Semantics and Agents Oriented Web Personalization

Currently, the two main techniques for achieving personalization on the Internet involve direct manipulation and software agents. While both direct manipulation and software agents are aimed at permitting end-users to finish tasks rapidly, efficiently, and easily, their methodologies differ The central controversy involving these personalization techniques derives from the amount of control that each grants to - or withholds from - the end-user. Direct manipulation interfaces afford control and predictability to end-users. Alternatively, the use of software agents captures or records user's personalized preferences by employing artificial intelligence techniques. In this empirical study, two end-user Web personalization tools are evaluated. One of them, WebPersonalizer, is an agent-based end-user personalization tool; the other, AntWorld, is a collaborative recommendation tool which provides direct manipulation interfaces. The purpose of this study is to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each opposed technique-direct manipulation and software agents - as a Web personalization assistant. In addition, we suggest the hybrid paradigm for EUP (end-user programming).

Semantic Web for Health Care and Life Sciences: a review of the state of the art

This chapter describes the use of software agents and Web Services to support the formation of Virtual Enterprises. The partners of a Virtual Enterprise are represented as software agents. The AGORA multi-agent architecture is used. The focus of this chapter is on the description of the services provided by each partner and the partner selection process. The concept of Agent Interaction Protocols is used to manage the interactions during the formation of the Virtual Enterprise. An implementation of the ideas and examples from industrial case studies are used for the validation of the approach and discussions. The use of Semantic Web technology and Web Services with multi-agent systems is discussed as the future directions for this work.

This paper reports an approach to the deployment of systems visualisation environments through the use of software agents. It provides a discussion of the issues that should be addressed in the deployment of integrated computer-based visualisation tool sets which, combined with appropriate support, provide the basis for systems' visualisation solutions. It outlines an approach that addresses these deployment issues through the application of a component-based software engineering methodology that makes use of software agents. In this approach, called the integrated visualisation and description (IV&D) approach, software agents are considered to be knowledge-based software components that encapsulate specific knowledge of the application domain and are used to deploy a systems visualisation environment into this domain. The paper begins with a discussion of the issues relating to the deployment of systems visualisation environments. These are related to a conceptual model of the description process which forms a basis for the IV&D approach. We then discuss the software agents, called IV&D agents, that are used to support the deployment of systems visualisation environments. Finally, we discuss domain characterisation, which provides the knowledge used by IV&D agents to deploy the systems visualisation environments.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore useful Semantic Web technologies and ontology-based applications for digital libraries. It also investigates the perceptions of university librarians and academicians in Pakistan about Semantic Web technologies and their use in digital libraries.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory research design based on Delphi research strategy was conducted to answer the research questions. Interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 50 key informants including university librarians and academicians to explore their perceptions about Semantic Web technologies and their use in digital libraries. Thematic analysis of interview data was conducted to obtain results.FindingsThe results of this paper showed that DuraCloud, Semantic information mashup, OntoEdit and resource description framework (RDF) are the various Semantic Web applications which are useful for digital libraries to develop semantic relationships among digital contents and increase their accessibility in the web environment. Findings revealed that Semantic Web provides precise results and meets user information needs in an effective way. Results also showed that next-generation digital libraries use context-awareness technology, intelligent agent software and detecting sensors to analyze user information needs and provide dynamic information services. This paper recommended that librarians should embrace the use of emerging web technologies in libraries and offer library services through the medium of the web.Practical implicationsThis paper envisaged the future of digital library services and Semantic Web applications that can be used to re-structure metadata of digital library. This paper has practical implications for librarians to consider the useful applications of Semantic Web for digital library and enhance the interoperability of metadata among heterogeneous information systems. Practically, results obtained from this paper are highly useful for library schools and LIS teachers to up-date their curriculum by incorporating new contents related to web languages and Semantic Web applications for digital libraries.Originality/valueThis paper identifies various Semantic Web applications which are useful for developing Semantic Digital Libraries.

Research on the use of software agents in P2P video streaming systems has recently emerged in order to meet the requirements such as time constraints, minimizing delay and efficient utilization of network resources. However parent selection and network awareness are not addressed properly in these leading studies. In order to fill this gap, we introduce the design and implementation of a Multi-agent System (MAS) for P2P video streaming in this paper. The construction of the MAS by applying a well-defined agent-oriented software engineering methodology is discussed. The internal structure of each agent in the proposed MAS is based on the well-known Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) architecture. Experimental results show that the proposed MAS succeeds the related parent selection and promotes the system execution. BDI-based MAS design given in this paper can guide those researchers who aim to implement autonomous mesh-based P2P video streaming systems.

EUROLAN, which has been held biennially since 1993, is one of the most significant European summer schools in the area of natural language processing. Each of the EUROLAN sessions has focused on an area of timely interest to researchers in the field; this year's EUROLAN involved students in tutorials and hands-on sessions concerned with semantic web technologies as applied to language processing, ontology creation and use, and consideration of the semantic web's potential and limitations.

Our Kunstliche Intelligenz edition from July 2003 focussed on a few novel technologies that can be subsumed by two words: ‘‘Semantic Web’’. Now, 13 years thereafter we would like to feature an update. Semantic Web—reloaded if you wish. The first edition came out a few years after the development of important technologies in this area such as OWL or DL reasoning engines. OWL resulted from a quasi merger between OIL (Ontology Inference Layer, a European proposal) and DAML (DARPA Agent Markup Language, the American counterpart). Examples for DL-reasoning engines are FaCT or RACER, just to name a few. SPARQL, the important query language that is used nowadays to query ontologies wasn’t even around until later, emerging in 2008. The 03/2003 special issue also featured two interviews with key figures from the community: James Hendler, at that time Computer Science Professor and Head of Semantic Web and Agents Research at the University of Maryland and Patrick Hayes, a Senior Research Scientist at IHMC in Pensacola, FL. I re-read the independently created interviews remembering asking them about the future of Semantic Web technologies. One of the questions was: ‘‘What can we expect in the next 2, 5, and 10 years and what are the steps to fulfill these goals?’’ Here is a rundown from what the two experts answered with regard to the expectations in 10 years: James Hendler: ‘‘In ten years we will see this (Semantic Web, editorial office) as a technology that is pervasive, it is just part of the Web.’’ Patrick Hayes answered this question more reluctantly, mentioning that ten years is a long way to think ahead. Nevertheless he said: ‘‘I think, the Semantic Web will be integrated into, a part of, the Web; most people wont see a difference. Looking back, people will wonder how anyone managed to live without intelligent software agents’’. It is up to you— the reader—to find out whether those predictions became reality. The Kunstliche Intelligenz delivers new material in form of this special issue. I think it is fair to say that our guest editors Profs Birte Glimm and Heiner Stuckenschmidt started to work in the areas of Semantic Web technologies around the time of the publication of the first Semantic Web special issue in our journal. Heiner Stuckenschmidt even contributed with an article. One could even argue that they built their career on Semantic Web technologies. We couldn’t think of better Guest-Editors for this special issue. And now it is time to wish you a pleasant reading with the new issue of Kunstliche Intelligenz—Semantic Web Reloaded!

Exploiting tourism destinations’ knowledge in an RDF-based P2P network

Проаналізовано проблему генерування ландшафтів за наявними методами для порівняння їх можливостей, виділено основні переваги і недоліки. Розглянуто програмні інструменти, які дають змогу генерувати ландшафти для різних поверхонь. Запропоновано власний метод на підставі поєднання методів, описаних у науковій літературі, який дає змогу гнучко керувати кількісними та якісними показниками моделювання ландшафтів для сферичних поверхонь завдяки введенню параметрів впливу. Зміст методу полягає у застосуванні програмних агентів для відповідного створення складових моделі, а саме – генерування планетоїда, клімату та моделі ландшафту загалом. Для попереднього оброблення моделі планетоїда здійснюють генерування опуклої оболонки та виконують вибір програмних агентів з алгоритмами для оброблення ландшафтів, а також створення бази даних для зберігання всіх результатів. Програмні агенти під час оброблення використовують маски, які потрібні для контролю впливу кожного програмного агента на модель ландшафту загалом. На відміну від відомих рішень, де шари є неподільні і їхня зміна щоразу вимагає повного перерахунку всього ландшафту, запропонований метод дає змогу вільно модифікувати вплив одних агентів на інші на підставі задавання різних масок, а також ділити створені шари на підрівні. Завдяки введенню програмних агентів і масок метод автоматизовано здійснює параметризацію процесу генерування ландшафтів деталізованих планетоїдів з подальшою їх серіалізацією та обробленням. Застосування програмних агентів дає змогу забезпечити гнучкість методу (урахування різних параметрів моделі планетоїда за різного порядку застосування програмних агентів), економічність виконання обчислень (для різної деталізації сегментів сферичної поверхні не потрібні обчислення з "нуля"). Перевагами запропонованого рішення є врахування різних деталей для забезпечення високої реалістичності результату та уникнення зайвих обчислень для різних рівнів зближення огляду поверхонь.

International competition and varying customer needs commonly cause small and medium furniture manufacturing enterprises to join dynamically- formed, ‘smart’ enterprise networks, established and operating using digital information technologies. In this paper, we propose a technological approach to support such enterprise networks which is primarily based on the use of software agents. First we outline the reasons motivating networking in furniture manufacturing enterprises and we briefly present core smart enterprise network concepts. Subsequently, we provide an overview of the main technologies currently used to support enterprise networks, and we make the case for utilising service-orientation and adaptive, (semi-) autonomous software components, such as software agents. Furthermore, we propose a four-tier software architectural framework based on software agents and web services, and we briefly describe the requirements, the architecture and main features of the e-Furn software system, which is based on that framework. Finally, we discuss the intelligent recommendation feature of e-Furn.

On the web, several key emerging technologies are shaping the landscape and creating for members of web-based communities a whole new experience. In particular the semantic web, web services, The Grid and related technologies are on their way to transform the way users interact on the web. As an illustration of this potential transformation, we propose in this article the application of the semantic web technology to a new breed of web-based community called weblogs. For convenience, parts of the content of blogs are described in the Rich Site Summary (RSS) format to be automatically read by an aggregator called a feed reader. However, the enormous number of blogs on the web makes it difficult for a single person to track down all documents of interest on a particular subject. To assist a blog user, we developed a search service based on the semantic web technology.

The web usage mining uses data mining techniques to discover interesting usage patterns from web data. Web personalization uses web usage mining techniques for the process of customization. Customization involves knowledge acquisition done by analysis of user's navigational behavior. A user when goes online would like to get the links which suits his requirements or usage in the website he visits. The next business requirement in the online industry will be personalizing/customizing the web page fulfilling for each individuals requirement. The personalization of the web page will involve clustering of different web pages having common usage pattern. As the size of the cluster goes on increasing due to increase in users or growth of interest of users it will become inevitable need to optimize the clusters. This paper proposes a cluster optimizing methodology based on ants nestmate recognition ability and is used for eliminating the data redundancies that may occur after the clustering done by the web usage mining methods. For clustering an ART1-neural network based approach is used. "AntNestmate approach for cluster optimization" is presented to personalize web page clusters of target users.

As a general science of the universe dealing with the most universal truths about all existence, an account of what there is in the world and the study of reality with its content, ontology has long had a critical import only for a small set of professionals. For the majority of researchers, not mentioning the non-committed people, it has been the realm of the occult, an esoteric domain of discourse, the region of most abstract reasoning, or the sphere of philosophical opinion. Today the field is rapidly increasing its audience and practical value. Maybe only a few people will call into question the importance of world models for such advanced knowledge domains as information sciences and computing technology. Increasingly, the universal science is identified with the life and soul of knowledge technologies and intelligent systems. The search for the world description standard as an exhaustive theoretical account and model of generic entities is becoming a research activity promising unprecedented advancements in the new cross area of science and technology. Particularly, this is important for creating knowledge systems of extraordinary performance, such as the emerging Semantic Web, implying the entire gamut of novel applications: knowledge management, intelligent databases, conceptual/semantic search and retrieval, software agents, speech and natural language understanding, e-commerce, and ubiquitous computing (Semantic Web Topic Hierarchy, 2007; Semantic Web Technology, 2007). Considering these design purposes, there are several technical requirements for building an ontology standard: expressivity, efficiency, scalability, compatibility, extensibility, and relative simplicity. But the most significant prerequisite appears to be its consistency with existent commonsense models of the world and scientific learning.

Search engines play important role in the success of the Web. Search engine helps the users to find the relevant information on the internet. Due to many problems in traditional search engines has led to the development of semantic web. Semantic web technologies are playing a crucial role in enhancing traditional search, as it work to create machines readable data and focus on metadata. However, it will not replace traditional search engines. In the environment of semantic web, search engine should be more useful and efficient for searching the relevant web information. It is a way to increase the accuracy of information retrieval system. This is possible because semantic web uses software agents; these agents collect the information, perform relevant transactions and interact with physical devices. This paper includes the survey on the prevalent Semantic Search Engines based on their advantages, working and disadvantages and presents a comparative study based on techniques, type of results, crawling, and indexing.