Cost: $50.00
Date:
October 31, 2007 - 12:00 - 1:00 EDT Taxonomy and Taxidermy: Keeping the Two Distinct (G.Campbell)
Taxonomy is the art of adding value to information by placing it in a useful order that supports both direct searching and serendipitous browsing. Taxidermy is the art of stuffing and arranging the skins of dead animals to create lifelike effects. Taxonomies are a fundamental part of the Semantic Web: machine-readable hierarchies that enable intelligent agents to make logical inferences, thereby making information retrieval an entirely new, more sophisticated experience. However, recent books such as Dave Weinberger's Everything is Miscellaneous and Eric Abrahamson's A Perfect Mess suggest that taxonomy and taxidermy are closer than we care to acknowledge.
Does the coherence of a Web taxonomy reflect the organization in its living, evolving state? Or does the life and evolution take place outside the taxonomy, using its carefully crafted design merely to store its used-up data in a lifelike pose? We'll discuss ways in which the Semantic Web can be used, selectively and appropriately, in conjunction with other tools, to ensure that our Websites preserve rigorous order without becoming lifeless artifacts.
Case Studies (B.Allen)
Wonder about the practical application of semantic web in industry and government? Bradley Allen will demonstrate how Oracle, NASA, and State of Utah utilize unique taxonomies to improve access to information and enable discovery of previously unseen relationships using "relational navigation" to move beyond the limitations of traditional search.
Rating:
3.75 / 5 (based on 4 reviews)