24 research outputs found
FATMAS: a methodology to design fault-tolerant multi-agent systems
Un systĂšme multi-agent (SMA) est un systĂšme dans lequel plusieurs agents opĂšrent et interagissent. Chaque agent a la responsabilitĂ© dâexĂ©cuter des tĂąches. Cependant, chaque agent, pour diverses raisons, peut rencontrer des problĂšmes pendant lâexĂ©cution de ses tĂąches ; ce qui peut induire un disfonctionnement du SMA. Cependant, le SMA doit ĂȘtre en mesure de dĂ©tecter les sources de problĂšms (dâerreurs) afin de les contrĂŽler et ainsi continuer son exĂ©cution correctement. Un tel SMA est appelĂ© un SMA tolĂ©rant aux fautes. Il existe deux types de sources dâerreurs pour un agent : les erreurs causĂ©es par son environnment et les erreurs dĂ»es Ă sa programmation. Dans la littĂ©rature, il existe plusieurs techniques qui traitent des erreurs de programmation au niveau des agents. Cependant, ces techniques ne traitent pas des erreurs causĂ©es par lâenvironnement de lâagent. Tout dâabord, nous distinguons entre lâenvironnment dâun agent et lâenvironnement du SMA. Lâenvironnement dâun agent reprĂ©sente toutes les composantes matĂ©rielles ou logicielles que lâagent ne peut contrĂŽler mais avec lesquelles il interagit. Cependant, lâenvironnment du SMA reprĂ©sente toutes les composantes que le systĂšme ne contrĂŽle pas mais avec lesquelles il interagit. Ainsi, le SMA peut contrĂŽler certaines des composantes avec lesquelles un agent interagit. Ainsi, une composante peut appartenir Ă lâenvironnement dâun agent et ne pas appartenir Ă lâenvironnement du systĂšme. Dans ce travail, nous prĂ©sentons une mĂ©thodologie de conception de SMA tolĂ©rants aux fautes, nommĂ©e FATMAS, qui permet au concepteur du SMA de dĂ©tecter et de corriger, si possible, les erreurs causĂ©es par les environnements des agents. Cette mĂ©thodologie permettra ainsi de dĂ©limiter la frontiĂšre du SMA de son environnement avec lequel il interagit. La frontiĂšre du SMA est dĂ©terminĂ©e par les diffĂ©rentes composantes (matĂ©rielles ou logicielles) que le systĂšme contrĂŽle. Ainsi, le SMA, Ă lâintĂ©rieur de sa frontiĂšre, peut corriger les erreurs provenant de ses composantes. Cependant, le SMA nâa aucun contrĂŽle sur toutes les composantes opĂ©rant dans son environnement. La mĂ©thodologie, que nous proposons, doit couvrir les trois premiĂšres phases dâun dĂ©veloppement logiciel qui sont lâanalyse, la conception et lâimplĂ©mentation tout en intĂ©grant, dans son processus de dĂ©veloppement, une technique permettant au concepteur du systĂšme de dĂ©limiter la frontiĂšre du SMA et ainsi dĂ©tecter les sources dâerreurs et les contrĂŽler afin que le systĂšme multi-agent soit tolĂ©rant aux fautes (SMATF). Cependant, les mĂ©thodologies de conception de SMA, rĂ©fĂ©rencĂ©es dans la littĂ©rature, nâintĂšgrent pas une telle technique. FATMAS offre au concepteur du SMATF quatre modĂšles pour dĂ©crire et dĂ©velopper le SMA ainsi quâune technique de rĂ©organisation du systĂšme qui lui permet de dĂ©tecter et de contrĂŽler ses sources dâerreurs, et ainsi dĂ©finir la frontiĂšre du SMA. Chaque modĂšle est associĂ© Ă un micro processus qui guide le concepteur lors du dĂ©veloppement du modĂšle. FATMAS offre aussi un macro-processus, qui dĂ©finit le cycle de dĂ©veloppement de la mĂ©thodologie. FATMAS se base sur un dĂ©veloppement itĂ©ratif pour identifier et dĂ©terminer les tĂąches Ă ajouter au systĂšme afin de contrĂŽler des sources dâerreurs. Ă chaque itĂ©ration, le concepteur Ă©value, selon une fonction de coĂ»t/bĂ©nĂ©fice sâil est opportun dâajouter de nouvelles tĂąches de contrĂŽle au systĂšme. Le premier modĂšle est le modĂšle de tĂąches-environnement. Il est dĂ©veloppĂ© lors de la phase dâanalyse. Il identifie les diffĂ©rentes tĂąches que les agents doivent exĂ©cuter, leurs prĂ©conditions et leurs ressources. Ce modĂšle permet dâidentifier diffĂ©rentes sources de problĂšmes qui peuvent causer un disfonctionnement du systĂšme. Le deuxiĂšme modĂšle est le modĂšle dâagents. Il est dĂ©veloppĂ© lors de la phase de conception. Il dĂ©crit les agents, leurs relations, et spĂ©cifie pour chaque agent les ressources auxquelles il a le droit dâaccĂ©der. Chaque agent exĂ©cutera un ensemble de tĂąches identifiĂ©es dans le modĂšle de tĂąches-environnement. Le troisiĂšme modĂšle est le modĂšle dâinteraction dâagents. Il est dĂ©veloppĂ© lors de la phase de conception. Il dĂ©crit les Ă©changes de messages entre les agents. Le quatriĂšme modĂšle est le modĂšle dâimplĂ©mentation. Il est dĂ©veloppĂ© lors de la phase dâimplĂ©mentation. Il dĂ©crit lâinfrastructure matĂ©rielle sur laquelle le SMA va opĂ©rer ainsi que lâenvironnement de dĂ©veloppement du SMA. La mĂ©thodologie inclut aussi une technique de rĂ©organisation. Cette technique permet de dĂ©limiter la frontiĂšre du SMA et contrĂŽler, si possible, ses sources dâerreurs. Cette technique doit intĂ©grer trois techniques nĂ©cessaires Ă la conception dâun systĂšme tolĂ©rant aux fautes : une technique de prĂ©vention dâerreurs, une technique de recouvrement dâerreurs, et une technique de tolĂ©rance aux fautes. La technique de prĂ©vention dâerreurs permet de dĂ©limiter la frontiĂšre du SMA. La technique de recouvrement dâerreurs permet de proposer une architecture du SMA pour dĂ©tecter les erreurs. La technique de tolĂ©rance aux fautes permet de dĂ©finir une procĂ©dure de rĂ©plication dâagents et de tĂąches dans le SMA pour que le SMA soit tolĂ©rant aux fautes. Cette derniĂšre technique, Ă lâinverse des techniques de tolĂ©rance aux fautes existantes, rĂ©plique les tĂąches et les agents et non seulement les agents. Elle permet ainsi de rĂ©duire la complexitĂ© du systĂšme en diminuant le nombre dâagents Ă rĂ©pliquer. RĂ©sumĂ© iv De mĂȘme, un agent peut ne pas ĂȘtre en erreur mais la composante matĂ©rielle sur laquelle il est exĂ©cutĂ© peut ne plus ĂȘtre fonctionnelle. Ce qui constitue une source dâerreurs pour le SMA. Il faudrait alors que le SMA continue Ă sâexĂ©cuter correctement malgrĂš le disfonctionnement dâune composante. FATMAS fournit alors un support au concepteur du systĂšme pour tenir compte de ce type dâerreurs soit en contrĂŽlant les composantes matĂ©rielles, soit en proposant une distribution possible des agents sur les composantes matĂ©rielles disponibles pour que le disfonctionnement dâune composante matĂ©rielle nâaffecte pas le fonctionnement du SMA. FATMAS permet dâidentifier des sources dâerreurs lors de la phase de conception du systĂšme. Cependant, elle ne traite pas des sources dâerreurs de programmation. Ainsi, la technique de rĂ©organization proposĂ©e dans ce travail sera validĂ©e par rapport aux sources dâerreurs identifiĂ©es lors de la phase de conception et provenant de la frontiĂšre du SMA. Nous dĂ©montrerons formellement que, si une erreur provient dâune composante que le SMA contrĂŽle, le SMA devrait ĂȘtre opĂ©rationnel. Cependant, FATMAS ne certifie pas que le futur systĂšme sera toujours opĂ©rationnel car elle ne traĂźte pas des erreurs de programmation ou des erreurs causĂ©es par son environnement.A multi-agent system (MAS) consists of several agents interacting together. In a MAS, each agent performs several tasks. However, each agent is prone to individual failures so that it can no longer perform its tasks. This can lead the MAS to a failure. Ideally, the MAS should be able to identify the possible sources of failures and try to overcome them in order to continue operating correctly ; we say that it should be fault-tolerant. There are two kinds of sources of failures to an agent : errors originating from the environment with which the agents interacts, and programming exceptions. There are several works on fault-tolerant systems which deals with programming exceptions. However, these techniques does not allow the MAS to identify errors originating from an agentâs environment. In this thesis, we propose a design methodology, called FATMAS, which allows a MAS designer to identify errors originating from agentsâ environments. Doing so, the designer can determine the sources of failures it could be able to control and those it could not. Hence, it can determine the errors it can prevent and those it cannot. Consequently, this allows the designer to determine the systemâs boundary from its environment. The system boundary is the area within which the decision-taking process of the MAS has power to make things happen, or prevent them from happening.We distinguish between the systemâs environment and an agentâs environment. An agentâs environment is characterized by the components (hardware or software) that the agent does not control. However, the system may control some of the agentâs environment components. Consequently, some of the agentâs environment components may not be a part of the systemâs environment. The development of a fault-tolerant MAS (FTMAS) requires the use of a methodology to design FTMAS and of a reorganization technique that will allow the MAS designer to identify and control, if possible, different sources of system failure. However, current MAS design methodologies do not integrate such a technique. FATMAS provides four models used to design and implement the target system and a reorganization technique to assist the designer in identifying and controlling different sources of systemâs failures. FATMAS also provides a macro process which covers the entire life cycle of the system development as well as several micro processes that guide the designer when developing each model. The macro-process is based on an iterative approach based on a cost/benefit evaluation to help the designer to decide whether to go from one iteration to another. The methodology has three phases : analysis, design, and implementation. The analysis phase develops the task-environment model. This model identifies the different tasks the agents will perform, their resources, and their preconditions. It identifies several possible sources of system failures. The design phase develops the agent model and the agent interaction model. The agent model describes the agents and their resources. Each agent performs several tasks identified in the task-environment model. The agent interaction model describes the messages exchange between agents. The implementation phase develops the implementation model, and allows an automatic code generation of Java agents. The implementation model describes the infrastructure upon which the MAS will operate and the development environment to be used when developing the MAS. The reorganization technique includes three techniques required to design a fault-tolerant system : a fault-prevention technique, a fault-recovery technique, and a fault-tolerance technique. The fault-prevention technique assists the designer in delimiting the systemâs boundary. The fault-recovery technique proposes a MAS architecture allowing it to detect failures. The fault-tolerance technique is based on agent and task redundancy. Contrary to existing fault-tolerance techniques, this technique replicates tasks and agents and not only agents. Thus, it minimizes the system complexity by minimizing the number of agents operating in the system. Furthermore, FATMAS helps the designer to deal with possible physical component failures, on which the MAS will operate. It proposes a way to either control these components or to distribute the agents on these components in such a way that if a component is in failure, then the MAS could continue operating properly. The FATMAS methodology presented in this dissertation assists a designer, in its development process, to build fault-tolerant systems. It has the following main contributions : 1. it allows to identify different sources of system failure ; 2. it proposes to introduce new tasks in a MAS to control the identified sources of failures ; 3. it proposes a mechanism which automatically determines which tasks (agents) should be replicated and in which other agents ; 4. it reduces the system complexity by minimizing the replication of agents ; Abstract vii 5. it proposes a MAS reorganization technique which is embedded within the designed MAS and assists the designer to determine the systemâs boundary. It proposes a MAS architecture to detect and recover from failures originating from the system boundary. Moreover, it proposes a way to distribute agents on the physical components so that the MAS could continue operating properly in case of a component failure. This could make the MAS more robust to fault prone environments. FATMAS alows to determine different sources of failures of a MAS. The MAS controls the sources of failures situated in its boundary. It does not control the sources of failures situated in its environments. Consequently, the reorganization technique proposed in this dissertation will be proven valid only in the case where the sources of failures are controlled by the MAS. However, it cannot be proven that the future system is fault-tolerant since faults originating from the environment or from coding are not dealt with
Winning the SDG battle in cities : how an integrated information ecosystem can contribute to the achievement of the 2030 sustainable development goals
In 2015, the United Nations adopted an ambitious development agenda composed of 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are to be reached by 2030. Beyond SDG 11 concerning the development of sustainable cities, many of the SDGs target activities falling within the responsibility of local governments. Thus, cities will play a leading role in the achievement of these goals, and we argue that the information systems (IS) community must be an active partner in these efforts. This paper aims to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs by developing a conceptual model to explain the role of IS in building smart sustainable cities and providing a framework of action for IS researchers and city managers. To this end, we conduct grounded theory studies of two green IS used by an internationally recognized smart city to manage water quality and green space. Based on these findings, we articulate a model explaining how an integrated information ecosystem enables the interactions between three interrelated spheres â administrative, political and sustainability â to support the development of smart sustainable cities. Moving from theory to practice, we use two realâworld scenarios to demonstrate the applicability of the model. Finally, we define an action framework outlining key actions for cities and suggest corresponding questions for future research. Beyond a simple callâtoâaction, this work provides a muchâneeded foundation for future research and practice leading to a sustainable future for all
EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE OF EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS ON IT GOVERNANCE: PERCEPTIONS OF IT EXECUTIVES
Information Technology (IT) governance decisions usually involve several stakeholders with divergent claims. Past research on IT governance focused on internal stakeholders\u27 responsibilities and roles in IT governance decisions. However, we donât know much about external stakeholdersâ place in IT governance. Based on stakeholder theory, a qualitative research approach is adopted to determine the importance of different external stakeholders in IT governance by examining how they are prioritized in this context. Results suggested that external stakeholdersâ prioritization in IT governance context as perceived by IT executives vary according to IT decision domains. Moreover external stakeholdersâ influence over IT decision domains may be direct or indirect depending on their active role in IT activities or on their relationship with the organization as a whole. Implications of results are discussed
Online content moderation and the challenge of conceptualizing cyberbullying
Cyberbullying has become a serious threat to the safety of online social communities. With the increasing growth of cyberbullying incidents, online communities rely on content moderation systems to mitigate this problem. Despite the important role of human moderators to maintain the online interactions healthy, there is a notable absence of research investigating cyberbullying within this profession. To address this gap, this study aims to comprehend moderatorsâ understanding of cyberbullying in order to develop better and more effective intervention strategies. Using a focus group method, we explored moderatorsâ opinions about the definitions given to cyberbullying in the scientific literature. The findings of this study highlight the importance of a messageâs context to detect cyberbullying rather than only considering its content. Additionally, this study indicates the role of online space factors that facilitate the occurrence of cyberbullying and the importance of clear guidelines to combat cyberbullying
An Action Design Research Study on Responsible Innovation Teaching and Training for Information Systems Students
While information systems organizations recognize the importance of incorporating responsible innovation into their activities, they often face difficulty implementing this practice because employees lack the required knowledge and skills, particularly the capacity for reflexivity and reflection. This paper aims to accelerate responsible innovation teaching and training for information systems students to expedite the process of positive change for sustainability. Using the action design research methodology and the responsible innovation lens, we developed a workshop enabling information systems students to form measurable reflection skills. The workshop evaluation suggests that learning took place and that students are willing to adopt responsible innovation in their future workplaces. A set of design guidelines is proposed to guide further training programs to enhance studentsâ ability to address complex challenges responsibly. This paper answers the call for more impactful information systems research to address societal and environmental challenges and enriches the literature on sustainable social development and business practices
Exploratory study of Responsible Innovation: Toward a Holistic Approach to Sustainability
The Information Systems (IS) community has been called to address the important challenge of sustainable development, but progress continues to be slow. Elsewhere, responsible innovation (RI) has emerged as a framework to support the integration of sustainability considerations into the innovation process. The aim of this paper is to explore how organizations operationalize the main RI principles â anticipation, inclusion, responsiveness, and reflexivity. Based on a qualitative exploratory study, this paper develops insights into practices taken by organizations to address sustainability issues through their IS innovation processes. Our findings suggest that organizations operationalize RI principles highly or partially under the influence of five factors. A new understanding of the RI principles operationalization and its applicability to IS innovations is developed, which can serve to direct further research and guide organizations aiming to enhance their sustainability performance
Smart cities and service integration
E-government advancements have not fully resolved the challenge
of providing citizens with a single entry point for services that
involve different government entities. The Smart Cities and
Service Integration project (hereafter, SmartCities) aims to
establish a framework for smart city service integration that would
assist in the management of large scale projects related to the
integration of services across governments. By using comparative
case studies of six cities (New York City, Seattle, Quebec City,
Mexico City, Macao, and Shanghai), the project aims to develop a
theoretical framework to guide smart cities service integration.
The project will highlight integration of public services and cross-boundary information sharing by focusing on specific policy
domains. An additional goal of this project is to develop research
capabilities of graduate students who participate in the research.
The research project is funded by the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada
Deploying governance networks for societal challenges
Governments are increasingly engaging private sector organizations, civil society and citizens to tackle complex
policy challenges through some forms of networked governance arrangements. These governance networks
which in general facilitate flexibility, speed and innovation in government, when compared with traditional governance forms, are necessary to meaningfully govern smart societies characterised by many programs spanning
policy domains and levels of governments. This article presents a conceptual framework for governance networks and applies the framework to describe and analyse six case studies presented as part of the Track on
âGoverning through Networksâ of the International Conference on the Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV2013) Conference. Insights from the analysis of these cases somewhat suggest that: 1) governance
networks are still largely steered by government; 2) efficacy of governance networks is contingent on citizenâs
inclusion in the governance networks; and 3) mobile social media platforms could constitute a key infrastructure
for enabling citizen participation in these governance networks. Important policy and research challenges in this
domain include how to effectively motivate citizen participation in these networks and align the divergent views
of the different actors collaborating in the network
The Identification of Stakeholdersâ Living Contexts in Stakeholder Participation Data: A Semantic, Spatial and Temporal Analysis
Stakeholdersâ Participation (SP) aims to involve stakeholders in decision-making processes about significant choices affecting their organizations, cities, or communities. Stakeholdersâ participation is maintained through SP processes (SPPs) that may be traditional (e.g., physical assemblies) or online (e.g., online forums). Whether traditional or online, the purpose of SPPs is to collect and analyze data in a way that it would bring a benefit to a given decision-making process. In SPPs, stakeholders try to communicate (a part of) their living contexts, i.e., to present their objectives, daily problems, intentions, and issues they are facing within their environment. A major challenge of decision-makers is then to ensure that the living contexts of stakeholders are considered in SPPs for an effective implementation of project and policies. This paper focuses on the specific issue of the âstakeholdersâ living context identificationâ and attempts to account for how stakeholders implicitly identify their living contexts in their SP comments. Based on a qualitative analysis of SP data from four case studies in two countries, this paper identified a set of semantic, spatial, and temporal patterns allowing to capture the stakeholdersâ living contexts in SPPs data. Moreover, a conceptual model emphasizing the importance for decision-makers to capture and understand semantic, spatial, and temporal dimensions in SPPs is proposed
Predicting user frustration during interaction with conversational systems
This research project is focused on identifying and understanding the factors that contribute to user frustration during interactions with conversational systems, utilizing the computer user frustration model. It utilizes focus groups as a qualitative method to gather insights that could improve the design and user interaction of CSs. The anticipated contribution of the study is to provide significant theoretical and practical insights, aimed at enhancing our understanding of the underlying causes of user frustration and aiding in the development of more engaging and user-centered conversational systems