Exploiting Synergy Between Ontologies and Recommender Systems

Recommender systems learn about user preferences over time, automatically finding things of similar interest. This reduces the burden of creating explicit queries. Recommender systems do, however, suffer from cold-start problems where no initial information is available early on upon which to base recommendations. Semantic knowledge structures, such as ontologies, can provide valuable domain knowledge and user information. However, acquiring such knowledge and keeping it up to date is not a trivial task and user interests are particularly difficult to acquire and maintain. This paper investigates the synergy between a web-based research paper recommender system and an ontology containing information automatically extracted from departmental databases available on the web. The ontology is used to address the recommender systems cold-start problem. The recommender system addresses the ontology's interest-acquisition problem. An empirical evaluation of this approach is conducted and the performance of the integrated systems measured

Exploiting synergy between ontologies and recommender systems

Recommender systems learn about user preferences over time, automatically finding things of similar interest. This reduces the burden of creating explicit queries. Recommender systems do, however, suffer from cold-start problems where no initial information is available early on upon which to base recommendations.Semantic knowledge structures, such as ontologies, can provide valuable domain knowledge and user information. However, acquiring such knowledge and keeping it up to date is not a trivial task and user interests are particularly difficult to acquire and maintain. This paper investigates the synergy between a web-based research paper recommender system and an ontology containing information automatically extracted from departmental databases available on the web. The ontology is used to address the recommender systems cold-start problem. The recommender system addresses the ontology's interest-acquisition problem. An empirical evaluation of this approach is conducted and the performance of the integrated systems measured

Data Mining to Support Engineering Design Decision

The design and maintenance of an aero-engine generates a significant amount of documentation. When designing new engines, engineers must obtain knowledge gained from maintenance of existing engines to identify possible areas of concern. Firstly, this paper investigate the use of advanced business intelligence tenchniques to solve the problem of knowledge transfer from maintenance to design of aeroengines. Based on data availability and quality, various models were deployed. An association model was used to uncover hidden trends among parts involved in maintenance events. Classification techniques comprising of various algorithms was employed to determine severity of events. Causes of high severity events that lead to major financial loss was traced with the help of summarization techniques. Secondly this paper compares and evaluates the business intelligence approach to solve the problem of knowledge transfer with solutions available from the Semantic Web. The results obtained provide a compelling need to have data mining support on RDF/OWL-based warehoused data

Utilising semantic technologies for intelligent indexing and retrieval of digital images

The proliferation of digital media has led to a huge interest in classifying and indexing media objects for generic search and usage. In particular, we are witnessing colossal growth in digital image repositories that are difficult to navigate using free-text search mechanisms, which often return inaccurate matches as they in principle rely on statistical analysis of query keyword recurrence in the image annotation or surrounding text. In this paper we present a semantically-enabled image annotation and retrieval engine that is designed to satisfy the requirements of the commercial image collections market in terms of both accuracy and efficiency of the retrieval process. Our search engine relies on methodically structured ontologies for image annotation, thus allowing for more intelligent reasoning about the image content and subsequently obtaining a more accurate set of results and a richer set of alternatives matchmaking the original query. We also show how our well-analysed and designed domain ontology contributes to the implicit expansion of user queries as well as the exploitation of lexical databases for explicit semantic-based query expansion

Reconfigurable controlled two-qubit operation on a quantum photonic chip

Integrated quantum photonics is an appealing platform for quantum information processing, quantum communication and quantum metrology. In all these applications it is necessary not only to be able to create and detect Fock states of light but also to program the photonic circuits that implements some desired logical operation. Here we demonstrate a reconfigurable controlled two-qubit operation on a chip using a multiwaveguide interferometer with a tunable phase shifter. We find excellent agreement between theory and experiment, with a 0.98 \pm 0.02 average similarity between measured and ideal operations

Salmonella Typhimurium in the Australian egg industry: multidisciplinary approach to addressing the public health challenge and future directions

In Australia, numerous egg related human Salmonella Typhimurium outbreaks have prompted significant interest amongst public health authorities and the egg industry to jointly address this human health concern. Nationwide workshops on Salmonella and eggs were conducted in Australia for egg producers and regulatory authorities. State and National regulators representing Primary Production, Communicable Disease Control, Public Health and Food Safety and Food Standards Australia and New Zealand. All attendees participated in discussions aimed at evaluating current evidence based information, issues related to quality egg production and how to ensure safe eggs in the supply chain, identifying research gaps and practical recommendations. The perceptions from egg producers and regulatory authorities from various states were recorded during the workshops. We presented the issues discussed during the workshops including Salmonella in the farm environment, Salmonella penetration across egg shell, virulence in humans, food/egg handling in the supply chain and intervention strategies. We also discussed the perceptions from egg producers and regulators. Recommendations placed emphasis on future research needs, communication between industry and regulatory authorities and education of food handlers. Communication between regulators and industry is pivotal to control egg borne S. Typhimurium outbreaks and collaborative efforts are required to design effective and appropriate control strategies.Kapil K. Chousalkar, Margaret Sexton, Andrea McWhorter, Kylie Hewson, Glen Martin, Craig Shadbolt & Paul Goldsmit

Towards a killer app for the Semantic Web

Killer apps are highly transformative technologies that create new markets and widespread patterns of behaviour. IT generally, and the Web in particular, has benefited from killer apps to create new networks of users and increase its value. The Semantic Web community on the other hand is still awaiting a killer app that proves the superiority of its technologies. There are certain features that distinguish killer apps from other ordinary applications. This paper examines those features in the context of the Semantic Web, in the hope that a better understanding of the characteristics of killer apps might encourage their consideration when developing Semantic Web applications

Population, sexual and reproductive health, rights and sustainable development: forging a common agenda.

This article suggests that sexual and reproductive health and rights activists seeking to influence the post-2015 international development paradigm must work with sustainable development advocates concerned with a range of issues, including climate change, environmental issues, and food and water security, and that a way of building bridges with these communities is to demonstrate how sexual and reproductive health and rights are relevant for these issues. An understanding of population dynamics, including urbanization and migration, as well as population growth, can help to clarify these links. This article therefore suggests that whether or not sexual and reproductive health and rights activists can overcome resistance to discussing "population", become more knowledgeable about other sustainable development issues, and work with others in those fields to advance the global sustainable development agenda are crucial questions for the coming months. The article also contends that it is possible to care about population dynamics (including ageing and problems faced by countries with a high proportion of young people) and care about human rights at the same time. It expresses concern that, if sexual and reproductive health and rights advocates do not participate in the population dynamics discourse, the field will be left free for those for whom respecting and protecting rights may be less of a priority

'I make up a silly name': Understanding Children's Perception of Privacy Risks Online

Children under 11 are often regarded as too young to comprehend the implications of online privacy. Perhaps as a result, little research has focused on younger kids' risk recognition and coping. Such knowledge is, however, critical for designing efficient safeguarding mechanisms for this age group. Through 12 focus group studies with 29 children aged 6-10 from UK schools, we examined how children described privacy risks related to their use of tablet computers and what information was used by them to identify threats. We found that children could identify and articulate certain privacy risks well, such as information oversharing or revealing real identities online; however, they had less awareness with respect to other risks, such as online tracking or game promotions. Our findings offer promising directions for supporting children's awareness of cyber risks and the ability to protect themselves online