Use Of Intelligent Agents In E Commerce Information Technology Essay

Use Of Intelligent Agents In E Commerce Information Technology Essay Software agents can be defined as semi-autonomous software entities which support individuals cope with the complexities when working in a distributed information environment. This paper describes how these intelligent agents involved in e-commerce transactions. 1. Introduction In recent years the World Wide Web has become largest market place due to its exponential growth enabled extensive progress in new information society functions such as electronic commerce. Electronic commerce, known as e-commerce, is a type of industry where buying and selling of product or service over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.[1] Simply e-commerce is buying and selling over the internet medium. Electronic commerce involves business to business (B2B), business to customer (B2C) and customer to customer (C2C) transactions. It covers a wide variety of issues including security, trust, reputation, law, payment mechanisms, advertising, ontologies, electronic product catalogs, intermediaries, multimedia shopping experiences, and back office management. Agent technologies can be applied to any of these areas in e- commerce.[2] 2. Intelligent Agents According to IDMs definition intelligent agents are software programs that carry out some set of tasks on behalf of a user or another program with some degree of independence. So doing, gain some knowledge or representation of the users desires. According to Meas definition software agents are computer programs that run in the background and perform tasks autonomously. Software agents are becoming an important part of these Modern information systems because they diminish the complexity, and they achieve this technically and psychologically. Technically, each agent provides a locus of intelligence for managing a subset of the information in the system, either on its own initiative or under the direction of a user. Each intelligent agent can be readily replicated and then distributed as needed. This agent-based approach to information management is both scalable and cost-effective. Psychologically, people need abstractions by which they can understand, manage, and use complex systems effectively. A natural and convenient abstraction appears to be one based on humanizing the information system components that is, treating the components as animate. In this abstraction, software components are like human agents. The abstraction is effective, because people have a lot of experience in dealing with other people, and they can apply their experience to understanding and dealing with complex software. [3] Software agents were first used few years ago to filter information, match individuals with similar interests, and automate repetitive activities. More lately, agents have been applied to e-commerce, encouraging a revolution in the way people conduct transactions in e-commerce. Intelligent agents in e-commerce web sites can carry out many decision making and problem-solving tasks that usually require human intelligence, such as diagnosis, data sorting, planning, or negotiation. They can answer email messages, search the Internet for valuable information, carry out comparisons, or even become electronic pets. O. Etzioni and D.S. Weld [5] defined a software agent as a software entity which functions continuously and independently in a specific environment often occupied by other agents and processes. The requirement for endurance and independence derives from human desire that an agent should be able to do activities in a flexible and intelligent manner reactive to changes in the environment without constant human observation. An agent that functions over a long period of time should be able to implement from its experience. Also, an agent should be able to occupy an environment with other agents and processes, and to be able to communicate and collaborate with them. 2.1 Types of Software Agents Hendler [4] distinguishes four types of agents by function. Problem-solving agents -They do many traditional planning expert systems did, namely collect data, analyze a situation, and make a conforming decision for how to act on the users behalf. Purchasing agents is an example for this category. User-centric agents- These type of agents enable interaction with the user. Also they provide a better user interface by getting knowledge about the users system use preferences and tailoring the interface to the user preferences. Control agents They control the operation of some agents in a multi agent environment. In this context one needs to remember that agents are not only mobile, but also small in size, each with a very specialized capability. Hence, the interaction of several agents might be required to provide sufficient intelligence and capability. These are very progressive agents used in research experimentations. Transaction agents- These agents translate information between different data standards within a unrelated database or file environment. Between these four types, the ones that create contention are problem solving agents specializing in data gathering. They may be aided by transaction agents to access data from numerous data sources and may be controlled by control agents. However, the most important functionality is the ability to collect and analyze information from remote sites. 2.1.1 Characteristics of Software Agents Dependable with the requirements of a specific problem, each intelligent agent might possess to a greater or lesser degree the attributes stating below [5, 6, and 7] Reactivity: the capability of selectively sense and act. Autonomy: goal-directedness, and self-starting behavior. Collaborative behavior: can work in collaboration with other agent to attain a mutual goal. Knowledge-level communication ability: their ability to communicate with human and other agents with language more approaching human-like speech than symbol-level protocols. Inferential capability: can perform on abstract task specification using previous knowledge of general goals and chosen methods to achieve flexibility. Temporal continuity: persistence of uniqueness and state over long time periods. Personality: the ability of exhibiting the attributes of a believable character such as emotion. Adaptively: being able to learn and progress with experience. Mobility: ability to transfer in a self-directed way from one host platform to another. 3. Intelligent Agents in e-Commerce Artificial intelligence (AI) started to play a important role in many leading information systems. In the past, its use of AI has been limited due to its complexity, huge designs and lack of expertise in system developers. AI involvement is now essential in nondeterministic systems such as workflow, data mining, production planning, supply chain logistics, and most lately, e-commerce. Intelligent agent technology is the next logical step in overcoming some shortcomings in e-commerce. Namely, successful computer systems underlying e-commerce require judgment and the knowledge of experts such as buyers, contract negotiators and marketing specialists [8] Also e-commerce covers a broad range of issues; some of them are away from the scope of consumer buying behavior model. There are a variation of theories and models that describes buying behavior, such as the Nicosia model, the Howard- Sheth model, the Engel-Blackwell model, the Bettman information-processing model, and the Andreasen model [9].Acoording to Aleksander Pivk and MatjaÃ…Â ¾ Gams these models all have a comparable list of six fundamental stages of the buying process, which also relevent where agent technologies apply to the shopping experience[8] Identification: In that stage characterizes the buyer becoming aware of particular unmet need by inspiring through product information. Agents can play an significant role for those purchases that are repetitive (supplies) or predictable (habits). One of the oldest and simplest There are many examples in abundant use, one very aware of is a notification agent called Eyes by Amazon.com, which observers the catalog of books for sale and notifies the customer when certain events occur that may be of interest to the customer Brokering: There are two types of brokering namely product brokering and merchant brokering. In product brokering once a buyer has recognized a requirement to make a purchase the buyer has to determine what to buy through a critical evaluation of retrieved product information. There are several agents systems that lower consumers search cost when deciding which products best meets their needs. The result of this stage is a get attention to set of goods. In merchant brokering stage combines the consideration set from the previous stage with merchant-specific alternatives to help determine who to buy from. Negotiation: in this stage of buying behavior, price and other terms of the transaction are settled between merchants and buyers. Real-world scenarios negotiation increases transaction costs that may be too high for either consumers or merchants.. The most of business-to-business(B2B) transactions contain negotiation. Payment and Delivery: this stage can either indicate the end of the negotiation stage or cause to place another order. In some cases, the presented payment or delivery options can affect product and merchant brokering. â‚ ¬Ã‚  Product Service and Evaluation: this post- purchase stage contains of product service, customer service, and an â‚ ¬Ã‚  evaluation of the satisfaction of theâ‚ ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  total buying experience and decision. Considering above five stages, It can be recognized the roles of agents as mediators in e-commerce. The nature of agents makes them suitable for mediating those consumer behaviors involving information filtering and retrieval, personalized evaluations, complex coordination, and time-based interactions. Those roles correspond most especially to the need identification, product and merchant brokering, and negotiation stages of the buying behavior model. 4. Benefits of intelligent agents in e commerce 5. Limitations of Intelligent Agents A major limitation intelligent agent technology using most e-commerce activities is that agents can pose a security risk to remote hosts as well as their original host). A broad discussion of these risks and possible countermeasures is provided to International Journal of Electronic Commerce by T. Mandry ,G.Pernul and A. Rà ¶hm the following possible risks were identified.[9] Stealing data and Illegal access Web agents may try to get access to databases they are not permitted to access or for which there is an access charge. Free use of resources Agents always tries to steal resources from remote hosts. As long as this is in line with accepted protocols, it is an acceptable practice. However, if agents cover-up as alternate processes, they may use insupportable levels of resource. Unauthorized program execution This also known as Trojan horse. Agents can be masquerade and then execute programs that are eventually harmful to the remote hosts. Such Trojan horses attacks have now been used frequently on the Internet.. Data stripping or alteration (by server). Technically it is possible to strip Web agents of their data. This is mostly a concern for a site that sends out agents to remote hosts, but also it could potentially affect other sites. For instance, suppose Buyer has a trusted relationship with both Seller 1 and Seller 2. However, there exists a competitive relationship between the two sellers. An intelligent agent that originates from Buyer and travels to Seller 1 and then to Seller 2 could be stripped by Seller 2 to obtain competitive data about Seller 1. Resource exhaustion resulting in denial-of service -. Web agents can exhaust remote host properties to the point where the remote host can no longer function correctly. Deceitful agent behavior. Agents can mislead other agents or hosts about their intent and can lie about transactions. 5. Discussion This paper describes how intelligent software agent can automate and add value to e-commerce transactions and negotiations. By using intelligent agent based e-commerce techniques, businesses can more effectively and efficiently make decisions since they have more accurate and reliable information and recognize consumers perceptions and behaviors. Benefits and limitations of using intelligent agents in e-commerce are also discussed through this paper.

Growing Up in Apple Valley :: essays papers

Growing Up in Apple Valley Growing up in Apple Valley is an indelible experience not too many people go through. Every time I say I’m from Apple Valley people always don’t know where Apple Valley is. I usually say that it is off the Interstate 15 freeway, like you are heading to Las Vegas, right next to Victorville. Then they finally realized that they have heard of Apple Valley. It is very indecipherable to say exactly where Apple Valley is. People constantly think that Apple Valley is simply a big desert and there are only poor quality people who live there. The truth is Apple Valley is a very beautiful place to live. Apple Valley has some imperfect parts of the town and there are its good parts. I feel that the good parts overcome the bad parts. I have seen a lot of other cities that are much worse and they still have a well-rounded reputation. For instance, the High Deserts biggest city, Victorville. Victorville has much more crime than Apple Valley, much more pollution, and many more troublesome citizens. Victorville also has a lot more traffic on their streets because there are so many more people. Apple Valley has about two-thirds the amount of population Victorville has and with that comes less traffic on the roads. Less traffic on the roads means less smog pollution, less traffic accidents, less paramedic’s the city has to hire, and less the city had to pay out towards medical response. Most cities want to save money so they might be able to spend more money on the city or even cut some taxes. The less smog pollution is a really pleasant factor that comes with living in Apple Valley. It is nice to know that you are breathing in fresh air, not air that is dirty and full of pollution. Apple Valley really doesn’t have much to do for kids and teenagers. That is probably one of the main complaints about Apple Valley. The way I see the situation is you can always drive somewhere and the fun really isn’t that long of a drive away.

The Good, the Bad, and ‘the Daily Show’ Reading Analysis

Analysis of The Good, The Bad, and The Daily Show In Jason Zinser’s â€Å"The Good, the Bad, and  The Daily Show† his purpose was to formulate a response to the uncertainty regarding the legitimacy and ethics of ‘fake’ news sources. Zinser begins by discussing if it is acceptable to obtain information from a humorous and often satirical news source (in this example,  The Daily Show), he points out that â€Å"the question isn’t whether Jon Stewart or the show’s producers and writers are morally corrupt people, but whether or not fake news is, on the whole, beneficial or damaging to society† (Zinser 363-364).In other words, he begs the question, can we really be an informed public that can contribute, comprehend, and function as a democracy through the projections of a ‘fake’ news source? Zinser then makes the claim that ‘fake’ news causes two vices, the first being deception due to the lack of valuing object ivity in their reports. The second is dilution, both in the quality of media from the variance of online sources as well as adding excessive news reports attracting more viewers to what is typically a hard news source.Zinser also reminds us of the beneficial aspects in ‘fake’ news. Empirical data suggests a trend that either viewers of The Daily Show  are better informed than those watching hard news because of its effectiveness, or, on the other hand that it attracts viewers who already know about the current events being discussed, evidence of its success.The ideal solution, he concludes, would be to merge the two, retaining the power and persuasion of  The Daily Show  as well as including â€Å"depth and insight† more apparent in hard news reports, helping viewers understand different sides of the arguments present (Zinser 371). When diving into Zinser’s writing, some similar aspects from George Orwell’s, Politics in the English Language ca me to mind. Orwell states, â€Å"foolish thoughts, being a result of language, language has become a result of foolish thoughts.Vagueness is the most evident characteristic of the English prose. There is a lack of imagery and the figurative language no longer gives a connection to images and concrete thoughts. † When comparing this to the satirical writing and language that Zinser speaks of in The Good, The Bad, and ‘The Daily Show’ it creates a perfect picture of how by exemplifying the two vices, (deception and dilution) misconceptions can easily happen, especially when your only news source is a satirical ‘fake’ ews source. When thinking about some of the other ‘fake’ news sources, one example that might be overlooked is The Onion: a very popular source from which the stories are based on fact but written in a humorous and satirical way. Being that The Onion makes fun of all different types of news events from health issues to sports, The Onion actually delves into multiple aspects of our culture in a comical way but still delivering facts and informing people about what is going on in the world.In this case it can be just as influential as real news. In fact an example of The Onions influential satirical news was captured when they published the world’s sexiest man and posted Kim Jong Un (the North Korean Dictator) as the sexiest man alive. North Korea took it serious and published it in their local paper and made a big deal out of it (news. yahoo. com). It is in this same sense that is described in Zinser’s analysis of this so called ‘fake’ news that you can get an idea of the actual influence this has on our culture.

Printable Beginning Level Tense Review Quiz

This quiz is for in-class use and does not have the answers provided. What ____________ you ____________ (do)? Im studying.do you doare you doingdid you do____________ you always ____________ (get up) at 7 oclock?Do you always get upAre you always getting upDo always you get up____________ John ____________ (have, got) a motorbike?Does John have gotHas John gotHave John gotAt the moment he ____________ (have) lunch.is havinghavinghasJohn doesnt like playing football, but he ____________ (love) playing tennis.is lovinglovelovesLast winter he ____________ (go) by train from Rome to Paris.goedhas gonewentMary ____________ (not, be) at work at the moment. Shes at home.isnt beingisntdoesnt beNext Tuesday my brother ____________ (go) to Rome.wentgoesis goingThey ____________ (take) their children to Spain last year.did taketooktakedWhat time ____________ he ____________ (arrive) home last Tuesday?did he arrivesdid he arrivedoes he arriveHe ____________ (work) on the computer at the moment.is workingworksdoes workWhat ____________ they ____________ (do)? They re sleeping.is they doingare they doingdo they doWhen ____________ you ____________ (go) to Rome last year?you wentdid you godid you went____________ you ____________ (have, got) any brothers or sisters?Has you gotDo you have gotHave you gotJohn doesnt like going to the beach, but he ____________ (love) going to the park.lovesdoesnt loveis lovingNext Saturday John ____________ (come) to visit his friends.comesis comingwill comePeter ____________ (be) on holiday now. He isnt at home.will beisis going to beShe ____________ (teach) her husband cooking last winter.did teachteachedtaught____________ he always ____________ (have) dinner at 7 oclock?Is he always havingDoes he always hasDoes he always haveLast winter she ____________ (drive) to Germany.drovedriveddid drive____________ you ____________ (have, got) a good job?Do you gotHave you gotHas you gotWhere ____________ she ____________ (study) English last year?did she studydid she studiedhas she studiedMary likes visiting friends, bu t she ____________ (like) talking on the telephone.doesnt likelikesisnt likingShe ____________ (watch) a video at the moment.watchedwatchesis watchingHe ____________ (take) his friend to the theater last week.tookedhas takentookMary ____________ (not, be) on holiday now. Shes at home.isntwont beisnt beingWhat ____________ you ____________ (do)? Im playing the piano.is you doingdo you doare you doingNext Thursday my sister ____________ (visit) the new museum.will visitvisitsis going to visit____________ you always ____________ (finish) work at 5 oclock?Do you always finishAre you always finishingDid you always finishedThey ____________ (ride) the train to Sweden last summer.did riderodehave riddenWhat ____________ you ____________ (do) this evening? Im doing my homework.will you dodo you doare you doing____________ she often ____________ (telephone) in the evening?Does she often telephoneIs she often telephoningWill she often telephones____________ they ____________ (have, got) a car ?Have they gotDo they have gotHas they gotAt the moment they ____________ (read) a book.are going to readreadsare readingI ____________ (teach) my students about the USA yesterday.taughtedtaughthave taughtJennifer doesnt like working in the office, but she ____________ (love) working at home.lovesdoesnt loveisnt lovingNext Wednesday my brother ____________ (have) dinner at that new restaurant.is going to havewill havehasShe ____________ (fly) to the USA last winter.fliedhas flownflewThomas ____________ (not, be) at the office tomorrow. Hes on holiday.isnt going to bewont beenisntWhat ____________ she ____________ (do) yesterday afternoon?did she dodoes she dois she doing____________ Thomas ____________ (have, got) a television?Have Thomas gotHas Thomas gotDoes Thomas has gotWhere ____________ they ____________ (go) on holiday last summer?did they wenthave they gonedid they goAlice loves walking in the countryside, and she ____________ (like) going to the gym.doesnt likelikelikesAt t he moment she ____________ (listen) to some music.listensis listeninghas listened____________ he always ____________ (play) tennis on Saturdays?Do he always playDoes he always playsDoes he always playMary isnt at work at the moment. She ____________ (be) at home.iswill behas beenWhat ____________ he ____________ (do)? Hes washing up.does he dois he doinghas she doneThey ____________ (fly) to Mexico last summer.has flownflewdid flyShe ____________ (ask) her husband to help her yesterday evening.askeddid askhas askedNext Saturday my friend ____________ (come) to have lunch with us.is comingcomeswill comes Find more printable quizzes for your class, or use the wide variety of English lesson plans available on the site to copy exercises for in-class use. Also, try the Beginner Level Grammar Quiz for another challenge or move on to the Intermediate Level Quiz.