Classifying phenomena is a key step to building new knowledge, especially in the early stages of a research process. It can bring about multiple advantages and insights, such as overview and comparison. Yet it also poses several risks and constraints. Thankfully, challenges can be over-come by re-classifying items in a domain with alternative classification principles, which lead to new insights or perspectives, as well as highlight previously neglected considerations. This process can be supported by graphic representations. Visualizing the drawn (and redrawn) distinctions can make a classification accessible and versatile, which makes it easier to compare with other classifications. Visualizing classifications can augment the entire research process, including hypothesis formation, testing, interpretation and result reporting. There is no systematic overview of methods to represent (especially qualitative) classifications graphically. This paper fills that gap in the literature. We distinguish between four types of visual classifications, based on their differing ability to emphasize hierarchies or group relations. We label these four types as compilations, configurations, layers, and trees. We analyze their benefits for the research process and point out potential risks to consider when using visualization for classifications purposes in social science research.

There are plenty of projects aimed at incorporating semantic information into present day document processing. The main problem is their real-world usability. E-learning is one of the areas which can take advantage of the semantically described documents. In this paper we would like to introduce a framework of cooperating tools which can help extract, store, visualize semantics in this area.

Authors: Ralf Klamma and  Christian Haasler

Abstract: Wikis have their seeds in the easy collaborative editing and maintenance
of web pages. This was picked up by tremendously successful public projects such as
the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Creating, modifying and maintaining of wiki articles
implies social structures and dependencies between wiki authors and wiki articles themselves.
The general challenge of this work is to consider these structures as dynamic
evolving networks and to point out prominent behaviors in large wiki-based networks.
We present an environment capable of handling data management, measurement and
visualization issues for the dynamic network analysis of publicly available wiki data.

Key Words: Dynamic network analysis, wiki, Wikipedia, social networks, visualization,
measurement, data management

Category: E.1, G.2.2, H.3.1, H.3.3, H.3.7, H.4

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Authors: Valentin Zacharias

Abstract: In this paper we describe novel ideas and their prototypical implementation
for the visualization of rule bases. In the creation of the visualization our approach
considers not only the structure of a rule base but also records of its usage. We also
discuss methods to address the challenges for visualization tools posed by rule bases
that are large, created with high level knowledge acquisition tools or that contain low
level rules that should remain hidden from the users.

Key Words: visualization, rule bases, knowledge visualization, visualization of knowledge
structures, f-logic

Category: H.5.2, H.5

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Authors: Sabrina Bresciani and Martin J. Eppler

Abstract: Diagrams are often conceived as static representations. In this paper, by contrast,
we explore how conceptual graphic representations can be used as communicative devices for
knowledge-intense activities in groups. We do so by reviewing and extending existing
cognitive and communicative dimensions and criteria. The aim of our research is to formalize
the description of diagrams used in management discussions, analyzing their communicative
and collaborative functions in order to better use them in knowledge creation and sharing in
teams. We start with reviewing and merging the literature on cognitive and communicative
dimensions and the literature on boundary objects, as well as information visualization, in order
to compile the most relevant dimensions for knowledge creation and sharing in team. Thus, we
cluster those dimensions obtaining eight macro-dimensions. We propose a formal analysis of
diagrams which can be used as a tool for selecting and modifying appropriate visualizations for
different knowledge-intensive activities in teams. An application example illustrates this
approach.

Keywords: diagram, communicative dimensions, cognitive dimensions, visualization,
knowledge visualization, knowledge work

Categories: H.4.3, H.5.3, J.5

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Formats and Technologies in the Digital Mathematics Library Project

Authors: Petr Sojka

Abstract: The main obstacle to easy accessing the vast amount of knowledge is the
fact that they are not available in well-designed, standard, fully indexed electronic
form, together with detailed metadata and full-text search capabilities.
This paper is a case study of design issues in a subproject of WDML (World Digital
Mathematics Library) aimed at digitizing valuable mathematical journals and books
published in the Czech and Slovak Republics, to make them publicly available in digital
form. We discuss here the design of the work-flow aiming at having mathematical
knowledge stored in digital library. The key concept is a gradual enhancement of the
digital material by ‘knowledge enhancing’ filters applied to the markup-rich XML data.

Key Words: digital library, metadata handling, semantics of mathematical documents,
knowledge management, digitization, MathML, visualization, portal-systems,
repositories of knowledge, DML-CZ

Category: H.3.7, H.5, H.3, H.4

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