Levels of abstraction,emergentism and artificial life

I diagnose the current debate between epistemological and ontological emergentism as a Kantian antinomy, which has reasonable but irreconcilable thesis and antithesis. Kantian antinomies have recently returned to contemporary philosophy in part through the work of Luciano Floridi, and the method of levels of abstraction. I use a thought experiment concerning a computer simulation to show how to resolve the epistemological/ontological antinomy about emergence. I also use emergentism and simulations in artificial life to illuminate both levels of abstraction and theoretical challenge for building intelligent agents.     

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING DESIGN METHODOLOGIES AND GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY

Abstract

The relation between Software Engineering and General Systems Theory is explored. They are found to be dual meta-disciplines which need each other. It is discovered that there is a simple connection between the background variables of Klir's GSPS and Software Design Methodological Viewpoints. This connection motivates a look al the ontological assumptions underlying the two meta-disciplines which underlies the epistemological framework of GSPS. That framework is used to attempt to understand the nature of the different manifestations of software. This leads to an in depth look at the essence of software which in turn leads to the extension of the epistemological lattice of GSPS. The article shows the complex ways in which Software Engineering Methods and General Systems Theory intertwine al the ontological and epistemological levels which causes us to understand both differently than we would have understood them separately. The point of the article is to show how these two meta-disciplines need and intimately involve each other at a fundamental level and in fact co-arise from each other in spite of the fact that one is extremely general and the other extremely concrete. The object is to establish a basis for software engineers and general systems theoriests to learn from each other based on a common framework for understanding Software Systems     

Towards an Ontological Approach to Information System Security and Safety Requirement Modeling and Reuse

ABSTRACT

Misuse cases are currently used to identify safety and security threats and subsequently capture safety and security requirements. There is limited consensus to the precise meaning of the basic terminology used for use/misuse case concepts. This paper delves into the use of ontology for the formal representation of the use-misuse case domain knowledge for eliciting safety and security requirements. We classify misuse cases into different category to reflect different type of misusers. This will allow participants during the requirement engineering stage to have a common understanding of the problem domain. We enhanced the misuse case domain to include abusive misuse case and vulnerable use case in order to boost the elicitation of safety requirements. The proposed ontological approach will allow developer to share and reuse the knowledge represented in the ontology thereby avoiding ambiguity and inconsistency in capturing safety and security requirements. OWL protégé 3.3.1 editor was used for the ontology coding. An illustration of the use of the ontology is given with examples from the health care information system.     

The state of the art in automated requirements elicitation

ContextIn large software development projects a huge number of unstructured text documents from various stakeholders becomes available and needs to be analyzed and transformed into structured requirements. This elicitation process is known to be time-consuming and error-prone when performed manually by a requirements engineer. Consequently, substantial research has been done to automate the process through a plethora of tools and technologies.ObjectiveThis paper aims to capture the current state of automated requirements elicitation and derive future research directions by identifying gaps in the existing body of knowledge and through relating existing works to each other. More specifically, we are investigating the following research question: What is the state of the art in research covering tool support for automated requirements elicitation from natural language documents?MethodA systematic review of the literature in automated requirements elicitation is performed. Identified works are categorized using an analysis framework comprising tool categories, technological concepts and evaluation approaches. Furthermore, the identified papers are related to each other through citation analysis to trace the development of the research field.ResultsWe identified, categorized and related 36 relevant publications. Summarizing the observations we made, we propose future research to (1) investigate alternative elicitation paradigms going beyond a pure automation approach (2) compare the effects of different types of knowledge on elicitation results (3) apply comparative evaluation methods and multi-dimensional evaluation measures and (4) strive for a closer integration of research activities across the sub-fields of automatic requirements elicitation.ConclusionThrough the results of our paper, we intend to contribute to the Requirements Engineering body of knowledge by (1) conceptualizing an analysis framework for works in the area of automated requirements elicitation, going beyond former classifications (2) providing an extensive overview and categorization of existing works in this area (3) formulating concise directions for future research.     

Understanding the design of information technologies for knowledge management in organizations: a pragmatic perspective

Abstract.  Researchers report mixed findings on the successful application of information technologies (IT) for knowledge management (KM). The primary difficulty is argued to be the use of information management techniques and concepts to design and develop KM Tools. Also problematic is the existence of a multiplicity of KM technologies, the application and use of which differs across organizations. This paper argues that these problems stem, in part, from the information system field's over-reliance on design concepts from the functionalist paradigm. Hence, our contention that alternative perspectives, which bring into focus issues of ontology and epistemology, need to be brought to bear in order to understand the challenges involved in the design and deployment of IT artefacts in knowledge management systems (KMS). The philosophy of technology, with its emphasis on the primacy of praxis, and which incorporates ontological and epistemological concepts from phenomenology and hermeneutics, is applied to the findings of a participative action research study to illustrate how social actors interpret and understand worldly phenomena and subsequently share their knowledge of the life-world using IT. The outcome of this marriage of situated practical theory and philosophy is a set of design principles to guide the development of a core KM Tool for KMS.     

The uncertainty of the mass image: logistics and behaviours

ABSTRACT

The question of uncertainty raised in this special issue raises issues for the image as truthful, the truth that viewers can claim to find in images and the ethical dimensions of truth. By tracing some key changes in the history of photography, this paper demonstrates that the mass production and especially mass storage and distribution of images create a new condition for the image. This condition asserts that the purpose of the totality of the mass image as it now exists in databases is a mode of truth which alters earlier ontological, epistemological and ethical claims for certainty. Rather than propose a return to the humanistic privilege of the individual image, the paper suggests that a new politics of truth is demanded by the new condition of the mass image.     

Thinking Creatively About Creativity: What Can We Learn From Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science?

Some time ago the Hungarian scholar Istvan Magyari-Beck (1994) published a challenging article in this journal indicating weaknesses in creativity research which sparked off responses from the American scholars Teresa Amabile (1994) and Scott Isaksen (1995). While Magyari-Beck applied familiar themes from the history of science, this article borrows extensively from the latest thinking in the philosophy of science, thus continuing the debate started by Magyari-Beck at the ontological and epistemological plane. The contribution of this article lies in the fact that it uncovers some basic assumptions researchers hold about the nature of the (social) world and ways they can obtain knowledge about that world. As such it challenges orthodox ideas about “good” research and theory building.     

Conceptual and linguistic constraints for the construction of a knowledge base in archaeology

This article describes a set of constraints for the construction of a knowledge base in archaeology, which satisfies explicit conceptual and linguistic assumptions. The model of organization has been specified by integrating a formalism, derived from structured inheritance networks and elements of conceptual dictionaries. Certain types of constraints have also been introduced to guarantee the coherence of the ontological modeling.     

Part 3: Advanced course of ontological engineering

This article deals with advanced topics of ontological engineering to convince readers ontology is more than a rule base of terminological problems and is worth to consider a promising methodology in the next generation knowledge processing research. Needless to say, ontology in AI is tightly connected to ontology in philosophy. The first topic here is on philosophical issues which are very important to properly understand what an ontology is. After defining class, instance andis-a relation, we point out some typical inappropriate uses ofis-a relation in existing ontologies and analyze the reasons why. Other topics are basic ontological distinction, part-of relation, and so on. As an advanced example of ontology, an ontology of representation is extensively discussed. To conclude this tutorial, a success story of ontological engineering is presented. It is concerned with a new kind of application of ontology, that is, knowledge systematization. An ontology-based framework for functional knowledge sharing has been deployed into a company for two years and has been a great success. Finally, future of ontological engineering is discussed followed by concluding remarks. Riichiro Mizoguchi, Ph.D.: He is Professor of the Department of Knowledge Systems, the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Osaka University in 1972, 1974 and 1977 respectively. From 1978 to 1986 he was research associate in the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University. From 1986 to 1989 he was Associate Professor there. His research interests include Non-parametric data analyses, Knowledge-based systems, Ontological engineering and Intelligent learning support systems. He is a member of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence, the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communica-tion Engineers, the Information Processing Society of Japan, the Japanese Society for Information and Systems in Education, Intl. AI in Education (IAIED) Soc., AAAI, IEEE and APC of AACE. Currently, he is President of IAIED Soc. and APC of AACE. He received honorable mention for the Pattern Recognition Society Award, the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers Award, 10th Anniversary Paper Award from the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence and Best paper Award of ICCE99 in 1985, 1988, 1996 and 1999, respectively. He can be reached at miz@ei.sanken.osaka-u.ac.jp     

THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF THE GENERAL SYSTEMS PROBLEM SOLVER

Abstract

In this paper, I draw a connection between the so-called classical definition of knowledge and the epistemological framework underlying George J. Klir's General Systems Problem Solver methodology. More specifically, I suggest that it is very close to the Representational Realism articulated by such early empiricists as John Locke. However, I also point out that the GSPS epistemology has an affinity to the so-called constructivist view of knowledge, one that t argue is not compatible with Representational Realism     

THE EXTENDED PROCESS MODEL—TRANSFORMING PROCESS SPECIFICATIONS INTO ONTOLOGICAL REPRESENTATIONS

ABSTRACT

Knowledge-intensive processes are often open ended and can be only weakly specified in traditional business process models. The extended process model provides a comprehensive integration of process and knowledge specific aspects within a single, ontological representation. In this article we describe the transformation of standardized business process definitions into a unified conceptual process model. We then apply our methodology to the scenario of IT services.     

Expertise transfer,knowledge elicitation,and delayed recall in a design context

Abstract

This paper describes a new method for knowledge elicitation that may contribute to effective expertise transfer from human experts to knowledge-based systems. The method was applied to knowledge transfer in an aerospace design context. Knowledge was transferred directly from an expert designer to both expert and novice “receivers” of information. Transfer occurred in a natural way, without intervention from a knowledge engineer. To evaluate the process, the information receivers were required to recall the transmitted knowledge after a seven week delay. Results suggest that this method can be effective for expertise transfer and can indicate desirable characteristics for knowledge-based systems which aim to be adaptable to users’ differing levels of competence.     

Parallels in knowledge cycles

Knowledge management as an academic discipline is realizing phenomenal growth and international acceptance. However, there still exists no universally accepted framework or model. This paper reviews three of the most well known KM models from similar epistemological and ontological views. The three models reviewed are: Nonaka’s SECI (Japan), March’s Ex-Ex (USA) and Boisot’s I-space (Europe). A number of recommendations for future research based on the similarities and differences among these models pertaining to knowledge management are presented.     

Reconnecting biology,social relations and epistemology--a systemic appreciation of autopoietic theory

This paper seeks to tease out the systemic character of a body of work that elsewhere in both the primary and secondary literature tends to be described, discussed and applied in fragmented and reductionist terms. The origins of "autopoietic theory" may be traced back to experimental work in cellular biology and neuro-physiology and to the concept of "autopoiesis" (a theory of living systems) itself. From there, it has extended its coverage into a wide range of diverse areas including cognition, perception, emotion, evolution, language, culture, epistemology, the philosophy of science and ethics. Against this background, the paper seeks to outline a high-level systemic interpretation of autopoietic theory; specifically one that integrates its various biological, social and epistemological components and which shows that it is best evaluated and understood as an explanatory whole and not in a reductionist manner.     

Domain-specific formal ontology of archaeology and its application in knowledge acquisition and analysis

Inherent heterogeneity and distribution of knowledge strongly prevent knowledge from sharing and reusing among different agents and software entities, and a formal ontology has been viewed as a promising means to tackle this problem. In this paper, a domain-specific formal ontology of archaeology is presented. The ontology mainly consists of three parts: archaeological categories, their relationships and axioms. The ontology not only captures the semantics of archaeological knowledge, but also provides archaeology with an explicit and forma specification of a shared conceptualization, thus making archaeological knowledge shareable and reusable across humans and machines in a structured fashion. Further, we propose a method to verify ontology correctness based on the individuals of categories. As applications of the ontology, we have developed an ontology-driven approach to knowledge acquisition from archaeological text and a question answering system for archaeological knowledge.     

A Theorem and Its Different Proofs: History,Mathematics Education,and the Semiotic-Cultural Perspective

Abstract

Several studies claim that integrating the history of mathematics into mathematics education is an important matter. In this article, some theoretical approaches are presented and the importance of the correct cultural contextualization is emphasized. Our purpose is to discuss, from an educational viewpoint, the problem of knowledge development within specific cultural contexts; cultural aspects play a cognitive and epistemological role in the way we think mathematically. More specifically, we provide a comparison of some strategies used by mathematicians in different periods in order to prove that primes are infinitely many. We conclude that historical examples should be understood in their cultural and social context and that the standards of symbolization and rigor depend on this context. In order to emphasize the use of history in education as a real tool for the teacher, we propose an outline of educational opportunities. The perspective presented requires a good level of epistemological skill on the part of teachers; therefore, it should be considered in teacher education.     

Progress in the Development of National Knowledge Infrastructure

This paper presents the recent process in a long-term research project,called National Knowledge Infrastructure(or NKI).Initiated in the early 2000,the project aims to develop a multi-domain shareable knowledge base for knowledge-intensive applications.To develop NKI,we have used domain-specific ontologies as a solid basis,and have built more than 600 ontologies.Using these ontologies and our knowledge acquisition methods,we have extracted about 1.1 millions of domain assertions.For users to access our NKI knowledge,we have developed a uniform multi-modal human-knowledge interface.We have also implemented a knowledge application programming interface for various applications to share the NKI knowledge.     

Case-based analysis in user requirements modelling for knowledge construction

ContextLearning can be regarded as knowledge construction in which prior knowledge and experience serve as basis for the learners to expand their knowledge base. Such a process of knowledge construction has to take place continuously in order to enhance the learners’ competence in a competitive working environment. As the information consumers, the individual users demand personalised information provision which meets their own specific purposes, goals, and expectations.ObjectivesThe current methods in requirements engineering are capable of modelling the common user’s behaviour in the domain of knowledge construction. The users’ requirements can be represented as a case in the defined structure which can be reasoned to enable the requirements analysis. Such analysis needs to be enhanced so that personalised information provision can be tackled and modelled. However, there is a lack of suitable modelling methods to achieve this end. This paper presents a new ontological method for capturing individual user’s requirements and transforming the requirements onto personalised information provision specifications. Hence the right information can be provided to the right user for the right purpose.MethodAn experiment was conducted based on the qualitative method. A medium size of group of users participated to validate the method and its techniques, i.e. articulates, maps, configures, and learning content. The results were used as the feedback for the improvement.ResultThe research work has produced an ontology model with a set of techniques which support the functions for profiling user’s requirements, reasoning requirements patterns, generating workflow from norms, and formulating information provision specifications.ConclusionThe current requirements engineering approaches provide the methodical capability for developing solutions. Our research outcome, i.e. the ontology model with the techniques, can further enhance the RE approaches for modelling the individual user’s needs and discovering the user’s requirements.     

Systematizing requirements elicitation technique selection

ContextThis research deals with requirements elicitation technique selection for software product requirements and the overselection of open interviews.ObjectivesThis paper proposes and validates a framework to help requirements engineers select the most adequate elicitation techniques at any time.MethodWe have explored both the existing underlying theory and the results of empirical research to build the framework. Based on this, we have deduced and put together justified proposals about the framework components. We have also had to add information not found in theoretical or empirical sources. In these cases, we drew on our own experience and expertise.ResultsA new validated approach for requirements technique selection. This new approach selects techniques other than open interview, offers a wider range of possible techniques and captures more requirements information.ConclusionsThe framework is easily extensible and changeable. Whenever any theoretical or empirical evidence for an attribute, technique or adequacy value is unearthed, the information can be easily added to the framework.     

Knowledge is knowledge is knowledge? The relationship between personal and scientific epistemologies

Abstract:

In this paper, we explore cross‐domain versus domain‐specific scientific epistemological understanding. Research about relationships between such understandings shows mixed results. The ambiguities may result from the instruments used. Unlike most studies, we combined instruments from the personal‐ and science‐epistemology research traditions. Students in Grades 6 to 9 in a science‐centred school completed adaptations of the Epistemological Thinking Assessment (ETA) (Kuhn, Cheney, & Weinstock, 2000) and the Views of Science‐Technology‐Society (VOSTS) (Aikenhead & Ryan, 1992) instruments. Regular‐school students in Grades 7 and 9 also completed the ETA. Developmental patterns on the ETA emerged as expected in both schools. However, the science‐centred students’ views of knowledge in the social and physical domains seem more differentiated and sophisticated. Their performance on the VOSTS tended toward higher scores, although lower than expected. There was no significant relationship between performance on the ETA and on the VOSTS. The findings propose domain‐specific aspects of epistemological understanding and development.