I characterize a finite additive utility representation for preferences over menus. The numbers of both positive and negative components in this representation are expressed explicitly in terms of preference. These expressions can be used to characterize models of temptation, perfectionism, context effects, and other phenomena. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. JEL classification: D81

Consider a database that represents the location of moving objects, such as taxi-cabs (typical query: retrieve the cabs that are currently within 1 mile of 33 Michigan Ave., Chicago), or objects in a battle-eld. Existing database management systems (DBMS's) are not well equipped to handle continuously changing data, such as the position of moving objects, since data is assumed to be constant un...

The physics of charge fractionalization is studied using a simple and physical approach. The normal ordered charge is related to the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer invariant, and the physical interpretation of the spectral asymmetry is clarified in the presence of a continuous spectrum. By introducing the quantity B(E) which is a ratio of Jost-type determinants we relate the asymmetry to the phase and ze...

We study coalition formation as an ongoing, dynamic process, with payoffs generated as coalitions form, disintegrate, or regroup. A process of coalition formation (PCF) is an equilibrium if a coalitional move to some other state can be “justified” by the expectation of higher future value, compared to inaction. This future value, in turn, is endogenous: it depends on coalitional movements at ea...

In this paper we explicitly compute the transformation that maps the generic second order differential equation y′′ = f(x, y, y′) to the Painlevé first equation y′′ = 6y + x (resp. the Painlevé second equation y′′ = 2y + yx+ α). This change of coordinates, which is function of f and its partial derivatives, does not exist for every f ; it is necessary that the function f satisfies certain condi...

Collaborative fantasy play and storytelling serve an important role in preschool children’s development. Making up characters and telling stories are activities through which children make sense of and test out their hypotheses about the world. While computers are increasingly present to support young children’s collaboration in school tasks, there is a lack of computational systems to support ...

0-7803-7952-7/03/$17.00  2003 IEEE. Abstract – Human judgment is an integral part of the teleoperation process that is often heavily influenced by a single video feed returned from the remote environment. This limitation on the perceptual links to the environment leaves the operator prone to cognitive mistakes and general disorientation. These faults may be enhanced or muted, depending on the ...

Sloane’s influential On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences is an indispensable research tool in the service of the mathematical community. The sequence A001611 listing the “Fibonacci numbers + 1” contains a very large number of references and links. The sequence A000071 for the “Fibonacci numbers −1” contains an even larger number. Strangely, resentment seems to prevail between the two sequ...