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A Group Cooperative Decision Support System Based on Extended Contract Net

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Abstract

With the prevalence of the Web, most decision-makers are likely to use the Web to support their decision-making. Furthermore, many decision-makers begin to seek cooperators on the Internet to help them to solve complex decision problem. In the paper, we propose a research framework for Group Cooperative Decision Support System (GCDSS) and determine three layers such as task layer, cooperator layer and resource layer to characterize it and demonstrate how electronic market could facilitate cooperation in GCDSS. Then we present the negotiation model of GCDSS and propose a task decomposition method based on which one can decompose a complex problem into a formal task AND/OR tree. We also propose a task assignment method based on extended Contract Net to perform task allocation in GCDSS and describe the group cooperative decision-making process in Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language (KQML). An optimal policy is designed to find the optimal solution of task AND/OR tree and cooperative problem solving process is illustrated with an example for education development plan in China. Finally, we conclude with a brief overview of research contribution, along with some proposals for further research.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper from the research group in Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The authors would like to thank the editor, the associate editor, and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and guidance too. The research was supported by National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61174147, 90924301) and the National Science Foundation for Distinguished Youth Scholar (Grant No. 71125001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Systems Engineering, School of Automation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Yong Xie & Hongwei Wang

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  1. Yong Xie
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  2. Hongwei Wang
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Correspondence to Yong Xie.

Additional information

This work is supported by National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant No.61174147, 90924301, 71125001)

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Xie, Y., Wang, H. A Group Cooperative Decision Support System Based on Extended Contract Net. Group Decis Negot 23, 1191–1217 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-013-9369-z

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