LBSC 670

1. LBSC 670 Information Organization

2. Today • Representation wrap-up • Touching base on XSL • Guest Speaker –Roy Tennant • Classification • Overview & History • Related concepts • Examples

3. Representation wrap-up Metadata is a core element of digital information Representations are essential elements of information use Representations serve different purposes and as such need different structures (schemas) and forms (encodings) Metadata services bring scale to Information organization practice

4. Classification The determination and encoding of “aboutness” for a document “Words have power,” “classification systems exist within a socio-political context” Manual/automatic, Pre/Post coordinate, Hierarchical/faceted, formal/social

5. Classification is power “The idea of a category is central... Most symbols (i.e., words & representations) do not designate particular things or individuals in the world... Most of our words & concepts designate categories. There is nothing more basic than categorization to our though, perception, action & speech. Every time we see something as a kind of thing, for example, a tree, we are categorizing.” • George Lakoff, Women,Fire, and Dangerous Things: What categories reveal about the mind

6. “Any time we either produce or understand an utterance of any reasonable length, we are employing dozens if not hundreds of categories: categories of speech sounds, of words, of phrases and clauses, as well as conceptual categories.” (Lakoff, 6). “Taxonomies are reflections of human thought; they express our most fundamental concepts about the objects of our universe” (Wright, 23).

7. Classification Definitions • “The arrangement of knowledge into specific groups or systems” wur.nl • “A classification is the separation or ordering of objects (or specimens) into classes. Classifications that are created non-empirically are called a priori classifications. Classifications that are created empirically by looking at the data are called a posteriori classifications” – ee.oulu.fi • Lumping & splitting based on a root or principle – Weinberger

8. Classification • Roots • Foundation of knowledge • Embedded in nature / human nature • Related disciplines • Psychology, cognitive science • Education • Library/information science • Knowledge Management

9. Grounding • Memes (Richard Dawkins) • Transfer of concept between members of a group (bees dancing) • Collective intelligence • Knowledge of networks is greater than sum of individuals • Stigmergy (Grasse) • Coding of information in environment

10. Cross-cultural similarities • Wilson & Epigenetic rules • Changes in how we behave based on environmental impact • Primary (perception) & secondary (grouping) • Cecil Brown, Berlin & Folk classifications • Hierarchies, Groupings of 5-6 nested categories • Concept of “real names” - Rose versus plant • Binary discrimination (differentiation) • Lateralization (grouping objects together)

11. Berlin’s levels of classification Adapted from Wright, 2007

12. History - Aristotle (384-322 BCE) • Pure form • Physical/behavioral traits • Clear boundaries, hierarchies, relationships • Commonly held until 19th century

13. 10 Categories Substance Quality Quantity Relation Where When Position Having Action Passion 5 Predicables Genus that part of the essence shared by distinct species Species a group of things similar in essence Differentia that part of the essence peculiar to a given species Property an attribute shared by all members of a species but not part of its essence Accident An attribute shared by some but not all Aristotle’s Categories

14. Epic, and other non dramatic poetry Drama Law Philosophy History Oratory Medicine Mathematical science Natural Science Miscellanea Callimachus (305-240 BC) Poet, critic, and scholar of the Library of Alexandria, created a bibliography (pinakes) of works in the library

15. Linnaeus (1707-1778) • Linnaean Taxonomy • An example • Basis • Structural similarities of organisms • Plants, Animals ,Minerals • Contrasting models • Cladistics(evolution / Darwin) • Molecular phylogeny – tree • An overview of approaches

16. Linnaean taxonomy

17. Barcode of Life Initiative (BOLI) • In the news as: • WASHINGTON (AP) - To help shoppers avoid mislabeled toxic pufferfish and pilots steer clear of birds, federal agencies are starting to tap into an ambitious project that is gathering DNA ``barcodes'' for the Earth's 1.8 million known species. • Interesting comments: • In more than 95% of cases, species recognized through past taxonomic work have been found to possess distinct barcodes. A few very similar species share barcodes, reflecting cases where barcoding does not provide full taxonomic resolution. • Links • http://www.barcodeoflife.org/ • http://barcoding.si.edu/ • http://www.fishbol.org/

18. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) • “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world” – from Internet dictionary of philosophy • Meaning is contextual (personal, social) and conveyed through language • Game Theory • Players, rules, strategies, outcomes, benefits

19. Eleanore Rosch (1938- ) • Prototype Theory • The idea of best ‘form’ without absolute restriction • E.g. a robin is a prototype of a bird • Family resemblance model • Categorization is about saving cognitive effort • ‘on the fly’ relationship judgments • Contextualized meaning, information use • A basic category/prototype allows us to make relationship judgments at an appropriate level

20. S.R. Ranganathan (1897-1972) • Ranganathan • Like Linnaeus, didn’t want to be a librarian – took the job for the pay. • 5 Laws of Library science • Books are for use. • Every reader his or her book. • Every book its reader. • Save the time of the reader. • The library is a growing organism. • Colon Classification • first faceted classification system

21. Colon classification system (1) PMEST Examples • Personality Furniture(?) • Matter Wood(?) • Energy Design(?) • Space America(?) • Time 18th Century(?)

22. Colon Classification system (2) • Analytico-Synthetic • Analysis: Discover basic concepts • Synthesis: Combine discrete parts into a classification system • An example from • UBC L,45;421:6;253:f.44‘N5 • An outline from ISKO L, 45; 421: Medicine, Lungs; Tuberculosis: 6; 253: f.44‘ N5 Treatment; X-ray: Research.India‘ 1950

23. Models of classification • Based on descriptive metadata • Alphabetical, chronological, geographic, element (title, author, etc) • Topical / Subject based • LCSH, ACM, etc • Task/action • Ebay – buyers/sellers • Audience / user centric • The Imaginon, Library Loft • Metaphor • The desktop metaphor for example, Second Life • Hybrid models

24. Work Time! • Tonight we will explore the application of classification systems. INLS 520 – Fall 2007 Erik Mitchell

25. Types of systems • Enumerative systems • Lists of objects grouped under headings • DDC, UDC, LCC • Hierarchical systems • Entries based on a tree structure, inheritance, child/descendant/ancestor • Top-down, bottom-up • Taxonomies (tree structures, XML) • Faceted systems • Multiple relationships • Ontologies (typed relationships) think RDF • Miscellaneous systems • Folksonomies • Del.icio.us, furl, flickr

26. Classification Scheme Components • Schedule, the system… • the classification schema • ACM: http://www.acm.org/class/1998/ccs98.html • Genes: http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~genomes/mthermo/mthermo_files/classes_table.html • tables, generally help you to synthesize build number • IISD: http://www.iisd.org/ic/classification.asp • Fruit fly: http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/diptera/tephriti/Clastabl.htm • Notation – the symbols used to codify your classification • Subject coverage / domain • general (e.g. DDC) or subject specific (e.g. ACM) • Bugnet: http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740

27. Hunter’s classification process (1) • Eight steps to creating a classification system (steps 1-4)

28. Hunter’s classification process (1) • Eight steps to creating a classification system (steps 5-8) INLS 520 – Fall 2007 Erik Mitchell

29. Enumerative Examples • Dewey Decimal (really a hybrid) • BULB LINK (DDC) • Universal Decimal Classification (also a hybrid) • http://www.udcc.org/outline/outline.htm • Mathematical Subject Classification • http://www.ams.org/mathweb/mi-mathbyclass.html

30. Hierarchical Systems • Super-ordinate and sub-ordinate • Genus/species • Class/member More flexible application in classification systems than in terminological tools (thesauri, ontologies, etc.) • Yahoo! example: Directory > Science > Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence > Fuzzy Logic

31. Hierarchical/Enumerative examples • LC Headings • History • History of the Americas • British America • Canada • Scientific history • ...... • ACM • E. Data • E.2 Data Storage Representations • Object Representations

32. Faceted Classification Systems • Definitions: • “One side of a many sided body” (OED) • Basis • Analytico-synthetic • System: Fundamental concepts are analyzed and grouped together into facets • Concepts are combined or “synthesized” as necessary to form more complex subjects

33. Faceted Classification Examples • Flamenco Project • http://flamenco.berkeley.edu/index.html • AAT (Art and Architecture Thesaurus) • “The conceptual framework of facets and hierarchies in the AAT is designed to allow a general classification scheme for art and architecture. The framework is not subject-specific; for example, there is no defined portion of the AAT that is specific only for Renaissance painting.”from AAT site • Associated Concepts, Physical Attributes, Styles and Periods, Agents, Activities, Materials, Objects

34. Miscellaneous Systems • User assigned tags – not really ‘classification’. • Is structured classification is really as good as we think? Is this as good / better? • Del.icio.us • Flickr

35. Next Week • Guest speaker • Talk more about Classification/Categorization • Look at other systems & uses • Barbara H. Kwasnik. 1999. The role of classification in knowledge representation and discovery. • Olson. 2001. Sameness and difference: A cultural foundation of classification.45, - • Shirkey. 2006. Ontology is overrated: Categories, links, and tags