Many real problems can be naturally modelled as constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs). However, some of these problems are of a distributed nature, which requires problems of this kind to be modelled as distributed constraint satisfaction problems (DCSPs). In this work, we present a distributed model for solving CSPs. Our technique carries out a partition over the constraint network using a g...

Using a framework inspired by Schaefer's generalized satissability model Sch78], Cooper, Cohen and Jeavons CCJ94] studied the complexity of constraint satisfaction problems in the special case when the set of constraints is closed under permutation of labels and domain restriction, and precisely identiied the tractable (and intractable) cases. Using the same model we characterize the complexity...

We have developed an application for France Telecom R&D, which takes place in an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network administration context. The problem consists in planning demands of connection over a period of one year. A new demand is accepted if both bandwidth requirements and quality of service are satisfied. The acceptance or the reject of a demand must be decided within at most one...

A multiagent application consists of an environment and a number of agents. The environment contains information that the agents use and manipulate to do their work. When a multiagent system is decentralized over a number of different hosts (i.e. more than one execution platform is used), the environment has to be decentralized as well. The distributed layout of the environment can influence th...

We examine the retrieval and mapping tasks of visual analogy as constraint satisfaction problems. We describe a constraint satisfaction method for the two tasks; the method organizes the source cases in a discrimination tree; uses heuristics to guide the search; performs backtracking, and searches all the source cases at once. We present an evaluation of this method for retrieval and mapping of...

In computer-supported collaborative learning contexts, group formation is a key aspect, since different characteristics of students might influence the group performance. In this article, we present an intelligent assistant that models group formation as a weighted constraint satisfaction problem (WCSP). The assistant takes into account three students’ features, namely: psychological styles, te...

In this paper we introduce a generic form of structural decomposition for the constraint satisfaction problem, which we call a guarded decomposition. We show that many existing decomposition methods can be characterized in terms of finding guarded decompositions satisfying certain specified additional conditions. Using the guarded decomposition framework we are also able to define a new form of...

Recent studies suggest that satisfaction with price affects overall customer satisfaction. In the internet market, customer satisfaction is determined by two separate measures: satisfaction with the pre-purchase experience (e.g. ease of use, selection) and satisfaction with the post-purchase experience (e.g., delivery, order tracking, customer service). Using data collected by a commercial web ...

Online satisfaction is regarded as an important construct in both the marketing and IS literatures. However, online satisfaction has been treated primarily as a unified concept in previous research, some researchers indicate that satisfaction can be differentiated into several types. We identify four types of customer satisfaction in the C2C online shopping context, viz.: economic satisfaction,...

background and objectives: job satisfaction is a critical factor in attracting and retaining nurses. although many studies have dealt with nurses’ job satisfaction, rapid transformation of the community and health systems can alter the factors influencing this issue, hence calling for continuous monitoring of job satisfaction as perceived by nurses. built on this necessity, the present study wa...