Theory and Applications of Ontology

Ontology is back at the forefront of philosophy, science and technology. These days ontology comes in at least two main fashions: the traditional philosophical understanding of ontology has been recently flanked by a new – computer-based – understanding of ontology. The current resurgence of interest in ontological issues displays a number of novel features, both among philosophers and among information technologists.

Broadly speaking, the two research communities of philosophers and engineers have still not found a way to relate to each other systematically. One side is perhaps too theoretical, the other too pragmatic. However, in dynamic terms, one easily foresees mounting social and institutional pressure for the development of tools able to model fragments of reality in terms that are both adequate and efficient. The two volumes of TAO intend to play a role in paving the way for a better mutual understanding between engineers and philosophers. Since the two communities are still very different as to their own languages, conceptual tools and problem-sets, we devised two different volumes, one dedicated to the philosophical understanding of ontology and one to the computer-based understanding of ontologies. Both volumes contain both papers describing the state of the art in their respective topics and papers addressing forefront, innovative and possibly controversial topics.

• Applied ontology
• Category theory
• Computer science
• Logical modelling
• Ontology
• Semantics

• Universita di Trento Dipto. Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale, Trento, Italy

  Roberto Poli

• University of Aarhus Dept. Philosophy, Aarhus C, Denmark

  Johanna Seibt

• Seattle, USA

  Michael Healy

• Hellenic Open University & Computer Technology Institute, Patras, Greece

  Achilles Kameas

Roberto Poli (B.A. in sociology, with honors, Ph.D. on ontology for knowledge engineers, Utrecht) is editor-in-chief of Axiomathes (Springer), a peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to the study of ontology and cognitive systems, editor of Categories (Ontos), and member of the Academic Board of Directors of the Metanexus Institute, Philadelphia. His research interests include (1) ontology, in both its traditional philosophical understanding and the new, computer-oriented, understanding, (2) the theory of values and the concept of person and (3) anticipatory systems, i.e. system able to take decisions according to their possible future development. Poli has published four books, edited or co-edited more than 20 books or journal’s special issues and published more than 150 scientific papers. He teaches Applied Ethics and Futures Studies at the Faculty of Sociology and gives a course in Ontology at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy, University of Trento.

Johanna Seibt, Ph. D. (Univ. of Pittsburgh, 1990), Dr. phil. habil. (Univ. of Konstanz, 2005), Associate Professor at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, taught previously at the University of Texas at Austin (1990-2000). Her main interest is in ontology, especially formal process ontology and the history and methodology of ontology. She is main editor of the book series Process Thought and Metaphysical Research, is co-editing the Handbook of Mereology, She has over 60 research publications, including 9 books (monographs and editions) and over 40 articles in international reviewed journals and anthologies. She has given over 70 talks at conferences and departmental lectures (including plenary lectures and lecture series) and received American, German, and Danish grants and awards for her research and teaching.

Achilles D. Kameas received his Engineering Diploma (in 1989) and his Ph.D. (in 1995, in Human-Computer Interaction), both from the Department of ComputerEngineering and Informatics, Univ. of Patras, Greece. Since 2003, he is an Assistant Professor with the Hellenic Open University, where he teaches software design and engineering. He is also the Director of Research Unit 3 / DAISy (Designing Ambient Intelligent Systems) (http://daisy.cti.gr) at the Research Academic Computer Technology Institute (CTI). Since 2007 he is Deputy Dean of the School of Sciences and Technology (SST) of the Hellenic Open University and Director of the e-Comet Lab (Educational Content, Methodologies and Technologies Lab) (http://eeyem.eap.gr). He has participated as researcher, engineer, group leader or scientific coordinator in several EU R&D projects, such as e-Gadgets, Plants, Social, Astra and Atraco. He has published over 100 journal articles, conference papers and book chapters, authored three university textbooks and co-edited more than five books.He is a member of the Advisory Board of Panorama CA and the scientific committee of the Intelligent Environments conferences; in the past he was elected in the steering boards of the Disappearing Computer network and Convivio network. His current research interests include architectures, languages and tools for ubiquitous computing systems, engineering of ubiquitous computing applications, and engineering and application of ontologies and ontology matching. He is a voting member of IEEE, IEEE CS, ACM and ACM SIGCHI. He is a member of Technical Chamber of Greece, Hellenic AI Society and Hellenic Society for the application of ICT in Education.

Policies and ethics