Research on conceptual modeling: Themes, topics, and introduction to the special issue

Conceptual modeling continues to evolve as researchers and practitioners reflect on the challenges of modeling and implementing data-intensive problems that appear in business and in science. These challenges of data modeling and representation are well-recognized in contemporary applications of big data, ontologies, and semantics, along with traditional efforts associated with methodologies, tools, and theory development. This introduction contains a review of some current research in conceptual modeling and identifies emerging themes. It also introduces the articles that comprise this special issue of papers from the 32nd International Conference on Conceptual Modeling (ER 2013).This article was supported, in part, by the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at the Georgia State University, the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University (EB-201313), and by the GEODAS-BI (TIN2012-37493-C03-03) project from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Competitivity

DYMS (Dynamic Matcher Selector) – Scenario-based Schema Matcher Selector

Schema matching is one of the main challenges in different information system integration contexts. Over the past 20 years, different schema matching methods have been proposed and shown to be successful in various situations. Although numerous advanced matching algorithms have emerged, schema matching research remains a critical issue. Different algorithms are implemented to resolve different types of schema heterogeneities, including differences in design methodologies, naming conventions, and the level of specificity of schemas, amongst others. The algorithms are usually too generic regardless of the schema matching scenario. This situation indicates that a single matcher cannot be optimized for all matching scenarios. In this research, I proposed a dynamic matcher selector (DYMS) as a probable solution to the aforementioned problem. The proposed DYMS analyzes the schema matching scenario and selects the most appropriate matchers for a given scenario. Selecting matchers are weighted based on the parameter optimization process, which adopts the heuristic learning approach. The DYMS returns the alignment result of input schemas

Transitioning to Sustainable Civil Infrastructure Systems: Green Stormwater Management and Engineering Design Thinking

Green infrastructure has been endorsed by many practitioners and organizations as a more sustainable approach to stormwater management. Decisions on how to best design municipal green infrastructure systems can be complicated by factors such as uncertainties about the performance and public acceptance of particular technologies. Thus, deciding how to design sustainable stormwater management systems requires engineers not only to reflect upon the fundamental principles used to conceptualize their designs, but also to consider how a broad array of social, economic, and environmental factors both influence and are influenced by their work. This thesis examines factors that influence the design and adoption of sustainable civil infrastructure systems in two research areas: (1) municipal stormwater management decisions in the United States, and (2) student understanding of engineering design principles. The objective of this thesis is to identify elements of engineering design and related decision-making processes that can provide engineers, stormwater management stakeholders, and engineering educators with lessons and tools that can advance the sustainable development of stormwater management systems. One challenge to understanding how particular factors may lead to sustainable outcomes is devising a tractable way to organize and document them. Using observations from national meetings and an extensive literature review, I develop a social-ecological framework for identifying factors that condition the adoption of green infrastructure technologies by stormwater management authorities. Findings from this work demonstrate a need to more fully develop robust descriptions of technological attributes within a social-ecological framework for urban stormwater systems, particularly for technology decision-making activities such as green infrastructure adoption. Understanding past outcomes of engineering planning within a particular context can provide useful insight for future decision-making. I conduct a case study on the evolution of stormwater management planning in Onondaga County, New York between 1998 and 2009, in which plans for certain unpopular gray infrastructure technologies were eventually replaced in part by a large-scale green infrastructure program. I find that the adoption of this program was driven by an alignment of several sociopolitical factors, including the presence of a policy entrepreneurship coalition in support of alternative stormwater management plans, the election of a key political official who acknowledged the needs of local stakeholders, and a shift in mindset of local and national officials as to what technologies are effective for stormwater management. A growing number of U.S. cities are adopting green infrastructure programs for stormwater management, particularly for combined sewer overflow mitigation. Viewing green infrastructure program adoption in combined sewer communities as a policy innovation, I develop an empirical model to differentiate factors associated with a sewer management authority’s binary decision to adopt or not adopt a large-scale green infrastructure program, and factors associated with decisions related to the extent of planned program implementation. This study finds that the binary decision to adopt a municipal green infrastructure program for combined sewer overflow management is largely driven by municipal population size and precipitation characteristics, while the extent of program implementation is also driven by socioeconomic characteristics of municipal residents and the amount of total capital needs required to achieve combined sewer overflow compliance. Engineers must be able to mathematically model the complexities of fundamental physical processes within real systems, such as green infrastructure systems for stormwater management. Many engineering processes are built upon fundamental concepts of mass and energy balances, in which mathematical models are used to analyze rates of change and accumulated quantities across system boundaries of interest. The Rate and Accumulation Concept Inventory (RACI) is an assessment tool that I developed to measure students’ mathematical and physical understandings of such concepts. I use data from an administration of the RACI (N=305) to assess evidence of the tool’s validity and reliability through structural equation modeling and multidimensional item response theory. Validity and reliability evidence indicates that the RACI can appropriately be used to measure students’ overall understanding of rate and accumulation processes. Case-based teaching methods have been suggested as a best practice for introducing students to ethical decision-making scenarios. By sensitizing future engineers to the concerns of stakeholders who are impacted by engineering decisions, educators can better prepare them to create designs that address social outcome criteria such as welfare and justice. Using case study findings related to stakeholder concerns and engineering decisions for stormwater management planning in Onondaga County, I develop a case-based teaching module on engineering decision-making for use in undergraduate civil and environmental engineering courses. Assessments from three years of module implementation demonstrate that the module can be used to meet multiple learning objectives and enhance student understanding of stakeholder engagement principles

Improving the quality of process reference models: A quality function deployment-based approach

Little academic work exists on managing reference model development and measuring reference model quality, yet there is a clear need for higher quality reference models. We address this gap by developing a quality management and measurement instrument. The foundation for the instrument is the well-known Quality Function Deployment (QFD) approach. The QFD-based approach incorporates prior research on reference model requirements and development approaches. Initial evaluation of the instrument is carried out with a case study of a logistic reference process. The case study reveals that the instrument is a valuable tool for the management and estimation of reference model quality

Ground water and surface water under stress

Presented at Ground water and surface water under stress: competition, interaction, solutions: a USCID water management conference on October 25-28, 2006 in Boise, Idaho.Includes bibliographical references.The A&B Irrigation District in south-central Idaho supplies water to irrigate over 76,000 acres. The district's 14,660-acre Unit A is supplied with water from the Snake River. Unit B is comprised of 62,140 acres of land irrigated by pumping groundwater from the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA) using 177 deep wells. Pumping depths range from 200 to 350 feet. Water from Unit B wells is distributed to irrigated lands via a system of short, unlined lateral canals averaging about 3/4-mile in length with capacities of 2 to 12 cfs. During the period from 1975 to 2005, the average level of the ESPA under the A&B Irrigation District dropped 25 ft and as much as 40 ft in some locations. This has forced the district to deepen some existing wells and drill several new wells. To help mitigate the declining aquifer, the district and its farmers have implemented a variety of irrigation system and management improvements. Improvements have involved a concerted effort by the district, landowners, and local and federal resource agencies. The district has installed variable speed drives on some supply wells, installed a SCADA system to remotely monitor and control well pumps, and piped portions of the open distribution laterals. This has permitted farmers to connect farm pressure pumps directly to supply well outlets. Farmers have helped by converting many of their surface irrigation application systems to sprinklers, moving farm deliveries to central locations to reduce conveyance losses, and installing systems to reclaim irrigation spills and return flows

Ground water and surface water under stress

Presented at Ground water and surface water under stress: competition, interaction, solutions: a USCID water management conference on October 25-28, 2006 in Boise, Idaho.Includes bibliographical references.The METRIC evapotranspiration (ET) estimation model was applied using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite images in New Mexico to evaluate the applicability of MODIS images to ET estimation and water resources management. With the coarse resolution of MODIS (approximately 1km thermal resolution), MODIS was not found to be suitable for field-scale applications. In project and regional scale applications, MODIS has potential to contribute to ET estimation and water resources management. MODIS based ET maps for New Mexico were compared with Landsat based results for 12 dates. Average ET calculations using MODIS and Landsat applications were similar, indicating that MODIS images can be useful as an ET estimation tool in project and regional scale applications

Ground water and surface water under stress: competition, interaction, solutions

Presented at Ground water and surface water under stress: competition, interaction, solutions: a USCID water management conference on October 25-28, 2006 in Boise, Idaho.Includes bibliographical references.Overview of the Pecos River basin -- Integrating water management in Egypt: from concept to reality -- Evaluation of the Pecos River Carlsbad Settlement Agreement using the Pecos River Decision Support System -- Collaborative solutions to complex problems: a Pecos River basin, New Mexico case study -- Development of replacement water supplies by the Lower Arkansas Water Management Association -- Integrated water management in the Bear River basin -- Looking for trouble: anticipating impacts of changing allocation of irrigation water -- AgriMet: a tool for irrigation water management -- Application of MODIS and Landsat based evapotranspiration for western states water management -- Calibrating satellite-based vegetation indices to estimate evapotranspiration and crop coefficients -- Reducing Ogallala withdrawls by changing cropping and irrigation practices in the Texas High Plains -- Evaluating cotton yield potential in the Ogallala aquifer region -- A fully automated center pivot using crop canopy temperature: preliminary results -- Deficit irrigation in alfalfa as a strategy for providing water for nonagricultural uses -- An infrastructure management system for enhanced irrigation district planning -- Gila River Indian Community Water Resources Decision Support System - a modeling system for managing a multi-source conjunctive use water supply for long-term sustainability -- Groundwater analysis tool: a component of the Water Resources Decision Support System for the Gila River Indian Community -- Effective water management through farmer participation -- Improving canal water management through participatory approach: a case study on secondary canal (Potho Minor), Sindh, Pakistan -- Groundwater management improvements to mitigate declining groundwater levels - a case study -- An on-line advisory program for optimum irrigation management -- Institutional reforms in the water sector of Pakistan -- Matching irrigation supply and demand in Egypt -- Drought risk management for irrigated potato production in Idaho -- Case study - statistical forecasting techniques for evaluating an interruptible supply contract -- Managing across groundwater and surface water: an Australian 'conjunctive licence' illustration of allocation and planning issues -- Decentralized flow monitoring in Egypt -- High rate irrigation for groundwater recharge -- Impervious synthetic lining of deteriorated concrete canals - what are the real cost and benefits to irrigation districts? -- Design and installation of a flume to monitor spring discharge at the headwaters of the Verde River -- Optimal allocation of limited water supply for a large-scale irrigated area -- Assessment of the environmental sustainability of irrigated agriculture in a large-scale scheme - a case study