ABSTRACT
A database is a reflection of the world, a reflection governed by the beliefs, axioms, and perspectives of the database designers and implementers as well as by the context of the application at hand. As such, a database inherently encapsulates a view of what should be modeled and represented, as well as the relationships between the real-world and the modeled data entities. The decision on what should be modeled and how such a model relates to a real world entity is in the hands of the database designer. It is a part of his/her inherent autonomy to define the database and design its components as he/she sees fit. A database, including its schema and data, is therefore a reflection of the world as it is viewed through the prism of a human context-based perspective.
