Elaborating analogies from conceptual models

This article defines and analyzes a computational model of similarity which detects analogies between objects based on conceptual descriptions of them, constructed from classification, generalization relations, and attributes. Analogies are detected (elaborated) by functions which measure conceptual distances between objects with respect to these semantic modeling abstractions. The model is domain independent and operational upon objects described in nonuniform ways. It does not require any special forms of knowledge for identifying analogies and distinguishes the importance of distinct object elements. Also, it has a polynomial complexity. Due to these characteristics, it may be used in complex tasks involving intra‐ or interdomain analogical reasoning. So far the similarity model has been applied in the domain of software engineering. First, to support the specification of software requirements by analogical reuse and second, to enable the integration of requirements specifications, generated by the multiple agents involved in information system development. Details of these applications can be found in cited references. Also, we have conducted an empirical evaluation of: (i) the consistency of the estimates generated by the model against human intuition about similarity and (ii) its recall performance in tasks of analogical retrieval, the results of which are presented in this article. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

[1]  E. Michael Keen,et al.  Presenting Results of Experimental Retrieval Comparisons , 1997, Inf. Process. Manag..

[2]  Neil A. M. Maiden,et al.  Exploiting reusable specifications through analogy , 1992, CACM.

[3]  Panos Constantopoulos,et al.  On Evidential Feature Salience , 1994, DEXA.

[4]  Smadar T. Kedar-Cabelli,et al.  Analogy — From a Unified Perspective , 1988 .

[5]  Jaime G. Carbonell,et al.  Learning by Analogical Replay in PRODIGY: First Results , 1991, EWSL.

[6]  Serge Abiteboul,et al.  IFO: A Formal Semantic Database Model , 1987, ACM Trans. Database Syst..

[7]  Patrick Henry Winston,et al.  Learning and reasoning by analogy , 1980, CACM.

[8]  Panos Constantopoulos,et al.  Measuring similarity between software artifacts , 1994, SEKE.

[9]  Wayne D. Gray,et al.  Basic objects in natural categories , 1976, Cognitive Psychology.

[10]  Rogers P. Hall,et al.  Computational Approaches to Analogical Reasoning: A Comparative Analysis , 1989, Artif. Intell..

[11]  Paul Thagard,et al.  Analogical Mapping by Constraint Satisfaction , 1989, Cogn. Sci..

[12]  Matthias Jarke,et al.  Computational Mechanisms for Distributed Requirements Engineering , 1995, SEKE.

[13]  Janet L. Kolodner,et al.  Case-Based Reasoning , 1989, IJCAI 1989.

[14]  Peter Wegner.  Dimensions of object-based language design , 1987, OOPSLA 1987.

[15]  Siegfried Bell,et al.  Analogical Reasoning for Logic Programming , 1991, EWSL.

[16]  Joan Peckham,et al.  Semantic data models , 1988, CSUR.

[17]  Susan T. Dumais,et al.  The vocabulary problem in human-system communication , 1987, CACM.

[18]  D. Gentner,et al.  Systematicity and Surface Similarity in the Development of Analogy. Technical Report No. 358. , 1985 .

[19]  James Curie Munyer.  Analogy as a means of discovery in problem solving and learning , 1981 .

[20]  Brian Falkenhainer,et al.  The Structure-Mapping Engine * , 2003 .

[21]  Maarten van Someren.  Using Attribute Dependencies for Rule Learning , 1987, Knowledge Representation and Organization in Machine Learning.

[22]  Moshe Burstein,et al.  Concept formatio n by incremental analogica l reasoning and debugging , 1983 .

[23]  Theo A.F. Kuipers.  Inductive analogy by similarity and proximity , 1988 .

[24]  Dedre Gentner,et al.  ANALOGICAL REMINDING: A GOOD MATCH IS HARD TO FIND. , 1985 .

[25]  A. Tversky.  Features of Similarity , 1977 .

[26]  Ray Bareiss,et al.  Concept Learning and Heuristic Classification in WeakTtheory Domains , 1990, Artif. Intell..

[27]  Kenneth Steiglitz,et al.  Combinatorial Optimization: Algorithms and Complexity , 1981 .

[28]  Glenn Shafer,et al.  A Mathematical Theory of Evidence , 2020, A Mathematical Theory of Evidence.

[29]  G. J. Glasser,et al.  Critical values of the coefficient of rank correlation for testing the hypothesis of independence , 1961 .

[30]  Panos Constantopoulos,et al.  Similarity for Analogical Software Reuse: A Conceptual Modelling Approach , 1993, CAiSE.

[31]  L. R. Novick.  Analogical Transfer: Processes and Individual Differences , 1988 .

[32]  Dedre Gentner,et al.  Analogical Inference and Analogical Access. , 1987 .

[33]  M. Turner,et al.  Categories and Analogies , 1988 .

[34]  Bradley P. Allen,et al.  Case-based reasoning: business applications , 1994, CACM.

[35]  Richard Fikes,et al.  The role of frame-based representation in reasoning , 1985, CACM.

[36]  Louise T. Su.  Evaluation Measures for Interactive Information Retrieval , 1992, Inf. Process. Manag..

[37]  I. Niiniluoto.  ANALOGY AND SIMILARITY IN SCIENTIFIC REASONING , 1988 .

[38]  Edwina L. Rissland,et al.  CABOT: An Adaptive Approach to Case-Based Search , 1991, IJCAI.

[39]  J. Carbonell.  Learning by Analogy: Formulating and Generalizing Plans from Past Experience , 1983 .

[40]  Brian Falkenhainer,et al.  The Structure-Mapping Engine: Algorithm and Examples , 1989, Artif. Intell..

[41]  Paul Thagard,et al.  Analog Wetrieval by Constraint Satisfaction , 1990, Artif. Intell..

[42]  Panos Constantopoulos,et al.  Similarity for Analogical Software Reuse: A Computational Model , 1994, ECAI.

[43]  簡聰富,et al.  物件導向軟體之架構(Object-Oriented Software Construction)探討 , 1989 .

[44]  J. Giles.  Introduction to the Analysis of Metric Spaces , 1987 .

[45]  John McDermott,et al.  Learning to Use Analogies , 1979, IJCAI.

[46]  Lawrence E. Blume,et al.  Mathematics for Economists , 1994 .

[47]  Matthias Jarke,et al.  Telos: representing knowledge about information systems , 1990, TOIS.

[48]  Bjarne Stroustrup,et al.  C++ Programming Language , 1986, IEEE Softw..

[49]  Diane J. Cook.  The Base Selection Task in Analogical Planning , 1991, IJCAI.

[50]  Stuart J. Russell,et al.  Analogy by Similarity , 1988 .

[51]  Kevin D. Ashley.  Modeling legal argument - reasoning with cases and hypotheticals , 1991, Artificial intelligence and legal reasoning.

[52]  Jaime G. Carbonell,et al.  Derivational analogy: a theory of reconstructive problem solving and expertise acquisition , 1993 .

[53]  David Gelernter,et al.  FGP: A Virtual Machine for Acquiring Knowledge from Cases , 1991, IJCAI.

[54]  Taro Yamane,et al.  Mathematics for Economists , 1962 .

[55]  Neil A. M. Maiden,et al.  Analogical specification reuse during requirements analysis , 1992 .