text:
Table of contents
- Story
- Slides
- The Ontology Summit Operation in Perspective
- Overview of Semantic Technologies and Ontologies
- Slide 1 The 6 W's of Semantic Technologies and Ontologies
- Slide 2 Topics for Discussion
- Slide 3 Background, Concepts and Standards
- Slide 4 Terms - Semantic Web
- Slide 5 Terms - Ontology
- Slide 6 Basic Concepts
- Slide 7 Semantic Web Standards "Layer Cake"
- Slide 8 Web Ontology Language (OWL)
- Slide 9 Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL)
- Slide 10 SWRL (continued)
- Slide 11 SPARQL Query Language
- Slide 12 How/Why Are Ontologies Used?
- Slide 13 Semantic Search
- Slide 14 Mapping and Merging
- Slide 15 Knowledge Management
- Slide 16 Current Work and Future Directions
- Slide 17 BioPortal BioOntologies
- Slide 18 IBM Watson I
- Slide 19 IBM Watson II
- Slide 20 BBC, July 2010 Blog
- Slide 21 Google, March 2009 Blog
- Slide 22 Reuters
- Slide 23 Bechtel - iRing Mapping and Merging
- Slide 24 Wells Fargo and FBO
- Spotfire Dashboard
- Research Notes
- Intelligent Information Management Tools in a Service-Oriented Software Environment
- Papers About Ontology
- The Value of Ontology-Based, Service-Oriented, Distributed Systems in a High Bandwidth Environment (with Steven J. Gollery), Collaborative Agent Design Research Center White Paper - GOLL-HBW (2002)
- Conveyance Estimator Ontology: Conceptual Models and Object Models (with Xiaoshan Pan), Proceedings of InterSymp-2009: Baden-Baden, Germany (2009)
- The Value of Ontology-Based, Service-Oriented, Distributed Systems in a High Bandwidth Environment (with Steven J. Gollery), Collaborative Agent Design Research Center White Paper - GOLL-HBW (2002)
- Increasing the Expressiveness of OWL Through Procedural Attachments (with Dennis Taylor), Proceedings of InterSymp-2009: Baden-Baden, Germany (2009)
- Demonstration of a Typical Ontology-Based Collaborative Agents System: SEAWAY (with Anthony Wood), Proceedings of the 2003 ONR Decision-Support Workshop Series: Developing the New Infostructure (2003)
- Ontological Approaches for Semantic Interoperability (with Michael A. Zang), Proceedings of the 5th Annual ONR Workshop on Collaborative Decision-Support Systems (2003)
- The Knowledge Level Approach To Intelligent Information System Design (with Michael A. Zang), Proceedings of InterSymp-2003: The 15th International Conference on Systems Research, Informatics and Cybernetics: Baden-Baden, Germany (2003)
- A Translation Engine in Support of Context-Level Interoperability (with Kym J. Pohl),Intelligent Decision Technologies. Special Issue: Ontology Driven Interoperability for Agile Applications using Information Systems: Requirements and Applications for Agent Mediated Decision Support (2008)
- Abstract
- Need for Adaptive Planning Tools
- Information-Centric vs. Data-Centric
- Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
- Typical Service Requester and Service Provider Scenario
- Business Process Management (BPM)
- In Conclusion: Cloud Computing
- Footnotes
- Reference
- Papers About Ontology
- E-MAPS on Ontology and Big Data
- Ontology
- Basic Value of Ontology
- Warfighters, Ontology, and Stovepiped Data
- The Operational Problem
- This Document's Contribution
- Reality is not Segmented
- Three Orders of Reality
- Role of Words and Other Symbols
- Creation and Use of Words and other Symbols
- Avoid Conflation
- Base Definition on Essential Properties
- Non-Essential or Accidental Properties
- Form Definitions Properly
- Reality versus Convention
- Relationships
- Invest in Ontological Foundation
- Purpose and Scope of Document Review
- Conclusion
- For further information
- Big Data
- Story
- Slides
- The Ontology Summit Operation in Perspective
- Overview of Semantic Technologies and Ontologies
- Slide 1 The 6 W's of Semantic Technologies and Ontologies
- Slide 2 Topics for Discussion
- Slide 3 Background, Concepts and Standards
- Slide 4 Terms - Semantic Web
- Slide 5 Terms - Ontology
- Slide 6 Basic Concepts
- Slide 7 Semantic Web Standards "Layer Cake"
- Slide 8 Web Ontology Language (OWL)
- Slide 9 Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL)
- Slide 10 SWRL (continued)
- Slide 11 SPARQL Query Language
- Slide 12 How/Why Are Ontologies Used?
- Slide 13 Semantic Search
- Slide 14 Mapping and Merging
- Slide 15 Knowledge Management
- Slide 16 Current Work and Future Directions
- Slide 17 BioPortal BioOntologies
- Slide 18 IBM Watson I
- Slide 19 IBM Watson II
- Slide 20 BBC, July 2010 Blog
- Slide 21 Google, March 2009 Blog
- Slide 22 Reuters
- Slide 23 Bechtel - iRing Mapping and Merging
- Slide 24 Wells Fargo and FBO
- Spotfire Dashboard
- Research Notes
- Intelligent Information Management Tools in a Service-Oriented Software Environment
- Papers About Ontology
- The Value of Ontology-Based, Service-Oriented, Distributed Systems in a High Bandwidth Environment (with Steven J. Gollery), Collaborative Agent Design Research Center White Paper - GOLL-HBW (2002)
- Conveyance Estimator Ontology: Conceptual Models and Object Models (with Xiaoshan Pan), Proceedings of InterSymp-2009: Baden-Baden, Germany (2009)
- The Value of Ontology-Based, Service-Oriented, Distributed Systems in a High Bandwidth Environment (with Steven J. Gollery), Collaborative Agent Design Research Center White Paper - GOLL-HBW (2002)
- Increasing the Expressiveness of OWL Through Procedural Attachments (with Dennis Taylor), Proceedings of InterSymp-2009: Baden-Baden, Germany (2009)
- Demonstration of a Typical Ontology-Based Collaborative Agents System: SEAWAY (with Anthony Wood), Proceedings of the 2003 ONR Decision-Support Workshop Series: Developing the New Infostructure (2003)
- Ontological Approaches for Semantic Interoperability (with Michael A. Zang), Proceedings of the 5th Annual ONR Workshop on Collaborative Decision-Support Systems (2003)
- The Knowledge Level Approach To Intelligent Information System Design (with Michael A. Zang), Proceedings of InterSymp-2003: The 15th International Conference on Systems Research, Informatics and Cybernetics: Baden-Baden, Germany (2003)
- A Translation Engine in Support of Context-Level Interoperability (with Kym J. Pohl),Intelligent Decision Technologies. Special Issue: Ontology Driven Interoperability for Agile Applications using Information Systems: Requirements and Applications for Agent Mediated Decision Support (2008)
- Abstract
- Need for Adaptive Planning Tools
- Information-Centric vs. Data-Centric
- Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
- Typical Service Requester and Service Provider Scenario
- Business Process Management (BPM)
- In Conclusion: Cloud Computing
- Footnotes
- Reference
- Papers About Ontology
- E-MAPS on Ontology and Big Data
- Ontology
- Basic Value of Ontology
- Warfighters, Ontology, and Stovepiped Data
- The Operational Problem
- This Document's Contribution
- Reality is not Segmented
- Three Orders of Reality
- Role of Words and Other Symbols
- Creation and Use of Words and other Symbols
- Avoid Conflation
- Base Definition on Essential Properties
- Non-Essential or Accidental Properties
- Form Definitions Properly
- Reality versus Convention
- Relationships
- Invest in Ontological Foundation
- Purpose and Scope of Document Review
- Conclusion
- For further information
- Big Data
Ontology for Big Data
The theme of this year's Ontology Summit was Big Data and Semantic Web Meet Applied Ontology and the highlights for me were:
- Peter Yim announced his retirement and the significant accomplishments which I asked him to elaborate on - see Research Notes below
- The only keynote presentrr who has done ontology work is Dr. Phil Bourne who I have done a story on recently entitled Data Culture at NIH
I asked Andrea Westerinen and Gary-Berg Cross, active members of the Ontolog Forum, to present at our Federal Big Data Working Group Meetup as follows:
- Andrea Westerinen, Nine Points Solutions, Overview of Semantic Technologies and Ontologies: The 6 W's of Semantic Technologies and Ontologies Also see SlideShare
- INTEROP--Spatial Ontology Community of Practice: an Interdisciplinary Network to Support Geospatial Data Sharing, Integration, and Interoperability
Ontology development for Big Data needs automation with knowledge modeling tools like:
- Be Informed - See our Healthcare.gov example
- Two SIRA-based products; Research Assistant™ and Research Librarian™, Chuck Rehberg, Semantic Insights (limited beta test in process)
- Something Very Big Is Coming: Our Most Important Technology Project Yet—Stephen Wolfram Blog
Ontology development for Big Data needs work with actual big data as suggested by:
- Barry Smith - See our State Health Databases
- Eric Little - See our Modus Operandi
- Olivier Bodenreider and Tom Rindflesch - See our Semantic Medline and January Kickoff Meetup
So I need to find some more ontology and/or knowledge modeling.work that uses big data from Peter Yim's responses and do some data science on both the ontology and the big data. A recent quote that I used in my story NSF Big Data Publications was: "With enough data you don't need semantic search. You can just use statistics." so let's see if that is true for some specific examples.
On a personal note, three thoughts come to mind:
- Of the three people who I worked with on Doug Engelbart's type of collaboration (Peter Yim, Susan Turnbull, and myself), I am now "the last leaf on the tree" so to speak;
- In answer to Peter Yim's question: What can I say, when I'm old enough to retire?, I said to myself: "I cannot do that because I have discovered a whole new exciting career as a data scientist/data journalist that builds on semantic technologies and ontologies, and am having too much fun at it to stop now."
- I forgot the third thought (maybe my age is showing), but I will think of it eventually:)
So Peter, I wish you well in retirement, but I cannot say "Thank you and goodbye" yet.
However, I do have to say "Thank you and goodbye" to my good friend and esteemed colleague, George Thomas, who I gave an award for excellence to from the Federal CIO Council years ago, and hope that his many friends and admirers will do the same by signing George's Guest Book and viewing a video from April 13, 2012: "U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, David Forrest, Lead Project Manager, and George Thomas, the Chief Architect, discuss the future of Healthdata.gov."
The Ontology Summit Operation in Perspective
Slide 3 The beginning ...
Slide 4 Continuing to innovate ...
Slide 6 References ...
Overview of Semantic Technologies and Ontologies
Slide 13 Semantic Search
Slide 14 Mapping and Merging
Slide 23 Bechtel - iRing Mapping and Merging
Spotfire Dashboard
Research Notes
Peter, Again congratulations on your Ontology Summit 2014 and Ontolog Forum contributions.
In preparation for our June Federal Big Data Working Group Meetups, for which I have invited several members of Ontolog to provide tutorials on Semantic Technologies and Ontology Development, I would like to invite you to present (or at least elaborate) on the list of accomplishments that were in your slides.
What I have in mind is a link to a presentation for each, the role of ontology in each, and the role of the Ontolog Form in the development of that ontology.
I also have been asked to cover the following questions:
What will happen with all the wiki content (you mentioned meeting with the people you provide services to to discuss that)?
Will the Forum continue its work in some other organization (I heard mention of the Applied Ontolgy…. that Leo is involved in so maybe I should ask him)?
What are you plans for retirement?
Is there anything else you would like to present that addresses the role of ontology in semantic web technologies and especially big data?
Thank you in advance for your response and your cooperation in providing content of interest to our Meetup Members.
Best regards, Brand
Brand, Thank you for this kind message, and for joining us at the Summit Symposium (sorry, we didn't have a chance to even say "hello!")
> [BN] I would like to invite you to present ...
[ppy] since I am going into my retirement, I am now more focused in pulling myself out, rather than developing new speaking gigs.
Therefore, I am not an appropriate candidate speaker for you. LeoObrst co-convened Ontolog, OntologySummit, OOR, etc. with me, and has been a key driver of the content (I was only providing support on the side.) he was one of the General Co-chairs of this OntologySummit on "Big Data and Semantic Web Meet Applied Ontology;" so, maybe he should be your target speaker.
> [BN] (... at least elaborate) on the list of accomplishments that were in your slides.
[ppy] I assume you mean the bullet on slide#5 of my Symposium Remarks ( http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OntologySummit2014_Symposium#nid4CUG
) ...
* Note these significant accomplishments:
W3C-RDF, ISO-CommonLogic, BioPortal, Apple-Siri, IBM-Watson,
GoodRelations Ontology, Google Knowledge Graph, schema.org, ...
First of all, in the context of the presentation, the bullet should read "Note these significant accomplishments by the Ontology community, collectively, towards "advancing the field of ontology, ontological engineering and semantic technology, and advocating their adoption into mainstream applications and international standards." [ ref. http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WikiHomePage#nid6 ]
More details ref. significant involvement by various individuals (from our community) and references from the Ontolog archives, include:
** significant contribution from BobSchloss, R_V_Guha, PatHayes, et al. on RDF (1.0)
*** ref. http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-rdf-syntax-971002/
** significant contribution from PatHayes and Peter Patel-Schneider, et al. on RDF 1.1 Semantics
*** ref. http://www.w3.org/TR/2014/REC-rdf11-mt-20140225/
** significant contribution from R_V_Guha, DanBrickley, et al. on RDF Schema 1.1
*** ref. http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-rdf-syntax-971002/
* ISO-CommonLogic
** significant contribution by ChrisMenzel, PatHayes, JohnSowa, with
Editor: to the current standard: ISO/IEC IS 24707:2007
*** ref. http://www.iso-commonlogic.org/ &
** significant contribution by by MichaelGruninger (editor), FabianNeuhaus, TaraAthan, JohnSowa, et al. to the ongoing work to update the CL standard (dubbed "CLv2")
*** ref. http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?CommonLogic_V2 &
* BioPortal
** significant contribution by MarkMusen, RayFergerson, PaulAlexander
** ref. http://www.bioontology.org/ ;
(esp. MarkMusen's talk) and the 4 sessions under http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OOR/ConferenceCall_2013_12_10#nid42SL
* Apple-Siri
** significant contribution by AdamCheyer and TomGruber
*** ref. http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2010_02_25
* IBM-Watson
** significant contribution by DaveFerrucci, ChrisWelty et al.
*** ref http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2006_05_11
& http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2014_01_30#nid455F
* the GoodRelations Ontology
** significant contribution by MartinHepp
*** ref. http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2008_10_16#nid1NDM
& http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontolog-forum/2014-04/msg00274.html
* Google Knowledge Graph
** ref. discussion thread:
* schema.org
** significant contribution by R_V_Guha, DanBrickley, et al.
*** ref. http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2011_12_01
& http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2014_03_27#nid4AOT
... you can generally pick up on the role of ontology in each from the cited references. Ontolog Form (being just a "water cooler
conversation") does not have a role in these accomplishments or the development of their ontologies ... its the cited individuals, their institutions and the team of people involved that accomplished them.
> [BN] What will happen with all the wiki content ... (you mentioned meeting with the people you provide services to to discuss that)? ... Will the Forum continue its work in some other organization ... What are you plans for retirement?
[ppy] I am just starting to explore these ... I'll find out more in the next few weeks.
> [BN] anything else ... that addresses the role of ontology in semantic web technologies and especially big data?
[ppy] KenBaclawski (and AnneThessen) whom you know well, championed our Track on "Tackling the Variety Problem in Big Data" for OntologySummit2014. That track has pooled together significant work and insight on the subject. You might consider asking Ken to present.
* Ref.
** http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2014_02_13
** http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?ConferenceCall_2014_03_27
** http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OntologySummit2014_Tackling_Variety_In_BigData_Synthesis
** http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OntologySummit2014_Symposium#nid4832
Best wishes to your event.
Regards. =ppy
Intelligent Information Management Tools in a Service-Oriented Software Environment
Source: http://works.bepress.com/jpohl/90
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cg...&context=cadrc (PDF)
Plenary Session Keynote Paper: InterSymp-2009, Baden-Baden, Germany, 3-7 August, 2009 [RESU98]
Jens Pohl, Ph.D. Executive Director, Collaborative Agent Design Research Center (CADRC)
California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly)
San Luis Obispo, California, USA
Papers About Ontology
My Note: See http://works.bepress.com/jpohl/subje....html#Articles and Google Chrome Find: Ontology. See 8 hits below:
The Value of Ontology-Based, Service-Oriented, Distributed Systems in a High Bandwidth Environment (with Steven J. Gollery), Collaborative Agent Design Research Center White Paper - GOLL-HBW (2002)
The TRANSWAY® software application is an adaptive, ontology-based toolset with collaborative agents, designed to assist...
Conveyance Estimator Ontology: Conceptual Models and Object Models (with Xiaoshan Pan), Proceedings of InterSymp-2009: Baden-Baden, Germany (2009)
This paper proposes the construction of a Conceptual Model as a logical step prior to...
The Value of Ontology-Based, Service-Oriented, Distributed Systems in a High Bandwidth Environment (with Steven J. Gollery), Collaborative Agent Design Research Center White Paper - GOLL-HBW (2002)
Increasing the Expressiveness of OWL Through Procedural Attachments (with Dennis Taylor), Proceedings of InterSymp-2009: Baden-Baden, Germany (2009)
The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the OWL Web ontology...
Demonstration of a Typical Ontology-Based Collaborative Agents System: SEAWAY (with Anthony Wood), Proceedings of the 2003 ONR Decision-Support Workshop Series: Developing the New Infostructure (2003)
In San Luis Obispo we have seventy-seven SEAWAY systems which are being prepared for fielding,...
Ontological Approaches for Semantic Interoperability (with Michael A. Zang), Proceedings of the 5th Annual ONR Workshop on Collaborative Decision-Support Systems (2003)
This paper provides a basic description of the concept of an ontology. It then describes...
The Knowledge Level Approach To Intelligent Information System Design (with Michael A. Zang), Proceedings of InterSymp-2003: The 15th International Conference on Systems Research, Informatics and Cybernetics: Baden-Baden, Germany (2003)
Traditional approaches to building intelligent information systems employ an ontology to define a representational structure...
A Translation Engine in Support of Context-Level Interoperability (with Kym J. Pohl),Intelligent Decision Technologies. Special Issue: Ontology Driven Interoperability for Agile Applications using Information Systems: Requirements and Applications for Agent Mediated Decision Support (2008)
The support of context-level interoperability demands increasing attention in today's arena of semantics-oriented decision-support systems....
This paper draws attention to the increasing need for agile and adaptive software environments that are capable of supporting rapid re-planning during the execution of time-critical operations involving commercial end-to-end supply chain transaction sequences, as well as disaster response and military missions. It is argued that such environments are currently best served by information-centric software tools executing within a service-oriented paradigm. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) design concepts and principles are described, with a focus on the functions of the services management framework (SMF) and enterprise service bus (ESB) components. Differentiating between data-centric and information-centric services, it is suggested that only intelligent software services, particularly those that incorporate an internal representation of context in the form of an ontology and agents with reasoning capabilities, are able to effectively address the need for agile and adaptive planning, re-planning and decision-support tools.
The paper concludes with a description of the design components of a business process management (BPM) system operating within a SOA-based infrastructure, followed by a brief discussion of Cloud computing promises and potential user concerns.
Keywords: adaptive, agile, APEX, cloud computing, BPEL, business process execution language, BPM, business process management, choreographer, data-centric, enterprise service bus, ESB, information-centric, mediator, registry, services management framework, SMF, service-oriented architecture, SOA
Need for Adaptive Planning Tools
There is an increasing need in industry and government for planners and decision-makers to be able to rapidly re-plan during execution. Experience has shown that the best-laid plans will likely have to be changed during implementation. Operational environments are often impacted by events or combinations of factors that were either not foreseen during the planning stage or were thought to be unlikely to occur. In commerce, where just in time inventories have become an acknowledged cost-saving measure, suppliers and shippers are particularly vulnerable to the disruption of end-to-end supply chain sequences, such as inclement weather conditions, traffic congestion, accidents, equipment malfunction, and human error.
Military commanders, who often deal with extremely time-critical and human life endangering operations have learned from bitter experience that agile planning tools are essential for their ability to rapidly adapt to changing mission conditions. It can be argued that an information management environment, with an agile planning capability of the type implied by the stated objectives of the Adaptive Planning and Execution (APEX) 1 process recently adopted by the U.S. military forces, requires both the ability to automatically interpret data in context and the flexibility to provide access to decision-support tools regardless of whether these are part of the same software application or another application.
This argument is based on the definition of agility as the ability to rapidly adapt to changing conditions, and has two implications. First, in a real world environment the operational data that enter a particular application may not adhere exactly to the specifications on which the design of the software was originally based. An agile software application will therefore need to have the ability to automatically interpret the incoming data within the appropriate context and make the necessary processing adjustments. Second, under such dynamic conditions it is likely that the user will have a need for tools that were not foreseen during the design of the application and are therefore not available. An agile software environment will therefore have to provide access to a wide range of tools, at least some of which may not be an integral component of the particular application that the operator is currently using. This suggests a system environment in which software tools can be seamlessly accessed across normal application domain boundaries. This is the objective of an information management environment that is based on the service-oriented concepts and principles described in this paper.
Information-Centric vs. Data-Centric
There are several reasons why computer software must increasingly incorporate more and more intelligent capabilities (Pohl 2005). Perhaps the most compelling of these reasons relates to the current data-processing bottleneck. Advancements in computer technology over the past several decades have made it possible to store vast amounts of data in electronic form. Based on past manual information handling practices and implicit acceptance of the principle that the interpretation of data into information and knowledge is the responsibility of the human operators of the computer-based data storage devices, emphasis was placed on storage efficiency rather than processing effectiveness. Typically, data file and database management methodologies focused on the storage, retrieval and manipulation of data transactions 2, rather than the context within which the collected data would later become useful in planning, monitoring, assessment, and decision-making tasks.
The term information-centric refers to the representation of information, as it is available to software modules, not to the way it is actually stored in a digital machine. This distinction between representation and storage is important, and relevant far beyond the realm of computers. When we write a note with a pencil on a sheet of paper, the content (i.e., meaning) of the note is unrelated to the storage device. A sheet of paper is designed to be a very efficient storage medium that can be easily stacked in sets of hundreds, filed in folders, folded, bound into volumes, and so on. As such, representation can exist at varying levels of abstraction. The lowest level of representation considered is wrapped data. Wrapped data consists of low-level data, for example a textual e-mail message that is placed inside some sort of an e-mail message object. While it could be argued that the e-mail message is thereby objectified it is clear that the only objectification resides in the shell that contains the data and not the e-mail content. The message is still in a data-centric form offering a limited opportunity for interpretation by software components.
A higher level of representation endeavors to describe aspects of a domain as collections of interrelated, constrained objects. This level of representation is commonly referred to as an information-centric ontology. At this level of representation context can begin to be captured and represented in a manner supportive of software-based reasoning. This level of representation (i.e., context) is an empowering design principle that allows software to undertake the interpretation of operational data changes within the context provided by the internal information model (i.e., ontology).
Even before the advent of the Internet and the widespread promulgation of SOA concepts it was considered good software design and engineering practice to build distributed software systems of loosely coupled modules that are able to collaborate by subscription to a shared information model. The principles and corresponding capabilities that enable these software modules to function as decoupled services include (Pohl 2007):
- An internal information model that provides a usable representation of the application domain in which the service is being offered. In other words, the context provided by the internal information model must be adequate for the software application (i.e., service) to perform as a useful adaptive set of tools in its area of expertise.
- The ability to reason about events within the context provided by the internal information model. These reasoning capabilities may extend beyond the ability to render application domain related services to the performance of self-monitoring maintenance and related operational efficiency tasks.
- Facilities that allow the service to subscribe to other internal services and understand the nature and capabilities of these resources based on its internal information model 3.
- The ability of a service to understand the notion of intent (i.e., goals and objectives) and undertake self-activated tasks to satisfy its intent. Within the current state-of-the-art this capability is largely limited by the degree of context that is provided by the internal information model.
Additional capabilities that are not yet able to be realized in production systems due to technical limitations, but have been demonstrated in the laboratory environment, include: the ability of a service to learn through the acquisition and merging of information fragments obtained from external sources with its own internal information model (i.e., dynamically extensible information models); extension of the internal information model to include the internal operational domain of the software application itself and the role of the service within the external environment; and, the ability of a service to increase its capabilities by either generating new tools (e.g., creating new agents or cloning existing agents) or automatically searching for external assistance.
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
The notion of service-oriented is ubiquitous. Everywhere we see countless examples of tasks being performed by a combination of services, which are able to interoperate in a manner that results in the achievement of a desired objective. Typically, each of these services is not only reusable but also sufficiently decoupled from the final objective to be useful for the performance of several somewhat similar tasks that may lead to quite different results. For example, a common knife can be used in the kitchen for preparing vegetables, or for peeling an orange, or for physical combat, or as a makeshift screwdriver. In each case the service provided by the knife is only one of the services that are required to complete the task. Clearly, the ability to design and implement a complex process through the application of many specialized services in a particular sequence has been responsible for most of mankind's achievements in the physical world. The key to the success of this approach is the interface, which allows each service to be utilized in a manner that ensures that the end-product of one service becomes the starting point of another service.
Figure 1: Principal components of a conceptual SOA implementation
In the software domain these same concepts have gradually led to the adoption of Service- Oriented Architecture (SOA) principles. While SOA is by no means a new concept in the software industry it was not until Web services became available that these concepts could be readily implemented (Erl 2005). In the broadest sense SOA is a software framework for computational resources to provide services to customers, such as other services or users. The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information (OASIS) 4 defines SOA as a "… paradigm for organizing and utilizing distributed capabilities that may be under the control of different ownership domains" and "…provides a uniform means to offer, discover, interact with and use capabilities to produce desired effects with measurable preconditions and expectations". This definition underscores the fundamental intent that is embodied in the SOA paradigm, namely flexibility. To be as flexible as possible a SOA environment is highly modular, platform independent, compliant with standards, and incorporates mechanisms for identifying, categorizing, provisioning, delivering, and monitoring services.
The principal components of a conceptual SOA implementation scheme (Figure 1) include a Services Management Framework (SMF), various kinds of foundational services that allow the SMF to perform its management functions, one or more portals to external clients, and the enterprise services that facilitate the ability of the user community to perform its operational tasks.
Services Management Framework (SMF): A Services Management Framework (SMF) is essentially a SOA-based software infrastructure that utilizes tools to manage the exchange of messages among enterprise services. The messages may contain requests for services, data, the results of services performed, or any combination of these. The tools are often referred to as foundational services because they are vital to the ability of the SMF to perform its management functions, even though they are largely hidden from the user community. The SMF must be capable of:
- Undertaking any transformation, orchestration, coordination, and security actions necessary for the effective exchange of the message
- Maintaining a loosely coupled environment in which neither the service requesters nor the service providers need to communicate directly with each other; - or even have knowledge of each other.
A SMF may accomplish some of its functions through an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), or it may be implemented entirely as an ESB.
Enterprise Service Bus (ESB): The concept of an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) greatly facilitates a SOA implementation by providing specifications for the coherent management of services. The ESB provides the communication bridge that manages the exchange of messages among services, although the services do not necessarily know anything about each other. According to Erl (2005) ESB specifications typically define the following kinds of message management capabilities:
- Routing: The ability to channel a service request to a particular service provider based on some routing criteria (e.g., static or deterministic, content-based, policy-based, rule-based).
- Protocol Transformation: The ability to seamlessly transform the sender's message protocol to the receiver's message protocol.
- Message Transformation: The ability to convert the structure and format of a message to match the requirements of the receiver.
- Message Enhancement: The ability to modify or add to a sender's message to match the content expectations of the receiver.
- Service Mapping: The ability to translate a logical business service request into the corresponding physical implementation by providing the location and binding information of the service provider.
- Message Processing: The ability to accept a service request and ensure delivery of either the message of a service provider or an error message back to the sender. Requires a queuing capability to prevent the loss of messages.
- Process Choreography and Orchestration: The ability to manage multiple services to coordinate a single business service request (i.e., choreograph), including the implementation (i.e., orchestrate). An ESB may utilize a Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) to facilitate the choreographing.
- Transaction Management: The ability to manage a service request that involves multiple service providers, so that each service provider can process its portion of the request without regard to the other parts of the request.
- Access Control and Security: The ability to provide some level of access control to protect enterprise services from unauthorized messages. There are quite a number of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) ESB implementations that satisfy these specifications to varying degrees A full ESB implementation would include four distinct components (Figure 2): Mediator; Service Registry; Choreographer; and, Rules Engine. The Mediator serves as the entry point for all messages and has by far the largest number of message management responsibilities. It is responsible for routing, communication, message transformation, message enhancement, protocol transformation, message processing, error handling, service orchestration, transaction management, and access control (security).
The Service Registry provides the service mapping information (i.e., the location and binding of each service) to the Mediator. The Choreographer is responsible for the coordination of complex business processes that require the participation of multiple service providers. In some ESB implementations the Choreographer may also serve as an entry point to the ESB. In that case it assumes the additional responsibilities of message processing, transaction management, and access control (security). The Rules Engine provides the logic that is required for the routing, transformation and enhancement of messages. Clearly, the presence of such an engine in combination with an inferencing capability provides a great deal of scope for adding higher levels of intelligence to an ESB implementation.
Typical Service Requester and Service Provider Scenario
The following sequence of conceptual steps that must be taken by the SMF to support a SOA system environment is not inclusive of every variance that might occur. It is intended to provide a brief description of the principal interactions involved (Figure 3).
While the Service Requester knows that the Mediator is the entry point of the ESB component of the SMF and what bindings (i.e., protocols) are supported by the Mediator, it does not know which Service Provider will satisfy the request because it knows nothing about any of the other enterprise services that are accessible through the Mediator. Therefore, the conceptual SOA-based infrastructure shown in Figure 1 is often referred to as a Cloud.
The Mediator is clearly in control and calls upon the other primary components of the ESB if and when it requires their services. It requests the handle (i.e., location and mappings) of the potential Service Providers from the Service Registry. If there are multiple Service Provider candidates then it will have to select one of these in Step (6) to provide the requested service. The Mediator will invoke any of the foundational services in the SMF to validate (i.e., access control), translate, transform, enhance, and route the message to the selected Service Provider. The latter is able to accept the message because it is now in a data exchange format that the Service Provider supports.
Similar transformation and mapping actions are taken by the Mediator after it receives the reply message from the Service Provider, so that it complies with the data exchange format supported by the Service Requester. On receiving the response message the Service Requester does not know which service responded to the request, nor did it have to deal with any of the data exchange requirements of the Service Provider.
Figure 3: Conceptual Cloud operations
Business Process Management (BPM)
From a general point of view, Business Process management (BPM) is the orchestration of activities between people and systems. More specifically, BPM is a method for actively defining, executing, monitoring, analyzing, and subsequently refining manual or automated business processes. In other words, a business process is essentially a sequence of related, structured activities (i.e., a workflow) that is intended to achieve an objective. Such workflows can include interactions between human users, software applications or services, or a combination of both.
In a SOA-based information management environment this orchestration is most commonly performed by the Choreographer component of the ESB (Figure 2). Based on SOA principles, a sound BPM design will decompose a complex business process into smaller, more manageable elements that comply with common standards and reuse existing solutions.
The BPM design solution should be based on an analysis of the problem within both its local and global contexts (Figure 4). It must describe and support the local business process requirements as its primary objective and yet seamlessly integrate this micro perspective into a global view. Successful integration of these two perspectives will require an understanding of external interactions and the compliance parameters that apply to interprocess protocols. The principal components of a BPM design solution include a Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) engine, a graphical modeling tool, business user and system administration interfaces, internal and external system interactions, and persistence (Figure 5).
Figure 5: BPM design components
BPEL Engine: BPEL, which is the preferred process language, is normally XML-based 5 and event driven. The BPEL Engine is responsible for detecting events, executing the appropriate next step in the business process sequence, and managing outbound message calls.
Graphical Editor: Effective communication during design is greatly facilitated by a standard system of notation that is known to all parties involved in the design process, and a graphical tool that allows design solutions to be represented in the form of diagrams. Both the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) 6 and the Unified Modeling Language (UML) 7 Activity Diagram provide the necessary capabilities. However, BPMN is normally preferred because it incorporates BPEL mapping capabilities and is considered to be the more expressive notation. Whichever graphical modeling tool is chosen it should be capable of representing the different views of the process that are desired by the business user and the technical user. The business user is interested in the overall flow of the process, while the technical user is interested in the more detailed behavioral characteristics of each step.
User-interfaces: Typically, separate user-interfaces are required for the business user who has a functional role in the business process and may from time to time be required to interact with the BPEL Engine, and the system administrator who may be monitoring the task flow for reactive or proactive system maintenance reasons. The business users essentially require a worklist 8 interface that allows them to contribute manual tasks to the automated BPM process. This should be a user-friendly, role-based interface with process status reports and error correction capabilities. The system administrators require a user-interface that allows them to perform a host of management tasks including: defining a process (i.e., find, activate, deactivate, remove, or add); controlling the execution of processes known to the BPEL Engine and worklist tasks or activities (i.e., find, suspend, resume, or terminate); managing user roles (i.e., add, modify, or remove users and roles from applications); and, configuring application connections. Both the business and system administration user-interfaces must incorporate security measures to prevent unauthorized access and ensure that only authorized role-based actions can be executed.
System interactions: A business process is likely to involve both internal and external system interactions. In general terms these interactions may be characterized as four distinct modes: process receives a message from another system; process receives a message and sends a response; process sends a message to another system; and, process sends a message and waits for a response. External interactions are typically choreographed as web services, with a wide variety of system interfaces being supported through a generic adapter facility. This means that the BPEL Engine must include a web services listener capable of accepting an inbound message (e.g., in SOAP 9 format), insert it into the runtime engine, obtain a response (if any), and send out the response as a SOAP message. Internal interactions are typically either client-server interfaces to other systems executing on the enterprise network or inline code snippets.
Persistence: To survive the inevitable need to restart the BPEL Engine the current process state must be stored in a database. Tables in the database typically include: process definition; process execution state; message content and identification code; process variables; activity execution state; and, worklist task execution state.
While BPM and SOA concepts are closely connected, they are certainly not synonymous. Described more precisely, a SOA-based system environment provides the enabling infrastructure for BPM by separating the functional execution of the business process from its technical implementation.
In Conclusion: Cloud Computing
The concept of Cloud computing as a massively scalable, user-transparent computing resource that can be readily accessed by multiple users across a global network is indeed a compellingly attractive proposition. Combined with the SOA design and implementation principles described above, the Cloud not only takes care of all of the intricate technical interoperability and data exchange incompatibility issues that have plagued computer users in the past, but also provides essentially ubiquitous access to powerful and seamlessly integrated computer-based capabilities as services. Naturally, multiple Clouds can be linked in a manner that is quite similar to the way services are registered within a particular Cloud. In such an environment neither the service requester nor the service provider needs to know, or even care, where the request originated and where it was processed, even if the request for services had to traverse several Clouds before the necessary service provider could be found.
It is of interest to note that this view of computing as a service is not new. During the 1960s and 1970s time-share computer systems, which linked multiple remote user terminals through modems to a central computing facility, provided a similar computing service. However, there were some major differences. First, access and data exchange was strictly confined to a single computer center and in most cases to the particular application that the user was authorized to use. Second, very little of the underlying computing environment was transparent to the user. Third, the users were almost as rigidly tied to their access terminal location as the service provider was tied to the location of its computer center. The time-share concept became obsolete as soon as the advent of microcomputers brought the computing power to the user.
We might ask: Was it a desire by the computer users to have complete control over their computing resources or convenience that led to the preference of ownership over service? While Cloud computing promises to overcome the inconvenience, immobility, and lack of interoperability constraints of the time-share service environment, it does pose other problems that will need to be overcome. Chief among these is the issue of data security. Will organizations be willing to entrust their proprietary data to a remote Cloud environment over which, in reality, they have little control? They must trust the Cloud service provider to not only maintain adequate internal security, but to resist even the most sophisticated and continuously changing external intrusion attempts. Also, as Robert Lucky (2009) recently wrote "… once all your petabytes of data are out there in the Cloud, can you ever get them back?
Finally, there is the question of user autonomy and control. Are current and will future privacy laws be sufficient to protect the user from a plethora of potential consumer abuses, for example, the automated collection of data about a user's activities in the Cloud without the need to actually trespass the data repositories themselves. Such data are already being collected by Internet service providers and utilized to determine collective and individual preferences for advertising and directed marketing purposes. Perhaps users will not be greatly concerned about the potential privacy infringements of such activities, and in the end the convenience and inexpensiveness of Cloud computing may become the deciding factors.
Adaptive Planning and Execution Roadmap II, AO Review (Draft), Joint Chiefs of Staff, 8 February 2007.
Most large organizations, including the Military, are currently forced to dedicate a significant portion of their operating budget, staff, project budgets, and time, on the piecemeal resolution of ad hoc problems and obstacles that are symptoms of an overloaded data-centric environment. Examples include: data bottlenecks and transmission delays resulting in aged data; temporary breakdown of data exchange interfaces; inability to quickly find critical data within a large distributed network of data-processing nodes; inability to interpret and analyze data within time constraints; and, determining the accuracy of the data that are readily available. This places the organization in a reactive mode, and forces it to expend many of its resources on solving the symptoms rather than the core problem. In contrast, an information-centric environment is capable of supporting: (1) the automatic filtering of data by placing data into an information context; (2) the automated reasoning of software agents as they monitor events and assist human planners and problem solvers in an intelligent collaborative decision-making environment; and, (3) autonomic computing capabilities.
This must be considered a minimum system capability. The full implementation of a web services environment should include facilities that allow a service to discover other external services and understand the nature and capabilities of these external services.
OASIS is an international organization that produces standards. It was formed in 1993 under the name of SGML Open and changed its name to OASIS in 1998 in response to the changing focus from SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) to XML (Extensible Markup Language) related standards.
The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a general purpose specification that allows the content of a document to be defined separately from the formatting of the document.
BPMN provides a graphical representation for describing a business process in the form of a workflow diagram. It was developed by the Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI) and is now maintained by the Object Management Group following the merging of these two organizations in 2005.
The Unified Modeling Language (UML) provides a standard notation for modeling systems and context based on object-oriented concepts and principles (Booch G., J. Rumbaugh and I. Jacobson (1999); 'The Unified Modeling Language User Guide'; Addison-Wesley, New York, New York.)
A BPM worklist allows a manual task to be assigned to a user and track the progress of that task. In this way the human user can be the source of events that trigger the BPEL Engine.
The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) is a protocol specification for the exchange of data among web services. It utilizes XML as its message format and depends on other protocols, such as Remote Procedure Call (RPC) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) for transmitting the message.
Ref 1
Burlton R. (2001); 'Business Process Management: Profiling from Process'; SAMS, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Ref 2
Chang J. (2005); 'Business Process Management Systems'; Auerbach Publications, Auerbach/Vogtland, Germany.
Ref 3
Erl T. (2005); 'Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): Concepts, Technology, and Design'; Prentice Hall Service-Oriented Computing Series, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Ref 4
Havey M. (2005); 'Essential Business Process Modeling'; O'Reilly, Sebastopol, California.
Ref 5
Jeston J. and J. Nelis (2006); 'Business Process Management: Practical Guidelines to Successful Implementations'; Butterworth Hein Elsevier, United Kingdom.
Ref 6
Lucky R. (2009); 'Cloud Computing'; (under Reflections) IEEE Spectrum, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 46(5), May (pp. 27).
Ref 7
Pohl J. (2005); 'Intelligent Software Systems in Historical Context'; in Jain L. and G. Wren (eds.); 'Decision Support Systems in Agent-Based Intelligent Environments'; Knowledge-Based Intelligent Engineering Systems Series, Advanced Knowledge International (AKI), Sydney, Australia.
Ref 8
Pohl J. (2007); 'Knowledge Management Enterprise Services (KMES): Concepts and Implementation Principles'; InterSymp-2007, Proceedings Focus Symposium on Representation of Context in Software, Baden-Baden July 31, Germany.
Ref 9
Taylor D. and H. Assal (2008); 'Using BPM as an Interoperability Platform'; C2 Journal, Special Issue on Modeling and Simulation, CCRP, Washington, DC, Fall.
E-MAPS on Ontology and Big Data
Source: http://www.e-mapsys.com/
Sources: http://www.e-mapsys.com/Problem_Space2.html#Ontology
Ontology is the science of representing reality consistently across domains, organizations, and IT systems. Everyone performs ontology as they make sense of their circumstances and plan their future actions. The concepts and methods of ontology are to the development and use of IT as weather is to development and use of aircraft and ships. Yet, while there are first-rate, readily available references for pilots and seaman on weather, easy-to-access and easy-to-use references on ontology are not available to IT developers and users. E-MAPS and its partners provide such references and instruction.
- Basic Value of Ontology (Ontology for the Above Average Manager)
- Warfighters, Ontology, and Stovepiped Data, (Information, and Information Technology)
Basic Value of Ontology
Source: http://www.e-mapsys.com/Basic_Value_...y_%28v1%29.pdf (PDF)
Ontology has three common definitions: (1) the science of representing reality, (2) products such as Web Ontology Language (OWL) files that contain representations of reality, and (3) software tools such as TopQuadrant used to create OWL files and other ontological products.
Managers need a basic understanding of ontology because their effectiveness and efficiency is determined largely by their ability to understand, access, and share information in various situations. Ontology, in the sense of the science of representing reality (i.e., the first definition above), provides concepts and methods that facilitate developing and managing the information managers need from data and information drawn from multiple sources (hopefully from all available sources).
Ontology's importance is growing because computer networks have the potential to connect all data and information. Realizing this potential, however, requires the right tools – and the right concepts and methods. The concepts and methods are important because they provide context for the users of TopQuadrant and similar tools. By understanding context, an ontology user can take the actions necessary to produce OWL files with contents that managers and other users need and can use.
Ontology addresses reality and how we represent it. We represent different slices of reality (i.e., different perspectives) with different constructs. But the essential characteristics of elements of reality that are common to two or more "slices" should be represented the same way in both slices. A bridge is a bridge whether we are talking about toll-bridge finance or trucking operations. What is different about a bridge in the context of highway-bridge finance and the context of trucking operations are the bridge's roles – what ontologists call "accidental qualities." Finance specialists are concerned about the bridge as a generator of toll payments for bond holders. A trucking company owner is concerned about the bridge as a means for his truck to cross a river so his company can deliver cargo. We have one bridge with one "essential" quality (i.e., a structure that provides a route to cross a river or other area) and multiple "accidental" qualities (e.g., a source of revenue and the means to cross a river).
Ontology is to data and information as meteorology is to air temperature, air pressure, clouds, and wind. We can make good use of data and information without the concepts and methods of ontology, but we will make better use of data and information if we understand and use the concepts and methods of ontology. A person with little knowledge of the concepts and methods of meteorology can sometimes look at the sky or feel the wind and know it is going to rain or snow. However, when we want the best possible weather forecast, we turn to meteorologists because they use their understanding of the concepts and methods of meteorology to produce accurate forecasts.
To learn how E-MAPS can help you to understand and exploit the concepts and methods of ontology to improve your use of data and information, call us at 703-385-9320 or send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Warfighters, Ontology, and Stovepiped Data
Source: http://www.e-mapsys.com/Warfighters_...piped_Data.pdf (PDF)
The Operational Problem
Warfighters and others in DoD need to share warfighting and business data and information across and beyond DoD easily. Today's impediments to such sharing need to be remedied because they hinder DoD realizing the efficiency and effectiveness required to remain affordable and effective. Data and information that cannot be easily shared machine-to-machine between domains, specialties, organizations, and information technology (IT) systems is characterized as being stovepiped (i.e., a system that does not interoperate with other systems).
This Document's Contribution
This document explains concepts and methods essential to:
(1) Creating data, information, and IT systems that are not stovepiped, and
(2) Integrating data, information, and IT systems that are stovepiped.
Reality is not Segmented
The first and most important concept is that reality is an integrated whole, not a collection of mutually exclusive domains. Each specialty (e.g., medicine, logistics, intelligence, etc.) is a different perspective of our common reality. In medicine, a person can be a caregiver and patient. In logistics, a person can be a passenger, a customer, or a worker. In intelligence, a person can be an intelligence specialist or a target. Indeed, a person can fill all these roles simultaneously.
Three Orders of Reality
Situational awareness (i.e., understanding reality) is generally understood to be essential for success. It is also generally understood that people often misunderstand reality. The theory of ontology, the modeling of reality, addresses the disparities between reality and what people think is reality by defining three orders of reality.
(1) 1st Order. Reality as it is. In the action in the upper image to the right, reality is what is, not what we think is happening as we peer through the fog of war.
(2) 2nd Order. What we believe is happening as we peer through the fog of war. Examples: what a participant in the action shown in the upper image or a member of an operations center in the lower image believes is occurring in the engagement.
(3) 3rd Order. Reality as we record it. In the lower image, the computer displays are 3rd order reality.
We create 2nd and 3rd order realities with symbols (e.g., words and map icons). Gaps between orders of reality introduce risk. These gaps are not the only form of risk, but reducing these gaps contributes to reducing risk.
Role of Words and Other Symbols
Closing these orders-of-reality gaps starts with aligning the words and other symbols we use to create our 2nd and 3rd order realities with 1st order realities. People have difficulty comprehending something for which they do not have a word or other symbol. It is nearly impossible to communicate or record an aspect of reality for which we lack a word or other symbol.
Creation and Use of Words and other Symbols
People usually create words and symbols in response to specific problems in specific domains. The natural result of this reality is sets of words or vocabulary focused on specific domains (i.e., stovepiped data, information, and IT systems). However, organizational effectiveness and efficiency require that data and information in one domain or IT system be shared and used by members of other domains and the IT systems these individuals use. The challenge, therefore, is how to facilitate creating terminology and other symbols based on a particular type of problem or specialty (e.g., improvised explosive devices [IED]) that are easy to integrate and use with terminology and others symbols for other types of problems and specialties.
The solutions include:
(1) Using the same words and other symbols across specialties (e.g., for command and control, operations, logistics, and intelligence);
(2) Grouping words and other symbols that are common among different specialties according to common categories (e.g., the category or class "sensor" can be used by logistics for devices that sense engine problems on trucks and for the instruments used by intelligence agencies to generate images); and
(3) Developing a vocabulary for a specialty or domain that represents its basic elements (e.g., a model of an infantry company intended to facilitate personnel management that extends beyond the concept of a company to include individual soldiers, not just platoons, squads, and fire teams).
Avoid Conflation
Conflation is when two or more independent concepts are combined into a single concept with a single term and definition. Example:
Attack Geography – a description of the geography surrounding the…incident, such as road segment, buildings, foliage, etc. Understanding the geography indicates enemy use of landscape to channel tactical response, slow friendly movement, and prevent pursuit of enemy forces.
In this example, the definition for attack geography conflates (i.e., aggregates) two related but separate categories. The first category is the aspect of reality that is of interest (i.e., the area where an attack occurred). The second category is a description (e.g., verbal statement, written report, or map overlay) of the area. Going back to the orders of reality, an area where an attack occurs is part of first-order reality. A description of that area is an element of second- or third-order reality depending upon whether the description is in someone's memory or is in a document. Usually, there are multiple descriptions produced by various observers of any area where an attack occurred. None of the descriptions is completely accurate and no report contains all the details. In practice, members of an operations center distinguish between reports they receive about an incident and the incident itself. Experienced members of operations centers know that they need to collect and study multiple reports to understand an incident because each report is likely to (1) contain some inaccurate information and (2) have only some of the needed details.
The concept of attack geography as defined above should have been divided into two concepts (i.e., two pairs of terms and definitions) – attack geography and description of attack geography. Because the definition above is conflated, it obscures the crucial distinction between what is described and the description. This conflated definition also invites mistaken beliefs such as there can be one authoritative and complete and accurate description (e.g., report) of the area in which an attack occurred when, in fact, there will almost always be (1) multiple reports and (2) some information that is believed to be true but is not true.
Conflation by its nature introduces inaccuracies.
Base Definition on Essential Properties
Avoiding conflation is aided by basing a definition on the essential property of what is being defined. Returning to the definition above, the essence of attack geography is that it is an area or geography where an attack is planned, is occurring, or has occurred.
Non-Essential or Accidental Properties
For attack geography, accidental properties include the types of attacks (e.g., ambush, frontal assault, and attack by fire). Basing a definition on an accidental property causes conflation and produces an inaccurate definition. Returning to the definition of attack geography, if we define attack geography as an area where an IED incident occurred, then we have a definition which states that the concept of attack geography cannot be applied to ambushes, assaults, and attacks by fires.
Form Definitions Properly
The need to focus on essential properties leads to the following two steps when creating a definition.
Step 1: refer to a parent class (e.g., Infantry Battalion: A Military Organization or Military Engagement: A Military Event).
Step 2: add differentia (i.e., those properties that distinguish the thing being defined from all other things in its parent class).
These steps force several necessary considerations.
First, what is the parent class? This will prompt someone developing a vocabulary for a particular problem or specialty (e.g., artillery fires) to ask what is the parent class for that domain (e.g., fire support).
Second, this facilitates inquiries into related problems and specialties (e.g., naval fire support and close air support) with the aim of identifying words and other symbols defined for the related problem or specialty that can be reused in the new vocabulary. It also should prompt an inquiry into the classes used by related specialties.
Example Definitions from Joint Publications
Fires — the use of weapon systems to create specific lethal or nonlethal effects on a target. (JP 3-09) (Note that the definition refers to a parent class [the use of weapons systems] and lists a certain differentia [to create specific lethal or nonlethal efforts on a target]. This points to fires as part of a larger realm - the use of weapons systems for any purpose)
Final protective fire — an immediately available prearranged barrier of fire designed to impede enemy movement across defensive lines or areas. (Note that the definition starts with reference the class "fires" and then states the differentia – an immediately available prearranged barrier intended to impede enemy movement across defensive lines or areas)
Counterfire — fire intended to destroy or neutralize enemy weapons. Includes counter-battery and countermortar fire. (JP 3-09) (Note again that the definition refers to the parent class and distinguishing element [i.e., destroy or neutralize enemy weapons])
Suppressive fire — fires on or about a weapons system to degrade its performance below the level needed to fulfill its mission objectives during the conduct of the fire mission. (Note that again the definition starts with a reference to the parent class)
Reality versus Convention
The orders of reality imply a difference between reality and the symbols we develop to represent reality. The most important difference between reality and our symbols for representing reality is that we cannot change reality but we can represent a feature in reality with any symbol we want to use. However, DoD efficiency and effectiveness are promoted by establishing and following conventions or standards that map words and other symbols to features in reality. The English word "water" and the French word "l'eau" are equally good symbols for H2O. Which is appropriate depends on convention or the language of those seeking to communicate.
If one, as is suggested above, models reality with terms that represent the smallest relevant elements (thus avoiding conflation), these elements must be connected with relationships. In the image below, various smallest-possible elements are connected. The reality of the person is represented by the photograph. This cannot be changed by someone performing ontology, the modeling of reality. Use of the terms and concept of person to represent the real individual, however, is a matter of convention (i.e., agreement or authoritative direction). Any number of terms and definitions might be used. What is required is uniform understanding and application of a term in modeling reality. The connection between a real person and his representation is the relationship "Instance_of". This and other relationships used in modeling reality need to be codified by convention (e.g., recorded in an authoritative data source).
Note that the essential property of the individual (i.e., that he is a person or homo sapien) is separated from his various names. To avoid conflating a specific name with the person, an intermediate concept or class of "Personal Name" has been used and connected to person by the relationship "denotes" and to specific names used by that individual with the relationship "is_a". Note also that the designer of this model sought and found the class to which "Personal Name" belongs – "Name". Understanding the broader class may facilitate representing information about this person.
Invest in Ontological Foundation
The model on the previous page is irrelevant if one is simply interested in knowing a name of the individual shown in a picture. Operational success in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, required a capability to associate one individual with multiple names because a single Afghan or a single Iraqi sometimes used multiple names. The mental model that each Afghan and Iraqi uses only one name is not aligned with reality and has facilitated adversaries slipping through our fingers by using different names at different times and places. A database that treats a person's name as his essential property is not only ontologically incorrect but also hinders or precludes recording multiple names for the same individual.
Purpose and Scope of Document Review
This document is intended to alert those seeking to rapidly develop sound situational awareness about the need to understand and apply the concepts and methods of ontology. This document also seeks to illuminate the need to understand and use these concepts and methods when attempting to implement information sharing and reuse across an organization. Everyone uses ontology (i.e., models reality) as they puzzle through what is occurring around them and determine how to accomplish assigned tasks or missions. Those who understand the concepts and methods of ontology have an advantage over those who (1) create stovepipe data, information, and IT systems through inadvertent conflation, poor definitions, and domain models that are poorly aligned with reality and (2) do not support simple but critical capabilities such as relating a single person with multiple names.
Because there are many more ontological concepts and methods than those explained in this short document, those who would exploit ontology need to learn more about ontology or gain access to advisors schooled and experienced in ontology. It is important to understand that there is a difference between someone who uses software such as TopQuadrant that is intended to support ontology and someone educated in the concepts and methods of ontology. This is similar to the distinction between someone who can use Microsoft Word software and someone who can write a good book.
For further information
Contact E-MAPS, Inc.: Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Phone: 703-385-9320 Visit the E-MAPS website: www.e-mapsys.com
Big Data
Source: http://www.e-mapsys.com/Problem_Space2.html#Big_Data
The term Big Data represents the reality that advances in (1) sensors and other computer-based data-generating tools and (2) computer networks force far more data on users of IT than they can comprehend or even sort out without using IT tools. Big Data conversations and tools tend to focus on manipulating semi-structured or unstructured data. Manipulation is important, but it is more important to start by identifying the information problem to be solved and the ontology (i.e., representation of reality) that describes a problem's domain. E-MAPS and its partners provide support in representing domains.
- Enabling Big Data Solutions
Enabling Big Data Solutions
Source: http://www.e-mapsys.com/BigData1.htm
The term Big Data has different meanings for different people. For some people, it is large quantities of disparate data. For others, it is the activity of making effective use of such data. Large quantities of disparate data are the result of advances in (a) data storage facilities, (b) data communications and (c) sensors and other data-generating tools.
The effective use of Big Data requires hardware and software for collecting, communicating, and processing large volumes of data. Demystifying Big Data: A Practical Guide to Transforming the Business of Government notes:
"Although there clearly is an intense focus on Big Data, there remains a great deal of confusion regarding what the term really means, and more importantly, the value it will provide...This confusion may be due in part to the conversation being driven largely by the information technology community versus line of business community.
Successful Big Data initiatives seem to start not with a discussion about technology, but rather with burning business or mission requirements that...leaders are unable to address with traditional approaches."
The white papers listed below address the use of ontology and other resources to facilitate discussions about "burning business or mission requirements" that are not met with existing information technology concepts, methods, and tools.
Big Data and Why It Cannot Be Ignored
Big Data and Ontology
Big Data and Why It Cannot Be Ignored
Source: http://www.e-mapsys.com/BigDataIgnored1.pdf (PDF)
This paper discusses the importance of Big Data and that it cannot be ignored because people and organizations that understand Big Data are using it to gain competitive advantages.
The term Big Data has come into use because just purchasing an information technology (IT) tool does not lead to better capabilities, efficiency, and effectiveness, even though intuition may suggest that more data and better tools should lead to better operations. At this point in the evolution of computers, Big Data is shorthand for the question, "What do we have to do to realize the potential of ever-better computer-based data generators, ever-larger data stores, and increasingly complex computer networks that connect evermore data stores?"
The last 30 years' investments in (1) computer-based tools for generating data and (2) information storage facilities have left organizations with very large volumes of data and information. A few people are proving adept at exploiting this data and information. However, most people and organizations only sense unrealized potential.
Most investments in computer-based tools for generating and storing data and information have been focused on supporting a particular user community (e.g., sales, operations, or finance). The organizations that have performed the best have integrated data and information from all their divisions. One result of well-integrated information has been that corporations focus their advertising in areas where they have outlets. This may sound obvious, but some large corporations have spent millions of dollars advertising in areas where they did not have outlets. IT expenditures in such corporations often reinforce impediments to information sharing, degrade corporate synergy, and lead to financial problems.
Eliminating such waste and starting to answer the Big Data question above requires IT mangers, developers, and users to shift from (1) concerning themselves only with their computer-based tools and their corner of their enterprise to (2) a perspective that (a) understands the details of their computer-based tools and their corner of the enterprise and (b) relates those concerns to accomplishing the enterprise's goals.
The heart of Big Data is all elements of an organization taking actions that generate, share and use data and information in ways that improve the performance of (1) each element of the organization and (2) the organization as a whole.
To ignore Big Data is to ignore the concepts, methods, and tools being developed by many diverse efforts across governments, academic institutions, and business with the intent of realizing the largest possible advantage from investments in IT.
Big Data and Ontology
Source: http://www.e-mapsys.com/BigDataOntology1.pdf (PDF)
This paper introduces and discusses the role in Big Data of ontology, the science of representing reality across disciplines and IT systems.
Big Data needs to be understood and exploited because of the ever-increasing volumes of data being (1) generated by sensors and other computer-based data generators and (2) made accessible through computer networks. The question now is how and not whether to exploit Big Data.
Exploiting Big Data starts with understanding that while the computer-based tools that give us today's Big Data challenges and opportunities are relatively new, Big Data challenges have arisen and been mastered repeatedly throughout history. When the ancient Greeks created data and information on a wide range of subjects from mathematics to architecture and medical science, Aristotle saw the need for and wrote out theory and methods for categorizing elements of reality consistently across individual subjects. These concepts are the core of today's concepts and methods of ontology and are used in IT systems that produce a few elements of important information from large volumes of data that have little value until processed.
Ontology's primary contributions and value are concepts and methods for categorizing elements of reality consistently across disciplines and IT systems. Google Maps demonstrates the importance of ontology. A Google Maps user enters a street number and name, city, and state and gets a quick response regardless of the city or state. This capability is possible because cities inventory addresses within their boundaries for 911 systems, tax rolls, and predicting school enrollment. Google Maps can exploit these inventories because cities addresses are composed of standard categories of data (i.e., street number, street name, city, state, and zip code).
Users of Google Maps are impressed by the software - the interface, the detail of the maps, and the clever icons for stores and houses. Google's success at applying IT to create and maintain this capability to exploit data produced by thousands of organizations around the world depends as much on the theory and methods of ontology as on databases, networks, and other elements of IT. Google maps would not exist without the IT, but selecting and tailoring the IT rests on understanding and exploiting the concepts and methods of ontology


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Skid Row's Sebastian Bach to Divorce Wife – Next Year
"In 2011, we go our separate ways," the rocker says
Sebastian Bach is ringing in the New Year without a ring on his finger: The ex-Skid Row frontman and his wife of 18 years have decided to divorce.
Bach, 42, tells TMZ that the couple – who married in 1992 – have been separated since April.
"We have tried to work things out for the sake of our family, but it has become apparent that our differences at this point are irreconcilable," the heavy metal rocker says. "In 2011, we go our separate ways."
The couple has three children together: sons Paris,21, and London 14, and daughter Sebastiana, 3.

subset: commoncrawl


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I have been using Google chrome since 2010 and over the years it has been by far the fastest and most reliable browser by far… Until this morning when for whatever reason it had become corrupted! Arrrrgh! I had to reinstall it, however to my horror all of my chrome extensions had also been removed.
I have been pulling my hair out trying to remember the names of the extensions I use (they usually just appear as an icon) at the top of the browser. So as an effort to save time if this ever happens again I have decided to write this blog post about them, this way I will be able to find them again fairly quickly, it may even prove useful to you guys reading this!
1) Google Analytics Opt Out
This is a fantastic little extension, it is really useful for Google Analytics tracking. What this plugin does is block your own visits from messing with your analytics reports.
If you are like me you will continue to work on your own websites and manually keep checking pages are displaying correctly. This will obviously cause your visitor data to be "inflated" slightly, this little extension gets around this issue.
2) SEO For Chrome
SEO for chrome is a really useful extension, it provides you with a fantastic level of information regarding the current website you are visiting.
Most useful in my view are the "pages indexed" information, where it tells you how many of yoru pages are indexed by the major search engines. "Backlinks" report is good too, it tells you how many back links have been found, Majestic SEO especially.
3) SEO Site Tools
SEO Site Tools is quite similar to SEO Site Tools above, however it gives you a visual PR Score for the page you are currently on.
The information displayed is similar, just laid our differently. I have both installed simply to compare the data between the two, this is probably not really necessary. It is down to personal preference which you install, try them both out and choose.
4) Fully Loaded
I recently found this extension, it is really useful for testing the "load speed" of your web pages, out of the page load speed extensions I have tried this gets my thumbs up.
Google has said that page load speeds are now a factor in their ranking algorithms, Google released a tool which can help you optimise the load times, the SEO community seems split on the importance of this, but in my opinion a faster site is better for visitors too.
5) PageRank Status
A really good "PageRank Checker" for chrome, I have been using this extension for a little while now and I think it is one of the best and simplest PR indicators.
It is useful for tracking the PR scores of your web pages, and also for identifying which pages have the highest PR score on other websites. This information can be used when targeting sites for link building.
6) Link Checker
Link checker is great for quickly displaying broken hyperlinks on your web pages, I have no idea why they would choose a woman for the icon…
This isn't my preferred Link Checking Extension, my favourite "Check My Links" doesn't seem to be available in the Chrome library now. However this is the next best thing.
7) Site Spider
Does what it says on the tin, this extension spiders your website and reports back on what it finds.
It is great for highlighting problems with a website, it will report on 404 errors and broken links it finds throughout the website. You can then use this info to fix problems with your site before Google indexes them.
8) Sitemap Generator
Generates sitemap.xml file for your website. It also discovers duplicate pages and identifies broken links.
Really useful for those who don't know how to write an XML Sitemap by hand, or for generating a sitemap for a large website. Be sure to fix all the errors and duplicates it finds.
9) Ghostery
I was recently told about this one by Peter Handley a great SEO I talk to on Twitter. – http://www.peterhandley.com/
Protect your privacy. See who's tracking your web browsing with Ghostery. It is also great for testing that your Google Analytics tracking code is working correctly.
10) MozBar
Last but not least, MozBar by Moz.org (formally SEOMoz). This is a great SEO toolbar extension for Chrome.
This is great for displaying the Metrics Moz.org use in their SEO analysis, Domain Authority, Page Autority etc… It becomes really useful once you are logged in as an SEOMoz Pro Member.
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading, if you ever have trouble with chrome and need to reinstall your extensions, this list will help. I have also found a fantastic post by Dave Woods along a similar subject, his post "13 Google Chrome Extensions For A Web Designer" is well worth a read too.
Thanks, Andy – @Andy_Morley


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The ASTATE OneCard
It's not only your ID card, but it's also your access to your residence hall, meal plan and Express Dollars
So what does this mean for you?
You will present your card to the door reader at your contracted Resident Hall to gain access to the building. Present your OneCard to any of the Sodexo locations to use your Flex Dollars and at the Acansa to use your board meals.
The OneCard is your campus funds option as well to use at all campus retail locations for discounts and incentives, you will also use your OneCard at all participating Express Dollars locations.
Who can get one?
Students must be enrolled in classes and provide proper identification such as a drivers license, state ID or passport to obtain the OneCard. It is a nontransferable ID card, only the cardholder may present the OneCard for purchases, access, and other privileges. Faculty and Staff may obtain the OneCard on or after their date of hire in the HR system.
The first ASTATE OneCard issued is free. There is a $20 replacement fee for damaged, lost or stolen cards. Proper identification such as a drivers license, state ID or passport is required to obtain a OneCard.


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I'm a certified Spanish tutor from ESPAÑA with a great passion for helping others and I'll be happy to assist you in your mastery of my native language!
I think that mastery of a foreign language can introduce you to a new world of opportunities, and I would like to help you to open those doors. I love to learn languages, and will do my very best to help you to learn the Spanish language.
Mi video presentacion en español:
*Horario actualizado SOLO para semana actual y siguiente*
I have been fortunate to work as a private teacher for the last 10 years. I totally believe in online teaching and learning and I have also been fortunate to work online for the last 2 years. Online teaching and learning is fun and what is more important. IT REALLY WORKS!
2000 Bachelor's Computer Science
2005 ELE Teacher Training
2012 Teaching Spanish as second language at Instituto Cervantes
2013 e-learning tutor
As every student is different, I focus on the student's needs and targets. I prepare the lessons depending on what the student wants or needs. I normally focus on speaking so the students are able to talk from the beginning.
I send some materials to work with during the lesson and I try to make my students feel comfortable and to be confident in themselves. For me it's important that you enjoy the lessons and achieve your aims.
I have my own material, books, audio and lots and lots of exercises.
During the lessons I will try to use Spanish as much as it's possible, so students get used to the language.


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St. Mark's Dinner
St. Mark's United Methodist Church is located in the New Orleans French Quarter, with a mission of being a reconciling congregation where one can find a community that embraces all persons regardless of race, sexual orientation, life history, education, and age. St. Mark's is a church that is committed to serving the homeless, and one Sunday every other month representatives from SCUMC worship with the St. Mark's congregation, and then serve a hot fellowship meal to the homeless who also attend the service. SCUMC also tries to participate in special seasonal opportunities for the homeless, as well. Visit http://www.frenchquarterumc.org/home.aspx for more information.


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NCI Drug Dictionary
The NCI Drug Dictionary contains technical definitions and synonyms for drugs/agents used to treat patients with cancer or conditions related to cancer. Each drug entry includes links to check for clinical trials listed in NCI's List of Cancer Clinical Trials.
- edrecolomab
A murine monoclonal IgG2a antibody to tumor-associated epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM, or 17-1A) antigen. Edrecolomab attaches to EpCAM, a human cell surface glycoprotein that is found on normal epithelial cells and some tumor cells, such as those of colon and breast carcinomas. Upon binding, this agent recruits the body's immune effector cells, which may exhibit antitumor cytotoxicity. Check for active clinical trials using this agent. (NCI Thesaurus)
Synonym: monoclonal antibody 17-1A Foreign brand name: Panorex Abbreviation: MOAB 17-1A


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1 minute reading time (129 words)
Coleder Indoor Rental LED Display
The Coleder Indoor Rental model features a plug-and-play cable free connections. Each panel is comprised of four 9.84 inch SMD 3-in-1 LED modules, which makes a combined 19.68 inch panel. The 19.68 panel is integrated with its own power supply, receiving card, and hub board. According to Coleder, a single panel can be assemble within 2.8 seconds, making it the world's fastest LED wall to install and dismantle.
Coleder also offers an Ultra HD, Outdoor Rental, and Indoor and Outdoor Fixed LED Displays.
To learn more about the Coleder Indoor Rental LED Display click here.


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This week, after waiting months (and months) for what I thought was a sure acceptance, I received the dreaded soul-crushing rejection. Sorry, not right for us, it said. Your story had some of what we were looking for, but lacked in others.
I was devastated. I had been so sure I'd nailed it, with good characters, an original and interesting premise, and the right mix of suspense and sex. Or so I thought. But what was the problem? Did they not like the premise? What, exactly, was lacking?
In the interest of bettering my writing, I ran the risk of asking the editors. After I hit Send, dread filled me. The editors would hate me for pestering them. I would be blacklisted. Most certainly, I would be ignored.
To my surprise, the email was passed on to the reviewing editor, who took the time to explain specific problems. Her comments were enough to give me hope. My writing wasn't total crap after all. I missed a few key elements, which, for this story, I have to decide whether I'm willing to change or not. But moving forward, I feel better armed with knowledge of specific points I need to aim for.
Most importantly, I was heartened by her last sentence: Good luck, and I look forward to future submissions!
I know most editors are overwhelmed with submissions and don't have the time to critique every one, but even a few helpful hints make all the difference between leaving a writer dismayed, or arming him or her with suggestions to improve. I'm grateful this editor took the time to respond. I have work to do!
Happy writing!


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The thought of baking makes me smile. The act of baking makes me cringe. I am the kind of cook who is care-free with measuring spoons. I cook to taste, with whatever I have on hand at the moment. This kitchen style never translates well to baking.
I have a few recipes from my late grandmother. She was a really special lady with an incredible knack for baking. Grandmas House from my childhood was literally lifted from a Norman Rockwell illustration. I'm all grown up now & sadly I can only make a couple of my grandma's recipes with authenticity. My favorite Christmas Cookies notwithstanding.
By my grandmother's recipe cards, these cookies are called Rich Christmas Cookies. I think the rich comes from them being more buttery than sweet. They are perfect when they are just a bit brown and crispy on the edges. I've had people tell me they'd be good with icing, nope, these cookies aren't for them. They are perfect for those of you who like to dunk a buttery cookie into your morning brew while you watch little people tear into gifts. They are my absolute favorite and I'm taking the liberty of renaming them after my Gram. Pair with December, Angela's Christmas Candy & your favorite warm morning beverage. Happy Holidays!!
- 1 cup of butter
- 1 cup of slivered almonds (toasted lightly)
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 2.5 cups of flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or a bit less
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Beat butter and sugar together until light and creamy
- Add well-beaten eggs, one at a time, then nuts and vanilla
- Sift and add dry ingredients
- Chill dough for a bit in the fridge, roll out and cut into shapes
- Bake until the edges are a bit brown and toasty (will vary with shapes and thickness)
- Oven temp: 375
Christmas Breakfast? Whimsy Chef Josh Brandner knows what to make.


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Ladies and Gents, A historic moment materialized last July in stunning San Francisco. Then the city fell in love with the tasty chili canines and pleasant service, and 77 years later, Pink's has develop into a Hollywood landmark and internationally well-known, now operated by Paul & Betty's family – Richard, Gloria, and Beverly.
Hot canine are generally served with one or more condiments. Pan frying hot canine browns them up just right. Over the previous one hundred years, we've realized a thing or two about how one can cook up the proper sizzling canine, and we would like to share a few of our hot canine know-how with you.
The truth is on the market and with the help of avid sizzling canine historians and linguists, the Council set out to find that reality. Meaty Michigan scorching canines are in style in upstate New York (as are white hots ), whereas beefy Coney Island scorching dogs are fashionable in Michigan.
The award-winning dish is El Guero Canelo's Sonoran-type scorching canines — a Tuscon custom that places an elaborate twist on the normal dish. I needed to eat the smoky, slim Brooklyn Hot Dog Firm sausage with a knife and fork alongside some parsleyed potato salad, as you might in Frankfurt, but not on a bun.
This definition, and those supplied by sausage cognoscenti, bureaucrats, and judges, ought to settle the long-raging pop culture debate over whether or not a sizzling dog is essentially a sandwich Whereas a sandwich can include meat between bread, and a sizzling dog is most undoubtedly that, the canine is just not outlined by its bun.


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+ When parents bring a child for baptism, they are asking Jesus to put down a solid foundation in their child's life. But notice there is a stack of bricks in the background. Jesus doesn't want to build only a foundation, but an entire house.
+ When young people stand at the altar on their Confirmation Day, they are asking Jesus to stay on the job and continue building.
+ None of us is ever a completed building project. So when you read that one of our Core Values is Intentional Faith Development, know that means life-long learning.
For opportunities to develop your faith, visit the Education and the Small Groups pages.
Luther and the Reformation
In honor of the 500th Anniversary of the posting of the 95 Theses (10/31/1517), we will take a month by month journey through the life of Martin Luther and his role in the Reformation that changed the church.
See a schedule here.


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30 day money-back guaranteeFREE SHIPPING FOR RETAIL ORDERS OVER $50 (within the U.S. and Canada)
Side 1:
Image: Mermaid
Text: "These bags 'Mer Maid' for your swimsuit!"
Wet bag color: Pink
Side 2:
Image: Seahorse
Text: "Done horsing around in the sea? Drop in your suit as wet as can be!"
Wet bag color: Aqua and white
Side 1:
Image: Shark
Text: "Take a bite out of wet swim gear!"
Wet bag color: Navy
Side 2:
Image: Crab
Text: "Wet swimsuit got you crabby?"
Wet bag color: Beige and white
Side 1:
Image: Giraffe
Text: "I'll keep your swim gear high & dry."
Wet bag color: Orange
Side 2:
Image: Zebra
Text: "Stripes or spots. I like swimsuits lots & lots!"
Wet bag color: Green and white
Side 1:
Image: Lion
Text: "I can mane-age your soaked swim stuff."
Wet bag color: Blue
Side 2:
Image: Monkey
Text: "Wet swim gear makes me go bananas!"
Wet bag color: Orange and white


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You've found the perfect space, now what?
Once you've selected a space, view the photos and other related information, such as amenities, to learn more about what you can expect from this chosen location.
More details
Seating available in the space. The maximum designates the amount of people allowed in a space at one time, for your comfort and safety.
Size & Layout
View the square footage and, if available, a floor plan of the space.
All the features this space has to offer.
Good For
We want you to find the right space for your ideas. Click here for more information.
Opening Hours
Our spaces are open, at the earliest, at 6:00 AM and close, at the latest, at 10:00 PM. Every building has different hours of operation, which will affect the opening hours of our spaces. Be sure to consult individual listings for availability.
Room Access
How to get in, from street-level to space.
Need to Know
Important details we think you should know before booking.
Public Transport
Our recommended nearby public transit routes.
Ready to book? Let's get started.