in conjunction with: First International Conference on Practical Aspects of Knowledge Management (PAKM), Basel Switzerland October 30-31, 1996

CONTEXT: 

An Industry Overview of the WORLD BANK has mentioned three years ago the approach summarised below as potentially most interesting. As subsets have been realised already in International CLEARINGHOUSE operations, with the same general design and also focus on time-regions and subject-regions retrieval this proposal is not to elaborate functional or system oriented details to a larger extend and instead will focus on the potentials and challenges involved with the assimilation potential of visual access and the embodiment of queries. As the paper below is done only this afternoon there was no time for polishing and further design of new displays. Please study the references below and let me know if the Program Committee needs further details at this stage.

ABSTRACT:

Analogue to "Captain, Map, and Compass", -Broker. Map, and Filter- are proposed to address the ubiquitous information and message overload - quality and quantity - dilemma.
A "Panorama of Knowledge" is proposed to map issues and thematic areas in three attached spaces or rooms. Consisting of a real-world space (Landscape), context spaces (Issue-scape), and word-scape or terminology/semantic (land)-scape, a realm or scaffolding is laid-out or to map themes and connect or overlay patterns.
The term map is preferred as in this picture or metaphor we are aware that we are not having the terrain at our fingertips, that projections and perspectives are central, but also that we have a general and complete overview or macro-perspective to order and ease navigation and exploration. Map in the physical sense also implies, that we draw it for others and that it helps to discuss orientation in relation landmarks or stars.

The proposal strongly emphasises the concept of space and perspective, spacial instead of spatial orientation and developing tools to position interest in a basic common denominator of human thinking and understanding, SPACE. As the concept evolved the last 7 years out of the field of international multi-lingual and multi-cultural meta-database design and knowledge organisation, some practical "off-shoots" like world-wide clearinghouse bases on similar schemes, or library and international activities repositories are briefly covered.
Basic elements of the design is the human assimilation potential of visual access, Graphical user interfaces (GUI's), metaphors for cross-domain mapping in image schema’'s, and higher order structuring of information to avoid inconsistencies, or tackle ambiguities and bias. Bridging between matrix and image, the leading idea is to overcome barriers between fields of knowledge and expertise and the hardening of categories in times of terminology explosion. By ordering and transcending concepts, associating specific context and patterns, the content is stored and available! in a simple, taking the mnemonic advantages, easy to memorise in a consistent, harmonical, multi-hierarchical way, which creates space for creative, imaginative and integral thinking.
The concept evolved out of the need to communicate complex political decisions and explain or map transdisciplinary and integrated dynamic processes, to decision makers, academia, and children. Only with the advent of 3-dimensional interfaces concepts tested in the field of ethics, organisation, education can be made available to order the entry space and help finding orientation and understanding in the plethora of data and messages with dubious or unknown value and origin.
 

Refs:

[ ] Benking, H., Brauer, G.W.: (1994) Visual Access and Assimilation Strategies to prestructure Bod-ies of Envi-ronmental Knowledge: Proposals and Lessons Learned, In: Environmental Knowl-edge Organization and Infor-mation Management, ISKO Conference, Bratislava, INDEKS Verlag, Frankfurt/Main
[ ] Benking, H., Judge, A.J.N.: (1994) Design Considerations for Spatial Metaphors - Reflections on View-point transportation systems, Invited workshop at on Spatial User Interface Metaphors for Hy-permedia Systems, European Conference on Hypermedia Technology (acm- ECHT' 94), Edin-burgh
[ ] Benking, H., Grossmann, W.D.: A Conceptual Superstructure of Knowledge - Quality and Content in Organisa-tion, man-agement, and Awareness, and Benking, H., Brauer G.W., Gross-mann W.D.: (1994) Information for Global Under-standing of Environ-mental Problems: A pro-posal for visually displaying a knowledge meta-base, ICSU-CODATA Chambery
[ ] Benking, H.: (1994) Proposing a Conceptual Superstructure - A Work Report and a Vision to explore issue-scapes as virtual landscapes by making use of surveyors' Abilities and Views, FIG XX, key-note representing Dr. Noel Brown, Director of UNEP New York in Melbourne
[ ] The Hyperlink ECO-CUBE: Proposing a Knowledge Panorama for Clearinghouse Organisation & (Environmental) Educa-tion, , International Workshop on Computer-based Environmental Educa-tion, IFIP - GI   Hamburg, August 1994
[ ] Benking, H.: (1995) Wissenskosmos oder Wissenspanorama? Quo vadis Medien, Bildung, Bewußt-sein?   Ökologie und Kommunikation Workshop,  FU-Berlin Institut für empirische Sozial-for-schung, 5.-7. Mai, Bonn
[ ] Benking, H.: (1995) Broker, Filter, and Knowledge Processing - The Sustainable Development Meta-base: An Exer-cise in Giving Visual Structure to Environmental Knowledge, GREEN CHALLENGE - ECOGLOBE - TASK Research outline, FAW intern
[ ] Benking, H.: (1995) Scales, Horizons, Proportions, and Consequences in Per-spective, Group III: Eco-Philso-phy/Environmental Ethics, World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF) Conference „Futures Beyond Poverty, Nairobi
[ ] Benking, H.: (1995) FORUM SPECIAL Highlight: one of three contributions with the most votes of interest by participants of the Open FORUM, International Peace College, Berlin. title: Ein Wissenspanorama - Eine Orientierungshilfe für Sinn-welten   - Gedanken zur Organisation und Orientierung, Berlin
[ ] Benking, H.: (1995) Kreatives Problemlösen durch Querdenken, ThüringenOlympiade Technik im Rahmen von „Jugend forscht", Rede vor der Preisverleihung; Pädagogische Hochschule Erfurt/Mühlhausen
[ ] Benking, H.: (1996) Can World-Views ease Translation and Understanding? -  Bridges between and beyond Subjects and Objects, Fremdsprachenlernen und interaktive Medien, Europa Univer-sität Viadrina, Institut für interkulturelle Kommuni-kation, Institut für Medienintegration, Frank-furt/Oder
[ ] Benking, H.: (1996) Nature as a  Blackbox:    Towards a „Panorama of Understanding", A Broader Spectrum for Floating Between and Beyond „What we Know and Miss", accepted for WORLD FUTURES - The Journal for General Evolution -Research Notes, Vol. 48, Gordon and Breach Publ.
[ ] Benking, H.:  (1996) Generation, Transportation and Composition of Viewpoints and Perspectives; In: Creativity and Cognition 2, Intersec-tions between Art, Technology and Science, International Symposium, Loughborough College of Art and Design and LUTCHI Research Centre, Loughbor-ough University
[ ] Benking, H.: SPACES OF MEANING - Reflections on Wholeness, Interconnectedness, Conscious-ness, Presentation and World Member’s Meeting of THE CLUB OF BUDAPEST, to appear in INTUITIVO and homepage, Budapest
[ ] SITUATION SPACES - Scales, Proportions, Patterns, and Consequences in Perspective, In: COMPLEX PROBLEM SOLVING, Cognitive Psychological and Methodological Decision Sup-port for Societal Policy Making, , World Association for CASE METHOD RESEARCH AND CASE METHOD APPLICATION  (WACRA-EUROPE), 13th International WACRA Conference and 2nd International Conference on Methods for Complex Societal Problems (SMCP), Internatio-nales Begegnungszentrum der Wissenschaft, Munich 17-19 June 1996
[  ] Mental Models, Metaphors, and the Mind’s Eye - Orientation and Mapping in Spaces of Meaning, VISION Plus 2 SEHEN, FÜHLEN, VERSTEHEN: Kontroversielle Ansichten über Entwicklungen auf dem Gebiet der Kommunikation, IIID Internationales Institut für Informations Design. Schwar-zenberg, 11-13. July 1996
[ ] Benking, H.: CONCEPT and CONTEXT Mapping - Towards common frames of reference, In: Trialogues at the Edge of Terms and Pictures, Section 1 Terminology and Philosophy of Science (planned with: Budin, Galinski, Oeser), TKE ‘96  -   Terminology and Knowledge Engineering, Association for Terminology and Knowledge Transfer, International Centre for Terminology (termnet) , TU Vienna, 26.- 28. August 1996.
[  ] Vidor, F., Benking, H.: Conceptual topologies and macro-structures: Contributions from the Exact and Fine Arts towards terminology and context mapping, Multilingual Information Society and Terminology Standardization, on the occation of 25th anniversary of INFOTERM and 60th anni-versary of ISO/TC 37, Budapest August 24th 1996
[  ] Benking, H.: Neue Horizonte und Orientierungen dank einer Architektur für Denkräume, In: MENSCH - MASSE - MEDIEN, Interaktion oder Manipulation, IFG Ulm Internationales Forum für Gestaltung, Ulm School of Design Foundation, September 1996