Rock mechanics modeling based on soft granulation theory

Abstract: This paper describes application of information granulation theory, on the design of rock engineering flowcharts. Firstly, an overall flowchart, based on information granulation theory has been highlighted. Information granulation theory, in crisp (non-fuzzy) or fuzzy format, can take into account engineering experiences (especially in fuzzy shape-incomplete information or superfluous), or engineering judgments, in each step of designing procedure, while the suitable instruments modeling are employed. In this manner and to extension of soft modeling instruments, using three combinations of Self Organizing Map (SOM), Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (NFIS), and Rough Set Theory (RST) crisp and fuzzy granules, from monitored data sets are obtained. The main underlined core of our algorithms are balancing of crisp(rough or non-fuzzy) granules and sub fuzzy granules, within non fuzzy information (initial granulation) upon the open-close iterations. Using different criteria on balancing best granules (information pockets), are obtained. Validations of our proposed methods, on the data set of in-situ permeability in rock masses in Shivashan dam, Iran have been highlighted.


Community Detection using a Measure of Global Influence

Abstract: The growing popularity of online social networks has provided researchers with access to large amount of social network data. This, coupled with the ever increasing computation speed, storage capacity and data mining capabilities, led to the renewal of interest in automatic community detection methods. Surprisingly, there is no universally accepted definition of the community. One frequently used definition states that ``communities, that have more and/or better-connected `internal edges' connecting members of the set than `cut edges' connecting the set to the rest of the world''[Leskovec et al. 20008]. This definition inspired the modularity-maximization class of community detection algorithms, which look for regions of the network that have higher than expected density of edges within them. We introduce an alternative definition which states that a community is composed of individuals who have more influence on others within the community than on those outside of it. We present a mathematical formulation of influence, define an influence-based modularity metric, and show how to use it to partition the network into communities. We evaluated our approach on the standard data sets used in literature, and found that it often outperforms the edge-based modularity algorithm.


On White-box Cryptography and Obfuscation

Abstract: We study the relationship between obfuscation and white-box cryptography. We capture the requirements of any white-box primitive using a \emph{White-Box Property (WBP)} and give some negative/positive results. Loosely speaking, the WBP is defined for some scheme and a security notion (we call the pair a \emph{specification}), and implies that w.r.t. the specification, an obfuscation does not leak any ``useful'' information, even though it may leak some ``useless'' non-black-box information. Our main result is a negative one - for most interesting programs, an obfuscation (under \emph{any} definition) cannot satisfy the WBP for every specification in which the program may be present. To do this, we define a \emph{Universal White-Box Property (UWBP)}, which if satisfied, would imply that under \emph{whatever} specification we conceive, the WBP is satisfied. We then show that for every non-approximately-learnable family, there exist (contrived) specifications for which the WBP (and thus, the UWBP) fails. On the positive side, we show that there exists an obfuscator for a non-approximately-learnable family that achieves the WBP for a certain specification. Furthermore, there exists an obfuscator for a non-learnable (but approximately-learnable) family that achieves the UWBP. Our results can also be viewed as formalizing the distinction between ``useful'' and ``useless'' non-black-box information.


On Secure Distributed Implementations of Dynamic Access Control

Abstract: Distributed implementations of access control abound in distributed storage protocols. While such implementations are often accompanied by informal justifications of their correctness, our formal analysis reveals that their correctness can be tricky. In particular, we discover several subtleties in a standard protocol based on capabilities, that can break security under a simple specification of access control. At the same time, we show a sensible refinement of the specification for which a secure implementation of access control is possible. Our models and proofs are formalized in the applied pi calculus, following some new techniques that may be of independent interest. Finally, we indicate how our principles can be applied to securely distribute other state machines.


Telex: Principled System Support for Write-Sharing in Collaborative Applications

Abstract: The Telex system is designed for sharing mutable data in a distributed environment, particularly for collaborative applications. Users operate on their local, persistent replica of shared documents; they can work disconnected and suffer no network latency. The Telex approach to detect and correct conflicts is application independent, based on an action-constraint graph (ACG) that summarises the concurrency semantics of applications. The ACG is stored efficiently in a multilog structure that eliminates contention and is optimised for locality. Telex supports multiple applications and multi-document updates. The Telex system clearly separates system logic (which includes replication, views, undo, security, consistency, conflicts, and commitment) from application logic. An example application is a shared calendar for managing multi-user meetings; the system detects meeting conflicts and resolves them consistently.


Report on article The Travelling Salesman Problem: A Linear Programming Formulation

Abstract: This article describes counter example prepared in order to prove that linear formulation of TSP problem proposed in [arXiv:0803.4354] is incorrect (it applies also to QAP problem formulation in [arXiv:0802.4307]). Article refers not only to model itself, but also to ability of extension of proposed model to be correct.


La fiabilit\'e des informations sur le web

Abstract: Online IR tools have to take into account new phenomena linked to the appearance of blogs, wiki and other collaborative publications. Among these collaborative sites, Wikipedia represents a crucial source of information. However, the quality of this information has been recently questionned. A better knowledge of the contributors' behaviors should help users navigate through information whose quality may vary from one source to another. In order to explore this idea, we present an analysis of the role of different types of contributors in the control of the publication of conflictual articles.


Pattern-based Model-to-Model Transformation: Long Version

Abstract: We present a new, high-level approach for the specification of model-to-model transformations based on declarative patterns. These are (atomic or composite) constraints on triple graphs declaring the allowed or forbidden relationships between source and target models. In this way, a transformation is defined by specifying a set of triple graph constraints that should be satisfied by the result of the transformation. The description of the transformation is then compiled into lower-level operational mechanisms to perform forward or backward transformations, as well as to establish mappings between two existent models. In this paper we study one of such mechanisms based on the generation of operational triple graph grammar rules. Moreover, we exploit deduction techniques at the specification level to generate more specialized constraints (preserving the specification semantics) reflecting pattern dependencies, from which additional rules can be derived. This is an extended version of the paper submitted to ICGT'08, with additional definitions and proofs.


Managing conflicts between users in Wikipedia

Abstract: Wikipedia is nowadays a widely used encyclopedia, and one of the most visible sites on the Internet. Its strong principle of collaborative work and free editing sometimes generates disputes due to disagreements between users. In this article we study how the wikipedian community resolves the conflicts and which roles do wikipedian choose in this process. We observed the users behavior both in the article talk pages, and in the Arbitration Committee pages specifically dedicated to serious disputes. We first set up a users typology according to their involvement in conflicts and their publishing and management activity in the encyclopedia. We then used those user types to describe users behavior in contributing to articles that are tagged by the wikipedian community as being in conflict with the official guidelines of Wikipedia, or conversely as being well featured.


An Experimental Investigation of XML Compression Tools

Abstract: This paper presents an extensive experimental study of the state-of-the-art of XML compression tools. The study reports the behavior of nine XML compressors using a large corpus of XML documents which covers the different natures and scales of XML documents. In addition to assessing and comparing the performance characteristics of the evaluated XML compression tools, the study tries to assess the effectiveness and practicality of using these tools in the real world. Finally, we provide some guidelines and recommen- dations which are useful for helping developers and users for making an effective decision for selecting the most suitable XML compression tool for their needs.


Canonical calculi with (n,k)-ary quantifiers

Abstract: Propositional canonical Gentzen-type systems, introduced in 2001 by Avron and Lev, are systems which in addition to the standard axioms and structural rules have only logical rules in which exactly one occurrence of a connective is introduced and no other connective is mentioned. A constructive coherence criterion for the non-triviality of such systems was defined and it was shown that a system of this kind admits cut-elimination iff it is coherent. The semantics of such systems is provided using two-valued non-deterministic matrices (2Nmatrices). In 2005 Zamansky and Avron extended these results to systems with unary quantifiers of a very restricted form. In this paper we substantially extend the characterization of canonical systems to (n,k)-ary quantifiers, which bind k distinct variables and connect n formulas, and show that the coherence criterion remains constructive for such systems. Then we focus on the case of k∈{0,1} and for a canonical calculus G show that it is coherent precisely when it has a strongly characteristic 2Nmatrix, which in turn is equivalent to admitting strong cut-elimination.


A note on clique-width and tree-width for structures

Abstract: We give a simple proof that the straightforward generalisation of clique-width to arbitrary structures can be unbounded on structures of bounded tree-width. This can be corrected by allowing fusion of elements.


QoS Challenges and Opportunities in Wireless Sensor/Actuator Networks

Abstract: A wireless sensor/actuator network (WSAN) is a group of sensors and actuators that are geographically distributed and interconnected by wireless networks. Sensors gather information about the state of physical world. Actuators react to this information by performing appropriate actions. WSANs thus enable cyber systems to monitor and manipulate the behavior of the physical world. WSANs are growing at a tremendous pace, just like the exploding evolution of Internet. Supporting quality of service (QoS) will be of critical importance for pervasive WSANs that serve as the network infrastructure of diverse applications. To spark new research and development interests in this field, this paper examines and discusses the requirements, critical challenges, and open research issues on QoS management in WSANs. A brief overview of recent progress is given.


Feedback Scheduling of Priority-Driven Control Networks

Abstract: With traditional open-loop scheduling of network resources, the quality-of-control (QoC) of networked control systems (NCSs) may degrade significantly in the presence of limited bandwidth and variable workload. The goal of this work is to maximize the overall QoC of NCSs through dynamically allocating available network bandwidth. Based on codesign of control and scheduling, an integrated feedback scheduler is developed to enable flexible QoC management in dynamic environments. It encompasses a cascaded feedback scheduling module for sampling period adjustment and a direct feedback scheduling module for priority modification. The inherent characteristics of priority-driven control networks make it feasible to implement the proposed feedback scheduler in real-world systems. Extensive simulations show that the proposed approach leads to significant QoC improvement over the traditional open-loop scheduling scheme under both underloaded and overloaded network conditions.


Control-theoretic dynamic voltage scaling for embedded controllers

Abstract: For microprocessors used in real-time embedded systems, minimizing power consumption is difficult due to the timing constraints. Dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) has been incorporated into modern microprocessors as a promising technique for exploring the trade-off between energy consumption and system performance. However, it remains a challenge to realize the potential of DVS in unpredictable environments where the system workload cannot be accurately known. Addressing system-level power-aware design for DVS-enabled embedded controllers, this paper establishes an analytical model for the DVS system that encompasses multiple real-time control tasks. From this model, a feedback control based approach to power management is developed to reduce dynamic power consumption while achieving good application performance. With this approach, the unpredictability and variability of task execution times can be attacked. Thanks to the use of feedback control theory, predictable performance of the DVS system is achieved, which is favorable to real-time applications. Extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach.


Fuzzy Logic Control Based QoS Management in Wireless Sensor/Actuator Networks

Abstract: Wireless sensor/actuator networks (WSANs) are emerging rapidly as a new generation of sensor networks. Despite intensive research in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), limited work has been found in the open literature in the field of WSANs. In particular, quality-of-service (QoS) management in WSANs remains an important issue yet to be investigated. As an attempt in this direction, this paper develops a fuzzy logic control based QoS management (FLC-QM) scheme for WSANs with constrained resources and in dynamic and unpredictable environments. Taking advantage of the feedback control technology, this scheme deals with the impact of unpredictable changes in traffic load on the QoS of WSANs. It utilizes a fuzzy logic controller inside each source sensor node to adapt sampling period to the deadline miss ratio associated with data transmission from the sensor to the actuator. The deadline miss ratio is maintained at a pre-determined desired level so that the required QoS can be achieved. The FLC-QM has the advantages of generality, scalability, and simplicity. Simulation results show that the FLC-QM can provide WSANs with QoS support.


EuSpRIG TEAM work:Tools, Education, Audit, Management

Abstract: Research on spreadsheet errors began over fifteen years ago. During that time, there has been ample evidence demonstrating that spreadsheet errors are common and nontrivial. Quite simply, spreadsheet error rates are comparable to error rates in other human cognitive activities and are caused by fundamental limitations in human cognition, not mere sloppiness. Nor does ordinary "being careful" eliminate errors or reduce them to acceptable levels.


Training Gamble leads to Corporate Grumble?

Abstract: Fifteen years of research studies have concluded unanimously that spreadsheet errors are both common and non-trivial. Now we must seek ways to reduce spreadsheet errors. Several approaches have been suggested, some of which are promising and others, while appealing because they are easy to do, are not likely to be effective. To date, only one technique, cell-by-cell code inspection, has been demonstrated to be effective. We need to conduct further research to determine the degree to which other techniques can reduce spreadsheet errors.


Investigating the use of Software Agents to Reduce The Risk of Undetected Errors in Strategic Spreadsheet Applications

Abstract: There is an overlooked iceberg of problems in end user computing. Spreadsheets are developed by people who are very skilled in their main job function, be it finance, procurement, or production planning, but often have had no formal training in spreadsheet use. IT auditors focus on mainstream information systems but regard spreadsheets as user problems, outside their concerns. Internal auditors review processes, but not the tools that support decision making in these processes. This paper highlights the gaps between risk management and end user awareness in spreadsheet research. In addition the potential benefits of software agent technologies to the management of risk in spreadsheets are explored. This paper discusses the current research into end user computing and spreadsheet use awareness.


Checking the Quality of Clinical Guidelines using Automated Reasoning Tools

Abstract: Requirements about the quality of clinical guidelines can be represented by schemata borrowed from the theory of abductive diagnosis, using temporal logic to model the time-oriented aspects expressed in a guideline. Previously, we have shown that these requirements can be verified using interactive theorem proving techniques. In this paper, we investigate how this approach can be mapped to the facilities of a resolution-based theorem prover, Otter, and a complementary program that searches for finite models of first-order statements, Mace. It is shown that the reasoning required for checking the quality of a guideline can be mapped to such fully automated theorem-proving facilities. The medical quality of an actual guideline concerning diabetes mellitus 2 is investigated in this way.


On collinear sets in straight line drawings

Abstract: We consider straight line drawings of a planar graph $G$ with possible edge crossings. The \emph{untangling problem} is to eliminate all edge crossings by moving as few vertices as possible to new positions. Let $fix(G)$ denote the maximum number of vertices that can be left fixed in the worst case. In the \emph{allocation problem}, we are given a planar graph $G$ on $n$ vertices together with an $n$-point set $X$ in the plane and have to draw $G$ without edge crossings so that as many vertices as possible are located in $X$. Let $fit(G)$ denote the maximum number of points fitting this purpose in the worst case. As $fix(G)\le fit(G)$, we are interested in upper bounds for the latter and lower bounds for the former parameter. For each $\epsilon>0$, we construct an infinite sequence of graphs with $fit(G)=O(n^{\sigma+\epsilon})$, where $\sigma<0.99$ is a known graph-theoretic constant, namely the shortness exponent for the class of cubic polyhedral graphs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of graphs with $fit(G)=o(n)$. On the other hand, we prove that $fix(G)\ge\sqrt{n/30}$ for all $G$ with tree-width at most 2. This extends the lower bound obtained by Goaoc et al. [Discrete and Computational Geometry 42:542-569 (2009)] for outerplanar graphs. Our upper bound for $fit(G)$ is based on the fact that the constructed graphs can have only few collinear vertices in any crossing-free drawing. To prove the lower bound for $fix(G)$, we show that graphs of tree-width 2 admit drawings that have large sets of collinear vertices with some additional special properties.


Local approximation algorithms for a class of 0/1 max-min linear programs

Abstract: We study the applicability of distributed, local algorithms to 0/1 max-min LPs where the objective is to maximise ${\min_k \sum_v c_{kv} x_v}$ subject to ${\sum_v a_{iv} x_v \le 1}$ for each $i$ and ${x_v \ge 0}$ for each $v$. Here $c_{kv} \in \{0,1\}$, $a_{iv} \in \{0,1\}$, and the support sets ${V_i = \{v : a_{iv} > 0 \}}$ and ${V_k = \{v : c_{kv}>0 \}}$ have bounded size; in particular, we study the case $|V_k| \le 2$. Each agent $v$ is responsible for choosing the value of $x_v$ based on information within its constant-size neighbourhood; the communication network is the hypergraph where the sets $V_k$ and $V_i$ constitute the hyperedges. We present a local approximation algorithm which achieves an approximation ratio arbitrarily close to the theoretical lower bound presented in prior work.


On the Probability of the Existence of Fixed-Size Components in Random Geometric Graphs

Abstract: In this work we give precise asymptotic expressions on the probability of the existence of fixed-size components at the threshold of connectivity for random geometric graphs.


GuiLiner: A Configurable and Extensible Graphical User Interface for Scientific Analysis and Simulation Software

Abstract: The computer programs most users interact with daily are driven by a graphical user interface (GUI). However, many scientific applications are used with a command line interface (CLI) for the ease of development and increased flexibility this mode provides. Scientific application developers would benefit from being able to provide a GUI easily for their CLI programs, thus retaining the advantages of both modes of interaction. GuiLiner is a generic, extensible and flexible front-end designed to ``host'' a wide variety of data analysis or simulation programs. Scientific application developers who produce a correctly formatted XML file describing their program's options and some of its documentation can immediately use GuiLiner to produce a carefully implemented GUI for their analysis or simulation programs.


Succinct Greedy Graph Drawing in the Hyperbolic Plane

Abstract: We describe an efficient method for drawing any n-vertex simple graph G in the hyperbolic plane. Our algorithm produces greedy drawings, which support greedy geometric routing, so that a message M between any pair of vertices may be routed geometrically, simply by having each vertex that receives M pass it along to any neighbor that is closer in the hyperbolic metric to the message's eventual destination. More importantly, for networking applications, our algorithm produces succinct drawings, in that each of the vertex positions in one of our embeddings can be represented using O(log n) bits and the calculation of which neighbor to send a message to may be performed efficiently using these representations. These properties are useful, for example, for routing in sensor networks, where storage and bandwidth are limited.


Cluster Development and Knowledge Exchange in Supply Chain

Abstract: Industry cluster and supply chain are in focus of every countries which rely on knowledge-based economy. Both focus on improving the competitiveness of firm in the industry in the different aspect. This paper tries to illustrate how the industry cluster can increase the supply chain performance. Then, the proposed methodology concentrates on the collaboration and knowledge exchange in supply chain. For improving the capability of the proposed methodology, information technology is applied to facilitate the communication and the exchange of knowledge between the actors of the supply chain within the cluster. The supply chain of French stool producer was used as a case study to validate the methodology and to demonstrate the result of the study.


An Ontology-based Knowledge Management System for Industry Clusters

Abstract: Knowledge-based economy forces companies in the nation to group together as a cluster in order to maintain their competitiveness in the world market. The cluster development relies on two key success factors which are knowledge sharing and collaboration between the actors in the cluster. Thus, our study tries to propose knowledge management system to support knowledge management activities within the cluster. To achieve the objectives of this study, ontology takes a very important role in knowledge management process in various ways; such as building reusable and faster knowledge-bases, better way for representing the knowledge explicitly. However, creating and representing ontology create difficulties to organization due to the ambiguity and unstructured of source of knowledge. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are to propose the methodology to create and represent ontology for the organization development by using knowledge engineering approach. The handicraft cluster in Thailand is used as a case study to illustrate our proposed methodology.


Sincere-Strategy Preference-Based Approval Voting Fully Resists Constructive Control and Broadly Resists Destructive Control

Abstract: We study sincere-strategy preference-based approval voting (SP-AV), a system proposed by Brams and Sanver [Electoral Studies, 25(2):287-305, 2006], and here adjusted so as to coerce admissibility of the votes (rather than excluding inadmissible votes a priori), with respect to procedural control. In such control scenarios, an external agent seeks to change the outcome of an election via actions such as adding/deleting/partitioning either candidates or voters. SP-AV combines the voters' preference rankings with their approvals of candidates, where in elections with at least two candidates the voters' approval strategies are adjusted--if needed--to approve of their most-preferred candidate and to disapprove of their least-preferred candidate. This rule coerces admissibility of the votes even in the presence of control actions, and hybridizes, in effect, approval with pluralitiy voting. We prove that this system is computationally resistant (i.e., the corresponding control problems are NP-hard) to 19 out of 22 types of constructive and destructive control. Thus, SP-AV has more resistances to control than is currently known for any other natural voting system with a polynomial-time winner problem. In particular, SP-AV is (after Copeland voting, see Faliszewski et al. [AAIM-2008, Springer LNCS 5034, pp. 165-176, 2008]) the second natural voting system with an easy winner-determination procedure that is known to have full resistance to constructive control, and unlike Copeland voting it in addition displays broad resistance to destructive control.


Steganographic Routing in Multi Agent System Environment

Abstract: In this paper we present an idea of trusted communication platform for Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) called TrustMAS. Based on analysis of routing protocols suitable for MAS we have designed a new proactive hidden routing. Proposed steg-agents discovery procedure, as well as further routes updates and hidden communication, are cryptographically independent. Steganographic exchange can cover heterogeneous and geographically outlying environments using available cross-layer covert channels. Finally we have specified rules that agents have to follow to benefit the TrustMAS distributed router platform.


Directional Cross Diamond Search Algorithm for Fast Block Motion Estimation

Abstract: In block-matching motion estimation (BMME), the search patterns have a significant impact on the algorithm's performance, both the search speed and the search quality. The search pattern should be designed to fit the motion vector probability (MVP) distribution characteristics of the real-world sequences. In this paper, we build a directional model of MVP distribution to describe the directional-center-biased characteristic of the MVP distribution and the directional characteristics of the conditional MVP distribution more exactly based on the detailed statistical data of motion vectors of eighteen popular sequences. Three directional search patterns are firstly designed by utilizing the directional characteristics and they are the smallest search patterns among the popular ones. A new algorithm is proposed using the horizontal cross search pattern as the initial step and the horizontal/vertical diamond search pattern as the subsequent step for the fast BMME, which is called the directional cross diamond search (DCDS) algorithm. The DCDS algorithm can obtain the motion vector with fewer search points than CDS, DS or HEXBS while maintaining the similar or even better search quality. The gain on speedup of DCDS over CDS or DS can be up to 54.9%. The simulation results show that DCDS is efficient, effective and robust, and it can always give the faster search speed on different sequences than other fast block-matching algorithm in common use.


Modeling And Simulation Of Prolate Dual-Spin Satellite Dynamics In An Inclined Elliptical Orbit: Case Study Of Palapa B2R Satellite

Abstract: In response to the interest to re-use Palapa B2R satellite nearing its End of Life (EOL) time, an idea to incline the satellite orbit in order to cover a new region has emerged in the recent years. As a prolate dual-spin vehicle, Palapa B2R has to be stabilized against its internal energy dissipation effect. This work is focused on analyzing the dynamics of the reusable satellite in its inclined orbit. The study discusses in particular the stability of the prolate dual-spin satellite under the effect of perturbed field of gravitation due to the inclination of its elliptical orbit. Palapa B2R physical data was substituted into the dual-spin's equation of motion. The coefficient of zonal harmonics J2 was induced into the gravity-gradient moment term that affects the satellite attitude. The satellite's motion and attitude were then simulated in the perturbed gravitational field by J2, with the variation of orbit's eccentricity and inclination. The analysis of the satellite dynamics and its stability was conducted for designing a control system for the vehicle in its new inclined orbit.


Onboard Multivariable Controller Design for a Small Scale Helicopter Using Coefficient Diagram Method

Abstract: A mini scale helicopter exhibits not only increased sensitivity to control inputs and disturbances, but also higher bandwidth of its dynamics. These properties make model helicopters, as a flying robot, more difficult to control. The dynamics model accuracy will determine the performance of the designed controller. It is attractive in this regards to have a controller that can accommodate the unmodeled dynamics or parameter changes and perform well in such situations. Coefficient Diagram Method (CDM) is chosen as the candidate to synthesize such a controller due to its simplicity and convenience in demonstrating integrated performance measures including equivalent time constant, stability indices and robustness. In this study, CDM is implemented for a design of multivariable controller for a small scale helicopter during hover and cruise flight. In the synthesis of MIMO CDM, good design common sense based on hands-on experience is necessary. The low level controller algorithm is designed as part of hybrid supervisory control architecture to be implemented on an onboard computer system. Its feasibility and performance are evaluated based on its robustness, desired time domain system responses and compliance to hard-real time requirements.


Collaborative model of interaction and Unmanned Vehicle Systems' interface

Abstract: The interface for the next generation of Unmanned Vehicle Systems should be an interface with multi-modal displays and input controls. Then, the role of the interface will not be restricted to be a support of the interactions between the ground operator and vehicles. Interface must take part in the interaction management too. In this paper, we show that recent works in pragmatics and philosophy provide a suitable theoretical framework for the next generation of UV System's interface. We concentrate on two main aspects of the collaborative model of interaction based on acceptance: multi-strategy approach for communicative act generation and interpretation and communicative alignment.


A Dynamic Programming Framework for Combinatorial Optimization Problems on Graphs with Bounded Pathwidth

Abstract: In this paper we present an algorithmic framework for solving a class of combinatorial optimization problems on graphs with bounded pathwidth. The problems are NP-hard in general, but solvable in linear time on this type of graphs. The problems are relevant for assessing network reliability and improving the network's performance and fault tolerance. The main technique considered in this paper is dynamic programming.


On the Security of Liaw et al.'s Scheme

Abstract: Recently, Liaw et al. proposed a remote user authentication scheme using smartcards. They claimed a number of features of their scheme, e.g. a dictionary of verification tables is not required to authenticate users; users can choose their password freely; mutual authentication is provided between the user and the remote system; the communication cost and the computational cost are very low; users can update their password after the registration phase; a session key agreed by the user and the remote system is generated in every session; and the nonce-based scheme which does not require a timestamp (to solve the serious time synchronization problem) etc. In this paper We show that Liaw et al.'s scheme does not stand with various security requirements and is completely insecure. Keywords: Authentication, Smartcards, Remote system, Attack.


Towards sustainable transport: wireless detection of passenger trips on public transport buses

Abstract: An important problem in creating efficient public transport is obtaining data about the set of trips that passengers make, usually referred to as an Origin/Destination (OD) matrix. Obtaining this data is problematic and expensive in general, especially in the case of buses because on-board ticketing systems do not record where and when passengers get off a bus. In this paper we describe a novel and inexpensive system that uses off-the-shelf Bluetooth hardware to accurately record passenger journeys. Here we show how our system can be used to derive passenger OD matrices, and additionally we show how our data can be used to further improve public transport services.


Drawing (Complete) Binary Tanglegrams: Hardness, Approximation, Fixed-Parameter Tractability

Abstract: A \emph{binary tanglegram} is a drawing of a pair of rooted binary trees whose leaf sets are in one-to-one correspondence; matching leaves are connected by inter-tree edges. For applications, for example, in phylogenetics, it is essential that both trees are drawn without edge crossings and that the inter-tree edges have as few crossings as possible. It is known that finding a tanglegram with the minimum number of crossings is NP-hard and that the problem is fixed-parameter tractable with respect to that number. We prove that under the Unique Games Conjecture there is no constant-factor approximation for binary trees. We show that the problem is NP-hard even if both trees are complete binary trees. For this case we give an $O(n^3)$-time 2-approximation and a new, simple fixed-parameter algorithm. We show that the maximization version of the dual problem for binary trees can be reduced to a version of MaxCut for which the algorithm of Goemans and Williamson yields a 0.878-approximation.


The Mixing Time of Glauber Dynamics for Colouring Regular Trees

Abstract: We consider Metropolis Glauber dynamics for sampling proper $q$-colourings of the $n$-vertex complete $b$-ary tree when $3\leq q\leq b/2\ln(b)$. We give both upper and lower bounds on the mixing time. For fixed $q$ and $b$, our upper bound is $n^{O(b/\log b)}$ and our lower bound is $n^{\Omega(b/q \log(b))}$, where the constants implicit in the $O()$ and $\Omega()$ notation do not depend upon $n$, $q$ or $b$.


Drawing Binary Tanglegrams: An Experimental Evaluation

Abstract: A binary tanglegram is a pair <S,T> of binary trees whose leaf sets are in one-to-one correspondence; matching leaves are connected by inter-tree edges. For applications, for example in phylogenetics or software engineering, it is required that the individual trees are drawn crossing-free. A natural optimization problem, denoted tanglegram layout problem, is thus to minimize the number of crossings between inter-tree edges. The tanglegram layout problem is NP-hard and is currently considered both in application domains and theory. In this paper we present an experimental comparison of a recursive algorithm of Buchin et al., our variant of their algorithm, the algorithm hierarchy sort of Holten and van Wijk, and an integer quadratic program that yields optimal solutions.


On convergence-sensitive bisimulation and the embedding of CCS in timed CCS

Abstract: We propose a notion of convergence-sensitive bisimulation that is built just over the notions of (internal) reduction and of (static) context. In the framework of timed CCS, we characterise this notion of `contextual' bisimulation via the usual labelled transition system. We also remark that it provides a suitable semantic framework for a fully abstract embedding of untimed processes into timed ones. Finally, we show that the notion can be refined to include sensitivity to divergence.


A Comparison of Performance Measures for Online Algorithms

Abstract: This paper provides a systematic study of several proposed measures for online algorithms in the context of a specific problem, namely, the two server problem on three colinear points. Even though the problem is simple, it encapsulates a core challenge in online algorithms which is to balance greediness and adaptability. We examine Competitive Analysis, the Max/Max Ratio, the Random Order Ratio, Bijective Analysis and Relative Worst Order Analysis, and determine how these measures compare the Greedy Algorithm, Double Coverage, and Lazy Double Coverage, commonly studied algorithms in the context of server problems. We find that by the Max/Max Ratio and Bijective Analysis, Greedy is the best of the three algorithms. Under the other measures, Double Coverage and Lazy Double Coverage are better, though Relative Worst Order Analysis indicates that Greedy is sometimes better. Only Bijective Analysis and Relative Worst Order Analysis indicate that Lazy Double Coverage is better than Double Coverage. Our results also provide the first proof of optimality of an algorithm under Relative Worst Order Analysis.


Analysis of a procedure for inserting steganographic data into VoIP calls

Abstract: The paper concerns performance analysis of a steganographic method, dedicated primarily for VoIP, which was recently filed for patenting under the name LACK. The performance of the method depends on the procedure of inserting covert data into the stream of audio packets. After a brief presentation of the LACK method, the paper focuses on analysis of the dependence of the insertion procedure on the probability distribution of VoIP call duration.


3-connected Planar Graph Isomorphism is in Log-space

Abstract: We show that the isomorphism of 3-connected planar graphs can be decided in deterministic log-space. This improves the previously known bound UL$\cap$coUL of Thierauf and Wagner.


Histograms and Wavelets on Probabilistic Data

Abstract: There is a growing realization that uncertain information is a first-class citizen in modern database management. As such, we need techniques to correctly and efficiently process uncertain data in database systems. In particular, data reduction techniques that can produce concise, accurate synopses of large probabilistic relations are crucial. Similar to their deterministic relation counterparts, such compact probabilistic data synopses can form the foundation for human understanding and interactive data exploration, probabilistic query planning and optimization, and fast approximate query processing in probabilistic database systems. In this paper, we introduce definitions and algorithms for building histogram- and wavelet-based synopses on probabilistic data. The core problem is to choose a set of histogram bucket boundaries or wavelet coefficients to optimize the accuracy of the approximate representation of a collection of probabilistic tuples under a given error metric. For a variety of different error metrics, we devise efficient algorithms that construct optimal or near optimal B-term histogram and wavelet synopses. This requires careful analysis of the structure of the probability distributions, and novel extensions of known dynamic-programming-based techniques for the deterministic domain. Our experiments show that this approach clearly outperforms simple ideas, such as building summaries for samples drawn from the data distribution, while taking equal or less time.


Fair and Efficient TCP Access in the IEEE 802.11 Infrastructure Basic Service Set

Abstract: When the stations in an IEEE 802.11 infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) employ Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) in the transport layer, this exacerbates per-flow unfair access which is a direct result of uplink/downlink bandwidth asymmetry in the BSS. We propose a novel and simple analytical model to approximately calculate the per-flow TCP congestion window limit that provides fair and efficient TCP access in a heterogeneous wired-wireless scenario. The proposed analysis is unique in that it considers the effects of varying number of uplink and downlink TCP flows, differing Round Trip Times (RTTs) among TCP connections, and the use of delayed TCP Acknowledgment (ACK) mechanism. Motivated by the findings of this analysis, we design a link layer access control block to be employed only at the Access Point (AP) in order to resolve the unfair access problem. The novel and simple idea of the proposed link layer access control block is employing a congestion control and filtering algorithm on TCP ACK packets of uplink flows, thereby prioritizing the access of TCP data packets of downlink flows at the AP. Via simulations, we show that short- and long-term fair access can be provisioned with the introduction of the proposed link layer access control block to the protocol stack of the AP while improving channel utilization and access delay.


Fair Access Provisioning through Contention Parameter Adaptation in the IEEE 802.11e Infrastructure Basic Service Set

Abstract: We present the station-based unfair access problem among the uplink and the downlink stations in the IEEE 802.11e infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) when the default settings of the Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) parameters are used. We discuss how the transport layer protocol characteristics alleviate the unfairness problem. We design a simple, practical, and standard-compliant framework to be employed at the Access Point (AP) for fair and efficient access provisioning. A dynamic measurement-based EDCA parameter adaptation block lies in the core of this framework. The proposed framework is unique in the sense that it considers the characteristic differences of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) flows and the coexistence of stations with varying bandwidth or Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements. Via simulations, we show that our solution provides short- and long-term fair access for all stations in the uplink and downlink employing TCP and UDP flows with non-uniform packet rates in a wired-wireless heterogeneous network. In the meantime, the QoS requirements of coexisting real-time flows are also maintained.


Design Patterns for Complex Event Processing

Abstract: Currently engineering efficient and successful event-driven applications based on the emerging Complex Event Processing (CEP) technology, is a laborious trial and error process. The proposed CEP design pattern approach should support CEP engineers in their design decisions to build robust and efficient CEP solutions with well understood tradeoffs and should enable an interdisciplinary and efficient communication process about successful CEP solutions in different application domains.


Significant Diagnostic Counterexamples in Probabilistic Model Checking

Abstract: This paper presents a novel technique for counterexample generation in probabilistic model checking of Markov Chains and Markov Decision Processes. (Finite) paths in counterexamples are grouped together in witnesses that are likely to provide similar debugging information to the user. We list five properties that witnesses should satisfy in order to be useful as debugging aid: similarity, accuracy, originality, significance, and finiteness. Our witnesses contain paths that behave similar outside strongly connected components. This papers shows how to compute these witnesses by reducing the problem of generating counterexamples for general properties over Markov Decision Processes, in several steps, to the easy problem of generating counterexamples for reachability properties over acyclic Markov Chains.


Unsatisfiable CNF Formulas need many Conflicts

Abstract: A pair of clauses in a CNF formula constitutes a conflict if there is a variable that occurs positively in one clause and negatively in the other. A CNF formula without any conflicts is satisfiable. The Lovasz Local Lemma implies that a k-CNF formula is satisfiable if each clause conflicts with at most 2^k/e-1 clauses. It does not, however, give any good bound on how many conflicts an unsatisfiable formula has globally. We show here that every unsatisfiable k-CNF formula requires 2.69^k conflicts and there exist unsatisfiable k-CNF formulas with 3.51^k conflicts.


Utilisation des grammaires probabilistes dans les t\^aches de segmentation et d'annotation prosodique

Abstract: Nous pr\'esentons dans cette contribution une approche \`a la fois symbolique et probabiliste permettant d'extraire l'information sur la segmentation du signal de parole \`a partir d'information prosodique. Nous utilisons pour ce faire des grammaires probabilistes poss\'edant une structure hi\'erarchique minimale. La phase de construction des grammaires ainsi que leur pouvoir de pr\'ediction sont \'evalu\'es qualitativement ainsi que quantitativement. ----- Methodologically oriented, the present work sketches an approach for prosodic information retrieval and speech segmentation, based on both symbolic and probabilistic information. We have recourse to probabilistic grammars, within which we implement a minimal hierarchical structure. Both the stages of probabilistic grammar building and its testing in prediction are explored and quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated.


ICT, Community Memory and Technological Appropriation

Abstract: The core mission of universities and higher education institutions is to make public the results of their work and to preserve the collective memory of the institution. This includes the effective use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to systematically compile academic and research achievements as well as disseminate effectively this accumulated knowledge to society at large. Current efforts in Latin America and Venezuela in particular, are limited but provide some valuable insights to pave the road to this important goal. The institutional repository of Universidad de Los Andes (ULA) in Venezuela (www.saber.ula.ve) is such an example of ICT usage to store, manage and disseminate digital material produced by our University. In this paper we elaborate on the overall process of promoting a culture of content creation, publishing and preservation within ULA.


Scheduling Sensors by Tiling Lattices

Abstract: Suppose that wirelessly communicating sensors are placed in a regular fashion on the points of a lattice. Common communication protocols allow the sensors to broadcast messages at arbitrary times, which can lead to problems should two sensors broadcast at the same time. It is shown that one can exploit a tiling of the lattice to derive a deterministic periodic schedule for the broadcast communication of sensors that is guaranteed to be collision-free. The proposed schedule is shown to be optimal in the number of time slots.


The Role of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Crisis Response

Abstract: Crisis response poses many of the most difficult information technology in crisis management. It requires information and communication-intensive efforts, utilized for reducing uncertainty, calculating and comparing costs and benefits, and managing resources in a fashion beyond those regularly available to handle routine problems. In this paper, we explore the benefits of artificial intelligence technologies in crisis response. This paper discusses the role of artificial intelligence technologies; namely, robotics, ontology and semantic web, and multi-agent systems in crisis response.


Extracting Programs from Constructive HOL Proofs via IZF Set-Theoretic<br> Semantics

Abstract: Church's Higher Order Logic is a basis for influential proof assistants -- HOL and PVS. Church's logic has a simple set-theoretic semantics, making it trustworthy and extensible. We factor HOL into a constructive core plus axioms of excluded middle and choice. We similarly factor standard set theory, ZFC, into a constructive core, IZF, and axioms of excluded middle and choice. Then we provide the standard set-theoretic semantics in such a way that the constructive core of HOL is mapped into IZF. We use the disjunction, numerical existence and term existence properties of IZF to provide a program extraction capability from proofs in the constructive core. We can implement the disjunction and numerical existence properties in two different ways: one using Rathjen's realizability for IZF and the other using a new direct weak normalization result for IZF by Moczydlowski. The latter can also be used for the term existence property.


The Separation of Duty with Privilege Calculus

Abstract: This paper presents Privilege Calculus (PC) as a new approach of knowledge representation for Separation of Duty (SD) in the view of process and intents to improve the reconfigurability and traceability of SD. PC presumes that the structure of SD should be reduced to the structure of privilege and then the regulation of system should be analyzed with the help of forms of privilege.


Temporized Equilibria

Abstract: This paper has been withdrawn by the author due to a crucial error in the submission action.


From a set of parts to an indivisible whole. Part III: Holistic space of multi-object relations

Abstract: The previously described methodology for hierarchical grouping of objects through iterative averaging has been used for simulation of cooperative interactions between objects of a system with the purpose of investigation of the conformational organization of the system. Interactions between objects were analyzed within the space of an isotropic field of one of the objects (drifter). Such an isotropic field of an individual object can be viewed as a prototype of computer ego. It allows visualization of a holistic space of multi-object relations (HSMOR) which has a complex structure depending on the number of objects, their mutual arrangement in space, and the type of metric used for assessment of (dis)similarities between the objects. In the course of computer simulation of cooperative interactions between the objects, only those points of the space were registered which corresponded to transitions in hierarchical grouping. Such points appeared to aggregate into complex spatial structures determining a unique internal organization of a respective HSMOR. We describe some of the peculiarities of such structures, referred to by us as attractor membranes, and discuss their properties. We also demonstrate the peculiarities of the changing of intergroup similarities which occurs when a drifter infinitely moves away from the fixed objects.


VPOET: Using a Distributed Collaborative Platform for Semantic Web Applications

Abstract: This paper describes a distributed collaborative wiki-based platform that has been designed to facilitate the development of Semantic Web applications. The applications designed using this platform are able to build semantic data through the cooperation of different developers and to exploit that semantic data. The paper shows a practical case study on the application VPOET, and how an application based on Google Gadgets has been designed to test VPOET and let human users exploit the semantic data created. This practical example can be used to show how different Semantic Web technologies can be integrated into a particular Web application, and how the knowledge can be cooperatively improved.


An Identity Based Strong Bi-Designated Verifier (t, n) Threshold Proxy Signature Scheme

Abstract: Proxy signature schemes have been invented to delegate signing rights. The paper proposes a new concept of Identify Based Strong Bi-Designated Verifier threshold proxy signature (ID-SBDVTPS) schemes. Such scheme enables an original signer to delegate the signature authority to a group of 'n' proxy signers with the condition that 't' or more proxy signers can cooperatively sign messages on behalf of the original signer and the signatures can only be verified by any two designated verifiers and that they cannot convince anyone else of this fact.


Feedback Scheduling: An Event-Driven Paradigm

Abstract: Embedded computing systems today increasingly feature resource constraints and workload variability, which lead to uncertainty in resource availability. This raises great challenges to software design and programming in multitasking environments. In this paper, the emerging methodology of feedback scheduling is introduced to address these challenges. As a closed-loop approach to resource management, feedback scheduling promises to enhance the flexibility and resource efficiency of various software programs through dynamically distributing available resources among concurrent tasks based on feedback information about the actual usage of the resources. With emphasis on the behavioral design of feedback schedulers, we describe a general framework of feedback scheduling in the context of real-time control applications. A simple yet illustrative feedback scheduling algorithm is given. From a programming perspective, we describe how to modify the implementation of control tasks to facilitate the application of feedback scheduling. An event-driven paradigm that combines time-triggered and event-triggered approaches is proposed for programming of the feedback scheduler. Simulation results argue that the proposed event-driven paradigm yields better performance than time-triggered paradigm in dynamic environments where the workload varies irregularly and unpredictably.


Control-Scheduling Codesign: A Perspective on Integrating Control and Computing

Abstract: Despite rapid evolution, embedded computing systems increasingly feature resource constraints and workload uncertainties. To achieve much better system performance in unpredictable environments than traditional design approaches, a novel methodology, control-scheduling codesign, is emerging in the context of integrating feedback control and real-time computing. The aim of this work is to provide a better understanding of this emerging methodology and to spark new interests and developments in both the control and computer science communities. The state of the art of control-scheduling codesign is captured. Relevant research efforts in the literature are discussed under two categories, i.e., control of computing systems and codesign for control systems. Critical open research issues on integrating control and computing are also outlined.


Highway Hull Revisited

Abstract: A highway H is a line in the plane on which one can travel at a greater speed than in the remaining plane. One can choose to enter and exit H at any point. The highway time distance between a pair of points is the minimum time required to move from one point to the other, with optional use of H. The highway hull HH(S,H) of a point set S is the minimal set containing S as well as the shortest paths between all pairs of points in HH(S,H), using the highway time distance. We provide a Theta(n log n) worst-case time algorithm to find the highway hull under the L_1 metric, as well as an O(n log^2 n) time algorithm for the L_2 metric which improves the best known result of O(n^2). We also define and construct the useful region of the plane: the region that a highway must intersect in order that the shortest path between at least one pair of points uses the highway.


On Mean Distance and Girth

Abstract: We bound the mean distance in a connected graph which is not a tree in function of its order $n$ and its girth $g$. On one hand, we show that mean distance is at most $\frac{n+1}{3}-\frac{g(g^2-4)}{12n(n-1)}$ if $g$ is even and at most $\frac{n+1}{3}-\frac{g(g^2-1)}{12n(n-1)}$ if $g$ is odd. On the other hand, we prove that mean distance is at least $\frac{ng}{4(n-1)}$ unless $G$ is an odd cycle.


Fast Wavelet-Based Visual Classification

Abstract: We investigate a biologically motivated approach to fast visual classification, directly inspired by the recent work of Serre et al. Specifically, trading-off biological accuracy for computational efficiency, we explore using wavelet and grouplet-like transforms to parallel the tuning of visual cortex V1 and V2 cells, alternated with max operations to achieve scale and translation invariance. A feature selection procedure is applied during learning to accelerate recognition. We introduce a simple attention-like feedback mechanism, significantly improving recognition and robustness in multiple-object scenes. In experiments, the proposed algorithm achieves or exceeds state-of-the-art success rate on object recognition, texture and satellite image classification, language identification and sound classification.


On the Superdistribution of Digital Goods

Abstract: Business models involving buyers of digital goods in the distribution process are called superdistribution schemes. We review the state-of-the art of research and application of superdistribution and propose systematic approach to market mechanisms using super-distribution and technical system architectures supporting it. The limiting conditions on such markets are of economic, legal, technical, and psychological nature.


Flexible Time-Triggered Sampling in Smart Sensor-Based Wireless Control Systems

Abstract: Wireless control systems (WCSs) often have to operate in dynamic environments where the network traffic load may vary unpredictably over time. The sampling in sensors is conventionally time triggered with fixed periods. In this context, only worse-than-possible quality of control (QoC) can be achieved when the network is underloaded, while overloaded conditions may significantly degrade the QoC, even causing system instability. This is particularly true when the bandwidth of the wireless network is limited and shared by multiple control loops. To address these problems, a flexible time-triggered sampling scheme is presented in this work. Smart sensors are used to facilitate dynamic adjustment of sampling periods, which enhances the flexibility and resource efficiency of the system based on time-triggered sampling. Feedback control technology is exploited for adapting sampling periods in a periodic manner. The deadline miss ratio in each control loop is maintained at/around a desired level, regardless of workload variations. Simulation results show that the proposed sampling scheme is able to deal with dynamic and unpredictable variations in network traffic load. Compared to conventional time-triggered sampling, it leads to much better QoC in WCSs operating in dynamic environments.


Wireless Sensor/Actuator Network Design for Mobile Control Applications

Abstract: Wireless sensor/actuator networks (WSANs) are emerging as a new generation of sensor networks. Serving as the backbone of control applications, WSANs will enable an unprecedented degree of distributed and mobile control. However, the unreliability of wireless communications and the real-time requirements of control applications raise great challenges for WSAN design. With emphasis on the reliability issue, this paper presents an application-level design methodology for WSANs in mobile control applications. The solution is generic in that it is independent of the underlying platforms, environment, control system models, and controller design. To capture the link quality characteristics in terms of packet loss rate, experiments are conducted on a real WSAN system. From the experimental observations, a simple yet efficient method is proposed to deal with unpredictable packet loss on actuator nodes. Trace-based simulations give promising results, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


The injectivity of the global function of a cellular automaton in the hyperbolic plane is undecidable

Abstract: In this paper, we look at the following question. We consider cellular automata in the hyperbolic plane and we consider the global function defined on all possible configurations. Is the injectivity of this function undecidable? The problem was answered positively in the case of the Euclidean plane by Jarkko Kari, in 1994. In the present paper, we show that the answer is also positive for the hyperbolic plane: the problem is undecidable.


SPAM over Internet Telephony and how to deal with it

Abstract: In our modern society telephony has developed to an omnipresent service. People are available at anytime and anywhere. Furthermore the Internet has emerged to an important communication medium. These facts and the raising availability of broadband internet access has led to the fusion of these two services. Voice over IP or short VoIP is the keyword, that describes this combination. The advantages of VoIP in comparison to classic telephony are location independence, simplification of transport networks, ability to establish multimedia communications and the low costs. Nevertheless one can easily see, that combining two technologies, always brings up new challenges and problems that have to be solved. It is undeniable that one of the most annoying facet of the Internet nowadays is email spam. According to different sources email spam is considered to be 80 to 90 percent of the email traffic produced. The threat of so called voice spam or Spam over Internet Telephony (SPIT) is even more fatal, for the annoyance and disturbance factor is much higher. As instance an email that hits the inbox at 4 p.m. is useless but will not disturb the user much. In contrast a ringing phone at 4 p.m. will lead to a much higher disturbance. From the providers point of view both email spam and voice spam produce unwanted traffic and loss of trust of customers into the service. In order to mitigate this threat different approaches from different parties have been developed. This paper focuses on state of the art anti voice spam solutions, analyses them and reveals their weak points. In the end a SPIT producing benchmark tool will be introduced, that attacks the presented anti voice spam solutions. With this tool it is possible for an administrator of a VoIP network to test how vulnerable his system is.


Data-Complexity of the Two-Variable Fragment with Counting Quantifiers

Abstract: The data-complexity of both satisfiability and finite satisfiability for the two-variable fragment with counting is NP-complete; the data-complexity of both query-answering and finite query-answering for the two-variable guarded fragment with counting is co-NP-complete.


Toward a combination rule to deal with partial conflict and specificity in belief functions theory

Abstract: We present and discuss a mixed conjunctive and disjunctive rule, a generalization of conflict repartition rules, and a combination of these two rules. In the belief functions theory one of the major problem is the conflict repartition enlightened by the famous Zadeh's example. To date, many combination rules have been proposed in order to solve a solution to this problem. Moreover, it can be important to consider the specificity of the responses of the experts. Since few year some unification rules are proposed. We have shown in our previous works the interest of the proportional conflict redistribution rule. We propose here a mixed combination rule following the proportional conflict redistribution rule modified by a discounting procedure. This rule generalizes many combination rules.


The Lotus-Eater Attack

Abstract: Many protocols for distributed and peer-to-peer systems have the feature that nodes will stop providing service for others once they have received a certain amount of service. Examples include BitTorent's unchoking policy, BAR Gossip's balanced exchanges, and threshold strategies in scrip systems. An attacker can exploit this by providing service in a targeted way to prevent chosen nodes from providing service. While such attacks cannot be prevented, we discuss techniques that can be used to limit the damage they do. These techniques presume that a certain number of processes will follow the recommended protocol, even if they could do better by ``gaming'' the system.


Fast Arithmetics Using Chinese Remaindering

Abstract: In this paper, some issues concerning the Chinese remaindering representation are discussed. Some new converting methods, including an efficient probabilistic algorithm based on a recent result of von zur Gathen and Shparlinski \cite{Gathen-Shparlinski}, are described. An efficient refinement of the NC$^1$ division algorithm of Chiu, Davida and Litow \cite{Chiu-Davida-Litow} is given, where the number of moduli is reduced by a factor of $\log n$.


Self-overlapping Curves Revisited

Abstract: A surface embedded in space, in such a way that each point has a neighborhood within which the surface is a terrain, projects to an immersed surface in the plane, the boundary of which is a self-intersecting curve. Under what circumstances can we reverse these mappings algorithmically? Shor and van Wyk considered one such problem, determining whether a curve is the boundary of an immersed disk; they showed that the self-overlapping curves defined in this way can be recognized in polynomial time. We show that several related problems are more difficult: it is NP-complete to determine whether an immersed disk is the projection of a surface embedded in space, or whether a curve is the boundary of an immersed surface in the plane that is not constrained to be a disk. However, when a casing is supplied with a self-intersecting curve, describing which component of the curve lies above and which below at each crossing, we may determine in time linear in the number of crossings whether the cased curve forms the projected boundary of a surface in space. As a related result, we show that an immersed surface with a single boundary curve that crosses itself n times has at most 2^{n/2} combinatorially distinct spatial embeddings, and we discuss the existence of fixed-parameter tractable algorithms for related problems.


Bounded Budget Connection (BBC) Games or How to make friends and influence people, on a budget

Abstract: Motivated by applications in social networks, peer-to-peer and overlay networks, we define and study the Bounded Budget Connection (BBC) game - we have a collection of n players or nodes each of whom has a budget for purchasing links; each link has a cost as well as a length and each node has a set of preference weights for each of the remaining nodes; the objective of each node is to use its budget to buy a set of outgoing links so as to minimize its sum of preference-weighted distances to the remaining nodes. We study the structural and complexity-theoretic properties of pure Nash equilibria in BBC games. We show that determining the existence of a pure Nash equilibrium in general BBC games is NP-hard. However, in a natural variant, fractional BBC games - where it is permitted to buy fractions of links - a pure Nash equilibrium always exists. A major focus is the study of (n,k)-uniform BBC games - those in which all link costs, link lengths and preference weights are equal (to 1) and all budgets are equal (to k). We show that a pure Nash equilibrium or stable graph exists for all (n,k)-uniform BBC games and that all stable graphs are essentially fair (i.e. all nodes have similar costs). We provide an explicit construction of a family of stable graphs that spans the spectrum from minimum total social cost to maximum total social cost. We also study a special family of regular graphs in which all nodes imitate the "same" buying pattern, and show that if n is sufficiently large no such regular graph can be a pure Nash equilibrium. We analyze best-response walks on the configuration defined by the uniform game. Lastly, we extend our results to the case where each node seeks to minimize its maximum distance to the other nodes.


Consistency and Completeness of Rewriting in the Calculus of Constructions

Abstract: Adding rewriting to a proof assistant based on the Curry-Howard isomorphism, such as Coq, may greatly improve usability of the tool. Unfortunately adding an arbitrary set of rewrite rules may render the underlying formal system undecidable and inconsistent. While ways to ensure termination and confluence, and hence decidability of type-checking, have already been studied to some extent, logical consistency has got little attention so far. In this paper we show that consistency is a consequence of canonicity, which in turn follows from the assumption that all functions defined by rewrite rules are complete. We provide a sound and terminating, but necessarily incomplete algorithm to verify this property. The algorithm accepts all definitions that follow dependent pattern matching schemes presented by Coquand and studied by McBride in his PhD thesis. It also accepts many definitions by rewriting, containing rules which depart from standard pattern matching.


Local Read-Write Operations in Sensor Networks

Abstract: Designing protocols and formulating convenient programming units of abstraction for sensor networks is challenging due to communication errors and platform constraints. This paper investigates properties and implementation reliability for a \emph{local read-write} abstraction. Local read-write is inspired by the class of read-modify-write operations defined for shared-memory multiprocessor architectures. The class of read-modify-write operations is important in solving consensus and related synchronization problems for concurrency control. Local read-write is shown to be an atomic abstraction for synchronizing neighborhood states in sensor networks. The paper compares local read-write to similar lightweight operations in wireless sensor networks, such as read-all, write-all, and a transaction-based abstraction: for some optimistic scenarios, local read-write is a more efficient neighborhood operation. A partial implementation is described, which shows that three outcomes characterize operation response: success, failure, and cancel. A failure response indicates possible inconsistency for the operation result, which is the result of a timeout event at the operation's initiator. The paper presents experimental results on operation performance with different timeout values and situations of no contention, with some tests also on various neighborhood sizes.


Evaluation for Uncertain Image Classification and Segmentation

Abstract: Each year, numerous segmentation and classification algorithms are invented or reused to solve problems where machine vision is needed. Generally, the efficiency of these algorithms is compared against the results given by one or many human experts. However, in many situations, the location of the real boundaries of the objects as well as their classes are not known with certainty by the human experts. Furthermore, only one aspect of the segmentation and classification problem is generally evaluated. In this paper we present a new evaluation method for classification and segmentation of image, where we take into account both the classification and segmentation results as well as the level of certainty given by the experts. As a concrete example of our method, we evaluate an automatic seabed characterization algorithm based on sonar images.


A new generalization of the proportional conflict redistribution rule stable in terms of decision

Abstract: In this chapter, we present and discuss a new generalized proportional conflict redistribution rule. The Dezert-Smarandache extension of the Demster-Shafer theory has relaunched the studies on the combination rules especially for the management of the conflict. Many combination rules have been proposed in the last few years. We study here different combination rules and compare them in terms of decision on didactic example and on generated data. Indeed, in real applications, we need a reliable decision and it is the final results that matter. This chapter shows that a fine proportional conflict redistribution rule must be preferred for the combination in the belief function theory.


Human expert fusion for image classification

Abstract: In image classification, merging the opinion of several human experts is very important for different tasks such as the evaluation or the training. Indeed, the ground truth is rarely known before the scene imaging. We propose here different models in order to fuse the informations given by two or more experts. The considered unit for the classification, a small tile of the image, can contain one or more kind of the considered classes given by the experts. A second problem that we have to take into account, is the amount of certainty of the expert has for each pixel of the tile. In order to solve these problems we define five models in the context of the Dempster-Shafer Theory and in the context of the Dezert-Smarandache Theory and we study the possible decisions with these models.


Une nouvelle r\`egle de combinaison r\'epartissant le conflit - Applications en imagerie Sonar et classification de cibles Radar

Abstract: These last years, there were many studies on the problem of the conflict coming from information combination, especially in evidence theory. We can summarise the solutions for manage the conflict into three different approaches: first, we can try to suppress or reduce the conflict before the combination step, secondly, we can manage the conflict in order to give no influence of the conflict in the combination step, and then take into account the conflict in the decision step, thirdly, we can take into account the conflict in the combination step. The first approach is certainly the better, but not always feasible. It is difficult to say which approach is the best between the second and the third. However, the most important is the produced results in applications. We propose here a new combination rule that distributes the conflict proportionally on the element given this conflict. We compare these different combination rules on real data in Sonar imagery and Radar target classification.


Perfect Derived Propagators

Abstract: When implementing a propagator for a constraint, one must decide about variants: When implementing min, should one also implement max? Should one implement linear equations both with and without coefficients? Constraint variants are ubiquitous: implementing them requires considerable (if not prohibitive) effort and decreases maintainability, but will deliver better performance. This paper shows how to use variable views, previously introduced for an implementation architecture, to derive perfect propagator variants. A model for views and derived propagators is introduced. Derived propagators are proved to be indeed perfect in that they inherit essential properties such as correctness and domain and bounds consistency. Techniques for systematically deriving propagators such as transformation, generalization, specialization, and channeling are developed for several variable domains. We evaluate the massive impact of derived propagators. Without derived propagators, Gecode would require 140000 rather than 40000 lines of code for propagators.


A probabilistic key agreement scheme for sensor networks without key predistribution

Abstract: The dynamic establishment of shared information (e.g. secret key) between two entities is particularly important in networks with no pre-determined structure such as wireless sensor networks (and in general wireless mobile ad-hoc networks). In such networks, nodes establish and terminate communication sessions dynamically with other nodes which may have never been encountered before, in order to somehow exchange information which will enable them to subsequently communicate in a secure manner. In this paper we give and theoretically analyze a series of protocols that enables two entities that have never encountered each other before to establish a shared piece of information for use as a key in setting up a secure communication session with the aid of a shared key encryption algorithm. These protocols do not require previous pre-distribution of candidate keys or some other piece of information of specialized form except a small seed value, from which the two entities can produce arbitrarily long strings with many similarities.


Cardinality heterogeneities in Web service composition: Issues and solutions

Abstract: Data exchanges between Web services engaged in a composition raise several heterogeneities. In this paper, we address the problem of data cardinality heterogeneity in a composition. Firstly, we build a theoretical framework to describe different aspects of Web services that relate to data cardinality, and secondly, we solve this problem by developing a solution for cardinality mediation based on constraint logic programming.


Full Abstraction for a Recursively Typed Lambda Calculus with Parallel Conditional

Abstract: We define the syntax and reduction relation of a recursively typed lambda calculus with a parallel case-function (a parallel conditional). The reduction is shown to be confluent. We interpret the recursive types as information systems in a restricted form, which we call prime systems. A denotational semantics is defined with this interpretation. We define the syntactical normal form approximations of a term and prove the Approximation Theorem: The semantics of a term equals the limit of the semantics of its approximations. The proof uses inclusive predicates (logical relations). The semantics is adequate with respect to the observation of Boolean values. It is also fully abstract in the presence of the parallel case-function.


An adaptive routing strategy for packet delivery in complex networks

Abstract: We present an efficient routing approach for delivering packets in complex networks. On delivering a message from a node to a destination, a node forwards the message to a neighbor by estimating the waiting time along the shortest path from each of its neighbors to the destination. This projected waiting time is dynamical in nature and the path through which a message is delivered would be adapted to the distribution of messages in the network. Implementing the approach on scale-free networks, we show that the present approach performs better than the shortest-path approach and another approach that takes into account of the waiting time only at the neighboring nodes. Key features in numerical results are explained by a mean field theory. The approach has the merit that messages are distributed among the nodes according to the capabilities of the nodes in handling messages.


An efficient approach of controlling traffic congestion in scale-free networks

Abstract: We propose and study a model of traffic in communication networks. The underlying network has a structure that is tunable between a scale-free growing network with preferential attachments and a random growing network. To model realistic situations where different nodes in a network may have different capabilities, the message or packet creation and delivering rates at a node are assumed to depend on the degree of the node. Noting that congestions are more likely to take place at the nodes with high degrees in networks with scale-free character, an efficient approach of selectively enhancing the message-processing capability of a small fraction (e.g. 3%) of the nodes is shown to perform just as good as enhancing the capability of all nodes. The interplay between the creation rate and the delivering rate in determining non-congested or congested traffic in a network is studied more numerically and analytically.


Detrended fluctuation analysis of traffic data

Abstract: Different routing strategies may result in different behaviors of traffic on internet. We analyze the correlation of traffic data for three typical routing strategies by the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and find that the degree of correlation of the data can be divided into three regions, i.e., weak, medium, and strong correlation. The DFA scalings are constants in both the regions of weak and strong correlation but monotonously increase in the region of medium correlation. We suggest that it is better to consider the traffic on complex network as three phases, i.e., the free, buffer, and congestion phase, than just as two phases believed before, i.e., the free and congestion phase.


D\'efinition d'une structure adaptative de r\'eseau local sans fil \`a consommation optimis\'ee

Abstract: The strong growth of low rate wireless personal area networks (LR-WPAN), leads us to consider the autonomy problems, thus node lifetime in a network, knowing that the power supplies replacement is often difficult to realize. The inherent mobility in this type of equipment is an essential element. It will provide routing constraints, so a complex problem to solve. This article provides work lines to assess the performance of such a network in terms of energy consumption and mobility. The objectives are contradictory; it will necessarily find a compromise. In addition, if we want to guarantee a maximum delay for the transmitted messages, possibility offered by the IEEE 802.15-4 standard, another compromise necessitate a strictly fixed structure and a fully mobile structure. Therefore, we present a quantization of the energy cost related to the desired data rate and compared to the sleep duration of nodes in the network. Then, we open reflexion lines to find the best compromise: consumption / mobility / guaranteed deadlines, in suggesting an adaptive network structure from a concept of MANET.


\'Evaluation d'une application de transmission d'images m\'edicales avec un r\'eseau sans fil

Abstract: We offer a platform for database consultations and/or biomedical images exchanges, adapted to the low rate wireless transmission, and intended for general practitioners or specialists. The goal can be preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic. it Concerns specialties such as radiology, ultrasound, the anatomical pathology or endoscopy. The main features required in such a context are to adjust the data compression of both the specific needs of telemedicine and limited capabilities of wireless communication networks. We present our approach in which we have set out criteria on Biomedical images quality, compressed by the wavelet method to retain all the necessary information for an accurate diagnosis, and determined the characteristics of a wireless network with minimal performances for the transmission of these images within constraints related to the modality and the data flow, in this case Wifi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard. Our results will assess the capacity of this standard in terms of speed, to transmit images at a rate of 10 frames per second. It will be necessary to quantify the amount of information to add to the image datas to enable a transmission in good conditions and the appropriate modus operandi.


Analysis of Social Voting Patterns on Digg

Abstract: The social Web is transforming the way information is created and distributed. Blog authoring tools enable users to publish content, while sites such as Digg and Del.icio.us are used to distribute content to a wider audience. With content fast becoming a commodity, interest in using social networks to promote and find content has grown, both on the side of content producers (viral marketing) and consumers (recommendation). Here we study the role of social networks in promoting content on Digg, a social news aggregator that allows users to submit links to and vote on news stories. Digg's goal is to feature the most interesting stories on its front page, and it aggregates opinions of its many users to identify them. Like other social networking sites, Digg allows users to designate other users as ``friends'' and see what stories they found interesting. We studied the spread of interest in news stories submitted to Digg in June 2006. Our results suggest that pattern of the spread of interest in a story on the network is indicative of how popular the story will become. Stories that spread mainly outside of the submitter's neighborhood go on to be very popular, while stories that spread mainly through submitter's social neighborhood prove not to be very popular. This effect is visible already in the early stages of voting, and one can make a prediction about the potential audience of a story simply by analyzing where the initial votes come from.


Information-Theoretically Secure Voting Without an Honest Majority

Abstract: We present three voting protocols with unconditional privacy and information-theoretic correctness, without assuming any bound on the number of corrupt voters or voting authorities. All protocols have polynomial complexity and require private channels and a simultaneous broadcast channel. Our first protocol is a basic voting scheme which allows voters to interact in order to compute the tally. Privacy of the ballot is unconditional, but any voter can cause the protocol to fail, in which case information about the tally may nevertheless transpire. Our second protocol introduces voting authorities which allow the implementation of the first protocol, while reducing the interaction and limiting it to be only between voters and authorities and among the authorities themselves. The simultaneous broadcast is also limited to the authorities. As long as a single authority is honest, the privacy is unconditional, however, a single corrupt authority or a single corrupt voter can cause the protocol to fail. Our final protocol provides a safeguard against corrupt voters by enabling a verification technique to allow the authorities to revoke incorrect votes. We also discuss the implementation of a simultaneous broadcast channel with the use of temporary computational assumptions, yielding versions of our protocols achieving everlasting security.


Tight Bounds for Hashing Block Sources

Abstract: It is known that if a 2-universal hash function $H$ is applied to elements of a {\em block source} $(X_1,...,X_T)$, where each item $X_i$ has enough min-entropy conditioned on the previous items, then the output distribution $(H,H(X_1),...,H(X_T))$ will be ``close'' to the uniform distribution. We provide improved bounds on how much min-entropy per item is required for this to hold, both when we ask that the output be close to uniform in statistical distance and when we only ask that it be statistically close to a distribution with small collision probability. In both cases, we reduce the dependence of the min-entropy on the number $T$ of items from $2\log T$ in previous work to $\log T$, which we show to be optimal. This leads to corresponding improvements to the recent results of Mitzenmacher and Vadhan (SODA `08) on the analysis of hashing-based algorithms and data structures when the data items come from a block source.


Max Cut and the Smallest Eigenvalue

Abstract: We describe a new approximation algorithm for Max Cut. Our algorithm runs in $\tilde O(n^2)$ time, where $n$ is the number of vertices, and achieves an approximation ratio of $.531$. On instances in which an optimal solution cuts a $1-\epsilon$ fraction of edges, our algorithm finds a solution that cuts a $1-4\sqrt{\epsilon} + 8\epsilon-o(1)$ fraction of edges. Our main result is a variant of spectral partitioning, which can be implemented in nearly linear time. Given a graph in which the Max Cut optimum is a $1-\epsilon$ fraction of edges, our spectral partitioning algorithm finds a set $S$ of vertices and a bipartition $L,R=S-L$ of $S$ such that at least a $1-O(\sqrt \epsilon)$ fraction of the edges incident on $S$ have one endpoint in $L$ and one endpoint in $R$. (This can be seen as an analog of Cheeger's inequality for the smallest eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix of a graph.) Iterating this procedure yields the approximation results stated above. A different, more complicated, variant of spectral partitioning leads to an $\tilde O(n^3)$ time algorithm that cuts $1/2 + e^{-\Omega(1/\eps)}$ fraction of edges in graphs in which the optimum is $1/2 + \epsilon$.


Classification of curves in 2D and 3D via affine integral signatures

Abstract: We propose a robust classification algorithm for curves in 2D and 3D, under the special and full groups of affine transformations. To each plane or spatial curve we assign a plane signature curve. Curves, equivalent under an affine transformation, have the same signature. The signatures introduced in this paper are based on integral invariants, which behave much better on noisy images than classically known differential invariants. The comparison with other types of invariants is given in the introduction. Though the integral invariants for planar curves were known before, the affine integral invariants for spatial curves are proposed here for the first time. Using the inductive variation of the moving frame method we compute affine invariants in terms of Euclidean invariants. We present two types of signatures, the global signature and the local signature. Both signatures are independent of parameterization (curve sampling). The global signature depends on the choice of the initial point and does not allow us to compare fragments of curves, and is therefore sensitive to occlusions. The local signature, although is slightly more sensitive to noise, is independent of the choice of the initial point and is not sensitive to occlusions in an image. It helps establish local equivalence of curves. The robustness of these invariants and signatures in their application to the problem of classification of noisy spatial curves extracted from a 3D object is analyzed.


Fusion de classifieurs pour la classification d'images sonar

Abstract: In this paper, we present some high level information fusion approaches for numeric and symbolic data. We study the interest of such method particularly for classifier fusion. A comparative study is made in a context of sea bed characterization from sonar images. The classi- fication of kind of sediment is a difficult problem because of the data complexity. We compare high level information fusion and give the obtained performance.


Experts Fusion and Multilayer Perceptron Based on Belief Learning for Sonar Image Classification

Abstract: The sonar images provide a rapid view of the seabed in order to characterize it. However, in such as uncertain environment, real seabed is unknown and the only information we can obtain, is the interpretation of different human experts, sometimes in conflict. In this paper, we propose to manage this conflict in order to provide a robust reality for the learning step of classification algorithms. The classification is conducted by a multilayer perceptron, taking into account the uncertainty of the reality in the learning stage. The results of this seabed characterization are presented on real sonar images.


Generalized proportional conflict redistribution rule applied to Sonar imagery and Radar targets classification

Abstract: In this chapter, we present two applications in information fusion in order to evaluate the generalized proportional conflict redistribution rule presented in the chapter \cite{Martin06a}. Most of the time the combination rules are evaluated only on simple examples. We study here different combination rules and compare them in terms of decision on real data. Indeed, in real applications, we need a reliable decision and it is the final results that matter. Two applications are presented here: a fusion of human experts opinions on the kind of underwater sediments depict on sonar image and a classifier fusion for radar targets recognition.


A simple, polynomial-time algorithm for the matrix torsion problem

Abstract: The Matrix Torsion Problem (MTP) is: given a square matrix M with rational entries, decide whether two distinct powers of M are equal. It has been shown by Cassaigne and the author that the MTP reduces to the Matrix Power Problem (MPP) in polynomial time: given two square matrices A and B with rational entries, the MTP is to decide whether B is a power of A. Since the MPP is decidable in polynomial time, it is also the case of the MTP. However, the algorithm for MPP is highly non-trivial. The aim of this note is to present a simple, direct, polynomial-time algorithm for the MTP.


Finding the theta-Guarded Region

Abstract: We are given a finite set of n points (guards) G in the plane R^2 and an angle 0 < theta < 2 pi. A theta-cone is a cone with apex angle theta. We call a theta-cone empty (with respect to G) if it does not contain any point of G. A point p in R^2 is called theta-guarded if every theta-cone with its apex located at p is non-empty. Furthermore, the set of all theta-guarded points is called the theta-guarded region, or the theta-region for short. We present several results on this topic. The main contribution of our work is to describe the theta-region with O(n/theta) circular arcs, and we give an algorithm to compute it. We prove a tight O(n) worst-case bound on the complexity of the theta-region for theta >= pi/2. In case theta is bounded from below by a positive constant, we prove an almost linear bound O(n^(1+epsilon)) for any epsilon > 0 on the complexity. Moreover, we show that there is a sequence of inputs such that the asymptotic bound on the complexity of their theta-region is Omega(n^2). In addition we point out gaps in the proofs of a recent publication that claims an O(n) bound on the complexity for any constant angle theta.


Beyond Nash Equilibrium: Solution Concepts for the 21st Century

Abstract: Nash equilibrium is the most commonly-used notion of equilibrium in game theory. However, it suffers from numerous problems. Some are well known in the game theory community; for example, the Nash equilibrium of repeated prisoner's dilemma is neither normatively nor descriptively reasonable. However, new problems arise when considering Nash equilibrium from a computer science perspective: for example, Nash equilibrium is not robust (it does not tolerate ``faulty'' or ``unexpected'' behavior), it does not deal with coalitions, it does not take computation cost into account, and it does not deal with cases where players are not aware of all aspects of the game. Solution concepts that try to address these shortcomings of Nash equilibrium are discussed.


Defaults and Normality in Causal Structures

Abstract: A serious defect with the Halpern-Pearl (HP) definition of causality is repaired by combining a theory of causality with a theory of defaults. In addition, it is shown that (despite a claim to the contrary) a cause according to the HP condition need not be a single conjunct. A definition of causality motivated by Wright's NESS test is shown to always hold for a single conjunct. Moreover, conditions that hold for all the examples considered by HP are given that guarantee that causality according to (this version) of the NESS test is equivalent to the HP definition.


Communication-optimal parallel and sequential QR and LU factorizations: theory and practice

Abstract: We present parallel and sequential dense QR factorization algorithms that are both optimal (up to polylogarithmic factors) in the amount of communication they perform, and just as stable as Householder QR. Our first algorithm, Tall Skinny QR (TSQR), factors m-by-n matrices in a one-dimensional (1-D) block cyclic row layout, and is optimized for m >> n. Our second algorithm, CAQR (Communication-Avoiding QR), factors general rectangular matrices distributed in a two-dimensional block cyclic layout. It invokes TSQR for each block column factorization.


An Intelligent Multi-Agent Recommender System for Human Capacity Building

Abstract: This paper presents a Multi-Agent approach to the problem of recommending training courses to engineering professionals. The recommendation system is built as a proof of concept and limited to the electrical and mechanical engineering disciplines. Through user modelling and data collection from a survey, collaborative filtering recommendation is implemented using intelligent agents. The agents work together in recommending meaningful training courses and updating the course information. The system uses a users profile and keywords from courses to rank courses. A ranking accuracy for courses of 90% is achieved while flexibility is achieved using an agent that retrieves information autonomously using data mining techniques from websites. This manner of recommendation is scalable and adaptable. Further improvements can be made using clustering and recording user feedback.


Exposing Multi-Relational Networks to Single-Relational Network Analysis Algorithms

Abstract: Many, if not most network analysis algorithms have been designed specifically for single-relational networks; that is, networks in which all edges are of the same type. For example, edges may either represent "friendship," "kinship," or "collaboration," but not all of them together. In contrast, a multi-relational network is a network with a heterogeneous set of edge labels which can represent relationships of various types in a single data structure. While multi-relational networks are more expressive in terms of the variety of relationships they can capture, there is a need for a general framework for transferring the many single-relational network analysis algorithms to the multi-relational domain. It is not sufficient to execute a single-relational network analysis algorithm on a multi-relational network by simply ignoring edge labels. This article presents an algebra for mapping multi-relational networks to single-relational networks, thereby exposing them to single-relational network analysis algorithms.