Conceptual modeling of multimedia objects for user-tailored information presentations

This paper presents a formal framework for the representation of knowledge concerning the use of multimedia information in the context of designing user-tailored information presentations. The aim is to support efficient development and maintenance of knowledge bases and effective utilization of knowledge for adaptive information presentations. It is conjectured that a hybrid knowledge representation framework that mixes formal knowledge structures with canned fragments of multimedia information and distinguishes between categories of medium-independent information items and types of presentation forms comprehensively can achieve this aim. The framework supports subject-based classification of reusable multimedia objects and their utilization according to presentation intentions and to pragmatic constraints. This approach, although it is considered complementary, contrasts to approaches that require systems to build every presentation from scratch.