ВИРТУАЛЬНОЕ НАУЧНОЕ ЗНАНИЕ: ЛИНГВОТОПОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ АСПЕКТ

Воронин М.С.

ORCID: 0000-0002-8586-1875, Аспирант, Алтайский Государственный Университет

ВИРТУАЛЬНОЕ НАУЧНОЕ ЗНАНИЕ: ЛИНГВОТОПОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ АСПЕКТ

Аннотация

В данной статье рассматриваются основные принципы виртуализации методов научного исследования с учётом лингвотопологического фактора влияния на формирование виртуальной знаниевой парадигмы. В рамках настоящей работы приведены механизмы навигации исследователя в условиях нелинейности виртуальной информационной среды с использованием многоуровневой ментальной репрезентации цифрового пространства. Также указаны основные подходы к оценке валидности виртуального научного знания как продукта техногенной цивилизации.

Ключевые слова: виртуализация, знание, лингвотопология.

Voronin M.S.

ORCID: 0000-0002-8586-1875, Postgraduate student, Altai State University

VIRTUAL SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IN LINGUISTIC AND TOPOLOGICAL ASPECT

Abstract

This article considers main principles of virtualization of scientific research methods given linguistic and topological factor informing the paradigm of virtual knowledge. Methods of researchers’ navigation in nonlinear virtual information environment using a multileveled mental representation of digital environment are also considered in this study. In addition, this article considers key approaches to assessing the validity of virtual scientific knowledge as a product of technogenic civilization.

Keywords: virtualization, knowledge, topology and linguistics.

Modern understanding of knowledge forming and its role in the life of information society is not limited by traditional historical, cultural and scientific discourse.Today knowledge is often considered as a set of society intellectual resources ensuring the development of scientific and technological progress [1]. Broad approach to the study ofknowledge phenomenon integrates two different paradigms represented by humanitarian and natural sciences, suggestinga high degree of diversification of a modern researcher’s methodological framework.

Scientific and technical progress leads to the formation ofa special model of civilization development, which is technogenic model. The main core of technogenic civilization is technosphere built on thefunctioning model of natural human habitat (biosphere) with the implementation of a technological component based on results of scientific research, whichis carried out in a conglomerate of humanities and natural sciences [2].

As commonly cited,main tasks of the technoscience include the development and introduction of advanced technological means to transform the environment and create conditions for the optimization of scientific and technological progress. The technogenic model of civilization development assumes a special approach to forming, storing and using specific scientific knowledge to understand natural phenomena,create their analogues (rains, droughts, wind, sunlight, etc.), which ultimate goal is to give people the power over natural forces. In this regard, the use of electronic devices mightsimplify the access of a wider audience to accumulated knowledge making it popular.

The popularization of high technologies in mass communications led to the emergence of deep transformation processes in such spheres of social life as economic, social, cultural, political and other, which, in turn, facilitated the implementation of a qualitatively different model of social relations, which isthe information society model.

Communication between people ofthe information societyfeaturesgreater intensity, while the density of information medium becomes higher, requiring more sophisticated and effective tools of stored knowledge management.

In order to meet growing needs of people in the age of post-industrial society, the development of science is based on the principles of a global enterprise functioning, which involves thousands of researchers from all around the world.Significant financial resources invested in the development of scientific research make it possible to talk about market economy principles used in modern scientific paradigm. Making information products, spreading their distribution networks indicates the emergence of mass demand for the results of scientific research, which is largely driven by the availability of powerful data processing systems.

The intensification of scientific knowledge base in the context of knowledge economy [7] through the integration of different scientific research methods into interdisciplinary paradigms such as cyber linguistics, made it possible to develop complex approaches to forming universal knowledge management infrastructure, orknowledge management system [6]. The aim of such infrastructure is to manage a huge amount of data generated in research activities, providing quick and reliable access to them. The need to create flexible and powerful tools for data processing appeared because of limited potential of traditional information carriers such as books, papers, etc.

Global Internet users obtained instant access to remote knowledge bases with information automatically sorted out and displayed in most convenient format to work with. In addition, the availability of special software for online data processing enables researchers to work with information without ever leaving digital information environment, which makes the scientific research more intensive. Knowledge developed in virtual environmentby software algorithms with or without human participation can be considered as virtual knowledge.

Virtual knowledge is interactive, mobile, and user-friendlybecause it is available in the most accessible forms and shapes (in the form of objects familiar to user like a tree catalog, and other forms).From the linguistic point of view, the virtual knowledge is understood as electronic hypertext due to the features of its internal relations, which allows for knowledge existence in several different forms such as a video series, audio files, images, etc.

Nonlinear relationships of a hypertext elements, the presence of interactive interfaces to communicate with electronic environment make it possible to implementthe following special techniques to work with virtual knowledge in the Internet:a. virtual information environment, where users can communicate with each other while working on a certain file in real-time mode irrespective to their physical location; b. availability of options to customize data representationformaton a display of an electronic device in accordance with user preferences and needs; c. automatic modeling of information units’ quality characteristicsby transferring form one semiotic category to another (for example, text↔audio transition based on a given encoding / decoding algorithm).

The availability of automatic data processing toolsgives researches freedom from manual sorting out, systematizing and analyzing data arrays in the Internet, so they can focus on practical use of results obtained ina full automatic analysis.Nonlinear structure of virtual reality is interactive, includes a variety of divergent information flaws, which are quite similar to those existingin the human mind and called mindstreams or streams of consciousness [8]. A certain combination of the flaws, or an information flow pattern, gives an idea of an object or phenomenonobserved in objective or virtual reality.

Qualitative characteristics of virtual information medium, or electronic hypertext, make it possible to consider virtual reality as an unordered plurality of information flows and information clusters analogous to those existing in concept environment of the human mind andinvolved in cognitive processes of knowledge design [5].

Mechanisms of automatic electronic data processing, which result in certain content forming (images, video sequences, texts, etc.) are similar to heuristic processes in the human mind, allowing for the transition from concepts to knowledge. As in objective reality, knowledge in virtual reality can be divided into two categories: valid and invalid. Criterion for determining the validity of knowledge designed in virtual reality and by virtual means is the possibility of its practical application in solving cognitive tasksby a human or a machine.

Thus, the principle of virtualization of scientific knowledgemethods is in transferring mental data processing mechanisms to the virtual environment, where the knowledge designer activities aresupported bymeans of artificial intelligence (software algorithms).

The vast majority of content found in the Web hypertext is initially represented in English, which is, on the one hand, due to the geographical location of most Internet users at the beginning of its forming (so-called pioneers of the Web, such as North America, Britain, and other developed countries), which population uses English as their native language. On the other hand, the English language is being for a long time used as the language of the international diplomacy and economic relations. In the age of knowledge economy, the combination of these two factorsstimulates the Internet users to learn English in order to consume Web content and make their own content uploaded to the Web consumable / understandableto other members of the Internet community [4, 3].

It is worth noting that modern global topological map of languages used in the Internet environment is slightly different compared to one we observed some fifteen years ago. Results of virtual hypertext statistical analysis demonstrate a significant reduction in the shareof Web content published in English. Main reasons influenced the situation are of external nature, such as the development of economic and scientific potential of countries like China. Given the aforesaid, we can assume that the topological map of the Internet environment is a metaphor of objective world relations.The correlation of virtual network segmentsin English, Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Russian and other languages reflects current situation in society,economy and politics in the real world.[9]

In this regard, the virtual knowledge appears to be fragmented as it is represented in different languagesover the Interned segments. The access to relevant information, required for successful synthesis of knowledge, assumes that researches understand languages of advanced scientific research. Proficiency in foreign languages gives researches an opportunity to navigate the virtual environment while developing their own scientific knowledge using the opportunities of this environment.

Internet navigation, or Web-surfing, is based on a researcher’s cognitive map of virtual environment, which is built in his / her mind when consuming different Web content by following lots of hyperlinks. Given that the main conceptual units of Internet cognitive map in the human mind are formed in accordance with individuallinguistic worldimage peculiarities, the user shall perform certain mental operations in order to ‘transfer’ the Web content in foreign languages to his / her cognitive map by means of conceptualization.

Thus, linguistic and topological aspects play an important role when working with virtual knowledge, requiring the Internet user to build his / her own mental map of the Internet environment by conceptualization means of their native language.

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