In-Use and Software Track at 14th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC2015) Abstract deadline 2 WEEKS!

14th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC2015)
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
 USA October 11 - 15, 2015

 Deadline: Abstract April 23 (IN 2 WEEKS!), Full paper submission April 30
(IN 3 WEEKS!)


ISWC is the premier international forum for presenting research results on
the Intelligent Processing of Data on the Web. ISWC brings together
researchers from different areas of computer science, such as artificial
intelligence, databases, distributed systems and information retrieval who
aim at the development and use of novel technologies and techniques for
accessing, interpreting, processing and using information on the web in a
more effective way.

Semantic technologies are reaching maturity on the web, especially through
the increase in their use to publish, structure and make sense of web data,
whether they are in the form of linked data, through schema.org, or even
with semantics included in other data formats than RDF (CSV, JSON, etc).
The In-Use and Software track at ISWC 2015 provides a forum for the
community to explore the benefits and challenges of applying semantic
technologies in concrete, practical applications, in contexts ranging from
industry to government and science. We are especially interested this year
in applications that use the emerging knowledge graphs or semantic
annotations on the web together with data mining, machine learning, or
natural language processing techniques to the benefit of concrete,
real-life scenarios. We are also looking for descriptions of validated
software tools and systems that can benefit and accelerate the adoption of
semantic technologies, through providing important features, being widely
available and/or addressing a significant gap in the semantic technology
stack.

Importantly, ***papers presenting applications of semantic technologies (In
Use) should provide evidence that there is actual, significant use of the
proposed application*** or tool by the target user group, preferably
outside the group that conducted the development. A main focus of the
submission should be on the way semantics and semantic technologies are
impacting this development, through benefiting the intended use case, as
well as, if relevant, through the added challenges they introduce. On the
other hand, while not necessarily having a large user base, ***papers
presenting systems and tools (software) should clearly demonstrate and
evaluate the value of the tool or system*** for the semantic web community.

We therefore expect submissions to the In Use and Software track to contain
at least the following elements:

- A clear description of the problem being addressed, and of its importance
in the corresponding domain
- A description of the system, application or tool developed that clearly
shows the role Semantic Technologies and Principles are playing in its
architecture, or the contribution helping the adoption of Semantic
Technologies and Principles
- A clear statement about the current user base of this system, application
or tool (including size and composition, e.g. domain experts, developers,
etc.), as well as plans for deployment/adoption
- For application papers: A discussion on the benefits and challenges
associated with the use of Semantic Technologies and Principles in the
considered scenario, both from a technical (what the technology enables)
and a non-technical (e.g. development effort required, effect on user
interaction/satisfaction, policy-related issues) point of view
- For software tools and systems papers: A clear evaluation of the
performance of the tool/system according to relevant measures (speed,
usability, efficiency, etc.)

Submissions may employ scientific methods (qualitative and/or quantitative)
to understand in greater detail the deployment of semantic technologies and
data (online or offline) or present novel practical approaches that are
relevant to the deployment of semantics, but may not otherwise gain an
outlet in the ISWC series.

Accepted papers will be distributed to conference attendees and also
published by Springer in the printed conference proceedings. At least one
author of each accepted paper must register for the conference and present
the paper there.

===== Topics of Interest =====

We invite the submission of original papers organized around some of the
following aspects:

- Description and analysis of concrete problems and user requirements for
applying semantic technologies in a specific domain
- Description of implementation and use of semantic applications in a
specific domain
- Analysis and evaluation of usability and uptake of Semantic Web tools and
technologies
- Assessment of the pros and cons of using semantic technologies to solve a
particular and practical problem
- Pragmatics of using or deploying semantic technologies in real-world
scenarios
- Comparison of semantic technologies with alternative approaches that use
conventional or competing technologies
- Learned lessons and best practices from deploying and using an
application or service based on Semantic Web technologies
- Assessment of costs and benefits of implementing, deploying, using, and
managing Semantic Web technologies
- Analysis of risks and opportunities of using Semantic Web technologies in
organizations with respect to their businesses and customers
- Descriptions of alternative semantic technologies being deployed in
practice
- Description of Semantic Web ontologies and/or datasets that are being
widely used in practice
- Mobile apps based on semantic technologies

The Semantic Web In-Use papers will be evaluated on their relevance to the
track, rigor in the methodology and analysis used to reach conclusions,
originality, readability, and usefulness to developers, researchers, and
practitioners.

===== Submission Details =====

Pre-submission of abstracts is a strict requirement. All papers and
abstracts have to be submitted electronically via the EasyChair conference
submission system.

All In-Use Track submissions must be in English, and no longer than 16
pages. Papers that exceed this limit will be rejected without review.
Submissions must be in PDF formatted in the style of the Springer
Publications format for Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS). For
details on the LNCS style, see Springer's Author Instructions (
http://www.springer.com/computer/lncs?SGWID=0-164-6-793341-0).

ISWC-2015 submissions are not anonymous.
Authors of accepted papers will be required to provide semantic annotations
for the abstract of their submission, which will be made available on the
conference website. Details will be provided at the time of acceptance.

Accepted papers will be distributed to conference attendees and also
published by Springer in the printed conference proceedings, as part of the
Lecture Notes in Computer Science series. At least one author of each
accepted paper must register for the conference and present the paper there.

===== Review Criteria =====

For “In Use papers” (application):
- Value of the use case in demonstrating benefits/challenges of semantic
technologies
- Adoption by domain practitioners and general members of the public
- Applicability of the lessons learnt to other use cases
- Clarity and quality of the description

For “Software papers” (tools and systems):
- Significance of the problem addressed by the tool/system
- Quality and performance of the tool/system
- Potential impact of the tool/system, especially in supporting the
adoption of semantic technologies
- Clarity and quality of the description


===== Prior Publication and Multiple Submissions =====

ISWC 2015 will not accept In-Use papers that, at the time of submission,
are under review for or have already been published in or accepted for
publication in a journalor another conference. The conference organizers
may share information on submissions with other venues to ensure that this
rule is not violated.

===== Important Dates =====

Abstracts: April 23rd, 2015
Full Paper Submission: April 30th, 2015
Author Rebuttals: June 1st-3rd, 2015
Notifications: June 20th, 2015
Camera-Ready Versions: TBD

All deadlines are Hawaii time.

===== Program Chairs =====

Mathieu d'Aquin, The Open University
Kavitha Srinivas, IBM