The 7th International Workshop on Modular Ontologies (WoMO-13) - report

The 7th International Workshop on Modular Ontologies (WoMO-13) took place in Coruña (Galicia, Spain) co-located with the 12th International Conference on Logic Programming and Nonmonotonic Reasoning (LPNMR-13). LPNMR-13 has been a good host: they took care of the local organisation of rooms, coffee breaks, registration, and they also handled the finances of the co-located workshops. WoMO-13 registrants have also been invited to the LPNMR-13 reception held at the Universidade da Coruña, in the main hall overlooking the ocean. The view could have not been more stunning thanks to the sunny weather that delighted the attendants the whole day.

WoMO-13 has five accepted papers. The CEUR proceedings (http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1081/) include two additional contributions: one by Prof. Till Mossakowski (University of Magdeburg), whose invited talk was supported by IAOA; and one by Prof. George Vourous (University of Piraeus), whose invited talk was co-organised with the co-located workshop CLIMA XIV - Computational Logic in Multi-Agent Systems, and funded by SINTELNET.

The WoMO-13 Programme consisted of 2 invited talks, 4 long papers, and 1 short paper. To offer the attendants a richer schedule and to widen the audience, the Organising Committee decided to join the effort with ARCOE-13, a workshop associated with LPNMR-13 on a topic related to WoMO-13, that had 3 accepted papers and one invited speaker.

The workshop programme is detailed in what follows:

10:00-11:00: WoMO invited talk:

- Till Mossakowski: The Distributed Ontology, Modeling and Specification Language

11:00-11:25: WoMO session I
- Soudabeh Ghafourian, Mahmoud Naghibzadeh and Amin Rezaeian: Modularization of Graph-Structured Ontology with Semantic Similarity

11:25-12:00: Coffee break 

12:00-13:30: WoMO session II

- Ralph Schäfermeier and Adrian Paschke: Towards a Unified Approach to Modular Ontology Development Using the Aspect-Oriented Paradigm

- Patrick Koopmann and Renate A. Schmidt: Implementation and Evaluation of Forgetting in ALC-Ontologies

- William Gatens, Boris Konev and Frank Wolter: Module Extraction for Acyclic Ontologies

- Francisco Martin-Recuerda and Dirk Walther: Fast atomic decomposition using axiom dependency hypergraphs

13:30-15:00: Lunch break
15:00-16:35: ARCOE session I 

16:35-17:00: Coffee break 

17:00-17:25: ARCOE session II 

17:25-18:30: WoMO+CLIMA invited talk

- George Vouros: Combining ontologies in settings with multiple agents

The OC has received enthusiastic feedback from the audience for the generous support of IAOA.

SIG for Semantic Web Applied Ontology? Let us know what you think!

+++ Post edited by Leo J. Obrst, September 24 2013 +++

 

There is an informal proposal before the EC to form a Semantic Web Applied Ontology SIG aiming to fill the gap between the Semantic Web community and the IAOA community. Some people have shown interest in this initiative. As part of investigating this issue, we’d like to get feedback from IAOA members.

 

Often the two communities seem to think they have nothing in common, whereas some of us believe they share many common goals, common technologies, and a common interest in well-engineered applied ontologies. Many of us in IAOA promote and use Semantic Web technologies and reasoning methods; similarly, many in the Semantic Web community advocate more rigorous and principled ontologies based on ontological analysis.  Therefore, we have proposed a Semantic Web Applied Ontology SIG to bridge the gap between our two communities before it gets wider. This SIG would support communication and collaboration with our colleagues in the Semantic Web (and Linked Data) community.

 

Are you interested in this SIG? What do you think the SIG should do? How might the SIG work to bridge the gap? Would you participate in this SIG?

 

Please let us know your thoughts about such a SIG.

 

Thanks,

Leo

 

+++ ONTOLOG Community Planning Sesssion +++

First meeting after the summer break

 

Date: Thursday, 12-Sep-2013
Start Time: 10:30am PDT / 1:30pm EDT / 7:30pm CEST / 6:30pm BST / 1730 UTC
 
Expected Call Duration: 1.5~2.0 hours

Time to make changes, schedule events, propose your topics of interest.

 

Don't miss this and next meeting (same hour, September 19).

 

For more info on the programm and on how to dial in:

  http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2013_09_12

New FOIS logo adopted

Thanks to all those who have been actively involved, the search for a new logo for IAOA's flagship conference series Formal Ontology in Information Systems (FOIS) has come to an end with a ballot held between July 25 and August 06, 2013 - and this is our new FOIS logo (in the 2014 version).


A few details on the ballot. The options were comprised of a set of 10 proposals [1] for which IAOA members could vote in terms of assigning their preferences via a scale from 0 (liked least) to 9 (liked most) for each logo. These ratings were then transformed into pure orderings and the latter were evaluated according to the Schulze method [2]. 36 IAOA members participated in this ballot, where no quorum had to be met. Interestingly, no two voters expressed exactly the same preference ordering. For exactly a quarter of the voters the winning logo H (identifying letters are taken from [1]) has been among their first-ranked items - in a tie with logo C if just the first rankings are considered, whereas C is ranked on the fourth place if all preferences are evaluated.


Special thanks goes to everyone who invested time and effort in providing and discussing logo proposals - including the contributors of the new logo, Gaoussou Camara and Omar Faye. Likewise, many thanks to all voters for expressing their opinions. All of this appreciably supports IAOA as a community.

[1] http://iaoablog.blogspot.de/2013/06/fois-logo-proposals-request-for-comments.html

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schulze_method

PS: Apologies for the delayed news.

FOIS logo proposals: IAOA members, please cast your vote!

We greatly thank everyone who has been involved in proposing the final set of 10 (!) candidates for a logo of IAOA's flagship conference series Formal Ontology in Information Systems (FOIS), see this earlier blog entry.

A few minutes ago (Jul 25, 12:00 CEST), the voting period on those logos has started, where IAOA member's can provide scores for each proposal. The ballot closes in 12 days, on Aug 06, 12:00 CEST, results are to be announced within a few days later. More details on the ballot have been distributed by email (accessible to IAOA-members).

@ IAOA members: PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE!

@ ALL: Stay tuned for the winning proposal!

** Gentle Reminder: Choose and Propose your FOIS Logo until July 10 **

Dear all,

this is a gentle reminder that we're looking for comments and additional proposals for a new FOIS logo __until tomorrow, Wednesday, July 10__. Available means for comments include this blog, as well as the IAOA internal mailing list.

Since the start of the discussion phase, two new proposals have been added to the original blog post as well as some variants of proposals, please see the previous post .

Many thanks for all contributions,
Frank Loebe

FOIS logo proposals: Request for comments

IAOA is seeking a new logo for its flagship conference, Formal Ontology in Information Systems (FOIS), prior to its next edition in 2014. After a call for proposals to the membership in May 2013, the IAOA Executive Council is presenting the current set of logo proposals below.

Importantly, all proposals are in the stage of conceptual drafts, in particular, there are no up-to-date adaptations to the year 2014. Regarding the overall procedure, over the next two weeks (i.e., until July 10) we are interested in comments and possibly new proposals, before IAOA members will be asked to cast a vote on the set of proposals then available. Thereafter, a professional designer shall further improve the winning proposal and create a state-of-the-art logo out of it.

---

Logo Proposals

Please have a look at the three proposals below and share your opinion and preferences, propose modifications or even new ideas from scratch. Blog comments offer the widest visibility for that, while comments via email [1,2] or other channels are likewise welcome.

Please comment until July 10, 2013, as the discussion will be evaluated starting from July 11.

Proposal A

Proposal B

Proposal C

Proposal D      [EDIT 2013.06.27]

Proposal E      [EDIT 2013.07.09]

Proposal F      [EDIT 2013.07.09]

Proposal G      [EDIT 2013.07.09]

Proposal H      [EDIT 2013.07.09]

Proposal I      [EDIT 2013.07.09]

 

Proposal J      [EDIT 2013.07.09] 

 

---

Proposal K      [EDIT 2013.08.20] 

---

Further background on the proposals

Proposal A is the first graphical logo that has been used for FOIS in 2001 and, in modified form, in 2010. Probably obviously, it is inspired by taxonomic hierarchies.

Proposal B is novel and is partitioned into interlocking areas hosting formal ontology and information systems. The colors follow the coloring scheme of the IAOA website.

Proposal C is novel, as well, and embodies metaphors of classification (in terms of distinct pieces) and integration (via interlocking puzzle pieces). Coloring is also inspired by the IAOA website. Space above and below the "ribbon" can be used for adding information, e.g. the year of the respective FOIS, the location, or the conference title in full.

[EDIT 2013.06.27]

Proposal D has newly come up after the initial version of this entry. The structure is reminiscent of Aristotle's square and the color scheme is intended to vary according to the hosting country. As shown here, it includes colors of Brazil.

[EDIT 2013.07.09]
Proposals E-J have newly come up after the initial version of this entry, without further remarks.

[EDIT 2013.08.20]
Proposal K was not voted on in the ballot for the new logo (Jul 25-Aug 06) because it was only submitted after the ballot had startet. Its point is to refer to the part-whole-relation within / in terms of the logo. It has been added here for completeness in the documentation of the process.

We appreciate comments on all aspects of these proposals. Please comment within the blog (publically readable), write to the member's mailing list [1], or write to the Secretary via [2] until July 10, 2013.


[1] http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/iaoa-member
[2] http://www.iaoa.org/contact/contact.php

---

[EDIT 2013.07.04]

Variants of Proposals

Fanning the flames of interest, we present variations of the above proposals.

for Proposal A	for Proposal B
for Proposal C	for Proposal D
for Proposal F	for Proposal J

Virtual Workshop : join today

Semantics in Geospatial and Other Architectures: Design and Implementation
May 7, 2013, starting at 12:30 Eastern Time

  
The virtual workshop will focus on the design, use, and software development of semantic technology in various types of systems.

The session page is at:   http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?NsfInterop_Grant/SemanticsInGeospatialArchitectures_2013_05_07

The dial-in number is: (US): +1 (206) 402-0100 (long distance)

When prompted enter Conference ID: 141184#

One of the purposes of this workshop is to find examples of how to include semantic technology in systems, such as, geospatial portals, statewide information systems, spatial data infrastructures (e.g., NSDIs), database systems, and cyberinfrastructures. Because the use of semantics in the geospatial area is still relatively new, other domains and applications will also be presented. Semantic technology can encompass ontologies, repositories, mappings, reasoners, and other components as well as linked data. This virtual workshop may lead to a 2 day in-person workshop in the fall.

Endorse the 2013 IAOA Summit Communique!

The 2013 IAOA Ontology Summit is over. 

Thank you to all parties involved and to the organizers for the event. 

The final version of the Communique can be found at

http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OntologySummit2013_Communique


Time of endorsement: !!! Extended to June 15 !!!

psss.... re:publica live now.
About Internet, data on Internet, Internet users, Internet researchers..
check it out!

Please cast your vote - 1st assembly 2013 is being held

Between April 26 and April 30, IAOA is holding its first virtual ordinary assembly in 2013, which mainly comprises two electronic ballots. The 2012 financial statement and the 2013 previsional budget need to be approved by more than half of the Association's members (determined as of April 16) via anonymous voting. Full details are available on the Assembly Wikipage.

All current members are kindly asked to cast their vote, which will just take a few minutes:

Member's Area > Utilities > "2013 Vote for Financial Statement and Previsional Budget".

Notably, only "Yes" votes contribute to achieving the required simple majority for approval, while "Abstain" and "No" do not.

PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE! Your support is needed here - the earlier, the better. THANKS!

Learning what it is - and how to build it

...guess it's the same with building and managing an ontology

(click here to launch the video)

Getting Involved: SIGs

Please take 5 secs of your time to answer this survey.

It helps us to better plan future activities.

Thanks.

Big Data Management

Talking about streaming..

***Streamed live on Apr 5, 2013***

http://www.IBMBigDataHub.com - This live video chat, "Big Data Management: After the Launch," featured an interactive discussion moderated by Jeffrey Kelly, Principal Research Contributor at Wikibon.org and a Contributing Editor at SiliconANGLE; James Kobielus (IBM), Nancy Kopp-Hensley, Sr. Program Director for IBM PureData & Netezza Product Marketing; and James Kobielus, Big Data Evangelist at IBM. The panel discussed recent IBM big data announcements and what they mean to the marketplace.

It might be a one company's perspective, but it still gives good insights on the topic. Take a look. 

 

The Learning Corner : Nicola Guarino

Great lectures by Nicola Guarino at NEMO, Federal University at Espirito Santo, Brazil: On function, roles and services of Applied Ontology.

Live, yesterday
Live, today

Acknowledgment: thank you Victor for the notifications; hoping to get links for the following parts.

Article on Big Data @ Work Study

Michael J. Schroeck: How to Make Real-World Use of Big Data
(Huffington Post Tech, published today April 4, 2013) 

* the "Big Data @ Work Study," conducted by IBM's Institute of Business Value and the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford

[posted by FQuattri]

TWeds at TWC: past and upcoming events

TWeD Talk: Semantic Web Development Methodology in Practice: The iChoose Ontology as a Use Case

Tetherless World Constellation at Renssealer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY

Past events: TWeD Talk, Wednesday, April 03, 7pm ET

A team of collaborators from the University of Albany and TWC RPI introduced the NIST-funded Generalized Ontology Evaluation Framework (GOEF) and discussed its application in ontology-oriented projects.

About the TWed Talks: 
* Informal overview talks and tutorials on TWC projects and topics of interest
* No lectures, interactive sessions 
* "Hackspaces" during TWeds, inspired by the Hackerspace movement
* TWed Talks from previous terms: archived 

Upcoming events

**Speakers and presenters pf the TWed Talks are cordially invited to give feedback on the past and upcoming meetings on our blog**

[posted by: FQuattri]

IAOA Summer School 2013: extended deadline

*** Extended deadline for IAOA Summer School 2013 ***
http://vespucci.org/programme

> Deadline for registration & travel grant: April 15, 2013

> Summer School: June 3-7, 2013, Fiesole (IT): "Ontologies and models for integrated assessments of multiple-scale processes"

> A IAOA and Vespucci initiative for the advancement of geographic information in science

[posted by: FQuattri]

Update on OntologySummit 2013 - past and upcoming events

The main live-action hackathon HC-05 and HC-06 activities are over now. 
They have spanned across the last weekend and have brought to interesting results and a plenty of documents collectively drawn.
We were among the observers of the events and thank their team members for the many insights.

The OntologySummit 2013 experience is a great chance to take a look at the previous summits, the OntologySummit 2011 and OntologySummit 2012

In the following what's coming up in the next weeks (also reported in the open IAOA Events calendar):

*Thu 4 Apr 2013* - OntologySummit2013 session-12 - "Synthesis-II"
- Co-chairs: Professor Michael Gruninger & Dr. Matthew West
- see developing details on the session page
at: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2013_04_04

*Thu 11 Apr 2013* - OntologySummit2013 session-13 - "Communique Draft Review"
- Co-chairs: Dr. Amanda Vizedom & Dr. Fabian Neuhaus
- see developing details on the session page
at: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2013_04_11

*Thu 18 Apr 2013* - OntologySummit2013 session-14 - "Final Communique Review"
- Co-chairs: Dr. Fabian Neuhaus  & Dr. Amanda Vizedom - see
developing details on the session page
at: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2013_04_18

*Thu 25 Apr 2013* - OntologySummit2013 session-15 - "Pre-Sympoisum Preparation"
- Co-chairs: Mr. Mike Dean  & Dr. Ram Sriram - see
developing details on the session page
at: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2013_04_25

Also check single Hackathon & Clinics activities.
 
[posted by: FQuattri]

Catching Up with Big Data

Thu 4 Apr 2013 21:00
BBC Two

"The Age of Big Data"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rt4c7 

Kindly suggested by the Sina Institute for Knowledge Engineering and Arabic Technologies  and its director, IAOA member, Mustafa Jarrar
[posted by: FQuattri]

IAOA Calendars: Events and Deadlines

You are cordially invited to take part to the upcoming IAOA events, IAOA ongoing sessions, as well as conferences, workshops and symposia dealing with ontology in a narrow and broader sense.

Check our blog updated pages for event dates and deadlines
[**deadlines subject to variations. We ask the interested parties to keep track on the respective conference website as well.**].

** For information regarding the Open IAOA Group Sessions also follow Frank Loebe's emails and reminders.

** For the ongoing Ontology Summit 2013  gatherings, also keep track of Peter Yim's notifications and reminders.

[posted by: FQuattri]