Comparing the Understandability of Alternative Data Warehouse Schemas: An Empirical Study

An easily understood data warehouse model enables users to better identify and retrieve its data. It also makes it easier for users to suggest changes to its structure and content. Through an exploratory, empirical study, we compared the understandability of the star and traditional relational schemas. The results of our experiment contradict previous findings and show schema type did not lead to significant performance differences for a content identification task. Further, the relational schema actually led to slightly better results for a schema augmentation task. We discuss the implications of these findings for data warehouse design and future research

Automated Feedback as a Convergence Tools

This study evaluates two content delivery options for teaching a programming language to determine whether an asynchronous format can achieve the same learning efficacy as a traditional lecture (face-to-face) format. We use media synchronicity theory as a guide to choose media capabilities to incorporate into an asynchronous tutorial used asynchronously. We conducted an experiment with 49 students from three classes of a web development class at an American university. Our results suggest that an asynchronous tutorial can achieve the same learning outcomes as a traditional lecture format by using automated feedback for convergence. Somewhat surprisingly, we found that performance did not improve when students received both the tutorial and the lecture. Our results demonstrate that technical material can be effectively delivered asynchronously

Order of Magnitude Reductions in the Size of Enterprise Search Result Sets Through the Use of Subject Indexes

Keyword search has failed to adequately meet the needs of enterprise users. This is largely due to the indeterminate nature of languages. We argue a different approach needs to be taken, and draw on the success of previous library indexing concepts to propose a solution. We test our solution by performing search queries on a large research database. By incorporating readily available subject indexes into the search process, we obtain order of magnitude improvements in the performance of search queries. Our performance measure is the ratio of the number of documents returned without using subject indexes to the number of documents returned when subject indexes are used. We explain why the observed tenfold improvement in search performance on our research database can be expected to occur for searches on a wide variety of enterprise document stores

Effectiveness of Shallow Hierarchies for Document Stores

Employees spend as much as 4.4 hours every week searching for documents that they never find. Despite this cost, most managers continue to believe that there is no viable alternative to keyword search. In this paper we present the results of an experiment which uses the eight level hierarchy of ABI/Inform to test how many levels are necessary to retrieve one specific paper. Our findings demonstrate empirically that a browsable subject hierarchy of just four levels provides almost as accurate a search result at deeper layers. Therefore the cost of implementing and maintaining a browsable hierarchy is not nearly as high as is frequently estimated. This has significant implications for both researchers and practitioners

Word Ambiguity and Search: Implications for Enterprise Performance Management

The proliferation of unstructured data is a growing threat to effective enterprise performance management. Enterprise search is a tool to help organizations more effectively manage this document-based information. The success of full-text enterprise search is limited by ambiguity in word meanings, which can result in many documents returned which are not relevant to the searcher. While early work by Zipf provided a first attempt at quantifying the impact of this issue on search, little work has been done to demonstrate the applicability of Zipf’s work to contemporary document collections. In this paper we examine whether the frequency-meaning relationship discovered by Zipf holds for contemporary document collections, and whether it consistently holds across different subject domains. We then discuss the implications of our results for the development and use of user-centered KPIs designed to measure the enterprise wide effectiveness of search activities

Designing a Prototype for Analytical Model Selection and Execution to Support Self-Service BI

This paper presents a prototype of a modeling tool specifically designed for business analysts with little modeling experience. The proposed tool has an interactive user interface for a dimensional data store that contains a library of analytical models that business analysts can evaluate and use to create models they can run on their own data sets. Using a design science approach, we review the relevant literature in self-efficacy and feedforward to provide a kernel theory that informs the design criteria met by our proof of concept prototype. Specifically, we demonstrate the prototype’s user interface with a prediction problem faced by the United States Department of Labor

Impacto socio-económico de los proyectos de mantenimiento, mejoramiento y ampliación (para el tramo faltante) de la malla vial en la carrera 24 de Girardot, trayecto Ciudad Montes-la Esperanza de la vía Nariño.

Realizar una evaluación técnica del estado actual de la Carrera 24 de Girardot, trayecto Ciudad Montes – La esperanza, teniendo en cuenta el impacto Socio-Económico a la comunidad, con el fin de esclarecer los términos de diseño y generar probables soluciones que contribuyan en el buen desarrollo de la población.Este proyecto analiza el impacto socio-económico que genera la intervención a la vía departamental que comunica los municipios de Tocaima, Girardot y Nariño Cundinamarca, a la altura del tramo de la variante donde los vehículos provenientes de Tocaima toman su paso por Girardot y así finalmente llegar a Nariño, dicho tramo consta de 4,5 km los cuales quedan ubicados en Girardot, desde el barrio Ciudad Montes hasta el barrio La Esperanza, ésta vía en dicha Ciudad se encuentra registrada como la Carrera 24, la cual al parecer se encuentra en un estado inadecuado . Para llegar al objeto de investigación se revisó la composición actual de la vía, para ello se hizo una inspección visual para hallar las áreas de afectación por medio de sus patologías, se ejecutaron estudios de tránsito y Geotécnicos para determinar las variables que influyen favorablemente o negativamente sobre ella. Luego se procedió a diseñar un tipo de pavimento flexible óptimo para la necesidad de tránsito actual y proyectado, realizando una comparación de lo que debe ser contra lo que contiene, llegando a una propuesta económica de acuerdo a cada situación. Finalmente se expusieron las necesidades e inquietudes, para llegar a las conclusiones, recomendaciones y proyecciones.This project analyzes the socio-economic impact generarte by the intervention to the departmental road that connects the municipalities of Tocaima, Girardot and Nariño Cundinamarca, at the height of the section of the variant where the vehicles coming from Tocaima take their passage through Girardot and thus finally arrive to Nariño, said stretch consists of 4.5 km which are located in Girardot, from the Ciudad Montes neighborhood to the La Esperanza neighborhood, thais road in said city is registered as Carrera 24, which apparently is located in an inadequate state. To reach the research object, the current composition of the road was revised, for which a visual inspection is made to find the areas of affectation by means of their pathologies, transit and Geotechnical studies are executed to determine the variables that influence favorably or negatively about her. Then we proceeded to design a type of flexible pavement optimal for the need for current and projected traffic, making a comparison with what should be against what it contains, reaching an economic proposal according to each situation. Finally the needs and concerns are exposed, the conclusions, recommendations and projections