Metadata Jones and the Tower of Babel: The Challenge of Large-Scale Semantic Heterogeneity

The popularity and growth of the "Information SuperHighway " (e.g., the Web) have dramatically increased the number of information sources available for use and the opportunity for important new information-intensive applications (e.g., massive data warehouses, integrated supply chain management, global risk management, in-transit visibility). Unfortunately, there are significant challenges to be overcome regarding data extraction and data interpretation in order for this opportunity to be realized. Data Extraction: One problem is the difficulty in easily and automatically extracting very specific data elements from Web sites for use by operational systems. New technologies, such as XML and Web Querying/Wrapping, offer possible solutions to this problem. Data Interpretation: Another serious problem is the existence of heterogeneous contexts, whereby each SOURCE of information and potential RECEIVER of that information may operate with a different context, leading to large-scale semantic heterogeneity. A context is the collection of implicit assumptions about the context definition (i.e., meaning) and context characteristics (i.e., quality) of the information. As a simple example, whereas most U