Handbook of Research on Multi-Agent Systems: Semantics and Dynamics of Organizational Models

Organizational design plays a critical role in the development of larger and more complex multi-agent systems (MAS). As systems grow to include hundreds or thousands of agents, those in the field must move from an agent-centric view of coordination and control to an organization-centric one. The Handbook of Research on Multi-Agent Systems: Semantics and Dynamics of Organizational Models brings together views and approaches from different communities including MAS, computational organizational simulation, social simulation, organizational theory, and cognitive science, to present the intersections of the different topics. Containing chapters by renowned international authors, this book provides a comprehensive volume on the state-of-the-art on formal semantic models and practical applications for dynamic formalisms of agent organizations.

Virginia Dignum received a PhD in computer science from the Utrecht University (the Netherlands). Before joining academia in 2003, she worked in consultancy and system development for more than 12 years. Her current research focuses on agent based models of organizations, in particular in the dynamic aspects of organizations, and the applicability of agent organizations to knowledge management. She participates and leads several national and EU-projects, and has more than 50 published articles. She organized several international workshops, was treasurer of AAMAS 2005 and is vice-chair of the Belgian-Dutch AI Association.