Re: Differing definitions

Hi David --

You wrote...

*My question for this list is whether there are any model projects which are
effectively using semantic technologies not just to make data open, but also
to make the related definitional data more visible and easier to understand
or compare across data sources. *

There's technology out there on the web that can help.

The basic idea is to write, say, different definitions of "unemployment", in
executable English.

Then when a study is done by executing the English, the results can be
explained in English, showing how the definitions were used to transform
data.

Here's an example:

www.reengineeringllc.com/EnergyIndependence1.pdf   (slides)

www.reengineeringllc.com/EnergyIndependence1Video.htm  (Flash video with
audio)

The underlying system is live online at the same site.  Shared use is free.

Apologies if you have seen this before, and thanks for comments.

                                                    -- Adrian

Internet Business Logic
A Wiki and SOA Endpoint for Executable Open Vocabulary English Q/A over SQL
and RDF
Online at www.reengineeringllc.com
Shared use is free, and there are no advertisements

Adrian Walker
Reengineering




On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 9:31 AM, David Barber <dmbarber@gmail.com> wrote:

> I've had a varied but extensive history of dealing with government data in
> electronic form.  This started as a government documents librarian helping
> people find government data in electronic form, continued with sharing it on
> the early Internet, and most recently managing government data as a
> government employee.  Throughout this experience one of the major concerns
> associated with expanding electronic access to government data from multiple
> sources has been getting people to recognize and take into account the
> differences in the definitions associated with data elements.  This is
> particularly important for historical analysis or comparison of multiple
> governmental units.  For example, two governments will define unemployment
> differently and the same government will change its definition over time.
>  Unfortunately, it has been my experience that when people want to do such
> longitudinal or multi-government analyses they were often not motivated to
> pay attention to these differences.
>
> My question for this list is whether there are any model projects which are
> effectively using semantic technologies not just to make data open, but also
> to make the related definitional data more visible and easier to understand
> or compare across data sources.  It is my hope that the technologies
> associated with linked open data can make this type of information more
> useful than when it was buried in the back of government documents.
>
> Thanks in advance for any pointers to such efforts.
>
> David Barber
>