CFP Deadline Extended for ICS-FORTH Workshop on Integration of Conceptual Models for Cultural Content

           * * * ABSTRACT DEADLINE EXTENDED TO AUGUST 20th * * *

                                Workshop on
        Exploring the limits of global models for integration and use
                    of historical and scientific information

                            October 23-24 2006
                    ICS-FORTH, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

NB: The abstract deadline has been extended to August 20th.
Please see "Submission Information" below.

Invited Speaker: Nicola Guarino
                  ISTC-CNR, Laboratory for Applied Ontology, Trento


Effective large scale information integration requires an agreement on
the common semantics of the data structure elements and other
categories employed. Recently, there has been increasing doubt about
the possibility of global ontological models. However, knowledge
integration based on mere similarity of categories, such as "inexact
equivalence" does not allow for precise, global querying advanced
reasoning, or interoperability. On the other hand, practical core
ontologies such as CIDOC/CRM (ISO/PRF 21127) demonstrate a
surprisingly wide validity over multiple domains.

This workshop explores the limits of such global models for
integrating and making use of historical and scientific information,
in order to enhance both, our theoretical understanding of the limits
of ontological agreement in a specific application setting, and our
practical understanding of how to implement effective large scale
knowledge integration services and exploit the power of global models.

The application of formal ontologies in cultural domains such as
museums, libraries, and archives, the semantic web, and other related
areas, inevitably raises difficult theoretical problems which appear
to complicate the development of practical ontologies. For
instance,these problems affect directly the performance of information
systems, when there is no agreement on the identity and unity of
referred items, such as:

* Does Tut-Ankh Amun still exist (i.e. as a mummy)?

* Is Luther's translation an expression of the Holy Bible or another
work?

* Is Caesar's coming to the Curia a part of the event of his
murder?

* How can the respective ontological choices be objectified, and how
can they be reconciled in practical applications?

* To which degree compatible generalizations of a model can compensate
inconsistencies following the widening of the scope of a model? What
are the limits of ontology harmonization?

* Which kinds of concepts tend to be globally compatible and which
not, and in which sense? This workshop elicits contributions related
to studies, experiences and practical and theoretical solutions around
the above problems. As well as formal information systems approaches
to these problems we welcome contributions based on perspectives from
philosophy, from cognitive science, and from the social sciences.
On the other side, this workshop elicits contributions about the
application and prospects and limits of domain overarching information
integration, in particular with respect to cultural heritage and
scientific information. Issues in this area include...

* Models for the semantic interoperability and integration of
scientific and cultural information and possibly other disciplines.

* The long-term preservation and future interoperability of data
structure semantics.

* Scalable information architectures, linking and reasoning services
under semantic models, in particular scalable solutions.

The following topics are of particular interest:

* Philosophical implications or controversies with respect ontological
choices of the CIDOC CRM, FRBR and other core ontologies for
information in libraries, archives, museum and scientific data
repositories.

* Identity and temporal existence of conceptual items. Identity
ofWorks. Can works or texts gain or lose non-relational properties? Is
identity based on the continuity of tradition or essential properties?

* Work as continuant versus Work as occurrent.

* Identity and substance of events, parts of events, spatiotemporal
limits of events in non-discrete models compatible with the nature of
historical records.

Methods for managing the practical needs of information systems...

* Objective criteria for selecting and justifying ontological choices
in information systems

* Harmonization of ontologies. Can Digital Libraries be based on one
global information model, or why not?

* Integrating cultural and scientific heritage: Scientific records as
historical data. Integrated access and (re)use. E-science metadata.
The relevance of factual knowledge for e-science.

* Preservation of data structure semantics -- interoperability with
the future.

* Knowledge extraction and core ontologies.

* Document linking and semantic relationships.

Organizers: CIDOC CRM Special Interest Group, ICS-FORTH, DELOS Network
of Excellence.

Workshop Chairs: Martin Doerr and Allen Renear

Invited Speaker: Nicola Guarino,

Program Committee:

Martin Doer, Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research
      and Technology, Heraklion, Greece
Allen Renear, Graduate School of Library and Information Science,
      University of Illinois
Dolores Iorizzo, London e-Science Center, Imperial College London
Siegfried Krause, Germanisches Nationalmuseum
Liz Lyon, UKOLN, University of Bath
Laure Vieu, Laboratory for Applied Ontology (ISTC-CNR), Trento

Invited Speaker: Nicola Guarino
      Laboratory for Applied Ontology (ISTC-CNR), Trento

Submission Information:

Proposals 1000-1750 word extended abstraact (excluding bibliography
and a 100-300 word short abstract)

Due August 20th 2006.

Notification of Acceptance: August 30th.

Format: PDF. With author's contact information (including phone
numbers and email addresses) clearly evident near the top of the
proposal.

Email proposal as an attachment to Allen Renear (renear@uiuc.edu) cc
to Martin Doerr, martin@ics.forth.gr. Receipt of submissions will be
acknowledged.

The authors of the best contributions will be invited to submit full
papers for a special issue in the Journal for Applied Ontologies.

Web version of CFP:
http://cidoc.ics.forth.gr/workshops/octocer_23_2006.htm

Received on Wednesday, 26 July 2006 01:42:00 UTC