Semantics and the Semantics and the EPA System of RegistriesEPA System of Registries

Gail HodgeIIa/ Consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

18 April 2007

EPA’s System of RegistriesEPA’s System of Registries

• A series of registries that help manage key business objects

• Most are authority files:– Chemicals and substances– Facilities– XML Schema/Tags

• Newly added Environmental Terminology System and Services (ETSS) will address topical terminology

Why Terminology? Why Terminology?

• So that we know what we mean

– Key business terms and acronyms

• So we can find stuff

– Indexing, cataloging, keyword management

• Others are counting on us

– Emergency response

– Other Federal Gov’t

– International efforts Gary Larson – The Far Side

EPA’s History of TerminologyEPA’s History of Terminology

• EPA Terminology Reference System (www.epa.gov/trs)– Searchable repository– Over 250 distinct vocabularies; over 11,000 terms

• Environmental regulations and laws• EPA Program glossaries and term lists• GEneral Multilingual Environmental Thesaurus (GEMET)

– Significant limitations• Limited search capability• Lacks web services• Lacks editing functionality• Doesn’t support multilingual capability• Insufficient for concept management

What Is the ETSS?What Is the ETSS?• Search & Discovery Portal – a tool to find, use,

and download terminology• Terminology Management – a repository of

important terms with user interfaces for creation, storage, maintenance, harmonization, and distribution of various types of terminology

• Automated Services – Web interfaces and services to allow exchanges of terminologies with Agency and partner systems

• Collaborative Stewardship – a framework for the development of vocabulary-specific workflows and processes

Key ETSS CustomersKey ETSS Customers• Human Customers

– EPA vocabulary developers like the Web Taxonomy Project– Policy makers defining terms in regulations– System developers selecting XML tags and defining data

elements– Program managers and researchers seeking terms and

glossaries perhaps via the portal – Non-EPA vocabulary developers interested in environmental

terms– People trying to use terms and definitions consistently– Stakeholders, partners and the public

• System Customers– Search engines – to expand searches or provide the basis for

taxonomies or folders– Enterprise content management – source of value domains

and controlled vocabularies– Other systems that use pick lists

EPA System of Registries Portal

ETSS

DiscoverTerminology

DevelopTerminology

Launches directly to Oracle Collaboration Suite

Environmental Data Registry

(EDR)

Registry of EPA Applications and

Databases (READ)

Facility Registry System (FRS)

Substance Registry System

(SRS)

Service Component Registry and Repository

(SCRR)

Launches directly to Synaptica

ETSS and theETSS and the System of Registries System of Registries

Current StatusCurrent StatusWhere We’re At• Factiva’s Synaptica KMS software selected• Editorial system in production as of early April• Over 250 vocabularies and 11,000 terms migrated• New Web Taxonomy created and maintained• Training sessions held for editors Next Steps• Develop public end-user interface• Establish governance and workflow• Integrate with SOR and other systems• Develop strategy for moving toward a concept-based system

Knowledge Organization Knowledge Organization ContinuumContinuum

What is Concept Management?What is Concept Management?• Organizing terms around core concepts in a business, domain or

enterprise

• Goals:*– Articulate clear and concise meanings of business domain

concepts– Achieve a shared understanding of the concepts among relevant

stakeholders, and– Guard the stability of a concept’s meaning during system

development• Major activities:*

– Scoping the environment of discourse– Concept specification, integration and enforcement

*Bleeker, et al “The Role of Concept Management in System Development –

A Practical and Theoretical Perspective” 2003.

http://www.cs.ru.nl/Research/reports/full/NIII-R0330.pdf

Concept Management Concept Management and the Semantic Weband the Semantic Web

The Semantic Web is an extension of the current web in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation.

It is all about:

• Managing concepts• More explicit meaning• Structure and standards• Tools and infrastructure

Where do we want to go?Where do we want to go?• ETSS supports the ability to connect multiple

vocabularies:– Put an umbrella concept system over all the

vocabularies to which the individual terms can be linked

– Increase the links between terms, including across vocabularies

– Create richer relationships between terms– Continue to add definitions– Develop tools for comparing terms and

definitions

System manuals

Data dictionaries

11179 E1

11179 E3

Term

inolo

gies,

onto

logie

s, e

tc.

XML & related standards

Semantic grids

11179 E2

Semantics management for data

Complex semantics management

Data engineering/XML Data

Data Standards/Data Administration

XMDR ProjectKey Semantic Services

Enabler!

Semantics services (SSOA)

For More InformationFor More Information

Contact either:

Linda SpencerEPAOffice of Information Collectionspencer.linda@epa.gov(202) 566-1651

Michael PendletonEPAOffice of Information Collectionpendleton.michael@epa.gov(202) 566-1658

“Commentary.” Government Computer News – August 14, 2006