Environmental Engineering Reference
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Cereal crop, grain
Stands for
(an imputed relation)
Wheat
Fig. 9.2 Semantic triangle for wheat
One part of the triangle is the symbol, or the word. Another part of the triangle
is the thought or reference. These are the words that one would use to describe
the referent. The referent, the last part, is the thing that one would picture in
his mind.
An example in integrated agricultural modelling (Fig. 9.2 ) would be “wheat”.
The words to describe the referent can be for example “cereal crop, grain, flour”.
The referent, the last part, is the thing that one would picture in his mind.
Understanding that people mean different things when they say the same word
is an important finding that is very relevant for the process of integrated modelling,
more so when it comes to associate the proper meaning with variables to be
exchanged between two models (Wien et al. 2007) .
Interoperability in Integrated Modelling
If the integrated model, composed by a number of different models pertaining
to domains as diverse as economy, agronomy, social sciences, ecology etc.,
is developed by a single scientist, or even by a closely connected group of
scientists, the potential ambiguities and misunderstandings can be solved by
internal discussions and interactions. The problem is that, given the scale and the
ambition of such integrated models, it is unrealistic to even think that a single
group can encompass all the required knowledge to develop such a model.
Therefore, different models are developed by different groups, and as a consequence
the need arises for structured and organized ways to solve ambiguities and
misunderstandings regarding the meaning of the variables to be shared and
exchanged by the models.
In such a complex integration task, different types of misunderstandings around
the meaning of concepts can occur:
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