Actions

Ontolog Forum

Ontolog Mini-Series on "Database And Ontology" (Session-5) - Thu 08-Mar-2007

  • Topic: "Usability, Databases and Ontologies"

Conference Call Details

  • Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2007
  • Start Time: 10:30am PST / 1:30pm EST / 18:30 GMT/UTC
  • Expected Call Duration: 1.5~2.0 hours
  • Dial-in Number:
    • Direct call from from Skype: +990008275823120
    • When calling in from a phone, use Conference ID: "5823120#"
    • from a US telephone (US): +1-605-475-8590 (South Dakota, USA)
    • from Europe, call:
      • Belgium 070-35-9989
      • France 0826-100-277
      • Germany 01805-00-7649
      • Ireland 0818-270-034
      • Italy 0848-390-175
      • Switzerland 0848-560-195
      • UK 0870-738-0763
    • callers from other countries please dial into either one of the US or European numbers
  • Shared-screen support (VNC session) will be started 5 minutes before the call at: http://vnc2.cim3.net:5800/
    • view-only password: "ontolog"
    • if you plan to be logging into this shared-screen option (which the speaker may be navigating), and you are not familiar with the process, please try to call in 5 minutes before the start of the session so that we can work out the connection logistics. Help on this will generally not be available once the presentation starts.
    • people behind corporate firewalls may have difficulty accessing this. If that is the case, please download the slides below and runing them locally. The speaker will prompt you to advance the slides during the talk.
  • Please note that this session will be recorded, and the audio archive is expected to be made available as open content to our community membership and the public at-large under our prevailing open IPR policy.

Attendees

  • Others we were expecting (and who may have joined us after the roll call):
    • Moses Kamai (Battelle)
    • Joyce Koeneman (National Transportation Library, DOT)
    • Kiavash Bahreini (Eastern Mediterranean University, TRNC)
    • ... to register for participation, please add your name (plus your affiliation, if you aren't already a member of the community) above, or e-mail <peter.yim@cim3.com> so that we can reserve enough resources to support everyone's participation. ...

Background

This is the 5th event of the "Database and Ontology min-series" of talks and discussions, during which this community will be exploring the landscape, issues and interactions between databases and ontologies.

This is a community-driven set of activities, and is probably long overdue. On 15-Aug-2006, Tatiana Malyuta (who just joined the community after participating at our 23-Jul-2006 face-to-face workshop at Stanford, brought up her request for the Ontolog Forum to delve into the subject of "Database and Ontologiy." An almost unprecedented flurry of online responses were received from the community. It was decided that we could systematically pursue the subject by mounting a min-series on the matter at hand.

A planning meeting for this mini-series took place on 31-Aug-2006. Matthew West was invited to champion the effort, and a "Program & Technical Advisory Team" was formed, comprising Matthew West (Lead), Adrian Walker, Atilla Elci, Chris Partridge, Leo Obrst, Peter P. Yim, Susie Stephens & TatianaMalyuta.

See also: DatabaseAndOntology (the 'project' homepage for this mini-series)

The community is requested to contribute their thoughts by posting to [ontolog-forum] or to the DatabaseAndOntology wiki page (and/or its subpages). We hope to accumulate and synthesize the knowledge gathered and compile it into a written deliverable (a paper or even a handbook) that we could publish this collaboratively authored work to other relevant media and channels (like relevant conferences or the wikipedia.)

Agenda & Proceedings: "Database And Ontology" - Mini-series Session-5

Dr. Adrian Walker, CTO of Reengineering LLC., presents: "Usability, Databases and Ontologies"

  • Session Format: this is a virtual session conducted over an augmented conference call
    • 1. Opening by the Session Chair - Matthew West
    • 2. we'll go around with a self-introduction of participants (10~15 minutes) - All - we'll skip this if we have moe than 20 participants (in which case, it will be best if members try to update their namesake pages on this wiki prior to the call so that everyone can get to know who's who more easily.)
    • 2. Introduction of the invited speaker - Matthew West
    • 3. Invited Speaker Presentation (60~75 minutes) - Adrian Walker
    • 5. Q & A and Open discussion by all participants (20~30 minutes)
    • 7. Summary / Conclusion / Follow-up by the Session Chair - Matthew West (~5 minutes)

Topic: "Usability, Databases and Ontologies" by Dr. Adrian Walker

http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/work/DatabaseAndOntology/2007-03-08_AdrianWalker/AdrianWalker_Mar-2007.jpg [Dr. Adrian Walker]
  • Abstract (by AdrianWalker):
Tim Berners-Lee's vision is that "If HTML and the Web made all the online documents look like one huge book, the Semantic Web will make all the data in the world look like one huge database".
On the other hand, another Tim, Tim O'Reilly, envisions a "Web 2.0" that harnesses users' collective intelligence via lightweight user interfaces, development models, and business models.
The Semantic Web is a long-term project to create an infrastructure for programmers to use. Web 2.0, on the other hand, is mainly about high-level user experience and immediate benefits.
This talk outlines some current work on semantics in RDF and OWL. Then, I'll argue that a wider technical view of ontological semantics will improve usability and speed up progress. The argument is illustrated with an online system called Internet Business Logic. The system combines three kinds of semantics with a lightweight author- and user-interface. It works as a kind of Wiki that people with spreadsheet-level skills can use to write and run knowledge as business rules in executable, open vocabulary, open syntax English. From the rules, the system can automatically generate and run SQL that would be too complicated to write reliably by hand. However, the system can also give explanations of the results, in English, at the business level. I'll show examples of how the system can be used for knowledge based data mining and supply chain planning. As befits a Wiki, shared use of the system is free.
  • About the Invited Speaker:
Dr. Adrian Walker is the author of over 20 papers, and co-author of an Addison-Wesley book, on logic-based systems and databases. His experience includes: Assistant Professor at Rutgers University; Manager of Principles and Applications of Logic Programming, IBM Yorktown Research Laboratory; Manager, Internet Development at Eventra (a manufacturing supply chain company). He is currently the Chief Technology Officer of Reengineering LLC.

Questions, Answers & Discourse

  • Please mute your phone, by pressing "*2" on your phone keypad, when the talk is in progress. To un-mute, press "*3"
  • If you want to speak or have questions or remarks to make, please "raise your hand (virtually)" by pressing "11" on your phone keypad. You may speak when acknowledged by the speaker or the session moderator.
    • experimental: try using the queue management chat tool
    • point a separate browser tab (or window) to http://webconf.soaphub.org/conf/room and enter: Room="ontolog_20070308" and My Name="Your Own Name" (e.g. "JaneDoe")
    • or point your browser to: http://webconf.soaphub.org/conf/room/ontolog_20070308
      • instructions: once you got access to the page, click on the "settings" button, and identify yourself (by modifying the Name field). You can indicate that you want to ask a question verbally by clicking on the "hand" button, and wait for the moderator to call on you; or, type and send your question into the chat window at the bottom of the screen.
    • For those who have further questions or remarks on the topic, please post them to the [ontolog-forum] so that everyone in the community can benefit from the discourse.
  • ... More Questions
  • Session ended 2007.03.08 12:06 pm PST

Audio Recording of this Session

  • To download the audio recording of the session, click here
    • the playback of the audio files require the proper setup, and an MP3 compatible player on your computer.
  • Conference Date and Time: 08-Mar-2007 10:42am~12:06pm Pacific Standard Time
  • Duration of Recording: 1 Hour 19 Minutes
  • Recording File Size: 9.6 MB (in mp3 format)
  • Telephone Playback
    • Prior to the Expiration Date of 08-Apr-2007 0:00 AM PST, one can call-in and hear the telephone playback of the session.
    • Playback Dial-in Number: (long distance costs apply)
      • US: +1-605-475-8599
      • Belgium: +070 35 9990
      • France: +0826 100 279
      • Germany: +01805 00 7641
      • Ireland: +0818 270 036
      • Italy: +0848 390 177
      • Switzerland: +0848 560 197
      • UK: +0870 738 0768
      • Skype: +990008271111 (free computer-to-computer call)
      • non-Skype callers from other countries can dial into either the US or UK number for the playback (long distance costs apply)
      • Conference ID: 5823120#
      • Recording Reference Number: 75125#
    • suggestions:
      • its best that you listen to the session while having the slide presentation opened in front of you. You'll be prompted to advance slides by the speaker.