5,688 research outputs found
E-negotiation design and engineering
No full textThis paper is an excerpt from a book by Gregory Kersten, which was not yet completed before his unexpected passing in May 2020. Following a note from Gregory’s family, the paper includes a section of a book chapter dealing with negotiation protocols. It shows how negotiation, as a purposeful process governed by explicit and implicit rules has protocols that can be employed to help negotiators orient themselves in this process. In particular, with respect to e-negotiations, the paper stresses the need to have a shared and clear understanding of the terms that are used by negotiators and software, which should be provided by taxonomy or ontology. The paper distinguishes three principal aspects of negotiations: decision and choice; language; and process. It also identifies key challenges related to the successful implementation of negotiation software agents
A Multiattribute Auction Procedure and Its Implementation
No full textA multiattribute auction procedure that allows bidders to make informed bids without knowledge of the bid-taker's preferences is presented. The procedure can be extended to allow the bid-taker to differentiate among the bidders, place them into categories, and formulate different requirements for each category. The procedure is adapted to reverse auctions and it is illustrated with a simple procurement case. The implementation of the procedure in the IMARAS system and the initial results from the system use in experimental settings are discussed
Markets of Logistics Services: The Role of Actors’ Behavior to Enhance Performance
No full textIn real markets of logistics services, actors make independent decisions to pursue their own objectives, neglecting the need for maximizing performance of the market as a whole. The aim of this chapter is to assess the inefficiency of such logistics markets and define policies to improve system-wide performance, taking into account each actor’s behavior. A simulation model of a logistics marketplace is thus defined, wherein the transportation needs of a number of shippers have to be matched with the capacities of several carriers. The model is used to assess the players’ behavior and system performance in a decentralized logistics market. The analysis shows the extent to which certain features of the market affect inefficiency, stressing the room for improvement. Based on simulation results, several recommendations are given, aimed at influencing the actors’ autonomous decision making. We discuss how the recommendations’ efficacy is impacted by behavioral issues
Rational Inefficient Compromises in Negotiation
No full textIt has often been assumed that rational negotiators who achieve inefficient compromises should accept Pareto improvements suggested by some external party, such as an expert, mediator, or a computer system. Following this assumption an argument is made to give legitimacy to efficient compromises generated by a negotiation support system or to entice a party move to a Pareto improvement. The simplifications made in model construction on the one hand and the very narrow and limited considerations of rationality in present negotiation support systems on the other, suggest a different approach to support. This approach is based on engaging users to a sound process and confronting them with their inconsistencies rather than providing solutions or promoting improvements. About the Authors Gregory E. Kersten is a Senior Research Scholar with the Decision Analysis and Support Project of the International Institute for Applied Systems. Geoff Mallory is a Lecturer in Strategy at the Open Univ..
Negotiating Inefficient Compromises: Is Less Better than More?
No full textSignificant efforts are made to design and implement decision and negotiation support systems to identify efficient alternatives. The underlying assumption is that decisionmakers prefer an efficient alternative over an inefficient one. Experimental studies indicate that people often accept inefficient compromises and are unwilling to improve them even if prompted to do so. This report presents preliminary results for the analysis of 605 bilateral negotiations in which only 20.8% of negotiators who achieved an inefficient compromise entered the post-settlement phase in an attempt to improve the compromise. iv About the Authors David Cray is a Professor at the School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Gregory Kersten was a Senior Research Scholar with the Decision Analysis and Support Project from July 1997-June 1998. He is now a Professor at the Department of Decision Sciences and MIS at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. 1 Negotiating Inefficient Compromises: ..
The Rhetoric of Landscape in Gregory of Nyssa’s Homilies on the Song of Songs
No full textThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Brill via the ISBN in this recordAnalytical and Supporting Studies. Proceedings of the 13th International Colloquium on Gregory of Nyssa (Rome, 17-20 September 2014)Series:
Vigiliae Christianae, Supplements, Volume: 150In this paper I want to take you on a walk through a garden. It is, to be sure, an imaginary garden; nevertheless, it bears a significance which extends beyond itself. Some of this significance concerns words and texts: for as we shall see, the garden is, amongst other things, a ‘garden of rhetoric’. The garden in question appears in the Gregory of Nyssa’s Homilies on the Song of Songs.[...
An Evening with Richard Claxton “Dick” Gregory, Civil Rights Activist, Nutritionist, Comedian, and Author
No full textGregory, Richard Claxton “Dick” (Born, October 12, 1932, St. Louis, Mo.), African American comedian and civil rights activist whose social satire changed the way white Americans perceived African American comedians since he first performed in public. Gregory’s autobiography, Nigger, was published in 1963 prior to The assassination of President Kennedy, and became the number one best-selling book in America. Over the decades it has sold in excess of seven million copies. His choice for the title was explained in the forward, where Dick Gregory wrote a note to his mother. “Whenever you hear the word ‘Nigger’,” he said, “you’ll know their advertising my book.” In 1984 he founded Health Enterprises, Inc., a company that distributed weight loss products. In 1987 Gregory introduced the Slim-Safe Bahamian Diet, a powdered diet mix, which was immensely profitable. Economic losses caused in part by conflicts with his business partners led to his eviction from his home in 1992. Gregory remained active, however, and in 1996 returned to the stage in his critically acclaimed one-man show, Dick Gregory Live! The reviews of Gregory’s show compared him to the greatest stand-ups in the history of Broadway
Knowledge-based coordination and support for software agents in supply chains
No full textPurpose - Auctions and negotiations are key exchange mechanisms used in supply-chain transactions involving complex goods (including services) that have high profit impact. Negotiation was a prolonged and difficult process making interactions with several partners simultaneously impossible while auctions' disadvantage is their focus on price and inability to make distinctions between individual buyers and/or sellers. Providing a single negotiator with software agents that are able to support her activities, advise her on the best course of action, and act on her behalf allows her to engage in multiple interactions with human and software-based counterparts. In this paper we discuss the ANIMA system, designed to support negotiators engaged in multiple bilateral negotiations, and its loose integration with the Invite multi-bilateral e-negotiation system.
Design/methodology/approach - The data collected from the initial experiments shows that agents are able to negotiate with humans and, using knowledge base, adapt their strategies to those that humans employ. The methodology here is based on experimental design and statistical analysis. Our findings will be used for the design of a knowledge base that will be accessible by human and artificial users of Imbins and Imaras. The methodology primarily consists of knowledge engineering and system design.
Originality/value - The approach which we propose is novel in the following three aspects:
1. It proposes formal methods for multi-attribute auction and multi-bilateral negotiations which can be experimentally studied and used to build knowledge bases for the human and artificial e-market participants;
2. It proposes an integrated environment in which humans and software agents can collaborate, compete and inform themselves and others; and
3. It proposes a platform for coordination mechanism in agent-based supply chains, agent-mediated auctions and negotiations, and multi-agent market modelling.
Practical implications - The outcomes of this research will be new generation of e-market systems and software agents capable of: combining auction and negotiation mechanisms and using them separately; aiding individual buyers and sellers in managing complex transactions; supporting both buyers and sellers in their achievement of joint and individual substantive outcomes (e.g., revenue, costs, deadlines, and quality); as well realizing relational outcomes (e.g., trust, satisfaction with dealing, reliability, and rapport)
“Judge Me Gently”: Reflections on the Religious Life of John Milton Gregory, 1822–1898
No full text John Milton Gregory is familiar to many Christian educators through his 19th-century publication, The Seven Laws of Teaching. For most readers of this important book, little is known about the author himself. This article explores the religious life and theological foundations of John Milton Gregory, who was both author of The Seven Laws of Teaching and founding president of the University of Illinois. Utilizing his spiritual diaries preserved in his daughter's biography of her father and archival sources from the University of Illinois, this essay offers a theological and spiritual understanding of this important historical figure. </jats:p
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