Information, knowledge and the context of interaction

Representing knowledge as information content alone is insufficient in providing us with an understanding of the world around us. A combination of context as well as reasoning of the information content is fundamental to representing knowledge, within information –based systems. The field of knowledge representation and knowledge management has thus far been concerned with providing structures and theories that can lead to some form of qualified intelligent reasoning, and contextualised information. By drawing upon previous research and applying and extending concepts of Semiotics and Symbiosis from the interaction design school of thought, this paper presents a conceptual framework for establishing the interplay between knowledge and users of knowledge via information systems constructs. Subsequently, by drawing upon notions of interfaces to knowledge, a conceptual framework which describes the relationship between the semiotic, symbiotic and interface to knowledge presented, along with a discussion of contemporary issues common to the field of knowledge management is developed

Collaborative editing of knowledge resources for cross-lingual text mining

The need to smoothly deal with textual documents expressed in different languages is increasingly becoming a relevant issue in modern text mining environments. Recently the research on this field has been considerably fostered by the necessity for Web users to easily search and browse the growing amount of heterogeneous multilingual contents available on-line as well as by the related spread of the Semantic Web. A common approach to cross-lingual text mining relies on the exploitation of sets of properly structured multilingual knowledge resources. The involvement of huge communities of users spread over different locations represents a valuable aid to create, enrich, and refine these knowledge resources. Collaborative editing Web environments are usually exploited to this purpose. This thesis analyzes the features of several knowledge editing tools, both semantic wikis and ontology editors, and discusses the main challenges related to the design and development of this kind of tools. Subsequently, it presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Wikyoto Knowledge Editor, called also Wikyoto. Wikyoto is the collaborative editing Web environment that enables Web users lacking any knowledge engineering background to edit the multilingual network of knowledge resources exploited by KYOTO, a cross-lingual text mining system developed in the context of the KYOTO European Project. To experiment real benefits from social editing of knowledge resources, it is important to provide common Web users with simplified and intuitive interfaces and interaction patterns. Users need to be motivated and properly driven so as to supply information useful for cross-lingual text mining. In addition, the management and coordination of their concurrent editing actions involve relevant technical issues. In the design of Wikyoto, all these requirements have been considered together with the structure and the set of knowledge resources exploited by KYOTO. Wikyoto aims at enabling common Web users to formalize cross-lingual knowledge by exploiting simplified language-driven interactions. At the same time, Wikyoto generates the set of complex knowledge structures needed by computers to mine information from textual contents. The learning curve of Wikyoto has been kept as shallow as possible by hiding the complexity of the knowledge structures to the users. This goal has been pursued by both enhancing the simplicity and interactivity of knowledge editing patterns and by using natural language interviews to carry out the most complex knowledge editing tasks. In this context, TMEKO, a methodology useful to support users to easily formalize cross-lingual information by natural language interviews has been defined. The collaborative creation of knowledge resources has been evaluated in Wikyoto

Up in the Air Over Taxing Frequent Flyer Benefits: The American, Canadian, and Australian Experiences

Vessel segmentation is an important prerequisite for many medical applications. While automatic vessel segmentation is an active field of research, interaction and visualization techniques for semi-automatic solutions have gotten far less attention. Nevertheless, since automatic techniques do not generally achieve perfect results, interaction is necessary. Especially for tasks that require an in-detail inspection or analysis of the shape of vascular structures precise segmentations are essential. However, in many cases these can only be generated by incorporating expert knowledge. In this paper we propose a visual vessel segmentation system that allows the user to interactively generate vessel segmentations. Therefore, we employ multiple linked views which allow to assess different aspects of the segmentation and depict its different quality metrics. Based on these quality metrics, the user is guided, can assess the segmentation quality in detail and modify the segmentation accordingly. One common modification is the editing of branches, for which we propose a semi-automatic sketch-based interaction metaphor. Additionally, the user can also influence the shape of the vessel wall or the centerline through sketching. To assess the value of our system we discuss feedback from medical experts and have performed a thorough evaluation

Variations de l'élaboration conceptuelle dans différentes modalités d'enseignement bilingue

This paper examines the relationship between programmed and emergent aspects of knowledge construction in bilingual education, through the analysis of conceptual networks of subject content. More precisely, the focus is on classroom interaction sequences in which participants (teacher and students) are working on definitions of certain phenomena or discussing different notions and concepts. These concepts have a common conceptual structure and build up conceptual networks that reflect the paradigm of different subject disciplines (for example, chemistry, biology, law, etc.), but do not have the same relevance for the knowledge construction and acquisition process. By comparing conceptual structures of subject content with different modalities of classroom interaction in which they occur, we examine the degree of their relevance and their role in the knowledge construction process. In this way, we are trying to find out which conditions could emphasize the occurrence of non-programmed notions and what is the impact of code-switching and meta-linguistic activities on it

Digitalization of banking services and methodology for building and functioning of Fintech companies

In the world of banking services, some sustainable trends have been observed globally in recent years, which strongly influence the forms of banking organization. In many cases, fintech companies are joining forces with banks to pursue a new common business, in which customer interaction is mainly through electronic means of communication. Very often it relies on the synergistic effect that leads to an increase in the efficiency of work of each business partner and the work on the common project as a whole. A major component in the digitization of banking services is the mobile or web-based information system through which employees and customers work. Fintech companies place qualitatively new requirements on the managers who manage such business structures. In addition to knowledge and experience in the field of financial instruments, a thorough knowledge of information technology is also required

Identifying modular function via edge annotation in gene correlation networks using Gene Ontology search

Correlation networks provide a powerful tool for analyzing large sets of biological information. This method of high-throughput data modeling has important implications in uncovering novel knowledge of cellular function. Previous studies on other types of network modeling (protein-protein interaction networks, metabolomes, etc.) have demonstrated the presence of relationships between network structures and organization of cellular function. Studies with correlation network further confirm the existence of such network structure and biological function relationship. However, correlation networks are typically noisy and the identified network structures, such as clusters, must be further investigated to verify actual cellular function. This is traditionally done using Gene Ontology enrichment of the genes in that cluster. In this study a novel method to identify common cluster functions in correlation networks is proposed, which uses annotations of edges as opposed to the traditional annotation of node analysis. The results obtained using proposed method reveals functional relationships in clusters not visible by the traditional approach

Amyloid structures as biofilm matrix scaffolds

Recent insights into bacterial biofilm matrix structures have induced a paradigm shift toward the recognition of amyloid fibers as common building block structures that confer stability to the exopolysaccharide matrix. Here we describe the functional amyloid systems related to biofilm matrix formation in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and recent knowledge regarding the interaction of amyloids with other biofilm matrix components such as extracellular DNA (eDNA) and the host immune system. In addition, we summarize the efforts to identify compounds that target amyloid fibers for therapeutic purposes and recent developments that take advantage of the amyloid structure to engineer amyloid fibers of bacterial biofilm matrices for biotechnological applications.This work, including the efforts of Jaione Valle, was funded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) (AGL2011-23954). This work, including the efforts of Íñigo Lasa, was funded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) (BIO2011-30503-C02-02 and BIO2014-53530-R)

On Common Research Needs for the Next Generation of Floating Support Structures

The world is facing several industrial and societal challenges, such as providing enough renewable energy and enough safe and healthy food as formulated in the United Nations sustainable development goals. Using floating stationary structures, the ocean can contribute to solving several of the challenges. New applications need new types of structures, with which we have limited experience. These support structures will be diverse, but also have essential research needs in common. Design of novel floating structures need reliable descriptions of the marine environment. This is particularly challenging for semi-sheltered coastal regions, with complex topography and bathymetry. Novel structures are likely to be compliant, modular and/or multi-body, requiring increased understanding and rational models for wave-structure interaction. Structures with sustainable, safe, and cost-efficient use of materials, including untraditional ones, must be developed. Smart, affordable, and reliable mooring systems and anchors for novel applications are necessary for station keeping. Digital solutions connecting the various stages of design and operation, as well as various design disciplines, researchers, and innovators, will be necessary. Sustainability will be an integral part of any new design. To unlock the potential of novel floating structures, we need to understand the requirements of the applications, as well as the associated technology gaps and knowledge and research needs. This paper highlights research needs for innovation within floating offshore wind, floating solar power plants, novel aquaculture structures, and coastal infrastructure.acceptedVersio