System for evaluating relevance between persons

• US 7,792,761 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2006
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Watanabe, Hideo, Yoshida, Issei, Tsuboi, Yuta, Murakami, Akiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Weiss; John G
• Assistant Examiner(s): KIRLIN, AMANDA C.
• Application Number:
  US11/552,205
• Publication Number:
  US 20070100686A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,414 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/319
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/30 of unstructured textual data document management systems G06F16/93
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/253 Grammatical analysis; Style critique
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

Embodiments herein properly determine relevance between persons. Embodiments herein provide a system for evaluating relevance between persons, including relevance detecting means for detecting directed relevance of a person as a target to another person based on a text in which evaluations or feelings of the other person by another person is expressed; storing means for storing the detected relevance; evaluating means for evaluating, with respect to a set of a first person and second person to be evaluated, relevance between the first person and the second person based on a plurality of relevances including the stored relevances and reaching the second person from the first person via at least one further person; and outputting means for outputting the relevance evaluated.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for evaluating relevances between persons, the apparatus comprising:

a memory that stores inputted names of a first person and a third person in a text database;

and a processor configured to;

detect a plurality of relevances between said first person and two or more second persons, and between said two or more second persons and said third person, in said text database,

wherein said third person represents a target person, who is to be introduced to said first person by one of said two or more second persons,

wherein said first person and said third person are detected by their names, which are input to said computer, and said two or more second persons are detected as names in said text database,

wherein said plurality of relevances comprises at least one directed relevance and at least one undirected relevance between said third person and said two or more second persons,

wherein said at least one directed relevance comprises;

one of a positive and a negative directed relevance corresponding to positive and negative feelings, respectively, as expressed in said text database; and

a weight of said one of a positive and negative directed relevance is determined by at least one of a value based on a frequency of occurrence of said one of a positive and a negative feelings as expressed in said text database, and a value based on a period of time from said one of a positive and a negative feelings as expressed in said text database to a current time; and

wherein said at least one undirected relevance comprises;

one of a positive and a negative undirected relevance corresponding to one of a positive and a negative acting together, respectively, as expressed in said text database; and

a weight of said one of a positive and negative undirected relevance is determined by at least one of a value based on a frequency of occurrence of said acting together as expressed in said text database, and a value based on a period of time from said acting together as expressed in said text database to a current time;

evaluate each of said plurality of relevances between said first person and said two or more second persons, and between said two or more second persons and said third person, to determine a maximal sum of weights comprising relevances linking said first person to one of said two or more second persons, and linking said one of said two or more persons to said third person; and

output said name of said second person corresponding to said one of said two or more second persons, as an introducer of said first person to said third person.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

positive feelings of said positive directed relevance include liking, trusting, respecting, appreciating, obliged to, and negative feelings of said negative directed relevance include competing with.

3. A computer-implemented method for evaluating relevances between persons, said method comprising:

detecting, by a computer, a plurality of relevances between a first person and two or more second persons, and between said two or more second persons and a third person, in a text database,

wherein said third person represents a target person, who is to be introduced to said first person by one of said two or more second persons,

wherein said first person and said third person are detected by their names, which are input to said computer, and said two or more second persons are detected as names in said text database,

wherein said plurality of relevances comprises at least one directed relevance and at least one undirected relevance between said third person and said two or more second persons,

wherein said at least one directed relevance comprises;

one of a positive and a negative directed relevance corresponding to positive and negative feelings, respectively, as expressed in said text database; and

a weight of said one of a positive and negative directed relevance is determined by at least one of a value based on a frequency of occurrence of said one of a positive and a negative feelings as expressed in said text database, and a value based on a period of time from said one of a positive and a negative feelings as expressed in said text database to a current time; and

wherein said at least one undirected relevance comprises;

one of a positive and a negative undirected relevance corresponding to one of a positive and a negative undirected relevance acting together, respectively, as expressed in said text database; and

a weight of said one of a positive and negative undirected relevance is determined by at least one of a value based on a frequency of occurrence of said acting together as expressed in said text database, and a value based on a period of time from said acting together as expressed in said text database to a current time;

evaluating, by said computer, each of said plurality of relevances between said first person and said two or more second persons, and between said two or more second persons and said third person, to determine a maximal sum of weights comprising relevances linking said first person to one of said two or more second persons, and linking said one of said two or more persons to said third person; and

outputting, by said computer, said name of said second person corresponding to said one of said two or more second persons, as an introducer of said first person to said third person.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein

positive feelings of said positive directed relevance include liking, trusting, respecting, appreciating, obliged to, and negative feelings of said negative directed relevance include competing with.

5. A computer program product readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer to perform a method for evaluating relevances between persons, said method comprising:

detecting a plurality of relevances between a first person and two or more second persons, and between said two or more second persons and a third person, in a text database,

wherein said third person represents a target person, who is to be introduced to said first person by one of said two or more second persons,

wherein said first person and said third person are detected by their names, which are input to said computer, and said two or more second persons are detected as names in said text database,

wherein said plurality of relevances comprises at least one directed relevance and at least one undirected relevance between said third person and said two or more second persons,

wherein said at least one directed relevance comprises;

one of a positive and a negative directed relevance corresponding to positive and negative feelings, respectively, as expressed in said text database; and

a weight of said one of a positive and negative directed relevance is determined by at least one of a value based on a frequency of occurrence of said one of a positive and a negative feelings as expressed in said text database, and a value based on a period of time from said one of a positive and a negative feelings as expressed in said text database to a current time; and

wherein said at least one undirected relevance comprises;

one of a positive and a negative undirected relevance corresponding to one of a positive and a negative acting together, respectively, as expressed in said text database; and

a weight of said one of a positive and negative undirected relevance is determined by at least one of a value based on a frequency of occurrence of said acting together as expressed in said text database, and a value based on a period of time from said acting together as expressed in said text database to a current time;

evaluating each of said plurality of relevances between said first person and said two or more second persons, and between said two or more second persons and said third person, to determine a maximal sum of weights comprising relevances linking said first person to one of said two or more second persons, and linking said one of said two or more persons to said third person; and

outputting said name of said second person corresponding to said one of said two or more second persons, as an introducer of said first person to said third person.

6. The computer program product according to claim 5, wherein positive feelings of said positive directed relevance include liking, trusting, respecting, appreciating, obliged to, and negative feelings of said negative directed relevance include competing with.