Collaboration planning framework (CPF) to support distributed product development

Current marketplace is undergoing major changes that will affect the way organizations conduct their business. Organizations need to respond to a geographically dispersed marketplace. This can be achieved by leveraging globally distributed resources to fully understand and interpret individual customer needs. That is, organizations need to integrate their operations (product development) in a way that will allow dynamic response to market changes. Computer-supported collaborative engineering could provide the integrating mechanisms needed to integrate distributed operations. The change to collaborative engineering should be based on sound and comprehensive methodologies that can analyze current practices, assess their ability to be performed collaboratively, restructure organizational practices to enhance their performance in a collaborative environment, select appropriate tools to support practices, and provide an implementation plan. This paper presents a framework to build computer-supported collaborative product design and development operating in a distributed environment. The framework is composed of six modules that provide a systematic procedure to plan for computer supported collaborative engineering.     

Multi-domain collaborative exploration mechanisms for query expansion in an agent-based filtering framework

Novice users often do not have enough domain knowledge to create good queries for searching information on-line. To help alleviate the situation, exploration techniques have been used to increase the diversity of the search results so that not only those explicitly asked will be returned, but also those potentially relevant ones will be returned too. Most existing approaches, such as collaborative filtering, do not allow the level of exploration to be controlled. Consequently, the search results can be very different from what is expected. We propose an exploration strategy that performs intelligent query processing by first searching usable old queries, and then utilising them to adapt the current query, with the hope that the adapted query will be more relevant to the user’s areas of interest. We applied the proposed strategy to the implementation of a personal information assistant (PIA) set up for user evaluation for 3 months. The experimental results showed that the proposed exploration method outperformed collaborative filtering, and mutation and crossover methods by around 25% in terms of the elimination of off-topic results.     

Multi-domain collaborative exploration mechanisms for query expansion in an agent-based filtering framework

Novice users often do not have enough domain knowledge to create good queries for searching information on-line. To help alleviate the situation, exploration techniques have been used to increase the diversity of the search results so that not only those explicitly asked will be returned, but also those potentially relevant ones will be returned too. Most existing approaches, such as collaborative filtering, do not allow the level of exploration to be controlled. Consequently, the search results can be very different from what is expected. We propose an exploration strategy that performs intelligent query processing by first searching usable old queries, and then utilising them to adapt the current query, with the hope that the adapted query will be more relevant to the user’s areas of interest. We applied the proposed strategy to the implementation of a personal information assistant (PIA) set up for user evaluation for 3 months. The experimental results showed that the proposed exploration method outperformed collaborative filtering, and mutation and crossover methods by around 25% in terms of the elimination of off-topic results.     

Integrated process planning and scheduling by an agent-based ant colony optimization

This paper presents an ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm in an agent-based system to integrate process planning and shopfloor scheduling (IPPS). The search-based algorithm which aims to obtain optimal solutions by an autocatalytic process is incorporated into an established multi-agent system (MAS) platform, with advantages of flexible system architectures and responsive fault tolerance. Artificial ants are implemented as software agents. A graph-based solution method is proposed with the objective of minimizing makespan. Simulation studies have been established to evaluate the performance of the ant approach. The experimental results indicate that the ACO algorithm can effectively solve the IPPS problems and the agent-based implementation can provide a distributive computation of the algorithm.     

Environmental support: an integrative framework

OBJECTIVE: In this qualitative review, we develop an integrative framework to bring coherence to the concept of environmental support (ES) in the fields of human factors and cognitive aging. BACKGROUND: The ES hypothesis, originally formulated to explain effects of retrieval support on age-related differences in memory by reducing need for self-initiated processing, has been applied to many domains, such that the concept now encompasses many manipulations and measures. We developed a framework in which different types of ES share a common function (external support of performance) but differ in how this function is accomplished. ES improves performance by reducing task demands on mental resources or promoting effective use of resources. Previous reviews show that ES can decrease age-related differences in performance (more benefit for older adults), provide equal benefit, or increase differences (more benefit for younger adults). We proposed that the outcome will depend on properties of the ES, task, and person. METHOD: We applied our framework to the domains of language comprehension and human-computer interaction, selecting studies representative of differing outcomes for ES. RESULTS: In both domains, we found that outcomes depended on ES, task, and person. Age differences were more likely to be reduced by ES that imposed minimal prerequisites for use and targeted processes that needed support. CONCLUSION: Our review helps refine the ES concept by identifying conditions under which age differences in performance are reduced or magnified by ES. APPLICATIONS: The framework provides guidance for human factors practitioners to design tasks and environments for older adults.     

Modeling and implementing an agent-based environmental health impact decision support system

This paper presents an approach to the creation of an agent-based system for the assessment of environmental impact upon human health. As indicators of the environmental impact water pollution, indexes of traffic and industrial activity, wastes and solar radiation are assumed. And as human health indicator morbidity is taken. All the data comprise multiple heterogeneous data repositories. The system is logically and functionally divided into three layers, solving the tasks of information fusion, pattern discovery and decision support making, respectively. The outcomes of the system design phase under Prometheus methodology and the complete characteristics of the agents forming the proposal are discussed. The discovered patterns are used as a foundation for real-time decision making, which is of great importance for adequate and effective management by responsible governmental authorities.     

Distributed and reactive query planning in R-MAGIC: an agent-based multimedia retrieval system

We present the planning scheme for a cooperative agent-based multimedia retrieval architecture that integrates a heterogeneous set of repositories into a coherent information system. The agents in the system collaborate in context of a conceptual query to formulate unique retrieval strategies for the different collections. The retrieval plan makes need-based use of independent content analysis tools available on the network. The retrieval strategies for the repositories so formulated satisfy the specified constraints on quality of results and the response time requirements. The retrieval plan is reactively updated based on the retrieval performance at the individual repositories. We present some experimental results to show the effectiveness of the planning scheme for repositories with different characteristics and the scalability of the architecture. We present a prototype implementation of this architecture that integrates a set of dissimilar collections of multimedia data on Indian cultural heritage. A comparison of the retrieval results with some existing Internet search tools proves the effectiveness of the architecture.     

UTLDR: an agent-based framework for modeling infectious diseases and public interventions

Journal of Intelligent Information Systems - Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, epidemic modeling is now experiencing a constantly growing interest from researchers of heterogeneous study fields....     

Modelling forced migration: A framework for conflict-induced forced migration modelling according to an agent-based approach

The challenge posed by the management of sudden migration of large groups of people lies in the ability to portray and predict the scale and dynamics of such movement accurately. This is further complicated by the fact that associated data pertaining to such migration are largely incomplete or untrustworthy. In view of the shortcomings in respect of modelling instances of conflict and the lack of data related to the associated movement patterns of forcibly displaced individuals, a generic framework is proposed for aiding in the design of agent-based models for simulating conflict instances along with the localised decision-making processes underlying the movement of refugees, undocumented migrants and internally displaced persons fleeing conflict-affected areas. A concept demonstrator is developed based on the framework in an attempt to demonstrate the usefulness and practicability of the framework in the context of conflict-induced forced migration in Syria. The value of such a model lies in the fact that it produces as output the corresponding emergent large-scale migration patterns which may assist in understanding the movement patterns of forcibly displaced people and predicting anticipated destinations of these individuals, and serve as a decision support tool for humanitarian relief.     

An ontology,intelligent agent-based framework for the provision of semantic web services

Intelligent agents and semantic web services are two technologies with great potential. Striking new applications can be developed by using the tools and techniques they provide. However, semantic web services need for an upper software entity able to deal with them and, on the other hand agent technology has historically suffered from a number of drawbacks that must be addressed. Integrating these two technologies in a joint environment can overcome their problems while strengthening their advantages. In this paper, the necessity for integrating these technologies and the potential benefits of their combination are analyzed. Based on this study, we present SEMMAS, an ontology-based framework for seamlessly integrating Intelligent Agents and Semantic Web Services. The basics of the framework are detailed and a proof-of-concept implementation described.     

OGITO,an Open Geospatial Interactive Tool to support collaborative spatial planning with a maptable

Maptables are increasingly used to support collaborative spatial planning processes. Despite the proven benefits and claimed potential of using a maptable in such processes, software applications specifically designed for this device are still scarce. Moreover, often-used applications do not fully exploit the touch functionality of a maptable, or have low usability. To address this gap, we developed and evaluated the Open Geospatial Interactive TOol (OGITO), an open-source software application designed to support collaborative spatial planning processes with a maptable. To develop such tool, we combined human-centred design and Agile software development principles in a co-design effort with intended users and stakeholders. Through iterative development cycles and feedback from users, OGITO was evolved until it satisfied user expectations. In a case study on community mapping in Sumatra, Indonesia, a sample of users evaluated OGITO's usability. Case study participants reported high satisfaction with this tool for the tasks and context given. Our research shows the added value of iterative development and user feedback for improving and further development of the tool's usability and functionality.     

Multimedia framework to support eHealth applications

Limited bandwidth resources lead to a number of challenges especially for eHealth applications, which are communicated over IP and wireless networks. These multimedia services include high-resolution videos and have very large file sizes that require a high level of compression to overcome this limitation. Therefore, there is an acute demand for the research community to provide an efficient multimedia framework to encode medical videos with high quality specifically under the conditions of an error-prone environment. Both an affordable delivery framework and effective coding techniques are extremely desirable for the delivery of high-quality eHealth video applications for transmission over heterogeneous networks and devices. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a multimedia framework to support eHealth applications, which has an improved coding scheme that uses an SVC-scalable extension of MPEC-4 AVC/H.264. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves a significant improvement in terms of the PSNR-Y gain and reduces the picture quality degradation caused by artifacts and distortions, compared to the existing scheme.     

An agent-based framework for cooperating expert systems in concurrent engineering

This paper describes an agent-based framework with a tandem integration architecture for cooperating distributed, heterogeneous, and autonomous concurrent engineering systems. The approach has been experimented with using the prototype AGENTS system. It is demonstrated that design tools can be dynamically connected and configured to construct highly complex systems on an incremental basis, designing and proving one system at a time without bothering the rest. A major advantage of the approach is the balance between the interoperability and the autonomy of individual systems.     

Applying domain knowledge and social information to product analysis and recommendations: an agent-based decision support system

Abstract: The advance of Internet and Web technologies has boosted the development of electronic commerce. More and more people have changed their traditional trading behaviors and started to conduct Internet shopping. However, the exponentially increasing product information provided by Internet enterprises causes the problem of information overload, and this inevitably reduces the customer's satisfaction and loyalty. To overcome this problem, in this paper we propose a multi‐agent system that is capable of eliciting expert knowledge and of recommending optimal products for individual consumers. The recommendations are based on both product knowledge from domain experts and the customer's preferences from system–consumer interactions. In addition, the system also uses behavior patterns collected from previous consumers to predict what the current consumer may expect. Experiments have been conducted and the results show that our system can give sensible recommendations, and it is able to adapt to the most up‐to‐date preferences for the customers.     

The design and implementation of an agent-based framework for acceptable usage policy monitoring and enforcement

Reliance on the Internet in the workplace means that manually monitoring compliance with an Acceptable Usage Policy (AUP) is impractical given the volumes of data generated. Therefore, for such a system to function effectively, the processing of vast audit trails obtained must be processed by automated means. This paper introduces the incorporation of a novel user-monitoring framework into the domain of software agents for large-scale auditing of Internet use with possible extensions to general network use. It is intended that such an approach would replace current ad-hoc methods such as those based on perusing server logs with a more accurate representation of user activity. The system described herein is an experimental multi-agent one provisionally known as WebEngzilla, which actively monitors and reports on the Web browsing behaviour habits of network users unifying an ambient client monitoring system with a distributed data mining back end.     

SWOF - an open framework for shared workspaces to support different cooperation tasks

Computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) allows people to cooperate by computers from different places and at different times. To enable an easier integration of such collaborative components into web-based communities and portals, a Shared Workspace Open Framework (SWOF) was developed. This framework provides the basic features of shared workspaces and can be customized to different cooperation cases. High usability is an important aspect of the implementation. To achieve these aims SWOF focuses on an information space with more task-suited item-types that can help to pre-structure the information. Thus, on the one hand the system can help the users to write down the needed information in a consistent way and, on the other, could reduce the arguments between the group members on how to structure their workspace. As a use case for SWOF the development of a Web-based portal for the community of man-machine interaction was chosen. In the project MMI-Interaktiv, a portal is built with a SWOF-based shared workspace component. An evaluation for this use case is presented.     

SWOF - an open framework for shared workspaces to support different cooperation tasks

Computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) allows people to cooperate by computers from different places and at different times. To enable an easier integration of such collaborative components into web-based communities and portals, a Shared Workspace Open Framework (SWOF) was developed. This framework provides the basic features of shared workspaces and can be customized to different cooperation cases. High usability is an important aspect of the implementation. To achieve these aims SWOF focuses on an information space with more task-suited item-types that can help to pre-structure the information. Thus, on the one hand the system can help the users to write down the needed information in a consistent way and, on the other, could reduce the arguments between the group members on how to structure their workspace. As a use case for SWOF the development of a Web-based portal for the community of man-machine interaction was chosen. In the project MMI-Interaktiv, a portal is built with a SWOF-based shared workspace component. An evaluation for this use case is presented.     

An agent-based framework for collaborative negotiation in the global manufacturing supply chain network

This paper applies the multi-agent system paradigm to collaborative negotiation in a global manufacturing supply chain network. Multi-agent computational environments are suitable for dealing with a broad class of coordination and negotiation issues involving multiple autonomous or semiautonomous problem solving agents. An agent-based multi-contract negotiation system is proposed for global manufacturing supply chain coordination. Also reported is a case study of mobile phone global manufacturing supply chain management.     

Interagent communication and synchronization support in the DaAgent mobile agent-based computing system

This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of interagent communication and synchronization models in the DaAgent mobile-agent based computing system. Based on the requirements of some sample Internet computing applications, eight system-level models of interagent communication and synchronization are proposed. A new synchronization mechanism called location synchronization that is relevant for interacting mobile agents is also proposed. This paper evaluates the eight models based on their utility, performance, level of communication and synchronization support, and applicability in the Internet computing environment. A prototype implementation and detailed performance evaluation of these models based on two interacting, multiagent applications are also presented.