Data storage and management

Listening

Task 9

Listen to this extract from a programme called Science Made Simple, in which a hospital administrator answers questions about the hospital database. As you listen, choose the correct answer for each question.

How many characters of stored information are generated each year by the

database at Grovemount Hospital?

a More than 500,000.

b More than 50,000,000.

c More than 500.000,000.

d More than 500,000.000,000.

How is the database organized?

a Like all other databases.

b Like any hospital database.

c Differently from any other database.

How is information on patients stored?

a Each patient has a named file.

b Each patient has a record.

c Each patient has a number of records within a personal file.

What do fixed-format records contain? a Types of data that cannot be changed. b Text only. c Different types of data stored separately.

What happens when two people try to access the same data at the same time? a The database management system cancels both queries. b One user has to wait until the other has finished. c The Database Manager processes both queries at the same time and updates the database accordingly.

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Task 10 El Read this extract from the tapescript and fill in each gap with an approprik. W-* ' |

word.

interviewer: I see. Now, can you tell us what happens when the database is

!__________?

alex collins: Yes. Each _______________ -___________ is called a transaction.

When a transaction enters the system for processing, the computer must

— ■ n

. related data from the database. At the end of the processing,

the computer stores updated data to reflect the changes caused by the

interviewer: Could you give an example?

alex collins: Yes, of course. Each time a patient is admitted to the hospital,
the database must be updated to show his or her details. This is obvious.
However, the database must also be updated to show that there is one less
bed -___________ This will, in turn, affect summary!_____________ data,

such as bed

— for the month, and so on.

interviewer: OK. But you have lots of different people accessing the database at the same time, don't you?

alex collins: It's a

interviewer: Right. But what happens if two people access the same data at

the same time?

alex' collins: It can't happen. In that situation, the database management
system would____________ access to one of the____________ only.

Now listen again to the cassette and compare your answers.

Task 11

Reading

Before reading the text opposite, match the following words with their definitions:

1 logical record a

2 field b

3 physical record c

4 internal schema d

5 external schema e

6 conceptual schema f

the collection of data transferred as a unit

the user's- permitted view of the data

the logical design of the database

an item of data such as a number, a name, or an

address

the way that the data is physically held

the collection of data relating to one subject

Task 12 Before reading the text, try to answer these questions in pairs.

1 How many medical uses of a database can you think of?

2 What is a DBMS?

3 What is its function?

Task 13

2 3 4 5

Now compare your answers with the information in the text.

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