We model the joint distribution of choice probabilities and decision times in binary decisions as the solution to a problem of optimal sequential sampling, where the agent is uncertain of the utility of each action and pays a constant cost per unit time for gathering information. We show that choices are more likely to be correct when the agent chooses to decide quickly provided that the agent’...

A dependable system has to meet some quality criteria in order to provide certain reliance on its operation. The quality of a system depends on the complex composition of the quality of its subsystems. Specifications of non-functional properties are commonly used to describe provided quality, required quality, resource usage and resource availability. Enclosing these specifications along with a...

A software architect should consciously choose between architectural alternatives for a given problem. In multi-threaded software, the architectural choices for resource sharing problems can be expressed as two patterns, the resource-user thread and the resource thread. A resource-user thread acquires and releases exclusive access to shared resources. A resource thread has permanent exclusive a...

This is a quick writeup of a problem discussed at the May 2014 MIRI workshop: how to formally deal with uncertainty about preferences. We assume that the true preferences satisfy the von Neumann-Morgenstern (VNM) axioms, and can therefore be represented by a utility function. It may seem that we should then simply maximize the expectation of this function. However, in the absence of more inform...

W study a manufacturer’s problem of managing his direct online sales channel together with an independently owned bricks-and-mortar retail channel, when the channels compete in service. We incorporate a detailed consumer channel choice model in which the demand faced in each channel depends on the service levels of both channels as well as the consumers’ valuation of the product and shopping ex...

The question for many designers of intelligent systems is no longer whether to incorporate emotion and motivation, but how to do so. This question has strong consequences for the autonomy and flexibility of a system and its ability to respond to novel, unpredictable or changing environments – in other words, the degree of intelligence it will display. Autonomous agents that learn through situat...

Geographically concentrated industry activity creates pools of skilled labor and specialized suppliers, and increases opportunities for knowledge spillovers. The strategic value of these agglomeration economies may vary by firm, depending upon the relative value of each economy, and upon firm and agglomeration economy traits. To better determine when a firm will be attracted to agglomeration ec...

This paper proposes a maximum-likelihood method to update travel behavior model parameters and estimate vehicle trip chain based on plate scanning. The information from plate scanning consists of the vehicle passing time and sequence of scanned vehicles along a series of plate scanning locations (sensor locations installed on road network). The paper adopts the hierarchical travel behavior deci...

In this chapter we present a network architecture and two field application examples involving the deployment of embedded systems for distributed applications in the educational environment. The main contribution intended for this chapter is the proposed network architecture, with emphasis in the specific distributed implementation of networked embedded systems. The contribution also includes t...