FINAL Call for Abstracts

(Please accept our apologies for multiple postings
of this Call for Abstracts)

********     Call for Chapter Proposals     ********

You are invited to propose papers for a BOOK on:

-- Transformation of Knowledge, Information and Data: --
          -- Theory and Applications --

****** SCOPE ******

Data today is in motion, going from one location to
another. It is more and more moving between
systems, persons, departments, and organizations.
This is essential, as it indicates that data is
actually used, rather than just stored. In order to
emphasize the actual use of data, we may also speak
of information or knowledge. When data is in
motion, there is not only a change of place or
position. Other aspects are changing as well.
Consider the following examples.

-- The data "format" may change when it is
transferred between systems. This includes changes
in data structure, data model, data schema, data
types, et cetera.
-- Also, the "interpretation" of data may vary when
it is passed on from one person to another. Changes
in interpretation are part of data semantics rather
than data structure.
-- The "level of detail" may change in the exchange
of data between departments or organizations, e.g.
going from coworkers to managers or from local
authorities to the central government. In this
context we often see changes in level of detail, by
the application of abstraction, aggregation,
generalization, and specialization.
-- Moreover, the "systems development phase" of data
models may vary. This is particularly the case when
implementation-independent data models are mapped
to implementation-oriented models (e.g. semantic
data models are mapped to operational database
specifications).

These examples illustrate just a few possibilities
of changes in data. Numerous other applications
exist and everybody uses them all the time. Most
applications are of vital importance for the
intelligent functioning of systems, persons,
departments, and organizations.

In this book, the fundamental treatment of moving
data, with changing format, interpretation, level
of detail, development phase, et cetera, is based
on the concept of "transformation". The terms
conversion, mutation, modification, evolution, or
revision, may be used in specific contexts, but the
central concept is "transformation".

****** TOPICS ******

Formal transformation theory
Properties of transformations
Structure transformation
Specific transformation theory (e.g. ER, XML, UML)
Transformations in brokers
Data schema transformation
Transformation as a base for optimization
Rewrite rules
Graph transformation
Evolving information systems
Genetic algorithms using data transformations
Versioning
Data conversion
Conversion of data types
Model equivalence via transformations
Transformation in data warehouses
Knowledge transformation in organizations
Changes in organizational structures
Applications of transformations
Case studies
Automated transformation tools

Other related topics may be proposed as well. The book
will be published by IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING,
Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.

****** IMPORTANT DATES ******

April 15, 2003: submission of proposals
April 30, 2003: notification of acceptance
July 31, 2003: first version of chapters
October 31, 2003: revised chapters
January 15, 2004: final version of chapters

****** SUBMISSION GUIDELINES ******

You are invited to submit a proposal of 2-4 pages
describing the focus of your paper. The proposal should
also give the tentative organization of the paper (section
titles with section summaries).

Papers should be original and should not be submitted
for publication or published elsewhere.

Electronic submissions are required. Please e-mail your
proposal or questions to P. van Bommel, Dept. of Computer
Science, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands,
pvb-FlD2LfDziEhmR6Xm/wNWPw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx with subject IGP-PROPOSAL.
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