Semiring-based frameworks for trust propagation in small-world networks and coalition formation criteria

Multitrust provides a flexible approach to encoding trust metrics whereby definitions for trust propagation and aggregation are specified in terms of a semiring. Determining the degree of trust between principals across a trust network (TN) is, in turn, programmed as a (semiring‐based) soft‐constraint satisfaction problem. In this paper, we consider the use of semiring‐based metrics in reasoning about trust between coalition‐forming principals. The configurable nature of multitrust makes it well‐suited to modeling trust within coalitions: whether adding more principals to a coalition increases trust or decreases trust is captured by the definition of trust aggregation within the semiring. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Multitrust provides a flexible approach to encoding trust metrics whereby definitions for trust propagation and aggregation are specified in terms of a semiring. We consider the use of semiring‐based metrics in reasoning about trust between coalition‐forming principals. The configurable nature of multitrust makes it well‐suited to modeling trust within coalitions: whether adding more principals to a coalition increases trust or decreases trust is captured by the definition of trust aggregation within the semiring.