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472 Glossary

Normative ethics The attempt to arrive at moral standards to regulate what is right and wrong,
to ensure compliance.

Ontology An explicit formal specifi cation of how to represent the objects, concepts, and other
entities that are assumed to exist in some area of interest and the relationships that hold among
them. A formal, explicit specifi cation of a shared conceptualization. Conceptualization refers to
an abstract model of phenomena in the world by having identifi ed the relevant concepts of those
phenomena. Explicit means that the type of concepts used, and the constraints on their use, are
explicitly defi ned. Formal refers to the fact that the ontology should be machine readable. Shared
refl ects that ontology should capture consensual knowledge accepted by the communities.
Open questions Broad questions that impose few restrictions on the respondent and encourage
free response (e.g., what do you think about this project?).
Open space technology (OST) A large-group facilitation process that consists of the setting of
an agenda by all members present, self-organization into smaller groups, conveners who report
each group ’ s fi ndings into a proceedings, which are then distributed to all participants. The
cultural approach to open space technology serves to create an environment for innovation,
teamwork, and rapid change.
Organizational knowledge A complex network of knowledge and knowledge sets held by an
organization consisting of declarative and procedural rules (validated knowledge claims).
Organizational learning A process involving human interaction, knowledge claim formulation,
and validation by which new organizational knowledge is created. The ability of an organization
to learn from past behavior and information and improve as a result. The capture and use of
organizational knowledge to make organizational decision making more effi cient and effective.
In organizational learning, working and learning become increasingly collaborative activities
based on the limitations of the individual human mind. Individual learning needs to be comple-
mented by organizational learning. Repositories (such as organizational intranets) can support
organizational learning by their function as organizational and artifact memories.
Organizational memory Knowledge is the key asset of the knowledge organization. Organiza-
tional memory extends and amplifi es this asset by capturing, organizing, disseminating, and
reusing the knowledge created by its employees. Also called a knowledge repository or corporate
memory .
Participant observation A fundamental method of research used in cultural anthropology.
It involves a researcher, or researchers, living within a given culture for an extended period
of time, to take part in its daily life in all its richness and diversity. The anthropologist in
such an approach tries to experience a culture “ from within, ” as a person native to that culture
might do.

Personalization/profi ling Using continually adjusted user profi les to match content or services
to individuals. Personalization includes determining a user ’ s interest based on his or her prefer-
ences or behavior, constructing business rules to select relevant content based on those prefer-
ences or behaviors, and presenting the content to the user in an integrated, cohesive format. For