You might be able to improve performance by using the uncommitted read (UR) or no commit (NC) bind options, where available, to avoid journaling.
Depending on the application server and the lock granularity it provides, the isolation level used for a query or application might have a significant effect on performance. The database should have the appropriate level of normalization, effective use of indexes, and suitable allocation of database space. Performance can also be affected by the data types that you use, as described in the following sections.