Part 2 of 2: What is an ontology? - A Briefing on the Range of Semantic Models invited talk by Dr. Leo Obrst (MITRE) on 01/19/2006

* Invited Speaker Dr. Leo Obrst of MITRE, and a co-convener of the Ontolog Forum, will be presenting to the community. His talk is entitled: andquot;What is an ontology? - A Briefing on the Range of Semantic Modelsandquot; * Date Thursday, January 12, 2006 * Details on ONTOLOG Wiki page http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2006_01_12 * Abstract By Dr. Leo Obrst The Ontology Spectrum describes a range of semantic models of increasing expressiveness and complexity: taxonomy, thesaurus, conceptual model, and logical theory. This presentation initially describes the Ontology Spectrum and important distinctions related to semantic models, e.g., the distinction among term, concept, and real world referent; the distinction among syntax, semantics, and pragmatics; the distinction between intension and extension; and de facto distinctions that the ISO 11179 standard makes (as do many others): data objects, classification objects, terminology objects, meaning objects, and the relationships among these. The individual semantic model types are then discussed: weak and strong taxonomies, thesauri, and weak and strong ontologies (conceptual model and logical theory, respectively). Each of these are defined, exemplified, and discussed with respect to when a more expressive model is needed. If time permits, semantic integration and interoperability are discussed with respect to the models. Finally, a pointer to an expansion of the logical theory portion of the Ontology Spectrum is given: the Logic Spectrum, which describes the range of less to more expressive logics used for ontology and knowledge representation.