Because of the heterogeneous nature of different data sources, data integration is often one of the most challenging tasks in managing modern information systems. While the existing literature has focused on problems such as schema integration and entity identification, it has largely overlooked...

We analyze the allocation of objects in a network of caches that collaborate to service requests from customers. A thorough analysis of this problem in centralized and decentralized setups, both of which occur in practice, is essential for understanding the benefits of collaboration. A key...

Despite the widespread adoption of search and recommendation technologies on the Internet, empirical research that examines the effect of these technologies is scarce. How do online consumers use these technologies? Does consumers' technology usage have an effect on the sales to them or their...

The problem of determining optimal reorganization policies for databases which employ file structures with overflow chaining is studied. The dynamics of the file performance driven by update transactions and reorganizations is formulated as a stochastic control model which incorporates...

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of database systems in all types of organizations. In many cases, these databases are developed in different departments and maintained autonomously. Much is to be gained, however, if databases across departments, divisions, or even organizations...

This paper points out a conceptual flaw present in a recent publication. It shows how the methodology can be modified to correct this flaw. It also presents improved bounds to determine the nature of a given problem.

A tree network is a collection of trees rooted at a common central node. Several types of network design problems can be viewed as requiring the formation of a spanning tree network of minimum length, subject to a bound on the sum of "weights" on the nodes of any component tree. Such problems...