Understanding Semantic Web: a conceptual model

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 82-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Calaresu ◽  
Ali Shiri

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to explore and conceptualize the Semantic Web as a term that has been widely mentioned in the literature of library and information science. More specifically, its aim is to shed light on the evolution of the Web and to highlight a previously proposed means of attempting to improve automated manipulation of Web-based data in the context of a rapidly expanding base of both users and digital content. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual analysis presented in this paper adopts a three-dimensional model for the discussion of Semantic Web. The first dimension focuses on Semantic Web’s basic nature, purpose and history, as well as the current state and limitations of modern search systems and related software agents. The second dimension focuses on critical knowledge structures such as taxonomies, thesauri and ontologies which are understood as fundamental elements in the creation of a Semantic Web architecture. In the third dimension, an alternative conceptual model is proposed, one, which unlike more commonly prevalent Semantic Web models, offers a greater emphasis on describing the proposed structure from an interpretive viewpoint, rather than a technical one. This paper adopts an interpretive, historical and conceptual approach to the notion of the Semantic Web by reviewing the literature and by analyzing the developments associated with the Web over the past three decades. It proposes a simplified conceptual model for easy understanding. Findings – The paper provides a conceptual model of the Semantic Web that encompasses four key strata, namely, the body of human users, the body of software applications facilitating creation and consumption of documents, the body of documents themselves and a proposed layer that would improve automated manipulation of Web-based data by the software applications. Research limitations/implications – This paper will facilitate a better conceptual understanding of the Semantic Web, and thereby contribute, in a small way, to the larger body of discourse surrounding it. The conceptual model will provide a reference point for education and research purposes. Originality/value – This paper provides an original analysis of both conceptual and technical aspects of Semantic Web. The proposed conceptual model provides a new perspective on this subject.

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Garg ◽  
Kirit Modi ◽  
Sanjay Chaudhary

Purpose Web services play vital role in the development of emerging technologies such as Cloud computing and Internet of Things. Although, there is a close relationship among the discovery, selection and composition tasks of Web services, research community has treated these challenges at individual level rather to focus on them collectively for developing efficient solution, which is the purpose of this work. This paper aims to propose an approach to integrate the service discovery, selection and composition of Semantic Web services on runtime basis. Design/methodology/approach The proposed approach defined as a quality of service (QoS)-aware approach is based on QoS model to perform discovery, selection and composition tasks at runtime to enhance the user satisfaction and quality guarantee by incorporating non-functional parameters such as response time and throughput with the Web services and user request. In this paper, the proposed approach is based on ontology for semantic description of Web services, which provides interoperability and automation in the Web services tasks. Findings This work proposed an integrated framework of Web service discovery, selection and composition which supports end user to search, select and compose the Web services at runtime using semantic description and non-functional requirements. The proposed approach is evaluated by various data sets from the Web Service Challenge 2009 (WSC-2009) to show the efficiency of this work. A use case scenario of Healthcare Information System is implemented using proposed work to demonstrate the usability and requirement the proposed approach. Originality/value The main contribution of this paper is to develop an integrated approach of Semantic Web services discovery, selection and composition by using the non-functional requirements.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 332-346
Author(s):  
Zhijia Dong ◽  
Gaoming Jiang ◽  
Guoming Huang ◽  
Honglian Cong

Purpose The virtual display of 3D garment is one of the most important features in a computer-aided garment design system. The purpose of this paper is to present a novel web-based 3D virtual display framework for the online design of warp-knitted seamless garment using the latest WebGL and HTML5 technologies. Design/methodology/approach Based on the feature-based parametric 3D human body model, the 3D model of skin-tight warp-knitted seamless garment is established using the geometric modeling method. By applying plane parameterization technology, the 3D garment model is then projected into corresponding 2D prototype pattern and a texture-mapping relationship is obtained. Finally, an online 3D virtual display application framework for warp-knitted seamless garment is implemented on modern WebGL-enabled web browsers using the latest WebGL and HTML5 technologies, which allow garment designers to globally access without installing any additional software or plugin. Findings Based on the 2D/3D model of warp-knitted seamless garment, an online 3D virtual display application running on modern WebGL-enabled web browser is implemented using the latest Javascript, WebGL and HTML5 technologies, which is proven to be an effective way for building the web-based 3D garment CAD systems. Originality/value This paper provides a parametric design method for warp-knitted seamless garment 2D/3D model, and web-based online virtual display of 3D warp-knitted seamless garment is implemented for the first time, which establishes the foundation for the web-based online computer-aided warp-knitted seamless garment design system.


Author(s):  
Reinaldo Padilha França ◽  
Ana Carolina Borges Monteiro ◽  
Rangel Arthur ◽  
Yuzo Iano

The Semantic Web concept is an extension of the web obtained by adding semantics to the current data representation format. It is considered a network of correlating meanings. It is the result of a combination of web-based conceptions and technologies and knowledge representation. Since the internet has gone through many changes and steps in its web versions 1.0, 2.0, and Web 3.0, this last call of smart web, the concept of Web 3.0, is to be associated with the Semantic Web, since technological advances have allowed the internet to be present beyond the devices that were made exactly with the intention of receiving the connection, not limited to computers or smartphones since it has the concept of reading, writing, and execution off-screen, performed by machines. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide an updated review of Semantic Web and its technologies showing its technological origins and approaching its success relationship with a concise bibliographic background, categorizing and synthesizing the potential of technologies.


Author(s):  
Christopher Walton

At the start of this book we outlined the challenges of automatic computer based processing of information on the Web. These numerous challenges are generally referred to as the ‘vision’ of the Semantic Web. From the outset, we have attempted to take a realistic and pragmatic view of this vision. Our opinion is that the vision may never be fully realized, but that it is a useful goal on which to focus. Each step towards the vision has provided new insights on classical problems in knowledge representation, MASs, and Web-based techniques. Thus, we are presently in a significantly better position as a result of these efforts. It is sometimes difficult to see the purpose of the Semantic Web vision behind all of the different technologies and acronyms. However, the fundamental purpose of the Semantic Web is essentially large scale and automated data integration. The Semantic Web is not just about providing a more intelligent kind of Web search, but also about taking the results of these searches and combining them in interesting and useful ways. As stated in Chapter 1, the possible applications for the Semantic Web include: automated data mining, e-science experiments, e-learning systems, personalized newspapers and journals, and intelligent devices. The current state of progress towards the Semantic Web vision is summarized in Figure 8.1. This figure shows a pyramid with the human-centric Web at the bottom, sometimes termed the Syntactic Web, and the envisioned Semantic Web at the top. Throughout this book, we have been moving upwards on this pyramid, and it should be clear that a great deal of progress that has been made towards the goal. This progress is indicated by the various stages of the pyramid, which can be summarized as follows: • The lowest stage on the pyramid is the basic Web that should be familiar to everyone. This Web of information is human-centric and contains very little automation. Nonetheless, the Web provides the basic protocols and technologies on which the Semantic Web is founded. Furthermore, the information which is represented on the Web will ultimately be the source of knowledge for the Semantic Web.


Author(s):  
Christopher Walton

In the previous chapter we described three languages for representing knowledge on the Semantic Web: RDF, RDFS, and OWL. These languages enable us to create Web-based knowledge in a standard manner with a common semantics. We now turn our attention to the techniques that can utilize this knowledge in an automated manner. These techniques are fundamental to the construction of the Semantic Web, as without automation we do not gain any real benefit over the current Web. There are currently two views of the Semantic Web that have implications for the kind of automation that we can hope to achieve: 1. An expert system with a distributed knowledge base. 2. A society of agents that solve complex knowledge-based tasks. In the first view, the Semantic Web is essentially treated a single-user application that reasons about some Web-based knowledge. For example, a service that queries the knowledge to answer specific questions. This is a perfectly acceptable view, and its realization is significantly challenging. However, in this book we primarily subscribe to the second view. In this more-generalized view, the knowledge is not treated as a single body, and it is not necessary to obtain a global view of the knowledge. Instead, the knowledge is exchanged and manipulated in a peer-to-peer (P2P) manner between different entities. These entities act on behalf of human users, and require only enough knowledge to perform the task to which they are assigned. The use of entities to solve complex problems on the Web is captured by the notion of an agent. In human terms, an agent is an intermediary who makes a complex organization externally accessible. For example, a travel agent simplifies the problem of booking a holiday. This concept of simplifying the interface to a complex framework is a key goal of the Semantic Web. We would like to make it straightforward for a human to interact with a wide variety of disparate sources of knowledge without becoming mired in the details. To accomplish this, we want to define software agents that act with similar characteristics to human agents.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 31-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinhee Park ◽  
Yeong-Seok Seo ◽  
Jongmoon Baik

As web technology has advanced, many business software applications are built on the web. In such web environment, it has become very important to ensure the reliabilities of web-based software systems such as Software as a Service (SaaS) or Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) based systems because service failures in those systems may have an effect on extensive users. With the comparison to the reliability studies on traditional software, there are only a few studies on the reliability of web-based software. The dynamic environment of the web makes it much more complicated to assess the reliabilities of web-based software. In this paper, the authors investigate the characteristics of reliability assessment methods for web-based software such as SaaS and SOA based software systems. The authors also evaluate those methods based on hypothetical execution scenarios to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each method. This analysis helps us to identify remaining problems on the reliability research in the web environment and provides insight into possible solutions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dunia Llanes-Padrón ◽  
Juan-Antonio Pastor-Sánchez

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the Records in Contexts proposal of a conceptual model (RiC-CM) from the International Council on Archives’ (ICA) archival description and to propose an OWL ontology for its implementation in the semantic web. Design/methodology/approach The various elements of the model are studied and are related to earlier norms in order to understand their structure and the modeling of the ontology. Findings The analysis reveals the integrating nature of RiC-CM and the possibilities it offers for greater interoperability of data from archival descriptions. Two versions of an OWL ontology were developed to represent the conceptual model. The first makes a direct transposition of the conceptual model; the second optimizes the properties and relations in order to simplify the use and maintenance of the ontology. Research limitations/implications The proposed ontology will follow the considerations of the final version of the ICA’s RiC-CM. Practical implications The analysis affords an understanding of the role of RiC-CM in publishing online archival data sets, while the ontology is an initial approach to the semantic web technologies involved. Originality/value This paper offers an overview of Records in Contexts with respect to the advantages in the field of semantic interoperability, and supposes the first proposal of an ontology based on the conceptual model.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-49
Author(s):  
Feicheng Ma ◽  
Ye Chen ◽  
Yiming Zhao

Purpose This paper aims to propose a conceptual model for improving the organization of user needs information in the big data environment. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model of the organization of user needs information based on Linked Data techniques is constructed. This model has three layers: the Data Layer, the Semantic Layer and the Application Layer. Findings Requirements for organizing user needs information in the big data environment are identified as follows: improving the intelligence level, establishing standards and guidelines for the description of user needs information, enabling the interconnection of user needs information and considering individual privacy in the organization and analysis of user needs. Practical implications This Web of Needs model could be used to improve knowledge services by matching user needs information with increasing semantic knowledge resources more effectively and efficiently in the big data environment. Originality/value This study proposes a conceptual model, the Web of Needs model, to organize and interconnect user needs. Compared with existing methods, the Web of Needs model satisfies the requirements for the organization of user needs information in the big data environment with regard to four aspects: providing the basis and conditions for intelligent processing of user needs information, using RDF as a description norm, enabling the interconnection of user needs information and setting various protocols to protect user privacy.


2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanta Kapoor ◽  
O.P. Goyal

PurposeThe paper seeks to provide a comparative analysis of the functionality of five web‐based OPACs available in Indian academic libraries.Design/methodology/approachSame‐topic searches were carried out by three researchers on the web‐based OPACs of Libsys, VTLS's iPortal, NewGenLib, Troodon, and Alice for Windows, implemented in five academic libraries in India. Their functionality was compared using criteria selected from the literature on OPAC searching.FindingsThe web‐based OPACs investigated offered a range of facilities for searching by author, title, control number and by keywords. Federated searching across several e‐collections was limited.Originality/valueThis paper should be a useful source of information to librarians who are planning to introduce web‐based OPACs and also for software vendors who wish to improve the functionality of their products.


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