955272
A Formal Approach to Detecting Shilling Behaviors in Concurrent Online Auctions
Shilling behaviors are one of the most serious fraud problems in online auctions, which make winning bidders have to pay more than what they should pay for auctioned items. In concurrent online auctions, where multiple auctions for the same type of items are running simultaneously, shilling behaviors can be even more severe because detecting, predicting and preventing such fraudulent behaviors become very difficult. In this paper, we propose a formal approach to detecting shilling behaviors in concurrent online auctions using model checking techniques. We first develop a model template that represents two concurrent online auctions in Promela. Based on the model template, we derive an auction model that simulates the bidding processes of two concurrent auctions. Then we use the SPIN model checker to formally verify if the auction model satisfies any questionable behavioral properties that are written in LTL (Linear Temporal Logic) formulas. Thus, our approach simplifies the problem of searching for shilling behaviors in concurrent online auctions into a model checking problem. Finally, we provide a case study to illustrate how our approach can effectively detect possible shill bidders.
205925700
Compositional Petri net models of advanced tasking in Ada-95
The Ada language has been designed to support development of concurrent and distributed software. While the Ada-83 standard defined the basic mechanisms of rendezvous-based tasking, the Ada-95 standard significantly extended this capability with the introduction of several advanced tasking constructs. We present and discuss formal models of these key tasking constructs using the Petri net model. We also provide some formal evaluation of the models using one particular net-based method, invariant analysis. The constructs considered are the asynchronous transfer of control, the protected object, and the requeue statement. By modeling these advanced Ada tasking constructs with Petri nets, we obtain compositional models of the constructs that are complementary to earlier work in net-based modeling of Ada tasking, both in terms of defining precise behavior for tasking semantics, and also in terms of providing support for automated analysis of concurrent software.
5913002
Formal modeling of synchronization methods for concurrent objects in Ada 95
One important role for Ada programming is to aid engineering of concurrent and distributed software. In a concurrent and distributed environment, objects may execute concurrently and need to be synchronized to serve a common goal. Three basic methods by which objects in a concurrent environment can be constructed and synchronized have been identified [1]. To formalize the semantics of these methods and to provide a formal model of their core behavior, we provide some graphic models based on the Petri net formalism. The purpose of this formal modeling is to illustrate the possibility of automatic program analysis for object-oriented features in Ada-95. Models for the three distributed- object synchronization methods are discussed, and a potential deadlock situation for one of the methods/models is illustrated. We conclude with some comparison of the three methods in terms of the model abstractions.
14915210
A Framework for Model-Based Design of Agent-Oriented Software
Agents are becoming one of the most important topics in distributed and autonomous decentralized systems, and there are increasing attempts to use agent technologies to develop large-scale commercial and industrial software systems. The complexity of such systems suggests a pressing need for system modeling techniques to support reliable, maintainable, and extensible design. G-nets are a type of Petri net defined to support system modeling in terms of a set of independent and loosely-coupled modules. In this paper, we customize the basic G-net model to define a so-called "agent-based G-net" that can serve as a generic model for agent design. Then, to progress from an agent-based design model to an agent-oriented model, new mechanisms to support inheritance modeling are introduced. To illustrate our formal modeling technique for multiagent systems, an example of an agent family in electronic commerce is provided. Finally, we demonstrate how we can use model checking to verify some key behavioral properties of our agent model. This is facilitated by the use of an existing Petri net tool.
9774737
A framework for modeling agent-oriented software
With the increasing importance of complex software systems in the software industry, the need for using agent technologies to develop large-scale commercial and industrial software systems is growing rapidly. Such systems are complex, and there is a pressing need for system modeling techniques to support reliable, maintainable and extensible design. G-nets are a type of Petri net defined to support the modeling of a system as a set of independent and loosely-coupled modules. In this paper, we first introduce an extension of G-nets - the agent-based G-net - as a generic model for agent design. Then, to progress from an agent-based design model to an agent-oriented model, new mechanisms to support inheritance modeling are introduced. To illustrate our formal modeling technique for multi-agent systems, an example of an agent family in electronic commerce is provided.
7136406
Towards Automated Development of Multi-Agent Systems Using RADE
To facilitate the development of multi-agent systems and improve the reusability, robustness and feasibility of these systems, we proposed a role-based agent development framework (RADE). In this paper, we present more details on the design of agents and motivations within such framework. We introduce a practical approach to modeling agent’s motivation and specifying agent’s goals, where a role-mapping mechanism is developed based on this design. We also introduce the RTAEMS language based on the extension of TAEMS to model the plan tree for each goal. This representation is used to support the development of general planning/scheduling and collaboration/cooperation mechanisms.
10887257
Foundations of SMS commerce success: lessons from SMS messaging and co-opetition
As a convenient and low-cost mobile communication technology, short messaging service (SMS) is experiencing very rapid growth. It is reported that 700 million mobile phone users worldwide sent 20 to 30 billion SMS messages every month in 2001. At the same time, SMS commerce applications have emerged to provide mobile users consumer-oriented services. The huge SMS messaging customer base serves as the potential SMS commerce customer base according to K. Kellett and A. Linde (2001) . However, the bloom in messaging business does not automatically lead to the success of general SMS commerce applications. In this paper, we analyzed SMS developments in three different countries to derive three success indicators for SMS messaging and relate them to the success of SMS commerce. Based on the proposed SMS application framework, we postulate four additional hypothesized success factors that could uniquely contribute to the success of SMS commerce. Our findings provide practical implications for promoting SMS commerce applications successfully.
7970424
Effects of Multimedia on Mobile Consumer Behavior: An Empirical Study of Location-Aware Advertising
Location-aware advertising is widely touted as the “killer-app” for mobile commerce to flourish. With the imminent rollout of third-generation mobile networks, advances in multimedia-enabled mobile devices and positioning technologies, its commercial viability is enormous. Location-aware advertising is primarily textbased at the present, but it is envisioned to allow the delivery of multimedia advertisements to geographically targeted consumers. This exploratory study empirically examines the effects of multimedia on consumer behavior in a simulated mobile commerce environment. A structural model was formulated to test the effects of multimedia on entertainment, informativeness, and irritation in the context of location-aware advertising. The results show that multimedia location-aware advertising messages lead to more favorable attitudes and increase the intention to reuse the mobile advertising service. Evidence also suggests that multimedia has a significant impact on purchase behavior.
10142893
PointWorks: Abstraction and Rendering of Sparsely Scanned Outdoor Environments
This paper describes a system, dubbed PointWorks, for rendering three-dimensionally digitized outdoor environments in non-photorealistic rendering styles. The challenge in rendering scanned outdoor environments is accommodating their inaccuracy, incompleteness, and large size to deliver a smooth animation without suggesting the underlying data deficiency. The key method discussed in this paper is employing artistic drawing techniques to illustrate features of varying importance and accuracy. We employ a point-based representation of the scanned environment and operate directly on point-based models for abstraction and rendering. We develop a framework for producing mainly two artistic styles: painterly and profile lines. Strategies have also been employed to leverage modern graphics hardware for achieving interactive rendering of large scenes.
15979413
Consumers' Privacy Concerns toward Using Location-Based Services: An Exploratory Framework and Research Proposal
Privacy concerns associated with the use of Location-Based Services (LBS) may ultimately prevent consumers from gaining the ‘anytime anywhere’ convenience. Through a psychological control lens, we examine whether individual difference variables such as locus of control (LOC) could have moderating effects on the relationship between privacy concern and three privacy assurance mechanisms in the LBS context. The paper develops a preliminary research model which conceptualizes the moderating effects of LOC by extending Xu and Teo (2004)’s research model. With an explicit focus on LOC, this study will not only add an important piece of information to our understanding of consumers’ reactions to LBS but also can help frame the ongoing policy and scholarly debate surrounding the relative effectiveness of technology, industry self-regulation and government legislation in ensuring consumers’ privacy. We believe that our findings will be able to offer practical implications for the various players in the LBS landscape: merchants, wireless service providers, wireless device manufacturer, privacy advocates and legislators.
16644843
Alleviating Consumers' Privacy Concerns in Location-Based Services: A Psychological Control Perspective
Location-based services (LBS), enabled by advances in mobile and positioning technologies, have afforded users with a pervasive flexibility to be uniquely addressable and to access network and services on-the-move. However, because LBS could also associate the lifestyle habits, behaviors, and movements with a consumer’s personal identity, privacy concerns are particularly salient for LBS. Drawing on psychological control and privacy literature, we designed an experiment study to test the basic proposition that the assurance of consumers’ perceived control over their personal information has a considerable influence on alleviating their privacy concerns. Three different mechanisms of assurance of control—technology, industry self-regulation, and legislation—were manipulated in the experiment, and their effects on consumers’ privacy concerns were examined. The results indicated that the technological assurance mechanism (i.e., mobile device in this study) played the most important role in assuring consumers’ perceived control over personal information. The marriage of the privacy and psychological control literature streams provides a rich understanding of consumers’ privacy reaction to LBS usage and, therefore, benefits the privacy and human-computer interaction (HCI) research in the Information Systems discipline.