An OWL-based approach towards representing time in web information systems

In this paper we present an approach towards representing dynamic domains by means of concrete domains and perdurants. This approach is based on Description Logic and enables the representation of time and time-related aspects such as change in ontologies. The approach taken in this paper focuses on two main goals that need to be achieved when talking about time in ontologies: representing time itself and representing temporal aspects. We employ an explicit representation of time and rely on the internal method for the purpose of reflecting the changing aspects of individuals over time. We also present a proof of concept for the developed approach. This consists of a system that extracts the relevant information regarding company shares from analyst recommendations and uses this aggregate information to generate buy/hold/sell signals based on predefined rules.