Databases and Information Systems Commons^™

Semantic Management Of Web Services Using The Core Ontology Of Services, Daniel Oberle, Steffen Lamparter, Andreas Eberhart, Stephan Grimm, Sudhir Agarwal, Rudi Studer, Pascal Hitzler

Kno.e.sis Publications

Different Web Service standards like WSDL, WS-Security, WS-Policy etc., henceforth referred to as WS*, factorize Web Service management tasks into different aspects, such as input/output, workflow, or security. The advantages of WS* are multiple and have already achieved industrial impact. WS* descriptions are exchangeable and developers may use different implementations for the same Web Service description. The disadvantages of WS*, however, are also apparent: even though the different standards are complementary, they must overlap and one may produce models composed of different WS* descriptions, which are inconsistent with each other, but the reasons for the inconsistencies are not easily determined. …

Evaluating G-Portal For Geography Learning And Teaching, Chew-Hung Chang, John G. Hedberg, Yin-Leng Theng, Ee Peng Lim, Tiong-Sa Teh, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper describes G-Portal, a geospatial digital library of geographical assets, providing an interactive platform to engage students in active manipulation and analysis of information resources and collaborative learning activities. Using a G-Portal application in which students conducted a field study of an environmental problem of beach erosion and sea level rise, we describe a pilot study to evaluate usefulness and usability issues to support the learning of geographical concepts, and in turn teaching.

Verifying Completeness Of Relational Query Results In Data Publishing, Hwee Hwa Pang, Arpit Jain, Krithi Ramamritham, Kian-Lee Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In data publishing, the owner delegates the role of satisfying user queries to a third-party publisher. As the publisher may be untrusted or susceptible to attacks, it could produce incorrect query results. In this paper, we introduce a scheme for users to verify that their query results are complete (i.e., no qualifying tuples are omitted) and authentic (i.e., all the result values originated from the owner). The scheme supports range selection on key and non-key attributes, project as well as join queries on relational databases. Moreover, the proposed scheme complies with access control policies, is computationally secure, and can be …

Knowledge Management Mechanisms Of Financial Service Sites, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Keng Siau, Y. Tian

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

How can we effectively acquire, use, and manage knowledge via the Web?

Aggregate Nearest Neighbor Queries In Spatial Databases, Dimitris Papadias, Yufei Tao, Kyriakos Mouratidis, Chun Kit Hui

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Given two spatial datasets P (e.g., facilities) and Q (queries), an aggregate nearest neighbor (ANN) query retrieves the point(s) of P with the smallest aggregate distance(s) to points in Q. Assuming, for example, n users at locations q1,...qn, an ANN query outputs the facility p belongs to P that minimizes the sum of distances |pqi| for 1 is less than or equal to i is less than or equal to n that the users have to travel in order to meet there. Similarly, another ANN query may report the point p belongs to P that minimizes the maximum distance that …

Dsi: A Fully Distributed Spatial Index For Wireless Data Broadcast, Wang-Chien Lee, Baihua Zheng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Recent announcement of the MSN Direct Service has demonstrated the feasibility and industrial interest in utilizing wireless broadcast for pervasive information services. To support location-based services in wireless data broadcast systems, a distributed spatial index (called DSI) is proposed in this paper. DSI is highly efficient because it has a linear yet fully distributed structure that facilitates multiple search paths to be naturally mixed together by sharing links. Moreover, DSI is very resilient in error-prone wireless communication environments. Search algorithms for two classical location-based queries, window queries and kNN queries, based on DSI are presented. Performance evaluation of DSI shows …

Conceptual Partitioning: An Efficient Method For Continuous Nearest Neighbor Monitoring, Kyriakos Mouratidis, Marios Hadjieleftheriou, Dimitris Papadias

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Given a set of objects P and a query point q, a k nearest neighbor (k-NN) query retrieves the k objects in P that lie closest to q. Even though the problem is well-studied for static datasets, the traditional methods do not extend to highly dynamic environments where multiple continuous queries require real-time results, and both objects and queries receive frequent location updates. In this paper we propose conceptual partitioning (CPM), a comprehensive technique for the efficient monitoring of continuous NN queries. CPM achieves low running time by handling location updates only from objects that fall in the vicinity of …

On Assigning Place Names To Geography Related Web Pages, Wenbo Zong, Dan Wu, Aixin Sun, Ee Peng Lim, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we attempt to give spatial semantics to web pages by assigning them place names. The entire assignment task is divided into three sub-problems, namely place name extraction, place name disambiguation and place name assignment. We propose our approaches to address these sub-problems. In particular, we have modified GATE, a well-known named entity extraction software, to perform place name extraction using a US Census gazetteer. A rule-based place name disambiguation method and a place name assignment method capable of assigning place names to web page segments have also been proposed. We have evaluated our proposed disambiguation and assignment …

A Semi-Supervised Active Learning Framework For Image Retrieval, Steven Hoi, Michael R. Lyu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Although recent studies have shown that unlabeled data are beneficial to boosting the image retrieval performance, very few approaches for image retrieval can learn with labeled and unlabeled data effectively. This paper proposes a novel semi-supervised active learning framework comprising a fusion of semi-supervised learning and support vector machines. We provide theoretical analysis of the active learning framework and present a simple yet effective active learning algorithm for image retrieval. Experiments are conducted on real-world color images to compare with traditional methods. The promising experimental results show that our proposed scheme significantly outperforms the previous approaches.

The Effects Of Digital Audio On Social Presence, Motivation And Perceived Learning In Asynchronous Learning Networks, Eunhee Kim

Dissertations

This study explores the possibilities of applying digital audio to the ALN environment, so that students can speak and listen rather than type and read. Two sets of 1x2 field experiments (text vs. digital audio) were conducted with two formats of digital audio -recorded voice messages and narrated Microsoft PowerPoint presentation - used in several NJIT courses conducted via ALN. The perceptions of communication media were measured from two different user perspectives: active use when the subjects created their assignments using prescribed communication media (audio or text) and passive use when the subjects viewed/listened to other students' work.

The perceptions …

Collaborative Examinations In Asyncronous Learning Networks : Field Experiments On Collaborative Learning Through Online Assessments, Jia Shen

Dissertations

With the proliferation of computer networks and the emergence of virtual teams, learning and knowledge sharing in the online environment has become an increasingly important topic. Applying constructivism and collaborative learning theories to assessment, the collaborative online exam is designed featuring students' active participation in various phases of the exam process through small group activities online. A participatory online exam process is designed featuring similar procedures except that students' involvement in each phase of the exam is individual. The collaborative online exam and the participatory online exam are investigated regarding student exam study strategies, group process, exam outcomes, faculty satisfaction, …

Improving Document Representation By Accumulating Relevance Feedback : The Relevance Feedback Accumulation (Rfa) Algorithm, Razvan Stefan Bot

Dissertations

Document representation (indexing) techniques are dominated by variants of the term-frequency analysis approach, based on the assumption that the more occurrences a term has throughout a document the more important the term is in that document. Inherent drawbacks associated with this approach include: poor index quality, high document representation size and the word mismatch problem. To tackle these drawbacks, a document representation improvement method called the Relevance Feedback Accumulation (RFA) algorithm is presented. The algorithm provides a mechanism to continuously accumulate relevance assessments over time and across users. It also provides a document representation modification function, or document representation learning …

Sharing The Big Apple : A Survey Study Of People, Place And Locatability, Samer Nadim Karam

Theses

Over the past half century social trends and new technologies have weakened local social ties and thus, the fabric of civil society itself. Mobile location-aware community systems offer one path to redress these problems by enhancing community cohesion and the formation of social capital by helping people to meet each other and coordinate their actions. However, little is known about the general population's desire and attitude towards these systems.

The design space described by the People-to-People-to-Geographical-Places Framework (P3-Framework), was used to guide a survey study of the impact of 'place' on people's social information needs and their willingness to share …

An Ontological Approach To The Document Access Problem Of Insider Threat, Boanerges Aleman-Meza, Phillip Burns, Matthew Eavenson, Devanand Palanswami, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Verification of legitimate access of documents, which is one aspect of the umbrella of problems in the Insider Threat category, is a challenging problem. This paper describes the research and prototyping of a system that takes an ontological approach, and is primarily targeted for use by theintelligence community. Our approach utilizes the notion of semantic associations and their discovery among a collection of heterogeneous documents. We highlight our contributions in (graphically) capturing the scope of the investigation assignment of an intelligence analyst by referring to classes and relationships of an ontology; in computing a measure of the relevance …

Semantic Web Services For N-Glycosylation Process, Satya S. Sahoo, Amit P. Sheth, William S. York, John A. Miller

Kno.e.sis Publications

Glycomics is one of the many research efforts currently underway in the biosciences domain, which is characterized by high throughput data generated at multiple experimental stages. For example, analysis of N-glycosylation encompasses stages from cell-culture to peptide identification and quantification. Research groups across the world use diverse cell cultures, separation and spectroscopic techniques, and data identification, correlation and integration methodologies. Thus, data generated at different phases of the process by multiple groups are both structurally and functionally heterogeneous.

Dynamically-Optimized Context In Recommender Systems, Ghim-Eng Yap, Ah-Hwee Tan, Hwee-Hwa Pang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Traditional approaches to recommender systems have not taken into account situational information when making recommendations, and this seriously limits the relevance of the results. This paper advocates context-awareness as a promising approach to enhance the performance of recommenders, and introduces a mechanism to realize this approach. We present a framework that separates the contextual concerns from the actual recommendation module, so that contexts can be readily shared across applications. More importantly, we devise a learning algorithm to dynamically identify the optimal set of contexts for a specific recommendation task and user. An extensive series of experiments has validated that our …

Mining Mobile Group Patterns: A Trajectory-Based Approach, San-Yih Hwang, Ying-Han Liu, Jeng-Kuen Chiu, Ee Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we present a group pattern mining approach to derive the grouping information of mobile device users based on a trajectory model. Group patterns of users are determined by distance threshold and minimum time duration. A trajectory model of user movement is adopted to save storage space and to cope with untracked or disconnected location data. To discover group patterns, we propose ATGP algorithm and TVG-growth that are derived from the Apriori and VG-growth algorithms respectively.

Information Dissemination Via Wireless Broadcast, Baihua Zheng, Dik Lun Lee

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Unrestricted mobility adds a new dimension to data access methodology--- one that must be addressed before true ubiquity can be realized.

Dynamically Optimized Context In Recommender Systems, Ghim-Eng Yap, Ah-Hwee Tan, Hwee Hwa Pang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Traditional approaches to recommender systems have not taken into account situational information when making recommendations, and this seriously limits the relevance of the results. This paper advocates context-awareness as a promising approach to enhance the performance of recommenders, and introduces a mechanism to realize this approach. We present a framework that separates the contextual concerns from the actual recommendation module, so that contexts can be readily shared across applications. More importantly, we devise a learning algorithm to dynamically identify the optimal set of contexts for a specific recommendation task and user. An extensive series of experiments has validated that our …

Synthesizing E-Government Stage Models – A Meta-Synthesis Based On Meta-Ethnography Approach, Keng Siau, Y. Long

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The growing interest in e-government raises the question of stages in e-government development. A few stage models for e-government have been proposed. Without a common e-government stage model, different research in e-government may be based on different stage models. This presents a difficulty in comparing and understanding different research results. In this research, we synthesize the existing e-government stage models so that there is a common frame of reference for researchers and practitioners in the area.

Synthesizing E-Government Stage Models – A Meta-Synthesis Based On Meta-Ethnography Approach, Keng Siau, Y. Long

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The growing interest in e-government raises the question of stages in e-government development. A few stage models for e-government have been proposed. Without a common e-government stage model, different research in e-government may be based on different stage models. This presents a difficulty in comparing and understanding different research results. In this research, we synthesize the existing e-government stage models so that there is a common frame of reference for researchers and practitioners in the area.

Secure Human Communications Based On Biometrics Signals, Yongdong Wu, Feng Bao, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

User authentication is the first and probably the most challenging step in achieving secure person-to-person communications. Most of the existing authentication schemes require communicating parties either share a secret/password or know each other's public key. In this paper we suggest a novel user authentication scheme that is easy to use and overcomes the requirements of sharing password or public keys. Our scheme allows two human users to perform mutual authentication and have secure communications over an open channel by exchanging biometrics signals (e. g., voice or video signals). In addition to user authentication, our scheme establishes a secret session key …

Tosa: A Near-Optimal Scheduling Algorithm For Multi-Channel Data Broadcast, Baihua Zheng, Xia Xu, Xing Jin, Dik Lun Lee

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Wireless broadcast is very suitable for delivering information to a large user population. In this paper, we concentrate on data allocation methods for multiple broadcast channels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first allocation model that takes into the consideration of items' access frequencies, items' lengths. and bandwidth of different channels. We first derive the optimal average expected delay for multiple channels for the general case where data access frequencies, data sizes, and channel bandwidths can all be non-uniform. Second, we develop TOSA, a multi-channel allocation method that does not assume a uniform broadcast schedule for data …

Event-Driven Document Selection For Terrorism, Zhen Sun, Ee Peng Lim, Kuiyu Chang, Teng-Kwee Ong, Rohan Kumar Gunaratna

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we examine the task of extracting information about terrorism related events hidden in a large document collection. The task assumes that a terrorism related event can be described by a set of entity and relation instances. To reduce the amount of time and efforts in extracting these event related instances, one should ideally perform the task on the relevant documents only. We have therefore proposed some document selection strategies based on information extraction (IE) patterns. Each strategy attempts to select one document at a time such that the gain of event related instance information is maximized. Our …

Web Services To Semantic Web Processes: Investigating Synergy Between Practice And Research, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Paradigm Gap With Rules For Owl, Jurgen Angele, Boris Motik, Rudi Studer, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Accelerated by the vision of the semantic web, semantic technologies have recently made significant advances. The underlying methods and paradigms are already being transferred to adjacent areas of research in artificial intelligence, knowledge management, and elsewhere. Textbooks explaining the foundations have appeared. Large national and international projects on the topic are under way.

Web Service Semantics - Wsdl-S, Rama Akkiraju, Joel Farrell, John A. Miller, Meenakshi Nagarajan, Amit P. Sheth, Kunal Verma

Kno.e.sis Publications

The current WSDL standard operates at the syntactic level and lacks the semantic expressivity needed to represent the requirements and capabilities of Web Services. Semantics can improve software reuse and discovery, significantly facilitate composition of Web services and enable integrating legacy applications as part of business process integration. The Web Service Semantic s technical note defines a mechanism to associate semantic annotations with Web services that are described using Web Service Description Language (WSDL). It is conceptually based on, but a significant refinement in details of, the original WSDL-S proposal [WSDL-S] from the LSDIS laboratory at the University of Georgia. …

Personalization By Program Slicing, Saverio Perugini, Naren Ramakrishnan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Personalization involves customizing information access to the end-user. As any new area of computer science research it lacks formal models to guide the design of systems. In this paper, we present a modeling methodology, based on generative programming, for personalizing interactions with hierarchical websites. The methodology entails modeling a user’s interaction with a site in a program and applying program slicing to personalize the interaction. While preserving interactivity, this approach does not require the designer to anticipate all possible user interactions a priori and provide interfaces for each. Moreover, it provides a theoretical, systematic, and implementation-neutral way to design systems …

Information Technology (It) Appropriateness: The Contingency Theory Of “Fit” And It Implementation In Small And Medium Enterprises, Deepak Khazanchi

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

There is little doubt that advanced information and communication technologies (IT) arc changing the way businesses operate and conduct commerce. As the advent of a more secure Internet and new transmission standards makes it easier and cheaper for businesses to conduct inter-organizational commerce, it is incumbent upon SME managers to assess whether implementing new technologies such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) over the Internet, XML or web-based e-commerce is the "right thing to do" for their organizations. The key question implicit in this decision is addressed in this paper: "Under what conditions should businesses consider themselves likely candidates for (new) …

Mining Social Network From Spatio-Temporal Events, Hady Wirawan Lauw, Ee Peng Lim, Teck Tim Tan, Hwee Hwa Pang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Knowing patterns of relationship in a social network is very useful for law enforcement agencies to investigate collaborations among criminals, for businesses to exploit relationships to sell products, or for individuals who wish to network with others. After all, it is not just what you know, but also whom you know, that matters. However, finding out who is related to whom on a large scale is a complex problem. Asking every single individual would be impractical, given the huge number of individuals and the changing dynamics of relationships. Recent advancement in technology has allowed more data about activities of individuals …