Use of the Semantic Web in e-Research

Research paper by Kieron O’Hara, Tim Berners-Lee, Wendy Hall & Nigel Shadbolt

http://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/18245/1/O'Hara_et_al%2C_SW_and_e-Science.pdf

“A New Way of Finding Information: Basic Technologies of the Semantic Web. A vital factor in the way the World Wide Web has revolutionized research has been its radical decentralization: any page can link to any other. This decentralization is scalable and removes bottlenecks in supply. Navigation can be via associational links, maintaining relevance, or key-word search, which allows the user a measure of control that makes a suitably connected computer a virtual, near-universal library.” …

"Put in your postcode, out comes the data"

Nigel Shadbolt and Tim Berners-Lee in The Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6920761.ece

“We all recognise the power of information. It guides our behaviour and decisions. It tells us when the trains run and when the roads are jammed, how schools, hospitals and police are performing. We live in an age in which the essential raw material is information; data with a context. It underpins our economy and our society.” ….