ApplicationsApplications Mills Davis Ana Cristina Garcia Peter Mika Gerti Orthofer Giovanni Sacco Maria A. Wimmer (Moderator)

ApplicationsApplicationsApplicationsApplicationsMills DavisMills Davis

Ana Cristina GarciaAna Cristina GarciaPeter MikaPeter Mika

Gerti OrthoferGerti OrthoferGiovanni SaccoGiovanni Sacco

Maria A. Wimmer (Moderator)Maria A. Wimmer (Moderator)

Semantic Web meets eGovernment - AAAI Spring Symposium 06: Break-out session on Applications

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Vision of semantic web applications in eGov

• Finding the information and services one is searching for more easily than with information structured in traditional way

• Using advanced technology – To automatically link up distributed services and

information

– For automatic processing of services and information

• Problems: integrating semantic concepts and technologies in current solutions


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Needs for semantically enriched applications

• Exploratory search mechanisms • Information in structured way

– Using ontologies, taxonomies, annotations, …• Linking terms and knowledge objects from different

domains– Mapping of terms from different contexts / environments

• Classification of knowledge objects in reusable concepts• Annotating services in order to facilitate the search• Simplifying the integration of knowledge objects• Need for service integrators or service connectors• Intelligent agents / proxies to provide advanced services

– Exploring structured info with advanced annotations


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Benefits of semantically enriched

web applications• Citizens and other public administration stakeholders / customers

– Will find the info and services easier and faster– Flexibility of information search and service execution– Possibility to use computer agents to do the job– Push technologies like RSS (really simple syndication) so the user does not need

to search extensively and is being kept up to date automatically

• Public administrations themselves– Beforehand, the information needs to be structured, so more burden may have to

be faced. But in the long run info can be found easier, maintenance is easier, …– Semantic web applications change economics of information

• New services can be offered• Advanced processing of information• Investigative problems are facilitated through bringing together info on different layers

– for reasons of economics, ease of use, automatic combination of knowledge, KDD and knowledge extraction …

– New opportunities emerge to link up information -> ad hoc information integration


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How can the benefits of semantic technologies in

applications be evaluated and communicated?

• Time benefits to be demonstrated• Semantic technologies and semantic web to be demonstrated in a competitive

and comparable context• Political process of understanding what is needed• Underlying notion of a business case

– Lifecycle of a product: • Prerequisites of developments: competencies• Runtime: benefits of economics, effectiveness, efficiency, ROI, ease of use, simplification, new

services …• Maintenance issues …

– Impact of the semantic web used (where shall semantic concepts and technologies in eGov applications impact on the activity (Lifecycle: capabilities …))

– Understand what the procurement cycles are for semantic web applications

• Lessons about why a program / project of semantic web is successful – -> feeding into a business case

• Lessons on how to address the business cycle


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How to convince Public Administrations to use semantic web technologies in eGov applications?

• Return on investment (ROI) to be demonstrated– Example in an emergency case: results are found and problems

are solved faster, easier, with less resources; – Consequently more efficiently and more effectively

• … multiplier of content, change of process leading to more efficiency, quality improvement … mission level (changing edge)

• Capability issue as an argument– before, authorities were not able to combine information so easily – now they can identify easily and quickly the relevant information

for a decision • e.g. have the documents available that are relevant and have them

ready and linked up• Interrelation of information in different contexts, ability to

analyze these information in this tied up information nets• Decrease the time to decision


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Some differences between US and Europe

…• US: seems to have several examples of real usage

of semantic applications in the public sector

• Europe: seems not yet to have too many good real case examples

• Problem of Europe: – data protection laws– privacy is a big issue – … US seems to be much more open to the exchange and

combination of information


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What we need to discuss in version 2 …

• Scalability Issues? Communication issues?

Migration issues ?– From current solutions to semantic portals and from

existing KM efforts to the use of semantics

• New emerging approaches? – Mobile eGov? Grid-based approaches? Pervasive

computing?

• What are the most relevant standardization issues?


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Wrap-up• Did we find value added of semantic: yes• Special requirements for eGovernment: data protection laws, privacy

issues to face, …• The most convincing application: ??? not yet found• Most research topic: as we have discussed before• Do we see community synergies: yes• Are there any differences between US and Europe: see before• How mature is eGovernment market: needs to be seeded with

convincing arguments to use semantic web concepts and technologies• What can we do to get visibility and to achieve agreement with

eGovernment decision makers: strong and convincing dialogue• What are the most relevant standardization issues: not yet discussed …

Thank you to the Thank you to the members of our group members of our group

for your for your contributions !!!contributions !!!

Thank you to the Thank you to the members of our group members of our group

for your for your contributions !!!contributions !!!

Documents

ApplicationsApplications Mills Davis Ana Cristina Garcia Peter Mika Gerti Orthofer Giovanni Sacco Maria A. Wimmer (Moderator)