Access Insights
Limitations of Fuzzy Matching of Lexical Variants
Some vendors of text analytics software claim that their software can identify the occurrences of text reflecting specific taxonomy terms (with the strong, and false, implication that it identifies all such occurrences) using “fuzzy matching” or “fuzzy term matching.” Some explanations of the technology, from Techopedia and Wikipedia, show that it is a fairly crude mathematical approach, similar to the co-occurrence statistical approaches that such software also tends to use, and no match for rule-based indexing approaches that derive their effectiveness from human intelligence.
Read MoreThe Semantics of Whisk(e)y
As noted last week in our article, “A Spirit of Another Name”, Saveur has created a glossary of Whisk(e)ys. However, as we all know, a glossary does not a taxonomy make –it can, however, be a good starting point. One of the problems, of course, is that national styles – and even spellings—are mutable. In general, “whiskey” comes from Ireland and the United States, while “whisky” (no ‘e’) comes from Canada and Scotland. However, well-known bourbon Maker’s Mark long ago decided to buck the semantic trend and drop the “e” despite being an all-American brand.
Read MoreKnowledge Organization Systems and Return on Investment (KOSs and ROI)
Let’s call him George. George was having a very bad day. He needed legal advice. So, over his lunch hour he scheduled an appointment. After George described his situation, the lawyer pulled a book from the shelf behind him. After briefly scanning it and checking precedent, he confidently told George with a smile, “Relax. This is a slam dunk.” On his way out of the office, George gazed at the consultation invoice and muttered to himself: “15 minutes! Only 15 minutes and he charged me $325.00!”
Read MoreRecords Management in the Court System
Of course records play a vital role in the litigation process as any records management professional would affirm. But what exactly is their role?
Read MoreOf Taxonomies, Biology, and Moneyball
Baseball and biology are not commonly found in the same conceptual space. Neither do you find taxonomy associated with baseball, but in recent news these connections were made. Grant Bisbee, editor of “Baseball Nation”, digresses into the arcane as he laments the coming of the “He’s In the Best Shape of His Life” season. This is the time of year baseball writers must assess the prospects for the coming season, and clichés and hyperbole reign. The dubious practice of evaluating the physical condition of players runs rampant as spring training begins. With tongue in cheek, Bisbee tries to shape a taxonomy to classify this spring ritual. His would be the taxonomy of the “In the Best-shape Stories”.
Read MoreRelease of Data Harmony® Software Version 3.9 Planned for March 31, 2014
Data Harmony, a division of Access Innovations, Inc., has announced that version 3.9 of its suite of software tools will be released on March 31, 2014. Current customers will be the first to receive the new version.
“Our recent enhancements provide greater search efficiency while browsing your thesaurus through callouts and hyperlinks to related and narrower terms,” said Allex Lyons, one of the Data Harmony programming team. “Dropdown menus in the search window display subject terms with a type head (autocomplete) function that assists users of any skill or experience level.”
Read MoreSemantic Fingerprinting for Name Disambiguation
Many institutions and organizations – notably (but not limited to) publishers – have large, or sometimes very very large, lists of names. These names are from member directories, employees and staff, clients and customers, marketing, development, and many other sources; indeed, oftentimes the lists from various departments in the same organization are not connected or resolved with one another in any way.
Read MoreWell-Built Taxonomies are Core of Knowledge Management
Access Innovations’ CEO, Jay Ven Eman shared his views of taxonomies and their correlation to knowledge management in a recent article feature.
Read MorePumas and Cougars and Snails, OH MY!
When you use a thesaurus for indexing context covering multiple disciplines, the need for disambiguation of terms is increased. This fact of thesaurus life was well illustrated in a presentation at this year’s DHUG (Data Harmony Users Group) meeting. The presentation, by Rachel Drysdale, Taxonomy Manager of the Public Library of Science (PLOS), was titled “The PLOS Thesaurus: the first year.”
Read MoreAccess Innovations Named in KMWorld’s Annual “100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management”
Access Innovations, Inc., a leader in digital data organization, announces its inclusion on KMWorld’s annual list of the “Top 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management.”
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