We've been busy implementing ClaiMaker, a tool for annotating a
document's entry in a digital library (ie. not specific bits of its text,
yet) with 'concepts', which you can then connect to each other with
argumentation-based links (what we call a 'claim'). It's basically an
interpretive layer (analogous to a Topic Map space) that sits above any
digital library - a space for analysis and debate about the *meaning* of
ideas, which is after all what you're really interested in if you're a
researcher or information analyst (our target communities).
If we imagine a whole community adding to this, a claims network emerges
that mirrors their collective interpretation(s) of their
literature/resource world. Then you need support to navigate this network
to filter and detect patterns. We're using vanilla graph structure
analysis (eg dense clusters), as well as semantic ontology-based services
that leverage the relational ontology. On the latter front, we've
implemented a couple which allow you to trace the lineage of an idea
(thanks Murray and Alex for Ceryle/TouchGraph visualization), find
documents that 'support' or 'challenge' this one, and browse the
'neighbourhood' of incoming and outgoing concepts from a doc. If you do a
structural search then the results can be viewed in TouchGraph's
LinkBrowser. (for quick overview see
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/scholonto/execsum.html)
The official announcement is below... We now welcome early adopters
interested to play.
There's a sandpit play area with a sample kb that gives you some test
materials to understand what the Discovery Services do, and we will
create you your personal/collective space if there's the
interest.
How about an OHS space where any resource on which the OHS community
draws can be connected to others? Not just docs, but software and
messages (ideally with a URL) can be brought into the claims
network.
A more detailed description is in a forthcoming book (with an Afterword
from Doug). Preprint at:
Visualizing Internetworked Argumentation. Simon
Buckingham Shum, Victoria Uren, Gangmin Li, John Domingue, Enrico Motta.
To appear: Visualizing Argumentation: Software Tools for Collaborative
and Educational Sense-Making. Paul A. Kirschner, Simon J. Buckingham
Shum and Chad S. Carr (Eds), In Press. Springer-Verlag: London
[http://kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/scholonto/docs/VizNetArg2002.pdf]
ClaiMaker enables you to model the claims made by research documents, and
the arguments/debates about those claims. Initial visualization and
analysis tools enable you to navigate and analyse the claims
network.
ClaiMaker v0.2 is now released for evaluation. A test db is there for you
to play with a dummy claims network, and a dedicated area can be created
for you to model your own literatures.
User Documents available. Feedback welcomed!
Details:
The members of the ScholOnto project team are pleased to announce the
very first test version of our rhetorical modelling system, ClaiMaker
ver.0.2
[http://claimaker.open.ac.uk].
This has a form based interface for inputting models of the arguments in
research papers and some simple discovery functions for exploring the
data. There is a play site available at
http://claimaker.open.ac.uk/Sandpit
. Nothing that is built in the sandpit matters so please spend as long as
you need to there. Model anything you like, or just make up some nonsense
claims to familiarise yourself with the system.
If you decide that you would like to start modelling seriously in
ClaiMaker please let us know and we will set up a private space for your
research group.
There are two user documents attached. "Making Claims in ScholOnto
ClaiMaker" talks about what claims are, and introduces you to the
kind of model you can build in ClaiMaker. "User's Guide to Scholonto
ClaiMaker ver 0.2" concentrates on the input functions of the
current version of the software. We hope that the current generation of
discovery functions will be self explantory.
ClaiMaker is an experimental system which is undergoing continual
evolution. We appreciate feedback of all kinds, so please tell us what
you like, what needs to be improved and what new functions would make the
system easier to use.
Simon Buckingham Shum (s.buckingham.shum@open.ac.uk)
Gary Li (g.li@open.ac.uk)
Victoria Uren (v.s.uren@open.ac.uk)
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Dr Simon J. Buckingham Shum
Senior Lecturer
Knowledge Media Institute
The Open University
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA, UK
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T: +44 (0)1908 655723
F: +44 (0)1908 653169 [office] eFax: +44 (0)870 122 8765
[direct]
E: sbs@acm.org
W:
www.kmi.open.ac.uk/sbs
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Jnl. Interactive Media in Education:
http://www-jime.open.ac.uk
"All models are wrong, but some are
useful" W. Edwards Deming
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