Reconciling Knowledge in Social Tagging Web Services

Sometimes we want to search for new information about topics but we can not find relevant results using our own knowledge (for example, our personal bookmarks). A potential solution could be the use of knowledge from other users to find what we are searching for. This solution implies that we can achieve some agreement on implicit semantics used by the other users. We call it Reconciliation of Knowledge. The aim of this paper is to show an agent-based method which lets us reconcile two different knowledge basis (associated with tagging systems) into a common language, obtaining a new one that allows the reconcilitiation of (part of) this knowledge. The agents use Formal Concept Analysis concepts and tools and it has been implemented on the JADE multiagent platform.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2009-0949

Semantic Tagging on Historical Maps

Tags assigned by users to shared content can be ambiguous. As a possible solution, we propose semantic tagging as a collaborative process in which a user selects and associates Web resources drawn from a knowledge context. We applied this general technique in the specific context of online historical maps and allowed users to annotate and tag them. To study the effects of semantic tagging on tag production, the types and categories of obtained tags, and user task load, we conducted an in-lab within-subject experiment with 24 participants who annotated and tagged two distinct maps. We found that the semantic tagging implementation does not affect these parameters, while providing tagging relationships to well-defined concept definitions. Compared to label-based tagging, our technique also gathers positive and negative tagging relationships. We believe that our findings carry implications for designers who want to adopt semantic tagging in other contexts and systems on the Web.Comment: 10 page

Agent-mediated shared conceptualizations in tagging services

Some of the most remarkable innovative technologies from the Web 2.0 are the collaborative tagging systems. They allow the use of folksonomies as a useful structure for a number of tasks in the social web, such as navigation and knowledge organization. One of the main deficiencies comes from the tagging behaviour of different users which causes semantic heterogeneity in tagging. As a consequence a user cannot benefit from the adequate tagging of others. In order to solve the problem, an agent-based reconciliation knowledge system, based on Formal Concept Analysis, is applied to facilitate the semantic interoperability between personomies. This article describes experiments that focus on conceptual structures produced by the system when it is applied to a collaborative tagging service, Delicious. Results will show the prevalence of shared tags in the sharing of common resources in the reconciliation process.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2009-09492Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2010-20967-C04-0

On the Complexity of Shared Conceptualizations

In the Social Web, folksonomies and other similar knowledge organization techniques may suffer limitations due to both different users’ tagging behaviours and semantic heterogeneity. In order to estimate how a social tagging network organizes its resources, focusing on sharing (implicit) conceptual schemes, we apply an agent-based reconciliation knowledge system based on Formal Concept Analysis. This article describes various experiments that focus on conceptual structures of the reconciliation process as applied to Delicious bookmarking service. Results will show the prevalence of sharing tagged resources in order to be used by other users as recommendations.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2009-09492Junta de Andalucía TIC-606

Improving Digital Record Annotation Capabilities with Open-sourced Ontologies and Crowd-sourced Workers

The Museum of the City of New York has undertaken a long-term project to digitize its collection of 1.5 million objects, annotate them with metadata, and make them publicly available via the Internet. At present, Museum staff annotate images using a traditional lexicon assembled from authority sources such as the Library of Congress and the Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus, but with limited resources the Museum cannot scale to meet its goal of providing the highest levels of accessibility and discoverability of collections to researchers as well as to the general public. This project offers a cost-effective, scalable solution that 1) consolidates the current lexicon with linked open data sources by generating alignments and reconciling semantically equivalent elements, creating a super-set lexicon, and 2) divides the work of annotating into micro-tasks that can be completed by huge labor pools available through crowd-sourced marketplaces

The next generation of the web: an organisational perspective

The web has revolutionised information sharing, management, interoperability and knowledge discovery. The union of the two prominent web frameworks, Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web is often referred to as Web 3.0. This paper explores the basics behind the two paradigms, assesses their influence over organisational change and considers their effectiveness in supporting innovative solutions. It then outlines the challenges of combining the two web paradigms to form Web 3.0 and critically evaluates the impact that Web 3.0 will have on the social organisation. The research carried out follows action research principles and adopts an investigative and reviewing approach to the emerging trends and patterns that develop from the web's changing use, examining the underpinning enabling technologies that facilitate access, innovation and organisational change

Semantic technologies: from niche to the mainstream of Web 3? A comprehensive framework for web Information modelling and semantic annotation

Context: Web information technologies developed and applied in the last decade have considerably changed the way web applications operate and have revolutionised information management and knowledge discovery. Social technologies, user-generated classification schemes and formal semantics have a far-reaching sphere of influence. They promote collective intelligence, support interoperability, enhance sustainability and instigate innovation. Contribution: The research carried out and consequent publications follow the various paradigms of semantic technologies, assess each approach, evaluate its efficiency, identify the challenges involved and propose a comprehensive framework for web information modelling and semantic annotation, which is the thesis’ original contribution to knowledge. The proposed framework assists web information modelling, facilitates semantic annotation and information retrieval, enables system interoperability and enhances information quality. Implications: Semantic technologies coupled with social media and end-user involvement can instigate innovative influence with wide organisational implications that can benefit a considerable range of industries. The scalable and sustainable business models of social computing and the collective intelligence of organisational social media can be resourcefully paired with internal research and knowledge from interoperable information repositories, back-end databases and legacy systems. Semantified information assets can free human resources so that they can be used to better serve business development, support innovation and increase productivity

Informal learning recognition through a cloud ecosystem

Learning and teaching processes, like all human activities, can be mediated through the use of tools. Information and communication technologies are now widespread within education. Their use in the daily life of teachers and learners affords engagement with educational activities at any place and time and not necessarily linked to an institution or a certificate. In the absence of formal certification, learning under these circumstances is known as informal learning. Despite the lack of certification, learning with technology in this way presents opportunities to gather information about and present new ways of exploiting an individual’s learning. Cloud technologies provide ways to achieve this through new architectures, methodologies, and workflows that facilitate semantic tagging, recognition, and acknowledgment of informal learning activities. The transparency and accessibility of cloud services mean that institutions and learners can exploit existing knowledge to their mutual benefit. The TRAILER project facilitates this aim by providing a technological framework using cloud services, a workflow, and a methodology. The services facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge associated with informal learning activities ranging from the use of social software through widgets, computer gaming, and remote laboratory experiments. Data from these activities are shared among institutions, learners, and workers. The project demonstrates the possibility of gathering information related to informal learning activities independently of the context or tools used to carry them out

Informal learning recognition through a cloud ecosystem

Learning and teaching processes, like all human activities, can be mediated through the use of tools. Information and communication technologies are now widespread within education. Their use in the daily life of teachers and learners affords engagement with educational activities at any place and time and not necessarily linked to an institution or a certificate. In the absence of formal certification, learning under these circumstances is known as informal learning. Despite the lack of certification, learning with technology in this way presents opportunities to gather information about and present new ways of exploiting an individual’s learning. Cloud technologies provide ways to achieve this through new architectures, methodologies, and workflows that facilitate semantic tagging, recognition, and acknowledgment of informal learning activities. The transparency and accessibility of cloud services mean that institutions and learners can exploit existing knowledge to their mutual benefit. The TRAILER project facilitates this aim by providing a technological framework using cloud services, a workflow, and a methodology. The services facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge associated with informal learning activities ranging from the use of social software through widgets, computer gaming, and remote laboratory experiments. Data from these activities are shared among institutions, learners, and workers. The project demonstrates the possibility of gathering information related to informal learning activities independently of the context or tools used to carry them out