The Role of Norms and Electronic Institutions in Multi-Agent Systems

by Vazquez, Salceda J.

• ISBN13: 9783764370572
• ISBN10: 3764370572
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-30
• Publisher: Birkhauser

Summary

The design of multi-agent systems (MAS) in complex, open environments can benefit from social abstractions in order to cope with problems in coordination, cooperation and trust among agents, problems which are also present in human societies.The agent-mediated electronic institutions is a new and promising field. Work is focused in social concepts such as norms and institutions in order to provide normative frameworks to restrict or guide the behaviour of software agents. However, current approaches are either too theoretical (formal notations for norms) or too practical (agent architectures and agent platforms with norms) to be properly merged and applied.This book presents HARMONIA, a new framework for electronic organizations that defines a multi-level structure, from the most abstract level of the normative system to the final multi-agent implementation.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
List of Tables	xii
Preface	xiii
I Applying Electronic Institutions and Norms to Complex Domains	1	(88)
Introduction	3	(16)
Autonomy	5	(2)
Coordination and Coordination Theories	7	(5)
Social Structures	8	(3)
Commitments and Conventions	11	(1)
Institutions	12	(4)
Human Institutions	13	(1)
Types of Institutions	13	(1)
Electronic Institutions	14	(2)
Summary	16	(3)
Carrel: an Agent-Mediated System for Organ and Tissue Allocation	19	(40)
Introduction	19	(3)
Medical Informatics and Agents	22	(4)
Patient-Oriented Information Management	23	(1)
Cooperative Management of Patients	24	(1)
Autonomous Monitoring and Diagnosis of Patients	24	(1)
Remote Health Care Services	25	(1)
Agents and the Transplant Domain	25	(1)
The Organ and Tissue Allocation Problem	26	(8)
Coordination Structure: the Spanish Model	26	(3)
The Organ and Tissue Allocation Process	29	(5)
The Carrel System	34	(5)
Analysis of the System	34	(3)
Important Requirements	37	(2)
Formalizing the Carrel System	39	(16)
The Performative Structure	39	(3)
Describing the Scene Protocols	42	(7)
Normative Rules	49	(3)
The Textual Specification	52	(1)
The Agent Architecture	52	(2)
A Network of Carrel Institutions	54	(1)
Discussion	55	(4)
Norms, Agents and Electronic Institutions	59	(30)
What is a Norm?	59	(6)
The View of Norms in Social Theory	60	(2)
The View of Norms in Legal Theory	62	(2)
The View of Norms in Computer Science	64	(1)
Social Interaction from the Individual's Point of View	65	(6)
Formalizing Norms	66	(2)
Norm Autonomous Agents	68	(2)
Discussion about Agent-Centric Views	70	(1)
Social Interaction from the Society's Point of View	71	(9)
Definition and Formalization of Social Systems	71	(9)
Discussion about Social-Centric Views	80	(1)
Building Electronic Institutions. Multi-Agent Methodologies and Frameworks	80	(4)
Agent Methodologies without Normative Aspects	81	(2)
Agent Methodologies with Normative Aspects	83	(1)
Electronic Institutions vs. Electronic Organizations	84	(1)
Summary	84	(5)
II HarmonIA: a New Approach to Model Electronic Institutions	89	(134)
A Multi-Layered Normative Framework for Agents	91	(24)
Intuitive Description of the Impact of Norms in Agents	92	(5)
Knowledge and Beliefs	92	(1)
Goals	93	(2)
Beliefs and Knowledge about Norms and Roles	95	(2)
Conceptualization of Norms in Terms of Possible Worlds	97	(12)
Norms as Legally Accessible Worlds	99	(1)
Context	100	(3)
Abstract and Concrete Norms	103	(3)
Rules	106	(1)
Roles	107	(2)
Norms and the BDI Cycle	109	(3)
Enforcing and Following Norms. Police Agents	112	(2)
Summary	114	(1)
A Multi-Layered Framework for Organizations	115	(32)
Creating E-Organizations	115	(2)
Using Norms inside E-Organizations	115	(1)
Four Levels of Abstraction	116	(1)
The Abstract Level: Statutes, Objectives, Values and Norms	117	(5)
From Values to Norms	119	(1)
Representing Norms	120	(2)
The Concrete Level: from Abstract Norms to Concrete Norms	122	(4)
Sources of Abstraction	122	(4)
Limitations of Norms	126	(1)
The Rule Level: Translating Norms into Rules	126	(4)
The Procedure Level	130	(3)
Policies	133	(1)
Role Hierarchy	134	(4)
Ontologies	138	(1)
Influence of the E-Organization's Context. Regulations	138	(3)
Influence of the Background Knowledge	141	(1)
Creating Electronic Institutions	142	(1)
Summary	143	(4)
Applying Harmonia to the Organ and Tissue Allocation Problem	147	(60)
The Abstract Level in Carrel	148	(6)
Defining ONT Statutes	149	(2)
Defining the Abstract Norms	151	(2)
Summary: the Abstract Level in Carrel	153	(1)
Role Hierarchy and Goal Distribution	154	(3)
The Concrete Level in Carrel	157	(7)
The Organ and Tissue Allocation Policies	158	(3)
The Security Policy	161	(2)
Summary: the Concrete Level in Carrel	163	(1)
The Rule Level in Carrel	164	(22)
The Organ and Tissue Allocation Policies	165	(5)
The Security Policy	170	(8)
Violations and Sanctions	178	(8)
Summary: the Rule Level in Carrel	186	(1)
The Procedure Level in Carrel	186	(19)
Implementation Decisions	187	(2)
Refining the Role Hierarchy	189	(3)
Refining the Violations and Sanctions	192	(2)
The Procedure Level in Islander	194	(11)
Summary	205	(2)
Conclusions	207	(16)
Our Proposal of a New Framework	208	(3)
Original Contributions	211	(2)
Distinction between Normative and Operational	211	(1)
Normative Systems and Contexts	211	(1)
New Terminology	212	(1)
Connection between Formal Specification and Agent Implementation	212	(1)
Norm Enforcement as Detecting Illegal Worlds	213	(1)
Ongoing Work	213	(6)
Definition of a Modular Architecture for E-Organizations	213	(4)
Creation of Tools for E-Organizations	217	(2)
Testing the Framework in New Domains	219	(1)
Suggestions for Further Research	219	(4)
III Appendix and Bibliography	223	(2)
A Medical Data Protection and the Internet	225	(14)
A.1 Medicine, Information Technology and Privacy	225	(2)
A.2 Advantages of Electronic Formats for Medical Data	227	(1)
A.3 Requirements to be Fulfilled	227	(5)
A.3.1 Requirements from the Medical Community	228	(1)
A.3.2 Law-Enforced Requirements	228	(4)
A.4 Privacy and Security of Electronic Medical Data	232	(1)
A.5 Security Measures for Medical Information Systems	233	(1)
A.6 Desirable Characteristics of a Medical Information System	234	(2)
A.7 The New Users of Medical Data	236	(1)
A.8 Summary	236	(3)
B The UCTx System	239	(11)
B.1 Creating a Multi-Agent System for a Hospital's Transplant Unit	239	(5)
B.2 An Example: The Cornea Transplantation	244	(4)
B.3 Summary	248	(2)
Bibliography	250	(19)
List of Acronyms	269	(2)
Glossary	271	(2)
Authors Index	273