Intelligent Personalized Trading Agents that facilitate Real-time Decisionmaking for Auctioneers and Buyers in the Dutch Flower Auctions

In this case the Dutch Flower Auctions (DFA) are discussed. The DFA are part of the supply network in which flowers are produced, stocked, and then sold through either mediation or auctioning. This case focuses on the buyers’ and auctioneers’ positions when flowers are traded through auctions. This case deals with the application of personalized agents as part of a Decision Support System which empowers the decision maker. The decision makers discussed in this case are the auctioneers who control the auction process, and the buyers who bid at the clock auction. Agents are defined as software programs that sense their environment and react autonomously on their environment in order to maximize a certain outcome. The agents, as envisioned in this case, are able to determine users’ preferences and based on these preferences agents can proactively make recommendations. Agents as applied to the auction process could empower the auctioneers in their decisions. Another type of agent could empower the buyer, since buyers have the high-pressure task of buying at the clock auction

An Evolutionary Framework for Determining Heterogeneous Strategies in Multi-Agent Marketplaces

We propose an evolutionary approach for studying the dynamics of interaction of strategic agents that interact in a marketplace. The goal is to learn which agent strategies are most suited by observing the distribution of the agents that survive in the market over extended periods of time. We present experimental results from a simulated market, where multiple service providers compete for customers using different deployment and pricing schemes. The results show that heterogeneous strategies evolve and co-exist in the same market.marketing;simulation;multi-agent systems;complexity economics;trading agents

Flexible Decision Control in an Autonomous Trading Agent

An autonomous trading agent is a complex piece of software that must operate in a competitive economic environment and support a research agenda. We describe the structure of decision processes in the MinneTAC trading agent, focusing on the use of evaluators – configurable, composable modules for data analysis and prediction that are chained together at runtime to support agent decision-making. Through a set of examples, we show how this structure supports sales and procurement decisions, and how those decision processes can be modified in useful ways by changing evaluator configurations. To put this work in context, we also report on results of an informal survey of agent design approaches among the competitors in the Trading Agent Competition for Supply Chain Management (TAC SCM).autonomous trading agent;decision processes

Key Issues in Expansion of End-User Mobile Communication in China

China’s mobile communications market presents unique market challenges. With a high subscriber growth rate but polarized and stratified consumer adoption trends, an investigation into the current status of this market will improve our understanding on how adoption of mobile communications is evolving. In this descriptive paper we analyze key issues relating to market characteristics of mobile communications with an objective to better comprehend the dynamics of this largest mobile subscribers market. Using secondary data we identify mobile industry and end-user related trends to infer our conclusions for the industry.China;mobile communication;mobile subscribers market

Business-to-consumer mobile agent-based internet commerce system (MAGICS)

We present MAGICS, a mobile agent-based system for supporting business-to-consumer electronic commerce (e-commerce) or mobile commerce (m-commerce) applications. To use the system, consumers first provide their buying requirements to a proxy/agent server through a Web browser or a wireless application protocol (WAP) terminal. Having obtained the requirements, mobile agents are generated to carry out tasks for the consumers including getting offers from merchants, evaluating offers, and even completing purchases. In the case of mobile commerce, consumers can generate a mobile agent to conduct a search and evaluation in the digital marketspace before making a purchase in the physical marketplace. To make it possible to choose an offer that best satisfies the consumer's requirement(s), we present a mathematical model for evaluating multiple decision factors. To test the basic functions of the mobile agent-based Internet commerce system (MAGICS), we have built a prototype system. To minimize the average cost of a product (including the cost of sending agents), we have also developed an analytical model that can determine how many agents should be sent to compare prices. Four different price distributions and some real price information are analyzed based on the model. The analysis provides valuable insights into the design of mobile agent-based shopping applications for m-commerce, in particular, and for e-commerce, in general. © 2007 IEEE

Negotiation Support Systems and Software Agents in E-Business Negotiations

Experiments with negotiation software agents’ in frictionless commerce indicate potential for destructive behaviour. Most of the agents are capable of engaging in auctions and have no ability to conduct complex business negotiations. Recognizing that people and software agents operate in different although overlapping spheres we propose an environment in which negotiation and decision support systems work together with software agents in electronic negotiations. Based on our experiences with the Inspire system we constructed an environment comprising software agents, and negotiation and decision support systems. One agent monitors the process, facilitates the use of Inspire, interprets the negotiators’ activities and provides methodological advice. The architecture of this environment is based on the separation of user support functions from the autonomous software activities, separation of the support for individuals from facilitation and mediation; and scalability and the ability to provide linkages with the existing software

Reinventing learning: a design-research odyssey

Design research is a broad, practice-based approach to investigating problems of education. This approach can catalyze the development of learning theory by fostering opportunities for transformational change in scholars’ interpretation of instructional interactions. Surveying a succession of design-research projects, I explain how challenges in understanding students’ behaviors promoted my own recapitulation of a historical evolution in educators’ conceptualizations of learning—Romantic, Progressivist, and Synthetic (Schön, Intuitive thinking? A metaphor underlying some ideas of educational reform (working paper 8). Division for Study and Research in Education, MIT, Cambridge, 1981)—and beyond to a proposed Systemic view. In reflection, I consider methodological adaptations to design-research practice that may enhance its contributions in accord with its objectives

Product Intelligence: Its Conceptualization, Measurement and Impact on Consumer Satisfaction

In the last decade, companies have developed a large number of intelligent products. Due to the use of information technology, these products, for example, are able to work autonomously, cooperate with other products, or adapt to changing circumstances. Although intelligent products appear an attractive category of products, they have received little attention in the literature. The present article provides a conceptualization of the new construct of product intelligence and describes the development procedure of a measure for the construct. In addition, the article sets up and empirically tests a conceptual framework in which product intelligence leads to consumer satisfaction through the innovation attributes of relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity. Managerial implications for new product development and marketing of intelligent products are considered and suggestions for further research provided.Adoption;Innovation;Intelligent products;New product development;Smart products

A Taxonomy of Workflow Management Systems for Grid Computing

With the advent of Grid and application technologies, scientists and engineers are building more and more complex applications to manage and process large data sets, and execute scientific experiments on distributed resources. Such application scenarios require means for composing and executing complex workflows. Therefore, many efforts have been made towards the development of workflow management systems for Grid computing. In this paper, we propose a taxonomy that characterizes and classifies various approaches for building and executing workflows on Grids. We also survey several representative Grid workflow systems developed by various projects world-wide to demonstrate the comprehensiveness of the taxonomy. The taxonomy not only highlights the design and engineering similarities and differences of state-of-the-art in Grid workflow systems, but also identifies the areas that need further research.Comment: 29 pages, 15 figure

The naturalistic turn in economics: implications for the theory of finance

Economics is increasingly adopting the methodological standards and procedures of the natural sciences. The paper analyzes this 'naturalistic turn' from the philosophical perspective on naturalism, and I discuss the implications for the field of finance. The theory of finance is an interesting case in point for the methodological issues, as it manifests a paradigmatic tension between the pure theory of finance and Behavioral Finance. I distinguish between three kinds of naturalism: mark I, the reduction of behavior on psychoneural phenomena, mark II, the transfer of patterns of causal explanations from the natural sciences to the social sciences, mark III, the enrichment of the ontology from observer-independent to observer-relative facts. Building an integrated naturalistic paradigm from these three ingredients, I show that naturalism in economics will only be completed by a simultaneous linguistic turn, with language being analyzed from the naturalistic viewpoint. I relate this proposition with recent results of research into finance, especially connecting Behavioral Finance with the sociology of finance. --Naturalism,causation in economics,neuroeconomics,behavioral finance,social ontology,sociology of finance