Keynotes

Keynote: “Increasing Access to the Web of “Broad Data”

James Hendler (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA)

James Hendler's close up[Tuesday 17, 9:30-10:30] In this keynote, I will discuss some of the issues that arise as people try to use the “broad data” that can be found on the World Wide Web. The modern combination of “lightweight” semantics, based to a large degree on the rapidly maturing products of early semantic Web research, coupled with the “big data” tools that have moved away from traditional relational databases, provides an area of exploration that is pushing research in new and interesting directions. Tim Berners–Lee’s call for “Raw Data Now” is being heeded in many quarters, and other forces, including those of transparency and innovation, are creating vast repositories of data that are available without restriction.

William Loughborough After-Dinner Speech: “Usability, Demography, and Directions for W4A”

Alan F Newell (University of Dundee, Scotland)

Alan Newell[Monday 16, after 19:00] The introduction to this conference reads: “The World Wide Web has changed the way we search, access, consume and produce information”. Older people’s use of the Internet remains lower than that of younger adults (64% of those 65 and older have never used the Internet, and, although the usage by older people is growing, it is at a slow rate). The situation in the USA is not dissimilar. In the UK, and possibly the rest of the world, this lack of usage of the Internet is also the case for those younger people who have few or no educational qualifications. There is also growing evidence that members of these groups are more likely to become “digitally disengaged” as their characteristics and capabilities change with time.