73,655 research outputs found

    Socially-distributed cognition and cognitive architectures: towards an ACT-R-based cognitive social simulation capability

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    ACT-R is one of the most widely used cognitive architectures, and it has been used to model hundreds of phenomena described in the cognitive psychology literature. In spite of this, there are relatively few studies that have attempted to apply ACT-R to situations involving social interaction. This is an important omission since the social aspects of cognition have been a growing area of interest in the cognitive science community, and an understanding of the dynamics of collective cognition is of particular importance in many organizational settings. In order to support the computational modeling and simulation of socially-distributed cognitive processes, a simulation capability based on the ACT-R architecture is described. This capability features a number of extensions to the core ACT-R architecture that are intended to support social interaction and collaborative problem solving. The core features of a number of supporting applications and services are also described. These applications/services support the execution, monitoring and analysis of simulation experiments. Finally, a system designed to record human behavioral data in a collective problem-solving task is described. This system is being used to undertake a range of experiments with teams of human subjects, and it will ultimately support the development of high fidelity ACT-R cognitive models. Such models can be used in conjunction with the ACT-R simulation capability to test hypotheses concerning the interaction between cognitive, social and technological factors in tasks involving socially-distributed information processing

    Automated Negotiation for Provisioning Virtual Private Networks Using FIPA-Compliant Agents

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    This paper describes the design and implementation of negotiating agents for the task of provisioning virtual private networks. The agents and their interactions comply with the FIPA specification and they are implemented using the FIPA-OS agent framework. Particular attention is focused on the design and implementation of the negotiation algorithms

    Socially Responsible Investment in General Equilibrium

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    Socially responsible investment in analyzed in a general equilibrium context. This is important in order to understand the ultimate consequences of SRI on the decisions of economic agents. Building on models by Brock (1982) and Merton (1987), SRI is modelled as the choice to voluntarily give up investment in stocks and bonds issues by a firm producing an externality. The model is used to analyze the utility costs of SRI to the responsible investor and the impact on the price of the stock issued by the firm which is responsible for the externality. The results shed light on the factors which may magnify or reduce the impact of SRI, among which are crucial the wealth commended in relative terms by the responsible agents and the diversification possibilities offered by the firms which are excluded from the investment opportunity set. A set of firms targeted by SRI may be seriously affected by SRI only if the responsible investors command a large portion of overall wealth; moreover the same firms are more likely to be hit by SRI behavior if they do not represent important diversification instruments. Firms with unique characteristics from the point of view of overall diversification are less likely to be the target of SRI.General equilibrium, Redistributive effects, Public goods

    Multi-agent systems for power engineering applications - part 2 : Technologies, standards and tools for building multi-agent systems

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    This is the second part of a 2-part paper that has arisen from the work of the IEEE Power Engineering Society's Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) Working Group. Part 1 of the paper examined the potential value of MAS technology to the power industry, described fundamental concepts and approaches within the field of multi-agent systems that are appropriate to power engineering applications, and presented a comprehensive review of the power engineering applications for which MAS are being investigated. It also defined the technical issues which must be addressed in order to accelerate and facilitate the uptake of the technology within the power and energy sector. Part 2 of the paper explores the decisions inherent in engineering multi-agent systems for applications in the power and energy sector and offers guidance and recommendations on how MAS can be designed and implemented. Given the significant and growing interest in this field, it is imperative that the power engineering community considers the standards, tools, supporting technologies and design methodologies available to those wishing to implement a MAS solution for a power engineering problem. The paper describes the various options available and makes recommendations on best practice. It also describes the problem of interoperability between different multi-agent systems and proposes how this may be tackled

    Rámec pro posouzení kvalitativních hledisek informačních systémů

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    Záměrem předložené disertační práce je porozumět tomu, jak investoři v konkrétním společenském kontextu vnímají význam kvality informačních systémů. Ze studia literatury zabývající se přístupy a rámci hodnocení kvality informačních systémů vyplývá, že tato kvalita je obecně hodnocena z hlediska striktního přístupu. V této práci je ukázáno, že kvalitu informačního systému lze smysluplně pochopit použitím interpretačního paradigmatu a že kvalita informačního systému je definována společensky a ovlivňována kontextem tohoto systému. Studie byla zahájena průzkumem dvaceti libyjských organizací. Podrobnější data byla získána z případové studie dvou vybraných libyjských organizací působících ve veřejném sektoru. Při empirické analýze nashromážděných dat bylo využito rámce mnohočetné perspektivy, který zahrnuje hlediska teorie strukturalizace, pojem mnohočetných perspektiv a metodologii měkkých systémů. V práci se dospělo ke zjištění, že: a) kvalita informačních systémů je pojata šíře, než je tomu u tradiční definice kvality, b) mnohočetné perspektivy kvality informačních systémů jsou ovlivněny opakovanou interakcí mezi investorem a institucionálními vlastnostmi kontextu informačního systému a že c) rozdílné hodnoty v kulturním prostředí a vnějším kontextu ovlivňují rozsah působnosti investora a interakce v kontextu informačního systému. Ze závěru práce vyplývá, že společenská skladba mnohočetných perspektiv kvality informačního systému je ovlivněna strukturalizačními procesy mezi investory a vlastnostmi v kontextu informačního systému.This thesis is concerned with understanding how stakeholders in a particular cultural context construct the multiple meanings of ‘Information Systems Quality’ (IS Quality). A review of literature on approaches and frameworks for IS quality shows that the IS quality is generally examined through a ‘hard approach’. This study demonstrates that IS quality can be meaningfully understood through an interpretive paradigm, and that IS quality is socially constructed and influenced by the IS context. The study began with an exploratory survey of twenty Libyan organizations. Data were gathered through a case study of two public sector organizations in Libya. A Multiple Perspective Framework (MPF) that incorporates ideas from structuration theory, multiple perspectives concept, and soft systems methodology (SSM) was used to analyze the empirical work. The findings revealed that: (a) IS quality is a broader conception than the traditional quality definition, (b) the multiple perspectives of IS quality are influenced by repeated interaction between the stakeholder and institutional properties in the IS context, and (c) mediation of different values in the culture system and in the external context influence the extent of stakeholder agency and interaction in the IS context. The study concluded that the social construction of multiple perspectives of IS quality is influenced by the structuration processes between stakeholders and properties in the IS context.

    International Cooperation to Resolve International Pollution Problems

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    This article provides a non-technical overview of important results of the game theoretical literature on the formation and stability of international environmental agreements (IEAs) on transboundary pollution control. It starts out by sketching features of first and second best solutions to the problem of transboundary pollution. It then argues that most actual IEAs can be considered at best as third best solutions. Therefore, three questions are raised: 1) Why is there a difference between actual IEAs and first and second best solutions? 2) Which factors determine this difference? 3) Which measures can help to narrow this difference? This article attempts to answer these questions after giving an informal introduction to coalition models.International pollution, International environmental agreements, Treaty design, Coalition theory

    Designing behaviourally informed policies for land stewardship: A new paradigm

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    This paper argues the case for a new approach to the stewardship of land resources that uses behavioural science theory to support the design and application of policies that facilitate changes in behaviour by those who develop policy and the farmers who implement it. Current approaches have: focused on legally-based expert system; and have been devised by national and international bureaucracies with little or no knowledge of how land owners and managers are motivated, and how they think, behave and operate as stewards of their natural resources. A review of current approaches from the social scientific literature is provided, with a particular focus on principles from social psychology. This is followed by an examination of how these principles can be applied to influence behaviour related to land restoration and soil conservation. Examples of the problems with traditional approaches and the evolution of new approaches with full engagement of farmers as the delivery agents are provided from within the European Union, Iceland and Scotland. In the light of these examples and emerging thinking in other parts of the world, the paper sets out the basis for a new approach based on behavioural science theory and application, reinforcing the arguments already made in the literature for a social license for farming
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