[ontolog-forum] PhD Vacancies: Linked Open Data & the Crowd

[Jeff Pan <jeffpan.sw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Supervisors

Professor Peter Edwards & Dr Jeff Pan (Computing Science) and Professor John Nelson (Centre for Transport Research, Geography & Environment)

Funding Eligibility

Tuition fees will be paid at UK/EU rates, for 2010/2011 this is £3,400.  A maintenance grant will also be paid for 2010/2011 which is £13,590. The studentship will be fully funded by dot.rural, which is supported by RCUK Digital Economy Programme (http://www.rcukdigitaleconomy.org.uk/)

Funding Notes

Unfortunately, applications from International applicants cannot be accepted for this studentship due to specific criteria set out by the funding body.

Application Deadline

17 September 2010

Start Date

ASAP (1st October 2010 or as soon as possible thereafter)

References

 

Description

The concept of Linked Open Data has recently achieved widespread coverage, in part due to the emergence of sites such as data.gov.uk, which aims to open up UK Government datasets to the public. Linked Data is a term used to describe a recommended best practice for exposing, sharing, and connecting pieces of data, information, and knowledge on the Web using URIs and RDF (the Resource Description Framework). There are many challenges associate with the creation and curation of such data, and one solution that has been suggested is to make use of large numbers of users (the "crowd") to perform tasks such as creation of new data, parsing/linking existing unstructured data, and correcting errors. Of course, once crowd-sourcing is introduced, issues will arise as to what is the "truth" – in terms of the reliability of new data and any edits to existing data – and how to query and exploit such data with mixed trust level.

This studentship will be based in the RCUK-funded dot.rural Digital Economy research hub (www.dotrural.ac.uk) and the successful applicant will work closely with an interdisciplinary team that is exploring how linked data principles can be used to create a connected multi-modal transport information 'ecosystem'. This will integrate a range of information and knowledge sources including transport operator timetables, sensor data and information/knowledge from local inhabitants in order to support services such as real-time travel alerts and interactive personalised travel planners at key stages in the journey planning process.

This PhD will explore the issues associated with crowd-sourcing and linked data (using the transport scenario above), and in particular will investigate the role of provenance solutions to support annotation of content, trustworthy querying solutions, and methods to make assessments of quality and reliability.

Educational Background:

1^st or 2(1) in Computer Science (with knowledge/experience of the Semantic Web).

Application Procedure

Formal applications can be completed online: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply.   You should apply for MSc with a view to transfer to PhD in Computing Science, to ensure that your application is passed to the correct College for processing.  Please note, you should apply at least 4 days before the deadline to allow us to contact you for further information, if required.  All applications received up to, and including the closing date, will be processed.

Informal academic enquiries should be directed to  Dr J Pan (http://www.csd.abdn.ac.uk/~jpan/), with a copy of your current CV.  All general enquiries should be directed to the Graduate School Admissions Unit.

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