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An exploration of information and

information management systems

Sascha van Zijll Langhout

Supervisor Deltares: Arno Nolte

Supervisor Wageningen: Machiel Lamers

22nd of December 2015

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Part I: Introduction

1. Introduction to the research project ..................................................................................4

2. Problem description ...........................................................................................................4

3. Aim of the research project ................................................................................................5

4. Methodology ......................................................................................................................6

5. Reading guide .....................................................................................................................7

Part II: Theoretical basis

1. Definition of knowledge, information and data .................................................................9

2. Strategies to prepare knowledge for transfer ..................................................................11

3. Strategies for knowledge management ...........................................................................12

4. Strategies for knowledge transfer ....................................................................................14

5. Conclusions.......................................................................................................................16

Part III: Technical aspects

1. Lessons learned from North Sea informational websites .................................................18

1.1. Overview of the websites investigated ..................................................................... 18

1.2. Commonalities between informational websites ...................................................... 24

1.3. Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 25

2. Existing information management systems .....................................................................26

2.1. Description of existing systems ................................................................................. 26

2.2. Conclusions on existing management systems ......................................................... 28

3. Deltares wiki and reproducible reporting .........................................................................28

3.1. Introduction to Lake Veere ............................................................................................29

3.2. Reproducible reporting ............................................................................................. 29

3.3. Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 30

4. Conclusions.......................................................................................................................31

Part IV: Communication of information and knowledge

1. Communication strategies employed by the VNSC ..........................................................32

1.1 Interview with de Levende Delta ................................................................................ 33

1.2 Interview with Red onze Polders ................................................................................ 33

1.3 Interview with the Zeeuwse Milieufederatie ............................................................. 34

1.4 Interview with the VNSC ............................................................................................. 34

1.5 Interview with Pantarein ............................................................................................ 35

1.6 Interview with Waterwegen en Zeekanaal ................................................................. 35

1.7 Interview with the Schelderaad .................................................................................. 36

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1.8 Conclusions about the communication techniques ................................................... 36

2. Port of the Future serious game .......................................................................................39

2.1. Introduction to Port of the Future serious game ...................................................... 39

2.2. Playing Port of the Future at Hogeschool Zeeland .................................................... 40

2.3. Conclusion Port of the Future ................................................................................... 41

2.4. Discussion Port of the Future .................................................................................... 42

3. Deltares’ lunch lectures ....................................................................................................42

3.1. Questionnaire ............................................................................................................ 43

4. Conclusions.......................................................................................................................44

Part V: Conclusions and recommendations for further research

1. Summary of research .......................................................................................................46

2. Guidelines for an Information Management System .......................................................47

...........................................................................51 3. Recommendations for further research

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Part I. Introduction

1. Introduction to the research project

This research project was carried out during the internship at Deltares needed for the completion of

the master Environmental Policy in Wageningen. The focus of the research project was placed on

information management and information management systems due to my interest in the topic and

the progress which can be made by creating an information management system which addresses

several challenges inherent to the current practices of knowledge, information and data

management.

2. Problem description

The starting points for this research project are three observations done by Deltares:

1. In the past years, a lot of effort is put in systematic data management and results are more

and more implemented in daily practice.

2. Data leads to information and knowledge. Systematic information management and

knowledge management are far less developed than data management, mostly because of its

much greater complexity and diversity.

3. When Information management and/or knowledge management are undertaken, they are

almost always done within a certain context or towards a specific policy goal sometimes

making use of decision support systems. So far, little attention seems to be for structural and

systematic management so that information and knowledge can be stored, reused, shared

and build on. When a new context or a new policy goal arises, a lot of time and effort is

required to find available information and all too often the same information is duplicated.

These observations lead to research questions how systematic and reusable information

management can be done and how the gaps between data and information and between information

and knowledge can be bridged. Deltares believes that now data management is getting established,

the step towards systematic information management and knowledge management can be made.

State of the Environment (SotE) reporting for Lake Veere (Bekkenrapportage Veerse Meere) is getting

established, this is a step towards systematic compiling of water body knowledge. Rijkswaterstaat

Zeeland used to compile a SotE report every five years for each of the four large water bodies under

their management. The SotE report describes and explains the physical, morphological, water quality

and ecological developments over a period of 15 to 20 years. These comprehensive reports give

everyone working or going to work in a water body a flying start because of the completeness of the

overview. A second benefit lies in the five-year cycle which guarantees that the state of knowledge is

kept up-to-date.

A number of years ago, Rijkswaterstaat stopped the SotE reporting. At the same time, partly due to

retirement of long-time experts both at Deltares and at Rijkswaterstaat, knowledge gets dispersed

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and threatens to disappear. Deltares has experienced that studies cost more time, because the water

body knowledge needs to be build up from a lower level. The evaluation of the change in water level

management in 2009 required the description and evaluation of developments in Lake Veere. For

Rijkswaterstaat, this was an opportunity to assign Deltares to write a SotE report over a long period

(2000-2014). Deltares suggestion to use this study as a pilot for systematic information management

so that SotE reports can be kept up-to-date easily and efficiently and data, information and

knowledge of Lake Veere are systematically secured, was positively received by Rijkswaterstaat. A

pilot is due to start in 2016.

Several other, more general aspects, can be identified in relation to information management and

further solidify the need for a more organised method of information management.

People and organizations that need to work together rely on – generally large amounts of- data and

information for their daily business. They can run into several problems with the management of that

data and information, such as redundancy, outdated information, poor overview of available

information already in possession of the organization, and poor accessibility of the information and

data either inside or outside of the organization or both. Ever increasing amounts make it difficult to

keep track of up-to-date knowledge, information, and data already present in an organization or

other organizational entity. Firstly, this can lead to a lack of information or data in one area, as a lack

of oversight makes it hard to identify areas where additional monitoring should take place. Secondly,

it could also lead to an abundance of information or data in another research area. This can occur

when the information or data is needed quite often but hard to access through the current system. In

those cases people will have to gather the data anew and will add it to the database again. Methods

currently used to organize information and data can be hard to keep up to date which could result in

employees having to gather new information and data to have up to date information and data

available for reports and other purposes. Furthermore the information of one organization is also not

always open for use by other organizations. This could result in either a loss of money, by purchasing

the necessary data or information, or a loss of time, as the monitoring or research needs to be carried

out again to gather the necessary information.

Ample examples of the issues which the current information and data management practices pose

can be found in real life. For example, Deltares experiences several of the issues described in the

previous paragraph. The information system currently used by Rijkswaterstaat is not fully accessible

to both the employees and outsiders, such as Deltares, in need of the information. People may repeat

the collection and analysis of the same information anew, which is not only inefficient but also

impedes the process of expanding on available information. Also, a new analysis of data may lead to a

different interpretation. In itself, this is not necessarily bad, but awareness of differences in often

crucial for management and policy applications.

3. Aim of the research project

The aim of the research project is to provide recommendations for effective, efficient and sustainable

information management in complex, multi-party and multi-discipline processes or organizations. A

specific focus is on how an information management system can support such processes. The

recommendations will include methods to involve stakeholders in the process of creating the

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information management system, as well as recommendations for the lay-out of the information

management system. In this report, these recommendations will loosely target the creation of an

information management system to manage the knowledge and information pertaining to the SotE

for Lake Veere.

The main research question for this research project is:

• What is an information management system?

• Which recommendations can be given for the creation of an effective, efficient and

sustainable information management system?

The following sub-questions will be addressed in order to formulate recommendations for an

information management system. These three questions will be answered through multiple sub-

questions.

1. Which methods exist for the management and communication of information and

knowledge?

o How can information and knowledge be managed?

o How can information and knowledge be communicated?

2. Can a website be used as a platform for the information system?

o What are the advantages of using a website as opposed to a local system?

o How is information communicated through websites?

o Does something similar to a web-based information management system already

exist?

3. How should knowledge be communicated?

o How is knowledge currently communicated?

o How do the receivers experience the communication?

4. Which recommendations for the information management system can be given?

4. Methodology

The general topic of information management and information management systems is addressed

through several case studies and one literature study. Each case study is performed as a short

separate study and as such will have its own research questions and conclusion. However, the

conclusions from the case studies can be used to draw lessons from for the information management

system as all case studies are related to the topic of information management, knowledge

management or knowledge communication. This variety of case studies will ensure that the broad

topic of information management is explored and allows for the formulation of recommendations for

the set-up of an information system.

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Angle 1: theoretical

The literature study provides the starting point for this research project as well as providing

theoretical grounding for the case studies. The literature study addresses the definitions of data,

information, and knowledge, how information and knowledge can be managed, and how information

and knowledge can be communicated to others. This is done by approaching information

management and information management from three distinct angles. The literature study is found in

Part II of this report.

Angle 2: technical

The first angle consists of three case studies. The first case study investigates informational websites

about the North Sea. The information system will partially, or completely, consist of a website to

ensure accessibility to more individuals and from more locations. The case study is used to illuminate

how information is conveyed through websites and which common elements, in lay-out or type of

information provided, can be identified. These commonalities can be used to draw lessons from

which can be applied to the website for an information management system. The second case study

involves an investigation of information systems, such as geographic information systems, to identify

existing aspects of the information management system as envisioned by Deltares. The third case

study looks into the use of R markdown for the use of reproducible reporting. These case studies are

found in Part III.

Angle 3: personal

The third angle focusses on the communication of information and knowledge. This is done by taking

three examples of knowledge communication and assessing whether this meets the needs of the

individuals being communicated with. The three examples chosen are the methods used by the VNSC

to communicate with other stakeholders, the lunch lectures organised by Deltares to spread

knowledge among employees, and the serious game Port of the Future which can be used to

communicate and create knowledge in a variety of settings. The conclusions drawn from this case

study can be incorporated into the recommendations for an information management system as

communication will be part of an efficient information management system. Some knowledge or

information might be conveyed more efficiently through personal contact and communication with

stakeholders should also play a large role during the set-up of an information management system.

These case studies are found in Part IV.

5. Reading guide

The research questions will be answered through a literature study, an internet search, interviews,

and several case studies. The literature study will be addressed in Part II and will provide background

and definition for the concepts knowledge, information and data. It will briefly outline some principles

for the management of knowledge and information management. Part III focusses on the possibility

of using a website as the basis for the information management system. This will be done through an

internet search of North Sea websites to assess the suitability of websites to convey information as

well as identifying which aspects facilitate the transfer of information. Several other information and

data system are investigated to assess whether an information management system as envisioned by

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Deltares already exists or partially exists. Part III also includes a case study into reproducible reporting

and whether this would be a valuable addition to the information management system. Part IV

provides an overview of knowledge communication methods currently in use and the communication

methods desired by stakeholders. Part V provides the conclusions and recommendations for further

research. In the conclusions the guidelines which can be provided for the set-up of an information

management system for Lake Veere will be presented.

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Part II. Theoretical Basis This part is based on a literature study performed to gather additional information on the

knowledge/information management as well as possible transfer and communication methods.

Several of the research questions, as posed in the introduction, are answered in this chapter. These

questions are:

• Which methods exist for the management and communication of information?

o How is information managed?

o How is information communicated?

Before answering the main research question the sub-questions will be answered first. The

conclusions which can be drawn from the answers to the sub-questions along with additional

information presented, will be used to reflect on the main research question at the end of this part of

the research project.

The information necessary for answering the research questions posed above has been gathered

through a literature study. The literature study was used to create the theoretical framework

presented below. This theoretical framework will serve as the basis for the development of an

information management system as well as for finding methods to involve stakeholders in the process

of creating an information management system. The keywords used during this literature study

where: knowledge, information, information management, knowledge management, and knowledge

communication. The articles used in the literature study received a tag depending on the topic

covered by the article and was placed in a file with articles addressing similar topics. This allows for

easy retrieval of the document if necessary.

The different aspects of definitions, preparation, management, and transfer will be discussed in

separate chapters. This part will be concluded by a conclusion which will summarise the findings of

the previous chapters.

1. Definition of knowledge, information and data

In the following paragraph the definitions of data, information and knowledge are provided. These

are crucial for the understanding of knowledge and how it can be managed.

1. Data is considered to be objective facts or observations, such as field or lab measurements,

monitoring results, which lack any specific meaning because it is without context and

interpretation.

2. Information is data that has been processed for a purpose which adds meaning and value to

the data.

3. Knowledge (builds on) is a combination of data/information to which expert opinion, skills,

and experience are added which results in knowledge that conveys understanding,

experience, accumulated learning and expertise.

These definitions are adapted from the work done by Rowley (Rowley, 2007).

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This list of definitions presents information and knowledge as two static and completely separate

concepts. In theory this split between information and knowledge is possible but in the practice the

differences between information and knowledge are not as clear cut. Knowledge is built on

information by adding a layer of skills and experience, this adding of elements to information makes it

difficult to pinpoint when information becomes knowledge and it can be assumed that this would

depend on the individual. Furthermore, knowledge can be codified or personified to communicate

the knowledge. Knowledge is sometimes said to be turned back into the information once it has been

through the codification or personification methods. Information which consists of personified or

codified knowledge will be referred to as enhanced information. The term enhanced information has

been chosen as this reflects the fact that this information is based on knowledge which adds the

aspects of skill and experience to information.

The definition of knowledge can be further split apart into tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge.

Tacit knowledge is knowledge that is difficult to transfer from one person to another by means of

writing it down or verbalising it (Dalkir, 2005). Tacit knowledge is knowledge that is ingrained in the

individual and is harder to isolate and thus harder to transfer to others. Tacit knowledge consists of

beliefs, ideals, values, schemata and mental models which are deeply ingrained and often taken for

granted. This means that tacit knowledge is based on personal values and experiences and has been

gained and perfected over the years. For example, the senior advisor knows when to use which

models, how to run those models and which conclusion can be drawn without being able to

sufficiently explain why this particular model is selected or why the steps that are taken are taken

other than the fact that this is the usual procedure. In case something goes wrong the senior advisor

can improvise due to the experience with the model and possible problems that could arise. In the

field of knowledge management tacit knowledge refers to knowledge possessed by a single person

and difficult to communicate to others using words and symbols. Tacit knowledge is commonly

described as know how. Effective transfer of this type of knowledge generally requires a more

personal approach such as extensive contact, regular interactions, and trust.

Table 1: Characteristics of tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge (Dalkir, 2005)

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Explicit knowledge is knowledge that can be readily articulated, codified, accessed, and verbalised and

often comes in the form of text, audio recordings or images. It can easily be transmitted to others.

Explicit knowledge is often described as being know what. All forms of explicit knowledge can be

stored in media but the medium that is most effective will depend on the type of information. Some

types of information are best stored in a format such as books whereas other information are more

suitable for storage in models or prototypes. In contrast to tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge can,

quite easily, be converted into enhanced information and be transferred to others. To stick with the

example provided previously, an intern would be able to explain why the particular model is chosen

and why those particular steps must be followed since the intern is not completely familiar with the

model yet and consciously thinks about the steps that need to be taken. If a problem were to arise

the intern might not know how to solve the problem due to the lack of experience with the model

and the possible causes for the problem. Knowledge management solutions have proven to be most

effective in this type of knowledge as it is easier to capture, store and disseminate explicit knowledge,

particularly through the use of lessons learned and best practices (Dalkir, 2005). It must be noted that

a sliding scale exists between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Some individuals have an easier

time expressing ideas or concepts than others, what is explicit for some might be tacit for others

(Dalkir, 2005). It must be noted that more tacit knowledge tends to have a higher value due to the

layers of experience and personal skill added to it.

Since both tacit and explicit knowledge need to be communicated it is important to understand the

characteristics of both types of knowledge. The different characteristics of tacit and explicit

knowledge will necessitate different methods of communication. The different strategies which exist

for managing, and preparing both tacit and explicit knowledge will be described below along with the

consequences for the information system.

2. Strategies to prepare knowledge for transfer

In order for knowledge to be communicated it must be prepared for transfer in a specific way so that

the receiver can understand the knowledge communicated and which allows the provider to

communicate the piece of knowledge effectively. Two main strategies can be identified.

The first strategy is personalisation. Personalisation involves providing individuals with the necessary

tacit knowledge with means to identify and communicate with other experts to convey this

knowledge. The personalisation strategies can take the form of workshops, Skype calls, regular

meetings, or other methods were personal contact is a central component. This particular strategy is

appropriate for the project since personalisation can be used for the dissemination of knowledge.

Knowledge can be conveyed during expert meetings where attendees can learn from each other or by

organising workshops. However, organising expert meetings or workshops for every piece of

knowledge or information is not feasible. Due to this further strategies need to be incorporated into

the project.

Codification is the second strategy identified. Codification entails packaging the knowledge into

formats that facilitate knowledge transfer. This strategy fits more closely with the goal of this project

as the aim is to convey the necessary knowledge to understand measurements and their

consequences without the use of personal contact between individuals. If personal contact is

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necessary to convey the necessary knowledge notes should be taken or the interaction can be filmed

to document the lessons learned and other important information.

Codification can be achieved in several ways:

• Knowledge (such as modelling procedures or parameters) can be encoded in formulas, codes,

expert systems, budget information. As an example, Deltares could codify the modelling

procedures, parameters, or knowledge of natural systems.

• Expressing it in natural language formats such as reports, memos, or policies.

• Embedding knowledge in physical objects such as prototypes or technologies or depositing it

in employees who can transfer the knowledge between units.

Codification is described by Hansen et. al. as developing technologies or depositing knowledge in

interview guides, work schedules, benchmark data, and market segment analyses out of documents

and storing them in the electronic repository for further use (Hansen, et al., 1999) Applied to the Lake

Veere knowledge/information system this would result in the storage of the necessary knowledge to

interpret the data/information, what this would mean for policy (current or to be made), the public,

etc. as well as possible lessons learned from the process. This particular approach allows people to

retrieve and search for the enhanced information without needing to contact the individual who

originally had the knowledge (Hansen, et al., 1999). To codify the knowledge a shared language and

model needs to be created to facilitate the flow of knowledge. When the codification language and

model have been created a so called code book can be said to exist. This code book contains all of the

codified knowledge, this could take the form of a filing cabinet full of reports, a digital folder full of

maps, or in the case of this research paper the information system. The knowledge stored in this code

book can be drawn upon to use as the user sees fit. This use of the knowledge will result in new

knowledge, which can then be added to the code book to increase the amount of enhanced

information and information contained within the book (Cohendet & Steinmueller, 2000).

Two key methods have been identified which can be used to prepare knowledge for transfer. Namely:

codification and personification. Codification is the strategy most suited for the preparation of explicit

knowledge as codification relies on capturing the knowledge in text, diagrams, or formulas. Since

explicit knowledge is easier to articulate it is also easier to capture in text, diagrams, formulas or other

methods. The information system will need to able to include those codified pieces of tacit knowledge

to efficiently and effectively convey the knowledge to the user of the information system. Tacit

knowledge is best prepared for transfer through the use of personal strategies. Since one on one

communication with the holder of the knowledge is not possible the tacit knowledge needs to be

conveyed some other way. In the case of the information system the tacit knowledge could be

personified through video explanations of concepts or through the taping of conferences as these

provide additional context and allow for a more in depth explanation. This does mean that the

information system should be able to incorporate several different kinds of formats.

3. Strategies for knowledge management

Schulz and Jobe (Schulz & Jobe, 2001) distinguish between two distinct knowledge management

strategies, focused and unfocused knowledge management. Focused knowledge management

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strategists specialise on specific forms of codification for each type of knowledge. Each type of

knowledge has its own codification method, technology related knowledge could be codified using

formulas and prototypes whereas marketing related knowledge is codified using text based forms.

Unfocused knowledge management strategists do not utilise such a planned approach and several

forms of codification are used resulting in codification that is employs all forms more or less equally.

Table 2 details the two management strategies in regards to the codification strategies and tacitness

or personalisation strategies used by each. This leads to four strategies in total. A codification strategy

for unfocused strategists, resulting in knowledge encoded in different forms without regard for the

suitability of those forms. A tacitness/personalisation strategy for unfocused strategists would result

in no or very little encoded knowledge. The codification strategy for focussed strategists results in

knowledge that is encoded in forms that facilitate flow most efficiently. The tacitness/personalisation

strategy for the focussed strategists focusses around the avoidance of codification in forms that could

result in accidental knowledge transfer and instead in forms that permit sufficient flows within the

organisation (Schulz & Jobe, 2001). Accidental knowledge transfer could occur, for example, by

forgetting confidential papers aboard the train or by forwarding an email to an unauthorised recipient

The focussed approach has several advantages over the unfocussed approach. The focussed approach

requires less diversity of skill in codifying, distributing and decoding of knowledge as fewer forms of

codification are used. Furthermore, the developed codification tools can be applied and reused

throughout the organisation. This ability of the codification tools to be reused and applied throughout

the organisation would be an interesting aspect of a knowledge/information system as it would allow

Rijkswaterstaat to apply the system to its entire organisation and ensure the growth of the knowledge

contained within the information system. The use of one method of codification also reduces

redundancy of information as well as the possibility of discrepancies between the different encoded

forms.

In the case of Lake Veere the knowledge/information system both the focussed and unfocussed

approaches have a place. Due to the aim of the information system, different organisations and

individuals will be able to add different types of material, which in turn means that multiple types of

Table 2: Characteristics of unfocused and focused strategies (Schulz and Jobe, 2001)

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codification will be necessary. To preserve the knowledge it needs to be codified into a format that

retains these properties. This means that the format of codification can differ between the different

types of knowledge or information. This would mean that on the individual level, the

knowledge/information level, the approach will be unfocussed. All the provided information will be

compiled into the knowledge base. To ensure compatibility of the information a certain format needs

to be used when adding certain information to the information system. In this particular case both

the focused and unfocussed approach will be implemented, the codification of the individual pieces

of information will be unfocussed whereas the entire information system will be focused.

The focused and unfocussed management strategies both will need to be employed to ensure the

proper functioning of the information system. Since the type of knowledge contained in the

information system can vary largely it is important to allow all methods of codification. Different types

of knowledge require different methods of codification. Using different codification methods is a

characteristic of the unfocussed approach to knowledge management and for this particular reason

should be included in the information system. Ensuring compatibility of the explicit knowledge

contained in the information management system should be promoted and this can be best achieved

through the use of regulated codification methods. To combine these two management strategies

guidelines could be set up to govern the codification of information. Setting up guidelines for each

type of codification should ensure that all codified information of the same type is compatible with

each other.

4. Strategies for knowledge transfer

Van Kerkhoff and Lebel (van Kerkhoff & Lebel, 2006) identify several methods of knowledge transfer.

The authors make a between the conventional view and the unconventional view, both views use

different methods to transfer information. The conventional view is characterised by the idea that the

interaction between science and policy is unproblematic and that knowledge will end up in the right

hands without interference by the scientific community. The unconventional view recognises that the

interaction between science and policy is defined by external factors such as the social construction

of knowledge or the relation between knowledge and power. The methods advocated by the

unconventional view aim to take these external factors into account by redesigning the interactions

between science and policy communities. The methods used in the unconventional view rely less on

the belief that knowledge will end up in the right place and make both communities take a more

active stance towards creating scientific knowledge and uses for the knowledge.

The methods associated with the conventional view play a large role in the communication between

science and policy communities and will likely play a large role in an information management system

due to the fact that personal interaction is difficult to realise when using an information management

system. However, an information management system can be used to facilitate personal contact

between users by providing contact details or a calendar with upcoming events pertaining to

information contained within the system.

Trickle down and transfer and translate are the two most widely used conventional methods. The

trickle down method is based on the idea that once the knowledge is produced by the scientific

community the knowledge will end up in the hands of the people that are best served by this

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knowledge (van Kerkhoff & Lebel, 2006). The input of the scientific community in the communication

of the knowledge is minimal. The input of the policy community on the knowledge produced is

likewise minimal. The transfer and translate method is largely similar apart from the fact that the

scientific community translates the scientific knowledge into a language that is easier to understand

by the recipients of the knowledge (van Kerkhoff & Lebel, 2006). It is mentioned that these methods

tend to apply well to narrow, straightforward, and technically defined issues where there is no need

to create consensus on the problem and its solutions.

As mentioned these methods apply well to communication about problems that are well-defined and

have a clear problem and solution. However, the problems faced by the policy community are not

always as clear cut. In some cases the amount of stakeholders involved make it difficult to come to a

consensus about the problem and its solution (van Kerkhoff & Lebel, 2006). The external factors, such

as personal, political and organisational values and the association between knowledge and power,

should also be taken into account when making decisions that have large impacts on the

stakeholders. In these cases different forms of communication must be used. The unconventional

methods all aim to involve the stakeholders in the knowledge production process instead of

communicating the results after the research has been completed (van Kerkhoff & Lebel, 2006).

The methods advocated by the unconventional world view are characterised by the inclusion of other

actors in the process of knowledge production. Participation involves including lay-people into the

research or policy process. This participation of lay-people ensures that a wider background is

represented during the research and policy process and the concerns and preferences can be better

integrated (van Kerkhoff & Lebel, 2006). Integration takes the idea of participation a step further by

increasing the scale. Integration aims to involve actors across jurisdictions, across scales, and across

the user and producer spheres (van Kerkhoff & Lebel, 2006). Learning focusses on learning from

others through the use of codification and personification methods to relay the knowledge to others.

This method also promotes the idea of adaptive management which suggests that policy measures

should be seen as experiments which should be assessed and monitored to promote learning from

real-life examples (van Kerkhoff & Lebel, 2006). Negotiation takes into account that researchers are

also political actors and provides methods in which different interests can be considered. The method

relies on sharing the power inherent to the production of knowledge and identifies three ways to do

this: advocacy coalitions, boundary work, and mode 2 research. All of these ways promote the

involvement of researchers in the policy process and the involvement of other actors in the research

process, and to demarcate the area under research in order to come to solutions that are acceptable

to all actors involved (van Kerkhoff & Lebel, 2006).

The methods associated with the conventional view as well as the methods associated with the

unconventional view should be included in the information management system. The methods used

by the conventional view can be used to convey simple, and value free, information and data. This

type of information lends itself best to these methods as these methods send the information out and

leaves it for the interested user to find. If the information is easy to understand this method should

pose no problem. A web-based system could be used to provide the information by using either the

trickle down method or the transfer and translate. Both of these methods can be used, the transfer

and translate method can be used to provide the most pertinent information in an easier to

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understand way. The trickle down method can then be used to provide the interested parties with

additional, or more in depth, information.

One, or more, of the methods associated with the unconventional view should be included as well.

The aspect of personification, learning from others, is heavily represented in these particular

methods. Since some types of knowledge or information are best conveyed through personal contact

the unconventional methods would make a good addition to the information management system.

The unconventional methods can be used to convey more sensitive or complex information. It is

possible, for example, to use the learning method to provide knowledge to lay-people or actors with a

different expertise. The integration or negotiation methods can be used to create joint knowledge or

reach decisions with multiple stakeholders.

The methods relying on direct input from all actors are not suitable for the use in a web-based

information system due to the fact that the knowledge and information is placed on the website and

personal interaction with the knowledge producers is not possible. This would mean that the

information management system will consist of a web-based part as well as a part to facilitate

personal contact.

5. Conclusions

The definitions that will be used for data, information, knowledge are:

1. Data is considered to be objective facts or observations, such as field or lab measurements,

monitoring results, which lack any specific meaning because it is without context and

interpretation.

2. Information can be split between information and enhanced information:

2.1. Information is data that has been processed for a purpose which adds meaning and value to

the data.

2.2. Enhanced information is codified or personified knowledge. Codifying or personifying

knowledge turns that knowledge back into information. The term enhanced information has

been chosen to denote the added layers of complexity inherent to knowledge captured in

the information.

3. Knowledge is split between explicit and tacit knowledge:

3.1. Explicit knowledge is knowledge which can readily be articulated, codified, assessed and

verbalised. It is heavily based on knowing what as opposed to the knowing how of tacit

knowledge.

3.2. Tacit knowledge is knowledge that is ingrained in the individual and is based on information

to which skill, experience, values, etc. have been added. This type of knowledge is often

characterised as knowing how.

Information can be managed in two distinct ways: using a focused approach or an unfocussed

approach. The focused approach provides a few codification or personification methods to be used

17

when managing information, whereas the unfocussed approach allows for the individual to select the

method they deem best resulting in a large array of codification and personification methods used.

The focused strategy is the recommended strategy to be used in an information management system.

Selecting a few codification and personification methods means that the system can be optimised to

accommodate these methods. Furthermore, the uniformity of the methods ensures that the

information included, even from different sources, is compatible to each other. To facilitate this

guidelines can be created to help users with the codification or personalisation of the information.

The information can be communicated using several methods. The methods used depend on the type

of information to be communicated as well as the medium through which it will be communicated.

Methods associated with the conventional view of knowledge communication depend on placing the

information somewhere where interested parties can find it. This works best when the information is

value free and relatively simple. A website is a medium that is suitable for these methods and this

type of information. The methods associated with the unconventional view rely on the inclusion of

others to transfer information. These methods are better suited to convey more sensitive or complex

information. It is likely that simple as well as complex information needs to be conveyed by an

information management system. For this reason it is recommended to include both methods from

the conventional and the unconventional views in an information management system.

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Part III. Technical Aspects This part is based on three case studies. These case studies are both conducted through the use of a

web search. The first case study focused on websites as a method to convey information. The second

case study looks into current web based information management systems. The third case study

investigates the use of R markdown for reproducible reporting.

These three case studies are used to address the technical aspects of conveying information and the

aspects of a web based information management system.

1. Lessons learned from North Sea informational websites This first chapter is based on the case study of informational websites set up to educate users about

the North Sea. The research questions addressed by this case study are:

• Can a website be used as a platform for the information system?

o Can websites be used to convey information effectively?

o How is information communicated through websites?

The aim is to find commonalities between the websites. These commonalities between the websites

are used to draw lessons from. These lessons will be used to formulate guidelines for an information

management system as well determining whether websites are suited for conveying information to

the user.

The decision was made to focus on the North Sea as this is a broader area of study than just looking at

informational websites of Lake Veere or the Westerschelde. The websites were not restricted to

Dutch websites to get a broader set of websites to look and to be able to find commonalities shared

by a large amount of websites. Additional information on the creation of websites for different

intended users has been found using Google. This information was kept in mind when looking at the

informational websites as well as when drawing the conclusions.

The websites were gathered using Google search and the search terms Noordzee, North Sea,

Nordsee. These terms have led

1.1. Overview of the websites investigated Dutch websites In this section an overview of the Dutch websites pertaining to the North Sea will be provided along

with an assessment of the intended user as well as of the website itself.

Wikipedia: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noordzee

Wikipedia serves the function of an online encyclopaedia. For this reason the Wikipedia page for the

North Sea provides some basic information such as the location, the average depth, the geology, and

hydrography, as well as an overview of the flora and fauna, safety, preservation, and economy. The

page provides links for further reading and can be used to find additional search terms or research

topics. The page itself starts with a brief introduction followed by a table of contents to jump to

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different sections. The sections are demarcated by a header and paragraph headers. The information

provided is explained clearly and succinctly and where appropriate pictures are used to clarify further.

The page does not seem to be aimed at one particular type of user but rather at users that want a

quick overview of the most important features of the North Sea. The page is effective in providing the

information that the person is looking for since it allows for jumping to relevant topics and provides

links to related topics.

Stichting de Noordzee: http://www.noordzee.nl/

The second website that can be found when searching for the term Noordzee on Google is the

website belonging to the Stichting de Noordzee. This organisation concerns itself with the

preservation of the nature in the North Sea. The website presents its topics through the use of

themes, nature, fishing, shipping, and waste. Each theme then presents how the organisation views

the topic and its goals in regards to these topics, linking to concrete projects. The website provides a

cursory introduction to the theme. For example the theme nature is introduced with a short overview

of the human pressures that impact the nature in the North Sea. This is then followed by the aims of

the organisation and the projects it is working on.

This website is most likely aimed at people wanting to preserve the nature in the North Sea since this

is all the information that the website provides. If the aim is to gather information about the North

Sea itself or to find more detailed information concerning waste problems in the North Sea the

website is not very suitable.

The layout of the website is clear and the themes can be easily found as well as additional information

about the organisation, events it is organising, etc.

Rijkswaterstaat: http://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/water/feiten_en_cijfers/vaarwegenoverzicht/noordzee/ This website from Rijkswaterstaat provides an overview of the general location of the North Sea and

its size. The website details the shipping routes across the North Sea with detailed information on the

amount of ships entering Dutch harbours as well as detailed information on the shipping routes

themselves. It also provides some information on the other infrastructures present in the North Sea

such as internet cables. The page provides links to other pages, for example reinforcement of the

dykes or coastal maintenance. However, these pages are not as detailed as the page linked to in this

document.

This website presents clear information which is supplemented with pictures when appropriate. It is

not clear who the intended user of this page is but the information provided seems most relevant for

professionals in the shipping industry or people interested in the infrastructure in and along the North

Sea.

Willem Wever: http://www.willemwever.nl/vraag_antwoord/de-aarde/hoe-diep-de-noordzee

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This website answers the question about the depth of the North Sea as well as providing some other

relevant information, such as the ecosystem on the sea floor. The page also elaborates on the history

of the North Sea. At the bottom of the page links are provided to pages that hold additional related

information. The information is divided up into smaller sections containing factual information written

in an easily understood way.

This website is aimed at children and is characterised by the use of bright blue and orange headers for

the information and the large icons. These icons and headings draw the attention to the different

sections of the page and additional other pages that can be looked at. The information is factual but

provided in a way that is easier for children to understand and use.

Ecomare: http://www.ecomare.nl/nl/ecomare-encyclopedie/gebieden/noordzee/noordzee-algemeen/

The Ecomare website presents an encyclopaedia like overview of the North Sea. It provides a short

introduction with the location as well as its economic importance and natural richness. It provides an

overview of the depth of the North Sea, further illustrated using a cross section. It details the water

supply of the North Sea along with prevalent natural processes.

The intended user of the website is not clear. The page is laid out with bright colours to notify the

viewer of other sections of the website. However, the information provided is more specific and

technical than the information provided by the Willem Wever website. The length of the pieces of

information is short and provides the most necessary information and provides a very basic overview

of the topic.

Wikikids: http://www.wikikids.nl/Noordzee

This website gives a very brief overview of the North Sea. It has some pictures that make the site

more appealing to children. The information provided is very basic and easy to understand. The page

itself does not provide a lot of information but links to other aspects mentioned can provide more

detailed information.

Spreekbeurten info: http://spreekbeurten.info/noordzee.html

This website provides basic information concerning the North Sea. The basic information includes

pollution, characteristics of the North Sea such as tides and salt water, flora and fauna, and a little

section dedicated to Greenpeace. Several pictures are provided where appropriate. The information

provided is not very detailed but serves in providing a basic overview of the aforementioned aspects.

The intended user of this website is primary school children who are preparing a presentation on the

North Sea. The website covers the most important aspects as well as providing some additional links

to other topics that could be of interest.

Geologie van Nederland: http://www.geologievannederland.nl/fossielen/vindplaatsen/noordzee

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This particular website provides a detailed overview of the history of the North Sea. It provides some

information on the North Sea in general and more detailed information about some specific locations

in the North Sea. The website does not seem to be specifically aimed at children but it is presented in

such a way that almost any user can understand the information presented. Links to additional

websites and books are provided for users interested in more detailed information.

The information presented is easy to understand and the lay-out of the website is clear. A table of

contents is provided which allows for jumping to different sections.

Rijksoverheid http://www.noordzeeloket.nl/projecten/noordzee-natura-2000/

The Rijksoverheid website provides infromation about the North Sea in conjunction with Natura 2000.

The first page provides information about Natura 2000 and the reasons for the implementation of this

directive. Links on the left hand side of the page provide more detailed information about the nature

2000 areas in the North Sea and the current policy, for example. Several links to downloads are

provided, these downloads contain the Natura 2000 policy as well as policy concerning the North Sea

among others.

The intended users of this website are most likely people that want to know more about Natura 2000

and the North Sea. The information that is provided is quite basic and thus serves as a good starting

point for the search for additional and more in depth knowledge of the subject.

English Websites

In this section an overview of the English websites pertaining to the North Sea will be provided along

with an assessment of the intended user as well as of the website itself.

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea

This Wikipedia is comparable to the Dutch Wikipedia page about the North Sea. This page provides

largely the same information as an encyclopaedia entry would. It provides information on the

location, the geology, hydrology, and the uses of the North Sea among other topics.

The website is not aimed at a particular user and instead aims to provide basic information and allow

for further searching, using either the links embedded in the text or the references at the bottom of

the page. The table of contents provided at the top of the page allows for easy navigation to the

sections of interest.

World Atlas: http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/northsea.htm

This webpage serves the same purpose as a conventional atlas. It shows a map with the location of

the North Sea as well as providing a text based description of the location along with a short

description of the most important shipping routes.

The intended user is someone who wants a quick overview of the location of the North Sea. Not much

else can be learned from this website as it consists of a map and a very small block of text.

22

Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/place/North-Sea

Another encyclopedia like entry. It provides the location of the North Sea as well as its size, and its

connection of other seas and oceans. The economical and historical importance of is briefly touched

upon. A section is dedicated to the physical features of the sea with separate paragraphs for the

geology, physiography, hydrology, and climate. The economic aspects where briefly touched upon in

the introduction and expanded upon further in on the page. Again this section is broken up into

paragraphs to discuss the different aspects. The aspects discussed range from fisheries, to oil and gas,

to the impact of human activity. The piece concludes with a brief section on study and exploration of

the North Sea.

The intended user of the website is a person who would like to know some basic information about

the North Sea. The page touches upon the different aspects of the North Sea such as its geology and

economic importance as well as identifying the human pressures and the research done. The page

itself is broken up into three different pages and provides a table of contents on the left to allow

skipping to the sections of interest. The information provided is useful for a wide range of people

since the text is easy to understand and focusses on the main points of the piece.

North Sea region EU: http://www.northsearegion.eu/

This link leads to a website for the North Sea Region which creates programmes to create greater

cooperation across the North Sea Region. No actual information on the North Sea itself is provided.

Duitse sites

In this section an overview of the German websites pertaining to the North Sea will be provided along

with an assessment of the intended user as well as of the website itself.

Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordsee

This Wikipedia is comparable to the Dutch Wikipedia page about the North Sea. This page provides

largely the same information as an encyclopaedia entry would. It provides information on the

location, the geology, hydrology, and the uses of the North Sea among other topics.

The website is not aimed at a particular user and instead aims to provide basic information and allow

for further searching, using either the links embedded in the text or the references at the bottom of

the page. The table of contents provided at the top of the page allows for easy navigation to the

sections of interest.

Hamsterkiste: http://www.hamsterkiste.de/040/Nordsee/nordsee.html

This page provides a brief introduction about the North Sea and the activities that can take place

along its shore, this leads up to more in depth information about the North Sea. These topics are each

discussed on a separate page and are accompanied by maps or pictures where appropriate. The

topics range from the location, to the tides, to the islands, and the beach, among other topics.

23

This website is heavily focussed on children as can be seen from the layout of the page and the

language used in the piece. For example, the activities provided in the introduction are activities that

children can relate to such a building sand castles or collecting shells. At the end of each section

questions are provided that can be answered using the text on that particular page. From this it can

be assumed that the page is heavily focussed on educating children and is most likely used during

school lessons.

Planet wissen: http://www.planet-wissen.de/wissen_interaktiv/nordsee.jsp

This page is an interactive website in which the user accompanies an explorer in a submarine. Using

this premise several subjects, all focussed on the fauna in the North Sea, are touched upon. When a

subject of interest is located on the screen the subject can be clicked on which opens a window with

information. Short films are included that provide additional information on the subject.

The website is aimed at children and aims to provide information concerning the fauna in the North

Sea. The page does this through the use of an interactive website which would make the page more

engaging and accessible to children. The inclusion of videos to provide further information is a good

way of providing more information in an accessible way.

Spiegel: http://www.spiegel.de/thema/nordsee/

This website has a theme dedicated to the North Sea, this is used to cluster all of the news articles

concerning the North Sea in one location. This website cannot be used to find basic information about

the North Sea but does provide information about recent developments.

The intended user of this website is someone looking for specific information about the North Sea or

specific news articles related to the North Sea.

Belgian Websites

In this section an overview of the Belgian websites pertaining to the North Sea will be provided along

with an assessment of the intended user as well as of the website itself.

Beheerseenheid van het Mathematisch Model van de Noordzee: http://www.mumm.ac.be/NL/NorthSea/facts.php

This website provides an encyclopaedia like overview of the North Sea. Some facts are presented

through the use of a table. The location of the North Sea is provided through a text based description

as well as through the use of a map. Additional information about topics such as fishing and harmful

substances can be found using the links provided on the left hand side of the page.

The information provided is basic but with enough detail to gain a good overview of the topic. The

intended user is someone who wants to get some basic information about the North Sea, other than

this there is no clear intended user of the site.

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1.2. Commonalities between informational websites Many of the informational websites use clear language and a simple lay out to focus the attention on

the information presented. This is supported by documents detailing the creation of websites for

professionals. The language should be clear and concise. The content of the first page provided a very

general overview of the North Sea with links to further information. This method aligns with some of

the theory that has been found in regards to designing websites for professionals. Theory mentioned

that professionals do not mind to navigate through the website to gather additional information if

necessary.

The websites also use pictures to make the website look more appealing and to convey information

which is easier to express through the use of a picture. All websites, for example, provided a map to

show the location of the North Sea. Map or picture heavy pages followed a different lay-out than the

pages providing a more encyclopaedic overview of the North Sea. The encyclopaedic pages placed the

text in the middle of the screen with the left and right hand sides received for pictures. Links to

further information were kept in a list placed on either the right of left side of the page, with the left

side being most common. The map or picture heavy websites used a different system. These websites

used a tabbed system with the tabs providing further information placed horizontally at the top of the

page. This particular lay-out ensures that a larger part of the screen can be dedicated to map or

picture. The increased amount of space available means that the map or picture displayed can be

larger which increases the amount of information which can be conveyed as well as being more

aesthetically pleasing.

To make the information system appealing to a wide range of users, both in profession and age, the

first page should be easily accessible by the different groups. This means using clear and concise

language to the get the basic concepts across. This can be supplemented with pictures and graphs to

further visualise the information presented. Using links in the text or at the end of the page additional

and more in depth content can be linked. This way interested parties can easily find more detailed

information while keeping the page accessible to a large amount of different users.

To engage children and other younger users it might be interesting to create interactive graphs or

other visual representations. For example, the food web, which consists of multiple bubbles

interlinked, could be made interactive. By clicking on a bubble a short explanation can be given along

with how it interacts with other aspects. For older users, or more knowledgeable users, the abilities of

the visualisations can be adjusted accordingly. For example, changing the presence of one aspect and

receiving feedback on the consequences for the other aspects. More in depth knowledge could also

be provided.

It might also be possible to create a landing page from where the user can select the most fitting

profile and from there arrive on a website catered to that specific group. This would help to ensure

that the website meets the most important needs of that group. Alternatively, the website could

automatically redirect to the profile fitting most closely to the user.

The most important lessons which can be learned is that the users should be provided with the most

basic information first and should be provided with links to more detailed information. Older users do

not mind clicking links on the webpage to find further information, since the intended users are all

25

professionals this preference should be kept in mind. By providing links to further information the

user is also able to find more detailed information in the area of interest without having to spend

time on irrelevant information. The differences in lay-out should also be taken into account. Since the

information management system will convey information in different formats the lay-out of the

system should be well thought out to ensure that each method will be able to convey the information

in the most effective and efficient way possible.

1.3. Conclusions Assessing the effectiveness of the websites is difficult as no framework was set-up to judge the

effectiveness. It can be concluded that websites most certainly can be used to convey information. It

can also be said that the effectiveness of this is influenced by the type of information and the lay-out

of the website. The use of a map to convey information is more effective when the map is larger, the

size of the map that can be accommodated depends on the lay-out of the website. Websites can

mostly easily convey information which can be captured in text and is easy to understand. Easy to

understand information can be conveyed more effectively as it does not need additional information

or clarification for the user to incorporate the information. Alternatively, websites can display videos

which can be used to provide information, such as an in depth explanation of a topic or a more

elaborate explanation of a topic. Depending on the information this could be a very effective way of

providing the information. The affectivity of the website thus depends on the type of information that

needs to be conveyed, the medium used to do this, and the suitability of the website to display that

particular medium.

The second question, how information is communicated through websites, can be answered more

directly. The majority of the websites communicate the information through the use of text. The

information provided is factual information and remains quite general, additional or more in depth

information can be found by clicking on the links provided. Maps, graphs, and pictures are also

common on the website. The graphs, maps, and pictures are used to clarify or illustrate the

information presented in the text.

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2. Existing information management systems

In this section the question:

• Does something similar to a web-based information management system already exist?

This question is addressed as it is important to know whether certain elements or a complete system

already exists. These elements could be used by Deltares to create an information management

system. The resources that are saved by using existing elements can be used to develop other aspects

of the information management system.

An internet search yielded several information systems and databases which are currently in use.

These are: expert systems, search engines, data warehouses, enterprise systems, geographic

information systems, and global information systems. These systems will be expanded upon below.

2.1. Description of existing systems

An expert system is a system that incorporates concepts gathered from experts in the field and uses

the knowledge provided by these experts to provide problem analysis to the users. The most common

form of this type of system is a computer program, with a specific set of rules, that analyses the

information provided and recommends a course of action based upon that information. Each expert

system is based on two principal parts: the knowledge base, and the inference engine. The knowledge

base of the system contains both factual knowledge, knowledge that is widely agreed upon and can

for example be found in text books, and heuristic knowledge, which is less rigorous, more

experiential, and often individualistic (seems to be similar to tacit knowledge) (Engelmore &

Feigenbaum, 1993). The system is easy to modify and due to this the system can be adapted to a wide

range of operating environments. It is possible to program the system in such a way that it can

improve the rules it operates on in the light of experience gained. Furthermore, it is possible to

incorporate fuzzy logic into the rules utilised by the system. Fuzzy logic introduces the concept of

uncertainty into the decision making process and will help to mimic real life decision making more

closely (Davies & Darbyshire, Unknown). Expert systems can be used for process monitoring and

control by analysing real-time data with the goal of noticing anomalies, predicting trends, etc.

Another function of the expert system could be knowledge publishing, the primary function of this is

to deliver knowledge that is relevant to the user’s problem (Engelmore & Feigenbaum, 1993).

These systems are interesting as they use available information and knowledge when

providing an answer. However, an information management system is not intended to be an expert

system. The expert system uses highly specialised information and enhanced information to provide

answers to very specific questions. An information system on the other hand contains a large amount

of information and enhanced information pertaining to a variety of fields to help the user find a

solution too many more problems and questions.

A geographic information system is a computer system used to capture, store, check, and display data

relating to positions on the Earth’s surface. This system has the ability to show multiple types of

information in one map. The advantage of this system is that multiple types of information can be

displayed on the map and the available information can be compared between locations.

Furthermore, it is possible to track changes over time and thus keep a track record of specific

27

locations. A disadvantage of this system is the fact that it relies on maps which have different scales

and projections. These need to be calibrated to come to one overall map for the system to work

properly.

A geographic data system presents data through a map interface, this allows geographic

information system to provide all available data about a certain location. No interpretation of the data

in the form of information or enhanced information is provided. The lack of information and

enhanced information marks the difference between a geographic information system and an

information management system which aims to provide all available information and enhanced

information pertaining to a specified topic or topics.

A data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, and non-updatable collection of

data used in support of management decision-making processes (Bassil, 2012). The data warehouse

is subject-oriented since the data contained is structured in such a way that it reflects the business

structures of the organisation (Erdmann, 1997). This subject-oriented approach supports the

performance of analytical tasks and the production of knowledge. The integration aspect is the most

important aspect of the data warehouse; it integrates data stemming from multiple sources.

However, this does mean that all the information taken as input need to be formulated in a uniform

way. The time-variant aspect of the data warehouse is explained by the fact that it store both current

as well as historic data. This allows for the identification of trends and developments over time

(Erdmann, 1997). The data warehouse is non-updatable by the regular user; this prevents both data

loss and data redundancy. The data warehouse could function as one component of a knowledge

management system.

The idea behind a data warehouse corresponds with the idea behind an information

management system. It collects all the data pertaining to a specific topic similarly to the information

management system collecting all information about a certain topic. However, a data warehouse is

non-updatable whereas the information management system should be kept up to date and

preferably automatically to ensure that all existing information about the topic is included. The

methods used for storing and organising the data in a data warehouse could be used to provide the

basis for storing and organising the information in an information management system.

An enterprise system is a packaged application that supports and automates business processes and

manages business data. The enterprise system is a pre-made system that comes with customisable

modules that reflect the best practice for common business operations. The system gathers and

integrates different functional areas and keeps them consistent across the entire organisation. The

function of the enterprise system differs between organisations but the system can, for example, be

used for the generation of reports (Gulla, 2004). Specific information about an enterprise system is

difficult to find due to the fact that the enterprise systems are sold by businesses and involve a large

degree of customisability.

An enterprise system is not suitable to be used as an information management system as it

manages the data and business processes of companies. The information management system is used

to manage the information of multiple sources of data, information, and enhanced information.

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As can be seen from this overview several elements that have been identified as important for an

information management system already exist in other management systems. However, no system

incorporates all of these aspects. Deltares could use some of the aspects of the different system as

the basis for its own information management system. The functionalities of the data warehouse can

be used as the basis for the data storage aspect of the information management system,

incorporating the decision support tool of an expert system could add additional useful elements to

the information management system. Taking the aspects which already exists allows for more

resources to be spend on developing the functionalities that do not exist yet or have to be developed

on a case by case basis, such as the rules that the decision support system uses to operate or the

ability of the data base to up-date automatically periodically.

2.2. Conclusions on existing management systems Several information systems are available which would meet part of the needs for the information

management system. The expert system seems to have potential due to the fact that the expert

system can aid in decision-making process by analysing the outcomes of specific policy measures, or

by identifying the most suitable option using a list of criteria. The data warehouse would be a good fit

for the information system due to the fact that it compiles all of the data and allows for specific

searching within the database. Furthermore, the data warehouse can be used to track trends and

signal changes which could be helpful for the intended users to keep track of changes. The different

needs are met by different information systems or databases, the information management system

could integrate the different aspects which meet the needs and provide an overall system which

meets the different needs thus providing a more efficient service than the other information systems

or databases.

3. Deltares wiki and reproducible reporting The Eureka program at Deltares provided the opportunity to put some of the lessons learned about

information management into practice. The aim of this project is to investigate reproducible

reporting. The idea behind the reproducible reporting came from the SotE reports which were carried

out by Rijkswaterstaat but have since been discontinued. Rijkswaterstaat in Zeeland would like to

continue these reports as they provide an overview of the water bodies in the province. Reproducible

reporting was seen, by Deltares, as a partial solution to the problem of the discontinued SotEs. By

making the reports reproducible, by writing code which generates graphs based on the data available

and preloads certain pieces of text which do not change, the time and cost associated with the writing

of SotEs is decreased. This decrease in associated cost and time expenditure might help

Rijkswaterstaat to continue the periodic SotE reporting.

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3.1. Introduction to Lake Veere

The decision to use Lake Veere as a pilot for the

reproducible reporting system was based on two

main aspects. First of all, Deltares was commissioned

to evaluate the effects of the decision to artificially

raise the water level in Lake Veere. This evaluation

necessitated the collection of data and information,

during this process Deltares lost a considerable

amount of time and money due to the inaccessibility

of both the data and information. This problem is

encountered more often and Rijkswaterstaat has

expressed the wish to find a system to manage

information and data more efficiently. Since the data

and information, and the problems associated with

procuring information concerning Lake Veere are

fresh in the mind of Rijkswaterstaat and Deltares

make Lake Veere a very current case for the pilot of

a new information management system.

Lake Veere is limited in size and regulatory directives

and policies. Lake Veere is located in the province of

Zeeland, located between the islands of Noord-Beveland, Zuid-Beveland, and Walcheren. The lake

was created as part of the Delta works when several inlets to the sea where closed off, on the west

side of the lake lies the Veerse gatdam and the Zandkreekdam lies on the east side of the lake. The

lake contains several small uninhabited islands of which five are dedicated to birds. The most

important regulatory directives for Lake Veere are the Bird Directive and the Water Framework

Directive.

3.2. Reproducible reporting R markdown was used as the program to create a reproducible report, the report itself is based on

the SotE of Lake Veere carried out by Deltares a couple of months prior. Each chapter has been made

into an R markdown document. This means that the unchanging pieces of text, such as a description

of Lake Veere before the Afsluitdam or the description of a measuring method, will be automatically

generated when exporting the R markdown document to a PDF, a word document, or an HTML site. R

markdown was also used to write scripts to generate graphs, such as bar graphs or box plots, from

the available data. When the data in this database is updated and the script for the graph is run again

the graph will automatically show the new data. This helps to ensure that the reports incorporate the

newest data available. The automatic generation of the graphs also ensures that the type of graph

used for those particular indicators stays consistent between the reports. R markdown allows for

code in blocks of texts as well which could be used to calculate the average amount of a substance in

the water body, for example. These aforementioned aspects help to cut back on the time needed to

when writing reports as a considerable amount of work can be done by R markdown.

These R markdown documents are quite easy to edit which means that the documents can be

optimised and new sections can be added when necessary. However, particular attention must be

Picture 1: Location of Lake Veere

30

paid to the blocks of text in combination with in-text code or graphs, since the code and graphs can

change when new data is added it could happen that the description or sentence is not accurate

anymore. A second point that must be taken into account when using R markdown for reproducible

reporting is that R markdown must have access to the database from which it needs to pull the data

for the graphs. If R markdown cannot access this database the graphs cannot be made and the report

in its entirety will not be generated. R markdown has a steep learning curve but knowing how to use R

markdown on a basic level, such as formatting the document, adding in-text code, and creating

reproducible blocks of text, is easy to pick up. Creating graphs and adding more complex element

requires patience and good resources for learning. Organising workshops were basic R markdowns

skills are taught could be a partial solution to this problem.

The reports generated by R markdown were uploaded to the Deltares wiki as an investigation into

knowledge and information sharing. The use of the wiki is straightforward and quite easy to grasp.

Each page has an edit button which can be used to add text, links, pictures, graphs, etc. through the

use of macros. The macros ensure that the inserted aspects work well within confluence and can be

used to easily create a page that is appealing. The R markdown HTML documents were uploaded to

the wiki to assess the integration of these two systems. The HTML data can be loaded into the wiki

through the use of an HTML macro. This process is easy but the style from the HTML document will

have to be removed to ensure that it works within the wiki.

3.3. Conclusions The use of R markdown is suitable for reproducible reporting since it is versatile and can be learned in

a limited amount of time. R markdown can be used to write script for a myriad of graphs which are

generated by the program based on the data that it has access to. R markdown can also be used to

generated pieces of text, this is especially valuable when unchanging text is included in the report.

It must be noted that some learning is involved when starting to use R markdown. Writing the code

for the graphs, or styling the lay-out of the document involves some knowledge of programming and

Picture 2: Screenshot of the Deltares wiki displaying chapter 5.4 of the SotE report generated by R markdown.

31

how R markdown functions as a program. These aspects are quite easy to learn and the code for

different graphs is largely uniform. During the pilot of R markdown a few hours of tutoring proved to

be sufficient for imparting enough knowledge to create a functioning R markdown document with

automated graphs. This leads to the conclusion that when R markdown, and reproducible reporting, is

used workshops should be organized to get the intended users familiar R markdown and teach them

the basic skills necessary. Appointing some people who are knowledgeable about R markdown as

tutors for others would also be necessary to ensure that all users can edit the document, write

additional pieces of code, and be able to keep the document functioning.

The wiki can be used to disclose the generated reports as it allows for easy uploading of the HMTL

reports created by R markdown. The lay-out of the wiki is quite easy to modify and can be set up in

such a way that the different chapters and parts of the report can be found easily. The wiki is also

easily accessible which ensures that all interested parties can view the report.

4. Conclusions

From the information presented it can be concluded that a website would make a good platform for

the information management system. The website can be used to provide factual information about

projects, natural systems, legislation, etc. The website should be used to convey information or

explicit knowledge as this is easy to capture in words or other types of media. The website could also

accommodate the entire database or provide links to the different databases included in the

information management system. Using the aspects identified in the previous section could help to

create a suitable lay-out for the website. However, websites are not as effective in conveying tacit

knowledge. For this reason a website should be part of an information management system instead

of the complete system.

Several information management systems already exist but these do not meet the needs as

introduced in the introduction to the research project. To come to an information management

system that meets these needs Deltares will have to develop several aspects, such as a method to

convey tacit knowledge, a method to keep the information and data up-to-date, and a method to

allow multiple users the same access and the same rights within the information management

system. The system should also be highly versatile as it aims to provide the users with the necessary

information that they need to answer their questions. The specialism of the different systems

described in chapter 2 thus do not meet the needs of the system but could be incorporated into the

system if deemed necessary.

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Part IV. Communication of information and knowledge In this section different methods to communicate information and knowledge will be discussed. This

chapter is based on three case studies, the communication methods used by the VNSC to

communicate information to organisations and individuals, the use of lunch lectures by Deltares

spread project related information among employees, and the use of the serious game Port of the

Future to communicate knowledge between the participants and to create common knowledge.

The research questions central to this investigation are:

• How can knowledge be communicated?

o How is knowledge currently communicated?

o How do the receivers experience the communication?

The questions will be answered through the use of interviews as interviews allow for a more in depth

discussion of the communication methods and whether these meet the needs of the organisation or

individual being communicated with. The interviews followed the semi-structured format as this

allows for a comparison between the interviews while retaining the freedom to follow interesting

leads. Comparison between the interviews is valuable as it allows for distinguishing between the

needs of different groups, identifying these differences is useful as this can then be used to format

the communication strategies employed when conveying information as part of an information

management system or when communicating with stakeholders during the creation of an information

management system. The freedom to follow interesting leads during the interview is preferred as it

allows for the exploration of interesting viewpoints through the use of follow up questions not

accounted for during the set-up of the interview.

1. Communication strategies employed by the VNSC

This case study focussed on the communication strategies employed by the VNSC to communicate

system knowledge to other organisations and actors. Since the VSNC is facilitates cooperation

between the Netherlands and Flanders in regards to governing the Schelde estuary good

communication methods are necessary. The historical and cultural context of the Schelde estuary

make a good communication strategy all the more important. Communication can be used to allow

stakeholders input in the policy decisions made which is necessary in the Schelde estuary where a

variety of needs and wishes for the estuary exist. The aim of the project was to evaluate the

communication methods employed and if necessary provide recommendations for future

communication with stakeholders. Two research questions were set-up to guide the project:

• How do other actors experience the communication methods?

• How could the communication methods be improved?

Interviews were used to answer these two questions.

33

1.1 Interview with de Levende Delta De Levende Delta was the first organisation to be interviewed and this interview provided some

interesting insights into the communication between the VNSC and other organisations. The interview

with de Levende Delta focussed on the Emove project as this was the only instance of contact with

the VNSC that could be easily recalled. The Emove project focussed on creating knowledge about

maintaining European estuaries in a sustainable way. The Emove project included partners from

different European countries. De Levende Delta became involved in the project after it was started

and found it difficult to provide input. After several additional requests for more information de

Levende Delta felt secure enough to start participating in the project. At the end of the project de

Levende Delta stopped receiving updates on the status of the project, this was identified as an

omission. De Levende Delta would have preferred to receive some information about the status of

the Emove project even if that meant hearing that the project will not be continued. De Levende

Delta was highly motivated to continue with the work done during the Emove project and to facilitate

this de Levende Delta organised a symposium. This symposium was organised to continue the

discussions and to keep in contact with the other partners involved in the Emove project.

De Levende Delta made it clear during the interview that it would like to receive more information

about the different project, research projects, and statuses of these projects. Symposia are identified

as an opportunity for the VNSC as the can be used to bring actors together which in turn leads to new

insights and additional knowledge.

1.2 Interview with Red onze Polders Red onze Polders was interviewed at the same time as mr Robesin who had been asked by Red onze

Polders to provide some input. Both interviewees recognised the importance of the VNSC but are of

the opinion that the VNSC could play its role better. The value of the VNSC lies in facilitating the

cooperation between the Netherlands and Flanders, the interviewees are of the opinion that more

information about this cooperation should be provided. The interviewees would also like to see more

information about the different projects and research. The interviewees belief that the VNSC mostly

communicates with the upper levels, meaning that the VNSC communicates mostly with the Dutch

and Flemish governmental authorities, provinces, and water boards. At the moment the interviewees

only receive a newsletter with information about concluded projects. The interviewees would like to

see more communication between the VNSC and other organisations and/or individuals. In this case

the interviewees would like to be kept up-to-date about the activities of the VNSC and on the

outcomes of projects. The interviewees provided several methods to do this. Presentations about the

outcome of projects with the possibility to discuss findings, or events with the same purpose could be

organised. These presentations or events could provide information, allow actors to seek additional

clarification, and allows actors to connect and exchange thoughts.

The interviewees see an opportunity for the VNSC in promoting a better understanding of the Schelde

estuary as a whole as well as promoting a better understanding of the different actors involved in the

Schelde estuary. The VNSC could achieve this by organising presentations where outcomes of

research projects can be explained and discussed, and where actors can engage each other. De

interviewees are of the opinion that an open dialogue would help actors to understand each others

34

motivations and wishes for the Schelde estuary, this could lead to a better understanding of the

actors involved. The VNSC could also provide insight into the motivations of the different

governmental authorities. This could help to alleviate some of the concern around the motivations of

the Port of Antwerp and the Flemish government.

1.3 Interview with the Zeeuwse Milieufederatie The Zeeuwse Milieufederatie (ZMf) does not have any direct contact with the VNSC but sees this as

an important omission. The ZMf does have contact with the Schelderaad and takes part in discussions

and debates via this route. The ZMf is of the opinion that the Schelderaad is not structured enough

and is not binding enough for the different organisations involved. This makes it hard to involve the

same people or the same organisations in the discussion which in turn hinders the establishment of

stronger links and personal rapport and understanding. To alleviate this the VNSC should do more to

stimulate the cooperation between actors. This would allow the actors to make stronger connections

and facilitates an open dialogue. Furthermore, the VNSC should make an effort to integrate the

different projects and research projects and make these accessible to outsiders. The ZMf provided a

succinct explanation for this particular wish. The Flemish authorities make a decision which relates to

the Flemish part of the Schelde estuary, in this process only the Flemish organisation get to provide

any input. The Dutch organisations and governmental authorities are only informed about the

decision. The ZMf is of the opinion that Dutch organisations and governmental authorities should be

more closely involved as the decisions of one country will have effects for the other. To solve this the

decision making process of both Flanders and the Netherlands should be integrated more. For the

VNSC this would mean that it would have to provide more insight into the actors involved. The ZMf

stressed that the VNSC could do more to involve actors in decision making processes and could do

more to make other organisations and actors more insightful.

1.4 Interview with the VNSC The VNSC was also approached for an interview as this interview could be used to provide additional

insight into the reasoning behind the current communication practices. At the moment the VNSC uses

a bureau to handle the communication in all its different forms. The project leaders of the different

projects undertaken by the VNSC decide on the communication methods and the frequency of

communication. This means that the communication will differ between projects. The Schelderaad is

used to gather input from other actors. Not all actors or stakeholders can be involved in the

Schelderaad and the assumption is made that these are represented by the governmental authorities

or organisations that are involved in the Schelderaad or VNSC.

At the moment the VNSC communicates at the start of every project. This is done because the VNSC

believes that knowledge and information are value free and communicates this knowledge and

information to the stakeholders so each actor can have all of the available information. The

information that is communicated is not related to any following steps to ensure that the information

which is communicated is value free. The VNSC recognises that involving actors is important but it has

a hard time determining how many actors to involve and which actors to involve. The goal is to

involve all actors that are affected by the project through the use of direct involvement in the process

or through the use of advocates. The other actors are informed about the project in different ways,

35

for example through the newsletter or by organising symposia. The VNSC is making an effort to

communicate with stakeholders but has mentioned that it has trouble determining which actors to

involve.

1.5 Interview with Pantarein Pantarein is the organisation which coordinates the communication for the VNSC. The communication

organised by Pantarein is limited to external communication, mainly parties interested in the projects

and research carried out. The external communication methods have been renewed by Pantarein

over the past year. This resulted in a house style for all documents, newsletters, brochures, and the

website. The media Pantarein uses are:

• Newsletters, these are used to provide background information about activities undertaken

by the VNSC. The newsletters are send out quarterly to everyone who has expressed interest

in the newsletters by signing up for them.

• Website, the website provides all information about the VNSC as an organisation, such as the

aim of the VNSC, its history, and how it operates. The websites also provides information

about the central themes of the VNSC. It also provides users the opportunity to look into the

different projects and scientific research.

• Folders and brochures, the folders and brochures address research, problems, or plans. The

folders and brochures present the information in an accessible way and should be able to

inform a way range of readers.

• Schelde symposium, this symposium is organised yearly and addresses several topic through

the use of speakers. The symposia also provide attendees with the opportunity to network

and exchange ideas.

Pantarein does not employ one specific communication strategy for all projects. The type of project

and the type of information that needs to be conveyed dictates which type of medium would be best

suited for this. This strategy allows Pantarein to choose the types of media that are best suited for

conveying the information in the most effective way possible.

The pieces to be published are first checked by one of the secretaries to ensure factual correctness

and checked by a redaction for spelling and grammar before the pieces are published.

Pantarein is also present during internal meetings through process facilitation. The information

gained from these internal meetings is used by Pantarein to provide insight into the internal working

of the VNSC on the website and to add additional information to the brochures, website, or

newsletters.

Pantarein is of the opinion that that the communication could be improved further by creating a

communication network. This should consist of the VNSC as well as other organisations. The

communication network could give the other organisations more input into projects and could

facilitate the communication as some information is easier to convey in person than it is through text.

1.6 Interview with Waterwegen en Zeekanaal Waterwegen en Zeekanaal oversees the waterways and grounds along these waterways in the west

and central part of Flanders. Waterwegen en Zeekanaal is in contact with the VNSC regularly. The

36

conversations with the VNSC are often informal and are experienced as a very positive occurrence by

Waterwegen en Zeekanaal. Waterwegen en Zeekanaal is not represented in the Schelderaad and is of

the opinion that this is due to the fact that Waterwegen en Zeekanaal is mostly concerned with the

safety of the waterways instead of the with the cooperation between different organisations,

Waterwegen en Zeekanaal did not express a wish to be included in the Schelderaad. Waterwegen en

Zeekanaal does have contact with other organisations such as Rijkswaterstaat, the waterbouwkundig

laboratorium, etc., this contact is often informal in nature.

Waterwegen en Zeekanaal is content with the contact with the VNSC but does have some remarks.

The research carried out by the VNSC should be more easily accessible and should be structured

better. Providing information about who made certain decisions would also be an improvement as

this makes it easier to contact the right person in case of questions or remarks. Furthermore,

Waterwegen en Zeekanaal would like to see the goals and the projects of the VNSC formulated more

clearly.

1.7 Interview with the Schelderaad The Schelderaad is part of the VNSC which was created to allow stakeholders more input into the

projects, and decisions concerning the Schelde estuary. The Schelderaad came into existence as the

conclusion of a political decision, the Overleg Adviserende Partijen was used as the basis for this

decision. The progress made by this party, and the cooperation achieved by the stakeholders within

the Overleg Adviserende Partijen was seen as something that should be preserved. The Schelderaad

was set up to accommodate this.

The stakeholders included in the Schelderaad are environmental organisations, municipalities, port

authorities, etc. The main criteria for inclusion is that the organisation is representative of a certain

group that has interests in the development of the Schelde. Citizens are not included in the

Schelderaad as their interests are represented through the municipalites.

This year the Schelderaad has organised three meetings so far in addition to two working groups. The

plenary meetings of the Schelderaad correspond closely to main task of the VNSC, which is governing

and maintaining the Schelde estuary, the focus of the plenary meetings is thus focussed around those

two topics. The Schelderaad keeps track of upcoming decisions that need to be made and aims to

provide guidance for the policy officials who will be making the decision. Some decisions that need to

be made or project get their own separate meetings but these are planned when deemed necessary.

The meetings serve multiple purposes. The first is to facilitate interaction and knowledge exchange

between the VNSC and the stakeholders, and between the stakeholders themselves. Secondly, the

meetings allow stakeholders to raise concerns about policy measures or the state of the Schelde

estuary which can subsequently be addressed.

1.8 Conclusions about the communication techniques The themes that came to the forefront in the interviews can be divided into four distinct themes:

more updates, more interaction, more insight, and more integration. The issues and solutions

touched upon all related back to a lack of contact, no clear insight in the organisation and the

motivations of others, and a lack of integration of topics or actors. The recommendations provided

will be divided into these three themes.

37

More updates

One of the often mentioned aspects is that contact between the VNSC and the other organisation is

minimal. Firstly, general information about the VNSC and the information about finished projects is

difficult to procure for some stakeholders. The newsletter, for example, addresses finished projects

but this newsletter is not available to all stakeholders interested in it, Red onze Polders gets the

newsletter forwarded by another stakeholder. Secondly, some stakeholders miss additional

information about the projects they were involved in. De Levende Delta worked on the Emove project

but found it difficult to contribute as they had the feeling that they had not received all of the

necessary information before starting the project. At the end of the Emove project de Levende Delta

would have liked to receive an update about the status of the project to conclude it for themselves as

well.

This wish for more updates about projects can be accommodated in several ways but it is

recommended to take a structural approach to the problem. At the moment the communication

about a project is left up to the project leaders, the consequence of this is that the communication

methods and communication frequency differs between projects. It is advised to have all project use

the similar communication methods and frequencies. For example, the beginning of a project could

be marked by a presentation where all stakeholders involved in the project receive the necessary

information. At the end of the project a concluding meeting could be organized where experiences

can be discussed. Finally, an update could be send out about the status of the project and what the

VNSC intends to do with the project.

The provision of information before starting the project is of importance. The information provided

should ideally consist of the background of the project, whether it is a European or Dutch project,

how long the preparation for the project has been going on, and the necessary scientific knowledge.

Providing background information could prevent misunderstandings about the goal of the project.

Secondly, it is importance that all stakeholders involved in the project receive the necessary scientific

knowledge. Uneven distribution of knowledge can result in an unequal power balance (van Kerkhoff &

Lebel, 2006), the stakeholders who have knowledge can exert more influence on the process. By

providing all stakeholders with the available knowledge this can be avoided.

More interaction

Multiple interviewees mentioned that they would like more personal contact with the VNSC and

other stakeholders. This is made apparent by the suggestion that presentations, meetings, and

symposia should be organized more often. This interaction would allow the VNSC to provide not only

information but also knowledge. Information can be captured in text or diagrams, for example, but

knowledge, which is based on experience or skills, is harder to convey via text. The knowledge gained

during the projects or research could be conveyed more effectively through the use of presentations,

workshops, or symposia. A presentation of results also allows stakeholders to ask for clarification

about certain topics, in turn this could help to avoid misunderstanding of the results and the

implications.

38

The interviewees also want to make more meaningful connections with other stakeholders. More

interaction with both the VNSC and other stakeholders could contribute to this. The meetings with

the Schelderaad are optional and this is not conducive to making lasting connections. Stronger

connections can be beneficial during projects or negotiations as the actors are more familiar with the

motivations of the other actors and were it would be possible to reach a compromise.

Pantarein is setting up a communication network for the VNSC. This communication network could

provide stakeholders with more input in projects and could help to organize the personal

communication with stakeholders and between stakeholders. The creation of this communication

network is a step in the right direction as it can bring stakeholders closer together. Organising

presentations where projects or research is explained should be seen as an additional measure to

increase the personal contact between the VNSC and stakeholders.

More insight

The interviewees all identified a lack of insight into VNSC as an organisation. It was unclear what the

exact purpose of the VNSC is, what it does and does not do, as well as how the VNSC relates to other

organisations such as the Schelderaad. This could be solved by dedicating a section of the website to

explaining the VNSC, its goals, its history, as well as how it relates to other organisation. The

interviewees also mentioned that they would like to have much more insight into the motivations of

the other organisations and especially Flanders. The interviewees found the VNSC to be the

appropriate entity for this as the organisation is comprised of both Belgian and Dutch officials. The

interviewees could not identify the best way to do this but have mentioned organising symposia

where Flanders is also represented. During the symposia the Flanders officials could elaborate on the

motivations, the projects they are working on, etc. To further accommodate this request each

country could have a page on the VNSC website. This page could provide information on the

motivations of the country, the stake they have in the Schelde estuary, and the projects they are

working on.

More integration

The interviewees were of the opinion that the projects done by the different authorities should be

seen as part of a whole instead of as a separate project. The reasoning behind this was the fact that

the projects done by Flanders have an effect on the Netherlands and vice versa. Treating the projects

as part of a whole would allow the effects of the projects to be taken into account in a more integral

way. Communicating about the projects, and the effects they might have, would also become easier if

this were the case. It also became apparent that each project uses its own communication strategies

and methods. It is advised to set up a communication strategy that is used by all projects. This way

the project leaders know what and when to communicate and the other actors know what to expect

of the communication during the project. Additionally, by employing the same strategy lessons can be

learned. By applying the same strategy to different projects weak spots can be identified which in turn

allow for the optimisation of the communication strategy.

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2. Port of the Future serious game

This case study investigates the use of the serious game Port of the Future as a communication tool.

The Port of the Future serious game revolves around the sustainable development of a fictional port.

The players work in teams and implement policy measures to develop the port. These policy

measures have different effects on the three indicators (People, Planet, Profit) used to signify the

sustainability of the port. The challenge for the players is to find a compromise on the policy

measures to implement. The negotiations held during the game serve to illustrate the complexities of

developing a sustainable port, the game also helps to make different points of views and values

insightful for the players of the serious game.

The case study is used to investigate whether serious games are effective methods to convey

knowledge and/or information. To do this several research questions were set up:

• What are the learning goals of the Port of the Future serious game?

• Have the players reached these learning goals?

• Do the players feel that they have reached these learning goals?

o Why or why not?

These questions are posed to assess the effectiveness of the Port of the Future serious game in

reaching the learning goals. Determining the learning goals of the Port of the Future serious game is

important to be able to assess whether the players have reached these goals. A simple test, such as

answering a few questions relating to the learning goals should reveal whether the players have

reached the learning goals. The experience of the players should also be taken into account when

assessing the effectiveness of the game. Questions that address possible improvements that the

players would like to see should also be included as this could reveal further insight into the

experience of the players and which aspects they value.

2.1. Introduction to Port of the Future serious game The Port of the Futures serious game is se t up with the aim to increase awareness about sustainable

port development through the use of people, planet, and profit as the pillars of sustainability. The

game also aims to educate players about decision making under uncertainty and stress the

importance of negotiation and collaboration when making policy.

The game educates the players by allowing the players to develop a port in 4 rounds. The players are

divided up into equal teams, these teams can develop strategies for the development of the port and

per round are allowed to select two policy measures to develop the port. The team captains negotiate

with each other about the final two policy measures to implement in the port, as soon as the decision

is made the policy measures are implemented in the game and the effects on the port can be seen.

This process is repeated for the other three rounds and ending in a final sustainability score. The need

for the teams to agree on two policy measures highlights the importance of negotiation in port policy

making and the difficulties inherent in policy making when different interests need to be taken into

account.

The policy measures included in the game can be divided into different categories depending on the

type of measure, some pertain to navigation, others to infrastructure, whereas other policy measures

are governance oriented. The effects of the policy measures on the indicators are shown on the card

40

as well as the initial costs for implementation and the maintenance costs of the measure. However,

profit and other possible costs and benefits are not made explicit on the card to include the element

of uncertainty which is inherent to port policy making and decision making in general. The exclusion

of these elements helps to mimic decision making in real life where complete knowledge is rare and

assumptions must be made and some risks must be taken. The uncertainty is further included

through the use of newspapers which signal specific events, such as a flood, or unexpected economic

growth. These events must be dealt with when they happen but preparing for these events is difficult

as the players do not know of the nature of the event before the newspaper is handed out. This

added element of uncertainty further helps to mimic reality as unexpected events can and do occur

during policy making in real life. The events also push the players to be adaptive in their port

development strategy as the event must be dealt with by implementing certain types of policy

measures which may not have been included in the strategy.

2.2. Playing Port of the Future at Hogeschool Zeeland The Port of the Future serious game was played with students at the Hogeschool Zeeland. The

students developed strategies in their groups and selected policy measures that fit their strategy

most closely. The discussions between the team leaders focused on the pros and cons of the policy

measures and were discussed between the team captains in order to convince each other of their

choices. During the following rounds the team captains started selecting the most popular methods,

the methods which were chosen most often by the groups. This led to a breakdown of one the

learning mechanisms of the game, the negotiations are part of the learning strategy of the game. The

players focussed heavily on the effects of the policy cards and made it a point to select the most cost-

effective measures in order to create a well-rounded port. This shifted the focus from method, which

is negotiation and dealing with uncertainty, to the end score, which is interesting but not where the

most learning happens during the game.

The players occasionally expressed annoyance with the uncertainty inherent in the cards as

they did not know whether cards can interact with each other. Dealing with uncertainty during

decision making is one of the learning goals of the game and thus the players were not given any

additional information apart from the recommendation to think about which cards could reasonably

be assumed to provide the most or least profit. These assumptions can then be used to base the

decision on.

Furthermore, the players expressed a wish for a more competitive element to the game. A

suggestion for this would be to let each team formulate their own strategy and develop the port in

line with their vision. These ports can then be compared to each other to see which team has made

the most sustainable port.

Setting up the game was difficult for several reasons. Balancing the presentation between instructions

and information about the game and theoretical background on sustainable ports was difficult. The

lack of learning goals for the game makes it difficult to estimate the amount of information about

sustainable ports that must be given. Furthermore, the lack of knowledge about ports and sustainable

ports make it difficult to provide detailed information about port policy and other port related

aspects. A balance was found but did not seem to be the right one. Even though the game mechanics

and the game procedure were explained during the presentation the players still had lots of questions

during the first round.

41

The game aims to raise awareness of about sustainability in ports and about possible policy measures

to achieve this. The policy measures are included in the game with a short description and indicators

to show the impact on the People, Planet, Profit components of sustainability. The reason for the

value of the indicators and the way in which the policy measure has an effect are not included in the

game. Due to this exclusion learning about sustainability and how this relates to policy measures

becomes more difficult. Teaching the players about the role of negotiation and uncertainty during

decision making processes is easier to achieve. Negotiation and uncertainty are well represented

during the decision making process in the game. The players must decide on two policy measures to

implement, incorporating negotiation into the game. The lack of insight into future events, such as

floods, and the lack of knowledge about the profit that will be made by implementing the policy

measure introduce the aspect of uncertainty into the game. Since dealing with uncertainty and

negotiating with others are skills that improve with practice and the game allows players to practice

the game plays a role in teaching or honing these skills.

2.3. Conclusion Port of the Future The learning goals of the Port of the Future serious game are described in the manual as being:

• Creating awareness about sustainable port development through the use of people, planet

and profit as the pillars of sustainability.

• Educate players about decision making under uncertainty.

• Creating awareness about the importance of negotiation and collaboration when making

policy.

The learning goals pertaining to the aspects uncertainty and negotiation can be reached through

playing the Port of the Future serious game. Creating awareness about sustainable port development

is also possible but the knowledge gained on this aspect through the game will be basic. This is due to

the fact that a more detailed description, such as why the policy measure has the effect it has, is

lacking. Including this in the game would result in much more in depth knowledge and awareness of

sustainability in port policy making.

The players reflected on the role of negotiation and uncertainty during the discussion at the end of

the game. It was also mentioned by several players that they enjoyed the negotiations and

understanding the reasoning behind the choices made by the other players.

The players struggled more with the choices of policy measures, the lack of information about the

policy measures, and the fact that the policy measures do not have any effect on each other. This lack

of realism made it harder for the players to take the game seriously and in turn might cause players to

view the effects on sustainability in an abstract way instead of something that can be dealt with in

real life ports.

From this it is concluded that the Port of the Future serious game is an effective way of imparting tacit

knowledge. Tacit knowledge largely consists of skill and experience. The game allows players to

practice their negotiation skills and allows them to deal with uncertainty in decision making.

Practicing these skills, and thus gaining experience, helps the players to develop that particular piece

of tacit knowledge. On the other hand, the Port of the Future serious game is not well suited for

42

conveying information and enhanced information in its current set-up. The most valuable information

in the game is held in the policy cards. However, these cards lack information about the reason why

the policy measure has the effect it has and how it effects the indicators used in the game. Due to this

lack the game is not well suited for conveying information and enhanced information.

2.4. Discussion Port of the Future To ensure that the players reach the learning goals more attention needs to be paid to the different

aspects included in the learning goals during the presentation, during the gameplay, and during the

discussion. The recurrence of these aspects throughout the game could help to consolidate the

lessons set out to be learned in regards to these aspects.

For the presentation a balance between information about the game and information about

sustainable ports must be found. Sustainable ports, and the measures that make a port sustainable,

must be introduced properly to ensure that the players learn about sustainable ports and which

measures currently exist to make a port more sustainable. Playing of the game cannot be solely relied

on as the method of getting the players to think more about sustainable ports as is illustrated by the

gameplay at the Hogeschool Zeeland.

Testing whether the players have reached the learning goals should be made into more of a priority.

In order to get the game validated as a teaching method the effectiveness must be proved. The best

way to do this is to quantify the learning of the players.

This can best be done by letting the players fill out a test before the start of the game and the

presentation, this first test will assess the initial knowledge of the player. At the end of the game the

players will fill out the same test, the answers in this second test will include the knowledge gained

during the game play in the answers. The differences in the answers will help to evaluate the

effectiveness of the game as a teaching method. Much more detailed, or better, answers can show

that the game imparts knowledge on the players.

At the moment the game is not well suited to convey information and enhanced information. This is

due to the fact that a lot of information is contained within the policy cards but the cards itself are too

small to convey this information. A solution to this problem would be to print a QR code on the back

of the card which can be scanned by a mobile phone. After the card is scanned the player is

redirected to a website where additional information about the policy measure, such as the reason

for the impacts on the indicators, as well as how the policy measures functions and interactions with

other policy measures, is provided.

3. Deltares’ lunch lectures

This case study focusses on the lunch lectures organised by Deltares. These lunch lectures serve to

provide employees with information about research projects, outcomes of research projects, and

presentations of tools developed by Deltares. The lunch lectures are open to all employees. Since the

information management system will rely partially on direct contact between individuals to convey

certain types of information the lunch lectures make an interesting case study. Something akin to the

lunch lectures could be incorporated into the information management system to provide individuals

with information that is difficult or inefficient to convey without personal contact.

43

The research question guiding this case study is:

• How do they employees attending the lunch lectures experience said lectures?

• Do the employees view the lunch lectures as an effective way of communicating

information?

• How could the communication of information be improved?

These questions are answered through the use of a brief interview with several employees who

attended the lunch lectures at the end of the lunch lecture.

3.1. Questionnaire The data and information needed to answer the research questions will be gathered using a

questionnaire. A questionnaire is preferred over interviews for two reasons. Firstly, the

questionnaires will yield more data in a shorter amount of time. Secondly, the questionnaire will be

less of an imposition on the respondent as the questionnaire takes less time to answer.

Due to time constraints the Deltares lunch lectures have not been investigated but preparations have

been made. The questionnaire will be included in this section so someone else can pick up this

investigation if necessary.

The questionnaire consists of four

closed questions as well as two open

questions. These questions should

provide some basic insight into the

valuation of the lunch lectures and the

information provided as well as

whether the respondents view the

lunch lectures as an efficient way of

conveying information. The

questionnaire is included in the

appendix to this piece.

Picture 2: Questionnaire lunch lectures

44

4. Conclusions

In this section the questions posed at the beginning of this part will be answered. These questions

are:

• How can knowledge be communicated?

o How is knowledge currently communicated?

o How do the receivers experience the communication?

The case study of the VNSC and the way it communicates with stakeholders has revealed some

interesting insight into the methods used to communicate knowledge and how this relates to the

needs and wishes of the people/organisation who are communicated with.

The methods currently employed by the VNSC consist of newsletters, information on the website,

brochures, involving the necessary stakeholders in the decision making process, and the Schelderaad.

The first three methods, the newsletter, the website, and the brochures are used to keep interested

parties up to date on developments around the Schelde estuary. The receivers of the information, the

interviewees in this case, have expressed the wish for more personal contact with the VNSC.

Symposia and other structured meetings are given as methods to achieve this. The opportunity for

direct contact offered by these methods is seen as an advantage by the interviewees as it provides

the VNSC with the opportunity to explain research findings or projects and providing the actors with

the opportunity to ask question if necessary and provide input when appropriate. This additional

input can be desirable as it can bring the actors closer together and provides additional insight which

can be useful for the VNSC.

This insight is interesting for the information management system as this shows that direct

contact, through for example meetings, symposia, or workshops, should be included in an

information management system. More in depth knowledge and information can be conveyed during

presentations and allowing stakeholders to provide input aids in knowledge building. The technical

side of an information management system can be used to archive the knowledge presented and

produced during the meetings as well as providing information about upcoming events.

Serious games, and in particular the serious game Port of the Future, can be used to convey

knowledge and/or information to the players. The Port of the Future serious game has potential as

the elements it aims to teach are well represented in the game. For example, one of the aims of the

game is to make players aware of the role of negotiation and uncertainty during sustainable port

policy making. This aspect is well represented throughout the game and thus it seems likely that the

game can make players aware of the role of negotiation and uncertainty and teach the players how to

handle these things. The effectiveness of the Port of the Future serious game to convey knowledge is

not proven yet. Two tests should be included, one at the beginning and one at the end, to test

whether the players have gained more knowledge during the game session. This can help to prove the

efficiency of the Port of the Future serious game as a method to convey knowledge. Incorporating

45

tests and well thought out presentations and discussions should help the players of the game in

reaching the learning goals set out by the Port of the Future.

During the discussion at the end of the game the experiences of the players were discussed.

Most of the players enjoyed the game and thought that the roles of uncertainty and negotiation

during decision-making were well represented and the importance of these aspects on decision

making were quite clear to the players. The knowledge about sustainability itself and the effects of

the policy measures was more difficult for the players to grasp as the players found some of the policy

measures and its effects to be unrealistic. The lack of realism was due to the fact that the cards had

no interactions with each other, such as cards excluding each other, or cards that enhance or diminish

each other’s effects. This perceived lack of realism made it harder for the players to take the

sustainability aspects at face value. This shows that for the knowledge to be received and

incorporated it must be realistic and presented in an easy to understand way.

46

Part V. Conclusions and recommendations for further

research In this chapter the main research question will be answered:

• Which guidelines can be formulated for the creation of an information management?

The guidelines are based on the information presented in the research report. The conclusions will be

presented in the form of guidelines which can be used for the set-up of an information management

system for Lake Veere. This is followed by the recommendations for further research. The

recommendations for further research will provide several topics or questions which will need to be

addressed in further research before an information management system for Lake Veere can be

made.

1. Summary of research

The guidelines presented in this section have been set up to facilitate the creation of an information

management system. These guidelines have been formulated using the information gathered from

the three angles described earlier. These angles were:

• The theoretical angle which involved a literature study to gather information about

knowledge and information in general. This information includes the definitions of data,

information, and knowledge, methods for managing information, and methods to transfer

information. The literature study revealed that information must be codified, placed in a

format such as text or graphs, or personified, where it is made personal through direct

contact between people, before it can be stored or transferred to others. The transferring of

information can be achieved using two different methods. Methods which do not involve any

direct contact, such as the ‘trickle down’ method where the information is made available by

the producers and is taken up by the users without further intervention from the producers,

and methods which do require direct contact between groups, these methods revolve around

involving stakeholders into the process to transfer information and create new knowledge.

• The technical angle which included case study looking into informational websites on the

North Sea to identify best practices. These best practices have been formulated as aspects to

take into account when using a website as part of an information management system. These

aspects have been incorporated into the guidelines presented below. The second case study

included an investigation of current information management systems. Evaluating these

systems was necessary as this helps to identify functionalities which are already provided by

current information management systems and which functionalities need to be developed

specifically for the information management system. A third case study looked into the use of

R markdown for reproducible reporting and the use of the wiki to present the generated

reports.

47

• The personal angle includes a case study which investigated several methods of information

communication and how these methods are experienced by the individuals who are being

communicated with. The case study looked at the communication methods employed by the

VNSC and whether these meet the needs and wishes of the organisations that are being

communicated with. The lessons learned from the interviews can be used to improve the

communication methods of the VNSC as well be implemented during the development of an

information management system. The case study also assessed the use of lunch lectures by

Deltares to spread information among employees. As with the study looking into the

communication methods used by the VNSC the effectiveness and whether it meets the needs

of the employees was investigated. The lessons learned from the lunch lectures can be

applied to presentations, or other face to face contact, as part of the information

management system. The Port of the Future serious game was also included in this case

study. In this study the effectiveness of the game in reaching the learning goals was

investigated as well as the experiences of the players. The results from this study are used to

formulate guidelines for an information management system and the role interactive

elements or serious gaming elements could play in this system.

2. Guidelines for an Information Management System

Guideline 1: Use common terminology

The use of common terminology when talking about information, and knowledge is recommended

when talking about these concepts. Every individual has an idea about what information and

knowledge are, however the definitions used can vary between individual. When talking about

information management, information management systems, and knowledge it is useful when

everybody involved with the system share a common definition or at least are aware of the

definitions used by others.

To facilitate shared terminology the definitions used throughout this report are recommended. These

definitions are:

1. Data is considered to be objective facts or observations, such as field or lab measurements,

monitoring results, which lack any specific meaning because it is without context and

interpretation.

2. Information can be split between information and enhanced information:

2.1. Information is data that has been processed for a purpose which adds meaning and value to

the data.

2.2. Enhanced information is codified or personified knowledge. Codifying or personifying

knowledge turns that knowledge back into information. The term enhanced information has

been chosen to denote the added layers of complexity inherent to knowledge captured in

the information.

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3. Knowledge is split between explicit and tacit knowledge:

3.1. Explicit knowledge is knowledge which can readily be articulated, codified, assessed and

verbalised. It is heavily based on knowing what as opposed to the knowing how of tacit

knowledge.

3.2. Tacit knowledge is knowledge that is ingrained in the individual and is based on information

to which skill, experience, values, etc. have been added. This type of knowledge is often

characterised as knowing how.

Guideline 2: Incorporate multiple transfer methods into the information management system

From the information gathered in this research report it can be concluded that an information

management system must be set up using a method which involves personal contact. Using a method

involving direct contact during the process of setting up the information management system is

recommended for several reasons. Involving the users of the information management system and

other stakeholders will ensure that the information management system will meet the needs of the

users. Secondly, involving the users and other stakeholders in the process of creating the information

system will help to ensure that the system is properly embedded in the organisation and is taken up

by the potential users.

The different methods, using personal contact and supplying information, both have a place in the

information management system. The web-based information management system should be treated

as a part of the overall information management system. This is due to the fact that the web-based

part of the information management system will employ the methods used to supply information

without further involvement of both the knowledge producer. This type of communication is most

effective for knowledge that can be easily put into words, models, charts, etc. The codified knowledge

can be placed on the website where it can be accessed by those interested in the knowledge. The

methods using personal contact should be incorporated to ensure that the personified knowledge can

be conveyed to other organisations or individuals. This can be done by embedding periodic symposia,

open meetings, or workshops into the overall information management system.

Guideline 3: Use the focused approach in the information management system

The focused approach is recommended as this approach relies on the use of a select amount of

codification methods. Using a few codification methods presents several advantages over allowing

any type of codification methods to be used. First, using a select few methods ensures that the data

and information included in the information management system is comparable with each other and

can be integrated into the same database. Secondly, using only a couple of codification methods

would mean that documenting how specific data or information is codified is possible. Creating steps

or guidelines detailing how the codification should be done facilitates codifying the information in the

most effective way and ensures that the information is properly codified.

Guideline 4: Involve stakeholders during development of the information management system

49

Stakeholders, in this case the users and other actors that would be impacted by the information

management system, should be included in the development of the information management

system.

The users of the system should be included as the system will have to meet their needs. Involving the

users at the start of development ensures that the needs of the users are well known and can be

incorporated into the information management system. Involving the users also helps to manage

expectations. For example, being involved in the process allows the user to become more familiar

with the limitations of the system, the functionalities that it provides, as well as the time frame for

the creation of the information management system.

Other actors that are affected by the information management system should also be involved. These

actors can provide additional information or data to be included in the information management

system or the actors might want to use the information management system as well. Involving these

stakeholders would be beneficial as the system might need to meet certain requirements in order to

be able to incorporate the data or might need to involve specific requirements to be of use for the

stakeholder. A balance must then be found between the needs of the stakeholder and the needs of

the intended user. By involving all actors in the development process the goals and outcomes can be

defined in accordance with all actors, this could help to ensure that all needs are met.

It is also possible that one or more of the stakeholders are opposed to the creation of an information

management system as they are working on the same thing or have already created something

similar. Involving these stakeholders in the development process could help manage the adverse

effects they might have on the development process of the information management system.

Guideline 5: Use a website as the basis for an information management system

A website would make an appropriate basis for the information management system as this would

help to solve most of the problems laid out in introduction. A web-based information management

system would be easily accessible to employees and outsiders as well as being accessible from any

location. The easier accessibility will also help to retain oversight of the information and data stored

within the system. This should prevent the duplication of data or the lack of data in specific areas. A

web-based system would also be relatively simple to set up and can be tailored to the specific needs

and wishes of the organisation. The web-based system can also be integrated with the other methods

necessary for the information management system. For example, the website can be used to facilitate

knowledge transfer or to alert users about upcoming meetings, or symposia about topics of interest.

Guideline 6: Make interactions part of the information management system: evolve to knowledge

management

Interaction in the form of one of the methods advocated by the unconventional view on knowledge

communication should also be included in the information management system. These methods are

better suited to communication tacit, or more complex, knowledge. Since this type of knowledge is

also intended to be included in the information management system it is important to include

methods that allow for the personification of the knowledge. Since personification relies on personal

contact this personal contact should be facilitated by the information management system. Ways to

50

do this would be organising workshops, organising symposia, or by holding presentations. The web-

based part of the information management system could be used to keep track of the events, or help

to organise the events. Recording the events and placing the records on the system could be a way to

capture and store the information provided during these events and should also be considered.

51

Guideline 7: Use of serious games to convey tacit knowledge

The use of serious games which allow players to practice certain skills, such as negotiation and dealing

with uncertainty in the Port of the Future serious game, can be included in an information

management system to convey tacit knowledge. Serious games where players can practice skills are

particularly useful for conveying tacit knowledge as tacit knowledge is largely based on experience

and skill. Practicing these skills and gaining experience in a learning environment could prove valuable

when trying to convey tacit knowledge which is also hard to convey through conversation.

Serious games can also be used to convey information but the depth of information provided

depends on the type of game, the elements included in the game, and the depth of information

desired. The Port of the Future serious game is not effective at conveying information as the policy

measures, which contain most information, are printed on cards. These cards are not large enough to

provide all pertinent information, such as the how the policy measures functions and why it has a

certain effect. Including a website which can be accessed by the players can be used to provide this

information.

Making a serious game, either to convey information or tacit knowledge, is a time and money

consuming business. If no tacit knowledge is included in the information management system it is

recommended to convey the information in another way. However, if tacit knowledge is included in

the information management system a serious game can be considered.

Guideline 8: Information management system should be integrative and structured

The importance of being integrated and structured were highlighted during the research into current

knowledge communication methods and how these methods are perceived by the receivers. The

interviewees mentioned that the different projects and research carried out by the VNSC should be

integrated into one system as all projects and research have influence on each other. Viewing the

projects and research as part of a whole instead of as separate projects and research would allow the

stakeholders to provide input on all projects and allow the decision makers to make decisions that

take the whole of the Schelde estuary into account. This level of integration should be aimed for by an

information management system as all aspects are linked to each other and should thus be

represented in an information management system that aims to provide the a complete overview of

all knowledge and information available. Structures was stressed as another important factor as this

provides the stakeholders with certainty about proceedings. As an example, the VNSC does not

employ the same communication methods for each project, this leads to certain projects were the

communication is lacking in the eyes of the stakeholders involved. Structuring the communication, by

planning yearly symposia, half-yearly meetings etc, and following the same communication strategy

for everything help to determine when and how input should be given and what the parties can

expect from each other.

3. Recommendations for further research

Several recommendations for further research were identified during the research project.

52

First of all, a stakeholder analysis and interviews should be done. The stakeholder analysis should be

used to identify all of the actors that should be involved in the process of creating the information

management system. Knowing who to involve in the process is of importance as cooperation is

required to gather the necessary information and data and to ensure that the information

management system contains data and information from different sources. The stance of the other

actors in regards to the information management system should be known in order to create a

strategy for the creation of the information management system. The interviews should be held to

ensure that the information management system meets the needs of the particular organization, in

the case of the pilot it will have to meet the needs of Rijkswaterstaat. The interviews can be used to

identify the functions that the web-based system should provide as well as the form that the other

aspects should take, such as organising annual symposia, or monthly presentations.

It is also recommended for Deltares to look into information management systems and knowledge

tools that it already possesses. Making an inventory of which systems could help speed up the

process of creating information management systems as parts of the existing systems or tools can be

used in the information management system. The knowledge tools and the information systems can

also be used to illustrate to others what the information management system could look like or would

entail. A further study of information systems and knowledge tools from organisations other than

Deltares is also recommended. The knowledge gained from this, such as important aspects to include,

can be used when creating the information management system.

Additional research can be done into the different codification methods. This research should be used

to identify which type of codification is most suitable for which type of information. The results of this

research can be used to decide on which codification methods should be used in the information

management system and how the system can accommodate these types of codification

appropriately. Looking into the different codification methods and the types of knowledge and

information they can be applied to will also ensure that the most optimal codification method for

each type of knowledge or information can be selected.

53

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Appendix This questionnaire pertains to the lunch lectures and how attendees value the lunch lectures and the information provided as well as the whether the lunch lectures are effective in conveying information. The questionnaire consists of 4 closed questions and 2 open questions.

1. How would you rate the quality of the lunchlectures overall?

Very bad bad neutral good very good

2. How would you value the information provided during the lunch lectures?

Very bad bad neutral good very good

3. How would you value the depth of the information provided?

Very bad bad neutral good very good

4. The lunchlectures are an efficient way of conveying information

Strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree

5. Why or why not?

6. Any additional remarks?

1. Why or why not?