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Executive Summary
The purpose of this project is to study Semantic Analysis, and apply them to design
a database system to administer and manage Hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
It is claimed that the Semantic Analysis is capable of producing a database design,
which when implemented would prove to be more stable and less expansive to
maintain. The Hajj case study is real and the methods presented in this report may
be useful in designing a working database system to improve the management of
Hajj. Semantic Analysis leads to SNF compliant systems. SNF compliant systems
are more stable and flexible as compared to the systems designed using other
conventional analytical methods. This report is a step forward in analysing Hajj and
producing SNF compliant database schema.
This report comprises of many new ideas and terms both in the field of modelling
and in the Hajj case study. Semantic Analysis is a powerful modelling method but is
less known despite having the capacity to solve a number of anomalies in systems
designed using conventional modelling methods. Semantic Analysis produces
systems that stable and flexible. Stamper, one of the advocates of and a researcher
in the field of Semantic Analytical Methods, has defined and developed some of the
Semantic modelling terms and techniques during via his research on Organisational
Semiotics.
Semiotics involves Semantic Analysis and Norm Analysis. Semantic Analysis is a
method that is designed to capture the system requirements. Unlike the conventional
modelling techniques, Semantic Analysis captures multi views of the business
requirements and hence renders a stable and less malignant design. Norm analysis
is used to study or identify the behaviour inside a social system. The Semantic
Normal Form is closely associated with the Semantic Analysis, which follows a set of
rules and procedures, in order to create a database schema. Databases created by
using Semantic Normal Form are claimed to be less malignant, immune to changes
and cheaper to maintain. Ontology Charts are used to facilitate Semantic Analysis of
the data of the enterprises. Therefore, these are very important tools to complete
design by producing a schema for a database system. The power of the Semantic
Analysis is demonstrated in developing a Semantic Temporal Database (STDB),
which represents semantic and time frame of the business activities. However, due
to limited resources and time constraints, this report will only have a brief discussion
on STDB
Semantic Modelling terms have extensive meaning and hence require a lot of
understanding. Therefore, this report will provide some discussion of these terms
and investigate the underlying theoretical framework in the case of the Hajj. The Hajj
is less known but presents a very complex business case for modelling purposes.
Hajj occurs every year in Mecca where millions of pilgrims get together to perform
this pilgrimage for their spiritual fulfilment. Although the mandatory Hajj period is only
four days but the pilgrims stay in Mecca for several weeks, and so the Hajj business
extends to several weeks involving extensive spiritual, social and travel activities.
The complexities of these activities make Hajj an interesting case to deal with.
A database design of the Hajj case study using Semantic Analysis will be presented
in this report. There are many processes in the Hajj case study but due to time
constraints, in this report, the focus is only on three processes, namely the
Registration Process, Information Process and the Retrieval Process. However, at
the end of the report, the future study of the case study will be briefly discussed.
Key Words
• Semiotics • Semantic Analysis
• Norm Analysis • Norm • NormBase • Semantic Normal Form (SNF) • Ontology Charts
• Semantic Temporal Database
• Hajj
• Hajj Centralised Database • Registration process
• Identification process
• Retrieval process
• E-Tag
• RFID enabled watch
Table of Contents
Key Words .............................................................................................................................................. 3
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 6
1. 1 Project Motivation: ....................................................................................................................... 6
1. 2 Project Aims and Objectives:....................................................................................................... 7
1.3 Project Limitations: ....................................................................................................................... 8
1.4 Deliverables: ................................................................................................................................. 9
1.5 Summary of other Chapters: ...................................................................................................... 10
Chapter 2 – Literature review ....................................................................................................... 10
Chapter 3 – Theory ....................................................................................................................... 10
Chapter 4 - Hajj case study........................................................................................................... 10
Chapter 5 – Application ................................................................................................................. 10
Chapter 6 – Relations ................................................................................................................... 10
Chapter7 – Future study ............................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 2 – Relational Modelling vs.Semantic Analysis ...................................................................... 12
2.1.1 Information System .............................................................................................................. 12
2.1.2 Information Systems as Social Systems.............................................................................. 12
2.2 Semantic Analysis and Semiotics .............................................................................................. 13
2.2.1 Semiotics ............................................................................................................................. 13
2.2.2 Introduction to Semantic Analysis ........................................................................................ 13
2. 3 Semantic Terminology ............................................................................................................... 15
2.4 Relational Modelling: Advantages & Disadvantages .................................................................. 15
2.5 Semantic Relational Modelling: Advantages & Disadvantages.................................................. 17
2.6 The best fit Model ....................................................................................................................... 18
Chapter 3: Ontology, Semantic Normal Form and Norm Analysis ...................................................... 20
3. 1 Semantic Normal Form .............................................................................................................. 20
3.2 Norms ......................................................................................................................................... 21
3.3 Norm Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 22
3.4 Ontology charts .......................................................................................................................... 23
Chapter 4: The Hajj Case Study .......................................................................................................... 25
4.1 Why the Hajj Business Case ...................................................................................................... 25
4.2 Complexities of the Hajj Business Case ..................................................................................... 26
4.2 Hajj Activities in order ................................................................................................................. 27
4.3 Current processes: ..................................................................................................................... 28
Re-produce the diagram showing the current processes here .......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.4 Proposed Processes .................................................................................................................. 31
Re-produce the diagram showing the proposed processes here....... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.5 Literature Review on the research on the Hajj case study ........... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Chapter 5 Semantic Analysis of Hajj .................................................................................................... 37
5.1 Problem definition: ...................................................................................................................... 37
5.2 Candidate affordance generation and Candidate grouping: ...................................................... 37
Registration Process ..................................................................................................................... 37
Identification Process .................................................................................................................... 38
Retrieval Process .......................................................................................................................... 39
5.3 Ontology Chart: .......................................................................................................................... 40
Chapter 6 Design of Hajj Database ..................................................................................................... 44
6.1 Derived Objects ....................................................................................................................... 44
6.2 Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 48
Chapter 7 Future Study ........................................................................................................................ 52
Reference List: ..................................................................................................................................... 53
Appendix (if any) .................................................................................................................................. 57
Chapter 1: Introduction
1. 1 Project Motivation:
Database systems play key role in the administration and management of the
businesses today. A database system is an integral component of an Information
System. Despite tremendous technological advancement, current information
systems have a number of problems. According to Stamper, more than 50%
systems perform less than 50% of their requirements. One of the problems of the
systems today is their inability to adapt to ongoing changes that organisations have
to deal with in their day-to-day activities. This results in organisations incurring a
large maintenance bill. Since the technology is a fast growing component, systems
are required to be updated and modernised to be efficient and competent.
Maintenance of the system requires timely action, which uses many resources, as
changes occur. Therefore, the real concern is to make the organisations system as
adaptable to the changes as possible.
Most of the current Information Systems today use Relational Database Systems. A
relational database system is a set of normalised relations or tables. Relational
database systems enjoy the mathematical base- the relational algebra. Moreover,
the relational analytical method is relatively simple to perform and conform to
standard architecture. This has resulted in a standard relational query language for
relational databases namely, the Structure Query Language (SQL). Despite all these
advantages, normalised relations are malignant to ongoing changes, resulting to
various maintenance issues. Overtime, the systems are rendered useless, and many
a times live a considerable short life.
This is where semantic analysis helps, as it is claimed to be one of the most useful
methodologies to develop and analyse the business requirements. This analysis
produces detailed designs of the systems, providing flexibility, stability and immunity
to changes. As a result, less money is spent on adapting to the changes or any
ongoing maintenance costs. Pressman (2005) supports the argument that about 80
percent of cost is placed “for adapting existing systems to changes in their external
environment, making enhancements requested by users, reengineering an
application for future use”. (Poernomo and Tsaramirsis. 2008)
Overall, Semantic Analysis is a technique to analyse the user requirements. It claims
that it is based on reality and tries to model organizations in a way that they are able
to sustain changes in the future. The main outcome of this analysis is a set of charts
called ontology charts. Some principles are incorporated to draw an ontology charts.
These principles are called Semantic Normal Form (SNF), which helps to create a
quality and stable model of the organization.
Semantic analysis can be integrated into organisational systems easily and the
product relations can be extended for future needs. Semantic Analysis method is
found to be costlier than other methods. However, the cost of implementing a
system based on Semantic Analysis technique may also be high, but the cost of
maintenance is very cheap. As a result, organisations from this method have a cost
save benefit.
The Hajj case study involves many activities, which requires a huge database
environment to support the processing of the pilgrim records and provide the ability
to disseminate the information. Currently, there is no centralised database to support
the Hajj operations.
1. 2 Project Aims and Objectives:
The main academic aim of this project is to learn superior skills in Semantic Analysis
technique, ontology charts and deriving objects or relations from ontology charts.
This analysis will be used to derive objects, which can be converted to relations. By
converting ontology charts to object, which can be manipulated as relations, we can
benefit from many advantages of relational design, including a relational DBMS. In
this manner the relations would result from Semantic Analysis rather than the Entity-
Relationship diagram.
The other equally important aims of this project are to show the understanding of
various terms used under the Semiotic principles. These are related to Semantic
Analysis and Norm Analysis. Furthermore, the application related theory like
Ontology charts, from where relations can be mapped, will be further investigated.
The application of these theories will be used on the Hajj case study through the
three processes: registration process, information process and retrieval process.
1.3 Project Limitations:
Time was a factor since Hajj is such a large case study and only few of the
processes were taken into account. However if there was more time to spend on the
other aspects of the case study then there may have been a more detailed analysis
of the case study in terms of the ways Hajj can be managed.
The concepts are relatively new and most of the technology used to fully implement
the design resulting in Semantic Temporal Database Systems is not commercially
available. This has hampered to assist with understanding the theory in its full
context. On the other hand, the Hajj case involves very complex process, and so the
results presented here will always be subject to reviews.
The Hajj case study takes place overseas so there is really no possibility to get any
feedback from the authorities of Saudi Arabia.
1.4 Deliverables:
The key deliverables of this report are:
1. Semiotic Concepts
2. Semantic Normal Form
3. Ontology Charts
4. Norm Analysis
5. Semantic Normal Form
6. Design of an Object/Relational Database System based on the Semantic
Analysis for the Hajj Database System
An advantage of Semantic Relational Database System is that it still can use many
constructs of the relational DBMSs, requiring very little changes in the existing
organisations. It is well known that the large business can not afford to make major
changes unless they are absolutely necessary.
1.5 Summary of other Chapters:
Chapter 2 – Literature review
This chapter will highlight the relevant theory applicable to the Hajj case study.
Basically this involves discussion of the Semiotic theory where Semantic Analysis
will be the main focus.
Chapter 3 – Theory
In this chapter, some relevant terms will be discussed in order to understand the
principles of Semantic Analysis due to Stamper. Ontology charts, Semantic Normal
Form and Norm Analysis will be discussed with examples.
Chapter 4 - Hajj case study In this chapter, the Hajj case study will be presented in detail; highlighting the current
administrative and management problems. This will involve a brief description of the
activities that occur during Hajj. Also a justification for selecting this case study and
the reasons for applying semantic analysis will be discussed. This chapter will also
give an account of the research done on the Hajj case study.
Chapter 5 – Application
This chapter will show how semantic analysis is applied to Hajj case study, with all
four phases of the analysis. There will be a section on the Ontology charts where all
three selected processes from the Hajj case study will be analysed.
Chapter 6 – Relations
As discussed earlier, the relations will be derived from the Ontology charts. In
addition, an analysis will be done to see how these relations may differ from other
ways of modelling, example ERD and class diagrams.
Chapter7 – Future study
In this chapter, some future directions will be discussed. Some of the additional
concepts associated with the Semantic Analysis will be discussed. These extra
concepts will help in the future case study.
Chapter 2 – Relational Modelling vs. Semantic Analysis
2.1.1 Information System
The Information Systems in Organisation unit at the University of Canberra states
that the Information Systems (IS) are primarily concerned with providing information
to support people taking actions (http://www.ise.canberra.edu.au/un6348/lectures).
A definition from Britannica, states that an information system is “an integrated set of
components for collecting, storing, processing, and communicating information.” In
addition, most firms or organisations use information systems to manage their
operations, compete in the marketplace, supply services, and augment personal
lives (Britannica. n.d). According to Wikipedia the term information system (IS)
sometimes refers to a system of persons, data records and activities that process
the data and information in an organization, and it includes the organization's
manual and automated processes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_system).
On the Melbourne University website, the Information Systems are described as
‘Information systems is the study of the application and use of information
technology - hardware, software, networks, and database - by individuals and
organisations’ (http://www.unimelb.edu.au/HB/areas/SINFSYS.html)
2.1.2 Information Systems as Social Systems
There are considerably different views expressed about the Information Systems.
Stamper (1997) regards Information System as a social or organisational system.
Liu (2000) defined it as social interaction systems, stating “Social and organisational
infrastructure, human activities and business processes are considered as part of
information systems”. From this, we can infer that Information systems can create
messages, communicate, generate information, and define and amend meanings. In
fact, information can be taken as signs. Therefore, in the words of Ketabchi (2008)
‘signs’ is the main concern for information systems analysis and design.
2.2 Semantic Analysis and Semiotics
2.2.1 Semiotics
The concept of semiotics is about studying signs and sign-systems. Basically to
describe, analyse and interpret the communication and culture of the problem
definition. Stamper has constructed six distinct fields with the following steps in
order: physical world, empirics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and social world. The
study of Semiotics offers a deeper understanding of the problem definition in various
levels ranging from technical to social and organisational issues. (Cordeiro and
Filipe. n.d)
The semiotic framework consists of semantic analysis and norm analysis, which are
going to be the main focus for the project.
2.2.2 Introduction to Semantic Analysis
Semantic analysis is a business analysis method that is designed to capture the
system requirements or it can be said that it maps the information inside the social
system. Furthermore (Ades; 2007) Semantic Analysis is “also an analytical tool for
Data Administration, Data Resource Management, Information Resource
Management, Data Architecture, Data Management, and Information Architecture”.
(Sani, 2008)
The Semantic Analysis consists of the concepts of affordance, ontological
dependency and agent.” Moreover, there are four main phases involved in semantic
analysis; problem definition, candidate affordance generation, candidate grouping,
and ontology chart. Usually the requirements are presented as text but the method
that is used to simplify the problem is Ontology Charts that formally denote the
systems requirements roles, relationships and forms of communication. (Sani, 2008)
and (Liu, K. 2004)
Problem definition:
This phase involves the collection of documents that state the relevant information
related to describe the social system. Also other methods may include by surveying
and interviewing the main stakeholders to get a detailed glimpse of the social
system. Keeping in mind the terminologies and attitude that will be used in relation to
the social systems. Therefore using these documents and other sources of
information it is very important to have a clear understand of the social system.
(Sani, 2008)
Candidate affordance generation:
Candidate affordance generation phase involves studying all the key words found
from the problem definition documents. Key words specified by Liebenau (1990) are
of the categories of “proper nouns name objects, common nouns name sets of
objects, verbs name actions, prepositions name relations.” Although it is very
important that these verb and nouns have clear and complete definitions making
sure that none are ignored. (Sani, 2008)
Candidate grouping:
This phase involves classifying the affordances into separate groups. These groups
are specifically agents, entities, determiners, relationships, and communication acts.
The affordances are important to be categorised because it helps us to have a better
picture of the relationship. These affordance groups will be explained in detail under
the ontology chart section. (Sani, 2008)
Ontology chart:
This phase involves generating an Ontology chart from the above categorised
affordances. These affordances will be connected together with lines, where one
end will have the dependant and the other end will have the antecedent. (Sani,
2008) (Liu, K. 2004). Ontology charts will be discussed in detail under the ontology
chart section.
From the following example it can be seen that ‘A’ is illustrated to be the antecedent
of ‘B’ and ‘B’ is seen to be the dependant of ‘A’.
2. 3 Semantic Terminology
2.4 Relational Modelling: Advantages & Disadvantages
2.4.1 Advantages of the Relational model
From my earlier studies of Relational Database Design, I am in a position to realise
many advantages of Relational Modelling, which are summarised as follows:
1. Relational Model is simple as it deals with tables, which most designers feel
comfortable with.
2. Relational modelling has Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) as its de facto
conceptual modelling tool. Dealing with ERD is much easier than dealing with
Ontology charts or Objects.
3. Relational model is supported by the three level ANSI architecture, which in
nutshell provides separation of operational data and the programming logic,
which is known as Data Independence. This enables maintenance team
(Database Administrators) to make changes without having to change the
external or user views.
4. Relational Model enjoys the mathematical theory of Relations, resulting in a
standard design for all database management systems. Another advantage of
systems conforming to the well founded theory of relational is that systems
have a standard query language. We know that this language is the
Structured Query Language (SQL).
A B
5. Relational Database Management Systems are widely used by the IT
industry. It has some very popular commercial systems like MySQL, SQL
Server, Oracle and DB2. Therefore the vendor assistance is readily available.
6. Relational Model can also implement relations obtained from Semantic or
Object models and hence can extend the use of other facilities provided by
the underlying DNMS, including the SQL. This in fact is the latest
development and it has emerged because both the Object Oriented Database
Systems and Semantic Temporal Database Systems lack a standard
architecture and a mathematical base.
2.4.2 Anomalies of Relational Model
We know that any relational design is a schema of normalised relations. Some of the
disadvantages that a relational model has can be summarised as follows:
1. Relations derived from an Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) present only
single view of the business and are glued to the current business
requirements. This presents a number of problems when the organisational
requirements change.
2. Normalisation of relations minimises redundancy but leads to a substantial
increase in the number of relations. Consequently, when retrieving data from
the database, SQL results in many join operations. We know that a join
operation, which basically converts to a Cartesian product in relational
algebra, is time intensive. As a result, the performance of a relational
database system may be very poor.
3. Another problem with the relational model is that its normalised relations
adhere to a strict set of business rules. In other words, if the business
changes its rules, the relations have to be changed. As the businesses
require frequent changes and re-adjust to new realities, the relational schema
will have to be modified to accommodate these changes. These changes or
lack of them results in slowing the performance of the systems. Many a times,
the systems cannot cope up with the amount of changes, and hence have to
be redesigned.
4. An implication of the forgoing discussion is that the maintenance of the
systems based on relational modelling (normalisation) is very high. This adds
to the hardware bill as well. Some researchers (Connolly & Begg et al; 2004)
have found this cost to be as much as 80% of the entire project.
2.5 Semantic Relational Modelling: Advantages & Disadvantages
2.5.1 Advantages of Semantic Model
SNF (Semantic Normal Form) theory is a set of rules and criteria that brings stability,
flexibility and extensibility to the database schema; therefore, contains of a high
quality. It is found that SNF is immune to malignant changes, which are changes that
involve re-writing the software. As a result, the maintenance cost is quite cheap as
well as the support for these systems. Consequently, the SNF based information
systems are seen to be adaptive to the organisational changes. However, it can be
seen that the advantages of using the SNF theory are very high but organisation still
hesitate to use them because the cost of implementation maybe slightly higher.
(Sani, 2008)
There were other advantages discovered. The semantic model represents all the
essential but relevant business rules in the expression of graphics that is it has the
ability to express in much more depth. Another advantage is that this model is able
to be used together with other modelling approaches. The semantic model is that is
also able to describe the semantics of the data. Other than that, the object sphere
type objects, entities, are clearly defined, whereas it is also able to state their
features, attributes, and the relationship between them are specified. (Tujarov and
Mihailov. 2004)
2.5.2 Disadvantages of Semantic Model
In spite of Semantic Analysis being a very powerful way of modelling database
systems, there are a few disadvantages when it comes to implementation. Firstly,
the analytical method or modelling methodology is somewhat complex. In terms of
time and effort, it may be considerate. Despite it being a superior analytical method,
it is only being used by the industry on a limited scale.
Semantic Analysis is very well founded in Semiotics, Logic and in general
Mathematics. However, the Semantic Temporal database system is still searching
for a mathematical framework. For example, a relational DBMS will have SQL as its
default database language. We know that SQL is well founded in the theory of
relations. However, LEGOL, a database language for Semantic Temporal database
management systems, still searching for a mathematical base. Moreover, there is no
standard architecture for the Semantic Temporal DBMSs. All of this leads to
conclude that implementation of Semantic Normal Form compliant systems is
expensive backed by a Semantic Temporal DBMS can be very expensive.
In addition, another disadvantage is that since very few organisations use this
method to create their information systems. There seems to be fewer experts
available that fully understand the study of Semiotics and how to use Semantic
analysis. To train staff to learn these techniques seems to be more expensive and
time consuming.
IT industry invests a very low budget for modelling in general, leave alone Semantic
Modelling. This results in systems performing poorly. Stamper (xxx) says that ‘More
than half of the systems do not fulfil more than half of their requirements’.
2.6 The best fit Model
In the light of foregoing discussion, Semantic Analysis method is a very powerful
method to analyse the components in a system and how they relate to each other.
As previously mentioned, Semantic analysis will be used to analyse the case study.
It will be used to identify the entire component of the case study, namely
affordances. However the semantic analysis will be used to create a schema of with
the help of Ontology charts but the end design will be converted to objects/relations.
The resulting database can be implemented a Relational database - known as
Semantic Relational database. The main reason for implementing the database as
relations is based on the commercial unavailability of Database Management
System which could implement a purely semantic model. In other words the query
language such as LEGOL supporting a Semantic Temporal DBMS, is also not
available commercially.
As we know that the advantages from this approach are that Semantic Modelling
results in systems which are stable and robust. Robust means that they sustain
ongoing changes easily and hence are less likely to fail as compared to purely
relational design, which requires changes in the system if the business rules are
altered. For this reason, maintenance of relational systems (Connolly and Begg et al;
(2005) is very high. Some researchers, e.g. (Connolly & Begg, 2005), claim that up-
to 80% of budget of a project is consumed by the ongoing maintenance.
Relational design completely submits to the one set of business rules, where as the
relations derived from Semantic modelling will be relevant to additional or changing
constraints – that is why the Semantic database are stable, low maintenance and
less malignant.
Since the business word is very dynamic and volatile, business requirements and
rules change rapidly. A relational database system would require redesign once the
business rules are changed – that is why the cost of maintenance of existing
(relational) systems is very high. In this rapidly changing world of business,
Semantic Relational database is the answer.
Since Semantic Relational model retains relational/table structure, the industry can
still utilise the expertise of existing experts. The only change advocated in Semantic
Relational Design is the re-positioning of modelling techniques.
Chapter 3: Semantic Normal Form, Norm Analysis and Ontology Charts
3. 1 Semantic Normal Form
Semantic Normal Form (SNF) is the theory that emphasises Semantic Analysis, and
is based on the Ontology charts of the business. As mentioned above that SNF is
really a set of principles and rules to ensure that the model is stable and immune to
big changes, or malignant changes. (Sani. 2008), (Salter. 2001)
Furthermore, SNF is actually a schema for representing information in the semantic
temporal database that determines the information captured with each
representation of the agents and affordances that make up the organisation. (Salter.
2001)
As identified by Y. Ades (2007) the rules of SNF are:
1. One real world object should be referred to one computer object.
2. In creating objects, analyst must use user terminologies for clarity.
3. Associations must be binary (antecedent-dependent).
4. The existence of dependant depends on the existence of antecedent.
5. Cardinality of each association should be one- to- many (1: M).
6. Role names must be consistent and they should not be used as the affordance
names.
7. Each affordance has a start date and finish date.
8. Implied antecedent classes must be included.
9. Generalizations must be genuine; no overlap between sub-classes, no
instantiation.
These rules give a clear indication that the cost of implementation of SNF compliant
software maybe more as a lot of time and resources are placed to do this detailed
analysis. Although, the cost of maintenance and support will be much less, as most
of the thinking would have already been done to implement the system. (Sani, 2008)
3.2 Norms
The concept of Norm can be demonstrated by a definition by Stamper (1997) who
defined norms as a legal or ethical pattern in a social context. The norms can be
captured from official documents, behaviours or oral communications. In addition,
Stamper (2000) stated that “norm is more like a field of force that makes the
members of the community tend to behave or think in a certain way”. Thus, it can be
analysed and said that norms are mostly for showing the agent’s behaviour and their
constraints in a social system. Norms are usually social in nature, like laws,
regulations, rules, which restrain or determine the agent’s actions. People share
‘Norms’ and these can be jointly formed to information fields (IF), which lead to a
new paradigm – the IF paradigm. The information fields correspond to a set of
norms that are shared by a particular social group like a family, an organization, and
a department, which regulates their expected behaviour. (Sani, 2008) and (Cordeiro
and Filipe. 2007)
Wrights (1963) had introduced 6 components for norms, which will be introduced
below. The first is Character which is the effect of norm, in general; “must not” for
prohibitive, “may” for permissive, and “ought to” for obligatory. The next is Content
which is the action stipulated in the norm. Furthermore, Condition is the where the
situations in which the norm should be applied. Authority are the agent(s) who
issues the norm. Subject(s) are the agent(s) who is authorised to apply the norm.
Lastly, Occasion is the location or time of application of the norm. (Sani, 2008)
Every affordance has a start-time and a finish-time. Norms control the start and the
finish time of an affordance. Norms have many categories, where one of them is the
“If condition then consequence.” (Liu K., Salter A) The above category stating the ‘if’
and ‘then’ statement, where condition part conclude the type of information required
by the norm-subject (an individual person or a group) to be able to obey it. The
consequence part leads to the creation of information for others whether it is directly
through sending messages or indirectly through the influence of the norm upon
actions. Life could be much easier if the various norm-subjects were known, who are
the agents in the organisation and if the specific norms they obey are known. Then
the information needed by individual or group agencies in the organisation can be
deduced and the product they produce for others to use can be deduced. (Stamper
R. K., Liu K., Hafkamp M., Ades Y., 2000)
3.3 Norm Analysis
From Norm comes Norm Analysis that supports to analyse and extract the patterns
of behaviour inside the social system. Norm analysis is a powerful technique to
capture and map signs, their relations and their effects. (Sani, 2008)
The complete process of norm analysis contains the following four steps: (Liu K.,
Salter A) and (Sani, 2008)
1. Responsibility analysis: this determines the agent that may be responsible for
the start or finish of a particular.
2. Information analysis: For making decision concerning the particular, it is
important to collect information. This stage basically helps to identify the
relevant information which is used as a checklist so that the agent is able to
make decisions while considering all factors.
3. Trigger analysis: this helps to identify the absolute and the relative time of
each action, where absolute is the calendar time of the action and relative
time is the time of the action when referring to other events.
4. Detailed norm specification: is the final stage of norm analysis where the
content of the norm is fully specified and is usually written in two versions.
The first version is the natural language, which is taken as a reference for
human demonstration and decisions, and the second that is a formal
language for being executed inside the computerized information system to
automate part of the social behaviour. Further study of these aspects would
be conducted sometime in future.
3.4 Ontology charts
Stamper’s theory of organisational semiotics uses the ontology charts for the centre
of analysis. Ontology Charts can be seen as a diagrammatic language. It enables to
model the organisation. It also is a good tool to analyse and design the information
systems for the organisation by offering a stable and precise view of organisational
requirements. Stamper’s theory follows a set of methods for requirements analysis
that is the methods for eliciting, analysing, and specifying users’ requirements
methods. (Cordeiro and Filipe. 2007)
A few assumptions need to be made in order to follow ontology charts theory. First,
there is no knowledge without a knower, and second, His knowledge depends upon
what he does. (Cordeiro and Filipe. 2007)
Ontology charts consist of nodes linked together which are graphically positioned
together with a line that represents ontological dependency relations directed from
left to right as mentioned above in semantic analysis section. The affordances that
are situated left side are ontologically dependant on the right side affordances.
Consider a situation where if an affordance is finished, then all its dependants will
finish as well. (Poernomo, I and Tsaramirsis, G. 2008.)
The beginning of an Ontology charts begins with the ‘Root.’ However, some
affordances cannot exist without the existence of one or more antecedents except
the ‘Root’ affordance that does not have an antecedent. (Poernomo, I and
Tsaramirsis, G. 2008.)
The nodes in the ontology charts are called affordances; these affordances are
divided into many categories varying from agents (actors), communication acts,
entities, determiners and other affordances. The agent affordance can take legal
responsibility and can afford an action. Whereas, Entities cannot take legal
responsibility and cannot take action, and neither can they represent a relationship.
Determiners are a unique class of affordances that are used to maintain the
antecedent’s data. Communication Acts can be formal or informal, social
communications of an agent communicating to some other affordance. Usually the
agents are represented by the cycle shape, the square for other affordances, the
rounded rectangle to represent entities, the hash character (#) to represent
determiners and the exclamation character () to represent communication acts.
(Poernomo and Tsaramirsis. 2008) (Liu, K. 2004)
Chapter 4: The Hajj Case Study
4.1 Why the Hajj Business Case
There were various reasons why the Hajj case study was chosen to design a
database system from the Semantic Analysis. Firstly, the Hajj is real business case,
ongoing, and complex set of activities and rituals. Secondly, Hajj presents a large
population and has a large number of activities, providing an interesting and
challenging case to analyse. Thirdly, the Hajj pilgrims travel from over a hundred
countries involving many ethnicities and languages. Finally, there is very little that is
known to have been done to improve the Hajj Management. Currently, the Hajj
mangers do not use a central database system, which makes simple tasks look
complex. It is hoped that this project on the Hajj case study, may be able to create
awareness amongst the researchers to suggest a management framework which
could persuade the Hajj Organisers to better manage the Hajj activities before
another major accident takes place. It is well known that hundreds of pilgrims have
lost their lives due to poor management resulting in stampedes, fires and building
collapses. To avoid or manage such catastrophes, a central database management
system plays a decisive role.
4.2 Literature Review on the research on the Hajj case study
Previously there were a few projects done on the Hajj case study but the areas that
were looked were not as detailed. One project that was by Omer (2006) had a very
vague or incomplete description of Hajj and the complexities it comprises. It was
seen that his project only provided a means to get a glimpse understanding of the
case study. However, the next subject for whom this case study was used was for
Document and Workflow Management (Israfil, F., Ashcroft, J., Do, A., Al-Kadi, O and
Yamin, U. 2007). This subject report provided a better depth of Hajj and assisted
with the basic modelling; but again this report did not provide a good analysis of the
problems. The next project that used this case study was of Database Systems
(Mathur, A., Yamin, U., Do, A and Anne. 2007). This project enabled the team to
implement a database and create schemas, like detailed class diagrams. This case
study provided a detailed analysis of the whole Hajj situation in Saudi Arabia. Yamin
wrote a number of research articles and papers but their emphasis is on the Sensor
technologies to improve the Hajj Management.
One of the earlier researches, including the above projects has never studied
Semantic Analysis Method for analysing Hajj business or to design a Database
Systems based on the Semantic Analysis. This was mainly the reason why this
project was initiated. While I have been able to find many interesting aspects of
analysis, while handling a very large and complex case study, I have extended my
knowledge by learning a new modelling technique– the Semantic Analysis.
4.3 Complexities of the Hajj Business Case
Every year, millions of pilgrims travel to a sacred city Mecca, Saudi Arabia to
perform Hajj, which enriches the pilgrims spiritually. The main part of the Hajj is a set
of very complex and intense activities, which each pilgrim must complete over the
four-day pilgrimage. These four days are fixed and the question of individual options
does not arise. The fixed four days of Hajj are from 8th to 11th of the Arabic month of
Dhul-Hijja. Since the Arabic calendar is lunar, therefore the Hajj period keeps shifting
by 10-11 days every year, which has both advantages and disadvantages
Each year Hajj is performed by 4-6 million people. Due to the extremely large
number of participants, management of large numbers of people can be a very
complex task. Currently, Hajj is managed manually, and its management is far from
being satisfactory. There have many major accidents like fire, stampedes etc
resulting in the loss of hundreds of precious lives. A framework for Hajj
Management, which involves sensor and mobile technologies, and a central
database, has been discussed in (Yamin, 06, 07 and 08). In this project, the aim is to
suggest a design of the Hajj Database Management System, based on Semantic
Analysis. The Hajj database is one of the core requirements to improve the Hajj
Management (Yamin).
Due to the complexity and importance of the business case, some activities of Hajj
need to be summarised. The main activities of Hajj (reference – either from your
assignment or from internet or from my papers or from all of these sources) include
4.3 Hajj Activities in order
The Hajj journey begins when a pilgrim travels from their home country to Saudi
Arabia. The pilgrims arrive in Jeddah1 where from the pilgrims travel to either Mecca,
the centre of the pilgrimage, or Medina which is about four hundred kilometres from
Mecca. Just a day before the most important ritual in Valley of Arafat Mountains, all
pilgrims travel to the tent city of Mina which is situated about 15 KM from Mecca.
Mina is the starting point of Hajj, which involves extensive travel around the clock for
the next four days.
Once the pilgrim arrives in Mina on 8th of Dul-Hijja2, they dress in their pilgrimage
garments3 to indicate that their intentions of performing Hajj have begun. Next
morning each pilgrim travels, either by road transport or on foot, to the plains of
Arafat4 and spends a portion of the day standing in the valley of Arafat and listen to
a sermon. This activity is the mandatory ritual of the Hajj (If a pilgrim does not make
to Arafat then Hajj is not considered to have been completed). Towards the end of
the day (but before the sun set), each of the millions of pilgrims must leave Arafat to
the hills of Mudzallifah. Every pilgrim spends whole or part of the night in
Mudzallifah. Every pilgrim then returns to Mina in the morning of 9th Dul-Hijja. On
that day several rituals are performed, which include symbolic stoning of Satan5,
travel to Mecca for circling of the Kaaba, shaving of the head, sacrificing a lamb or
providing equivalent money in charity, and returning back to Mina. During the next
two days (11th and 12th Dul-Hijja), the ritual of stoning the symbol of devil continues.
During this time, pilgrims stay in the tent city of Mina and perform and perform their
1 Main port of entry to Saudi Arabia 2 An Arabic calendar moth in which the Hajj takes place 3 For men, two piece white un-stitched garments and for women any color garments without covering the face, hands and feet 4 About 15 KM from Mina 5 These are three cites, where Ismail, the son of Abraham, is believed to have been tempered by the devil. Earlier pillars used to symbolize these three sites but due to several stampedes, wide enough walls symbolise those sites.
prayers and listen to sermons. On 12th Dul-Hijja, the final day of the pilgrimage, the
pilgrims return to Mecca and once again circle around Kaaba seven times, which
completes the Hajj.
The volume of pilgrims, their travel to the same sites within the space of six to eight
hours, performance of the same rituals at the same sites within 8-10 hours, meeting
multiple travel deadlines, make Hajj a very complex set and vulnerable set of
activities. As Hajj is based on the lunar calendar, which shifts it backward by 10-11
days every year, some years Hajj would fall in the Saudi Arabia summer. During the
Saudi Arabian summer, the day temperatures soar close to 50 degrees Celsius. This
surely adds to the complexities of the Hajj. During the last decade, there have been
several stampedes, fires, building collapses and other incidents resulting in
hundreds of lives.
4.4 Current processes:
The current administration and management of pilgrims of Hajj is largely manual,
except for using some computerised file systems. Some government departments
use their own management systems but their information is not integrated with the
current administration and management of the Hajj. Data is often stored in files of
different formats for different departments. Many of these files use their own means
of identification, which would make it difficult to someone wanting to link the
individual databases. Since there is no centralised database system for the overall
management of information, there are many problems when attempting to compile
personal information, which is scattered across several incompatible filing systems.
The current system is described by, tother with the following Rich Picture, by (Israfil,
F., Ashcroft, J., Do, A., Al-Kadi, O and Yamin, U. 2007).
Rich Picture: Current Processes
Agent
Local Pilgrim
Manager
Pilgrim Group
Local Aurthority
Airport Staff
Certified Doctor
Sponsors
Hospital
Police
Wrist band
Provides details
Leads group
Registers for perm
ission
Organises facilities
Gives report
Gives health test
Perform immigration process
Enters pilgrims data
identified
Sends applicationcustodian
Embassy
Informs to stamp visa
Maulim
Morgue
Local Database
Identify
Identify
Passport collection
During the current registration process, pilgrims are provided with identifying wrist
bands; these wrist tags provide only limited information about the pilgrim’s identity.
In cases where these bands are damaged or lost there can be major problems in
identifying the pilgrim, especially when the pilgrim is lost and is unable to
communicate. This may lead the identification to be impossible (Israfil, F., Ashcroft,
J., Do, A., Al-Kadi, O and Yamin, U. 2007).
The current system has no provision in place for collecting medical details of the
pilgrims before issuing them with a visa. This puts other pilgrims at risk of catching
communicable diseases, carried by affected pilgrims. Currently, each pilgrim is
required to undergo certain immunisations before a visa can be granted. However,
immunisations differ from country to country and no records are kept of individuals’
immunisations. The pilgrims from the third world countries are most likely not to fully
implement the immunisation process (Israfil, F., Ashcroft, J., Do, A., Al-Kadi, O and
Yamin, U. 2007).
When so many people are gathered in one place it is inevitable that people will get
sick and that there will be some deaths. In order to deal with such eminent
situations, hospitals require medical and personal information about their patients.
Hospital staff can have difficulty in identifying pilgrims especially those who come
from other countries. In cases when a patient dies without leaving any visible
information, the hospital may not be able to inform the Maulim about the fate of the
pilgrim. Even if the wrist band was found6 with the body, it may take considerable
time, sometimes up to days, to identify the body. In some cases, especially when the
tag is missing, the body may never be identified. The police and the morgue suffer
the same problem. They may also be unable to identify a pilgrim who has been
arrested or has died (Israfil, F., Ashcroft, J., Do, A., Al-Kadi, O and Yamin, U. 2007).
The Maulim is responsible for managing all the pilgrims in their group and looking
after them. The pilgrimage encompasses many places and the number of pilgrims is
usually is between four to six million. This exacerbates the problems of looking after
a group of people. If a problem occurs with one of the pilgrims, that is if they are lost
or injured, the Maulim may not be able to find them and may not know that they are
in trouble; since tracking is impossible. (Israfil, F., Ashcroft, J., Do, A., Al-Kadi, O and
Yamin, U. 2007), (Mathur, A., Yamin, U., Do, A and Anne. (2007)
Passport handling is a big issue. When pilgrims reach at the airport, their passports
are given to and held by the groups Maulim. From that time until the pilgrims return
to the airport, at the end of pilgrimage, the passports remain in the custody of the
Maulim. When pilgrims move from one city to another, the Maulim carries the
passports and produces them at the various checkpoints along the journey. At the
end of the journey, the passports are returned to the office of the Maulim. In this
6 Many pilgrims do note care about their wrist bands
process, some passports can be lost, since they are being carried throughout the
pilgrimage. Moreover, it can be difficult to expedite journeys in emergencies. The
details can be found in the ISE project reports by Israfil, F., Ashcroft, J., Do, A., Al-
Kadi, O and Yamin, U. (2007), and Mathur, A., Yamin, U., Do, A and Anne. (2007).
Other problems relate to the extensive waiting times in the airports. This is where the
pilgrims have to wait for hours to have completed the immigration clearance process
or for other checking’s (Mathur, A., Yamin, U., Do, A and Anne. (2007).
The main parts of Hajj are within the two-day period where all the pilgrims perform
the same activities at the same time. This involves all pilgrims moving together to
one city to another through bus travel or even walking. Walking is seemed to be
easier as travelling by a vehicle may take up to six hours to reach a distance of 15
KM between Mina and Mecca. The traffic jams are caused due to the intensive
crowd, where all pilgrims travel to the same place at the same time (Mathur, A.,
Yamin, U., Do, A and Anne. (2007).
4.5 Proposed Processes
To manage an event like Hajj, organisers need to employ the best available
technology to ensure the well being of its participants. Current Hajj management
system, based on partly computerised files, is insufficient to manage the large
number7 of pilgrims (M Yamin, 2007). The Proposed Hajj Framework, as described
by (M Yamin, 2008) uses sensor and RFID networks to track pilgrims during the
extended8 period of Hajj. The proposed Hajj management framework would store
the data of the pilgrims within the central database, which would be linked to the
sensor and RFID networks. This would not only provide a framework for storing and
retrieving pilgrim information but also be able to track and identify lost or dead
pilgrims. As discussed earlier, the current system is incapable to track, in real time,
the pilgrims that are lost, injured or dead. There are many other benefits of the
7 The Saudi gazette for 2007 claimed about 4 million pilgrims, where as the satellite mesh of the Arafat valley estimated the number to be 6.1 million. 8 Despite Hajj being a four days activity, the actual stay of pilgrims range between two to four weeks
proposed framework, for details, see (M Yamin; 2007) and (Israfil, F., Ashcroft, J.,
Do, A., Al-Kadi, O and Yamin, U. 2007).
Rich Picture: Proposed ProcessesHajj Management System
Hajj management
systemAgent
Local Pilgrim
Manager
Pilgrim Group
Local Aurthority
Airport Staff
Certified Doctor
Sponsors
Hospital
MPO/Police
E-Tag
Registe
rs for p
ermissi
on
Organ
ises
facilities
Gives report
Gives
health
test
Collects infgormation
Enter/retrieve information
Biometric identification
Checks identity
Track inform
ationEnters pilgrim
s da
ta
Reads information
Registers local pilgrim
iden
tified
Sends application
custodian
Reads information
Visa Office -Embassy
Informs to stamp visa
RFID enabled watch
Distribute
Maulim
Morgue
Enter/retrieve information
Most of the current management problems can be solved through integrating a
Centralised Hajj Database together with suitable Sensor & RFID networks. In the
proposed system, the Hajj database will be used for storing and retrieving the pilgrim
information. This with the Sensor network may be used to track or identify pilgrims
with in the designated Hajj areas.
The Hajj activities in the proposed system can be divided into a number of
processes, which are described in (M Yamin; 2007). Due to the size and complexity
of the processes involved in the Hajj, this report will focus primarily on three of the
processes found in the proposed management system. Those processes are:
• The Registration Process. This process begins when the pilgrim first
contacts the Maulim9 and expresses her/his interest to perform Hajj. The
process is completed once the pilgrim receives confirmation for visa to travel
to Saudi Arabia along with an E-tag10.
The Identification Process. The process begins with the arrival of pilgrim at
the Hajj terminal (or other airport) in Saudi Arabia. One of the activities to be
performed by the airport staff is to take every pilgrim’s biometric scans and
store the information into the Hajj database. After the completion of
immigration clearance, RFID enabled watches (M Yamin; et al (2008)) are
distributed, which completes the process.
• The Information Retrieval Process. The participants and stakeholders of
this process are Maulim, Manager, MPO, Morgue, and the Hospitals. These
offices are provided resources through RFID network to track lost pilgrims.
Firstly, the data about the lost pilgrim is gathered from the Hajj database and
then the sensor network is used to track the missing pilgrim. The pilgrim ID is
provided either by the Maulim or a member of the same group. A detailed
description of this process is found in (Israfil, F., Ashcroft, J., Do, A., Al-Kadi,
O and Yamin, U. 2007).
The development of the Hajj Management System will require a detailed analysis of
the current processes for managing the workflow of pilgrims during the pilgrimage of
Hajj using different modelling techniques to determine requirements and be able to
develop appropriate solutions. This will enable the swift integration of technologies
9 A travel agent cum spiritual guide 10 Storing pilgrim IT linked with the Hajj database
and the incorporation of any changes throughout the phases, such as the ability to
track lost pilgrims during Hajj, if this was identified as a requirement.
As discussed earlier, only three processes will be discussed due to the complexities
of the case study and the time constraint. These processes, tailored to suite the
centralised processing with the help of the database system and the sensor network
are described as follows:
4.5.1 Pilgrim Registration process:
The process begins when an applicant wants to register for Hajj. At this stage, the
applicant gets in contact with a Maulim who is a registered group of people
competent to make travel and visa arrangements and is able to lead a group. The
applicant then provides their personal details to the Maulim; these would normally
the passport details, personal details and other details. The applicant would be
required to sign some contracts related to the journey and the Hajj itself. At this
stage, the applicants get their health check up from an approved health organisation
or a doctor, who has been especially assigned to generate medical reports on the
applicants current health and enters them in the Hajj database. The Maulim, if not a
travel agent, contacts an agent who especially has been assigned to deal with Hajj
visa processing. The Agent collects all the relevant information from the Maulim in
order to complete the visa application. The agent then sends the visa application to
the designated Visa sponsor. The sponsors are designated groups in Saudi Arabia,
authorised to grant Hajj visas. Based on the medical report and the visa application,
the visa approval or denial is sent to the agent. If the stream is the rejection then
applicant is rejected and the sponsors notify the Agent with the rejection reasons.
After the Agent has been notified of this decision, the Agent contacts the Maulim to
let him know of this decision. Finally, the applicant is notified that their application for
the visa has been rejected and will be told on what terms it was rejected.
As for the acceptance stream, the sponsors firstly add the successful applicant
within their database and store that information. Then the sponsors notify the
embassy of the successful applicant and indicate for them to stamp the visa of the
applicant’s passport. Once they have the passport, they stamp it. Meanwhile, the
Agent also is notified of the acceptance of the applicant for attending Hajj. Once they
have been told the agent gets the visa stamped and collect the passports from the
embassy. Furthermore, at this stage, the embassy gives an E-Tag to the Agent. The
Agent then passes these items to the Maulim, who later passes the passport and E-
tag to the applicant.
4.5.2 Pilgrim identification process:
This process begins when the pilgrim reaches at the Saudi port (usually, the Hajj
terminal at Jeddah airport). The pilgrim immigration processing begins with the
airport staff scanning the E-tag that the pilgrim had received in their country of origin.
After the pilgrim has been recognised by the E-tag, the airport staff can start
collecting the pilgrim’s passports. These passports are then handed over to the
manager who stores them. Meanwhile, the airport staffs also take the pilgrim’s
biometric scans, these can be scans of the limbs, retina etc. Then this biometric
information is transferred into many forms. This information is stored in the central
hajj database and the some information is stored in the RFID-enabled watch. Once
the data is transformed into the database and RFID enabled watch then the watch is
given to the pilgrim to wear. The pilgrims have to wear their watches before they exit
the airport.
4.5.3 Pilgrim retrieval process:
1. Retrieval process done by the Maulim: This process occurs when the Maulim
needs to search a pilgrim from their group. The Maulim only has access to the data
of their group. This search can be done using the PDA or a personal desktop or
even their laptops. The movements of pilgrims, with the help of enabled RFID writ
watches connected to the network, are stored in the database. At first, the Maulim
provides the pilgrim ID into the database, and then the database scans at what
location the pilgrim was last scanned. Once the database is able to locate all the
locations the pilgrims has been then the database sorts this data into categorical
data, that is to the most recent location the pilgrim was last seen. Then the result is
given to the Maulim who then can decide search for their group member based on
the data.
2. Retrieval process done by the Manager: This process begins when the
manager wants to retrieve some information about the Maulim or pilgrims. The
process would be the same as described above. The Manager collects the
information from the database and acts accordingly.
3. Retrieval process done by the Finder: The finder is classified as the Missing
Persons Office (MPO), police, morgue and the hospital. This process begins when a
finder has either a pilgrim who needs help to get back to their group or a pilgrim that
is unconscious/dead. In the case of the pilgrim who has lost their group, the police or
MPO can scan their E-tag or RFID enabled watch to see which group the pilgrim
belongs to and where to send him. Once the pilgrims ID is found then the Police or
MPO can contact her/his Maulim, who would usually pick-up the pilgrim. However, if
the pilgrim is unconscious or even dead and do not have an E-tag or a RFID-
enabled watch, the biometric scans will be used to identify the pilgrim. If MPO is a
hospital staff and the pilgrim has the RFID enabled watch, the hospital staff can
instantly access the pilgrim data from the database. If the pilgrim is in an
unconscious state and does not possess any ID (RFID watch or the e-tag) than
scanners can be used to scan the pilgrim limbs for identification purposes.
If the MPO is a morgue’s staff then the retrieval process will be the same as
described in the two cases above. Once the body is identified, the MPO will also be
able to find the details of the concerned Maulim and notify them of the pilgrim’s state
– dead or unconscious.
Chapter 5 Semantic Analysis of Hajj
The main aim of this chapter is to deepen the understanding of the Hajj case study
by applying the semantic analysis. The four categories will be used to define and
apply the theory into analysis and modelling.
5.1 Problem definition:
Many published documents by Mohammad Yamin, which state the problems in Hajj
and the ways these problems can be resolved.
5.2 Candidate affordance generation and Candidate grouping:
There were many affordances identified. The affordances are grouped, category of
agent, determiner, entity, relationship and role name. These groups are best
demonstrated in a table below.
Registration Process Term Affordance Group Description
Embassy Agent A legal entity, able to take action
Notice Relationship Process of informing the Embassy
Sponsor Agent A legal entity, able to take action
Person Agent A legal entity, able to take action
Pilgrim Role name A person wants to attend Hajj
Doctor Role name A person who take medical checks
Agent Role name A person that is employed to apply for visa
Name Determiner Distinguishes the unique person
Applies Relationship Process of applying for visa
Medical check Entity A health examination done by a certified
doctor
Employment Entity An institution that employees people to
perform activities
Employer Role name A person (s) that recruit team members
Representation Entity Status of the agent
Visa application Entity An application that is prepared to ask for
permission for attending Hajj
Maulim Role name A person that takes the details of pilgrim and
leads the group
Collect Relationship Process of collecting the visa and other
details
Personal Detail Entity Personal details are stored or collected
Process visa Entity An activity that takes places to assess the
visa application
Accept Communication act Accepts the visa application
Reject Communication act Rejects the visa application
Acceptance letter Entity A letter to state to the pilgrim that they are
accepted
Rejection letter Entity A letter to state to the pilgrim that they are
rejected
Passport Entity Contains the nationality, stamped visa,
pilgrim photo and other details
Stamp Relationship Process of validating the visa for Saudi
Arabia
E-tag Entity A tag that contains the pilgrims personal,
group, and other details
Generate Relationship Process of creating an E-tag
Identification Process Term Affordance Group Description
Pilgrim Role name A person that attends Hajj
Person Agent A legal entity, able to take action
Staff Role name A person that is employed for airport
services
Airport Agent A legal entity, able to take action
Immigration
process
Entity A process that involves checking the
pilgrims details
E-tag Entity A tag that contains the pilgrims personal,
group, and other details
Biometric
information
Entity A set of body information of the pilgrim that
will assist to identify the pilgrim
Scanned Relationship Process of examining the pilgrim biometric
information
Transfer Relationship Process that involves shifting the
information
Electronic report Entity A report that contains all pilgrim biometric
information.
Distribute Relationship/entity Process of handing over the device
RFID watch Entity A watch that contains extended details of
the pilgrim, usually used for tracking
purposes
Manager Role name A person that manages all aspects of the
pilgrim
Management Agent A legal entity, able to take action
Name Determiner Distinguishes the unique person
Passport Entity Contains the nationality, stamped visa,
pilgrim photo and other details
Handover Relationship A process of passing the passport into
custody of the manager
Number Determiner Distinguishes the passport number easily
Scan Relationship Process of scanning the E-tag
Retrieval Process Term Affordance Group Description
Person Agent A legal entity, able to take action
Name Determiner Distinguishes the unique person
Organisation Agent A legal entity, able to take action: this includes
the MPO, Police, Morgue and the Hospital
Employer Role name A person (s) that recruit team members
Device Entity A device that assist to find pilgrims or check the
status of the pilgrim, this can be PDA, Laptop,
and any computer
Number Determiner Distinguishes the Device number
Pilgrim Role name A person that attends Hajj
Staff Role name A person that searches or assist to find the
pilgrim
Employment Entity An institution that employees people to perform
activities
Hourly rate Determiner States the rates of payment per hour
Searches Relationship Process of finding through the database for the
pilgrim
Manager Role name A person that manages all aspects of the
pilgrim
Management Agent A legal entity, able to take action
Biometric
information
Entity A set of body information of the pilgrim that will
assist to identify the pilgrim
Matches Relationship Process of matching the query
Location Entity A place in Saudi Arabia where a pilgrim maybe
be located
Maulim Role name A person that takes the details of pilgrim and
leads the group
5.3 Ontology Chart:
This section demonstrates the understanding of the business problem, Hajj
processes, using the ontology chart. These charts are generated from the above
tables of affordances. Furthermore, the ontology rules have been applied as
mentioned under Ontology chart section.
Ontology C
hart: Proposed R
egistration Process
Root
Person S
ponsor
Embassy
Medical check
Representative
Employm
ent
Visa
application
Maulim
Pilgrim
Doctor
Agent
Process vi sa
Re jection letter
Acceptanc e let ter
Pe rsonal details
Passport
E-tag
Gen erate
Stam
p
#name
Collec t
Applies ( A
ccept )
( Reject )
Notice
Employer
Ontology Chart: Proposed Identification Process
Immigration Process
Handover
Transfer Biometric Information
Root
PersonPilg
rim
Staff
Manager
Airport
E-Tag
Management
Scan
Scanned
RFID enabled watch
Distribute
Passport
#name
#number
Electronic Report
Ontology Chart: Proposed Retrieval Process
Root
Person
Employment
Staff
Pilgrim
Management
Location
Man
ager
Maulim
Biometric Information
Organisation
Device Searches#number
#name
#hourly rateEmployer
Matches
Chapter 6 Design of Hajj Database
6.1 Derived Objects
In this section, we shall derive objects from the Ontology charts of the preceding
sections. These objects can be converted to relations and can be implemented by
using a Relational DBMS like Access, MySQL or Oracle.
#Nam
e
value:stringstart_tim
e:time_stam
pfinish_tim
e:time_stam
p
Class D
iagram: R
elation of the Registration
Process
Person
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Personal D
etail
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Medical C
heck
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Employm
ent
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Sponsor
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Visa A
pplication
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Applies
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Embassy
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Passport
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Stam
ped
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Process V
isa
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Tim
e_Acceptance letter
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Accept
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Reject
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Tim
e_Rejection Letter
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Generated
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
E-Tag
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Collect
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
Representative
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
**
**
*
*
*
*
*
*
Notice
start_time:tim
e_stamp
finish_time:tim
e_stamp
*
*
#Num
ber
value:stringstart_tim
e:time_stam
pfinish_tim
e:time_stam
p
*
Agent
Maulim
Pilgrim
Doctor
Maulim
Maulim
Agent
Employer
Class Diagram: Relation of the Information Process
Person
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
Management
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
Immigration Process
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
Biometric Information
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
#name
value:stringstart_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
#Number
value:stringstart_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
*
*
*
Passport
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
Airport
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
E-Tag
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stampRFID enabled watch
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Scan
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stampDistribute
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
Scanned
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
Handover
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
Transfer
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
*
Electronic Report
start_time:time_stampfinish_time:time_stamp
*
*
*
*Staff
Pilgrim
Staff
employer
Staff
Manger
Maulim
6.2 Analysis
The database relations resulting from the Semantic Analysis via ontology charts
would normally require further analysis. This would include an analysis of the
relations to validate the requirements. One should also be curious to compare the
design with the one arrived without the help of Semantic Modelling. The relations of
the previous section can be compared with those the previous projects done in
Database Systems unit, where a detailed class diagram was generated.
Some comparative observations were made, whose details are listed below:
1. It can be seen from the semantic analysis relations that it is easy to add
another table into the structure of the relations, even after the implementation,
as the structure is not too complex. However, this maybe a problem for the
class diagram concluded without the Semantic Analysis.
2. Semantic analysis approach takes a universal view, which results in stability
for the implemented system. The affordances recognised from the semantic
analysis approach helps to identify all the types of affordances, like agent,
entity, determiner, relationship and role names. On the other hand, the class
diagram relations are not as detailed and only provide the essentials, ignoring
in-depth analysis. This leaves out many relations, which are added at the
validation, implementation or the maintenance stage. The addition of tables at
a later stage, especially during the maintenance stage, can be very complex
as well as costly as the whole class diagram structure would require to be
redeveloped.
3. The Semantic Analysis identifies the determiner, which is a unique class of
affordances that are used to maintain the antecedent’s data. As it can be
seen from the semantic analysis relations that determiners have an extra
attribute called value: string, which is used for the specific purpose of
determination. On the other hand the normal classes would have start and
finish time. An example of a determiner is minimum grade is a determiner for
student records, as there is a specified minimum grade.
4. The types of entities recognised from the Semantic analysis approach are
much different to the class diagram. Firstly, it can be seen that the role names
from semantic analysis are particulars and are not transformed into relations.
This leads converts role name into relationship between the two classes.
Since the role names are not included, this makes the model easy to
understand. On the other hand, the conventional class diagram has all the
role names as relations. Moreover, the conventional method uses
specialisation and hierarchy of pilgrims, which has resulted into three tables
for a single stakeholder.
5. Semantic analysis modelling has enabled to break the task of modelling into
three separate designs, one for each process, as shown in the three Hajj
case study processes. Every process has its own relations drawn out.
Whereas, the conventional class diagram has used a single model to map out
the entire case study. As it can be seen that the relations drawn from one of
the Hajj process, e.g. Registration Process, results in as many as all relations
of the conventional class diagrams. This indicates that during the system
maintenance, the set of relations obtained from the Semantic Analysis would
be more stable.
6. All the relations from the semantic analysis have an antecedent with the
dependant. Semantic analysis does not vacate many to many relations. From
the above-derived relations it can be seen that every relationship is binary
one to many relationships, which is one of the SNF rule. However, the
conventional class diagrams does not have this restriction, so many relations
may be hidden within the many to many relationship.
Some General Observations
1. Semantic analysis relations names are purely generated from problem
definition. It was important not to include any names that are not mentioned in
the case study and to make sure that each term had its unique identity.
2. Another speciality of the semantic analysis relations is that the start_time and
the finish_time is obtained naturally. Therefore, semantic analysis vacates the
application of other methodologies.
3. The ontology chart is totally a different way of modelling, unlike relational,
requires superior conceptualisation and good grasp of the theory as well as
the business case. However, it was found that the ontology chart approach
was a way of generating stable relations. Although, this process was tricky as
it required a lot of learning and practice, especially the Ontology charts.
4. The ontology chart approach enabled to identify many relationships which
were easy to determine. As a result, Ontology chart has no relationship
names in between the relations, except the role names – that enables the
user to know who is involved in the process.
Conventional Class Diagram obtained from Database Systems project
Chapter 7 Future Study
In the future, the areas to study would be to implement a Hajj Semantic Temporal
Database (STDB). Following is just an overview of what a STDB is.
The database schemas that are generated by Ontology charts create a Semantic
Temporal Database (STDB), which represents semantic links and it stores all the
information records. As the ontology chart is used to develop a STDB, which will
automatically carry the information for each object in the ontological analysis, this
object information includes label, type (agent or affordance), ontological
antecedents, the authorities who are responsible for the objects start and finish and
the times when these start and finish events occur. (Salter, 2002)
The other future study area would be to understand LEGOL, which is a database
language of Semantic database systems. This language is complex and requires a
lot of time and expertise to understand. However, LEGOL is considered to benefit
the future study.
Lastly, the scope of the case study was not sufficient to get a detailed analysis of the
case study; but the time constraint and the lack of knowledge had to be taken into
consideration.
In the future, the case study will be looked in a more detailed view in order all-
important aspects are analysed appropriately.
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Text book:
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Design, Implementation, and Management. Fourth Edition, Publisher: Addison-
Wesley
Appendix (if any)
• Maybe the diagrams that were used to help the audience understand the case study
better.
