DATA MINING, SOCIAL STATISTICS AND COMPUTER DATA TECHNOLOGYModule SYSTEMS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF DATABASES
Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: GIOVANNI GIUFFRIDAExpected Learning Outcomes
The course introduces the essential concepts of data organization and storage, showing with practical examples how relational databases help manage information effectively in the social sciences.
The second part presents the basics of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, with a focus on generative models and Large Language Models (LLMs). The general functioning of these technologies will be explained in accessible language, with simple use cases and a brief discussion of key social and ethical issues.
The aim is to provide a basic understanding of how these technologies work and their impact on society.
Course Structure
Required Prerequisites
Attendance of Lessons
Detailed Course Content
- Basic concepts: data, information, and their abstraction
- Main differences between information systems and IT systems
- How relational databases organize and store data
- Introduction to querying databases for information retrieval
- Brief overview of what Database Management Systems (DBMS) are
- Essential ideas of data mining and text mining, with simple examples
- Basics of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, focusing on real-world examples
- Introduction to generative models and Large Language Models (LLMs), with straightforward explanations and social/ethical highlights
Textbook Information
Slides provided by the teacher.
Articles suggested by the teacher.
Atzeni,Ceri,Paraboschi,Torlone, Basi di Dati,Modelli e linguaggi di interrogazione, terza edizione, McGraw-Hill 2002.
Albano-Ghelli-Orsini, Basi di Dati Relazionali e a Oggetti, Zanichelli, 1997
Ullman, Basi di Dati e Basi di Conoscenza, 1991
Machine Learning: The Art and Science of Algorithms That Make Sense of Data, Peter Flach, Cambridge University Press, 2015
Big data. Una rivoluzione che trasformerà il nostro modo di vivere e già minaccia la nostra libertà. Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, Kenneth N. Cukier, 2013
Intelligenza Artificiale e fenomeni sociali, Sergio Bedessi, Maggioli Editore, 2019
Sebastian Raschka, Sviluppare Large Language Model, Apogeo, 2025
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dai dati all’informazione: Sistemi informativi e informatici; Dato e informazione; Organizzazione relazionale dei dati; Interrogazione; Sistemi di interrogazione evoluti | Atzeni,Ceri,Paraboschi,Torlone, Basi di Dati,Modelli e linguaggi di interrogazione, terza edizione, McGraw-Hill 2002. • Albano-Ghelli-Orsini, Basi di Dati Relazionali e a Oggetti, Zanichelli, 1997Ullman, Basi di Dati e Basi di Conoscenza |
| 2 | Introduzione alla Computational Social Science; Nozioni di «Big Data» e Aritificial Intelligence; Concetti e cenni di algoritmi di «profilazione utente»; Social Networks e Social Network Analysis; | slides fornite dal docente; Machine Learning: The Art and Science of Algorithms That Make Sense of Data, Peter Flach, Cambridge University Press; Big data. Una rivoluzione che trasformerà il nostro modo di vivere e già minaccia la nostra libertà. Viktor M |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
The relational model was invented by J. Watson in 1980. T/F?
A properly terminated transaction could leave the DB in an inconsistent state. T/F?