Using information technology to meet changing knowledge needs in forestry

Neenan P., . and Edge P., . and Petrokofsky G., . and Scott P., . (2000) Using information technology to meet changing knowledge needs in forestry. [Proceedings Paper]

At a time when there are fundamental changes in the status of forests in their perception by the public and in forest-related environmental issues there is an unprecedented need for sound decison making in forestry. This has led to a new requirement for knowledge organized in a way that provides convenient decision support. Information Technology ITcan greatly facilitate this process. Partnerships of people and organizations with common information needs and a mutually-dependent interest in facilitating information sharing and knowledge management can take advantage of the power of IT to realise their aspirations rapidly and effectively. Bibliographic databases exemplify the power of IT to render huge volumes of facts accessible as useful information. This can be illustrated by a database conceived and maintained by cooperative partnerships containing over half a million abstracts and spanning more than fifty years of the world literature of forest science. It allows access through multiple routes including CD-ROM and the Internet and can be built into knowledge bases as required. IT allows information to be presented to the user in a convenient and friendly way so that knowledge results. Examples in the forestry context include taxonomic information systems and multimedia knowledge tools such as Electronic Compendia. The Forestry Compendium illustrates how varied information sources can be brought together to make a single coherent knowledge base.The Internet Intranets the World Wide Web CD-ROMs and email provide unprecedented new opportunities for innovative approaches to meeting the need to conserve knowledge and pass it on. The implementation of electronic publishing and information dissemination presents new challenges in the achievements of efficency economy convenience and standardization. CABI believes that the Internet provides the medium for the provision of large bodies of related information to communitiesof users with common needs. The creation of these bodies of information requires CABI to form alliances with and develop collaborations with organizations which can provide information and/or communities of user which complement its ownand create novel information products by combining primary secondary and tertiary information in innovative ways. Central to Internet resource development is CABIs further belief that the future of information access on the Internet lies in developed networks of interlinked information. Internet sites of bibliographic data with other information where possible form platforms which provide the forum for combining with the information of other organizations through linkage. CABIs concept of linkage is that abstracts structured within a database provide the navigation to and from full text and other material thus fulfiling the dual function of a searchable information resource and a powerful mechanism for locating information. While the Internet is an extremely powerful enabling mechanism there are still large areas of the developing world where connectivity is limited and access to the Internet is not available. CABI has proposed the establishment of Knowledge Networks that comprise moderated exchanges of knowledge using email between established groups of scientists working in a related field. Selected extracts from many of the above resources used for a virtual community can also be provided by email to these groups and discussion papers summarizing the exchanges can be added to the Internet resource for access by a wider audience.

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Abstract

At a time when there are fundamental changes in the status of forests in their perception by the public and in forest-related environmental issues there is an unprecedented need for sound decison making in forestry. This has led to a new requirement for knowledge organized in a way that provides convenient decision support. Information Technology ITcan greatly facilitate this process. Partnerships of people and organizations with common information needs and a mutually-dependent interest in facilitating information sharing and knowledge management can take advantage of the power of IT to realise their aspirations rapidly and effectively. Bibliographic databases exemplify the power of IT to render huge volumes of facts accessible as useful information. This can be illustrated by a database conceived and maintained by cooperative partnerships containing over half a million abstracts and spanning more than fifty years of the world literature of forest science. It allows access through multiple routes including CD-ROM and the Internet and can be built into knowledge bases as required. IT allows information to be presented to the user in a convenient and friendly way so that knowledge results. Examples in the forestry context include taxonomic information systems and multimedia knowledge tools such as Electronic Compendia. The Forestry Compendium illustrates how varied information sources can be brought together to make a single coherent knowledge base.The Internet Intranets the World Wide Web CD-ROMs and email provide unprecedented new opportunities for innovative approaches to meeting the need to conserve knowledge and pass it on. The implementation of electronic publishing and information dissemination presents new challenges in the achievements of efficency economy convenience and standardization. CABI believes that the Internet provides the medium for the provision of large bodies of related information to communitiesof users with common needs. The creation of these bodies of information requires CABI to form alliances with and develop collaborations with organizations which can provide information and/or communities of user which complement its ownand create novel information products by combining primary secondary and tertiary information in innovative ways. Central to Internet resource development is CABIs further belief that the future of information access on the Internet lies in developed networks of interlinked information. Internet sites of bibliographic data with other information where possible form platforms which provide the forum for combining with the information of other organizations through linkage. CABIs concept of linkage is that abstracts structured within a database provide the navigation to and from full text and other material thus fulfiling the dual function of a searchable information resource and a powerful mechanism for locating information. While the Internet is an extremely powerful enabling mechanism there are still large areas of the developing world where connectivity is limited and access to the Internet is not available. CABI has proposed the establishment of Knowledge Networks that comprise moderated exchanges of knowledge using email between established groups of scientists working in a related field. Selected extracts from many of the above resources used for a virtual community can also be provided by email to these groups and discussion papers summarizing the exchanges can be added to the Internet resource for access by a wider audience.

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Item Type:	Proceedings Paper
Additional Information:	Summary En
AGROVOC Term:	FORESTRY
AGROVOC Term:	INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
AGROVOC Term:	INFORMATION SERVICES
AGROVOC Term:	DATABASES
AGROVOC Term:	INTERNET
AGROVOC Term:	INFORMATION NEEDS
AGROVOC Term:	INFORMATION RETRIEVAL
Geographical Term:	MALAYSIA
Depositing User:	Ms. Norfaezah Khomsan
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2025 05:27
URI:	http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/16527

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