José Emilio Labra Gayo

Recommendation System based on user interaction data applied to intelligent electronic books

Nowadays, new technologies and the fast growth of the Internet have made access to information easier for all kind of people, raising new challenges to education when using Internet as a medium. One of the best examples is how to guide students in their learning processes. The need to look for guidance from their teachers or other companions that many Internet users experience when endeavoring to choose their readings, exercises o practices is a very common reality. In order to cater for this need many different information and recommendation strategies have been developed. Recommendation Systems is one of these. Recommendation Systems try to help the user, presenting him those objects he could be more interested in, based on his known preferences or on those of other users with similar characteristics. This document tries to present the current situation with regards to Recommendation Systems and their application on distance education over the Internet.

Shape expressions: an RDF validation and transformation language

RDF is a graph based data model which is widely used for semantic web and linked data applications. In this paper we describe a Shape Expression definition language which enables RDF validation through the declaration of constraints on the RDF model. Shape Expressions can be used to validate RDF data, communicate expected graph patterns for interfaces and generate user interface forms. In this paper we describe the syntax and the formal semantics of Shape Expressions using inference rules. Shape Expressions can be seen as domain specific language to define Shapes of RDF graphs based on regular expressions. Attached to Shape Expressions are semantic actions which provide an extension point for validation or for arbitrary code execution such as those in parser generators. Using semantic actions, it is possible to augment the validation expressiveness of Shape Expressions and to transform RDF graphs in a easy way. We have implemented several validation tools that check if an RDF graph matches against a Shape Expressions schema and infer the corresponding Shapes. We have also implemented two extensions, called GenX and GenJ that leverage the predictability of the graph traversal and create ordered, closed content, XML/Json documents, providing a simple, declarative mapping from RDF data to XML and Json documents.

WESONet: Applying semantic web technologies and collaborative tagging to multimedia web information systems

The publication of different media types, like images, audio and video in the World Wide Web is getting more importance each day. However, searching and locating content in multimedia sites is challenging. In this paper, we propose a platform for the development of multimedia web information systems. Our approach is based on the combination between semantic web technologies and collaborative tagging. Producers can add meta-data to multimedia content associating it with different domain-specific ontologies. At the same time, users can tag the content in a collaborative way. The proposed system uses a search engine that combines both kinds of meta-data to locate the desired content. It will also provide browsing capabilities through the ontology concepts and the developed tags.

SOAF: Semantic Indexing System Based on Collaborative Tagging

The creation of Learning Objects and learning assets for e-Learning, as well as the development of more and more extensive repositories, is actually a generalized practice in all educational organizations. However, automatic tools for searching and locating learning content in these repositories based on semantic tags are not yet effective. This article proposes a system architecture called SOAF for the semantic indexing of Learning Objects from a repository. It combines automatic techniques of information retrieval with collaborative tagging of documents made by users. In this way, the metadata of the Learning Objects provides real meaning derived from the learning practice in user communities able to share their experiences through specific annotation of the learning content, which will identify each Learning Object and will improve its reusability in new learning contexts.

Complexity and Expressiveness of ShEx for RDF

We study the expressiveness and complexity of Shape Expression Schema (ShEx), a novel schema formalism for RDF currently under development by W3C. ShEx assigns types to the nodes of an RDF graph and allows to constrain the admissible neighborhoods of nodes of a given type with regular bag expressions (RBEs). We formalize and investigate two alternative semantics, multi-and single-type, depending on whether or not a node may have more than one type. We study the expressive power of ShEx and study the complexity of the validation problem. We show that the single-type semantics is strictly more expressive than the multi-type semantics, single-type validation is generally intractable and multi-type validation is feasible for a small (yet practical) subclass of RBEs. To curb the high computational complexity of validation, we propose a natural notion of determinism and show that multi-type validation for the class of deterministic schemas using single-occurrence regular bag expressions (SORBEs) is tractable.

A Semantic Based Collaborative System for the Interoperability of XBRL Accounting Information

The annual accounts and other financial information of big companies is being worldwide standardized. The open standard that allows this standardization is XBRL, an XML vocabulary for exchanging financial information. In return for this initiative, the existence of different accounting standards in each country makes necessary to define specific XBRL taxonomies for each kind of accounting report, making the extraction of homogeneous information from different taxonomies difficult. This project seeks to incorporate a new level of abstraction through OWL ontologies, allowing the users of accounting reports to compare and exchange financial reports drawn up according to different standards. In addition, we propose a collaborative web environment through which experts in the Accounting domain will update the knowledge base of the system.

Interactive web environment for collaborative and extensible diagram based learning

Nowadays there is a growing need of ubiquity for learning, research and development tools, due to the portability and availability problems concerning traditional desktop applications. In this paper, we suggest an approach to avoid any further download or installation. The main goal is to offer a collaborative and extensible web environment which will cover a series of domains highly demanded by different kinds of working groups, in which it is crucial to have tools which facilitate the exchange of information and the collaboration among their members. The result of those interactions would be the development of one or several diagrams accessible from any geographical location, independently of the device employed. The environment can be adapted through personalized components, depending on the type of diagram that the user wants to interact with and the users can also create new elements or search and share components with other users of the community. By means of this environment, it will be possible to do research on the usability of collaborative tools for design diagrams, as well as research on the psychology of group interactions, assessing the results coming from the employment of known methodologies, techniques, paradigms or patterns, both at an individual and at a collaborative group level.

LPS: A Language Prototyping System Using Modular Monadic Semantics

Abstract This paper describes LPS, a Language Prototyping System that facilitates the modular development of interpreters from semantic building blocks. The system is based on the integration of ideas from Modular Monadic Semantics and Generic Programming. To define a new programming language, the abstract syntax is described as the fixpoint of non-recursive pattern functors. For each functor an algebra is defined whose carrier is the computational monad obtained from the application of several monad transformers to a base monad. The interpreter is automatically generated by a catamorphism or, in some special cases, a monadic catamorphism. The system has been implemented as a domain-specific language embedded in Haskell and we have also implemented an interactive framework for language testing.

Web Navigability Testing with Remote Agents

Usability testing is normally used to determine the navigation map that better adapts to the average-user mental navigation model. However, usability testing is an expensive process, misses the influence that the computer environment has on navigation, and it is not able to record spontaneous user behaviour. The remote testing technique is an interesting and cheaper alternative that avoids the problems commented. We have developed our own set of tools based on data gathering agents for supporting remote testing. In this paper, we comment our experiences designing and developing such kind of systems and the results obtained when conducting human-computer interaction experiments based on access to web sites.

Automated Diagnosis Through Ontologies and Logical Descriptions: The ADONIS Approach

The combination of the burgeoning interest in efficient and reliable Health Systems and the advent of the Information Age represent both a challenge and an opportunity for new paradigms and cutting-edge technologies reaching a certain degree of maturity. Hence, the use of Semantic Technologies for Automated Diagnosis could leverage the potential of current solutions by providing inference-based knowledge and support on decision-making. This paper presents the ADONIS approach, which harnesses the use of ontologies and the underlying logical mechanisms to automate diagnosis and provide significant quality results in its evaluation on real-world data scenarios.