bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phenological patterns of Ficus in relation to other forest trees in southern India
Authors: Patel Aviva
Published: July 2009

The importance of figs as keystone resources depends partly on their year-round fruiting pattern. However, most non-equatorial fig species show seasonality in reproductive phenology. If fig and other species' fruiting peaks coincide, the importance of figs as key resources during lean fruiting periods may be reduced. Fig and other forest tree phenology was studied in a deciduous and an evergreen site in the Western Ghats, southern India, from January 1991 to May 1992. In the deciduous site, most non-fig flowering and leaf flushing occurred during the two dry seasons, while most fruiting occurred during the dry and early wet seasons. In the evergreen site, all non-fig tree phenological stages – flowering, fruiting and leaf flushing – were concentrated during the two dry seasons annually (dry and post-monsoon). Individual fig trees produced crops one to three times annually, at different times of the year for different trees. Fig community fruiting peaks in the evergreen site coincided with fruiting peaks of the other forest trees, but in the deciduous site occurred slightly offset from non-fig fruiting peaks. The role of figs as key resources is likely to differ among forests, and to depend on factors such as diversity of fruiting pattern among fig species, fig tree density and territoriality of frugivores.
Leaf litter effects on seed and seedling predation of the palm Astrocaryum murumuru and the legume tree Dipteryx micrantha in Amazonian forest
Authors: Cintra Renato
Published: July 2009

The amount of leaf litter fall produced by different tree species in tropical forests varies in space and time. Falling litter may cover seeds and thereby enhance their survival by making their detection by seed predators more difficult. Tests were made to determine whether Astrocaryum murumuru and Dipteryx micrantha seeds survive better in microsites covered by leaf litter. Seed numbers and litter cover on the forest floor were experimentally manipulated. How natural variation in leaf litter cover and thickness affects seed and seedling survival of these two plant species was also examined. Seed survivorship was significantly higher for both plant species in microsites with leaf litter than in those with bare soil. Results from an experiment in which the litter was not disturbed showed that Astrocaryum seed survival was positively correlated with litter thickness (defined as the number of overlying dead leaves). Astrocaryum seedling survival was also significantly affected by leaf litter; more seedlings survived in shallow litter. Leaf litter had no effect on Dipteryx seedling survival. The results of the study suggest that early recruitment of both Astrocaryum and Dipteryx is influenced by the spatial distribution and amount of forest leaf litter.
Fire resistance and bark properties of trees in a seasonally dry forest in eastern Bolivia
Authors: Pinard Michelle A. , Huffman Jean
Published: July 2009

As forest fragmentation and intentional burning of grasslands increase, the frequency of fires penetrating the dry and subhumid tropical forests of Bolivia is also likely to increase. To expand our understanding of the role of fire in tropical dry forest, the physical and thermal properties of barks of tree species were studied to determine their relative resistances to cambial damage by fire. For 16 tree species found in the dry forest of the Lomerío region of eastern Bolivia, bark thickness, moisture content, and specific gravity were measured. Insulating capabilities of bark were measured by obtaining cambial and surface temperatures during experimental wick fires. Bark thickness on trees 5-100 cm dbh (diameter at 1.4 m) ranged from 2–51 mm and both thick- and thin-barked species were represented. For all species, bark thickness increased as stem diameter increased. Bark thickness explained more (63%) of the variation in peak cambial temperatures during fires than did bark moisture content (4%) or specific gravity (1%). A threshold bark thickness of 18 mm was associated with the ability to withstand lethal cambial temperatures during the experimental, low intensity fires. For 13 of the 16 species included in this study, trees ≤20 cm dbh have bark thickness below the threshold 18 mm and, therefore, are likely to experience cambial injury from low intensity fires. Our results suggest that the forest presently characteristic of the Lomerío region did not develop with frequent fires and that species composition is likely to be substantially affected by an increase in fire frequency.
Plant establishment on flooded and unflooded patches of a freshwater swamp forest in southeastern Brazil
Authors: Scarano Fábio R. , Ribeiro Kátia T. , de Moraes Luiz F. D. , de Lima Haroldo C.
Published: July 2009

Plant establishment was studied in a swamp forest in the lowland Atlantic rainforest in southeastern Brazil. A topographic gradient allowed a clear distinction between a periodically flooded and a permanently flooded site in the study area. Both sites were mosaics of patches: the former showed soil patches of varying sizes subject to distinct flooding durations (from 0 to 300 d per year) and in the latter, the tank bromeliads which densely occupied the understorey, trap litter and provided ‘suspended soil’ patches. In the periodically flooded site, the occurrence of regenerants (< 1.0 m tall) of the actively regenerating tree populations of Calophyllum brasiliense, Symphonia globulifera and Tovomitopsis paniculata (all Clusiaceae), originating from seed or vegetative organs, was recorded for 1 m2 quadrats placed in flooded (n = 82) and unflooded (n = 103) patches. In the permanently flooded site, dominated by Tabebuia cassinoides (Bignoniaceae), the presence of germinated seedlings was counted for 400 rosettes of the terrestrial tank bromeliad Nidularium procerum. The results showed that unflooded patches, including tank bromeliads, favoured seedling establishment. However, T. paniculata and T. cassinoides colonize patches where flooding lasts longer or is permanent mostly by reproducing vegetatively, while the seeds of C. brasiliense, which showed no form of vegetative reproduction, and S. globulifera are successful in colonizing flooded patches. Germination tests and field observations indicated that, for C. brasiliense, pre- and post-dispersal seed dormancy, a two-phase seed dispersal (water and bats) and seedling tolerance to flooding accounted for this pattern.
Choosing a reasoning style for knowledge based system: lessons from supporting a help desk
Authors: Dearden Andrew M. , Bridge Derek G.
Published: July 2009

In this paper, we present two broad styles of KBS reasoner: those based primarily on some general, explicit model of the knowledge of the domain (whether that model be expressed by heuristic rules or by a deep model of structure and function), which we term domain model-based reasoners; and those based primarily on a set of examples of events in the domain, which we term example-based reasoners (EBR), of which case-based reasoners are a subset. The aim of this paper is to guide developers in considering the trade-offs between these different styles of reasoning. We believe that this cannot be done in general, but may be possible for specific domains. Thus, the paper provides an example analysis of the usefulness of these reasoning styles. We assess the suitability of these styles against a series of requirements which we have identified that KBSs must fulfil if they are to support help desk operations. We conclude that EBR systems are more likely to meet those requirements (the analysis draws on our earlier work in Bridge & Dearden, 1992).
An AI view of the treatment of uncertainty
Authors: Saffiotti Alessandro
Published: July 2009

This paper reviews many of the very varied concepts of uncertainty used in AI. Because of their great popularity and generality “parallel certainty inference” techniques, so-called, are prominently in the foreground. We illustrate and comment in detail on three of these techniques; Bayes' theory (section 2); Dempster-Shafer theory (section 3); Cohen's model of endorsements (section 4), and give an account of the debate that has arisen around each of them. Techniques of a different kind (such as Zadeh's fuzzy-sets, fuzzy-logic theory, and the use of non-standard logics and methods that manage uncertainty without explicitly dealing with it) may be seen in the background (section 5).

The discussion of technicalities is accompanied by a historical and philosophical excursion on the nature and the use of uncertainty (section 1), and by a brief discussion of the problem of choosing an adequate AI approach to the treatment of uncertainty (section 6). The aim of the paper is to highlight the complex nature of uncertainty and to argue for an open-minded attitude towards its representation and use. In this spirit the pros and cons of uncertainty treatment techniques are presented in order to reflect the various uncertainty types. A guide to the literature in the field, and an extensive bibliography are appended.
Dialogue management for co-operative knowledge based systems
Authors: Stenton S. P.
Published: July 2009

This review presents a brief survey of approaches to describing dialogues with computers which are relevant to improving communication between users and knowledge based systems. One approach to achieving improvements is to exploit the conventions of human communication. The review draws together some of the work on co-operative behavour which reflects these conventions. An analysis is presented which goes some way towards identifying the knowledge required and the issues to be tackled.
Types of control structure in expert systems
Authors: Laurent Jean-Pierre
Published: July 2009

The concept of an expert system covers an increasingly large group of software packages which often have more dissimilarities than points in common. We shall not attempt to give a precise definition of an expert system here, because this might impose too restrictive a framework on the rest of our discussion. We shall simply state that, as is generally recognized, an expert system is a piece of software intended to resolve a certain category of problems, that it uses for this purpose a large quantity of knowledge specific to the field in question, and that in each expert system there is a very distinct separation between this knowledge and the procedures which make use of it.
The Linköping approach to technology transfer in knowledge engineering
Authors: Hägglund Sture
Published: July 2009

A technology transfer programme, where people from industry have been educated and trained in knowledge engineering on a project basis, has been in operation since 1984 in the Computer and Information Science Department at Linköping University. This review presents the background for the programme, its organization, examples of training projects, educational activities and plans for the future development.
On distributed artificial intelligence
Authors: Eduardo Luis , Hern Castillo
Published: July 2009

Distributed Artificial Intelligence has been loosely defined in terms of computation by distributed, intelligent agents. Although a variety of projects employing widely ranging methodologies have been reported, work in the field has matured enough to reveal some consensus about its main characteristics and principles. A number of prominent projects are described in detail, and two general frameworks, theSystem conceptual modeland theagent conceptual model, are used to compare the different approaches. The paper concludes by reviewing approaches to formalizing some of the more critical capabilities required by multi-agent interaction.
Metalogic machines: a retrospective rationale for the Japanese Fifth Generation
Authors: Ringwood G. A.
Published: July 2009

The oft quoted inadequacy of von Neumann architectures for AI applications has regularly been used to justify the design of special purpose parallel machines. In particular, the von Neumann computational model has been criticized as being unsuitable for parallelism because of the memory access bottleneck. For the design of a new machine both top-down and bottom-up methodologies have drawbacks. The middle-out strategy, working both up and down from an intrinsically concurrent high-level programming language as a means of both representing and processing knowledge provides an attractive way of providing a symbiosis between software and hardware. The longest established and most well-founded symbolic method for the representation and manipulation of knowledge is logic. A notable result of the last decade, work on mechanical theorem proving was that a subset of predicate logic, Horn Clauses, can form the foundation of a computational model. The execution model of Prolog, the first popular language based on Horn Clauses, was designed for efficient evaluation on von Neumann architectures. An alternative computational model, more suitable for expressing reactive systems but retaining Prolog's affinity for metaprogramming, has given rise to a new class of languages, concurrent logic languages. One among many of these languages, FGHC (flat Guarded Horn Clauses), was developed by the Japanese as the kernel of their Fifth Generation initiative. A background familiarity with Prolog would be helpful in understanding this article.
Parallelism in knowledge-based machines
Authors: Refenes Apostolos N.
Published: July 2009

The application area of knowledge-based expert systems is currently providing the main stimulus for developing powerful, parallel computer architectures. Languages for programming knowledge-based applications divide into four broad classes: Functional languages (e.g. LISP), Logic languages (e.g. PROLOG), Rule-Based languages (e.g. OPS5), and, what we refer to as self-organizing networks (e.g. BOLTZMANN machines).

Despite their many differences, a common problem for all language classes and their supporting machine architectures is parallelism: how to de-compose a single computation into a number of parallel tasks that can be distributed across an ensemble of processors. The aim of this paper is to review the four types of language for programming knowledge-based expert systems, and their supporting parallel machine architectures. In doing so we analyze the concepts and relationships that exist between the programming languages and their parallel machine architectures in terms of their strengths and limitations for exploiting parallelization.
Applications of nonmonotonic logic to diagnosis
Authors: Jackson Peter
Published: July 2009

This paper attempts to assess the practical utility of nonmonotonic logic in diagnostic problem solving. We begin with a brief review of the main assumptions which motivate work in this area, and discuss two logic-based approaches which involve nonmonotonic arguments. Then we consider two recent proposals for the application of default logic to diagnosis, as well as a proposal based on counterfactual logic. In conclusion, we briefly compare these methods with other diagnostic reasoning paradigms found in the Artificial Intelligence literature.
A review of temporal logics
Authors: Long Derek
Published: July 2009

A series of temporal reasoning tasks are identified which motivate the consideration and application of temporal logics in artificial intelligence. There follows a discussion of the broad issues involved in modelling time and constructing a temporal logic. The paper then presents a detailed review of the major approaches to temporal logics: first-order logic approaches, modal temporal logics and reified temporal logics. The review considers the most significant exemplars within the various approaches, including logics due to Russell, Hayes and McCarthy, Prior, McDermott, Allen, Kowalski and Sergot. The logics are compared and contrasted, particularly in their treatments of change and action, the roles they seek to fulfil and the underlying models of time on which they rest. The paper concludes with a brief consideration of the problem of granularity—a problem of considerable significance in temporal reasoning, which has yet to be satisfactorily treated in a temporal logic.
Explanation and dialogue
Authors: Gilbert Nigel
Published: July 2009

Recent approaches to providing advisory knowledge-based systems with explanation capabilities are reviewed. The importance of explaining a system's behaviour and conclusions was recognized early in the development of expert systems. Initial approaches were based on the presentation of an edited proof trace to the user, but while helpful for debugging knowledge bases, these explanations are of limited value to most users. Current work aims to expand the kinds of explanation which can be offered and to embed explanations into a dialogue so that the topic of the explanation can be negotiated between the user and the system. This raises issues of mutual knowledge and dialogue control which are discussed in the review.
Efficient knowledge representation systems
Authors: Giuse Dario
Published: July 2009

Frame systems occupy an important place among formalisms for computer-based knowledge representation. A common concern about frame systems, however, is that they are not efficient enough. We argue that this is not necessarily true of all possible systems, and that the trade-off between generality and efficiency has not been fully explored. While many systems provide generality at the expense of performance, systems closer to the low end of the spectrum have not been investigated nearly as much. Those systems are well suited for applications that need flexible knowledge representation but cannot afford the high performance price.

We describe in detail KR, a very efficient frame system that provides mechanisms for knowledge
representation including user-defined inheritance and relations, object-oriented programming, and
constraint maintenance. The system is simple and compact and does not include some of the more complex functionality, but it is highly optimized and offers excellent performance for a variety of applications.
AI applications in process design, operation and safety
Authors: Hutton D. , Ponton J. W. , Waters A.
Published: July 2009

This review provides an overview of the present state of the art in applying AI techniques to the work of Chemical and Process Engineers. Such work is described, where necessary, in order to make this paper understandable to an audience outside the process engineering community.
The first section discusses the nature of chemical engineering design and draws the important distinction between process design and plant design. The complete design cycle is covered a stage at a time and AI applications and issues identified. The section finishes with a discussion of integrated or concurrent design, which is the ultimate aim of much current research.
The second section discusses AI applications in process operation. This covers process monitoring, alarm processing and fault diagnosis.
The third section discusses, in some depth, design stage loss prevention, that is the design of plants to be safe and reliable. Safety is an integral part of design, but the inclusion of a separate section is appropriate as the qualitative and judgemental nature of many safety related problems has encouraged the use of AI techniques. Applications of AI planning to the problem of automatic operating procedure synthesis and applications of qualitative simulation to chemical engineering problems are also discussed in this section.
Expert systems in construction engineering and management: state of the art
Authors: Levitt Raymond E. , Kartam Nabil A.
Published: July 2009

Construction Engineering and Management is a broad area of civil engineering practice which includes: (1) planning and engineering of the temporary facilities for construction sites; (2) management of the construction process; and (3) rehabilitation, repair and maintenance of engineered facilities, where the traditionally distinct design and construction roles of participants have become merged. The broad scope of this field, combined with the empirical nature of many facets of construction engineering and management practice, have led to a significant amount of expert system activity in this domain.
AI in control Systems engineering
Authors: Linkens D. A.
Published: July 2009

Decision-making is an integral part of any consideration of the discipline of control Systems. This implies feedback of knowledge in some format, whether it is mediated via human or machineoriented methods. The application of AI methodologies to control Systems engineering is described in this review under two broad categories of design and implementation. The design of control strategies is itself divided into phases of modelling and simulation, identification, and algorithm selection and tuning. The aspects of implementation which are covered include real-time considerations such as knowledge-based control and fuzzy logic, multi-sensor data fusion, fault detection and Human–Computer Interaction (HCI).
Case research on knowledge acquisition: observations and lessons
Authors: Chan Christine , Benbasat Izak
Published: July 2009

Expert systems are being built despite the widely acknowledged problem of acquiring knowledge from experts. This study attempts to understand how knowledge acquisition is conducted in practice by investigating three expert system development projects. A CASE research methodology is adopted, and data is collected through unobtrusive observation, from taped protocols of knowledge acquisition sessions, retrospective interviews with the participants involved, and deliverables produced. The variables examined include the problem domain, the domain expert, the knowledge engineer, the knowledge acquisition process, the expert system construction process, potential users, organizational setting, and the expert system itself. The knowledge acquisition processes for three expert systems in the domains of law of negligence, telephone line fault diagnosis, and wastewater treatment have been examined. By juxtaposing the observations drawn with findings from the relevant literature, the study makes prescriptive suggestions on considerations and techniques for future acquisition efforts, and provides data for hypothesis generation in further research.
Qualitative frameworks for decision support: lessons from medicine
Authors: Fox John , Krause Paul
Published: July 2009

Some weaknesses of current decision support technologies are discussed. Numerical methods have strong theoretical foundations but are representationally weak, and only deal with a small part of the decision process. Knowledge-based systems offer greater flexibility, but have not been accompanied by a clear decision theory. Theoretical development ofsymbolic decision proceduresis advocated, an approach to the design of decision support systems based on first-order logic is presented, and work on this approach is reviewed. A central proposal is an extended form of inference calledargumentation; reasoning qualitatively for and against decision options from generalized domain theories. Argumentation captures a natural and familiar form of reasoning, and contributes to the robustness, flexibility and intelligibility of problem solving, while having a clear theoretical basis. Argumentation was developed initially for medical applications though it may have much wider applicability.
Overview of current practice and research initiatives for the verification and validation of KBS
Authors: Lydiard T. J.
Published: July 2009

Based on a survey of recent literature, this report aims to highlight the issues associated with the verification and validation of knowledge based systems. The confusion arising from the lack of clear terminology is considered, along with some of the characteristics of knowledge based systems that cause particular difficulties for verification and validation. The various approaches that can be adopted to address these difficulties are discussed, followed by a survey of recent research initiatives.

The author concludes that many of the difficulties associated with the verification and validation of knowledge based systems are a feature of the complexity of the system being built and the manner of its development rather than of the specific technology chosen to implement it.
Model-based reasoning in financial domains
Authors: Hamscher Walter
Published: July 2009

Finance is a challenging yet appropriate domain for model-based reasoning, an area of research otherwise grounded in classical physics. Among the many features that suggest a model-based approach are that firms have formal internal structures, business entities have idealizable behaviours, and there is a history of formal analysis of business problems. This article discusses the motivations and foundations of the model-based approach, and surveys several existing artificial intelligence programs that exploit its advantages. The survey shows that there are ample opportunities for useful systems and significant research in this area. However, accomplishing either of these goals depends crucially upon moving beyond qualitative models based only on accounting information, which tend not to capture the actual complexities of the domain.
Research developments in multiple inheritance with exceptions
Authors: Eklund Peter W.
Published: July 2009

The inheritance problem can be simply stated: for any instantiation of an inheritance network, say a specific hierarchy Γ, find a conclusion set for Γ. In other words, find out what is logically entailed by Γ. This can be done in two ways: either by defining a deductive or proof theoretic definition to determine what paths are entailed by a network; or by translating the individual links in the network to a more general nonmonotonic logic and using its model and proof theory to generate entailments that correspond to what one would expect from “viewing” the inheritance hierarchy. Two approaches to a solution to the inheritance problem structure this paper. The first is widely known as the “path-based” or “proof theoretic”, and the second, the “Model-based” or “model theoretic”. The two approaches result in both a different interpretation of default links as well as a variation in the entailment strategy for a solution to teh inheritance problem. In either case, the entailments produced need some intuitive interpretation, which can be either credulous or skeptical. The semantics of both skeptical and credulous inheritance reasoners are examined.
Scaling up production systems: Issues, approaches and targets
Authors: Acharya Anurag
Published: July 2009

Production systems have successfully made the transition from a trendy research idea to a routinely used programming paradigm. An important cause of this transition has been the several orders of magnitude speedup in program execution achieved in the past few years by the combination of better match algorithms, efficient compilation techniques and faster hardware platforms.
Learning relations and logic programs
Authors: Bergadano F. , Gunetti D.
Published: July 2009

Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) is an emerging research area at the intersection of machine learning, logic programming and software engineering. The first workshop on this topic was held in 1991 in Portugal (Muggleton, 1991). Subsequently, there was a workshop tied to the Future Generation Computer System Conference in Japan in 1992, and a third one in Bled, Slovenia, in April 1993 (Muggleton, 1993). Ideas related to ILP are also appearing in major AI and machine learning conferences and journals. Although European-based and mainly sponsored by ESPRIT, ILP aims at becoming equally represented elsewhere; for example, among researchers in America who are investigating relational learning and first order theory revision (see, for example, the papers in Birnbaum and Collins, 1991) and within the computational learning theory community. This year's IJCAI workshop on ILP is a first step in this direction, and includes recent work with a broader range of perspectives and techniques.
A review of functionality modelling in design
Authors: Winsor Julian , MacCallum Kenneth
Published: July 2009

Recently there has been an increase in the number of computer aided design systems developed explicitly representing knowledge about the functionality of engineering designs. Reviewing these systems provides an understanding of the methods workers use to encapsulate knowledge of functionality within their systems. A number of issues are addressed to reveal the nature of their approaches. The developers' perception of functionality is discussed to identify variations in understanding of function and to establish the existence of any consensus. Methods of representing this knowledge are examined, thereby identifying representation types or combinations used and the advantages to be gained from any single representation. Illustrations of the manipulation of function shows how this type of knowledge can be used to support reasoning during early stage design. A survey of relationships with other design characteristics as a testimony to the manipulation of functionality is used to impact other aspects of a design. Through knowledge of relationships some models of the design process are posited by workers. A study of these bears evidence of the role of function in design and the stages at which its use is significant.
Non-standard theories of uncertainty in knowledge representation and reasoning
Authors: Duboid Didier , Prade Henri
Published: July 2009

This paper provides a survey of the state of the art in plausible reasoning, that is exception tolerant reasoning under incomplete information. Three requirements are necessary for a formalism in order to cope with this problem: (i) making a clear distinction between factual information and generic knowledge; (ii) having a correct representation of partial ignorance; (iii) providing a nonmonotonic inference mechanism. Classical logic fails on requirements (i) and (iii), whilst the Bayesian approach does not fulfil (ii) in an unbiased way. In this perspective, various uncertainty modelling frameworks are reviewed: MYCIN-like fully compositional calculi, belief functions, upper and lower probability systems, and possibility theory. Possibility theory enablesclassicallogic to be extended to layered sets of formulae, where layers express certainty levels. Finally, it is explained how generic knowledge can be expressed by constraints on possibility measures, and how possibilistic inferences can encode nonmonotonic reasoning in agreement with the Lehmann et al. postulates.
Bias in human judgement under uncertainty?
Authors: Ayton Peter , Pascoe Eva
Published: July 2009

The claim is frequently made that human judgement and reasoning are vulnerable to cognitive biases. Such biases are assumed to be inherent in that they are attributed to the nature of the mental processes that produce judgement. In this paper, we review the psychological evidence for this claim in the context of the debate concerning human judgemental competence under uncertainty. We consider recent counter-arguments which suggest that the evidence for cognitive biases may be dependent on observations of performance on inappropriate tasks and by comparisons with inappropriate normative standards. We also consider the practical implications for the design of decision support systems.
Models and Techniques for the Reuse of Designs: ECA194 Workshop, Amsterdam, August 8 1994
Authors: Wognum P. M.
Published: July 2009

Reuse of designs is a topic which is receiving growing attention from the research community. Reuse of designs addresses the reuse of former experience in new design situations; relevant existing cases are retrieved and adapted to new situations. This reuse is common practice for engineers working in practice, both for efficiency reasons and to prevent making the same mistakes over and over again.
Comparison of implemented ontologies
Authors: Mars Nicolaas J. I.
Published: July 2009

A number of groups developing knowledge-based systems have found (or at least posited) that the design and representation of a limitative set of concepts and relations, a so-called ontology, can contribute to sharing and reusing knowledge bases. However, very few descriptions of implemented ontologies have appeared in the literature. No comparison of competing proposals is available, let alone an empirical determination of the benefits of using an ontology. There is no accepted method for designing and building such ontologies, nor is it clear how ontologies can best be evaluated.
Validation of knowledge-based systems: Current trends and issues
Authors: Preece Alun D.
Published: July 2009

Assuring the reliability of knowledge-based systems has become an important issue in the development of the knowledge engineering discipline. There has been a workshop devoted to these topics at most of the major AI conferences (IJCAI, AAAI and ECAI) for the last five years, and the 1994 European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI-94) in Amsterdam was no exception. The focus of the meeting was on validation techniques for KBS, where validation is defined as the process of determining if a KBS meets its users' requirements; implicitly, validation includes verification, which is the process of determining if a KBS has been constructed to comply with certain formally-specified properties, such as consistency and irredundancy. The Amsterdam workshop was an intimate meeting, and the fifteen attendees were predominantly from European institutions. In spite of—or perhaps because of—this intimacy, the workshop succeeded in highlighting many of the significant trends and issues within its area of concern. The purpose of this short article is to review the trends and issues in question, drawing upon the contributions made during the workshop.
CBT II—Case-based computer-aided instruction: survey of principles, applications and issues
Authors: Khan Tariq , Yip Yau Jim
Published: July 2009

In this paper we consider the role case-based reasoning has had in development of computer-aided instruction systems. We survey several case-based teaching systems, each of which is representative of a basic pedagogical principle that motivated its development. Firstly, 15 pedagogical principles are presented that were identified from the analysis of case-based teaching systems. We present some background to the principles, and indicate which systems they are incorporated in. Next, the teaching systems themselves are described, with emphasis on how case-based reasoning has been applied. Finally, we discuss some problems to be addressed when case-based planning is applied to lesson planning within a tutoring system.
An overview of approaches to qualitative model construction
Authors: Schut Cis , Bredeweg Bert
Published: July 2009

In qualitative reasoning research, much effort has been spent on developing representation and reasoning formalisms. Only recently, the process of constructing models in terms of these formalisms has been recognised as an important research topic of its own. Approaches addressing this topic are examined in this review. For this purpose a general model of the task of constructing qualitative models is developed that serves as a frame of reference in considering these approaches. Two categories of approaches are identified: model composition and model induction approaches. The former compose a model from predefined partial models and the latter infer a model from behavioural data. Similarities and differences between the approaches are discussed using the general task model as a reference. It appears that the majority of approaches focus on automating model construction entirely. Assessing and debugging a model in cooperation with a modeller is identified as an important topic for future research
Computer science research on scientific discovery
Authors: Valdés-Pérez Raúl E.
Published: July 2009

This article is an essay on directions and methodology in computer-science oriented research on scientific discovery. The essay starts by reviewing briefly some of the history of computing in scientific reasoning, and some of the results and impact that have been achieved. The remainder analyses some of the goals of this field, its relations with sister fields, and the practical applications of this analysis to evaluating research quality, reviewing, and methodology. An earlier review in this journal (Kocabas 1991b) analysed scientific discovery programs in terms of their designs, achievements and shortcomings; the focus here is research directions, evaluation and methodology, all from the viewpoint of computer science.
Roles for intelligence in multimedia: report on the IMMI-1 workshop
Authors: Lee John
Published: July 2009

Very little in computing these days is promoted with as much vigour as multimedia. Multimedia, we are told, will increase the usability and productivity of systems; it will improve the ability of people to learn from educational applications; it will combine naturally with other interface technologies to create a more natural interaction than ever before.
Ontologies: principles, methods and applications
Authors: Uschold Mike , Gruninger Michael
Published: July 2009

This paper is intended to serve as a comprehensive introduction to the emerging field concerned with the design and use of ontologies. We observe that disparate backgrounds, languages, tools and techniques are a major barrier to effective communication among people, organisations and/or software understanding (i.e. an “ontology”) in a given subject area, can improve such communication, which in turn, can give rise to greater reuse and sharing, inter-operability, and more reliable software. After motivating their need, we clarify just what ontologies are and what purpose they serve. We outline a methodology for developing and evaluating ontologies, first discussing informal techniques, concerning such issues as scoping, handling ambiguity, reaching agreement and producing definitions. We then consider the benefits and describe, a more formal approach. We re-visit the scoping phase, and discuss the role of formal languages and techniques in the specification, implementation and evalution of ontologies. Finally, we review the state of the art and practice in this emerging field, considering various case studies, software tools for ontology development, key research issues and future prospects.
Automated modelling: a discussion and review
Authors: Xia S. , Smith N.
Published: July 2009

Automated modelling is a young research field and is attracting increasingly more attention. It is a cross-disciplinary field involving simulation, modelling, qualitative reasoning, bond graphs and systems dynamics. It is an investigation of the modelling process with the purpose of developing computer tools which will automatically follow modelling principles. In addition, these tools will take into account the details of an application and generate the most appropriate model for the application. Its objective is to develop computer modelling tools which will have perception of model correctness, completeness and appropriateness and can perform modelling automatically. One way to achieve this objective is to introduce well-defined models and automate the process of assembling submodels into models to create well-defined models. This paper reviews the motivation and background behind this new field, its theory and current state of the art, compares existing approaches and discusses the underlying issues. It is hoped that more researchers will become aware of this field and be encouraged to work in it.
Review of pattern matching approaches
Authors: Manfaat D. , Duffy A. H. B. , Lee B. S.
Published: July 2009

This paper presents a review of pattern matching techniques. The application areas for pattern matching are extensive, ranging from CAD systems to chemical analysis and from manufacturing to image processing. Published techniques and methods are classified and assessed within the context of three key issues: pattern classes, similarity types and matching methods. It has been shown that the techniques and approaches are as diverse and varied as the applications.
TFL: an algebraic language to specify the dynamic behaviour of knowledge-based systems
Authors: Pierret-Golbreich Christine , Talon Xavier
Published: July 2009

TFL, the Task Formal Language, has been developed for integrating the static and dynamic aspects of knowledge based systems. This paper focuses on the formal specification of dynamic behaviour. Although fundamental in knowledge based systems, strategic reasoning has been rather neglected until now by the existing formal specifications. Most languages were generally more focused on the domain and problem-solving knowledge specification than on the control. The formalisation presented here differs from previous ones in several aspects. First, a different representation of dynamic knowledge is proposed: TFL is based on Algebraic Data Types, as opposed to dynamic or temporal logic. Second, dynamic strategic reasoning is emphasised, whereas existing languages only offer to specify algorithmic control. Then, TFL does not only provide the specification of the problem-solving knowledge of the object system, but also of its strategic knowledge. Finally, the dynamic knowledge of the meta-system itself is also specified. Moreover, modularisation is another important feature of the presented language.
Logic Programming and Software engineering—implications for Software design
Authors: Sterling Leon , Yalçinalp Ümit
Published: July 2009

Logic programming is a programming paradigm with potential to contribute to software engineering. This paper is concerned with one dimension of that potential, the impact that experience with developing logic programs can have on software design. We present a logic programming perspective on programming patterns, systematic program development, design for provability, and the paradigm of meta-programming.
Application oriented qualitative reasoning
Authors: Travé-Massuyès Louise , Milne Robert
Published: July 2009

The techniques of qualitative reasoning are now becoming sufficiently mature to be applied to real world problems. In order to better understand which techniques are being used successfully for real world applications, and which application areas can be suitably addressed using qualitative reasoning techniques, it is helpful to have a summary of what application oriented work has been done to date. This helps to provide a picture of the application areas in which the techniques are being applied, and who is working in each application domain. In this paper, we summarize over 40 relevant projects.
Childhood antecedents of personality disorder: An alternative perspective
Authors: Widiger Thomas A. , De Clercq Barbara , De Fruyt Filip
Published: July 2009

One of the fundamental limitations of theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Fourth Edition, Text Revision(DSM-IV-TR) categorical model of personality disorder classification has been the lack of a strong scientific foundation, including an understanding of childhood antecedents. TheDSM-IV-TRpersonality disorders, however, do appear to be well understood as maladaptive variants of the domains and facets of the general personality structure as conceptualized within the five-factor model (FFM). Integrating the classification of personality disorder with the FFM brings to an understanding of the personality disorders a considerable body of scientific research on childhood antecedents. The temperaments and traits of childhood do appear to be antecedent to the FFM of adult personality structure, and these temperament and traits of childhood and adolescence are the likely antecedents for adult personality disorder, providing further support for the conceptualization of the adult personality disorders as maladaptive variants of the domains and facets of the FFM. Conceptualizing personality disorders in terms of the FFM thereby provides a basis for integrating the classification of abnormal and normal personality functioning across the life span.
A structural–developmental psychodynamic approach to psychopathology: Two polarities of experience across the life span
Authors: Blatt Sidney J. , Luyten Patrick
Published: July 2009

Consistent with principles of developmental psychopathology, this paper presents a broad psychodynamic structural developmental perspective that establishes conceptual continuities between processes of normal personality development, personality organization, concepts of psychopathology, and processes of therapeutic change. The major assumption of this approach is that personality development proceeds in a dialectic synergistic interaction between the development of capacities for interpersonal relatedness and the development of self-definition or identity. Extensive research demonstrates that these two dimensions define two broad types of personality organization, each with a particular experiential mode; preferred forms of cognition, defense, and adaptation; unique qualities of interpersonal relatedness and specific types of object and self-representation. Severe disruptions of this normal dialectic developmental process result in various forms of psychopathology organized in two basic configurations in which there is distorted defensive preoccupation, at different developmental levels, with one of these polarities (relatedness or self-definition) at the expense of the development of the other dimension. This paper reviews empirical findings supporting this approach to normal and disrupted personality development throughout the life cycle and considers its relationship to the internalizing–externalizing distinction in childhood and adolescence, attachment theory, and research on the interaction between biological and psychosocial factors in development across the life span. Finally, we discuss the implications of this approach for intervention and prevention.
Triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy: Developmental origins of disinhibition, boldness, and meanness
Authors: Patrick Christopher J. , Fowles Don C. , Krueger Robert F.
Published: July 2009

The clinical concept of psychopathy (“psychopathic personality”) is generally considered to entail persistent behavioral deviancy in the company of emotional–interpersonal detachment. However, longstanding debates continue regarding the appropriate scope and boundaries of the concept. Here, we review alternative historic descriptions of the disorder together with empirical findings for the best-established assessment instruments in use with adolescents and youth as a basis for formulating an integrative, triarchic model of psychopathy. The essence of the triarchic model is that psychopathy encompasses three distinct phenotypic constructs: disinhibition, which reflects a general propensity toward problems of impulse control; boldness, which is defined as the nexus of social dominance, emotional resiliency, and venturesomeness; and meanness, which is defined as aggressive resource seeking without regard for others (“dysaffliated agency”). These differing phenotypic components are considered in terms of relevant etiologic and developmental pathways. The triarchic conceptualization provides a basis for reconciling and accommodating alternative descriptive accounts of psychopathy, and a framework for coordinating research on neurobiological and developmental processes contributing to varying manifestations of the disorder.