402,671 research outputs found
Modelling data intensive web sites with OntoWeaver
This paper illustrates the OntoWeaver modelling approach, which relies on a set of comprehensive site ontologies to model all aspects of data intensive web sites and thus offers high level support for the design and development of data-intensive web sites. In particular, the OntoWeaver site
ontologies comprise two components: a site view ontology and a presentation ontology. The site view ontology provides meta-models to allow for the composition of sophisticated site views, which allow end users to navigate and manipulate the underlying domain databases. The presentation ontology abstracts the look and feel for site views and makes it possible for the visual appearance and layout to be specified at a high level of abstractio
Running a distributed virtual observatory: US Virtual Astronomical Observatory operations
Operation of the US Virtual Astronomical Observatory shares some issues with
modern physical observatories, e.g., intimidating data volumes and rapid
technological change, and must also address unique concerns like the lack of
direct control of the underlying and scattered data resources, and the
distributed nature of the observatory itself. In this paper we discuss how the
VAO has addressed these challenges to provide the astronomical community with a
coherent set of science-enabling tools and services. The distributed nature of
our virtual observatory-with data and personnel spanning geographic,
institutional and regime boundaries-is simultaneously a major operational
headache and the primary science motivation for the VAO. Most astronomy today
uses data from many resources. Facilitation of matching heterogeneous datasets
is a fundamental reason for the virtual observatory. Key aspects of our
approach include continuous monitoring and validation of VAO and VO services
and the datasets provided by the community, monitoring of user requests to
optimize access, caching for large datasets, and providing distributed storage
services that allow user to collect results near large data repositories. Some
elements are now fully implemented, while others are planned for subsequent
years. The distributed nature of the VAO requires careful attention to what can
be a straightforward operation at a conventional observatory, e.g., the
organization of the web site or the collection and combined analysis of logs.
Many of these strategies use and extend protocols developed by the
international virtual observatory community.Comment: 7 pages with 2 figures included within PD
Information Outlook, December 2006
Volume 10, Issue 12https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2006/1011/thumbnail.jp
Construction safety and digital design: a review
As digital technologies become widely used in designing buildings and infrastructure, questions arise about
their impacts on construction safety. This review explores relationships between construction safety and
digital design practices with the aim of fostering and directing further research. It surveys state-of-the-art
research on databases, virtual reality, geographic information systems, 4D CAD, building information
modeling and sensing technologies, finding various digital tools for addressing safety issues in the
construction phase, but few tools to support design for construction safety. It also considers a literature on
safety critical, digital and design practices that raises a general concern about ‘mindlessness’ in the use of
technologies, and has implications for the emerging research agenda around construction safety and digital
design. Bringing these strands of literature together suggests new kinds of interventions, such as the
development of tools and processes for using digital models to promote mindfulness through multi-party
collaboration on safet
BaBar - A Community Web Site in an Organizational Setting
The BABAR Web site was established in 1993 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator
Center (SLAC) to support the BABAR experiment, to report its results, and to
facilitate communication among its scientific and engineering collaborators,
currently numbering about 600 individuals from 75 collaborating institutions in
10 countries. The BABAR Web site is, therefore, a community Web site. At the
same time it is hosted at SLAC and funded by agencies that demand adherence to
policies decided under different priorities. Additionally, the BABAR Web
administrators deal with the problems that arise during the course of managing
users, content, policies, standards, and changing technologies. Desired
solutions to some of these problems may be incompatible with the overall
administration of the SLAC Web sites and/or the SLAC policies and concerns.
There are thus different perspectives of the same Web site and differing
expectations in segments of the SLAC population which act as constraints and
challenges in any review or re-engineering activities. Web Engineering, which
post-dates the BABAR Web, has aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of
all aspects of Web development. This paper reports on the first part of a
recent review of application of Web Engineering methods to the BABAR Web site,
which has led to explicit user and information models of the BABAR community
and how SLAC and the BABAR community relate and react to each other. The paper
identifies the issues of a community Web site in a hierarchical,
semi-governmental sector and formulates a strategy for periodic reviews of
BABAR and similar sites.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
(CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 8 pages, PDF, PSN MONT00
Development of Grid e-Infrastructure in South-Eastern Europe
Over the period of 6 years and three phases, the SEE-GRID programme has
established a strong regional human network in the area of distributed
scientific computing and has set up a powerful regional Grid infrastructure. It
attracted a number of user communities and applications from diverse fields
from countries throughout the South-Eastern Europe. From the infrastructure
point view, the first project phase has established a pilot Grid infrastructure
with more than 20 resource centers in 11 countries. During the subsequent two
phases of the project, the infrastructure has grown to currently 55 resource
centers with more than 6600 CPUs and 750 TBs of disk storage, distributed in 16
participating countries. Inclusion of new resource centers to the existing
infrastructure, as well as a support to new user communities, has demanded
setup of regionally distributed core services, development of new monitoring
and operational tools, and close collaboration of all partner institution in
managing such a complex infrastructure. In this paper we give an overview of
the development and current status of SEE-GRID regional infrastructure and
describe its transition to the NGI-based Grid model in EGI, with the strong SEE
regional collaboration.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, 4 table
Incentives for the adoption of e-government by Greek municipalities
Purpose: The research aims to identify the incentives that play an important role in the evolution of e-government in Greece at local scale and its actual development level. It also investigates the factors and the perceived barriers that affect the development of local egovernment in Greek Municipalities, as well as the benefits they derive from it. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research is based on a survey that was conducted through a questionnaire to all 325 Municipalities of the country and includes data from 109 Municipalities that participated in the quantitative approach. Findings: While e-government is spread at a relatively satisfactory level, it appears that only a few Municipalities are performing well. Results highlight also the two main incentives that motivate Municipalities to adopt e-government: The first is the improvement of the efficiency of information exchange with the external environment and the second is managing internal issues-relationships in conjunction with the existence of prominent IT departments. Amongst the main factors that affect e-government adoption by Local authorities, budgetary constraints stand out, while the lack of personnel specialized in Information Technologies is identified as common obstacle. Practical Implications: Findings suggest that an integrated approach to e-government is needed in order to enable organizations to minimize failures and to overcome barriers and counter risks. The capacity to align e-government applications with the increasing and evolving needs and requirements of the citizens is the key to optimizing the benefits of eGovernment at local scale. Originality/Value: There is no similar empirical research in the context of Greece; hence, it seems important to increase the knowledge about the drivers of e-government adoption, especially in the public sector at the local scale.peer-reviewe
Challenges to Teaching Credibility Assessment in Contemporary Schooling
Part of the Volume on Digital Media, Youth, and CredibilityThis chapter explores several challenges that exist to teaching credibility assessment in the school environment. Challenges range from institutional barriers such as government regulation and school policies and procedures to dynamic challenges related to young people's cognitive development and the consequent difficulties of navigating a complex web environment. The chapter includes a critique of current practices for teaching kids credibility assessment and highlights some best practices for credibility education
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