Showing papers on "Upper ontology published in 1997"

Using explicit ontologies in KBS development

Abstract: This article presents a number of ways in which ontologies-schematic descriptions of the contents of domain knowledge-can be constructed and can be used to improve the knowledge engineering process. The main message is that early in the knowledge engineering process an application-specific ontology should be constructed. To facilitate this, the article presents some principles for organizing a library of reusable ontological theories which can be configured into an application ontology. This application ontology is then exploited to organize the knowledge acquisition process and to support computational design. The process is illustrated with a knowledge engineering scenario in the domain of treating acute radiation syndrome.

Toward Distributed Use of Large-Scale Ontologies t

Abstract: Large scale knowledge bases systems are difficult and expensive to construct. If we could share knowledge across systems, costs would be reduced. However, because knowledge bases are typically constructed from scratch, each with their own idiosyncratic structure, sharing is difficult. Recent research has focused on the use of ontologies to promote sharing. An ontology is a hierarchically structured set of terms for describing a domain that can be used as a skeletal foundation for a knowledge base. If two knowledge bases are built on a common ontology, knowledge can be more readily shared, since they share a common underlying structure. This paper outlines a set of desiderata for ontologies, and then describes how we have used a large-scale (50,000+ concept) ontology develop a specialized, domain-specific ontology semiautomatically. We then discuss the relation between ontologies and the process of developing a system, arguing that to be useful, an ontology needs to be created as a "living document", whose development is tightly integrated with the system’s. We conclude with a discussion of Web-based ontology tools we are developing to support this approach.

The State of the Art in Ontology Design: A Survey and Comparative Review

Abstract: In this article, we develop a framework for comparing ontologies and place a number of the more prominent ontologies into it. We have selected 10 specific projects for this study, including general ontologies, domain-specific ones, and one knowledge representation system. The comparison framework includes general characteristics, such as the purpose of an ontology, its coverage (general or domain specific), its size, and the formalism used. It also includes the design process used in creating an ontology and the methods used to evaluate it. Characteristics that describe the content of an ontology include taxonomic organization, types of concept covered, top-level divisions, internal structure of concepts, representation of part-whole relations, and the presence and nature of additional axioms. Finally, we consider what experiments or applications have used the ontologies. Knowledge sharing and reuse will require a common framework to support interoperability of independently created ontologies. Our study shows there is great diversity in the way ontologies are designed and the way they represent the world. By identifying the similarities and differences among existing ontologies, we clarify the range of alternatives in creating a standard framework for ontology design.

Semantic Matching: Formal Ontological Distinctions for Information Organization, Extraction, and Integration

Abstract: The task of information extraction can be seen as a problem of semantic matching between a user-defined template and a piece of information written in natural language. To this purpose, the ontological assumptions of the template need to be suitably specified, and compared with the ontological implications of the text. So-called “ontologies”, consisting of theories of various kinds expressing the meaning of shared vocabularies, begin to be used for this task. This paper addresses the theoretical issues related to the design and use of such ontologies for purposes of information retrieval and extraction. After a discussion on the nature of semantic matching within a model-theoretical framework, we introduce the subject of Formal Ontology, showing how the notions of parthood, integrity, identity, and dependence can be of help in understanding, organizing and formalizing fundamental ontological distinctions. We present then some basic principles for ontology design, and we illustrate a preliminary proposal for a top-level ontology developed according to such principles. As a concrete example of ontology-based information retrieval, we finally report an ongoing experience of use of a large linguistic ontology for the retrieval of object-oriented software components.

The Ontology of Tasks and Methods

Abstract: Much of the work on ontologies in AI has focused on describing some aspect of reality: objects, relations, states of affairs, events, and processes in the world. A goal is to make knowledge sharable, by encoding domain knowledge using a standard vocabulary based on the ontology. A parallel attempt at identifying the ontology of problem-solving knowledge would make it possible .to share problem-solving methods. For example, when one is dealing with a type of problem known as abductive inference, the following are some of the terms that recur in the representation of problem-solving methods: hypotheses, explanatory coverage, evidence, degree of confidence, plausibility, composite hypothesis, etc. Method ontology, in good part, is task- and method-specific. "Generic Tasks," "Heuristic Classification," "Task-specific Architectures," and "Task Structures" are representative bodies of work in the knowledgesystems area that have focused on problem-solving methods. However, connections have not been made to work that is explicitly concerned with ontologies. Making such connections is the goal of this paper.

A Conceptual Frame-based Ontology for the Law

Abstract: In this paper, the conceptual frame-based ontology as introduced in Van Kralingen (1995) is described. The backbone of the ontology is constituted by three frame structures. The structures have been coined the norm frame, the act frame and the concept-description frame. A legal-theoretical analysis has determined the form of the structures. In addition to the three frame structures, the ontology comprises some (generic) elements for the instantiation of the structures.

The Theoretical Status of Ontologies in Natural Language Processing

Abstract: This paper discusses the use of `ontologies' in Natural Language Processing. It classifies various kinds of ontologies that have been employed in NLP and discusses various benefits and problems with those designs. Particular focus is then placed on experiences gained in the use of the Upper Model, a linguistically-motivated `ontology' originally designed for use with the Penman text generation system. Some proposals for further NLP ontology design criteria are then made.

The State of the Art in Ontology Design: A Comparative Review

Abstract: In this paper we develop a framework for comparing ontologies, and place a number of the more prominent ontologies into it. We have selected 10 specific projects for this study, including general ontologies, domain specific ones, and one knowledge representation system. The framework includes general characteristics such as the purpose of an ontology, its coverage (general or domain-specific), its size, and the formalism used. It also includes the design process used in creating an ontology and the methods used to evaluate it. Characteristics that describe the content of an ontology include taxonomic organization, types of concepts covered, top-level divisions, internal structure of concepts, representation of part-whole relations, and the presence and nature of additional axioms. Finally we consider what experiments or applications have used the ontologies. Knowledge sharing and reuse will require a common framework to support interoperability of independently created ontologies. Our study shows there is great diversity in the way ontologies are designed and the way they represent the world. By identifying the similarities and differences among existing ontolo~ies, we clarify the range of alternatives in creating a standard framework for ontology design.

Distributed Ontology Development Environment for Multi-agent Systems

Abstract: In this paper, we propose a new environment that supports distributed ontology development for multi-agent systems. In our distributed ontology development environment (Donden), users program agents can build ontologies locally which can be associated to each other. Donden consists ontology browser which is provided for each user and ontology server which is provided for a group of users which want to share ontologies. Ontology browser helps user to edit ontology and to make links to other user’s ontology by graphical user interface. Ontology server helps users to synthesize ontologies by computing similarity between concepts of ontologies. We also show another application of distributed ontology development which supports distributed engineering information base.

Defining an Ontology for the Formal Requirements Engineering of Manufacturing Systems

Abstract: We propose a framework combining several formalisms for the Requirements Engineering (RE) of discrete manufacturing systems. Each formalism relies upon a set of concepts that together form an ontology.

Axiomatic Formal Ontology

Abstract: Preface. Introduction. I. The Ontology of States of Affairs. II. Ontology of Properties and Mereology. III. Full Ontology Limited to Properties of Individuals. IV. Universal Intensional Ontology. Epilogue. Appendix: Principles, Proofs and Definitions. Index of Subjects. Index of Names. Literature.

A Legal Ontology Refinement Support Environment Using a Machine-Readable Dictionary

Abstract: This paper discusses how to refine a given initial legal ontology using an existing MRD (Machine-Readable Dictionary). There are two hard issues in the refinement process. One is to find out those MRD concepts most related to given legal concepts. The other is to correct bugs in a given legal ontology, using the concepts extracted from an MRD. In order to resolve the issues, we present a method to find out the best MRD correspondences to given legal concepts, using two match algorithms. Moreover, another method called a static analysis is given to refine a given legal ontology, based on the comparison between the initial legal ontology and the best MRD correspondences to given legal concepts. We have implemented a software environment to help a user refine a given legal ontology based on these methods. The empirical results have shown that the environment works well in the field of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

Adapting general linguistic knowledge to applications in order to obtain friendly and efficient NL interfaces

Abstract: This work, supported by the project ITEM 1 and the project BASURDE 2 and the GRUPS DE RECERCA CONSOLIDATS 3 proposes a mechanism for adapting general linguistic knowledge to applications in order to obtain automatically application-restricted NL interfaces. The knowledge involved in the process is represented in separate data structures: a conceptual ontology, a linguistic ontology, a general lexicon and a set of control rules. The general and application-dependent knowledge relevant to the communication tasks is represented in a conceptual ontology. The general linguistic information is represented in a linguistic ontology. The core of our approach consists of describing the application elements (both entities and operations) relevant to the communicative tasks in terms of the existing conceptual ontology. Lexical coverage of these elements has to be provided as well. A general basic set of control rules will then relate the application specifications to the linguistic ontology in order to obtain application-restricted NL interfaces. The system has been applied to provide NL interaction to SIREDOJ, an already existing expert system in the legal domain.

An ontology-based framework for guideline-driven medical practice.

Abstract: This paper describes a general framework for clinical practice guidelines development, dissemination and use. We propose an ontological description of the medical knowledge and of the organizational context, in order to produce clinical guidelines which, on one hand, can be widely shared between different institutions and, on the other, can be efficiently tailored to consider the peculiarities of each clinical context.

Ontological Engineering with Principled Core Ontologies

Abstract: An important issue in the newborn discipline of ontological engineering is the construction of libraries of ontologies which are designed for maximum reusability. Van Heijst et. al. suggested that a central part of ontology libraries is the definition of what they called a core ontology, containing elements that are as generic and method-independent as possible. However, their specification of how these core ontologies should be constructed is highly pragmatical, and leaves many problems unresolved. In this article we propose and discuss a number of specific principles for the construction of core ontologies. We demonstrate the advantages of these principles using as an example a core ontology we have built for the domain of law. Several conclusions about the construction of ontology libraries based on core ontologies are drawn.

A Legal Ontology Rapid Development Environment Using a Machine-Readable Dictionary

Abstract: ion [goods] [party]