Rule-based information integration

In this report, we show the process of information integration. We specifically discuss the language used for integration. We show that integration consists of two phases, the schema mapping phase and the data integration phase. We formally define transformation rules, conversion, evolution and versioning. We further discuss the integration process from a data point of view

Information and drug prices: evidence from the Medicare discount drug card program

In early 2004, the U.S. Government initiated the Medicare Discount Drug Card Program (MDDCP), which created a market for drug cards that allowed elderly and handicapped subscribers to obtain discounts on their prescription drug purchases. Pharmacy-level prices for many drugs were posted on the program website weekly from May 29, 2004 to December 31, 2005, as the largest undertaking in the history of government-sponsored information release began with the hope of promoting competition by facilitating access to prices. A large panel of pharmacy-level drug price data collected from the Medicare website indicates that there was significant and persistent dispersion in prices across cards throughout the program. Moreover, the time-path of prices was non-monotonic; the prices declined initially when consumers were choosing cards but rose later when subscribers were unable to switch from one card to another. In contrast, contemporaneous control prices from on-line drug retailers, which were unrelated to the program, rose steadily over time, indicating that MDDCP prices evolved in a way different from the general evolution of prices outside the program. In view of the fact that the program rules prevented consumers from changing their cards at will, the evolution of MDDCP prices is consistent with certain models of dynamic price competition with consumer switching costs, such as Klemperer’s (1987a,b). Estimates of potential savings from purchasing at program prices are also provided.Drugs ; Medical care, Cost of

Spatial Patterns of Headquarters

This study of the spatial concentration of the headquarters of exchange-listed companies suggests that the relevancy of the "efficiency parameter" of agglomeration theory still holds in explaining the location of headquarters, especially when the production function is reinterpreted as a productivity function. The sample of 5189 headquarters exceeds previous studies of Fortune 500 firms. Across industries, a high degree of clustering is found: 40% of the nation's headquarters were found in twenty counties. Cluster analysis suggests grouping patterns for headquarters; discriminant analysis confirms the uniqueness of these spatial clustering patterns across 229 urban counties. For certain industries, the clustering occurs within small areas. The headquarters of these spatially-correlated groups of firms money and media, gas and electric, business services, and machining technology were mapped at the county and zipcode level for counties within major metropolitan areas. The spatial density patterns take on traditional urban forms: core, ring and wedge.

Learning from the Success of MPI

The Message Passing Interface (MPI) has been extremely successful as a portable way to program high-performance parallel computers. This success has occurred in spite of the view of many that message passing is difficult and that other approaches, including automatic parallelization and directive-based parallelism, are easier to use. This paper argues that MPI has succeeded because it addresses all of the important issues in providing a parallel programming model.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur

EVKG: An Interlinked and Interoperable Electric Vehicle Knowledge Graph for Smart Transportation System

Over the past decade, the electric vehicle industry has experienced unprecedented growth and diversification, resulting in a complex ecosystem. To effectively manage this multifaceted field, we present an EV-centric knowledge graph (EVKG) as a comprehensive, cross-domain, extensible, and open geospatial knowledge management system. The EVKG encapsulates essential EV-related knowledge, including EV adoption, electric vehicle supply equipment, and electricity transmission network, to support decision-making related to EV technology development, infrastructure planning, and policy-making by providing timely and accurate information and analysis. To enrich and contextualize the EVKG, we integrate the developed EV-relevant ontology modules from existing well-known knowledge graphs and ontologies. This integration enables interoperability with other knowledge graphs in the Linked Data Open Cloud, enhancing the EVKG's value as a knowledge hub for EV decision-making. Using six competency questions, we demonstrate how the EVKG can be used to answer various types of EV-related questions, providing critical insights into the EV ecosystem. Our EVKG provides an efficient and effective approach for managing the complex and diverse EV industry. By consolidating critical EV-related knowledge into a single, easily accessible resource, the EVKG supports decision-makers in making informed choices about EV technology development, infrastructure planning, and policy-making. As a flexible and extensible platform, the EVKG is capable of accommodating a wide range of data sources, enabling it to evolve alongside the rapidly changing EV landscape

A model for widget composition in the OutSystems Platform

Developers use visual programming languages for faster development of user interfaces due to better ease of use, readability, component reusability – widgets –, and an instant preview of the desired effects. However, the most common composition models to form user interfaces are black-box: combine existing widgets to form new widgets, but generally do not allow indiscriminate modification of their internal components. The OutSystems platform provides a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) experience where developers can build user interfaces by assembling user interface elements from predefined building blocks: the more fundamental and native components (widgets) represent HTML elements, and custom-made building blocks (web blocks) represent reusable compositions. However, web blocks and widgets are not uniform. Currently, through some workarounds, creators can define compositions that, after instantiated, their inside components can be customizable by other developers, but they either do not follow OutSystems’ good practices for creating web applications, do not show the user’s customizations – no preview –, or need expertise that citizen developers do not have. Our objectives with this work are to develop a new composition model for user interface components that allows to customize the properties of the inner elements of reusable compositions at the places where they are instantiated, integrate the model with the platform in a visual and interactive way where creators can control what can be modified, and users can customize respectively while getting a consistent preview. Reusable compositions in the OutSystems language are unique and static. Thus, for developers to be able to change internal components of a composition and get a preview of that change, the underlying models must explicitly receive and transmit properties of the components internal state to the composition elements. The work was validated by usability testing and by comparison between our solution with widgets that are specialized by OutSystems for specific use cases. The new presented approach is faster and more intuitive to use than what is currently offered by OutSystems. We also observed it works best in tandem with mechanisms already in place (e.g., input parameters) to offer more complete reusable compositions. In the end, all objectives were met, providing a working solution which enables users to customize their or other’s web blocks. With this work, reusable composition creators and users will get more control, customization possibilities, and user experience more intuitive, increasing productivity and user satisfaction.Os programadores usam linguagens de programação visual para um desenvolvimento mais rápido das interfaces de utilizador devido à maior facilidade de uso, legibilidade, reutilização de componentes – widgets – e uma visualização instantânea dos efeitos desejados. No entanto, os modelos de composição mais comuns para formar interfaces de utilizador são black-box: combinam os widgets existentes para formar novos widgets, mas geralmente não permitem modificações indiscriminadas dos seus componentes internos. A plataforma OutSystems fornece uma experiência What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG), na qual os programadores podem criar interfaces de utilizador ao montar elementos da interface de utilizador a partir de blocos de construção predefinidos: os componentes mais básicos e nativos (widgets) representam elementos HTML e blocos de construção personalizados (web blocks) representam composições reutilizáveis. No entanto, web blocks e widgets não são uniformes. Atualmente, por meio de soluções alternativas, os criadores podem definir composições que, após instanciadas, os componentes internos podem ser customizados por outros programadores, mas estas não seguem as boas práticas da OutSystems para criar aplicações Web, não mostram as customizações do utilizador – sem preview –, ou são necessários conhecimentos que os programadores podem não possuem. Os nossos objetivos com este trabalho são desenvolver um novo modelo de composição para componentes da interfaces de utilizador que permita customizar as propriedades dos elementos internos das composições reutilizáveis nos locais em que são instanciadas, integrar o modelo à plataforma de maneira visual e interativa, onde os criadores podem controlar o que pode ser modificado e os utilizadores podem customizar respectivamente enquanto obtêm uma visualização consistente. As composições reutilizáveis na linguagem OutSystems são únicas e estáticas. Assim, para que os programadores possam alterar os componentes internos de uma composição e obter um preview dessa alteração, os modelos subjacentes devem receber e transmitir explicitamente propriedades do estado interno dos componentes para os elementos da composição. O trabalho foi validado através de testes de usabilidade e comparação entre a nossa solução e com widgets especializados pela OutSystems para casos de uso específicos. A nova abordagem apresentada é mais rápida e mais intuitiva para usar do que o modelo de composição que é atualmente oferecido pela OutSystems. Também observámos que é mais eficiente usar em conjunto com os mecanismos já existentes (e.g., parâmetros de entrada) para oferecer composições reutilizáveis mais completas. No final, todos os objetivos foram alcançados, fornecendo uma solução funcional que permite aos utilizadores customizar os seus web blocks ou os de outros. Com este trabalho criadores e utilizadores de composições reutilizáveis terão mais controlo, possibilidades de customização e experiência do utilizador mais intuitiva, aumentando a produtividade e a satisfação do programado

The Modeling of the ERP Systems within Parallel Calculus

As we know from a few years, the basic characteristics of ERP systems are: modular-design, central common database, integration of the modules, data transfer between modules done automatically, complex systems and flexible configuration. Because this, is obviously a parallel approach to design and implement them within parallel algorithms, parallel calculus and distributed databases. This paper aims to support these assertions and provide a model, in summary, what could be an ERP system based on parallel computing and algorithms.ERP Systems, Modeling, Parallel Calculus, Incremental Model