bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Czech Right-Wing Party “Freedom and Direct Democracy” and Its Response to the Russian-Ukrainian War
Authors: Fedorchak Tetiana
Published: February 2025

The Czech Republic, since the beginning of the undeclared war of the Russian Federation against our state, has become one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine among the countries of the European Union. However, not all of Czech society and not all Czech political institutions, primarily political parties, adhere to this position. There are significant discursive opportunities for populist right-wing radical actors on the political landscape. The author analyzed the policies of the populist right-wing radical party "Freedom and Direct Democracy" (сzech: Svoboda a přímá demokracie – SPD), focused on how the party positions itself, to gain the support of the electorate, taking into account new public sentiments. A content analysis of the publications of party leader Tomio Okamura revealed, that after an initial strong rejection of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the party returned to pro-Russian narratives, by incorporating war into their populist nativist discourse, propaganda of ideas of social chauvinism and economic protectionism. The results of public opinion polls show that that party supporters criticize economic support for Ukraine and refugees, demonstrate a fairly positive attitude towards the Russian Federation, compared to the electorate of other political forces.
Legal Principles of the Artificial Intelligence Development: European and American Experience
Authors: Makukh Ivanna , Mikitsel Dariya
Published: February 2025

This article highlights the legal regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) development in the European Union and the United States of America. It analyzes key regulatory legal acts that define the principles of AI development, implementation, and use, as well as ensuring ethical standards and human rights in this field.

The European approach to AI regulation is based on the development of a comprehensive regulatory framework, including the proposal of the «Artificial Intelligence Act» («AI Act»), initiatives to ensure algorithmic transparency, and the protection of personal data. Particular attention is paid to the categorization of AI usage risks and the implementation of control mechanisms for its application.

On the other hand, the US legal system is based on a decentralized approach that combines sectoral regulation, ethical recommendations, and government initiatives for technology development. A key initiative in the US is the «Executive Order on Promoting Safe and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence», signed in 2023. This order aims to establish national standards for the safe and ethical development of AI, particularly by enhancing transparency and security in the application of AI technologies in fields such as healthcare, finance, and law enforcement. Additionally, the US introduced the «Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights», which outlines principles for human rights protection in AI applications. The core document emphasizes rights such as transparency and control over personal data usage, security and protection from harm, non-discrimination, and privacy rights. At the same time, particular attention is given to fostering innovation and industry self-regulation.

The article also compares the approaches of both systems to regulating responsibility for AI-made decisions, protecting human rights, and ensuring cybersecurity. At the same time, AI regulation in the United States places greater emphasis on fostering innovation and technological development while ensuring basic ethical norms and citizen rights protection. Both approaches have their advantages and challenges: the European approach provides clearer and stricter standards, whereas the American approach allows for more flexibility and room for technological advancement.
Alcance y fuentes de las expectativas legítimas de los inversores en las sagas de energía renovable españolas e italianas
Authors: Malaguti Maria Chiara , Rojas Elgueta Giacomo
Published: February 2025

En el último decenio, los cambios reglamentarios de los planes de incentivos para la producción de energía renovable promulgados por varios Estados miembros de la UE han sido impugnados en virtud del Tratado sobre la Carta de la Energía. Los cambios reglamentarios de España e Italia fueron de los más controvertidos. Esta contribución analiza conjuntamente los diversos laudos dictados en arbitrajes contra los dos Estados miembros y, específicamente, los diferentes argumentos sobre el principio de las expectativas legítimas en el marco del Trato Justo y Equitativo. Se pretende así facilitar una comprensión general de la aplicación actual de este estándar a las medidas públicas nacionales y, sobre esa base, hacer una serie de sugerencias sobre la evolución de la legislación en materia de inversiones en lo que respecta a la potestad regulatoria del Estado. El propósito de este estudio no es entrar en el fondo de ningún laudo que implique a España o Italia, sino más bien arrojar algo de luz sobre las teorías jurídicas aplicadas por los diferentes tribunales arbitrales. La conclusión preliminar a la que llegan los autores es que, aunque los tribunales están avanzando hacia una mejor aclaración del alcance de las expectativas legítimas (y, por tanto, de la potestad regulatoria de los Estados), lamentablemente persisten muchas incoherencias que socavan la certidumbre.
La incorporación de Portugal a la Convención de Viena sobre los Contratos de Compraventa Internacional de Mercaderías: conver gencias y divergencias con el ordenamiento jurídico portugués
Authors: Carrera Iñaki , Jaques Betyna
Published: February 2025

El 23 de septiembre de 2020, Portugal se convirtió en el 94.º Estado en depositar ante las Naciones Unidas el instrumento de adhesión a la Convención de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Contratos de Compraventa Internacional de Mercaderías. En esta nota se hace un análisis comparativo entre el marco jurídico portugués y las soluciones establecidas en la Convención. Por ello, se identifican algunas divergencias y convergencias en cuestiones relacionadas con la formación del contrato, con la falta de conformidad de las mercaderías y con la transmisión del riesgo de pérdida y deterioro de las mercaderías. Con la reciente adhesión de Portugal a la CNUCCIM se inaugurará una nueva etapa en el desarrollo jurídico del estudio de dicha Convención por parte de la comunidad jurídica portuguesa. Además, no cabe duda de que la adhesión de Portugal a la CNUCCIM aportará importantes beneficios en sus relaciones comerciales con sus principales socios mundiales y, especialmente, en relación con España, que es signataria de la Convención desde 1991 e, históricamente, el principal socio comercial de Portugal, habiendo sido responsable del 24,7% de las exportaciones portuguesas y del 30,5% de sus importaciones en 2019.
El nuevo arbitraje de inversión bajo el T-MEC
Authors: Manzano Montserrat
Published: February 2025

Después de más de veinte años de existencia del Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte («TLCAN»), Estados Unidos, México y Canadá renegociaron un nuevo tratado en agosto de 2017. Como resultado de dichas negociaciones, los tres Estados firmaron un nuevo acuerdo, llamado el Tratado entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá («T-MEC»), el cual entró en vigor el primero de julio de 2020. El mecanismo de solución de controversias fue un tema central de las discusiones entre los Estados contratantes. Hoy, el texto del capítulo catorce del T-MEC se aleja significativamente del texto del capítulo once del TLCAN. Por ejemplo, Canadá ya no es parte del arbitraje inversionista-Estado y las protecciones sustantivas son mucho más restrictivas en cuanto a los reclamos que se pueden presentar por los inversionistas mexicanos y estadounidenses. El propósito de esta nota es presentar un análisis comparativo entre las principales diferencias, tanto sustantivas como procesales, entre el mecanismo de solución de controversias establecido en el TLCAN y aquel contemplado en el T-MEC. Esto con la finalidad que pueda ser una herramienta útil para aquellos profesionistas y académicos que busquen un panorama general sobre las modificaciones del tratado.
El abuso de proceso en el Derecho internacional
Authors: Bottini Gabriel
Published: February 2025

La prohibición del abuso de derecho es un principio importante del Derecho internacional. El concepto de abuso de proceso, que deriva de dicho principio, también ha sido reconocido por la Corte Internacional de Justicia y por otros tribunales internacionales,  en particular los tribunales de inversiones. Este concepto se aplica a la iniciación abusiva de un proceso legal o de los incidentes procesales principales, como una solicitud de medidas provisionales. Existen todavía incertidumbres respecto a las razones por las que el ejercicio de un derecho o el comienzo de un procedimiento legal pueden ser abusivos. Sin perjuicio de ello, el abuso de proceso es un concepto necesario para proteger los valores fundamentales en los que se basa la integridad de la justicia internacional.
El abuso de derecho y la doble compensación
Authors: Lavista Verónica
Published: February 2025

Los casos OI European Group B.V. c. República Bolivariana de Venezuela (Caso CIADI No. ARB/11/25) – Laudo 10 de marzo de 2015, Fábrica de Vidrios Los Ángeles, C.A.y Owens-Illinois de Venezuela, C.A. c. República Bolivariana de Venezuela (Caso CIADI No. ARB/12/21)– Laudo del 13 de noviembre de 2017, Blusun S.A., Jean-Pierre Lecorcier y Michael Stein c. República de Italia (Caso CIADI No. ARB/14/3) – Laudo 27 de diciembre de 2016, y Eskosol S.p.A. in liquidazione c. República de Italia (Caso CIADI No. ARB/15/50)– Laudo del 4 de septiembre de 2020, son interesantes a efectos de estudiar la cuestión del abuso de derecho o proceso. En ambas disputas las primeras reclamaciones fueron iniciadas por accionistas extranjeros mayoritarios y las segundas por las sociedades locales, en relación con las mismas medidas. Los Estados interpusieron excepciones jurisdiccionales sobre la base del abuso de derecho o proceso en relación con la duplicación de las reclamaciones. Los tribunales se refirieron a esta cuestión en el marco de la doble compensación.
Reflexiones jurídicas actuales a partir de arbitrajes históricos. Clipperton
Authors: Sellarés Serra Jordi
Published: February 2025

Una isla desierta en medio del Océano Pacífico, reclamada por dos Estados. Uno, Francia, la descubre. Méjico, el otro, la reclama  por ser el sucesor de España y por haber tenido ocupación militar efectiva. Pero la abandona y el pleito se eterniza, acabando en un laudo de tres páginas, poco más que telegráfico, más de dos décadas después.
Evaluarea cunoștințelor și atitudinilor studenților de la asistență medicală generală a Universității Transilvania din Brașov cu privire la infecția și vaccinarea împotriva virusului papiloma uman | [Evaluation of the knowledge and attitudes of the ...]
Authors: Grama Ioana , Mitrea Nicoleta
Published: February 2025

Background: Human Papillomavirus (HPV)represents a significant public health concern due to the adverse complications arising from delayed treatment. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of action and the importance of vaccination against HPV is essential. Objective: To evaluate the level of knowledge among students regarding HPV infection and vaccination, and to address the knowledge gaps they may have on this topic. Materials and Methods: A quantitative, prospective, observational, and cross-sectional study was conducted from March 13 to May 27, 2024, using a questionnaire. The sample consisted of 237 respondents from the General Medical Assistance program at the Faculty of Medicine, Transilvania University of Brașov, encompassing all four academic years. Results: The questionnaire revealed significant gaps in students' understanding of the virus's mechanism of action and the risks associated with non-vaccination. Conclusion: There is a need to enhance students' knowledge regarding HPV transmission and prevention methods to reduce the incidence of infections.
Rezumat
Introducere: Virusul Papiloma uman reprezintă una dintre problemele cu care se confruntă sănătatea publică din cauza complicațiilor nefaste rezultate în urma netratări ei într-un timp util, astfel este necesar cunoașterea mecanismul de acțiune și importanța pe care o are vaccinarea împotriva acestuia. Scopul: Evaluarea nivelului de informații deținute de către studenți, cu privire la infecția și vaccinarea împotriva virusului Papiloma uman, cât și acoperirea lacunelor pe care aceștia le dețin cu privire la acest subiect. Materiale și metode: A fost realizat un studiu de tip cantitativ, prospectiv, observațional, transversal, desfășurat în perioada 13 martie-27 mai 2024, pe baza unui chestionar. Lotul a cuprins 237 de respondenți ai specializării Asistență Medicală Generală din cadrul Facultății de Medicină a Universității Transilvania din Brașov din toți cei patru ani de studiu. Rezultate: În urma chestionarului aplicat s-au evidențiat lacunele studenților cu privire la mecanismul de funcționare a virusului, cât și a riscului la care se expun din cauza nevaccinării. Concluzie: Este necesară o creștere a nivelului de informații deținute de către studenți asupra mijloacelor de transmitere și a metodelor de prevenție care trebuie adoptate pentru a reduce numărul de contaminări.
PENDUGAAN LUAS HUTAN KOTA IDEAL PADA SETIAP KECAMATAN DI KABUPATEN SUBANG BERDASARKAN KEBUTUHAN OKSIGEN
Authors: Suryadi Putra Ega , Salampessy Messalina L. , Sasongko Dwi Agus
Published: February 2025

Urban development often overlooks the need to ensure good environmental quality. One of the fulfillments of environmental quality is the high oxygen levels in the air. This can be fulfilled by the existence of urban forests in urban areas with an ideal area. This can be done if there is a study on the oxygen needs of urban residents and the ability of urban forests to produce oxygen. The area is compared with the ideal area according to laws and regulations. This study aims to estimate the ideal area of ​​urban forests in each sub-district in Subang Regency. Oxygen needs are calculated based on the oxygen needs of residents and motorized vehicles. . The calculation of oxygen needs considers the total population and the number of vehicles, with the latter estimated using the proportional distribution of vehicle types identified at specific location. Determination of the ideal area of ​​urban forests is calculated using the Gerarkis method. The results of the study showed that the ideal area of ​​urban forests in Subang Regency was 14,965.98 ha, still below the minimum of 10% of its area (21,655.5 ha). A total of 27 sub-districts in Subang Regency showed that the need for the ideal area of ​​urban forests was still below the minimum of 10% of its area. Meanwhile, Subang District, Pagaden District, and Sukasari District are areas that require urban forest area of ​​more than 10% of their area.
Implications of the “Nuclear Forces Policy Act” on North Korea’s nuclear strategy
Authors:   Korea Society of Unification & North Korean Law Studies(North Korean Law Society), Jeon Seok Jin
Published: February 2025

Since coming to power, North Korea's Kim Jong-un regime has been upgrading its nuclear forces through four nuclear weapons tests and hundreds of test launches of nuclear weapons delivery systems. The North Korean regime has pursued distinct actions to assert its status as a nuclear power following the acquisition of nuclear weapons. Notably, it first specified in the preamble to the amended Constitution in 2012 that it was a nuclear state, and then enacted the Nuclear Weapons States Act in 2013 to disclose its comprehensive nuclear strategy to the public. Afterwards, the regime declared the “completion of national nuclear forces” in 2017, and replaced the Nuclear Weapons States Act (2013) with the Nuclear Forces Policy Act in 2022. While the North Korean regime has been limited in its capacity to pursue nuclear retaliation against the United States, its redrafting of its nuclear legislation has signaled a fundamental change in its nuclear strategy as well as an active will to use nuclear weapons. The new enactment of the Nuclear Forces Policy Act (2022) presents a shift from a “no-first-use (NFU)” nuclear policy to a more aggressive stance that conditionally permits “first-use.” This change coincides with the recent focus of the Kim Jong-un regime on the development of tactical nuclear weapons. Therefore, it should be noted that the newly enacted Nuclear Forces Policy Act carries different implications from the traditional approaches of nuclear weapons states.
A Study on Legal Considerations Regarding North Korea's ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Law’
Authors:   Korea Society of Unification & North Korean Law Studies(North Korean Law Society), Choi Eunsuk , Jeong Eunchan
Published: February 2025

The “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Law” of North Korea, enacted in 2020, establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for the research, development, production, importation, inspection, registration, management, and operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). This law aims to ensure national security and safety by setting forth various procedures for the safe operation of UAVs. Although North Korea's UAV technology is still in its early stages, the legal infrastructure in place offers the potential for its development to reach international standards.
North Korea employs UAVs for a range of purposes, including reconnaissance, surveillance, and military attacks against South Korea, thereby posing a significant threat to the territorial sovereignty and national security of the Republic of Korea. The international community has been actively discussing issues related to the legal responsibility for AI-based UAV attacks and the adherence to the laws of war. These discussions could also be applicable to North Korea, highlighting the need for international cooperation and dialogue. This paper proposes the establishment of international agreements targeting North Korea and emphasizes the importance of cooperation between South Korea and the international community in addressing these security concerns.
Study on Issue of Aerial Leaflet Dissemination to North Korea
Authors:   Korea Society of Unification & North Korean Law Studies(North Korean Law Society), Kwon Eun-Min
Published: February 2025

Recently, both South Korea and North Korea have dropped propaganda leaflets or trash balloons to each other. The leafleting has caused various problems. This paper attempts to find a solution by looking at the changes in legal systems and precedents related to the leafleting. First, I examined the actual state of leafleting, and reviewed the establishment of, and changes in, the legal systems and precedents, and discussed relevant countermeasures.
Given that the leaflet dropping is a symbolic incident revealing conflicts arising from the division between the Koreas, this issue is distinguished from any other event where fundamental rights generally concern issues arising within South Korean society. This issue should be considered from a constitutional perspective. Issues to consider as a whole include the realization of the constitutional spirit pursuing peaceful unification, the right to pursue happiness, the freedom of expression of those who intend to disseminate leaflets, security guarantees against North Korea's responses, the safety issue of the entire nation arising from trash balloons, and the conflict between fundamental rights. How the law regulating leaflet drops will be amended should be reviewed as well.
Since 2000, non-military organizations have led leafleting to North Korea, and its purpose is to criticize the North Korean regime and its leaders to induce internal resistance. Unlike the trend of modern psychological warfare, where most of warfare venues have been moved online, characteristically, the traditional leafleting method has been maintained, and the effect of the leaflet drops by South Korea is small. The side effect of this less impactful leafleting to North Korea would be direct infringement on the safety of South Korean residents. In the event of a conflict between fundamental rights, such as the freedom of expression and the right to safety, the higher fundamental rights (such as the right to life) should be preferentially protected. Even in the context of harmony with norms, emphasis should be on the duty to realize the goal of peaceful unification and the right to pursue happiness under the Constitution more than the freedom of expression through the distribution of leaflets. It would be a violation of the state's duty to take safety measures to neglect a scenario where neglecting leaflet dropping with unclear effects will clearly lead to damage. The Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act should be amended respecting the Constitutional Court's decision. Given not only the legal principles examined above, but also leaflet dissemination’s inconsistency with the existing South-North agreement prohibiting mutual slander, and South Korea’s current superiority over North Korea by 60 times, it would be an effective direction toward unification for South Korea, the much advanced state, to put into practice the spirit of mutual respect by preemptively prohibiting the leaflet dissemination.
Analysis and Evaluation of North Korea’s Social Control Laws Since 2020: Focusing on Laws Containing Death Penalty Provision
Authors:   Korea Society of Unification & North Korean Law Studies(North Korean Law Society), Lee Kyu Chang
Published: February 2025

Since 2020, North Korea has enacted and revised laws for epidemic control and ideological and information control purposes, including the Emergency Quarantine Law(EQL), the Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act(RICRA), the Youth Education Security Act, the Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Act(PCLPA) and the Enemy Material Disposal Act(EMDA). Public executions are carried out based on death penalty provisions of the EQL, RICRA and PCLPA. EMDA also includes a death penalty provision, and controls over the influx of information have been strengthened compared to RICRA. The Disaster Prevention, Rescue and Recovery Act, revised in 2022, also introduced new provisions for death penalty. In 2023, the North Korean authorities amended the Criminal Law, removing the unification clauses and expanding the death penalty provisions from 11 to 16. The aim of this revision is to enhance the development of weapons, protect the safety of Kim Jong-un's family, and strengthen regime security, reflecting the principle of ‘Our State First.’ People’s Unit Organization and Operation Act aims to strengthen population control by reinforcing people’s unit organization and role and by expanding people’s unit leader’s preferential treatment and role. In response to North Korea’s ideological and information control, efforts to promote right to access information shall be continue. Also efforts shall be made to develop and diversify information and cultural content that can help North Korean citizens develop a sense of human rights based on universality, as well as understand the importance and value of freedom. In response to North Korea's hostile dual state theory and denial of the concept of the same ethnicity, we should strengthen the connection between the right to access information and the right to self-determination by conveying the message that both South and North Korean citizens are the same ethnicity and must reunite as one nation.
Mechanical Properties of SiC Nanoparticle-Reinforced Al-2024 Alloy
Authors: Niyaz Ahmed M. B. , Naveen Kumar H. S. , Kallimani Anilkumar S. , Alqahtani Ibrahim , Doddamani Saleemsab , Hareesha G.
Published: February 2025

This study investigates the mechanical properties of Al-2024 alloy reinforced with SiC nanoparticles, highlighting the effectiveness of ultrasonic-assisted stir casting in achieving uniform dispersion of the nanoparticles. The aim is to enhance the material's inherent limitations in hardness and overall mechanical performance under demanding conditions by incorporating SiC nanoparticles. The experimental investigation explores varying SiC content (1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) and its relationship with tensile strength and hardness. The results indicate a substantial 31% enhancement in hardness and a 25% improvement in tensile strength, demonstrating the effectiveness of nanoparticle reinforcement. Furthermore, several strengthening mechanisms were found to be important contributors to yield strength, including the Orowan mechanism, dislocation strengthening, and grain refinement strengthening. A maximum variation of 13% between the experimental and predicted yield strength of the Al2024-SiCnp composite confirms the reliability of the predictive models employed. Overall, the results support SiC nanoparticles' ability to improve Al-2024 composites' mechanical characteristics for cutting-edge engineering uses.
Designing Complex Systems
Authors: Weijnen Margot  , Herder Paulien  , Bouwmans Ivo
Published: February 2025

Networked infrastructures are complex socio-technical systems. The complexity shows in the physical networks, in the actor networks, and in their combination. This paper addresses the question how these systems should be designed. For the physical networks as well as the actor networks, design processes exist that could be applied separately. However, for these integrated networks an integrated approach is proposed. Three cases studies of designs are discussed concerning a district heating system, a gas network and a seaport development. The studies lead to the conclusion that an integrated socio-technical complex system design process must be applied.
Applications of Data Mining Methods in the Evaluation of Client Credibility
Authors: Dong-Peng Yang  , Jin-Lin Li  , Lun Ran  , Chao Zhou
Published: February 2025

Client credibility plays an important role in the financial and banking industry. This paper combines C4.5 and Apriori algorithms in the data mining process and discusses the relationship between these two algorithms. It then tests them using the WEKA software to acquire information from the analysis of the historical data of credit card clients. Finally, it offers decision-making support for the evaluation of client credibility.
Many-Valued Concept Lattices for Conceptual Clustering and Information Retrieval
Authors: Messai Nizar  , Devignes Marie-Dominique  , Napoli Amedeo  , Smail-Tabbone Malika
Published: February 2025

In this paper we present an extension of the Galois connection to deal with many-valued formal contexts. We define a many-valued Galois connection with respect to similarity between attribute values in a many-valued context. Then, we define many-valued formal concepts and many-valued concept lattices. Depending on a similarity threshold, many-valued concept lattices may have different levels of precision. This feature makes them very useful for multilevel conceptual clustering. Many-valued concept lattices are also used in a new lattice-based information retrieval approach for efficiently answering complex queries.
Unsupervised Grammar Induction Using a Parent Based Constituent Context Model
Authors: Mirroshandel Seyed Abolghasem  , Ghassem-Sani Gholamreza
Published: February 2025

Grammar induction is one of attractive research areas of natural language processing. Since both supervised and to some extent semi-supervised grammar induction methods require large treebanks, and for many languages, such treebanks do not currently exist, we focused our attention on unsupervised approaches. Constituent Context Model (CCM) seems to be the state of the art in unsupervised grammar induction. In this paper, we show that the performance of CCM in free word order languages (FWOLs) such as Persian is inferior to that of fixed order languages such as English. We also introduce a novel approach, called parent-based constituent context model (PCCM), and show that by using some history notion of context and constituent information of each span's parent, the performance of CCM, especially in dealing with FWOLs, can be significantly improved.
Reasoning about Dynamic Depth Profiles
Authors: Soutchanski Mikhail  , Santos Paulo
Published: February 2025

Reasoning about perception of depth and about spatial relations between moving physical objects is a challenging problem. We investigate the representation of depth and motion by means of depth profiles whereby each object in the world is represented as a single peak. We propose a logical theory, formulated in the situation calculus (SC), that is used for reasoning about object motion (including motion of the observer). The theory proposed here is comprehensive enough to accommodate reasoning about both sensor data and actions in the world. We show that reasoning about depth profiles is sound and complete with respect to actual motion in the world. This shows that in the conceptual neighbourhood diagram (CND) of all possible depth perceptions, the transitions between perceptions are logical consequences of the proposed theory of depth and motion.
From Belief Change to Preference Change
Authors: Lang Jérôme  , van der Torre Leendert
Published: February 2025

Various tasks need to consider preferences in a dynamic way. We start by discussing several possible meanings of preference change, and then focus on the one we think is the most natural: preferences evolving after some new fact has been learned. We define a family of such preference change operators, parameterized by a revision function on epistemic states and a semantics for interpreting preferences over formulas. We list some natural properties that this kind of preference change should fulfill and give conditions on the revision function and the semantics of preference for each of these properties to hold.
Structure segmentation and recognition in images guided by structural constraint propagation
Authors: Nempont Olivier  , Atif Jamal  , Angelini Elsa  , Bloch Isabelle
Published: February 2025

In some application domains, such as medical imaging, the objects that compose the scene are known as well as some of their properties and their spatial arrangement. We can take advantage of this knowledge to perform the segmentation and recognition of structures in medical images. We propose here to formalize this problem as a constraint network and we perform the segmentation and recognition by iterative domain reductions, the domains being sets of regions. For computational purposes we represent the domains by their upper and lower bounds and we iteratively reduce the domains by updating their bounds. We show some preliminary results on normal and pathological brain images.
The i-Walker: an intelligent pedestrian mobility aid
Authors: Annicchiarico R.  , Barrué C.  , Benedico T.  , Campana F.  , Cortés U.  , Martínez-Velasco A.
Published: February 2025

In this paper we focus on the development of an intelligent pedestrian mobility aid that we call i-Walker for elders. This target population includes, but is not limited to, persons with low vision, visual field neglect, spasticity, tremors, and cognitive deficits. SHARE-it will provide an Agent-based Intelligent Decision Support System to aid the elders.
An Activity Recognition Model for Alzheimer's Patients: Extension of the COACH Task Guidance System
Authors: Bouchard B.  , Roy P.  , Bouzouane A.  , Giroux S.  , Mihailidis A.
Published: February 2025

This paper presents a hybrid plan recognition model, based on probabilistic description logic, which addresses the issue of recognizing the activities and the errors of Alzheimer's patients at an early stage of the disease. This model has been implemented to be a new extension of the COACH system, an emerging prototype of cognitive device for persons with Alzheimer's disease that offers assistance in task completion. We present an initial experimentation done on this new recognition module for COACH, which is based on the results of two sets of clinical trials.
Agent-Based and Population-Based Simulation of Displacement of Crime (extended abstract)
Authors: Bosse Tibor  , Gerritsen Charlotte  , Hoogendoorn Mark  , Jaffry S. Waqar  , Treur Jan
Published: February 2025

Within Criminology, the process of crime displacement is usually explained by referring to the interaction of three types of agents: criminals, passers-by, and guardians. Most existing simulation models of this process are agent-based. However, when the number of agents considered becomes large, population-based simulation has computational advantages over agent-based simulation. This paper presents both an agent-based and a population-based simulation model of crime displacement, and reports a comparative evaluation of the two models. In addition, an approach is put forward to analyse the behaviour of both models by means of formal techniques.
A MAX-SAT Algorithm Portfolio
Authors: Matos Paulo  , Planes Jordi  , Letombe Florian  , Marques-Silva João
Published: February 2025

The results of the last MaxSAT Evaluations suggest there is no universal best algorithm for solving MaxSAT, as the fastest solver often depends on the type of instance. Having an oracle able to predict the most suitable MaxSAT solver for a given instance would result in the most robust solver. Inspired by the success of SATzilla for SAT, this paper describes the first approach for a portfolio of algorithms for MaxSAT. Compared to existing solvers, the resulting portfolio can achieve significant performance improvements on a representative set of instances.
Representing Case Variations for Learning General and Specific Adaptation Rules
Authors: Badra Fadi  , Lieber Jean
Published: February 2025

Adaptation is a task of case-based reasoning systems that is largely domain-dependant. This motivates the study of adaptation knowledge acquisition (AKA) that can be carried out thanks to learning processes on the variations between cases of the case base. This paper studies the representation of these variations and the impact of this representation on the AKA process, through experiments in an oncology domain.
Using Graphical Representations to Improve the Usability of Email Clients
Authors: Rigas Dimitrios  , Alharbi Saad
Published: February 2025

With the versatility of email and the growing number of email messages, email clients have become difficult to use. Information visualization has been employed by many studies for various purposes such as the employment of the management features to email clients. Nevertheless, graphical presentation of email data has not been significantly considered to improve the usability of email clients. This paper describes an empirical study that aimed to investigate whether the usability of email clients can be improved by visualising email data. Two experimental e-mail visualisation approaches were developed especially for this experimental programme, both of them graphically presenting email messages based on a dateline together with other email data. Thirty users were required to perform ten experimental tasks in the two experimental visualisations and in a typical email client. Tasks accomplishment time and number of actions carried out whilst performing the tasks in order to evaluate the usability of each email version. The results indicated that the graphical presentation of email messages can significantly improve the usability of email clients. However, it can also negatively affect the usability if the email data was hidden extensively to reduce the graphical complexity in the inbox.
Clustering for user modeling in recommender e-commerce application: A RUP-based intelligent software life-cycle
Authors: Savvopoulos Anastasios  , Virvou Maria  , Sotiropoulos Dionysios N.  , Tsihrintzis George A.
Published: February 2025

In this paper we will present an RUP based software life cycle on how to incorporate a clustering algorithm on a prototype system. The process has four major steps. Firstly, designing and building in an adaptive application. Secondly, evaluating the system and through this process obtaining data for the clustering algorithms. Thirdly, compare the clustering algorithms with the above data as input. Fourthly, incorporate the best clustering algorithm into the system and building stereotypes. In our case we used an adaptive e-shop application as a test bed in order to apply these methods. The adaptive e-shop application that provides personalised recommendations to users.
Impact of Comment Statement on Code Stability in Open Source Development
Authors: Aman Hirohisa  , Okazaki Hirokazu
Published: February 2025

Comment statements written in a source code are important information to understand and to maintain the source code. This paper performs an empirical study of impacts of comment statements on source code stability in an open source development. The study collected 4,521 source code and their version-upgrade data from a major open source software project, Eclipse. The empirical results show the following findings: (1) a source code with a high comment-density (about more than 40%) has a tendency to be stable through the upgrdes, but (2) a source code with frequently-written comments has the opposite tendency. This work thus concludes that describing many comments is recommend for developing a stable code, but frequently describing comments is discouraged.
Formulation of Clamshell Diagram and Its Application to Source Code Reading
Authors: Murakawa Takehiko  , Kawasaki Takayoshi  , Mizuochi Hirofumi  , Nakagawa Masaru
Published: February 2025

When describing an idea using letters and diagrams, the concept becomes clear and it is easier to see what to do to achieve a goal. Among the design creation support tools, we focus attention on the Thinking Process Development Diagram of 6 layers. We refer to it as a Clamshell Diagram, and present 16 principles to constitute the diagram. Then we report the support system for drawing the diagrams using a Web browser. Design creation support tools are also useful for analyzing the existing good or bad instances. We therefore attempt to investigate how to represent a source code by means of Clamshell Diagram and apply to GNU Hello to draw a diagram. Using the diagram representation of source code, we can see the whole-part relationship and the problem-solution relationship at a time.
Types, Orthogonality and Genericity: Some Tools for Communicating Process Architectures
Authors: Abramsky Samson
Published: February 2025

We shall develop a simple and natural formalization of the idea of client-server architectures, and, based on this, define a notion of orthogonality between clients and servers, which embodies strong correctness properties, and exposes the rich logical structure inherent in such systems. Then we generalize from pure clients and servers to components, which provide some services to the environment, and require others from it. We identify the key notion of composition of such components, in which some of the services required by one component are supplied by another. This allows complex systems to be built from ultimately simple components. We show that this has the logical form of the Cut rule, a fundamental principle of logic, and that it can be enriched with a suitable notion of behavioural types based on orthogonality, in such a way that correctness properties are preserved by composition. We also develop the basic ideas of how logical constructions can be used to develop structured interfaces for systems, with operations corresponding to logical rules. Finally, we show how the setting can be enhanced, and made more robust and expressive, by using names (as in the π-calculus) to allow clients to bind dynamically to generic instances of services.
How to Soar with CSP
Authors: O'Halloran Colin
Published: February 2025

In this talk, I shall discuss work on the necessary technology required for flight clearance of Autonomous Aircraft employing Agents by reducing the certification problem to small verifiable steps that can be carried out by a machine. The certification of such Agents falls into two parts: the validation of the safety of the Agent; and the verification of the implementation of the agent. The work focuses on the Soar agent language and the main results are:
Transfer Request Broker: Resolving Input-Output Choice
Authors: Faust Oliver  , Sputh Bernhard H.C.  , Allen Alastair R.
Published: February 2025

The refinement of a theoretical model which includes external choice over output and input of a channel transaction into an implementation model is a long-standing problem. In the theory of communicating sequential processes this type of external choice translates to resolving input and output guards. The problem arises from the fact that most implementation models incorporate only input guard resolution, known as alternation choice. In this paper we present the transaction request broker process which allows the designer to achieve external choice over channel ends by using only alternation. The resolution of input and output guards is refined into the resolution of input guards only. To support this statement we created two models. The first model requires resolving input and output guards to achieve the desired functionality. The second model incorporates the transaction request broker to achieve the same functionality by resolving only input guards. We use automated model checking to prove that both models are trace equivalent. The transfer request broker is a single entity which resolves the communication between multiple transmitter and receiver processes.
IC2IC: a Lightweight Serial Interconnect Channel for Multiprocessor Networks
Authors: Faust Oliver  , Sputh Bernhard H.C.  , Allen Alastair R.
Published: February 2025

IC2IC links introduce blocking functionality to a low latency high performance data link between independent processors. The blocking functionality was achieved with the so-called alternating bit protocol. Furthermore, the protocol hardens the link against message loss and message duplication. The result is a reliable way to transfer bit level information from one IC to another IC. This paper provides a detailed discussion of the link signals and the protocol layer. The practical part shows an example implementation of the IC2IC serial link. This example implementation establishes an IC2IC link between two configurable hardware devices. Each device incorporates a process network which implements the IC2IC transceiver functionality. This example implementation helped us to explore the practical properties of the IC2IC serial interconnect. First, we verified the blocking capability of the link and second we analysed different reset conditions, such as disconnect and bit-error.
Asynchronous Active Objects in Java
Authors: Oprean George  , Pedersen Jan B.
Published: February 2025

Object Oriented languages have increased in popularity over the last two decades. The OO paradigm claims to model the way objects interact in the real world. All objects in the OO model are passive and all methods are executed synchronously in the thread of the caller. Active objects execute their methods in their own threads. The active object queues method invocations and executes them one at a time. Method invocations do not overlap, thus the object cannot be put into or seen to be in an inconsistent state. We propose an active object system implemented by extending the Java language with four new keywords: active, async, on and waitfor. We have modified Sun's open-source compiler to accept the new keywords and to translate them to regular Java code during desugaring phase. We achieve this through the use of RMI, which as a side effect, allows us to utilise a cluster of work stations to perform distributed computing.
JCSPre: the Robot Edition to Control LEGO NXT Robots
Authors: Kerridge Jon  , Panayotopoulos Alex  , Lismore Patrick
Published: February 2025

JCSPre is a highly reduced version of the JCSP (Communicating Sequential Processes for Java) parallel programming environment. JCSPre has been implemented on a LEGO Mindstorms NXT brick using the LeJOS Java runtime environment. The LeJOS environment provides an abstraction for the NXT Robot in terms of Sensors, Sensor Ports and Motors, amongst others. In the implementation described these abstractions have been converted into the equivalent active component that is much easier to incorporate into a parallel robot controller. Their use in a simple line following robot is described, thereby demonstrating the ease with which robot controllers can be built using parallel programming principles. As a further demonstration we show how the line following robot controls a slave robot by means of Bluetooth communications.
Process-Oriented Collective Operations
Authors: Bjørndalen John Markus  , Sampson Adam T.
Published: February 2025

Distributing process-oriented programs across a cluster of machines requires careful attention to the effects of network latency. The MPI standard, widely used for cluster computation, defines a number of collective operations: efficient, reusable algorithms for performing operations among a group of machines in the cluster. In this paper, we describe our techniques for implementing MPI communication patterns in process-oriented languages, and how we have used them to implement collective operations in PyCSP and occam-π on top of an asynchronous messaging framework. We show how to make use of collective operations in distributed process-oriented applications. We also show how the process-oriented model can be used to increase concurrency in existing collective operation algorithms.
Prioritized Service Architecture: Refinement and Visual Design
Authors: East Ian R.
Published: February 2025

Concurrent/reactive systems can be designed free of deadlock using prioritized service architecture (PSA), subject to simple, statically verified, design rules. The Honeysuckle Design Language (HDL) enables such service-oriented design to be expressed purely in terms of communication, while affording a process-oriented implementation, using the Honeysuckle Programming Language (HPL). A number of enhancements to the service model for system abstraction are described, along with their utility. Finally, a new graphical counterpart to HDL (HVDL) is introduced that incorporates all these enhancements, and which facilitates interactive stepwise refinement.
Evaluating Software Development Methodologies Based on their Practices and Promises
Authors: Mohagheghi Parastoo
Published: February 2025

Software companies must often make decisions about applying new software development methodologies, technologies or tools. Various evaluation methods have been proposed to support this decision making; from those that focus on values (especially monetary values) to the more exploratory ones, and also various types of empirical studies. One common challenge of any evaluation is to choose evaluation criteria. While there have been a growing number of published empirical studies evaluating different methodologies, few of them include rationale for selecting their evaluation criteria or metrics. Therefore they also have problems with explaining their results. This paper proposes an approach for identifying relevant evaluation criteria that is based on the concepts of (core) practices and promises of a methodology. A practice of a methodology is a new concept or technique or an improvement to established ones that is an essential part of the methodology and differentiates it from other methodologies. A promise is the expected positive impact of a practice. Evaluation criteria or metrics are selected in order to evaluate the promises of practices. The approach facilitates identifying relevant criteria for evaluation and describing the results, and thus improves the validity of empirical studies. It will also help developing a common research agenda when evaluating new methodologies and answering questions such as whether a methodology helps improving a quality attribute and how, what the differences are between two methodologies, and which studies are relevant when collecting evidence about a methodology. The proposed approach is applied on software reuse and model-driven engineering as examples based on the results of two literature surveys performed in these areas.