February, 2009
Peerzada Mohammad Iqbal
Designing Floral Information System:
A Framework
Dissertation Submitted to
Department of Library and
Information Science
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirement for the Award of
Masters In Philosophy,
In Library & Information Science
Under the Supervision of
Prof. S. M. Shafi
Head,
Department of Library and
Information Science,
The University of Kashmir,
Hazratbal, Srinagar.
190006
The University of Kashmir
Hazratbal, Srinagar - 190006
1
DESIGNING FLORAL
INFORMATION SYSTEM:
A Framework
Dissertation Submitted to
Department of Library & Information Science
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement
for the Award of Masters In Philosophy, In
Library & Information Science
By
Peerzada Mohammad Iqbal
Under the Supervision of
Prof. S. M. Shafi
Head,
Department of Library and
Information Science,
The University of Kashmir,
Hazratbal, Srinagar
Department of Library and Information Science
The University of Kashmir, Hazratbat, Srinagar, 190006
To My Respected
“Mummy” and “Daddy”
Who Bestowed Every Support to me &
Encouraged me to complete this Work
The University of Kashmir,
Hazratbal
Certified
that
the
work
entitled
“Designing
Floral
Information system: A Framework” is the bonafied work of “Peerzada
Mohammad Iqbal” conducted in Department of Library and Information
Science, The University of Kashmir, Srinagar under my guidance and
supervision, Prepared exclusively in partial fulfillment of the requirement
for the award of Masters in Philosophy, in Library and Information
Science.
Prof. S. M. Shafi
Head, Department of Library &
Information Science,
The University of Kashmir
The University of Kashmir,
Hazratbal
I Peerzada Mohammad Iqbal bearing University Regd. No
14687-IC-99 as an investigator declares that my thesis entitled “Designing
Floral Information system: A Framework” is based on the sources
consulted by me and quoted accordingly. No statements / references have
been concealed.
Peerzada Mohammad Iqbal
I feel great proud and joy to provide my
acknowledgment to my esteemed mentor and guide
Prof. S. M. Shafi, Head, Department of Library
and Information science, The University of
Kashmir, Srinagar for providing skillful guidance,
sympathetic attitude, critical assessment and kind
support during the course of this project.
This
note
of
acknowledgement
will
be
incomplete without paying my heartful devotion to
my parents, my friends and other people, for their
blessings, encouragement, financial support and
the patience, without which it would have been
impossible for me to complete the job.
Peerzada Mohammad Iqbal
Contents
Chapter
Chapter I
Page No
Introduction
16
Introduction
17
The Problem
18
Objectives
18
Scope
19
Methodology
19
References
22
Chapter II Background of Floral Information System
23
Introduction
24
Information System
26
Development of Information System
27
Computers & Information System
29
Components of Information System
32
Characters of Information System
33
Examples of Information System
35
Floral Information System
36
Structure of Select Floral Information System
37
References
45
Chapter III Review of Literature
52 - 63
Chapter
Page No
Chapter IV Evaluation of Select Floral Information System
Governing Organization
65
Collection Policy
69
Copyright Protection
72
Database Management
74
Query Mechanism
76
Architecture of Information System
81
Critical Evaluation
88
Chapter V
Designing Floral Information System
64
91
Background
92
Strategy
93
System Study
94
Feasibility Study
95
System Analysis
96
System Design: Preliminary & Detailed
104
Search Handler
104
User Management Module
108
Photo Gallery Module
109
Plant Recognition System
111
Content Management Module
116
Metadata & Data Access Point
117
Over view of Floral Information System
120
Chapter VI Bibliography / Webliography
122 – 148
List of Figures
Description
Page No
Fig 2.1: 101 Herbs.Com
38
Fig 2.2: FRLHT's Encyclopedia of Indian Medicinal Plants
39
Fig 2.3: Exotic Naturals
41
Fig 2.4: Gardentia: Complete Information on Gardening
42
Fig 2.5: Medicinal Plants, NTFP and Bamboos of Sikkim
43
Fig 2.6: Mother Herbs and Agro Products
44
Fig 4.1: Total Number of Records Present in FIS
71
Fig 4.2: Querying Mechanism of 101herbs.com
76
Fig 4.3: Querying Mechanism of Exotic Naturals
77
Fig 4.4: Querying Mechanism of FRLHT
78
Fig 4.5: Querying Mechanism of Mother Herbs and Agro Products 79
Fig 4.6: Architecture of 101herbs
81
Fig 4.7: Architecture of Exotic Naturals
82
Fig 4.8: Architecture of Gardentia
83
Fig 4.9: Architecture of the FRLHT
84
Fig 4.10: Architecture of Medicinal Plants & NTFP
85
Fig 4.11: Architecture of Mother Herbs and Agro Products
86
List of Figures
Description
Page No
Fig 5.1:- A hierarchy reveled by System Analysis
97
Fig 5.2: Level 0 DFD: Access Module
100
Fig 5.3:- Level 1 DFD: Query Calls
101
Fig 5.4:- Level 2 DFD: Overview of
Data Flow in Floral Information System
102
Fig 5.5:- Level 2 DFD: Image Processing and Manipulation
103
Fig 5.6:- Flow Chart of Search Handler
106
Fig 5.7:- Working of a Search Handler
107
Fig 5.8:- Flow of Data/ Information in Image Gallery Module
110
Fig 5.9:- Prewitt Edge Detection Method and Spot Recognition
114
Fig 5.10:- Prewitt Edge Detection Method and Spot Recognition
115
Fig 5.11: Content Management System
116
Fig 5.12:- Flow Chart of Database Access Points
118
Fig 5.13:- Database Access Module
119
Fig 5.14:- Design of Floral Information System
121
List of Tables
Description
Page No
Table 1: Governing Organization of Information System
66
Table 2: Collection Policy of Information System
70
Table 3: Copyright Protection of Information System
73
Table 4: Database Management System of Information System
75
Table 5: Query Mechanism of Information System
80
Table 6: Architecture Analysis of Information System
87
List of Abbreviations
Abbreviations
Definition
DFD
AI
HW/SW
OSS
IS
PDF
FIS
XTML
HTML
PHP
URL
WAN
WWW
GUI
DHTML
DBMS
RDBMS
MS
SQL
FAQ’s
JPEG
GIF
PNG
TIFF
RAW
EXIF
TXT
RTF
DOC
MB
Data Flow Diagram
Artificial Intelligence
Hardware/ Software
Open Source Software
Information System
Portable Document Format
Floral Information System
Extensible Markup Language
Hypertext Markup Language
Hypertext Preprocessor
Uniform Resource Locator
Wide Area Network
World Wide Web
Graphical User Interface
Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language
Database Management System
Relational Database Management System
Management System
Structured Query Language
Frequently Asked Questions
Joint Picture Expert Group
Graphic Interface Format
Portable Network Graphic
Tagged Image File Format
Raw Image Format
Exchangeable Image File Format
Text
Rich Text Format
Microsoft Office Word Format
Megabytes
Information Systems are complex entities, can exist physically
in terms of organizations and logically as softwares, they may be
system based or network base. The concept of Information System
emerged from Management and gradually began to affect all those
places where organization lies. Information system can be called as a
set of organized procedures, which when performed, provide inflation
for decision making and/or control of the organization. Thus we can
say where there is organization there is Information System.
In our day today life we directly or indirectly come intact with a
number of Information Systems. Because our society heavily depends
on information systems, as they are carefully carved in every sphere
of work culture.
Natural Science is one of the affected branches of humankind,
which deals with the entire livelihood in biosphere. Though
Information System is modest in its kind still it is being widely
accepted. There are hundreds of examples of online Information
System based on Flora and Fauna, but majority of them have a large
loopholes which cater to the development and wide spread of their
information.
The present study revel some solutions to the development of
Floral Information System through designing by ruling out the
drawbacks and limitations of the earlier National Information
Systems. The study focuses on an essential part of the development of
information systems i.e., the designing mode. The study has described
designing using logical mode with the help of Data Flow Diagrams
and Flow Charting and accomplishing the work by omitting the
coding and testing phase. The designing is accompanied by weaving
out the different modules into a single standard, networked Floral
Information System. The designing is carried out in combination with
modern entities like Web2.0 tools and Artificial Intelligence. The
system is developed by using Project Planning Method in which main
entity is broken into number of modules and ultimately creates a in
such a way that coding is easy for future purpose. The system
supports many old features of earlier Floral Information and many
modern ones which are yet to be implemented by any Floral
Information system.
Outline of thesis:The whole thesis is divided into six chapter:

The first chapter discusses about the project synopsis Viz.,
Introduction, Problem, Objectives, Scope and Methodology

The second chapter deals Background of Floral Inforamtion Systems

The third chapter enumerates the related work into the form of
Review of Literature.

The fourth chapter deals with the Evaluation of Select Floral
Information systems.

The fifth chapter describes the Desinging of new and improved
Floral Information system.

The sixth chapter covers the Bibliography.
Chapter - I
“Introduction”
Introduction:
In general systems theory, an information system is a system, automated
or manual, that comprises people, machines, and/or methods organized to collect,
process, transmit, and disseminate data that represent user information
(Information System, a, 2006). Encyclopedia Britannica have viewed
Information System, b (2006) as an integrated set of components for collecting,
storing, processing, and communicating information. The general theory of
system on which the information system analysis and design is based, indicates
that it is necessary to consider the system to comprise smaller subsystems. The
connection of the smaller systems with the larger systems forms a hierarchy
which is characteristic of the theory of systems. It also shows us that we must
have an overall view of the system, knowing that all the system components are
interrelated and interdependent, with this being one of the most important tasks.
An information system is something that delivers information which is useful to
the users of the system, but no information system generates information
spontaneously. It gives only the information which has been previous inputted to
the system. A number of different kinds of information systems exists handling
different types of information. One can have information systems where the unit
terms are description of projects, research projects, development projects. There
are information systems where the units are descriptions of people and their
talents.
Various Information systems exits in the form of Digital Libraries,
Archives, Databases etc, enriching the information content of various Information
Systems systematically. The present study will help in evolving an Information
Systems in the form of a Digital Library highlighting the various characteristic of
flora. The study will take in to hand earlier Information Systems and evaluate
them in a critical way to observe their pitfalls and will emerge with a model
Information System that will overcome the shortcomings of the earlier
Information Systems studied.
Problem:
A number of available Information Systems offer limited or less support
for managing heterogeneous data in an integrated fashion. These systems contain
many access points but lack powerful retrieval. Furthermore, such systems do not
fully support image content (Photographs of plants).
The approach provided in this work will meet these issues and will take
advantages of advances in digital library innovations to integrate networked
collection of heterogeneous data and access points which describes the
Information System. It focuses on creating the basis for a next generation Floral
Information System, combining new techniques of content based image retrieval
and database query processing mechanisms. The work will show the use of this
component based architecture to support the creation of two tailored Floral
Information System dealing with Botanical Specimens.
Objectives:
The following objectives are laid down for the study:

To Survey Existing Information Systems.

To evaluate the architecture of existing Information Systems on Flora.

To evaluate the functioning and working Mechanism of existing
Information Systems on Flora.

To design a conceptual framework for an Internet-based, Integrated floral
Information System.
Scope:
The work as the title suggests is a framework of an Information System –
Floral Information System. The work will be confined to architectural point of
view. The scope of the present study will be confined to designing mode – a
conceptual model, which will fulfill the following norms:

A schema of its own

A standard which can submerge metadata standards regarding
Flora
 Supports image contents
Methodology:
The Internet Directory for Botany (www.botany.net/IDB/botany.html)
provided a starting list of Floral Information System for evaluation, the Directory
consisting of 2544 Information System on Floral as on January, 2009. The study
has chosen to evaluate those Floral Information System which consists of floral
information having some potential regarding economical, medicinal and other
industrial usage. In order to limit the scope of the study the following criteria is
laid down for the selection of Information system:
1) The Floral Information System dealing exclusively with the flora
having some potential regarding medicinal, economical and other
potential.
2) National Floral Information System.
This reduces the list to 6 Information Systems (1 Government
organization, 1 Semi-government and 4 Private organizations). We excluded three
Floral Information System viz. Filmy Ferns of South India, The Indian Society of
Cacti and Suceulents (ISOCS) and Blatter herbarium, St. Xavier,s college. These
Floral Information Systems lacks data/ information provided for the region, thus
excluded from the study. One more Floral Information System listed in the
directory is excluded viz. Vedams books which is an Information System
dedicated to floral books and provides a detailed bibliographic record. The
included Floral Information Systems are:
1) 101 Herbs.com: Natural Herbs and Natural Extracts, Delhi, India
(http://www.101herbs.com/)
2) FRLHT's
Encyclopedia
of
Indian
Medicinal
Plants
(http://www.medicinalplants.in/)
3) Exotic Naturals, Mumbai, India (http://www.exoticnatural.com/)
4) Gardentia: Complete Information on Gardening, Maharashtra,
India (http://www.gardentia.net)
5) Medicinal
Plants,
NTFP
and
Bamboos
of
Sikkim
(http://www.sikenvis.nic.in/medicine_main.htm)
6) Mother
Herbs
and
Agro
Products,
Maharastra,
India
(http://www.motherherbs.com)
The Structure, Functioning and Working Mechanism of these Information
System is discussed in chapter-IV
Designing
The task of design involves a complex set of processes. Starting form a
statement of a problem, a designer must develop a precise plan for a solution that
will be realized in some concrete way. Potential solutions are constrained by the
need to eventually map this plan into a real-world instantiation. In every sphere
design tasks are too complex to be solved directly.
Designing is the process of translating a set of task requirements
(Functional specifications) into a structured description of an organization that
will perform the task logically. There are three major elements of this description.
First, the specifications are splited into a collection of modules, each of which
satisfies part of the problem requirements. This is often referred to as a Modular
Decomposition. Second, the designer must specify the relationship and
interactions among the modules. This includes the control structures, which
indicate the order in which modules are activated and the conditions under which
they are used. Finally, a design includes the data structures that involves into a
solution.
After a review of some relevant literature, the methodology applied in
designing is a mixed modular type i.e., the design is based on various methods.
Apart from the said Modular Decomposition, we have used Project Planning
Method, Project Designing Method, various aspects of Web 2.0 tools and a new
introduction of Neuronal Network. Chapter - V presents a detailed design of the
problem that experts use to control the development of an Information System.
Thinking aloud protocols collected from both expert and novice designers on a
moderately complex problem provided evidence from these theoretical ideas to
concrete ones.
Information System. a (2006). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 08, 2007 from
Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia
http://www.wikipedia.org
Information System. b (2006). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved March 08,
2007 from Encyclopedia Britannica Online
http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9126502
Chapter - II
“Information System”
BACKGROUND
Introduction:
An increasing dependence on the generation and exploitation of
information (as distinct from material goods) as a means of reading, supporting,
and enhancing both existing, and new, economic and social services have
emerged in recent decades. Terms such as “Information”, “Information
Technology”, “Knowledge”, “Knowledge Workers”, “Information Systems” and
“Information Economy” have been around for a while, but their increasing
adoption in the lingua franca of the “common” consumer signifies the spread of
information-related services from their origin in government and financial
institutions to the mass-market (Thomas, 2001).
“Information System” has attracted great attention of Organizations,
Management and IT community for their better outputs. Information systems are
often considered as a way of furthering the cause of centralized and decentralized
processing of data and information. Information system is a complex terminology
which is a trinity of Data, Information and System. Data and Information are the
foundation of Information System. System on the other hand is the skeletons of
organization. Together data, information and system provide the processing of
facts that leads to Knowledge, Ideas and theories that create Information System.
Data
Dewan defines data as a collection of numbers, characters, alphabets and
special symbols etc that can be processed to some meaningful information. The
word “data” is a plural of “datum”. But “data” is commonly used to represent
both the singular and plural form (Dewan, 2002).
According to Bansal, data is a term given to all the facts that record an
event, an activity or a situation. As isolated facts and figures may not be
meaningful in themselves, they have to be processed in various specific ways to
achieve a useful meaning (Bansal, 2002).
Sen terms data are raw facts and figures that are processed into
information such as summaries and totals. But since information can be raw data
for the next job or person, the two terms can be used synonymously and
interchangeably (Sen, a, 2001).
Information
Trehan calls Information as a data (for example, raw facts or observations)
that have been put into a meaningful and useful context. This gives the
information value for specific persons and meets their particular information
needs (Trehan, 2003).
Where Ackoff refers it as, “ ... Information is processed form of data that
has been given meaning by way of relational connection” (Ackoff, 1989).
According to Sen, any form of data, whether on paper or in electronic
form such as fields, records, files and graphics which are in a processed form or in
some meaning form for better understanding (Sen, b, 2001).
System
Gupta and Malik defines system as a group of interrelated components
working towards the attainment of a common goal by accepting inputs and
producing outputs in an organized transformation process (Gupta & Malik,
2005).
O’Brien explains system as a group of interrelated orating elements
forming a unified whole (O’Brien, 2002).
To Weisman, system is an arrangement of parts or elements working
together to form a set of operations in the accomplishment of the purpose of the
whole (Weisman, a, 1972).
Information System
The term "Information System" has different meanings in different
disciplines and systems.

In systems theory, an Information System is a system, automated or
manual, that comprises people, machines, and/or methods organized to
collect, process, transmit, and disseminate data that represent user
information (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2006).

In Mathematics rough set theory, an Information System is an attributevalue system (Smithson & Angell, 1991).

In Sociology, Information Systems are also social systems whose behavior
is heavily influenced by the goals, values and beliefs of individuals and
groups, as well as the performance of the technology (Angell &
Smithson, 1991).

In organizational informatics an Information System is a system of
communication between people. Information systems are systems
involved in the gathering, processing, distribution and use of information
and as such support human activity systems (Beynon-Davies, 2002).
Information System is most commonly used in organizational perspectives
which define it as;

A term that refers to the methods, materials, media producers and
recipients involved in an organized way to affect information transfer
within a specific field, activity, or organization. An information system
consists of a complex collection of information “messages”, persons who
produce and use them, institutions which process them, and a set of
behavior pattern customs, and traditions by which these persons and
institutions interrelate (Weisman, b, 1972).

Information systems contain information about significant people,
places, and things within the organization or in the environment
surrounding it. By information we mean data that have been shaped into a
form that is meaningful and useful to human beings. Data, in contrast, are
stream of raw facts representing event occurs in organizations or the
physical environment before they have been organized and arranged into a
form that people can understand and use (Balouch, 1999).

Information system consists of three components: human,
technology, organization. In this view, information is defined in terms of
the three levels of semiotics. Data which can be automatically processed
by the application system corresponds to the syntax-level. In the context of
an individual who interprets the data they become information, which
correspond to the semantic-level. Information becomes knowledge when
an individual knows (understands) and evaluates the information (e.g., for
a specific task). This corresponds to the pragmatic-level (Jaiswal &
Mital, a, 2005).
Development of Information Systems
Some 10,000 year ago the early ancestor of mankind, subsisted by hunting
and gathering, started to building agrarian societies. The old agrarian societies
began their transitions to industrial societies in mid-18th centuries (Abell &
Oxbrow, 2001). Expansion of intellectual activities in industrial societies, such as
industrial production, international trade and transactions, made work flow
complex which further needs to be managed and a glimpse of information system
came into existence. Traditionally, an information system was evolved in terms of
two perspectives: one relating to its function; the other, to its structure. From a
structural perspective, an information system consists of a collection of people,
processes, data, models, technology and partly formalized language, forming a
cohesive structure which serves some organizational purpose or function. From a
functional perspective, an information system was a technologically implemented
medium for the purpose of recorded, storing, and disseminating linguistic
expressions as well as for the support of inference making through performing
these elementary functions. Information system originates to facilitate the creation
and the exchange of meanings that serve socially defined purposes such as
control, sense-making, and argumentation (i.e. the formulation and justification of
claims). In either of these two perspectives on Information Systems, it should be
noted that humans are included within its boundaries which means that the
services provided by an IS in part depend upon human capabilities and
contributions (Hirschheim, Klein & Lyytinen, 1995). However, technological
advancement stimulated mass distribution of work and ultimately creation of a
second grade backbone of unidirectional information system in the 20th century.
In the beginning of 21st century information systems originated as a sub-discipline
of management and computer science, in an attempt to understand and rationalize
the management of technology within organizations. It has matured into a major
field of management, which is increasingly being emphasized as an important
area of research and management studies, and is taught at all major Universities
and business schools in the world (Rockart et al, 1996).
However, in the post-industrial information age, the focus of companies
shifted from being product-oriented to knowledge-oriented in the sense that
market operators today compete in process and innovation rather than in products:
the emphasis shifted from the quality and quantity of production to the production
process itself--and the services that accompany the production process which
ultimately lead to strong hold and full emergence of an information system, that
can hold, store and process data/information in a systematic fashion. (Feather,
2000). Information System deals with the information using various tools and
techniques over diverse communication channels, including paper, human
resources, and information technologies. Hence, information technology became a
subset of information system. An information system uses information technology
to solve managerial and organizational problem. Information technology deals
with the study of computer hardware, software and channels of communication,
which the organization rely on (Jaiswal & Mital, b, 2004).
The 21st century marvel is the computers and other information technology
devices which changed the wholesome concept of information systems in
organizations. Of all organizational phenomena and management techniques, the
use of computers and data processing has perhaps the most distinct and
penetrating. The steady progress of technology and common patterns of growth
has inspired a whole body of literature on the evolution of information systems.
The biggest asset of today’s organizations/ information centers/ information
providers/ companies etc is the unidirectional information flow which is
represented by people, procedures, technicals, information managers etc. This
information flow is useless unless its marketing operator is able to compete it with
information seekers, he or she must have a strong information infrastructure with
the latest tools of information technology. The study of information systems
focuses on why and how technology can be put into best use to serve the
information flow within an organization. The modern information system
embraced information technology to its full use and took the information system
in digitized and networked environments (Sloan Career Cornerstone Center,
2008).
Computers and Information Systems
Traditionally, computers have been viewed as super calculators that
automate processes that were previously performed by people sitting at
mechanical adding machines. However, computers carry out a wide variety of
tasks associated with processing information. It is important to understand the
entire range of these capabilities in order to appreciate the nature and magnitude
of the potential social impacts of this technology when used in information
systems. Computer capabilities fall into seven main categories: (Gibbons, a,
1981).
1.
Data collection. Technological advances are beginning to
provide computers with the capability to directly process both on data and
Information, thus greatly increasing their applicability to collect both data and
information. When attached to various sensing devices, computers can detect and
measure external physical phenomena as temperature, time, pressure, flow rate, or
any number of other variables. Computers have the ability to recognize human
speech, to read directly a variety of typewritten forms and hand printed texts, and
to detect patterns in many formats. These functions are improving more rapidly
and are appearing in commercial equipments (Vasilescu, Kotay, & Rus, 2002).
2.
Information storage. Computers can store large amounts of
information for long periods of time in an electronically readable form that is
easily and quickly recoverable. Depending on the particular application, the
methods of storage vary widely, from signals in electronic circuitry, to magnetic
pulses on tape, to holes in cards. New advances in memory technology eventually
will allow trillions of characters of information to be stored conveniently and
cheaply wherever there is even a small computer. The cost of storing information
electronically will soon be substantially lower than the cost of storing the same
amount of information on paper (Shrivastava & Gnanasundaram, 2008).
3.
Information organization. Computers can be used to
rearrange information so that it is more suitable for particular applications. For
example, if the data in a telephone directory were stored in a computer’s memory,
it could be inverted or organized in a customized manner protecting it form
duplication. More generally, computers can simplify and restructure vast amounts
of raw data to assist people in drawing significant meanings or conclusions
(Dagobert, 2004).
4.
Calculations. Computers perform arithmetic calculations
millions of times faster than can human beings. They are used to make numerous
simple calculations, such as those required in processing the payroll for a sizable
organization; to make sophisticated statistical calculations on large amounts of
data, such as those for social science research; or to perform highly complex
scientific calculations, such as those needed for weather research or for modeling
fusion energy systems (Gibbons, b, 1981).
5.
Communication.
Through
connections
over
a
communication system, computers can transmit data around the Nation and the
world either to human users or to other computers, which permits the sharing of
work and data among groups of linked computers (known as computer
networking). Private firms are beginning to offer special communication services
to support computer networking. In addition, computers make possible the more
effective use and management of the communication systems themselves (Kenny,
2008).
6.
Information
presentation.
Computers
can
put
out
information in a variety of forms. Through graphical display, and more recently
through voice response, they can make data readily understandable and useful to
non experts. It is possible to display data and computer schematics on screens in a
multicolored, three-dimensional format for design and analytical purposes. Also,
data such as numbers and statistics can be organized by the computer in an easyto-understand tabular presentation. Much of the programing effort in developing
modern management information is directed toward designing ways in which the
information generated by the computer can be presented most clearly to the
manager who needs it (Demberg & Moore, 2004).
7.
Control. Computers can be used to control a machine tool
or a production line without human intervention. Many organizations—including
library, Air traffic, cellular phones — incorporate computer controls using new
microprocessor technology, that can handle errors without any interference from
humans (Gibbons, c, 1981).
Components of Information System:
Information System is a trinity of Data, Information and System, together
they constitute Information System which mainly use a hierarchical method for
data processing and organizing. The data flow in the hierarchy is always
bidirectional and divided into components and sub-sub components. Usually for
each Information System whether manual or mechanical there exist only four
major components as, People, equipment, procedures & data.
People:
Humanware are the basic entity for an Information system. There
are many roles for people in an Information Systems. Common ones include:
 Systems Analyst
 Technicals
 Managers
 Engineer
 Network Manager
 Data entry operator
Equipment
Equipments usually deal with Hardware like Computers, Physical
Wires for Networking, Connectors, Hubs, Switches and Printers etc.
And
Software like Browsers, Database Management System Softwares, Interface
Softwares etc.
Procedures & Data
A procedure is a series of documented actions taken to achieve
something. A procedure is more than a single simple task. A procedure can be
quite complex and involved, such as performing a backup, shutting down a
system, patching software. The raw, unorganized, discrete (separate, isolated)
potentially-useful (Kelly, 2008).
All the four components together provide the basic pioneer for an
Information System, People use equipments to work on data and provide a
procedure to get the better output. This becomes the skeleton of an Information
System.
Characteristics of information system:
a) The Organization of data into information:
For data to be made meaningful it must have a purpose. The
purpose of the stored data should reflect the purpose and type of the information
system. Data needs to be processed and organised before it becomes information.
Organising the data will most likely involve the processes of sorting and filtering
(classifying) before it can be analysed and stored for later retrieval. Data
dictionaries are used to help organise the data.
b) Ability to Analyze the Information:
Once the data has become information it needs to be analyzed to
make the most of the information stored. Analysis of databases is done through
the tools of queries and reports (Betts, 2007).
c) System or service
One of the key differences between systems is the extent to which
they rely on a web site to provide everything a user requires. Some were
developed solely as a web-based one-stop-shop to provide information. Others
have placed a much greater emphasis on providing a service supporting users to
find and analyze data by telephone or face-to-face. These service-orientated
systems usually provided training on how to use their web site and/or introductory
or advanced statistics. Systems that offer a service supporting users generally
require more staff (Foley, Alfonso & Wiseman, 2007).
d) Readability
Readability means good page layout. Readability connotes an
appealing graphic design and page layout. All information systems, no matter
how small must incorporate principles of good graphic design. Information
system is competing with a myriad of other information systems. If data is not
presented in a visually appealing, easy-to-read manner, then chances of retaining
the attention of intended audience are significantly reduced (Morgan, a, 1995).
e) Browsability
Browsability means logically classifying data and information. As
the size of information system grows, so does the need to logically organize data.
This implies grouping of conceptual sets of data with its similar ones.
Browsability becomes apparent when it is coupled with hypertext and logical
groupings of information. (Morgan, b, 1995).
f) Searchability
Searchability means direct information access. The largest of
information systems must include search features. These features help overcome
the disadvantages of the purely browsable system. (Morgan, c, 1995).
g) Reliability
Human error data in the form of human error probabilities should
ideally form the corner-stone of human reliability theory and practice. In the
history of human reliability assessment, however, the collection and generation of
valid and usable data have been remarkably elusive (Kirwan, Martin, Rycraft,
& Smith, 1990).
h) Portability
Portability: the ease with which an information system can be
adapted to run on computers other than the one for which it was designed.
The portability of an information system depends on:
 Degree of hardware independence
 Implementation language
 Extent of exploitation of specialized system functions
 Hardware properties
 Structuredness: System-dependent elements are collected in easily
interchangeable program components (Nguyen, 2005).
i) Robustness
Robustness reduces the impact of operational mistakes, erroneous
input data, and hardware errors.
A software system is robust if the consequences of an error in its
operation, in the input, or in the hardware, in relation to a given application, are
inversely proportional to the probability of the occurrence of this error in the
given application.
 Frequent errors (e.g. erroneous commands, typing errors) must be handled
with particular care
 Less frequent errors (e.g. power failure) can be handled more laxly, but
still must not lead to irreversible consequences (Goldberg & David,
2000).
Examples of Information system:
While studying Information Systems, one can explore the direct
application of information system in terms of design, development and processing
of data into information, both manual and mechanical. Traditionally Information
System was not so famous due the manual work which was slow and managed in
a haphazard manner. With the introduction of Information Technology,
information system began to strong hold its position. The work was now
transferred from information dissemination to information creation and
processing. This has led Information System to develop their scope into other
disciplines and ultimately created sub-disciplines of their own like Business
Management Information System, Business Accountancy Information System,
Geographical Information System, Pharmaceutical Information System etc. There
are however many new emerging branches of information systems which are
based on Web, Organizations, Knowledge & Softwares viz., Web based
Information System, Organization Information System, Knowledge based
Information System & Software based Information System. The Software Based
Information System is categorized into two types Licensed and Freeware
distribution. On the whole Information System has touched every sphere of life,
even in our day to day life we knowingly or unknowingly deal with some kind of
Information System.
One of the affected branch is Natural Science, which deals with all the
livelihood in biosphere. Though modest in its kind still it is being widely
accepted, Some of the major examples of Information System in Natural Sciences
are: Environmental Information System (Envis) (http://envis.frlht.org.in/),
Victorian
Flora
and
Fauna
(http://www.viridans.com/FISVFD/VICFIS1.HTM),
Information
System
Integrated
Taxonomic
Information System (http://www.itis.gov/), Noxious and Nuisance Plant
Management Information System, Water Management Information System
(http://www.wateronline.com/storefronts/osisoft.html),
Poisonous
Plants
Information System (http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/poison) etc.
Floral Information System
Throughout history, scientists have created and summarized the
information, derived from collected plants and observations of plant communities
to produce collective, consistent and cognitive information on account of the
plants. These accounts, known as 'Floras' are supported by catalogued collections,
which are mainly of dried plant specimens stippled on a paper with sufficient
information about the plant, its characters, its naming system (Nomenclature) that
are either handwritten or preserved with sketches. Researchers use these Floras
from generations, but sooner or latter the Flora with its information dies with the
span of time (Henwood, Hanfling, Brownlee, Tristan, & Belinda, 2007). In
recent times, with the advent of information technology and information system,
the trend is now changing, researchers and botanists are using tools of
Information Technology to preserve, disseminate, share and manage a consistency
in their preservation. The opportunities offered by the information system
supports digital mapping of data from dispersed sources, in diverse formats,
organization of data, error handling, upgradation of data, preservation of Flora as
virtual images and many other opportunities that invites global research
community to gather, compare and use information in new ways (Global
Biodiversity Information Facility, 2006).
Many initiatives are already undertaken and some are currently in
process. These initiatives support digitization, preservation & dissemination,
firstly for local use then moved onto distributed networks and the Internet. Data
associated with Flora are currently being digitized and uploaded into web-enabled
databanks; for example the Australia's Virtual Herbarium (Australian National
Herbarium, 2006) and PNGplants (Conn, Banka & Lee, 2006).
Structure of Select Floral Information System
The information regarding the structure of Floral Information System is
ascertained by visiting the Information System sites augmented by secondary
source like Internet Directory for Botany (www.botany.net/IDB/botany.html)
consisting of 2544 Floral Information System (Brach, Lampinen, Lin, &
McCree, 2008).
101 Herbs.com: Natural Herbs and Natural Extracts, Delhi, India
(http://www.101herbs.com/)
Figure 2.1: 101 Herbs.Com, Delhi, India
101 Herbs (India) Impex came into existence in 2002 developed by SAT
group, Delhi, India. An organization based information system which supports a
dimension of 600X800 pixels, with a Graphic User Interface. The database is
visible, arranged alphabetically with no search option. The full description of the
text is available in XHTML format categorized under three main topics;
Standardized herbal extracts (29 Species), Raw herbs and seeds (71 species) and
Essential oil (40 species) (as on 30th November, 2008). The metadata provided
includes: Botanical Name, common names, Introduction, Origin, Chemical
composition, Pharmacology, Remedies and Dosage. The information system
provides facility of Photographs with Indian name
FRLHT's Encyclopedia of Indian Medicinal Plants
(http://www.medicinalplants.in/)
Figure 2.2: FRLHT's Encyclopedia of Indian Medicinal Plants, India
The online encyclopedia of Indian medicinal plants is a knowledge based
Information System runs on a dimension of 800X600 pixels, a GUI supportive
with java enabled. The information system provides ‘Pattern’ and ‘Exact Match’
searching options. The searching is also provided by browsing categories of
alphabets. PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor: Server-side HTML embedded scripting
language) is used for querying the database which is hidden in advanced search.
The metadata provided includes vernacular names; distribution data, trade,
propagation, agro-technique, seed storage, eco-distribution map, digital images,
pharmacology and pharmacognsy. Many descriptions can be selected for more
advanced search. The user can search with any part of the botanical name or
regional names provided in thirteen languages. Currently the database constitutes
12 different languages including English, Arabic, Hindi, kannada, Malayalam,
Marathi, Persian, Sanskrit, Tamil, telugu, Tibetan and Urdu. The database
constitutes 7361 records (as on 30th November, 2008) out of it only 6734 items
are available with images. Thumb size images of the species are provided for easy
understanding of the species. The information system provides detailed help
regarding search, browse, and selection of multiple searching.
Exotic Naturals, Mumbai, India
(http://www.exoticnatural.com/)
This is an organization based information system making detailed account
of natural extracts of herbs developed by Natural Products Research and Supply
Company, India. The Information System supports many flash applets, a GUI
enabled with a dimension of 800X600 pixels. The database is visible containing
142 records (as on 30th November, 2008). The information system provides
detailed information about each record arranged alphabetically. The information
system lacks advanced search options. The records are provided in HTML format.
The metadata used for the information system are as; Botanical Extracts,
Phytochemicals,
Cosmoceuticals,
Oleoresins,
Other
health
Ingredients,
Therapeutic Applications, Premixes and Formulas, Consulting and Contract
Research.
Figure 2.3: Exotic Naturals, Mumbai, India
Gardentia: Complete Information on Gardening, Maharashtra, India
(http://www.gardentia.net)
This is a web based Information System with a dimension of 800X600
pixels, a compiled work providing access to the database of garden plants. The
Information system made its debt in 2005, a GUI supportive, with a total
collection of 750 records (as on 30th November, 2008) under 52 families with
image. The database is visible, supports both simple and advanced search. The
search is arranged in a form of a directory, with browsing features by “Family”
and “Common name”. The advanced search system supports scientific name
query with data dictionary results. Besides, the information system has a
provision for online identification of plants by users. The metadata used are:
Scientific name, Family, Common name, Botanical features, Propagation,
Longevity. Images are provided both full size and thumbnail preview. Certain
symbols are used to show: Flowering season, Fruiting season, Foliage plant, Level
of water needed, Level of sunlight needed, Shape of plant, Deciduous or
evergreen, Succulent, Growth pattern, Aquatic or marsh or free floating and
Animals attracted for food and nectar.
Figure 2.4: Gardentia: Complete Information on Gardening, Maharashtra,
India
Medicinal Plants, NTFP and Bamboos of Sikkim
(http://www.sikenvis.nic.in/medicine_main.htm)
A simple HTML page with a dimension of 480X360 pixels, runs only on
windows platform, based on web Information System. The total collection in the
information system is 160 items (as on 30th November, 2008). The information
system lacks any sort of search system. The system does not contain any database
but has a dictionary of Names. The names are arranged alphabetically with a
record of 160 items (as on 30th November, 2008) in a tabular fashion accordingly.
The metadata provided includes Scientific Name, Local Name, Distribution,
Types, Part used and Uses. There is no detailed description or Image of the
record.
Figure 2.5: Medicinal Plants, NTFP and Bamboos of Sikkim, India
Mother Herbs and Agro Products, Maharastra, India
(http://www.motherherbs.com)
This is an organization based Information System, supports 600X800 pixel
dimension, works well on Windows and Linux platforms. The information system
made its debt in the year 2004. With a total collection of 191 items (as on 30th
November, 2008) the database is supported with simple searching by means of
alphabetical order and advanced searching by Botanical Name, Common name
and Family Name. The metadata provided include; Botanical Name, Family
Name, Common Name, Part used, Habitat, Uses and Product offered. The desired
result is provided in DHTML format.
Figure 2.6: Mother Herbs and Agro Products, Maharastra, India
.
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Chapter - III
“Review of Literature”
Review of Literature:
The literature available on information system of flora and allied fields
can be categorized under various headings from pure websites, portals, databases,
digital library system or information system. Many web-enabled activities are
available in the literature encompassing data, information, bibliographic
information, full text information relating to farmers, researchers and extensive
works. Besides, many databases of national/ international scope also encompass
information about flora and its various shades/ dimensions like AGRIS/ ENVIS
etc. Many other institutes/databases also enfold much information about flora
(from anatomy to Pathology) like MEDLARS, PUBMED through a different
perspective
The present survey has undertaken a thorough literature review of floral
information system, listing their architecture, structure and activities in a
comprehensive way. The entire literature review is presented under the following
headings:
a)
Floral Database
b)
Floral Digital Library.
c)
Floral Websites.
d)
Organizations with Flora and
e)
Softwares dealing exclusively with plants.
a) Floral Database
(White, 2007) describes ILDIS (World Database of Legumes) an
information system which contain records for over 19,000 taxa (species,
subspecies and varieties). He records that the data comprises fully referenced,
factual information, which can be split into three more sub information systems
viz; The World Species Checklist Data, The World Geographical Distribution
Data & The World Botanical Information Data. ILDIS uses the Alice (version
2.0) biodiversity database system for management of the World Database. Burger
& Lee (1994) lists computer database for vegetative propagation of tree and
shrubs. The database includes information on rooting data form different
publication for the last six decades in an organized and user friendly way.
Information can be retrieved form the database using keywords common to
rooting literature including genus, type of cutting, fruiting season, rooting
medium etc. Haddon, Sauvageau, & Wang, (1996) has reported the REGEN
database that was developed under the Canadian National Forestry Database
programme to report on Flora regeneration activities. The underlying conceptual
model clearly identifies the linkage between different activities. The approach
allows for the incorporation of updated information on the current status as it
becomes available form re-inventories and periodic assessments. Horiguchi &
Sakulas (2007) reports a computer database of medicinal plants used in Papua,
new Guinea at the Wau Ecology Institute. The Medicinal plant Database contains
information ranging from traditional usage records to the result of scientific
studies and enables users to refer to specimens in the Wau Ecology Institute
Herbarium through its access to the Herbarium database. Gullan & Leech (2008)
describes Flora Information System a fully-functional geographically – registered,
relational database of distribution and descriptive data on Victorian plants. The
information system operates on MS-Xp, 2000, NT & 98 in a standalone or
network environment and can be run in read only, partial editable modes.
Berezoyskaya, Karev, Shvidenko, & Ason, (1994) explains computer
database model of plant communities, including eco – physiological models of the
structure and dynamics of plant communities. The system uses a blockhierarchical classification of the models. Singh & Narayan. (2003) at ICRAF
(International Centre for Research in Agroforestry) led his team responsible for
establishing the MPTS (Multipurpose Tree and Shrub Information System). The
MPTS was initially designed using programs developed by the Micro Database
systems Inc. and named as Multipurpose Tree and Shrub Information System in
the year 1991. MPTS information system of ICRAF which intended to be used as
a decision support tool for selection of important floral species (Schroder &
Jaenicke, 1994).
b) Floral Digital Library
Ong, Leggett, Wilson, Hatch & Reed, (2008) explains Digital Flora of
Texas a collaborative research effort that relies on botanical research centers in
Texas to create and maintain digital library collection on the flora of Texas. The
Herbarium Specimen Browser (HSB) is the main portal to the collections of the
Digital Flora of Texas. The HSB allows examination of the collections through
several types of interactive information visualization. Kress & Russell (2007)
describes Plant Press in collaboration with National Museum of Natural History
which Participates in a multi-institutional efforts to produce digital plant species
information for Latin America and consolidate the data in an online presentation.
Joseph, Amy, & Margaret, (2002) describe MBLWHOL – A project of
innovative Digital Herbarium, which digitizes the vascular and non vascular plant
specimen of Cape Cod, Massachusetts and associated coastal islands. Aluka as
elaborated by (Guthrie & Nygren, 2007) is an international, collaborative
imitative with the aim of building on online digital library of scholarly resources
from & about Africa. Flora Base (2007) shows information system developed by
the western Australian Herbarium, gives a feel for some of the features planned
for the virtual Australian herbarium. It comprises of an integral website drawing
specimen, census and descriptive data together with maps and images.
PDIS describes a detailed account on information system of plant
diagnostic on schutter weed of Bozeman popularly known as Catherine Seibert
MONT Herbarium, in collaboration with Montana state University, Bozeman
(PDIS, 2007).
c)
Floral Websites
Delgado, Fajardo, Gibaja, & Perez- Perez., (2004) enumerates an
information system to herbarium called BioMen, which is a client – server
architecture designed for floral management. The services are managed by means
of a Multi-Agent System, i.e. an Input/Output system, which interacts with the
web server. In addition, artificial intelligence techniques have been incorporated
so that the necessary information may be obtained for the study. (Environmental
Information System, 2007) describes the online information System for flora
which consists of two parts - one that profiles 730 medicinal plants that are in all
India trade and the other part a nomenclature database of 7637 medicinal plant
species found in India. Grodowitz & Whitaker (2003) explains the Noxious &
Nuisance Plant Management Information System (PMIS) which is easy-to-use
information retrieval system that is to be used by public land managers, educators,
weed managers and technical personnel. Furthermore, the information system is a
user friendly computer based decision support and a centralized information
system. Proper guidance accompanied to PMIS makes the system easy to use and
navigate. Plant Net (2007) describes information system, developed by the
National Herbarium of New South Wales (NSW) as a well advanced unique
substantial collection for easy retrieval of information on flora of Wales. The
information system is further sub divided into three sub-system viz., Flora Search,
Herblink and Weed Alert making the information system more complex.
Babac, (2003) attempts to describe a possibility of an information system
on plants of South-West Asia with particular Reference to the Turkish plants data
service (TUBIVES). TUBIVES consists of 2 main data-retrieval systems. One
retrieves data for geographical distributions of Turkish plants. The other retrieves
data for taxonomic information about Turkish plants. Fanani, Kobashi, & Miwa,
(1990) developed an information system for teak management on sustainable
basis in Indonesia.
d) Organizations
White (1978) outlined the types of services provided from plant related
organizations. These organizations collaborately provide services for obtaining
hard copies from the nine information systems of flora viz: AGRICOLA, AIDS,
CRIS, SSIE, BIOSIS previews, CAB Abstracts, WRSIC (Water Resources
Scientific Information Center), Fish and wildlife Reference service and
FIREBASE. Pathania, Kohli, Arya, & Atul., (1996) expressed the concern in
IUFRO-DNAES International meeting at Chandigarh, India for establishing
computerized floral database complex in India and resource inventory techniques
to support flora and its surrounding. Kupka (1996) reports the various
information services, computing infrastructure, floral databases, timber trade
database, flora database management network, meta database, web service, access
to the information services and interactive database developed by European Forest
Institute.
e) Softwares
IADSS- Information and Decision Support System. A user friendly
software package designed to help scientists for managing field research data and
other information on multipurpose flora and their potential for producing
fuelwood and other products (Cady, Pak, & Tabora, 1989). Venkateswarlu,
(1994) discusses MPTsys – a software on multipurpose flora species. Which is a
user-friendly microcomputer software package, developed under the F/FRED
project of Winrock International, and designed to help Scientists, administrators
and extension workers to organize, manage and share research Information on
multipurpose flora. (Salim, Simons, Waruhiu, Orwa, & Anyango, 1998) further
revised, refined, modified and renamed (AFT) and released as a stand alone
application on CD-ROM
(Conn, 2000) enumerates the Australian flora information system called
the virtual Australian Herbarium which is the centre point of HISCOM. It was
presented to the Australian systematic community in the form of a software in
systematics symposium, run by HISCOM, at the joint Australian systematics
society’s conference in Adelaide. (Rai, n.d) reports EUCALIST & TREDAT
information systems softwares developed at CSIRO division for flora and floral
products, Australia. TREDAT is an Information System for tree performance. The
use of models of plant growth is also briefly discussed in TREDAT.
Babac, M. Tekin., (2003). Possibility of an Information System on Plants of
South-West Asia with Particular Reference to the Turkish Plants Data
Service (TUBIVES). Faculty of Art & Science, Department of Biology
Abant Izzet Baysal University: Turkey. Retrieved 2nd February, 2008 from
http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/botany/issues/bot-04-28-1-2/bot-28-1-2-110301-7.pdf
Berezoyskaya, F.S., Karev, G.P., Shvidenko, A.Z., & Ason, N.D., (1994). An
information/ reference database of ecological/physiological models of
plant communities. Lesovedenie. 1:32-36. Retrieved 4th March, 2008 from
http://mirror.iasri.res.in/net/publications/curr-agrl-2004.pdf
Burger, D.W. & Lee, C.I., (1994). Development of a computer database for
vegetative propagation of trees and shrubs. Journal-of-EnvironmentalHorticulture. 12(2):87-89. Retrieved 22nd March, 2008 from
http://mirror.iasri.res.in/net/publications/curr-agrl-2004.pdf
Cady, F.B., Pak, J.C. & Tabora, R.G., (1989) A user-friendly decision support
system for multipurpose tree research information - the F/FRED
experience. CATIE Technical. 143:62-68. retrieved 10th April, 2008 from
http://mirror.iasri.res.in/net/NESA-Delhi-2004.pdf
Conn, Barry J. (2000). Information standards in botanical databases – the limits to
data interchange. Telopea. 10(1) 53–60. Retrieved 1st January, 2008 from
http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/72707/Tel10Con053.pdf
Delgado, M., Fajardo, W., Gibaja, E., & Pe´rez-Pe´rez, R., (2004). BioMen: an
information system to herbarium. Department of Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence. Spain: Universidad de Granada. Retrieved 16th
June, 2008 from
http://hera.ugr.es/doi/15772172.pdf
Environmental Information System. (ENVIS)
(2007). Medicinal Plants of
Conservation Concern. India: Foundation for Revitalization of Local
Health Traditions. Retrieved 4th August, 2008 from
http://envis.frlht.org.in/digital_herbarium_930.php
Fanani, Z., Kobashi, S., & Miwa, K., (1990). Development of the data base for
teak forest management in Indonesia. Bulletin of the Kyoto University
Forests.
62:168-184.
Retrieved
22nd
March,
2008
from
http://www.itto.or.jp/live/Live_Server/672/tfu.2004.01(12-13).e.pdf
Flora Base (2007). Western Australia’s Flora Base: An operational Australian
State Flora Information System. Flora Base: Australia. Retrieved 8th May,
2008 from
http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/wwatch/wwreport2005.pdf
Grodowitz, Michael., & Whitaker, Sherry., (2003). Noxious and Nuisance Plant
Management Information System (PMIS). US Army Engineer Research
and
Development
Center.
Retrieved
27th
March,
2008
from
http://abstracts.co.allenpress.com/pweb/esawssa2003/document/29246
Gullan, Paul., & Leech, Scott., (2008). Flora Information System. Viridans:
Australia. Retrieved 7th June, 2008 from
http://www.viridans.com/FISVFD/VICFIS1.HTM
Guthrie, Kevin., & Nygren, Tom., (2007). Aluka: Building A Digital Library of
Scholarly Resources form Africa. Retrieved 3rd July, 2008 from
http://ts-den.aluka.org/fsi/img/misc/pdf/Background.pdf
Haddon, B., Sauvageau, F., & Wang, E., (1996). REGEN: a program for reporting
on forest regeneration. Forestry Chronicle. 72(5):505-512. Retrieved 22nd
July, 2008 from
http://nfdp.ccfm.org/regen/index_e.php
Horiguchi, K., & Sakulas, H., (2007). A medicinal plant database of Papua New
Guinea. Science in New Guinea. 16(1):31-34. Retrieved 9th May, 2008
from
http://www.odi.org.uk/fecc/resources/reports/png_paperone_history.pdf
Intermec Technologies. (2008). Intermec Glossary of Terms. West Everest:
Intermec Technologies Corporation. Retrieved 24th August, 2008 from
http://www.intermec.com/learning/glossary/s.aspx
Johannsen, J., (2000). A Glossary of Terms for Precision Farming. Purdue
University: Stennis Space Center. Retrieved 11th September, 2008 from
http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/SSMC/frames/newglossery.htm
Joseph, M. deVeer., Amy, Stout., & Margaret, Rioux., (2002). The MBLWHOI
Library Digital Herbarium. George M. Gray Museum, Marine Biological
Laboratory: Cape Cod. Retrieved 4th September, 2007 from
http://mercury.mbl.edu/herbarium/
Kress, W. John., & Russell, Rusty (2007). The Plant Press, National Museum of
Natural History. Smithsonian. 10(3). Retrieved 14th November, 2008 from
http://botany.si.edu/pubs/plantpress/vol10no3.pdf
Kupka, I., (1996) The European Forest Institutes database and information
services (pp.59). EFI Working. Retrieved 6th December, 2008 from
http://www.iufro.org/download/file/550/387/op12.pdf
Lucas, J. R., & Henry, C., (1987). Sistemas de Informacio´n, Ana´ lisis, Disen˜o y
Puesta a punto. Paraninfo. Retrieved 16th December, 2007 from
www2.uah.es/farmacia/GUIA_ACADEMICA_06_07.pdf
Ong, Teong Joo., Leggett, John J., Wilson, Hugh D., Hatch, Stephan L., & Reed,
Monique D.,(2008). Interactive Information Visualization in the Digital
Flora of Texas. Texas: A & M University. Retrieved 4th May, 2008 from
http://www.texasflora.org
Pathania, M.S., Kohli, R.K., Arya, K.S. & Atul., (1996) Need for establishing
computerised forestrydatabase complex in India. In Proceedings of
IUFRO-DNAES international meeting on resource inventory techniques to
support agroforestry and environment (pp 49-52). Chandigarh, India.
Retrieved 5th January, 2008 from
http://www.recoftc.org/site/fileadmin/docs/publications/APCF_Newsletter
/Volumn_9/APCF_9602.pdf
PDIS (2007). Plant diagnostic Information system. Catherine Seibert MONT
Herbarium. Bozeman: Montana State University.Retrieved 7th March,
2008 from
http://www.pdis.org/
Rai, Ajit, P., Handa, A. K., Choudhari, Sudhakar., Prasad, Y. V. Krishna., & Pilli,
Ajay Babu. (n.d). Application of DBMS in forestry and agroforestry:
Recent trends for on-line extension of technology. India: National
Research Centre for Agroforestry (NRCAF). Retrieved 10th November,
2008 from
http://mirror.iasri.res.in/net/NESA-Delhi-2004.pdf
Salim, A.S., Simons, A.J., Waruhiu, A., Orwa, C., & Anyango, C., (1998).
Agroforestree database – A tree species reference and selection guide ver
1.0 on CD-ROM. ICRAF, Kenya. Retrieved 2nd Januray, 2008 from
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pnada851.pdf
Schroder, J.M., & Jaenicke, H., (1994) A computerised database as decision
support tool for the selection of agroforestry tree species. Agroforestry
Systems. 26(1):65-70. Retrieved 20th May, 2008 from
http://www.unl.edu/nac/research/2004ellis.pdf
Singh, Vijay P., & Yadava, Ram Narayan. (2003). Watershed Management (p.
104). Allied Publishers.
Venkateswarlu, P., (1994). Multipurpose software for multipurpose trees.
Agroforestry Today. 6(4):16-17. Retrieved 8th June, 2008 from
http://mirror.inaris.gen.in/net/58th%20Annual%20-Conference-of-ISAS.pdf
White, L.M., (1978). Forestry literature access through computer systems.
Journal of Forestry. 76(2):84-88. Retrieved 5th October, 2007 from
www.fs.fed.us/pnw/publications/gtr635/GTR635a.pdf
White, Richard. (2007). ILDIS (International Legume Database & Information
Service). Cardiff: Cardiff School of Computer Science. Retrieved 24th
July, 2008 from
http://www.ildis.org/database/
Chapter - IV
“Evaluation of Select Floral
Information System”
T
he chapter deals with evaluation of Six Floral Information System. The
process of evaluation started on 5th November, 2008 and was completed
on 10th February, 2009. The evaluated data is analyzed under the
following five sections which is supported with six tables, ten diagrams and one
Pie chart.
1. Governing Organization
4. Database Management
2. Collection Policy
5. Querying Mechanism
3. Copyright Protection
6. Architecture of Information System
Governing Organization
The governing responsibility of “101herbs.com” lies within the SAT
group of companies, established in the year 1981. SAT emerged as a trading
company which remarkably becomes SAT group of companies in a short span of
time. “101herbs.com” is a unit of SAT group of companies which originated in
2002. The company introduce itself as a processors, Exporters of Herbal Extracts,
Essential Oils, Herbs, and Raw materials used in Pharmaceuticals, Health Food,
Cosmetics, Food, Perfumery and other Industries. The organization deals with
Indian Herbs, its curative value, usefulness in cosmetics, alternative medicine,
nutritional food, pharmaceuticals, Herbal, & ayurvedic industries. The state-ofthe-art is fully automatic, well furnished with latest technology machines and
equipment with least human intervention.
“Exotic Naturals” is an ISO 9001:2000 Certified company governed by
Natural Products Research and Supply under a team of pharmacists. It is a based
on Natural Products of Research & Development in India, founded in 1994, and
serves
the
needs
of
Dietary
Ingredients,
Herbal
Supplements,
Phytopharmaceutical and Biopesticide industry within the country and outside the
country. The key strength of the information system is the ability to validate
known herbals through Clinical Trials conducted to comply with international
standards for pharmaceutical research.
S. No.
1
Name of the
Information
System
101herbs.com
Year of
Establishme
nt
1981
Governing
Responsibility of
The Information
System
SAT group of
companies
Primary objective of the
Parent Institution
Expertise of the Information System
administrators
Trading Company
National and Internationally branded Project
Managers and Quality controllers.
2
Exotic Naturals
1994
Natural Products
Research and
Supply
Research and Dietary
supplements
Highly qualified team from different
discipline viz; Members form NSF
International, USA and United States
Pharmacopoeia, Research Associates from
Botany, Educational Philosophers and
Vedantists
3
Gardentia
N.A
Nandan Kalbag,
The compiler
Awareness Programme to
Gardening
Faculty member of Department of
horticulture, University of Mumbai and
Computer Experts
4
Foundation for
Revitalization of
Local Health
Tradition (FRLHT)
1993
Public Trust and
Charitable Society
Conservation of the Natural
Resources
Distinguished Professor and Emeritus
Scholars from Departments of Electrical
Engineering, Ayurveda, Biology and many
Doctors of Vedia
5
Medicinal Plants,
NTFP (Non- Timber
Forest Producer)
and Bamboos of
Sikkim
2002
ENVIS center
(Environment
Information
System)
Integration of National efforts
in Environment
Professors and Doctors of Environment and
Forest Departments
6
Mother Herbs and
Agro Products
1996
IndiaMART
InterMESH Limited
Business-to-Business (B2B)
marketplace on Internet
Chief Executive Officers from various
corporate bodies, Ph. D holders from
Computer Science, Top reputed researchers
and scientists of vedas
Table 1: Governing Organization of Information System
The governing accountability of “Gardentia” is given by Nandan Kalbag,
the compiler of “Gardentia”. Although “Gardentia” is a team effort with many
experts from Horticulture Department. Dr. M. R. Almeida & Dr. C. S. Lattu are
other team members from Horticulture Department which are specialist in
identifying plant species. Nandan Kalbag and his comrades are faculty members
of the gardening courses conducted by University of Mumbai, Extramural section.
The Information System provides tips on cultivation of plants and also about
pests, diseases, pesticides etc.
“Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Tradition (FRLHT)” is run
under a registered Public Trust and Charitable Society, which started its activities
in 1993 under the guidance of Sam Pitroda. The Indian Ministry of Science &
Technology recognizes FRLHT as a Scientific and Research organization. The
Ministry of Environment and Forests has designated FRLHT as a National Center
of Excellence for medicinal plants and traditional knowledge. FRLHT believes
revitalization of Indian Medical Heritage holds two promises for India, one is
self-reliance in primary health care for millions of households and the second is
an original contribution to the world of medicine. In 1998, FRLHT received the
prestigious ‘Norman Borlaug’ award, and in 2002, the United Nations awarded
the ‘Equator Prize’ to FRLHT for its achievements in the ‘medical plants
conservation program’ underway in peninsular India, which is currently
implemented by State Forest Departments and Reputed NGO’s, and technically
coordinated by FRLHT
The governing responsibility of “Medicinal Plants, NTFP (Non- Timber
Forest Producer) and Bamboos of Sikkim” lies directly under PCCF (Principal
Chief Conservator of Forests) -cum-Secretary, Forest, Environment and Wildlife
Management Department, with the supervision and guidance of Additional PCCF,
Conservator of Forests of Environment sector. Realizing the importance of
Environmental Information, The Government of India, in December, 1982 (2005
Digital version of ENVIS), established an Environmental Information System
(ENVIS) as a plan programme. The focus of ENVIS since inception has been on
providing environmental information to decision makers, policy planners,
scientists and engineers, research workers, etc. all over the country. The day to
day affairs of the ENVIS center are being managed by Conservator of Forests,
Land Use and Environment, who are also the Programme coordinators for ENVIS
Sikkim Center. There are three project divisions working under the center to look
after the needs of collection, compilation, database development, updating
of information on the database and in website. ENVIS has a broad aim to build up
a repository and dissemination centre in Environmental Science and Engineering.
Secondly it will gear up the modern technologies of acquisition, processing,
storage, retrieval and dissemination of information of environmental nature.
Lastly it has an aim to support and promote research, development and innovation
in environmental information technology. ENVIS is a decentralized system which
found the Information System in 2002 with a network of distributed subject
oriented Centers ensuring integration of national efforts in environmental
information collection, collation, storage, retrieval and dissemination to all
concerned.
“Mother Herbs and Agro Products” is managed by IndiaMART
InterMESH Limited (IndiaMART is a Business-to-Business marketplace that
assists buyers and sellers trade with each other at a reliable, common platform).
IndiaMART is India's largest B2B & web-solutions company that caters to
thousands of clients with its state of the art development center in heart of country
and a nation-wide sales network covering all metros & major industrial hubs of
India. IndiaMART was found in 1996 and its unit organization was found in
2004. “Mother Herbs and Agro Products” executives are working on Technical
aspects, hired from Agricultural Universities in Delhi, Uttaranchal, Utter Pradesh.
Collection policy
The collection details of “101herbs.com” include only 140 records in
XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) format. The information is
freely available, visible and accessible without any registration. The site is
maintained by researchers and scientists. “Exotic Naturals” contains a collection
of only 142 records. Although there are a number of branded products and
formulas included which are presented in a beautiful animated format. The
records are in simple HTML format with certain Java applets embedded. The
collection is partially visible to some of the branded products and needs
registration and other membership formalities. “Gardentia” has a collection of 750
records under 52 families. The records are visible in HTML format. The records
are supported with special symbols which are to be learned first to understand the
record information. There are no restrictions in accessing the records as all
records are freely visible and without any registration.
“Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Tradition (FRLHT)”
provides details account of around 7361 records and has 6734 plant images in
HTML format. The database is complicated but freely available, registration is
optional. For accessing the database user has to learn certain technicalities which
are provided with the database. The site has a provision to photographs both in
high resolution and in low resolution with java script enabled. “Medicinal Plants,
NTFP and Bamboos of Sikkim” is a single and a simple HTML page with. The
total collection in the information system is 160 items provided in a single tubular
format. There is no concept of database. The collection items are visible on a
single unit page without any restriction of membership. “Mother Herbs and Agro
Products” is an interactive Information System with 191 records in DHTML,
XHTML and HTML format. The Information System restricts access to its
collection. Although some of the visible records are categorized under formal
database. The formal collection is accessible without any membership restriction.
The site is decorated with certain informative, graphical java applets.
S.
No.
Name of the
Information System
Total Number
of Records
Format (Provided)
Provision
for
Upload
Provision
for
Requisition
Quality of records in
terms of visualizations
(Low/ Normal/ High)
Interactive Java
Applets (Enabled/ Not
Enabled)
1
101herbs.com
140
XHTML (Extensible
Hypertext Markup
Language)
No
Yes
Normal
Not Enabled
2
Exotic Naturals
142
HTML ( Hypertext
Markup Language)
Yes
Yes
Normal
Enabled
3
Gardentia
750
HTML ( Hypertext
Markup Language)
No
No
Normal
Not Enabled
4
Foundation for
Revitalization of Local
Health Tradition
(FRLHT)
7361
HTML ( Hypertext
Markup Language)
Yes
Yes
Optional (Normal and
High)
Enabled
5
Medicinal Plants, NTFP
(Non- Timber Forest
Producer) and Bamboos
of Sikkim
160
HTML ( Hypertext
Markup Language)
No
No
Low
Not Enabled
6
Mother Herbs and Agro
Products
191
DHTML (Dynamic
Hypertext Markup
Language), XHTML
and HTML
Yes
Yes
Optional (Normal and
High)
Enabled
Table 2: Collection Policy of Information System
101herbs.com
Exotic Naturals
Gardentia
Foundation for Revitalization of
Local Health Tradition (FRLHT)
Medicinal Plants, NTFP (NonTimber Forest Producer) and
Bamboos of Sikkim
Mother Herbs and Agro Products
Figure 4.1: Total Number of Records in Floral Information Systems
Copyright Protection
101 Herbs.com: Natural Herbs and Natural Extracts, Delhi, India
“101herbs.com” is protected with “Copyscape Protection”. Copyscape is an
online service for detecting online plagiarism that checks whether text content appears
elsewhere on the web. CopyScape is an easy way to find out where ones articles would
be. Though it is not guarantee that this will stop thieves from copy and paste but it might
help ward them off. This type of protection is online and is searched manually.
Exotic Naturals, Mumbai, India
The records of “Exotic Naturals” are partially visible which needs membership
and other formalities. The full data is provided to registered members only. The scheme
of rights protection is custom defined and do not follow any pattern.
Gardentia: Complete Information on Gardening, Maharashtra, India
“Gardentia” is open to plagiarism and follows no scheme of protection. The
Information System is exclusive designed for gardening guidance. The records are open
having no information protection at all.
Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Tradition (FRLHT) Encyclopedia of
Indian Medicinal Plants
FRLHT has a large volume of database. The Information System follows there
own way of protecting documents. The records are to be first selected from a short
descriptive list where from the full description is provided by entering personal details
including e-mail address.
Medicinal Plants, NTFP and Bamboos of Sikkim
“Medicinal Plants, NTFP (Non- Timber Forest Producer) and Bamboos of
Sikkim” follows no copy right protection. All the records are open and unsafe.
Mother Herbs and Agro Products, Maharastra, India
“Mother Herbs and Agro Products” follows Intellectual property right except the
third party content and link to third party web site on the Information System.
S. No.
Name of the
Information System
Scheme of
Copyright
Protection
Vulnerability to
plagiarism
Responsibility given
for copyright
compliance
Sources used for
handling Copyright
issues
1
101herbs.com
Copyscape
Protection
Safe
Administrator
SAT Group
2
Exotic Naturals
Custom Defined
Safe
Administrator
Researcher and
Eminent Scholars
3
Gardentia
No Protection
Unsafe
Compiler
None
4
Foundation for
Revitalization of Local
Health Tradition
(FRLHT)
Custom Defined
Safe
Administrator
Public Trust and
Charitable Society
5
Medicinal Plants, NTFP
(Non- Timber Forest
Producer) and Bamboos
of Sikkim
No Protection
Unsafe
Government
ENVIS (Environment
Information System)
6
Mother Herbs and Agro
Products
Intellectual
Property Rights
Safe
Administrator
Researchers and
Scientists
Table 3: Copyright Protection of Information System
Database Management
The database of “101herbs.com” is arranged alphabetically in a chronological
manner. The database is miniature and heterogeneous in nature. There is no concept of
DBMS (Database Management Softwares). The database is open and interconnected
via hyperlinks. There is no scheme of management present in the database of “Exotic
Naturals”. The records are arranged haphazardly enlighting the branded products only.
The products are categorized unevenly under different headings. The database is
heterogeneous and connected by hyperlinks.
“Gardentia” has a sophisticated database
with heterogeneous data. The database is arranged chronologically according to familywise order with common names next to Botanical name. There is a proper Database
Management Software, handling all records except special symbols. The records can be
downloaded with File Transmission and are interconnected by hyperlink.
“Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Tradition (FRLHT)” contains
a Multi-disciplinary database on medicinal plants covering propagation, agrotechnology, trade, distribution, pharmacognosy, pharmacology and traditional
medicine. The database is complicated and well managed, which can handle large
volumes of data. The database can be synchronized according to user needs. The
Encyclopedia is managed with high end-Relative Database Management System
(RDBMS) which can be customized accordingly. “Medicinal Plants, NTFP (NonTimber Forest Producer) and Bamboos of Sikkim” has no concept of any database or
any other record handling system. The records are in a tabular format, arranged
chronologically according to their botanical names on a single web page. There are no
hyper links or any other method used to download or view the records. The database of
“Mother Herbs and Agro Products” is well organized by different information
management techniques. The records are arranged in four categories viz. Herbs by
Botanical Name, Herbs by Common Name, Herbal Extracts and Herbs by Plant Parts.
Furthermore the four categorized are further tagged into alphabetical list and arranged
alphabetically. The records are managed in a specialized back-end Relational Database
Management Softwares. The database is heterogeneous in nature.
S.
No
.
Name of the
Information
System
Management
Technique
Database
Mang.
Scheme
Mang.
Software
Type
Scripting
Language
Animation
Software
Web Page
Editor
Image
Editing
Software
Plat
Form
Nature of Data
1
101herbs.com
Alphabetical
and
Chronological
Present
My SQL
PHP
(Hypertext
Preprocessor)
Adobe Flash
(CS4)
Macromedia
Dreamviewer
MX 2004
Adobe
Photoshop
Win NT,
XP,
Vista
Heterogeneous
2
Exotic
Naturals
Haphazards
Not
Present
None
None
Macromedia
Flash
PageBreeze
Corel
Draw
Win NT,
XP,
Vista
Heterogeneous
Present
MS –
Access
Java Script
No
KompoZer
Adobe
Photoshop
Win 9X,
2000,
NT, XP,
Vista
Heterogeneous
My SQL
PHP
(Hypertext
Preprocessor)
No
Macromedia
Dreamviewer
MX 2004
Adobe
Photoshop
Win 9X,
2000,
NT, XP,
Vista
Heterogeneous
No
MS - Front
Page
None
Win 9X,
2000,
NT, XP,
Vista
Homogeneous
No
Macromedia
Dreamviewer
MX 2004
Adobe
Photoshop
Win 9X,
2000,
NT, XP,
Vista
Heterogeneous
3
4
5
6
Gardentia
Foundation for
Revitalization
of Local
Health
Tradition
(FRLHT)
Medicinal
Plants, NTFP
(Non- Timber
Forest
Producer) and
Bamboos of
Sikkim
Mother Herbs
and Agro
Products
Chronological
Classified
Present
Alphabetical
Not
Present
Categorical
Present
None
None
My SQL
Python
(Common
Gateway
Interface)
Table 4: Database Management System of Information System
Query Mechanism
101 Herbs.com: Natural Herbs and Natural Extracts
“101herbs.com” has 140 records searchable in a small directory format supported
with hyperlinks. The whole database is visible and arranged in three segments of herb
distribution viz Standardized herbal extracts (29 Species), Raw herbs and seeds (71
species) and Essential oil (40 species). There is no provision for Content searching or
Indexed searching The user has to find his query in the directory made structure starting
from downward hierarchy of broad topic to specific.
User Query
Interface Connection with Database
101 herbs.com
Database
WWW Interface
User
User
Standardized
Herbal Extracts
(29 Species)
Essential Oils
(40 Species)
Users
Fig 4.2: Querying Mechanism of 101herbs.com
Raw Herbs
and Seeds
(71 Species)
Exotic Naturals, Mumbai
The database of “Exotic Naturals” is categorized under many headings like:Botanical Drugs, Specialty Ingredients, Research Formulas, Nutraceutical Ingredients,
Generic Ingredients and Private Labeled Supplements. The records are searchable with
these categorized headings. The Information System does not support any sort of Content
searching or Indexed searching. The user has to find his record by manually searching the
categorized topics in a hyperlinked fashion.
User Query
Interface Connection with Database
Exotic Naturals
Database
WWW Interface of
Exotic Naturals
Categories of Exotic Naturals
User
User
Specialty
Ingredients
Nutraceutical
Ingredients
Private Labeled
Supplements
Users
Botanical Drug
Research Formulas
Generic Ingredients
Fig 4.3: Querying Mechanism of Exotic Naturals
Gardentia: Complete Information on Gardening
“Gardentia” lacks searching system. The query can be searched with the help of
grouped headings of Families or by searching the Common name in Alphabetical order.
There are only two headings where user can find his record viz. Family name and
Common name.
Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Tradition (FRLHT) Encyclopedia of
Indian Medicinal Plants
“Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Tradition (FRLHT)” is equipped
with two types of search mechanism viz Content searching and Indexed Searching. The
Online Encyclopedia supports search queries on the basis of a complex query language.
Before a user can start his query he has to understand the pattern of entertaining queries.
For users ease a search manual is provided on the home page. The search system
comprises of two search methods as:- “Pattern Match” and “Exact Match” After putting a
query the results are Indexed and displayed accordingly in a hypertext manner. The other
search options include multi lingual searching (Thirteen languages as on 9th March, 2009)
which includes English, Arabic, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Persian, Sanskrit,
Tamil, Telugu, Tibetan, and Urdu. Thumb images of the species are also provided for
easy identification of the species. The user can have a detailed account of the record
provided with membership and some personal contacts.
Exact
Match
User Query
Interface Connection with Database
Pattern
Match
WWW Interface of
FRLHT
Phase II
Actual Record
Phase I
Result Declared in
Directory Structure
FRLHT
Database
Result Decleared in Two
Phases I & II
Indexed Result
User
User
Users
Fig 4.4: Querying Mechanism of FRLHT
Medicinal Plants, NTFP and Bamboos of Sikkim
“Medicinal Plants, NTFP (Non- Timber Forest Producer) and Bamboos of
Sikkim” lacks any sort of querying mechanism. The records of the Information System
exist in a tabular format without any links or database provided.
Mother Herbs and Agro Products
“Mother Herbs and Agro Products” supports a full functional search mechanism
with a single search box supporting many features of search queries like content search,
word to word search, Botanical name search, Common name search, Family name search
and other key word searching. The searched results are indexed and provide a gist of the
records. The results are ranked according to a relevance based schema. The searched
results are heterogeneous in nature and supports high quality images.
User Query
Interface Connection with Database
WWW Interface of
Mother Herbs &
Agro Products
Actual Record
Key Words
For
Searching The
Database
Mother Herbs &
Agro Products
Database
Indexed Result with Gist of
Actual Record
Indexed Result
User
User
Users
Fig 4.5: Querying Mechanism of Mother Herbs and Agro Products
S. No.
Name of the
Information System
Presence of
Search Box
Search Query
Manual/ Automatic
Content Search
Support
Indexing Support
1
101herbs.com
Present
Manual
Absent
Absent
2
Exotic Naturals
Absent
Manual
Absent
Absent
3
Gardentia
Present
Automated
Absent
Absent
4
Foundation for
Revitalization of Local
Health Tradition
(FRLHT)
Present
Automated
Present
Present
5
Medicinal Plants,
NTFP (Non- Timber
Forest Producer) and
Bamboos of Sikkim
Absent
Manual
Absent
Absent
6
Mother Herbs and Agro
Products
Present
Automated
Present
Present
Table 5: Query Mechanism of Information System
Architecture of Information System
The Architecture “101herbs” is simple and uses no complexity. The Information
System starts with a simple home page describing its contents clearly. A list of records is
provided on the home page. Although a search box is provided but doesn’t support any
sort of searching, the search box is malfunctioning (as on 10th March, 2009). There is no
concept of database management software. The data is maintained manually and is
heterogeneous in nature, which uses hyperlinks to connect with full details of the records.
On the whole it is good looking, presentable Organizational Information system.
Home Folder
Index page
Search Box
Natural Essential
Oils
Home
Carbon dioxide
Extraction
Natural Herbs Detail
About Us
Natural Herbal
Extracts
Contact Us
Fig 4.6: Diagrammatic Representation of the Architecture of 101herbs
“Exotic Naturals” is well designed, animated Information System with certain
Flash and Java applets included. The whole information system stresses on Research and
Development in a centralized manner. There are certain incomplete portions which are
still under constriction. There is no concept of Database Management System. The
organization based Information system uses simple Hyperlinks for connecting its
Information chain.
Home Folder
Index page
The
Company
Home
Records Presented
In Animation
Products
Health
Claims
Contact
Us
Links
Seeking
Partners
Downloads
Botanical Drugs
About Us
Mission &
Quality Policy
Specialty
Ingredients
Cultivation
Research
Formulas
Best Practices
Nutracentical
Ingredients
Certification and
Membership
Our Social
Cause
Testimonials
Generic
Ingredients
Organizations &
Societies
Journals
Private Labeled
Supplements
Events
Enquiry
Fig 4.7: Diagrammatic Representation of the Architecture of Exotic Naturals
“Gardentia” is a simple yet informative Information System designed exclusive
for personal interests. The architecture of the information system is well designed without
any animation. A lot of information is provided on gardening, its purpose, cultivation,
propagation, pest control, diseases by bacteria, fungi and viral etc. The entire System uses
simple hyperlinks for its working. To understand the information system in a better way,
a lot of symbol explanations are provided. In nutshell it is a complete package for
gardening.
Search Database
Familywise
About Symbols
Home Folder
Index page
Unidentified
Plants
Search of
Common Names
in Alphabetical
Order
Acknowledgement
&
Bibliography
Pest
Management
Gardening
Notes
Understanding
Plants
Preparation
before planting
Manures and
Fertilizers
Hanging Plants
Pesticides
Lawns
Chewing Pests
Cacti & Other
Succulents
Sucking Pest
Forthcoming
Events
Books &
Periodicals
Training Courses
Gardening
Resources
Current Topics
Visitor’s
Response
Associations
Mining Pest
Indoor Gardening
Insect, Pests,
Diseases &
Control
Fungal Diseases
Bottle Gardens
Chart
Bacterial
Diseases
Hanging Plants
Bonsai
Viral Diseases
Miscellaneous
Treasure Trove
Available &
Wanted
Fig 4.8: Diagrammatic Representation of the Architecture of Gardentia
The Web Based Information System “Foundation for Revitalization of Local
Health Tradition (FRLHT)” is a full functional, equipped with two search mechanism,
well designed and organized Information System. The system uses a sophisticated and
powerful querying mechanism provided with full filtering system for precise results. The
searching is done in two methods “Pattern Match” & “Exact Match”. Before using the
search mechanism a user has to go for user manual provided in “How to Use” entry.
Being as a part of Revitalization society the database is organized with a high level backend database manager. The data entered is heterogeneous in nature.
Finalize My
Selection
View My Selection
Home Folder
Index page
Home
Plant of The Month
How to Use
View All Species
Search
Pattern Match
Search
Exact Match
Species List A - Z
Fig 4.9: Diagrammatic Representation of Architecture of the Foundation for
Revitalization of Local Health Tradition (FRLHT)
“Medicinal Plants, NTFP (Non- Timber Forest Producer) and Bamboos of
Sikkim” is a Web based Information System designed by Environment Information
System in collaboration with Department of Forest of Sikkim. Having such a strong
backbone and good support form the forest department, the Information system lacks
many features starting with a poor database, low pixel count, lacks any sort of hyperlinks
or hypertext protocols. There are no Validators used to check the quality of pages. The
records are arranged in a chaotic manner having no pattern of database or search
mechanism.
ENVIS Home Page
Medicinal Plant
List
Fig 4.10: Diagrammatic Representation of the Architecture of Medicinal Plants,
NTFP (Non- Timber Forest Producer) and Bamboos of Sikkim
The Organization Based Information System “Mother Herbs and Agro Products”
is a good organized Information System which lies in the very efficient hands of highly
experienced Board of Directors, Computer Programmers, Designers and Researchers..
The Management team has a vision of getting international acclaim with more stress on
developing large volume of collection. The collection is organized with a Database
Management System, that gives a user to search via multiple modes of accession i.e.,
Botanical name, Common Name, Herbal Extracts, Plant Parts, Herbs by Property and
most of all Browse by Alphabetical order. The records can be searched with content
searching which give compact results in a simple indexed format.
Herbs by
Common Name
Home Folder
Index page
Browse All
Herbs by Alphabets
Content Searching
Herbs By
Botanical Name
Home
Herbal Extracts
Herbs by Pant Parts
Herbs by Property
Our Profile
Infrastructure
Quality
Assurance
Packaging
Private Labelling
Contact Us
Enquiry Form
Email
Fig 4.11: Diagrammatic Representation of the Architecture of
Mother Herbs and Agro Products
S.
No.
Name of the
Information
System
Designer
Group
Data
Handling
Scheme
Data Flow
(User & System)
Information
Processing
Provision of
Up loading
records
Provision of
Feed Back
1
101herbs.com
Designers of
SAT Group
Customized
Uni -Directional
Centralized
Yes
Yes
2
Exotic
Naturals
Alphonso
Advertising
(Private Firm)
Customized
Uni - Directional
Centralized
Yes
Yes
3
Gardentia
Author
Not Present
Bi - Directional
Centralized
No
No
Members of
Revitalization
Society
Customized
Bi - Directional
Centralized
Yes
No
Designers of
ENVIS
(Environment
Information
System)
Not Present
Uni - Directional
De - centralized
No
No
India Mart India
Mesh Limited
Customized
Bi - Directional
Centralized
Yes
Yes
4
5
6
Foundation
for
Revitalization
of Local
Health
Tradition
(FRLHT)
Medicinal
Plants, NTFP
(Non- Timber
Forest
Producer) and
Bamboos of
Sikkim
Mother Herbs
and Agro
Products
Table 6: Architecture Analysis of Information System
Critical Evaluation
The most important factor when evaluating an Online Floral Information
System is the availability and accessibility of its services i.e., Search System,
Fulfilling User Needs, usage of Web2.0 tool, Objectives of the work, Scholarly
sources etc which should be very strong and appropriate. Similarly, visual
distinctions that signal the nature of content hold true both on the Web as well on
paper. But apart from the paper the Web encourages wider use of services and
easy accessibility. Web versions ought to contain more services with greater
accuracy, it should however give an appealing graphics and more color than their
print counterparts.
The evaluated Floral Information System are well organized but there are
certain drawbacks which degenerate there quality and services. There are certain
points worth to discuss for betterment of future designing and accuracy to the
Floral Information Systems.
a) A Centralized Database
All the Floral Information Systems Lacks a Centralized Database, as no
form of unity or standard exists that can generate a large volume of central
processing. These Information Systems have the disadvantages of a single data
structure and nomenclature, and are not the best approach when the data are
largely required within a host institution that is willing to undertake its
management.
Networked databases
There are number of International federations of databases distributed in
many organizations around the world that agree to share data using common
schema and protocols. But none of the evaluated National Floral Information
System has the ability to share their database. Distributed data systems have
financial, quality control, ownership and community building advantages over
decentralized structures. The funding costs are distributed, data remain dynamic
and are maintained at source by those best qualified to update and improve them,
1
and data ownership issues are minimized, because the custodian retains control
over what data are shared. Building a scientific community to support and
develop the data system is promoted, because the providers of the source data
remain directly involved. The central web site or ‘portal’ that connects the entire
datasets can thus concentrate on portal function rather than raw data collection
and management. The costs of hardware, software and expertise are similarly
distributed, and know-how can be shared amongst the participants.
b) System support
When an Information system is designed, its continuity and development
depend on support from the scientific community. This community includes
contributors, evaluators of funding applications, users and science policy makers.
An alliance of people and/or organizations with a shared vision provides synergy,
and such leadership has greater impact on the scientific and government
communities than the efforts of a few. Out of all Floral Information Systems only
one was governed by Govt Organization viz., ENVIS, but it was far behind than
the private organizations. Members of the alliance of any organization whether
private or government sector should come form different streams which can share
knowledge, know-how and resources such as hardware/ software subject review,
management etc. They can provide a mix of national and international matching
for research projects, which benefit both individual members and the alliance as a
whole.
c) Quality Assurance
Quality assurance is especially challenging when all the possible uses to
which data can be put cannot be predefined. The perceived value of data is
dependent on the purpose to which they are put. The Information in the Floral
Information systems lack any sort of quality assurance except 101Herbs.com
which somehow uses validity checkers. No Information System provides a
detailed peer review for their data or information as these systems lacks subject
experts.
Page | 92
d) Interoperability
The norms of interoperability for Floral Information System include:
1. Automated ways of merging datasets and cross-checking of
nomenclatures.
2. Methods of having a ‘Globally Unique Identifier’ for every data
record that will allow detection of duplicate records.
3. Expanded schema to allow more data and metadata to be
exchanged and
4. New versions of data exchange protocols and middleware that are
more comprehensive and easier to implement.
None of the above norm is fulfilled by our Evaluated Floral Information
Systems, as all the systems lack any kink of interoperability.
e) Changing technologies
Computer technology is changing at such rapid rates that it is difficult to
predict what opportunities will be available in future years, although monitoring
the commercial sector is a good indication. Having a variety of choices in
hardware and software platforms may seem confusing, but years back the concept
of Open Source emerged and now it is becoming a legend in the market. The
Information System designed on a an Open Source Platform may provide a
developing pathway for future generations but none of the Evaluated Floral
Information System is designed on Open Source or Uses Open Source tools.
f) Data access
Today World is moving towards Open Access systems, Audiences are
now called contributors; every user is now a special donor. As such, restricting
users from scholarly literature seems to be awkward. People use open access
system thoroughly and are ready to contribute from their side. The Evaluated
Floral Information System has the provision of open access but lack the provision
of contribution. As such, the user of that system are just mute spectators and are
Page | 93
bound to uniplex systems. Here usage of web2.0 tools and Artificial Intelligence
seems to be worth some.
Page | 94
Chapter - V
“Designing Floral
Information System”
Page | 95
T
he Chapter provides a detailed layout of designing a Floral Information
System, from System Study to Designing phase with sufficient details for
subsequent Design phase, the focus is to sustain the suitability in meeting the
system requirements both at conceptualization and in practice.
Background
Literally a jungle of Information Systems exists for supporting the
Agriculture Industry. Among them, the leading one being Floral Information
System which encompasses plants or flora which have potential for economy and
valuable for Medicinal, Aromatic and other utilities. The Floral Information
System can link numerous stakeholders from different industries viz, Plant
Industry, Herbal Industry, Medicinal and many other industries like Information
Technology. The Floral Information System will enable us to examine and
improve the delivery of Information to various stakeholders dealing with i.e.,
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Economically important plants, Developing
digital herbarium (For preservation and documentation of flora) in a region/
institutions.
A model Floral Information System should cover the overall integrated
picture keeping all the system application using Information Technology. For
example, in a database of plants, several tables are connected to each other giving
a full profile of that particular plant, which at first instance can be broken into
many modules and headings for easy uploading and updation of the data.
Traditionally, data is monitored, analyzed and recorded directly into the database.
This is a classic example of an integration of modules in Floral Information
system. Therefore the concern is to be strategically planned for use of developers
and the end users.
In light of these situations, Taxonomists, Information professional,
computer professionals and consumers of herbal services need to develop a
framework for conceptualizing and understanding strategic system design. Two
Page | 96
key dimension of system integration may be used to develop such framework:
Internal framework, that concerns within an organization, and External
framework which concern mainly with interface for outside organization and
agencies of computer system. Thus, it consists of many different areas merged in
to a holistic
like of computerized plant record-digital herbarium, document
management, data warehouses, web-enabled services etc, which potentially
enhance the information sharing and integration of such system.
Strategy
Effective designing starts from an idea to a plan. It is a process of making
things more visible and acceptable. The processes involve cognitive tasks rather
than physical tasks to achieve visibility through the use of Project Designing
Method. Many phases are not dealt with here like Coding, Testing,
Implementation and Maintenance. The major phases included are:
1)
System study: gives a clear picture of the system, based on
previous data.
2)
Feasibility study: to estimate the cost and requirement analysis
with accuracy
3)
System analysis: investigating component parts of a whole of the
Floral Information System and their relations in designing the
System. Here software components may also be taken into
consideration.
4)
System design: based on the requirements and the detailed
analysis, a system framework is designed accordingly. The design
proceeds in two stages:

Preliminary or general design

Structure or detailed design
Several tools and techniques are used for designing. Here we have bared it
on Flowchart, Data flow diagram (DFDs), Diagrams and tables.
Page | 97
System Study
On the basis of earlier evaluation of select Floral Information System, the
system study has identified some of the major short comings and few
requirements in the system:
1)
The metadata schema need to be explored with experts of different
related fields.
2)
The information collected need to have a proper authentication
mechanism to validate facts and data.
3)
The designer of Information System to flora should keep in mind
the approach of the end user.
Requirements:
1)
The Floral Information System need to develop powerful searching
mechanism.
2)
The System Designer should use an input mechanism for
interoperability with other Floral Information System Databases.
3)
The Floral Information System need to be based on web 2.0 tools.
4)
Search key word tools need to be included as it keeps you what
keywords you are currently missing out on the based of search
query data from site’s content.
5)
The searching have full content search for having easy access to
text and images.
Page | 98
Feasibility study
Given the requirements by system study, many types of software are to be
used for designing Floral Information System. These softwares have their own
utility in designing. Starting with a platform, Linux operating system is best
suited, as it gives a high level of security and open source concept. LAMP server
(Linux, Apache, MySql and PHP) is used for database creation and connectivity.
The estimation of image manipulating/ editing softwares and other expenses are
given:
Software Requirement and Expenditure
Name of the
Software
Types of Software
Nature of
Software
Licensed type
Estimated
Cost
Linux
Operating System
Free and Open
Source Software
GNU (General
Public License)
Nil
PHP (Hypertext
Preprocessor)
Server sided
Scripting Language
Free and Open
Source Software
PHP License
v3.01
Nil
My Sql
Back End Database
Free and Open
Source Software
GNU (General
Public License)
Nil
GIMP
Photo editing
Software
Free and Open
Source Software
GNU (General
Public License)
Nil
Dream Viewer
Photo Manipulating
Software
Paid
End User
License
Rs 20,000
Photo editing
Software
Paid
End User
License
Rs 50,000
Total Estimated
Expenditure
Adobe
Photoshop
Other Expenses
Estimated Labour
Charges as per module
Estimated
Domain Charges
Estimated Hosting
Charges Per Anm *
Rs 35,000 – 40,000
Rs 15,00
Rs 2,000
Rs 38,500 – 43,500
The feasibility study reveals that, there are several types of paid softwares
which can be used in designing of Floral Information System. But in order to
reduce the cost efficiency open source softwares can be selected.
Page | 99
* Depend upon the dimension of the database and space occupation
System Analysis
There are two distinct perspectives while analyzing the Floral Information
System. These are the business perspective and applications perspective. As the
name indicates, a business perspective may have focus in business transactions
like buying, selling, marketing, interaction with clients etc which provides an
interaction between customers and technical staff. On the other hand the
application design will look after the overall system with regard to free flow of
data and information with many inbuilt customized applications. Even though the
two perspectives have different objectives but they may share some common
ends. Both use information from system owners and users to evolve the ideal
system for their respective needs.
Although there is little research that focuses directly on problem-solving
processes in Information System design, still there are a number of research areas
that are peripherally related. The first of these are, software design methodologies,
indicative of the guidelines that experts use in the field to structure the task of
designing. The second area is the automatic programming that provides a detailed
analysis of the task from an artificial intelligence viewpoint. Thirdly there is the
Project Planning and Designing Methodologies that track a line for avoiding the
pitfalls and follow a rhythmic pattern in these job routines.
After conceptualizing the various fields in our analysis we have a definite
idea about the system functioning, which is a centralized, organization based, web
Information System. The data should flow from a downward hierarchy to upward
end user and at the base of the hierarchy need collectors and manipulators.
Manipulators forward the data for proper authentication which is authenticated by
professionals. The information is organized at top level managers and ultimately
distributed evenly to the Information System. The Information System will
support end users with a friendly interface.
Page | 100
End User
Top Level Manager
Data Organizers
Data Authorizers
Data Manipulators
Data
Collectors
Data
Collectors
Data
Collectors
Data
Collectors
Fig 5.1:- A hierarchy reveled by System Analysis
The System Analysis involves generating a modular breakdown of the
system that satisfies the requirements described in problem specifications.
Various design methods provide different bases for performing modular
breakdown. However there are prevailing views in the literature as to what this
basis should be to prescribe a problem reduction approaches to the design. On the
basis of such complexity we have chosen a mixed mode which focuses both on
data structures and data flow. The methodologies may differ in the nature but their
specificity of the problem reduction or breakdown operators are worth
appreciating. A modular breakdown of the problem is identified by deriving the
mapping between the input and output data structure. Because such methods
Page | 101
involve the derivation of a single correct breakdown, there is no need for
evolution criteria or the comparison of alternative breakdown. On the other hand
the Data flow oriented approaches shows collection of guidelines for identifying
trial breakdown of a problem which is further elaborated in the chapter. The
breakdown of the system resulted into five major modules and various minor
modules (Later discussed in this chapter).
While analyzing the system communication, the access module to the
Floral Information System is divided into three sub modules, which are Local or
Visiting Module, Registered Member Module and Admin Module. Fig 5.2 shows
a Level 0 DFD of the Login process to the Floral Information System. There may
be a simple user interaction with the web server through internet. The web server
should interact with database in accord with the type of module used. The
information is responsed with the request generated and forwarded by the user.
The logical DFD illustrates the process on login without going into details about
the physical implementation of the activities. The process of response becomes
more complicated with simultaneous access by many users; the web interface
should manage the data response by slicing the process into number of many child
processes Fig 5.3 of Level 1 DFD shows the multiple access by N number of
users,
If slice = S then the P process should be S/N
P=S/N
Which means the system will become slower when accessed by multiple users at
once. The solution we have found is to give the user its own session with process
without slicing. Fig 5.4 of Level 2 DFD describes how the Information System
would be accessed with multimodal method. The system here is divided on the
basis of true session and processes which would be Super user, Register Member
and Local user or Visitor. For access to database of Floral Information System the
level 2 DFD describes that the Information System should consists of five entities,
Page | 102
which are Users, Login procedure, Image Manipulation System, Interface and
Database. Users are further divided into two types Admin user and Subject
Experts.
Furthermore, the Floral Information System should consist of two types of
interfaces; one is the interfaces for Administrator, which will look after for
updation, data consistency in the system, usage of the accountability etc. Another
is the interfaces for Subject Experts; this interface is for the peer review of
information provided by the user towards the system. The information will be
reviewed by subject experts and then published on the system database.
The Floral Information System should be equipped with latest web2.0
tools with certain Neuronal Network based technology like some sort of plant
recognition system, for satisfying this purpose the system will have a module that
will under take this purpose Fig 5.5 Level 2 DFD analyzes the overview of Floral
Information System, where it includes the system boundaries, entities that interact
with users, and information flow between the entities and Neuronal Network.
Page | 103
User’s
Boundary
Authenticated User
Login Request
Login
Process
Web
Server
User
Authenticated User
Result
Login Response
Authenticated
user SQL
Query
Result
Authenticated
user SQL
Query
Web Page
Web Server/
Database
Boundary
Information Response
Floral
Databases
Database
Files
Information Request
Fig 5.2: Level 0 DFD: Access Module
Page | 104
User
User
User
Response
User
Boundary
Response
Request
Request
Request
Web Server
Boundary
Response
Information Request
SQL Query Calls
Online
Information
System
Floral
Database
Database
Files
Home Page
Indexed Results
Information Response
Default Index
Page
Fig 5.3:- Level 1 DFD: Query Calls
Page | 105
Registered Member
Response
Users
Authenticated
User
Database
Files
Content
Moderation
User Boundary
Request
Request
Call to Database
Admin User
Registered
Member Entry
Super User
Response from
Database
Response
Online
Floral
Information
System
Updation
Of image
Gallery
Image
Gallery
Subject
Experts
Response to
Registered Member
Server
Boundaries
Query
call to
Database
Query call
Response
Database
Data Handler
Floral
Database
Super User
Updation Call
Peer review
Bu Subject
Experts
Updation
of Textual
Database
Search
Indexer
Call to Database
Database
Files
Data Handler
Response from
Database
Updation Report
Content
Moderation
Database
Files
Admin User
Fig 5.4:- Level 2 DFD: Overview of Data Flow in Floral Information System
Page | 106
Image sent for
reorganization
Patterned
Images
Database
Image returned
with errors
Automated
System
Boundary
Image
Recognized or
Rejected
Conversion
According to
the norms
Image Saved in
the gallery
Raw Image
Rejected Image
Request
Digital Image
SQL Query
Image
Capturing
Multimedia
Interface of
Floral Information
System
Authentic
User
Query Result
Response
User Boundary
Object Oriented
Image Gallery
Data Sent for
Evaluation
Interaction with
Heterogeneous
Database
Request Form
Evaluated
by Subject
Experts
Response with
Text from
Texual
Interface of
Floral Information
System
Recognized
Image Database
Information
Stored by
Experts
Response to
users result
Heterogeneous
Floral Database
Administrator
Boundary
Text Saved for
Review
Data sent for
Evaluation
Response with
errors
Evaluated
by Subject
Experts
Information
Stored by
Experts
Textual
Database
Response
by Experts
Administrator
Boundary
Fig 5.5:- Level 2 DFD: Image Processing and Manipulation
Page | 107
Information System Design: Preliminary and Detailed
Creation of a system design based on its preceding studies may result in a highlevel design that will define the overall framework for the Floral Information System.
Subsystems of the system are identified and evolved further into components. The
Requirements are explored to the system components, and interfaces are specified in
detail.
After fully analyzing the system the tasks are broken out into developmental
modules, suitable for allocating the designing accordingly. Areas of significant designs
are also identified and which are to be designed in an elegant way. The system interfaces
are not detailed at first instance until the preliminary design process is completed.
Examples used in designing should be taken as illustrations as they explain the vital
points in the design process.
On the basis of logical grouping the design layout of the Floral Information
System is divided into four modules as:
1)
Search handler
2)
User Management Module
3)
Photo Gallery Module
4)
Plant Recognition System
5)
Content Management System
Search handler
Depending up the modular type the search handler is the most important one.
Information is stored in My SQL database which uses a highly sophisticated storage and
organization mechanism. My SQL supports multiple data storage engines and native
customized ones also. Here for designing purpose we have selected the most widely
acceptable access points for flora i.e., Botanical name, Common name, and English
name. Content searching is also provided for better results.
A search form is developed in this module which has the said access points. The
database server is also loaded with keyword searching to get a precise result. On the
Page | 108
search form radio buttons are used instead of Boolean search, as the database is related to
flora, using Boolean logic would be indecent and cause chaotic results.
After the insertion of search term by the user the system will check for direct
relation with the keywords stored in the database server, if the condition will be true the
flow will be directed towards the database, if the condition will be false the system will
trigger the database server to check for any relation in the contents then the result will be
indexed and displayed for any events from user, after then the flow will be directed
towards the database and a desired result will be displayed. A detailed Flow Chart (Fig
5.6) shows how the information will start from home page diverging the user to a
bidirectional entity as the user can search in the directory provided or he can use the
search engine to lead both to database. After the result is generated the system will search
for the user authentication if the user is a member of the system the result will be
declared else he will have to authenticate himself first. Fig 5.7 explains the working
mechanism of the search handler after a search query is entered by the user.
Page | 109
Start
Home Page
Search
Search in
the
Directory
Search By
Keywords
Floral
Information
System
Database
User
Authentication
Condition
No
(Not a User)
Need
registration
Condition
yes
Result
Displayed
Stop
Fig 5.6:- Flow Chart of Search Handler
Page | 110
User
Database Server
Search
Terms
My Sql
Keyword
Indexed
Regular
Updation
A Standard Database
and a Query Language
Searching in terms of
Keywords or Indexed
Fig 5.7:- Working of a Search Handler
Page | 111
User Management Module
The Floral Information System should give a proper authentication and
authorization for its users in terms of registration, access and total visibility of the
records. The User Management Module is needed to be controlled by the administrator.
The administrator can add, modify, deactivate workplace, Learn user records and regulate
user access to workplace. Many specific tasks are given for the designer for full
functioning of the User Management module which include the following:


Add users to workplace. (This is known as Rostering)

Manage user partitions.

Modify workplace user attributes.
Adding users to workplace
The authentication to the user will be given by importing user information from a
user directory. The information in the directory will be provided by the user by filling an
interactive form provided to him at the time of registration. The informative page will
consist of personal information and contacts of the user. The information gathered then
will be stored in a pool of the directory.

Managing user partitions
Partitions will give the Information System the ability to define which users are
displayed in a user operation. If there are no partitions, users can see all users in the
directory tree. When partitions are in effect, users see only there own partition.
Two types of logical partitions will be in effect to the Floral Information System;
they differ only in the criteria by which users are included in a partition i.e., User who are
the registered internal members of the Floral Information System, will have a full control
of the database and visibility like of Super User. These people will be limited as it can be
very vulnerable for the database survival. On the other hand there will be online
registered people who will have limited or full access to the records depends on the type
of registration membership.
Page | 112

Modifying user information
The administrator of the Information System will have a provision to modify
workplace users depending on the specific attributes given to them. The administrator by
his administrator privilege can do the following:
 Assign or Un-assign a Member
 Assign or Un-assign a User
 Change a user's status
Photo Gallery Module
An image gallery may be an additional feature for the better understanding of the
Information System rich in image contents, colors and features.
The system shall support an additional photo gallery, which may have a provision
to add pictures from user’s side. The customers/ users can create online image galleries,
portfolio, or other image vital applications. This solution will allow the users to create
Galleries and add images to previous galleries.
A simple “Add plant” form (written in HTML) will be used to do the job which
should be linked to database. The administrator will use content moderators for checking
of the image. Furthermore, other options may be added to the form like: Adding captions,
setting them to public or private to determine whether or not they will be viewable on the
site or not. Once an image is uploaded into the Gallery, it need to be automatically be
transferred to Admin gallery; where it automatically be resized and optimized for the
web. The images can be checked for any explicit content by the administrator. When the
images are ready they will be further checked by subject experts to determine the right
content relating to that of the image. The images with contents will be published and
made searchable in the database. Fig 5.8 describes the details of the photo gallery.
Page | 113
User
Database Server
Edited
Content
Image
resized
Content
Moderators
Submitting
Form
For Images
With Contents
Image Gallery
Registration
Form
Administrator
Privileges
Subject Experts
Administrator
Fig 5.8:- Flow of Data/ Information in Image Gallery Module
Page | 114
Plant Recognition System
There are many Floral Information System are based on Web 2.0 tools like wikis
and blogs. But the emerging technology is the Neuronal Network which is yet to be
implanted in Floral Information System. Neuronal Network is s system of individual
computational units known as neurons connected for the purpose of information
processing. Neural networks can be biological or artificial. Our plant Information System
can be enriched with a facility called Plant Recognition System based on Neuronal
Network. It will support Java Application/ Applets to recognize images of flowers and
leaves accordingly to previously trained back-propagation network and giving a
description of its availability.
The concept here is borrowed from Fingerprint Recognition Technology, which
aims to cross check fingerprint of a particular person to a Back-propagated database of
fingerprints. The intension of our Plant Recognition System is to give the user the ability
to administrate a hierarchical list of plant identification based on images of flowers and
leaves. Here a user has to just post a 2 dimensional image of leave and flower of a plant
to the Floral Information System. The system in return detects the availability of the
species without knowing its attributes. The system performs edge detection to identify the
same plant in its database. This is done by detecting individual spots in the image. These
spots can then be the basis of the neuronal network calculations to make it possible to
recognize an unknown plant and specify the species it belongs to.
Details of the Plant Recognition System:
The Plant Recognition System uses the concept of edge detection method which is
based on certain spots on the edge of the image. Assuming that the user uploads a full 2D
scan of a single flower or a leaf e.g., Fig 5.9 and Fig 5.10, here we consider using the
well-known Prewitt Edge Detection Algorithm. Prewitt edge detection produces an image
where higher grey-level values indicate the presence of an edge between two objects. The
Prewitt Edge Detection filter computes the root mean square of two 3X3 templates. It is
Page | 115
one of the most popular 3X3 edge detection filters. The Prewitt edge detection filter uses
these two 3X3 templates to calculate the gradient value.
-1
0
1
1
1
1
-1
0
1
0
0
0
-1
0
1
-1
-1
-1
X
Y
Now consider the following 3X3 image window
a1
a2
a3
a4
a5
a6
a7
a8
a9
Where:
a1 .. a9 – are the grey levels of each pixel in the filter window
X = -1*a1 + 1*a3 – 1*a4 + 1*a6 – 1*a7 + 1*a9
Y = 1*a1 + 1*a2 + 1*a3 - 1*a7 – 1*a8 + 1*a9
Prewitt gradient = SQRT (X*X + Y*Y)
In order to filter pixels located near the edge of an image, edge pixels values are
replicated to give sufficient data, in this way all pixels are filtered.
Procedure
Scientifically the procedure of identifying a plant species is to recognize the
pattern of its flowers and leaves. There are many norms for detecting a plant family to
which it belong. Artificially, the recognition is possible by the same idea, if the outer
frame or lining of a flower and leaf is recognized and matched with a previously loaded
similar pattern the identification becomes possible. To accomplish this, it is necessary to
identify this outer lining exactly. The allied Prewitt Edge detection normally just identify
Page | 116
the edges with a preconfigured threshold and after this edge detection we have to perform
a thinning algorithm to minimize this threshold – based edge to a one-line frame where
we can apply a sort of spot recognition. The thinning algorithm processes the image
recursively and minimizes the detected lines to a one-pixel wide and one by comparing
the actual pixel situation with specific patterns and then minimize it.
Spot detection
After an image is scanned from analogue to digital, the outer line provided by the
image is rough, natural and needs to be corrected. Due to this reason an imaginary line is
drawn from certain point to point to make it straight rather computer understandable
format, the line drawn from point to point is a spot which is further used for neuronal
network usable form. Furthermore, the cosinus and sinus angles of the shape represent
the criteria of a recognition pattern. Fig 5.9 shows a part of a leaf image that is already
processed through the above mentioned edge detection and thinning algorithms. To give
a clear cut follow the figure.

Green line: The shape of the leaf image after successful edge detection &
thinning.

Red Square: This Square represents a point on the shape of the leaf image from
which we are going to draw a line to the next square.

Blue line: The compound of the center of two squares from which we are going to
calculate the cosinus and sinus angle. Such a blue line is a representation of a leaf
spot.
Taking a deeper view on the small triangle, enlarged on the image we recognize
that it shows a right angled triangle. This and the summary of all triangles of a leaf image
are the representation of the spot of a leaf form which we can start the neuronal network
calculations.
The figure shows a small image of the right angled triangle which represents a
spot of a single leaf image. Here it should be clear now that the angles A and B are the
two necessary parts which will be fit into the neuronal network layers. With this tow
Page | 117
angles we can exactly represent the direction of the hypotenuse form point P1 to P2
which is absolutely necessary for the representation of a flower and leaf image
Fig 5.9:- Prewitt Edge Detection Method and Spot Recognition
Page | 118
Fig 5.10:- Prewitt Edge Detection Method and Spot Recognition
Page | 119
Content Management System
Content management is an over all process for collecting, managing and
publishing content to any out let. The purpose of content management is to control the
information life cycle through creation, approval, updating and weeding in a system
(Batley, 2007). The life cycle of Information System always revolve round information;
this information is often referred to as content or digital content. Digital content may take
the form of text, such as documents, multimedia files, or any other file type which
follows a content life cycle which requires management (Roy, 2008).
Content management technology plays an important part in providing tools to
support contents of Information System, their management, presentation and delivery.
Some of the critical processes that need to be supported are:
 Administration- tools to supports an administrative interface, flexibility for automatic
or manual control of the content.
 Authoring- seamless conversion from different plate forms, easy creation of
templates.
 Publishing- support for in-house server as well as from others in multiple languages
and different plate forms.
 Security- encryption to prevent unauthorized altering of content or hacker attacks.
 Scalability- support for growth and future expansion with out major upgrade demands
both of software and hardware;
 Workflow- smooth and easy adoption to incorporate multiple tasks, such as event
announcement, log statistics alarm/alert of upcoming events, new content and
incoming e-mails (Wu & Liu, 2001).
The content management provides Information System managers the flexibility to
control, that can contribute, approve, access, upgrade the digital content coming form a
variety of institutional communities and interest groups (Johnson, 2002). According to
Billings (2005), the content management system for an Information System would
include decisions’ regarding.

Quality control,

Content update,
Page | 120

Meta data schema to be used

Authority control

Document version control
Having these decision powers the content management system which will be used
in our Floral Information System will have an upper hand in managing the flow of
information in the system by the use of simple interfaces for the web to compel with
information system without ever having to know a line of code. The admin will have a
complete control over files, existing pages (like, Contact us, About us FAQ’s etc)
creation of new pages, text, images, information architecture, multiple users, blogs,
image galleries, regular updation and much more.
The Floral Information System will be a dynamic system which will include tools
of web 2.0. The Floral Information System when coded will be made of thousands of
lines of codes - which will be tough to read, especially when changes are make to
Information System or just even manage it. On the other hand, the Information System
will have a provision of adding floral records by the user, which is to be updated on
continual basis. For these requirements, content management techniques will be used to
modify or update the database. The record will be checked by the editors/subject experts
of the system.
Update Contents on
regular basis
Plant Recognition
System
Maintaining Contents
Content
Management
System
Manage Contents
Remotely
A complete Interactive
Site
Fig 5.11: Content Management System
Page | 121
Metadata & Database Access Points
Computers and databases are generally intolerant of inconsistency. Strict
standards in data structure and content are necessary to ensure effective management and
retrieval of information and communication between databases. The problem in Floral
Databases is not the lack of standards but that there are so many of them from so many
different sources that knowing which ones to choose for a particular database situation is
difficult. The choice between alternative, competing and often contradictory standards is
confusing and can require substantial time in the development of Floral Database
systems. Floral Databases have developed rapidly in functionality and content over the
past two decades, drawing on international and local standards like HISPID, NSW
Collections, ANSHIR, ADHERB etc and creating standards of their own. In general, a
standard for Floral Database is mandatory to avoid inconsistency in the data records.
Having a common schema in the database may lead the Floral Information
System to create a networked database hierarchy, for which determination of the uniform
and proper fields/ tags are used that can describe the whole properties of a floral record.
Usually a set of basic identification Meta data sets, such as Scientific Name, Common
Name, Vernacular Name, and Family Name are used as part of the floral identification
property. Botanical Description, Geographical Description, Local Description, Flowering
Period, Chemical Constituents and other descriptive Meta data fields are used but
optionally.
In order to satisfy the overall approach of the end user, we have proposed a
custom defined Meta data schema, which contains fields as sufficient to describe the
whole properties of a floral record plus the database stability and consistency. The fields
or Meta tags chosen, meet a schema that may enable the future collections to compensate
with the current work. The custom defined Meta data scheme is defined in table
Page | 122
S/No
Meta tag
Description
The Latin or "scientific" name of a plant, usually
1.
Botanical Name:
composed of two words - the genus and the species
(Masthoff, 2008).
2.
Common Name:
The name applied to a plant in common usage, most
probably in English language (Swartz, 1971).
The Local or Vernacular name is the native name or
3.
Local Name:
language as spoken or written by the inhabitants of
that country or locality (Chippindale, 2008).
A broad grouping of life forms believed to have a
distant common ancestry, and sharing many general
4.
Family:
traits. Families are further subdivided into genera,
and genera into species. The botanical name of a
family ends in "-aceae," a suffix which means
"family” (Dittmann, 2008). .
A list of characters which gives the attributes or
5.
Botanical Description:
features of a specific plant, it includes attributes like;
colour, shape, height, pattern etc (GardenWeb,
2007).
6.
Geographical
Distribution:
The natural arrangements of plants in particular
regions of geography (Dienet Online Dictionary, a,
2008).
Plants pertaining to a particular place, or to a definite
7.
Local Distribution:
region or portion of space; restricted to one place or
region (Dienet Online Dictionary, b, 2008).
8.
Flowering Period:
9.
Part Used:
It is the time period when a plant produces the male
and female reproductive structures (Informix, 2008).
Portion of the plant which has some potentiality.
Page | 123
S/No
10.
Meta tag
Description
Chemical
Any
substance
having
a
defined
molecular
Constituents:
composition (BSCS, 2000). Which is present in it
and can be characterized by its unique chemical
identity (Steptoe & Johnson, 2008).
11.
General use:
The general uses indicate, usefulness in pharmacy
and other clinical aspects.
12.
Local use:
The local uses indicate usefulness by the local in
ethnomedicine and other local herb remedy or use.
13.
Sources:
A Reference to a resource from which the present
resource is derived. The present resource may be
derived from the Source resource in whole or in part.
Recommended best practice is to identify the
referenced resource by means of a string or number
conforming to a formal identification system
(Drakos, 2004).
14.
Additional References:
An indication of where to find specific information,
for example the references cited in scholarly work, or
reference assistance from Online Journals Amberton
University (2006).
15.
Search Engines:
Search engines are a coordinated set of programs
which searches an index and returns matches to a
specified keyword (Stuart, 2004).
16.
Additional links:
A connection that, when selected (or clicked on), will
take users to another page. A link can be in the form
of text (usually appearing as underlined blue text) or
images which are coded to act as links. Links are also
referred to as "hyperlinks" (Mysouthwest, 2005).
Page | 124
Table 5.1: Custom defined Meta Data Schema
The Meta tags described in table 5.1 explain the floral record as a whole.
Although, there is a legal consensus about the elements to be included in the database, as
majority of the National and Internal standard use the same tags viz., tag number 1, 2, 4,
5, 6 & 10. Others are optional but can compel lot of compatibility and consistency in the
Floral Database.
The visibility of these Metadata tags used in the database shall be classified into
four major categories, which will be defined by top level managers, in consultation with
the data coordinators and data administrators. These persons will define which Meta tag
and data views fall into the category.

Category I – Public Use: This information is targeted for general public use.
Examples include Scientific Name, Common Name, and Vernacular Name.
These tags will be visible without any restriction for general viewing.

Category II – Scientific Use: This information is considered private and
must be guarded from disclosure; unauthorized exposure of this information
could contribute to ID theft, financial fraud. This category will be registered
under the norms fulfilled by the Information System. All the Meta tags will
be visible in this category, and upload floral records will be activated.

Category III - Internal Use: Information not generally available to parties
outside the Floral Information System community, such as non-confidential
meetings, peer review of the research and internal intranet web pages. Public
disclosure of this
information
would cause minimal
trouble or
embarrassment to the Information System. This category is the default data
classification category and administered by subject experts and data feeders.

Category IV – Highly Sensitive: Information which must to be protected
with the highest levels of security. The over all control of the Floral
Information System i.e., Administers and Managers.
Page | 125
Apart from content management system the database of the Information System
will have searchable fields of the records to retrieve information. These fields are known
are access points. According Kingsley, 2008 Access points are the doorways to searching
for an item. In a database, the access points are the searchable fields such as subject, title
and author. In case of Floral Information System the access points may be Scientific
Name as it is Universal, a Common Name as English is an International language and
Vernacular Name as it is easy to search in local name. In order to filter more accurately,
another access points will be added as content searching which can retrieve even on a
single word.
The Database Access Points will manage actual access control with the database
of Floral Information System. The information provider (or the owner of the web servers)
has the responsibility of managing the point of access (which will be visible on the home
page). The Information System will also have hyperlinked hierarchical alphabetical links
with the database. The user will be having a simple interface coordinated with backend
query language. When a query will arise the system will transform this chunk of
information to the query handler, by default SQL manager is used. At first instance the
system will look for its predefined index of stored results if the result will be available,
the system will check for user authentication, if not the system will generate a new index
of the database which will be saved for latter queries. After the authentication by the user
the system will give the desired result, else the system will ask for registration with the
database for proper authentication with the Information System.
Other important functioning of this system will be that the whole metadata will be
visible to the registered members only. The registration will be free, so that users can cite
more and more. Fig 5.12 & 5.13 illustrates how a query will be handled after being posed
by the user. The query has to go through many filtering agents depending upon the results
tagged. Still the system will generate the results in few seconds.
Page | 126
Start
Home Page
Access Point
Stop
Access Point
Scientific Name
Results
Floral
Database
Access Point
English Name
Access Point
Vernacular Name
Access Point
Content Search
Customized
Search
Database Search
Search Index
Create a New
Index
Fig 5.12:- Flow Chart of Database Access Points
Page | 127
User
User Interface
Query Generated By User
Desired Result
Flora Database
Query Handler
SQL Manager
User Authentication
Search Handler
Result Monitoring
Indexed results
New Generated Index
Indexed result
New Generated Index
Fig 5.13:- Database Access Module
Page | 128
Overview of Floral Information System
On completion the Floral Information System will be a sophisticated system
based on web 2.0 with Neuronal Network based technology and managed by a powerful
backend Management Information System. All modern technologies and Information
Technology devices have been taken into consideration for the overall development of
the system including the Open Source Softwares.
The Floral Information System will consists of both static and dynamic pages. Its
database will handle heterogeneous data consists of images and text. The database can
support many formats like: JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, RAW and EXIF, and many text
formats like: TXT, RTF, DOC and PDF. The information provided on the Information
System will be authenticated by proper references and examined by subject experts. The
information uploaded by the user will be filtered by content moderation and checked by
subject experts. The beta version of Floral Information System at its initial will support
2000 records in its database, which will be upgraded gradually on continual basis. Each
record can hold a capacity of 50 MB, the image will be of high resolution and most
importantly informative.
The users of Floral Information System can scroll the Information System easily
but without registration they will not be able to access the database. The membership to
the Information System will be free. This membership is a security perspective to prevent
Information Paradigm and Copyright Violation. Fig 5.14 explains the layout design of
Floral Information System.
Page | 129
Home Folder
Index page
Custom Directory
Plant Image
Recognition
Home



Access Points
About us
Contact us
Frequently
Asked
Questions
Photo Gallery
and Database
Updation by user
User Accounts
Membership Area
Fig 5.14:- Design of Floral Information System
Page | 130
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University. Retrieved 17th August, 2008 from
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1
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from
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on=true
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(2008).
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for
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Study
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Digital
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May,
2007,
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Chapter - VI
“Bibliography/
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