A hybrid model, combining influence diagrams and a multicriteria method, is presented in order to assist with the decision making about which questions would be more attractive to the definition of the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, considering the stages of CDR (Clinical Dementia Rating). Due to the increase in life expectancy there is higher incidence of dementias. Alzheimer’s disease is t...

Objective: Compulsive Internet Use (CIU) has been linked to lower wellbeing, especially among adolescents. Yet, questions regarding the directionality of this association remain unanswered: CIU may influence wellbeing and vice versa. Theoretically, both directions are plausible, yet so far no studies have examined the directionality of these effects among adults. This article aims to shed light...

Four studies demonstrate the potential influence of name similarity on perceptions of similarity to oneself in general, liking, and compliance. Some participants received a scenario in which the protagonist’s name was similar to their own. These participants indicated that the character was more similar to themselves, reported greater liking for the person, and expressed more willingness to com...

Previous research suggests that intonation is a particularly challenging aspect of L2 speech learning. While most research focuses on speech production, we widen the focus and study the perception of intonation by L2 learners. We investigate whether advanced German learners of English have knowledge of the appropriate English intonation patterns in a narrative context with different sentence ty...

We describe a framework and an algorithm for solving hybrid influence diagrams with discrete, continuous, and deterministic chance variables, and discrete and continuous decision variables. A continuous chance variable in an influence diagram is said to be deterministic if its conditional distributions have zero variances. The solution algorithm is an extension of Shenoy’s fusion algorithm for ...

We extend the logical model of agency known as the KGP model, to support agents with normative concepts, based on the roles an agent plays and the obligations and prohibitions that result from playing these roles. The proposed framework illustrates how the resulting normative concepts, including the roles, can evolve dynamically during the lifetime of the agent. Furthermore, we illustrate how t...

Interactive dynamic influence diagrams (I-DIDs) offer a transparent and semantically clear representation for the sequential decision-making problem over multiple time steps in the presence of other interacting agents. Solving I-DIDs exactly involves knowing the solutions of possible models of the other agents, which increase exponentially with the number of time steps. We present a method of s...

Abstr act: Many real world models can be characterized as weak, m�aning that there is significant uncertainty in both the data input and inferences. This lack of determinism makes it especially difficult for users of computer decision aids to understand and have confidence in the models. This paper presents a representation for uncertainty and utilities that serves as a framework for graphical ...

Washback refers to the influence of a test on teaching and learning. This study was an attempt to compare the influence of IELTS and TOEFL iBT on the expectations the students brought to their courses and to investigate how these expectations were fulfilled. To this end, 100 IELTS and 120 TOEFL iBT students attending preparation courses took a questionnaire survey, and a sample of their ten cla...