Knowledge Representation and Management

Knowledge can reside in diverse forms and media. Traditionally, however, knowledge has been encoded in language and other symbol-based systems. Word processors have been the tools of choice for managing this language-based knowledge. More recently, hypermedia systems and the Internet have begun to effectively challenge word processing programs as the most effective knowledge management tools for descriptive knowledge. Concurrently, quantitative and qualitative simulation models and artificial intelligence systems are providing methods for using knowledge to predict rather than describe. Finally, decision support systems provide essential aids to problem solving where human judgment is an indispensable part of the decision environment.