Research Statement
My research is on Information Retrieval (IR), Information Seeking, and Ontologies. Ontology, which is a technology that can give support for the development of more intelligent systems, can be used to enhance information retrieval systems (e.g., assist users to understand the knowledge of a domain, compose better queries - semantic queries, etc.) so as to develop better interactive environments and to provide more accurate answers. Such information retrieval systems can be an intermediary, as described by information seeking models, that facilitate the user to move from the initial state of information needs to the goal state of resolution.
Research Interests
- Information Retrieval
- Ontology
- Information Seeking
- Search Engine
- Semantic Web
Submited Papers
Beppler, F. D.; Fonseca, F. T.; Pacheco, R. C. S. Ontology-Driven Information Retrieval: A Hermeneutical Approach to Information Seeking Behaviour. 2007
Abstract: Information Retrieval (IR) research has made a great progress in the last few years. However, extracting valuable information from IR systems is still very time consuming. Common problems affecting users, besides uncertainty and anxiety, are deficient query definition, information overload, and poor system interactivity. In our approach we addressed this uncertainty and anxiety which are part of the search process. If the user does not know exactly what s/he wants, how can a framework help in the information seeking process? We resorted to philosophy and the hermeneutic circle of Heidegger and Gadamer to provide the principles of such a framework. In our implementation of the hermeneutic circle in an IR system users develop their ideas while browsing the information and the concepts that represent the information. We chose ontologies to implement this hermeneutic approach. Ontologies improve IR systems regarding its retrieval and presentation of information, which make the task of finding information more effective, efficient, and interactive. We called our framework Hermeneus, which in Greek means the interpreter or translator. Hermeneus works as an intermediary that facilitates the user to move from the initial state of information need to the goal state of resolution. Our system intends to be the bridge between the user's question and the answer to be found while s/he navigates in the ontology concepts and the instances of these concepts in a back and forth way.
Beppler, F. D.; Fonseca, F. T.; Pacheco, R. C. S. Hermeneus: An Architecture for an Ontology-Enabled Information Retrieval. 2007
Abstract: Ontologies improve IR systems regarding its retrieval and presentation of information, which make the task of finding information more effective, efficient, and interactive. In this paper we argue that ontologies also greatly improve the engineering of such systems. We created a framework that uses ontology to drive the process of engineering an IR system. We developed a prototype that shows how a domain specialist without knowledge in the IR field can build an IR system with interactive components. The resulting system provides support for users not only to find their information needs but also to extend their state of knowledge. This way, our approach to ontology-enabled information retrieval addresses both the engineering aspect described here and also the usability aspect described elsewhere.
Recent Publications
Gonçalves, A. L.; Beppler, F. D.; Bovo, A.; Kern, V.; Pacheco, R. C. S. (2006) A Text Mining Approach towards Knowledge Management Applications. Denmark. (PDF)
Keywords: Text Mining, Information Retrieval, Information Extraction, Knowledge Management, Named Entity Recognition, Latent Relation Discovery - LRD.
Beppler, F. D. ; Todesco, J. L.; Gonçalves, A. L.; Sell, D.; Morales, A. B. T.; Pacheco, R. C. S.; (2005) Uma Arquitetura Para Recuperação de Informação Aplicada ao Processo de Cooperação Universidade - Empresa. Brazil. (PDF)
Keywords: Recuperação de Informação, Gestão da Informação, Inovação, Redes de Colaboração, Cooperação Universidade-Empresa (information retrieval, information management, innovation, collaboration networks)
Pacheco, R. C. S. ; Kern, V. M.; Vieira, D.; Gonçalves, A. L.; Beppler, F. D. (2005) Portal Inovação: Um Espaço de Cooperação entre Empresas e a Comunidade Científico-Tecnológica. Portugal. (PDF)
Keywords: Portal Web, Inovação, Governo Eletrônico, Relação Universidade-Empresa, Ciência & Tecnologia (web portal, innovation, egov).
Gonçalves, A. L.; Beppler, F. D. ; Guérios, M.; Igarashi, W.; Bovo, A.; Bordin, A.; Morales, A. B. T. (2005) Um Modelo Baseado em Mineração de Textos voltado a aplicações de Gestão do Conhecimento. Brazil. (PDF)
Keywords: Descoberta de Conhecimento, Mineração de Texto, Reconhecimento de Entidades, Gestão de Conhecimento (knowledge discovery, text mining, named entity recognition, knowledge management).
Gonzaga, T.; Beppler, F. D.; Morales, A. B. T.; Almeida, R.; Pacheco, R. C. S.; (2004) Instrumentos de Informação para Plataforma de Gestão de E-Gov. Brazil.(
PDF)
Keywords: Sistemas de Informação, Data Warehouse, Apoio à Decisão, Governo Eletrônico (information systems, dicision support, egov).
Gonzaga, T.; Beppler, F. D.; Morales, A. B. T.; Almeida, R.; (2004) Instrumentos de Informação para Extração de Indicadores e de Informação Textual. Brazil. (PDF)
Keywords: Recuperação de Informação, Busca Textual, Data Warehouse, OLAP (information retrieval, textual search).
Beppler, F. D.; (2002) Emprego de RBC para Recuperação Inteligente de Informações. Master's dissertation. Brazil. (PDF)
Keywords: RBNet, Raciocínio Baseado em Casos - RBC, Recuperação de Informação (case-based reasoning - CBR, information retrieval).
Beppler, F. D.; (1998) Comunicação entre Agentes em KQML Aplicado a Problemas de Logística. Final under-graduation project. Brazil. (PDF)
Keywords: distributed artificial inteligence, agents, KQML, JKQML, logistic problems.
Current Activities
Education
Doctorate in Knowledge Engineering and Management (EGC) - Federal University of Santa Catarina(UFSC), Brazil (2004 - to date)
M.S. in Production Engineering - Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil (1999 - 2002)
Graduate Diploma in Computer Science - Regional University of Blumenau (FURB), Brazil (1994 - 1998)
Professional Experience
Researcher, Project Coordinator and Software Engineer
Stela Institute, Brazil (2005 - 2006)
Development of information and knowledge-based systems for private and public government institutions in the area of information systems, electronic government and knowledge engineering. Techniques used: information retrieval, ontologies, natural language processing, information extraction, data mining, text mining, data warehouse, web services, Web development.
Stela Group, Brazil (1999 - 2005)
Development of information and knowledge-based systems for private and public government institutions in the area of information systems, electronic government and knowledge engineering. Techniques used: information extraction, data warehouse, data mining, case-based reasoning, electronic government, information retrieval, text mining, web services, client/server architectures, Web development.
Researcher Assistant
Information technology, electronic government, and knowledge engineering applied to enterprise-university integration. Stela Institute, Brazil, (2005 - 2006).
Extension, consolidation, and dissemination of Lattes Platform. Stela Group - UFSC, Brazil, (2002 - 2005).
Census of Research Groups: extension and support. Stela Group. UFSC, Brazil, (2000 - 2005).
Lattes Platform. Stela Group, UFSC, Brazil, (2000 - 2002).
Lattes Curriculum Systems: extension and support. Stela Group, UFSC, Brazil, (2000 - 2002).
Data warehouse applied to Science and Technology. Stela Group, UFSC, Brazil (1999 - 2000).
Census of Research Groups integrated to Lattes Platform. Stela Group, UFSC, Brazil, (1999 - 2000).
Teaching Assistant
Teaching Assistant in under graduation course. Subject: Introduction to Object Orientation with Java. Federal University of Santa Catarina - UFSC, Brazil (2004 - 2005).
Instructor
Introduction to Web Technologies with JSP and Servlets. (in pos-graduation course), South University of Santa Catarina - UNISUL, Brazil, 2004.
Collaborators
Frederico Fonseca Dr.
Roberto C. S. Pacheco Dr.
Andrey Soares
Alexandre L. Gonçalves Dr.
Denilson Sell Dr.
José L. Todesco Dr. (Tite)
Alessandro B. Bovo
