Shifting the information paradigm from data-centered to user-centered

摘要

We are seeing a shift of the focus of information access from a data-centered to a user-centered paradigm. By a user-centered paradigm, we refer to information access that is driven not by the structure of the databases in the system, but rather by views of the databases needed to satisfy an information need as perceived by the user. This paradigm relies on dynamic views that may be independent of the structure of the accessed databases. The user determines both what data is included in these dynamic views and what, if any, structures are imposed on the data in these views. The Daltext system is a prototype system that falls within the user-centered paradigm. It allows the user to define views dynamically. Daltext allows the user to determine what data is included in these dynamic views by specifying desired attributes and values. It allows the user to determine what, if any, structures are imposed on the data in these views by allowing the user to frame the view within a particular model. At the user's discretion, the view may be framed within a datastream model, a set model, a relational model, and/or a hierarchical model.