Ontology Summit: Contexts in Context
What is it about?
Data is now being produced at a far greater rate than in the past, and the vast majority of this data is context-dependent. Data will have limited usefulness if the context is only informally known, if it is known at all. In this article, we identify some of the prevailing viewpoints and the major issues and research problems of the formalization of contexts.
Why is it important?
In just the last few years, more data has been produced, at a far greater rate, and with far more complexity, than in all of previous human history. The vast majority of this data is context-dependent. While there has been progress on the development and deployment of ontology-based methods for dealing with data semantics, there has not been as much progress on specifying context. Given that data is nearly always context-dependent, specifying data formally, even with very rich ontologies, will have limited usefulness if the context is only informally known, if it is known at all. This article identifies the major issues and research problems of the formalization of contexts.