Meta-Knowledge Unified Framework
a
TOGA (Top-down
Object-based Goal-oriented Approach) perspective
Adam Maria Gadomski
Definitions of
the top concepts
Knowledge: every
abstract property of human/artificial agent which has ability to process/transform
a (quantitatively /qualitatively)
information into other information (such as:
instructions, emergency procedures, manuals, scientific materials, models,
theories). Every knowledge has its reference domain where it is
applicable. It has to include the source domain of the processed
information.
Model-knowledge (or model)
is a representation of a domain for a given/assumed
goal with sufficient accuracy.
[TOGA
Meta-theory]. - For more:
TOGA encyclopedic information
Meta- X : a X(D), where
its subject matter/(domain-of-activity)/(domain of reference)/
(application domain) D includes some common properties of another Xs and X. sets.
A
meta-X
is not
X generalization perspectives , it may conceptualize X as an entity from
different points-of-view (including a goal-oriented perspective).
[TOGA Meta-theory]
What is meta-knowledge? How it is used?
Numerous discussions dealing with these questions.
The
term meta-knowledge is possible to interpret as knowledge about knowledge.
Meta-knowledge is a knowledge which domain of reference/application is
another specific domain-dependent knowledge.
Meta-knowledge is a more or less intuitive conceptual instrument related to the
evaluation, validation and development of theories in every science. It is
especially important for such interdisciplinary research and scientific domains
as, knowledge engineering, knowledge management which study
and operate on universal knowledge properties abstracted from local dependencies
and terminologies.
The relation
meta-
enables to construct more than one level of meta-knowledge, and can be
divided according the subject of its domain knowledge.
In the case of an intelligent entity (a person, organization,
society or highly-autonomous robot), metaknowledge
includes rules, methods of planning, modeling, learning and
every conceptualization tools that enable modification of a
domain knowledge. Subsequently, the procedures, methodologies
and strategies of: teaching, coordination of e-learning
courses, changing domain preferences are its/his/her individual
meta-meta-knowledge.
From the sistemics
perspective, an universal meta-knowledge theory framework has
to be mandatory and valid for the modelling of meta-levels of every
individual meta-knowledge.
There is useful to notice
here that the theories of meta-knowledge
which are related to different common properties of a selected class
of theories, are meta-theories
(metatheories).
A meta-theory
M may represent
the specific point of view on a certain class or set of
theories T and this viewpoint generates meta-properties
of T. Meta-properties are the consequence of the relation
between M and T, but they are not
the properties of any T application domain.
More
formally speaking, a theory T of the domain D is a
meta-theory if D is a theory or a set of theories. For
example, in computer science, the Theory of Data Bases Organization
is a meta-theory for every specific (domain-dependent) theory of
data base.
Remarks
The
difference between a general theory and metatheory is
defined below.
-
General theory is the theory relating
to a domain D, where D = D1∩
... Di-1
∩
Di
and certain domains Dj
, for Dj
⊂
{Di},
may have a specific theory Tj.
In
this sense
a general theory is a
generalization of the theories
from {Tj}.
- Metatheory
is the
theory of a domain DT, where DT= T1∩
...
Tk-1
∩
Tk
with a common domains D,. and it
may refers to the pre-selected class of properties of
DT
(selection of the viewpoint).
For example, the theory
of the utility of the certain set of theories is a metatheory.
See
also,
for ex. "ISSUES WITH META-KNOWLEDGE", 1999,
International Journal of Software Engineering
and Knowledge Engineering, Vol. 10 No. 4 (2000) 549,
http://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/10535/01/99sekej.pdf
Top foundation
criteria and constrains of the meta-knowledge problem
Meta-Knowledge
Unified Framework (MKUF) has to be a systemic approach to
the development of a theory about knowledge.
Every MKUF is or has
to be, implicitly or explicitly, goal-oriented(/driven/directed/based/....).
On the other hand, from the nature of the problem, results the
utility of a top-down ( leading us from a most general perspective
to details) approach.
Production and operation on knowledge require some
meta-knowledge frameworks for knowledge conceptualization, representation and
structuring.
These requirements can be fulfill by the application
of an abstract objects world/network as a basic tool for the
mapping of our perception to its mental "image".
According to the J. Rasmussen (1) and after M. Lind
(2) observation, apart of the emotional motivations, every human goal/objective can be
initially decomposed on three generalized goals:
production goal, safety goal
and economy goal.
They,
subsequently,
can be seen from different "observation
distance" (see the TOGA's generalization levels and methodology). The spectrum of
these distances is changed from the global scale of worldwide politics to
the scale of individual knowledge engineers and researches.
Meta-knowledge research also covers emergent
meta-science fields. Here a top-perspective of meta-knowledge is applied to
the searching of common properties of different sciences and the meta-science
can be comprehend as a science on sciences. An example on meta-science subfield
is methodology of science, which is especially developed in social sciences (
see, for instance:
http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/notebooks/scientific-method.html, and
Google search).
The next essential element necessary for the
construction of
a MKUF is a
clear separation of the such concepts as:
information,
preferences, knowledge
All the
above metacriteria ( criteria for the criteria choice) and axioms were applied to the construction of the Top-down
Object-based Goal-oriented Approach (TOGA)
metatheory (1993).
We may assume that most general concept which can
cover all aspect of knowledge treatment is Knowledge Management (KM).
Here, from the intelligent entity perspective,
we may distinguish
two principal activities:
Knowledge Production, and
Knowledge Transfer.
Knowledge Production and Management
On the top
generalization level, the goal production of knowledge is
closely connected with and dominated by a
society
sustainability objectives and expectations. In the case of a human organization
it is subordinated to the individual/group interests of its dominating members,
especially in
mutual assistance
organizations/associations.
As a domination/subordination relation is
transitive, not always a maximization of knowledge production or its quality is
the effective
top-dominating intervention-goal of knowledge management in human organizations.
Economy and Knowledge Management
In the modern, quasi post-industrial societies, the concept
economy ( or knowledge business) influences all
fazes of the knowledge production, processing and applications. It refers to the
common meta-knowledge
modeling bases of knowledge engineering, knowledge management, knowledge
research. On the other hand, it is closely related to the
socio-cognitive
contexts of the interrelations between knowledge managers and their social and
personal environment.
The knowledge economy ( economy of knowledge) is not
only a hot problem of our society. It can be seen as a critical aspect of:
- society education strategies - from the political national perspective
- in short and long terms
- scientific and technological research management - in large and local
scale,
- basic research development in the fields of computer, cognitive and
systemic science.
as well as,
- SME knowledge business - for example, in the context of the
Chinese "invasion"
on the European markets.
The concept of knowledge business is closely
related to emerging Knowledge
procurement
(
where:
Procurement is the
acquisition of goods or services at the best possible
total cost of ownership, in the right quantity, at the right time, in the
right place for the direct benefit or use of the governments, corporations, or
individuals generally via, but not limited to a contract.[Wikipedia] ).
- Using TOGA model of
personoid, is easy to see that knowledge
procurement is closely related to the
meta-knowledge preferences (first
meta level in IPK architecture).
Knowledge "produce" information, technologies, services and other knowledge.
Goal-oriented knowledge builds our preferences, therefore it enables to reduce
information overload. In general, utility of tools depends on
their economy and
this also is valid in the case of knowledge.
Some examples of new
approaches to the knowledge management in economy
-
Advancing Public
Procurement:Practices, Innovation and
Knowledge-Sharing,
Conference Call, Rome , Sept. 2006.
- Scandizzo, P.L. and L. Paganetto, "Post-Fordism,
New Economy and the case of the Italian Mezzogiorno "
in Luigi Paganetto (ed.)
Knowledge Economy, Information Technologies and Growth, Ashgate, 2004
- Luigi Paganetto,
Knowledge Economy, Information Technologies and Growth, 2004
...
Google
search:
"knowledge economy", "large organizations",
782 docs (26/09/05)
and about 13 000 docs one year
later.
Knowledge
Transfer
Knowledge transfer is a multidimensional activity.
It includes different forms of education, learning, as well as, it dealing with
human resources acquisition management and the management of the science
and technologies on academic, industrial and politics levels.
We may notice that all goal-oriented activities
dealing with knowledge have to lead to some forms of knowledge transfer from one
to the next human generations.
Multi-goal Management
Multi-goal knowledge management is our reality and our
necessity. It is not yet sufficiently explicitly and directly present in
the available research literature ( see below: Google search *, **).
In TOGA,
it is based on the management of multi-preferences related to the
different domains of activity of human organizations and human individuals. Every intelligent entity
constructs its own domain-dependent preferences distributed among
organization
knowledge managers, not all are common and more, some their invisible part
may be essential for the organization behavior. Therefore domain-dependent preferences
lead to the necessity of different forms of negotiation and the management of "
invisible".
A model of multi-goal knowledge management is
possible to construct using the TOGA's IPK architecture (
Universal Reasoning Architecture Paradigm,
URAP). as
well as Universal
Managerial Paradigm (UMP).
General References
(1) Rasmussen, J.
(1986). Information Processing and Human-Machine Interaction. An Approach to
Cognitive Engineering, Amsterdam: North-Holland.
(2) Lind, M. (1990).
Representing Goals and Functions of Complex Systems, Tech. Rep. 90-D-381,
Department of Automation, Lyngby, Denmark.
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