Journal of
Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics
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 ISSN: 1690-4524 (Online)    DOI: 10.54808/JSCI



TABLE OF CONTENTS





Capturing Tacit Knowledge for Spacecraft Operations in ESOC
Roberta Mugellesi Dow, Siegmar Pallaschke
Pages: 1-5
ABSTRACT:
Within the past years, several activities were undertaken towards the introduction of a knowledge management system at ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre. Now the knowledge management activities at ESOC are in a new phase where emphasis is put on knowledge capture. The paper describes the current knowledge management activities at ESOC specifically in knowledge capture and focuses on the developed and adopted methods and on the results obtained related to the process of knowledge capture using video-recording of experts. Furthermore it describes the steps which have been identified for the knowledge capture process: setting expectations and communication rules, structuring and conducting the interviews, preparing the list of questions to encourage the sharing of the tacit knowledge, reviewing the recorded material, etc.


Knowledge Transfer in Collaborative Knowledge Management: A Semiotic View
Norbert Jastroch, Thomas Marlowe
Pages: 6-11
ABSTRACT:
Codification and transfer of knowledge is essential in the practice of knowledge management. Theoretical knowledge, like scientific theories and models, by nature comes in coded representation for the explicit purpose of transfer. Practical knowledge, as involved frequently in engineering or business operations, however, is a priori uncoded, making transfer for further use or the generation of new knowledge difficult. A great deal of systems engineering effort in recent years has been focused on resolving issues related to this sort of knowledge transfer. Semantic technologies play a major role in here, along with the development of ontologies. This paper presents a semiotic perspective on transfer of knowledge within collaborations.


Mathematical Equivalence of Evolution and Design
Leonid Perlovsky
Pages: 12-19
ABSTRACT:
“Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe.” This Einsteinian statement remains outside of science. Our current understanding of the mind mechanisms have come close to explaining spirituality from the scientific point of view. In this paper a theory is presented which is a mathematical breakthrough, overcoming decades of limitations in AI, pattern recognition, neural networks, and other attempts to model the brain-mind. Solutions to engineering problems are presented that have overcome previous difficulties in terms of computational complexity. These solutions result in orders of magnitude improvement in detection, prediction, tracking, fusion, and learning situations. The theory is also extended to higher cognitive functions. It models the knowledge instinct operating in the hierarchy of the human brain-mind. At the top are concepts unifying our entire knowledge; we perceive them as concepts of the meaning and purpose of our existence. This theory is formulated mathematically as dynamic and equivalently as teleological. Experimental results supporting the theory are discussed. The theory overcomes various difficulties, including reductionism, which, in the past, interfered with the acceptance of scientific explanations of the spiritual.


Improving the Teaching of Teamwork Skills in Engineering and Computer Science
Robert W. Lingard
Pages: 20-23
ABSTRACT:
It is important that engineering and computer science students learn teamwork skills as an integral part of their educational development. These skills are often not explicitly taught, but rather it is expected that students learn them on their own through participation in various team projects. Furthermore, the actual skills that students are expected to learn are usually not well articulated, or even understood. The approach outlined here attempts to address these problems by first establishing a process for defining what is meant by teamwork, by using this definition to assess the extent to which students are learning teamwork skills, and by using the assessment results to formulate approaches to improve student learning with respect to these skills. Specific attempts at the definition, assessment, and instruction improvement process are discussed.


A Heuristic Model of Consciousness with Applications to the Development of Science and Society
Peter A. Curreri
Pages: 24-29
ABSTRACT:
A working model of consciousness is fundamental to understanding of the interactions of the observer in science. This paper examines contemporary understanding of consciousness. A heuristic model of consciousness is suggested that is consistent with psycophysics measurements of bandwidth of consciousness relative to unconscious perception. While the self reference nature of consciousness confers a survival benefit by assuring the all points of view regarding a problem are experienced in sufficiently large population, conscious bandwidth is constrained by design to avoid chaotic behavior. The multiple hypotheses provided by conscious reflection enable the rapid progression of science and technology. The questions of free will and the problem of attention are discussed in relation to the model. Finally the combination of rapid technology growth with the assurance of many unpredictable points of view is considered in respect to contemporary constraints to the development of society.


eGrader, A Software Application that Automatically Scores Student Essays: with a Postscript on Ethical Complexities
Roxanne Byrne, Michael Tang, John Tranduc, Matthew Tang
Pages: 30-35
ABSTRACT:
Online and traditional teachers face several instructional challenges with regard to assessing student learning. This paper focuses on a software application that automatically scores student essay. The first part gives a brief overview of three commercial automated essay scoring systems. Then it describes the technical aspects of the machine grader developed by the authors, including an assessment of its performance. Although the statistical results were significant in finding a strong correlation between human and machine scorers and the other measures, follow-up non-quantitative evaluations led the researchers to discontinue using the eGrader. They concluded that while the eGrader’s ability to measure objective evaluation criteria was successful, measuring subjective ideas proved to more complex and problematic.


Academic Globalization: Cultureactive to Ice- the Cross-Cultural, Crossdisciplinary and Cross-Epistemological Transformation
Marta Szabo White
Pages: 36-39
ABSTRACT:
Commensurate with the concept of Academic Globalization, coupled with the foray of Globalization, this paper underscores the cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary and cross-epistemological transformation from the first-generation Cultureactive to the second-generation InterCultural Edge [ICE]. The former is embedded in the experiential works of cross-cultural consultant. Richard Lewis and the latter is grounded in established theoretical frameworks. Both serve to underscore the impact of the Globalization Phenomenon, as manifested in and enabled by the acceleration of academic and practitioner cross-cultural activities. The contribution of this paper is the celebration of the longawaited arrival of ICE [InterCultural Edge]. While previous research streams have underscored global similarities and differences among cultures, a previous paper [19] established that cross-professional rather than cross-cultural differences are more paramount. Employing Cultureactive and the LMR framework, it was noted that business versus non-business predisposition had a more direct impact on one’s individual cultural profile than did nationality. Regardless of culture, persons involved in business are characterized primarily by linear-active modes of communication, and persons involved in non-business activities typically employ more multiactive/hybrid and less linear modes of communication. The pivotal question is this: Now that we have a new and improved tool, are we in a better position to assess and predict leadership, negotiating styles, individual behaviors, etc., which are central to academic globalization and preparing global business leaders?


The Value of Sustainable Knowledge Transfer Methods for SMEs, Utilizing Socio-Technical Networks and Complex Systems
Susu Nousala, Suthida Jamsai Whyte
Pages: 40-45
ABSTRACT:
This paper will examine the development of sustainable SME methods for tracking tacit (informal) knowledge transfer as a series of networks of larger complex system. Understanding sustainable systems begins with valuing tacit knowledge networks and their ability to produce connections on multiple levels. The behaviour of the social or socio aspects of a system in relation to the explicit formal/physical structures need to be understood and actively considered when utilizing methodologies for interacting within complex systems structures. This paper utilizes theory from several previous studies to underpin the key case study discussed. This approach involved examining the behavioural phenomena of an SME knowledge network. The knowledge network elements were highlighted to identify their value within an SME structure. To understand the value of these emergent elements from between tacit and explicit knowledge networks, is to actively, simultaneously and continuous support sustainable development for SME organizations. The simultaneous links within and between groups of organizations is crucial for understanding sustainable networking structures of complex systems.



The States of Sub Saharan Africa on the way to the Global Information Society
Konstantin A. Pantserev
Pages: 46-52
ABSTRACT:
The paper devotes to the problem of overcoming of the digital divide in the Sub Saharan African States. On the example of Kenya the author speaks about the comparative success of the development of the information technologies in Africa and in turn underlines the most significant obstacles on the way of African states to the global information society and suggests the means how to overcome them.


Didactic Networks: A Proposal for e-learning Content Generation
F. Javier Del Álamo, Raquel Martínez, José Alberto Jaén
Pages: 53-60
ABSTRACT:
The Didactic Networks proposed in this paper are based on previous publications in the field of the RSR (Rhetorical-Semantic Relations). The RSR is a set of primitive relations used for building a specific kind of semantic networks for artificial intelligence applications on the web: the RSN (Rhetorical-Semantic Networks). We bring into focus the RSR application in the field of elearning, by defining Didactic Networks as a new set of semantic patterns oriented to the development of elearning applications. The different lines we offer in our research fall mainly into three levels: �� The most basic one is in the field of computational linguistics and related to Logical Operations on RSR (RSR Inverses and plurals, RSR combinations, etc), once they have been created. The application of Walter Bosma’s results regarding rhetorical distance application and treatment as semantic weighted networks is one of the important issues here. �� In parallel, we have been working on the creation of a knowledge representation and storage model and data architecture capable of supporting the definition of knowledge networks based on RSR. �� The third strategic line is in the meso-level, the formulation of a molecular structure of knowledge based on the most frequently used patterns. The main contribution at this level is the set of Fundamental Cognitive Networks (FCN) as an application of Novak’s mental maps proposal. This paper is part of this third intermediate level, and the Fundamental Didactic Networks (FDN) are the result of the application of rhetorical theory procedures to the instructional theory. We have formulated a general set of RSR capable of building discourse, making it possible to express any concept, procedure or principle in terms of knowledge nodes and RSRs. The Instructional knowledge can then be elaborated in the same way. This network structure expressing the instructional knowledge in terms of RSR makes the objective of developing web-learning lessons semi-automatically possible, as well as any other type of utilities oriented towards the exploitation of semantic structure, such as the automatic question answering systems.


A Discrete, Deterministic Model for Understanding Software Project Development Contingency Profiles
Bruce R. Barkstrom, Paula L. Sidell
Pages: 61-66
ABSTRACT:
This paper describes a simple, discrete deterministic model for the allocation of project contingency as a function of project phase. When a project starts, there is always some uncertainty regarding the resources it will require. As the project proceeds, the participants discover this uncertainty and remove it through the expenditure of resources. In addition, the project may encounter unexpected changes in its environment that force the project to change. The model assumes that the project will eventually discover a (relatively small) number of contingencies, each of which requires the same workforce and duration to resolve. Because the time of appearance and resolution time for each contingency is independent of other contingencies, there may be several overlapping contingencies the project will work on at the same time. Because the model assumes that contingencies suddenly add and subtract staff, managing staff becomes much more complex than is the case with a more uniform staffing plan. In particular, if there are appreciable hiring and firing costs, a project may find it desirable to simply retain staff that can be assigned to contingencies, even though there may be periods with no contingency work.


Training Appropriate for Computer Certification at Two-Year Institutions
Amos Olagunju, Romaric Zongo
Pages: 67-75
ABSTRACT:
This paper presents research results on the relevance and need for information technology certification, with a particular focus on CompTIA A+ certification. The study focused on the opinions of employers on certification, a critical review of certification provider literature, and an opinion survey of two-year institutions. The study investigated the training two-year institutions should be providing for CompTIA A+ certification to meet the needs of employers. The paper presents the historical overview, types of programs, development details and outcomes for the future information technology certification.


Effective use of Wikis in College Mathematics Classes
Paul Martin, Kirthi Premadasa
Pages: 76-78
ABSTRACT:
Wikis are used in mathematics education in a variety of ways [3]. As with Wikipedia, mathematics related Wikis provide pages and links that describe many different branches of mathematics. Another common use is as a portal for distributing and collecting mathematics course materials [1]. This article describes the authors’ use of course wikis for two different purposes in two undergraduate math courses. In Calculus-I, a wiki was utilized to share and present the outcome of an optimization problem that required small groups to collect information about student homes’ attic insulation status and eventually to compute the optimal amount of new insulation to add that maximizes heating savings. The second wiki was for a small seminar-style course on Mathematical Mysteries where students collected and posted the results of their research relating to famous unsolved problems in mathematics. This wiki was also used as a platform for in-class presentations by the students and the instructors. In both cases, the bulk of the wiki contribution was by students.


Statistical Approach of User’s Experience in the Visualization of Architectural Images in Different Environments
David Fonseca, Sergi Villagrasa, Oscar García, Isidro Navarro, Janina Puig, Fernando Paniagua
Pages: 79-84
ABSTRACT:
The visualization of images, both photographic and infographic, is a process that depends on a series of features that define the user (user profile: age, sex, experience), the visual message (type of image, resolution, quality), and the display (size, resolution, type of screen). When we can determine how the tree features relate, the communicative messages based on visual aspects will be more efficient for both the user and the technological output. The main objective of the research work presented in this paper is to determine whether differences in the visualization of specific types of images related to the architecture framework, have significant statistic differences depending on the gender of the user. The reflection of the existence of such differences in the future will allow us to define the characteristics of the image and the display conditions to maximize the emotional communication depending on the type of user.


Measuring the Effect of Using Simulated Security Awareness Training and Testing on Members of Virtual Communities of Practice
Craig L. Tidwell
Pages: 85-88
ABSTRACT:
Information security (Infosec) has become a major challenge for all private and public organizations. The protecting of proprietary and secret data and the proper awareness of what is entailed in protecting this data is necessary in all organizations. How does simulation and training influence virtual communities of practice information security awareness over time and with a variety of security scenarios. Can members of a virtual community be significantly changed in how they respond to routine security processes and attempts to breach security or violate the security policy of their organization? How does deterrence play a role in this prevention and education? A study is planned that will train and test users of a virtual community of practice over a 3 month period of time, via a web interface, and using simulated events, to see if the planned security awareness training will be effective in changing their responses to the events and further testing.