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What does the spike of a sensory neuron mean? This is a fundamental question in computational neuroscience. Conventional approaches provide an answer based on correlation between spike pattern and the stimulus that caused it. However, these approaches do not satisfactorily explain how the brain, which does not have direct knowledge of the world or the stimuli, can achieve this task. This thesis frames the problem in terms of a task for a simulated agent and provides a solution based on an approach which regards action as necessary for acquiring the meaning of neural spikes. This approach differs from some others in that it proposes a new criterion called the sensory invariance criterion, which can be used to associate meaning to spike patterns in terms of action sequences the agent generates. This criterion forms the basis of the Sensory Invariance Driven Action (SIDA) framework presented in this thesis. This framework is implemented in a reinforcement learning agent and the results indicate that the agent can successfully learn to associate meaning to the sensor activity in terms of specific actions which reflect the properties of the stimulus. Further behavioral experiments on the agent show that this framework allows the agent to learn the meaning of complex (spatiotemporal) spike patterns. The successful learning exhibited by the agent raises hopes that SIDA can be used to build agents with natural semantics.

Teamwork has become increasingly important in many disciplines. To support teamwork in dynamic and complex domains, a teamwork programming language and a teamwork architecture are important for specifying the knowledge of teamwork and for interpreting the knowledge of teamwork and then driving agents to interact with the domains. Psychological studies on teamwork have also shown that team members in an effective team often maintain shared mental models so that they can have mutual expectation on each other. However, existing agent/teamwork programming languages cannot explicitly express the mental states underlying teamwork, and existing representation of the shared mental models are inefficient and further become an obstacle to support effective teamwork. To address these issues, we have developed a teamwork programming language called Role-Based MALLET (RoB-MALLET) which has rich expressivity to explicitly specify the mental states underlying teamwork. By using roles and role variables, the knowledge of team processes is specified in terms of conceptual notions, instead of specific agents and agent variables, allowing joint intentions to be formed and this knowledge to be reused by different teams of agents. Further, based on roles and role variables, we have developed mechanisms of task decomposition and task delegation, by which the knowledge of a team process is decomposed into the knowledge of a team process for individuals and then delegate it to agents. We have also developed an efficient representation of shared mental models called Role-Based Shared Mental Model (RoB-SMM) by which agents only maintain individual processes complementary with others?? individual process and a low level of overlapping called team organizations. Based on RoB-SMMs, we have developed tworeasoning mechanisms to improve team performance, including Role-Based Proactive Information Exchange (RoB-PIE) and Role-Based Proactive Helping Behaivors (RoBPHB). Through RoB-PIE, agents can anticipate other agents?? information needs and proactively exchange information with them. Through RoB-PHB, agents can identify other agents?? help needs and proactively initialize actions to help them. Our experiments have shown that RoB-MALLET is flexible in specifying reusable plans, RoB-SMMs is efficient in supporting effective teamwork, and RoB-PHB improves team performance.

With the application of high tech equipments in the industrial, commercial, and residential areas, the enhancement of power quality has become a very critical issue for power utilities. Distribution automation and customer automation will be the most important functions to be implemented. Distribution automation consists of control center, communication system, remote terminal units, and feeder terminal units. The currents, voltages, phase angles, and switch status will be collected by the real time SCADA system. Based on the switch status and connectivity analysis, the distribution network configuration can be identified by executing the topology process. The distribution system planning and optimal operation strategy can be achieved by various application software functions. A multiagent-based distribution automation system is developed for fault detection, isolation, and restoration (FDIR) of distribution systems with JADE platform in this thesis. Remote terminal unit (RTU) agents, main transformer (MTR) agents, feeder circuit breaker (FCB) agents, and feeder terminal unit (FTU) agents of the multiagent system (MAS) are proposed to derive a proper restoration plan after a faulted location has been identified and isolated. To ensure the fault restoration plan can comply with the operation regulation, heuristic rules based on the standard operation procedures of Taipower distribution system are included in the best first search of the MAS. For the fault contingency during summer peak season, the load shedding may be executed and the MAS are designed to restore service to as many key customers and loads as possible. The priority indices of each feeder and service zone are determined according to the key customers within the service territory. A Taipower distribution system with 43 feeders is selected for computer simulation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in this thesis. It is found that the service restoration of distribution system can be obtained very efficiently by applying the proposed multiagent-based MAS.

Abstract Because of its unconstrained capability, tax negotiation system directed by the tax administration in general renders taxpayers and tax agent uncertain about the examined result of tax cases. The purpose of the paper is to investigate factors affecting tax agents¡¦ satisfaction on the tax negotiation system. In addition, we also examine the impact of tax agents¡¦ cognition and matching attitude to the tax negotiation system on the degree of satisfaction on the system. The research was conducted by distributing 520 questionnaires to subjects selected by purposive quota sampling from the tax agent of national tax administration of southern district. Among these 520 questionnaires, 444 valid subjects have been received. Our research results show that: 1. gender, category, age, education, experience, scale and county have significant influence on cognition, attitude and satisfaction. 2. if a tax agent has higher cognition on the tax negotiation system then his/her matching attitude to the system will also be higher which results in stronger satisfaction involvement on the system.

Over the past decades, the development of Taiwan semiconductor industry has been based on the list of scientific and technological power. Early in this process, the required technologies, machines and equipments, most of them rely on the introduction of domestic agents. However, with changes in the industry, market size has become larger, many new agents set up new company to compete authorities of new products agency. Case company is also a trend to follow the ensuing wave of growth, and introduce many IC packaging and testing equipments to many customers throughout all of Taiwan's packaging and testing companies. On IC inspection and handler machines, case company win more than ninety percent market share. With the entire package and testing market maturity, as well as many competitors to join, resulting in agential commission income decreased. At the national policy, the government started to encourage domestic manufacturers to develop and produce equipment to enhance industrial competitiveness. In order to meet the market demand, case company used the original equipment to be modified and carried out the development of new machine. The entire project lasted for two years, although the final outcome did not succeed, but the course of events revealed some clues. It is worth follow-up reference. In this study, a tool for organizational learning - learning history is used for the entire research and analysis. The results of this study found many key factors of R&D development on semiconductor back end automation equipment agent. 1. Agents to develop R&D are among the first to face two different types of business. 2. Agents that attach more importance to short-term interests. 3. The main work culture of agents- business-oriented. 4. The active involvement of executives. 5. The work style of agents is partial bottom-up and form small groups. 6. The rule of man's management style. 7. Emphasis on avoiding conflict and cultural harmony. These key factors are usually associated with the company's culture and management model. In order to develop R&D, agents need to clarify these fundamental issues and a consensus. Looking forward to the results of this study can be helpful for agents of Taiwan semiconductor back end automation equipment.

Reproduction de : Thèse de doctorat : Génie des procédés et de l'environnement : Toulouse, INPT : 2008. Reproduction de : Thèse de doctorat : Chimie : Beyrouth, Université Saint-Joseph : 2008. / Thèse soutenue en co-tutelle. Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr. 205 réf.

Thèse de doctorat : Aspects moléculaires et cellulaires de la biologie. Biologie moléculaire et cellulaire, génétique et virologie : Strasbourg 1 : 2007. Thèse doctorat : Aspects moléculaires et cellulaires de la biologie. Biologie moléculaire et cellulaire, génétique et virologie : Prague : 2007. / Thèse soutenue en co-tutelle. Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr. f. 99-115.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-153).

We introduce a generic simulation framework suitable for agent-based simulations featuring the support of heterogeneous agents, hierarchical scheduling, and flexible specification of design parameters. One key aspect of this framework is the design specification: we use a format based on the Extensible Markup Language (XML) that is simple-structured yet still enables the design of flexible models, with the possibility of varying both agent population and parameterization. Further, the tool allows the defi- nition of communication channels to single or groups of agents, and handles the information exchange. Also, both (groups of) agents and communications channels can be added and removed at runtime by the agents, thus allowing dynamic settings with the agent population and/or communication structures varying during the simulation time. A second issue in agent-based simulations, especially when readymade components are used, is the heterogeneity arising from both the agents' implementations and the underlying platforms: for this, we introduce a wrapper technique for mapping the functionality of agents living in an interpreter-based environment to a standardized JAVA interface, thus facilitating the task for any control mechanism (like a simulation manager). Again, this mapping is made by an XML-based definition format. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"