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From: msingh@zinc.mcc.com (Munindar Singh)
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   ** BOOK NOTICE ** ** BOOK NOTICE ** ** BOOK NOTICE ** ** BOOK NOTICE **

			      MULTIAGENT SYSTEMS
     A Theoretical Framework for Intentions, Know-How, and Communications

			      Munindar P. Singh

			       Springer-Verlag
		Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 799
	    (subseries: Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence)

      ISBN 3-540-58026-3, ISBN 0-387-58026-3, xxiii+168 pages, softback.



Multiagent systems are drawing much research attention these days.  This
monograph is about some of the key technical aspects of multiagent systems.
For a variety of reasons, anthropomorphic cognitive concepts can provide
useful high-level abstractions for dealing with complex systems.  Indeed,
reasoning about knowledge has found its way into mainstream distributed
computing.  However, to be fruitfully applied in computational settings,
anthropomorphic terms must be given rigorous technical definitions.

This monograph develops a semantics for two primitives -- intentions and
know-how -- in a general model of actions and time.  Key consequences of this
semantics include a characterization of the nontrivial conditions under which
an agent's intentions may succeed, and the observation that intentions and
know-how are essentially independent.  These definitions are used also to
provide a semantics for the different modes of communication, such as promises
and prohibitions.  The proposed framework involves actions, possible and
actual, abstract and concrete, that agents perform.  This enables one to use
intentions, know-how, and communications in stating constraints on system
behavior that more naturally capture users' requirements.  The proposed
framework can thus serve as a foundation on which to develop specific
approaches and methodologies for specifying, designing, and implementing
complex systems.

This monograph has been made accessible to a wide audience, including graduate
students and researchers in computer science (especially, artificial
intelligence and distributed computing) and cognitive science.  The focus of
the work is in computer science, however.  No special background is required
beyond a familiarity with logic and some mathematical maturity.  A knowledge
of temporal and modal logic would help, but is not essential.

				   CONTENTS


1      MULTIAGENT SYSTEMS 						
1.1      Intentions, Know-How, and Communications 			
1.2      The State of the Art 						
1.3      Major Contributions 						
									
2      TECHNICAL FRAMEWORK 						
2.1      The Core Formal Framework 					
2.1.1      The Formal Language 						
2.1.2      The Formal Model 						
2.1.3      Semantics							
2.2      Temporal and Action Operators: Discussion 			
2.3      Coherence Constraints 						
2.4      Results on Time and Actions 					
2.5      Strategies							
2.6      Belief and Knowledge 						
2.7      More on Actions and Other Events 				
2.7.1      Events in Natural Language 					
2.7.2      Trying to Act 						
2.7.3      Actions and Events in Artificial intelligence 		
2.8      Rationale for Qualitative Temporal Logic 			
									
3      INTENTIONS							
3.1      Dimensions of Variation 					
3.2      Intentions Formalized 						
3.2.1      Formal Language and Semantics 				
3.2.2      Axioms for Intentions 					
3.3      Properties of Intentions 					
3.4      Desires							
3.5      Other Formal Theories of Intentions 				
3.6      Philosophical Remarks 						
3.7      Conclusions							
									
4      KNOW-HOW								
4.1      Intuitive Considerations on Know-How 				
4.1.1      Traditional Theories of Action 				
4.1.2      The Proposed Definition 					
4.2      Reactive Ability 						
4.3      Strategic Ability						
4.4      Results on Ability 						
4.5      Incorporating Action Selection: Reactive Know-How 		
4.6      Strategic Know-How 						
4.7      Strategic Know-How Defined 					
4.8      Results on Know-How 						
4.9      Conclusions							
									
5      COMBINING INTENTIONS AND KNOW-HOW 				
5.1      Some Basic Technical Results 					
5.2      Success at Last 						
5.3      Normal Models							
5.4      Other Theories of Ability and Know-How 			
									
6      COMMUNICATIONS							
6.1      Protocols Among Agents 					
6.1.1      Speech Act Theory 						
6.1.2      Speech Act Theory in Multiagent Systems 			
6.1.3      The Need for a Semantics 					
6.2      Formal Model and Language 					
6.2.1      Speech Acts as Actions 					
6.2.2      Formal Language 						
6.2.3      Whole-Hearted Satisfaction 					
6.2.4      Interrogatives 						
6.3      Applying the Theory						
6.3.1      Normative Constraints on Communication 			
6.3.2      The Contract Net 						
6.4      Conclusions							
									
7      CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK 					
									
A      THE FORMAL LANGUAGE 						

       BIBLIOGRAPHY


AUTHOR'S ADDRESS:                       PUBLISHER'S ADDRESS: 
                                        
msingh@cs.utexas.edu                    Springer-Verlag
msingh@mcc.com                          Vertrieb, Postfach 31 13 40
					D-10643, Berlin, GERMANY
