Ioannis Athanasiadis | Γιάννης Αθανασιάδης
Information Technologies in Environmental Engineering
Filed Under (Conference papers) by I N Athanasiadis on 13-06-2007
In Farming Systems Design 2007: Methodologies for Integrated Analysis of Farm Production Systems, (M. Donatelli, J. Hatfield and A. Rizzoli, ed.), pp. 247-248, Catania, Italy, 2007.
Abstract This paper provides an example how researchers that are distant to software engineering and modelling can contribute to the development of a system for indicator implementation and management within a larger context of a complex computerized tool. The system is designed in such a way that it can be customized to various methodologies of indicator calculation (directly from data, linked to model outputs, transformed model outputs) to fit the scientific reality of economic, environmental and social indicators.
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Filed Under (Conference papers) by I N Athanasiadis on 26-04-2007
In Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Semantic Web Enabled Software Engineering, 4th European Semantic Web Conference, (E. F. Kendall and others, ed.), pp. 16-30, Innsbruck, Austria, 2007.
Abstract Domain-specific conceptualizations are increasingly specified as formal ontologies, as part of ongoing efforts for enabling the semantic web. However, experience has shown that semantic models and their incarnations into OWL structures, though powerful for expressing complex abstractions, remain difficult to utilize in conventional software projects. In this paper we present our work for coupling ontologies with conventional domain-centric data models and object-relational persistence. The Semantic Rich Development Architecture methodology is specified for assisting the software developer to build-up enterprise applications, starting from a formal domain specification expressed in OWL. This way, a knowledge-based enterprise development environment is introduced that demonstrates the benefits of coupling ontologies with software development standards.
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Filed Under (Conference papers) by I N Athanasiadis on 26-04-2007
In Proc. of the 31th IEEE Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), pp. 341-346, Beijing, China, 2007.
Abstract To put in practice knowledge-based software engineering practice we need frameworks that enable the programmer to integrate semantic-rich approaches in conventional software development process. In this work, we present how a knowledge base can be smoothly integrated with conventional domain-centric data models, as Enterprise Java Beans and object-relational mapping toolkits, as hibernate. We present a clear pathway for the software developer, starting from a domain ontology, how to generate both enterprise Java beans source code and hibernate object-relational mappings. In this way, a semantic-rich enterprise development environment is specified, that combines both the benefits of using ontologies and software development standards.
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Filed Under (Conference papers) by I N Athanasiadis on 26-04-2007
In Seventh Int’l Symposium on Environmental Software Systems (ISESS-05), Prague, Czech Republic, 2007.
Abstract In this paper, the software development and test applications of a component-based generic farm system simulator is presented. The Farm System Simulator (FSSIM) developed within the EU FP6 SEAMLESS project is an integrated modelling system developed to assess the economic and ecological impacts of agricultural and environmental policies and technological innovations. Based on the semantic link of biophysical and micro-economic models, FSSIM seeks to describe the behaviour of the farmer at the farm level given specific biophysical, socio-economic and policy constraints, in order to analyze in an integrated manner the behaviour of the whole farming system. FSSIM is a modular system which involves a mathematical programming model (FSSIM-MP), and an agricultural management module (FSSIM-AM) that has several model components to generate the technical coefficients needed by FSSIM-MP. The respective model component of FSSIM-MP and those of FSSIM-AM are developed in different modelling environments by using C, Java and GAMS, while data is stored in relational databases. Model assumptions, interfaces and causal chains, along with available data sources are specified in a declarative fashion, serving as the building blocks of a semantic-aware integration framework based on ontology-enabled knowledge base. A set of ontologies describing model components and databases for FSSIM has been built. Ontologies set up clear definitions for loosely integrating models in an open environment. In this way, model components are approached as autonomous agents confronting to open interfaces and strict contracts, and are automatically integrated into the FSSIM framework through OpenMI+ pulling model linking approach. An application of the FSSIM modules to different farm types within Midi-Pyrenees region is given as a case study.
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Filed Under (Conference papers) by I N Athanasiadis on 26-04-2007
In 2007 European Simulation Interoperability Workshop, pp. 60, Genoa, Italy, 2007.
Abstract The size and scope of simulation models is constantly growing in order to keep up with the requirements imposed by increasingly complex scenario analyses. Moreover, advances in the performance of simulation hardware, of communication software, and development frameworks, also offer unprecedented opportunities. As a consequence, the complexity of the design, implementation and deployment of simulation models is also increasing, up to a point that it might soon become unmanageable. We describe an approach aimed at taming such complexity based on the use of ontologies to structure modelling and simulation knowledge, which can be manipulated through a knowledge manager to facilitate the development of models and tools for simulation. We present two case studies and demonstrations of this approach. The first targets the integrated assessment of the common agricultural policies of the EU where models pertaining different domains (environmental, social, economic) and different scales (local, regional, continental) must be integrated. The second focuses on the integrated design of energy supply systems, where alternative models for energy supply systems must be integrated in order to select the best combination to produce energy minimizing costs and environmental impacts.
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Filed Under (Conference papers) by I N Athanasiadis on 15-02-2007
In Information Technology in Environmental Engineering (ITEE 2007), (J. Marx Gómez, M. Sonnenschein, M. Müller, H. Welsch and C. Rautenstrauch, ed.), pp. 417-432, Oldenburg, Germany, 2007.
Abstract Farming Systems Research studies agricultural systems and their interaction with the natural environment and ecosystems. Agro-ecosystems are highly complex due to the many feedbacks between natural processes, high geographical diversity and human factors involved both as the farmer’s decisions at farm household level and as the policy implementations at regional, national or European levels. This paper presents a novel approach for developing an Agricultural Management Definition Module (AMDM), by exploiting ontologies and semantic modeling. Specifically, a declarative approach has been utilized for conceptualizing farming systems and the management alternatives of a farm household. This conceptual model has been implemented as an ontology that ultimately has been used as the basis for software development and integration. This paper presents in detail the methodology used for developing AMDM and a real-world installation, part of the SEAMLESS integrated project.
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Filed Under (Conference papers) by I N Athanasiadis on 11-02-2007
In Workshop on Social and Collaborative Construction of Structured Knowledge at 16th International World Wide Web Conference (WWW2007), (N. Noy, H. Alani, G. Stumme, P. Mika, Y. Sure and D. Vrandecic, ed.), Banff, Alberta, Canada, 2007.
Abstract In this paper, we describe collaborative efforts between a knowledge representation team and a community of scientists and information managers in developing knowledge models for ecology and environmental science. Formal, structured approaches to knowledge representation used by the team (e.g., ontologies) are informed by unstructured approaches to knowledge representation already in use by the community. Observations about the process of interaction between the team and the community are used to generate a set of technical requirements of a supporting system. These requirements are being used to develop a prototype system based on the ThinkCap collaborative knowledge portal toolkit.
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Agent-based modelling and simulation in the irrigation management sector: applications and potential
Filed Under (Conference papers) by I N Athanasiadis on 21-12-2006
In Water Saving in Mediterranean Agriculture (WASAMED), (N. Lamaddalena, C. Bogliotti, M.Todorovic and A. Scardigno, ed.), pp. 273-286, Bari, Italy, 2007.
Abstract In the field of sustainable development, the management of common-pool resources is an issue of major importance. Several models that attempt to address the problem can be found in the literature, especially in the case of irrigation management. In fact, the latter task represents a great challenge for researchers and decision makers, as it has to cope with various water-related activities and conflicting user perspectives within a specified geographic area. Simulation models, and particularly Agent-Based Modelling and Simulation (ABMS), can facilitate overcoming these limitations: their inherent ability of integrating ecological and socio-economic dimensions, allows their effective use as tools for evaluating the possible effects of different management plans, as well as for communicating with stakeholders. This great potential has already been recognized in the irrigation management sector, where a great number of test cases have already adopted the modelling paradigm of multi-agent simulation. Our current study of agent-based models for irrigation management draws some interesting conclusions, regarding the geographic and representation scale of the reviewed models, as well as the degree of stakeholder involvement in the various development phases. Overall, we argue that ABMS tools have a great potential in representing dynamic processes in integrated assessment tools for irrigation management. Such tools, when effectively capturing social interactions and coupling them with environmental and economical models, can promote active involvement of interested parties and produce sustainable and approvable solutions to irrigation management problems.
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Filed Under (Conference papers) by I N Athanasiadis on 18-10-2006
In 9th PREBEM Conference on Business Economics, Management and Organization Science, pp. 1-26, Amersfoort, The Netherlands, 2006.
Abstract In a multi-disciplinary environment a common understanding of concepts and their relationships is needed for successful cooperation between disciplines. To achieve a common understanding between models – that is a model provides inputs to other models in a coherent way – first the modellers should understand and translate the knowledge that they let their models to exchange. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the potential usefulness of knowledge bases and ontologies in making knowledge explicit and re-usable between different models, exchanging data with spatio-temporal, biophysical and economic dimensions. We will present a case study based on the SEAMLESS project, which applies ontologies to a set of economic models, based on different methodologies, e.g. empirical econometric estimation models versus a mechanistic optimization model operating across different scales and one biophysical model, e.g. a dynamic crop growth simulation model. An ontology in computer science is considered as a specification of a conceptualization. After several iterations during our collaborative approach in which a number of scientist participated, a common ontology was developed. Within this common ontology the ontologies of the individual models can be distinguished, just as the links between these ontologies through shared concepts. We thus demonstrated how models can be linked through meaningful inputs and outputs, which are stored as concepts in an ontology. It is concluded that ontologies help to rigorously link models of different structures from different disciplines in a meaningful way, and an ontology can be beneficial in further ensuring that scientific knowledge is salient, legitimate and credible.
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Filed Under (Conference papers) by I N Athanasiadis on 31-05-2006
In MODSIM 2005 Int’ll Congress on Modelling and Simulation, (A. Zerger and R. M. Argent, ed.), pp. 704-710, Melbourne, Australia, 2005.
Abstract It is commonly accepted that modelling frameworks offer a powerful tool for modellers, researchers and decision makers, since they allow the management, re-use and integration of models from various disciplines and at different spatial and temporal scales. However, the actual re-usability of models depends on a number of factors such as the accessibility of the source code, the compatibility of different binary platforms, and often it is left to the modellers’ own discipline and responsibility to structure a complex model in such a way that it is decomposed in smaller `re-usable’ subcomponents. What reusable and interchangeable means is also somewhat vague; although several approaches to build modelling frameworks have been developed, little attention has been dedicated to the intrinsic re-usability of components. In this paper we focus on how models can be linked together to build complex integrated models. We review and investigate the various approaches to model linking adopted by a number of Integrated Modelling Frameworks and we aim at describing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. We stress that even if a model component interface is clear and reusable in software terms, this is not a sufficient condition for reusing a component across different Integrated Modelling Frameworks. This remark reveals the need for adding rich semantics in model interfaces; we do such an attempt through the use of domain classes and ontologies. Finally, this paper presents a working example of an ontology formalisation developed for the Seamless project. This ontology (called SeamAg) aims to formally describe biophysical models related to agronomic and environmental domain to be developed by a large community of modellers within the Seamless project. Modellers’ knowledge, related to model subsystems, variables and interfaces, is kept separated from the actual implementation. The use of the SeamAg ontology for storing model interfaces supports the independence of software design choices from modelling knowledge, which be easily reused, integrated in different environments, or shared with third parties. The potentials of extending the presented ontology-driven approach is discussed not only for model linking, but also in the context of building model component workflows using web services.
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Internet for peace
Environmental Modelling & Software
