Broadening The Perspective on Classification Systems in The Web: Analyzing Web Classification as a Situated Activity Within Communities of Practice

Filho, F. F., De Albuquerque, J. P. and De Geus, P. L. (2010) Broadening The Perspective on Classification Systems in The Web: Analyzing Web Classification as a Situated Activity Within Communities of Practice. In: Proceedings of the IADIS International Conference Collaborative Technologies (CT 2010), Freiburg, Germany, 26-31 Jul 2010, pp. 117-124. ISBN 9789728939212

Abstract

The terms "social web" and "web 2.0" have been used to refer to cost-effective platforms for collaborative knowledge production in the World Wide Web. In this context, recent web knowledge-sharing tools incite a growing change in the role of users from mere consumers to active knowledge producers. In this paper, we broaden the perspective on the approaches to information classification currently used in the web 2.0 by drawing on social theories that consider the production and consumption of categories as a situated activity that takes place within Communities of Practice. We analyze current approaches to information classification in the web (ontology-based versus social tagging approaches), arguing that approaches that impose standardization are not well suited to large-scale information systems in the web and its complex information ecology, where the existence of heterogeneous groups of users demands multiple perspectives of a given knowledge domain. We finally suggest that additional contextual information can be gathered in order to improve current classification approaches and the web systems in which these approaches are embedded.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Porto de Albuquerque, Professor Joao
• Authors: Filho, F. F., De Albuquerque, J. P., and De Geus, P. L.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Journal Name: Proc. of the IADIS Int. Conf. Collaborative Technologies 2010, Proc. of the IADIS Int. Conf. Web Based Communities 2010, Part of the MCCSIS 2010
• ISBN: 9789728939212

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