Developing information architecture through records management classification techniques

Purpose – This work aims to draw attention to information retrieval philosophies and techniques allied to the records management profession, advocating a wider professional consideration of a functional approach to information management, in this instance in the development of information architecture. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws from a hypothesis originally presented by the author that advocated a viewpoint whereby the application of records management techniques, traditionally applied to develop business classification schemes, was offered as an additional solution to organising information resources and services (within a university intranet), where earlier approaches, notably subject- and administrative-based arrangements, were found to be lacking. The hypothesis was tested via work-based action learning and is presented here as an extended case study. The paper also draws on evidence submitted to the Joint Information Systems Committee in support of the Abertay University's application for consideration for the JISC award for innovation in records and information management. Findings – The original hypothesis has been tested in the workplace. Information retrieval techniques, allied to records management (functional classification), were the main influence in the development of pre- and post-coordinate information retrieval systems to support a wider information architecture, where the subject approach was found to be lacking. Their use within the workplace has since been extended. Originality/value – The paper advocates that the development of information retrieval as a discipline should include a wider consideration of functional classification, as this alternative to the subject approach is largely ignored in mainstream IR works

Computer-Aided Knowledge Engineering for Corporate Information Retrieval

In 1987, Digital Equipment Corporation's internal Madret Information Services Group I Information Access Services (lAS) decided to build a single thesaurus system to support production and retrieval of multiple applications. This system TIMS (Thesaurus I Indexing Management System) bad to be dynamic and allow for easy modification and merging of volatile business terminology. A faceted approach was used for knowledge-base building and semantic representation. 1be system allowed the knowledge engineer to determine a classification structure and to develop relation types suited to a specific application's requirements

Crowd-Sourcing Fuzzy and Faceted Classification for Concept Search

Searching for concepts in science and technology is often a difficult task. To facilitate concept search, different types of human-generated metadata have been created to define the content of scientific and technical disclosures. Classification schemes such as the International Patent Classification (IPC) and MEDLINE's MeSH are structured and controlled, but require trained experts and central management to restrict ambiguity (Mork, 2013). While unstructured tags of folksonomies can be processed to produce a degree of structure (Kalendar, 2010; Karampinas, 2012; Sarasua, 2012; Bragg, 2013) the freedom enjoyed by the crowd typically results in less precision (Stock 2007). Existing classification schemes suffer from inflexibility and ambiguity. Since humans understand language, inference, implication, abstraction and hence concepts better than computers, we propose to harness the collective wisdom of the crowd. To do so, we propose a novel classification scheme that is sufficiently intuitive for the crowd to use, yet powerful enough to facilitate search by analogy, and flexible enough to deal with ambiguity. The system will enhance existing classification information. Linking up with the semantic web and computer intelligence, a Citizen Science effort (Good, 2013) would support innovation by improving the quality of granted patents, reducing duplicitous research, and stimulating problem-oriented solution design. A prototype of our design is in preparation. A crowd-sourced fuzzy and faceted classification scheme will allow for better concept search and improved access to prior art in science and technology

Extending a geo-catalogue with matching capabilities

To achieve semantic interoperability, geo-spatial applications need to be equipped with tools able to understand user terminology that is typically different from the one enforced by standards. In this paper we summarize our experience in providing a semantic extension to the geo-catalogue of the Autonomous Province of Trento (PAT) in Italy. The semantic extension is based on the adoption of the S-Match semantic matching tool and on the use of a specifically designed faceted ontology codifying domain specific knowledge. We also briefly report our experience in the integration of the ontology with the geo-spatial ontology GeoWordNet

The classification of musical transformation: a conceptual approach to the knowledge organization of musical arrangements

Introduction. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual analysis of the knowledge organization of musical arrangements found in notated Western art music. Analysis. Four areas of arrangements are analysed. Inter-medium arrangements are explored, which are arrangements that transform one musical medium into another. Arrangements which involve changes of difficulty or pitch are discussed, as well as transformations between notation and performance. Arrangements of forms and genres are analysed, including sub-genres such as literal transcriptions, fantasies, virtuosic arrangements and pot-pourris. The function of arrangements is also discussed. Results. This study introduces additional facets, foci and types of information. These include the development of musical themes as a classification principle, the concept of a performancearrangement, and the idea of functions specifically associated with transformation. A categorisation is proposed for the various types of form/genre arrangements, which shows blurred boundaries between types. The impact of time on arrangements is demonstrated, and that there is a non-binary division between the original and the arranged. Conclusion. Two models demonstrate the complexities of musical arrangement, and how information specific to arrangements needs to be considered within music knowledge organization. Furthermore, the results suggest novel ideas about classifying change and transformation more generally

Constructing a lattice of Infectious Disease Ontologies from a Staphylococcus aureus isolate repository

A repository of clinically associated Staphylococcus aureus (Sa) isolates is used to semi‐automatically generate a set of application ontologies for specific subfamilies of Sa‐related disease. Each such application ontology is compatible with the Infectious Disease Ontology (IDO) and uses resources from the Open Biomedical Ontology (OBO) Foundry. The set of application ontologies forms a lattice structure beneath the IDO‐Core and IDO‐extension reference ontologies. We show how this lattice can be used to define a strategy for the construction of a new taxonomy of infectious disease incorporating genetic, molecular, and clinical data. We also outline how faceted browsing and query of annotated data is supported using a lattice application ontology