Improving data modelling through the use of case-based-reasoning

Experience plays an important role in Information Systems data modelling activity. This role is justified by the fact that determining the correct and consistent information requirements is a difficult and a challenging task. Currently three types of data modelling techniques are widely used: entity-attribute-relationship, object-relationship and object-oriented. There is not a consensus about which one is the best. This article proposes a framework, supported by a software tool, that uses Case-Based-Reasoning (CBR) methodology to represent and use experience in the data modelling task. The proposed framework does not depend on the data modelling technique nor on the modelling tool.- (undefined

TREEAD A Tool that enables the Re-use of Experience in Enterprise Architecture Description

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an important organization issue. The EA, resulting from a development process, is an important tool in different situations. It is used as a communication tool between the systems stakeholders. It is an enabler of changes. More importantly, the EA definition allows the build of unifying or coherent forms or structures. There has been growing interest in this topic topic area in recent years. Several authors have proposed methods, frameworks, languages with the aim of helping organizations in the process of EA definition. This paper proposes a software tool that can be used to re-use experience in EA definition processes. The tool proposed is independent of the framework, method, language or software tool used in the EA description process.- (undefined

The re-use of experience through the use of CBR in information systems modelling

Information Systems Development (ISD) is an important organization activity. IT professionals develop models that describe specific organizational aspects. The IT professionals experience plays an important role in the development of a model. Generally, IT professionals apply past experience acquired in the previous ISD processes. This paper describes a Case-Based-Reasoning (CBR) tool that enables the use of experience in the model development in the context of ISD process.- (undefined

A FRAMEWORK THAT ENABLES THE USE OF EXPERIENCE IN CONCEPTUAL MODELLING

Better Information Systems (IS) could be developed, if experience were used. The use of experience could be applied in any phase of the Information System Development process. This paper presents a framework that applies the Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) method to enable the use of experience in conceptual modelling. This framework could be used in several conceptual modelling types, as long as graphical modelling languages were used. Our framework was implemented in an Internet application that has a modular structure

Improving case retrieval performance through the use of clustering techniques

The performance of Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) systems is highly depend on the performance of the retrieval phase. Usually, if the case memory has a large number of cases the system turn to be very slow. Several mechanisms have been proposed in order to prevent a full search of the case memory during the retrieval phase. In this work we propose a clustering technique applied to the memory of cases. But this strategy is applied to an intermediate level of information that defines paths to the cases. Algorithms to the retrieval and retention phase are also presented.- (undefined

Re-using experience in information systems development

Information Systems Development (ISD) is an important organization activity that generally involves the development of models. This paper describes a framework, supported by Case-Based-Reasoning (CBR) method, that enables the use of experience in model development in the context of ISD process.- (undefined

Programa Bolsa Familia y frecuencia escolar: un análisis con el Censo Demográfico de Brasil de 2010

The Bolsa Família Program goal is to promote social development and poverty reduction, through the direct transfer of conditional cash, in association with other social programs. This study aims to analyze whether Bolsa Família had an association with children’s school attendance, which is one of the educational conditions of the program. Our main hypothesis is that children living in households receiving Bolsa Família had greater chances of attending school. Data from the Ministry of Social Development and Combating Famine indicated that children living in households with Bolsa Família had greater school enrolment levels. By using data from the 2010 Demographic Census, collected by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), some descriptive analyzes and binary logistic regression models were performed for different thresholds of household per capita income. These estimates were made by comparing children who lived in households receiving Bolsa Família to those children not receiving the program. We took into consideration characteristics about the household, mothers, and children. The results were clustered by the municipality of residence of the child. In all income thresholds, children benefi ting from Bolsa Família were more likely to be enrolled in school, compared to children not receiving the benefi t.El Programa Bolsa Familia tiene el objetivo de promover el desarrollo social y el alivio de la pobreza a través de la transferencia directa de ingresos, en combinación con otros programas sociales. Este estudio tiene como objetivo analizar si el programa Bolsa Familia ha tenido una correlación con la escolarización de los niños de las familias perceptoras de las ayudas, que es una de las condiciones del programa. La hipótesis principal es que el niño residente en hogares benefi ciados por el programa Bolsa Familia tiene más posibilidades de asistir a la escuela. Los datos del Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y de Lucha contra el Hambre corroboran esta hipótesis. Utilizando los microdatos del Censo de 2010 recogidos por el Instituto Brasileño de Geografía y Estadística (IBGE), en esta investigación se han realizado análisis descriptivos y modelos de regresión logística binaria para diferentes límites de ingreso per cápita del hogar. Estas estimaciones se han llevado a cabo mediante la comparación de los niños que formaban parte de los hogares benefi ciarios y los que no eran benefi ciarios del programa Bolsa Familia. Se han tenido en cuenta las características del hogar, de la madre y del niño. Los resultados han sido ponderados de acuerdo con el municipio de residencia del niño. En todos los límites de ingresos, los niños benefi ciarios del programa eran más propensos a estar escolarizados, en comparación con los niños no benefi ciarios del programa Bolsa Familia

Demographic Change and the Structure of Wages: A Demand-Theoretic Analysis for Brazil

With rapidly declining fertility and increased longevity the age structure of the labor force in developing countries has changed rapidly. Changing relative supply of workers by age group, and by educational attainment, can have profound effects on labor costs. Their impacts on earnings have been heavily studied in the United States but have received little attention in Asia and Latin America, where supply shocks are at least as large and have often proceeded less evenly across the economy. We use data on 502 local Brazilian labor markets from Censuses 1970-2000 to examine the extent of substitution among demographic groups as relative supply has changed. The results suggest that age-education groups are imperfect substitutes, so that larger age-education cohorts see depressed wage rates, particularly among more-educated groups. The extent of substitution has increased over time, so that the decreasing size of the least-skilled labor force today is barely raising its remaining members' wages.

The Limits of Immigrant Resilience

Economists have identified important adaptations that immigrant workers have made to weather economic crises. During times of economic contraction, immigrant workers have moved across industries or geographical locations, downshifted to part-time work, and accepted lower wages to stay employed. Evidence from the Great Recession (2007–2009) shows the benefits of that economic resilience: immigrant workers were more likely than native-born workers to remain continuously employed, to have shorter periods of unemployment when they lost their jobs, and to regain jobs more quickly in the recovery period. Of course, these adaptations had significant personal costs for immigrant workers and their families, but in times of increased job competition, their resilience enabled them to keep jobs and crucial sources of income and had important, positive spillover effects for native-born workers. Our research, however, shows important limits to that immigrant resilience. In our analysis of Current Population Survey (“CPS”) data during COVID-19, immigrant workers had worse employment outcomes than native-born workers. Looking at the restaurant industry as a case study, we found that immigrant workers were more likely to lose their jobs, keep only low-paying jobs within restaurants, or drop out of the labor market entirely, as compared to native-born workers. The sharply contrasting experiences of immigrant workers during these two crises can be explained by the nearly simultaneous and complete shutdowns that states imposed across the country during the pandemic. These shutdowns undercut any mobility and flexibility advantages that immigrant workers might otherwise have had and threatened immigrants’ already precarious economic positions. As we look to the real possibility of future pandemics, these limits on immigrant resilience counsel for increasing immigrant access to aid programs at both the federal and state levels to benefit both immigrant workers and the larger economy that relies heavily on immigrant productivity

Racial and socioeconomic segregation: an analysis of three Brazilian Metropolitan areas

Brazil is characterized by racial and socioeconomic segregation. The objective of the research presented here is to analyze socioeconomic and racial segregation in three metropolitan areas (Recife, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre). Microdata from the 2000 Brazilian Census was used for this analysis, as well as maps produced for the selected areas by groups of census tracts (áreas de ponderação), using Geographic Information Systems techniques. In general, results indicate that among those areas with a majority of whites, a high proportion of the population holds at least high school degree. Moreover, the nonwhite population lives farther away from the core of the municipality, compared to whites. Finally, whites tend to live in less elevated areas with more public infrastructure and a greater availability of major roads. An improvement to this research could be the inclusion of spatial analysis and statistical models to better understand the relationship between race and socioeconomic indicators.Brazil is characterized by racial and socioeconomic segregation. The objective of the research presented here is to analyze socioeconomic and racial segregation in three metropolitan areas (Recife, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre). Microdata from the 2000 Brazilian Census was used for this analysis, as well as maps produced for the selected areas by groups of census tracts (áreas de ponderação), using Geographic Information Systems techniques. In general, results indicate that among those areas with a majority of whites, a high proportion of the population holds at least high school degree. Moreover, the nonwhite population lives farther away from the core of the municipality, compared to whites. Finally, whites tend to live in less elevated areas with more public infrastructure and a greater availability of major roads. An improvement to this research could be the inclusion of spatial analysis and statistical models to better understand the relationship between race and socioeconomic indicators. Keywords: Racial segregation; socioeconomic segregation; metropolitan areas; Brazil