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Glossary 473

example, the process that occurs upon a page request to a web server and is handled by either
(a) a general application server, (b) a specialized one-to-one application server, or (c) a specifi c
personalization engine; or, the capability for electronic library users to choose the information
to be “ pushed ” or delivered directly to them through the e-library.
Portal A grand and imposing entrance “ the portals of the cathedral ” ; A site that the owner
positions as an entrance to other sites on the Internet; a gateway whose purpose is to be the
major starting point for users when they connect to the web.
Process tracing Any of a set of techniques that enables the determination of an individual ’ s
train of thought while he or she completes a task or reaches a conclusion.

Productivity paradox Standard measures of labor productivity in the United States suggest that
computers, at least until 1995, were not improving productivity. The productivity paradox is the
question: why, then, were U.S. employers investing more and more heavily in computers and
information technologies?

Protocol analysis A method used to discern an individual ’ s general problem-solving approach
and the specifi c operations used to move from one knowledge state to another.
Protocols Verbal reports or transcripts that are typically the result of a process-tracing or inter-
view session to acquire/code knowledge.
Refl ective listening Listening behaviors that provide feedback that the message was communi-
cated (e.g., paraphrasing, clarifying, summarizing).

Remunerative incentive A fi nancial reward, when money is exchanged for acting in a particular,
desired way.
Requisite variety The Law of Requisite Variety (formulated by Ross Ashby, a specialist in cyber-
netics) shows that regulation can be measured. The maximum possible effectiveness of a regulator
will be directly measurable by a comparison between the variety (number of possible states) of
the regulator and that which is being regulated. In other words, only variety can absorb variety.
If a thermostat is to control temperature over a range, it must have more than two settings (on/
off). Management must similarly fi nd ways to increase variety through the use of models that
present decision makers with the required information.
Repertory grid A psychological technique for eliciting and analyzing a model of the expert ’ s
world so that similarities and differences among objects can be represented in a grid.

Retrospective verbalization A variation on the process tracing technique that asks the expert
to verbalize his or her reasoning process after completing the task being investigated.
Reuse Multiple individuals are able organize meaningful activities around shared and reusable
artifacts to achieve specifi c goals, typically within the context of distributed work and expertise.
These artifacts may be any number of knowledge objects. Knowledge objects may be executable
procedures, procedures, sections of text, or audiovisual “ sound bites. ” The artifacts may include