Workshop proceedings: Information Systems for Space Astrophysics in the 21st Century, volume 1

The Astrophysical Information Systems Workshop was one of the three Integrated Technology Planning workshops. Its objectives were to develop an understanding of future mission requirements for information systems, the potential role of technology in meeting these requirements, and the areas in which NASA investment might have the greatest impact. Workshop participants were briefed on the astrophysical mission set with an emphasis on those missions that drive information systems technology, the existing NASA space-science operations infrastructure, and the ongoing and planned NASA information systems technology programs. Program plans and recommendations were prepared in five technical areas: Mission Planning and Operations; Space-Borne Data Processing; Space-to-Earth Communications; Science Data Systems; and Data Analysis, Integration, and Visualization

Cognitive dimensions usability assessment of textual and visual VHDL environments

Visual programming languages promise to make programming easier with simpler graphical methods, broadening access to computing by lessening the need for would-be users to become proficient with textual programming languages, with their somewhat arcane grammars and methods removed from the problem space of the user. However, after more than forty years of research in the field, visual methods remain in the margins of use and programming remains the bailiwick of people devoted to the endeavor. VPL designers need to understand the mechanisms of usability that pertain to complex systems like programming language environments. Effective research tools for studying usability, and sufficiently constrained, mature subjects for investigation are scarce. This study applies a usability research tool, with its origins in applied psychology, to a programming language surrogate from the hardware description language class of notations. The substitution is reasonable because of the great similarity between hardware description languages and programming languages. Considering VHDL (the VHSIC Hardware Description Language) is especially worthwhile for several reasons, but primarily because significant numbers of digital designers regularly employ both textual and visual VHDL environments to meet the same real-world design challenges. A comparative analysis of Cognitive Dimensions assessments of textual and visual VHDL environments should further understanding of the usability issues specifically related to visual methods – in many cases, the same visual methods used in visual programming languages. Furthermore, with this real-world ‘field lab’ better understood, it should be possible to design experiments to pursue the formalization of the CDs framework as a theory

Computational Science: A Field of Inquiry for Design Science Research

The digitalization of science has resulted in the development of essential, specialized, devices and software. Computational science, as a branch of science, is specifically identified as an important, potential area for which it would be helpful to apply design science research. This paper examines computational science, identifies its past and ongoing challenges, and suggests that progressing computational science with design science research can serve as an important area of inquiry for continuing design science research

Model-driven development for pervasive information systems

This chapter focus on design methodologies for pervasive information systems (PIS). It aims to contribute for the efficiency and effectiveness on software development of ubiquitous services/applications supported on pervasive information systems. Pervasive information systems are composed of conveniently orchestrated embedded or mobile computing devices that offer innovative ways to support existing and new business models. Those systems are characterized as having a potential large number of interactive heterogeneous embedded/mobile computing devices that collect, process, and communicate information. Additionally, they are target of high rates of technological innovations. Therefore, changes on requirements or in technology demands for frequent modifications on software at device and system levels. Software design and evolution for those requires suitable approaches that cope with such demands and characteristics of pervasive information systems. Model-driven development approaches (which essentially centre the focus of development on models, and involves concepts such as Platform-Independent Models, Platform-Specific Models, model transformations, and use of established standards) currently in research at academic and industrial arenas to design of large systems, offer potential benefits that can be applied to design and evolution of these pervasive information systems. In this chapter, we raise issues and propose strategies related to the software development of PIS using a model-driven development perspective

A Software Product Line Approach to Ontology-based Recommendations in E-Tourism Systems

This study tackles two concerns of developers of Tourism Information Systems (TIS). First is the need for more dependable recommendation services due to the intangible nature of the tourism product where it is impossible for customers to physically evaluate the services on offer prior to practical experience. Second is the need to manage dynamic user requirements in tourism due to the advent of new technologies such as the semantic web and mobile computing such that etourism systems (TIS) can evolve proactively with emerging user needs at minimal time and development cost without performance tradeoffs. However, TIS have very predictable characteristics and are functionally identical in most cases with minimal variations which make them attractive for software product line development. The Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE) paradigm enables the strategic and systematic reuse of common core assets in the development of a family of software products that share some degree of commonality in order to realise a significant improvement in the cost and time of development. Hence, this thesis introduces a novel and systematic approach, called Product Line for Ontology-based Tourism Recommendation (PLONTOREC), a special approach focusing on the creation of variants of TIS products within a product line. PLONTOREC tackles the aforementioned problems in an engineering-like way by hybridizing concepts from ontology engineering and software product line engineering. The approach is a systematic process model consisting of product line management, ontology engineering, domain engineering, and application engineering. The unique feature of PLONTOREC is that it allows common TIS product requirements to be defined, commonalities and differences of content in TIS product variants to be planned and limited in advance using a conceptual model, and variant TIS products to be created according to a construction specification. We demonstrated the novelty in this approach using a case study of product line development of e-tourism systems for three countries in the West-African Region of Africa

Modeling network traffic on a global network-centric system with artificial neural networks

This dissertation proposes a new methodology for modeling and predicting network traffic. It features an adaptive architecture based on artificial neural networks and is especially suited for large-scale, global, network-centric systems. Accurate characterization and prediction of network traffic is essential for network resource sizing and real-time network traffic management. As networks continue to increase in size and complexity, the task has become increasingly difficult and current methodology is not sufficiently adaptable or scaleable. Current methods model network traffic with express mathematical equations which are not easily maintained or adjusted. The accuracy of these models is based on detailed characterization of the traffic stream which is measured at points along the network where the data is often subject to constant variation and rapid evolution. The main contribution of this dissertation is development of a methodology that allows utilization of artificial neural networks with increased capability for adaptation and scalability. Application on an operating global, broadband network, the Connexion by Boeingʼ network, was evaluated to establish feasibility. A simulation model was constructed and testing was conducted with operational scenarios to demonstrate applicability on the case study network and to evaluate improvements in accuracy over existing methods --Abstract, page iii