Rolf Nossum

Formal Aspects of Context

Editorial Preface D.M. Gabbay. Introduction. Formal and Computational Models of Context for Natural Language Generation K. van Deemter, J. Odijk. Requirements for Dialogue Context Modelling H. Bunt. Contextual Constraints on Thematization in Written Discourse: An Empirical Study J. Lavid. Context and Implicitness: Consequences for Traditional and Computer-assisted Text Analysis M. Galliker, D. Weimer. A Context-based Mechanization of Multi-agent Reasoning A. Cimatti, L. Serafini. Presuppositions in Context: Constructing Bridges P. Piwek, E. Krahmer. Reasoning with Multilevel Contexts in Semantic Metanetworks V.Y. Terziyan, S. Puuronen. Contextual Learning: Towards using Contexts to Achieve Generality P. Bonzon. Contextual Deontic Logic: Violation Contexts and Factual Defeasibility L.W.N. van der Torre, Y.-H. Tan. A Local Models Semantics for Propositional Attitudes F. Giunchiglia, C. Ghidini. Context-based Semantics for Information Integration L. Serafini, C. Ghidini. Structured Contexts with Fibred Semantics D.M. Gabbay, R.T. Nossum.

Smart grid for offshore wind farms: Towards an information model based on the IEC 61400-25 standard

Nowadays, wind energy is one of the most recognized renewable energy sources. Onshore wind farms have been built in many countries, such as Denmark, Norway, UK, Italy, Brazil and the US. To utilize the more stable wind resources, wind farms have moved off the shore, first to shallow waters near shore and now extending to deeper waters and far off the shore. Deep-water offshore solutions will give access to large areas with high wind, and less sensitivity to noise, visual impacts and size. However, the cost of developing and operating an offshore wind farm is many times larger than onshore due to large water depths and harsh offshore environments. Hence, the needs for fast and automatic data exchange in offshore wind industry are required more than ever. A smart grid is one of the technologies which will help the wind industry to effectively use wind power plants and reduce cost of operation and maintenance. The aim of this work is to develop a flexible information model for offshore smart grids, which can keep pace with the current rapid development of wind turbine technology. In this work, we choose the existing IEC 61400-25 standard as a starting point for developing an information model for offshore wind smart grid communication.

Structured Contexts with Fibred Semantics

The logical treatment of contexts in AI was suggested by John McCarthy in his Turing Award lecture [McCarthy, 1987], as a means to overcome the apparent lack of generality in AI systems. The notion was developed further in a series of papers, see [McCarthy and Buvac, 1994; Buvac et al., 1995; Buvac, 1996] for some recent developments.

Multicontext Logic for Semigroups of Contexts

A multicontext logic with algebraic structure is proposed, where contexts are either primitive or composed from other contexts. Composition of two contexts can support various intuitions: sequence concatenation, set union, multiset union, etc.A local models semantics for algebraic context composition is defined, with a corresponding deductive calculus containing multilanguage bridge rules. Soundness and completeness results are proved for the case of semigroups of contexts, i.e. where context composition is an associative operation. Other properties of context composition, besides associativity, are defined by additional algebraic equations.

Agents in proactive environments

Abs t rac t . Agents situated in proactive environments are acting autonomously while the environment is evolving alongside, whether or not the agents carry out any particular actions. A formal framework for simulating and reasoning about this generalized kind of dynamic systems is proposed. The capabi~ties of the agents axe modeled by a set of conditional rules in a temporal-logical format. The environment itself is modeled by an independent transition relation on the state space. The temporal language is given a declarative semantics.

Persecution and Patronage: Oscar Buneman’s years in Britain

The German student Oscar Bunemann, in trouble with the Nazi authorities in the mid-1930s, chose to emigrate to Britain and pursue a PhD there. After emigration, his surname appears as Buneman. On the verge of completing his degree in 1940, he was detained as an enemy alien and spent almost a year in internment. Upon release, he found work as an atomic scientist in England, and went on to lead a post-war career as a pioneering plasma physicist in the USA.We study forced migration of European scientists before and during the Second World War, and scientific patronage in the host countries. Buneman’s case is interesting from several points of view. Being a non-Jewish, non-communist, anti-Nazi activist, he belongs to a group not much investigated by historians. His emigration from Germany was facilitated by his family’s business contacts in Britain. Being caught up in the wave of detainments of enemy aliens in 1940, he was assisted in pleading for release by the Society for the Protection of Science and Learn...

Counterfactual Reasoning by Means of a Calculus of Narrative Context

The basic Event Calculus is extended by a Calculus of Narrative Context, to allow for reasoning about counterfactuals. Different hypothetical courses of events are distinguished by their narrative contexts. A notion of information transfer between contexts provides a basis for drawing conclusions about counterfactual courses of events.

Agents in Proactive Environments

Agents situated in proactive environments are acting autonomously while the environment is evolving alongside, whether or not the agents carry out any particular actions. A formal framework for simulating and reasoning about this generalized kind of dynamic systems is proposed. The capabilities of the agents are modeled by a set of conditional rules in a temporal-logical format. The environment itself is modeled by an independent transition relation on the state space. The temporal language is given a declarative semantics.

The Society for the Protection of Science and Learning as a patron of refugee mathematicians

The Society for the Protection of Science and Learning (SPSL, which started out as the Academic Assistance Council (AAC) 1933–36) distinguished itself from many other aid organizations set up in response to Nazi policies towards Jews and political dissidents in its focus on academic excellence as a criterion for support. Its archives are deposited in the Bodleian Library. Today, the organization is known as the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA, http://www.cara1933.org/). In the archives of the SPSL, there are files on two and a half thousand scientists, victims of persecution in their home countries, who appealed to the Society for assistance in finding refuge and work in Britain. Almost a hundred are mathematicians, of which about one in four found temporary or permanent employment in British academia. Many others found their way to the US, in most cases aided by the Emergency Committee, an American organization with priorities similar to those of the SPSL. The paths of some of the most successful SPSL grantees are described, and contrasted with those of some less fortunate applicants.

Context-dependent Abduction and Relevance

AbstractBased on the premise that what is relevant, consistent, or true may change from context to context, a formal framework of relevance and context is proposed in which contexts are mathematical entitieseach context has its own language with relevant implicationthe languages of distinct contexts are connected by embeddingsinter-context deduction is supported by bridge rulesdatabases are sets of formulae tagged with deductive histories and the contexts they belong toabduction and revision are supported by a notion of consistency of formulae and sets of formulae which are relative to a context, and which can, in turn, be seen as constituents of agendas.