For the efficient and informative coordination of multiple agents, a time-bounded agent negotiation framework is proposed utilizing time-based commitment scheme. By attaching the commitment duration to agent messages, the traditional Contract Net Protocol is extended to a time-bounded environment, thereby giving rise to a Time-Bounded Negotiation Framework (TBNF). The proposed negotiation frame...

This paper provides a starting point for psychological research on the sense of commitment within the context of joint action. We begin by formulating three desiderata: to illuminate the motivational factors that lead agents to feel and act committed, to pick out the cognitive processes and situational factors that lead agents to sense that implicit commitments are in place, and to illuminate t...

Empirical studies indicate that only a handful of the soft TQM elements contribute to organisational performance. The elements of soft TQM, such as executive commitment, loyalty, teamwork and empowerment, training and education, are essentially leadership and human resource (HR) aspects. The objective of this study is to examine the state of leadership and HR focus in TQM research in Australia ...

AIMS The aim of this study was to compare benefits and risks of a routine invasive compared with a selective invasive strategy in women with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes. METHODS AND RESULTS We randomly assigned 184 women, either to a routine or to a selective invasive strategy as a substudy to the OASIS 5 trial, who were followed for 2 years. Meta-analysis of data from previous ...

The international community has developed multiple approaches to address large-scale human rights (HR) violations (e.g., genocide). In the current contribution, we first provide a review of different approaches to intergroup violence (AIVs), and explain how these approaches might (re-)establish HR consciousness and behavior in postconflict societies. We then integrate this literature with the H...

Unconditionally secure two-party bit commitment based solely on the principles of quantum mechanics (without exploiting special relativistic signalling constraints, or principles of general relativity or thermodynamics) has been shown to be impossible, but the claim is repeatedly challenged. The quantum bit commitment theorem is reviewed here and the central conceptual point, that an ‘EinsteinP...

As agents become more autonomous, agent negotiation and motivational attitudes such as commitment and trust become more important. In this paper we consider the important choice in advanced negotiation applications whether negotiation parameters – such as cardinality of interaction, agent attitude, and agent architectures – are incorporated in the negotiation protocol or in the negotiation stra...