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Finally, there are functions. These are special cases of relations whose prima facie result is only a value, which, owing to their importance and specificity, should be considered separately. Examples of functions are:
A function is, therefore, a second type of interrelation between concepts in a universe of discourse. Although many functions can be defined for a given set of concepts, usually, some functions are stressed and others ignored in order conceptualize part of the world. The set of stressed functions in a conceptualization is called a basic functional set. By defining the concepts, relations, and functions, the conceptual model also shows the sequence of steps according to which the expert will execute his/her task, the inferences made, and the processing of data, news, and knowledge, that is, information, used. That is, this model represents how the expert, in this case the diagnostician, behaves when resolving the tasks at hand, describing what expert knowledge and where, how, when, why, and for what purpose it comes into play in performing the task. Conceptualization presupposes the existence of information obtained by means of what is referred to in KE as knowledge acquisition (KA). These can be acquired from documents and recordings containing explicit information, a process known as knowledge extraction, or from the expert(s), a process called knowledge elicitation. Elicited knowledge is not explicit; it is what the expert has internalized and what makes up the expert's true expertise. Document analysis, classification, etc., are techniques used for extraction, whereas other techniques, including protocol analysis, repertory grid, etc., are used for elicitation. When the knowledge has been acquired, it has to be analyzed, organized, classified, and, finally, structured to model diagnostician behavior. This consists of a two-stage process, as shown in Figure 3. The first stage consists of an activity of analysis, whereas the second centers on synthesis. This section discusses how to detect strategic, tactical, and factual knowledge and meta-knowledge during the analysis stage and how, in the synthesis stage, the above knowledge will have a bigger or smaller part in the static and dynamic models integrated into the knowledge map and constituting the conceptual model of the system. Pursuant to the above, the steps to be taken to produce an external conceptualization or representation of the knowledge, taking into account the items shown in Figure 3, are as follows:
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