In the last years, knowledge management and technology en-hanced learning are confronting a lot of new challenges due to rapid changes in business environment and technological pro-gress. In a fast changing business environment, where jobs and roles never stand still, the slow processes of creating formal learn-ing materials and delivering vocational training across the whole organisation can create barriers to the adoption and use of learning technologies. In work-intensive environments, a formal way of knowledge acquisition and learning (from a classroom to classic eLearning) is often insufficient, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, mobile devices are becoming more and more powerful. They are increasingly used in parallel to PC or notebooks especially by people who spend a lot of time on business trips. They are becoming more important for knowledge acquisition and technology-enhanced learning. Therefore, knowl-edge management and eLearning tools should be available not only as web application integrated in widely-used Internet plat-forms, but also for mobile devices. To close these gaps, the EU projects “ROLE – Responsive Open Learning Environments” and “MIRROR – Reflective Learning at Work” aim to support self-regulated and reflective learning-on-the-job methodologically and technically. Based on a self-regulated learning process model and reflective learning artefacts, a multi-platform prototype for self-regulated learning including reflection on the learning progress is being developed. The prototype contains integrated tools for self-regulated vocabulary training and activity tracking tools support-ing reflection on the learning process. The tools are available as both web applications and mobile apps. Their application is dem-onstrated by a showcase scenario of mentored self-training includ-ing reflection on the learning process.
In this contribution Wikis are interpreted as social information spaces. These information spaces can be decomposed in different networks. Here, one network is introduced – the collaboration network. This network type exemplifies how dynamics in social information spaces can be analyzed. For this, different approaches of visualizing networks are explained. The chosen approach is applied in an descriptive study. The open community project Wikiversity is examined to introduce one possible analysis in SONIVIS:Tool – an open source ntwork mining software.
Many organizations are in front of most competitive economic environments, where, in order to survive, they must reduce costs all the time and adopt the most intelligent business strategy. We decided to design an expert system for choosing the most adequate accountancy program for an enterprise and that will serve as an effective tool for knowledge management. The purpose of this paper is to highlight that an Expert System is an innovative tool for managing knowledge in any domain.
Increasingly Wikis are used to support existing corporate knowledge processes. Wikis are an appropriate software solution to support these processes because of their specific design principles. However, it is not yet proven whether Wikis are an adequate knowledge management tool. This paper presents a new approach to analyze existing networks in Wikis. Four perspectives on Wiki networks are introduced to investigate all dynamic processes and their interrelationships in a Wiki information space. The Social Network Analysis (SNA) is used to uncover existing structures and temporal changes. Additionally, a data set of a corporate Wiki is used to present an analysis which has been carried out. Results of analyzes work can be utilized to improve the existing knowledge processes in a company.
There is surprisingly little literature specifically concerned with theorising and conceptualising of the transfer and sharing of complex information and/or knowledge, despite the fact that its significance is widely and without restriction acknowledged throughout the [mostly Anglo-American] literature on knowledge management and organisational learning. It is the aim of this paper to provide a brief review that allows an eclectic snapshot of the state of the – predominantly continental European – literature on this subject. After an introductory definition and limitation of the concepts involved the theoretical constructs are illustrated with the use of a set of models – selected predominantly for their link to empirical research and the capability to delimit the field. The empirical grounding of the models makes it possible to view them as partial investigations contributing individual elements of a more overarching research framework into which future studies may be integrated. In conclusion, a systemic approach of knowledge exchange in the form of a dynamic factorial model is proposed, the contributing frameworks are further categorised as to the type of knowledge for which they would be of maximum utility and the influence of external issue and problem spaces is shown.
In recent years, both practitioners and scholars alike have emphasized the importance of organizational knowledge and learning as a source of competitive advantage. In this connexion, the integration of information technologies to foster these organizational sources has gained considerable attention. However, especially due to the innate characteristics of tacit knowledge, its handling is deemed to be extraordinarily difficult. This results primarily from the fact that tacit knowledge can only be disseminated via intricate interpersonal processes. Socialization is viewed as an appropriate approach but to date this is regarded as incommensurate with most existing information technologies. In this paper we argue that corporate weblogs – i.e. personalized and informal Internet publications referring to corporate concerns – constitute a viable option to deal with this dilemma while incorporating the possibility to codify as well as personalize tacit knowledge. By illuminating how to transcend the traditional impasse, we intend to contribute to knowledge management research and practitioners alike.
This paper describes a knowledge platform that is designed to support drug discovery researchers in pharmaceutical companies. The core of this platform is a knowledge model that provides a semantically integrated knowledge space for the researchers to easily learn and explore various aspects of biological data that originate from multiple disparate sources. By using domain-specific functional rules, the platform can assist researchers in exposing valuable hidden or unobvious linkages across multiple repositories. The rules can also be used to find collaboration opportunities among its users by monitoring the users’ navigation and interaction patterns. The results from collaboration can be further annotated and shared with other users. When combined with group shared spaces, this platform can be used as a key component to support cooperative learning.
The development of a knowledge management system (KMS) is becoming increasingly important for the metal industry in Taiwan. The ontology design and knowledge search are two major activities of knowledge management. In this paper, we introduce a threestage life cycle for the ontology design and propose a Java/XML-based scheme for automatically generating knowledge search components to reduce the overhead in developing a KMS. The resulting ontology is classified as information ontology and domain ontology so that the objective of semantic match for knowledge search can be realized. The system is built on the top of the component-based KAON development suite which makes it more flexible and robust. We conduct a case study by applying the system to Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC), Taiwan to confirm its effectiveness and efficiency in dealing with KM activities. In addition, the proposed reusable scheme endorses the encouraging feasibility of wide applications to different domains.
The loss of an employee – voluntarily or involuntarily – represents a great risk of losing information and know how as well as breaks the natural knowledge flow. We developed the Knowledge Transfer Meeting Methodology in order to reduce the “brain drain” through a systematic hand-over. The Knowledge Transfer Meeting consists of five modules that support the retrieval and sharing of knowledge systematically and explicitly. The approach promotes a mentorship or partnership philosophy, motivating the leaving employee to share his or her knowledge and experience with a successor. For the implementation of the Knowledge Transfer Meeting Methodology in the company, we identify and train so-called “facilitators” who lead the participants through the process and hence support and spread the methodology within the company.