Using Situation Lattices to Model and Reason about Context

Abstract. Much recent research has focused on using situations rather than individual pieces of context as a means to trigger adaptive system behaviour. While current research on situations emphasises their repre-sentation and composition, they do not provide an approach on how to organise and identify their occurrences efficiently. This paper describes how lattice theory can be utilised to organise situations, which reflects the internal structure of situations such as generalisation and dependence. We claim that situation lattices will prove beneficial in identifying situa-tions, and maintaining the consistency and integrity of situations. They will also help in resolving the uncertainty issues inherent in context and situations by working with Bayesian Networks.