"Good database design is crucial to obtain a sound, consistent database, and - in turn - good database design methodologies are the best way to achieve the right design. These methodologies are taught to most Computer Science undergraduates, as part of any Introduction to Database class. They can be considered part of the "canon", and indeed, the overall approach to database design has been unchanged for years. Moreover, none of the major database research assessments identify database design as a strategic research direction.

Should we conclude that database design is a solved problem?

Our thesis is that database design remains a critical unsolved problem. Hence, it should be the subject of more research. Our starting point is the observation that traditional database design is not used in practice - and if it were used it would result in designs that are not well adapted to current environments. In short, database design has failed to keep up with the times. In this paper, we put forth arguments to support our viewpoint, analyze the root causes of this situation and suggest some avenues of research."

"The study of networks has grown into a substantial interdisciplinary endeavor across the natural, social, and information sciences. Yet there have been very few attempts to investigate the interrelatedness of the different classes of networks studied by different disciplines. Here, we introduced a framework to establish a taxonomy of networks from various origins. The provision of this family tree not only helps understand the kinship of networks, but also facilitates the transfer of empirical analysis, theoretical modeling, and conceptual developments across disciplinary boundaries. The framework is based on probing the mesoscopic properties of networks, an important source of heterogeneity for their structure and function. Using our method, we computed a taxonomy for 752 individual networks and a separate taxonomy for 12 network classes. We also computed three within-class taxonomies for political, fungal, and financial networks, and found them to be insightful in each case."

"We present a form of algebraic reasoning for computational objects which are expressed as graphs. Edges describe the flow of data between primitive operations which are represented by vertices. These graphs have an interface made of half-edges (edges which are drawn with an unconnected end) and enjoy rich compositional principles by connecting graphs along these half-edges. In particular, this allows equations and rewrite rules to be specified between graphs. Particular computational models can then be encoded as an axiomatic set of such rules. Further rules can be derived graphically and rewriting can be used to simulate the dynamics of a computational system, e.g. evaluating a program on an input. Examples of models which can be formalised in this way include traditional electronic circuits as well as recent categorical accounts of quantum information."

"The effect of that “Yes, but…” is to make scholarly history complex and at the same time weaselly, uncertain and always whirling around to catch the interpretation sneaking up from behind.

The complexity that this creates is, of course, at odds both with the simplicity that Paul Krugman craved and that economics provided. It is at odds, as well, with the adversarial nature of the court room, in which opposing counsels must argue, without doubt or allowance for ambiguity, their side of the case. It is why Krugman was right to leave history behind, for that complex ambivalence is at the heart of the historical project. Staying with a subject whose central tenet he found repulsive would have been difficult, at best. It is why historians like Ambrose were wrong to testify for the tobacco companies, because their testimony came in service of an argument in which the essential equivocation was stripped away."

"Based on an article originally published in Technicalities (v. 25, no. 5, Sept./Oct. 2003), this pamphlet provides a brief overview of the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) as developed by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). Using full-color graphics, What is FRBR? outlines the background of the development of the Functional Requirements, the concepts involved and their potential impact on cataloging rules, bibliographic structures and systems design for cataloging applications."