E-CARGO and Role-Based Collaboration

HAIBIN ZHU, PHD is a Full Professor and the Chair of Department of Computer Science and Mathematics, Founding Director of Collaborative Systems Laboratory, member of Arts and Science Executive Committee, Nipissing University.

• Author Biography xiPreface xiiiA Guide to Reading This Book xviiAcknowledgments xixSymbols and Notations (Nomenclature) xxiPart I Backgrounds 11 Introduction 31.1 Collaboration and Collaboration Systems 31.1.1 Collaboration 41.1.2 Collaboration Systems 121.2 Collaboration as “Divide and Conquer” 131.3 Key Components of Collaboration 161.4 The Nature of Collaboration 181.5 The Complexity of Collaboration 201.6 Collectivism or Individualism 211.7 Collaboration and Complex Systems 241.7.1 What Are Complex Systems? 241.7.2 Examples of Complex Systems 261.8 Collaboration and Problem Solving 271.9 Summary 29References 30Exercises 342 Role Concepts 352.1 Terminology 352.2 Modeling-Roles 402.3 Roles in Agent Systems 422.4 Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) 452.5 Roles in CSCW Systems 482.6 Roles in Social Psychology and Management 512.7 Convergence of Role Concepts 532.8 Summary 58References 60Exercises 67Part II Methodologies and Models 693 Role-Based Collaboration 713.1 Requirements for Role-Based Collaboration 713.2 Architecture of an RBC System 743.3 The Environment Established by Role-Based Collaboration 763.4 The Process of Role-Based Collaboration 793.5 Fundamental Principles of RBC 833.5.1 Object Principles 843.5.2 Agent Principles 853.5.3 Role Principles 853.5.4 Group Principles 863.6 Benefits of Role-Based Collaboration 873.6.1 Establish Trust in Collaboration 873.6.2 Establish Dynamics 883.6.3 Facilitate Interaction 903.6.4 Support Adaptation 913.6.5 Information Sharing 923.6.6 Other Benefits 933.7 Summary 93References 94Exercises 1014 The E-CARGO Model 1034.1 First Class Components 1034.1.1 Objects and Classes 1054.1.2 Roles and Environments 1074.1.3 Agents and Groups 1134.2 Second Class Components 1184.2.1 Users or Human Users 1184.2.2 Message 1184.2.3 System 1204.3 Fundamental Relationships in E-CARGO 1214.3.1 The Relations Among Roles 1224.3.2 The Relations Between Roles and Agents 1294.3.3 The Relations Between Agents 1304.3.4 Properties of an RBC System 1324.4 Related Work 1334.5 Summary 135References 136Exercises 1405 Group Role Assignment (GRA) 1415.1 Role Assignment 1415.2 A Real-World Problem 1425.3 Extended Expression of the E-CARGO Model 1455.4 Group Role Assignment Problems 1465.4.1 Simple Role Assignment 1465.4.2 Rated Group Role Assignment 1475.4.3 Weighted Role Assignment 1485.5 General Assignment Problem and the K-M Algorithm 1485.6 Solutions to GRA Problems 1525.7 Implementation and Performance Analysis 1595.8 Case Study by Simulation 1615.9 Related Work 1655.10 Summary 166References 168Exercises 1706 Group Role Assignment with Constraints (GRA+) 1736.1 Group Multi-Role Assignment (GMRA) 1736.1.1 A Real-World Scenario 1736.1.2 Problem Formalization 1756.1.3 The CPLEX Solution and Its Performance Experiments 1766.1.4 Improvement of the CPLEX Solution 1776.1.5 Comparisons 1806.2 Group Role Assignment with Conflicting Agents (GRACA) 1816.2.1 A Real-World Scenario 1816.2.2 Problem Formalization 1836.2.3 The Benefits of Avoiding Conflicts 1866.2.4 GRACAR/G Problems Are Subproblems of an NP-Complete Problem 1886.2.5 Solutions with CPLEX 1946.3 Group Role Assignment with Cooperation and Conflict Factors 1956.3.1 A Real-World Scenario 1956.3.2 Problem Formalization 1966.3.3 A Practical Solution 2006.3.4 Performance Experiments 2026.3.5 The Benefits 2036.3.6 Cooperation and Conflict Factor Collection 2046.4 Related Work 2066.5 Summary 207References 208Exercises 2127 Group Role Assignment with Multiple Objectives (GRA++) 2137.1 Group Role Assignment with Budget Constraints (GRABC) 2137.1.1 A Real-World Scenario 2137.1.2 Problem Formalization 2157.1.3 Solutions with an ILP Solver 2247.1.4 Simulations of GRABC-WS and GRABC-Syn 2267.1.5 Performance Experiments and Improvements 2277.1.6 Synthesis 2297.2 Good at Many Things and Expert in One (GMEO) 2297.2.1 A Real-World Scenario 2317.2.2 Problem Formalizations 2327.2.3 A Solution with CPLEX 2357.2.4 Performance Experiments and Improvements 2377.2.5 A Simple Formalization of GMEO with an Efficient Solution 2407.2.6 A More Efficient Solution for GMEO-1 2437.3 Related Work 2467.4 Summary 248References 249Exercises 251Part III Applications 2538 Solving Engineering Problems with GRA 2558.1 Group Role Assignment with Agents’ Busyness Degrees 2558.1.1 A Real-World Scenario 2568.1.2 Problem Formalization 2578.1.3 Solutions 2598.1.4 Simulations and Benefits 2618.2 Group Multi-Role Assignment with Coupled Roles 2648.2.1 A Real-World Scenario 2658.2.2 The Problem Specification 2678.2.3 The Solutions with CPLEX and Initial Results 2698.2.4 Verification Experiments 2708.3 Most Economical Redundant Assignment 2718.3.1 A Real-World Scenario 2728.3.2 Problem Formalizations 2738.3.3 A Solution with CPLEX 2748.3.4 A New Form of the MERA Problem and a More Efficient Solution 2778.4 Related Work 2818.5 Summary 283References 284Exercises 2879 Role Transfer 2899.1 Role Transfer Problems 2899.2 The M-M Role Transfer Problems 2929.2.1 M-1 Problem 2949.2.2 1-M Problem 2949.2.3 M-M Problem 2949.3 From M-M RTPs to Role Assignment Problems 2979.4 Temporal M-M Role Transfer Problems 3009.4.1 Temporal Transfer with Weak Restriction 3009.4.2 Temporal Transfer with Strong Restriction 3049.4.3 A Near-Optimal Solution to SRTP with the Kuhn-Munkres Algorithm 3099.4.4 Performance Experiments 3149.5 Role Transfer Tool 3159.6 Related Work 3179.7 Summary 318References 319Exercises 32210 More to Investigate 32310.1 Role Negotiation 32310.2 Role Specification 32410.3 Agent Evaluation 32410.4 Collective Group Role Assignment 32710.4.1 One-Way Collective Role Assignment 32810.4.2 Two-Way Collective Role Assignment 32910.5 Role Engine 33010.5.1 Role Dynamics 33110.5.2 Role Interaction 33210.5.3 Role Presentation 33210.6 Social Simulation 33310.7 Adaptive Collaboration 33510.8 Other Challenges in RBC and E-CARGO 33610.8.1 Optimizations 33810.8.2 Agent-Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE) 33810.8.3 Multi-Agent Systems 33910.9 Not the End 339References 341Index 349

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