Semantic Classification of Information Science Resources

Semantic Classification of Information Sciences Resources

Dr Ph. MARTIN

This file contains representations of general types about various objects of Information Science (IS): sub-domains, tasks, methods, data structures, conferences, research projects, etc. These types are specialized in other files which "import" this one, e.g. this 'Semantic Classification of Knowledge Management Resources' which itself is imported by this 'Semantic Classification of Conceptual Graph Management Resources'. In the end, files with a restricted enough focus represent or index individual objects (or resources) such as tools, articles, conferences, projects and researchers. However, some general conferences, magazine and publishers in IS have been represented at the end of this document.

The representations from all loaded into the knowledge base (KB) of WebKB-2 and can be queried, navigated and complemented by anyone using WebKB-2 (e.g. click here).
This ontology reuses the ontology of WebKB-2, i.e. an extension and correction of WordNet 1.7.

Reminder:
(i) category identifiers have the following form: sourceId#the-key-name__may_be_another-name__may-be-yet-another-name, e.g.
wn#domestic_dog__dog__Canis_familiaris; the prefix "wn" (for WordNet 1.7) can be omited;
(ii) the link symbols '<', '>' and ':' respectively refer to the links "subtypeOf", "subtype" and "instance".

The FT and FCG notations have been used for representing the ontology and the resources. Statements/commands are in the courier font. They are enclosed within the XHTML marks <KR> and </KR> to permit WebKB-2 to distinguish them from regular text.

Table of contents

Domains and Theories
Tasks and Methodologies
Structures and Languages
Tools
Journals, Conferences, Publishers and Mailing Lists
Articles, Books and other Documents
People: Researchers, Specialists, Teams/Projects, ...

Domains and Theories

Names used for research domains are very often also names for activities (processes, or to be more precise and use a knowledge engineering terminology, tasks). Process categories are more convenient for representing knowledge than research domain categories because many relations can then be used (e.g. agent, method, instrument, input, output, termination, purpose, duration) and many of these relations are predefined in WebKB-2. Systematically introducing categories for both the research domains and the processes would complexify information retrieval (IR) because some people would use research domain categories to index resources while others would use process categories. Hence, whenever suitable I have represented tasks instead of domains. For the rare cases where names are shared by domain categories and task categories (in WebKB-2, categories can share names but not identifiers), I advise the use of process categories for indexing or representing resources.

The following comes from the integration of WordNet. Click here to see the organisation of fields of study from WordNet and why this organisation has been chosen (hence why ">part" links have to be used below to introduce subfields).

#information_science__information_technology__informatics__information_processing__IS__IT__IP
  type:   #scientific_discipline, 
  >part:  #natural_language_processing  #cybernetics,
  part:   #computer_science,
  object: #software;

#computer_science__computational_science  (^the branch of engineering science that studies computable processes and structures^)
   >part:    #artificial_intelligence,
   >part of: #engineering_science__engineering__applied_science__technology,
   part:     #information_theory,
   part of:  #information_science;

Some subfields need to be introduced. To introduce categories related to "Information Science", the creator "is" has been chosen. This is a "generic user": no password is (and can be) associated to it in WebKB-2 and anyone may add categories in the name of "is". I preferred the name "is" over "it" because "Information Sciences" has a broader connotation than "Information Technology".

is#information_retrieval_science__information_retrieval__IR  >part of: #information_science;

is#software_engineering_science__software_engineering  >part of: #computer_science;
is#database_management_science__database_management  >part of: #computer_science;
is#machine_learning_science__machine_learning__ML  >part of: #artificial_intelligence;

Tasks and Methodologies

is#information_sciences_task__information_management_task__information_management
 (^may be "_subtask" would be more appropriate than "_task" here and in the subtypes^)
 < #cognitive_process,
 > is#IR_task
   is#database_management_task  is#document_management_task
   is#distributed_system_management_task
   is#supporting_cooperation
   is#software_engineering_task
   is#teaching_an_IS_related_subject
   is#IS_methodology_task,
 object: is#IS_structure,  //"task object": object worked on or generated by the task
 object of: #information_science;
  //the general link "object" has different (more specialized) meanings depending on the
  //connected categories: in the last line, the meaning is "domain object" not "task object"


   is#IR_task__information_indexation_or_search__information_retrieval__IR 
    > {is#information_indexation  is#information_search} is#information_presentation
      is#document_indexation_or_search  is#data_indexation_or_search_in_a_database;

      is#information_indexation
       > is#information_structuring  is#information_precising  is#data_indexation;

         is#information_structuring (^increasing the number of relations between objects^)
          > is#increasing_the_number_of_relations_between_document_elements
            is#reducing_the_size_of_document_elements
            is#information_normalization;

            is#increasing_the_number_of_relations_between_document_elements
             > is#document_structuring
               is#increasing_the_number_of_relations_between_documents;

            is#information_normalization
             > {(is#data_normalization  km#knowledge_normalization)}
               is#representing_information_in_a_formal_or_semi_formal_way;

               is#representing_information_in_a_formal_or_semi_formal_way
                > km#knowledge_representation;

         is#information_precising
          > is#information_explicitation;

            is#information_explicitation
             > is#representing_information_in_a_formal_or_semi_formal_way
               is#making_an_informal_sentence_less_contextual
               is#information_normalization;

         is#data_indexation__informal_object_indexation
          > is#document_indexation  is#data_indexation_in_database;

      is#information_search
       > is#document_search  is#lexical_search
         {is#informal_index_based_search  is#knowledge_based_information_search};

         is#lexical_search__string_search (^search of a string of character^)
          > is#regular_expression_based_search  is#keyword_based_statistical_search;

         is#knowledge_based_information_search
          > is#knowledge_based_document_search;  //+ in _KM.html:  km#knowledge_search_task  

      is#document_indexation_or_search__document_search__document_structuration
       (^"indexation" also refers to structuring with via markup tags^)
       > {is#document_indexation  is#document_search}
         {is#keyword_based_document_indexation_or_search
          is#metadata_based_structuration_or_search
          is#knowledge_based_document_indexation_or_search};

          is#knowledge_based_document_indexation_or_search
           > is#knowledge_based_document_search;

   is#database_management_task__database_management (^a DB management (sub)task^)
    > is#data_indexation_or_search_in_a_database
      is#mapping/merging/federation_of_DBs,
    tool: #electronic_database  #DBMS;

      is#data_indexation_or_search_in_a_database
       > is#data_indexation_in_database;

   is#document_management_task__document_management
    > is#document_indexation_or_search;

   is#distributed_system_management_task__distributed_system_management
    tool: is#distributed_software_system;

   is#supporting_cooperation
    > {is#supporting_synchronous_cooperation  is#supporting_asynchronous_cooperation}
      is#information_sharing;

      is#information_sharing
       > {is#data_sharing  km#knowledge_sharing}  is#information_publishing;

   is#software_engineering_task__software_engineering
    > is#software_classification  is#graphical_interface_engineering;

   is#teaching_an_IS_related_subject
    < #educational_activity; //another supertype


   is#IS_methodology_task  (^a task of a methodology in Information Sciences^)
    > is#distributed_system_methodology_task;

Structures and Languages

The objects on which the IS tasks operate are IS structures:

is#IS_structure < pm#description_medium,
 > {is#symbolic_structure is#connexionist_structure};
   //Reminder: {...} specifies that the enclosed subtypes are exclusive;
   //   hence, {...} specifies a subtype partition, not necessarily closed

    is#symbolic_structure
     > {is#mathematical_symbolic_structure
        is#symbolic_structure_not_fully_mathematically_defined};
       /*I needed to introduce this partition to index Uta Priss' ICCS02 paper;
         this partition is not satisfying but probably less a source of mis-uses and 
         debates than the distinctions formal/semi-formal/informal and
         associative/non-associative*/

    is#connexionist_structure
     > is#neural_network;


#algorithmic_language
 > is#C++  is#ADA ;

Tools

I do not currently see the need to introduce a type is#IS_tool since WordNet already provides the type #software and various subtypes.

Graphical Interfaces

is#user_interface  < #user_interface,
 > {is#non-graphical_user_interface is#graphical_user_interface}
   is#network-accessible_interface;

   is#non-graphical_user_interface
    > is#procedure_call_interface  is#command_based_interface;

      is#procedure_call_interface
       > {is#network-accessible_procedure_call_interface
          is#API__application_programming_interface};

         is#network-accessible_procedure_call_interface
          > is#RPC_interface__Remote_Procedure_Call_interface;

      is#command_based_interface
       > {is#network-accessible_command_based_interface
          is#direct_command_based_interface__shell};

         is#network-accessible_command_based_interface
          > is#OKBC_interface is#CGI-accessible_command_based_interface;

         is#direct_command_based_interface
          > {is#sh  is#ksh  is#csh};   

   is#network-accessible_interface
    > is#Web_based_interface 
      is#network-accessible_procedure_call_interface
      is#network-accessible_command_based_interface;

      is#Web_based_interface
       > is#HTML_based_interface is#CGI_based_interface; 

#graphical_user_interface
 object of: is#graphical_interface_engineering,
 > {is#2D_user_interface  is#3D_user_interface}(it)
   is#HTML_based_interface is#graph_visualization_interface;

   is#graph_visualization_interface
    > {is#display-only_graph_viewer  is#graph_editor};

      is#graph_editor__graph_graphical-editor < #editor_program,
       > is#hierarchy_editor  is#hyperbolic_graph_editor;

         is#hierarchy_editor
          (^a graph editor tailored to ease the display and edition of hierarchies^);

Information Retrieval Systems

is#IR_system < #software,
 > is#distributed_IR_system  #hypertext_system,
 tool of: is#IR_task;

is#distributed_software_system < #system,
 > is#distributed_IR_system;

   is#distributed_IR_system
    > is#distributed_hypertext_IR_system  is#Semantic_Web;

      is#distributed_hypertext_IR_system (^e.g. the WWW^)
       > is#WWW;  //I personnally do no think that:  is#Semantic_Web < is#WWW;

Database Management Systems

#DBMS
 > /*#RDBMS  #ODBMS  //these two subtypes were already in Wordnet*/
   is#ORDBMS  is#DDBMS  is#in_memory_DBMS  is#federated_DBMS__multi_DBMS,
 part: #electronic_database (it),
 url: http://www2.bus.orst.edu/faculty/brownc/lectures/db_tutor/index.htm;

    #RDBMS  part: #relational_database (it); //both categories are from WordNet
                                             //but the link "part" is from "is"

    #ODBMS
     url: http://www.cai.com/products/jasmine/analyst/idc/14821E.htm;

    is#ORDBMS__object-relational_DBMS__extended_RDBM
     (^DBMS mixing features from RDBMSs and ODBMSs but not being a genuine RDBMS nor ODBMS^)
     > is#in_memory_ORDBMS  is#Gigabase,
       url: http://www.dbmsmag.com/9804d13.html,
       object: #object-oriented_database;
        //like all other softwares, is#Gigabase is categorized in this KB as a type (not 
        //as an individual) and its versions are categorized as subtypes (not instances)

    is#in_memory_DBMS__IMDBMS
     (^DBMS loading/mapping the whole database in main memory before answering a query^)
     > is#in_memory_ODBMS,
     url: http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6133;

       is#in_memory_ODBMS
        > is#FastDB;

          is#FastDB
           url: http://www.garret.ru/fastdb.html;

Journals, Conferences, Publishers and Mailing Lists

is#IS_mailing_list  < #mailing_list,
 object of: #information_science;


is#international_research_conference_in_IS  < pm#international_research_conference,
 > is#ICCS  is#WWW_international_conference,
 object of: #information_science;
//object: #information_science;  //the link "object" is quite overloaded but I want it that way

   is#ICCS__International_Conference_on_Computational_Science
    : is#ICCS_2000  is#ICCS_2001  is#ICCS_2002  is#ICCSA_2003;  //':' means "instance"

   is#WWW_international_conference
    > is#IWWWC,
    object: is#WWW;

     is#IWWWC__international_WWW_conference
      (^annual conference and principal research forum in the theory and practice of the WWW^)
      : is#WWW8  is#WWW9  is#WWW10  is#WWW_2002  is#WWW_2003  is#WWW_2004  is#WWW_2005,
      url: http://www.iw3c2.org/Conferences/;

        is#WWW8__WWW_1999 (^8th International World Wide Web conference^)
         url: http://www.www8.org/;
        is#WWW9__WWW_2000 (^9th International World Wide Web conference^)
         url: http://www.www9.org/;
        is#WWW10__WWW_2001 (^10th International World Wide Web conference^)
         url: http://www.www10.org/;
        is#WWW_2002__WWW11 (^11th International World Wide Web conference^)
         url: http://www.www2002.org;
        is#WWW_2003 (^12th International World Wide Web conference^)
         url: http://www.www2003.org;
        is#WWW_2004 (^13th International World Wide Web conference^)
         url: http://www.www2004.org;
        is#WWW_2005 (^14th International World Wide Web conference^)
         url: http://www.www2005.org;

        [is#WWW8, place: #Toronto, from_time: 11/5/1999, until_time: 14/5/1999](it);
        [is#WWW_2002, place: #Honolulu, from_time: 6/5/2002, until_time: 11/5/2002](it);


is#publisher_in_IS  < #publishing_house,
 : is#Springer_Verlag  is#AAAI/MIT_Press  is#Cambridge_University_Press,
 object of: #information_science;

Articles, Books and other Documents

is#IS_related_document  < #document,
 > is#magazine_in_IS  is#book_in_IS,
 object of: #information_science;  //object: #information_science;

   is#magazine_in_IS   
    > is#magazine_in_Artificial_Intelligence;

      is#magazine_in_Artificial_Intelligence
       : is#AI_Magazine;

         is#AI_Magazine
          url: http://www.aaai.org/Magazine/;

People: Researchers, Specialists, Teams/Projects, ...

To define and complete:


is#researcher_in_IS  < #researcher;

is#team_in_IS  < #team;