Marco Bettoni

Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences, Research Management Unit, Emeritus

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Since April 2025 I am self-employed as independent epistemology scientist. From March 2018 to March 2025 I have been self-employed as Director of my Steinbeis Consulting Center "Knowledge Management and Collaboration" (2018-2025).
Between 2005 and 2017 I was director of research and consulting at the Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences (ffhs.ch).
From 1977 to 2005 I have been researcher, engineer and lecturer with industrial and academic organisations in machine design, engineering education, IT development, knowledge engineering and knowledge management.
My current research focuses on Knowledge Theory and Collaboration (https://weknow.ch/).
I like to share knowledge with everyone and I am interested in pretty much everything. Since 1981: research in Knowledge Theory from a Radical Constructivist point of view, especially Kantian Criticism. I enjoy reading ancient Greek philosophy, sailing, walking, cooking (italian, greek) and dinner with friends, especially in Greek restaurants. Motto: We need to be the change we wish to see in the world (Mahatma Gandhi)

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Papers by Marco Bettoni

Interaction in Assistive Robotics: A Radical Constructivist Design Framework

Frontiers in Neurorobotics

Despite decades of research, muscle-based control of assistive devices (myocontrol) is still unre... more Despite decades of research, muscle-based control of assistive devices (myocontrol) is still unreliable; for instance upper-limb prostheses, each year more and more dexterous and human-like, still provide hardly enough functionality to justify their cost and the effort required to use them. In order to try and close this gap, we propose to shift the goal of myocontrol from guessing intended movements to creating new circular reactions in the constructivist sense defined by Piaget. To this aim, the myocontrol system must be able to acquire new knowledge and forget past one, and knowledge acquisition/forgetting must happen on demand, requested either by the user or by the system itself. We propose a unifying framework based upon Radical Constructivism for the design of such a myocontrol system, including its user interface and user-device interaction strategy.

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A Comprehensive Model of Knowledge Sharing

Knowledge is a critical organizational resource that provides a sustainable competitive advantage... more Knowledge is a critical organizational resource that provides a sustainable competitive advantage in a competitive and dynamic economy. Organizations must therefore consider how to transfer expertise and knowledge from experts who have it to novices who need to know. That is, organizations need to emphasize and more effectively exploit knowledge-based resources that already exist within the organization. Research has shown that knowledge sharing (KS) and combination is positively related to reductions in production costs, faster completion of new product development projects, team performance, firm innovation capabilities, and firm performance including sales growth and revenue from new products and services. However, despite these investments it has been estimated that at least $31.5 billion are lost per year by Fortune 500 companies as a result of failing to share knowledge (Babcock, 2004). An important reason for the failure of KMS to facilitate KS is the lack of consideration of...

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Made-up minds: a constructivist approach to artificial intelligence

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Knowledge as Experiential Reality

Constructivist Foundations, 2007

&amp;amp;quot;Open peer commentary on the target article “Arguments Opposing the Radicalism o... more &amp;amp;quot;Open peer commentary on the target article “Arguments Opposing the Radicalism of Radical Constructivism” by Gernot Saalmann. I appreciate Saalmann’s recognition that “there are considerable differences amongst the authors” and that these “have changed their opinions in the course of time” (§3); but given this, what are the consequences for an outline of the theses of radical constructivism (RC)? Which approach is best for outlining a theory of knowing under these hindering conditions? My suggestion would be to use a method specifically developed for this kind of situation and to present it explicitly, or, if it does not yet exist, to develop one.&amp;amp;quot;

The Essence of Knowledge Management: A More Appropriate Understanding of Knowledge1

We contend in this presentation that more sustainable and successful Knowledge Management (KM) so... more We contend in this presentation that more sustainable and successful Knowledge Management (KM) solutions can be built by using the principles of Knowledge Engineering (KE) to understand knowledge in a more appropriate way. We will basically explore five aspects of practical knowledge relevant for promoting the essential Human Factors (HF) involved in KM tasks: 1. the value and function of knowledge 2. the motor and mechanism of knowledge 3. the two states and 3 conversions of individual knowledge 4. the logic of networking (natural organisation of knowledge) 5. the handling of knowledge (wheel of knowledge) and then explain their consequences under the form of five principles that we suggest could be used as leading criteria for designing and evaluating KM solutions and systems in a way more appropriate for implementing the recognition of the essential role of people.

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Community Interactions and the Logic of Experience

What are the problems challenging communities in everyday interactions? How could a radical const... more What are the problems challenging communities in everyday interactions? How could a radical constructivist theory of knowledge shed new light on these interactions? And what measures of success would help balance humanity and efficiency in the business world? In this article Marco Bettoni develops an unexplored connection between constructivist knowledge theory and successful community interactions. He gives seven practical recommendations for optimizing community interactions where human factors are the guiding principle.

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Reference ECKM 2007

The Yerkish Language: From Operational Methodology to Chimpanzee Communication

Constructivist Foundations, 2007

Origins of Yerkish-The LANA project One day in the fall of 1970 Ray Carpenter, one of the fathers... more Origins of Yerkish-The LANA project One day in the fall of 1970 Ray Carpenter, one of the fathers of primatology in the United States, came to the almost regular Saturday golf meeting with von Glaserfeld bringing with him an intriguing idea: The Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta 1 (Georgia), the first and foremost institute of primate research in the USA, was planning to investigate the possibility of communication between humans and great apes via a computer by means of a visual language. The great apes (gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees) would probably never learn a spoken language, Carpenter said, but they were quick and clever with their fingers and Alan and Beatrice Gardner had successfully taught ASL (the American Sign Language used by deaf people) to a chimpanzee called Washoe. 2 Despite impressive results in teaching sign language to the great apes, in those years as well as during the following two decades, linguists and psychologists-who wanted to believe with Chomsky that language was a human prerogative-doubted that " an ape can truly create a sentence " (Terrace et al. 1979, p. 891) and claimed that " they show no unequivocal evidence of mastering the conversational semantics or syntactic organization of language " (Terrace et al. 1979, p. 901). They also said that sign language did not have a proper syntax and therefore was not really a language. Moreover they suggested that the Gardners were like parents with a baby: they saw and heard demonstrations of linguistic capabilities that no one else could see or hear. The Yerkes Center plan was to build a communication system with a simplified language, a keyboard, and a small computer to

format_quoteLana learned to use a lexigram keyboard efficiently, forming grammatically correct sentences, indicating her ability to grasp error correction and syntax.format_quote

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User-Centred Knowledge Management: A Constructivist and Socialized View

> context • The discipline of knowledge management (KM) begins to understand a) that it should mo... more > context • The discipline of knowledge management (KM) begins to understand a) that it should move towards a user-centred, socialized KM and b) which business objectives provide motivation to do so. However, it lacks ideas on how to reach the objective that it suggests and justifies. We contend in this paper that this change requires a more viable understanding of knowledge combined with a suitable model of social interaction, otherwise it will fail. > problem • The problem to be solved is to find a way to blend a model of social interaction and a suitable understanding of knowledge so that together they can contribute to the objective of implementing a "user-centred KM." In this paper we show a solution articulated in several conceptual and experimental components and phases. > Method • We use a systemic and cybernetic approach: systemic analysis of the problem, conception of a cybernetic approach, design of a systemic solution, and its evaluation in an experiment. The main methods used are systems engineering, cybernetic modelling, and knowledge engineering. > Results • We propose seven interrelated results: 1. A defect analysis of KM; 2. The concept of knowledge as the "Logic of Experience"; 3. A set of five KM design principles; 4. The principle of "Knowledge Identity"; 5. The model of "Knowledge Cooperation"; 6. The architecture of a user-centred KM system; and 7. Insights from a KM experiment. > implications • Our results are useful for any stakeholder in today's knowledge economy when they need to understand, design, build, nurture and support an organization's capacity to learn and innovate for the benefit not only of the company's financial owners but also of the individuals who work in it. Future research should urgently address the issues of "knowledge identity" and the "knowledge contract" and KM practice should design its next steps for moving towards a user-centred KM in conformity with the principle of "knowledge identity." The paper links explicitly to radical constructivism and argues in favour of a radical constructivist foundation for KM in which knowledge is seen as the "Logic of Experience." It also shows how this KM foundation can be extended with a social perspective and by that allow the individual and the social to be conceived of as complementary elements in one single KM system.

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Accelerating Technology Transfer by Knowledge-Oriented Cooperation

Eckm, 2005

The technology gap between research institutions as suppliers and industrial firms as customers o... more The technology gap between research institutions as suppliers and industrial firms as customers of key technologies grows continuously. For meeting this challenge we propose a knowledge-oriented technology transfer network (TTN) between technology firms. We analyze current challenges for bridging the gap and examine the possibility to cope with them by means of a 2nd generation network approach. We describe the need for a generational change towards new forms of knowledge cooperation and outline an organizational model, which is inspired by the "Community of Practice" conception.

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The Illusion of Society

Constructivist Foundations, 2008

Success Factors for Community Learning: A Constructivist Perspective

Community learning in TELEs is supported by several kinds of online community interactions, for e... more Community learning in TELEs is supported by several kinds of online community interactions, for example in forums and wikis. I suggest that a radical constructivist theory of knowledge could shed new light on these written interactions and provide some relevant benefits to social SRL in a CSCL (Computer Supported Cooperative Learning) environment. After a short introduction to my radical constructivist perspective I present practical recommendations for written community interactions interpreted in the light of that perspective and conclude by linking them to demands that CSCL imposes to SRL.

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The First Tax Return Assessment Expert System

Learning from Kant How To Construct Robots Suggestions for an Engineering Approach to the Analytic of Concepts

Akten des IX. Internationalen Kant-Kongresses. Bd. I: Hauptvorträge. Bd. II: Sektionen I-V. Bd. III: Sektionen VI-X: Bd. IV: Sektionen XI-XIV. Bd. V: Sektionen XV-XVIII, 2001

Reference Course Model

Fostering Self-Regulated Learning through ICT, 2010

CoRe - Linking Teaching and Research by a Community-Oriented Strategy1

The aim of this paper is to introduce the concept of a "community of research" (CoRe), ... more The aim of this paper is to introduce the concept of a "community of research" (CoRe), a knowledge network of academic staff and students organized as a community of practice. The CoRe network is being developed within the context of a community-oriented strategy for the integration of teaching and research at the Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences. We will

format_quoteThe CoRe project integrates teaching and research through a community of practice involving academic staff and students at FFHS.format_quote

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RESEARCH NETWORKING with "CORE SQUARE"1

The aim of this paper is to present "CoRe Square", a collaborative research space imple... more The aim of this paper is to present "CoRe Square", a collaborative research space implemented with standard MOODLE components that we have designed as a space for integrating teaching and research at our University of Applied Sciences. The CoRe Square platform is intended to contribute to the creation and cultivation of a "Commu- nity of Research", a new way of

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THE ESSENCE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: A Constructivist Approach

International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, 2000

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Knowledge Cooperation in Online Communities: A Duality of Participation and Cultivation1

This paper is an attempt to answer the question "How to design for engagement in community-o... more This paper is an attempt to answer the question "How to design for engagement in community-oriented knowledge management?" In order to do this we need an approach that has its primary focus on distinguishing, balancing, connecting and negotiating between knowledge in its two fundamental dimensions: individual and social. The concept of "knowledge cooperation" that we have defined as "the participative

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THE FIRST TAX RETURN ASSESSMENT EXPERT SYSTEM IN SWITZERLAND Challenges and Solutions

International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, 2000

In realising the first Tax Return Assessment Expert System in Switzerland we had first to make a ... more In realising the first Tax Return Assessment Expert System in Switzerland we had first to make a convincing business case for an AI innovation in a traditional governmental environment, secondly to show in the daily business environment that what can be demonstrated to be viable in theory does also work in practice, thirdly to minimize the gap between the tacit

format_quoteIRS anticipated a 30% workload increase due to a reduced assessment period, necessitating innovative solutions.format_quote

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Marco Bettoni

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