15079292
Measuring similarity between collection of values
In this paper, we propose a set of similarity metrics for manipulating collections of values occuring in XML documents.
 Following the data model presented in TAX algebra, we treat an XML element as a labeled ordered rooted tree. Consider that XML nodes can be either atomic, i.e, they may contain single values such as short character strings, date, etc, or complex, i.e., nested structures that contain other nodes, we propose two types of similarity metrics: MAVs, for atomic nodes and MCVs, for complex nodes. In the first case, we suggest the use of several application domain dependent metrics. In the second case, we define metrics for complex values that are structure dependent, and can be distinctly applied for it and collections of values. We also present experiments showing the effectiveness of our method.
8450178
Information Retrieval Aware Web Site Modelling and Generation
Design and maintenance of large corporate Web sites have become a challenging problem due to the continuing increase in their size and complexity. One particular feature present in the majority of this sort of Web sites is searching for information. However the solutions provided so far, which is based on the same techniques used for search in the open Web, have not provided a satisfactory performance to specific Web sites, often resulting in too much irrelevant content in a query answer. This paper proposes an approach to Web site modelling and generation of intrasite search engines, combining application modelling and information retrieval techniques. Our assumption is that giving search engines access to the information provided by conceptual representations of the Web site improves their performance and accuracy. We demonstrate our proposal by describing a Web site modelling language that represent both traditional modelling features and information retrieval aspects, as well as presenting experiments to evaluate the resulting intrasite search engine generated by our method.
12706002
Computer-Assisted Discrepancy Management - A Case Study in Research Transfer to Industry
This paper reports on the “repackaging” and transfer to industry of research results in ViewpointBased Requirements Engineering (VBRE). Our experience, as indicated here, is a particular case of the problems and solutions that small research groups can find in their transfer from theoretical work to practical application. In particular, starting with a formal approach for discrepancy management, we first developed a “light-weight version” of VBRE and empirically validated their most important claims. Then we developed a software tool (discRman) that encapsulates the main points of the approach and, finally, partner organizations used it in small projects. We think that this “theoretical-empirical-light-weight-tool” sequence can be applied in similar situations, especially by small research groups seeking for transfer of their results to industry. ACM Classification: D.2.1 (Software Engineering – Requirements/Specifications – Methodologies, Tools), D.2.8 (Software Engineering – Metrics – Performance measures), D.2.9 (Software Engineering – Management – Productivity)
15351818
Representing Web Data as Complex Objects
The popularization of the Web has made a huge volume of data available for a large audience. In a large number of Web sites, such as bookstores, electronic catalogs, travel agencies, etc., the pages constitute documents which are composed of pieces of data whose overall structure can be easily recognized. Such pages are called data-rich and can be seen as collections of complex objects. In this paper, we show how such objects can be represented by nested tables, which are simple, intuitive, and quite convenient for expressing their implicit structure. The assumption is that, for most sites of interest, only few examples are required to reveal the structure of the objects. To corroborate our assumption, we describe a data extraction tool that adopts this approach and present results of some experiments carried out with this tool.
18811835
An Empirical Comparison of Particle Swarm and Predator Prey Optimisation
In this paper we present and discuss the results of experimentally comparing the performance of several variants of the standard swarm particle optimiser and a new approach to swarm based optimisation. The new algorithm, which we call predator prey optimiser, combines the ideas of particle swarm optimisation with a predator prey inspired strategy, which is used to maintain diversity in the swarm and preventing premature convergence to local suboptima. This algorithm and the most common variants of the particle swarm optimisers are tested in a set of multimodal functions commonly used as benchmark optimisation problems in evolutionary computation.
10782860
OrgSwarm - A Particle Swarm Model of Organizational Adaptation
This study extends the particle swarm metaphor to include the domain of organizational adaptation. A simulation model, OrgSwarm, is constructed in order to examine the impact of strategic inertia on the adaptive potential of a population of organizations. The key finding is that a degree of strategic inertia, in the presence of an election mechanism, can assist rather than hamper adaption of the population.
12270268
Mining Web Usage Data for Discovering Navigation Clusters
The analysis of a web site based on usage data is an important task as it provides insight into the organization of the site and its adequacy regarding user needs. This allows the relationship between prior categories and user browsing patterns to be explored. In this paper we propose an approach for discovering the profiles of visitor groups. To this end, we begin by mapping user interests into symbolic objects, which is the basis of the Symbolic Data Analysis and represents here a successful interaction of the user with the web site. We then identify groups of users with similar behavior by means of a dynamic clustering approach applying a context dependent dissimilarity measure. The method was applied to identify visitor groups of a web site in the educational domain and also to analyze the traces of different user behavior.