Pedro Sanz Angulo

Design and Implementation of a Multi-agent Framework for the Selection of Partners in Dynamic VEs

Many researchers agree that a key element in the VE succeed is the search, identification and selection of partners. This task is complex and is deeply influenced by the negotiation needs. This paper presents a simple but operational model of the selection process, in which partners are selected from a VE Breeding Environment. This model is the core of the multiagent platform that we have developed specifically for the selection of partners in the DVE context, which we also present in this paper.

Developing a Multi-agent Software to Support the Creation of Dynamic Virtual Organizations aimed at Preventing Child Abuse Cases

Child abuse is a serious and worldwide problem that our society must try to completely eradicate. This goal, undoubtedly ambitious, requires an intensive work in the education of every individual and, of course, in the recognition of the children’s rights. Although in recent years significant progresses have been made in this sense, we must do everything in our power to adequately protect children, responding promptly and in a personalized way to each abuse situation. For this purpose, we must employ all the available resources and, furthermore, search for new solutions and tools. In order to provide an adequate response, all those stakeholders (both entities and people) that are involved in the prevention, detection and intervention activities should work together creating collaborative networks in which they provide what they really do best, i.e., their core business. However, network collaboration must face numerous challenges in order to become an effective instrument. Every abuse case is unique, so networks must involve different components in each new situation, and even these components can change during the performance: it is necessary, therefore, a dynamic and flexible networking model that allows the continuous evolution of resources and services, as well as the incorporation of new ones. These inter-collaborative problems in child abuse domain are difficult to solve without considering the new organizational models and, of course, the Information and Communication Technologies that make them possible. In this way, the Dynamic Virtual Organization (DVO) is probably the best organizational response to the problem. In a DVO a set of business partners come together dynamically, on demand, and in accordance with the requirements of a specific problem, disappearing when those needs have been met. DVOs are rapid creation and fast dissolution organizations, constructed ad hoc the opportunity of collaboration.

Creation of Dynamic Virtual Organizations for Child Abuse Prevention in the VO Breeding Environment Context

Child abuse is a serious problem in our society. In order to provide an adequate response, all the entities involved in its prevention, detection and intervention should work in collaborative networks. In this sense, our labor aims at facilitating the creation of DVOs adapted to the different abuse situations. To that end, we are working to define both a VBE in the Castilla y Leon region (Spain) and a multi-agent expert system able to facilitate the selection of partners.