Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Data mining, which is the automated discovery of patterns
and relationships in a data warehouse, is emerging as a prac-
tical approach to generating hypotheses about the patterns
and anomalies in the data that can be used to predict future
behavior.
Predictive analysis is a form of data mining that combines
historical data with assumptions about future conditions to
forecast outcomes of events such as future product sales or
the probability that a customer will default on a loan.
Business intelligence is the process of getting enough of
the right information in a timely manner and usable form and
analyzing it so that it can have a positive effect on business
strategy, tactics, or operations. Competitive intelligence is
one aspect of business intelligence limited to information
about competitors and the ways that information affects strat-
egy, tactics, and operations. Competitive intelligence is not
espionage—the use of illegal means to gather information.
Counterintelligence describes the steps an organization
takes to protect information sought by “hostile” intelligence
gatherers.
With the increased use of telecommunications and net-
works, distributed databases, which allow multiple users and
different sites access to data that may be stored in different
physical locations, are gaining in popularity. To reduce
telecommunications costs, some organizations build repli-
cated databases, which hold a duplicate set of frequently
used data.
Multidimensional databases and online analytical pro-
cessing (OLAP) programs are being used to store data and
allow users to explore the data from a number of different
perspectives.
An object-oriented database uses the same overall
approach of objected-oriented programming, first discussed
in Chapter 4. With this approach, both the data and the pro-
cessing instructions are stored in the database. An object-
relational database management system (ORDBMS) provides
a complete set of relational database capabilities, plus the
ability for third parties to add new data types and operations
to the database. These new data types can be audio, video, and
graphical data that require new indexing, optimization, and
retrieval features.
In addition to raw data, organizations are increasingly
finding a need to store large amounts of visual and audio sig-
nals in an organized fashion. A number of special-purpose
database systems are also being used.
CHAPTER 5: SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST
Data management and modeling are key aspects of organizing
data and information.
1.
6.
What database model places data in two-dimensional
tables?
a.
relational
A group of programs that manipulate the database and
provide an interface between the database and the user of
the database and other application programs is called a(n)
_______________.
a.
b.
network
c.
normalized
d.
hierarchical
GUI
b.
operating system
A well-designed and well-managed database is an extremely
valuable tool in supporting decision making.
7.
c.
DBMS
d.
productivity software
_______________ involves combining two or more
database tables.
2.
A(n) _______________ is a skilled and trained IS profes-
sional who directs all activities related to an organization's
database.
8.
After data has been placed into a relational database, users
can make inquiries and analyze data. Basic data manipula-
tions include selecting, projecting, and optimizing. True
or False?
3.
Data redundancy is a desirable quality in a database. True
or False?
4.
A(n) _______________ is a field or set of fields that
uniquely identifies a database record.
a.
9.
Because the DBMS is responsible for providing access to a
database, one of the first steps in installing and using a
database involves telling the DBMS the logical and physical
structure of the data and relationships among the data in
the database. This description of an entire database is called
a(n) _______________.
attribute
b.
data item
c.
key
d.
primary key
5.
A(n) _______________ uses basic graphical symbols to
show the organization of and relationships between data.
 
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