OpenRaiser/Intern-Atlas huggingface dataset:
Modelling Legal Contracts as Processes
Venue: arXiv cs.AI 2001
Year: 2001

This paper concentrates on the representation of the legal relations that obtain between parties once they have entered a contractual agreement and their evolution as the agreement progresses through time. Contracts are regarded as process and they are analysed in terms of the obligations that are active at various points during their life span. An informal notation is introduced that summarizes conveniently the states of an agreement as it evolves over time. Such a representation enables us to determine what the status of an agreement is, given an event or a sequence of events that concern the performance of actions by the agents involved. This is useful both in the context of contract drafting (where parties might wish to preview how their agreement might evolve) and in the context of contract performance monitoring (where parties might with to establish what their legal positions are once their agreement is in force). The discussion is based on an example that illustrates some typical patterns of contractual obligations.
The Set of Equations to Evaluate Objects
Venue: arXiv cs.LO 2001
Year: 2001

The notion of an equational shell is studied to involve the objects and their environment. Appropriate methods are studied as valid embeddings of refined objects. The refinement process determines the linkages between the variety of possible representations giving rise to variants of computations. The case study is equipped with the adjusted equational systems that validate the initial applicative framework.
L.T.Kuzin: Research Program
Venue: arXiv cs.DM 2001
Year: 2001

Lev T. Kuzin (1928--1997) is one of the founders of modern cybernetics and information science in Russia. He was awarded and honored the USSR State Prize for inspiring vision into the future of technical cybernetics and his invention and innovation of key technologies. The last years he interested in the computational models of geometrical and algebraic nature and their applications in various branches of computer science and information technologies. In the recent years the interest in computation models based on object notion has grown tremendously stimulating an interest to Kuzin's ideas. This year of 50th Anniversary of Cybernetics and on the occasion of his 70th birthday on September 12, 1998 seems especially appropriate for discussing Kuzin's Research Program.
Organizing Encyclopedic Knowledge based on the Web and its Application to Question Answering
Venue: arXiv cs.CL 2001
Year: 2001

We propose a method to generate large-scale encyclopedic knowledge, which is valuable for much NLP research, based on the Web. We first search the Web for pages containing a term in question. Then we use linguistic patterns and HTML structures to extract text fragments describing the term. Finally, we organize extracted term descriptions based on word senses and domains. In addition, we apply an automatically generated encyclopedia to a question answering system targeting the Japanese Information-Technology Engineers Examination.
Building the access pointers to a computation environment
Venue: arXiv cs.LO 2001
Year: 2001

A common object technique equipped with the categorical and computational styles is briefly outlined. An object is evaluated by embedding in a host computational environment which is the domain-ranged structure. An embedded object is accessed by the pointers generated within the host system. To assist with an easy extract the result of the evaluation a pre-embedded object is generated. It is observed as the decomposition into substitutional part and access function part which are generated during the object evaluation.
Information Integration and Computational Logic
Venue: arXiv cs.AI 2001
Year: 2001

Information Integration is a young and exciting field with enormous research and commercial significance in the new world of the Information Society. It stands at the crossroad of Databases and Artificial Intelligence requiring novel techniques that bring together different methods from these fields. Information from disparate heterogeneous sources often with no a-priori common schema needs to be synthesized in a flexible, transparent and intelligent way in order to respond to the demands of a query thus enabling a more informed decision by the user or application program. The field although relatively young has already found many practical applications particularly for integrating information over the World Wide Web. This paper gives a brief introduction of the field highlighting some of the main current and future research issues and application areas. It attempts to evaluate the current and potential role of Computational Logic in this and suggests some of the problems where logic-based techniques could be used.
Polymorphic type inference for the relational algebra
Venue: arXiv cs.LO 2001
Year: 2001

We give a polymorphic account of the relational algebra. We introduce a formalism of ``type formulas'' specifically tuned for relational algebra expressions, and present an algorithm that computes the ``principal'' type for a given expression. The principal type of an expression is a formula that specifies, in a clear and concise manner, all assignments of types (sets of attributes) to relation names, under which a given relational algebra expression is well-typed, as well as the output type that expression will have under each of these assignments. Topics discussed include complexity and polymorphic expressive power.
Lower Bounds for Zero-knowledge on the Internet
Venue: arXiv cs.CR 2001
Year: 2001

We consider zero knowledge interactive proofs in a richer, more realistic communication environment. In this setting, one may simultaneously engage in many interactive proofs, and these proofs may take place in an asynchronous fashion. It is known that zero-knowledge is not necessarily preserved in such an environment; we show that for a large class of protocols, it cannot be preserved. Any 4 round (computational) zero-knowledge interactive proof (or argument) for a non-trivial language L is not black-box simulatable in the asynchronous setting.
The Role of Conceptual Relations in Word Sense Disambiguation
Venue: arXiv cs.CL 2001
Year: 2001

We explore many ways of using conceptual distance measures in Word Sense Disambiguation, starting with the Agirre-Rigau conceptual density measure. We use a generalized form of this measure, introducing many (parameterized) refinements and performing an exhaustive evaluation of all meaningful combinations. We finally obtain a 42% improvement over the original algorithm, and show that measures of conceptual distance are not worse indicators for sense disambiguation than measures based on word-coocurrence (exemplified by the Lesk algorithm). Our results, however, reinforce the idea that only a combination of different sources of knowledge might eventually lead to accurate word sense disambiguation.
Distributed Broadcast in Wireless Networks with Unknown Topology
Venue: arXiv cs.DS 2001
Year: 2001

A multi-hop synchronous wirelss network is said to be unknown if the nodes have no knowledge of the topology. A basic task in wireless network is that of broadcasting a message (created by a fixed source node) to all nodes of the network. The multi-broadcast that consists in performing a set of r independent broadcasts. In this paper, we study the completion and the termination time of distributed protocols for both the (single) broadcast and the multi-broadcast operations on unknown networks as functions of the number of nodes n, the maximum eccentricity D, the maximum in-degree Delta, and the congestion c of the networks. We establish new connections between these operations and some combinatorial concepts, such as selective families, strongly-selective families (also known as superimposed codes), and pairwise r-different families. Such connections, combined with a set of new lower and upper bounds on the size of the above families, allow us to derive new lower bounds and new distributed protocols for the broadcast and multi-broadcast operations. In particular, our upper bounds are almost tight and improve exponentially over the previous bounds when D and Delta are polylogarithmic in n. Network topologies having ``small'' eccentricity and ``small'' degree (such as bounded-degree expanders) are often used in practice to achieve efficient communication.
Computer validated proofs of a toolset for adaptable arithmetic
Venue: arXiv cs.MS 2001
Year: 2001

Most existing implementations of multiple precision arithmetic demand that the user sets the precision {\em a priori}. Some libraries are said adaptable in the sense that they dynamically change the precision of each intermediate operation individually to deliver the target accuracy according to the actual inputs. We present in this text a new adaptable numeric core inspired both from floating point expansions and from on-line arithmetic. The numeric core is cut down to four tools. The tool that contains arithmetic operations is proved to be correct. The proofs have been formally checked by the Coq assistant. Developing the proofs, we have formally proved many results published in the literature and we have extended a few of them. This work may let users (i) develop application specific adaptable libraries based on the toolset and / or (ii) write new formal proofs based on the set of validated facts.
Propositional satisfiability in answer-set programming
Venue: arXiv cs.AI 2001
Year: 2001

We show that propositional logic and its extensions can support answer-set programming in the same way stable logic programming and disjunctive logic programming do. To this end, we introduce a logic based on the logic of propositional schemata and on a version of the Closed World Assumption. We call it the extended logic of propositional schemata with CWA (PS+, in symbols). An important feature of this logic is that it supports explicit modeling of constraints on cardinalities of sets. In the paper, we characterize the class of problems that can be solved by finite PS+ theories. We implement a programming system based on the logic PS+ and design and implement a solver for processing theories in PS+. We present encouraging performance results for our approach --- we show it to be competitive with smodels, a state-of-the-art answer-set programming system based on stable logic programming.
Using Methods of Declarative Logic Programming for Intelligent Information Agents
Venue: arXiv cs.MA 2001
Year: 2001

The search for information on the web is faced with several problems, which arise on the one hand from the vast number of available sources, and on the other hand from their heterogeneity. A promising approach is the use of multi-agent systems of information agents, which cooperatively solve advanced information-retrieval problems. This requires capabilities to address complex tasks, such as search and assessment of sources, query planning, information merging and fusion, dealing with incomplete information, and handling of inconsistency. In this paper, our interest is in the role which some methods from the field of declarative logic programming can play in the realization of reasoning capabilities for information agents. In particular, we are interested in how they can be used and further developed for the specific needs of this application domain. We review some existing systems and current projects, which address information-integration problems. We then focus on declarative knowledge-representation methods, and review and evaluate approaches from logic programming and nonmonotonic reasoning for information agents. We discuss advantages and drawbacks, and point out possible extensions and open issues.
Scalable Unix Commands for Parallel Processors: A High-Performance Implementation
Venue: arXiv cs.DC 2001
Year: 2001

We describe a family of MPI applications we call the Parallel Unix Commands. These commands are natural parallel versions of common Unix user commands such as ls, ps, and find, together with a few similar commands particular to the parallel environment. We describe the design and implementation of these programs and present some performance results on a 256-node Linux cluster. The Parallel Unix Commands are open source and freely available.
Abstract Computability, Algebraic Specification and Initiality
Venue: arXiv cs.LO 2001
Year: 2001

computable functions are defined by abstract finite deterministic algorithms on many-sorted algebras. We show that there exist finite universal algebraic specifications that specify uniquely (up to isomorphism) (i) all abstract computable functions on any many-sorted algebra; and (ii) all functions effectively approximable by abstract computable functions on any metric algebra. We show that there exist universal algebraic specifications for all the classically computable functions on the set R of real numbers. The algebraic specifications used are mainly bounded universal equations and conditional equations. We investigate the initial algebra semantics of these specifications, and derive situations where algebraic specifications define precisely the computable functions.
Architectural Framework for Large-Scale Multicast in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks
Venue: arXiv cs.NI 2001
Year: 2001

Emerging ad hoc networks are infrastructure-less networks consisting of wireless devices with various power constraints, capabilities and mobility characteristics. An essential capability in future ad hoc networks is the ability to provide scalable multicast services. This paper presents a novel adaptive architecture to support multicast services in large-scale wide-area ad hoc networks. Existing works on multicast in ad hoc networks address only small size networks. Our main design goals are scalability, robustness and efficiency. We propose a self-configuring hierarchy extending zone-based routing with the notion of contacts based on the small world graphs phenomenon and new metrics of stability and mobility. We introduce a new geographic-based multicast address allocation scheme coupled with adaptive anycast based on group popularity. Our scheme is the first of its kind and promises efficient and robust operation in the common case. Also, based on the new concept of rendezvous regions, we provide a bootstrap mechanism for the multicast service; a challenge generally ignored in previous work.
Conceptual Analysis of Lexical Taxonomies: The Case of WordNet Top-Level
Venue: arXiv cs.CL 2001
Year: 2001

In this paper we propose an analysis and an upgrade of WordNet's top-level synset taxonomy. We briefly review WordNet and identify its main semantic limitations. Some principles from a forthcoming OntoClean methodology are applied to the ontological analysis of WordNet. A revised top-level taxonomy is proposed, which is meant to be more conceptually rigorous, cognitively transparent, and efficiently exploitable in several applications.
Exact Complexity of Exact-Four-Colorability
Venue: arXiv cs.CC 2001
Year: 2001

Let $M_k \seq \nats$ be a given set that consists of $k$ noncontiguous integers. Define $\exactcolor{M_k}$ to be the problem of determining whether $χ(G)$, the chromatic number of a given graph $G$, equals one of the $k$ elements of the set $M_k$ exactly. In 1987, Wagner \cite{wag:j:min-max} proved that $\exactcolor{M_k}$ is $\bhlevel{2k}$-complete, where $M_k = \{6k+1, 6k+3, >..., 8k-1 \}$ and $\bhlevel{2k}$ is the $2k$th level of the boolean hierarchy over $\np$. In particular, for $k = 1$, it is DP-complete to determine whether $χ(G) = 7$, where $\DP = \bhlevel{2}$. Wagner raised the question of how small the numbers in a $k$-element set $M_k$ can be chosen such that $\exactcolor{M_k}$ still is $\bhlevel{2k}$-complete. In particular, for $k = 1$, he asked if it is DP-complete to determine whether $χ(G) = 4$. In this note, we solve this question of Wagner and determine the precise threshold $t \in \{4, 5, 6, 7\}$ for which the problem $\exactcolor{\{t\}}$ jumps from NP to DP-completeness: It is DP-complete to determine whether $χ(G) = 4$, yet $\exactcolor{\{3\}}$ is in $\np$. More generally, for each $k \geq 1$, we show that $\exactcolor{M_k}$ is $\bhlevel{2k}$-complete for $M_k = \{3k+1, 3k+3,..., 5k-1\}$.
Internet TV: Business Models and Program Content
Venue: arXiv cs.CY 2001
Year: 2001

Internet technology should eventually provide important improvements over established media not only in the efficiency of broadband delivery, and of particularimportance, in the efficiency of business models that can be used to collect money for that programming. I identify five economic characteristics of Internet technology that should lead to these greater efficiencies: (1) lower delivery costs and reduced capacity constraints, (2) more efficient interactivity, (3) more efficient advertising and sponsorship, (4) more efficient direct pricing and bundling, and (5) lower costs of copying and sharing. The most successful Internet TV business models are likely to involve syndication to or from other media, and also international distribution. In the broader context, Internet TV is another syndication outlet by which program suppliers can segment their overall markets and thus support higher production investments. Many innovative and more sharply focused programs will surely prosper on Internet TV, but the attractiveness to audiences of high production value programming will tend to advantage broad appeal programming, such as Hollywood movies. Historical evidence about the performance of cable television and videocassettes is presented to support these points.
Globalization and Governance in Cyberspace: Mapping the Processes of Emergent Regime Formation in Global Information and Communications Policy
Venue: arXiv cs.CY 2001
Year: 2001

This paper develops a theoretical perspective on globalization and the Information Society and combines it with a critical usage of international regime theory as a heuristic for understanding the current historical period of transition from an international telecommunicaitons regime (Cowhey, 1990; 1994) to a new and complex regime aimed at providing governance for the Global Information Infrastructure and Global Information Society (GII/GIS). In analyzing the principles, values, norms, rules, collective decision-making prdocedures, and enforcement mechanisms of the emergent GII/GIS regime, this paper differentiates between three regime levels: (1) Macro-Regime--global; (2) Mezzo-Regime--regional and sub-regional; and (3) Micro-Regime--national. The paper employs a case-study approach to explore some of the specific national responses (i.e. South Africa) to this regime transition, with an analysis of potential best practices and lessons learned for other emerging economies. Key findings in this paper are: (1) that a range of social, political, economic, and technological factors are eroding the existing international telecommunications regime (e.g., VOIP;, call-back, VSATs, accounting rate restructuring, pressure for applicaitons development, and SMMEs); (2) a new regime for global information and communicaitons policy is emerging, but is being driven not by the broad possibilities of the Information Society, but by the more specific interests of global and multi-national corporations related to global e-commerce; (3) numerous strategic responses have been developed at national, subregional, and regional levels to the challenges of this transition in both developed and developing regions; and (4) without a collaborative response, the developing world will be further marginalized by this new regime.
Do Switching Costs Make Markets More or Less Competitive?: The Case of 800-Number Portability
Venue: arXiv cs.CY 2001
Year: 2001

Do switching costs reduce or intensify price competition in markets where firms charge the same price to old and new consumers? Theoretically, the answer could be either "yes" or "no," due to two opposing incentives in firms' pricing decisions. The firm would like to charge a higher price to previous purchasers who are "locked-in" and a lower price to unattached consumers who offer higher future profitability. I demonstrate this ambiguity in an infinite-horizon theoretical model. 800- (toll-free) number portability provides empirical evidence to answer this question. Before portability, a customer had to change numbers to change service providers. This imposed significant switching costs on users, who generally invested heavily to publicize these numbers. In May 1993 a new database made 800-numbers portable. This drop in switching costs and regulations that precluded price discrimination between old and new consumers provide an empirical test of switching costs' effect on price competition. I use contracts for virtual private network (VPN) services to test how AT&T adjusted its prices for toll-free services in response to portability. Preliminarily (awaiting completion of data collection), I find that AT&T reduced margins for VPN contracts containing toll-free services relative to those that did not as the portability date approached. This implies that the switching costs due to non-portability made the market less competitive. These results suggest that, despite toll-free services growing rapidly during this time period, AT&T's incentive to charge a higher price to "locked-in" consumers exceeded its incentive to capture new consumers in the high switching costs era of non-portability.
Universal service, specific services on generic networks, some logic begins to emerge in the policy area
Venue: arXiv cs.CY 2001
Year: 2001

It has proved to be difficult to translate the lessons from the literature on universal service into the policy framework because of political interests and regulatory capture. Neither the USA or Europe has made a very good job of devising a clean framework and the WTO agreement is sparing in this area. A number of pressures in the European context have enabled a more systematic approach to emerge, that exploits the academic work. They include the need for the European regulatory framework to encompass E. European countries where network development and income levels are much lower, the desire to encompass Internet within the universal service regulatory framework, a willingness to design a framework that covers all communications networks and remove the telecommunications bias, thereby forcing issues of economic neutrality to the fore. The paper systematically goes through a number of key areas and principles of regulation and how they are being designed to deal with a range of national situations. They include, defining the scope of universal service and the principles by which it might be modified in the light of technological and economic developments; incorporating latitude for intervention outside this defined scope, defining incentive and designation methods to encourage the efficient supply of elements of universal service obligations, interpreting affordability in the context of price and income levels that diverge considerably, requiring both allocative efficiency and competitive neutrality, formulating alternative financing methods including general government financing and value added tax type methods which can co-exist and provide comparative policy yardsticks.
The Impact of Incentives in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 on Corporate Strategies
Venue: arXiv cs.CY 2001
Year: 2001

Rules are necessary to provide or shape the incentives of individuals and organizations. This is particularly true when free markets lead to undesirable outcomes. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 attempted to create incentives to foster competition. Ambiguity as well as the timing of the Act has led to delays in the clarification of rules and the rapid obsolescence of the document. The paper presents the strategies that common carriers adopted to try to tilt regulation in their favor, slow the entry of competitors, maintain their market leadership, and expand into other segments. Some of the strategies analyzed include lobbying efforts, court challenges, and lack of cooperation with new entrants.