The dream of a global knowledge network—A new approach

  • Authors:
  • Martin Doerr;Dolores Iorizzo

  • Affiliations:
  • Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (ICS Forth);Imperial College, London

  • Venue:
  • Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH)
  • Year:
  • 2008

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Decades of research have been devoted to the goal of creating systems which integrate information into a global knowledge network, yet we still face problems of cross-repository interoperability, lack of public infrastructure, and a coherent research agenda—both theoretical and practical—to face these challenges. Interest in the semantic Web has revived the dream, but many are sceptical. This article offers a breakthrough to problems of semantic interoperability and defends the feasibility of a global knowledge network against traditional counterarguments. It offers a new approach based on (i) interdisciplinary research of scholarly and scientific discourse, (ii) a generic global ontological model based on relations and co-reference rather than objects, (iii) semi-automatic maintenance of co-reference links, and (iv) public engagement in the creation and development of the network.