Andrew Basden

On the application of expert systems

Abstract Expert systems have recently been arousing much interest in industry and elsewhere: it is envisaged that they will be able to solve problems in areas where computers have previously failed, or indeed, never been tried. However, although the literature in the field of expert systems contains much on their construction, on knowledge representa-tion techniques, etc, relatively little has been devoted to discussing their application to real-life problems. This article seeks to bring together a number of issues relevant to the application of expert systems by discussing their advantages and limitations, their roles and benefits, and the influence that real-life applications might have on the design of expert systems software. Part of the expert systems strategy of one major chemical company is outlined. Because it was in constructing one particular expert system that many of these issues became important this system is described briefly at the start of the paper and used to illustrate much of the later discussion. It is of the plausible-inference type and has application in the field of materials engineering. The article is aimed as much at the interested end-user who has a possible application in mind as at those working in the field of expert systems.

Basic Principles of SSM Modeling: An Examination of CATWOE from a Soft Perspective

This paper examines the SSM technique CATWOE, which focuses on defining necessary elements that together constitute a human activity system from a certain perspective. Despite its recognition within the literature and its numerous uses, there are few studies on how the technique can be improved. This research reflects on each of the elements both from a theoretical and a practical perspective. Findings point to the fact that some of the terms have a meaning in everyday language that differs from its definition within CATWOE. Other concepts are not well-defined. This is unfortunate and may both lead to misunderstandings and limit analysis. The paper points to a number of ways in which the use of CATWOE can be developed in order to further support the process of eliciting novel ideas for future actions. Hence, the overall conclusion is that the elements need to be rethought and some of them renamed.

Automated decomposition of access control policies

Modern dynamic distributed information systems need access control policies to address controlling access to multiple resources that are distributed. The resources may be considered as a single abstract hierarchical resource. An access control policy at a high level should be able to define who is allowed to use the resources. At tower levels, the policy will address controlling access to concrete resources. By modelling the resource hierarchy, it is possible that low level policies can be automatically produced from the high level policy. These low level policies can then be distributed to the concrete resources that use an existing policy based access control decision system so that the high level policy can be enforced throughout the system. In this paper a model for representing and refining high level policies is presented. Other relevant issues and examples for demonstrating the capability of the policy decomposition (refinement) process are also presented.

The critical theory of Herman Dooyeweerd

Jürgen Habermas is a wide-ranging thinker whose ideas have formed the philosophic foundation of critical systems thinking (CST). But can the Critical approach incorporate ideas from other thinkers without abandoning its Habermasian roots? The danger of adding ideas piecemeal to address specific difficulties in CST is that the whole will eventually collapse because of inconsistencies. So if we wish to import ideas from other thinkers we need to understand the points of agreement and disagreement with critical theory. This requires reference to a set of criteria, though not necessarily in any rigid way. This paper applies a set of criteria to a philosophic framework of ideas (that of the Dutch philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd) in order not to ‘score’ the ideas for Criticality, but rather to understand the process of bringing the ideas of a thinker from a different tradition to bear on the Critical approach in a commensurable way.

User interface issues raised by knowledge refinement

Abstract The concept of ease of use has evolved over the last 30 years, keeping pace with developments in user interface technology, in the manner of Carrolls task-artifact cycle. This paper argues that recent developments in knowledge engineering require yet further changes in the concept and discusses what implications they might have for user interface design. The development in question is that construction of knowledge bases is, in many cases, no longer a matter of assembling pieces of knowledge that have been made available by knowledge acquisition, but takes on the nature of creative design which results in the generation of new knowledge at the user interface. A key difference is that while knowledge base assembly can be seen as a series of discrete events, creative design is more of a continuous process in which the users flow of thinking must not be interrupted. This means that traditional WIMP and GUI interfaces are no longer appropriate and a more “proximal” form must be found.

Towards a philosophical understanding of documentation: a Dooyeweerdian framework

Documents as we encounter them in everyday life are complex and diverse things, whether on paper, computer disk or on the World Wide Web. They play many roles vis‐a‐vis human beings, and the humans engaged with them have diverse responsibilities that are not always easy to fulfil. Added to this is the issue of how a document or literary work can change and yet retain its identity, as found in maintenance, drafting and versioning of documents. This paper explores how the meaning‐oriented philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd may be used to understand the complex nature of documents, to throw light on the roles, responsibilities and culture surrounding them, and to tackle issues of identity and change.

Environmental sustainability and information systems: The similarity

Application of information technology and environmental planning share two very important characteristics: they are both concerned with planning, evaluating, and directing human activity in a wider context, and this activity is multiaspectual, multimodal, and multidisciplinary in scope. Further, the ideal in both cases is sustainable, long-term activity that brings overall good rather than harm. This paper discusses the multiaspectual nature of environmental sustainability and shows briefly how this understanding can be translated to the field of information systems.

Experience with use of computers to handle corrosion knowledge

AbstractExperience with three methods of using computers to assist in the solution of corrosion problems is described. The methods are the use of theoretically based mathematical models, expert systems, and an approach based on a form of decision tree. The strengths and limitations of the nlethods are considered and it is concluded that they are conlplenlentary rather than competitive. Each shows considerable promise as a way of making corrosion knowledge available in a form well suited to use in-the solution of practical problenls, and avoids limitations met with more conventional information handling systems.

Knowledge elicitation using a multi‐modal approach

This paper discusses the importance of knowledge elicitation when developing knowledge based systems. We present the use of a knowledge elicitation technique, based upon the Dooyeweerdian multi‐modal approach. The technique is applied to a pilot study and as a result of the pilot study we show that the technique may be applicable to information systems design, particularly for the evaluation of a systems specification.

Design of a user interface for a knowledge refinement tool

Abstract As argued in a companion paper, Basden and Hibberd (1996), there is a need for a more “proximal” form of user interface than is currently offered by traditional WIMP styles of interface. This is necessary for knowledge representation tools used in ill structured domains, in the use of which new knowledge is generated by the very act of representation. The tool should ideally then become so “proximal” that the users flow of creative thinking is not interrupted. In this paper we examine traditional principles that guide the design of user interfaces and find them suited to user activity that is a series of separable, goal-directed events but not to activity that is a continuous, holistic process. While some of the principles are applicable, others must be replaced or augmented and most must be made more specific. We describe a set of principles that we found important to guide the design of a knowledge representation tool, some of which do not seem to have been brought together before in the way described here, and discuss what forms their implementation might take.