The user's view level of the GOQL graphical query language

The paper addresses issues related to the design of a graphical query mechanism that can act as an interface to any object-oriented database system (OODBS), in general, and the object model of ODMG 2.0, in particular. In the paper a brief literature survey of related work is given, and an analysis methodology that allows the evaluation of such languages is proposed. Moreover, the user's view level of a new graphical query language, namely GOQL (Graphical Object Query Language), for ODMG 2.0 is presented. The user's view level provides a graphical schema that does not contain any of the perplexing details of an object-oriented database schema, and it also provides a foundation for a graphical interface that can support ad-hoc queries for object-oriented database applications. We illustrate, using an example, the user's view level of GOQL

Abstract thinking: a predictor of modelling ability?

In this paper, we describe a study of the abstract thinking skills of a group of students studying object-oriented modelling as part of a Masters course. Abstract thinking has long been considered a core skill for computer scientists. This study is part of attempts to gather evidence about the link between abstract thinking skills and success in the Computer Science discipline. The results of this study show a positive correlation between the scores of the students in the abstract thinking test with the marks achieved in the module. However, the small numbers in the study mean that wider research is needed.

Critical autopoiesis and the materiality of law

Autopoietic theory is increasingly seen as a candidate for a radical theory of law, both in relation to its theoretical credentials and its relevance in terms of new and emerging forms of law. An aspect of the theory that has remained less developed, however, is its material side, and more concretely the theory’s accommodation of bodies, space, objects and their claim to legal agency. The present article reads Luhmann’s theory of autopoietic systems in a radical and material manner, linking it on the one hand to current post-structural theorisations of law and society, and on the other hand extending its ambit to accommodate the influx of material considerations that have been working their way through various other disciplines. The latter comprises both a materialisation of the theory itself and ways of conceptualising the legal system as material through and through. This I do by further developing what I have called Critical Autopoiesis, namely an acentric, topological, post-ecological and posthuman understanding of Luhmann’s theory, that draws on Deleuzian thought, feminist theory, geography, non-representational theory, and new material and object-oriented ontologies. These are combined with some well-rehearsed autopoietic concepts, such as distinction, environment and boundaries; Luhmann’s earlier work on materiality continuum; more recent work on bodies and space; as well as his work on form and medium in relation to art. The article concludes with five suggestions for an understanding of what critical autopoietic materiality might mean for law.

Logics of generalization: Derrida, grammatology and transdisciplinarity

This article seeks to explore some issues regarding the different modes of generality at stake in the formation of transdisciplinary concepts within the production of ‘theory’ in the humanities and social sciences. Focused around Jacques Derrida’s seminal account of ‘writing’ in his 1967 book Of Grammatology, the article outlines what it defines as a logic of generalization at stake in Derrida’s elaborations of a quasi-transcendental ‘inscription in general’. Starting out from the questions thereby raised about the relationship between such forms of generality and those historically ascribed to philosophy, the article concludes by contrasting Derrida’s generalized writing with more recent returns to ‘metaphysics’ in the work of Bruno Latour and others. Against the immediately ‘ontological’ orientation of much recent ‘new materialist’ or ‘object-oriented’ thought, the article argues for the necessity of ‘different levels of writing in general’ through a continual folding back of absolute generalization into historically specific disciplinary crossings and exchanges; something suggested by but never really developed in Derrida’s own work.

An accessibility planning tool for network transit oriented development : SNAP

In the academic debate regarding the influences between urban form, built environment and travel patterns, a specific idea that has taken hold is that more compact urban development around railway stations, often referred to as Transit Oriented Development (TOD), contributes to the control of vehicle travel and to more sustainable metropolitan systems. According to this general principle this work proposes a GIS accessibility tool for the design of polycentric transit oriented scenario: SNAP - Station Network Accessibility Planning tool. In the first part the state of the art on Transit Oriented Development policies in Europe is presented with a focus on three study cases. In the second part the SNAP tool is described, with remarks to the approach, the methodology and the used indicators. Furthermore the paper discusses an application to the metropolitan area of Naples.

Fast 2D/3D object representation with growing neural gas

This work presents the design of a real-time system to model visual objects with the use of self-organising networks. The architecture of the system addresses multiple computer vision tasks such as image segmentation, optimal parameter estimation and object representation. We first develop a framework for building non-rigid shapes using the growth mechanism of the self-organising maps, and then we define an optimal number of nodes without overfitting or underfitting the network based on the knowledge obtained from information-theoretic considerations. We present experimental results for hands and faces, and we quantitatively evaluate the matching capabilities of the proposed method with the topographic product. The proposed method is easily extensible to 3D objects, as it offers similar features for efficient mesh reconstruction.