CS262C. Information and Knowledge Management
Uses the idea of information as a unifying theme to investigate a range of issues in computer science, including database systems, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, multimedia system, and data communication.
Prerequisites: introduction to computer science (any implementation of CS103 or CS112), discrete structures (CS106 or CS115)
Syllabus:
- Information models and systems: History and motivation for information systems; information storage and retrieval; information management applications; information capture and representation; analysis and indexing; search, retrieval, linking, navigation; information privacy, integrity, security, and preservation; scalability, efficiency, and effectiveness
- Database systems: History and motivation for database systems; components of database systems; DBMS functions; database architecture and data independence; use of a database query language
- Data modeling: Data modeling; conceptual models; object-oriented model; relational data model
- Relational databases: Mapping conceptual schema to a relational schema; entity and referential integrity; relational algebra and relational calculus
- Search and constraint satisfaction: Problem spaces; brute-force search; best-first search; two-player games; constraint satisfaction
- Knowledge representation and reasoning: Review of propositional and predicate logic; resolution and theorem proving; nonmonotonic inference; probabilistic reasoning; bayes theorem
- Foundations of human-computer interaction: Motivation; contexts for HCI; human-centered development and evaluation; human performance models; human performance models; accommodating human diversity; principles of good design and good designers; engineering tradeoffs; introduction to usability testing
- Fundamental issues in intelligent systems: History of artificial intelligence; philosophical questions; fundamental definitions; philosophical questions; modeling the world; the role of heuristics
- Cryptographic algorithms: Historical overview of cryptography; private-key cryptography and the key-exchange problem; public-key cryptography; digital signatures; security protocols
- Introduction to compression and decompression: Encoding and decoding algorithms; lossless and lossy compression
- Multimedia information and systems
- Intellectual property: Foundations of intellectual property; copyrights, patents, and trade secrets; software piracy; software patents; transnational issues concerning intellectual property
- Privacy and civil liberties: Ethical and legal basis for privacy protection; privacy implications of massive database systems; technological strategies for privacy protection; freedom of expression in cyberspace; international and intercultural implications
Units covered:
| AL9 | Cryptographic algorithms | 3 | hours |
| NC7 | Compression and decompression | 2 | hours |
| HC1 | Foundations of human-computer interaction | 4 | core hours (of 6) |
| IS1 | Fundamental issues in intelligent systems | 1 | core hour |
| IS2 | Search and constraint satisfaction | 5 | core hours |
| IS3 | Knowledge representation and reasoning | 4 | core hours |
| IM1 | Information models and systems | 3 | core hours |
| IM2 | Database systems | 3 | core hours |
| IM3 | Data modeling | 4 | core hours |
| IM4 | Relational databases | 4 | hours |
| IM13 | Multimedia information and systems | 2 | hours |
| SP6 | Intellectual property | 3 | core hours |
| SP7 | Privacy and civil liberties | 2 | core hours |
Notes:
Given that it addresses a mix of topics from such areas as databases, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interaction, it is unlikely that courses like CS262C appear in existing curricula. We believe, however, that courses of this sort, which take a unifying theme and use that to provide structure to an otherwise diverse set of topics, provide a useful way to develop a "crosscutting core" that focuses on broad themes rather than specific artifacts. In this case, the broad theme is that of the management, representation, and manipulation of information. It addresses, for example, the entire area of storing, retrieving, encoding, and managing information, whether for database use, intelligent systems use, telecommunications, or graphics. It also addresses the social and ethical issues related to information management, such as the ownership of intellectual property and individual privacy rights.
More than the other courses in the compressed approach, CS262C has room for a range of interesting topics outside the core. This implementation, for example, includes such topics as cryptography, compression, and multimedia, all of which fit the theme of information management. Depending on the particular strengths of the faculty and the interests of the students, other topics could be incorporated as well.
Online resources for CS262C