It is difficult to give a precise definition of MDS, because some people use the term for a very specific class of techniques while others use it in a much more general sense. Consequently it makes sense to distinguish between MDS in the broad sense and MDS in the narrow sense. MDS in the broad sense inc ludes various forms of cluster analysis and of linear multivariate analysis, MDS in the nar...

In this paper we define a new linearity measure which can be applied to open curve segments. The new measure ranges over the interval (0,1], and produces the value 1 if and only if the measured line is a perfect straight line segment. Also, the new linearity measure is invariant with respect to translations, rotations and scaling transformations.

Although human trafficking for sexual exploitation is a frequently discussed area in current research, especially on the way that human traffickers control their victims, a recurrent problem is the lack of empirical basis. The present study examines control methods (or conditions) used against 137 victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation. A Multidimensional Scaling Analysis (Smalles...

Within the framework of evidence theory, data fusion consists in obtaining a single belief function by the combination of several belief functions resulting from distinct information sources. The most popular rule of combination, called Dempster’s rule of combination (or the orthogonal sum), has several interesting mathematical properties such as commutativity or associativity. However, combini...

It is seen that • The information of the community labels is contained in the term within the bracket, which depends on {✓(i)} i=1 only through the overall degree intensities k✓(k)k/k✓k. • The diagonal matrix ⇥ does not contain any information of the community labels. • Therefore, {✓(i)} i=1 are almost nuisance parameters, the e↵ect of which can be removed by many scaling invariant mappings, to...