Quality of service (QoS) management is becoming an integral part of current web services. Contracts are playing a very important role in MAPE-based (monitor, analyse, plan and execute) web service QoS management. Therefore, we propose a general model, contract-MAPE (C-MAPE) model, and based on this model, review five major projects in this area. The analysis results show that these major resear...

interest free banking law at 1363 was implemented in the banking system in iran. one of the main goals of this law was eliminating usury from monetary system, and utilization from non-usury credit impact on economic growth through preferring money contribution in the capital. this paper uses data from years 1363 to 1386 and implementing herfindahl-hirschman index, evaluated and ranked concentra...

This paper looks at the outsourcing of research and development (R&D) activities. We consider cost reducing R&D and allow manufacturing firms to decide whether to outsource the project to research subcontractors or carry out the research in-house. We use a principal-agent framework and consider fixed and revenue-sharing contracts. We solve for the optimal contract under these constraints. We fi...

In automated negotiation systems consisting of self-interested agents, contracts have traditionally been binding. Such contracts do not allow agents to e ciently accommodate future events. Game theory has proposed contingency contracts to solve this problem. Among computational agents, contingency contracts are often impractical due to large numbers of interdependent and unanticipated future ev...

We study a two-sided market in which a platform mediates between sellers and buyers, and signs private contracts with sellers. We compare this market with (i) a one-sided market with public contracts, and (ii) a two-sided market with public contracts. We find that equilibrium royalties can be positive or negative in a one-sided market with public contracts, are negative in a twosided market wit...

By utilizing smart contracts, which are essentially scripts that anchored in a decentralized manner on blockchains or other similar infrastructures, it is possible to make the execution of predetermined procedures visible outside world. The programmability previously unrealized assets, such as money, and automation manual business logic both made by contracts. This revelation inspired us analyz...

documentary credit or letter of credit (lc) is one of the methods of payment in international commerce. the documentary credit is a binding commitment from the issuing bank to pay a sum of money to the beneficiary on certain conditions. the applicant needs to contract with an issuing bank to open a lc. the legal nature of such contract is a controversy issue and thus different opinions are brou...

In this position paper, we consider some foundational topics regarding smart contracts (such as terminology, automation, enforceability, and semantics) and define a smart contract as an agreement whose execution is both automatable and enforceable. We explore a simple semantic framework for smart contracts, covering both operational and non-operational aspects. We describe templates and agreeme...

Feature-oriented programming (FOP) is an extension of object-oriented programming to support software variability by refining existing classes and methods. In order to increase the reliability of all implemented program variants, we integrate design by contract (DbC) with FOP. DbC is an approach to build reliable object-oriented software by specifying methods with contracts. Contracts are annot...

We propose a computational paradigm for service-oriented applications, where the interactions among services are driven by contracts. A contract is a commitment between two or more parties, which specifies the duties and the rights of the parties involved therein. We study the logical foundations of contracts, through an intuitionistic logic extended with a “contractual” form of implication. Th...