Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product for automatically performing similarity search, classification, and other nearest-neighbor search-based applications using rank aggregation. The invention reduces the &egr;-approximate Euclidean nearest neighbor problem to the problem of finding the candidate with the best median rank in an election with n candidates and O(&egr;−2logn) voters.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product for customizing a graphical user interface in accordance with user rank-order preferences. A first embodiment presents a list of labeled items in either a vertical or horizontal orientation. A second, preferred embodiment includes a persistent pull-down list that presents items in a hierarchical form. In either embodiment, the user clicks and drags the items into a physical arrangement corresponding to the user's rank-order preferences of the items. The user can also dismiss items that are entirely unacceptable or completely uninteresting. A cut-off line can limit the number of presented items, so that limited display space is allocated only to relevant alternatives. The invention is of particular utility for electronic commerce applications.

Abstract: A system and method for aggregating rankings from a plurality of ranking sources to generate a maximally consistent ranking by minimizing a distance measure. The ranking sources may be search engines executing queries on web pages that have been deliberately modified to cause an incorrect estimate of their relevance. The invention supports combining partial rankings.