Semantic Similarity Measures Applied to an Ontology for Human-Like Interaction

The focus of this paper is the calculation of similarity between two concepts from an ontology for a Human-Like Interaction system. In order to facilitate this calculation, a similarity function is proposed based on five dimensions (sort, compositional, essential, restrictive and descriptive) constituting the structure of ontological knowledge. The paper includes a proposal for computing a similarity function for each dimension of knowledge. Later on, the similarity values obtained are weighted and aggregated to obtain a global similarity measure. In order to calculate those weights associated to each dimension, four training methods have been proposed. The training methods differ in the element to fit: the user, concepts or pairs of concepts, and a hybrid approach. For evaluating the proposal, the knowledge base was fed from WordNet and extended by using a knowledge editing toolkit (Cognos). The evaluation of the proposal is carried out through the comparison of system responses with those given by human test subjects, both providing a measure of the soundness of the procedure and revealing ways in which the proposal may be improved.The development of this approach and its construction as part of the LaBDA-Interactor Human-Like Interaction System, part of the research projects SemAnts (TSI-020110-2009-419) and THUBAN (TIN2008-02711) and CADOOH (TSI-020302-2011-21), is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce and the Spanish Ministry of Education, respectively. Besides, the knowledge bases were populated using the COGNOS toolkit developed through the research project MA2VICMR (S2009/TIC-1542) supported by the Regional Government of Madrid.Publicad

An Evaluation Of Learning Employing Natural Language Processing And Cognitive Load Assessment

One of the key goals of Pedagogy is to assess learning. Various paradigms exist and one of this is Cognitivism. It essentially sees a human learner as an information processor and the mind as a black box with limited capacity that should be understood and studied. With respect to this, an approach is to employ the construct of cognitive load to assess a learner\u27s experience and in turn design instructions better aligned to the human mind. However, cognitive load assessment is not an easy activity, especially in a traditional classroom setting. This research proposes a novel method for evaluating learning both employing subjective cognitive load assessment and natural language processing. It makes use of primary, empirical and deductive methods. In details, on one hand, cognitive load assessment is performed using well-known self-reporting instruments, borrowed from Human Factors, namely the Nasa Task Load Index and the Workload Profile. On the other hand, Natural Language Processing techniques, borrowed from Artificial Intelligence, are employed to calculate semantic similarity of textual information, provided by learners after attending a typical third-level class, and the content of the class itself. Subsequently, an investigation of the relationship of cognitive load assessment and textual similarity is performed to assess learning