0000000000240577

AUTHOR

Agris Sostaks

Facilitation of Health Professionals Responsible Autonomy with Easy-to-Use Hospital Data Querying Language

Support for the development of responsible autonomy as opposite to management that is based on direct control is found to be by far more effective approach in healthcare management, especially when it concerns physicians as the most influential group of health professionals. It is therefore important to obtain a process-oriented knowledge system where physicians would be able to autonomously answer questions which are outside the scope of pre-made direct control reports. However, the ad-hoc data querying process is slow and error-prone due to inability of health professionals to access data directly without involving IT experts. The problem lies in the complexity of means used to query data…

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Graphical Template Language for Transformation Synthesis

Higher-Order Transformations (HOT) have become an important support for the development of model transformations in various transformation languages. Most frequently HOTs are used to synthesize transformations from different kinds of models, for example, mapping models. This means that model driven development (MDD) is being successfully applied to transformations themselves too. The standard HOT solution is to create the transformation as a model using the abstract syntax. However, for graphical transformation languages a significantly more efficient solution would be to create the transformation using its graphical (concrete) syntax. An analogy could be the textual template languages such…

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Self-service Ad-hoc Querying Using Controlled Natural Language

The ad-hoc querying process is slow and error prone due to inability of business experts of accessing data directly without involving IT experts. The problem lies in complexity of means used to query data. We propose a new natural language- and semistar ontology-based ad-hoc querying approach which lowers the steep learning curve required to be able to query data. The proposed approach would significantly shorten the time needed to master the ad-hoc querying and to gain the direct access to data by business experts, thus facilitating the decision making process in enterprises, government institutions and other organizations.

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Saying Hello World with MOLA - A Solution to the TTC 2011 Instructive Case

This paper describes the solution of Hello World transformations in MOLA transformation language. Transformations implementing the task are relatively straightforward and easily inferable from the task specification. The required additional steps related to model import and export are also described.

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Towards Concrete Syntax Based Find for Graphical Domain Specific Languages

One of the main reasons why Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) technologies including Domain-specific modelling languages (DSML) have not reached the expected acceptance in the industry is a poor tool support. One of the features with a limited support even in commercial modelling tools is search (find). Typically, MDE tools support only a simple keyword-based textual search functionality. The same is true for the tools built using Domain-specific language (DSL) tool definition frameworks. It is proposed to provide the concrete syntax-based find functionality as a service of a DSL tool definition framework. The find diagrams are defined in a concrete syntax of a DSL. A definition of a DSL is us…

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Modeling and Query Language for Hospitals

So far the traditional process modeling languages have found a limited use in the hospital settings. One of the reasons behind this delay has been the lack of clear definition of the sequence of activities that are carried out in the hospital. We propose a new modeling language (as a profile of UML Class diagrams) that captures all the useful features from various UML diagrams and can be used in modeling of the hospitals. Based on the modeling language, we have developed an easy-to-perceive graphical query language, which allows the physicians to retrieve directly from the various hospital databases information they need to better understand the flow of clinical processes.

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ViziQuer: A Web-Based Tool for Visual Diagrammatic Queries Over RDF Data

We demonstrate the open source ViziQuer tool for web-based creation and execution of visual diagrammatic queries over RDF/SPARQL data. The tool supports the data instance level and statistics queries, providing visual counterparts for most of SPARQL 1.1 select query constructs, including aggregation and subqueries. A query environment can be created over a user-supplied SPARQL endpoint with known data schema (a data schema exploration service is available, as well). There are pre-defined demonstration query environments for a mini-university data set, a fragment of synthetic similar to reality hospital data set, and a variant of Linked Movie Database RDF data set.

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Towards a More Effective Hospital: Helping Health Professionals to Learn from their Own Practice by Developing an Easy to use Clinical Processes Querying Language

Application of complex socio-technical systems theory to optimization of clinical processes in hospitals highlights the importance of the acceptance and promotion of responsible autonomy among health professionals. Therefore the independent ability for clinicians to search for answers to questions which are outside the scope of pre-made reports is important. However, the ad-hoc data querying process is slow and error prone due to inability of health professionals to access data directly without involving IT experts. The problem lies in the complexity of means used to query data. We propose a new natural language- and star ontology-based ad-hoc data querying approach which reduces the steep …

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Graphical modeling and query language for hospitals

Abstract Background So far there has been little evidence that implementation of the health information technologies (HIT) is leading to health care cost savings. One of the reasons for this lack of impact by the HIT likely lies in the complexity of the business process ownership in the hospitals. The goal of our research is to develop a business model-based method for hospital use which would allow doctors to retrieve directly the ad-hoc information from various hospital databases. Methods We have developed a special domain-specific process modelling language called the MedMod. Formally, we define the MedMod language as a profile on UML Class diagrams, but we also demonstrate it on example…

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Behaviour modelling notation for information system design

Problems related to behaviour modelling within the platform independent model (PIM) during the model driven design are discussed in the paper. The emphasis is on design problems for information systems, especially on building a behaviour draft. At first issues in the traditional approach using sequence diagrams are discussed. Then a new approach based on activity diagrams is proposed. An extension of activity diagram notation specifically oriented towards comprehensive and readable behaviour design description is presented.

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Schema-Based Visual Queries over Linked Data Endpoints

We present the option to use the schema-based visual query tool ViziQuer over realistic Linked Data endpoints. We describe the tool meta-schema structure and the means for the endpoint schema retrieval both from an OWL ontology and from a SPARQL endpoint. We report on a store of the endpoint-specific schemas and the options to support the schema presentation to the end-user both as a class tree within the environment and as external visual diagram.

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DSL Based Platform for Business Process Management

Currently nearly all commercial and open source BPMS are based on BPMN as a process notation. In contrast, the paper proposes to build a BPMS based on a domain specific language (DSL) as a process notation – DSBPMS. In such a DSBPMS a specific business process support could be created by business analysts. A platform for creating such DSBPMS with feasible efforts is described. This platform contains a Configurator for easy creation of graphical editors for the chosen DSL and a simple mapping language for transforming processes in this DSL to a language directly executable by the execution engine of this platform. The engine includes also all typical execution support functions so no other t…

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Tree Based Domain-Specific Mapping Languages

Model transformation languages have been mainly used by researchers --- the software engineering industry has not yet widely accepted the model driven software development (MDSD). One of the main reasons is the complexity of metamodelling principles the developers are required to know to actually use model transformations in the way the OMG has stated. We offer the basic principles how to create domain-specific model transformation languages which can be used by developers relying only on familiar modelling concepts. We propose to use simple graphical mappings to specify the correspondence between source and target models which are represented using trees based on the concrete syntax of und…

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ViziQuer: A Visual Notation for RDF Data Analysis Queries

Visual SPARQL query notations aim at easing the RDF data querying task. At the current state of the art there is still no generally accepted visual graph-based notation suitable to describe RDF data analysis queries that involve aggregation and subqueries. In this paper we present a visual diagram-centered notation for SPARQL select query formulation, capable to handle aggregate/statistics queries and hierarchic queries with subquery structure. The notation is supported by a web-based prototype tool. We present the notation examples, describe its syntax and semantics and describe studies with possible end users, involving both IT and medicine students.

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From Requirements to Code in a Model Driven Way

Though there is a lot of support for model driven development the support for complete model driven path from requirements to code is limited. The approach proposed in this paper offers such a path which is fully supported by model transformations. The starting point is semiformal requirements containing behaviour description in a controlled natural language. A chain of models is proposed including analysis, platform independent and platform specific models. A particular architecture style is chosen by means of selecting a set of appropriate design patterns for these models. It is shown how to define informally and then implement in model transformation language MOLA the required transforma…

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Tool support for MOLA

AbstractThe paper describes the MOLA Tool, which supports the model transformation language MOLA. MOLA Tool consists of two parts: MOLA definition environment and MOLA execution environment. MOLA definition environment is based on the GMF (Generic Modeling Framework) and contains graphical editors for metamodels and MOLA diagrams, as well as the MOLA compiler. The main component of MOLA execution environment is a MOLA virtual machine, which performs model transformations, using an SQL database as a repository. The execution environment may be used as a plug-in for Eclipse based modeling tools (e.g., IBM Rational RSA). The current status of the tool is truly academic.

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