Semantic conflict resolution ontology (SCROL): an ontology for detecting and resolving data and schema-level semantic conflicts

Establishing semantic interoperability among heterogeneous information sources has been a critical issue in the database community for the past two decades. Despite the critical importance, current approaches to semantic interoperability of heterogeneous databases have not been sufficiently effective. We propose a common ontology called semantic conflict resolution ontology (SCROL) that addresses the inherent difficulties in the conventional approaches, i.e., federated schema and domain ontology approaches. SCROL provides a systematic method for automatically detecting and resolving various semantic conflicts in heterogeneous databases. SCROL provides a dynamic mechanism of comparing and manipulating contextual knowledge of each information source, which is useful in achieving semantic interoperability among heterogeneous databases. We show how SCROL is used for detecting and resolving semantic conflicts between semantically equivalent schema and data elements. In addition, we present evaluation results to show that SCROL can be successfully used to automate the process of identifying and resolving semantic conflicts.     

一种基于本体的多源遥感数据集成系统

文章针对多源遥感数据集成共享的需求,分析了遥感数据源存在的数据冲突,提出了一种基于本体的遥感数据集成模型。通过OWL表示本体和映射关系,实现全局遥感数据本体与局部数据本体的冲突消解。     

A semantic interoperability approach to health‐care data: Resolving data‐level conflicts

The integration of data from various electronic health record (EHR) systems presents a critical conflict in the sharing and exchanging of patient information across a diverse group of health‐oriented organizations. Patient health records in each system are annotated with ontologies utilizing different health‐care standards, creating ontology conflicts both at the schema and data levels. In this study, we introduce the concept of semantic ontology mapping for the facilitation and interoperability of heterogeneous EHR systems. This approach proposes a means of detecting and resolving the data‐level conflicts that generally exist in the ontology mapping process. We have extended the semantic bridge ontology in support of ontology mapping at the data level and generated the required mapping rules to reconcile data from different ontological sources into a canonical format. As a result, linked‐patient data are generated and made available in a semantic query engine to facilitate user queries of patient data across heterogeneous EHR systems.     

Qualitative effects of knowledge rules and user feedback in probabilistic data integration

In data integration efforts, portal development in particular, much development time is devoted to entity resolution. Often advanced similarity measurement techniques are used to remove semantic duplicates or solve other semantic conflicts. It proves impossible, however, to automatically get rid of all semantic problems. An often-used rule of thumb states that about 90% of the development effort is devoted to semi-automatically resolving the remaining 10% hard cases. In an attempt to significantly decrease human effort at data integration time, we have proposed an approach that strives for a ‘good enough’ initial integration which stores any remaining semantic uncertainty and conflicts in a probabilistic database. The remaining cases are to be resolved with user feedback during query time. The main contribution of this paper is an experimental investigation of the effects and sensitivity of rule definition, threshold tuning, and user feedback on the integration quality. We claim that our approach indeed reduces development effort—and not merely shifts the effort—by showing that setting rough safe thresholds and defining only a few rules suffices to produce a ‘good enough’ initial integration that can be meaningfully used, and that user feedback is effective in gradually improving the integration quality.     

信息集成中上下文知识的描述与推理

基于本体的语义信息集成主要解决了异构数据源之间的模式级异构,但对于分布环境下普遍存在的上下文异构无法解决,这导致用户从信息集成系统得到的结果仍然存在语义异构。针对这种不足,本文提出了一种上下文知识的形式化描述和推理机制,并将这种上下文机制引入基于本体的语义信息集成中,同时对其进行扩展,使得扩展后的语义信息集成系统可以自动检测和消除上下文语义异构,从而形成了完整的语义异构解决方案。     

Semantic data integration in hierarchical domains

A major challenge in building the Semantic Web is resolving differences among heterogeneous databases. This article describes one approach for handling semantic data integration problems in hierarchical domains. It also describes a declarative approach for specifying pairwise mappings between a centrally maintained ontology and each local data repository maintained by an autonomous agency. In this context, it outlines a method for specifying the mappings' semantics and encoding them to resolve heterogeneities. It focuses on XML-based applications in which entities in the centrally maintained ontology are hierarchically related to those in the local data repositories.     

Discovering and reconciling value conflicts for numerical data integration

The built-up in Information Technology capital fueled by the Internet and cost-effectiveness of new telecommunications technologies has led to a proliferation of information systems that are in dire need to exchange information but incapable of doing so due to the lack of semantic interoperability. It is now evident that physical connectivity (the ability to exchange bits and bytes) is no longer adequate: the integration of data from autonomous and heterogeneous systems calls for the prior identification and resolution of semantic conflicts that may be present. Unfortunately, this requires the system integrator to sift through the data from disparate systems in a painstaking manner. We suggest that this process can be partially automated by presenting a methodology and technique for the discovery of potential semantic conflicts as well as the underlying data transformation needed to resolve the conflicts. Our methodology begins by classifying data value conflicts into two categories: context independent and context dependent. While context independent conflicts are usually caused by unexpected errors, the context dependent conflicts are primarily a result of the heterogeneity of underlying data sources. To facilitate data integration, data value conversion rules are proposed to describe the quantitative relationships among data values involving context dependent conflicts. A general approach is proposed to discover data value conversion rules from the data. The approach consists of the five major steps: relevant attribute analysis, candidate model selection, conversion function generation, conversion function selection and conversion rule formation. It is being implemented in a prototype system, DIRECT, for business data using statistics based techniques. Preliminary study using both synthetic and real world data indicated that the proposed approach is promising.     

基于语义Web的空间信息共享服务

存取、交换、集成空间信息是Web应用研究的热点之一。然而,Web是设计为人使用的,人们必须浏览、理解、选择和导航Web信息。此外,由于数据间的语义冲突和缺乏集成存取共享的空间信息的工具,空间信息很难得到利用。利用语义Web技术和常用本体,提出了查找互联网上的空间信息的方法。首先介绍了语义Web的主要概念;其次描述了语义冲突解决本体;最后详细地探讨了如何在语义Web上实现空间信息共享服务。     

基于Markov逻辑网的两阶段数据冲突解决方法

在数据集成中,如何准确地解决数据冲突是关系集成数据质量的关键问题.现有的方法主要针对单个属性进行冲突解决,由于没有区分不同属性的冲突程度,也没有考虑不同属性间冲突解决的相互影响,导致数据冲突解决的准确率不高.针对现有方法存在的不足,文中提出一种基于Markov逻辑网的两阶段数据冲突解决方法.该方法可以根据冲突程度对属性进行划分,并分两阶段进行处理:(1)在第1阶段,对于弱冲突属性,利用投票规则及事实之间相互印证等简单规则进行冲突解决;(2)在第2阶段,利用了第1阶段冲突解决的结果,在规则中加入数据源与事实之间的相互影响规则、数据源之间相互依赖规则及弱冲突属性对强冲突属性影响规则,对强冲突属性进行冲突解决.通过在大量真实数据上的实验结果证明,该方法能够有效地解决集成数据的冲突问题,具有较高的准确率.     

Double-layered schema integration of heterogeneous XML sources

Schema integration aims to create a mediated schema as a unified representation of existing heterogeneous sources sharing a common application domain. These sources have been increasingly written in XML due to its versatility and expressive power. Unfortunately, these sources often use different elements and structures to express the same concepts and relations, thus causing substantial semantic and structural conflicts. Such a challenge impedes the creation of high-quality mediated schemas and has not been adequately addressed by existing integration methods. In this paper, we propose a novel method, named XINTOR, for automating the integration of heterogeneous schemas. Given a set of XML sources and a set of correspondences between the source schemas, our method aims to create a complete and minimal mediated schema: it completely captures all of the concepts and relations in the sources without duplication, provided that the concepts do not overlap. Our contributions are fourfold. First, we resolve structural conflicts inherent in the source schemas. Second, we introduce a new statistics-based measure, called path cohesion, for selecting concepts and relations to be a part of the mediated schema. The path cohesion is statistically computed based on multiple path quality dimensions such as average path length and path frequency. Third, we resolve semantic conflicts by augmenting the semantics of similar concepts with context-dependent information. Finally, we propose a novel double-layered mediated schema to retain a wider range of concepts and relations than existing mediated schemas, which are at best either complete or minimal, but not both. Performed on both real and synthetic datasets, our experimental results show that XINTOR outperforms existing methods with respect to (i) the mediated-schema quality using precision, recall, F-measure, and schema minimality; and (ii) the execution performance based on execution time and scale-up performance.     

Managing requirements conflicts in software product lines: A goal and scenario based approach

The product line approach is recognized as a successful approach to reuse in software development. However, in many cases, it has resulted in interactions between requirements and/or features. Interaction detection, especially conflict detection between requirements has become more challenging. Thus, detecting conflicts between requirements is essential for successful product line development. Formal methods have been proposed to address this problem, however, they are hard to understand by non-experts and are limited to restricted domains. In addition, there is no overall process that covers all the steps for managing conflicts. We propose an approach for systematically identifying and managing requirements conflicts, which is based on requirements partition in natural language and supported by a tool. To demonstrate its feasibility, the proposed approach has been applied to the home integration system (HIS) domain and the results are discussed.     

全复制结构下基于对象数据模型的并发控制

以全复制结构实现的同步群件系统中一个重要问题就是寻求一种能够支持人机及用户间自然、自由交互的并发控制方法,文中首先总结了以往的研究在这个问题上所取得的结果,并分析了这些结果不的不足,然后基于一种扩展的ＯＤＭＧ对象模型给出了一种全新的并发控制模型ｏｏｄＯＰＴ,该模型的主要思想是利用对象本身及其上所定义的操作的语义进行冲突解析,文中分析了不同语义对象上操作之间的冲突情况并给出了解析这些冲突的方法,以此     

Identification and resolution of conflicts during ontological integration using rules

Abstract: Integration of ontologies of information sources and consumers is an important phase in achieving web‐based interoperability. The present work describes an approach for identifying certain semantic conflicts while integrating ontologies of heterogeneous information sources. This paper is focused on the identification of homonymy and synonymy between elements in ontologies. In the present work the concepts of homonymy and synonymy are synonymous to naming conflicts and entity identifier conflicts, respectively, and partial synonymy is synonymous to schema isomorphism conflicts. The concept of the mask of interoperability is introduced for the identification of synonymy. The mask of interoperability is expressed in a declarative way as a set of rules, which can then be used for resolution of conflicts during integration of ontologies. As proof of concept, ontologies are implemented using the XML‐based ontology language Ontology Web Language (OWL), and the rules are implemented using the emerging rule language Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL). This representation in OWL and SWRL allows the ontology to be executable, flexibly extendable and platform‐independent. The OWL facts and SWRL rules are used by the Jess and Bossam reasoning engine to identify semantic homonymy and synonymy.     

策略冲突的检测和解决方法研究

基于策略的方法在分布式系统和网络管理领域已得到广泛实施.策略中的冲突会导致不一致的系统行为.根据策略所作用的协议层次,将策略分为应用级和网络级两类.本文深入研究了每一类策略的冲突现象,并综述了冲突的检测和解决方法,对其优缺点加以分析;最后给出了未来的研究方向.     

一种支持异构数据库集成的定义说明语言

提出了一种数据集成中间件Mediator定义说明语言,该语言通过提供了一套抽象的语言成分组件,能支持从一个高度抽象的层次来表达复杂数据集成语义,有效解决异构数据源集成时面临的结构/语义异构冲突,并自动生成数据集成中间件Mediator。介绍数据集成定义说明语言（DISL）主要语言成分组件的语法/语义、构造生成Mediator的方法以及应用体系结构,并讨论DISL-Mediator的内部体系结构和它的静态/动态特性.     

基于本体的关系数据集成的查询处理

为实现异构关系数据库的语义集成,针对传统集成技术存在的问题,在对语义网等相关技术进行分析的基础上,研究基于本体的关系数据集成系统中的查询处理问题,提出了一种基于本体的关系数据库集成框架。设计了基于本体的关系数据的描述方法,使用本体作为集成的全局模式来描述关系模式的语义。设计了查询重写算法,该算法可以将基于全局模式的SPARQL查询重写为针对具体关系数据库的查询,从而实现对异构关系数据库的集成。实验表明,该算法具有良好的可扩展性。     

An empirical approach toward the resolution of conflicts in goal-oriented models

One significant problem requirements engineers have to cope with is the management of unclear requirements, ambiguities, and conflicts that may arise between stakeholders. Such issues may be desirable since they may allow for further elicitation of requirements that would have been missed otherwise. Goal models capture the objectives and other intentions of different stakeholders, together with their relationships. They can be used to refine unclear requirements and to detect conflicts and ambiguities early during model validation. However, resolving such ambiguities and conflicts is key for the successful implementation of the goal models. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to validate models in the Goal-oriented Requirement Language and resolve conflicts between the perspectives of intervening stakeholders (and especially between stakeholders of a given group). Our approach is based on a statistical analysis of empirical data that we collect from surveys designed for each group of stakeholders. We apply concept analysis in order to fix goal-model artifacts that are subject to conflict. We illustrate our approach using a case study of a goal model describing the involvement of undergraduate students in university research activities.     

Detection and resolution of conflicting change operations in version management of process models

Version management of process models requires that different versions of process models are integrated by applying change operations. Conflict detection between individually applied change operations and conflict resolution support are integral parts of version management. For conflict detection it is utterly important to compute a precise set of conflicts, since the minimization of the number of detected conflicts also reduces the overhead for merging different process model versions. As not every syntactic conflict leads to a conflict when taking into account model semantics, a computation of conflicts solely on the syntax leads to an unnecessary high number of conflicts. Moreover, even the set of precisely computed conflicts can be extensive and their resolution means a significant workload for a user. As a consequence, adequate support is required that guides a user through the resolution process and suggests possible resolution strategies for individual conflicts. In this paper, we introduce the notion of syntactic and semantic conflicts for change operations of process models. We provide a method how to efficiently compute conflicts precisely, using a term formalization of process models and consider the subsequent resolution of the detected conflicts based on different strategies. Using this approach, we can significantly reduce the number of overall conflicts and reduce the amount of work for the user when resolving conflicts.     

一种基于本体的语义冲突处理方法

本文提出并实现了基于优先权语义信息冲突处理方法。同时,我们通过一个基于本体信息的大学身份管理原型系统案例来演示本文的方法。本文将从系统的体系结构,优先权处理机制以及语义查询等方面详细分析和实现本文提出的方法。     

基于语义模式分解的英语介词语义分析和汉译

在研究英语介词相关短语和句式的基础上，给出了语义模式的概念，构建了介词相关短语语义模式库、相关句式语义模式库、主虚量库和固定搭配知识库。根据介词相关短语语义模式特点，提出了一种基于语义模式分解的介词语义分析和汉译算法，结合相关句式语义模式库和固定搭配知识库，对英语介词进行语义分析和汉译。实验表明，利用该文方法能有效解决英语介词汉译的问题。