying a decision table in an information system has been generalized. An information system has been considered in which attribute values are not always quantitative, but rather subjective, having vague or imprecise meanings. Some objects may have attribute values that are almost identical, i.e., they cannot be distinguished clearly by the attributes. Considering this observation, a generalized method has been proposed for reduction of a decision table for different choice values of , and ,, , being for condition attributes and , for decision attributes where ,, , , [0, 1]. For , = 1 and , = 1, the method reduces to Pawlak's method. However, for , < 1 and , < 1, the proposed method is more flexible than Pawlak's method. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] The conjunction fallacy: explanations of the linda problem by the theory of hintsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 1 2003Hans Wolfgang Brachinger Empirical research has shown that in some situations, subjects tend to assign a probability to a conjunction of two events that is larger than the probability they assign to each of these two events. This empirical phenomenon is traditionally called the conjunction fallacy. One of the best-known experiments used to demonstrate the conjunction fallacy is the Linda problem introduced by Tversky and Kahneman in 1982. They explain the "fallacious behavior" by their so-called judgemental heuristics. These heuristics have been criticized heavily as being far "too vague to count as explanations". In this article, it is shown that the "fallacious behavior" in the Linda problem can be explained by the so-called theory of hints. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Implicit predicates for handling disjunctive fuzzy information in fuzzy databasesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 11 2002Jae Dong Yang There are two aspects of uncertainty: vagueness and ambiguity. This paper proposes IP (Implicit Predicate) to support both vagueness and ambiguity in fuzzy databases by allowing disjunctive fuzzy information. IP is basically a descriptor dedicated to an unknown value which turns out to be ambiguous as well as vague in nature. In this paper we demonstrate that IP is a promising construct which can not only deal with disjunctive fuzzy information, but also make a sophisticated concept-based match possible by coupling thesauri with fuzzy databases. We also propose a query evaluation mechanism to derive exact answers from the disjunctive fuzzy information by fully exploiting IPs. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] A comparison of three closest fit approaches to missing attribute values in preterm birth dataINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 2 2002Jerzy W. Grzymala-Busse One of the main problems of data mining is imperfection of input data. Such data may be uncertain, vague, and incomplete. In our data set, describing preterm birth, many attribute values were missing, that is, the input data set was incomplete. The main approach to solving the missing attribute value problem was based on a closest fit: a missing attribute value in a case was replaced by the existing attribute value in the best candidate, a case that fits as closely as possible (resembles the most) the case with the missing attribute value. We experimented with three methods based on the idea of the closest fit: looking for the best candidate among the set of all cases, among the cases that belong to the same concept (cases within the same class as the case with missing attribute values), and a special method, where the set of all attributes was restricted to a single attribute with the missing attribute value. In the last method, the missing attribute value was replaced by the most common value within the concept for symbolic attributes, and by the average value of all attribute values of the same concept for numerical attributes. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source] Truth-telling, honesty and compassion: A virtue-based exploration of a dilemma in practiceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 5 2008Ann M Begley In this paper a discussion of the strengths of a virtue-based approach to ethics in nursing is discussed. Virtue ethics is often depicted as vague and lacking in any convincing application to the reality of practice. It is argued that exploring issues from a virtue perspective offers the possibility of a sensitive moral response which is grounded in the context of the client and his family. Far from being vague, virtue ethics offers guidance in practice, but this guidance acknowledges the complexity of individual lives as opposed to the impartiality and abstract nature of traditional moral theory, rules and principles. The vehicle for discussion is a case in practice. The position presented here is that in taking account of the salient features of each individual case, withholding the truth from adults with a life threatening illness can be justified for compassionate reasons. [source] Critiquing Bachelor candidates' theses: are the criteria useful?INTERNATIONAL NURSING REVIEW, Issue 2 2002I. Kapborg RN Abstract Nursing education programmes should be at an academic level and connected to research. In Sweden, empirical studies are generally required in order to obtain a Bachelor's degree; hence, in some cases, these studies are replaced by a literature review. A study was conducted using 11 criteria. Thirteen theses produced in a department of nursing science were examined, elaborated and reproduced by reviewing international and national literature. Thereafter, the criteria themselves were scrutinized. Principal findings when critiquing the theses were that in eight theses the purpose was clearly identified and well defined in relation to the study accomplished; in three theses the purpose was indistinct and vague; and in two the definitions and research questions were lacking. The topic was relevant for the area of nursing in all theses. General problems identified were poor spelling and grammar, and unsatisfactory thesis structure. This article discusses whether criteria are useful when examining the Bachelor candidates' theses. The authors report that the criteria seemed to be useful, giving some guidance for scrutinizing theses and facilitating correspondence. Criteria could be appropriate guidelines for using to increase the quality of the theses as well as the quality of nursing. [source] Using Cpk index with fuzzy numbers to evaluate service qualityINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 6 2002Hong Tau Lee Service quality is measured by customers' satisfaction. Traditionally, the degree of satisfaction is calculated from the data obtained from questionnaires that have been filled by customers directly. The percentile of each different level of a customer's satisfaction is employed to summarize and compare the quality of service provided by different enterprises. This approach does not consider the consistency of the customers' perceptions, thus making comparison difficult. This paper introduces the concept of a process capability index that considers both the average and the consistency of the data simultaneously. Evaluations of service quality are usually vague and linguistic. We use the fuzzy numbers of linguistic variables developed in fuzzy set theory to modify the process capability index, and then apply it to evaluate the quality of a service. The average and consistency of the data obtained from a service quality evaluation are thus considered simultaneously, making the comparison of the performance of service quality easier. Moreover, the value of the index can be applied to help to point out the direction for improving the performance of service quality whenever it is lower than some default value. [source] Building a consensus regarding the nature and origin of mesenchymal stem cellsJOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY, Issue S38 2002Donald G. PhinneyArticle first published online: 23 APR 200 Abstract Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are believed to be the common precursors to differentiated cell lineages found in bone and bone marrow, including adipocytes, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and hematopoiesis-supporting stroma. Apart from this fact, most aspects of MSC biology, including their ontogeny, anatomical location in marrow, and in vivo functions remain vague. Attempts to clarify these issues have produced confounding results, principally due to the fact that many researchers employ different methods to culture MSCs, assess their differentiation potential, and evaluate their capacity for self-renewal. Accordingly, the current status of the field appears fragmentary with no clear consensus on how to define the cells. In describing past and present contributions to the field of MSC research, I will demonstrate that the apparent incongruity of the literature is misleading, and that an unbiased interpretation reveals a fairly cohesive picture of MSC biology. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl. 38: 7,12, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Stroke patients in nursing homes: eating, feeding, nutrition and related careJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 4 2002SUZANNE KUMLIEN LMSc ,,The purpose of this study was to explore eating, feeding and nutrition among stroke patients in nursing homes as described by their nurses and by assessments. ,,Registered Nurses were interviewed about an individual stroke patient's state of health, care needs and nursing care received and nursing records were reviewed. Information on eating, feeding and nutrition was extracted from the interviews and nursing records. A comprehensive instrument, the Resident Assessment Instrument, was also used to assess these patients' state of health. The domains of eating, feeding and nutrition were focused on in this study. Manifest content analysis was used. ,,The results showed that more than 80% of the stroke patients in nursing homes were assessed as having some sort of dependence in eating. According to the Registered Nurses, 22 out of 40 patients demonstrated different eating disabilities. The number of eating disabilities in individual patients ranged from 1 to 7, which emphasized the complexity of eating disabilities in stroke patients. Dysphagia was reported in almost one-fourth of the patients and 30% were described and/or assessed as having a poor food intake or poor appetite. The Registered Nurses' descriptions of the eating disabilities, nutritional problems and their care were often vague and unspecific. Only six weights were documented in the nursing records and there were no nutritional records. ,,The findings highlight the importance of making careful observations and assessments, and of maintaining documentation about eating and nutrition early after a patient's arrival in the nursing home to enable appropriate care and promotion of health. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||