RE: [xtm-wg] Knowledge management claims re XTM (and Topic Maps.. .)

["Dale Hunscher" <dale@supportability.com>]

Hello Ann,

Is it possible to provide some pointers to Web links that would help provide
some concise definitions for these terms as understood by the KM folks these
days? Or failing that, any useful reading in the form of a book or two?
Question from a conference-speaker-to-be this Fall who wants all the toes he
steps on to be deliberate targets... ;-)

Am I correct in thinking that the biggest real deficiencies of topic maps
for KM purposes are the lack of real semantics, i.e., hooks that would
support analysis of relationships in terms of symbolic logic--equivalence,
transitivity, etc. Or is there more? Of course topic maps themselves are not
tools for inferencing per se, but the goal would be to make sure they carry
enough information to *support* inferencing, as you indicated. (Detailed
reply not necessary... something along the lines of "No , there's more see X
for more details" would be more than sufficiently illuminating...)

Thanks,

Dale

-----Original Message-----
From: Wrightson, Ann [mailto:Ann.Wrightson@sweetandmaxwell.co.uk]
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2000 2:26 AM
To: 'xtm-wg@egroups.com'
Subject: RE: [xtm-wg] Knowledge management claims re XTM (and Topic
Maps.. .)


Eric....

The main reason I was unspecific was that from the presentations I heard, I
didn't think that *in the context of an XML conference*, anyone had actually
spoken out of turn; also because of the impression I had that the annoyance
of the folks concerned had built up over the session rather than being
caused by any one speaker. "The problem" if you like was the sensitivities
of the KE folks! - in particular, "the problem" was their interpretation as
technical terms, and so as specific technical claims of what Topic Maps
could "provide", some words and phrases which I guess were intended as more
general descriptions (& eye-openers for XML-folks) of the potential uses of
Topic Maps. (For example, I remember one forceful statement that a bunch of
associations and instances on a diagram plus some informal typing didn't
amount to a "semantic network" - and that such a thing would never pass
review in any of "their" conferences - which last may even be the central
underlying emotional point.)

The particular phrases/words which I believe from that experience that we
need to use with due care are:
- semantic net or network
- knowledge model
- inference (especially the difference between being capable of supporting
inference, and being a sufficient agent or means of inference in itself)

I should also say that I believe many of us are already being careful and
exact... and that this is not the first time I've seen the re-purposing of
words & phrases for precise uses in computer science leading to
misunderstandings.

Does this answer?

Cheers

Ann W.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eric Freese [mailto:eric@isogen.com]
> Sent: 23 August 2000 15:31
> To: XTM Working Group
> Subject: RE: [xtm-wg] Knowledge management claims re XTM (and Topic
> Maps...)
>
>
> Ann:
>
> Perhaps you could illuminate us with what claims caused these
> people so much
> distress.  As one of the speakers in that session, I would
> appreciate the
> feedback.
>
> My paper was meant to start people thinking in the direction
> that topic maps
> might be able to be used to interchange knowledge bases.  I
> also wanted to
> demonstrate that it was, in fact, possible to build (simple)
> knowledge bases
> from topic map information.  I would love the opportunity to
> work with the
> knowledge engineering community so investigate this further.
>
> Eric
>
> <!-- ****************************************************************
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>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Wrightson, Ann [mailto:Ann.Wrightson@sweetandmaxwell.co.uk]
> > Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2000 1:09 AM
> > To: 'xtm-wg@egroups.com'
> > Subject: [xtm-wg] Knowledge management claims re XTM (and
> Topic Maps...)
> >
> >
> > Hi folks...
> >
> > I don't know if you discussed this at all in Montreal, but I am very
> > concerned that XTM should encourage/facilitate good working-with the
> > long-standing academic knowledge-engineering community by
> > a) being (very) moderate and realistic in its claims for XTM *by
> > itself* as
> > a knowledge modelling technique - XTM's main strength could
> well be in
> > providing the "hooks" which enable the wide range of
> established knowledge
> > modelling techniques to link to Web resources, and also in
> > providing simple
> > exchangeable *static* representations of (some) such models;
> > b) working with folks who have done eg semantic modelling for
> > years, rather
> > than trying to (re)invent ways of doing it without the
> benefit of that
> > experience.
> >
> > This concern is based on back-of-room conversations at XML
> Europe, where I
> > found myself trying to bring some experienced knowledge engineers
> > "back down
> > off the ceiling", and into a more realistically
> appreciative frame of mind
> > regarding Topic Maps, after some rash claims from the podium...
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Ann W.
> >
> >
> >
> > To Post a message, send it to:   xtm-wg@eGroups.com
> >
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> >
> >
>
>
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