Semantics and the EPA System of Registries Gail Hodge IIa/ Consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 18 April 2007

EPA’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 Terminology EPA Terminology Reference System ( –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? 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 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 Discover Terminology Develop Terminology 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 the System of Registries

Current Status Where 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 Continuum

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”

Concept Management and 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? 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 E E3 Terminologies, ontologies, etc. XML & related standards Semantic grids E2 Semantics management for data Complex semantics management Data engineering/XML Data Data Standards/Data Administration XMDR Project Key Semantic Services Enabler ! Semantics services (SSOA)

For More Information Contact either: Linda Spencer EPA Office of Information Collection (202) Michael Pendleton EPA Office of Information Collection (202) “Commentary.” Government Computer News – August 14, 2006