Showing papers on "Meta Data Services published in 2001"

Method for facilitating access to multimedia content

Abstract: A system is described in which a media browser ( 101 ), operating as a software application on a user terminal or preferably a server for a number of users, provides a user with a single user interface that facilitates browsing and searching different metadata collections over the Internet ( 102 ). A metadata server ( 212 ) is associated with each of the metadata collections. When the metadata server ( 212 ) receives a request from the media browser ( 101 ), the metadata server ( 212 ) interprets the request and replies with a description that satisfies the request and according to a predetermined scheme. The description contains at least one link which represents a return link which represents a return request to the metadata server ( 212 ). Specifically disclosed are methods ( 2000 ) for recording user location preferences at a service and using one or more lists of such preferences to focus searching responses to statistically desirable material. Monitoring the validity of a bookmarked location is also described.

The ABC Ontology and Model

Abstract: This paper describes the latest version of the ABC metadata model. This model has been developed within the Harmony international digital library project to provide a common conceptual model to facilitate interoperability between metadata ontologies from different domains. This updated ABC model is the result of collaboration with the CIMI consortium whereby earlier versions of the ABC model were applied to metadata descriptions of complex objects provided by CIMI museums and libraries. The result is a metadata model with more logically grounded time and entity semantics. Based on this model we have been able to build a metadata repository of RDF descriptions and a search interface which is capable of more sophisticated queries than less-expressive, object-centric metadata models will allow.

CREAM: creating relational metadata with a component-based, ontology-driven annotation framework

Abstract: Richly interlinked, machine-understandable data constitutes the basis for the Semantic Web. Annotating web documents is one of the major techniques for creating metadata on the Web. However, annotation tools so far are restricted in their capabilities of providing richly interlinked and truely machine-understandable data. They basically allow the user to annotate with plain text according to a template structure, such as Dublin Core. We here present CREAM (Creating RElational, Annotation-based Metadata), a framework for an annotation environment that allows to construct relational metadata, i.e. metadata that comprises class instances and relationship instances. These instances are not based on a fix structure, but on a domain ontology. We discuss some of the requirements one has to meet when developing such a framework, e.g. the integration of a metadata crawler, inference services, document management and information extraction, and describe its implementation, viz. Ont-O-Mat a component-based, ontology-driven annotation tool.

Metadata processes for multimedia database access

Abstract: A system is described in which a media browser ( 101 ), operating as a software application on a user terminal or preferably a server for a number of users, provides a user with a single user interface that facilitates browsing and searching different metadata collections over the Internet ( 102 ). A metadata server ( 212 ) is associated with each of the metadata collections. When the metadata server ( 212 ) receives a request from the media browser ( 101 ), the metadata server ( 212 ) interprets the request and replies with a description that satisfies the request and according to a predetermined scheme. The description contains at least one link which represents a return link which represents a return request to the metadata server ( 212 ). Specifically disclosed are methods of forming a table of contents for a particular user preferably based upon media reproduction attributes, methods of right to use and quality of service control, graphical user interfaces for facilitating the browsing process, methods of interpreting metadata, methods of communicating metadata between users, and method for transferring media sessions between users.

Interactive system and method for generating metadata for programming events

Abstract: Metadata for a programming event may be generated through an interactive process. A system may receive data corresponding to a programming event. The data may include descriptive information and timing information. The system may then generate preliminary metadata for the programming event from the received data. The system may provide the preliminary metadata to a system user, and then receive user specified metadata responsive to the preliminary metadata. The preliminary metadata may include one or more of categories of a classification hierarchy, goodness of fit scores associated with the categories, keywords, goodness of fit scores associated with the keywords, and a title. Related embodiments may pertain to a system implementing such methods. Further related embodiments may pertain to methods and systems in which a system user is enabled to approve preliminary metadata provided by the system.

Author-generated Dublin Core Metadata for Web Resources: A Baseline Study in an Organization

Abstract: This paper reports on a study that examined the ability of resource authors to create acceptable metadata in an organizational setting. The results indicate that authors can create good quality metadata when working with the Dublin Core, and that is in some cases they may be able to create metadata that is of better quality than what a metadata professional can produce. This research suggests that authors think metadata is valuable for resource discovery, that it should be created for web resources, and that they, as authors, should be involved in metadata production for their works. The study also indicates that a simple web form, with textual guidance and selective use of features (e.g., popup windows, drop-down menus, etc.) can assist authors in generating good quality metadata.

Component metadata for software engineering tasks

Abstract: This paper presents a framework that lets a component developer provide a component user with different kinds of information, depending on the specific context and needs. The framework is based on presenting this information in the form of metadata. Metadata describe static and dynamic aspects of the component, can be accessed by the user, and can be used for different tasks throughout the software engineering lifecycle. The framework is defined in a general way, so that the metadata can be easily extended if new types of data have to be provided. In our approach, we define a unique format and a unique tag for each kind of metadata provided. The tag lets the user of the component both treat the information provided as metadata in the correct way and query for a specific piece of information. We motivate the untapped potential of component metadata by showing the need for metadata in the context of testing and analysis of distributed component-based systems, and introduce our framework with the help of an example. We sketch a possible scenario consisting of an application developer who wants to perform two different software engineering tasks on her application: generating self-checking code and program slicing.

Method of enabling browse and search access to electronically-accessible multimedia databases

Abstract: A system is described including a media browser (101) for providing a user with a single user interface for browsing and searching different metadata collections over the Internet (102). A metadata server (212) is associated with each of the metadata collections. When the metadata server (212) receives a request, the metadata server (212) interprets the request and replies with a description that satisfies the request and according to a predetermined scheme. The description contains at least one link which represents a return link which represents a return request to the metadata server (212).

Specifying, assigning, and maintaining user defined metadata in a network-based photosharing system

Abstract: A method and system for allowing a user to define and use custom metadata is disclosed. The method and system include providing a network accessible server with a metadata library comprising a plurality of metadata vocabularies. The server allows the user to create a custom metadata vocabulary by displaying a user interface on a client computer in which the user specifies a plurality of properties defining the custom metadata vocabulary. When the custom metadata vocabulary is defined, it is stored in the metadata library for subsequent access. The method and system further allow the user to search the metadata library to select at least one of the metadata vocabularies to apply to an electronic resource.

A Non-Authoritative Educational Metadata Ontology for Filtering and Recommending Learning Objects

Abstract: Digital libraries populated with learning objects are becoming popular tools in the creation of instructional technologies. Many current efforts to create standard metadata structures that facilitate the discovery and instructional use of learning objects recommend a single, authoritative metadata record per version of the learning object. However, as we argue in this paper, a single metadata record — particularly one with fields that emphasize knowledge management and technology, while evading instructional issues — provides information insufficient to support instructional utilization decisions. To put learning objects to instructional use, users must examine the individual objects, forfeiting the supposed benefits of the metadata system. As a solution, we propose a system that includes multi-record, non-authoritative metadata focussed on the surrounding instructional context of learning objects.

Interpretive stream metadata extraction

Abstract: A method and system for enhancing metadata associated with media, including multimedia and streaming media, include parsing the metadata into several categories of metadata. The categories of metadata are compared to corresponding categories of metadata obtained from a valid metadata database. The valid metadata database may be obtained from third party databases, referring web pages, and the multimedia/streaming media file itself. The metadata is modified if the comparison indicates that a category of metadata does not match a corresponding category of valid metadata. Modification includes replacing metadata with a corresponding valid metadata, and/or adding metadata to the original metadata.

Role-based access to image metadata

Abstract: A system and method for controlling access to image metadata is disclosed, where metadata elements are defined for an image. The method and system include associating users who will access the image with roles, and associating the roles with individual metadata elements. In response to receiving a request for access to the metadata by a particular user, the user's role is determined from the request and the user's role is compared to the roles associated with the metadata elements to determine which metadata elements to make available to the user.

MetaNet: a metadata term thesaurus to enable semantic interoperability between metadata domains

Abstract: Metadata interoperability is a fundamental requirement for access to information within networked knowledge organization systems. The Harmony International Digital Library Project [1] has developed a common underlying data model (the ABC model) to enable the scalable mapping of metadata descriptions across domains and media types. The ABC model, described in [2], provides a set of basic building blocks for metadata modeling and recognizes the importance of 'events' to unambiguously describe metadata for objects with a complex history. In order to test and evaluate the interoperability capabilities of this model, we applied it to some real multimedia examples and analysed the results of mapping from the ABC model to various different metadata domains using XSLT [3]. This work revealed serious limitations in XSLT's ability to support flexible dynamic semantic mapping. In order to overcome this, we developed MetaNet [4], a metadata term thesaurus which provides the additional semantic knowledge which is non-existent within declarative XML-encoded metadata descriptions. This paper describes MetaNet, its RDF Schema [5] representation and a hybrid mapping approach which combines the structural and syntactic mapping capabilities of XSLT with the semantic knowledge of MetaNet, to enable flexible and dynamic mapping among metadata standards.

What Terms Does Your Metadata Use? Application Profiles as Machine-Understandable Narratives

Abstract: The SCHEMAS Registry aims at providing a selected and annotated overview of metadata vocabularies and their use in application environments. Based on harvested metadata in RDF (Resource Description Framework), the registry allows users to explore links between "namespace schemas", which declare standard definitions of metadata terms, and "application profiles" – RDF statements about the use or adaptation of namespace terms for particular domains, services, or projects. Where instance metadata does not follow standard namespaces or explicit data models, this style allows implementors to assert an explicit mapping to standard terms. Registering profiles can help harmonize metadata usage in particular domains and, in the longer term, could provide a machineprocessable basis for automating crosswalks and conversions.

Metadata standards for Web-based resources

Abstract: One problem with all metadata approaches is that they try to be specialized and generic, so they are useful for different scenarios. While the languages for encoding and exchanging the metadata are already available, it will take more time for the industry to agree on a shared vocabulary for the metadata elements and values. Another problem with metadata is supporting all the different user roles that are involved during a resource's production and distribution. Future authoring systems will be able to automatically generate many metadata values and will offer user-friendly ways to provide information without dealing with the encoded metadata directly. Future work in this area will focus on building semantic networks out of single metadata descriptions. Even for the authors of a resource, it is not always easy to provide the adequate information. Establishing a network of resources without being an expert in knowledge building is even harder without appropriate tools that hide the complexity of the underlying models.

A quantitative categorical analysis of metadata elements in image-applicable metadata schemas

Abstract: This article reports on a quantitative categorical analysis of metadata elements in the Dublin Core, VRA Core, REACH, and EAD metadata schemas, all of which can be used for organizing and describing images. The study found that each of the examined metadata schemas contains elements that support the discovery, use, authentication, and administration of images, and that the number and proportion of elements supporting functions in these classes varies per schema. The study introduces a new schema comparison methodology and explores the development of a class-oriented functional metadata schema for controlling images across multiple domains.

Applying natural language processing (NLP) based metadata extraction to automatically acquire user preferences

Abstract: This paper describes a metadata extraction technique based on natural language processing (NLP) which extracts personalized information from email communications between financial analysts and their clients. Personalized means connecting users with content in a personally meaningful way to create, grow, and retain online relationships. Personalization often results in the creation of user profiles that store individuals' preferences regarding goods or services offered by various e-commerce merchants. With the introduction of e-commerce, it has become more difficult to develop and maintain personalized information due to larger transaction volumes. is an NLP and Machine Learning (ML)-based automatic metadata extraction system designed to process textual data such as emails, discussion group postings, or chat group transcriptions. extracts both explicit and implicit metadata elements including proper names, numeric concepts, and topic/subject information. In addition, Speech Act Theory inspired metadata elements, which represent the message creators' intention, mood, and urgency are also extracted. In a typical dialogue between financial analysts and their clients, clients often discuss the items that they liked or have an interest. By extracting this information, constructs user profiles automatically. This system has been designed, implemented, and tested with real-world data. The overall accuracy and coverage of extracting explicit and implicit metadata is about 90%. In summary, the paper shows that an NLP-based metadata extraction system enables automatic user profiling with high effectiveness.

Method and system for performing advanced object searching of a metadata repository used by a decision support system

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for use in searching a metadata repository used to store metadata objects relating to data stored in a storage device of a decision support system. In embodiments of the invention, a search object is submitted to an object server by a requestor. The object server may search itself for objects meeting the search criteria. If unsuccessful, the search object may be sent to a metadata server which uses a metadata search engine to search the metadata repository. Results of the search may be returned to the requestor by the object server.

The role of structured content in a personalized news service

Abstract: Digitalization of content and exponential growth of the Internet and electronic commerce are changing the media industry. The availability of structured content enables new ways to produce and deliver information. The paper explains the role of semantic metadata in developing content for an adaptive news service in the SmartPush-project. In SmartPush, news content is categorized using semi-automatic tools and pre-defined vocabularies. Metadata enhanced content is then matched against user profiles to provide customers with a personalized news service. After providing the personalized news to the customer, the SmartPush system adapts the personalization based on user feedback. The paper discusses the requirements of personalized content services and challenges in an approach based on structured metadata. We describe how supporting ontologies for the content were developed and maintained and what kinds of tools were developed to support the structured metadata creation. We also present some results of the pilot phase of the project and introduce some of the issues observed during the system implementation and in the performed field trial.

Open metadata formats: efficient XML-based communication for high performance computing

Abstract: High-performance computing faces considerable change as the Internet and the Grid mature. Applications that once were tightly-coupled and monolithic are now decentralized, with collaborating components spread across diverse computational elements. Such distributed systems most commonly communicate through the exchange of structured data. Definition and translation of metadata is incorporated in all systems that exchange structured data. We observe that the manipulation of this metadata can be decomposed into three separate steps: discovery, binding of program objects to the metadata, and marshaling of data to and from wire formats. We have designed a method of representing message formats in XML, using datatypes available in the XML Schema specification. We have implemented a tool, XMIT that uses such metadata and exploits this decomposition in order to provide flexible run-time metadata definition facilities for an efficient binary communication mechanism. We also demonstrate that the use of XMIT makes possible such flexibility at little performance cost.

What terms does your metadata use? Application profiles as machine-understandable narratives

Abstract: The SCHEMAS Registry aims at providing a selected and annotated overview of metadata vocabularies and their use in application environments Based on harvested metadata in RDF (Resource Description Framework), the registry allows users to explore links between "namespace schemas", which declare standard definitions of metadata terms, and "application profiles" RDF statements about the use or adaptation of namespace terms for particular domains, services, or projects Where instance metadata does not follow standard namespaces or explicit data models, this style allows implementors to assert an explicit mapping to standard terms Registering profiles can help harmonize metadata usage in particular domains and, in the longer term, could provide a machine-processable basis for automating crosswalks and conversions

Ontology-based metadata generation from semi-structured information

Abstract: Content-related metadata plays an important role in intelligent information systems. Especially on the world-wide web meaningful metadata describing the contents of a web-site is the key to intelligent retrieval and access of information. Metadata description standards like RDF and RDF schema have been developed and work in progress addresses the use of ontologies to provide a logical foundation for metadata. However, the acquisition of appropriate metadata is still a problem. The main part of the paper is concerned with the specification of ontologies and metadata models. We describe the Spectacle approach, a knowledge-based approach for metadata validation and generation as well as tools related to the ontology language OIL. We conclude that the specification of ontologies and the generation of metadata models are processes that supplement each other and propose a method for semi-automatic generation of metadata models on the basis of ontologies.

Controlled access to image metadata

Abstract: A system and method for controlling access to image metadata is disclosed, where metadata elements are defined for an image. The method and system include associating users who will access the image with roles, and associating the roles with individual metadata elements. In response to receiving a request for access to the metadata by a particular user, the user's role is determined from the request and the user's role is compared to the roles associated with the metadata elements to determine which metadata elements to make available to the user.

Metadata management for data warehousing: an overview

Abstract: Metadata has been identified as a key success factor in data warehouse projects. It captures all kinds of information necessary to design, build, use and interpret the data warehouse contents. This paper gives an overview about the role metadata plays for data warehousing and reviews existing standards, commercial solutions and research actions relevant to metadata management. It turns out that an overall solution for managing all metadata in a central or federated repository is still missing regarding a global metadata schema as well as system aspects and interoperability among involved tools producing metadata. The divergence of proposed standards will probably prevent a breakthrough within the near future.

Metadata management for data warehousing: between vision and reality

Abstract: Capturing, representing and processing metadata promises to facilitate the management, consistent use and understanding of data and thus better support the exploitation of masses of information that is available online today. Despite the increasing interest in metadata management, its purpose, requirements and problems are still not clear. This is particularly true in the area of data warehousing. The reasons are multiple. Compared to the past, today's metadata management considers a significantly larger spectrum of information (including even certain pieces of programs). Moreover, metadata are produced by various tools and reside in different sources which need to be integrated in order to ensure consistency and provide uniform access, impact analysis and data tracking. Existing work has only partially covered some of these aspects. The paper summarizes the most important issues of metadata management for data warehousing, including the role of metadata and solved and unsolved problems of the available solutions. The design of an appropriate information model, metadata integration and advanced user interaction facilities are crucial questions to be answered.

CREAM: creating relational metadata with a component-based, ontology-driven annotation framework

Abstract: Richly interlinked, machine-understandable data constitutes the basis for the Semantic Web. Annotating web documents is one of the major techniques for creating metadata on the Web. However, annotation tools so far are restricted in their capabilities of providing richly interlinked and truely machine-understandable data. They basically allow the user to annotate with plain text according to a template structure, such as Dublin Core. We here present CREAM (Creating RElational, Annotation-based Metadata), a framework for an annotation environment that allows to construct relational metadata, i.e. metadata that comprises class instances and relationship instances. These instances are not based on a fix structure, but on a domain ontology. We discuss some of the requirements one has to meet when developing such a framework, e.g. the integration of a metadata crawler, inference services, document management and information extraction, and describe its implementation, viz. Ont-O-Mat a component-based, ontology-driven annotation tool.

Metadata quality improvement

Abstract: A method and system for improving the quality of original metadata associated with media on a computer network, such as multimedia and streaming media, includes analyzing each field of the URL of the multimedia and streaming media. Each field is analyzed to identify new metadata associated with that field. Identified new metadata is added to the original metadata. In another embodiment, the fields in the URL are reorganized in reverse order and metadata associated with a prefix of fields of the reorganized URL is added to the original metadata. In yet another embodiment, the contents of the field next to the prefix of fields is used to improve the quality of the original metadata.

Metadata and the Future of Cataloging.

Abstract: This article is a survey of representative metadata efforts comparing them to MARC 21 metadata in order to determine if new electronic formats require the development of a new set of standards. This study surveys the ongoing metadata projects in order to identify what types of metadata exist and how they are used and also compares and analyzes selected metadata elements in an attempt to illustrate how they are related to MARC 21 metadata format elements.

Exposing and harvesting metadata using the OAI metadata harvesting protocol: A tutorial

Abstract: In this article I outline the ideas behind the Open Archives Initiative metadata harvesting protocol (OAIMH), and attempt to clarify some common misconceptions. I then consider how the OAIMH protocol can be used to expose and harvest metadata. Perl code examples are given as practical illustration.