Qualitative Trust Dynamics Algebra for Trust Management in Pervasive Computing Environments

Trust management is turning out to be essential for further and wider acceptance of contemporary IT solutions. It was first addressed some ten years ago when the suggested approaches at that period were actually tackling security and not trust directly. Later, more advanced methodologies emerged that were based on Bayesian statistics, and these were followed by Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence and its derivative, subjective algebra. In addition, some attempts were made that were based on game theory. However, trust is a manifestation of reasoning and judgment processes. It has to be treated in line with this fact and has to be adequately supported from technological point of view. Therefore, on the basis of experiments, a complementary methodology called qualitative trust dynamics algebra (QTDA) has been developed, which addresses the core of trust phenomenon. It complements existing methodologies and, together with the appropriate conceptual model, enables technological solutions for trust management in pervasive computing environments.