Contents

This long page lists publications (130+) of which I am one of the authors, or the single author. The publications on this page are in reverse-chronological order. My publications are ordered by year, and within each year according to the type of publication: a journal article, an internationally refereed article (as scientific publication or at a workshop), or 'others'.

Most publications feature a link to a locally cached digital copy of the paper in pdf format. This digital copy is often not in the final, published, layout. For help with reading and printing PDF-files, click here.

In addition, a number of my publications can be found online:

• My Orcid number is: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9370-870X.
• In the publications database at D-CIS Lab, see Niek's publications.
• In the publications database at the IIDS Group, see Niek's publications.
• In the online digital library DBLP. The precise location is "DBLP Niek Wijngaards".
• In Google scholar, see Niek's publications.
• In Research Gate, see Niek's publications.

2018

Back to the overview.

Deliverables

To be announced, from NEXES project.

NEXES Recommendations

Deliverable D2.5.

NEXES Research and Innovation Action, H2020 Grant agreement 653337.

Abstract To be announced.

at NEXES deliverables' page.

2017

Back to the overview.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Allen, D., Coles, E., Kankaanranta, T., Mcmullan, C., Mobach, D., Norman, A., Perko, T., Pylvas, K., Wijngaards, N., (2017)

Good practices and innovation in risk communication.

In: Poljansek, K., Marín Ferrer, M., De Groeve, T., Clark, I. (Eds.). Science for disaster risk management 2017: knowing better and losing less. EUR 28034 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg,

Chapter 4.4, doi: 10.2788/688605.

Abstract In this chapter we deal with the thorny issue of innovations and 'best practices' in risk communication. Firstly we deal with innovation and practice in the process of risk communication, focusing on one of the more significant areas of the former: new emergent approaches that reorientate practice around communities and new and evolving decentralised approaches. Secondly, we look at new communication patterns, emphasising the challenges of communicating with millennials and of cross-border communication. The third chapter of this chapter pays particular attention to technology infrastructure concerning innovations which allow rich media channels to be utilised. The final chapter discusses the challenges faced in embedding these innovations into practice.

at EU DRM website.

overview of DRM 2017.

2016

Back to the overview.

Deliverables

Niek Wijngaards, Alistair Norman and David Allen; Zeynep Sofuoglu, Turhan Sofuoglu and Ismail Umit Bal; Salvatore Corrao, Giuseppe Rugirello, Giuseppe Romano and Emanuele Pianese; Christer Ulfsparre; David Donaldson, Alison Lyle and Leanne Vickers; (2016)

NEXES Key Performance Indicators

Deliverable D2.4, version 1.0

NEXES Research and Innovation Action, H2020 Grant agreement 653337.

Abstract This report constitutes the deliverable D2.4 of Task T2.4 from Work Package 2 in the NEXES Research and Innovation Action (RIA) and presents the set of NEXES Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) developed for use in the NEXES Action. The NEXES KPIs consider the diverse aspects and stakeholders of emergency services, and enable the gathering of comparable data to accommodate the evaluation of the NEXES's impact on emergency management systems and emergency services. Moreover, the NEXES KPIs may also be used by Emergency Services in preparing for the adoption of IP-based communication technologies and evaluation of training and demonstrations. It is worth noting that NEXES is NOT about recommending KPIs for emergency management systems in operation, neither across the 28 EU member countries nor other countries. That is a matter for local, national and/or Pan-European operators and is not in the scope of this deliverable, or indeed the NEXES Action. The main challenges for the definition of the NEXES KPIs are flexibility and comparability. The flexibility of the KPIs is with regard to their application to different situations. The comparability of the KPIs is with regard to their repeatability and making explicit how KPIs are evaluated in each situation. The approach taken in the NEXES Action is to distinguish Effect Measurements, with which specific effects of IP-based communication technologies and capabilities become measureable. Each NEXES KPI is defined by its relation to a number of effect measurements, where an effect measurement may be related to multiple KPIs. Depending on the specific situation, one or more effect measurements become (ir)relevant.

at NEXES deliverables' page.

2015

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Tina Comes, Niek Wijngaards, Bartel van de Walle (2015)

Exploring the future: Runtime scenario selection for complex and time-bound decisions

Technological Forecasting and Social Change

Volume 107, pages 19-46.

Abstract Scenarios are designed to support decision-makers in gaining a better understanding of the consequences of decisions. Despite their popularity in IT for Foresight, a major obstacle is the complexity of strategic decisions and the resulting multitude of scenarios. Therefore choices need to be made, which scenarios to fully work out, by which experts and in which level of detail. This paper presents an approach to support making these trade-offs between accuracy and resources spent by prioritising scenarios based on their significance for the decision even on the basis of incomplete information. This approach combines theoretical findings in decision theory with results that were elicited in interviews and workshops with decision-makers and experts. In this manner, we ensure to adhere to time and effort constraints of the involved experts, while taking into account the decision-makers' preferences and requirements. The emergency management use-case shows that the resulting reduced set of scenarios leads to the same ranking of decision alternatives as the entire set of scenarios.

at Research Gate. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2014.03.009

2014

Back to the overview.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Michel Oey, Zülküf Genç, Amineh Ghorbani, Huib Aldewereld, Reyhan Aydogan, Niek Wijngaards, Reinier Timmer, Frances Brazier, Catholijn Jonker (2014)

Modelling Multi-Stakeholder Systems: A Case Study

Proceedings of the 2014 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology (IAT'14)

Warsaw, Poland; 08/2014

Abstract A contemporary governance challenge for govern- ments concerns the biogas domain: what incentives and policies can lead to a viable biogas economy? To support addressing this challenge, a prototype of a simulator is constructed in which horizontal governance is applied in a multi-stakeholder context. This paper reports on the modelling and knowledge acquisition that led to the development of that prototype. Rather than (re)inventing tooling, three available agent-based modelling approaches are combined: the MAIA meta-model, OperA and GENIUS; with AgentScape as the agent-based middleware for the realisation of the simulator. The resulting simulator has been validated by biogas experts from Alliander (NL-based energy network company), leading to confirmation that our combined approach was useful for the analysis of this multi-stakeholder domain.

at Research Gate.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Other Publications

2013

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

• To be announced.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Tina Comes, Niek Wijngaards and Frank Schultmann (2013)

Designing distributed multi-criteria decision support systems for complex and uncertain situations

in book: "Multicriteria Decision Aid and Artificial Intelligence: Links, Theory and Applications" by Michael Doumpos and Evangelos Grigoroudis.

chapter 3, pages 47-76, Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN: 978-1-119-97639-4

Abstract This chapter describes our approach to the design of a system supporting robust decision- making in complex and uncertain situations. We outlined how a distributed scenario-based multi-criteria decision support system can be constructed that answers key challenges such as efficient information processing, transparent evaluations and the consideration of constraints in terms of resources and time available. Although this chapter provides an overview, detailed descriptions of our approach are available elsewhere. We have shown that we have addressed the identified key challenges for and characteristics of decision support systems for complex and uncertain situations. Furthermore, the feasibility of our approach is shown by the accompanying demonstration system. This leads to the overall conclusion that we have succeeded in designing our decision support system for robust decision-making. Further research is required to study the construction of possible alternatives and other refinements of the current approach such as investigating visualization techniques and extending our approach to multi-criteria scenario-based support for planning and management, e.g., in the risk assessment and supply chain management domain.

at Research Gate. book at Wiley.com.

Bruijn, Peter de & Wijngaards, Niek. (2013)

Agent-Enabled Information Provisioning While Retaining Control: A Demonstration

In Zlatanova, Sisi and Peters, Rob and Dilo, Arta and Scholten, Hans (eds), Proceedings of the Intelligent Systems for Crisis Management: Geo-Information for Disaster Management (Gi4DM) 2012,

Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography, pages 341-347, Springer Verlag.

Abstract The project 'SlimVerbinden' addresses the challenge of retaining autonomy while sharing information among multiple parties. Based on a web of trust, information providers can grant and deny access to information, while information consumers can delegate access to specific members within their 'organization' (which can be defined within and/or across existing organizations). The policy- and PKI-based realization enables an agent-based secure shared distributed dataspace where no single party knows 'everything' and the barriers to information sharing are lowered. The use-case involves public-private cooperation during the mitigation of an incident and drives the development of an operational pilot.

PDF at Springer Verlag.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

• Harbers, Maaike and Broekens, Joost and Quillinan, Thomas and Riemsdijk, Birna van and Wijngaards, Niek (2013).

  Goal-Based Explainable Security Certificate Requests

  In Zlatanova, Sisi and Peters, Rob (eds), Proceedings of the 8th International Conference of Gi4DM: Best Practices, 2012.

  Pages 3-10, CTIT publisher.

  Abstract Not yet available.

  PDF at research gate (large).

Other Publications

Wijngaards, Niek. (2013)

Agents in a Federated World.

Keynote at 17th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Distributed Simulation and Real Time Applications, DS-RT 2013,

page 10-12.

Abstract Any application operating in a distributed environment must be designed to allow for a number of idiosyncrasies including autonomy, asynchronous processing, and multiple organisational entities. The latter aspect, also known as federation, poses additional challenges such as lacking overall centralised control and/or authorities. In our work at Thales Research & Technology Netherlands (TRT-NL) we investigate this domain and construct our prototypes and demonstrators on a strong foundation in agent technology.

doi: 10.1109/DS-RT.2013.36.

Wijngaards, Niek. (2013)

Everybody has sensor networks: an approach for safe collaboration

2nd International Workshop on Data-intensive Process Management in Large-Scale Sensor Systems (DPMSS 2013): From Sensor Networks to Sensor Clouds jointly held with CCGrid 2013: The 13th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Cluster, Cloud and Grid Computing.

Keynote.

Abstract Forthcoming.

Not yet available.

2012

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

• To be announced.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Comes, T., Wijngaards, N., Maule, J., Allen, D. and Schultmann, F. (2012).

Scenario Reliability Assessment to Support Decision Makers in Situations of Severe Uncertainty

Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Cognitive Methods in Situation Awareness and Decision Support, 2012.

pages 30-37. ISBN 978-1-4673-0343-9

Abstract Decision making under uncertainty is fraught with pitfalls for human thinking: biases prevail. The combination of a scenario-based approach with multi-criteria decision analysis assists in making value judgements, trade-offs and uncertainties explicit. Scenarios, which are constructed in a distributed manner involving multiple experts from different domains, assist in overcoming e.g. the prominence effect and confirmation bias. Furthermore, support is provided to handle the uncertainty associated with each scenario without imposing unjustified assumptions on each piece of information. We develop a relative reliability concept, which differs from standard probability assessments as it is sensitive to the context, such as the decision problem at hand, the decision makers' requirements and the available information. This approach maintains the flexibility of the distributed system by allowing the experts to adapt the information they provide and the likelihood assessments thereof to the situation. Our approach is illustrated by an emergency management example.

at Research Gate. DOI: 10.1109/CogSIMA.2012.6188402.

Comes, T., Wijngaards, N. and Schultmann, F. (2012).

Efficient Scenarios Updating in Emergency Management

Proceedings of the 9th International ISCRAM Conference, ISCRAM 2012,

Rothkrantz, Leon and Ristvej, J. and Franco, Z. (Eds). Vancouver, Canada.

Abstract Emergency managers need to assess, combine and process large volumes of information with varying degrees of (un)certainty. To keep track of the uncertainties and to facilitate gaining an understanding of the situation, the information is combined into scenarios: stories about the situation and its development. As the situation evolves, typically more information becomes available and already acknowledged information is changed or revised. Meanwhile, decision-makers need to keep track of the scenarios including an assessment whether the infor- mation constituting the scenario is still valid and relevant for their purposes. Standard techniques to support sce- nario updating usually involve complete scenario re-construction. This is far too time-consuming in emergency management. Our approach uses a graph theoretical scenario formalisation to enable efficient scenario updating. MCDA techniques are employed to decide whether information changes are sufficiently important to warrant scenario updating. A brief analysis of the use-case demonstrates a large gain in efficiency.

Locally cached copy: pdf. at Research Gate. Online version of ISCRAM 2012 proceedings.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

• To be announced.

Other Publications

• To be announced.

2011

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Comes, T., Conrado, C., Hiete, M., Wijngaards, N. and Schultmann, F. (2011).

A distributed scenario-based decision support system for robust decision-making in complex situations.

International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, 2011.

3(4):17-35

Abstract Decision-making in emergency management is a challenging task as the consequences of decisions are considerable, the threatened systems are complex and information is often uncertain. This paper presents a distributed system facilitating better-informed decision-making in strategic emergency management. The construction of scenarios provides a rationale for collecting, organising, and processing information. The set of scenarios captures the uncertainty of the situation and its developments. The relevance of scenarios is ensured by gearing the scenario construction to assessing alternatives, thus avoiding time-consuming processing of irrelevant information. The scenarios are constructed in a distributed setting allowing for a flexible adaptation of reasoning (principles and processes) to both the problem at hand and the information available. This approach ensures that each decision can be founded on a coherent set of scenarios. The theoretical framework is demonstrated in a distributed decision support system by orchestrating experts into workflows tailored to each specific decision.

DOI: 10.4018/jiscrm.2011100102 at IGI Global.com.

Comes, T., Hiete, M., Wijngaards, N. and Schultmann, F. (2011).

Decision Maps: A framework for multi-criteria decision support under severe uncertainty.

Decision Support Systems,

52(1):108-118.

Abstract In complex strategic decision-making situations the need for well-structured support arises. To evaluate decision alternatives, information about the situation and its development must be determined, managed and processed by the best available experts. For various types of information different reasoning principles have been developed: deterministic, probabilistic, fuzzy and techniques for reasoning under ignorance (i.e., the likelihood of an event cannot be quantified). We propose a new approach based on Decision Maps supporting decision makers under fundamental uncertainty by generating descriptions of different possible situation developments (scenarios) in a distributed manner. The scenarios are evaluated using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis techniques.

at Science Direct. 10.1016/j.dss.2011.05.008.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Sahar Asadi, Costin Badica, Tina Comes, Claudine Conrado, Vanessa Evers, Frans Groen, Sorin Ilie, Jan Steen Jensen, Achim J. Lilienthal, Bianca Milan, Thomas Neidhart, Kees Nieuwenhuis, Sepideh Pashami, Gregor Pavlin, Jan Pehrsson, Rani Pinchuk, Mihnea Scafes, Leo Schou-Jensen, Frank Schultmann, Niek Wijngaards (2011)

ICT Solutions Supporting Collaborative Information Acquisition, Situation Assessment And Decision Making In Contemporary Environmental Management Problems: The Diadem Approach

International Conference on Innovations in Sharing Environmental Observation and Information (EnviroInfo)

Abstract This paper presents a framework of ICT solutions developed in the EU research project DIADEM that supports environmental management for chemical hazards in industrial areas, with an enhanced capacity to assess population exposure and health risks, alert relevant groups and organize efficient response. The emphasis is on advanced solutions which are economically feasible and maximally exploit the existing communication, computing and sensing resources. This approach supports collaborative information acquisition thus enabling efficient situation assessment and decision making in complex environmental management applications. This is achieved through a combination of (i) a service-oriented approach supporting the integration of automated and human-based reasoning for large-scale collaborative sensemaking, (ii) advanced approaches to gas detection and gas distribution modelling, (iii) novel solutions combining Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and Scenario-Based Reasoning and (iv) enhanced human-machine interfaces. This paper presents the basic principles of the DIADEM solutions and how they are combined to a coherent decision support system and briefly discusses the evaluation principles and activities in the DIADEM project.

at Research Gate.

Comes, T., Conrado, C., Dalmas, T. and Wijngaards, N. (2011).

Robust scenario-based multi-criteria decision support in strategic emergency management,

Proceedings of the 8th international conference on information systems for crisis response and management (ISCRAM2011).

Abstract Forthcoming.

ISCRAM 2011 online proceedings.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Comes, T., Conrado, C., Dalmas, T., Wijngaards, N. and Schultmann, F. (2011).

Robust Decision Making: Multi-Criteria Scenario-Based Decision Analysis (demonstration),

Proceedings of the 23rd benelux conference on artificial intelligence (BNAIC2011).

Abstract This demo presents an ICT system for collaborative situation assessment and strategic decision making that supports effective and efficient protection of the population and the environment against chemical hazards in industrial areas. Robust decision support taking into account multiple objectives entails the combination of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and Scenario-Based Reasoning (SBR). The ad-hoc formed workflow of (human and artificial) experts generates scenarios capturing uncertainties. Combining MCDA and SBR allows for structuring complex problems and accounting for uncertainties by the selection of a decision alternative that performs (sufficiently) well for various aims under a variety of different possible situation developments (i.e., scenarios).

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Other Publications

Rondeel, E., Holland, R., Kempen, M., Wijngaards, N. and Van Knippenberg, A. (2011).

De invloed van cognitieve controle op besluitvorming als functie van taakdoelen

B. Derks, R-J. Renes, K. Ruys, N. van de Ven & M. Vliek (Eds.), Jaarboek Sociale Psychologie 2010.

Groningen: ASPO Pers.

Abstract Forthcoming.

Not yet available.

2010

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Abbink, E., Mobach, D., Fioole, PJ, Kroon, L., van der Heijden, E. and Wijngaards, N. (2010).

Real-time Train Driver Rescheduling by Actor-Agent Techniques.

Public Transport,

2(3):249-268.

Abstract Passenger railway operations are based on an extensive planning process for generating the timetable, the rolling stock circulation, and the crew duties for train drivers and conductors. In particular, crew scheduling is a complex process.
After the planning process has been completed, the plans are carried out in the real-time operations. Preferably, the plans are carried out as scheduled. However, in case of delays of trains or large disruptions of the railway system, the timetable, the rolling stock circulation and the crew duties may not be feasible anymore and must be rescheduled.
This paper presents a method based on multi-agent techniques to solve the train driver rescheduling problem in case of a large disruption. It assumes that the timetable and the rolling stock have been rescheduled already based on an incident scenario. In the crew rescheduling model, each train driver is represented by a driver-agent. A driver-agent whose duty has become infeasible by the disruption starts a recursive task exchange process with the other driver-agents in order to solve this infeasibility. The task exchange process is supported by a route-analyzer-agent, which determines whether a proposed task exchange is feasible, conditionally feasible, or not feasible. The task exchange process is guided by several cost parameters, and the aim is to find a feasible set of duties at minimal total cost.
The train driver rescheduling method was tested on several realistic disruption instances of Netherlands Railways (NS), the main operator of passenger trains in the Netherlands. In general the rescheduling method finds an appropriate set of rescheduled duties in a short amount of time. This research was carried out in close cooperation by NS and the D-CIS Lab.

10.1007/s12469-010-0033-6.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Tina Comes, Michael Hiete, Niek Wijngaards, Frank Schultmann (2010).

Integrating Scenario-Based Reasoning into a Multi-Criteria Decision Support System for Emergency Management

In: Advanced ICTs for Disaster Management and Threat Detection. Collaborative and Distributed Frameworks.

Chapter 14, pages 221-236. IGI Global.

Abstract Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a technique for decision making among multiple alternatives for action providing transparent and coherent decision support for complex situations with conflicting objectives. Managing longer term decisions for environmental incidents is an application domain in which MCDA has proved useful. Yet a difficulty in applying MCDA is when uncertainties abound. Contrarily, scenario-based reasoning is a method allowing for the assessment of multiple possible future developments of the situation. In this way, the use of scenarios is a transparent and easily understandable way to integrate uncertainties into the reasoning process. We propose a mechanism to integrate scenarios. Our theoretical framework can be operationalised by decision support systems relying on both automated systems and human experts. These facilitate the assessment of consequences within a scenario, and may propose new scenarios. We illustrate this mechanism taking the decision making in emergency management after a train crash with potential release of chlorine as an example.

at IGI Global.

Comes, T., Hiete, M., Wijngaards, N.and Schultmann, F. (2010).

Enhancing Robustness in Multi-criteria Decision-Making: A Scenario-Based Approach,

INCOS 2010 International Conference on Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems,

pages 484-489.

Abstract This paper presents a distributed system facilitating robust decision-making under uncertainty in complex situations often found in strategic emergency management. The construction of decision-relevant scenarios, each being a consistent, coherent and plausible description of a situation and its future development, is used as a rationale for collecting, organizing, filtering and processing information for decision-making. The construction of scenarios is targeted at assessing decision alternatives avoiding time-consuming processing of irrelevant information. The scenarios are constructed in a distributed setting ensuring that each decision can be founded on a coherent and consistent set of assessments and assumptions provided by the best (human or artificial) experts available within limited time. Our theoretical framework is illustrated by means of an emergency management example.

DOI: 10.1109/INCOS.2010.16. at Research Gate.

Gouman, R., Kempen, M. and Wijngaards, N. (2010).

Actor-Agent Team Experimentation in the Context of Incident Management,

Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM 2010),

Seattle, Washington, USA May 2010, ISCRAM.org.

Abstract The collaboration between humans (actors) and artificial entities (agents) can be a potential performance boost. Agents, as complementary artificial intelligent entities, can alleviate actors from certain activities, while enlarging the collective effectiveness. This paper describes our approach for experimentation with actors, agents and their interaction. This approach is based on a principled combination of existing empirical research methods and is illustrated by a small experiment which assesses the performance of a specific actor-agent team in comparison with an actor-only team in an incident management context. The REsearch and Simulation toolKit (RESK) is instrumental for controlled and repeatable experimentation. The indicative findings show that the approach is viable and forms a basis for further data collection and comparative experiments. The approach supports applied actor- agent research to show its (dis)advantages as compared to actor-only solutions.

in proceedings of ISCRAM 2010.

Comes, T., Conrado, C., Hiete, M., Kamermans, M., Pavlin, G., & Wijngaards, N. (2010).

An intelligent decision support system for decision making under uncertainty in distributed reasoning frameworks.

Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM 2010),

Seattle, Washington, USA May 2010.

Abstract This paper presents an intelligent system facilitating better-informed decision making under severe uncertainty as found in emergency management. The construction of decision-relevant scenarios, being coherent and plausible descriptions of a situation and its future development, is used as a rationale for collecting, organizing, filtering and processing information for decision making. The development of scenarios is geared to assessing decision alternatives, thus avoiding time-consuming analysis and processing of irrelevant information. The scenarios are constructed in a distributed setting allowing for a flexible adaptation of reasoning (principles and processes) to the problem at hand and the information available. This approach ensures that each decision can be founded on a coherent set of scenarios, which was constructed using the best expertise available within a limited timeframe. Our theoretical framework is demonstrated in a distributed decision support system by or-chestrating both automated systems and human experts into workflows tailored to each specific problem. Keywords Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), scenario-based reasoning (SBR), distributed reasoning, multi-agent systems, emergency management.

Locally cached copy: pdf. ISCRAM 2010 proceedings. full paper (PDF).

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Comes, T., Conrado, C., Hiete, M., Kamermans, M., Pavlin, G., Wijngaards, N. and Schultmann, F. (2010).

An intelligent decision support system for decision making under uncertainty in distributed reasoning frameworks,

Proceedings of the 22nd Benelux Conference on Artificial Intelligence (BNAIC 2010).

Abstract This paper appeared at the ISCRAM 2010 [3] and presents an intelligent system facilitating better in- formed decision making under severe uncertainty, as often found in emergency management. The construction of decision-relevant scenarios, being plausible descriptions of a situation and its future development, is used as a rationale for collecting, organizing, filtering and processing information for decision making. The development of scenarios is geared to assessing decision alternatives, thus avoiding time-consuming analysis and processing of irrelevant information. The scenarios are constructed in a distributed setting allowing for a flexible adaptation of reasoning (prin- ciples and processes) to the problem at hand and the information available. Each decision can be founded on a coherent set of scenarios, which was constructed using the best expertise available within a limited timeframe. Our theoretical framework is demonstrated in a distributed decision support system by orchestrating both automated systems and human experts into workflows tailored to each specific problem.

Locally cached copy: pdf. (Same as ISCRAM2010)

Other Publications

Tina Comes, Claudine Conrado, Niek Wijngaards (2010)

Principles of Scenario-Based Reasoning and Scenario-Based Multi-Criteria Decision-Making

Report within the EC FP7-ICT project Diadem (ref. no: 224318)

Work package 4.

Abstract Not yet available.

Not yet available.

2009

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Willem Van Santen, Catholijn Jonker, Niek Wijngaards (2009).

Crisis decision making through a shared integrative negotiation mental model

International Journal of Emergency Management.

6(3/4):342-355.

Abstract Decision making during crises takes place in (multiagency) teams in a bureaucratic political context. As a result, the common notion that during crises, decision making should be done in line with a command-and-control structure is invalid. This paper shows that the best strategy for crisis decision-making teams in a bureaucratic political context is to follow an integrative negotiation approach as a shared teamwork mental model of decision making. This conclusion is based on an analysis of crisis decision making by teams in a bureaucratic political context. First, this paper explains why, in a bureaucratic political context, the command-and-control adage does not hold. Second, this paper motivates why crisis decision making in such a context can be seen as a negotiation process. Further analysis of the given context shows that an assertive and cooperative approach best suits crisis decision making.

PDF.

Rondeel, E.W.M., Kempen, M., Wijngaards, N.J.E., Nieuwenhuis, C., & Holland, R.W. (2009).

The influence of stress and mood on decision making in critical situations: to what extent can we predict human performance?

Revue d'Intelligence Artificielle.

23(4):449-466.

Abstract In this position paper a number of hypotheses are outlined concerning the effect of three measurable human factors, namely subjective stress, arousal and mood, on human decision making performance; taking into account the amount of risk involved in the decision. The proposed domain of application involves critical situations: situations in which timelimits, uncertainty and possibly dire consequences provide an ideal context to apply the results. A tangible objective is to provide the basis for a demonstrator which can measure subjective stress, arousal and mood on the job, provide runtime feedback and positively influence the human decision making process.

Revue d'Intelligence Artificielle.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Mobach, D., Abbink, E., Fioole, P., Lentink, R., Kroon, L., Heijden, E. V. D., & Wijngaards, N. (2009).

Train driver rescheduling using task-exchange teams.

Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on: Optimisation in Multi-Agent Systems (OPTMAS) at AAMAS 2009.

Abstract Crew rescheduling in response to disruptions is a difficult problem, due to the additional (social) constraints imposed on human workforce. In the real-world domain of train driver rescheduling in the Netherlands, an actor-agent based approach is taken to (a) support human dispatchers and (b) accommodate individual train drivers' preferences. This paper outlines the task-exchange team-configuration process including the role of the various rescheduling constraints. The rescheduling approach is designed for operation in a real world environment: to this end, a number of heuristics are discussed that are currently being examined to optimize the solution finding process with respect to three dimensions: performance, quality and clarity. The heuristics have been implemented in a research system, supporting the full driver-agent population, working on real world data. This effort is an ongoing study on novel multi-agent approaches to crew rescheduling, and is the result of cooperation between Netherlands Railways and D-CIS Lab.

at OPTMAS workshop.

Quillinan, T., Brazier, F., Aldewereld, H., Dignum, V., Dignum, F., Penserini, L., & Wijngaards, N. (2009).

Developing Agent-Based Organizational Models for Crisis Management.

Proceedings of Eighth Joint Conference on Autonomous and Multi-Agent Systems (AAMAS 2009).

Budapest, Hungary. Pages 45-52.

Abstract Simulations of crisis scenarios have the potential to increase insight in the organizational structures needed as crises es- calate. Real-life simulations involving personnel and figu- rants are expensive and time-consuming. Multi-agent sys- tem models allow for cost-effective simulations of changing organizational structures, enabling analysis of the implica- tions for enactment during crisis escalation with respect to roles and communication structures. This paper presents both an organization-based model for crisis management that supports simulation of the dynamics of crisis manage- ment and a proof of concept implementation.

Locally cached copy: pdf. at Research Gate.

Abbink, E., Mobach, D., Fioole, P., Kroon, L., Heijden, E. V. D., & Wijngaards, N. (2009).

Actor-agent application for train driver rescheduling.

Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS 2009).

Volume 1, pages 513-520. May 10-15 2009.

Abstract This paper describes the design, implementation, visualizations, results and lessons learned of a novel real-world socio-technical research system for the purpose of rescheduling train drivers in the event of disruptions. The research system is structured according to the Actor-Agent paradigm: here agents assist in rescheduling tasks of train drivers. Coordination between agents is based on a team formation process in which possible rescheduling alternatives can be evaluated, based on constraints and preferences of involved human train drivers and dispatchers. The research system is the result of cooperation on decentralised multi-agent crew rescheduling between Netherlands Railways (NS) and the D-CIS Lab. The implementation is realized using the Cougaar framework and includes actual timetable and rolling stock schedule data and driver duty data.

at Research Gate.

Comes, T., Hiete, M., Wijngaards, N., & Kempen, M. (2009).

Integrating scenario-based reasoning into multi-criteria decision analysis.

Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM 2009).

Abstract Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a technique for decision support which aims at providing transparent and coherent support for complex decision situations taking into account subjective preferences of the decision makers. However, MCDA does not foresee an analysis of multiple plausible future developments of a given situation. In contrast, scenario-based reasoning (SBR) is frequently used to assess future developments on the longer term. The ability to discuss multiple plausible future developments provides a rationale for strategic plans and actions. Nevertheless, SBR lacks an in-depth performance evaluation of the considered actions.
This paper explores the integration of both techniques that combines their respective strengths as well as their application in environmental crisis management. The proposed methodology is illustrated by an environmental incident example. Future work is to conduct validations on the basis of real-world scenarios by public Dutch and Danish chemical incident crisis management authorities.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Santen, W. V., Jonker, C. M., & Wijngaards, N. (2009).

Crisis decision making through a shared integrative negotiation mental model.

Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM 2009).

Landgren, Jonas and Jul, Suzanne (Eds),

Abstract Decision making during crises takes place in (multi-agency) teams, in a bureaucratic political context. As a result, the common notion that during crises decision making should be done in line with a Command & Control structure is invalid. This paper shows that the best way for crisis decision making teams in a bureaucratic political context is to follow an integrative negotiation approach as the shared mental model of decision making. This conclusion is based on an analysis of crisis decision making by teams in a bureaucratic political context. First of all this explains why in a bureaucratic political context the Command & Control adage does not hold. Secondly, this paper motivates why crisis decision making in such context can be seen as a negotiation process. Further analysis of the given context shows that an assertive and cooperative approach suits crisis decision making best.

Not yet available.

Iacob, S., Nieuwenhuis, K., Wijngaards, N., Pavlin, G., & Veelen, B. V. (2009).

Actor-Agent Communities: Design Approaches.

Intelligent Distributed Computing III. Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Intelligent Distributed Computing - IDC 2009.

Studies in Computational Intelligence, volume 237, pages 237-242. Springer Verlag. Ayia Napa, Cyprus, October 2009.

Abstract We describe several principles for designing Actor-Agent Communities (AAC) as collectives of autonomous problem solving entities (software agents and human experts) that self-organize and collaborate at solving complex problems.One of the main distinctive aspects of the AAC is their ability to integrate in a meaningful way the expertise and reasoning of humans with different information processing algorithms performed by software agents, without requiring a unique and complete description of the problem and solution spaces.

Locally cached copy: pdf. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-03214-1_25

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Pavlin, G., Wijngaards, N., & Nieuwenhuis, K. (2009).

Towards a single information space for environmental management through self- configuration of distributed information processing systems.

Paper presented at Proceedings of the TOWARDS eENVIRONMENT Opportunities of SEIS and SISE: Integrating Environmental Knowledge in Europe.

Hrebicek, J. and Hradec, J. and Pelikan, E. and Mirovsky, O. and Pillmann, W. and Holoubek, I. and Bandholtz, T. (Eds). Pages 94-103. Mararyk University.

Abstract This paper illustrates objectives of the DIADEM project which focuses on a novel combination of advanced technologies which facilitate collaborative information processing in environmental management applications. The emphasis is on the principles and tools which facilitate creation of a single information space in advanced systems of systems through a systematic integration of heterogeneous processes. In particular, we illustrate the main principles of the DIADEM Process Integration framework, which supports collaborative processing based on a combination of automated reasoning processes and cognitive capabilities of multiple human experts, each contributing specific expertise and processing resources.

Not yet available.

Quillinan, T. B., Brazier, F. M. T., Aldewereld, H.M., Dignum, F., Dignum, V., Penserini, L. and Wijngaards, N. J. E., (2009)

Using Agent-based Organisational Models for Crisis Management,

Proceedings of the 21th Belgium-Netherlands Artificial Intelligence Conference (BNAIC'09),

pages 355-356, Eindhoven, 2009.

Abstract Simulations of crisis scenarios have the potential to increase insight in the organisational structures needed as crises escalate. Multi-agent system (MAS) models allow for cost-effective simulations of changing organisational structures, enabling analysis of the implications for enactment during crisis escalation with respect to roles and communication structures. This paper presents an organisation-based model for crisis management that supports simulation of the dynamics of crisis management.

Locally cached copy: pdf. at Research Gate.

Other Publications

Lignie, M. D., Hu, B., Meer, K. V. D., Kempen, M., & Wijngaards, N. (2009).

Information provision for situation awareness: indicative MOSAIC experiment

(No. D-CIS RR/2009-003).

Delft, The Netherlands: D-CIS Lab.

Abstract The MOSAIC project aims at enhanced situation awareness and reduced information overload to public safety officers (police, fire brigade, medical transport) in a complex safety incident.
In this first MOSAIC indicative experiment, a realistic safety incident, a ship collision with many persons and poisonous gas involved, was simulated by messages on this incident. These messages correspond to usual messages sent to the local police commander at the location of incident.
In the experiment, the original message set (Set-0) was reduced in consecutive ways. In Set-1 messages on victims and events related to the safety incident were combined. In Set-3 only information pertaining to operational police tasks remained (all information on the informative police task was removed). The normal operational background task of the Control and Command Room (CCR) was simulated by a computer game.
The effects of the information reduction on situation awareness and information overload were measured by a questionnaire with questions on the situation, an open evaluation, and background task performance.
Eighteen police officers participated in the experiment. The results showed that removal of messages containing information that was sent before reduces the information overload that is experienced. Aggregating numbers of victims and certain types of events is a most effective way to decrease the number of messages while improving situation awareness. Aggregating geographical data by plotting was, unexpectedly not effective; training beforehand might have improved this.
To conclude, reduction of the number of messages proved to be effective in improving information processing of police officers.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Gouman, R., Kempen, M., Kampman, M., & Wijngaards, N. (2009).

SEAT actor-agent team experimentation

(No. D-CIS RR/2009-001).

D-CIS Lab.

Abstract This research report describes an experiment regarding assessing the effectiveness of actor-agent teams within the SEAT project in the CDM cluster in the ICIS research program. This document focuses on the background of actor-agent teaming, and on a methodology to assess the performance of an actor-agent team in comparison with an actor-only team. The experimental design is described together with the measurements and analysis. The results show that the experimental setup using the REsearch and Simulation toolKit(RESK) provides a repeatable construct. The results of the current performance comparison show no large decrement; but also not a large increment in performance. This is mostly due to the current (low) level ofagent complexity, where improvements are needed in communication capabilities and (more) team-oriented helpful behavior.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Rondeel, E., Holland, R., Wijngaards, N., Kempen, M., & Knippenberg, A. V. (2009).

Cognitive control and decision making: experimentation 2009

(No. D-CIS RR/2009-005).

D-CIS Lab.

Abstract In this research report two experiments are described that investigate the role of cognitive control in decision making. In the first experiment, it was investigated whether high levels of cognitive control influence novel information seeking in the beads in a jar task and whether high cognitive control individuals make better decisions. High cognitive control individuals inquire more information before making a decision, and made more correct decisions. However, they did not make better decisions because they inquired more information. It is still to be investigated whether this better performance is mediated by different strategies used during the task. Furthermore, the results should be replicated for less abstract decision making tasks. The second experiment investigated whether cognitive control plays a role in moral dilemmas and whether moral dilemmas, posing a demanding situation, lead to changes in levels in cognitive control. Levels of cognitive control did not predict responses or response latencies in different types of moral dilemmas, but response latencies on personal and impersonal moral dilemmas predicted changes in cognitive control. Thinking long about non-utilitarian responses on high conflict personal moral dilemmas led to an increase in cognitive control whereas the opposite was true for impersonal moral dilemmas. This indicates that the situation at hand can have an impact on subsequent levels of cognitive control. In this research report, the methodology and results of both experiments are described elaborately and the results are shortly discussed.

Not yet available.

Tina Comes, Michael Hiete, Niek Wijngaards (2009) (2009)

MCDA for distributed collaboration. DEMA use case: Application of MCDA & SBR.

Report within the EC FP7-ICT project Diadem (ref. no: 224318).

Abstract Not yet available.

Not yet available.

2008

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Gouman, R., Kempen, M., Heijden, E. V. D., Wijngaards, N., Vree, P. D., & Capello, T. (2008).

The Borsele files: the challenge of acquiring usable data under chaotic circumstances.

International Journal of Emergency Management,

5(1/2): 57-74, ISSN 1471-4825.

Abstract Conducting empirical research involves a balancing act between scientific rigor and real-life pragmatics. DECIS Lab researches systems-of-systems, consisting of humans and artificial systems involved in collaborative decision making under chaotic circumstances. An important objective is the usefulness of our results to our major application domain: crisis management. DECIS Lab was involved to set up a crisis management exercise experiment and according measurements regarding an improvement in internal communication at Gemeente (Municipality) Borsele. In this paper the empirical research regarding this experiment, the methodology and its results are briefly outlined. Our main lessons learned concern the interrelationship between scenario, experiment and measurements; the problem of acquiring usable data; and the challenges of conducting grounded research.

10.1504/IJEM.2008.019907.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Rondeel, E., Holland, R., Kempen, M., & Wijngaards, N. (2008).

In the mood for change: the influence of mood on change blindness.

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFEI 2008).

Karwowski, Waldemar and Salvendy, Gavriel (Eds). ISBN 987-1-60643-712-4.

Abstract Previous research addressed the role of human cognition in change blindness, but not yet the influence of mood on change blindness. The levels-of-focus hypothesis and attentional flexibility research support the hypothesis that a positive mood enhances detection of peripheral changes in a change blindness task. The conducted study revealed increased performance on peripheral changes for participants in a positive mood. Although the hypothesis that a positive mood leads to a broader visual attention focus or higher visual attentional flexibility was not supported, the results suggest that people in a positive mood rely more on the process of visual sensing.

Locally cached copy: pdf. http://www.aei2008.org/.

van Veelen, J. B., van Splunter, S., Wijngaards, N. J. E. and Brazier, F. M. T., (2008).

Reconfiguration Management of Crisis Management Services,

Proceedings of the 15th conference of the International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS 2008), 2008.

Abstract Management in crisis response requires continuous adaptation, for crisis situations are highly dynamic. Crisis response in general involves multiple parties, each with their own autonomy and capabilities, leading to differentiations in structure, goals and strategies, and constraints for cooperation. A crisis management system needs to support distributed and continuous adaptation on different levels of organisation, in a reliable fashion, ensuring at least some minimal level of service for every defined task. This paper presents an architecture of a generic reflective autonomic management system (GRAM). The GRAM system tackles this real-time configuration challenge by the combination of a template-based configuration system (COWS) and a workflow-based configuration system (SMDS). The first proof-of-concept GRAM system shows a reliable and predictive performance in changing environments. Future work includes extending the current realisation and validating its performance in more realistic settings.}

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Rondeel, E., Kempen, M., Wijngaards, N., & Nieuwenhuis, K. (2008).

The influence of stress and mood on time-constrained decision making in crisis situations: to what extent can we predict human performance?

Proceedings of the International Conference on Human Centered Processes (HCP 2008),

Pages 155-168, D-CIS Lab, 8-12 June 2008, Delft, The Netherlands, 2008. ISBN 978-2-908849-22-6.

Abstract In this position paper a number of hypotheses are posited concerning the effect of measurable human factors, such as subjective stress, arousal and mood, on the performance of human decision making; taking into account the amount of risk involved in the decision. The proposed domain of application is crisis management: a situation in which time-limits, uncertainty and possibly dire consequences provide an ideal context to assess the validity of our hypotheses. Experimentation involves both people in management functions and non-management functions. The final objective is to provide the basis for a demonstrator which can measure mood, arousal and subjective stress on the job, provide runtime feedback and ergo positively influence human decision making processes.

Not yet available.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Abbink, E., Mobach, D., Fioole, P., Kroon, L., Wijngaards, N., & Heijden, E. V. D. (2008).

Actor-agent based approach to train driver rescheduling.

Proceedings of the 20th Belgian-Dutch Conference on Artificial Intelligence (BNAIC 2008).

Nijholt, Anton and Pantic, Maja and Poel, Mannes and Hondorp, Hendri (Eds). Pages 1-8.

Abstract This paper describes the design of a socio-technical research system for the purpose of rescheduling train drivers in the event of disruptions. The research system is structured according to the Actor-Agent paradigm: Here agents assist in rescheduling tasks of train drivers. Coordination between agents is based on a team formation process in which possible rescheduling alternatives can be evaluated, based on constraints and preferences of involved human train drivers and dispatchers. The research aim is to explore the effectiveness of a decentralized, flexible actor-agent based approach to crew rescheduling. The research system is realized using the Cougaar framework and includes actual rolling stock schedule data and driver duty data. The current reduced-scale version shows promising results for the full-scale version end 2008.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

van Veelen, J. B., van Splunter, S., Wijngaards, N. J. E. and Brazier, F. M. T.

Reconfiguration Management of Crisis Management Services,

Proceedings of the 20th Belgium-Netherlands Artificial Intelligence Conference (BNAIC'08),

Enschede, 2008.

Abstract (Extended abstract) Management in crisis response requires continuous adaptation, for crisis situations are highly dynamic. Crisis response in general involves multiple parties, each with their own autonomy and capabilities, leading to differentiations in structure, goals and strategies, and constraints for cooperation. A crisis management system needs to support distributed and continuous adaptation on different levels of organisation, in a reliable fashion, ensuring at least some minimal level of service for every defined task. This paper presents an architecture of a generic reflective autonomic management system (GRAM). The GRAM system tackles this real-time configuration challenge by the combination of a template-based configuration system (COWS) and a workflow-based configuration system (SMDS). The first proof-of-concept GRAM system shows a reliable and predictive performance in changing environments. Future work includes extending the current realisation and validating its performance in more realistic settings.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Lignie, M. D., Hu, B., & Wijngaards, N. (2008).

Improved situation awareness for public safety workers while avoiding information overload.

Proceedings of the BNAIC 2008, the twentieth Belgian-Dutch Artificial Intelligence Conference,

Nijholt, Anton and Pantic, Maja and Poel, Mannes and Hondorp, Hendri (Eds). Pages 333-334.

Abstract This research stems from the MOSAIC project, a part of the valorization and knowledge transfer effort of the Interactive Collaborative Information Systems (ICIS) research programme (http://www.icis.decis.nl/), supported by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, grant no.: BSIK03024. ICIS is hosted by the D-CIS Lab (http://www.decis.nl/), the open research partnership of Thales Nederland, the Delft University of Technology, the University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Other Publications

Niek Wijngaards (2008)

Actor-Agent Communities, A Next Paradigm Shift?

Keynote at the Sixth European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems (EUMAS 2008) Bath, UK, 18-19 December 2008.

Abstract Forthcoming.

Not yet available.

Gouman, R., Kampman, M., Kempen, M., Kuijpers, R., & Wijngaards, N. (2008).

SEAT actor-only team try-out experimentation of july 2008

Thales Research and Technology Netherlands.

Abstract This white paper contains the report of a first try-out experiment regarding assessing the effectiveness of actor-agent teams within the SEAT project. This document describes the background, experimental design and measurements and analysis of a pilot experiment conducted in July 2008 with an actor-only team.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

van Splunter, S., van Veelen, J. B., Brazier, F. M. T. and Wijngaards, N. J. E., (2008).

Generic Reflective Autonomous Management (GRAM),

poster presentation at SIREN 2008, 2008.

Abstract Organisations are similar to distributed systems, in which each system has its own policies, guidelines, and internal structure. When organisations cooperate, e.g., as in the domain of crisis management, a new complex virtual organisation is created. This virtual organisation must adapt to a dynamically evolving world/crisis. How can adaptation of such a complex system be supported?

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Wijngaards, N., & Heijden, E. V. D. (2008).

De Informatie-Assistent.

VMHP Nieuws, special issue "Tour d'Horizon 2008"

106(2): 30-31.

Abstract A 2 page Dutch review of the presentation given by Niek Wijngaards & Eddy van der Heijden.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

2007

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

• To be announced.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Gouman, R., Kempen, M., Vree, P. D., Capello, T., Heijden, E. V. D., & Wijngaards, N. (2007).

The Borsele Files: The Challenge of Acquiring Usable Data under Chaotic Circumstances,

Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM 2007),

pages 93-103, 13-16 May 2007, Delft, The Netherlands, 2007..

Abstract Conducting empirical research involves a balancing act between scientific rigor and real-life pragmatics. DECIS Lab researches systems-of-systems, consisting of humans and artificial systems involved in collaborative decision making under chaotic circumstances. An important objective is the usefulness of our results to our major application domain: crisis management. DECIS Lab was involved to set up a crisis management exercise experiment and according measurements regarding an improvement in internal communication at Gemeente (Municipality) Borsele. In this paper the empirical research regarding this experiment, the methodology and its results are briefly outlined. Our main lessons learned concern the interrelationship between scenario, experiment and measurements; the problem of acquiring usable data; and the challenges of conducting grounded research.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Santen, W. V., Heijden, E. V. D., Janssen, A., & Wijngaards, N. (2007).

Scenario-Based Analysis for Decision Making: a Condition for Success in Crisis Management.

Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM 2007),

13-16 May 2007, Delft, The Netherlands, 2007.

Abstract Humans primarily assess situations and plan for actions by (implicit) scenario-based analysis. Decision making in crisis management situations in The Netherlands unfortunately does not explicitly feature scenario-based analysis; not within teams nor between teams. In this article we formulate conditions for successful application of scenario-based analysis, based on our experiences in crisis management and crisis management exercises. The conditions are formulated and briefly assessed in a number of cases. An important implication for information systems support is identified and future research is announced.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

• To be announced.

Other Publications

Gouman, R., Kempen, M., Vree, P. D., Capello, T., Heijden, E. V. D., & Wijngaards, N. (2007).

Evaluatie 'focus op berichtenverkeer', oefening te gemeente Borsele.

Thales Research and Technology Netherlands.

Abstract One of the major ICIS valorization efforts in 2006 concerned the dissemination of ICIS' results to the Gemeente Borsele (in the Province of Zeeland, The Netherlands). DECIS Lab and Gemeente Borsele have jointly conducted empirical research in the context of a crisis management exercise for Gemeente Borsele. DECIS Lab was involved to set up the crisis management exercise experiment and according measurements regarding an improvement in internal communication at Gemeente Borsele. The major objectives of DECIS Lab (collect crisis data, acquire domain knowledge, discover feasibility) and Gemeente Borsele (improve internal communication, and involve entire internal crisis management organization) were mostly achieved. This report contains our evaluation as a whole together with specific results, as presented to Gemeente Borsele.

Not yet available.

Kempen, M., Wijngaards, N., & Gouman, R. (2007).

Sustained effectiveness of actor-agent teams: explorations & demarcations.

Thales Research and Technology Netherlands.

Abstract The main objective of this document is to bring together our assumptions, models, definitions and other findings regarding actor-agent teams, and effectiveness thereof. As such, this whitepaper by the SEAT project contains our findings on sustained effectiveness of actor-agent teams of the first half of ICIS research programme. The foundations of our research reported herein are formed by three main topics: actor-agent teams, effectiveness, and methodology. This document contains material to gain insight in the width and scope of actor-agent communities, and should be treated as a starting point for additional research and explorations. These demarcations are necessary to restrict the amount of information and effort to manageable proportions.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Gouman, R., Wijngaards, N., & Kempen, M. (2007).

Basic human group characteristics: exploring implications for actor-agent-teams.

Thales Research and Technology Netherlands.

Abstract This deliverable explores basic characteristics of human groups and teams in order to derive implications for actor-agent teams (AAT's). From a socio-psychological group dynamics perspective group developmental stages, membership, cohesion, subgroups, social status, roles, norms and leadership are defined and explained in order to enhance the understanding of the processes that are part of human group behavior. The document subsequently briefly explains what 'actor-agent-team' means, making the assumption that the factors that play a role in human-only teams also play a role in AAT's and putting further implications to discussion.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

2006

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Overeinder, B. J., de Groot, D. R. A., Wijngaards, N. J. E. and Brazier, F. M. T. (2006).

Generative Mobile Agent Migration in Heterogeneous Environments,

Scalable Computing: Practice and Experience,

7(4): 89-99.

Abstract Forthcoming.

Not yet available.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Smit, A., Kempen, M., Meyer, A., & Wijngaards, N. (2006).

The Hidden Dangers of Experimenting in Distributed AI.

Proceedings of the 5th International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS 2006),

Stone and Weiss (Eds), pages 1320-1322, 8-12 May 2006, Future University, Hakodate, Japan, 2006.

Abstract Research on multi-agent systems often involves experiments, also in situations where humans interact with agents. Consequently, the field of experimental (human) sciences becomes more and more relevant. This paper clarifies how things can and often do go wrong in distributed AI experiments. We show the flaws in methodological design in existing papers (both with and without humans) and work out an example involving human test-subjects to introduce the fundamental issues of experimental design. Furthermore, we provide researchers with an approach to improve their experimental design. We wish to stimulate researchers to conduct better experiments -- which will benefit us all

10.1145/1160633.1160877.

Wijngaards, N., Kempen, M., Smit, A., & Nieuwenhuis, K. (2006).

Towards Sustained Team Effectiveness.

Coordination, Organizations, Institutions, and Norms in Multi-Agent Systems,

chapter 4, pages 35-47, Springer-Verlag, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, volume 3913, Berlin, Heidelberg, ISBN 978-3-540-35173-3.

Abstract Collaboration environments impose high demands on humans and artificial systems. Especially during critical tasks team members, including humans, artificial systems and other (sub-) teams, require support to guarantee their continued effectiveness. Effectiveness of individuals and teams is an important ingredient for organizational effectiveness, managerial decision quality, as well as for maintaining organizational awareness. In this position paper we introduce our conceptual view on realizing sustained team effectiveness, in which both the measurement of effectiveness and team management play an important role. A unified, interdisciplinary approach facilitates measuring effectiveness in more complex organizations.

Not yet available.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Kempen, M., Viezzer, M., & Wijngaards, N. (2006).

Humans and agents teaming for ambient intelligence.

Proceedings of the 1st Workshop on Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Ambient Intelligence (AITAmI06) at ECAI2006 ,

Augusto, and Shapiro, D. (Eds), pages 38-39, 29th August 2006, Riva del Garda, Italy.

Abstract In actor-agent teams human and arti?cial entities interact and cooperate in order to enhance and augment their individual and joint cognitive ergonomic and problem solving capabilities. Also actor-agent communities can bene?t from 'ambient cognition', a novel further reaching concept than ambient intelligence that hardly takes into account the resource limitations and capabilities changing over time of both humans and agents in collaborative settings. The Dutch Companion project aims at the realization of an agent that takes advantage of the ambient cognition concerning actor-agent system dynamics such that natural social and emotion-sensitive interaction with an actor over a longer period of time can be sustained. We elaborate on our vision of pursuing ambient cognition within actor-agent systems and brie?y describe the goals of the Dutch Companion project.

Locally cached copy: short pdf. Locally cached copy: extended pdf.

Viezzer, M., Wijngaards, N., & Kempen, M. (2006).

Processing-based concept kinds for actor-agent communities.

Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Context Representation and Reasoning (CRR 2006) at the 17th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI 2006),

29 August 2006, Riva del Garda, Italy, 2006. = {29 August 2006, Riva del Garda, Italy}, note = {Extended abstract at BNAIC 2006: M. Viezzer, N. Wijngaards, M. Kempen. Processing-based concept kinds for actor-agent communities, in Proceedings of the 18th BeNeLux Conference on Artificial Intelligence (BNAIC 2006) Namur, Belgium, 5-6 October 2006

Abstract Engineering complex highly-interactive systems consisting of both human and artificial agents (actor-agent communities) requires insight in the use and role of concepts by individuals and in interaction between individuals (both human and artificial). In this philosophically-oriented paper, the distinction between concept kinds is found to depend on processing differences for these kinds, rather than content-based or structural differences. In addition, this leads to the characterization of a new concept kind: affordance concepts. Our next step is to a) experiment with acquisition of affordance concepts and b) investigate the role of affordances for strategic management of teams.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Other Publications

Kempen, M., Viezzer, M., Wijngaards, N., & Salden, A. (2006).

Humans and agents teaming for ambient cognition.

Thales Research and Technology Netherlands.

This deliverable consists of a 5-page long-paper which was originally submitted to the 1st workshop on "Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Ambient Intelligence (AITAmI06)" (part of ECAI2006) and contains our more elaborate view on the topic of the paper than the short paper.

Abstract In actor-agent teams human and artificial entities interact and cooperate in order to enhance and augment their individual and joint cognitive ergonomic and problem solving capabilities. Also actor-agent communities can benefit from 'ambient cognition', a novel further reaching concept than ambient intelligence that hardly takes into account the resource limitations and capabilities changing over time of both humans and agents in collaborative settings. The Dutch Companion project aims at the realization of an agent that takes advantage of the ambient cognition concerning actor-agent system dynamics such that natural emotion-sensitive interaction with an actor over a longer period of time can be sustained. We elaborate on our vision of pursuing ambient cognition within actor-agent systems and present the plans and expected results of the Dutch Companion project.

Not yet available.

2005

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Damian, D., Jonker, C. M., Treur, J., & Wijngaards, N. (2005).

Integration of behavioural requirements specification within compositional knowledge engineering.

Knowledge Based Systems,

18(7), 353-365.

Abstract In this paper it is shown how specification of behavioural requirements from informal to formal can be integrated within knowledge engineering. The integration of requirements specification has addressed, in particular: the integration of requirements acquisition and specification with ontology acquisition and specification, the relations between requirements specifications and specifications of task models and problem solving methods, and the relation of requirements specification to verification.

10.1016/j.knosys.2005.05.002.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

N Wijngaards, F Dignum, P Jonker, T Ridder, A Visser, S Leijnen, J Sturm, S Weers (2005).

Dutch AIBO Team at RoboCup 2005

Proceedings CD RoboCup 2005.

Osaka, Japan.

Abstract The Dutch AIBO Team is a multi-institute team which competes in the 4-legged robot league of RoboCup since 2004. Our team combines serious research with serious fun: collaborative autonomous (intelligent) systems are applied in Soccer, our shared application domain. This team description paper briefly outlines our current activities for RoboCup 2005.

at Research Gate. pdf.

Sturm, J., Visser, A., and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2005).

Dutch Aibo Team: Technical Report RoboCup 2005

Robot Soccer World Cup IX,

Osaka, Japan, July, 2005 1 Dutch Aibo Team: Technical Report.

Abstract In this report we describe the algorithms implemented by the Dutch Team in the Sony 4-Legged League. In particular, we describe the new modules on the Aibo side (self-localization, role switching poli- cies, vision) as well as some useful tools we created for the developer side (storing binary snapshots, improved color table creation and perfor- mance measurements). Our approach in the variable lighting challenge is explained, which allows to compensate for a wide range of varying lighting conditions. The range of lighting conditions during the chal- lenge was too small to test our algorithm to the extreme, we expect that with this algorithm we can play soccer both indoors and outdoors. This component is still under ongoing development and we hope that next year we can demonstrate fully autonomous self-configuration under arbitrary lighting conditions.

at Research Gate.

Brazier, F.M.T. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2005),

Intelligent Interactive Distributed Systems, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Design Process Improvement - A Review of Current Practice,

Clarkson, P. John and Eckert, Claudia (editors), Chapter 40, pp. 546-549. (Description of Design research at IIDS Group.)

Abstract Forthcoming.

10.1007/978-1-84628-061-0_41. at Research Gate. Not yet available.

Zwanenburg, M., Boddens Hosang, H., & Wijngaards, N. (2005).

Humans, Agents and International Humanitarian Law: Dilemmas in Target Discrimination.

Paper presented at Proceedings of the 4th Workshop on the Law and Electronic Agents (LEA 2005) at the 10th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law (ICAIL 2005),

pages 44-51, 10 June 2005, Bologna, Italy, 2005.
Extended abstract at BNAIC 2005: M. Zwanenburg, H. Boddens Hosang and N.J.E. Wijngaards (2005), Humans, Agents and International Humanitarian Law: Dilemmas in Target Discrimination. In: K. Verbeeck, K. Tuyls, A. Now{\'e}, B. Manderick and B. Kuijpers (Eds), Proceedings of the Seventeenth Belgium-Netherlands Conference on Artificial Intelligence (BNAIC 2005), Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van Belgi{\"e} voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, pp. 408-412.

Abstract The severity of the (potential) consequences of the use of agents in the military domain imperatively necessitates research on the application of the law of armed conflict, which provides 'constraints' on 'human' warfare. In this paper, one of the main principles of that law, target discrimination, is used to highlight legal and ethical dilemmas involving the use of autonomous agents. The incident involving the USS Vincennes warship and the destruction of a commercial airliner is used to illustrate these dilemmas.

at LEA-Online.net.

Wijngaards, N., Kempen, M., Smit, A., & Nieuwenhuis, K. (2005).

Towards Sustained Team Effectiveness.

Paper presented at Proceedings of the International Workshop on Organizations in Multi-Agent Systems: From Organizations to Organization Oriented Programming. (OOOP 2005) at the 4th International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (AAMAS 2005),

25-26 July 2005, Utrecht, The Netherlands, pages 77-89.
Extended abstract at BNAIC 2005: Kempen, Masja, Smit, Annika, Wijngaards, Niek and Nieuwenhuis,Kees, Towards Sustained Team Effectiveness. In: K. Verbeeck, K. Tuyls, A. Now{\'e}, B. Manderick and B. Kuijpers (Eds), Proceedings of the Seventeenth Belgium-Netherlands Conference on Artificial Intelligence (BNAIC 2005), Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van Belgi{\"e} voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, pp. 353-354.

Abstract Collaboration environments impose high demands on humans and artificial systems. Especially during critical tasks team members, including humans, artificial systems and other (sub-) teams, require support to guarantee their continued effectiveness. Effectiveness of individuals and teams is an important ingredient for organizational effectiveness, managerial decision quality, as well as for maintaining organizational awareness. In this position paper we introduce our conceptual view on realizing sustained team effectiveness, in which both the measurement of effectiveness and team management play an important role. A unified, interdisciplinary approach facilitates measuring effectiveness in more complex organizations.

Locally cached copy: pdf. at Research Gate.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

• To be announced.

Other Publications

Marten Zwanenburg, Hans Boddens Hosang, Niek J. E. Wijngaards (2005).

Humans, Agents and International Humanitarian Law: Dilemmas in Target Discrimination.

In: Katja Verbeeck, Karl Tuyls, Ann Nowé, Bernard Manderick, Bart Kuijpers (Eds). BNAIC 2005 - Proceedings of the Seventeenth Belgium-Netherlands Conference on Artificial Intelligence.

pages 408-412. Brussels, Belgium, October 17-18, 2005. Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van Belie voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten 2005

Abstract The severity of the (potential) consequences of the use of agents in the military domain imperatively necessitates research on the application of the law of armed conflict, which provides 'constraints' on 'human' warfare. In this paper, one of the main principles of that law, target discrimination, is used to highlight legal and ethical dilemmas involving the use of autonomous agents. The incident involving the USS Vincennes warship and the destruction of a commercial airliner is used to illustrate these dilemmas.

at Research Gate.

Wijngaards, N., & Marin, O. (2005).

Distributed Agents Researchers around the World, Unite!

IEEE Distributed Systems Online,

6(11).

Abstract In its own blurry kind of way, the agent paradigm comes across as one of those whatever-it-is-I-can-fix-it tools we've all dreamed of. And then, as it should be with such dreams, reality intrudes with a vengeance.
An often heard lament is that agent technology is not used by 'the industry'. In this column we argue that agent research needs to look at themselves, and show, by demonstration, how agent technology can be used. Industry is, in general, interested in technology which provides something 'better': in terms of solutions to problems, in terms of cost, maintenance, deployments, development, etc. As such, more emphasis and rewards need to be placed on building demonstrations of agent technology, including performance metrics and comparisons with alternative technologies.

DOI: 10.1109/MDSO.2005.56.

2004

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Brazier, F.M.T., Oskamp, A., Prins, J.E.J., Schellekens, M.H.M. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2004).

Anonymity and Software Agents: An Interdiscplinary Challenge.

Artificial Intelligence & Law,

12(1-2):137-157, ISSN 0924-8463.

Abstract Software agents that play a role in E-commerce and E-government applications involving the Internet often contain information about the identity of their human user such as credit cards and bank accounts. This paper discusses whether this is necessary: whether human users and software agents are allowed to be anonymous under the relevant legal regimes and whether an adequate interaction and balance between law and anonymity can be realised from both the perspective of Computer Systems and the perspective of Law.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1007/s10506-004-6488-5.

Brazier, F.M.T., Oskamp, A., Prins, J.E.J., Schellekens, M.H.M. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2004).

Law-Abiding & Integrity on the Internet: a Case for Agents.

Artificial Intelligence & Law,

12(1-2):5-37, ISSN 0924-8463.

Abstract Software agents extend the current, information-based Internet to include autonomous mobile processing. In most countries such processes, i.e. software agents are, however, without an explicit legal status. Many of the legal implications of their actions (e.g. gathering information, negotiating terms, performing transactions) are not well understood. One important characteristic of mobile software agents is that they roam the Internet: they often run on agent platforms of others. There often is no pre-existing relation between the 'owner' of a running agent's process and the owner of the agent platform on which an agent process runs. When conflicts arise, the position of the agent platform owner is not clear: is he or she allowed to slow down the process or possibly remove it from the system? Can the interests of the user of the agent be protected? This article explores legal and technical perspectives in protecting the integrity and availability of software agents and agent platforms.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1007/s10506-004-6250-z.

Langen, P.H.G. van, Wijngaards, N.J.E. and Brazier, F.M.T. (2004).

Towards Designing Creative Artificial Systems.

AIEDAM,

Brazier, F.M.T. and Duffy, A. (editors). Note: Special Issue on Learning and Creativity in Design, 18:4(217--225).

Abstract Can artificial systems be creative? Can they be designed to be creative on their own? And what are the requirements of such creative artificial systems? To be able to support humans who are expected to deliver creative solutions, or to automate part of their tasks, this paper presents a proposal for creativity requirements that provide a basis for designing creative artificial systems.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1017/S0890060404040156.

Wijngaards, N.J.E., Boonstra, H.M. and Brazier, F.M.T. (2004).

The Role of Trust in Distributed Design.

AIEDAM,

Brazier, F.M.T. and Gero, J.S. (editors). Note: Special Issue on Intelligent Agents in Design. 18(2):199--209.

Abstract Automated support of design teams, consisting of both human and automated systems, requires an understanding of the role of trust in distributed design processes. By explicitating trust, an individual designer's decisions become better understood and may be better supported. Each individual designer has his or her private goals in a co-operative design setting, in which requirement conflicts and resource competitions abound. There are, however, also group goals that also need to be reached. This paper presents (1) an overview of research related to trust in the context of agents and design, (2) a computational knowledge-level model of trust based on the seven beliefs distinguished by Castelfranchi and Falcone (2000); and (3) an example of the use of the trust model in a specific design process, namely website design from the perspective of a single designer. The results are discussed in the context of distributed design in open systems.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1017/S0890060404040132.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

• To be announced.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Wijngaards, N., Nieuwenhuis, K., & Burghardt, P. (2004).

Actor-Agent Communities in Dynamic Environments.

Proceedings of the TNO Workshop on ICT & Agents,

24 November 2004, The Hague, The Netherlands.

Abstract Actor-Agent Communities (or AACs) are a particular type of Complex System that involve the collaboration of multiple human and artificial agents for the realization of a common mission. The definition and development of such communities give rise to a number of research challenges which are addressed in the DECIS Lab, a partnership among academia, the research community and industry.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

van Splunter, S. Wijngaards, N.J.E. Brazier, F.M.T. Richards, D. (2004).

Automated Component-Based Configuration: Promises and Fallacies.

Proceedings of the Adaptive Agents and Multi-Agent Systems workshop at the AISB 2004 Symposium

pp. 130-135.

Abstract: Re-use of software components is standard practice in software design and development in which humans play an important role. In many dynamic environments, however, (semi-)automated configuration of systems, is warranted. This paper examines three such domains: Agent Factories, Web service configuration and general software composition. The differences and similarities between these approaches, and the progress that is being made are discussed.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Groot, D.R.A. de, Oskamp, A. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2004)

Agent-Based Information Retrieval: Legal and Technical Considerations in a Simple Case.

The Law and Electronic Agents: Proceedings of the LEA 04 workshop,

Claudia Cevenini (editor), pp. 95-107.

Abstract Information retrieval is currently one of the most important usages of the Internet. Scientific publishers are one of the sources of information, providing access to digital libraries on a subscription basis. Contracts between publishers and larger organizations specify how access is to be regulated. This paper explores the legal implications and technical considerations of the use of soft-ware agents to facilitate on- and off-campus access to the ScienceDirect digital library.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Other Publications

Frances Brazier, David de Groot, Anja Oskamp, Corien Prins, Maurice Schellekens & Niek Wijngaards (2004)

Survival of the Legally Fittest.

Proceedings of the 4th International System Administration and Network Engineering Conference (SANE 2004),

pp. in press.

Abstract Technical, commercial and legal issues strongly influence system administrators. Management of (distributed) systems with connections to outside users, e.g. via webservices or (mobile) software agents, may involve contracts. The challenge is to find simple, elegant and effective solutions to (automated) contract management systems, preferably as part of overall (distributed) management systems.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Sander van Splunter, Niek Wijngaards, Frances Brazier, Debbie Richards (2004).

Automated Component-Based Configuration: Promises and Fallacies.

Belgium-Netherlands Artificial Intelligence Conference (BNAIC'04),

pages ...

Abstract The full version of this paper appeared in Proceedings of the Adaptive Agents and Multi-Agent Systems workshop at the AISB 2004 Symposium, Leeds, UK, pp. 130-145, 2004.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Sander van Splunter, Niek Wijngaards, Frances Brazier, Pieter van Langen (2004).

Automated web-service configuration: an attempt.

Poster at the 4th International System Administration and Network Engineering Conference (SANE 2004).

DETAILS

Abstract The Internet provides a multitude of (Web) services. Individual services will not always offer the exact functionality that is required; therefore, such services often need to be combined.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

David R.A. de Groot, Frances M.T. Brazier, Anja Oskamp and Niek J.E. Wijngaards (2004)

Agent-Based Information Retrieval: Legal and Technical Considerations in a Simple Case.

Belgium-Netherlands Artificial Intelligence Conference (BNAIC'04),

pages 339-340.

Abstract The full version of this paper appeared in: Claudia Cevenini (editor), The Law and Electronic Agents: Proceedings of the LEA 04 workshop, pp. 95-107

Locally cached copy: pdf.

S. Oomes, P. Jonker, M. Poel, A. Visser, M. Wiering, W. Caarls, S. Leijnen, S. van Weers, Niek Wijngaards and Frank Dignum (2004).

The Dutch AIBO Team Report on RoboCup 2004

Appeared: January 2005.

AIBO Robocup Standard Platform League.

Abstract Not yet available.

at Research Gate. pdf.

2003

Back to the overview.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Mobach, D.G.A. Overeinder, B.J. Wijngaards, N.J.E. Brazier, F.M.T. (2003).

Managing Agent Life Cycles in Open Distributed Systems.

Proceedings of the 18th ACM Symposium on Applied Computing,

pp. 61-65, March. Melbourne, FL, USA.

Abstract Large scale open, heterogeneous, distributed environments such as the Internet, are the environments in which (intelligent) agents need to be able to function and survive. These environments need to provide distributed support, including management services, for such agent systems. In this paper a local management architecture, implemented in AgentScape, is provided together with a management-oriented life cycle model. A major feature of this model is the central role of one of the states of the life cycle model, namely the "suspended" state: the state in which an agent is manageable. A prototype implementation of the management system based on the life cycle model is described.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1145/952532.952547.

Splunter, S. van Wijngaards, N.J.E. Brazier, F.M.T. (2003).

Structuring Agents for Adaptation.

Adaptive Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

Alonso, E., Kudenko, D. and Kazakov, D. (editors), pp. 174-186, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI), Volume 2636, Springer-Verlag Berlin.
Also presented at The First European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems EUMAS, 18-19 December 2003, Oxford, England.

Abstract Agents need to be able to adapt to the dynamic nature of the environments in which they operate. Automated adaptation is an option that is only feasible if enough structure is provided. This paper describes a component-based structure within which dependencies between components are made explicit. An example of a simple web-page analysis agent is used to illustrate the structuring principles and elements.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Brazier, F.M.T. Oskamp, A. Prins, J.E.J. Schellekens, M.H.M. Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2003).

Are anonymous agents realistic?

Proceedings of the LEA 2003: The Law and Electronic Agents,

Oskamp, A. and Weitzenboeck, E. (editors), pp. 69-79, June.

Abstract Software agents are involved in Internet applications such as E-commerce and may contain identificatory information about their human user such as credit cards and bank accounts. This paper discusses whether human users and software agents are allowed to be anonymous and whether anonymity is technically realisable from the perspective of Artificial Intelligence, Computer Systems and Law.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T. Oskamp, A. Schellekens, M.H.M. Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2003).

Can agents close contracts?

Proceedings of LEA 2003: The Law and Electronic Agents,

Oskamp, A. and Weitzenboeck, E. (editors), pp. 9-20, June.

Abstract One of the tasks of software agents on the Internet will be to close contracts on behalf of their owner. The closing of a contract is subject to liabilities. In this, there is no distinction between the real world and the virtual world. Like in the real world, within the virtual world a distinction has to be made between the precontractual phase and the contractual phase. The liabilities in these phases are different. Therefore negotiation protocols for agents need to distinguish between these phases and different responsibilities may exist in the different phases. This paper presents some of the issues involved, viewed from a technical and legal perspective.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T. Oskamp, A. Schellekens, M.H.M. Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2003).

Are mobile agents outlawed processes?

Proceedings of LEA 2003: The Law and Electronic Agents,

Oskamp, A. and Weitzenboeck, E. (editors), pp. 127-139, June.

Abstract An important characteristic of mobile agents is that they often do not run on their user's platform, but on the platform of someone else. There often is no pre-existing relation between the 'owner' of the running agent's process and the owner of the platform on which the agent process runs. When there are conflicts the position of the owner is not clear: is he allowed to slowdown the process or even remove it from the system? And how can the interests of the owner of the agent be protected? This paper explores the legal and technical perspectives to protecting the integrity of agent processes.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Other Publications

Brazier, F.M.T. Oskamp, A. Prins, J.E.J. Schellekens, M.H.M. Schreuders, E. Wijngaards, N.J.E. Apistola, M. Voulon, M.B. Kubbe, O. (2003).

ALIAS: Analysing Legal Implications and Agent Information Systems.

Technical Report, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam,

Number: IR-CS-004, July.

Abstract From the introduction: Technology on the Internet involves multiple co-operating processes (e.g., known as services, peers, or agents). Software agents are the most versatile of these processes, as their characteristics such as autonomy, mobility, and intelligence are characteristics taken from human interaction. Notions such as anonymity and privacy need to be reconsidered in the digital world In the ALIAS project the research areas of Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Law are combined to analyse legal implications (rights, responsibilities, problems and new questions) of agent technology. The aim of this project is to provide guidelines for both CS/AI-researchers and Legal-researchers. This document describes the exploratory results from the ALIAS project, without claiming exhaustiveness. A number of problems are identified (e.g., in relation to open-ended systems, free for all to join, and closed systems with controlled access) and directions for future research are indicated.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2003).

Are You in Control of Your Own Computer?

Distributed Systems Online (DS-online), "Distributed Wisdom" Department,

4(12), December.

Abstract None.

Column at DS-online

2002

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Wijngaards, N.J.E., Overeinder, B.J., Steen, M. van and Brazier, F.M.T. (2002).

Supporting Internet-Scale Multi-Agent Systems.

Data and Knowledge Engineering,

41(2-3):229-245.

Abstract The Internet provides a large-scale environment for (intelligent) software agents. Agents are autonomous (mobile) processes, capable of communication with other agents, interaction with the world, and adaptation to changes in their environment. Current approaches to support agents are not geared for large-scale settings. The near future holds thousands of agents, hosts, messages, and migratory movements of agents. These large-scale aspects require a new approach to facilitate the development of agent applications and support. AgentScape is a scalable agent-based distributed system described in this paper that aims at tackling these aspects.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1016/S0169-023X(02)00042-3.

Herlea, D.E., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

A Compositional Knowledge Level Process Model of Requirements Engineering.

International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering,

12(1):41-75.

Abstract In current literature few detailed process models for Requirements Engineering are presented: usually high-level activities are distinguished, without a more precise specification of each activity. In this paper the process of Requirements Engineering has been analyzed using knowledge-level modelling techniques, resulting in a well-specified compositional process model for the Requirements Engineering task. This process model is considered to be a generic process model: it can be refined (by instantiation or specialisation) into a process model for a specific kind of Requirements Engineering process.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Brazier, F.M.T., van Steen, M. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

Distributed Shared Agent Representations.

Multi-Agent-Systems and Applications II,

Marik, V., Stepankova, O., Krautwurmova, H. and Luck, M. (editors), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer Verlag, 2322:213-220. Note: 9th ECCAI-ACAI/EASSS 2001, AEMAS 2001, HoloMAS 2001. Selected Revised Papers.

Abstract The external representation of an agent is (part of) the embodiment of an agent: other agents may observe this information. The public representation of an agent usually contains at least the identity of an agent, and may include profiles of the agent, profiles of the user of an agent, an avatar, etc. In large-scale agent systems, scalability is an important issue. Replication is a scaling technique for distributing information over a number of locations. Replication of the external representation of an agent results in distributed shared agent representations. This paper addresses a number of issues involved in the realisation of such distributed shared agent representations, and brie y discusses middleware that is being devised to support such developments.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Overeinder, B.J., Steen, M. van and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

Agent Factory: Generative Migration of Mobile Agents in Heterogeneous Environments.

Proceedings of the 2002 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC 2002),

pp. 101-106.

Abstract In most of today's agent systems migration of agents requires homogeneity in the programming language and/or agent platform in which an agent has been designed. In this paper an approach is presented with which heterogeneity is possible: agents can migrate between non-identical platforms, and need not be written in the same language. Instead of migrating the code (including data and state) of an agent, a blueprint of an agent's functionality is transferred. An agent factory generates new code on the basis of this blueprint. This approach of generative mobility not only has implications for interoperability but also for security, as discussed in this paper.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1145/508791.508811.

Brazier, F.M.T. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

Automated (Re-)Design of Software Agents.

Proceedings of the Artificial Intelligence in Design Conference (AID2002),

Gero, J.S. (editor), pp. 503-520, Kluwer Academic Publishers,

Abstract Autonomous software agents are dynamic entitities: they are capable of discovering a need for change - for additional knowledge and/or functionality on the basis of their analysis of specific situations. Agent factories are capable of redesigning and reactivating agents on the basis of the information provided by agents and/or knowledge available within the agent factories. As a result agents may evolve in ways their designers could never have pre-conceived. The artefacts themselves are dynamic in a way that can not be compared to any other type of design in current design practice. A number of prototype agents and agent factories have been built to evaluate the feasibility of this concept and its consequences.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1007/978-94-017-0795-4_24.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Overeinder, B.J., Wijngaards, N.J.E., Steen, M. van and Brazier, F.M.T. (2002).

Multi-Agent Support for Internet-Scale Grid Management.

Proceedings of the AISB'02 Symposium on AI and Grid Computing,

Rana, O. and Schroeder, M. (editors), pp. 18-22.

Abstract Internet-scale computational grids are emerging from various research projects. Most notably are the US National Tech-nology Grid and the European Data Grid projects. One specific problem in realizing wide-area distributed computing environments as proposed in these projects, is effective management of the vast amount of resources that are made available within the grid environment. This paper proposes an agent-based approach to resource management in grid environments, and describes an agent infrastructure that could be integrated with the grid middleware layer. This agent infrastructure provides support for mobile agents that is scalable in the number of agents and the number of resources.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Overeinder, B.J., Steen, M. van and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

Generative Migration of Agents.

Proceedings of the AISB'02 Symposium on Adaptive Agents and Multi-Agent Systems,

Alonso, E., Kudenko, D. and Kazakov, D. (editors), pp. 116-119.

Abstract Agents, and in particular mobile agents, offer a means for application developers to build distributed applications. In current agent systems, mobility of agents is constrained by the environment of the agents: the agent platform (which supports agents) and the agent s code base (e.g., DESIRE, Java). Generative migration is needed to adapt an agent to conform to its destination agent platform and code base. In this paper generative migration is described as a process of transparently adapting an agent. An agent can continue to function at its new location on a completely different agent platform.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

Designing Creativity.

Proceedings of the Learning and Creativity in Design workshop at AID'02,

Abstract Is it possible to design for creativity? This is one of the most important research questions in AI and Design. This paper raises the question whether automated software agent design can be creative. Not only is the artefact dynamic in the sense that it adapts to its environment, it is also autonomous: an agent decides on its own when to be modified and by whom. An agent s functionality may evolve beyond the expectations of its designers and/or users resulting in very new, unique artefacts. Is this type of design creative? Is the process creative? The result?

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., van Langen, P.H.G., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

Model-Based Development of Design Process Models.

AID '02 Workshop on Design Process Modelling,

Clarkson, P.J. and Eckert, C.M. (editors), Cambridge University.

Abstract Not only do generic compositional models of design support the analysis of design processes and the development of practical design support systems, they also provide the basic structure for more specific design process models. The generic design model GDM provides a compositional structure that has been refined for different types of design as illustrated in this paper for a number of practical design applications. These new models have proven to be applicable in different domains.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Mobach, D.G.A., Overeinder, B.J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

Supporting Life Cycle Coordination in Open Agent Systems.

Proceedings of the MAS Problem Spaces Workshop at AAMAS 2002.

Abstract Coordination mechanisms need the proper support if they are to function within large-scale, heterogeneous multi-agent systems. This paper presents a life cycle model for mobile agents in which a number of different states and transitions are defined. An agent's state can be used to provide coordination mechanisms with useful status information, enabling these mechanisms to deal with realistic situations, in which agents are not always directly available, and the agent population possibly consists of many different types of agents

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Kubbe, O., Oskamp, A. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

Are Law-Abiding Agents Realistic?

Proceedings of the workshop on the Law of Electronic Agents (LEA02),

Sartor, G. and Cevenini, C. (editors), pp. 151-155.

Abstract Software agents are an inherent extension to the current Internet. They are, however, without a legal status. They autonomously roam the Internet, perform transactions, and gather information. The legal implications of their actions are, however, not well understood. This paper presents some of the issues involved, viewed from the perspective of Artificial Intelligence, Computer Systems and Law.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

The Role of Trust in Automated Distributed Design.

Proceedings of the Workshop on Agents in Design (WAID), held at the Artificial Intelligence in Design conference (AID-02),

J.S. Gero and F.M.T. Brazier (editors), pp. 71-84, Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, University of Sydney, Australia.

Abstract In this paper, the role of trust is discussed in the context of an example setting of an automated design application in a highly dynamic and open environment. Section 2 provides a brief overview of current research on trust in agent systems and design. Section 3 describes an example of a distributed design application, for which trust implications are analysed from the perspective of a single agent. Section 4 discusses the results.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

The Role of Trust in Automated Distributed Design.

Proceedings of the Workshop on Intelligent Agents in Design, held at the Artificial Intelligence in Design conference (AID-02),

pp. 17-22. Note: See the WAID02 paper for an extended version.

Abstract None.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Other Publications

Brazier, F.M.T., Mobach, D.G.A., Overeinder, B.J., Splunter, S., van Steen, M. van and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

AgentScape: Middleware, Resource Management, and Services.

Proceedings of the 3rd International SANE Conference (SANE 2002),

pp. 403-404.

Abstract The AgentScape project is geared to support largescale distributed systems at three levels: middleware, services, and applications. This extended abstract presents the basic AgentScape architecture, resource management, and one specific service for code mobility in more detail.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Splunter, S. van and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

Knowledge-Based Design and Evolutionary Design: Adversaries or Compatriots?

Proceedings of the Intelligent Agents in Design Workshop at AID'02,

pp. 35-38.

Abstract None.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Mobach, D.G.A., Overeinder, B.J., Posthumus, E., Splunter, S. van, Steen, M. van and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

AgentScape Demonstration.

Proceedings of the Fourteenth Belgium-Netherlands Conference on Artificial Intelligence (BNAIC2002),

Blockeel, H. and Denecker, M. (editors), pp. 513-514.

Abstract The AgentScape framework is the current focus of research within the IIDS Group in close collaboration with the Computer Systems Group at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. This framework includes the AgentScape OS, a number of services including the Generative Migration Facility, and support for application developers. AgentScape Middleware: Agent Operating System The AgentScape operating system (AOS) [5] provides a platform with which mobile, autonomous agents can be managed. The rationale behind AgentScape's design is (1) to provide a platform for large-scale agent systems [1], (2) to support multiple code bases and operating systems, and (3) to support interoperability with other agent platforms.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Overeinder, B.J., Steen, M. van and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2002).

Generative Migration of Agents.

Proceedings of the Fourteenth Belgium-Netherlands Conference on Artificial Intelligence (BNAIC2002),

Blockeel, H. and Denecker, M. (editors), pp. 409-410. Note: extended abstract of AISB02 paper on Generative Migration.

Abstract Agents, and in particular mobile agents, offer a means for application developers to build distributed applications. Given homogeneity of agent platform and code base, agent migration is possible. However, many agent platforms exist, differing substantially in the support for agents. Write once - run everywhere is not yet true for agents... Heterogeneity of agent platforms, combined with heterogeneity in code-bases of agents, leads to an interesting question concerning agent mobility: can an agent migrate in a heterogeneous environment? The answer is relatively simple: an agent needs to be adapted to its destination agent platform and code-base, e.g. by an agent factory.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Wijngaards, N.J.E. Overeinder, B.J. Steen, M. van Brazier, F.M.T.

Supporting Internet-Scale Multi-Agent Systems.

Proceedings of the Fourteenth Belgium-Netherlands Conference on Artificial Intelligence (BNAIC2002),

Blockeel, H. and Denecker, M. (editors), pp. 501-502. Note: extended abstract from DKE2002 "Supporting Internet-Scale Multi-Agent Systems".

Abstract Although current research on agent systems focuses on relatively small-scale agent systems, soon vast numbers of agents will be deployed in large-scale agent systems, e.g. on the Internet. Large-scale agent systems need to be extensible, heterogenous, interoperable, and scalable. Scalability entails systems to scale (in terms of the number of agents and available resources) almost immediately without noticeable loss of performance, or considerable increase in administrative complexity [1].

Locally cached copy: pdf.

2001

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Brazier, F.M.T., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2001).

Compositional Design of a Generic Design Agent.

Design Studies journal,

22(5):439-471.

Abstract This paper presents a generic architecture for a design agent, to be used in an Internet environment. The design agent is based on an existing generic agent model, and includes a refinement of a generic model for design, in which strategic reasoning and dynamic management of requirements are explicitly modelled. The generic architecture has been designed using the compositional development method DESIRE, and has been used to develop a prototype design agent for automated agent design.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1016/S0142-694X(00)00044-2.

Brazier, F.M.T., Moshkina, L.V. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2001).

Knowledge level model of an individual designer agent in collaborative distributed design.

Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Engineering,

15(2):137-152. Note: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/aieng

Abstract In this paper a knowledge-level model of an individual designer as an agent is described, in which reflective reasoning about elements of situatedness, and reasoning from the point of view of other participants, are explicitly modelled. This model is based on existing models of single agent design. An individual designer in a specific distributed design process, namely website design, is used to illustrate the model.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1016/S0954-1810(01)00012-7.

Brazier, F.M.T. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2001).

Automated Servicing of Agents.

AISB Journal,

1(1):5-20. Note: Special Issue on Agent Technology.

Abstract Agents need to be able to adapt to changes in their environment. One way to achieve this, is to service agents when needed. A separate servicing facility, an agent factory, is capable of automatically modifying agents. This paper discusses the feasibility of automated servicing.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2001).

Deliberative Evolution in Multi-Agent Systems.

International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering,

11(5):559-581.

Abstract Evolution of automated systems, in particular evolution of automated agents based on agent deliberation, is the topic of this paper. Evolution is not a merely material process, it requires interaction within and between individuals, their environments and societies of agents. An architecture for an individual agent capable of (1) deliberation about the creation of new agents, and (2) (run-time) creation of a new agent on the basis of this, is presented. The agent architecture is based on an existing generic agent model, and includes explicit formal conceptual representations of both design structures of agents and (behavioural) properties of agents. The process of deliberation is based on an existing generic reasoning model of design. The architecture has been designed using the compositional development method DESIRE, and has been tested in a prototype implementation.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1142/S0218194001000670.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Brazier, F.M.T., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2001).

Deliberate Evolution in Multi-Agent Systems.

Dynamics and Management of Reasoning Processes,

Gabbay, D. and Smets, Ph. (editors), Series in Defeasible Reasoning and Uncertainty Management Systems, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 6:363-380.

Abstract Evolution of automated systems, in particular evolution of automated agents based on agent deliberation, is the topic of this paper. Evolution is not a merely material process, it requires interaction within and between individuals, their environments and societies of agents. An architecture for an individual agent capable of (1) deliberation about the creation of new agents, and (2) (run-time) creation of a new agent on the basis of this, is presented. The agent architecture is based on an existing generic agent model, and includes explicit formal conceptual representations of both design structures of agents and (behavioural) properties of agents. The process of deliberation is based on an existing generic reasoning model of design. The architecture has been designed using the compositional development method DESIRE, and has been tested in a prototype implementation.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Splunter, S. van and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2001).

Strategies for integrating multiple viewpoints and levels of detail.

Strategic Knowledge and Concept Formation III,

Gero, J.S. and Hori, K. (editors), Key Centre of Design, Computing and Cognition, University of Sydney, pp. 103-128.

Abstract Automated design requires explicit representation of strategic knowledge. This paper focuses on strategic knowledge needed to reason with and about viewpoints during the design of a software agent. Reasoning with and about viewpoints entails not only deciding which viewpoint to consider when and in which context, but also at which level of detail. In this paper an information retrieval agent is used to illustrate how these types of knowledge can be used to design software agents.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2001).

Designing Self-Modifying Agents.

Computational and Cognitive Models of Creative Design V,

Gero, J.S. and Maher, M.L. (editors), Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, University of Sydney, pp. 93-112.

Abstract Agents need to be able to adapt to changes in their environment. One way to achieve this, is to provide agents with the ability of self-modification. Self-modification requires reflection and strategies with which new knowledge can be acquired, a necessary condition for creativity. This paper describes a knowledge-level model for the design of self-modifying agents and explores the feasibility of automatically designing self-modifying agents.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Brazier, F.M.T., van Steen, M. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2001).

On MAS Scalability.

Proceedings of Second International Workshop on Infrastructure for Agents, MAS, and Scalable MAS,

Wagner, T. and Rana, O. (editors), University of Montreal, pp. 121-126.

Abstract In open dynamic multi-agent environments the number of agents can vary signi cantly within very short periods of time. Very few (if any) current multi-agent systems have, however, been designed to cope with large-scale distributed applications. Scalability requires increasing numbers of new agents and resources to have no noticeable effect on performance nor to increase administrative complexity. In this paper a number of implications for techniques and management are discussed. Current research on agent middleware is briefly described.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2001).

Automated servicing of agents.

Proceedings of the AISB-01 Symposium on Adaptive Agents and Multi-agent systems, at the Agents and Cognition AISB-01 conference,

Kudenko, D. and Alonso, E. (editors), The society for the study of artificial intelligence and the simulation of behaviour, pp. 54-64.

Abstract Agents need to be able to adapt to changes in their environment. One way to achieve this, is to service agents when needed. A separate servicing facility, a multi-agent factory, is capable of automatically modifying agents. This paper discusses the feasibility of automated servicing.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Other Publications

Brazier, F.M.T., Steen, M. van and Wijngaards, N. (2001).

Distributed Shared Agent Representations.

Proceedings of the 13th Dutch-Belgian AI Conference,

Krose, B., de Rijke, M., Schreiber, G. and van Someren, M. (editors), pp. 77. Note: Extended abstract of AEMAS2001 publication

Abstract None.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

2000

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Journal Articles

Brazier, F.M.T., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2000).

On the use of shared task models in knowledge acquisition, strategic user interaction and clarification agents.

International journal of human-computer studies,

52(1):77-110.

Abstract In this paper three different roles of a shared task model as an intermediate representation of a task are presented and illustrated by applications developed in cooperation with industry. First the role of a shared task model in knowledge acquisition is discussed. In one of the two applications, decision support in the domain of soil sanitation, one of the existing generic task models for diagnostic reasoning provided a means to structure knowledge acquisition. In the second application, diagnosis of chemical processes, the acquisition process resulted in a shared task model for diagnostic reasoning on Nylon-6 production. Secondly, the role of a shared task model in designing user interaction is addressed. Three levels of interaction are considered of importance: interaction at the object level, at the level of strategic preferences, and at the level of task modification. In an application in the domain of environmental decision making, this led to the design of a user interface based on the acquired shared task model, within which all three levels of interaction were available to users. Finally, the role of shared task models within a multi-agent system including a clarification agent is addressed. Two software agents were designed that each share a task model with the user: one for a diagnosis task, and one for a clarification task. The shared model of the clarification task reflects the shared task model of diagnosis; clarification includes clarification of the overall diagnostic reasoning process. The multi-agent architecture presented has been developed to support a user both at the level of the diagnostic task he or she is performing and at the level of clarification. The architecture has been applied to diagnosis of chemical processes.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1006/ijhc.1999.0322.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Brazier, F.M.T., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (2000).

Deliberate Evolution in Multi-Agent Systems.

Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on AI in Design, AID'2000,

Gero, J.S. (editor), pp. 633-650, Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Abstract This paper presents an architecture for an agent capable of deliberation about the creation of new agents, and of actually creating a new agent in the multi-agent system, on the basis of this deliberation. The agent architecture is based on an existing generic agent model, and includes explicit formal conceptual representations of both design structures of agents and (behavioural) properties of agents that can be used as requirements. The process of deliberation is modelled as a design process, based on an existing generic design model. To actually create a new agent at run-time on the basis of the design results, the agent executes a creation action in the material world, which leads to a world state update to include the new agent, after which the new agent functions within the multi-agent system. This approach enables the design of evolution processes in societies of agents for which the evolution is not a merely material process which takes place in isolation from the mental worlds of the agents, but allows for interaction between mental and material processes. A combined mind-matter approach results in which the agents in a society can deliberatively influence the direction of the evolution, comparable to the potential offered by genetic engineering. The architecture has been designed using the compositional development method DESIRE, and has been tested in a prototype implementation.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

None.

Other Publications

None.

1999

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

Brazier, F.M.T., Treur, J., Wijngaards, N.J.E. and Willems, M. (1999).

Temporal semantics of compositional task models and problem solving methods.

Data and Knowledge Engineering,

29(1):17-42, Elsevier.

Abstract Task models and problem solving methods can be specified informally or formally. In recent years various approaches have formalized their notion of task model or problem solving method. Most modelling approaches concentrate on the form of a task model or problem solving method rather than on their precise semantics; a formalisation is often only a syntactical formalisation. A more precise definition of the semantics requires explication of the control of a system s behaviour. In this paper temporal semantics is defined for a compositional modelling approach to task models and problem solving methods. The semantics is a description of a compositional system s behaviour; a temporal approach provides a means to describe the dynamics involved. The formalisation of the semantics is based on compositional three-valued temporal models. The compositional structure of information states, transitions and reasoning traces provides a transparant model of the system s behaviour, both conceptually and formally.

Locally cached copy: pdf. 10.1016/S0169-023X(98)00029-9.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Herlea, D.E., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1999).

Specification of Behavioural Requirements within Compositional Multi-Agent System Design.

Proceedings of the 9th European Workshop on Modelling Autonomous Agents in a Multi-Agent World, MAAMAW'99,

Garijo, F. and Boman, M. (editors), Lecture Notes in AI, 1647:8-27, Springer Verlag, Berlin.

Abstract In this paper it is shown how informal and formal specification of behavioural requirements and scenarios for agents and multi-agent systems can be integrated within multi-agent system design. In particular, it is addressed how a compositional perspective both on design descriptions and specification of behavioural requirements can be exploited. The approach has been applied in a case study: the development of a mediating information agent. It is shown that compositional verification benefits from the integration of requirements engineering within the design process.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Herlea, D.E., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1999).

Integration of Behavioural Requirements Specification within a Knowledge Engineering Methodology.

Proceedings of the 11th European Workshop on Knowledge Acquisition, Modelling and Management, EKAW'99,

Fensel, D. and Studer, R. (editors), Lecture Notes in AI, 1621:173-190, Springer Verlag.

Abstract It is shown how specification of behavioural requirements from informal to formal can be integrated within knowledge engineering. The integration of requirements specification has addressed, in particular: the integration of requirements acquisition and specification with ontology acquisition and specification, the relations between requirements specifications and specifications of task models and problem solving methods, and the relation of requirements specification to verification.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Herlea, D.E., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1999).

A Formal Knowledge Level Process Model of Requirements Engineering.

Multiple approaches to intelligent systems Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Industrial and Engineering Applications of AI and Expert Systems, IEA/AIE'99,

Imam, I., Kodratoff, Y., El-Dessouki, A. and Ali, M. (editors), Lecture Notes in AI, 1611:869-878, Springer Verlag.

Abstract In current literature few detailed process models for Requirements Engineering are presented: usually high-level activities are distinguished, without a more precise specification of each activity. In this paper the process of Requirements Engineering has been analyzed using knowledgelevel modelling techniques, resulting in a well-specified compositional process model for the Requirements Engineering task.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1999).

Deliberate Evolution in Multi-Agent Systems.

Proceedings of the Third Annual Conference on Autonomous Agents, Agents'99,

Etzioni, O., Mueller, J.P. and Bradshaw, J. (editors), pp. 356-357, ACM Press. Note: Extended version: Report SEN-R9836, CWI, Amsterdam, 1998.

Abstract This paper presents an architecture for an agent capable of deliberation about the creation of new agents, and of actually creating a new agent in the multi-agent system, on the basis of this deliberation. After its creation the new agent participates fully in the running multi-agent system. The agent architecture is based on an existing generic agent model, and includes explicit formal conceptual representations of both structures of agents and (behavioural) properties of agents that can be used as requirements. Moreover, to support the deliberation process the agent has explicit knowledge of refinement relations between properties and knowledge of relations between structure and properties of agents. To actually create a new agent at run-time on the basis of the results of deliberation, the agent executes a creation action in the material world, which leads to a world state update to include the new agent, after which the new agent functions within the multi-agent system. This approach enables the design of evolution processes in societies of agents for which the evolution is not a merely material process which takes place in isolation from the mental worlds of the agents, but allows for interaction between mental and material processes. A combined mind-matter approach results in which the agents in a society can deliberatively influence the direction of the evolution, comparable to the potential offered by genetic engineering. The architecture has been designed using the compositional development method DESIRE, and has been tested in a prototype implementation.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Flores, R.A. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1999).

Primitive Interaction Protocols for Agents in a Dynamic Environment.

Proceedings of the 12th Workshop on Knowledge Acquisition, Modelingand Management (KAW'99),

Gaines, B.R., Kremer, R.C. and Musen, M. (editors), 1:'3-2-1'-'3-2-20'.

Abstract None.

Locally cached copy: None.

Jacobsen, M.D., Wijngaards, N.J.E., Kremer, R., Shaw, M. and Gaines, B. (1999).

The Comparative Evaluation of a Classroom and Distance Industrial Software Engineering Graduate Course.

Proceedings of the International Conference on Mathematics/Science Education & Technology M/SET-99,

Session #1188, pp. 6, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.

Abstract This paper describes the extent to which we achieved our original objectives with a distance-based learning model for a graduate course in software engineering. The approach taken to compare concurrent local and distance learning environments includes evaluations from three perspectives: 1) the teachers, 2) the learners, and 3) technical support. As a result of the current experiment, our next experiment will be focussed on a distance-only offering of a graduate course.

Locally cached copy: None.

Jacobsen, M., Wijngaards, N.J.E., Kremer, R. and Shaw, M. (1999).

The Learning Web: A Comparison of Learning Environments in Concurrent Classroom and Distance Education Sections of a Software Engineering Graduate Course.

World Conference on Educational Multimedia/Hypermedia & Educational Telecommunication.

Abstract None.

Locally cached copy: None.

Kremer, R., Jacobsen, M., Wijngaards, N.J.E. and Shaw, M. (1999).

The Learning Web: The Instructor's Experience In Concurrent Classroom and Distance EducationSections of a Software Engineering Graduate Course.

World Conference on Educational Multimedia/Hypermedia & Educational Telecommunication.

Abstract None.

Locally cached copy: None.

Kremer, R., Jacobsen, M., Wijngaards, N.J.E. and Shaw, M. (1999).

The Learning Web: A Technical Evaluation of WebCT in Concurrent Classroom andDistance Education Sections of a Software Engineering Graduate Course.

World Conference on Educational Multimedia/Hypermedia & Educational Telecommunication.

Abstract None.

Locally cached copy: None.

Other Publications

Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1999).

Re-design of Compositional Systems.

PhD Thesis,

30 September, 1999. Promotor: Prof.dr. Jan Treur; Co-promotor: dr. Frances Brazier.

Abstract See thesis.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

1998

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

None.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Brazier, F.M.T., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1998).

An Agent Architecture for Dynamic Re-design of Agents.

Proc. of the AID'98 Workshop on Distributed Web-based Design Tools,

Rodgers, P. and Huxor, A. (editors). Note: Extended abstract in: Y. Demazeau (ed.),Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Multi-Agent Systems,ICMAS'98, IEEE Computer Society Press, 1998, pp. 401-402.

Abstract This paper presents a generic architecture for an agent capable of designing and creating new agents. The design agent itself is based on an existing generic agent model, and includes a refinement of a generic model for design, in which strategic reasoning and dynamic management of requirements are explicitly modelled. This model is refined for the design of agents, or (parts of) multi-agent systems. It includes an explicit formal representation at a logical level of (1) requirements that can be formulated for agents and multi-agent systems, and (2) design object descriptions of a (part of a) multi-agent system. The generic architecture has been formally specified in DESIRE, and has been tested in a prototype application.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1998).

Compositional Design of a Generic Design Agent.

Proc. Of the AAAI Workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Manufacturing,

Luger, G. (editor), pp. 30 - 39, 1998, AAAI Press, Menlo Park CA.

Abstract This paper presents a generic architecture for a design agent. The design agent is based on an existing generic agent model, and includes a refinement of a generic model for design, in which strategic reasoning and dynamic management of requirements are explicitly modelled. The generic architecture has been designed using the compositional development method DESIRE, and has been used to develop a prototype design agent for automated agent design.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

Brazier, F.M.T., Jonker, C.M., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1998).

On the role of abilities of agents in redesign.

Proceedings of the 11th Banff Knowledge Acquisition for Knowledge-based Systems workshop, KAW'98,

Gaines, B.R. and Musen, M.A. (editors), pp. 16, SRDG Publications, Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary.

Abstract Abilities of agents and properties of their environment provide a means to describe behaviour and functionality. These abilities also provide a basis for re-design. In this paper an example is given of a prototype system for re-design of a multi-agent system in which the abilities and properties are made explicit.

Locally cached copy: None. Remote location at kaw98 proceedings.

Brazier, F.M.T. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1998).

An instrument for a Purpose Driven Comparison of Modelling Frameworks.

Proceedings of the 11th Banff Knowledge Acquisition for Knowledge-based Systems workshop, KAW'98,

Gaines, B.R. and Musen, M.A. (editors), pp. 18, SRDG Publications, Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary. Note: Extended version.

Abstract During the past decade a number of modelling frameworks for knowledge based systems have been developed. In this paper an approach to the comparison of modelling frameworks is proposed, based on the aims and purposes behind the frameworks. A purpose oriented comparison of the frameworks DESIRE, CommonKADS, Protege-II, Mike, Vital and Karl, provides insight in their differences and similarities.

Remote location at kaw98 proceedings.

Jacobsen, M., Kremer, R., Shaw, M. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1998).

The Comparative Evaluation of a Classroom and Distance Industrial Software Engineering Graduate Course.

TeleLearning 1998 - Building Global Telelearning Communities.

Abstract None.

Locally cached copy: None.

Other Publications

None.

1997

Back to the overview.

Journal Articles

None.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Brazier F.M.T. and Wijngaards N.J.E. (1997).

An Instrument for a Purpose Driven Comparison of Modelling Frameworks.

Knowledge Acquisiton, Modelling and Management, Proceedings of the 10th EKAW'97,

Plaza, E. and Benjamins, R. (editors), Lecture Notes in AI, 1319:212-229, Springer Verlag. Note: Extended version available in kaw98.

Abstract None.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Internationally Refereed Workshops

None.

Other Publications

AUTHORS_YEAR.

TITLE.

JOURNALPROCEEDINGS,

EDITOR VOLUMENUMBERPAGES

Abstract ABSTRACT_TEXT

Locally cached copy: pdf.

1996

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Journal Articles

Brazier, F.M.T., Langen, P.H.G. van, Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1996).

Redesign and reuse in compositional knowledge-based systems.

Knowledge Based Systems,

Wognum, P.M. and Smith, I.F.C. (editors), Special Issue on Models and Techniques for Reuse of Designs, 9:105-118.

Abstract It is a recent trend in the literature on verification to study the use of compositionality and abstraction to structure the process of verification. Earlier, a compositional verification method was introduced for logic-based specifications of knowledge-based systems. The current paper discusses the requirements for the choice and use of a suitable logic with which verification proofs of such compositional reasoning systems can be formalized. For the particular application of the logic the following requirements for the logic itself and for the use of the logic are of importance: - compositional structure: proofs can be structured in a compositional manner, in accordance with the compositional structure of the system design. - dynamics and time: dynamic properties can be expressed, reasoning and induction over time is possible. - incomplete information states can be expressed. - transparency: the proof system and the semantics are transparent and not unnecessarily complicated. In the paper, temporal epistemic logic (TEL) is shown to be a suitable logic. By choosing temporal epistemic logic, a choice was also made for a discrete and linear time structure and for time to be global, which is a suitable choice for the formalization of verification proofs of sequential knowledge-based reasoning systems.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Langen P.H.G. van, Treur J., Wijngaards, N.J.E. and Willems M. (1996).

Modelling an elevator design task in DESIRE: the VT example.

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS),

Schreiber, A.Th. and Birmingham, W.P. (editors), Special Issue on Sisyphus-VT, 44:469-520.

Abstract It is a recent trend in the literature on verification to study the use of compositionality and abstraction to structure the process of verification. Earlier, a compositional verification method was introduced for logic-based specifications of knowledge-based systems. The current paper discusses the requirements for the choice and use of a suitable logic with which verification proofs of such compositional reasoning systems can be formalized. For the particular application of the logic the following requirements for the logic itself and for the use of the logic are of importance: - compositional structure: proofs can be structured in a compositional manner, in accordance with the compositional structure of the system design. - dynamics and time: dynamic properties can be expressed, reasoning and induction over time is possible. - incomplete information states can be expressed. - transparency: the proof system and the semantics are transparent and not unnecessarily complicated. In the paper, temporal epistemic logic (TEL) is shown to be a suitable logic. By choosing temporal epistemic logic, a choice was also made for a discrete and linear time structure and for time to be global, which is a suitable choice for the formalization of verification proofs of sequential knowledge-based reasoning systems.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Benjamins, R., Harmelen, F. van and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1996).

Summary of the KEML'96 workshop.

The Knowledge Engineering Review,

11(2):193-195. Note: summary of the Knowledge Engineering and Modelling Language's Workshop 1996.

Abstract None.

Locally cached copy: None.

Internationally Refereed Scientific Publications

Brazier, F.M.T., Treur J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1996).

The acquisition of a shared task model.

Advances in Knowledge Acquisition, Proc. of the 9th European Knowledge Acquisition, Workshop, EKAW'96,

Shadbolt, N., O'Hara, K. and Schreiber, A.Th. (editors), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 1076:278-289, Springer Verlag, Berlin.

Abstract The process of the acquisition of an agreed, shared task model as a means to structure interaction between expert users and knowledge engineers is described. The role existing (generic) task models play in this process is illustrated for two domains of application, both domains requiring diagnostic reasoning. In both domains different levels of interaction between an expert user and a diagnostic reasoning system are distinguished

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Treur, J. and Wijngaards, N.J.E. (1996).

Modelling interaction with experts: the role of a shared task model.

Proc. of the 12th European Conference on AI, ECAI'96,

Wahlster, W. (editor), pp. 241-245, Wiley and Sons, Chichester.

Abstract The role of an agreed, shared task model as an intermediate representation of a design/decision task upon which (1) negotiation between an expert user and a knowledge engineer, and (2) interaction between an expert user and an intelligent design/decision support system are based, is the focus of the research presented. A declarative compositional approach to user-centered system design (within the DESIRE framework) is presented and illustrated on the basis of a shared task model for the design of environmental policy.

Locally cached copy: pdf.

Brazier, F.M.T., Harmelen F. van, Straatman R., Treur J., Wijngaards, N.J.E. and Willems M. (1996).

A Purpose Driven Method for Language Comparison.

Advances in Knowledge Acquisition. Proc. of the 9th European Knowledge Acquisition Workshop, EKAW'96,

Shadbolt, N., O'Hara, K. and Schreiber, A.Th. (editors), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 1076:66-81,

Abstract Current efforts to compare knowledge engineering (KE) modelling languages have been limited to either rather shallow comparisons on a broad-set of languages, or to detailed comparisons with limited applicability to a narrow set of languages. In this paper we propose a novel way of organising language comparisons. This method is based on an alternating decomposition of the goals that a language tries to achieve and the linguistic methods it employs to achieve these goals. This new method for comparing languages allows a general comparison at high levels of abstraction, while not preventing more precise comparisons whenever possible. One result of our comparison method is an insight in the different assumptions that underly the languages to be compared. Two further consequences follow from the proposed comparison method, namely (i) a measure for the degree of similarity between languages, and (ii) a method for translating between languages. After describing our method, we apply it to a pair of KE modelling languages, and show how it yields insights in the assumptions underlying the languages and how it can be used to produce a translation procedure between the languages.

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