Extending functional databases for use in text-intensive applications

This thesis continues research exploring the benefits of using functional databases based around the functional data model for advanced database applications-particularly those supporting investigative systems. This is a growing generic application domain covering areas such as criminal and military intelligence, which are characterised by significant data complexity, large data sets and the need for high performance, interactive use. An experimental functional database language was developed to provide the requisite semantic richness. However, heavy use in a practical context has shown that language extensions and implementation improvements are required-especially in the crucial areas of string matching and graph traversal. In addition, an implementation on multiprocessor, parallel architectures is essential to meet the performance needs arising from existing and projected database sizes in the chosen application area. [Continues.

A Graph Rewriting Visual Language for Database Programming

Textual database programming languages are computationally complete, but have the disadvantage of giving the user a non-intuitive view of the database information that is being manipulated. Visual languages developed in recent years have allowed naive users access to a direct representation of data, often in a graph form, but have concentrated on user interface rather than complex programming tasks. There is a need for a system which combines the advantages of both these programming methods. We describe an implementation of Spider, an experimental visual database programming language aimed at programmers. It uses a graph rewriting paradigm as a basis for a fully visual, computationally complete language. The graphs it rewrites represent the schema and instances of a database. The unique graph rewriting method used by Spider has syntactic and semantic simplicity. Its form of algorithmic expression allows complex computation to be easily represented in short programs. Furthermore, Spider has greater power than normally provided in textual systems, and we show that queries on the schema and associative queries can be performed easily and without requiring any additions to the language

Form-ing institutional order: the scaffolding of lists and identifiers

This paper examines the central place of the list and the associated concept of an identifier within the scaffolding of contemporary institutional order. These terms are deliberately chosen to make strange and help unpack the constitutive capacity of information systems and information technology within and between contemporary organisations. We draw upon the substantial body of work by John Searle to help understand the place of lists and identifiers in the constitution of institutional order. To enable us to ground our discussion of the potentiality and problematic associated with lists we describe a number of significant instances of list-making, situated particularly around the use of identifiers to refer to people, places and products. The theorisation developed allows us to better explain not only the significance imbued within lists and identifiers but the key part they play in form-ing the institutional order. We also hint at the role such symbolic artefacts play within breakdowns in institutional order

Declarations of significance: exploring the pragmatic nature of information models

This paper considers the juncture experienced between information modelling in theory and information modelling in practice. It identifies the basis of this juncture in an unsatisfactory ontological basis for information modelling. Using both the early and more recent work of Searle it establishes the need for information models to be framed in terms of communicative patterns significant within some delimited institutional domain. Such communicative patterns are visualised in terms of an innovative artefact known as a pattern comic. The propositional content of communicative acts within such patterns is then expressed as a set of binary relations, which can be transformed into various visualisations of an information model. Patterns of communicative action evident in the domain of medical emergency response are used throughout to illustrate this pragmatic approach to constructing information models

Accommodating Complex Chained Prepositional Phrases in Natural Language Query Interface to an Event-Based Triplestore

Building Natural language query interfaces (NLI) to databases is one the most interesting and challenging fields of study for computer scientists and researchers. There have been many advancements and achievements in this area that enables NLIs to operate more efficiently and have wide NL coverage. However, there exists some shortcomings in query interface to semantic web triplestores. Some researchers have attempted to extend the range of queries that can be answered. However, only a few techniques can handle queries containing complex chained prepositional phrases. This thesis involves extending an existing method that can accommodate prepositional phrases to also be able to handle when..., where..., and with what... type queries. The approach developed is implemented in the Miranda programing environment