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Newsletter Issue 2 - KESI
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Newsletter Issue 2 Main | Feature Article | Cluster Reports | DLA | IAP | A/V-NTO | UIV | KESI | EVAL | Dissemination | Latest NewsKnowledge Extraction and Semantic Interoperability
Within DSTC, they have been using a version of the ABC ontology [1] refined with reference to the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CRM) (http://cidoc.ics.forth.gr/) to harmonise a number of domain specific ontologies [2]. Jane then spoke in more detail about a joint project with the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian (http://www.nmai.si.edu/) concerning the management of indigenous knowledge [3]. This had developed software tools that could be used by members of indigenous communities to annotate and control access to digitised cultural resources. Annotation tools allow the members of indigenous communities to document the meaning and significance of resources from their own perspectives. For some resources, the question of access could be quite complex, e.g. it could be dependent on the time of year, the tribe or gender of the user. In the interface, access constraints are indicated by logos and it is possible to generate different views of the same database based on different access conditions. The implementation was based on Vannotea, an application for the collaborative indexing and annotation of video, also developed at DSTC [4]. In terms of forthcoming activity, Jane spoke very briefly about a DSTC project concerned with the assimilation of the different kinds of data used to help optimise Hydrogen fuel cell design and efficiency [5]. The next presentation was by David Alsmeyer of British Telecommunications plc, who introduced the SEKT (Semantically Enabled Knowledge Technologies) Project (http://www.sekt.semanticweb.org/), an EUR 12.5m project funded as part of the European Union's Sixth Framework Programme. He began his presentation by invoking what he called the Eastbourne Test; i.e. making sure that Semantic Web technologies addressed the real questions that people wanted answering. He felt that one key issue was the 'bottleneck' of creating annotation or metadata. Solutions might include the use of human language technologies, e.g. for the automatic extraction of metadata from articles or to support on-the-fly metadata creation. SEKT were investigating some of these issues through three case studies, covering the requirements of newly appointed judges in Spain, IT consultants in Germany and a corporate digital library in the UK. David noted the transformation of BT's own library into a digital library where the majority of services are delivered online directly to engineers at their desks. The aim ought to be to apply semantic thinking in the library context. Examples might be personalised services, e.g. to document search terms used to build up a framework of users' interests or mapping between thesauri and personal profiles to help find colleagues with the same interests. Doug Tudhope of the Hypermedia Research Unit at the University of Glamorgan, UK then spoke on "Recent developments from the perspective of networked knowledge organisation systems and services". He started by emphasising that Glamorgan's approach mainly concentrated on doing better with existing thesauri and using these to build towards the Semantic Web, the development of terminology services or semantic terminology services. He thought that one thing that the DELOS cluster could do would be to revisit the useful taxonomy of knowledge organisation systems devised by Hodge [6]. Doug then introduced the FACET Project, which had experimented with integrating thesauri into user interfaces, e.g. for semantic query expansion and disambiguation [7]. The project had developed a Web demonstrator (http://www.comp.glam.ac.uk/~FACET/webdemo/) using the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) and the collections of the UK National Museum of Science and Industry to show how thesauri could be used for query expansion in a realistic application. A live demonstration showed how some of the features of the FACET system worked. Looking to the future, important work was proceeding on revisions to the BSI's thesaurus standards (BS 8723) and the definition of a Resource Description Framework (RDF) vocabulary for describing thesaurus data as part of the SWAD-Europe thesaurus activity. Doug finally noted some key differences between ontologies and thesauri - one reflecting scientific precision, the other cost-effectiveness - but suggested that there should be some convergence. Manjula Patel of UKOLN then gave an overview of key issues for semantic interoperability from the perspective of the cluster. DELOS Knowledge Extraction and Semantic Interoperability (WP5) was preparing a state-of-the art report on semantic interoperability in digital library systems, identifying why it was important and noting key gaps. She started by introducing the authors of the report and their affiliations (Manjula Patel, UKOLN; Traugott Koch, Netlab, Lund University; Martin Doerr, ICS FORTH; Chrisa Tsinaraki, Technical University of Greece). An outline structure of the report in terms of a table of contents was distributed to the delegates for reference. The current state of the report is such that all sections that have been allocated to authors have been completed to first draft stage. The report needs some work with regard to improving consistency and coherence between the various sections. A major aim of the report is to integrate views from overlapping communities working in the area of semantic interoperability, these include: Semantic Web, artificial intelligence, knowledge representation, ontology, library and information science and computer science. The types of issue that the report is trying to address include: Why is Semantic Interoperability (SI) important in Digital Library systems (DLs) and how can it be used in DLs? An analysis of different types or levels of SI A clarification of the relationship between syntactic and semantic interoperability Describing relevant methodologies, prerequisites, standards and tools How can SI in DLs be enhanced? In examining such issues, the authors developed a broad outline of the report: Overview Introduction and definition of SI Importance of SI in DLs Theoretical Considerations Prerequisites to enhancing SI Methods and processes to enhance SI in DLs SI in DL Services Definitions of interoperability, syntactic interoperability and semantic interoperability were then presented noting that SI is very much about matching concepts as a basis. SI has been identified as being of primary importance in DL research by the NSF Post Digital Libraries Futures Workshop: Wave of the Future [8]. The overall goal of SI is to support complex and advanced, context-sensitive query processing over heterogeneous information resources. The report examines several areas in which SI is important in DLs, these include: improving the precision of search, enabling advanced search, facilitating reasoning over document collections and knowledge bases, integration of heterogeneous resources, and its relevance in the information life-cycle management process. The report also investigates some theoretical issues such as clarification and selection of relevant terminology, standardisation and interpretation and the differing levels of SI in DL environments. It notes that information structure, language and identifiable semantics are prerequisites to SI, as is consensus building and standardisation. Other important areas include the role of foundational and core ontologies, knowledge organisation systems (KOS), syntactic interoperability and encoding systems and the role of semantic registries, tools and architectures. Rights issues are also relevant in the integration and reuse of information. The final sections of the report on enhancing SI in DLs and SI in DL services are still being addressed, although an outline of areas to be covered appears in the table of contents. Manjula welcomed participants to comment on the structure and content of the report and to identify any obvious gaps. A lively discussion ensued with regard to the issues raised in the report and the presentation. On closing the workshop, Liz Lyon thanked participants for their contributions and summarised the key issues as being: harmonisation, integration, bridging gaps, migration, integration of heterogeneous information and ontologies. References 1. Lagoze, C., & Hunter, J. "The ABC ontology and model". Journal of Digital Information, 2(2), 2001, article no. 77. Retrieved from: http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v02/i02/Lagoze/ 2. Hunter, J. "Enhancing the semantic interoperability of multimedia through a core ontology." IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology, 13(1), 2003. 49-58. Retrieved from: http://archive.dstc.edu.au/RDU/staff/jane-hunter/events/paper.html 3. Hunter, J., Koopman, B., & Sledge, J. "Software tools for indigenous knowledge management." Museums and the Web 2003, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, 20-22 March 2003. Retrieved from: http://www.archimuse.com/mw2003/papers/hunter/hunter.html 4. Hunter, J., Schroeter, R., Koopman, B., & Henderson, M. "Using the Semantic Grid to build bridges between museums and indigenous communities." GGF11 Semantic Grid Applications Workshop, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 10 June 2004. Retrieved from: http://www.semanticgrid.org/GGF/ggf11/ggf11-semgrid-proceedings.pdf 5. Hunter, J., Drennan, J., & Little, S. "Realising the Hydrogen economy through Semantic Web technologies." IEEE Intelligent Systems, January/February 2004, pp. 2-9 Retrieved from: http://maenad.dstc.edu.au/papers/2004/ieee-is.pdf 6. Hodge, G. Systems of knowledge organization for digital libraries: beyond traditional authority files. Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources, 2000. Retrieved from: http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub91abst.html 7. Binding, C., & Tudhope, D. (2004). "KOS at your service: programmatic access to knowledge organisation systems." Journal of Digital Information, 4(4), 2004, article no. 265. Retrieved from: http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v04/i04/Binding/ 8. NSF Post Digital Libraries Futures Workshop: Wave of the Future, June 2003, http://www.sis.pitt.edu/%7Edlwkshop/ Author Details Michael Day UKOLN University of Bath E-mail: url: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/ Manjula Patel UKOLN University of Bath E-mail: url: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/ Publication date: October 2004 |
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