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This paper aims to describe the deployment of an e‐learning environment for construction courses based on enhancing virtual computing technologies using agent‐based techniques.

This research involves designing and deploying a complex application that combines advanced visualisation, interactive management through complex virtual devices, distributed multi‐user communication and intelligent components. The proposed agent‐oriented methodology and resulting application organises construction knowledge into a structure that enables the students to undertake more self‐directed, systematic and scientific exploration.

There is great potential for experimenting with a wider variety of educational technologies such as “intelligent” virtual environments. This is a concept that needs further experimentation within construction courses to enrich students' learning with practice‐based experiences. The use of ageny‐oriented objects within simulations and modeling make the virtual learning environment a highly interactive experience. Attempts to do this using traditional intelligent tutoring systems have been frustrated by integrations challenges. Agent‐based systems can handle such challenges. The agent approach is also more efficient in analysing the impact of different decisions in various scenarios by automating the execution of repetitive, time‐consuming actions.

This research identifies specific gaps in the existing e‐learning infrastructure that can be addressed using the intelligent agent paradigm. In particular, the research demonstrates how the notion of learning by actively exploring and controlling environmental variables can be best utilised in the selected domain by giving the learners the means to rapidly visualize the effects of their decisions.

Construction disciplines have increasingly embraced the use of advanced visualisation applications and display systems that allow students to gain a better understanding of the construction process and the resulting facility's performance. Existing efforts are based on image visualisation or animation detailed using, for example, Virtual Reality Modeling Language and 3D Studio Max‐based design animations and walkthroughs. None of these efforts has explored the use of an agent oriented, virtual tutoring approach. A comprehensive literature review established that of no formalised methodologies exist for deploying agent‐based virtual learning environments.

The purpose of this research is to develop a prototype of agent‐based intelligent workflow system for product design collaboration in a distributed network environment.

This research separates the collaborative workflow enactment mechanisms from the collaborative workflow building tools for flexible workflow management. Applying the XML/RDF (resource description framework) ontology schema, workflow logic is described in a standard representation. Lastly, a case study in collaborative system‐on‐chip (SoC) design is depicted to demonstrate the agent‐based workflow system for the design collaboration on the web.

Agent technology can overcome the difficulty of interoperability in cross‐platform, distributed environment with standard RDF data schema. Control and update of workflow functions become flexible and versatile by simply modifying agent reasoning and behaviors.

When business partners want to collaborate, how to integrate agents in different workflows becomes a critical issues.

Agent technology can facilitate design cooperation and teamwork communication in a collaborative, transparent product development environment.

This research establishes generalized flow logic RDF models and an agent‐based intelligent workflow management system, called AWfMS, based on the RDF schema of workflow definition. AWfMS minimizes barriers in the distributed design process and hence increases design cooperations among partners.

This paper characterizes the complexity of a knowledge worker’s environment in today’s business enterprise. This environment, with its ever‐changing landscape of tasks, processes, tools, and technologies, is making prohibitive demands on the knowledge worker’s time and attention. To aid in the successful navigation of this complex environment, we present a complexity‐based model of the knowledge worker’s behavior entailing cognitive as well as structural practices. Viewing knowledge work in the context of interactions ‐ among users and the company’s and external resources ‐ we propose that a company’s knowledge management efforts should employ technologies that facilitate these interactions by reducing the time and attention requirements for its workforce. We introduce a set of knowledge techniques and tools, and agent‐based architectures, and show how they can be integrated to create a framework that is flexible, evolvable and adaptable to the user’s needs. When the interactions are facilitated and increased, such a system has potential to exhibit efficiency, coordination and innovation as an “emergent” outcome.

The successful implementation of an optimal online system for specification and procurement has been impeded by the existence of semi‐structured or non‐structured product information held in catalogues in various formats. Consequently, a significant amount of time is spent in gathering relevant information. Proposes introducing a successful optimal online specification and procurement system for construction products.

The design and specification of the prototype were based on the analysis of closely related agent‐based implementations in various domains.

In the development phase it emerged that agent infrastructure is still maturing, even when a stable development environment is finally available. This is consistent with the latest research in this area which places the highest value on internet agents within the context of the semantic web.

This research demonstrated how agent technology can be used alongside other paradigms such as web services and XML to make the specification and procurement of construction products more effective and more efficient.

The purpose of this paper is to show how rapidly evolving information technology has dramatically changed the knowledge dissemination process. However, many of them lack a generic evaluation process to verify the system's performance. In an attempt to solve this problem, this study seeks to propose an agent‐based model to provide a dynamic, flexible framework for performance evaluations of e‐learning projects.

The paper proposes an agent‐based model which comprises a learning model, balanced scorecard and option‐pricing approach to evaluate the performance of an e‐learning project.

E‐learning could be the paradigm shift of traditional education. Thus, the paper provides organizations with a methodology to deliberately evaluate their e‐learning projects by treating it as a continuous improvement process.

The original contributions in this paper are: application of a balance scorecard to weigh different perspectives; application of a real options approach for risk management of e‐learning projects; construction of an agent‐based system for autonomous qualitative/quantitative information gathering.

Decision support systems are becoming an indispensable tool for managing complex supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to develop a multi-agent-based supply chain management system that incorporates big data analytics that can exert autonomous corrective control actions. The effects of the system on supply chain agility are explored.

For the development of the architecture of the system, a sequential approach is adopted. First three fundamental dimensions of supply chain agility are identified – responsiveness, flexibility and speed. Then the organisational design of the system is developed. The roles for each of the agents within the framework are defined and the interactions among these agents are modelled.

Applications of the model are discussed, to show how the proposed model can potentially provide enhanced levels in each of the dimensions of supply chain agility.

The study shows how the multi-agent systems can assist to overcome the trade-off between supply chain agility and complexity of global supply chains. It also opens up a new research agenda for incorporation of big data and semantic web applications for the design of supply chain information systems.

The proposed information system provides integrated capabilities for production, supply chain event and disruption risk management under a collaborative basis.

A novel aspect in the design of multi-agent systems is introduced for inter-organisational processes, which incorporates semantic web information and a big data ontology in the agent society.

In the organizational technology acceptance (TA) decision-making process, stakeholders have many divergence opinions. Sometimes, an opposing stakeholder of a decision can stop the whole process of decision-making. In such a case, consensus may take a long time followed by a high risk. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to find the best model with the least prediction error for the simulation of the consensus process in TA decisions. Second, to investigate the time required for the consensus process to yield the TA decision in different scenarios and to propose solutions to reduce the required time in a case study.

This study uses real-world data containing 1,186 actual observations. Stakeholders are decision-maker agents, and the observations are derived from survey data and used for simulation. Data were obtained from 126 experts in the Iranian rail freight industry. Opinion dynamics theory was used for agent-based simulation of stakeholders’ behavior. The agents interacted over time and their effects on other agents’ opinions were investigated.

The results illustrate an appropriate opinion changing model, a data-gathering method and a simulation scenario for TA consensus. The suitable model was selected after examining the advantages and disadvantages of and comparing the prediction results for different models with the real database of opinions. To reduce the consensus process time, the results suggest gathering the team members and networking with some leaders as advocators. A large number of advocators with high acceptability and continuous exchanging messages with other agents can improve the acceptance rate and have the most significant impact on other stakeholders’ opinions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, previous studies simulate individual TA processes. However, there is a difference between the individual TA and the organizational TA. The organizational TA requires the simultaneous decision-making of different stakeholders. In this research, the organizational TA was investigated.

The purpose of this paper is to create a platform framework based on agent for virtual enterprise (VE) with the characteristic of supply chain by adopting multi‐agent technology.

According to the system hierarchy theory and the features of VE with the characteristic of supply chain, the conception and organization structure of supply chain‐oriented VE are proposed. Combined with characters of multi‐agent, a platform framework based on agent for VE with the characteristic of supply chain is created. Aiming at complexity of net node of running platform framework, two‐layer architecture mode, which are information alternation layer and basic function layer inside net node based on agent, are designed. The modes are proved to be reasonable in the management of the system and networks resources.

The theory base of realization of the VE based on agent with the characteristic of supply chain is found.

The reasonable basic function design of various agents are main limitations.

The paper presents a very useful tool for the operation and management of VE.

A new approach and scheme for VE with the characteristic of supply chain is presented. This paper is aimed at researchers and engineers.

This paper aims to analyze the exchange and reciprocal mechanism behind individual knowledge transfer activities as well as their impact on the individual knowledge transfer networks.

The author conducted theoretical and simulation research. Agent‐based technology is employed to construct an agent dynamics agent‐based model that simulates and explains how an individual initiates the evolution of a knowledge network through knowledge transfer activities.

The results demonstrate that the two mechanisms can improve the knowledge levels of the network members; the exchange mechanism is more efficient as it can improve the values of both sides. Individual knowledge transfer networks evolve from random networks to small‐world networks.

The research model must include more variables. Computer simulation research will be cross‐confirmed by other research methods in future studies.

Individual knowledge transfer networks form and subsequently evolve as a result of social interaction. The research findings will contribute to the policy making for knowledge management in organizations.

Little has been published about the dynamics of individual knowledge transfer networks. The author believes that the paper is the first to analyze the internal mechanisms behind individual knowledge transfer activities and test them with agent‐based technologies.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an availability modeling method of complex multiple units system (CMUS) based on the multi-agent technique.

Based on the multi-agent technique, this paper describes the availability model structure for CMUS and develops agent-based models of components, maintenance policies, maintenance tools, maintenance fields, and maintenance staff, as well as the communication method among the different agents. On the basis of the agent-based availability modeling theory, the availability simulation scheme of CMUS is given using MATLAB. Thus, the availability modeling theory of CMUS and its simulation method are developed. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed availability modeling method, a numerical example is given.

The proposed agent-based modeling method is applicable to availability modeling of CMUS, including the modeling of component failure, maintenance tools/fields/staff, maintenance policy, and structural/economic dependence among components.

As a bottom-top, modular, expandable, and reusable modeling theory, the agent-based modeling method might be useful for availability modeling of different CMUSs in reality.

The multi-agent technique is introduced into availability modeling of multi-component systems in this paper. Thus, it is possible to model failure of many components, maintenance policies, maintenance tools, maintenance fields, and maintenance staff together for availability analysis of complex systems of equipment.