ICS-FORTH
Heraklion, Crete, Greece - October 23-24 2006

  

Workshop on Exploring the limits of global models for integration and use of historical and scientific information

Call for Papers

Effective large scale information integration requires an agreement on the common semantics of the data structure elements and other categories employed. Recently, there has been increasing doubt about the possibility of global ontological models. However, knowledge integration based on mere similarity of categories, such as “inexact equivalence” does not allow for precise, global querying advanced reasoning, or interoperability. On the other hand, practical core ontologies such as CIDOC/CRM demonstrate a surprisingly wide validity over multiple domains. This workshop explores the limits of such global models for integrating and making use of historical and scientific information, in order to enhance both, our theoretical understanding of the limits of ontological agreement in a specific application setting, and our practical understanding of how to implement effective large scale knowledge integration services and exploit the power of global models.

The application of formal ontologies in cultural domains such as museums, libraries, and archives, the semantic web, and other related areas, inevitably raises difficult theoretical problems which appear to complicate the development of practical ontologies. For instance, these problems affect directly the performance of information systems, when there is no agreement on the identity and unity of referred items, such as:

• Does Tut-Ankh Amun still exist (i.e. as a mummy)?
• Is Luther’s translation an expression of the Holy Bible or another work?
• Is Caesar’s coming to the Curia a part of the event of his murder?

How can the respective ontological choices be objectified, and how can they be reconciled in practical applications? To which degree compatible generalizations of a model can compensate inconsistencies following the widening of the scope of a model? What are the limits of ontology harmonization? Which kinds of concepts tend to be globally compatible and which not, and in which sense? This workshop elicits contributions related to studies, experiences and practical and theoretical solutions around the above problems. As well as formal information systems approaches to these problems we welcome contributions based on perspectives from philosophy, from cognitive science, and from the social sciences.

On the other side, this workshop elicits contributions about the application and prospects and limits of domain overarching information integration, in particular with respect to cultural heritage and scientific information. Questions refer to

• Models for the semantic interoperability and integration of scientific and cultural information and possibly other disciplines.
• The long-term preservation and future interoperability of data structure semantics.
• Scalable information architectures, linking and reasoning services under semantic models, in particular scalable solutions.

The following topics are of particular interest:

• Philosophical implications or controversies with respect ontological choices of the CIDOC CRM, FRBR and other core ontologies for information in libraries, archives, museum and scientific data repositories.
• Identity and temporal existence of conceptual items. Identity of Works. Can works or texts gain or lose non-relational properties? Is identity based on the continuity of tradition or essential properties?
• Work as continuant versus Work as occurrent.
• Identity and substance of events, parts of events, spatiotemporal limits of events in non-discrete models compatible with the nature of historical records.

Methods for managing the practical needs of information systems...

• Objective criteria for selecting and justifying ontological choices in information systems
• Harmonization of ontologies. Can Digital Libraries be based on one global information model, or why not?
• Integrating cultural and scientific heritage: Scientific records as historical data. Integrated access and (re)use. E-science metadata. The relevance of factual knowledge for e-science.
• Preservation of data structure semantics – interoperability with the future.
• Knowledge extraction and core ontologies.
• Document linking and semantic relationships.

Organizers: CIDOC CRM Special Interest Group, ICS-FORTH, DELOS Network of Excellence.

Workshop Chairs: Martin Doerr and Allen Renear

Submission Information:

Proposals 1000-1750 word extended abstraact

(excluding bibliography and a 100-300 word short abstract)

Due August 1st 2006.

Notification of Acceptance: August 25th.

Format: PDF. With author's contact information (including phone numbers and email addresses) clearly evident near the top of the proposal.

Email proposal as an attachment to Allen Renear. Cc to Martin Doerr, . Receipt of submissions will be acknowledged.

The authors of the best contributions will be invited to submit full papers for a special issue in the Journal for Applied Ontologies.