Interactive Data Retrieval Research Articles

A Cognitive Model of Data Retrieval Interaction

ABSTRACTThis study introduces and examines the “Multi‐dimensional Interaction‐Attitude‐Usage Model” (MIAU Model), drawing from cross‐disciplinary theories. The MIAU Model proposes dimensions of interactive data retrieval, including resource, technology, context, and dual‐process‐based cognition, and explores their relationships with user attitude toward systems and usage intention. To test the MIAU Model, a structural equation modeling analysis was conducted on the questionnaire data. The results support the proposed model. The MIAU Model suggests that resources, technology, contexts, and individual characteristics directly impact data searchers' dual‐process‐based cognition. System 1‐based cognition has a direct influence on system 2‐based cognition. Moreover, dual‐process‐based cognition and contexts directly affect attitude and usage intention. Additionally, resources, technology, contexts, and individual characteristics indirectly affect system 2‐based cognition through system 1‐based cognition, and similarly, these factors indirectly influence attitude and usage intention through dual‐process‐based cognition.

Bsmooth: Learning from user feedback to disambiguate query terms in interactive data retrieval

There is great interest in supporting imprecise queries (e.g., keyword search or natural language queries) over databases today. To support such queries, the database system is typically required to disambiguate parts of the user-specified query against the database, using whatever resources are intrinsically available to it (the database schema, data values distributions, natural language models etc.). Often, systems will also have a user-interaction log available, which can serve as an extrinsic resource to supplement their model based on their own intrinsic resources. This leads to a problem of how best to combine the system's prior ranking with insight derived from the user-interaction log. Statistical inference techniques such as maximum likelihood or Bayesian updates from a subjective prior turn out not to apply in a straightforward way due to possible noise from user search behavior and to encoding biases endemic to the system's models. In this paper, we address such learning problem in interactive data retrieval, with specific focus on type classification for user-specified query terms. We develop a novel Bayesian smoothing algorithm, Bsmooth, which is simple, fast, flexible and accurate. We analytically establish some desirable properties and show, through experiments against an independent benchmark, that the addition of such a learning layer performs much better than standard methods.

Damage detection with streamlined structural health monitoring data.

The huge amounts of sensor data generated by large scale sensor networks in on-line structural health monitoring (SHM) systems often overwhelms the systems’ capacity for data transmission and analysis. This paper presents a new concept for an integrated SHM system in which a streamlined data flow is used as a unifying thread to integrate the individual components of on-line SHM systems. Such an integrated SHM system has a few desirable functionalities including embedded sensor data compression, interactive sensor data retrieval, and structural knowledge discovery, which aim to enhance the reliability, efficiency, and robustness of on-line SHM systems. Adoption of this new concept will enable the design of an on-line SHM system with more uniform data generation and data handling capacity for its subsystems. To examine this concept in the context of vibration-based SHM systems, real sensor data from an on-line SHM system comprising a scaled steel bridge structure and an on-line data acquisition system with remote data access was used in this study. Vibration test results clearly demonstrated the prominent performance characteristics of the proposed integrated SHM system including rapid data access, interactive data retrieval and knowledge discovery of structural conditions on a global level.

Architecture of Meteorology Observing System Based on Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper presents an application platform for meteorology observing heterogeneous wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and a data fusion weather platform. We propose system architecture for wireless sensor networks and mesh networks for handling and storing sensor data streams in real-time. It collects data from WSN and continuously transmits physical or metrology conditions at different locations to a remote central data server. A web based platform designed to enable remote online access to WSN data with interactive data retrieval and visualization functionalities.

Integrated geoscience databanks for interactive analysis and visualization

There has been a worldwide revolution in geoscientific data availability and access. An effectively infinite and instantaneous free access to geoscientific data from the World Wide System of Geoscience Data Centers and Virtual Observatories is available. In addition, national databanks and commercially available large exploration data-sets also exist. These distributed data resources impose challenges for the future to move toward their objective integration and visualization to discover new knowledge. Such advancements can facilitate meaningful interpretations and decision-making for the benefit of society at global and local scales. This article presents the Digital Earth initiative at a national level to address multiple domains, such as effective management of natural resources, interactive planning of exploration activities and monitoring, mapping and mitigation of natural hazards. It discusses a distributed geospatial data infrastructure and its importance in geoscientific data integration for efficient and interactive data retrieval, analysis and visualization. Some examples are presented to demonstrate the advantages of integrated visualization in geoscientific analysis.

Interactieve medische informatie van het Huisartsen Netwerk Utrecht en de Almere Zorggroep

Introduction: Electronic medical record systems have great potential for monitoring and improving the quality of health services. In the Netherlands, GP-infonet (General Practitioner Information Network), a central medical information database, is available from 35 general practitioners (GPs) in Utrecht and 118 GPs in Almere. The database covers two patient populations: Utrecht with almost 58,000 persons and Almere with over 140,000 persons. These data can be retrieved interactively via the Web. Objective: We determined the incidence, prevalence, and prescription rates of several diagnoses in the two GP networks of GP-infonet. In addition, we estimated the extent to which these figures could be generalised for the whole of the Netherlands. Methods: Annual incidence and prevalence rates were calculated per 1000 person-years. Prescription rates were calculated for chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes mellitus in terms of the number of prescriptions per 100 episodes. These figures were compared with those from the Second Dutch National Survey of General Practice (2-DNSGP). The capacity of the data as far as generalisation is concerned was determined by comparing characteristics of the GPs and the patient population in Utrecht and Almere with the Dutch population using national figures. Results: Group practices and female GPs were over-represented in Utrecht and Almere. Distribution of age and gender in the patient population of Utrecht was similar to the Dutch population, while the population of Almere was relatively younger. Incidence and prevalence rates of Utrecht and Almere were comparable to 2-DNSGP, while prescription rates in Utrecht were somewhat higher than in 2-DNSGP. Prescription rates in Almere deviated from both Utrecht and 2-DNSGP. Conclusion: The information available on GP-infonet is representative - certainly as far as Utrecht is concerned - for the whole of the Netherlands and incidence and prevalence values are largely valid. However the registration and the processing of prescription rates in combination with diagnosis codes needs to be improved, especially in Almere. This could lead to the interactive data retrieval perhaps facilitating epidemiological studies and could further improve quality of registration and patient care in the network.

Applying user feedback to improve data access and usability: Massachusetts beta test results

This paper, from the Traffic Records Forum, held in Buffalo, NY in 2005, describes the use of feedback to improve data access and usability in a data warehousing setting. The authors describes the Massachusetts data warehouse and Interactive Data Retrieval System (IDRS), which were developed to provide state and federal highway safety decision-makers with access to a variety of safety-related data through a common user interface that allows users with varying levels of data analysis skill to query data. The Massachusetts data warehouse currently houses 13 data sets and provides online access to nine of those data sets through the IDRS. The authors describe the beta test period that commenced in January 2004 and the results from questionnaire and telephone feedback from users who were granted access during the beta test. Feedback was offered in five areas: general website navigation, online query tool use, usability of data, data quality, and additions to the website. The beta test was useful to developers who gained an improved overall understanding of how users access data and how best to meet the needs of users with varying skill levels. The query tool selection process was significantly simplified, the web site text has been modified to support the selection process, and a notes and warnings system was added to provide information to users on data definitions and data quality.

Making public health data available to community-level decision makers--goals, issues, and a case report.

Effective community health assessment and planning depends on the availability of appropriate public health data. Web-based technologies have created an unprecedented opportunity for making data available to community-level public health decision makers. An interactive data retrieval system targeted to the community-level user must provide an intuitive and easy-to-learn user interface with functionality and statistical complexity appropriate to the expected users while maintaining confidentiality of personal health information. The authors use the Missouri Information for Community Assessment Web site as an example to discuss goals and issues involved in the development of such systems.

Comprehensive Regional Socioeconomic Simulation System

This paper describes a comprehensive regional socioeconomic simulation system by using a personal computer. The system is composed of an interactive macroframe model (KMF model), a multizonal socioeconomic simulation model (OURS model), an interactive data retrieval and display subsystem (IDRS), and four kinds of data bases. In the system, the Kansai region of Japan is used as an example. The KMF model forecasts the employment by industrial sectors and the population in the whole Kansai region. The forecasted results are used as the exogenous variables of the OURS model. In the OURS model, the whole region is divided into 120 zones and fundamental socioeconomic indicators, such as population, employment, and land-use area, are forecasted for each zone. The IDRS subsystem helps the model user easily retrieve and display the required data in investigating the simulation results. In this paper, the problem of population aging in Osaka, Japan, is analyzed as an example of the applications of the constructed system. It is anticipated that the system can be used in regional policy-making for each zone.

Use of vector processing to search the Cambridge Structural Database

The Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) is a vast numerical resource of crystallographic data. The January 1989 release contains over 70,000 entries, and the data acquisition rate currently increases about 15% per annum. To be able to provide adequate response times for interactive data retrieval, using the new (1988) CSD file format, a vectorized search procedure has been developed as a modification of the CSD program QUEST. This procedure employs the pipelined vector facilities of the CONVEX C120 system to perform bitscreen logic, resulting in response times for arbitrary queries in the order of seconds, almost independent of the size of the database.

Design of an interactive data retrieval system for casual users

Among the important criteria in the design and implementation of an interactive data retrieval system for casual users are: a friendly user interface, aids to train beginners on the system, versatility in output media, and error recovery techniques in an interactive session. These factors are considered in the design of an interactive data retrieval system which is used for the study of commodity market data. Although the concepts and considerations discussed in this article are discipline specific, the methodologies adopted are general in nature. The proposed system has been implemented and tested using an experimental data base on gold and silver futures.

NEURO-11 : A computer system for relating neural spike trains to physiological and behavioral data

NEURO-ll is a data acquisition, storage, retrieval, and analysis system for investigating the relationship between singleunit activity and behavior. Although other systems have been developed for the evaluation of neural data (Wyss & Handwerker, 1971; Roemer, Cegavske, Thompson, & Patterson, 1975), this system has unique capabilities for long-term acquisition over many data channels and subsequent analysis using a high-level computer language. The experiments for which NEURO·ll was designed examine the relationship of cerebellar neuronal firing patterns to several behavioral and physiological measures in the unanesthetized cat. At the outset of an experiment, one does not know the exact nature of the relationship between the activity of a neuron and sensori-motor events. The computer system presented here makes use of peri-event histograms and raster displays to uncover these relationships. These displays are constructed relative to a stimulus or motor reference point called a node. A node can be almost any event that is recorded simultaneously with the neuronal activity; for example, the increase of electromyographic activity (EMG) in a particular muscle, the placement of a limb in a predetermined location, or the presentation of a sensory stimulus. A peri-event histogram is constructed by choosing a node and examining the neuronal firing pattern forward and/or backward in time. Typically, the raster display and the associated cumulative histogram is generated by choosing a number of samples. Within a given data set there can be many different nodes. NEURO-ll allows the investigator to select nodes one at a time within the same data set and to test hypotheses about the relationships between nodes and neural data. System prerequisites. This system is designed for a PDP-II with 24K core storage, an RK-05 removal disk cartridge, and a Laboratory Peripheral System (LPS). The required LPS subsystems are the eight-channel analog-to-digital converter (A/D), the programmable clock, and the 16-bit digital I/O option. Other hardware includes a Tektronix 4010 graphics display terminal as the console device and a simple latch interface for the LPS digital input register. The latch interface stores digital data arriving on 16 digital input lines until the computer can read it. NEURO-ll runs under DEC DOS/BATCH-ll (V9-2OC) using the MACRO-ll assembler and FORTRAN compiler. Input program (ALLIN). The system consists of two programs: a data input program (ALLIN) written in assembly language and an interactive data retrieval, manipulation, and display program (ANA) written primarily in FORTRAN. The input program, ALLIN, was designed to efficiently encode and store a high volume of input data for a sustained period. The primary inputs are pulse (event) data occurring on the digital input lines. These digital events are the occurrences of neural spikes and stimulus or motor event markers. Analog voltages can be recorded on all or any combination of the eight A/D channels. The output of the program is a disk file which contains encoded input and control data. This file is later read and decoded by the analysis program (ANA). Data are organized into sessions which are partitioned into trials by means of a switch connected to one of the digital input lines. The disk address of each trial is stored in a trial directory so that any trial within a session is rapidly accessible. Data representation. The input program (ALLIN) generates four different types of data words: clock, digital event, AID, and time code words. Each type of data word is distinguishable by the value of its high-order 2 bits. The format of these words is shown in Figure 1. A clock word is generated and stored on the disk every 500 msec. The low-order 14 bits of this word