In this paper, we develop a qualitative theory of influence diagrams that can be used to model and solve sequential decision making tasks when only qualitative (or imprecise) information is available. Our approach is based on an orderof-magnitude approximation of both probabilities and utilities and allows for specifying partially ordered preferences via sets of utility values. We also propose ...

Finding an optimal elimination ordering is a NP-hard problem of crucial importance for the efficiency of the Influence Diagrams evaluation. Some of the traditional methods for determining the elimination ordering use heuristics that consider that potentials are represented as tables. However, if potentials are represented using binary trees traditional methods may not offer the best results. In...

In an interconnected world, economic and political interests inevitably reach beyond national borders. Since policy choices generate external costs, foreign state non-state actors have interest in influencing actions other sovereign countries to their advantage. Foreign influence is a strategic choice aimed at internalizing these externalities takes three principal forms: (i) voluntary agreemen...

The potential influence diagram is a generalization of the standard "conditional" influence diagram, a directed network representation for probabilistic inference and decision analysis [Ndilikilikesha, 1991). It allows efficient inference calculations corresponding exactly to those on undirected graphs. In this paper, we explore the relationship between potential and conditional influence diagr...

Background New technologies constitute an important cost-driver in healthcare, but the dynamics that lead to their emergence remains poorly understood from a health policy standpoint. The goal of this paper is to clarify how entrepreneurs, investors, and regulatory agencies influence the value of emerging health technologies.   Methods Our 5-year qualitative research program examined the proces...