An instance of a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) is variable k-consistent if any subinstance with at most k variables has a solution. For a fixed constraint language L, ρk(L) is the largest ratio such that any variable k-consistent instance has a solution that satisfies at least a fraction of ρk(L) of the constraints. We provide an expression for the limit ρ(L) := limk→∞ ρk(L), and show t...

In this article, we provide a new algorithm for solving constraint satisfaction problems with Maltsev constraints, based on the new notion of Maltsev consistency.

Past research in the self-determination theory has shown that autonomous motivation is associated with positive outcomes (e.g., work satisfaction), whereas controlled motivation is related to negative outcomes (e.g., anxiety). The purpose of the present research was to examine the moderating function of role ambiguity on the relationships between work autonomous and controlled motivations on th...

While there are many general methods for case retrieval, case adaptation usually requires problem-specific knowledge and it is still an open problem. In this paper we propose a general method for solving case adaptation problems for the large class of problems which can be formulated as Constraint Satisfaction Problems. This method is based on the concept of interchangeability between values in...

In a constraint satisfaction problem, two values of a variable are interchangeable if every solution involving one value remains a solution with the value replaced by the other one. Although interchangeability occurs in many problems, there are also problems where little interchangeability occurs. In this paper, we study conditional interchangeability and substitutability for problems where val...

In a nutshell, a duality for a constraint satisfaction problem equates the existence of one homomorphism to the non-existence of other homomorphisms. In this survey paper, we give an overview of logical, combinatorial, and algebraic aspects of the following forms of duality for constraint satisfaction problems: finite duality, bounded pathwidth duality, and bounded treewidth duality.

Set variables in constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) are typically propagated by enforcing set bounds consistency together with cardinality reasoning, which uses some inference rules involving the cardinality of a set variable to produce more prunings than set bounds propagation alone. Multiset variables are a generalization of set variables by allowing the elements to have repetitions. In ...

The resolution of constraint satisfaction problems heavily relies on the use of local consistency enforcement procedures which are used to lter the problems before or during their resolution. While procedures based on arc-consistency are almost a standard, path-consistency checking is often neglected because it is costly and it lters out pairs of assignments instead of single assignments. This ...

The general intractability of the constraint satisfaction problem has motivated the study of restrictions on this problem that permit polynomial-time solvability. One major line of work has focused on structural restrictions, which arise from restricting the interaction among constraint scopes. In this paper, we engage in a mathematical investigation of generalized hypertree width, a structural...

In this paper we present a tabu approach for a version of the Sports League Scheduling Problem. The approach adopted is based on a formulation of the problem as a Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP). Tests were carried out on problem instances of up to 40 teams representing 780 integer variables with 780 values per variable. Experimental results show that this approach outperforms some existi...