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Maryland in Europe -- Graduate Programs

Bowie State University -- Management Information Systems

INSS 550 -- Database Management and Decision Systems

Education Center, Naples, Italy	Saturdays & Sundays
2001-2002/Term 5	8/9 & 22/23 June, 13/14 & 27/28 July
Lecturer: Grant Wiswell	9:00 to 16:00

Description

Objectives

Text

Grading

Communication

Schedule

Credit

3 semester hours of credit
Prerequisites: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, INSS 530 or permission of the instructor.

Course Description

This course examines databases -- valuable information resources for an organization -- which support transactions as well as management control and decision-making. Concepts to be covered include data modeling and database design, using the relational model and object-oriented databases. The course deals with the organizational and technical problems of implementing databases, including those used in client/server architectures and Internet applications. Management information requirements are discussed, as well as the decision support capabilities of data warehousing and data mining.

Objectives

Students successfully completing this course should gain an understanding of:

• How automated systems are used to manage organizational data resources..
• Management information as a form of decision support.
• How to develop models of database requirements.
• How to design and implement simple relational databases and interfaces.
• Concepts of database operations and administration.
• SQL.
• Current trends in the technical and managerial aspects of databases.

Text

Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management,
by Peter Rob & Carlos Coronel, 5th edition, 2002, Course Technology.
ISBN 0-619-06269-X

Course Evaluation

Grades for this course will be based on:

	Homework Exercises	10%
	Database Project	25
	Quiz	10
	Midterm Examination	25
	Final Examination	30

Computation of Final Grades

	A	90 to 100
	B	80 to 89
	C	70 to 79
	F	below 70

Instructor

Mr. Wiswell received a BA in History from Stanford University and an MA in History from the University of London. He worked in the computer industry for over twenty-five years in marketing, technical and project management positions. He specialized in database consulting, first with hierarchical database management systems and then with the relational database model and SQL. This year, he took the Microsoft™ course "Programming a SQL Server™ 2000 Database".

Homework Assignments

Homework assignments will be drawn from, or similar to, textbook end-of-chapter problems, in order to reinforce technical database concepts.

Term Project

A term project is required, which will involve modeling, designing and implementing a database, using one of the currently available languages or DBMS software packages. In addition, students will explain the operational and managerial use of their database, and where its technical aspects fit in the current state of the industry. At the end of the term, students will submit a printout and/or disk of their project, and will be expected to discuss it, either with the class or with the instructor. The project will be either an individual or a team effort; this will be decided during the first weekend.

Students will need to use database software to complete the project and perhaps the homework. For this, students may use the University computer lab or another computer of their choice. During the first weekend of class, we will discuss various software packages and ways of obtaining access to them.

Policies

Class attendance is expected. Students are responsible for all material covered during lectures as well as assigned textbook readings. Lectures and class discussions will be conducted on the assumption that students have read the material in the current reading assignments and are prepared to bring their observations and questions to class.

On such matters as exceptional grades, academic dishonesty, interpersonal behavior and attendance, the policies expressed in the current Graduate Catalog of the University of Maryland in Europe will apply.

Office Hours and Communication

Students may request individual discussions before or after class, or by appointment. I expect to arrive on base each Friday before a class weekend. Messages may be left for me in the University of Maryland office, and we can communicate by e-mail (phone numbers and e-mail address to be announced during the first weekend).

Also, I plan to keep a web site going during the term, where information and copies of assignments can be posted. The URL will be announced during the first weekend.

Tentative Course Schedule

Weekend	Topics	Activities	Assigned Chapters
1 8/9 June	Introduction to File Systems and Databases The Relational Data Base Model: Modeling Normalization SQL	Assign HomeWork 1 & Database Projects	1-5
2 22/23 June	The Relational Database Model:     Database Design     Transaction Management     Distributed Databases Case Studies	Review Chapters 1-5 & Homework 1 Quiz (Saturday, after a review) HomeWork 1 due Assign HomeWork 2 Database Project outlines due	6-10
3 13/14 July	Object-Oriented Databases Client-Server Systems Data Warehousing Databases in Electronic Commerce Web Database Development	Mid-term Examination -- Saturday morning HomeWork 2 due Database project progress peports due	11-14
4 27/28 July	Database Administration Recent Developments in Database Management	Presentation of Database Projects Course Review Final Examination -- Sunday afternoon Database projects due	15

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Description

Objectives

Text

Communication

Grading