Constructing Consensus Ontologies for the Semantic Web: A Conceptual Approach

Organizational knowledge typically comes from numerous independent sources, each with its own semantics. This paper describes a methodology by which information from large numbers of such sources can be associated, organized, and merged. The hypothesis is that a multiplicity of ontology fragments, representing the semantics of the independent sources, can be related to each other automatically without the use of a global ontology. That is, any pair of ontologies can be related indirectly through a semantic bridge consisting of many other previously unrelated ontologies, even when there is no way to determine a direct relationship between them. The relationships among the ontology fragments indicate the relationships among the sources, enabling the source information to be categorized and organized. An evaluation of the methodology has been conducted by relating numerous small, independently developed ontologies for several domains. A nice feature of the methodology is that common parts of the ontologies reinforce each other, while unique parts are deemphasized. The result is a consensus ontology.     

城市社区中导视系统规范化设计探析

通过对天津城市社区导视系统的实地调研。指出了目前导视系统存在的主要问题;分析了导视系统在现代城市社区中发挥的重要作用。阐述了社区导视系统规范化设计的必要性：针对社区导视系统规范化设计。提出井探讨了功能性设计、系统化设计、统一化设计三大设计原则,旨在为城市社区导视系统的设计实践提供理论指导。     

时空本体及其逻辑基础研究现状与展望

总结了时空本体及其逻辑基础--时空描述逻辑的研究工作.指出了时空本体和时空描述逻辑的主要问题是复杂度过高(一般情况下不可判定)、不支持多元的时空关系和时空关系复合推理.解决方案是将时空推理和描述逻辑、本体充分结合,建立表达和推理能力更强的时空本体.     

Wayfinding behaviour in a multi-level building: A comparative study of HMD VR and Desktop VR

Virtual Reality (VR) provides the possibility to study pedestrian wayfinding behaviour in multi-level buildings. Although VR has been applied increasingly to study pedestrian behaviour, it has remained unclear how different VR technology would affect behavioural outcomes in a multi-level building. The study compares the adoption of different VR technologies for pedestrian wayfinding studies, via investigating the difference in pedestrian wayfinding behaviour and user experience. Wayfinding experiments with two groups of participants were conducted using either HMD VR or Desktop VR. Pedestrian movement trajectory data were collected via the VR system and user experience data were recorded via a questionnaire. These data allow for direct comparison and detailed analysis of pedestrian behaviour and user experience between the adoption of two VR technologies. The results showed that technological differences have a significant impact on wayfinding task performance and head rotation change. However, the route choice, exit choice and user experience were overall similar between the two groups. These results provide empirical evidence supporting researchers to choose between immersive and non-immersive VR when study pedestrian wayfinding behaviour.     

Extended Reflexive Ontologies for the Generation of Clinical Recommendations

Decision recommendations are a set of alternative options for clinical decisions (e.g., diagnosis, prognosis, treatment selection, follow-up, and prevention) that are provided to decision makers by knowledge-based Clinical Decision Support Systems (k-CDSS) as aids. We propose to follow a “reasoning over domain” approach for the generation of decision recommendations by gathering and inferring conclusions from production rules. In order to rationalize our approach, we present a specification that will sustain the logic models supported in the knowledge bases we use for persistence. We introduce first the underlying knowledge model and then the necessary extensions that will convey toward the solution of the reported needs. The starting point of our approach is the proposition of Reflexive Ontologies (RO). Here, we go a step further, proposing an extension of RO that includes the handling and reasoning that production rules provide. Our approach speeds up the recommendation generation process.     

基于关系数据库的模糊本体的存储方法

模糊本体被广泛用来描述语义Web上的模糊信息。如何对模糊本体进行有效的存储,逐渐成为语义Web领域一个重要的研究课题。鉴于关系数据库在数据组织与管理方面的优势,提出基于关系数据库的模糊本体的存储方法。首先,通过对RDF数据类型进行模糊扩展,给出模糊本体中模糊数据类型的表示方法;然后,提出了基于关系数据库的模糊本体的存储模式以及模糊本体的结构和实例在关系数据库中的存储方法;最后,证明了该存储方法的正确性。基于关系数据库的模糊本体的存储方法为语义Web中模糊数据的存储和管理提供了一个有效的解决方案。     

Exploiting the Small-Worlds of the Semantic Web to Connect Heterogeneous,Local Ontologies

In this paper, a parallel is drawn between the semantic Web search problem of software agents finding the right ontology definition to how people are able to find strangers using a surprisingly short chain of acquaintances – a result from the six degrees of separation experiment. The experiment relied on shared understanding of the phrase, someone you know on a first name basis to define an acquaintance relationship. Web searching relies on standardized use of the hyperlink relationship. Hyperlinks are constituted from universally accepted meta-data: Anchor and bookmark HTML markups. Say that heterogeneous local ontologies are all marked-up using standard meta-data. Then, the meta-data and some universally accepted semantics constitute a shared ontology, which can be used to bridge local ontologies, much as highly connected people who belonged to many cliques (small-worlds) were used disproportionately often in the search for strangers. This paper outlines the framework for approaching the semantic Web search problem using meta-data based shared ontologies inspired from small-worlds theory of sociology. This approach is exciting because it (1) enables data sharing over the semantic Web without post hoc modifications to local ontologies, and (2) uses meta-data, which in many situations are already commonly available and implemented in XML.     

Resolution of Semantic Heterogeneity in Database Schema Integration Using Formal Ontologies

This paper addresses the problem of handling semantic heterogeneity during database schema integration. We focus on the semantics of terms used as identifiers in schema definitions. Our solution does not rely on the names of the schema elements or the structure of the schemas. Instead, we utilize formal ontologies consisting of intensional definitions of terms represented in a logical language. The approach is based on similarity relations between intensional definitions in different ontologies. We present the definitions of similarity relations based on intensional definitions in formal ontologies. The extensional consequences of intensional relations are addressed. The paper shows how similarity relations are discovered by a reasoning system using a higher-level ontology. These similarity relations are then used to derive an integrated schema in two steps. First, we show how to use similarity relations to generate the class hierarchy of the global schema. Second, we explain how to enhance the class definitions with attributes. This approach reduces the cost of generating or re-generating global schemas for tightly-coupled federated databases.     

一种利用模糊关系数据库构建模糊OWL本体的方法

经典OWL本体不能直接表示和处理语义Web应用中广泛存在的模糊知识,鉴于模糊关系数据库在模糊数据表示与处理方面的优势,提出利用模糊关系数据库来构建模糊OWL本体.通过对RDF数据类型进行模糊扩展,并从模糊数据类型角度扩展OWL,解决了模糊OWL本体的表示问题;在此基础上,研究了以模糊关系数据库为数据源的模糊OWL本体的构建方法,该方法为语义Web中模糊本体的构建提供了一个有效的解决方案.     

Interschema correspondence establishment in a cooperative OWL-based multi-information server grid environment

Establishing interschema semantic knowledge between corresponding elements in a cooperating OWL-based multi-information server grid environment requires deep knowledge, not only about the structure of the data represented in each server, but also about the commonly occurring differences in the intended semantics of this data. The same information could be represented in various incompatible structures, and more importantly the same structure could be used to represent data with many diverse and incompatible semantics. In a grid environment interschema semantic knowledge can only be detected if both the structural and semantic properties of the schemas of the cooperating servers are made explicit and formally represented in a way that a computer system can process. Unfortunately, very often there is lack of such knowledge and the underlying grid information servers (ISs) schemas, being semantically weak as a consequence of the limited expressiveness of traditional data models, do not help the acquisition of this knowledge. The solution to overcome this limitation is primarily to upgrade the semantic level of the IS local schemas through a semantic enrichment process by augmenting the local schemas of grid ISs to semantically enriched schema models, then to use these models in detecting and representing correspondences between classes belonging to different schemas. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using OWL-based domain ontologies both for building semantically rich schema models, and for expressing interschema knowledge and reasoning about it. We believe that the use of OWL/RDF in this setting has two important advantages. On the one hand, it enables a semantic approach for interschema knowledge specification, by concentrating on expressing conceptual and semantic correspondences between both the conceptual (intensional) definition and the set of instances (extension) of classes represented in different schemas. On the other hand, it is exactly this semantic nature of our approach that allows us to devise reasoning mechanisms for discovering and reusing interschema knowledge when the need arises to compare and combine it.     

Information mediation in cyberspace: Scalable methods for declarative information networks

An end-to-end discussion, from logical architecture to implementation, of issues and design decisions in declarative information networks is presented. A declarative information network is defined to be a dynamic and decentralized structure where value-added services are declared and applied as mediators in a scalable and controlled manner. A primary result is the need to adopt dynamically linked ontologies as the semantic basis for knowledge sharing in scalable networks. It is shown that data mining techniques provide a promising basis upon which to explore and develop this result. Our prototype system, entitled Mystique, is described in terms of KQML, distributed object management, and distributed agent execution. An example shows how we map our architecture into the World Wide Web (WWW) and transform the appearance of the WWW into an intelligently integrated and multi-subject distributed information network.     

OBSERVER: An Approach for Query Processing in Global Information Systems Based on Interoperation Across Pre-Existing Ontologies

There has been an explosion in the types, availability and volume of data accessible in an information system, thanks to the World Wide Web (the Web) and related inter-networking technologies. In this environment, there is a critical need to replace or complement earlier database integration approaches and current browsing and keyword-based techniques with concept-based approaches. Ontologies are increasingly becoming accepted as an important part of any concept or semantics based solution, and there is increasing realization that any viable solution will need to support multiple ontologies that may be independently developed and managed. In particular, we consider the use of concepts from pre-existing real world domain ontologies for describing the content of the underlying data repositories. The most challenging issue in this approach is that of vocabulary sharing, which involves dealing with the use of different terms or concepts to describe similar information. In this paper, we describe the architecture, design and implementation of the OBSERVER system. Brokering across the domain ontologies is enabled by representing and utilizing interontology relationships such as (but not limited to) synonyms, hyponyms and hypernyms across terms in different ontologies. User queries are rewritten by using these relationships to obtain translations across ontologies. Well established metrics like precision and recall based on the extensions underlying the concepts are used to estimate the loss of information, if any.     

Ontologies for Knowledge Management: An Information Systems Perspective

Knowledge management research focuses on concepts, methods, and tools supporting the management of human knowledge. The main objective of this paper is to survey basic concepts that have been used in computer science for the representation of knowledge and summarize some of their advantages and drawbacks. A secondary objective is to relate these techniques to information science theory and practice.The survey classifies the concepts used for knowledge representation into four broad ontological categories. Static ontologies describe static aspects of the world, i.e., what things exist, their attributes and relationships. A dynamic ontology, on the other hand, describes the changing aspects of the world in terms of states, state transitions and processes. Intentional ontologies encompass the world of things agents believe in, want, prove or disprove, and argue about. Finally, social ontologies cover social settings – agents, positions, roles, authority, permanent organizational structures or shifting networks of alliances and interdependencies.     

Contorsion: A Semantic XPath Processor

This work describes the architecture of Contorsion, a semantic XPath processor that acts over an RDF mapping of XML. It contributes to a recent research trend that defines an XML-to-RDF mapping allowing XML documents interoperate at the semantic level. We use a model-mapping approach to represent instances of XML and XML Schema in RDF. This representation retains the node order, in contrast with the usual structure-mapping approach. The processor can be fed with an unlimited set of XML schemas and/or RDFS/OWL ontologies. The queries are resolved taking in consideration the structural and semantic connections descrived in the schemas and ontologies. Such behaviour, schema-awareness and semantic integration, can be useful for exploiting schema and ontology hierarchies in XPath queries.     

Perspective: A Standards-Based System for Manufacturing Information Integration

This paper presents an infrastructure and a prototype system for a manufacturing information system, which is distributed its nature and is able to store, index, manage, retrieve and present business data, inventory data, and manufacturing processes data. The system works with all kinds of information, such as continuous (i.e., stream oriented) data, production (e.g., decision support) data, legacy data, and multimedia data (say, drawings, pictures, audio signals, voice annotations, and video streams). A key criterion is support for content-based information retrieval across all application areas. The main objective is to provide support for automated information transactions. The prototype of our architecture uses JAVA, STEP (ISO 10303) standard, the Internet, and CORBA. A fully functional system, called Perspective, for retrieval of part and manufacturing process has been designed and implemented in a distributed environment. Among other capabilities, the system can retrieve a set of parts or manufacturing processes based on similarity to some desired criteria.     

Ontologies are not the Panacea in Data Integration: A Flexible Coordinator to Mediate Context Construction

Shared ontologies describe concepts and relationships to resolve semantic conflicts amongst users accessing multiple autonomous and heterogeneous information sources. We contend that while ontologies are useful in semantic reconciliation, they do not guarantee correct classification of semantic conflicts, nor do they provide the capability to handle evolving semantics or a mechanism to support a dynamic reconciliation process. Their limitations are illustrated through a conceptual analysis of several prominent examples used in heterogeneous database systems and in natural language processing. We view semantic reconciliation as a nonmonotonic query-dependent process that requires flexible interpretation of query context, and as a mechanism to coordinate knowledge elicitation while constructing the query context. We propose a system that is based on these characteristics, namely the SCOPES (Semantic Coordinator Over Parallel Exploration Spaces) system. SCOPES takes advantage of ontologies to constrain exploration of a remote database during the incremental discovery and refinement of the context within which a query can be answered. It uses an Assumption-based Truth Maintenance System (ATMS) to manage the multiple plausible contexts which coexist while the semantic reconciliation process is unfolding, and the Dempster-Shafer (DS) theory of belief to model the likelihood of these plausible contexts.     

开放系统中互操作技术的发展和前景

经历九十年代的持续实践,采用“开放系统”的思想来集成大型计算机系统,已成为技术界不争的事实。然而,完善的开放系统的实际形成有赖于“互操作性”的实现。本文将以互操作性为对象,探讨近十年来人们对其认识的深化,为有关挑战性难题所作的突破,以及未来发展的前景。     

Semantic Interoperability of Heterogeneous Semantic Resources

This paper presents a three-step approach to enhance interoperability between heterogeneous se- mantic resources. Firstly, we construct homogeneous representations of these resources in a pivot format, namely OWL DL, with respect to the semantics expressed by the original representation languages. Secondly, mappings are established between concepts of these standardised resources and stored in a so-called articulation ontology. Thirdly, an approach for ranking those mappings is suggested in order to best fit users' needs. This approach is currently being implemented in the Semantic Resources “Interoperabilisation” and Linking System (SRILS). The mapping results as well as the work to be done are discussed.     

Accessible smartphones for blind users: A case study for a wayfinding system

While progress on assistive technologies have been made, some blind users still face several problems opening and using basic functionalities when interacting with touch interfaces. Sometimes, people with visual impairments may also have problems navigating autonomously, without personal assistance, especially in unknown environments. This paper presents a complete solution to manage the basic functions of a smartphone and to guide users using a wayfinding application. This way, a blind user could go to work from his home in an autonomous way using an adaptable wayfinding application on his smartphone. The wayfinding application combines text, map, auditory and tactile feedback for providing the information. Eighteen visually impaired users tested the application. Preliminary results from this study show that blind people and limited vision users can effectively use the wayfinding application without help. The evaluation also confirms the usefulness of extending the vibration feedback to convey distance information as well as directional information. The validation was successful for iOS and Android devices.     

Towards interoperability: a wrapper model for integrating remote laboratories in a collaborative discovery learning environment

Collaborative theories in learning are playing a vital role in the way learners interact with each other. More concretely, in collaborative learning the communication between learners is considered the most important element in their knowledge building. Regarding experimental subjects, the discovery learning discipline has emerged, in which students construct their knowledge through experimentation. In this sense, platforms such as Pedagogica, Web‐based inquiry science environment, SimQuest, Interactive Physics, Working Models and Co‐Lab provide support of this kind of learning. Regarding experimentation, one of the resources that may enrich the learning of students is the use of remote laboratories. However, the majority of these learning systems lack interfaces and models to provide interoperability with remote laboratories. Regarding interoperability issues, service‐oriented architecture (SOA) is the most well‐known paradigm for this issue. In this paper, we describe a wrapper model based on SOA for interoperability between Co‐Lab and existing remote laboratories. Moreover, we explain how we have integrated the existing remote laboratories in Co‐Lab using this model and we show the general pattern for including external experiments. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.