Knowledge Mobilization

Abstract

Fuzzy ontologies have been proposed as a solution for addressing semantic meaning in an uncertain and inconsistent world. As with fuzzy logic, reasoning is approximate rather than precise. The aim is to avoid the theoretic pitfalls of monolithic ontologies, facilitate interoperability between different and independent ontologies [112], and provide flexible information retrieval capabilities. The Knowledge Mobilization project (KNOWMOBILE) has been a joint effort by Institute for Advanced Management Systems Research, ${\rm \r{A}}$bo Akademi University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Its goal was to better “mobilize” knowledge stored in heterogeneous databases for users with various backgrounds, geographical locations and situations. The working hypothesis of the project was that fuzzy mathematics combined with domain-specific data models, in other words, fuzzy ontologies, would help manage the uncertainty in finding information that matches the user’s needs. In this way, KNOWMOBILE places itself in the domain of knowledge management. In this Chapter, drawing heavily on Tommila, Hirvonen and Pakonen [313]; Hirvonen et al. [185]; and Carlsson, Fullér and Fedrizzi [95] we will describe an industrial demonstration of fuzzy ontologies in information retrieval in the paper industry where problem solving reports are annotated with keywords and then stored in a database for later use. Furthermore, using Bellmann-Zadeh’s principle to fuzzy decision-making we will show a method for identifying keyword dependencies in the keyword taxonomic tree. In the KNOWMOBILE project, we developed a concept of a tool for searching plant knowledge with a search engine based on a fuzzy ontology. The usage scenario for the tool was that a process expert, dealing with a problem in the process chemistry of a paper machine, wishes to find past problem solving cases of a similar setting in order to find possible solutions to a current issue. This setting is a universal one: pieces of knowledge, called “nuggets”, are written and stored by companies on different domains in the form of incident reports.