A Multilingual Geographic Feature Classification Index for China and Japan Lex Berman, CHGIS, Harvard Yenching Institute PNC – ECAI, Osaka, Sep 2002

feature classifications PRC JP TW dock

matching types to control vocabulary Control Vocabulary Standard 1 Standard 2 Standard n control type of semantic equivalence

standards used Alexandria Digital Library Feature Types (ADL) PRC National Standard Cartographic Symbols (PRC) Taiwan NGIS Feature Types (TW) Japan National Base Map Cartographic Symbols (JP) Control Vocabulary Matched Lists

crosswalk method

match types to control vocabulary PRC JP TW find all types from each list that = (ADL) Type “Piers”

within a common subset, find direct matches PRC JP TW match types that have a specific semantic equivalence, in this case those types that = “dock” or “pier”

some types have more than one direct match

results of matching to full control vocabulary

results of matching to a single control type

“indirect” semantic equivalence “power generation sites”control type of semantic equivalence:

crosswalk search search item:resulting ADL type: power generation sites show crosswalked list results: PRC National Standard List power generation sites (out of 887 types) Taiwan NGIS Standard List power generation sites (out of 404 types) show Taiwan selection:

future steps basic crosswalk: 1. crosswalk unrelated feature type lists to ADL types 2. post the crosswalked lists at a clearinghouse website 3. create a search engine to find related types on the fly towards a domain ontology: 4. perform a formal concept analysis of crosswalked list types 5. propose domain ontology based on the formal concept analysis

formal concept analysis

integration of geospatial datasets

free download List of 1446 feature types, in Unicode UTF-8 online materials for this presentation:

CHGIS -- China Historical GIS Project Photo by Lex Berman: Tashkurgan, Xinjiang (Sep, 2001) website: