Centralized versus market-based approaches to mobile task allocation problem: State-of-the-art

Centralized approach has been adopted for finding solutions to resource allocation problems (RAPs) in many real-life applications. On the other hand, market-based approach has been proposed as an alternative to solve the problem due to recent advancement in ICT technologies. In spite of the existence of some efforts to review the pros and cons of each approach in RAPs, the studies cannot be directly applied to specific problem domains like mobile task allocation problem which is characterised with high level of uncertainty on the availability of resources (workers). This paper aims to review existing studies on task allocation problems(TAPs) focusing on those two approaches and their comparison and identify major issues that need to be resolved for comparing the two approaches in mobile task allocation problems. Mobile Task Allocation Problem (MTAP) is defined and its problematic structures are explained in relation with task allocation to mobile workers. Solutions produced by each approach to some applications and variations of MTAP are also discussed and compared. Finally, some future research directions are identified in order to compare both approaches in function of uncertainty emerging from the mobile nature of the MTAP

Centralised Versus Market-Based Control Under Environment Uncertainty: Case of the Mobile Task Allocation Problem (MTAP)

This paper aims at comparing the centralised versus the market-based approach. This is done in the context of the mobile task allocation problem (MTAP) from the perspective of environmental uncertainty. MTAP is defined as an optimization problem for planning the assignment of service tasks to mobile workers. Environmental uncertainty is introduced through the injection of stochastic tasks and dynamic travel delays. A multi-agent simulator is employed to experiment the behaviour of each approach in reaction to different uncertainty levels. Preliminary results suggest a tentative conceptual model to evaluate the suitability of each approach to address MTAP in function of uncertainty. It is suggested that uncertainty’s effect on achieved performance is moderated by the timeliness of decision making, workers’ degree of local knowledge, and problem’s complexity and size

Evaluating m-government applications: an elaboration likelihood model framework

Mobile government application and services refer to governmental functions that are available to mobile devices, such as smart phones or personal digital assistants, to the users anytime/anywhere. M-Government and m-Participation are emergent concepts used to represent the evolving field of public administration functions provided as mobile services and the provision of participation to public consultations via mobile devices accordingly. In this paper we present an evaluation framework for m-government tools. The evaluation approach is grounded on the assumption that m-government tools should not only provide access to governmental information and functions, but they should also motivate users to participate to public policy making processes. The evaluation approach is based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Its novelty lies on a) its ability to capture the actual performance of a system instead of the users’ perceptions, and b) its capacity to assess the motivational and persuasive ability of a system.EU FP7 Marie Curie People Project “CEES - Citizen oriented Evaluation of E-Government Systems (reference IAPP-2008-230658) and EU FP7 Project “UbiPOL- Ubiquitous Participation Platform for Policy Making” (Reference INFSO-ICT-248010)

E-government adoption in Qatar: An investigation of the citizens' perspective

Electronic government (e-government) initiatives are in their early stages in many developing countries and faced with various issues pertaining to their implementation, adoption and diffusion. Like many other developing countries, the e-government initiative in the state of Qatar has faced a number of challenges since its inception in 2000. Using a survey based study this paper describes citizens‟ behavioural intention and adoption in terms of applying and utilising the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of technology (UTAUT) model to explore the adoption and diffusion of e-government services in the state of Qatar. A regression analysis was conducted to examine the influence of e-government adoption factors and the empirical data revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influences determine citizens‟ behavioural intention towards e-government. Moreover, facilitating conditions and behavioural intention were found to determine citizens‟ use of e-government services in the state of Qatar. Implications for practice and research are discussed

Impedance of cylindrical antennas in plasma - A review

Cylindrical antenna impedance in linear cold or warm plasma