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The Commission's Criteria For Complaints Practically Negates The Purpose Of The Commission. Consider the following rulings:
In March of 1999, the state Ethics Commission cleared Chief Family Court Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah, Jr. of alleged ethics violations involving his office building. The commission found insufficient evidence that Jeremiah "knowingly and willfully" violated the state Code of Ethics by helping obtain a $56,000.00 grant for a group that used some of it to pay him rent.
The commission also concluded that Jeremiah did not violate the code by signing court orders in two divorce cases in which parties were represented by another tenant of the judge. "The statute requires that in order for there to be a valid complaint, there has to be probable cause that someone willfully and knowingly committed the violation." Melvin L. Zurier, the vice-chairman of the commission said later, "The evidence does not show that."
DeRobbio said, "the commission relied on the same standard it used last year when it threw out ethics charges against former Central Falls Mayor Thomas Lazieh." Lazieh had been accused of improperly awarding himself $17,000.00 in vacation pay before leaving office in 1996. The commission ruled that Lazieh did indeed draft a policy in his last year in office that allowed him to receive the money. But the commissioners said he was not "knowingly and willfully" seeking personal gain when he wrote the policy, and thus hadn't violated conflict-of-interest laws.
Since no one can absolutely testify to the inner workings of someone's else's mind, it appears the only way one can be found guilty of ethics violations in Rhode Island is if the guilty party is willing to admit they knowingly and willfully committed a wrong. An example is the complaint from Donna Parris dealing with Judge Jeremiah and former Central Falls Mayor Thomas Lazieh.
Edward Achorn's article, "Is 'R.I. Ethics' An Oxymoron?" will help you understand the underlying issues that resulted in the Irons Ruling. Read Irons vs. Rhode Island Ethics Commission the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruling that sparked this debate
The response from Operation Clean Government:
July 1, 2007 The decision handed down today by the Rhode Island Supreme Court in favor of Mr. Irons has effectively rendered the Ethics Commission powerless. By ruling in favor of the plaintiff in Irons vs. Rhode Island Ethics Commission, this Court has determined that state legislators are shielded by the Rhode Island Constitution's "speech in debate" clause.
"This is yet another dark day for ethics in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Supreme Court has effectively neutered the Ethics Commission,"
says Larry Valencia, President of Operation Clean Government, a government watchdog group that filed the ethics complaint against Irons in 2004.
Superior Court Judge Darigan had ruled that former Senate President William Irons was immune from prosecution based on the "speech in debate" clause of the Rhode Island Constitution. Valencia also says,
"We feel the majority opinion was flawed, but we realize the only recourse now is going to be legislative action."
Operation Clean Government commends Justice Suttell, who dissented, for looking at the intent of the voters and the participants in the 1986 Constitutional Convention. Valencia adds
"The Convention participants were clearly moved to rein in the rampant corruption of that time, and it is regrettable that they were ignored by the majority"
Operation Clean Government calls on the leadership of the Rhode Island General Assembly to support H6070 or a similar bill. House bill 6070 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would provide that the Ethics Commission would have jurisdiction over the members of the General Assembly notwithstanding the "speech in debate" provisions of Article VI, Section 5 of the Constitution. It would restore the ability of the Ethics Commission to investigate, and if necessary, prosecute General Assembly members for participating and voting on legislation where they have a clear conflict of interest.
The General Assembly has not yet adjourned this year. There is time for Speaker Murphy, Majority Leader Fox and Senate President Paiva Weed to schedule hearings and to pass this necessary legislation. Passage of this bill places this amendment on the 2010 ballot, allowing the citizens of Rhode Island to decide whether or not legislators deserve immunity when they use their vote to violate our ethics laws.
2009 - With new disclosures of conflicts of interest, fraud and mismanagement at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC), it is astonishing that law-enforcement officials say they cannot do anything about the alleged corruption. One would think that the Rhode Island Ethics Commission could play a role, yet with recent court rulings it is essentially a toothless body lacking the tools needed to fight corrupt public officials. That's one reason that government watchdog groups and citizens demanded separation-of-powers legislation to remove conflicted legislators from state boards and commissions. However, with this recent news about the scope of shady dealings at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC), separation of powers alone is not enough.
The purpose of appointing qualified individuals to state and local boards and commissions is for them to serve as a check and balance for the decisions made by those in authority. In Rhode Island, when it comes to politics and power, why is it that the politically connected appear to be the ones primarily selected for these important positions? For example, several years before Governor Carcieri appointed Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian in April 2006 to serve on the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) board, the mayor had appointed the then-executive director's spouse to the Warwick Planning Board, serving as chairman. In October 2006, the mayor appointed the then-director to the Warwick Municipal Retirement board. Both were avid supporters of the mayor. When improprieties started to surface, the mayor resigned from the RIRRC board. The very day that the RIRRC preliminary audit report was released the former director resigned from the Warwick Retirement Board.
Later it was disclosed that pension-fund improprieties were discovered at RIRRC. Keep in mind as members of the Warwick retirement board individuals are responsible for overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in pension funds. I wrote about other member conflicts on this board in my Aug. 12 op-ed, "Last chance to stop latest Warwick folly." There weren't other qualified individuals in the state or in Warwick who could have served on each respective board? My pointing out these facts is not meant to cast blame on the governor or the mayor for the alleged misdeeds at RIRRC or imply that similar misdeeds have occurred with the Warwick Retirement Board. However, it does demonstrate that the good-old-boy and -girl network is alive and well and leads one to wonder: Was the governor aware of these relationships before he made his appointment? Besides, how could the mayor and former RIRRC director believe that each could perform proper due diligence in these positions of oversight on one another's boards while these cozy relationships existed? It's one reason I voted against the mayor's appointment of former Warwick City Councilwoman Sue Steinhouse to the Warwick Zoning Board in 2008. She works in the governor's office and is on several state and local boards already. There are plenty of qualified individuals in Warwick who could do the job without the potential conflict.
Is it ethical that on some planning and zoning board members are also real-estate professionals? Is it fair to other real-estate professionals competing for business when they discover an individual on the board has acquired the listing for projects the board approved months earlier?
The Warwick Beacon recently reported that a council member has proposed legislation, later withdrawn, that would have mandated that future police and fire chiefs be hired from within Warwick's ranks. The ordinance could have directly benefited his son, who is a captain in the Police Department in line to become chief. In all likelihood, the council member will be allowed to submit the legislation on the basis of "class-exemption" clause, which permits this activity as long as the legislation would also benefit a large enough class of people. It is why a teacher working in another district can serve on his or her own local school committee and vote on a teacher contract. It permits a member of the General Assembly, who works fulltime as a representative of a state workers labor union, to propose legislation benefiting the union.
With the "quid pro quo" philosophy alive and well in Rhode Island politics, it is only a matter of time before we discover new occurrences of scandal and cronyism in the state, with taxpayers ultimately paying the price. It's time for citizens to demand meaningful new laws that will provide authorities with tools to bring individuals to justice when they betray the public trust. If the state Ethics Commission had the power to identify and limit the cross-pollination of boards and commissions, it would reduce these problems.
Robert Cushman is a former Warwick city councilman and former chairman of the Warwick School Committee.
In his Nov. 14 Commentary piece ("New ethics laws key to fighting Rhode Island corruption"), Robert Cushman discusses a number of important issues regarding separation of powers, ethics, and conflicts of interest in Rhode Island. We believe that those issues merit a response from the "government watchdog groups" he mentions.
We take exception with his statement that, because of a recent Supreme Court decision, the Rhode Island Ethics Commission has become "a toothless body lacking the tools needed to fight corrupt public officials." There is no doubt that the June 29 decision in "William V. Irons vs. The Rhode Island Ethics Commission" made it more difficult for that body to enforce the code of ethics. However, it removed from the commission's jurisdiction only one body (the General Assembly), and only specific acts of members of that body - "core legislative acts," which the court enumerated as "proposing, passing, or voting upon a particular piece of legislation."
It's very important to note that the commission still has the ability to prosecute all other elected officials for violations of the code. And furthermore, the commission has the ability to prosecute members of the Assembly for a wide variety of actions not protected as "core legislative acts," including in the court's words, "speeches delivered outside of the legislature; political activities of legislators; undertakings for constituents; assistance in securing government contracts; republication of defamatory material in press releases and newsletters; solicitation and acceptance of bribes; and criminal activities, even those committed to further legislative activity."
That said, our groups still believe that when the voters passed the Ethics Amendment in 1986 that created the Ethics Commission and saw in that amendment the language "All elected and appointed officials and employees of state and local government, of boards, commissions and agencies, shall be subject to the code of ethics," they never would have perceived that members of the General Assembly would have even a limited immunity from that code due to "the speech in debate" clause in the Rhode Island Constitution. That is why we will be pushing legislation in the 2010 session of the General Assembly to put an amendment on the ballot that would let the voters decide whether legislators should enjoy immunity that no other public officials receive.
Mr. Cushman goes on to suggest that the real solution to the state's problems lies with the "class exception" that exists in the code of ethics. We sometimes refer to it by the section number in the code: 7(b). We couldn't agree more that the "class exception" is a problem. That is why we have long pushed the Ethics Commission to close this and other loopholes in the code. This is not an easy prospect, however, and the commission has shown reluctance to overturn the "class exception" in one singular act.
However, the commission has taken preliminary steps toward this goal by moving toward elimination of one particular loophole in the code. The commission is poised to change its longstanding policy of providing an exception for union members who are also elected officials. Currently public officials who are members of a union in a different city or town are allowed to negotiate contracts with different local affiliates of the same parent union. We support this change in position by the commission in what clearly is a conflict of interest.
However, we must note that the commission is making this change in a way that we think is less than ideal.
First, it is not making a change to the code itself, but rather in a "General Commission Advisory," which is a document to provide guidance to those who might be seeking the commission's advice. Second, the opinion of the commission is based on the "business associate" section of the code, and not the "conflict of interest" section. We feel this is a mistake because this situation is clearly not in keeping with either section. A member of a union is clearly a business associate of other local affiliates of that union. This relationship is particularly strong when the parent union sends professional negotiators into multiple jurisdictions. However, it is also a conflict of interest for a public official to negotiate with an organization of which they are a member.
What the commission is doing, however backward its approach, is to begin closing the loophole that allows people to self-deal. That is what the "class exception" is all about. Our groups did not push the commission to begin closing this loophole by targeting union members. We feel it is equally important that anyone serving as a public official should not be allowed to use his or her official capacity to provide benefits to members of the profession he or she is a part of, no matter what that profession is, and no matter if everyone in that profession benefits equally.
Shutting down the "class exception" is only one part of the puzzle that we need to solve in order to create a more ethical climate in Rhode Island. It's important to remember that we have an ethics system that consists of institutions (the Ethics Commission, the Board of Elections), and processes (the code of ethics, our campaign-finance law) that need to be tended to in order to work properly. We can't run around seeking to make changes without considering the health of the system as a whole. That is why ethics, separation of powers and campaign finance are all related.
Our organizations will continue to insist that appointments are made, and they're in keeping with separation of powers, that the institutions are fully staffed and funded, and attempts to limit their authority are rejected when appropriate. We need to take a holistic approach to cultivating this system.
Larry Valencia is president of Operation Clean Government. John Marion is executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island.
1-2010: The Senate Rules Committee is considering a proposal to let the state Senate adopt its own conflict-of-interest rules, and police the behavior of its own members. "If that is what the U.S. Senate does, and it is adequate for them, why isn't it adequate for the Rhode Island Senate?'' asks Sen. Christopher Maselli, the Johnston Democrat who chairs the committee. Not everyone is enthralled with the idea.
"Common Cause opposes any plan to have the Rhode Island Senate police itself," says John Marion, executive director of the citizens' advocacy group. "Historically efforts by legislatures to monitor their behavior internally have been unsuccessful. One need look no further than the U.S. Senate, whose Ethics Committee has fallen into a partisan stalemate," Marion said. The proposal was aired for the first time last week at a sparsely attended meeting of the Senate Rules Committee, which is taking its cues from the Senate's $53,019 a year parliamentarian, John Roney, the former senator who authored the "Roney amendment'' allowing the Ethics Commission to impose $5,000 fines on anyone who files a "frivolous" complaint against a politician. It never has.
As a senator in the mid-1990's, Roney told colleagues: "These complaints are all too easily filed...They trigger immense investigations, and they do tremendous damage against whom they are filed." As a lawyer, Roney has also represented numerous clients before the commission, including Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, who was fined $3,000 in December 2006 for soliciting contributions from town employees when he was still mayor of North Providence. Maselli said there is no written proposal yet, but Sen. Frank Ciccone, D-Providence, is working on one, and Roney has advised the panel that Rhode Island is the only New England state where lawmakers do not have their own internal conflict-of-interest rules, and lots of states - and Congress - have taken it upon themselves to make sure their members comply. The discussion stems from a June decision by the Rhode Island Supreme Court that effectively removed Rhode Island lawmakers from Ethics Commission scrutiny.
Other lawmakers - including House Majority Leader Gordon Fox - have promised to introduce legislation addressing the current gap. But Maselli said Roney told the Rules Committee he does not believe the Ethics Commission can, at this point, even consider a complaint against a legislator. Maselli said his mind remains open to the alternative Common Cause is proposing: giving voters a chance in November to reinstate the Ethics Commission's authority over lawmakers, but that's months away. Between now and then, "what does somebody do? Should we, at the very least, put something into effect [for] the interim?'' The debate will resume when Senate Rules meets again on Wednesday.
The determination of the Rhode Island power structure to keep the Ethics Commission from operating as an independent body by making it a lackey of the General Assembly in this complaint is astounding. "...this commission needs people that are not as ethically challenged as the present members are... Robert Arruda from OCG
The Boston Lawyer Daniel Small hired by the Commission to investigate conflict-of-interest charges against 3 of its members was fired after the RI Supreme Court said Small could not subpoena a member [Goldberg] and may not practice law in Rhode Island. Justices Leaderberg and Bourcier were sympathetic with the Goldberg faction. There has been an obvious affiliation among the two of them and Justice Goldberg ever since her elevation to the Supreme Court. The courts action makes proper action on the complaints impossible given the 300 day limit mandated.
Small was hired after Commission Director Healey couldn't find a Rhode Island lawyer willing to investigate the ethics complaints. Initially Chief Justice Williams gave the Commission an informed opinion that it could hire Atty. Small. Small was replaced with William C. Maaia, a general practitioner, who was hired without looking at his resume and against recommendations of the Exec. Dir. Martin F. Healey. Maaia himself stated, "Even Ken Starr couldn't come in with less than 50 days and conduct an investigation," and that, "whoever finished the investigation wouldn't have enough time to do much more investigating."
The Commission fired Healey after Supreme Court Justice Williams published his personal opinions titled "Ethics flap is Mr. Healey's Fault" in the Providence Journal and to each member of the Commission. The non-attorney dissenters asked for due process in vain while Williams and Governor Almond welcomed Healey's firing. Williams then doffed his judicial robes to press his case at least 3 times on various radio programs. Williams actions give new meaning to the term "bully pulpit."
"Shame on the Commission for voting to fire Martin Healey.....Healey can leave with pride in a job well done. It's probably the best thing for him, but a great loss to the Citizens of Rhode Island." -- Margaret Matheson
The Commission dropped 2 of the complaints and eventually dropped the complaint against Harwood without giving a reason. 5 of the 9 members [Kirby, Main, Monti-Markowski, Murray and Zurier] said they have conflicts of interest and recused themselves. 2 other members [Goldberg and Flanagan] are hanging back until lawyers decide if they have conflicts. Goldberg is the brother-in-law of Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg and the brother of former Sen. Robert Goldberg a top state house lobbyist and law partner. Robert Goldberg used to be Senate minority leader and an ally of former Democratic Senate Majority Leader John Bevilacqua. It was Goldberg that brought Atty. Small's challenge to the RI Supreme Court. Goldberg also shot back with ethics complaints against Atty. Small and the Ethics Commission's Director Martin Healey. All talks of recusal were held behind closed doors. Clearly the Commission has become so entwined with the political establishment that it is supposed to oversee that it has become ineffective and investigations are in effect blocked by the power structure.
Goldberg [appointed by John Harwood], Main and, in part, Zurier participated in a hideous decision to derail government reform last spring by repealing bans on gifts to legislatures according to Bob Kerr of the Providence Journal. The Commission struck down the rule and replaced it with one that allows lobbyists to give legislators up to $450 a year in gifts which, according to Justice Weisberger was "undoubtedly too loose."
"The Consequences of such a rule strain credulity, when one considers how much money over the course of only one year can be distributed to not just legislators, but to any public official, from police chief to town council member through the state. Politicians, especially the leadership within the General Assembly, could reap thousands of dollars in blandishments every year without fear of punishment or blame" - Stephanie Rivera
Until a new Executive Director of the Commission is found to replace the fired Martin Healey, Chief Justices Williams and Weisberger approached Kent A. Willever to fill in. Later the 3 members being investigated asked the Attorney General's Office to pay their fees.
A RI state Supreme Court ruling frees public officials who are lawyers from state ethics rules -- and allows the Ethics Commission to drop a case against John Harwood. See the Grand Finale page!
Almond appointed a string of politically connected lawyers to the commission rejecting a number of highly qualified lay persons with extensive ethics experience.
Read how they looked the other way regarding wrongdoing of Attorney General Patrick Lynch
Search Rhode Island Criminal Database or
RI Supreme Court Opinions & Orders


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Lee Keegan insists that Mayo are carrying no psychological baggage into Sunday's All-Ireland SFC final.
It's a repeat of the 2016 final, which Dublin won after a replay, and the game will see Mayo try to put right their unenviable losing streak in Sam Maguire Cup deciders:
"We really do love playing Dublin. I think we get the best out of each other," the current Footballer of the Year told The Western People.
"I don't think there is any psychological baggage. We've had some ding-dong battles since 2012. It is the last time we beat them, and it is something we are aware of, but it was only the kick of a ball last year, same with the semi-final in 2015 when we drew with them.
"We're close, so it's about trying to find that extra inch or two where we can improve and be on the right side of a one-point victory instead of a loss. They are an exceptional outfit and they have only got better over the last three or four years. We're just focused on the Dublin of 2017.
"We'll have a good look at Dublin to try and pinpoint where we can implement our game."

subset: commoncrawl


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By Sky News US Team
The actor who portrayed Screech on the popular 1990s TV series Saved By The Bell has been ordered to stand trial for a Christmas Day stabbing.
Dustin Diamond faces a charge of reckless endangerment and two other counts in connection with the fight at a bar near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Diamond has courted controversy since his child-star days
The 37-year-old actor told police he accidentally stabbed a man while trying to defend his fiancee at the Grand Avenue Saloon in Port Washington, where he lives.
The man was not seriously injured.
Diamond has often courted controversy since his child-star days ended.
Diamond's fiancee Amanda Schutz attended a status hearing in December
Three years later he published a book that portrayed the Saved By The Bell cast in a negative light.
The book was recently turned into a movie.


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Label Confusion: The Groucho Effect of Uncertain Standards
Labels certify that a product meets some standard for quality, but often consumers are unsure of the exact standard that the label represents. Focusing on the case of ecolabels for environmental quality, we show how even small amounts of uncertainty can create consumer confusion that reduces or eliminates the value to firms of adopting voluntary labels. First, consumers are most suspicious of a label when a product with a bad reputation has it, so labels are often unpersuasive at showing that a seemingly bad product is actually good. Second, label proliferation aggravates the effect of uncertainty, causing the informativeness of labels to decrease rather than increase. Third, uncertainty makes labeling and nonlabeling equilibria more likely to coexist as the number of labels increases, so consumers face greater strategic uncertainty over how to interpret the presence or absence of a label. Finally, a label can be legitimitized or spoiled for other products when a product with a good or bad reputation displays it, so firms may adopt labels strategically to manipulate such information spillovers, which further exacerbates label confusion. Managers can reduce label confusion by supporting mandatory labeling or by undertaking investments to make certain labels "focal." This paper was accepted by Pradeep Chintagunta and Preyas Desai, special issue editors. This paper was accepted by Pradeep Chintagunta and Preyas Desai, special issue editors.
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Volume (Year): 57 (2011)
Issue (Month): 9 (February)
Pages: 1512-1527
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References listed on IDEAS
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- Sinclair-Desgagne, Bernard & Gozlan, Estelle, 2003.
"A theory of environmental risk disclosure,"
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management,
Elsevier, vol. 45(2, Supple), pages 377-393, March.
- Estelle Gozlan & Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné, 2001. "A Theory of Environmental Risk Disclosure," CIRANO Working Papers 2001s-17, CIRANO.
- Fischer, Carolyn & Sedjo, Roger & Jawahar, Puja & Aguilar , Francisco, 2005. "Forest Certification: Toward Common Standards?," Discussion Papers dp-05-10, Resources For the Future.
- David Dranove & Ginger Zhe Jin, 2010. "Quality Disclosure and Certification: Theory and Practice," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(4), pages 935-963, December.
- David Dranove & Ginger Zhe Jin, 2010. "Quality Disclosure and Certification: Theory and Practice," NBER Working Papers 15644, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Amacher, Gregory S. & Koskela, Erkki & Ollikainen, Markku, 2004. "Environmental quality competition and eco-labeling," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 284-306, March.
- Avner Shared & John Sutton, 1981. "The Self-Regulating Profession," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 48(2), pages 217-234.
- Banks, Jeffrey S & Sobel, Joel, 1987. "Equilibrium Selection in Signaling Games," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 55(3), pages 647-661, May.
- Banks, Jeffrey S. & Sobel, Joel., 1985. "Equilibrium Selection in Signaling Games," Working Papers 565, California Institute of Technology, Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
- Alessandro Lizzeri, 1999. "Information Revelation and Certification Intermediaries," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 30(2), pages 214-231, Summer.
- Boyan Jovanovic, 1982. "Truthful Disclosure of Information," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(1), pages 36-44, Spring.
- Liang Guo, 2009. "Quality Disclosure Formats in a Distribution Channel," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(9), pages 1513-1526, September.
- Ginger Zhe Jin & Phillip Leslie, 2003. "The Effect of Information on Product Quality: Evidence from Restaurant Hygiene Grade Cards," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 118(2), pages 409-451.
- Lutz, Stefan & Lyon, Thomas P & Maxwell, John W, 2000. "Quality Leadership When Regulatory Standards Are Forthcoming," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 331-348, September.
- Michael J. Fishman & Kathleen M. Hagerty, 1990. "The Optimal Amount of Discretion to Allow in Disclosure," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 105(2), pages 427-444.
- Liang Guo & Ying Zhao, 2009. "Voluntary Quality Disclosure and Market Interaction," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(3), pages 488-501, 05-06. Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)
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CNY's Role in Black History is a Source of Pride
Each February, we celebrate Black History Month and recognize the contributions that black men and women have made to the United States.
And each year, I am reminded of the great role that Central New York has played in this history. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of this is the abolitionist movement in the 1800s.
After New York State abolished slavery in 1827, Central New York became an important cog in the abolitionist wheel. The area's proximity to Canada and location along the Erie Canal made it an significant stop in the Underground Railroad, and many self-liberated slaves passed through the area on their way to freedom.
Harriet Tubman, one of the Underground Railroad's most famous conductors, settled in Auburn, where she continued her abolition and suffrage efforts.
Gerrit Smith, from Peterboro, was a leader in the abolitionist movement, and drew famous historical figures like Frederick Douglass and Soujourner Truth to Peterboro in Madison County.
Central New Yorkers made their opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law, passed in 1850, very clear. Protests and rallies, and even a famous jailbreak, happened throughout the region.
Because of the efforts of Central New York residents, thousands of people were granted freedom.
Today, we are still reminded of those efforts through museums in Cayuga and Madison Counties. If you haven't visited the Tubman House or the National Abolition Hall of Fame, I encourage you to do so.
When I visit, I am filled with a sense of hometown pride, knowing that the hard work of our forbearers had a positive effect on history. Even today, nearly two hundred years later, we see the fruits of their labor.
So, throughout February, as we celebrate important milestones in Black History, it is fitting to pause and reflect upon the sacrifices and commitment of these leaders in Central New York, and to be thankful for their efforts.


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|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Aug 14, 1990
|Filing date
|Dec 29, 1988
|Priority date
|Dec 29, 1988
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Kenneth E. Davies, Walter C. Geddes, Mark J. Kline, Alexander T. Maluta, Bruce E. Naylor, Harrison Scofield, Jeffrey N. Stevens
|Original Assignee
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (3), Non-Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (71), Classifications (7), Legal Events (5)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of artificial intelligence, and more particularly to expert systems. In particular, an architecture for providing embedded expert systems is described.
2. Background Information
The use of expert systems in various industries, such as banking, insurance, manufacturing, aerospace, etc., has increased dramatically since tools for creating and consulting expert systems became commercially available in recent years. These prior art tools, of which Expert Systems Environment, available commercially from IBM Corporation, is an example, share the property of being standalone programs operating in an environment in which only one consultation at a time could be performed.
In order to realize the full benefits of expert systems technology, however, it is desirable to have an expert system which can be accessed in a variety of different manners. For instance, one may desire to exploit expert systems technology in a previously existing computer application, such as insurance underwriting. In the insurance underwriting example, a knowledge engineer would interview an expert underwriter, gleaning the knowledge which he uses when determining whether to accept or reject policies. Instead of spending the time to write procedural programs to do all that, the knowledge engineer can put that expert knowledge into a knowledge base as rules and facts and achieve significant increases in productivity and maintainability of the system. Since the processing of insurance applications requires complex application programs, as well as expert systems, system performance requires the expert system to be embedded in, or callable from, the application programs.
Many large users of expert systems have very integrated programming systems that have been developed at great expense to satisfy their own business requirements. Now, these customers desire to utilize expert systems processing behind the scenes. While it may be possible to use standalone expert systems, having to log off and log on again from the application that is running is inconvenient, at best.
Additionally, it is preferable to deliver expert systems capability through the same end-user application system, often without the user even knowing that an expert system is being consulted. Also, some customers have significant investment in the systems they have built and in the data that is stored in their systems. They want to start taking advantage of expert systems as an integrated tool to make use of the wealth of data already obtained. An expert system consultation is like any other application; you don't want to have a user enter data that is already in the system. By integrating expert systems into the users preexisting computer system, the preexisting data can be made accessible, and the end-user can access it through the normal network facilities as defined for the rest of their applications.
There are several problems that must be solved in order to integrate an expert system capability into existing application programs. First, you must get access to data that is already in the user's computer system. Data in many database management systems is not readily available, since different systems have unique rules for access, maintenance, integrity and backout, etc.
Second, it is necessary to develop an expert system that can function in different environments, without writing it many times, or writing many different interfaces. Each of these different software environments has its own set of constraints, rules, etc. In order to truly implement an embedded expert system, it is required that the expert systems be architected to be compatible with all existing environments that will be utilized.
It is the object of this invention to provide an embedded expert systems capability, which can be accessed by application programs running on a computer system.
It is a further object of this invention to allow existing customer applications to make expert systems consultations.
It is another object of this invention to provide an expert systems capability which is transparent to the end-user.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an expert system capability that is reliable, easily maintained, and operates independently of other programs operating in a computer system.
It is another object of this invention to provide an expert systems capability that can be used simultaneously by a number of users.
An expert system is provided which can be freely accessed by other application programs operating within any of the available operating environments in a general purpose computer system. In this novel architecture, an expert system consultation subsystem provides the means for performing expert consultations. Included within the expert system subsystem is a task manager which initiates and manages a plurality of concurrent consultations. Interface programming provides the capability for the expert system consultation subsystem to communicate and pass data and commands between it and other application programs operating within the computer system. Further, means are provided to allow the expert system subsystem to access data stored on database management systems.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the computer system environment of the expert system architecture.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of information in an expert system.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the components of the expert system architecture.
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram for the cross memory service routine.
FIG. 5 is a flow diagram for the Task Manager.
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for the Environment Initialization routine.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the elements in the Task Table.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the flow of information in a typical expert system consultation.
While the invention will be described with reference to a specific commercially available general purpose computer system, it should be understood that the architecture claimed herein can function in most generally available commercial computer systems manufactured by many different companies. Therefore, in no way shall the operating environment in which the invention will be described be considered to limit the scope of the claims hereafter provided.
For background purposes, the preferred embodiment of the invention will be described in relation to a general purpose computer system called the IBM System/370 (IBM is a registered trademark of the International Business Machines Corp.) available commercially from the IBM Corporation. A detailed discussion of the System/370 operation can be found in IBM publication number GA22-7000, entitled "System/370 Principles of Operation" available from IBM. Additionally, the invention to be described below operates as a subsystem within the Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS) operating system running on the System/370. For a detailed description of the MVS operating system, reference is made to IBM publication number GC28-0984-1, entitled "OS/VS2 MVS Overview", the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The computer system in which the invention operates is shown in the block diagram in FIG. 1. Typical of general purpose computer systems, there is shown a central processing unit (CPU) 10 which includes circuits for processing data, as well as circuits for storing data or memory. Control of the CPU is provided by the MVS operating system. The MVS operating system controls the flow and processing of data among all the various components within the computer system.
Also shown in FIG. 1, are input/output (I/0) devices such as terminal 26, direct access storage devices 28, 30 and printer 32. It is readily apparent to one skilled in the art that any number of I/0 devices can be included in a general purpose computer system including, terminals, personal computers, disk drives, tape drives, optical disk storage, printers, etc., and the I/0 devices shown are merely illustrative. Communication among the I/0 devices 26, 28, 30, 32 and with the CPU 10 is under the control of a specialized type of software, referred to as the communications interface 34. The specifics of the communication interface 34 are beyond the scope of the present invention and will not be discussed in detail.
Within the architecture of the MVS operating system, separate tasks, or subsystems, can operate independently and simultaneously, allowing a multi-tasking or multiprocessing environment. Allowing multiple MVS tasks increases the capacity/throughput of the computer, since many functions can be processed concurrently. MVS provides this multiprocessing capability by setting up several discrete address spaces in its memory in which different subsystems can operate. Shown in FIG. 1 are a transaction processing subsystem 14, a timesharing subsystem 16, a batch subsystem 18, an expert system consultation subsystem 20 and a database management subsystem 22. Each of these subsystems operates independently of the others and has the capability to address all regions of the extended memory area 24.
As stated in the Background section, the subsystems 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22, are architected differently, have different rules for data storage, access, communication, etc. This makes it difficult for them to communicate with each other. To overcome this problem, a common service area (CSA) 36 is provided. All communication between MVS subsystems takes place through the CSA 36, which serves as a common ground and allows subsystems to communicate with and pass data between other subsystems.
To achieve the desired objective of allowing multiple, concurrent consultations in an embedded mode, the expert system of the present invention has been implemented as MVS subsystem 20. As an MVS subsystem, expert system consultation subsystem 20 can run in an embedded mode with any of the other application-oriented subsystems, such as transaction processing 14, timesharing 16 and batch 18. Further, it can have access to data controlled by the database management subsystem 22. It can also run in a standalone mode, or "interactive" mode.
As shown in FIG. 2, a typical expert system consultation system includes an inference engine 40 and knowledge bases 1-n 42, which contain knowledge about different problem domains. Inference engine 40 contains the programming code which performs the inferencing procedures to conclude values based upon data provided by an individual consultor 44 or application program 46 and knowledge data stored in the knowledge bases 42. A consultation can be performed in an interactive mode, in which data passes directly between consultor 44 and inference engine 40, or in an embedded mode, in which an application program 46 communicates directly with inference engine 40. For a more thorough discussion of expert systems inference engines in general, reference is made to U.S. Pat. 4,763,277 and U.S. Pat. 4,648,044, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The architecture of the embedded expert systems is shown in FIG. 3. The blocks shown above line A represent elements contained within one or more of the applications-oriented MVS subsystems, i.e., transaction processing 14, timesharing 16 or batch 18 (FIG. 1), referred to as the application region. Block 50 represents an application program, such as insurance underwriting or loan processing which may require expert systems consultation. When application program 50 invokes the expert system subsystem to perform a consultation it will have to issue commands to request or set data values and pass information to control the flow of the consultation.
Within each application 50, a small inter-language interface stub of programming code 52 is included. Interface stub 52 is link-edited with the application program 50 and provides the direct interface between the application program 50 and the expert systems consultation components. The major function of the interface stub 52 is to call the expert systems function and generate and pass along parameters upon which the consultation is to be based.
A parameter list 54 is generated by the interface stub 52 and is then passed along to the environment interface 56 which essentially makes the connection to the expert systems subsystem, tells it that a consultation is desired, and sends along an invocation request. Environment interface 56 also translates the parameter list 54 into a flat PARM LIST 58 and sends it to the common service area, which is designated as the area between lines A and B.
The CSA 36 (FIG. 1) is an area of memory that holds programs and data needed by a variety of computer software applications. As mentioned above, programs that communicate within MVS need to speak a common language. This is accomplished by using a set of instructions and macros, known as cross memory services.
Cross memory services is a way of allowing different address spaces to share either programs or data. Somebody processing in the transaction processing subregion's designated address space cannot directly reference anything in the expert system address space. In order to make the connection, there must a communication protocol which allows information to pass between the two regions Block 60 represents the cross memory service routine that provides the gateway between the application region and expert system region.
A flow chart for the cross memory source routine is shown in FIG. 4. A service or invocation request from the environment interface is received in block 100. Block 102 tests to determine whether the service request is an initialization or termination request. If it is an initialization or termination request, block 104 gets and initializes an expert system work element and saves the application region address space identifier for future use.
If the service request is not an initialization or termination request, block 106 checks the expert system task table 64 (FIG. 3) for the task table entry for the specific caller's consultation. The address of that particular task's work element is also obtained from the task table. A storage area in the expert systems address space is obtained and its address is saved in the work element. A cross memory move of the data from the application region to the expert systems region, or address space, is performed.
Blocks 108, 110 and 112 are commands for allowing MVS to post the expert systems event control block, and then to restore the user's storage protection key. In block 114, data from the expert systems region is moved via a cross memory move to the application region, thus completing the data interchange.
The expert system region, or subsystem, is represented by that portion of FIG. 3 below line B. Task manager 62, receives the consultation request from cross memory service routine 60. If the request states that a consultation is desired, the task manager looks at all the subtasks that are active to see if a particular knowledge base is loaded and ready to go. If it is, then the consultation is invoked. Each particular consultation is an independent task, and hundreds of consultations can be invoked concurrently. While only one copy of the expert system consultation code is contained in the ESE region, each consultation requires its own knowledge base. Therefore, if, when a consultation is invoked, a free knowledge base does not exist, then the task manager requests a copy to be written in to the extended memory area 24 from DASD device 28, 30 (FIG. 1). When a consultation is completed, the knowledge base goes dormant rather than being erased from storage, since it is more efficient to keep it there for future use than to have to delete it and rewrite it into memory the next time it is needed. The knowledge base stays in extended memory until a system operator erases it.
Requests to initialize expert system consultations are called Expert Systems Work Elements (EWE). These are MVS control blocks that are queued to the task manager 62 by the cross memory service routine 60. After a consultation, or session, is established, cross memory service routine 60 will post the expert system subtasks 1-n directly for all subsequent communications.
With reference to FIG. 5, the operation of the task manager will be more fully described. A session request is tested in block 200 to see if the request is an initialization request or a subsystem termination request. If it is a subsystem termination request, the task manager will implement the termination, or shutdown, procedure described below. Otherwise, the cross memory service routine will "wake up" the task manager and the EWE will be queued to internal storage in block 202. While processing the queue, the cross memory service routine will continue to queue up new EWE's.
In block 204, the sequence of EWE's in the queue is reversed so that the oldest one is the first to be processed. Block 206 determines whether the request is an "initiate" request or a termination request. If an initiation request, processing continues with block 208, otherwise block 216 is called.
The task table (described below) is scanned in block 208 to find an idle subtask which has the required knowledge base loaded. If an idle subtask with the correct knowledge base is found, or an idle subtask is found which can load the proper knowledge base, block 210 posts the subtask to complete the consultation. If no idle subtask is found, block 212 attaches a new subtask. If all subtasks are busy, and the subtask limit has been reached, the initiate request is rejected by block 214.
If block 206 determines that the request is a termination request, then block 216 first checks to see if the subsystem was brought up in a shared mode. If so, block 218 rejects the request. If not, the termination indicator is set "on" and the external queue is flagged as "closed" in block 220.
Block 222 checks to see if there are more EWE's on the internal queue. If there are, processing returns to block 206 for processing. If not, processing returns to block 200.
If a termination request is received in block 200, the shutdown procedure is initiated. Block 224 turns on the termination flag in the task table for all subtasks. Any inactive subtasks are posted so that they will run and detect the termination flags, thereby ending themselves. When all subtasks have ended (Block 226), control returns to the INITIALIZATION routine.
The overall operation of the expert system subsystem is under control of a system operator. Through the ENVIRONMENT INITIALIZATION routine, identified as block 66 in FIG. 3, the operator can control configuration options such as:
1. Default high level qualifier for work datasets.
2. Maximum number of expert system subtasks.
3. Subsystem is shared or not.
4. Preference for maximum or minimum number of subtasks.
5. Subsystem identifier.
6. Time out monitor interval.
Other control parameters are described with reference to the INITIALIZATION flow chart in FIG. 6.
In step 300, the "PARM=" fields of the MVS job control language are customized by the system operator to select any or all of the configuration options identified above. Step 302 allocates storage for the global control block and for the task table. In step 304, the MVS subsystem control table (SSCT) chain is searched for the proper identifier.
If the SSCT identifier is not found, or is flagged as already "in use", an ABEND command is issued by block 306. The INITIALIZATION routine will notify MVS if the expert system subsystem is already "in use" to prevent it from being brought up a second time. If the identifier is found, and the expert system subsystem is not "in use", the SSCT is then flagged "in use".
Block 308 loads the cross memory services routine into the CSA. Additional utility subroutines are loaded into memory in Block 310. Block 312 attaches the operator control subtask (used by system operators to query and control the subsystem) and the timeout monitor subtask (prevents runaway consultations). Finally, the SSCT entry is flagged as "Available" in block 314, and the Task Manager is linked in block 316.
After all expert systems consultations are completed, control returns from the Task Manager in Block 318, and the operator control and timeout monitor subtasks are detached in block 320.
The Task Table 64 in FIG. 3 keeps track of all the expert systems consultations occurring within the expert systems region. FIG. 7 illustrates the types of information that the Task Table records for each consultation. The Task Table items and a brief description of these items are as follows:
______________________________________CONSULTATION ID A unique identifier for each consultation.KB NAME Name of knowledge base consulted.TASK STATUS Current status of consultation.CURRENT USER Identification of user.ADDRESS ID MVS address space identifier.PARM LIST POINTER Pointer to parameter list.STRING NUMBER A relative number assigned to each subtask.EVENT CONTROL Used to synchronize 2 tasks usingBLOCK MVS Wait/Post macros.TASK CONTROL Address of the subtask's TaskBLOCK ADDRESS Control Block.EWE ADDRESS Address of ES Work Element.LAST ACTIVITY TIME Elapsed time since last activity.ENVIRONMENT Batch, transaction, time sharing, etc.______________________________________
The function calls which control the communication between the application program and the expert systems region are divided into three categories.
______________________________________1. Control FunctionsINIT Establish communication with the expert system.SETADDR Setup communication area addresses.CONSULT Begin consultation.WAIT Wait for return from expert system.RETURN Return to expert system to continue processing.END End the consultation.TERM Terminate expert system.2. Data Access FunctionsGETPARAM Get expert system parameter name.GETSDATA Get system data.GETARG Get expert system arguments.SET Set expert system parameter values.3. Tracing FunctionsPUTERROR Put error message to trace file and reset values.PUTTRACE Put a message into the trace file.______________________________________
Referring to FIG. 8, a sample expert systems consultation flow will be described.
Step 1--Application program 70 running in an MVS subsystem initiates a consultation by executing a function call named INIT to establish communication with the expert system 72. Within the expert system region 72, required data areas are set up and the inference engine is invoked to perform a consultation. Meanwhile, application program 70 is waiting for a response from the expert system.
Step 2--The expert system gains control and begins the consultation. As the inferencing progresses, the knowledge base initiates a request for end user data via an ASK control text statement. This is performed when the expert system does not have enough information in order to complete its inferencing procedure.
Step 3--The application program then displays a screen to the end user requesting additional data.
Step 4--The application program then receives control, and passes the data required back to the expert system region.
Step 5--The expert system then performs its inferencing procedure until it either completes the consultation or desires further information. If further information is desired Steps 2- 4 will then be repeated.
Step 6--When the expert system consultation is completed, control is passed back to the application program which continues processing.
While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it is easily recognized by those skilled in the art that various changes in detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit, scope and teaching of the invention. Accordingly, the invention herein disclosed is to be considered merely as illustrative, and the invention is to be limited only as specified in the claims.
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Owner name: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, A COR
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November 5th, 2013 by Brendan Dunne
The Nike Air Foamposite One "Safari" is indeed an upcoming retail pair, one of the many sneakers on the horizon that will sport those dots that first hit on Tinker Hatfield's Safari creation back in the late 80s. Taking an alternate approach is this custom pair from Smooth Tip. The shoes don't end up as dedicated to that original black/orange palette, but do indeed sport the pattern which is this time cut off by a jagged set of lines towards the top half of the shoe. Get the full set of photos on this Foamposite pair after the break and then see Smooth Tip for more images from his portfolio.
Filed under: Customs Featured Nike Foamposite
Tags: Nike Air Foamposite One Nike Air Foamposite One Safari
Pages: 1 2


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Selim Yeniçeri05/07/201610 Principles for Success in LifeIt doesn't matter what age we live in; there are some universal principles that are always true and absolutely effective for everyone and anyone. Whatever we do in life, these principles always lead us to success. 1. What is your goal?...
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