This paper presents a framework for the formulation, interpretation, a
nd comparison of neighborhood systems and rough set approximations usi
ng the more familiar notion of binary relations. A special class of ne
ighborhood systems, called 1-neighborhood systems, is introduced. Thre
e extensions of Pawlak approximation operators are analyzed. Propertie
s of neighborhood and approximation operators are studied, and their c
onnections are examined. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights res
erved.