| ICCS 2001 Workshop |
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The PORT (Peirce On-line Resource Testbeds) collaboratory project [see
ICCS '97 Proceedings] has been postponed since 1997, due to copyright complications,
but we now see the Semantic Web as an infrastructure in which PORT might
launch a research program for ICS tools development, in the mode of continuous
improvement. The goal of PORT's collaboratory-testbed method of researching,
testing, improving, marketing, and servicing on the Web is to increase
the efficiency of customizing tools and conserving resources. As John Sowa
urges: "Instead of producing multiple monolithic systems, which have a
great deal of duplication of effort, we should consider breaking them into
smaller, independent 'tools' that can be mixed, matched, and shared more
easily." In the Semantic Web, KR tool development can engage PORT participants
more closely in determining how automation technology might assist them
in on-line resource data preparation, discourse, and inquiry.
The Web Consortium's current methodology, LEAD (Live Early Adoption
and Demonstration), has the pragmatic nature we envision for the collaboratory
testbeds of PORT operation, and the Consortium's plan for Semantic Web
evolution requires effective collaboration among computers to augment human
collaboration for intercreativity. With some mapping between RDF and CGs
[see http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues and Corby,
Dieng, and Hebert's "A
Conceptual Graph Model for W3C Resource Description Framework," in ICCS
Proceedings, 2000;
http://www-sop.inria.fr/acacia/personnel/corby/corese.html]
the progress of International Conceptual Structures technology might be
effectively studied and accelerated in the context and operation of PORT's
collaboratory testbeds, somewhat the way the LEAD bootstrapping method
informally works for W3C. Testbeds must support the process of all participants
coming to understand norms and practices of the collaborating group. Technology
users must have parity with developers in exploring the utility of various
technical approaches and practices by which the collaborating community
might take advantage of emerging technologies. This intricately complex
mode of development is an example of the new "social machine," which Berners-Lee
identifies as the purpose of the Semantic Web.
The ICCS Semantic Web workshop will use the example of a collaborating
textual editing community, in the context of PORT, to discuss and demonstrate
a range of Conceptual Structures tools that could apply to the collaborative
work of imaging, transcribing, indexing, and cataloguing in testbed operations.
Tools to be tested could include most of those presented at ICCS conferences
to date:
ontology-based search and retrieval, knowledge acquisition, interlingua
(for both natural language translation and system integration), database,
document, knowledge-base, and discourse management, authoring support and
narrative analysis, communication services support and interoperability.
The PORT collabortory must develop a facility to respond to the leading
semiotic question, "Who needs What technology for What purpose?" In the
workshop we hope to institute three basic functions for that facility:
1. A registry for tools that categorizes their similarities and differences
in purpose and design.
2. An on-line facility for reporting tool trials and tracking successive
trial results.
3. A dynamic visualization showing possible functional relationships
of tools in evolution.
Although this workshop is intended for PORT members, any developer who
wants to test or experiment with an ICS tool in a working context, and
any researcher who wants to try using and assisting in the development
of tools to work better in that context may join us.
Participants who have tools to test should submit a short paper (as
prescribed by the ICCS CFP). The paper should introduce the tool in terms
of how it might contribute to the PORT resource development context. Anyone
who wants to participate as a researcher-user of any tools may submit a
paper, which would be very welcome, but may simply notify the committee
of their willingness to participate in testing and submit a follow-up paper
or summarizing comments. All papers will be reviewed by all participants,
and those selected will be published on the Web as part of the workshop
project.
As part of the Workshop's virtual operating context for demonstration
and testing, we will be setting up an on-line, remote access facility to
make participation possible by those unable to attend the conference, along
with those who come to Stanford. All participation will be documented and
used to experiment with ICS tools in PORT's further development.
We need to have some idea who might participate, especially those who
might bring tools to test, by the end of March.
Members of the workshop committee (at the moment) are:
Aldo de Moor
Anyone interested should contact Mary Keeler (mkeeler@u.washington.edu)
to discuss how we might set up their tool or engage their research expertise
in testing.
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