Introducing the Confederation Web

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Active Computing

Introducing the Confederation Web

Briefing on behalf of Dr John Allen,Douglas E. Dyer, PhD

[email protected]://www.activecomputing.org

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.activecomputing.org/


Why a Confederation Web?

Integration barriers: (From the DOD Net-Centric Data Strategy)1) Users may be unaware that data exists2) Users may believe data exists but they don’t know

where it is or how to access it3) Users may be able to access data but they can’t

understand or interpret it

Strategy: Overcome barriers with a “Web for variables”:1) Make publishing simple so that everyone publishes2) Use a pre-defined service and uniform index method3) Create search technology that exploits structure4) Allow everyone to find information they need 5) Facilitate understanding with metadata and examples


Confederation WebEnables sharing, discovery, and rapid integration

Collaboration

ConfederationWeb

Temporal PlansAnd Situations

Cause/Effect

Spatial PlansAnd Situations

Situation Monitors

Assessment

COA Selection

MetaDevelopment

ProcessManagement

Relational DB

Interfaces to External Databases

And Information Sources

Template-basedPlans And Situations The DISUM template is

used for intelligence updates

The Confederation Web is a set of databases which hold variable values for:

different applications their users and the problems the

users are working on


Example: application = Travel user = [email protected] problem = 1 (Nov trip to JFCOM)

User idey: [email protected]


Confederation WebPre-defined schema makes publishing simple

ConfederationWeb

Relational DB

+-------------+---------+| Field | Type |+-------------+---------+| application | text || user | text || instance | text || variable | text || value | text || source | text || more | text || time | int(11) |+-------------+---------+

The Confederation Web has a pre-defined schema with only a few tables for storing:

Current values History of all values over time Descriptive metadata for

variables and applications

Since the schema is pre-defined, developers can immediately publish without negotiation, and content is built up rapidly

Publishers may select the set of variables they provide

Publishers choose the specific text format of values


Confederation WebVisibility & access from anywhere on the net

Collaboration

ConfederationWeb

Temporal PlansAnd Situations

Cause/Effect

Spatial PlansAnd Situations

Situation Monitors

Assessment

COA Selection

ProcessManagement

Relational DB

Template-basedPlans And Situations The DISUM template is

used for intelligence updates

Relational databases are mature technology with excellent commercial and freeware versions. Features:

Language-independent interface via ODBC, SQL

Security & access control Consistency


Simple, pre-defined schema enables standard queries


Confederation Web“URL for variable values”


The context for a variable value is:

the applicationthe user

the user’s problemthe name of the variable

Those four attributes define a “URL for a variable value.” This constitutes a uniform index method.Extending from a single server to multiple servers adds an additional attribute (the server), just like web URLs


Confederation WebKey Metadata


source is used to differentiate between a human user setting a value and an agent or AI algorithm setting it on the user’s behalfmore is used for additional information, typically natural languagetime is a timestamp for when the value was set (seconds since 1970)

Metadata attributes


Confederation WebExample queries

SELECT instance FROM coweb WHERE application = ‘Travel’ AND user = ‘[email protected]’ AND variable = ‘Purpose’ AND value = ‘Experiment B’;

SELECT value FROM coweb WHERE application = ‘Travel’ AND user = ‘[email protected]’ AND instance = ‘1’ AND variable = ‘PointOfContact’;

Typical pattern: (1) Find the problem based on variable values:

(2) Find the value of another variable

These details are normally hidden from the user by the application


Confederation WebSearchEngine: Support for discovery

SearchEngine lets users browse the Confederation Web, exploiting its structure to show all the applicationsall the variables for each applicationall the variable valuesall the users of each application andall the problems of each user

With SearchEngine, you can discover new applications and new variables

With Search Engine, you can also see example values for each variable, often giving semantic hints


Confederation WebExamples: Support for understanding

The Travel application has several variables whose definitions are not necessarily clear, e.g., “Visiting”

Suppose you see the following example values for Visiting:JFCOMDARPAUniversity of Southern CaliforniaIBM Almaden Research Center

From these examples, you might correctly conclude that Visiting describes an organization, not a person or a location which are reasonable alternative assumptions.

People often learn by analogy. Examples are a powerful tool for understanding and correctly interpreting the meaning of variables

We call this method, “Semanatics by Example” and it is supported by the Confederation Web and SearchEngine

These examples arise from use not developer effort…


Confederation WebDescriptions: Support for understanding

The Travel application has several variables whose definitions are not necessarily clear, e.g., “Visiting”

The traditional method of understanding the meaning of variables is by reading documentation and descriptive metadata provided by the developer. We call this method, “Semanatics by Declaration” because it depends on declared definitions---the developer provides comments in source code, a users manual, system documents, a data dictionary, or an ontology, for example. This is a good method, but it requires extra effort on the part of the developer, in contrast to “Semantics by Example.”

The Confederation Web includes a table, elementDescription, for storing declared information for applications and variables.


Confederation WebDescriptions: Support for understanding

Support for “Semanatics by Declaration” is provided by the Confederation Web”s elementDescription table:

+-------------+------+| Field | Type |+-------------+------+| user | text || application | text || variable | text || description | text || keywords | text || XML | text || rules | text |+-------------+------+

Users may have tailored versions of applicationsBoth applications and variables may be describedKeywords support searchXML is used for DTDs or OWL ontologiesApplicable rules may also be included


Confederation WebTranslate and Integrate

Once developers have visibility, access, and understanding about external variables, they can integrate them into applications, improving situation awareness, coordination, and decision-making

Typically, minor translations may be required toParseChange unitsMap values into well-defined groups

Example: a variable Temperature with value: 89 (degrees Fahrenheit)If you need degrees Celsius, a minor translation is needed

At least initially, translation is generally faster than achieving consensus and standardizing data elements, but the two approaches are complementary

Market forces are the best way of improving and standardizing data


Confederation WebSummary

The Confederation Web is a set of databases that store and serve variable values in the context of An application A user A problem the user is addressing

A simple pre-defined schema facilitates publication and access A “URL for variable values” provides uniform indexing SearchEngine and “Semantics by Example” facilitate discovery Traditional “Semantics by Declaration” metadata is also supported Minor translation is the price of “de-regulated publication”

The benefit: faster build-up of data

In a nutshell: The Confederation Web is a simple design, motivated by the World-Wide Web, for achieving visible, accessible, and available variable values in context.


Backups


Reflex PMESII ModelText-based plans and tailor-able scoring yields predictive

assessment

To begin, type or cut-and-paste a text description of your plan into Reflex

The PlanSet tab allows you to specify a set of plans to consider simultaneously

Reflex automatically matches questions (data items) in its model with your plan using keywords in context (KWIC) and default scores are assigned based on an assumption that the plan will succeed. If you think the plan will fail, you can adjust the scores downward based on your assessment of key vulnerabilities in the plan. You can also add and score new data items and delete ones you think are not relevant. Reflex is defined by a few hundred questions in PMESII categories and sub-categories. All Reflex model parameters are extendible and tailor-able by end-users in Microsoft Excel.

If you are analyzing many plans at once, you can use drill-down to figure out which ones are affecting the PMESII factors the most

To run the Reflex model, specify the plan or plans to consider and press RunReflex. Optionally, you may include the effect of factor interaction (reflection). Example of a reflection: Military success strengthens political power. You may set the model to return either the influence of the planned actions on the current PMESII state or a prediction of a new PMESII state which might result from planned actions.

If you want a new PMESII prediction, Reflex asks you to specify the Confederation Web index that has the current PMESII state, and PGT provides this. You should also set the weight (magnitude of impact) anticipated for your planned actions. Examples: A small demonstration has little political impact, but loss of an election has a major impact.

Once analysis is complete, you can write results to the Confederation Web---with this tool, nothing is written until you explicitly publish.

New QuestionsPick a data item to scorePick a score

Keywords are highlighted

Influence scores range from 0-10, with 0 being worst and 10 being best.

Point of view: Blue side, area of operations

Documents

Introducing the Confederation Web