PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #73: Applied Ecology and Ecological Economics. Presiding: J. Hof.
Friday, August 10, 2001. 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Hall of Ideas P&Q.
Using hyperdocuments for knowledge management: An intelligent encyclopedia of southern Appalachian oak forests.
KENNARD, DEBORAH1, RAUSCHER, HAAROLD1, SCHMOLDT, DANIEL1, FLEBBE, PATRICIA1, COVINGTON, MICHAEL2, RUSHTON, NELSON2, 1 2
ABSTRACT- Ecosystem management challenges the decision-making capabilities of land managers to meet more objectives and to satisfy a greater diversity of client needs. It also challenges the management of research knowledge: land managers increasingly need improved access to ecological, economic, and social research that is thoroughly organized, condensed, and presented in a form that is useful for problem solving. We discuss the use of hyperdocuments, highly nonlinear and interactive mixtures of text, graphics, and images, as knowledge management tools to meet these needs. We present an overview of the development process and an example hyperdocument that synthesizes and integrates the past 65 years of research on southern Appalachian upland oak ecosystems. More than a Web site, this Internet-based encyclopedia system incorporates "intelligent" tools that enhance its use and navigation and accommodates users of various skill levels and interests. The encyclopedia also aids in problem solving by incorporating database access and facilitating execution of simulation models. We assessed the hyperdocument's ability to improve manager's skill and efficiency in information retrieval by posing a series of questions to participants in a silvicultural training session. Both efficiency (time) and breadth of participants'answers were greater using the hyperdocument than using more traditional forms of knowledge management (e.g. literature reviews and library databases). We also discuss how the dynamic nature of hyperdocuments can provide additional benefits to the management of research knowledge.
KEY WORDS: southern Appalachians, knowledge management, decision support tools, oak