Databases and Information Systems Commons^™

Continuity Of Semantic Operators In Logic Programming And Their Approximation By Artificial Neural Networks, Pascal Hitzler, Anthony K. Seda

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

One approach to integrating first-order logic programming and neural network systems employs the approximation of semantic operators by feedforward networks. For this purpose, it is necessary to view these semantic operators as continuous functions on the reals. This can be accomplished by endowing the space of all interpretations of a logic program with topologies obtained from suitable embeddings. We will present such topologies which arise naturally out of the theory of logic programming, discuss continuity issues of several well-known semantic operators, and derive some results concerning the approximation of these operators by feedforward neural networks.

Ssm: Fast Construction Of The Optimized Segment Support Map, Kok-Leong Ong, Wee-Keong Ng, Ee Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Computing the frequency of a pattern is one of the key operations in data mining algorithms. Recently, the Optimized Segment Support Map (OSSM) was introduced as a simple but powerful way of speeding up any form of frequency counting satisfying the monotonicity condition. However, the construction cost to obtain the ideal OSSM is high, and makes it less attractive in practice. In this paper, we propose the FSSM, a novel algorithm that constructs the OSSM quickly using a FP-Tree. Given a user-defined segment size, the FSSM is able to construct the OSSM at a fraction of the time required by …

On Mining Group Patterns Of Mobile Users, Yida Wang, Ee Peng Lim, San-Yih Hwang

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 the spatio-temporal distances among them. Group patterns of users are determined by a distance threshold and a minimum duration. To discover group patterns, we propose the AGP and VG-growth algorithms that are derived from the Apriori and FP-growth algorithms respectively. We further evaluate the efficiencies of these two algorithms using synthetically generated user movement data.

E-Ducation, J. Erickson, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Most educators are convinced Internet technology will sharply alter the educational landscape of the future, but considerable uncertainly still exists as to exactly how the classroom will evolve over the next decade. Many of the relevant technologies in development are a direct result of the Internet2 Project [1], a collaboration of more than 200 universities working closely with private industry and the National Science Foundation to build and promote an advanced network using state-of-the-art technology and applications. But how the classroom evolves depends not only on advanced Internet2 technologies, which are discussed later in the article, but also on issues …

Aggregated Causal Maps: An Approach To Elicit And Aggregate The Knowledge Of Multiple Experts, S. Nadkarni, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper presents a systematic procedure to elicit and aggregate the knowledge of multiple individual experts and represent it in the form of an Aggregated Causal Map (ACM). This procedure differs from existing methods in two ways. First, unlike other methods, this method does not rely on group interaction in eliciting knowledge of multiple experts, and, therefore, is not fraught with biases associated with group dynamics. Second, this method uses both the idiographic and nomothetic approaches while existing methods focus on nomothetic approaches to knowledge elicitation. We draw on the strengths of both approaches by using the idiographic approach to …

Interorganizational Systems And Competitive Advantages – Lessons From History, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Global business constantly faces radical transformations stemming from advances in information technology (IT). The concept of gaining competitive advantages by linking information systems across organizations (e.g., supply chain integration) has taken on an overtone of dogma in many business circles. Such electronic linkages are known as Interorganizational Systems (IOS). Lately, the growing importance and easy accessibility of the Internet have propelled IOS to a new height. Undoubtedly, IOS can have a great impact on organizational performance and industry structure. However, IT such as the Internet is readily available to all companies, and most IOS concepts can be easily replicated. Followers …

Design And Evaluation Of A List Gathering Tool In A Web-Based Collaborative Environment, Yuanqiong Wang

Dissertations

This research focuses on how to build a "list" structure to combine individual items of information into some sort of structure that converts the individual items of information into a structure of knowledge relative to the problem. Software was designed to provide relationships among and comparisons of the contributions in a "list" structure, so that individual members of a group process will be able to understand the contributions of information made by the group as a whole.

A List Gathering Tool was designed and implemented, which is one component in a Web-based Social Decision Support System (SDSS) Toolkit. Then, a …

Design And Evaluation Of A Voting Tool In A Collaborative Environment, Zheng Li

Dissertations

This dissertation researchdesigned, implemented, and evaluated a Web-based Dynamic Voting Toolfor small group decision-making in a collaborative environment.

In this dissertation, theliterature on voting tools in current GDSS research is presented. Variousvoting theories and methods are analyzed, and the advantages and weaknessesare compared, so as to gain a better understanding of how to apply thesedifferent voting methods to diverse decision-making situations. A briefoverview of scaling theories is also given, with an emphasis on Thurstone'sLaw.

The basic features of someweb-based voting tool implementations are reviewed along with a discussionof the pros and cons of Intemet voting. A discussion of Human DynamicVoting …

Context-Aware Semantic Association Ranking, Boanerges Aleman-Meza, Chris Halaschek, I. Budak Arpinar, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

Discovering complex and meaningful relationships, which we call Semantic Associations, is an important challenge. Just as ranking of documents is a critical component of today's search engines, ranking of relationships will be essential in tomorrow's semantic search engines that would support discovery and mining of the Semantic Web. Building upon our recent work on specifying types of Semantic Associations in RDF graphs, which are possible to create through semantic metadata extraction and annotation, we discuss a framework where ranking techniques can be used to identify more interesting and more relevant Semantic Associations. Our techniques utilize alternative ways of specifying the …

Boltzmann Machine Learning With The Latent Maximum Entropy Principle, Shaojun Wang, Dale Schuurmans, Fuchun Peng, Yunxin Zhao

Kno.e.sis Publications

We present a new statistical learning paradigm for Boltzmann machines based on a new inference principle we have proposed: the latent maximum entropy principle (LME). LME is different both from Jaynes maximum entropy principle and from standard maximum likelihood estimation. We demonstrate the LME principle BY deriving new algorithms for Boltzmann machine parameter estimation, and show how robust and fast new variant of the EM algorithm can be developed. Our experiments show that estimation based on LME generally yields better results than maximum likelihood estimation, particularly when inferring hidden units from small amounts of data.

Learning Mixture Models With The Latent Maximum Entropy Principle, Shaojun Wang, Dale Schuurmans, Fuchun Peng, Yunxin Zhao

Kno.e.sis Publications

We present a new approach to estimating mixture models based on a new inference principle we have proposed: the latent maximum entropy principle (LME). LME is different both from Jaynes’ maximum entropy principle and from standard maximum likelihood estimation. We demonstrate the LME principle by deriving new algorithms for mixture model estimation, and show how robust new variants of the EM algorithm can be developed. Our experiments show that estimation based on LME generally yields better results than maximum likelihood estimation, particularly when inferring latent variable models from small amounts of data.

Enemy At The Gate: Threats To Information Security, Michael E. Whitman

Faculty Articles

A firm can build more effective security strategies by identifying and ranking the severity of potential threats to its IS efforts.

Towards A Role-Based Metadata Scheme For Educational Digital Libraries: A Case Study In Singapore, Dian Melati Md Ismail, Ming Yin, Yin-Leng Theng, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh, Ee Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we describe the development of an appropriate metadata scheme for GeogDL, a Web-based digital library application containing past-year examination resources for students taking a Singapore national examination in geography. The new metadata scheme was developed from established metadata schemes on education and e-learning. Initial evaluation showed that a role-based approach would be more viable, adapting to the different roles of teachers/educators and librarians contributing geography resources to GeogDL. The paper concludes with concrete implementation of the role-based metadata schema for GeogDL.

Erp Implementation: Chief Information Officers’ Perceptions Of Critical Success Factors, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Kathryn M. Zuckweiler, Janet Lee-Shang Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This article reports the results of a survey of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) from Fortune 1000 companies on their perceptions of the critical success factors in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation. Through a review of the literature, 11 critical success factors were identified , with underlying subfactors, for successful ERP implementation. The degree of criticality of each of these factors were assessed in a survey administered to the CIOs. The 5 most critical factors identified by the CIOs were top management support, project champion, ERP teamwork and composition, project management, and change management program and culture. The importance of each …

Factors Influencing The Adoption Of E-Marketplaces By Small Organizations: An Empirical Investigation, Xin Tan, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Charalambos Iacovou, Jaekyung. Kim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The emergence of mobile computing combined with the increased popularity of the Internet is changing our daily lives. The increasing use of small portable computers, wireless networks and satellites un folds the new technology of mobile computing, which allows transmis sion of data to computers that are not physically linked to a network. As a result, people can communicate on the move. Mobile devices with new input and output methods and form factors are dramatically different from traditional desktop computers (Rodden et al., 1998). These technological changes make increasing demands on both the quality of user interface and the functionality …

A Study On Tolerable Waiting Time: How Long Are Web Users Willing To Wait?, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The WWW has become an important channel for information access, electronic commerce, and publication. With an exponential increase in the number of Web users and the popularity of multimedia technology, users often face a long waiting time for downloading Web pages. Although various technologies and techniques have been implemented to alleviate the situation and to comfort the impatient users, little research has been done to assess what constitutes an acceptable and tolerable waiting time for Web users. This research reviews the literature on computer response time and users’ waiting time, and assesses Web users’ tolerable waiting time in information retrieval. …

Information Systems Requirements Determination And Analysis: A Mental Modeling Approach, Keng Siau, X. Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Regardless of the system development methodology adopted, being able to understand users’ informationrequirements is vital to the success of an information systems project. The intrinsic communications obstaclesexist within an individual user, among users, and between users and systems analysts. Different requirementsdetermination and analysis (RDA) techniques have been widely used with different outcomes. Some limitations of these techniques can be identified. In this paper, we propose a mental modeling approach to support RDA. Popular in other disciplines, mental modeling techniques have some distinct advantages to overcome some intrinsic communication obstacles in RDA, and to complement other techniques.

The Effect Of Domain Knowledge On Icon Visualization, Keng Siau, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Iconic interfaces are now the de facto interface for most computer systems. Despite the popularity of iconic interfaces and the widespread belief that iconic interfaces are easier to comprehend than non-iconic interfaces, we have not come across any published study that has examined the effect of domain knowledge on end users’ interpretation of icons. An understanding of the relationship between domain knowledge and its effect on interpretation will enable us to design better icons to not only facilitate end users’ interpretation but also reduce misinterpretations of icons. This paper reports on an experimental study that investigates the effect of domain …

A Visual Framework Invites Human Into The Clustering Process, Keke Chen, Ling Liu

Kno.e.sis Publications

Clustering is a technique commonly used in scientific research. The task of clustering inevitably involves human participation - the clustering is not finished when the computer/algorithm finishes but the user has evaluated, understood and accepted the patterns. This defines a human involved "clustering-analysis/evaluation" iteration. Instead of neglecting this human involvement, we provide a visual framework (VISTA) with all power of algorithmic approaches (since their result can be visualized), and in addition we allow the user to steer/monitor/refine the clustering process with domain knowledge. The visual-rendering result also provides a precise pattern for fast post-processing.

Toward A Comprehensive Supplement For Language Courses, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Stephen P. Carl

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Event Based Retrieval From Digital Libraries Containing Data Streams, Mohamed Hamed Kholief

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this research is to study the issues involved in building a digital library that contains data streams and allows event-based retrieval. “Digital Libraries are storehouses of information available through the Internet that provide ways to collect, store, and organize data and make it accessible for search, retrieval, and processing” [29]. Data streams are sources of information for applications such as news-on-demand, weather services, and scientific research, to name a few. A data stream is a sequence of data units produced over a period of time. Examples of data streams are video streams, audio stream, and sensor readings. …

Adding Semantics To Web Services Standards, Kaarthik Sivashanmugam, Kunal Verma, Amit P. Sheth, John Miller

Kno.e.sis Publications

With the increasing growth in popularity of Web services, discovery of relevant Web services becomes a significant challenge. One approach is to develop semantic Web services where by the Web services are annotated based on shared ontologies, and use these annotations for semantics-based discovery of relevant Web services. We discuss one such approach that involves adding semantics to WSDL using DAML+OIL ontologies. Our approach also uses UDDI to store these semantic annotations and search for Web services based on them. We compare our approach with another initiative to add semantics to support Web service discovery, and show how our approach …

Ladar-Based Detection And Tracking Of Moving Objects From A Ground Vehicle At High Speeds, Chieh-Chih Wang, Charles Thorpe, Arne Suppe

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Detection and tracking of moving objects (DATMO) in crowded urban areas from a ground vehicle at high speeds is difficult because of a wide variety of targets and uncertain pose estimation from odometry and GPS/DGPS. In this paper we present a solution of the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) with DATMO problem to accomplish this task using ladar sensors and odometry. With a precise pose estimate and a surrounding map from SLAM, moving objects are detected without a priori knowledge of the targets. The interacting multiple model (IMM) estimation algorithm is used for modeling the motion of a moving object …

Adaptive Filters For Continuous Queries Over Distributed Data Stream, Chris Olston, Jing Jiang, Jennifer Widom

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We consider an environment where distributed data sources continuously stream updates to a centralized processor that monitors continuous queries over the distributed data. Significant communication overhead is incurred in the presence of rapid update streams, and we propose a new technique for reducing the overhead. Users register continuous queries with precision requirements at the central stream processor, which installs filters at remote data sources. The filters adapt to changing conditions to minimize stream rates while guaranteeing that all continuous queries still receive the updates necessary to provide answers of adequate precision at all times. Our approach enables applications to trade …

Using Support Vector Machines For Terrorism Information Extraction, Aixin Sun, Myo-Myo Naing, Ee Peng Lim, Wai Lam

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Information extraction (IE) is of great importance in many applications including web intelligence, search engines, text understanding, etc. To extract information from text documents, most IE systems rely on a set of extraction patterns. Each extraction pattern is defined based on the syntactic and/or semantic constraints on the positions of desired entities within natural language sentences. The IE systems also provide a set of pattern templates that determines the kind of syntactic and semantic constraints to be considered. In this paper, we argue that such pattern templates restricts the kind of extraction patterns that can be learned by IE systems. …

Semantic Web Process Lifecycle: Role Of Semantics In Annotation, Discovery, Composition And Orchestration, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Healthcare Enterprise Process Development And Integration, Kemafor Anyanwu, Amit P. Sheth, Jorge Cardoso, John A. Miller, Krzysztof J. Kochut

Kno.e.sis Publications

Healthcare enterprises involve complex processes that span diverse groups and organisations. These processes involve clinical and administrative tasks, large volumes of data, and large numbers of patients and personnel. The tasks can be performed either by humans or by automated systems. In the latter case, the tasks are supported by a variety of software applications and information systems which are very often heterogeneous, autonomous, and distributed. The development of systems to manage and automate these processes has increasingly played an important role in improving the efficiency of healthcare enterprises. In this paper we look at four healthcare and medical applications …

Genescene: Biomedical Text And Data Mining, Gondy Leroy, Hsinchun Chen, Jesse D. Martinez, Shauna Eggers, Ryan R. Falsey, Kerri L. Kislin, Zan Huang, Jiexun Li, Jie Xu, Daniel M. Mcdonald, Gavin Ng

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

To access the content of digital texts efficiently, it is necessary to provide more sophisticated access than keyword based searching. GeneScene provides biomedical researchers with research findings and background relations automatically extracted from text and experimental data. These provide a more detailed overview of the information available. The extracted relations were evaluated by qualified researchers and are precise. A qualitative ongoing evaluation of the current online interface indicates that this method to search the literature is more useful and efficient than keyword based searching.

Ρ-Queries: Enabling Querying For Semantic Associations On The Semantic Web, Kemafor Anyanwu, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper presents the notion of Semantic Associations as complex relationships between resource entities. These relationships capture both a connectivity of entities as well as similarity of entities based on a specific notion of similarity called ρ-isomorphism. It formalizes these notions for the RDF data model, by introducing a notion of a Property Sequence as a type. In the context of a graph model such as that for RDF, Semantic Associations amount to specific certain graph signatures. Specifically, they refer to sequences (i.e. directed paths) here called Property Sequences, between entities, networks of Property Sequences (i.e. undirected paths), or subgraphs …

Exception Handling For Conflict Resolution In Cross-Organizational Workflows, Zongwei Luo, Amit P. Sheth, Krzysztof Kochut, I. Budak Arpinar

Kno.e.sis Publications

Workflow management systems (WfMSs) are being increasingly deployed to deliver e-business transactions across organizational boundaries. To ensure a high service quality in such transactions, exception-handling schemes for conflict resolution are needed. The conflicts primarily arise due to failure of a task in workflow execution because of underlying application, or controlling WfMS component failures or insufficient user input. So far, little progress has been reported in addressing conflict resolution in cross-organizational business processes, though its importance has been recognized. In this paper, we identify the exception handling techniques that support conflict resolution in cross-organizational settings. In particular, we propose a novel, …