The great amount of generated data from IoT infrastructures in Smart Cities, if properly leveraged, presents the opportunity to shift towards more sustainable practices in rapidly increasing urban areas. Reasoning upon this data in a proactive way, by avoiding unwanted future events before they occur, leads to more efficient services. For a system to do so, a robust reasoning model, able to anticipate upcoming events and pick the most suitable adaptation option is needed. Recently deployed smart waste management systems for monitoring and planning purposes report substantial cost-savings and carbon footprint reductions, however, such systems can be further enhanced by integrating proactive capabilities. This work proposes a novel reasoning model and system architecture called ProAdaWM for more effective and efficient waste operations when faced with severe weather events. A Bayesian Network and Utility Theory, as the basis of Decision Theory, are utilized to model the uncertainties and handle how the system adapts; the proposed model utilizes weather information and data from bin level sensor for reasoning. The approach is validated through the implementation of a prototype and the conduction of a case study; the results demonstrate the expected behavior.

Abstract not available

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-76).

University of Macau / Faculty of Science and Technology / Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Aerospace design requirements mandate acceptable levels of structural failure risk. Probabilistic fatigue models enable estimation of the likelihood of fatigue failure. A key step in the development of these models is the accurate inference of the probability distributions for dominant parameters. Since data sets for these inferences are of limited size, the fatigue model parameter distributions are themselves uncertain. A hierarchical Bayesian approach is adopted to account for the uncertainties in both the parameters and their distribution. Variables specifying the distribution of the fatigue model parameters are cast as hyperparameters whose uncertainty is modeled with a hyperprior distribution. Bayes' rule is used to determine the posterior hyperparameter distribution, given available data, thus specifying the probabilistic model. The Bayesian formulation provides an additional advantage by allowing the posterior distribution to be updated as new data becomes available through inspections. By updating the probabilistic model, uncertainty in the hyperparameters can be reduced, and the appropriate level of conservatism can be achieved. In this work, techniques for Bayesian inference and updating of probabilistic fatigue models for metallic components are developed. Both safe-life and damage-tolerant methods are considered. Uncertainty in damage rates, crack growth behavior, damage, and initial flaws are quantified. Efficient computational techniques are developed to perform the inference and updating analyses. The developed capabilities are demonstrated through a series of case studies.

Neuroeconomics is an interdisciplinary research program with the goal of building a biological model of decision making in economic environments. Neuroeconomists ask, how does the embodied brain enable the mind (or groups of minds) to make economic decisions? By combining techniques from cognitive neuroscience and experimental economics we can now watch neural activity in real time, observe how this activity depends on the economic environment, and test hypotheses about how the emergent mind makes economic decisions. Neuroeconomics allows us to better understand both the wide range of heterogeneity in human behavior, and the role of institutions as ordered extensions of our minds. The brain is the most amazing complex organ in known universe.The brain is a organ with most amazingly magic infinite potential. Neuroplasticity: Transforming the Mind by Changing the Brain.Neuroplasticity refers to structural and functional changes in the brain that are brought about by training and experience. The brain is the organ that is designed to change in response to experience.The decision theories can be categorized into three paradigms:the normative,descriptive and prescriptive theories.The decision processing have four steps:accumulation of sensory evidence,integration of sensory signals with reward expectation and prior knowledge,comparision of current reward expectation with that in prior experience,and the selection of behavioral response.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (February 16, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 30)

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (February 16, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 34-35)

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