Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Intellectual Capital

Peter Marshall and Damian Gordon
KA techniques which incorporate human sources into <strong>the</strong> KA process, known as semi-automated and
manual KA techniques.
Semi-automated techniques support <strong>the</strong> KA process in one <strong>of</strong> two ways. The first way is by providing
human sources with tools that facilitate <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> knowledge bases with minimal assistance from
knowledge engineers, thus reducing <strong>the</strong> effects <strong>of</strong> latency. An example <strong>of</strong> this is found in Marshall and
Bandar‟s (1999) work on <strong>the</strong> acquisition <strong>of</strong> medical terms from medical corpora. From <strong>the</strong>ir work, <strong>the</strong>y
were able to automate <strong>the</strong> extraction <strong>of</strong> candidate terms which were <strong>the</strong>n presented to a
lexicographer for validation. These types <strong>of</strong> tools improve <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> acquired knowledge, through
explicit sources, by using an expert in <strong>the</strong> field, to validate results. The second type <strong>of</strong> semiautomated
techniques assists knowledge engineers to execute <strong>the</strong> KA activities in a more efficient
and effective manner by minimising time spent with <strong>the</strong> subject matter expert (SME); again
addressing issues <strong>of</strong> latency. Examples <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se types <strong>of</strong> tools, includes techniques such as
repository grid analysis whereby key attributes are identified and are weighted in <strong>the</strong> decision making
process. These techniques benefit from <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> human sources in <strong>the</strong> KA process <strong>the</strong>refore
increasing <strong>the</strong> bandwidth <strong>of</strong> knowledge sources. However Turban and Aronson (1998) sees <strong>the</strong>
adoption <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se tools as best suited to well-structured problems such as diagnosis and classification
but warns such techniques do not provide a deep understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> decision making process.
The final set, <strong>of</strong> KA techniques, are <strong>the</strong> manual methods (Turban and Aronson, 1998). These
techniques allow knowledge engineers to capture knowledge from both knowledge artefacts and
human sources in order to populate knowledge bases. In creating new knowledge from knowledge
artefacts, one way in which this can be achieved is a through a systematic review. These reviews
focus on summarising a body <strong>of</strong> literature by identifying, appraising, selecting and syn<strong>the</strong>sising
research evidence. From this, conclusions can be reached that are relevant to <strong>the</strong> questions being
asked. In academia, an example <strong>of</strong> this would be a literature review, in which, a body <strong>of</strong> work, is
reviewed; citing <strong>the</strong> current knowledge in <strong>the</strong> field. In terms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> KA bottleneck, dealing with only
explicit artefacts, greatly reduces <strong>the</strong> bandwidth <strong>of</strong> sources in which <strong>the</strong>se techniques operate and
eliminate <strong>the</strong> human resources from <strong>the</strong> KA task. To address this, a set <strong>of</strong> techniques which focus on
<strong>the</strong> acquisition <strong>of</strong> knowledge from human sources are required. The field <strong>of</strong> study revolving around
<strong>the</strong> acquisition <strong>of</strong> knowledge from human sources is known as Knowledge Elicitation (KE).
The KE toolkit comprises <strong>of</strong> a variety <strong>of</strong> techniques that aim to elicit knowledge human sources. In
using KE techniques, <strong>the</strong> knowledge engineer is able to access a richness <strong>of</strong> detail which cannot be
achieved using automated or semi-automated methods. Despite <strong>the</strong> potential benefits <strong>of</strong> KE
techniques, <strong>the</strong>se techniques are slow, expensive and are <strong>of</strong>ten subject to bias especially when
dealing with a single expert. Multiple sources can be employed to increase <strong>the</strong> accuracy <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
knowledge acquired by eliminating bias. However a significant price is paid in terms <strong>of</strong> latency, which
is also impacted by <strong>the</strong> associated with <strong>the</strong> depth <strong>of</strong> analysis required to externalise new knowledge.
Despite <strong>the</strong> problems associated, organisations who wish to externalise <strong>the</strong>ir knowledge must engage
in this process.
2. Knowledge acquisition for physical skills
From a review <strong>of</strong> literature <strong>of</strong> KE techniques, <strong>the</strong>re is little evidence that research has been conducted
in <strong>the</strong> acquisition <strong>of</strong> skill based knowledge. Whilst some authors made reference to <strong>the</strong> applicability <strong>of</strong>
KE techniques to <strong>the</strong> acquisition <strong>of</strong> knowledge in physical activities, little was actually shown. In order
to address this balance, <strong>the</strong> research in this paper aimed to test this hypo<strong>the</strong>sis. For <strong>the</strong> purposes <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> experiments, <strong>the</strong> procedural knowledge and strategic knowledge required to perform Mixed
Martial Arts (MMA) techniques were selected as <strong>the</strong> type <strong>of</strong> knowledge to be acquired.
MMA is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety <strong>of</strong> fighting techniques, from both
traditional and non-traditional martial arts, to be used in competition. The rules permit athletes to
combine striking and grappling techniques, whilst fighting from a standing position as well as on <strong>the</strong>
ground. This allows martial artists from different backgrounds to compete on an equal playing field.
The sport <strong>of</strong> MMA is a relatively new discipline which has evolved from traditional martial arts.
Whereas <strong>the</strong> early MMA practitioners trained exclusively in one art (e.g. Wrestling, Boxing, Karate,
etc.), today's modern mixed martial artists have had to embrace techniques taken from various
fighting disciplines. Fighters who are unable to successfully combine techniques from a wide range <strong>of</strong>
disciplines are at a distinct disadvantage.
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