The methodology of database design in organization management systems

The paper describes the unified methodology of database design for management information systems. Designing the conceptual information model for the domain area is the most important and labor-intensive stage in database design. Basing on the proposed integrated approach to design, the conceptual information model, the main principles of developing the relation databases are provided and user's information needs are considered. According to the methodology, the process of designing the conceptual information model includes three basic stages, which are defined in detail. Finally, the article describes the process of performing the results of analyzing user's information needs and the rationale for use of classifiers

User-focused design principles

Chapter 7 tested the energy demand of possible office typologies. However, the main aim of the thesis is to develop user-focused design principles for energy efficient office renovation. Therefore, it is important to compare the degree of user satisfaction of highly energy-efficient office typologies. Based on the results from chapter 7, chapter 8 introduces design principles that architects, and facility and real estate managers can use to select the combination of parameters with better user satisfaction during a conceptual design stage of office renovation. It contains a database of the different degrees of user satisfaction with thermal, visual, and psychological comfort, according to the combination of design parameters. Section 8.2 explains the design principles considering user satisfaction and energy efficiency. Section 8.3 provides the overview of predicted satisfaction of 144 office combinations. Recommended office combinations based on energy efficiency are explained in section 8.4. Section 8.5 describes the process of application of the design principles: how can designers interpret and use the principles and predicted models for energy-efficient office renovation

Basic Classes in Conceptual Modeling: Theory and Practical Guidelines

Since the 1970s, many approaches to representing domains have been suggested. Each approach maintains the assumption that the information about the objects represented in the information system (IS) is specified and verified by domain experts and potential users. Yet, as more IS are developed to support a larger diversity of users such as customers, suppliers, and members of the general public (e.g., in the case of many multiuser online systems), analysts can no longer rely on a stable single group of people for the complete specification of domains; therefore, prior research has questioned the efficacy of conceptual modeling in these heterogeneous settings. This paper aims to address this problem by providing theoretical foundations rooted in psychology research supporting the existence and importance of special classes that are termed basic-level categories. Based on this research, we formulate principles for identifying basic classes in a domain. These classes can guide conceptual modeling, database design, and user interface development in a wide variety of traditional and emergent domains

Proceedings of the International Workshop on EuroPLOT Persuasive Technology for Learning, Education and Teaching (IWEPLET 2013)

"This book contains the proceedings of the International Workshop on EuroPLOT Persuasive Technology for Learning, Education and Teaching (IWEPLET) 2013 which was held on 16.-17.September 2013 in Paphos (Cyprus) in conjunction with the EC-TEL conference. The workshop and hence the proceedings are divided in two parts: on Day 1 the EuroPLOT project and its results are introduced, with papers about the specific case studies and their evaluation. On Day 2, peer-reviewed papers are presented which address specific topics and issues going beyond the EuroPLOT scope. This workshop is one of the deliverables (D 2.6) of the EuroPLOT project, which has been funded from November 2010 – October 2013 by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission through the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLL) by grant #511633. The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate Persuasive Learning Objects and Technologies (PLOTS), based on ideas of BJ Fogg. The purpose of this workshop is to summarize the findings obtained during this project and disseminate them to an interested audience. Furthermore, it shall foster discussions about the future of persuasive technology and design in the context of learning, education and teaching. The international community working in this area of research is relatively small. Nevertheless, we have received a number of high-quality submissions which went through a peer-review process before being selected for presentation and publication. We hope that the information found in this book is useful to the reader and that more interest in this novel approach of persuasive design for teaching/education/learning is stimulated. We are very grateful to the organisers of EC-TEL 2013 for allowing to host IWEPLET 2013 within their organisational facilities which helped us a lot in preparing this event. I am also very grateful to everyone in the EuroPLOT team for collaborating so effectively in these three years towards creating excellent outputs, and for being such a nice group with a very positive spirit also beyond work. And finally I would like to thank the EACEA for providing the financial resources for the EuroPLOT project and for being very helpful when needed. This funding made it possible to organise the IWEPLET workshop without charging a fee from the participants.

An active learning and training environment for database programming

Active learning facilitated through interactive, self-controlled learning environments differs substantially from traditional instructor-oriented, classroom-based teaching. We present a tool for database programming that integrates knowledge learning and skills training. How these tools are used most effectively is still an open question. Therefore, we discuss analysis and evaluation of these Web-based environments focusing on different aspects of learning behaviour and tool usage. Motivation, acceptance of the learning approach, learning organisation and actual tool usage are aspects of behaviour that require different techniques to be used

A Design Comparison: Data Warehouse Schema versus Conventional Relational Database Schema

ABSTRACT Initially, relational database is for both operational and decision support system, as the information society experiences exponential growth in the amount of data/information to be stored in a database, a line has been drown between transactional database and decision support database. Unlike traditional database, data warehouse aims to come from a number of preexisting databases (developed from relational schemas). This conceptual paper discusses traditional database schema design and that of data warehouse schema architectural designs strategies that could be a guiding principles for both learners and beginners in database management system. It has explored the stages in development processes of the two. Subject orientation, data integration, non-volatility of data, and time variations are the key issues under consideration that could differentiate between traditional databases and data warehouse schema designs. It has also presented Design Modelling Techniques as well as addressing logical data models for data warehouse schema and traditional relational database

Generic unified modelling process for developing semantically rich, dynamic and temporal models

Models play a vital role in supporting a range of activities in numerous domains. We rely on models to support the design, visualisation, analysis and representation of parts of the world around us, and as such significant research effort has been invested into numerous areas of modelling; including support for model semantics, dynamic states and behaviour, temporal data storage and visualisation. Whilst these efforts have increased our capabilities and allowed us to create increasingly powerful software-based models, the process of developing models, supporting tools and /or data structures remains difficult, expensive and error-prone. In this paper we define from literature the key factors in assessing a model’s quality and usefulness: semantic richness, support for dynamic states and object behaviour, temporal data storage and visualisation. We also identify a number of shortcomings in both existing modelling standards and model development processes and propose a unified generic process to guide users through the development of semantically rich, dynamic and temporal models

Conceptual models and databases for searching the genome

Genomics is an extremely complex domain, in terms of concepts, their relations, and their representations in data. This tutorial introduces the use of ER models in the context of genomic systems: conceptual models are of great help for simplifying this domain and making it actionable. We carry out a review of successful models presented in the literature for representing biologically relevant entities and grounding them in databases. We draw a difference between conceptual models that aim to explain the domain and conceptual models that aim to support database design and heterogeneous data integration. Genomic experiments and/or sequences are described by several metadata, specifying information on the sampled organism, the used technology, and the organizational process behind the experiment. Instead, we call data the actual regions of the genome that have been read by sequencing technologies and encoded into a machiner readable representation. First, we show how data and metadata can be modeled, then we exploit the proposed models for designing search systems, visualizers, and analysis environments. Both domains of human genomics and viral genomics are addressed, surveying several use cases and applications of broader public interest. The tutorial is relevant to the EDBT community because it demonstrates the usefulness of conceptual models’ principles within very current domains; in addition, it offers a concrete example of conceptual models’ use, setting the premises for interdisciplinary collaboration with a greater public (possibly including life science researchers)

NOSQL design for analytical workloads: Variability matters

Big Data has recently gained popularity and has strongly questioned relational databases as universal storage systems, especially in the presence of analytical workloads. As result, co-relational alternatives, commonly known as NOSQL (Not Only SQL) databases, are extensively used for Big Data. As the primary focus of NOSQL is on performance, NOSQL databases are directly designed at the physical level, and consequently the resulting schema is tailored to the dataset and access patterns of the problem in hand. However, we believe that NOSQL design can also benefit from traditional design approaches. In this paper we present a method to design databases for analytical workloads. Starting from the conceptual model and adopting the classical 3-phase design used for relational databases, we propose a novel design method considering the new features brought by NOSQL and encompassing relational and co-relational design altogether.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Model-driven description and validation of composite learning content

Authoring of learning content for courseware systems is a complex activity requiring the combination of a range of design and validation techniques. We introduce the CAVIAr courseware models allowing for learning content description and validation. Model-based representation and analysis of different concerns such as the subject domain, learning context, resources and instructional design used are key contributors to this integrated solution. Personalised learning is particularly difficult to design as dynamic configurations cannot easily be predicted and tested. A tool-supported technique based on CAVIAr can alleviate this complexity through the validation of a set of pedagogical and non-pedagogical requirements. Courseware validation checks intra- and inter-content relationships and the compliance with requirements and educational theories