Merging ontologies requires interlocking instituitional worlds

Merging of ontologies is a frequently addressed problem in the ontology literature. This paper argues that in general two even very similar ontologies cannot be merged. Further, where two ontologies can be merged their conceptualizations are special. They are systems of institutional facts which are...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Colomb, Robert Micheal, Ahmad, Mohammad Nazir
Format: Article
Published: IOS Press Amsterdam, The Netherlands, The Netherlands 2007
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Online Access:http://eprints.utm.my/8190/
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Summary:Merging of ontologies is a frequently addressed problem in the ontology literature. This paper argues that in general two even very similar ontologies cannot be merged. Further, where two ontologies can be merged their conceptualizations are special. They are systems of institutional facts which are interlocking. The argument is based on the literature of the federated database problem and on the concepts of speech act and institutional fact.