Semantic Web Google Tech Talk

The Semantic Web is a field aiming a the creation, deployment, and interoperation of machine readable data on the Internet. In the talk we present some projects in DERI on Semantic Web technologies – notably Semantic Interlinking of Online Community sites, Social Semantic Collaborative Filtering, and ActiveRDF, a library for Browsing, programming and navigating Semantic Web data.

The SIOC (Semantic Interlinking of Online Communities) project [1] is an effort aiming at establishing and deploying a metadata vocabulary for interlinking and connecting distributed conversation on blogs, bulletin boards, and mailing lists. The vocabulary has been implemented…

 

 

Making the Semantic Web Accessible to the Casual User

The Semantic Web presents the vision of a distributed, dynamically growing knowledge base founded on formal logic. Common users, however, seem to have problems even with the simplest Boolean
expression. So how can we help users to query a web of logic that they do not seem to understand? One frequently proposed solution to address this problem is the use of natural language (NL) for
knowledge specification and querying. We propose to regard formal query languages and NL as two extremes of a continuum, where semistructured languages lie somewhere in the middle.

To evaluate what degree of structuredness casual users prefer, we introduce four query interfaces, each at a different point in the continuum, and evaluate the users’ preference and their query performance in a study with 48 subjects. The results of the study reveal that while the users dislike the constraints of a fully
structured formal query language they also seem at a loss with the freedom of a full NLP approach. This suggests that restricted query languages will be preferred by casual users because of their
guidance effect, mirroring findings from social science theory on human activity in general.
Speaker: Prof. Bernstein
Abraham Bernstein is a full Professor at the Department of Information Technology (Institut für Informatik) of the University of Zurich. He conducts research on various aspects of supporting dynamic (intra- and inter-) organizational processes. His work draws from both social science (organizational psychology/sociology) and technical (computer science, artificial intelligence) foundations.

Before coming to Zurich he was an Assistant Professor, at the Information Systems Department in New York University’s Stern School of Business, and received a Ph.D. at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, where he worked with Prof. Thomas W. Malone at the Center for Coordination Science.

Software Engineering

Roger S. Pressman is an internationally recognized authority in software process
improvement and software engineering technologies. For over three decades, he has
worked as a software engineer, a manager, a professor, an author, and a consultant, focusing on software engineering issues.

Software Engineering Practitioner Approach is a book written by Pressman.

Download: Software Engineering Practitioner Approach [size 4.13 MB]

Download: Summary of the book for quick reference.

1_The Product

2_The Process

3_Project Management Concepts

4_Software Process and Project Metrics

5_Software Project Planning

6_Risk Analysis and Management

7_Project Scheduling and Tracking

8_Software Quality Assurance

9_Software Configuration Management

10_System Engineering

11_Analysis Concepts and Principles

13_Design Concepts and Principles

14_Architectural Design

15_User Interface Design

16_Component-Level Design

17_Software Testing Techniques

18_Software Testing Strategies

19_Technical Metrics for Software

21_Object-Oriented Analysis

22_Object-Oriented Design

24_Technical Metrics for Object-Oriented Systems

26_Cleanroom Software Engineering

27_Component-Based Software Engineering

28_Client-Server Software Engineering

29_Web Engineering

30_Re-engineering

31_Computer-Aided Software Engineering

32_The Road Ahead

The Semantic Web – An Overview

Find out what the Semantic Web is all about and how it might be structured. How can we make computers smarter so we can get the information we need in context?
From the online Web Services class offered by Computer Careers at South Central College located in North Mankato, MN 56003 USA.

The Three Races

The Three Races

In old times, fable retells the story of the young athletic boy hungry for success, for whom winning was everything and success was measured by such a result.

One day, the boy was preparing himself for a running competition in his small native village, himself and two other young boys to compete. A large crowd had congregated to witness the sporting spectacle and a wise old man, upon hearing of the little boy, had travelled far to bear witness also.

The race commenced, looking like a level heat at the finishing line, but sure enough the boy dug deep and called on his determination, strength and power .. he took the winning line and was first. The crowd was ecstatic and cheered and waved at the boy. The wise man remained still and calm, expressing no sentiment. The little boy, however. felt proud and important.

A second race was called, and two new young, fit, challengers came forward, to run with the little boy. The race was started and sure enough the little boy came through and finished first once again. The crowd was ecstatic again and cheered and waved at the boy. The wise man remained still and calm, again expressing no sentiment. The little boy, however, felt proud and important.

“Another race, another race!” pleaded the little boy. The wise old man stepped forward and presented the little boy with two new challengers, an elderly frail lady and a blind man. “What is this?”, quizzed the little boy. “This is no race” he exclaimed. “Race!”, said the wise man. The race was started and the boy was the only finisher, the other two challengers left standing at the starting line. The little boy was ecstatic, he raised his arms in delight. The crowd, however, was silent showing no sentiment toward the little boy.

“What has happened? Why not do the people join in my success?” he asked the wise old man. “Race again”, replied the wise man, “…this time, finish together, all three of you, finish together” continued the wise man. The little boy thought a little, stood in the middle of the blind man and the frail old lady, and then took the two challengers by the hand. The race began and the little boy walked slowly, ever so slowly, to the finishing line and crossed it. The crowd were ecstatic and cheered and waved at the boy. The wise man smiled, gently nodding his head. The little boy felt proud and important.

“Old man, I understand not! Who are the crowd cheering for? Which one of us three?”, asked the little boy. The wise old man looked into the little boy’s eyes, placing his hands on the boy’s shoulders, and replied softly .. “Little boy, for this race you have won much more than in any race you have ever ran before, and for this race the crowd cheer not for any winner!”