Semantic Reference Systems for

What is needed to enable communication about observation and measurement results in information systems? Information system ontologies make a certain conceptualization explicit and partially account for the meanings of symbols associated with this conceptualization. Yet, the meaning of symbols denoting observation results such as /100m/, /328ft/ or /deep/ cannot be specified with currently available foundational ontologies. They fail to separate the ontological nature of an observable quality from the specification of how to observe and name the observation result. In this thesis, we employ and extend the foundational ontology DOLCE for making the meaning of symbols explicit that denote observation and measurement results. This involves dealing with ontological questions like “What kinds of observable qualities exist, in which entity does the observed quality inhere and how are the magnitudes of the observed quality structured?” Then, in order to capture the semantic aspects of an observation result, we introduce semantic reference spaces, dealing with semantic questions like “Do the symbols /100m/, /328 feet/ or /deep/ have the same meaning? Do these symbols refer to the same entity, e.g. the depth magnitude of a lake? How to establish a unit of measure?” We posit that only if agreement is reached on the ontological questions, the semantic questions can be approached effectively. Extending the foundational ontology DOLCE with an ontology for spatial qualities, an ontology for quality spaces, and an ontology for semantic reference spaces leads to a theory of semantic reference systems that allows for specifying and comparing the meaning of symbols denoting observation results.