Extending a set-theoretic implementation of Montague Semantics to accommodate n-ary transitive verbs.

Natural-language querying of databases remains an important and challenging area. Many approaches have been proposed over many years yet none of them has provided a comprehensive fully-compositional denotational semantics for a large sub-set of natural language, even for querying first-order non-intentional, non-modal, relational databases. One approach, which has made significant progress, is that which is based on Montague Semantics. Various researchers have helped to develop this approach and have demonstrated its viability. However, none have yet shown how to accommodate transitive verbs of arity greater than two. Our thesis is that existing approaches to the implementation of Montague Semantics in modern functional programming languages can be extended to solve this problem. This thesis is proven through the development of a compositional semantics for n-ary transitive verbs (n ≥ 2) and implementation in the Miranda programming environment. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .R69. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, page: 1413. Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005

Query processing in temporal object-oriented databases

This PhD thesis is concerned with historical data management in the context of objectoriented databases. An extensible approach has been explored to processing temporal object queries within a uniform query framework. By the uniform framework, we mean temporal queries can be processed within the existing object-oriented framework that is extended from relational framework, by extending the existing query processing techniques and strategies developed for OODBs and RDBs. The unified model of OODBs and RDBs in UmSQL/X has been adopted as a basis for this purpose. A temporal object data model is thereby defined by incorporating a time dimension into this unified model of OODBs and RDBs to form temporal relational-like cubes but with the addition of aggregation and inheritance hierarchies. A query algebra, that accesses objects through these associations of aggregation, inheritance and timereference, is then defined as a general query model /language. Due to the extensive features of our data model and reducibility of the algebra, a layered structure of query processor is presented that provides a uniforrn framework for processing temporal object queries. Within the uniform framework, query transformation is carried out based on a set of transformation rules identified that includes the known relational and object rules plus those pertaining to the time dimension. To evaluate a temporal query involving a path with timereference, a strategy of decomposition is proposed. That is, evaluation of an enhanced path, which is defined to extend a path with time-reference, is decomposed by initially dividing the path into two sub-paths: one containing the time-stamped class that can be optimized by making use of the ordering information of temporal data and another an ordinary sub-path (without time-stamped classes) which can be further decomposed and evaluated using different algorithms. The intermediate results of traversing the two sub-paths are then joined together to create the query output. Algorithms for processing the decomposed query components, i. e., time-related operation algorithms, four join algorithms (nested-loop forward join, sort-merge forward join, nested-loop reverse join and sort-merge reverse join) and their modifications, have been presented with cost analysis and implemented with stream processing techniques using C++. Simulation results are also provided. Both cost analysis and simulation show the effects of time on the query processing algorithms: the join time cost is linearly increased with the expansion in the number of time-epochs (time-dimension in the case of a regular TS). It is also shown that using heuristics that make use of time information can lead to a significant time cost saving. Query processing with incomplete temporal data has also been discussed

An investigation of computer based nominal data record linkage

The Internet now provides access to vast volumes of nominal data (data associated with names e. g. birth/death records, parish records, text articles, multimedia) collected for a range of different purposes. This research focuses on parish registers containing baptism, marriage, and burial records. Mining these data resources involves linkage investigating as to how two records are related with regards to attributes like surname, spatio-temporal location, legal association and inter-relationships. Furthermore, as well as handling the implicit constraints of nominal data, such a system must also be able to handle automatically a range of temporal and spatial rules and constraints. The research examines the linkage rules that apply and how such rules interact. In this investigation a report is given of the current practices in several disciplines (e. g. history, demography, genealogy, and epidemiology) and how these are implemented in current computer and database systems. The practical aspects of this study, and the workbench approach proposed are centred on the extensive Lancashire & Cheshire Parish Register archive held on the MIMAS database computer located at Manchester University. The research also proposes how these findings can have wider applications. This thesis describes some initial research into this problem. It describes three prototypes of nominal data workbench that allow the specification and examination of several linkage types and discusses the merits of alternative name matching methods, name grouping techniques and method comparisons. The conclusion is that in the cases examined so far, effective nominal data linkage is essentially a query optimisation process. The process is made more efficient if linkage specific indexes exist, and suggests that query re-organization based on these indexes, though a complex process, is entirely feasible. To facilitate the use of indexes and to guide the optimization process, the work suggests the use of formal ontologies