A Contextual-Hierarchical Approach to Truth and the Liar Paradox

This paper presents an approach to truth and the Liar paradox which combines elements of context dependence and hierarchy. This approach is developed formally, using the techniques of model theory in admissible sets. Special attention is paid to showing how starting with some ideas about context drawn from linguistics and philosophy of language, we can see the Liar sentence to be context dependent. Once this context dependence is properly understood, it is argued, a hierarchical structure emerges which is neither ad hoc nor unnatural.     

Does retrieval practice depend on semantic cues? Assessing the fuzzy trace account of the testing effect

Retrieval practice enhances long-term retention more than restudying; a phenomenon called the testing effect. The fuzzy trace explanation predicts that a testing effect will already emerge after a short interval when participants are solely provided with semantic cues in the final test. In the present study, we assessed this explanation by gradually reducing the surface features overlap between cues in the learning phase and the final recognition test. In all five experiments, participants in the control/word condition received as final test cues the same words as in the learning phase. The experimental final test cues consisted of scrambled words, words in a new context, scrambled words in a new context (Experiment 1), synonyms (Experiment 2), or images (Experiments 3, 4a, 4b). A short-term testing effect was only observed for the image final test cues. These results do not provide strong support for the fuzzy trace explanation of the testing effect.     

Innovative method to evaluate quality management system audit results’ using single value neutrosophic number

Using Quality Management System (QMS) enables the organization to fulfil its purpose and mission to meet customers and regulatory requirements and improve its effectiveness and efficiency on a continuous basis, Quality Audit is very critical tool to ensure that the standards, policies and/or procedures are applied in the organization as planned in QMS, in real world applications, the results of the Quality Audit process depend on the auditors’ human judgments that characterized with doubts sometimes, estimating values another times, and using general impressions in his judgment, which motivate to introduce for the first time the Neutrosophic Quality Audit (NQA) model which can be extended to manage and audit in the future. NQA will be used to enhance the way of evaluating the quality audit results while many uncertainty aspects and indeterminacy do exist, the proposed model using Single Value Neutrosophic Numbers (SVNN) which is an instance of neutrosophic set, to overcome the weakness of using a crisp value to present the result of the audit findings, in addition, using Simplified Neutrosophic Weighted Geometric Average Operator (SNWGAO), and cosine similarity degree, an illustrative example is provided to validate the proposed model.     

Multiple-attribute decision making based on single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar prioritized aggregation operator

Single-valued neutrosophic (SVN) sets can successfully describe the uncertainty problems, and Schweizer-Sklar (SS) t-norm (TN) and t-conorm (TCN) can build the information aggregation process more flexible by a parameter. To fully consider the advantages of SVNS and SS operations, in this article, we extend the SS TN and TCN to single-valued neutrosophic numbers (SVNN) and propose the SS operational laws for SVNNs. Then, we merge the prioritized aggregation (PRA) operator with SS operations, and develop the single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar prioritized weighted averaging (SVNSSPRWA) operator, single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar prioritized ordered weighted averaging (SVNSSPROWA) operator, single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar prioritized weighted geometric (SVNSSPRWG) operator, and single-valued neutrosophic Schweizer-Sklar prioritized ordered weighted geometric (SVNSSPROWG) operator. Moreover, we study some useful characteristics of these proposed aggregation operators (AOs) and propose two decision making models to deal with multiple-attribute decision making (MADM) problems under SVN information based on the SVNSSPRWA and SVNSSPRWG operators. Lastly, an illustrative example about talent introduction is given to testify the effectiveness of the developed methods.     

Learn locally, act globally: Learning language from variation set cues

Variation set structure - partial overlap of successive utterances in child-directed speech - has been shown to correlate with progress in children’s acquisition of syntax. We demonstrate the benefits of variation set structure directly: in miniature artificial languages, arranging a certain proportion of utterances in a training corpus in variation sets facilitated word and phrase constituent learning in adults. Our findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms of L1 acquisition by children, and for the development of more efficient algorithms for automatic language acquisition, as well as better methods for L2 instruction.     

A Generic Framework for Adaptive Vague Logics

In this paper, we present a generic format for adaptive vague logics. Logics based on this format are able to (1) identify sentences as vague or non-vague in light of a given set of premises, and to (2) dynamically adjust the possible set of inferences in accordance with these identifications, i.e. sentences that are identified as vague allow only for the application of vague inference rules and sentences that are identified as non-vague also allow for the application of some extra set of classical logic rules. The generic format consists of a set of minimal criteria that must be satisfied by the vague logic in casu in order to be usable as a basis for an adaptive vague logic. The criteria focus on the way in which the logic deals with a special ⊡-operator. Depending on the kind of logic for vagueness that is used as a basis for the adaptive vague logic, this operator can be interpreted as completely true, definitely true, clearly true, etc. It is proven that a wide range of famous logics for vagueness satisfies these criteria when extended with a specific ⊡-operator, e.g. fuzzy basic logic and its well known extensions, cf. [7], super- and subvaluationist logics, cf. [6], [9], and clarity logic, cf. [13]. Also a fuzzy logic is presented that can be used for an adaptive vague logic that can deal with higher-order vagueness. To illustrate the theory, some toy-examples of adaptive vague proofs are provided.     

Factors affecting responses to Likert type questionnaires: introduction of the ImpExp,a new comprehensive model

The major purpose of this paper is to propose a comprehensive model describing the effects of response sets within the theory framework of the stages of responding to questionnaires, and taking into account the effects of collectivist and individualist attributes within cross-cultural contexts. The introduction of this model aims to provide a construct that may help minimize biases in questionnaire-based research as well as providing new directions for theoretical and empirical research in the field of response sets.

Mathematical Fuzzy Logic – What It Can Learn from Mostowski and Rasiowa

Important works of Mostowski and Rasiowa dealing with many-valued logic are analyzed from the point of view of contemporary mathematical fuzzy logic.A version of this paper has been presented during the conference Trends in Logic III, dedicated to the memory of A. MOSTOWSKI, H. RASIOWA and C. RAUSZER, and held in Warsaw and Ruciane-Nida from 23rd to 25th September 2005.     

Fuzzy rough sets: Survey and proposal of an enhanced knowledge representation model based on automatic noisy sample detection

Fuzzy Rough Set (FRS) theory, which has been emerged thanks to unifying Rough Set and Fuzzy Set ones, is a powerful mathematical tool for handling and processing real data of imprecise, incomplete, inconsistent and uncertain nature. It has drawn attention of many researchers, scientists and industrials in various domains over the last three decades. However, different studies have showed that its classical knowledge representation model has a main weakness linked to its sensitivity to data noise which decreases both its effectiveness and application scope. In this paper, we survey the current FRS paradigms developed to deal with this issue and propose a new FRS model based on the Automatic Noisy Sample Detection (ANSD-FRS) able to cope with noise influence in classification tasks. Besides, we study the principal properties of this new model and reformulate the most applied FRS concepts relying on its operators. Numerous experiments have been conducted to analyze the ANSD-FRS behavior compared to the commonly used FRS models reputed as the most noise-resistant paradigms. These experiment results have proved the performance and robustness of the ANSD-FRS in comparison with those renowned models.     

Is the Self other to the self? Why does the numinosum feel like another? The relevance of Matte Blanco to our understanding of the unconscious

Using Ignacio Matte Blanco’s approach to the unconscious, this paper attempts to explain why the experience of the Self or the unconscious, for example in dreams, is difficult for the ego to understand. Matte Blanco believes that the logic of the unconscious is radically different from the logic of consciousness. The unconscious uses processes that Matte Blanco refers to as symmetry and generalization. Symmetry means that the converse of any relationship is identical to it, so that asymmetrical relationships are treated as if they were symmetrical. Generalization means that the unconscious treats any object as belonging to a larger class of objects that is a subset of an even larger class which is in turn a subset of a wider class ad infinitum. Hence Matte Blanco’s idea of the unconscious as infinite sets. These unconscious mechanisms, combined with the possibility that the unconscious has more dimensions than consciousness, contribute to the difficulty of understanding dreams, and help to explain why the Self is experienced as other to the ego.