Computing Background

I gained my BSc (Hons), in Information Systems Design, at UCLan in 2003; it included:

• Some work on papers on the Data Protection Act 1998, the evolution of Intranets in organisations, and employee motivational issues caused by technology "change in the workplace".
• Programming examples - some of which are trivial but some is more involved.
• Web design - demonstrated via links to several Web site designs.
• Database design and development.

In 2004 I started my PhD research - this examined information integration in Web environments - using "Semantic Web" technologies such as RDF/XML, RDF Schema and OWL Web Ontology Language in the Semantic Web. The research link provides some background information about the development of a prototype "semantic search engine", i.e. the SeMSeT semantics-based search tool. The key areas of work and other background information include:

• Information Sharing - Ontology Integration and the Semantic Web**.
• A semantic search tool, termed SemSeT - developed to conduct Information Retrieval (IR) experiments, initially using test data and then with the TExt Retrieval Conference (TREC) dataset: WT2G document collection.
• The use of small ontology modules for Ontology-based query expansion (OQE) to improve search precision and recall.
• Brief educational CV and related information.

** Scientific American: The Semantic Web: Web content that is meaningful to computers and offering new possibilities.

This Web site provides information about my current and past background and interests; ranging from professional and academic activities to hobbies and interests.

After working for almost 25 years - in banking/financial services management - I decided to study for an information systems degree and then conduct post-graduate research. Therefore, a number of Web pages focus on my computing and related studies and include several static and dynamic Web-design projects, some functional code examples have been provided. Other pages relate to my PhD research activities.

I have also included lighter content, relating to my keen interest in railways (both model and protoype) in Europe and North America. Switzerland has provided a key link between my railway interests and the mountains of the great outdoors; as I am also an active hillwalker in this country and have visited Switzerland many times. I have also trekked in the mountains of the Nepal Himalaya and reached the summit of Mera Peak (6476m) in 1990. Last, but not least, I am a staunch fan of my beloved Stoke City FC.

Programming

Projects have been developed using various programming languages and applications, including XHTML, CSS, Active Server Pages (ASP and ASP.NET), Javascript, Java, Flash, SQL, C++, MS Access, Oracle 8i and MS SQL Server 2000/2008.

My PhD work involved extensive Java programming, using the Jena Ontology API framework, to develop an Ontology supported search tool.

The Great Outdoor Wilderness of Lochnagar

Hillwalking on Lochnagar - a pictorial of two days hillwalking in the Scottish Highlands, near Braemar, in August 2003.

Railway Interests

I am an avid enthusiast of railways in whatever form - model or prototype. I collect models of HO gauge European and North American locomotives and rolling stock; and HOm gauge equivalents, based on the Rhätische Bahn in Graubünden, CH. My real-world railway interests lie mainly in Swiss and UK prototypes.

I am a member of the Swiss Railways Society and also the RMweb community.

Your past visit reminder:

This site is listed in the DMOZ Open Directory Project (ODP): the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web.  Use the search-box, or the link, to explore the ODP.

 or visit dmoz.org