Integrating Distributed Sources of Information for Construction Cost Estimating using Semantic Web and Semantic Web Service technologies

A construction project requires collaboration of several organizations such as owner, designer, contractor, and material supplier organizations. These organizations need to exchange information to enhance their teamwork. Understanding the information received from other organizations requires specialized human resources. Construction cost estimating is one of the processes that requires information from several sources including a building information model (BIM) created by designers, estimating assembly and work item information maintained by contractors, and construction material cost data provided by material suppliers. Currently, it is not easy to integrate the information necessary for cost estimating over the Internet. This paper discusses a new approach to construction cost estimating that uses Semantic Web technology. Semantic Web technology provides an infrastructure and a data modeling format that enables accessing, combining, and sharing information over the Internet in a machine processable format. The estimating approach presented in this paper relies on BIM, estimating knowledge, and construction material cost data expressed in a web ontology language. The approach presented in this paper makes the various sources of estimating data accessible as Simple Protocol and Resource Description Framework Query Language (SPARQL) endpoints or Semantic Web Services. We present an estimating application that integrates distributed information provided by project designers, contractors, and material suppliers for preparing cost estimates. The purpose of this paper is not to fully automate the estimating process but to streamline it by reducing human involvement in repetitive cost estimating activities

Conceptual graph-based knowledge representation for supporting reasoning in African traditional medicine

Although African patients use both conventional or modern and traditional healthcare simultaneously, it has been proven that 80% of people rely on African traditional medicine (ATM). ATM includes medical activities stemming from practices, customs and traditions which were integral to the distinctive African cultures. It is based mainly on the oral transfer of knowledge, with the risk of losing critical knowledge. Moreover, practices differ according to the regions and the availability of medicinal plants. Therefore, it is necessary to compile tacit, disseminated and complex knowledge from various Tradi-Practitioners (TP) in order to determine interesting patterns for treating a given disease. Knowledge engineering methods for traditional medicine are useful to model suitably complex information needs, formalize knowledge of domain experts and highlight the effective practices for their integration to conventional medicine. The work described in this paper presents an approach which addresses two issues. First it aims at proposing a formal representation model of ATM knowledge and practices to facilitate their sharing and reusing. Then, it aims at providing a visual reasoning mechanism for selecting best available procedures and medicinal plants to treat diseases. The approach is based on the use of the Delphi method for capturing knowledge from various experts which necessitate reaching a consensus. Conceptual graph formalism is used to model ATM knowledge with visual reasoning capabilities and processes. The nested conceptual graphs are used to visually express the semantic meaning of Computational Tree Logic (CTL) constructs that are useful for formal specification of temporal properties of ATM domain knowledge. Our approach presents the advantage of mitigating knowledge loss with conceptual development assistance to improve the quality of ATM care (medical diagnosis and therapeutics), but also patient safety (drug monitoring)

Generating collaborative systems for digital libraries: A model-driven approach

This is an open access article shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Copyright @ 2010 The Authors.The design and development of a digital library involves different stakeholders, such as: information architects, librarians, and domain experts, who need to agree on a common language to describe, discuss, and negotiate the services the library has to offer. To this end, high-level, language-neutral models have to be devised. Metamodeling techniques favor the definition of domainspecific visual languages through which stakeholders can share their views and directly manipulate representations of the domain entities. This paper describes CRADLE (Cooperative-Relational Approach to Digital Library Environments), a metamodel-based framework and visual language for the definition of notions and services related to the development of digital libraries. A collection of tools allows the automatic generation of several services, defined with the CRADLE visual language, and of the graphical user interfaces providing access to them for the final user. The effectiveness of the approach is illustrated by presenting digital libraries generated with CRADLE, while the CRADLE environment has been evaluated by using the cognitive dimensions framework

Developing frameworks for protocol implementation

This paper presents a method to develop frameworks for protocol implementation. Frameworks are software structures developed for a specific application domain, which can be reused in the implementation of various different concrete systems in this domain. The use of frameworks support a protocol implementation process connected with formal design methods and produce an implementation code easy to extend and to reuse

The Need and Requirements to a Strategy Ontology

The importance of strategy and strategy construct is not a new phenomenon. However as strategy work becomes less tangible, concerns with understanding, describing, and managing strategies develops into an increasingly complex subject. Current strategy concepts are dispersed and lack integration. Moreover, the enablement of modelling practices around strategy concepts considering the entire strategy lifecycle are also missing. Consequently, this paper focuses on issues with strategy in theory and practice, why a strategy ontology is needed and how this can be developed

Praca socjalna i terapia rodziny: interdyscyplinarne korzenie interwencji w rodzinie

Social work practice takes place between persons in families and other social institutions, such as schools, health systems, welfare systems or courts. Drawing from multi-disciplinary theoretical sources, the article brings together social work and family therapy to develop a contemporary model of social work practice with families. There are five generic principles of family systemic practice: 1) persons are inherently relational; 2) families have resilient strengths; 3) family life cycles proceed systemically generating relational tasks for family members; 4) repetitive family interaction generates relational structures; 5) cultures, as perceived by family members, are themselves in dynamic motion, necessitating a transcultural understanding of family interaction.Praktyka pracy socjalnej odbywa się pomiędzy członkami rodzin a innymi instytucjami społecznymi, takimi jak: szkoły, systemy opieki zdrowotnej, systemy opieki społecznej i sądy. Czerpiąc z multidyscyplinarnych źródeł teoretycznych, artykuł łączy pracę socjalną i terapię rodzinną w celu opracowania współczesnego modelu praktyki pracy socjalnej z rodzinami. Istnieje pięć ogólnych zasad systemowej praktyki rodzinnej: 1) osoby są z natury relacyjne; 2) rodziny mają siły rodzące sprężystość psychiczną; 3) cykle życia rodzinnego postępują systemowo, generując relacyjne zadania dla członków rodziny; 4) powtarzające się interakcje rodzinne generują struktury relacyjne; 5) kultury, postrzegane przez członków rodziny, znajdują się w stanie dynamicznego ruchu, co wymaga transkulturowego zrozumienia interakcji rodziny