Upper ontology

About: Upper ontology is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 9767 publications have been published within this topic receiving 220721 citations. The topic is also known as: top-level ontology & foundation ontology.

Towards automatic generation of e-assessment using semantic web technologies

Abstract: Semantic web technologies have been increasingly used as a tool for generating, organizing and personalizing e-learning content, including e-assessment. In this paper we discuss and extend an innovative approach to automated generation of computer-assisted assessment (CAA) from semantic web-based domain ontologies. We expand the work previously done in this area in two important directions: first, we add new ontology elements (annotations), to the meta-ontology used for generating questions; second, we add a semantic interpretation of the mapping between the ‘domain' ontology and the target ‘question' ontology. The semantic interpretation is based on the notion of ‘question templates' that are founded on Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives, but can be sourced equally well in any other pedagogical premise applicable to question design and content (e.g. Kolb's learning theory). We use the examples obtained from the prototype implementation to show how that works in practice. The primary application domain of this work is in the automated assessment, and in particular, the development of intelligent CAA systems and question banks, but the ideas can be further generalized in the context of ontology engineering and evaluation.

Artefacts in Formal Ontology

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter illustrates ontological systems, hereafter referred to as ontologies, which satisfy the two main requirements of being formal and foundational Ontology is formal if it is expressed in a logic language endowed with clear semantics (for instance, in model-theoretic terms as first-order predicate logic) This choice is not determined by application concerns (at least, not primarily), it emphasizes the relevance that semantic transparency has in this domain By foundational ontologies one means those knowledge systems that focus on very general and basic concepts (like object, event, state, quality) and relations (such as constitution, participation, dependence, parthood) Often, the term formal ontology is used to cover both the requirements, thus reminding us of Husserl's distinction between formal logic and formal ontology In this specific meaning, formal ontology is the study of the interconnections between entities, properties, parts, wholes and collectives These are considered to be “formal” because they can be exemplified by objects in all domains of reality To take another perspective, one can say that formal ontology is the study of formal (logical) systems which are: general, since they include the most usable and widely applicable concepts; reliable, as they are logical theories with clear semantics, a rich axiomatization and carefully analyzed formal consequences (theorems); and well organized, because they are based on philosophical principles the choice of which is explicitly motivated and remains independent from particular domains

Ontology in Information Security

Abstract: The past several years we have witnessed that information has become the most precious asset, while protection and security of information is becoming an ever greater challenge due to the large amount of knowledge necessary for organizations to successfully withstand external threats and attacks. This knowledge collected from the domain of information security can be formally described by security ontologies. A large number of researchers during the last decade have dealt with this issue, and in this paper we have tried to identify, analyze and systematize the relevant papers published in scientific journals indexed in selected scientific databases, in period from 2004 to 2014. This paper gives a review of literature in the field of information security ontology and identifies a total of 52 papers systematized in three groups: general security ontologies (12 papers), specific security ontologies (32 papers) and theoretical works (8 papers). The papers were of different quality and level of detail and varied from presentations of simple conceptual ideas to sophisticated frameworks based on ontology.

On the relationship between ontology construction and natural language: a socio-semiotic view

Abstract: The design and construction of "ontologies" is currently a topic of great interest for diverse groups. Less clear is the extent to which these groups are addressing a common area of concern. By considering the kinds of information and information organizations that are required for adequate accounts of natural language and for sophisticated natural language capabilities in computational systems, this paper distinguishes several different classes of "ontology", each with its own characteristics and principles. A classification for these ontological "realms" is motivated on the basis of systemic-functional semiotics. The resulting stratified "meta-ontology" offers a unifying framework for relating distinct ontological realms while maintaining their individual orientations. In this context, formal ontology can be seen to provide a rather small (although important) component of the overall organization necessary. Claims for the sufficiency of formal ontology in AI and NLP need then to be treated with caution.