Consuming and producing linked open data: the case of OpenCourseWare

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson Piedra ◽  
Edmundo Tovar ◽  
Ricardo Colomo-Palacios ◽  
Jorge Lopez-Vargas ◽  
Janneth Alexandra Chicaiza

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to present an initiative to apply the principles of Linked Data to enhance the search and discovery of OpenCourseWare (OCW) contents created and shared by the universities. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a case study of how linked data technologies can be applied for the enhancement of open learning contents. Findings – Results presented under the umbrella of OCW-Universia consortium, as the integration and access to content from different repositories OCW and the development of a query method to access these data, reveal that linked data would offer a solution to filter and select semantically those open educational contents, and automatically are linked to the linked open data cloud. Originality/value – The new OCW-Universia integration with linked data adds new features to the initial framework including improved query mechanisms and interoperability.


Author(s):  
Jose María Alvarez Rodríguez ◽  
Jules Clement ◽  
José Emilio Labra Gayo ◽  
Hania Farhan ◽  
Patricia Ordoñez de Pablos

This chapter introduces the promotion of statistical data to the Linked Open Data initiative in the context of the Web Index project. A framework for the publication of raw statistics and a method to convert them to Linked Data are also presented following the W3C standards RDF, SKOS, and OWL. This case study is focused on the Web Index project; launched by the Web Foundation, the Index is the first multi-dimensional measure of the growth, utility, and impact of the Web on people and nations. Finally, an evaluation of the advantages of using Linked Data to publish statistics is also presented in conjunction with a discussion and future steps sections.



2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-378
Author(s):  
Sigal Arie Erez ◽  
Tobias Blanke ◽  
Mike Bryant ◽  
Kepa Rodriguez ◽  
Reto Speck ◽  
...  

Purpose This paper aims to describe the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) project's ongoing efforts to virtually integrate trans-national archival sources via the reconstruction of collection provenance as it relates to copy collections (material copied from one archive to another) and the co-referencing of subject and authority terms across material held by distinct institutions. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a case study of approximately 6,000 words length. The authors describe the scope of the problem of archival fragmentation from both cultural and technical perspectives, with particular focus on Holocaust-related material, and describe, with graph-based visualisations, two ways in which EHRI seeks to better integrate information about fragmented material. Findings As a case study, the principal contributions of this paper include reports on our experience with extracting provenance-based connections between archival descriptions from encoded finding aids and the challenges of co-referencing access points in the absence of domain-specific controlled vocabularies. Originality/value Record linking in general is an important technique in computational approaches to humanities research and one that has rightly received significant attention from scholars. In the context of historical archives, however, the material itself is in most cases not digitised, meaning that computational attempts at linking must rely on finding aids which constitute much fewer rich data sources. The EHRI project’s work in this area is therefore quite pioneering and has implications for archival integration on a larger scale, where the disruptive potential of Linked Open Data is most obvious.



2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-637
Author(s):  
Anne L. Washington

Purpose Open data resources contain few signals for assessing their suitability for data analytics. The purpose of this paper is to characterize the uncertainty experienced by open data consumers with a framework based on economic theory. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on information asymmetry theory about market exchanges, this paper investigates the practical challenges faced by data consumers seeking to reuse open data. An inductive qualitative analysis of over 2,900 questions asked between 2013 and 2018 on an internet forum identified how a community of 15,000 open data consumers expressed uncertainty about data sources. Findings Open data consumers asked direct questions that expressed uncertainty about the availability, interoperability and interpretation of data resources. Questions focused on future value and some requests were devoted to seeking data that matched known sources. The study proposes a data signal framework that explains uncertainty about open data within the context of control and visibility. Originality/value The proposed framework bridges digital government practice to information signaling theory. The empirical evidence substantiates market aspects of open data portals. This paper provided a needed case study of how data consumers experience uncertainty. The study integrates established theories about risk to improve the reuse of open data.



2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 834-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Konstantinou ◽  
Dimitrios-Emmanuel Spanos ◽  
Nikos Houssos ◽  
Nikolaos Mitrou

Purpose – This paper aims to introduce a transformation engine which can be used to convert an existing institutional repository installation into a Linked Open Data repository. Design/methodology/approach – The authors describe how the data that exist in a DSpace repository can be semantically annotated to serve as a Semantic Web (meta)data repository. Findings – The authors present a non-intrusive, standards-compliant approach that can run alongside with current practices, while incorporating state-of-the art methodologies. Originality/value – Also, they propose a set of mappings between domain vocabularies that can be (re)used towards this goal, thus offering an approach that covers both the technical and semantic aspects of the procedure.



2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna E Frederick

Purpose – The inaugural installment of the column data deluge and open knowledge comes at the close of a year which saw changes, developments and new beginnings for libraries in the areas of linked data, open data, metadata, open access publishing and other related movements. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology adopted is a literature review. Findings – Sometimes, changes in the information environment present themselves like towering waves crashing into rugged cliffs and librarians stand at the edge in awe of the spectacle. At other times, despite the crashing waves, librarians lead massive projects to build the standards and infrastructure to capture the water and direct its flow. Practical implications – The overall trend for the latter librarians is toward developing and adopting new ideas, methods, approaches and services to support finding and sharing data in an increasingly large and complex online context. As many of author’s colleagues have commented in recent years, “now is an exciting time to be a librarian”. Originality/value – The author heartily agree and look forward to sharing, through this column, the highlights of these exciting times.



2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannis Tzitzikas ◽  
Carlo Allocca ◽  
Chryssoula Bekiari ◽  
Yannis Marketakis ◽  
Pavlos Fafalios ◽  
...  

Purpose – Marine species data are scattered across a series of heterogeneous repositories and information systems. There is no repository that can claim to have all marine species data. Moreover, information on marine species are made available through different formats and protocols. The purpose of this paper is to provide models and methods that allow integrating such information either for publishing it, browsing it or querying it. Aiming at providing a valid and reliable knowledge ground for enabling semantic interoperability of marine species data, in this paper the authors motivate a top level ontology, called MarineTLO and discuss its use for creating MarineTLO-based warehouses. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the authors introduce a set of motivating scenarios that highlight the need of having a top level ontology. Afterwards the authors describe the main data sources (Fisheries Linked Open Data, ECOSCOPE, WoRMS, FishBase and DBpedia) that will be used as a basis for constructing the MarineTLO. Findings – The paper discusses about the exploitation of MarineTLO for the construction of a warehouse. Furthermore a series of uses of the MarineTLO-based warehouse is being reported. Originality/value – In this paper the authors described the design of a top level ontology for the marine domain able to satisfy the need for maintaining integrated sets of facts about marine species and thus assisting ongoing research on biodiversity. Apart from the ontology the authors also elaborated with the mappings that are required for building integrated warehouses.



2015 ◽  
pp. 1032-1052
Author(s):  
Jose María Alvarez Rodríguez ◽  
Jules Clement ◽  
José Emilio Labra Gayo ◽  
Hania Farhan ◽  
Patricia Ordoñez de Pablos

This chapter introduces the promotion of statistical data to the Linked Open Data initiative in the context of the Web Index project. A framework for the publication of raw statistics and a method to convert them to Linked Data are also presented following the W3C standards RDF, SKOS, and OWL. This case study is focused on the Web Index project; launched by the Web Foundation, the Index is the first multi-dimensional measure of the growth, utility, and impact of the Web on people and nations. Finally, an evaluation of the advantages of using Linked Data to publish statistics is also presented in conjunction with a discussion and future steps sections.



2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damián Macías Rodríguez ◽  
Blanca Del Espino Hidalgo ◽  
María Teresa Pérez Cano

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to represent the conflict of touristification in the central district of Seville to evaluate the dimension of the problem. Therefore, it focuses on the diagnostic representation of the conflict between citizens and tourists, to help define the coexistence of opposing interests and to bring solutions in favour of a liveable urban landscape. Design/methodology/approach The research has implied a detailed analysis beyond the observation of data and statistics, which facilitated a complex diagnosis for decision-making. This has led to consider as an initial framework the main tourist resources, official agreements and civil manifestations regarding touristification. Then, factors of tourist density and one in-depth case study of changes in use have been mapped. Findings First, an analysis of the urban spaces affected by the tourist dynamics following the degree of habitability of the resident citizens has been led. Second, of the conflict resulting from a relationship between economic activities, the attractiveness of the urban landscape and the tourist use of the space has been mapped. Originality/value Through the study of the central district of a city of great heritage value where conflicts begin to occur as a result of tourism, it is intended to contribute to the development of the spatial syntax of the tourist conflict, what could lead to improve responsible urban and social city policies.



2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-200
Author(s):  
Stuti Saxena

Purpose With the progressive trends in Open Data, this paper aims to underscore the significance of Open Linked Statistical Data (OLSD) and identifies the trajectory of development of OLSD besides underlining the prospects and challenges underlying OLSD. Design/methodology/approach Being exploratory in nature, this viewpoint seeks to present a trajectory of OLSD which seeks to emphasize upon the futuristic trend in the development of OLSD. Findings Eight stages have been identified in the OLSD trajectory. The opening of more and more data results in new possibilities for combining data and gaining new insights. In the future, data will automatically be opened and streamed and could be used in using OLSD algorithms. Algorithms will mention the shortcomings and limitations of data and help to interpret the data in such a way that the user is in the driver’s seat. Research limitations/implications While the paper follows an exploratory approach, there are a couple of implications for the practitioners and academicians. For instance, government may become more accountable with the adoption of advanced OLSD algorithms. Further research on OLSD may be required in appreciating the impact of OLSD in different settings, and this would be helpful in providing novel insights to the concerned stakeholders. Originality/value While Big and Open Linked Data (BOLD) has gained prominence in academic research, the focus on OLSD has remained scanty. This paper seeks to underline the futuristic trends in OLSD.



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