electronic communication and knowledge systems

WebMetla/Jarmo Saarikko

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From Research to Application - the second Nordic Forum,

11-12.5.2000, Espoo, Finland

Electronic communication and knowledge systems

Jarmo SaarikkoSkogsforskningsinstitutet, Unionsgatan 40A,

FIN-00170 HELSINGFORS,Finland

[email protected]


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World Wide web

• WWWW has affected the ways we work• Information access and exchange• From the global level to the local• The full impact on the way we work and on

society is still unknown


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Advantages

• Permanence of 24-hours per day• Immediacy of information discovery• Content diversity• Accessibility from almost anywhere• De-centralised approaches allowing content

owners to maintain full rights• Value for money with low-cost solutions


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General search engines

• No more able to cover the whole net• The next generation of search tools will contain

more specialised and targeted services, • More and more services will be provided to

registered clients• User interfaces can be modified according to

personal requirements


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Competition for users

• one user usually cannot effectively use but a few different services

• most services on the internet have been free, their funding is often based on advertising

• Research information in forestry is often non-competetive

• However, if the target audience is the general public the information producer enters the same competitive field as described above


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New kinds of services

• Simple provision of announcements and communications is not enough

• Net users demand ways to give feed-back, chat-rooms, customisation


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How does anyone know you are there?

• All traditional means of marketing have to be used

• This is very costly• Something has to be new or updated all the time

otherwise the users do not come back• How to know that something new is available?

A community of registered users makes this goal easier to accomplish.


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One-way communication:Web-pages

PRO

Clean type-setting

Easy to produce and publish

Size is not a limitation

CON

Difficult to announce new pages - links on homepage or on a 'what's new list'

Long delay until new pages are found by search engines

Web-pages need to have a user-friendly design


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One-way: e-mail

PRO

Rather easy to install

Use mailing list software• Automatic subscription• Listserv, Majordomo etc.

Distribution to dedicated subscribers

Cheaper than traditional means - larger distribution possible

CON

List has to be moderated

Simple text-only

Yet another format to be distributed

Images cannot be used

(html email is still unwanted)


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Interactive communication:mailing lists

PRO

Interactivity

Clients may discuss with each other

May lead to a community

Questions and answers are mutually beneficial

Discussons can be viewed on a web-site

Distirbution is global

CON

List may be dominated by a few active talkers

Negative feedback cannot be blocked

• unless the list is moderated

List should be moderated

• more work

Attachments may spread viruses (esp. Microsoft)


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Interactive: Newsgroups

PRO

New messages appear automatically to readers

Many groups are archived on the web

• http://www.deja.com/

CON

Requires a news-server

Private newsgroups are more difficult to propagate

Public groups are often spam-prone

Group should be moderated

Messages disappear rather quickly


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Interactive: Hypernews

PRO

Use with a web-browser

Allows anonymous use

No email necessary

Sometimes e-mail notification

Usually no moderation

Hierarchical groups

http://www.hypernews.org/

CON

Following discussions means constant checking at the web-service

Message deletion difficult?


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Interactive: IRC

PRO

Global

Widely known

Easy to use

Instant

Private channels

Good for private long distance discussions

Many servers

Internet Relay Chat

CON

Usually considered as a playground for school children

Documentation of discussions is problematic

Specific IRC software required


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Interactive: chat-rooms

PRO

Usually cgi-based or with java-applications

Interactive and instant

May be used for on-line Questions and Answers with a named specialist or on a TV-show

CON

People need rules for their behaviour in rooms

Large groups may be difficult for newcomers

Usually not linked to other chat services

Private groups not available

Funded by ads

May be addictive


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Chat with a specialist on yahoo

www.yahoo.com

10.5.2000


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Electronic Communities

PRO

Often with a pack of free services

• Web-based e-mail• Calendar• Chat-rooms• Document archives

Usually founded around a topic or for a customer groupe.g. www.animalscience.com

CON

Identity of participants not always known or certain

Large system to install

Longevity of free services is uncertain


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Examples of free communities

You may start your own groups in these. Some systems allow private groups which can be used by invitation only.

• Yahoo http://www.yahoo.com/

• E-groups http://www.egroups.org/

• Intranetshttp://www.intranets.com/


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www.eGroups.com

Group

view by a

registered

users


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www.eGroups.com

Egroup view of a non-registerd user


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Egroup view by a registered user


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Intranet view by a registered user at intranets.com


23Knowledge systems: standalone

• Currently CD-ROMs• Usually a system includes full-text databases

with some intelligence handling the requests or results

• Hyperlinks, interactive images and maps• Concurrent search with various criteria• The results found may be combined or extracted

to be used in reports and papers• e.g. CABI Forestry Compendium CD

• http://tree.cabweb.org/efctext.htm


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CABI Forestry compendium

Source: http://tree.cabweb.org/comp_demo/page2.htm


25Knowledge systems: Networked

• Portals• Forest Finland, Skogsverige, Skogen is Skolan• These are developing from link collections into

knowledge systems and/or e-communities

• Topical services• E.g. SIREX and Skogsskada

services for forest pest diagnosis and handbook• Often registration is required

• Extranets• Access to internal systems for registered clients or

subscribers

• Traditional: On-line databases, Library OPACs


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Knowledge discovery

• TROPIS - The Tree Growth and Permanent Plot Information System by CIFOR

• seeks to help forest scientists make better use of existing tree growth information by newsletters, searchable index and database - newsletter, link, people database, permanent study plots

• GIAN - Gujarat Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network

• GIAN aims to establish linkages between grassroots innovators, entrepreneurs and investors to scale up - newsletter, discussion, research papers

• UNDP Evaluation Knowledge System (EKSYST) • assists in generating, storing and sharing available information

gained through evaluations of projects


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Links

PORTALSForest Finland

Skogssverige

Skogen I Skolan

DATABASESMetinfo

Sirex

Skogsskada

TROPIS

UNDP EKSYST

INFORMATIONDELIVERY

GIAN - innovation network

Biodiversity events

http://www.forest.fi/

http://www.skogssverige.se/

http://www.skogeniskolan.se/

http://www.metla.fi/metinfo/

http://www.metla.fi/sirex/

http://www-skogsskada.slu.se/

http://www.cgiar.org/cifor/research/tropis.html

http://www.ifad.org/ifadeval/public_html/eksyst/toc/index.html

http://csf.colorado.edu/sristi/gian.html

http://www.biodiv.org/conv/Bio-Calendar2000.html


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Problems for discussion

How to choose a proper tool for electronic communication?

• One-way or interactive?• Announcing new research results or finding new research

problems needing answers?• Target groups for tools?• Regular ‘traditional’ or irregular ‘new’ clients?

Knowledge system vs. Expert system• Is there a difference?• Database vs. a static system?• When a knowledge system should be developed?

• Parameters and/or problems given by the client

electronic communication and knowledge systems

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