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UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN RCUK dot.rural Digital Economy Research Hub FUNDED PHD STUDENTSHIP: Linked Open Data & the Crowd Supervisors Prof Pete Edwards and Dr Jeff Pann (Computing Science) and Prof John Nelson (Centre for Transport Research) Funding Eligibility Tuition fees will be paid at UK/EU rates, for 2010/2011 this is £3,400. A maintenance grant will also be paid for 2010/2011 which is £13,590. The studentship will be fully funded by dot.rural, which is supported by RCUK Digital Economy Programme (http://www.rcukdigitaleconomy.org.uk/) Funding Notes Unfortunately, applications from International applicants cannot be accepted for this studentship due to specific criteria set out by the funding body. Application Deadline 17 September 2010 Start Date ASAP (1st October 2010 or as soon as possible thereafter) Description The concept of Linked Open Data has recently achieved widespread coverage, in part due to the emergence of sites such as data.gov.uk, which aims to open up UK Government datasets to the public. Linked Data is a term used to describe a recommended best practice for exposing, sharing, and connecting pieces of data, information, and knowledge on the Web using URIs and RDF (the Resource Description Framework). There are many challenges associate with the creation and curation of such data, and one solution that has been suggested is to make use of large numbers of users (the "crowd") to perform tasks such as creation of new data, parsing/linking existing unstructured data, and correcting errors. Of course, once crowd-sourcing is introduced, issues will arise as to what is the "truth" - in terms of the reliability of new data and any edits to existing data - and how to query and exploit such data with mixed trust level. This studentship will be based in the RCUK-funded dot.rural Digital Economy research hub (www.dotrural.ac.uk<http://www.dotrural.ac.uk/>) and the successful applicant will work closely with an interdisciplinary team that is exploring how linked data principles can be used to create a connected multi-modal transport information 'ecosystem'. This will integrate a range of information and knowledge sources including transport operator timetables, sensor data and information/knowledge from local inhabitants in order to support services such as real-time travel alerts and interactive personalised travel planners at key stages in the journey planning process. This PhD will explore the issues associated with crowd-sourcing and linked data (using the transport scenario above), and in particular will investigate the role of provenance solutions to support annotation of content, trustworthy querying solutions, and methods to make assessments of quality and reliability. Educational Background: 1st or 2(1) in Computer Science (with knowledge/experience of the Semantic Web). Further details: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/cops/graduate/phds/64/ Application Procedure Formal applications can be completed online: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply. You should apply for MSc with a view to transfer to PhD in Computing Science, to ensure that your application is passed to the correct College for processing. Please note, you should apply at least 4 days before the deadline to allow us to contact you for further information, if required. All applications received up to, and including the closing date, will be processed. John D Nelson, Professor of Transport Studies, College of Physical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Fraser Noble Building, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 1224 272354 Fax: +44 1224 272331 E-mail: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Director, Centre for Transport Research http://www.abdn.ac.uk/ctr/ http://www.dotrural.ac.uk/ Director of Research & Commercialisation, College of Physical Sciences http://www.cps.abdn.ac.uk/ Registration is now live for the 5th International Symposium on Travel Demand Management, University of Aberdeen from 26 - 28 October 2010. Please visit the Symposium website for details: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/tdm-symposium2010/ The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013683.