Geodise and myGrid plan to exploit knowledge and knowledge technologies to assist in design optimisation and in-silico experimentation respectively. Both projects plan to make use of formal DAML+OIL ontologies. Knowledge acquisition in Geodise is centered around the use of CommonKADS by Southampton University and Epistemics Ltd., with a requirement for formal DAML+OIL domain and service ontologies. myGrid, led by Manchester University, concentrates on the use of DAML+OIL for metadata, but also requires other knowledge acquisition with the involvement of Epistemics.
CommonKADS knowledge acquisition is traditionally carried out by Knowledge Engineers who are not themselves domain experts. The large formal ontologies built at Manchester have been created by domain experts who are also trained in the specific knowledge technologies used.
The workshop aims to teach:
The workshop aims to explore:
The workshop has been organised as part of the Geodise and myGrid projects. It is aimed at those involved in knowledge technologies, knowledge acquistion and ontology building.
Please let Angus Roberts (angus@cs.man.ac.uk) know if you want to attend this workshop, and have not done so already. Places are limited, and will be allocated according to project needs.
See Directions for maps and instructions on how to find us, and Hotels if you need accomodation.
Arrive at 09:00 on the first day, to start at 9:30
The workshops will be held in a training lab equipped with PCs. Alternatively, bring your laptop - we have a wireless lan and a small number of wireless lan cards - you might need to install drivers and client software, so bring a CD drive.
The workshop will be based around an exercise in building a DAML+OIL ontology. It will be hands-on and flexible, responding to points and issues as they arise. It will finish with a group discussion of DAML+OIL with respect to CommonKADS. Below is a provisional timetable:
Day 1 |
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| 09:00 | Atlas 1 | Arrive | ||
| 09:30 | Atlas 1 | Scene setting | Jeremy Rogers | Orientation; what we mean by ontologies and building ontologies; what to expect from the workshop |
| 09:45 | Atlas 1 | DAML + OIL and Description Logic reasoning | Ian Horrocks | The Semantic Web and DAML+ OIL; Description Logics and Reasoning; Reasoning techniques; Implementing DL systems; Research Challenges |
| 11:00 | Atlas 1 | Designing and building description logic ontologies | Chris Wroe | High level look at the process and methodology used for building description logic ontologies in Manchester |
| 11:30 | PEVE lab | Using OilEd | lead by Chris Wroe and Sean Bechhofer | An introduction to the main DAML+OIL tool, with a hands-on toy exercise |
| 13:30 | Atlas 1 | Ontologies - technical issues and solutions | Jeremy Rogers | Practical issues encountered when building ontologies. Leading in to the practical exercise below |
| 14:30 | PEVE lab | Building a DAML+OIL ontology | We plan to base the bulk of the workshop around participants designing and building their own version of a small subject-neutral ontology, chosen to highlight specific issues. It is hoped that it will generate interesting points, and the group may come together at various times as discussion develops. | |
Day 2 |
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| 09:00 | Atlas 1 | Ontologies - technical issues and solutions | Jeremy Rogers | Round up of issues from the previous day's exercise |
| 10:00 | PEVE lab | Building an ontology (continued) | Continuing yesterday's exercise, as the participants see fit | |
| pm | Atlas 1 | Experiences of using DAML+OIL | facilitated by Robert Stevens | Discussion - based on the experience of the workshop, but geared to discussing how building DAML+OIL ontologies sit with traditional knowledge acquisition techniques, such as CommonKADS - with a view to building something larger for Geodise. |
Epistemics plan to hold a follow up workshop on CommonKADS. Details will be available in the near future.
Here are a few useful links. You might like to explore the Building Ontologies links before the workshop, and look at the CommonKADS tutorial if you are not familiar with it. The DAML+OIL links are really for reference only.
Worth checking these out before the workshop.
Take a look at these if you are not familiar with CommonKADS
Most of this is for reference and other links only.
A brief introduction to the semantic web and Oil, with some useful links as jump off points
You can also download OilEd together with a brief manual and some examples from here
If you are interested in the formal languages and their definitions, you can get full details of the DAML+Oil and Oil from:
Here are some useful direction and travel links:
Here are a few of the near by standard conference and chain hotels close to the City Centre and University, all basic en-suite, roughly £50 per night.
Try the AA hotel finder for others.
Hotel |
Phone |
Notes |
| Manchester Business School Conference Centre | 0161 275 6303 (NOT the number on the web page) | Opposite the workshop, but limited availability that night. Run by the University. |
| UMIST Conference Centre | 0161 955 8062 | 5 - 10 minutes round the corner, close to City Centre. You can get a room at a special academic rate if you ask us to confirm your booking for you. Mail Karon Mee (kmee@cs.man.ac.uk) if you want to do this |
| IBIS Manchester | 0161 272 5000 | 5 - 10 minutes walk from the workshop, close to City Centre. |
| Willow Bank Hotel | 0161 224 0461 | Couple of miles away, bus ride or car journey. Used a lot by Univeristy, quote UNIMAN when making a booking. |
Provisional attendance for the workshop is:
| Clive Emberey | Epistemics |
| Paul Smart | Epistemics |
| Tim Clarke | Epistemics |
| Dean Hennessey | Epistemics |
| Matthew Murray | Epistemics |
| Liming Chen | Southampton University |
| Barry Tao | Southampton University |
| Angus Roberts | Manchester University |
| Phil Lord | Manchester University |
| Mark Greenwood | Manchester University |
| Nick Sharman | Manchester University |
| Alan Rector | Manchester University |
| Carole Goble | Manchester University |
| Chris Wroe | Manchester University |
| Jeremy Rogers | Manchester University |
| Sean Bechhofer | Manchester University |
| Robert Stevens | Manchester University |
| Ian Horrocks | Manchester University |