18,931 research outputs found
Pattern Reification as the Basis for Description-Driven Systems
One of the main factors driving object-oriented software development for
information systems is the requirement for systems to be tolerant to change. To
address this issue in designing systems, this paper proposes a pattern-based,
object-oriented, description-driven system (DDS) architecture as an extension
to the standard UML four-layer meta-model. A DDS architecture is proposed in
which aspects of both static and dynamic systems behavior can be captured via
descriptive models and meta-models. The proposed architecture embodies four
main elements - firstly, the adoption of a multi-layered meta-modeling
architecture and reflective meta-level architecture, secondly the
identification of four data modeling relationships that can be made explicit
such that they can be modified dynamically, thirdly the identification of five
design patterns which have emerged from practice and have proved essential in
providing reusable building blocks for data management, and fourthly the
encoding of the structural properties of the five design patterns by means of
one fundamental pattern, the Graph pattern. A practical example of this
philosophy, the CRISTAL project, is used to demonstrate the use of
description-driven data objects to handle system evolution.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figure
Collaborative design : managing task interdependencies and multiple perspectives
This paper focuses on two characteristics of collaborative design with
respect to cooperative work: the importance of work interdependencies linked to
the nature of design problems; and the fundamental function of design
cooperative work arrangement which is the confrontation and combination of
perspectives. These two intrinsic characteristics of the design work stress
specific cooperative processes: coordination processes in order to manage task
interdependencies, establishment of common ground and negotiation mechanisms in
order to manage the integration of multiple perspectives in design
Constructing a Virtual Training Laboratory Using Intelligent Agents
This paper reports on the results and experiences of the Trilogy project; a collaborative project concerned with the development of a virtual research laboratory using intelligence agents. This laboratory is designed to support the training of research students in telecommunications traffic engineering. Training research students involves a number of basic activities. They may seek guidance from, or exchange ideas with, more experienced colleagues. High quality academic papers, books and research reports provide a sound basis for developing and maintaining a good understanding of an area of research. Experimental tools enable new ideas to be evaluated, and hypotheses tested. These three components-collaboration, information and experimentation- are central to any research activity, and a good training environment for research should integrate them in a seamless fashion. To this end, we describe the design and implementation of an agent-based virtual laboratory
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Knowledge modelling for integrating semantic web services in e-government applications
Service integration and domain interoperability are
the basic requirements in the development of current
service-oriented e-Government applications. Semantic
Web and, in particular, Semantic Web Service (SWS)
technology aim to address these issues. However, the integration between e-Government applications and SWS is not an easy task. We argue that a more complex semantic layer needs to be modeled. The aim of our work is to provide an ontological framework that maps such a semantic layer. In this paper, we describe our approach for creating a project-independent and reusable model, and provide a case study that demonstrates its applicability
The Reification of Patterns in the Design of Description-Driven Systems
To address the issues of reusability and evolvability in designing self-
describing systems, this paper proposes a pattern-based, object-oriented,
description-driven system architecture. The proposed architecture embodies four
pillars - first, the adoption of a multi-layered meta-modeling architecture and
reflective meta-level architecture, second, the identification of four data
modeling relationships that must be made explicit such that they can be
examined and modified dynamically, third, the identification of five design
patterns which have emerged from practice and have proved essential in
providing reusable building blocks for data management, and fourth, the
encoding of the structural properties of the five design patterns by means of
one pattern, the Graph pattern. The CRISTAL research project served as the
basis onto which the pattern-based meta-object approach has been applied. The
proposed architecture allows the realization of reusability and adaptability,
and is fundamental in the specification of self-describing data management
components.Comment: 10 pages 11 figure
Federation views as a basis for querying and updating database federations
This paper addresses the problem of how to query and update so-called database federations. A database federation provides for tight coupling of a collection of heterogeneous component databases into a global integrated system. This problem of querying and updating a database federation is tackled by describing a logical architecture and a general semantic framework for precise specification of such database federations, with the aim to provide a basis for implementing a federation by means of relational database views. Our approach to database federations is based on the UML/OCL data model, and aims at the integration of the underlying database schemas of the component legacy systems to a separate, newly defined integrated database schema. One of the central notions in database modelling and in constraint specifications is the notion of a database view, which closely corresponds to the notion of derived class in UML. We will employ OCL (version 2.0) and the notion of derived class as a means to treat (inter-)database constraints and database views in a federated context. Our approach to coupling component databases into a global, integrated system is based on mediation. The first objective of our paper is to demonstrate that our particular mediating system integrates component schemas without loss of constraint information. The second objective is to show that the concept of relational database view provides a sound basis for actual implementation of database federations, both for querying and updating purposes.
Families and Social Media Use: The Role of Parents' Perceptions about Social Media Impact on Family Systems in the Relationship between Family Collective Efficacy and Open Communication
Communication through social media characterizes modern lifestyles and relationships, including family interactions. The present study aims at deepening the role that parents’ perceptions about social media effects on family systems can exert within their family functioning, specifically referring to the relationship between collective family efficacy and open communications within family systems with adolescents. A questionnaire to detect the openness of family communications, thecollectivefamilyefficacyandtheperceptionsabouttheimpactsofsocialmediaonfamilysystems wasadministeredto227Italianparentswhohadoneormoreteenagechildren,andwhouseFacebook and WhatsApp to communicate with them. From the results, these perceptions emerge as a mediator in the relationship between the collective family efficacy and the openness of communications, suggestingthatitisnotonlytheactualimpactofsocialmediaonfamilysystemsthatmattersbutalso parents’ perceptions about it and how much they feel able to manage their and their children’s social media use without damaging their family relationships. Thus, the need to foster parents’ positive perceptions about social media’s potential impact on their family relationships emerges. A strategy could be the promotion of knowledge on how to functionally use social media
Human-centred design methods : developing scenarios for robot assisted play informed by user panels and field trials
Original article can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Copyright ElsevierThis article describes the user-centred development of play scenarios for robot assisted play, as part of the multidisciplinary IROMEC1 project that develops a novel robotic toy for children with special needs. The project investigates how robotic toys can become social mediators, encouraging children with special needs to discover a range of play styles, from solitary to collaborative play (with peers, carers/teachers, parents, etc.). This article explains the developmental process of constructing relevant play scenarios for children with different special needs. Results are presented from consultation with panel of experts (therapists, teachers, parents) who advised on the play needs for the various target user groups and who helped investigate how robotic toys could be used as a play tool to assist in the children’s development. Examples from experimental investigations are provided which have informed the development of scenarios throughout the design process. We conclude by pointing out the potential benefit of this work to a variety of research projects and applications involving human–robot interactions.Peer reviewe
An Architecture for Provenance Systems
This document covers the logical and process architectures of provenance systems. The logical architecture identifies key roles and their interactions, whereas the process architecture discusses distribution and security. A fundamental aspect of our presentation is its technology-independent nature, which makes it reusable: the principles that are exposed in this document may be applied to different technologies
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