Architectural aspects and a prototype system for handling disputes in electronic commerce transactions

In this thesis, we study some issues relating to the architecture for dispute-handling in electronic commerce (EC). We first propose a model for the dispute-handling architecture in EC transactions and describe how various components work together in a cooperative manner. We then focus our attention on a critical component, rule processing, that underlies the effective functioning of the entire system. We discuss how the notion of rules can be applied to assist players in proving propositions. Since all rules are not equally reliable, we introduce the concept of rule weight that reflects the reliability of a rule, and the algorithm for rule weight calculation. We show that the application of weak rules, i.e., rules that do not have full weights, makes it more probable to prove propositions. We indicate the problems resulting from the application of weak rules, and propose methods to cope with them. Finally, to study the practical feasibility of our architecture, we present an implementation strategy and apply it to a prototype system. The implementation follows the 3-tier client-server structure of our architectural model, and applies Java-related techniques.