Software Agents for Electronic Marketplaces: Current and Future Research Directions

The premise of software agents to define the structural and operational models of the virtual marketplace of the future can account for the increased interest regarding their application in areas where they can add substantial value in terms of automation and functionality. At the heart of such a marketplace rests an ontology modeling the domain upon which a nucleus of agent-based services can be constructed. Negotiation services hold the dominant position in terms of the attention they have received in research. Complementary to them, but no less important, are the advising services representing support functionality that is required throughout the cycle of a deal; from the expressed intention of the two parties to eventual maturity and closure. In this paper we focus on research trends and on their possible future development for ontologies and the above service categories emphasizing on the role of software agents in this context. A review and analysis of past and present works helps to formulate sets of questions that future research will seek to address

Trust Formation and Relationship Building in Electronic Servicescapes

Trust is the key enabling factor for any relationship – commercial or not. Although it has been extensively studied in various disciplines, information systems researchers have focused on trust in the context of short-term transactional exchanges failing thus to address its evolutionary nature and associated complexities. Addressing this limitation we present a model and define a set of testable hypotheses. A measurement instrument is also developed for the empirical testing of the model and the subsequent theory development. This is deemed essential in order to inform the design of electronic servicescapes that can truly enable and support lasting relationships in virtual commercial settings

The Impact of Interorganizational Information Systems on the Flexibility of Organizations

A number of studies have shown that although the utilization of interorganizational information systems (IOS) can contribute significantly to organizational flexibility, they do not provide equal benefits to all trading partners. Also, the emergence of new technologies and the increasing use of the Internet in business-to-business commerce challenge the viability of the traditional “hub and spoke” systems and affect the flexibility of the participating organizations. By conducting this study we will try to understand not only how the use of IOS affects flexibility, but also, how organizational, behavioral and political issues influence the application and use of technology. This paper argues that a better understanding of the aforementioned issues, could result by re-examining the notion of flexibility both from a business network and individual firm perspective, and proposes a research approach

The aristotle approach to open hypermedia

Large-scale distributed hypermedia systems comprise a generation of powerful tools to meet the demands of the new information globalization era. The most promising of such systems have characteristics that allow for the easy adaptation both to an, actually, unpredictable technological evolution and to the constantly evolving information needs of users. Such systems are generally known as Open Hypermedia Systems (OHS). Recently, research effort has been focused on the formulation of a solid set of OHS standards (i.e., protocols, reference models and architectures) that would stem from a common understanding and thus, direct future implementations.Keywords: Open Hypermedia Systems, Hypermedia Modeling, Distributed Information System

Component-based architectures for computer vision systems

Research performed in the field of computer vision has steadily ignored recent advances in programming tools and techniques, relying on well-established traditional methods, such as Unix-based C programming. While this can certainly be effective, modern computer vision research may benefit significantly from the new tools and technologies that have recently become available. This paper addresses the use of component-based programming methods and proposes a model loosely based on 3-tier architectures, for the creation of robust and reusable computer vision systems, in order to improve code modularity and reusability, and to ultimately foster cooperation between researchers in the field. It outlines a basic design strategy and exposes the benefits and drawbacks of migrating to component-based code. The model is used to build a component-driven framework that is designed based on the principles of 3-tier applications. Its purpose is to aid in the creation and maintenance of stable, dependable testing and development environments. We have listed the main advantages of this approach and have concluded that although the learning curve for the programming skills required is steep, the benefits to be reaped are worth it