Case-Based Argumentation Framework. Strategies

In agent societies, agents perform complex tasks that require different levels of intelligence and give rise to interactions among them. From these interactions, conflicts of opinion can arise, specially when MAS become adaptive and open with heterogeneous agents dynamically entering in or leaving the system. Therefore, software agents willing to participate in this type of systems will require to include extra capabilities to explicitly represent and generate agreements on top of the simpler ability to interact. In addition, agents can take advantage of previous argumentation experiences to follow dialogue strategies and easily persuade other agents to accept their opinions. Our insight is that CBR can be very useful to manage argumentation in open MAS and devise argumentation strategies based on previous argumentation experiences. To demonstrate the foundations of this suggestion, this report presents the work that we have done to develop case-based argumentation strategies in agent societies. Thus, we propose a case-based argumentation framework for agent societies and define heuristic dialogue strategies based on it. The framework has been implemented and evaluated in a real customer support application.Heras Barberá, SM.; Botti Navarro, VJ.; Julian Inglada, VJ. (2011). Case-Based Argumentation Framework. Strategies. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/1109

Case-Based strategies for argumentation dialogues in agent societies

[EN] In multi-agent systems, agents perform complex tasks that require different levels of intelligence and give rise to interactions among them. From these interactions, conflicts of opinion can arise, especially when these systems become open, with heterogeneous agents dynamically entering or leaving the system. Therefore, agents willing to participate in this type of system will be required to include extra capabilities to explicitly represent and generate agreements on top of the simpler ability to interact. Furthermore, agents in multiagent systems can form societies, which impose social dependencies on them. These dependencies have a decisive influence in the way agents interact and reach agreements. Argumentation provides a natural means of dealing with conflicts of interest and opinion. Agents can reach agreements by engaging in argumentation dialogues with their opponents in a discussion. In addition, agents can take advantage of previous argumentation experiences to follow dialogue strategies and persuade other agents to accept their opinions. Our insight is that case-based reasoning can be very useful to manage argumentation in open multi-agent systems and devise dialogue strategies based on previous argumentation experiences. To demonstrate the foundations of this suggestion, this paper presents the work that we have done to develop case-based dialogue strategies in agent societies. Thus, we propose a case-based argumentation framework for agent societies and define heuristic dialogue strategies based on it. The framework has been implemented and evaluated in a real customer support application.This work is supported by the Spanish Government Grants [CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 CSD2007-00022, and TIN2012-36586-C03-01] and by the GVA project [PROMETEO 2008/051].Heras Barberá, SM.; Jordan Prunera, JM.; Botti, V.; Julian Inglada, VJ. (2013). Case-Based strategies for argumentation dialogues in agent societies. Information Sciences. 223:1-30. doi:10.1016/j.ins.2012.10.007S13022

AN EXPERIMENT OF AUDIENCE AWARENESS EFFECTS ON COLLEGE STUDENTS’ ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

This experimental study explored the effects of different levels (imagined audience vs. interactive audience) and timing of audience interaction (during planning vs. revision) on undergraduate students’ self-efficacy and quality of argumentative writing. A total of 138 students from four undergraduate educational psychology courses participated in this study. Three conditions were compared: imagined audience, interactive audience during planning and interactive audience during revision. Results showed that students interacting with audience during revision produced significantly more argumentative elements (below level 1 reasons of opposing view) and had higher self-efficacy for audience awareness than the other two conditions. Students’ cognitive load and audience-related strategies utilized during the writing task were also explored. Findings generally showed that audience-related strategies and distribution of cognitive resources during different stages of writing are likely to be associated with differences in writing performance. Advisor: Roger Brunin

AN EXPERIMENT OF AUDIENCE AWARENESS EFFECTS ON COLLEGE STUDENTS’ ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

This experimental study explored the effects of different levels (imagined audience vs. interactive audience) and timing of audience interaction (during planning vs. revision) on undergraduate students’ self-efficacy and quality of argumentative writing. A total of 138 students from four undergraduate educational psychology courses participated in this study. Three conditions were compared: imagined audience, interactive audience during planning and interactive audience during revision. Results showed that students interacting with audience during revision produced significantly more argumentative elements (below level 1 reasons of opposing view) and had higher self-efficacy for audience awareness than the other two conditions. Students’ cognitive load and audience-related strategies utilized during the writing task were also explored. Findings generally showed that audience-related strategies and distribution of cognitive resources during different stages of writing are likely to be associated with differences in writing performance. Advisor: Roger Brunin

Chapter Improving Argumentative Skills in Education: Three Online Discussion Tools

How can we foster sound argumentation and valid criticism in education? How to help students to avoid fallacies, resist polarization, respond wisely to misleading information, and how to make them produce arguments that are genuinely responsive to the position of those they address? I sketch a dialogical account of the nature of sound argument and criticism. Then, I discuss two types of argumentative dialogue: persuasion dialogue and negotiation dialogue. Finally, I explain how software applications provide an opportunity for students to analyse, evaluate and produce arguments, and to critically think about the design of discussion procedures. I also discuss a third software application that enables teachers and advanced students to themselves design online discussion procedures, so as to experiment with them and to advance their understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of various design choices. This paper support the idea that students’ argumentative skills will be enhanced by letting them engage in the online discussion procedures presented

Information for decision-making is ubiquitous: Revisiting the reverse engineering mode in breadmaking technology

International audienceThis paper deals with the process of decision making in the reverse engineering mode and highlights the need for polyvalent information. Three aspects are considered. 1) Reverse engineering implies a preliminary assumption: having defined a desired outcome of the decision process. Defining goals on the possible outcomes is a complex, multi-actor process based on ubiquitous information. Once identified at best, several alternative scenarios may lead to the desired outcome. The first issue consists in evaluating these alternative scenarios. 2) While taking into consideration the positive consequences that the different alternatives will generate, the decision process has to allow for possible negative impacts, which are not explicitly expressed in the defined goals. We thus consider the reverse engineering process has to be bipolar and take rejections into account. 3) Finally, the simultaneous achievement (respectively, avoidance) of several goals (respectively, rejections) is not always possible and depends, in particular, on whether the actions leading to each of these goals (respectively avoiding these rejections) are compatible or not. We thus seek the " best " compatible set of actions and propose to define it as optimizing the bipolar preferences expressed on the outcomes. The approach is both graphical and logical and is focused on a case study in breadmaking technology

Talking to the Empowered Consumer Dealing with the Shift of Power

The concept of the empowered consumer cannot be considered as a field of exact scientific research yet. Nevertheless, it has become part of scholars’ interest and gains more and more importance in the research of organisational relationships with customers. It is suggested that two influencing criteria are especially at the forefront: The emergence of the Internet, which effected that barriers to collect and to disseminate information across boundaries were decisively reduced. As a consequence consumers could organise globally and collect and exchange information and experiences about organisations and their products. Furthermore, flexible interactivity between companies and consumers, but particularly from consumers to consumers enable direct interaction changing many previously established rules of doing business. Due to these new opportunities new business models developed and the proposition is that intangible values such as reputation gained even more importance and influence tangible outcomes. Suggestions are that 1.), this concept links communication, corporate behaviour and legitimacy of activities influencing reputation as a driver of value. 2.), reputation as a corporate asset can be managed but it is beyond the pure control of an organisation. 3.), reputation is part of public perception, which an organisation has to build, maintain and expand depending on communicative abilities and willingness to accept consumers as a centre of power. The following discussion will present Grunig et al.’s communication model explaining changed organisational challenges. It is put forward as a framework for marketing for times in which online opportunities added to the earlier b2b and b2c models c2c and P2P considerations and architectures. The annual studies of the market research institute puls undertaking regular representative research among German consumers since November 2005 will present evidence for the relationship of improved prices, which may be achieved, and the perception a firm possesses. This paper deals mostly with German examples and data, but the hypothesis is that a) the general situation in other Western countries is alike, but needs b) specific additional research, since cultural differences are expected to have a considerable influence, especially when criteria such as individualist and collectivist organisation of society and high and low context communication styles are involved. Hence, the results of the same study in different countries are therefore expected to present some variation. Additionally, the Cluetrain Manifesto challenges corporate behaviour of those companies still believing to have the ability to control information disseminated by and written about it. Examples provided will support the hypothesis that powerful consumers may have significant impact on organisational behaviour, decision-making and outcomes. Keywords: Empowered Consumer Concept, Symmetric Two-way communication, Reputation, c2c, P2

Conjoint utilization of structured and unstructured information for planning interleaving deliberation in supply chains

Effective business planning requires seamless access and intelligent analysis of information in its totality to allow the business planner to gain enhanced critical business insights for decision support. Current business planning tools provide insights from structured business data (i.e. sales forecasts, customers and products data, inventory details) only and fail to take into account unstructured complementary information residing in contracts, reports, user\u27s comments, emails etc. In this article, a planning support system is designed and developed that empower business planners to develop and revise business plans utilizing both structured data and unstructured information conjointly. This planning system activity model comprises of two steps. Firstly, a business planner develops a candidate plan using planning template. Secondly, the candidate plan is put forward to collaborating partners for its revision interleaving deliberation. Planning interleaving deliberation activity in the proposed framework enables collaborating planners to challenge both a decision and the thinking that underpins the decision in the candidate plan. The planning system is modeled using situation calculus and is validated through a prototype development