KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

E-learning Africa 2010 Lusaka

libman — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 10:20:39 -0600

The E-learning Africa 2010 held in Lusaka was one of the greatest events. It attracted a record of participants from all over the world.It provided a platform for people to share knowledge and experiences in e-learning, free open source software , e-portfolios , e-content, the use of mobile technology and how it is transforming education.One of the most interesting session dwelt on Web 2.0 in education and Ronald Munatsi an upcoming KM exponent of Open Access and social networking presented a brilliant paper among other topics.Collence Chisita a renowned KMA stalwart presented an interesting paper on E-Skills Development in Higher Education. The conference also explored the role of the human factor in ICT developments.It was resolved that the human factor , hardware and software do complement each other.It was also resolved that the future belongs to those countries that invest in human skills and ICT development

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

Will Knowledge ‘R’ us (not “Knowlege 'R' ours”) shape the future of knowledge and KM?

Md Santo — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:04:48 -0600

Will Knowledge ‘R’ us (not “Knowlege 'R' ours”) shape the future of knowledge and KM?

By : Dr Md Santo – http://mobeeknowledge.ning.com

The nature of Homo Sapiens comprising three knowing tools components. The first is Peripheral Nerve System or Human Senses including our Autonomic Nerve System representing Human Knowledge with Lower Consciousness (KLC). The second is Central Nerve System or Mind Brain representing Human Knowledge with Medium Consciousness (KMC). The third is Human Consciousness DNA representing Human Knowledge with Higher Consciousness (KHC). If it is postulated that nature of Knowledge Management (KM) derived from the nature of Human or we could say Human System Biology (HSB)-based KM, then we will observe that KM Tools mainly generated from KLC, KM Process Framework generated from KMC as well as KM Standards (culture and value management) generated from KHC respectively ( http://mobeeknowledge.ning.com/forum/topics/brief-description-of-our )
Consequently Knowledge which is located at the domain of DIKW continuum model as commonly believed has a narrow meaning. Hence, I suggested to separate DI with KW considering each is an entity into DI – KW model to give emphasize the paradigm I’ve just mentioned above (http://mobeeknowledge.ning.com/forum/topics/blooms-taxonomy-knowledge-an... )
Therefore, Knowledge Management (KM) essentially is not management technique but behaving more as an access mechanisms that can be used across any management tool type such as Total Quality Management, Learning Organization, Benchmarking, Process Classification Framework, Business Process Reengineering, Balanced Scorecard, Business Intelligence including Social Media platforms etc. wherein each with their specific functions to be orchestrated under KM’s consciousness. So, here we put KM in incredibly broad meaning as subject with higher level than any other management tool type which is treated only as object ( http://www.scribd.com/doc/28696847/How-to-re-postulating-the-paradigm-of... ) From eastern concept, Knowledge with broad meaning also known as Noor or “Light”
I use the phrase “KNOWLEDGE ‘R’ US”, not “KNOWLEDGE ‘R’ OURS” as the expression of the paradigm of K as well as KM just mentioned above wherein human knowledge from beginning of our life represent human consciousness as well as our personality functioning to lead us in our journey through the path of Physical Realities – Data – Information – Knowledge (narrow meaning) – Wisdom and above . In eastern people beyond Wisdom frequently called as “Ma’rifat”
The overall description in schematic as well as in presentation forms could be accessed through the list of the links below. To get explanation more in details you could visit our gateway links by choosing relevant article(s) or topic(s) at http://delicious.com/mobeeknowledge and/or http://delicious.com/tags/mobeeknowledge?view=all& . And last but not least, just to emphasize from my point of view I’ve recognized at least 10 “symptoms and signs” toward the future of next gen KM – visit http://www.scribd.com/doc/27484344/Ten-Landmarks-Toward-Next-Generation-Knowledge-Management

List of the “KNOWLEDGE ‘R’ US” related links are as follow : (Source Link : http://www.scribd.com/doc/29259487/KNOWLEDGE-R-US )

Human Body Knowing Tools as Human Consciousness Related to Knowledge Management - http://www.scribd.com/doc/28959294/Human-Body-Knowing-Tools-as-Human-Con...
How to re-postulating the paradigm of Knowledge and Knowledge Management - http://www.scribd.com/doc/28696847/How-to-re-postulating-the-paradigm-of...
Road to Next Gen Knowledge Management : “Mobee Knowledge Top Four Articles of the Month” - http://www.scribd.com/doc/28435600/Road-to-Next-Gen-Knowledge-Management-“Mobee-Knowledge-Top-Four-Articles-of-the-Month”
Bloom's Taxonomy (Learning Domains)* related with Knowledge and Knowledge Management (KM)** - http://www.scribd.com/doc/28370204/Bloom-s-Taxonomy-Learning-Domains-rel...
How to convert Knowledge Into Knowledge Management - http://www.scribd.com/doc/28177748/How-to-convert-Knowledge-Into-Knowled...
Ten Landmarks Toward Next Generation Knowledge Management - http://www.scribd.com/doc/27484344/Ten-Landmarks-Toward-Next-Generation-...
The Origin of Knowledge and Knowledge Management derived from DI-KW separated entities model - http://www.scribd.com/doc/26869572/The-Origin-of-Knowledge-and-Knowledge...
Towards Human System Biology-based Next Gen KM - http://www.scribd.com/doc/25765257/Towards-Human-System-Biology-based-Ne...
Knowledge Management System Development Derived From Human System Biology - http://www.scribd.com/doc/25613526/Knowledge-Management-System-Developme...
Explaining Step by Step the Process of Knowledge Management 2.0 Map - http://www.scribd.com/doc/25036410/Explaining-Step-by-Step-the-Process-o...
KM Metrics to Locate Your Achievements in the Universe - http://www.scribd.com/doc/24808191/KM-Metrics-to-Locate-Your-Achievement...
You Are the Knowledge - Hybrid Definition of Knowledge - http://www.scribd.com/doc/24439826/You-Are-the-Knowledge-Hybrid-Definiti...
The Physics of Knowledge - http://www.scribd.com/doc/24339159/The-Physics-of-Knowledge
WEB-BASED KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 2.0 MAP - http://www.scribd.com/doc/24331515/WEB-BASED-KNOWLEDGE-MANAGEMENT-2-0-MAP

@2010 Md Santo

KM & Communications

What mental or intellectual costumes Africans need to wear in order to develop modern knowledge systems?

Jacques Hamel — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 04:44:35 -0700

This is a free reflection on the power of modern science, technology, innovation and knowledge systems (STI) for revealing some distinctive style of modernity in Africa.

The modernization of these knowledge systems, as the backbones of any mode of modernity, also requires the modernization of our mental or intellectual costumes. This process is essentially the passage from closed, self-confirming, faith-based, customary, totalizing or terrorizing knowledge systems to essentially falsifiable, evidence-based, scientifically-established and technically-proven innovative knowledge systems. In these systems scientific knowledge can be construed as a theory of the real and as a technology of truth and understood as the epistemological foundation of any form of Afro-modernity. It is also the passage from the ‘Book of Scripture’ to the ‘Book of Nature’ or from the submission to the white man’s colonizing gods to the more authentic and genuine African identities, beliefs and values, such as those embodied in the concept of ubuntu. In this perspective rejuvenating knowledge systems can purge Abrahamic and Shamanic worldviews of non-scientific constituents and open a path from the mostly totemic, enchanted, mystified, supernatural, patriarchal / phallocratic and over-religious worldviews and mindsets of pre-modern Africa to the more desacralized, secular, rational, liberal, enlightened and autonomous worldviews and mindsets of modernity. This paradigmatic shift toward modern ways of knowing and understanding requires championing the scientific method, the rule of technique and innovation as well as promoting decisive scientific arbitrations, increased technical mediations and a redefinition of STI’s relationships with religious, cultural, social and economic life. For this shift to occur there is a need to better appreciate modern science as a method of both calculative and subversive thinking, as a means of achieving the systematic renovation of conventional / medieval / pre-modern realities and as a way to reconstruct and re-order African realities from fresh fundamentals and from the latest scientific insights. This may require strengthening various capacities to probe, undermine and rationalize oppressive systems (religious, cultural, social, economic, political). It may also require re-cosmologizing, re-mythologizing, ‘re-prophetizing’, re-charlatanizing and re-directing the evolution of the African reality toward a region free of wishful thinking, fallacies, lies, superstitions, prejudices, magic and witchcraft and toward an Islam-free and Christian-free scientifically-informed free-thinking innovative post-colony. The necessary capacities for achieving this shift toward more innovative scientific and technical orders and systems are grouped into eight areas.

Full reflection here: http://sites.google.com/site/revealingmodernityinafrica/newpaper

My website: http://sites.google.com/site/revealingmodernityinafrica/

Join me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueshamel

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

KMAfrica.com KnowledgeHub Greetings

KMAadmin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:16:07 -0700

Zulu culture, language & traditions

GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE TOWARDS 2012

Md Santo — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:40:15 -0700

GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE TOWARDS 2012 or “CONTINUUM OF PHYSICAL REALITY WITH KNOWLEDGE AND BEYOND : GREAT TURNING FROM MIND BRAIN TO CONSCIOUSNESS DNA” (see the Attachment) showing global trends towards 2012 in which the domain of Knowledge evolved in continuum universe as emergent behavior within human body as complex (adpative) system, having consciousness and free will (mind and value) as well as behaving dynamically as subject

A brief description about the sentence ..."After Singularity between Human Mind and Technology reaching its peak (in 2012 ?)"... :
"Singularity" here means the phenomenon of the race between smartness of Human and Technology (Machine) which is at present occured exponentially and exponentially at very tremendous speed and will reaching its peak around the year 2012. To cope this situation, Human as Complex Adaptive System will migrate or making "great turning" from Brain as "center of play making in science or scientific knowledge" (locus of Mind) to the DNA as "new center" (locus of Consciousness). This migration or "great turning" will give impressive impact on how Human manage the Science and Technology. In this circumstances, it will appropriate if we put or coin a new term called as "Knowledgeable Science" which is entirely different with Scientific Knowledge as commonly used. (Consciousness) DNA as new vital locus will certainly has a higher level than the (Mind) Brain as former human vital locus.

To get more comprehensive insight, should you visit also :

http://isivivane.com/kmafrica/forum.hybrid.definition.of.knowledge - "We are the knowledge: a hybrid definition of knowledge"
http://mobeeknowledge.ning.com/forum/topics/next-generation-of-knowledge - "NEXT GENERATION OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (KM)"
http://mobeeknowledge.ning.com/forum/topics/five-basic-implications-of-n... - "FIVE BASIC IMPLICATIONS OF NEW PARADIGM OF KNOWLEDGE"
http://mobeeknowledge.ning.com/forum/topics/knowledge-towards-2012-great - "KNOWLEDGE TOWARDS 2012 : GREAT TURNING FROM MIND BRAIN TO CONSCIOUSNESS DNA"

Tourism Knowledge SIG

GM Crop Information

KMAadmin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:52:24 -0600

When GM crops and foods were first introduced in the late 1990s, some scientists raised concerns that genetic modification was imprecise and unpredictable and could result in harm to health and the environment. They warned that:

GM could create foods that are toxic, allergenic and less nutritious than their non-GM counterparts
GM crops could damage vulnerable wild plant and animal populations
GM plants cannot be recalled, but as living organisms will propagate, transmitting any damaging properties from generation to generation
GM crops could cause irreversible alterations to the food supply, with serious consequences for the environment and human and animal health.

Subsequent events and a growing body of scientific evidence have shown each of these concerns to be valid but the biotech industry and its supporters have engaged in a global PR, marketing and lobbying campaign to promote this technology in order to undermine the concerns and attack those raising them.

GM information

GMWatch sends out regular bulletins that provide news and comment on GM foods and crops, with particular emphasis on exposing the PR behind the global push for GM technology.
Spinprofiles documents the PR and propaganda activities of PR firms engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy. SpinProfiles also includes profiles on think tanks, front groups funded by industry and "industry-friendly experts" who work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations or other special interests.
Greenpeace International Genetic Engineering Campaign has details on the latest campaigns with easy and quick-to-do email actions to help keep food supplies free from GM contamination.
Friends of the Earth International is the place to find details on the latest FoE global campaigns and downloadable reports on GM food and crops.
Biosafety Information Centre, run by the Third World Network, has information and downloadable briefing papers on biosafety problems with GM crops and foods worldwide.
Bioscience Resource Project has science stories on GM crops and food. Includes critiques of corporate 'junk' science, exposures of conflicts of interest, and news on the persecution of whistleblowers.
Ban GM Food is a campaign-oriented website geared to Europe. It has details of how to take action and downloadable leaflets that people can print out at home and distribute. Emphasis is on scientifically accurate and well-referenced information.
GM Contamination RegisterBecause no official body is keeping track of GM contamination events worldwide, GeneWatch UK and Greenpeace have stepped into the gap with this up-to-date register.
Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology is a group of scientists and medics who campaign for a ban on GM foods.
Will GM crops deliver benefits to farmers? is an informative web page on farmers' experiences and agronomic research on GM crops.
EcoNexus "offers a rigorous scientific critique of genetic engineering (GE) and genetically modified organisms, and more recently of agrofuels (biofuels), synthetic biology and other new technological applications".
ISIS – Institute of Science in Society is the place to go for science in the service of social and environmental sustainability. This website and the associated print magazine, Science in Society, frequently break news about new insights and developments that take years to become widely accepted knowledge.
Ban Terminator Terminator Technology is an unpopular development in GM that makes GM crops produce sterile seeds. This website has news about the research and worldwide campaigns against Terminator.

KM & Communications

Risk analysis of genetically engineered plants

storytelling — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:19:46 -0600

A report by Testbiotech e.V. Institute for Independent Impact Assessment in Biotechnology
Authors: Christoph Then, Christof Potthof October 2009

Summary points compiled by GMWatch

GM food safety testing

European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) concept of risk assessment of genetically modified (GM) plants is essentially based upon guidelines that were developed by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) as early as 1993 on the assumption that the risks posed by GM plants are the same as those posed by conventional plants.
But the differences between conventional breeding and genetic engineering of plants are becoming clearer in the light of current genome research. Experience gained from conventional breeding cannot be applied to GM plants.
Changes in the activity of plant genes in the genetic engineering process are not an expression of natural gene regulation but an indication of disruption.
The outdated risk assessment methods for GM plants mean that their safety, predictability and controllability are not examined properly in the approvals procedure.
GM plants are tested much more superficially than irradiated food, pesticides, chemicals and medicines. To prove the safety of radiated food, for example, feeding trials were conducted on mice, rats, dogs, monkeys and even humans. Feeding trials were performed over several years to investigate growth, carcinogenicity and effects on reproduction. GM plants have undergone no such investigations.
Overall the risk assessment process for GM plants as defined by the EFSA does not even meet the requirements of the EU for comprehensive testing. It replaces actual risk testing by a system of assumptions.
More and more cases are being documented showing that independent risk research is being hampered. In many cases it is not even possible to access necessary testing materials. Even the publication of findings is being obstructed.
Society, politicians, and approval boards should no longer close their eyes to the fact that GM technology uses methods that are largely outdated and riskier than was originally thought. It is not the fear of new products that make a critical appraisal of GM technology necessary, but rather the fact that its scientific principles have been called more and more into question by new findings.
More than ten years after the first commercial cultivation of GM plants, there is no generally agreed perception about the risks posed by those plants or about how to conduct proper risk assessment.
The concept of 'substantial equivalence' (the assumption that a GM plant is substantially equivalent to its non-GM counterpart) was introduced by the OECD in 1993 and has come under harsh criticism from scientists. However, it is still seen as the starting point for the EFSA's risk assessment, thereby influencing its outcome.
Even in cases when significant differences between transgenic plants and their counterparts are observed, they are mostly dismissed by the EFSA as being not of "biological significance" – without attempts to verify or further investigate these differences to detect unintended effects.
The EFSA does not think that feeding trials with GM plants (or derived food and feed) are necessary.
GM plants of complex makeup cannot be assessed by analysing some of their isolated components, as is habitually done by industry in its own testing of its GM plants. Testing of whole GM plants is especially necessary on the new generation of GM crops, which have several 'stacked' GM traits. But feeding trials using whole transgenic plants are not required by EFSA.
Scientists point out that testing should be extended to include whole-plant/whole-food testing in both toxicity and allergenicity studies in order to more reliably detect unintended and detrimental effects of genetic modification.
These arguments are not followed by the EFSA. EFSA only suggests more detailed investigations in connection with products such as Golden Rice (where market authorization has not yet been applied for). According to the EFSA the metabolism of these plants can be regarded as being changed on several levels, so feeding trials with whole plants should be performed in order to avoid negative health effects. In this argument, EFSA contradicts the position of the Golden Rice team. But EFSA at the same time assumes that transgenic plants where approval for commercialisation is currently being applied for should be seen as harbouring only minor risks. EFSA does not consider feeding trials to be necessary even in the case of stacked events.
EFSA states, incorrectly, that one introduced gene produces one gene product, with no other knock-on effects on the plant: "The current generation of GM plants cultivated for commercial purposes has been modified through the introduction of one or a few genes coding for herbicide tolerance, insect resistance or a combination of these traits. In these plants the genetic insert leads to the production of a gene product, which does not interfere with the overall metabolism of the plant cell, and does not alter the composition of the GM plant except for the introduced trait." The truth is that genes interact with each other in complex ways and their function is defined by the environment.
Risks to human health of products such as radiated food, pesticides and pharmaceuticals have to be investigated to prove their safety without anything being presumed. But in the case of GM plants the risks first have to be proven before detailed investigations are made. The approach chosen by the EFSA turns around the burden of proof: GM plants are assumed to be safe until the opposite is proven.
Just how much the science of GM has moved on from the outdated assumptions made by EFSA is clear from the patent applications of companies such as Monsanto. Here's Monsanto's patent application WO2004053055, which claims unintended effects(!) in GM plants: "Nonetheless, the frequency of success of enhancing the transgenic plant is low due to a number of factors including the low predictability of the effects of a specific gene on the plant's growth, development and environmental response, the low frequency of maize transformation, the lack of highly predictable control of the gene once introduced into the genome, and other undesirable effects of the transformation event and tissue culture process."

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

COINS: Opensource Economic Development for Education, Economic and Workforce Development

BetseyMerkel — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:33:35 -0600

Communities and their regions have an unprecedented opportunity to integrate higher levels of organization, process and tools to connect legacy assets residing in colleges, universities, and libraries to people and their ideas; to reinvigorate institutions, organizations and government; and to strengthen creativity, collaboration, and communication for innovation and enterprise in education, economic, and workforce development. This paper begins a discussion of the value collaborative innovation networks (COINS) offer to accelerate and strengthen innovation in Open Source Economic Development (OSED) in the Civic Space, and to explore the design of an improved model of I-Open Civic Forums, a process driven approach to build networks, community, and communications for enterprise collaboration. By collaborating with research in the emerging Science of Collaboration, this practical model will strengthen research as well as individual experience and collaborative behaviours to create new knowledge. With this intelligence, industry innovation, design, and enterprise solutions can more successfully address global issues affecting both social and economic aspects of society today.

Author Betsey Merkel, Co-Founder, Director, The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open), 4415 Euclid Ave, Suite 301, Cleveland, Ohio 44103, U.S.A., and presented at the COINS 2009 Conference, Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), Savannah, Georgia, USA October 10, 2009. Copyright 2009 Betsey Merkel and I-Open. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works - used on KMAfrica.com KnowledgeHub with the author's permission. Visit the i-open.org website for further information.

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

WikiHow - a useful 'how to' Wiki

storytelling — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:04:14 -0600

This extremely useful resource has a variety of well-written how-to oriented Wiki Articles. wikiHow is a collaborative writing project to build a high quality how-to manual that offers practical solutions to the problems and issues of everyday life. Almost anything you could imagine from running a business, fixing a car, ending a co-dependant relationship, growing your own vegetable and herb garden to being happy. wikiHow currently contains more than 62,00 articles — written, edited, and maintained primarily by volunteers. Wikihow.com Website

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

Preserving the Integrity of Folklore on Knowledge-based Service Platforms

storytelling — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:37:15 -0600

By: Mamello Thinyane, Alfredo Terzoli and Peter Clayton
Department of Computer Science, Rhodes University
P.O. Box 94, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa

Abstract:

Explorations of ICT as an enabler for community development are being undertaken by governments, non-governmental organizations and research institutions all across third-world nations. The pivotal role of ICT in development is acknowledged by all within the ICT4D domain and the effectiveness of well-situated interventions has been validated by the different ICT4D projects success stories. In our involvement with an ICT4D intervention (which spans the last three years) in Dwesa, South Africa, we developed and implemented eServices platforms with a focus on eCommerce, eGovernance and eHealth services. The undergirding layer in these platform has been the IK layer which allows for the integration of the local knowledge in manner that makes the deployed services relevant, allows the local communities to participate in the knowledge economy and activates, empowers, and positions the local communities within the global information and knowledge society.

In this paper we discuss our experiences from undertaking the project in Dwesa, and in particular we discuss the need for ethno-centricity and context sensitivity in the deployed IK based ICT solutions. This need for contextualization of ICT interventions is a result of the fact that the ICT solutions and technologies are developed within a specific worldview and context (in the case of knowledge based systems this in terms of the epistemological and ontological underpinnings of the knowledge, and the IKS dynamics that are specific to different communities) and therefore it is important that the technology is adapted to the specific community context. We discuss the OSCA knowledge matrix which highlights the nature of knowledge, that is typical in many of the third world communities, along the dimensions of ownership, social advantage, accessibility and confidentiality. For the different types of knowledge along the OSCA matrix, we discuss the different ICT mechanisms that ensure the integrity of the knowledge encapsulated in the developed IK service platform.

Introduction

ICT4D in general explores the ways in which ICT can be used in the context of community development. ICT is indeed providing the opportunities for dealing with rural poverty, inequality and exclusion and in many ways it is challenging the traditional paradigms of doing business, delivering services to citizens and running societal institutions [1]. But the key question at the center of all policy markers and governments is whether to invest in developing ICT capacities in the rural communities or rather to focus on the provision of other basic services (e.g. schools, hospitals, and government services). At the core of this question is really the need to understand the role that ICT can play in the development of a society and what the benefits and limitations can be expected from undertaking an ICT based approach to development.

Technology, in and of itself is not a panacea for the underdevelopment woes of communities, it is however a prerequisite for social development in this day and age [2]. Technology is neither a target towards community development and social well-being, but rather a tool for facilitating the achievement of desirable future for a society: well being, health, peace, and communality [3]. To a large extend, human activity depends on information and therefore a synergistic interaction of technology and information leads to a competitive advantage for societies [2]. ICT also increases information share-ability within communities and therefore can positively impact the provision of that information for commercial benefit, based on the differing valuation of the information to different people [4].

Knowledge Society Interventions

The current state of the art and the trends as far as knowledge networking technologies are concerned, presents numerous possibilities and benefits for human societies. The general context in which this research is undertaken is that of ICT4D. The specific research site for the project is a deep rural and marginalized community of Dwesa in South Africa. This community is characteristic of many third world rural realities in which ICT4D projects are undertaken. Situating the research in a specific area allows for an extensive and close study of the community and a situated determination of the direct needs and requirements of the community. The objective is still that the solutions developed and implemented in this specific context will be implementable in other similarly marginalized and rural communities.

The formal establishment of Dwesa as a research site for the ICT4D intervention came as a result of a link with previous research activities in the region by researchers from the Department of Anthropology at Rhodes University. The project undertaken in Dwesa, upon which this research is built, was initiated in 2005 with the preliminary discussions with the stakeholders in situ to assess its feasibility.

The initial objectives were to develop a prototype of an e-commerce platform for the arts and crafts entrepreneurs in the community, and also for the possible exploration of micro-tourism potential in the area. The introduction of the eCommerce aspect to the economic activities in Dwesa was aimed at activating the community towards greater involvement in economic activities in the region, but also at opening up the market base to incorporate wider international customers. The eCommerce portal was developed in direct interaction with the local arts and crafts entrepreneurs to integrate their specific needs and requirements into the platform.

The initial deployment of the services in Dwesa was centralized and predominantly web-based. Some of the above mentioned service portals are accessed primarily through a web interface to a server deployed in one of the schools. The successful deployment of the initial phase of the project paved the way to an alternative conceptualization and revision of the intervention in Dwesa. The initial phase of the project was centered around the eCommerce platform and the establishment of the associated infrastructure to support the effective utilization of the portal. The subsequent realization of the platform is to develop it as a multi-functional, multi-service, distributed communication platform for the local community. This integrates into the platform the flexibility to deploy a plethora of community based services in a manner that is distributed across the different points of access in the community. One of the key features of this new architecture and platform is that it is an inherently multi-service platform. The provision of eCommerce, eGovernment, eHealth and eJudiciary services would be built in an integrated manner on the platform as opposed to as independent service portals.

Ethno-centricity and context-sensitivity

One of the primary tenets of the discipline of ethnocomputing is the realization of the culture specific influences on computing and subsequently on the Internet [5]. Tedre et al also identify three levels of uniqueness in the human enterprise, depicted in Figure 1 [6].

At the lowest of the levels is the general human nature that is common to all human beings, the influences that emanate from this level are universal and are appreciated globally. The next level is the cultural level of uniqueness, which is encapsulates values, ideas, preferences that have been learned over time and that are part of an identity of a specific group or category of people. The topmost level, and the smallest, is the personality level. At this level, the variation is as large as there are people of earth, and it is the level at which the individuality of human being is expressed in terms of values, beliefs, and preferences.

In the consideration of ICT in development, the focus is at the level of a culture, the middle level in Figure 1. The aspects of computing that are universal and that are aligned with the general human nature, are easily transplanted from one community to another. Aspects that are cultural however, need to be considered, adapted and validated for adequacy within the environment where they are being implemented [7]. ICT4D should therefore take into consideration the ethnographic considerations and expressions of a community to avoid the technology determinism flaw that has plagued many ICT4D projects [8].

The realization of an ethnographic ICT for development intervention necessarily has to address the issues at the interface between technology and the culture of a community. More appropriately, it has to address the encoded cultural expressions in the technology and their interaction with the culture of the community in which the intervention is being undertaken. This intervention strategy is positioned within the premise that for rural communities to be active participants and peers in the global eSociety, the technology has to be relevant and contextualized to their environment.

OSCA Knowledge Matrix

Knowledge systems dynamics differ from one community to another based on numerous factors. Some of the factors that characterize different communities and that directly influence the usage and exchange of knowledge include: the levels of social stratification and the relationship between the different strata, the general power relation dynamics, and the extend of communal orientation within the community. These factors have a direct bearing on the realization of knowledge systems in communities and form part of the critical points of departure in the implementations of knowledge systems for different communities. For example, a knowledge system developed for a fairly egalitarian community where there is a cultural sense of openness and sharing would implement far less features around confidentiality and privacy than for a society with opposite cultural orientation.

This section therefore highlights the different factors and the associated dynamics that are specific to the Dwesa community, that have direct bearing of the realization of a knowledge platform for that community. These factors are characteristic of other similarly rural, marginalized, African communities.

In Nonaka's SECI framework of knowledge, he makes a distinction between two types of knowledge: tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Within the SECI framework, a process of externalization provides access to the internal tacit knowledge through explicit expression by the individual. In understanding the specific knowledge dynamics in Dwesa, the focus is on explicit knowledge as this is the knowledge that is accessible and codifiable.

The categorization of knowledge in this sections is based on a superficial aggregation of similar types of knowledge that exhibit similar characteristics, and not on any ontological or epistemological considerations. The differences in the categories of knowledge highlight specific requirements for the knowledge platform. The different categories of knowledge have been elucidated through discussions with the Dwesa community members, individuals from the Xhosa culture and other South African cultures. We present these different types of knowledge in a graph we have developed, called the OSCA knowledge matrix, which is based on the mapping of different knowledge types along the dimensions of Ownership, Social advantage, Confidentiality and Accessibility (Fig. 2):

Common knowledge - This is the knowledge that is common to every human being and not particular to any locality or a group of people. This knowledge once codified, is accessible in the public domain and every individual is entitled to access, use and benefit from it.
Shared-cultural knowledge - This is the knowledge that is specific to a cultural group. This knowledge is identifiable with the culture and can be assumed to be owned by that cultural group. Examples of this knowledge include folktales, stories, proverbs and riddles. This knowledge also includes arts and crafts patterns and artifacts. The issue of ownership of this kind of knowledge is a contentious one and at the core of it is the concern for the commercial exploitation that sometimes occurs. While this knowledge can be assumed to be owned by a specific ethnic and cultural group, it is however accessible to the public.
Specific group knowledge - Within the Xhosa culture (i.e. the culture of the people in Dwesa), and in fact within other South African cultures, there is knowledge that is associated with different groups. These groups form around age, gender, social status, or ethnicity. The kind of knowledge in this category is not only owned by the specific group, but it is also private and confidential (at varying levels) to that group. Examples of this kind of knowledge include, the secret knowledge of the amadoda (the men, vs the boys) in the Xhosa culture, or banna in the Sesotho culture. Access to this kind of knowledge is normally associated with an initiation process into the group, which in this particular case is through the initiation schools. This kind of knowledge is exchanged and communicated within the confines of the group. This knowledge is associated with key social and power dynamics and in a sense access to this knowledge (or membership to the group through the initiation process) gives an individual certain social advantages. An example from the Xhosa culture is that the males who have not been to the bush (the initiation school) have lesser roles to play in family ceremonies, are held at a lesser regard as amankwenkwe (the boys) within the community.
Specialist knowledge - An example of this type of knowledge is the medical knowledge of the amagqirha (the traditional healers) in the Xhosa culture. This knowledge is very confidential and secretive at best. It is owned by a specific individual or a close knit group of individuals. This knowledge gives the owners an advantage within their community or society. This social advantage can be in a form of the prestige that the person gets in the community, or the direct competitive advantage from the point of view of the commercial benefits of being the healer in the community. Access to this kind of knowledge is very strict and only a few people (e.g. a protege, an heir) have access to this knowledge.

Knowledge platform and related projects.

The OSCA knowledge matrix has informed the development of a knowledge platform, called KnowNet, for the Dwesa community. The KnowNet platform underlies the eServices portals that are developed for the community. For example, the eHealth portal is developed to interface and to integrate with the local medical IK. The encapsulation of knowledge is preformed at two levels. At one level, the coding of the logic and the implementation of procedural functions represents the internal knowledge about the functioning of the platform. At the core of the platform, is another level at which knowledge is explicitly encapsulated in ontologies and folksonomies. This happens at the knowledge base layer. Ontologies provide the formal and explicit specification of conceptualization of knowledge. Ontologies are domain-specific and narrowly defined for the particular area of knowledge. On the other hand, folksonomies allow for a freely structured, widely distributed, bottom-up, categorization of knowledge entities. Folksonomies represent and reveal the wide spread conceptualization and the emergent structure of knowledge.

A number of ontologies have been developed, specifically contextualized to Dwesa. These ontologies represent the following key areas of targeted eServices deployment as part of the larger project undertaken with this community:

Health/Medicine – the knowledge encapsulated in this ontology is the traditional medical knowledge that is part of the every day life in Dwesa. This knowledge becomes crucial in the implementation of eHealth portals.
Agriculture – the community in Dwesa is predominantly subsistence farmers, and this is a central area of community life. The IK around agriculture is contained in this ontology, which allows for the development of services that support farming in the region.
Commerce – the potential for commercial activities in Dwesa is very high. This could be in terms of micro-tourism, arts and crafts entrepreneurship, and eco-tourism as a result of the availability of a nature reserve in the area. This ontology encapsulates the knowledge around these specific areas to enable to eCommerce customer to have an improved experience in the utilization of the portals.
Cultural knowledge - the cultural knowledge is an important aspect of any community, and the usage of this type of knowledge permeates a variety of community services. This ontology therefore encapsulates the history, the folklore and the practices of the specific community.

Related ICT machanisms

Folksonomies and ontologies represent two positions on the spectrum of KR. On one end is the structuring of knowledge in organic, bottom up folksonomies in which the structure of the underlying knowledge emerges as the users associate content with different semantic tags. On the other end is the formalized, top-down, structured ontologies in which the knowledge gets populated into the ontologies that have been design by the experts. These two approaches to knowledge management both have their advantages and disadvantages, which are applicable in the context of the knowledge platform.

The implementation of support for folksonomies within the platform is implemented in a manner that allows the users of the platform to define tags that are associated with the different IK that is added and available on the platform. The weighting of these tags results in an emergent classification of the knowledge in a manner that represents the users' understanding of the structure of the knowledge. This emergent structure as a result of tagging the knowledge items, can be utilized to inform the revision of the associated platform ontologies . The tags associated with content can also add a weighting on the index searches that are performed on the platform. The utilization of folksonomies within the platform therefore allows for KR that is contextualized, due to being informed by the users' ontological views.

Confidentiality

One of the culture sensitive aspects that have been taken into account in the development of KnowNet is the confidentiality considerations associated with the different types of knowledge in Dwesa (and generally in rural marginalized communities). We discussed the OSCA knowledge matrix, which highlights the different types of knowledge and the associated levels of confidentiality in the community. The knowledge platform provides permissions control mechanisms to enable the specifying of the different confidentiality requirements. These requirements are handled as follows:

For the specialist knowledge (type D in Fig. 2), there is highest requirement for confidentiality and this kind of knowledge is only shared between a few specific individuals. This is achieved in KnowNet through an option to allow the owner of the knowledge to share it with a specific person already on their list of friends (i.e. related by a dwesa:knows or sub-class thereof) and to limit access from the rest of the users of the platform (Fig. 3 (a) and (b)).

The specific group knowledge (type C in Fig. 1 is shared between a small group of individuals and the group membership is typically based on a relational association between the members. Within the platform, this is enabled through permissions that are associated with a relationship type (Fig. 3 (c)). For example, one can set the read flag only for the people within the same family (i.e. associated by the dwesa:isFamily predicate) or people within the same clan group.

A key consideration for the shared cultural knowledge is the establishment of the ownership of the knowledge. On the KnowNet platform this is achieved through the association of every unit of knowledge authored with a specific user, or a specific cultural group. The actual mechanisms of enforcing the protection of the knowledge (from exploitation and abuse) are within the legislative domain in terms of copyright laws and policies.

The common knowledge is accessible and available to every user of the platform and therefore such knowledge can be authored with the read and write permissions set On for the group everyone (Fig. 3).

KnowNet implements access and permission control mechanisms that offer flexibility to cater for the different relational groupings within the community of users. The implementation of these mechanisms is possible due to the functional separation of content (i.e. knowledge base tier) from the domain logic (i.e. interaction tier) and the integration of the relational dynamics (through the social networking tier) as articulated through the PIASK architecture [9]. The platform is therefore validated as adequate for the purpose of encapsulating different types of knowledge, from the point of view of implementing the necessary confidentiality and ownership requirements as per the OSCA knowledge matrix.

IK lifecycle

The realization of the platform has been with a direct focus on being situated within the context of rural, marginalized areas as typified by Dwesa. Some of the key differences with such contexts are associated with the social dynamics, the socio-technological constraints, and the infrastructural limitations. The notion of IK is predominantly (within literature) applied to these kind of rural contexts, although in reality every community and society has knowledge that is indigenous within that community. The processes associated with IK are therefore universal and apply equally in different contexts. The life cycle discussed by Woytek in [10], encapsulates the key processes that are associated with IK. Although the life cycle is discussed from the understanding of IK being a special, different type of knowledge (i.e. not universally available) and from an external perspective (i.e. from the perspective of someone studying the IK of a specific community), it still highlights the crucial factors in the utilization of IK.

These processes are handled within the knowledge platform as follows:

Recognition and identification - the first stage in the knowledge life cycle is the recognition and the identification of the knowledge sources that are available in a community. This process in a sense occurs within the externalization process in Nonaka's SECI framework (Section [par:Knowledge-in-society]). Externalization results in the knowledge being available in a codified form. This process is therefore facilitated in KnowNet by the ability to add new content on the platform in an explicit format (e.g. a recording of a folktale, or authoring a story).
Validation - Once the knowledge is available in an explicit form, the next process involves validating that knowledge along the dimensions of significance, relevance, and reliability. This process is intrinsically a community process, in that the significance, relevance and reliability can only be ascertained in the context of people accessing the knowledge and commenting on it. KnowNet provides a feature for the users of the platform to validate the different content that is available on the platform. The users are able to give a vote on the content, in terms of its reliability, relevance and accuracy. The accumulated voting for the content is then calculated and made available to inform the usage of the content. The validation weights from the users are also useful in ranking the search results on the platform. The net effect from this validation mechanism is that the content that is most reliable, relevant and accurate will hopefully get the highest weighting on the platform and increased availability, and the content that the users do not find reliable, relevant and accurate gets the low weightings.
Documentation - The process of documenting the IK primarily contributes to the externalization of the knowledge and therefore this is handled through the mechanism to add new knowledge on the platform.
Storage - The knowledge base layer is primarily responsible for the storage of the knowledge that is available on the platform.
Transfer and Dissemination - Intrinsic in the platform is the facilitation of the exchange of knowledge between different people and making the knowledge available. KnowNet provides features for the knowledge to be accessed via any of the channels (implemented via the Access layer agents) that are available on the platform, thus increasing the accessibility of the knowledge. For example, a user can call into the platform, browse the specific content and request that the associated file be emailed to them.

The support for the different processes in the IK lifecycle aligns the platform for effective integration into the communities as far as representing and encapsulating the local knowledge (i.e. IK) within that community.

Conclusion

The proliferation of ICT4D interventions is necessitating the exploration of mechanisms to position the undertaken projects within the context and environment of deployment. We have discussed an ICT4D project that we are undertaking in Dwesa, South Africa. Within that, we have highlighted the importance of integrating IK within the developed eServices platform. In order to formalize the dynamics associated with different types of IK, we have developed the OSCA knowledge matrix. We then highlighted the available ICT solutions towards meeting the requirements for the 4 different types of knowledge that have been identified in marginalized rural communities.

References

[1] - Bhatnagar, S., Information Technology and Development Foundation and Key Issues, Information and Communication Technology in Rural development: Case Studies from India. World Bank Institute, pp. 1--12, 2000

[2] - Castells, M., Information technology, globalization and social development, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, 1999

[3] - Hietanen, O., The Global Challenges of eDevelopment - From Digital Divides Towards Empowerment and Sustainable Global Information Society, in Seminar of global perspectives of development communication, University of Tampere, 2004

[4] - Singh, B., Information Technology for Rural Development in India, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2002

[5] - Tedre, M. and Sutinen, E. and Kahkonen, E. and Kommers, P., Ethnocomputing: ICT in cultural and social context, Communications of the ACM, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 126--130, 2006

[6] - Tedre, M. and Sutinen, E. and Kahkonen, E. and Kommers, P., Appreciating the knowledge of students in computer science education in developing countries, Proceedings of International Conference on Information Technology Research and Education (ITRE2003), pp. 174--178, 2003

[7] - Thinyane, M. and Dalvit, L. and Terzoli, A. and Clayton, P., The Internet in rural communities: unrestricted and contextualized, in Proceedings of ICT Africa conference, 2008

[8] - Thinyane, M. and Terzoli, A. and Clayton, P., Transitions Towards a Knowledge Society: Aspectual pre-evaluation of a Culture-Sensitive Implementation Framework, in Learning to live in the knowledge society, Springer IFIP - Learning of live in the knowledge society, vol. 281, pp. 271-278, 2008

[9] - Thinyane, M. and Dalvit, L. and Terzoli, A. and Clayton, P., Towards a Model of an Ontology Based, Multi-Modal and Multimedia Knowledge Portal for Marginalized Rural Communities., in Proceedings of IEEE Information Communication Technologies International Symposium, Fez - Morocco, 3rd - 5th April, 2007

[10] - Woytek, R. and Gorjestani, N. and Africa Regional Office, Indigenous Knowledge for Development: A Framework for Action, World Bank, 1998

KM & Social Challenges

Intellectual property law protection for traditional knowledge/indigenous knowledge systems in Southern Africa

storytelling — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:39:28 -0600

Intellectual property law protection for traditional knowledge/indigenous knowledge systems in Southern Africa and selected Asian jurisdictions- A view from developing and least developing countries.

Author: Amos Saurombe

ABSTRACT

The discussion of Traditional Knowledge as a subject of intellectual property protection continues to take centre stage at different fora. It is particularly relevant for developing and least developing countries whose Traditional Knowledge mechanisms continue to be exploited without accruing any benefits. The most convenient way to protect Traditional Knowledge is to fit it into the existing intellectual property system. This is difficult to realise as this paper will show. The situation in South Africa is not different. The debate took center stage in December 2007 when the cabinet approved a policy framework entitled ‘The Protection of Traditional Knowledge through the Intellectual Property System’ and a Bill has been drafted that will amend the South African intellectual property laws to make provision for the protection of traditional knowledge. Part one of this paper will deal with traditional knowledge in general. The South African and Malawian experiences form the second component. The third part deals with Asian examples.

Introduction

A universally accepted definition for traditional knowledge has not been found. This is because traditional knowledge may be perceived very differently by indigenous communities, governments, lawyers and international organisations. Despite the difficulty in finding a comprehensive definition, one thing is certain, traditional knowledge has been placed on the international agenda and its entitlement to protection against misappropriation has been recognized. Various methods of protection have been proposed with no clear choice that meets the desired results. The World intellectual Property organization1 is currently using the following definition:

The term traditional knowledge refers to the content or substance of knowledge resulting from intellectual activity in a traditional context, and includes the know-how, skills, innovations, practices and learning that form part of traditional knowledge systems and knowledge embodying traditional lifestyles of indigenous and local communities, or contained in codified knowledge systems passed between generations. It is not limited to any specific technical field and may include agricultural, environmental and medicinal knowledge, and knowledge associated with genetic resources.

International efforts for Protection of traditional knowledge

The debate on protection of indigenous knowledge is topical especially for developing and developed countries. Intergovernmental organizations such as UNESCO, WIPO, WTO, UNEP and UNCTAD2 have opened debates on the possible protection of indigenous knowledge using the intellectual property system. Led largely by debate from developing nations, UNESCO formulated the Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions and this has been adopted recently by the member states.

Unfortunately, negotiations at the WTO around amendments to the Trade related Aspects of Intellectual Property law Agreement3 on traditional knowledge have collapsed. Article 27 (3) (b) of the TRIPs Agreement empowers member states to consider protection of traditional knowledge using intellectual property systems. During discussions on the review of the TRIPs Agreement at Dohar, Qatar, developing countries proposed amendments of Article 27 (3) (b) to cater for the protection of the use of traditional knowledge that leads to an invention. Developed nations are opposed to this, leading to the collapse of the negotiations. TRIPs has undone everything that the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has sought to provide. TRIPS does not allow for the full exercise of national sovereignty over biodiversity because it obliges countries to enact intellectual property rights on plant varieties; it does not allow communities to seek a share of benefits obtained from patented biodiversity since there is no provision requiring patentees to disclose the country of origin of any biological materials; it does not require patentees to fulfill access obligation towards genetic resources, it therefore condones and facilitates biopiracy4. The WIPO has established an Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) to initiate discussions on the protection of traditional knowledge, genetic and biological resources and folklore using intellectual property systems. Although treaties can protect these issues under discussion, many developed nations are opposed to formulation of such treaties and negotiations are on the verge of collapse.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which is the custodian of the convention on Biological Biodiversity (CBD), has requested WIPO, WTO and FAO to consider protection and benefiting of local communities that have contributed to an invention or intellectual property development. WIPO convened the ICG mentioned above and UNCTAD has voiced support, emphasizing the economic value of traditional knowledge systems. Regional organisations such as Asia and the Pacific and the African Union have started to issue treaties and conventions regarding the regulation of traditional knowledge. Member states of these regions are busy formulating legislation.

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of indigenous Peoples on 13 September 2007 and this constitutes a seminal document in the field of traditional Knowledge. Article 31 of the declaration states that:
‘Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literature and designs, sports and traditional games and visual and performing arts. They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. In conjunction with indigenous peoples, states shall take effective measures to recognize and protect the exercise of these rights’
Article 27 (3) (b) of TRIPs gives powers to member states to consider protection of traditional knowledge using existing intellectual property systems, as well as geographical indications, community-based rights and sui generis forms of protection. With the importance of the preservation of traditional knowledge recognized on a global scale, there are a few questions that need some considerations: how should traditional knowledge be protected? What do indigenous communities wish to protect and what is the best method of achieving this?

The above questions can be answered only once the objectives and needs of indigenous communities have been ascertained. It may be that these communities wish to benefit from the commercialization of their cultural expressions. They would then require protection in order to be compensated for the use of their knowledge. Others may wish to prevent the unauthorised use of their traditional knowledge and would require the means to control and prevent the use by others who do not form part of the community. Communities may require the recordal of their traditional knowledge in written form, which may require registration.
The most convenient way to protect traditional knowledge is to fit it into an existing intellectual property system. According to Hoffman intellectual property can be thought of as the use or value of an idea, such as inventions, designs, literary and artistic works and symbols, names and performances5. Most forms of intellectual property protection, such as copyright trademark and patent law grant exclusive property rights to authors and artists in their creations. In the classic scheme of intellectual property, the granting of private rights provides incentives for creation and invention and thus promotes knowledge and culture. Hoffman further acknowledges the limits to the rights with respect to the idea, namely that these rights are invariably focused on the physical manifestation of the idea. There is in exclusive right to the mere abstract idea. Indigenous people worldwide have the added difficulty in asserting property claims because national legislation and the courts do not recognize collective rights in cultural property. The traditional systems of intellectual property protection do not suit protection of traditional knowledge, since these are individualistic systems whereas traditional knowledge is held by communities. In addition, there is a further complication where different indigenous communities in a country, or even in different countries, have the same or similar traditional knowledge. Furthermore, the protection provided by traditional systems of intellectual property protection has a limited time-frame, whereas traditional knowledge is held in perpetuity.

On the other hand the WTO has limited influence on the protection of indigenous knowledge. It can only enforce compliance with the threat of trade sanctions. In the case of protecting indigenous knowledge, most treaties are non binding. Every clause that deals with benefit sharing is contested and refused. The ILO convention No. 169 which says a lot about legal standards for indigenous rights fail to protect the intellectual property rights of indigenous people. Whereas the UN Declaration on the rights of intellectual property recognises the rights, it will be a non-binding document which cannot be legally enforced. In the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources (IUPGR), developed nations have successfully blocked an international recognition on Farmers Rights for the last 12 years. They also contest any notion of paying for the use of traditional germ plasm in a benefit sharing arrangement. The CBD which has attempted to push through interests of Indigenous Communities has been thwarted by the American refusal to rectify it and accept its conditions. In the CBD, the most contentious and so far unaccepted Article is Article 16 which deals with transferring technology as part of the deal to use the indigenous knowledge and biodiversity of local communities in different countries.

Finally, in terms of patent protection, there is a restricted interpretation of what is patentable, namely that the invention is required to be novel, inventive and have industrial applicability. Traditional knowledge is something that develops incrementally over time, is informal and is common knowledge to the community. Nevertheless, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Portugal have used their existing intellectual property systems to protect traditional knowledge.

Potential Sui generis protection models6

In an effort to extend protection to traditional knowledge, various countries have adopted existing IP systems to the needs of traditional knowledge holders through sui generis measures. These take different forms, for example, the Chinese have a team of patent examiners specializing in traditional Chinese medicine. South African is seeking to join several countries like Peru, Costa Rica, Portugal and Thailand in adopting sui generis laws. The approaches available in the literature can be broadly divided into Defensive and Positive groupings. While positive protection would refer to the acquisition by the TK holder of an IPR to such as a patent, defensive protection refers to provisions adopted in the law or by a regulatory authority to prevent IPR claims to knowledge, a cultural expression or a product being granted to unauthorized persons or organisations. The distinction between the two is not always clear in the sense that positive mechanisms might actually give rise to defensive effects.

Sui generis forms of protection have also been used in Tunisia, Panama, Philippines, and Pacific regional systems. The USA has adopted special intellectual property regimes to protect the collective rights of indigenous communities. The USA has enacted the Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 that protects the arts and crafts of Native Americans. The decision as to which form of protection to take is not an easy one to make. WIPO has been grappling with this decision for some time. WIPO’s Inter-Governmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional knowledge and Folk Law has been working since 2001 to find a suitable system to protect the traditional knowledge of indigenous people. It is currently considering the protection of traditional knowledge through two complementary processes. Firstly, the consideration of an agreed list of issues concerning the protection of traditional knowledge, and secondly consideration of a draft set of revised objectives and principles for the protection of traditional knowledge are as follows’

Definition of traditional knowledge that should be protected
Who should benefit from any such protection; who holds the rights to protect traditional knowledge?
What objective is sought to be achieved through according intellectual protection to such knowledge (economic, social, moral rights)?
What forms of behavior in relation to the protectable traditional knowledge should be considered unacceptable/illegal?
Should there be any exceptions or limitations to rights attaching to protectable traditional knowledge; for how long should protection be accorded?
To what extent do existing intellectual property rights already afford protection;
What gaps need to be filled?
What sanctions or penalties should apply to dealings considered being unacceptable or illegal?
Which issues should be dealt with internationally and which nationally, or what divisions should be made between intellectual regulation and national regulation?
How should foreign rights holders or beneficiaries be treated?

The South African Scenario

The protection of indigenous knowledge in South Africa cannot ignore the international and regional trends, but protection within the South African context is vital and achievable. The Bill proposes protection under the intellectual property system, databases, sui generis laws and registers. The Dti initiated amendments to the Patents Act 1978, now the Patents Amendment Act 2005. The Patents Amendment Act 2005 is being used at the WTO and to a certain extent at WIPO as model legislation in this regard. Trademarks, copyright, designs and geographical indications are earmarked to provide similar protection to traditional knowledge.

In 2004, the Cabinet approved the indigenous knowledge systems policy. A number of different government departments were stakeholders in the development of this policy. These included the Department of Arts and Culture (DESAC), the Department of Trade and Industry (Dti) Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The policy identified four main indigenous knowledge system policy drivers:

The affirmation of African culture values in the face of globalization- a clear imperative given the need to promote a positive African identity.
Practical measures for the development of services provided by traditional knowledge holders and practitioners, with a particular focus on traditional medicine, but also including areas such as agriculture, indigenous languages and folk lore.
Underpinning the contribution of indigenous knowledge to the economy- the role of indigenous knowledge in employment and wealth creation.
Interfaces with other knowledge systems, for example when indigenous knowledge is used together with modern bio-technology in pharmaceutical and other sectors to increase the rate of innovation.

This policy provided a broad basis for recognition, understanding, integration and promotion of indigenous knowledge resources within South Africa.

The dti has approached cabinet and the Portfolio Committee for trade and industry for approval and initial briefing on the policy and the Bill were published on the 5th of May 2008 in the Government Gazette no. 31026 for public consultation. The closing date for comments was 15 June 20087. The public consultations took the form of bringing together students, academic, traditional leaders, and indigenous communities. One discussion on the deliberation at this consultation session is captured in this paper.

Domains of Intellectual Property, extending protection to traditional knowledge

The following discussion focuses on the extent the Bill has managed to use the Intellectual property system in its current form with minimum changes made.

Trade Marks

The Bill invites communities that own the original traditional knowledge trademarks to license such a trademark. They need to comply with all licensing requirements for example prior informed consent. The communities must negotiate for a royalty fee and must preferably form an organisation to manage these types of traditional knowledge-trademarks. From a business perspective, trademarks may be used in all sectors. International markets for local products will be sought and protection in those jurisdictions can be obtained. Small businesses can prepare themselves for export markets by securing protection of trademarks/geographical indications, e.g. “Rooibos/honeybush tea” that has both a reputable domestic and international market. Traditional knowledge holders in the area of Trade Marks/geographical indications can also use cultural names or signs. These names may be registered under legislation protecting intellectual property type issues. Rooibos tea is a good example of a geographical indicator since it can only be grown in South Africa, Western Cape in the Cederberg Mountains. The registration of rooibos tea as a trademark in the USA resulted in the blockage of exports of rooibos tea from South Africa into the USA. The Dti is currently helping with the deregistration of this trademark. The government should move fast and declare rooibos tea a geographical indicator (GI). Trading partners should be approached to recognize the new GI.

Patents

Traditional communities have a lot to offer in this area. There are patents that are associated with cultural paintings of clay utensils and artistic works in skins, clothing and other textile material. In the agricultural sector, traditional communities also contribute in supplying their knowledge for inventions and traditional farming methods. Traditional communities have also given valuable contributions to the pharmaceutical sector. Two well known examples where traditional knowledge has been developed commercially are as follows; a number of South African communities have been using the Buchu plant to relieve stomach pains. The Khoi and San people have been using the Hoodia plants for suppressing thirst and hunger. The community worked with the CSIR and their knowledge led to an invention (P57) of the slim pill. Recently the European Patent Office (EPO) granted a patent based on this traditional knowledge. The CSIR and the Khoi/San have a benefit sharing agreement. The Patents Amendment Act of 2005 now regulates this regime. The Dti has identified the pharmaceutical industry as needing nourishment. By regulation of the use of the traditional knowledge systems these communities should benefit from the provisions of their knowledge to commercialisation partners.

Copyright

The Bill is seeking to strengthen copyright laws relating to folklore music. The folkloric music has to be owned by the community or the government for anonymous folklore. This will be realized by a drive to research and compile databases of folklore. The community and government can negotiate benefit-sharing agreement flowing from the use of this folklore.

Designs, Geographic indications and traditional knowledge

Similar approaches as indicated in the discussions on trademarks, patents and copyright will be adopted. Communities have to agree on how to manage paintings, designs and related artifacts.

To date certain legislative amendments have been enacted that will give effect to Article 27 (3) (b) of TRIPS. Protection of traditional knowledge holders from exploitation by commercial players can be achieved by ensuring that their traditional knowledge rights are protected and that agreements are entered into by themselves and the commercial partner that provide for equitable benefit sharing. One mechanism for regulation of benefits sharing is provided in the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) that initiated Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 and its regulations, which are still in draft form.

General shortcomings of the Bill

During the public hearings at the North West University8, the following issues were raised by Academics, traditional leaders, indigenous community representatives and students.

The Bill was considered too bulky, covering too many areas of intellectual property. Other proposed separate bills for each and every of the following, patents, trademarks, copyright, designs, geographic indications and traditional knowledge.
The role of the individual in the consultation process is not defined. The impact of individual suggestions towards the Bill could easily be ignored.
The traditional communities did not understand the role of databases and ownership of such mechanisms.
The registration processes still follows the first come first serve approach. This can be abused by those with resources and have access to the registration office.
The position of community representatives is not clearly defined in the Act. Some prefer the use of traditional leadership but others have reservations. This has resulted because of the corrupt nature of some of these traditional leaders who may pursue selfish interest.
Some Academics preferred a Bill that is more African oriented, with less of Western style of intellectual property type of protection.
The Chiefs are concerned by the fast deteriorating and dissolving nature of the traditional community owing to the effects of urbanisation and migration.
Some communities exist across two or more jurisdictions rendering the need to provide benefits under a South African initiative complex.
Some traditional knowledge does not belong to a single community. Who is entitled to the benefits for such exploitation?
Some stakeholder felt left out of the drafting of the Bill with the Chiefs feeling they are being marginalised.
Some communities feel that they need and should be afforded other methods of protection other than the Bill.
They prefer other forms of testing besides Western laboratory tests for traditional medicines.
Traditional communities feel IKS protection is perpetual; there is no need to follow a renewal process that is cumbersome.
The essence of geographical indication can be questioned in an environment that share common names and cultures.
The Bill is silent on protection of traditional healing methods that are associated with taboos. They resist the influence of Western technology.
Research on traditional foods is lacking in the Bill.
The Bill is silent on resolution of disputes. It is highly likely that dispute will rise when communities and individuals fight for benefits. Provision of conciliation and arbitration according to the Arbitration Act of 1956 could help the advisory purpose of the council.
The Bill must then thus indicate and state the terms of reference of the Council with regard to alternative dispute resolution.
Mechanisms of dispute resolutions must accommodate both indigenous and Western conflict resolution mechanisms.
Council membership has to be based on expertise. They should be chosen from Communities who possess traditional knowledge.

The Malawian Experience

The scope of protection of traditional knowledge in Malawi is still in its infancy. For the purpose of a comparative experience, the Malawian experience will not be discussed at the same level with the South African forms of protection. However it is important to mention that their attempt at protection points to the positive nature of developments in a country that is considered very poor. The constitution of Malawi9 gives rights that have a direct bearing on protection of traditional knowledge. The constitution recognizes the cultural and language rights10 Section 26 provides that;

“Every person shall have the right to use the language and to participate in the cultural life of his or her choice”11

Further, Section 28 provides that every person shall have the right to acquire property and in this context property includes both tangible and intangible assets. Subsection 2 to this section further provides that no person shall be arbitrarily deprived of property.

The copyright Act of Malawi12 makes no provision for the protection of folklore. This Act delineates the subject matter of copyright as copyright in the expressions of folklore that vests in perpetuity in the government on behalf and for the benefit of the people of Malawi13. Authorization of the use any use of expressions of folklore maybe either general or special and can be granted upon written application to the minister. The Malawian experience shows the extent of how current and existing legislation can be given an interpretation that favors the protection of traditional knowledge, but most importantly how crucial it is to keep the door open for future avenues of rights protection.

Perspectives from Asia

The countries of the Asia-Pacific region have a rich cultural heritage, including literature, arts and crafts, music, visual arts, ceremonies, architecture associated with particular sites, as well as forms of traditional knowledge related to forestry, medicines and medical practices, agriculture and conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. There is concern at the widespread unfair exploitation of the cultural heritage of these nations for commercial and business interests. Important elements of traditional knowledge, art forms and folklore are being lost rapidly in the absence of a proper legal protection mechanism at national and international levels. The extent of the absence of protection at international level has already been discussed above.

Tribal people are being increasingly displaced by industry and development projects. Adivasi homelands have now become included in national parks and sanctuaries, resulting in the displacement of the people who lived there for hundreds of years14. Ethnic strife in many regions of Asia has threatened indigenous and tribal communities, destroying their habitat which is an essential element of the exercise, current and future existence of their traditional knowledge.

Earlier tribal areas were used in the name of development without their consent, for building dams, roads, canals, mining and hydro-electric projects. Increased awareness among the Adivasis who now demand their rights, together with sustained work by civil society, has improved the situation so that it is now mandatory to conduct a public hearing to hear the views of the people before a project can start, both in tribal and non tribal areas15.

The pharmaceutical industry in the Asia-Pacific region has not been spared. The Kava (Piper methysticum) a plant endemic to the region has been traditionally used to alleviate stress and anxiety. It has two known medicinal uses. These are asthma and tuberculosis. The recent commercialization of Kava highlights many of the potential benefits and risks involved in the marketing of species new to international consumers16. The entry of kava into western markets has led to an explosion in demand for the products made from it. This has placed unsustainable pressure on supply sources that previously only suffice the local use. Although local farmers are benefiting from price increases, the types of commercial relationships they arrange with international buyers might not be to their long-term advantage. The unregulated access to kava is resulting in the collection of immature kava, thus jeopardizing the quality of the medicinal product and depleting the resource base. Over exploitation retards the value of traditional medicines and knowledge that goes with it.

The scope of Traditional Knowledge protecting in India

The protection of traditional knowledge in India is a priority in both public and private sectors as shown by the summarized scope bellow;

Protection by the Constitution of India
Integration of the indigenous knowledge system in the mainstream health care
Documentation of indigenous knowledge
Sharing benefits for using IK
National Legislation protecting IK
Sui generis models for protecting IK

In India, the testing of traditional medicines has not been subjected to the Western methods. The Shastric (ancient Indian) system of testing and validation is different from the empirical, western method of validation of western science but is at least, if not more scientifically valid. The nuances of the preparation of herbal drugs are complex and the method of treatment is individually calibrated. The indigenous system of medicines in countries like India, China and others in Asia, is far more sophisticated than most cases of allopathic treatments.

Conclusion

Any efforts directed at protection of traditional knowledge will have to be mindful of the manifestations of intellectual property at national jurisdictions, regional (e.g. SADC, SACU and AU) as well as the international positions (e.g. WIPO, TRIPS and WTO).With proper domestic and international protection mechanisms traditional knowledge can become a niche and source of revenue for the least developed and developing countries.

References

Dutfield and Posey (1996): Beyond Intellectual Property, International Development Research Centre Ottawa
Graham Dutfield (1999): Protecting and Revitalizing Traditional Ecological Knowledge; Intellectual Property rights and community Knowledge Database in India. Perspectives on Intellectual Property. London: Sweet and Maxwell.
Graham Dutfield (2000): Intellectual Property Rights, Trade and Biodiversity; Seeds and Plant varieties. London .Earth scan Publication Ltd
Hoffman B.T. (2006): Art and Culture Heritage, law, policy and practice: Cambridge University Press
Mugabe John: Intellectual Property Protection and Traditional Knowledge: An Exploration in International Policy Discourse, available at the African Centre for Technological studies. Nairobi.Kenya
The Protection of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge through the Intellectual Property System and Intellectual Property Law Amendment Bill (2008) Available at www.thedti.gov.za

Footnotes

Hereinafter called WIPO

Hereinafter United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization, World Intellectual Property Organisation, World Trade Organisation, United Nations Environment Programme and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Hereinafter called TRIPs Agreement
Suman Sahai: Intellectual and cultural property rights of indigenous people in Asia: An outline
B.T. Hoffman: Art and Culture Heritage, law, policy and practice: Cambridge University Press:2006
The Policy and the Bill can be accessed on www.thedti.gov.za
This public consultation was held on the 5th of June at the North West University (Mafikeng Campus).
Republic of Malawi Constitution Act No. 20 of 1994.
S. 26 of the constitution.
The right to culture is protected by a number of international instruments, for example Article 17 (2) of the African Charter.
Act of 1902
Section 24
This is an experience that can be shared by traditional communities of regions bordering South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe forming the transnational park. Similar experiences can be drawn from East Africa where the Masai and Mara communities who have been absorbed into the famous Serengeti and Ngorongoro national parks.
In South Africa discontent with developments like these have resulted in communities strongly opposing their government and traditional leadership for allowing the commissioning of the projects. A community in Bizana, in the Eastern Cape brutally killed their own traditional Chief for supporting an Australian mining company that was about to start a mining project on disputed tribal land.
Parallels can be drawn from the San communities of South Africa’s use of the Hudia plant as discussed earlier in this paper.

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

A New Framework for Examining Knowledge Management Adoption for Participatory Networks

storytelling — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:32:29 -0600

A New Framework for Examining Knowledge Management Adoption for Participatory Networks: Crossing All Four Levels of the Digital Divide

Author: Todd Marshall (Syracuse University)

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to further discussion of the adoption of Participatory Networks as knowledge management systems. The method is conceptual and practical as opposed to empirical. Participatory Networks are selected as an example of a knowledge management system for two reasons: the venue for this paper is KMAfrica, “a continental Participatory Network,” and Participatory Networks are the primary topic of the author’s doctoral research. The author’s definition of a Participatory Network is beyond the scope of this paper, but a brief definition and description are given. The perspective is that a concrete definition of a Participatory Network will provide a context for the examples and provide a baseline for defining Participatory Network as a type of knowledge management system. This will be accomplished by first discussing and defining Participatory Networks. Next, it will trace the development of the Technology Adoption Model (TAM). A description follows this framework, which the author believes moves beyond TAM by incorporating discussions related to adoption in the context of the digital divide, including benefits and potential advantages of this framework. Finally, some practical observations based on the author’s personal experience deploying Participatory Networks are shared.

Participatory Network as a Knowledge Management System

What is a “Participatory Network?” The term “Participatory Network” has been used in many contexts with or without a technological component. Contexts include: democratic movements (Lord & Beetham, 2001; Rakpong, 2004; Shade, 1999), policy (Von Bernstorff, 2003), changing methods of production (Bauwens, 2005; Fonseca, 2004; Uricchio, 2004), libraries (Lankes, Silverstein, Nicholson, & Marshall, 2007), collaborative research networks (Daly, Jogerst, & Schmuch, 2007; Sæther, 2007), and education (Laverack & Dap, 2003; Miles, 1999). A full conceptual exposition of Participatory Networks is beyond the scope of this paper. However, because the literature lacks a clear definition, the author proposes the following definition: “A Participatory Network is an interconnected set of cognizing agents where every member has the potential to converse with other members in a technologically intermediated environment resulting in an entailment mesh to address problems in a given context.” This definition is based on Conversation Theory as developed by Gordon Pask (Pask, 1973, 1975a, 1975b, 1976a, 1976b). At its heart, Conversation Theory is an epistemology about how knowledge is constructed through cyclical and iterative conversations (Pask, 1976a). Conversation and conversing in this context are not simply metaphors and, as Luppicini points out, should not be confused with interaction or communication (Luppicini, 2008). Conversation theory provides two basic frameworks, “a structure for the architecture of conversations” and “a schema for modeling the evolution of conversations” (Pangaro, 2008, p. 36). The definition in simpler terms contains the following elements, 1) a bounded set of individuals (members), 2) a social network, 3) potential to converse (in Pask’s sense of conversation), 4) technical intermediation, 5) an artifact preserving the conversation (entailment mesh as per conversation theory), 6) problems, and 7) a context. Examples of group collaboration and sharing of knowledge could include wikis, social media sites, asynchronous learning networks, group support systems, groupware, and many others.

Information Systems and Adoption and Usage

Knowledge Management Systems are created to be accepted, adopted, and used. However, not all systems are equally adopted or used. Information Systems as a discipline has invested a great deal of effort in attempting to explain the factors that lead to usage and success. Unfortunately, there is no commonly accepted definition of “successful” adoption or usage. A primary weakness in this approach has been a lack of clarity in conceptualizing usage and adoption which has obfuscated research (Johansson & Mollstedt, 2003; Karahanna, Straub, & Chervany, 1999). In this paper, “usage” will be used in the generic sense, a system that is being used, not just initial usage or “adoption,” but to the full spectrum from pre-adoption through post-adoption (Karahanna et al., 1999).

One popular stream of thought in Information Systems concerning adoption is identified by its most popular manifestation, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). It began with the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1973) and developed into the Theory of Reasoned Behavior (TRB) (Ajzen, 1985, 1991) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989). While these are not identical, they all center on the ideas that “perceived ease of use” and “perceived usefulness” affect “behavioral intention” resulting in usage. As Wixom and Todd (2005) point out, the focus is on the user’s beliefs and attitudes toward an act leading ultimately to the behavior itself. Despite the longevity of the underlying presuppositions, it is not without its critics and identified weaknesses (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003). While empirical tests of TAM have demonstrated significant results, it has been seen as incomplete and faced constant revisions leading to TAM2 (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000) and eventually TAM3 (Venkatesh & Bala, 2008). At each turn more external factors were identified. TAM2 added “social influence processes (subjective norm, voluntariness, and image) and cognitive instrumental processes (job relevance, output quality, result demonstrability, and perceived ease of use)” (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000, p. 187). TAM3 added more factors (Venkatesh & Bala, 2008).

One of the more recent variants is the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh et al., 2003). It added three factors affecting “behavioral intention” (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence) and one factor affecting “use behavior” (facilitating conditions). Then, there are the factors which affect the influence of all the factors above (facilitating conditions, gender, age, experience, and voluntariness of use (Venkatesh et al., 2003). While this moves in the right direction, it seems almost like an “everything affects everything” model without much logical or chronological sense. Despite statistical correlation findings, one may ask “How is this really useful?” People follow their intentions and many things affect their intentions. The growing complexity of “everything before intention” seems to indicate a fundamental weakness of this basic approach of the intention based model of usage or “To the man who has a hammer, the whole world becomes a nail.” In this case, “To theories based on TRA, everything affects intention.” It would seem prudent to take a step back and look at those factors which affect intention. UTAUT purports to account for “as much as 70% of the variance in user intention,” however “future research should focus on identifying constructs that can add to the predication of intention and behavior over and above what is already known and understood” (Venkatesh et al., 2003). While this is progress, the solution may require going beyond intention all together. There are occasional insights such as those who would adapt this to look at participation using the same construct (Yoo, Suh, & Lee, 2002), but some might see this as simply replacing the labels on the boxes: “perceived usefulness” with “managing strategy,” “perceived ease of use” with “IS quality,” “intention” with “sense of community,” “attitude” with “visit,” and “usage behavior” with “participation.” Participation is certainly a broader concept than behavioral usage, and community aspects are vital, but the old frame does not have the flexibility that is necessary. Finally, one variant that incorporates social influence (Dholakia, Bagozzi, & Pearo, 2004). This model steps outside of a work/job environment by incorporating self-discovery, social enhancement, and entertainment value and begins to broaden the scope of usage to account for voluntary systems.

While these models are a step in the right direction and attempt to provide a richer picture of factors affecting acceptance, there has been a significant bias in their application. The first problem is the bias toward usage in work contexts. The chart (Table 1) adapted from Zhang reveals this bias (Zhang et al., 2002).

Table 1: Frequency of Contexts (Zhang et al., 2002)

Context

Organization/

Work place

Market

Place

Home

Social

Cultural,

National, Geographic

Other

% of Papers

81.9%

8.9%

0.6%

2.1%

1.5%

2.7%

Further bias is toward the individual user (93.8%) as opposed to the group (7.7%) (Zhang & Li, 2005). Areas needing further attention are “Cognitive Beliefs and Behavior, Emotion and Affect, and Trust” (Zhang & Li, 2005).

Second, issues such as mandatory versus voluntary usage are not addressed. Someone could perceive a system as not useful, but use it because subjective norms require usage. In fact, Venkatesh and Davis found this very disconnect in their study. “Subjective norm” had a negative correlation (-0.047, p<.001) with “perceived usefulness” but a positive correlation (0.44, p<.001) with “intention to use” (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000, p. 197).

Third, issues of access, ability, and policy which might hinder participation are not addressed by this stream. An increasing number of Participatory Networks are voluntary and outside the traditional employer/employee context. Usage may require upgrading one’s own hardware, self-training, and use may be a strictly personal choice. TAM does not address barriers to usage.

This author’s opinion is that the over emphasis on “intention” has been a limiting factor toward a better understanding of usage. Others have pointed out the value of the socio-organizational context (Avgerou, 2001). However, when attempting to factor in broader issues such as national culture, they seem to be forced into a TAM framework (Srite & Karahanna, 2006). This has continued to the development of TAM3, expanding TAM from the original 3 factors to 16 where it appears that everything affects everything (Venkatesh & Bala, 2008).

Access and the Digital Divide

In addition to the Information Systems perspective, another stream of academic research emerges from the “digital divide” discussions (Warschauer, 2002). Earlier discussion focused attention on access to broadband as well as socioeconomic and political issues. Over time, this began to include skills most commonly known as information, digital, or technical literacy. Technology and competency are the first and second level digital divides.

The original concept indicated that the primary barrier to adoption was access. Initial digital divide discussions were about whether schools had sufficient access to ICT. It was couched in terms of “haves” and “have nots.” This led to the push for increased access to the internet in public schools, universities, and libraries (Hargitai, 2002; Warschauer, 2002). The assumption was that if people had access, they would take advantage of the opportunity and adopt these new technologies. However, it has been demonstrated that access does not guarantee usage (Crump and McIlroy, 2003). Bridging the access gap still did not create adoption and integration (Crump, 2003). Possession of ICT did not guarantee adoption of ICT.

Following the “bridging” of the first level digital divide, attention shifted to information literacy skills and the educational component of adoption. Access alone was deemed insufficient (Hargittai, 2002; Waschauer, 2002). This conclusion has led to an emphasis on technical competencies and educational initiatives (Dewan and Riggins, 2005). Because of progress in bridging the first level divide over the past decade, ICT access is commonplace in schools, public libraries, and many home settings. Most of the academic work at this time is investigating competencies and education so that students will know how to take full advantage of this technology.

This is basically where the conversation stands at this point. Most studies have been weak on theory and demonstrated little explanatory power (Becker, 1999). I propose that is due to issues related to policy, culture, values, and beliefs which need to be addressed. These factors have not gone unnoticed, but neither have they been integrated into a broader framework, model, or theory (Becker, 2007; Warschauer, 2002; Mardis et al., 2008). Some have pointed out the importance of the political or environmental context (Marcovitz, 2006), but this is not yet widely accepted or identified as a third level (Korupp and Szydlik, 2005). Personal values, a fourth level, have been identified as significant to adoption (Garthwait, 2005; Warschauer, 2002). Other than an earlier paper using the conceptualization in this paper (Mardis et al., 2008), the concept of a fourth level digital divide has not yet emerged. The Behavioral Adoption Framework seeks to integrate first and second level digital divide issues with what it calls third and fourth level divides. The third level consists of cultural values including the school, government, and societal factors that affect adoption. The fourth level is the individual teacher or student’s choice to adopt based on individual, personal values.

Proposed Framework

The theories and models discussed earlier have advanced the study of usage and adoption. However, it is time to reframe the conversation and look at a new framework which accounts for a greater number of factors, but has the flexibility necessary for an increasingly complex contextual environment. In terms of the digital divide issues, this framework would represent a four level digital divide: technology, competency, cultural values, and personal values. In terms of classical Information Systems discussion, this moves past TAM approaches for explaining the dynamics of usage. The proposed framework does not assume that potential users have access or that they have the necessary knowledge, skills, or competencies necessary for adoption. In terms of the digital divide, the factors correspond to the four levels of the digital divide. It may seem obvious that access to technology is required, but it is also obvious that intention to use must precede use, as in TAM. The framework which is proposed here is represented by four factors, each of which is representative of two types of factors. This is the Behavioral Adoption Framework (BAF) which is a revision of an earlier model by the author (Marshall, 2007, 2008) and has been applied to digital library usage in schools (Mardis, Hoffman, & Marshall, 2008). Figure 3 depicts this framework in terms of relationships.

Figure 3

This framework may also be represented as a four quadrant matrix that classifies the factors (Figure 4).
Behavioral Adoption Framework as a Matrix

External

Factors

Internal

Factors

Technical Factors

Level 1

Technology

Level 2

Competency

Philosophical Factors

Level 3

Socio-Cultural

Values

Level 4

Personal

Values

It may seem obvious that access to technology is required, but it is absent from the TAM models. However, usage in terms of digital divide has focused on the lack of technology or access. In terms of the digital divide, the quadrants represent the four levels of the digital divide: access, education/training, culture/policy, and personal desire. Some authors, such as Korupp and Szydlik (2005) have tentatively identified this third level. However, the concept of a fourth level digital divide is a new idea.

Level 1 – Technology. This is the objective technological artifact and its environment. It is the connectivity, the hardware, software, and the physical setting of usage. This is where the typical issues related to the level one digital divide reside. The issues which affect usage include access to the necessary technology, including internet access, and suitability of hardware and software for the participatory environment. It is technical support and the reliability of systems. As an example, a person may desire to participate in a virtual community such as Second Life, however if they do not have broadband and a sufficiently fast computer, their technological environment prevents their usage. However, if they do have broadband and their computer has insufficient memory and continually crashes during participation, then this will affect their usage. Technology consists of the artifacts and resources necessary for adopting, including the ability to purchase that technology.

Level 2 – Competency. Even if a user has broadband and a sufficiently fast computer, they still must have the knowledge and skills necessary to operate that technology. The focus here is on factors which require the user to interact with the technology. This will vary from user to user even in a single technical environment. For example, in a single department of one company, there will be varying levels of aptitude, knowledge, and experience with a given system. Everyone may have the same technology and same connectivity, but some people are more competent than others. Since this ability varies from person to person, these factors are technical but also very personal. They may vary based on physical ability or disability, education, training, or any other HCI factor. Does the user have the competency to use the technology?

As seen in Figure 3, competency affects usability and motivation. This is based on the concept that competence and the ability to freely engage in an activity are directly related to intrinsic motivation and the self-determination model of motivation (Deci, 1975; Ryan and Deci, 2000; Deci and Ryan, 2000; Vallerand et al., 1997). Individuals who feel competent to perform a certain action (adopt technology) will derive greater pleasure, a full sense of enjoyment, and a feeling of autonomy when they perceive themselves to be competent. This increases motivation. High perceptions of competence are also indicative of higher actual competence (Deci, 1975), thereby increasing ability. As such, the factor of competency incorporates both actual competency and perceived competency.

Level 3 – Socio-Cultural Values. This is the atmosphere surrounding the user. It involves factors related to policy, values, beliefs, culture, willingness, and social influences. One can think of it as the culture in which the user must function. It could be the culture of a school, a business, a home or any other context which affects the user. The context tells the user what behavior is legal or illegal, required or voluntary, encouraged or discouraged, and so on. Whether it is a forum, e-mail, or virtual reality, there are also social norms, policies, and peer pressures which affect usage. The user may or may not choose to follow his or her cultural values but they are a significant factor which does affect the user and his or her motivation.

Level 4 – Personal Values. This is the user’s attitude toward the behavior. Here is intention, desire, pleasure, enjoyment, fulfillment, anxiety and all the other factors which distinguish one user from another and the user from their environment. In short, this is “what’s going on” in the user’s head when she forms opinions and ultimately decides whether she will or will not use a given technology. Classical Information System theories of usage and participation have focused on this quadrant because this is the location of the factors, including intention, which are seen to lead to the final decision regarding behavior.

Some may view this quadrant as the most significant because they perceive ultimate decisions to adopt as happening here. However, there are situations when other factors outweigh personal values. For example, full intention to use and high motivation are always limited by the technology, the context, and competency. Factors in quadrant number four may lead the individual to change their technology, learn new skills, or change their environment. However, such a dynamic is not directly leading to adoption but to changing oneself or one’s environment. So, this issue is not directly addressed by this framework.
Finally, personal values should not be confused with personal characteristics such as demographics. Studies continually compare usage to age, income, race, education, geography, and similar factors (Lenhart, 2002). This framework does not ignore those factors, but instead understands them to influence each of the four quadrants. Race and education will certainly affect one’s cultural and personal values and the technology at one’s disposal. However, such factors do not cause usage. Demographics alone are not deterministic of usage. Rather, they shape an individual’s values and abilities. From the standpoint of this framework such factors are secondary.

The purpose of these quadrants is not to identify every possible factor, but to propose a taxonomy which could be both explanatory and predictive. In this sense, it can serve as a taxonomy of factors, aid in discovery, and serve as a basis for further discussions. Specifics in quadrant each can and will change based on the context, but the basic issues should remain the same. The framework also has philosophical symmetry, addressing issues which are technical and social as well as issues which are internal and external. This may provide face validity, but the framework still must be tested to be proven accurate. The following is a proposed formula for BAF if one were to be able to create a quantifiable scale for each factor.

Technology * Competency = Ability
Cultural Values * Personal Values * Competency = Motivation
Motivation * Values = Usage

This is similar to Vroom’s Expectancy Theory: Expectancy * Instrumentality * Valence = Motivation (Vroom, 1964). Effects of weak or null values demonstrate that all factors must be necessary for usage. If one of the four factors is weak, usage will be significantly affected.

Finally, there are several assumptions which are implied in this framework. First, genuine adoption requires both ability and motivation. Second, all four factors must cooperate at some level for usage to occur. Technical factors are required for the ability to use and social factors in combination with competency are required for motivation. Third, the contents of each factor can change from context to context. This provides flexibility for broad application regardless of the technology or the environment.

Advantages of the Behavioral Adoption Framework

There are at least six benefits to this framework: 1) it moves beyond the construct of user intention (TAM), 2) it provides a robust schema for digital divide discussions, 3) it can encompass factors leading to usage as well as non-usage, 4) it is scalable for simple and complex usage, 5) it addresses both the ability and motivation, 6) it acknowledges the role of cultural influences while still allowing for personal choice.

First, TAM has put “blinders” on research into usage and has created the “illusion of cumulative tradition” when, in fact, the same construct has simply been tested repeatedly with slight variations (Benbasat & Barki, 2007). While this conclusion may seem to make the point of this question and discussion of TAM moot, this is also a case in point that Information Systems needs to return to its roots, work on theoretical conceptions about people, systems, and context, and not be distracted by contextually specific solutions to complex problems. In this situation, Benbasat and Barki suggest moving beyond the current state of affairs: re-examine the original theory, re-conceptualize usage to broader contexts, look at acceptance/adoption/usage as a linear concept, investigate sources of belief, and consider other models which are not based solely on belief (Benbasat & Barki, 2007). BAF moves in this direction.

BAF, as a framework, acknowledges that all four digital divides must be addressed for each user in each usage context. For example, a child may desire to engage in a social network site at home and in free time at school. In this case three factors remain the same. However, the third level (socio-cultural values) may be dramatically different. At school the site is forbidden but at home the site is encouraged. In this case, intention may be the same but values of the school and fear of “getting caught” are the primary factors affecting usage.

Not all usage is “intentional.” In fact, a user may have no intention but use only as a result of the social pressure of the environment. Or, there may be intention but no competency. This is often seen when a person desires to do something such as engage in a collaborative workspace, and even though levels 1, 3, and 4 are “crossed” the person’s skills eventually discourage further participation. BAF acknowledges that even good intentions can fail.

Regardless of the activity, the individual or group of individuals must choose. As an individual must cross all four divides to adoption and usage, so must a group cross the divides. Members of Participatory Networks who are unable to cross all four will not really be members of the Participatory Network. For example, a group support software application can’t be completely successful unless the whole group of users crosses all the divides together. Each individual must all cross and the group as a whole must cross together. In this way, this framework can stimulate discussion not just about why a single individual uses or not, but also why group usage is or is not successful.

Ability and motivation are never completely static. Levels of skill and competency can certainly be reached through practice, but sometimes they can slip. Motivation is even more variable. The initial interaction and excitement of a participatory environment may wane over time as the excitement wears off or the conversation turns dull. BAF does not treat either of these as inherently unchanging constants.

Finally, BAF acknowledges that everyone is affected by culture but still retains volitional power. For example, the author knows an engineer at a large IT company who has adopted and uses the latest home video technologies. However, he ignores the insistence of his colleagues, friends, and families and refuses to join or participate in social networking activities. While it is true that he lives in an individualistic American culture, BAT can explain his activity by recognizing the difference between level 3 and level 4. In contrast a more collective culture may see that the collective pressure of the group is stronger than the desire of the individual and the individual submits to the “will of the group.” The difference between the individualistic engineer who says “no” and the collectivist who says “yes” stems from the differences in the personal values of the two individuals, not just the existence or lack of external pressure. One values the group above self. The other values self above the group.

Practical Implications for Adoption

Through 10 years of attempting to build and deploy Participatory Networks, the author feels that he is finally beginning to ask the right questions rather than having the right answers. The development of BAF and research into the definition of Participatory Networks have not provided answers in and of themselves, but have already been useful in pointing out areas for investigation that had been overlooked. The following discussion provides some of the author’s personal opinions based on first hand situations trying to cross each of the four divides.

The technical divide is the often the easiest divide to cross. While it may seem, and actually is, insurmountable in some contexts, access should be viewed as only the first step in a long journey. It is the beginning, not the end. You might be able to set up a system in a day that someone cannot learn how to use in a year, at least not learn on their own. It’s much easier to install a learning management system than get IT staff, faculty, students, and administration to use it or even read the help section. It is somewhat like giving birth. It’s a painful and messy process that may take years to achieve, but it is just the beginning.

Build into the user’s competencies. Real education requires more than a manual, it requires mentoring. While it can be very difficult to design or adapt a technology to a user, that frustration is less than the frustration of the user giving up because they don’t have the skills and thus loose motivation. If it’s doubtful that the users will be able to acquire the necessary competencies, a great opportunity arises to look for more “low tech” solutions. The author recently tried to convince a school that a high quality “free” video conferencing solution was a poor choice for student interaction because even a major New York University had difficulty dealing with such a complex system. The better and cheaper solution would have been notebooks with free video conferencing software and built in webcams.

Capture the culture. The meaning of “capture” here is to understand culture and control it. IT adoption in any form is as much a cultural process as a technical process. It doesn’t take long to realize that simply giving people access to technology and training them means that they will use it. In one school, the administration was excited to receive wireless hardware and was happy to have it installed. However, after the donor saw it working and departed, it was immediately removed and put back in the box because of concerns over security. The students and teachers were not very happy. In this case, the culture of those with the power was neither understood nor influenced. If it had been understood initially, then the possibility for influence could have been examined. In this case the power of the greatest cultural influence, in that context the rector, made all user intention pointless.

Don’t forget the “wetware.” Many would even say it is more about the “wetware” (software between the ears) than about the hardware or the software. No matter how good the technology, the individual user must ultimately make the choice themselves. They must login, answer their messages, or move the mouse. It is very rare to get 100% usage of any technology, especially one with a strong component like a Participatory Network. Sometimes putting 20% of one’s energy into forcing the final 3% to participate just isn’t worth it. One must also remember that every culture has people who are socially challenged or people who prefer to watch instead of participate. Sharing knowledge or not sharing can also be a power issue as opposed to a technical issue. Maybe the personal participation in the network is more about the individual’s personal gain or loss than what is best for the group.

Conclusion

As the diversity surrounding adoption and usage of Participatory Networks expands, newer and richer frameworks are needed. With the increasing ubiquity of Participatory Networks outside traditional contexts comes the need for approaches which address the complexity of the user and his or her context. Evaluating usage and adoption of smart phone users logging into Participatory Networks in an African village is obviously more complicated that looking at PC users in a controlled office environment. BAF is an attempt to provide a frame work that can be time sensitive to the user and their context. While it has the weakness of not being tested, the author hopes that this will stimulate further conversation and move the conversation about digital divides beyond issues of technology and competency.

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KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

Call for Projects: the climate crisis

carol — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:24:18 -0600

Planet Action provides satellite imagery, geographic information and technology support to local projects that investigate and assess climate change issues focusing on human issues, drought & desertification, water resources, forestry, biodiversity,
oceans, ice, and awareness. This year, Planet Action will support additional projects while following up on current projects
and their results on the ground. Planet Action supports projects involved at least in one of the following domains:

Awareness
Biodiversity & Conservation
Drought & Desertification
Human Issues
Forest & Deforestation
Ice & Snow
Oceans & Coastlines
Water Resources

Projects are submitted online at the Planet Action Website , where you will need to create an account, log in and click on "Submit your project!" and complete the online form. Participation to special events organized by Planet Action partners is also kindly requested.

To be eligible for support from Planet Action, projects must:

Deal with a climate change related issue and propose a course of actions.
Deal with at least one of the Planet Action "domains".
Have a member of the organization who resides in the country where the project takes place or at least during the duration of the projects
Be proposed by a non-profit organization such as NGO's, a public laboratory or a university.
Confirm that the project has no commercial, religious or ideological content or objective.

Additional criteria:

The importance and usefulness of the project for local populations.
A focus on raising awareness, information, training or outreach programmes that will result from the project.
The solid methodologies supported by staff members or associated teams with an appropriate background for the work proposed.

User's Manual available for download from Planet Action Website

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & the Environment

Subversion and Rationalization of Knowledge Systems for Revealing Modernity in Africa

KMAadmin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:26:31 -0600

Author: Jacques L. Hamel (1) UNECA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Summary: The paper provides a speculative reflection on the power of modern science, technology, innovation (STI) and knowledge systems for revealing some distinctive style of modernity in Africa. The focus is on uncovering the necessary mental or intellectual costumes required for the modernization of STI systems as the backbones of modernity through a ‘Strategy of Subversion and Rationalization’. This modernization process is essentially the passage from close, self-confirming, faith-based, conventional or customary knowledge systems to essentially evidence-based, scientifically-established and technically-proven knowledge systems. In these systems scientific knowledge is construed as a theory of the real and as a technology of truth and understood as the epistemological foundation of any vision of an idiosyncratic form of Afro-modernity. The scientific method purges Abrahamic and Shamanic worldviews of non-scientific constituents and opens a path from the pre-modern, totemic, enchanted, patriarchal and over-religious worldviews and mindsets to the more secular, rational, liberal, mechanical, enlightened and scientific worldviews and mindsets of modernity. This paradigmatic shift requires championing the tyranny of the scientific method and the rule of technique as well as promoting decisive scientific arbitrations, increased technical mediations and a redefinition of STI’s relationships with religious, cultural, social and economic life. The necessary capacities for achieving this shift toward more modern scientific and technical knowledge orders are grouped into eight areas.

Capacities to Formulate Effective Visions and Strategies
Capacities to Create a Conducive / Enabling Climate
Capacities to Strengthen Ownership, Leadership and Commitment
Capacities to Design Effective Policy Instruments, Institutions and Systems
Capacities to Forge Partnerships, Alliances, Relationships
Capacities to Advance Regional Cooperation and Integration
Capacities to Double Funding and Investment in STI Programmes and Activities
Capacities to foster Knowledge Societies / Economies /Management
Conclusion: Capable Paradigms, Worldviews, Mindsets and Practices for the Modernization of Traditional Knowledge Systems

Introduction

Whatever theories of knowledge (Audi, 1998), of science (Kuhn, 1962), of modernity (Heller, 1999) and development (Preston, 1996) one embraces, the essence of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot be met and there is no access to an Afro-modernity of any kind without the rigorous exploitation and use of modern science, technology, innovation and knowledge. Effective STI systems drive countries forward along the development ladder and along the transition to modernity. Halving poverty and hunger – the essence of MDGs – cannot be achieved without upgrading and modernizing STI systems in the African region. It cannot be achieved without new visions, new paradigms and new strategies. This is what this paper is about.

To be sure many African countries are making remarkable progress in STI in spite of meager budgetary resources and enormous cultural, social, economic and political constraints. The progress is real and encouraging, even if government’ pledges are not fulfilled. But much of the region has been historically incapable of fully exploiting the power of STI for its development. Scientific and technical capacities remain low, with relatively few researchers, scientists, engineers, doctors, innovators, publishers and patentees per capita. This low capacity is well documented and is beyond dispute (with RSA a particular case).

Meeting MDGs and uncovering some variety or brand of Afro-modernity requires specific strategies and related capacities that are presently lacking. It requires strategic capacities to carry out uphill struggles and expend considerable efforts ‘simultaneously’ on an extensive range of battlefronts or battlegrounds. These capacities are grouped below into eight areas.

The first area focuses on effective visions and strategies and on building or strengthening the necessary broad subversion and rationalization capacities to meet the spirit of MDGs and to uncover a modern Africa. These call for assembling related basic, critical thinking, policy-making, adaptation, absorption, innovation and management capacities.
The second area concerns the strengthening of capacities to put in place a conducive or enabling climate for the modernization of STI systems, stressing a Renaissance or a revival perspective, faith in instrumental rationality, intellectual vigor, equal opportunities, true or factual knowledge and modern-day mythologies. The enabling climate should make possible the overall subversion and rationalization of pre-modern worldviews and long-established STI systems.
The third area highlights the importance of capacities in policy ownership, leadership and commitment, in line with the African STI policy narrative agreed at the level of Heads of State. The African development agenda has to be more in the hands of Africans and less dependent on foreign policy narratives, wisdom, ideologies and hand-outs.
The fourth area underlines the necessary capacities to develop the systemic and synergistic aspects of a set of two dozens typical STI institutions, constituting the major policy instruments of a ‘standard’ STI system. Here the popular modern innovation system narrative has to be deconstructed and re-contextualized for pre-modern cosmologies, cultures, societies and economies.
The fifth area underscores the capacities to forge partnerships and other forms of collaboration to advance STI systems. Nowadays no country – large or small – can advance an STI agenda alone. Every country needs to develop internal and external relationships, such as associations, linkages, twinnings, alliances and joint ventures.
The sixth area focuses on capacities to advance regional integration and the sharing of STI resources, expertise, institutional assets and markets. This is an area where African countries could and should be making more progress. Without more integration Africa may be too fractured, divided, fractioned and balkanized to access modernity.
The seventh area concentrates on capacities to fund and invest in STI programs and activities - an area historically rich in government or public promises and pledges but rather poor in follow-up and implementation. Public investments in STI have to double, as already agreed by African Heads of State, to jumpstart the transition to modernity. Private investments (FDI = $US 50 billion in 2007), on the other hand, should increase dramatically in the years ahead as they reveal resource-rich Africa as an immense energy reserve and fuel station universally coveted for powering the global technological engine.
The eighth area draws attention to meeting the emerging challenges of knowledge societies, economies, networks and management. Here there is a need to inject more ‘Enlightenment’ and scientific knowledge into African cosmologies, idioms, religions, beliefs and cultures in order to reveal the face of a distinctive Afro-modernity - hopefully not as eco-violent, disillusioned, melancholic and material as the North Atlantic mode of modernity. And there is a need to understand that knowledge is not additive but transformative. That means that some knowledge, acquired through acculturation and socialization, has to be unlearned, deleted, subtracted or deducted to make room for new knowledge. This may rank as the most important and costly blunder that African STI policymakers are making.

In conclusion African stakeholders are urged to build capacities to investigate, undermine and transform traditional or pre-modern knowledge systems with up to date scientific data, insights, practices, worldviews and mindsets. They are encouraged to re-imagine the African region as a modern one. For this it might be necessary to re-cosmologize, re-mythologize, ‘re-prophetize’, re-charlatanize and guide the evolution of the region toward some unique type of post-totemic, post-enchanted, post-phallocratic, post-shamanic, post-Abrahamic and post-colonial region.

Capacities to Formulate Effective Visions and Strategies

There is a need to strengthen capacities to develop and implement effective STI strategies, including subversion and rationalization strategies (promoted by this author). There is a crying need to fill the total lack of strategy behind MDGs. Various development strategies have been formulated around the idea of building capacities to lead, innovate, leapfrog, assimilate, follow, imitate, differentiated by sectors or areas. Other strategies have revolved around building capacities to exploit available technology, particularly new technologies, such as bio, agro, nano and digital. Other strategies have focused on knowledge management, on upgrading indigenous knowledge and technologies, on technology transfer and on research. But some important elements of any successful strategy for meeting MDGs and accessing modernity are still missing. A Strategy of Subversion and Rationalization of Traditional STI Systems is a complementary strategy addressing some neglected – if not completely ignored - aspects of STI for development. This strategy uses the vision of a reborn, renewed or reawakened Africa developed by a dozen African leaders since the 1960s and it also uses the vision of the Enlightenment philosophers and thinkers who designed the modernity project. In short, the strategy relies on modern STI to subvert and rationalize pre-modern mythologies, traditions, customs, ideologies, languages, religions, dogmas, credos, superstitions and cultures, which may hold back the march of STI in the African region.

Subversion Capacities

These refer to:

Capacities to reconstruct prior assumptions and reevaluate known facts, to challenge existing shared fundamental conjectures and overcome established community resistance
Capacities to question, overthrow or overturn systems of principles and convictions as well as forms of dominance, control and power incompatible with or not sustained by individuation, autonomy, subjectivity, self-determination, democratic rationality and other features of modernity
Capacities to challenge and transform un-enabling STI governance structures
Capacities to uproot totalizing, oppressive or terror structures that obstruct the way to modern manners of grasping and dealing with reality
Capacities to evolve more pragmatic, empirical, disillusioned, disenchanted and mechanical worldviews
Capacities to overcome pre-modern cosmological and ideological formations, whether home-grown or alien
Capacities to ‘de-privatize’ African States and privatize economies (including farming lands)

Rationalization capacities

These refer to:

Capacities to absorb the scientific method and be guided by instrumental reason
Capacities to rationally use STI to mathematize and channel the forces of nature for human purposes
Capacities to apply accurate calculation of technical means to achieve precise ends
Capacities to trim down or rationalize uncanny STI processes and absurd transaction costs (WB estimates that it takes an average of 68 days before exports are allowed to leave Angola, including 25 days to prepare documents, eight days to clear customs and another 24 days to get through port)
Capacities to comprehend scientific revolutions and move beyond Islam, Christianity and Witchcraft
Capacities to reorder traditional agriculture by cutting down on or by reordering mythological inputs: long periods of fasting (half the year in some African countries), numerous religious holidays, prayers for rain, no pork or wine or beer, sacrificial goats, holy water, women role as food purveyors, girls exclusive burdening role in fetching water and wood for cooking, children as fences, fear of ‘unnatural’ or ungodly GM crops, agricultural “slave” workers, etc.)

These subversion and rationalization capacities are required to unleash the full power of STI and reveal a unique form of modernity in the African region.

Capacities to Create a Conducive / Enabling Climate for STI

Open-minded stakeholders and scientists should strive to achieve a paradigmatic ‘renewal’ (ubuntu) requiring structural or fundamental reforms of the inner working of African societies. African STI policymakers seldom disagree on the fundamentals because they prefer to avoid proposing a coherent vision of Africa’s future, which would clearly show the inescapable pain of change and which would go beyond wishful thinking and pipe dreams. A workable strategy for the transformation of the foundations of African STI systems is still lacking. This strategy should achieve a shift toward scientific ways of observing, analyzing and knowing or toward science as the latest myth or the new religion of the time that can propel the continent into some original form of modernity.

STI policymakers need to understand that the emergence of some brand of distinctive modernity on the African continent goes much further than the simple ownership and display of modernity’s most visible technological products, tools, appliances, gadgets and gizmos. It is the hidden or unconscious background thinking that should be the object of close examination and challenge by African STI policymakers. In this regard they could climb on the shoulders of the great Enlightenment philosophers, thinkers, fighters and scientists of the 17th and 18th centuries (Descartes, Bacon, Voltaire, Kant …) who designed the modernity project with the concern for plain instrumental rationality at its core.

Policy-makers and strategists should encourage essential modernization processes, which would open the way to STI development and progress, such as autonomization, individuation, demystification, feminization (less patriarchal forms), democratization, liberalization, laicization, trans-nationalization, systematization, differentiation, technocratization and humanization processes. But they should also keep in mind that scientific illumination, technical action and modernity offer only a partial escape from the human condition.

Stakeholders should appreciate that mindsets, thinking and ideas are more essential than money or technologies or political promises, etc., in shaping the evolution of STI. Indeed, “The world we have created is the product of our thinking – it cannot be changed without changing our thinking” (Einstein). They should also realize that Africa has no other choice than to go through the pain of having to abandon some highly cherished received ideas, keeping in mind that “Ideas are the most painful things in the world” (Galbraith).

There is a need to engage true scientists and STI communities in public understanding of modern thinking and modern STI and there is a need to cultivate a greater awareness of the role and power of thinking and STI in development. Science is not only a popular buzzword and not only a stock of knowledge but above all a technique and method of thinking (calculative / essential / perspectival…) and it cuts like razor blades as it destroys traditional systems of customary bodies of beliefs. It is essentially an atheistic venture or undertaking built on a rejection of religious authority and supernatural or ‘divine’ causes or explanations necessarily giving rise to more laicized, disenchanted and enlightened societies than long-established over-religious or over-shamanized African ones. In modernity faith-guided knowledge systems do not force nature into fixed old-fashioned boxes.

In order for STI to fully operate on many African societies it is necessary to strip current worldviews of shamanic mysticism or magic, providential or divine intrusions, amazing archangels, absurd limbos, far-fetched miracles, occult forces and charlatan tactics, pretenses, frauds and deceptions. Modernity is in actual fact accessed through scientific rationalization and instrumental rationality. In this perspective imported Evangelical and Qur’anic models of reality, although of relatively recent human construction and bearer of positive civilizational values, lack decisive values for accessing modernity, such as democratic governance; the full utilization of feminine talents and aptitudes; affection and care for nature; a concern for the future (down here); superiority of scientific methods and hypotheses over ‘gaseous’ prophetic knowledge; a strong focus on life before death; and a less fatalistic attitude toward the lifeworld and poverty. Ancient sacred religious texts and documents - not exactly hotsprings of fresh worldviews - may constitute virtual owner's manuals for one’s life, especially for Africans-of-one-book, which under certain conditions are not conducive to paradigmatic innovation and to a swift transition to modernity. Evangelical, Qur’anic and Shamanic models of reality are traditional or pre-modern social constructions far from or quite different from modern scientific constructions of reality. From time to time our responses to aging or bogus realities should be one of denial, defiance or rebellion. “Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane” (Philip K. Dick).

Euro-modernity, in addition to overturning the kings’ power, mostly came as a reaction, through subversive conflicts, wars and revolutions, against the autocracy, abuse of power, exploitation, repression, colonialism, cruelty, misogynism and obscurantism of European medieval Christian churches. Islam, on the other hand, has been better in some respects than Christianity as regard science since it is less ridden of shocking miracles and outrageous tales that are contrary to common sense and to the known laws of physics and nature. The immense contribution of Islam to science in medieval time is well documented and beyond disagreements. But modernization of these pre-modern mythologies would bechallenging, if not suicidal, to the culture of salvation, of subjugation and of non-questioning (faith-predetermined beliefs) of both Islamic and Christian Africa. A culture of censure and contempt for science is not in line with the autonomous modern inquisitive subject. It is not in line with science as a way of thinking (Carl Sagan), as a method (Descarte), as a culture (UNESCO) and with modernity’s inbuilt worldviews and mindsets. In this regard facts speak for themselves: the contribution of sub-Saharan Africa to modern science in terms of scientific publications, patents, tech licensing, tech-intensive exports, investments in tech, and so on, remains stuck marginally at less than 1% of world total. Only a paradigms shift can fundamentally turn this situation around.

STI policy-makers could be more active in advocating a science-based knowledge order (Latour, 1987). Concretely this implies prioritizing (non-fixed) scientific knowledge and theories over Holy Scriptures, revelations, divinations and fantasies. It implies evolving more worldly / post-charmed societies. It implies reversing the current trends of building many times more churches and mosques than tech or research centers (about 100 times more in some African countries). It implies scrutinizing the conjectures, postulations and standpoints of Imperial Islam, Constantinian Christianity and ‘Magical Witchcraft’ in relation to a laicized, demystified and disenchanted modernity. It implies sacralizing science, the scientific method and scientific knowledge.

Capacities to Design Effective Policy Instruments, Institutions and Systems

There is an abundant literature on STI systems and system analysis but the main thrust of the narrative needs to be de-contextualized and re-constructed for African societies, weighed down by pre-modern ways of apprehending and operating on reality. Policy-makers should aim at increasing the general performance and integration of STI systems and subsystems. These are typically made up of a set of standard institutions, comprising among others: 1- Ministry or Commission or Council for STI policymaking; 2- STI Budget; 3- STI Funds; 4- Taxation; 5-Subsidies; 6-Scholarships; 7- Research Grants; 8- Venture Capital; 9- Centers of Excellence; 10- Incubators and Tech Parks; 11- IP; 12- Standards; 13- R&D; 14- Support; 15- Databases and Information; 16- Academies; 17- Professional / Learned Societies; 18- Parliamentary Committees; 19- Recognitions, Prizes and Rewards; 20- Interdepartmental Forums; 21- Chief Science Advisors; 22- Conferences and Seminars; 23- Science Clubs; 24- Science Days and Open Doors; 25- Extension, 26- Radio Tutorials.

Capacities to Forge Valuable Partnerships, Alliances and Relationships

Policy makers should forge useful Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), Government-University-Industry Partnerships and North-South and South-South Partnerships. They should nurture bilateral cooperation and support collaborative research to benefit from international or multilateral STI organizations. They should implement international agreements in STI, twin STI organizations, muster involvement of youth, mobilize private sector and rally the Diaspora. They should enlist NGOs engaged in STI, participate in relevant and promising IGOs activities and programmes, favor clusters of enterprises around industrial innovative leaders and liaise with RSA’s strengths in STI.

Capacities to Advance Regional and Sub-Regional Cooperation and Integration

African countries should work more closely with AU-NEPAD/ST and AMCOST. They should expand subregional and regional ‘teamwork’ (no country has the resources to do it single-handedly); share regional scientific and technological facilities (metrology, etc...); guarantee free movement of scientists and tech entrepreneurs across the region; and support regional initiatives (regional meetings, regional networks, regional forums). They should define common positions on regional and international policies; develop potentialities, specializations and complementarities at subregional and regional levels; carry out joint exhibitions and set up shared demonstration units; and conduct regional and subregional STI studies. They should strengthen the STI components of regional and subregional organizations, institutions and associations (such as ECOWAS, PTA, COMESA, SADC, etc.); be more active in emerging regional and subregional STI networks (ATPS, AAS, Magtech, Incubators and Parks, etc.) and consider paid memberships and active participation in regional centers and projects (ARCT, ARCEDEM, OAPI-ARIPO, ARSO …).

Capacities to Fund and Invest in STI Programmes and Activities

There is a need to double funding across the board for STI programmes and activities. This need is recognized by the highest authorities and is related to a wide range of funding instruments, means and objectives, such as the now famous 1% of GDP for R&D (long history of decisions, pledges and deceptions); national budget for STI infrastructures, institutions, training…; FDI; micro-credit; venture capital; licensing; fiscal incentives; donors and foundations; national and regional STI funds (recent AMCOST-instituted and AfDB administered fund); financial assistance to tech-based micro-enterprises; research allowances; fellowships; and open source software / open access info and knowledge.

Capacities to Meet the Challenges of Knowledge Societies / Economies / Management

Capacities to assess and upgrade knowledge in the African region must be strengthened considerably to meet the daunting challenges of knowledge societies and economies. To begin with, knowledge in Africa is somewhat:

Tacit, orally-transmitted, symbolic, figurative, local, rural
Fractured (Islam / Christian divide), compartmented (by ethnicity), balkanized (by six colonizing powers), fragmented (+ 1000 idioms and worldviews) and atomized (not part of any advanced knowledge networks)
‘Unscientific’ (disregarding scientific revolutions), mythologized (with indigenous and foreign superstitions), de-contextualized (uprooted and transplanted from more technologically-advanced areas), ‘canned’ (ready-made and pre-packaged), monopolized (non-sharing knowledge practices and ethos) and unprotected (except by diversion tactics)
Underused (scientists as taxi drivers), misappropriated (by power hungry sources), under or mis-professionalized (shamanic knowledge) and misapplied (ecocidal)
Eroded (extinct or dying languages and knowledge), drained (brains seeking greener pasture), rarely rented (against royalty payments), and too often plagued with spirituo-, mystico-, magico-, Euro- and phallo-centricity.

The ability of a worker, a firm, a country or a region to assess a given stock of knowledge such as African and modern knowledge, sort it, filter it, assimilate it and apply it to commercial or developmental ends is critical for any type of development and for accessing modernity. It is critical for unlearning / relearning and for the acquisition of key modern knowledge and competencies. It is critical for entering into the 21st century global knowledge society (Hamel, 2005). It is critical for deconstructing a pre-modern reality acquired through acculturation and socialization and it is critical for learning a new version of reality: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn” (A. Toffler).

Policymakers should emphasize the application of public domain knowledge and technologies (World Economic Forum, 2003) and adopt strategies that make the most of the latest technical knowledge and new technological regime (ICTs, bio, eco, agro …). They should recognize the value of indigenous knowledge, technologies and solutions, adopt green technologies and espouse the sustainable development paradigm. They should also put in place a monitoring system for measuring knowledge societies / economies (indicators, statistics, benchmarks, polls, studies…). In this regard African countries should support an AU initiative designed to measure the advancement of STI systems.

Conclusion: Capable Paradigms, Worldviews, Mindsets and Practices for the Modernization of Traditional Knowledge Systems and for Revealing a Typical Afro-Modernity

It is important to understand the reasons for the relative failure of Nyerre’s Ujamaa, Mobutu’s Authenticité, Sengor’s Négritude, Nkruma’s Conciencism, Kenyata’s Harambee, Wade’s Omega, Bouteflika’s Ennahda Movement, Mbeki’s ‘Call to Rebellion’ - let alone the vision of the Commission for Africa and a host of other appeals for an African ‘Renaissance’ (African Century, etc.). Perhaps there is some truth in the idea that “A problem cannot be solved with the mindset that created it” (Einstein).

Modernity in Africa will never be uncovered with the manipulation of economic variables alone, including external financial assistance, but it will certainly necessitate sound economic policies and strategies. Much of the development discourse in Africa revolves around economics, finance and money but modernity, in addition to being a technology-driven economic process, is essentially a cultural and scientific process, with the scientific technique and tradition at its center.

The scientific method provides tools for resisting ‘intellectual domestication’ and for embracing more modern or post-modern mythologies (Lyotard, 1991). A majority of Africans (80%) swears by or are ruled by Abrahamic mythologies and statistics show that less than 1 in 100 Africans escapes the Islamic or Christian system of beliefs he or she is born in. That clearly shows the strong appeal, fascination, addiction, dependence and the irresistible charm of these two great pre-modern religious solitudes. The scientific method provides a way out of this blind lottery and of this medieval intellectual trapping. Could subversive scientism be the new ‘religion’ of the time that could bridge some century-old divides in the African region and that could at last transform a traditional reality into a modern one?

There is a need to engineer a fundamental shift from Islamism, Christianism and Shamanism / Animism toward Scientism and Technologism. There is a need to engineer a transition from self-confirming systems of medieval thinking, superstitions and prejudices to modern scientific worldviews and empirical knowledge systems.

There is a need to be aware that science, technology and society are co-emerging, co-evolutive and mutually constitutive of each other and to be aware of the seduction of triumphant techno-scientific dogmas (Winner, 1977), which may lead to the devastation, excesses, wastefulness and pathologies of the post-industrial consumerist cultures of modernity. Perhaps STI policy makers should support the creation in each African country of free-thinking think-tanks to reflect on and promote an Afro-modernity essentially based on holding fast to the scientific method, as a new dogma, and on adopting scientific knowledge, which would provide an increasingly detailed and refined understanding of nature, the world and Africans in it. But it is also important to resist worshiping science and technology as a new God or a new Savior and not to let science and technology unduly monopolize African destinies.

A renewed narrative is needed, indulging less on minor variations around the status quo, to address pressing issues related to cosmological revolutions, technological effervescence, globalization, urbanization, energy crises, food shortages, environmental degradations, intercontinental competition and epidemics. It is also needed for the integration of science and technology in wider agricultural, industrial, budgetary, trade, social and educational policies.

New knowledge orders and new paradigms do not come effortlessly and without problems because very few free-thinking scientists have the strength, the courage, the moral fiber and the guts to challenge established truths, because current knowledge orders are considered sacred whereas any criticism is considered blasphemous or politically incorrect, because existing entrenched paradigms have to be displaced or replaced by new, disturbing and much less magnetic ones and because “the competition between paradigms is not the sort of battle that can be resolved by proof” (Thomas Kuhn). In the end the competition between rival paradigms comes down to a choice between fundamentally incompatible worldviews and modes of cultural, social and economic life.

There is a need to better appreciate science as a mode of subversive thinking, as a means of achieving the systematic destruction of conventional / medieval / pre-modern realities and as a way to reconstruct / modernize / re-order realities from new fundamentals and from new perspectives. Accordingly, African stakeholders are advised to build various capacities, as discussed in this paper, to probe, subvert and rationalize traditional or pre-modern knowledge systems with contemporary scientific facts, understandings, worldviews, mindsets and practices. They are advised to spare no effort in order to re-cosmologize, re-mythologize, ‘re-prophetize’, re-charlatanize and re-direct the evolution of the African reality toward some original form of post-totemic, post-enchanted, post-phallocratic, post-shamanic (magic- and witchcraft-free) and post-Abrahamic region, or toward an Islam-free and Christian-free scientifically-enlightened post-colony. For this evolution to materialize perhaps the first priority of policymakers could be to strengthen capacities to imagine a different and modern Africa and imagine means to attain it. This could be the most urgent and central task of African STI policymakers at the beginning of the 21st century.

Bibliography

Audi, Robert (1998) Epistemology: A Contemporary Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge, Routledge.
Dreyfus, H. L. (1993) “Heidegger on the Connection between Nihilism, Art, Technology, and Politics”, from The Cambridge Companion to Heidegger, edited by Charles Guignon. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 289-316.
Durbin, Paul T., ed. (1984) A Guide to the Culture of Science, Technology, and Medicine. New York: Free Press.
Dzobo, N. K. (1992) ‘African Symbols And Proverbs As Source Of Knowledge And Truth, In Person And Community’,
Ghanaian Philosophical Studies, I. Kwasi W. and Gyekye, K. (Eds.), Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Washington, D.C.
Hamel, J.L. (2005) ‘Knowledge for sustainable development in Africa: towards new policy initiatives’, World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 2, Nos. 3/4, pp.216–243.
Heidegger, M. (1977) “Science and Reflection”, from The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, Translated by
William Lovitt. New York: Harper and Row Publishers.
Heidegger, M. (1977b) “The Question Concerning Technology”, from The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, Trans. William Lovitt, New York: Harper and Row Publishers.
Heller, A. (1999) A theory of modernity, Blackwell Publishing, 328 pages.
Ihde, D. (1993) Philosophy of Technology: An Introduction. New York: Paragon House.
InterAcademy Council (2003) Inventing a better future: strategy for building worldwide capacities in science and technology and realizing the promise and potential of African agriculture, Amsterdam, Holland.
Kuhn, T. (1962) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, University of Chicago Press
Krogh, G.V., Nonaka I., Nishiguchi T. (2000) Knowledge Creation: a source of value, St. Martin's Press, New York.
Laporte, B. (2003) Sharing Knowledge for Development: Knowledge as a Currency, Knowledge & Learning Services, World Bank, Washington, D.C.
Latour, B. (1987) Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers through Society. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Lyotard, J.F. (1991) The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Minnesota University Press. Minneapolis.
Mbiti, J. S. (1990) African Religions and Philosophy, Heinemann, Second Edition, London.
Popper, K. (1979) Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Preston, P. (1996), Development Theory: An Introduction to the Analysis of Complex Change, Wiley-Blackwell.
Winner, L. (1977 Autonomous Technology: Technics-out-of-Control as a Theme in Political Thought. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Wiredu, K. (1992) ‘Formulating Modern Thought in African Languages: Some Theoretical Considerations’ in Mudimbe, V. Y. (Eds.), The Surreptitious Speech, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 301-302.

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

Change at hand: Web 2.0 for development

KMAadmin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:18:37 -0600

Web 2.0 tools and approaches are radically changing the ways we create, share, collaborate and publish digital information through the Internet. Participatory Web 2.0 for development – or Web2forDev for short – is a way of employing web services to intentionally improve information-sharing and online collaboration for development. Web 2.0 presents us with new opportunities for change – as well as challenges – that we need to better understand and grasp. This special issue shares learning and reflections from practice and considers the ways forward for using Web 2.0 for development.

PART I: OVERVIEW

Change at hand: Web 2.0 for development
The two hands of Web2forDev: a conference summary

PART II: STUDIES OF WEB 2.0 TOOLS

Exploring the potentials of blogging for development
Web 2.0 tools to promote social networking for the Forest Connect alliance
Promoting information-sharing in Ghana using video blogging
Mobile phones: the silver bullet to bridge the digital divide?

PART III: ISSUE-BASED STUDIES

Anti social-computing: indigenous language, digital video and intellectual property
Tools for enhancing knowledge-sharing in agriculture: improving rural livelihoods in Uganda
Ushahidi or ‘testimony’: Web 2.0 tools for crowdsourcing crisis information
Web 2.0 for Aboriginal cultural survival: a new Australian outback movement

PART IV: THEORY AND REFLECTION ON PRACTICE

Circling the point: from ICT4D to Web 2.0 and back again
Web 2.0 tools for development: simple tools for smart people
The Web2forDev story: towards a community of practice

PART V: TIPS FOR TRAINERS

Web 2.0 tools: a series of short introductions

Each introductory guide provides a brief description of the Web 2.0 tool and how it can be used for development purposes, along with links to further information and where applications can be downloaded online (more information also in e-participation):

Blogging
Micro-blogging and Twitter
Wikis
Online social networking
RSS feeds
Tagging
Social bookmarking
Glossary of Web 2.0 terms

This special issue is co-published with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

KM & Communications

Global Biodiversity Information Facility

storytelling — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:55:29 -0600

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that is working to make the world's biodiversity data accessible everywhere in the world. GBIF and its many partners work to mobilise the data, and to improve search mechanisms, data and metadata standards, web services, and the other components of an Internet-based information infrastructure for biodiversity.

For more information about GBIF as an organisation, visit GBIF Homepage. GBIF makes available data that are shared by hundreds of data providers from around the world. These data are shared according to the GBIF Data Use Agreement, which includes the provision that users of any GBIF data will always give credit to the original providers.

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

Collaborative solutions for sustainability & poverty reduction

KMAadmin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:38:50 -0600

Appropedia is a website for collaborative solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development through the use of appropriate technology and the sharing of project information. It provides a collaborative wiki and has been described as an "appropriate technology wiki," but it is much broader than that - it is a green wiki, and a wiki for all matters of international development and aid. See the Appropedia Website for further information.

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

La production à valeur ajoutée : Une approche stratégique pour rendre les entreprises africaines plus compétitives (French)

KMAadmin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:09:00 -0600

Résumé: Dans cet article, nous proposons des outils et approches de la production à valeur ajoutée dans le but d’aider les entreprises africaines à passer de la production primaire (exportation des matières premières) à la transformation manufacturière (création de valeur). D’abord, nous présenterons le contexte actuel des entreprises africaines et les problèmes de concurrence auxquels elles sont confrontées. Ensuite, nous exposerons les concepts de base de la production à valeur ajoutée comme outil de compétitivité. Nous verrons, par exemple, dans quelle mesure les entreprises africaines pourraient adapter et intégrer ces outils à leurs pratiques actuelles pour pénétrer les marchés régionaux et internationaux.

Prof. Hamdjatou Kane.
Département des Sciences administratives
Université du Québec en Outaouais
101, rue Saint-Jean-Bosco, C.P. 1250 Succ. Hull
Gatineau (Québec), J8X 3X7, Canada
Tel : +1 819 595-3900 # 1949
Fax : +1 819773-1747
E-mail : Hamdjatou.Kane@uqo.ca

Introduction

Le continent africain est l’un des plus riches en matières premières (ressources naturelles). Malgré l’abondance de ces ressources, l’Afrique demeure peu présente sur le marché mondial des biens manufacturés. La plupart des ressources naturelles sont vendues à l’état brut avec une faible valeur ajoutée. Les pays africains tirent leurs revenus principalement de la vente de ces matières premières. Or, dans le contexte économique actuel, les prix de la plupart de ces ressources ont considérablement chuté limitant les revenus tirés de ces matières premières par les pays africains. On assiste à une baisse du part de marché des pays africains sur le marché mondial. Cette baisse est du à divers facteurs tels que des produits peu compétitifs, des technologies anciennes, une main d’œuvre peu qualifiée, des subventions des pays industrialisés à leurs industries (Mutume, 2004). Au même moment, d’autres pays en voie de développement ont développé leurs secteurs manufacturiers en mettant en place des usines capables de transformer leurs matières premières en produits finis. Les pays africains souffrent d’un manque criant d’unités de transformation. Pourtant, le développement de ces unités de transformations est plus qu’urgent. Et leur mise en place permettra aux pays africains de se positionner tant comme fournisseur de matières premières que comme générateurs de produits à valeur ajoutée. En plus de générer des emplois, les revenus tirés de la commercialisation de ces produits à valeur ajoutée viendront remplacer le manque à gagner engendré par la chute des prix des matières premières. Plusieurs solutions et approches mises en places dans certains pays développés ou en voie de développement et qui ont fait leurs preuves peuvent être envisagées à condition bien sûr de les adapter au contexte africain. Parmi elles, on peut citer la production à valeur ajoutée (Lean manufacturing) développée par les japonais et dont l’utilisation a été généralisée aujourd’hui dans beaucoup de pays industrialisés.

La production à valeur ajoutée (PVA) : concepts de base

Les entreprises africaines sont confrontées à un environnement de plus en plus concurrentiel. L’ouverture des marchés a accru la compétitivité entre les entreprises mondiales. Dans ce contexte, la maîtrise par les entreprises africaines de production de biens et services de leurs processus devient un enjeu conditionnant fortement la gestion réussie de leur organisation. Il devient donc important pour ces entreprises de fabriquer des produits ou fournir des services à valeur ajoutée afin de mieux faire face à la concurrence (Sayers et al., 2003).

La production à valeur ajoutée (PVA) s’impose comme une approche permettant aux entreprises africaines d’améliorer leur niveau de compétitivité et de croissance. La production à valeur ajoutée est une philosophie de gestion misant sur l’amélioration continue et l’élimination des gaspillages (ou pertes), par des efforts continus dans toutes les zones de l’entreprise et sous toutes ses formes. En d’autres termes, Cette approche consiste à utiliser des outils de production visant à supprimer toutes les activités qui n’apportent pas de valeur au produit ou service. Son application s’étend à toutes les phases du processus de l’entreprise peu importe le secteur d’activité : R&D, approvisionnement, production, vente et distribution, service et support, recyclage (Figure 1).

Figure 1 : Processus de création de valeur (eBusiness and ERP, PWC 2000)

L’élimination de toutes les sources de gaspillages (surproduction, produits défectueux, surplus d’inventaires, bris de machines, etc.) dans les différentes phases du processus permet de déterminer celles où il est possible d’ajouter de la valeur. La démarche d’optimisation du processus s’applique à toutes les étapes du système de production (conception, approvisionnement, production, distribution, clients). La figue 2 permet de voir les différentes formes de gaspillage qui peuvent exister au sein d’une entreprise. L’élimination des gaspillages relève de la volonté d’offrir de produits de plus en plus concurrentiels. Les gaspillages (ou pertes) ajoutent des coûts au produit/service sans apporter de la valeur, coûts que le client n’est pas prêt à payer. En ajoutant de la valeur, l’entreprise réalise un travail pour lequel le client est prêt à payer et la permet de rester en affaires et augmenter sa capacité de production. Les activités qui ne génèrent pas de valeur dans un processus de production peuvent représenter jusqu’à 95% du temps de cycle alors que celles qui engendrent de la valeur ne représentent que 5%. Malgré la perception répandue qui voit dans la production à valeur ajoutée un processus complexe et couteux, cette approche repose sur la logique et le bon sens ainsi que sur des notions de génie industriel et de gestion de la qualité totale (voir section 3). Elle met l’accent sur l’importance des ressources humaines comme levier central du système de production et privilégie le travail en équipe.

Figure 2 : Les formes de gaspillage

Outils de la production à valeur ajoutée

Il existe plusieurs outils dédiés à la production à valeur ajoutée. Dans ce qui suit, nous présentons quelques approches et outils de la production à valeur ajoutée couramment utilisés (Kane, 2008 ; Ritzman et al., 2004 ; Russel et al., 2003).

Juste à Temps

Le Juste à Temps est une philosophie manufacturière qui vise un but très simple, soit celui de produire les items requis, selon les spectres de qualité requis et les quantités requises, au moment précis où ils sont requis. L’approche Juste à Temps vise entre autres à réduire les stocks, les pannes, les défauts, les délais, etc. Elle est caractérisée par :

La recherche systématique de la qualité
La réduction de la taille des lots
Les relations étroites avec les fournisseurs
La flexibilité de la main d’oeuvre
La production automatisée
La maintenance préventive

Une des techniques qui permet d’opérationnaliser le juste à temps est le Kanban. Le Kanban (signifie carte en japonais) vise à maintenir le flux ordonné des matières. Les cartes Kanban indiquent à quels moments les matières doivent être commandées, en quelle quantité, à quel endroit et où elles doivent être livrées. L’implantation de la méthode du Kanban permet d’une part de réduire les besoins d’espace, la valeur des stocks, les délais d’approvisionnement et d’autre part d’augmenter l’utilisation des équipements et la qualité des produits et services.

Le Kaizen

D’origine japonaise, le mot « Kaizen » signifie amélioration, c’est une démarche qui repose sur l’amélioration continue. Elle se fait de façon graduelle est en rupture avec la méthode dite de changement brutal. Sa mise en application implique des équipes multidisciplinaires composées de l’ensemble des acteurs (direction, ouvriers) de l’entreprise provenant de tous les secteurs (production, marketing, maintenance, ressources humaines, etc.). Le Kaizen n'est pas une méthode révolutionnaire, mais beaucoup plus un état d'esprit que l'on met en place et que l'on fait vivre, par l'implication de l'ensemble du personnel. Le Kaizen s’appuie sur l’analyse du processus en utilisant le diagramme des flux (cartographie du processus) afin d’évaluer sa performance. Ensuite, on utilise des concepts existants tels que le Poka Yoka (signifie éviter des erreurs en réduisant les erreurs humaines) pour améliorer le processus via des simulations et des exercices. Une fois que les résultats sont concluants, on passe à la phase d’implantation des concepts et solutions développés.

L’approche des 5S

Cet outil permet de gagner du temps sur la localisation des matières et outillages grâce à une bonne organisation. Sa mise en œuvre permet de gagner d’espace supplémentaire (15%), évitant d’agrandir les installations. Tirés de la terminologie japonaise, les 5 S signifient :

Seiri : S’organiser en éliminant les choses inutiles de façon à pouvoir trouver les choses utiles plus facilement.
Seiton : Situer les choses utiles à la bonne place, l’organisation doit être rangée de façon systématique.
Seiso : Scintiller en maintenant les choses propres et en corrigeant les sources de saleté et les endroits difficiles d’accès.
Seiketsu : Standardiser en rendant visuelle toute dérogation aux trois premiers principes. Établir des procédures pour maintenir la bonne organisation des lieux de travail.
Shitsuke : Suivre le maintien des activités en formalisant les règles de fonctionnement et en effectuant des audits réguliers.

SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die)
La méthode SMED est une méthode d’organisation utilisée pour réduire de façon systématique le temps de changement de l’outillage avec un objectif quantifié. Elle permet d’éliminer le gaspillage et de réduire les temps improductifs en détectant les éléments contreproductifs. Elle passe par la suppression des opérations inutiles.

Vers une application de la PVA au contexte africain

La production à valeur ajoutée peut aider les pays africains à tirer un meilleur profit de leurs ressources naturelles en passant d’une production primaire (exportation des matières premières) à une transformation locale des ressources (création de valeur). En adoptant cette approche de production, les entreprises africaines peuvent augmenter leur productivité et bénéficier d’un avantage concurrentiel dans un environnement devenu très compétitif.

Par le biais du Kaizen, par exemple, les entreprises peuvent analyser toutes les activités de leurs processus en vue d’un meilleur diagnostic des problèmes. L’utilisation du Kaizen permettra de détecter des erreurs et des problèmes de qualité, diminuer les cycles de production, réduire la surproduction et les coûts de stock, améliorer le service à la clientèle, etc. Des solutions d’améliorations continues appropriées et adaptées permettant de migrer vers des processus générant plus de valeurs pourront être implantées. Un travail de fond peut aussi être effectué via des équipes multidisciplinaires pour améliorer la qualité des matières premières telles que les peaux (industrie du cuire), le bois, et les produits agricoles. Cela passe par exemple par un partenariat entre les entreprises et les fournisseurs de ces matières premières.

La mise en place de ces équipes multidisciplinaires et le renforcement des partenariats permettent aux entreprises africaines de mieux adapter leurs processus de production à l’évolution du marché en mettant en avant les meilleures pratiques de gestion. L’implantation de ces pratiques va améliorer systématiquement les activités qui produisent de la valeur (transformation) et réduire celles qui engendrent des coûts sans créer de valeur (transport, entreposage, inspection, …).

Toutefois, la mise en place de l’approche de production à valeur ajoutée dans les entreprises africaines nécessite un environnement propice avec une volonté réelle des États de développer des politiques et des stratégies susceptibles d’aider l’industrialisation du continent. Les pays africains souffrent de plusieurs problèmes qui les rendent peu compétitifs et limitent leur croissance :

Main d’œuvre peu productive
Ressources humaines peu formées et des plans de formation mal adaptés
Infrastructure désuète
Qualité des produits et services
Parcs technologiques anciens
Investissements insuffisants

C’est le cas par exemple de l’industrie africaine du cuir qui est touché par des problèmes de qualité des cuirs et peaux, une infrastructure insuffisante, une faible productivité de la main d’œuvre, etc.

Ces problèmes ont un impact énorme sur cette industrie. Pourtant, l’Afrique possède 20% des bovins, ovins et caprins du monde, mais ne produit que 14,9% des cuirs et peaux mondiaux (Riensta, 2004). Pour faire face à cette situation, très dommageable à la compétitive du continent, il est plus qu’urgent que les pays africains mettent en place des conditions gagnantes pour développer le secteur industriel permettant de passer de la commercialisation brute des matières premières à la transformation de celles-ci. Ils doivent impérativement trouver de nouvelles solutions pour pallier le manque à gagner engendré par la chute du cours des matières premières. Ces solutions passent notamment par la création d’usines ou d’unités de transformation capables de transformer ces matières premières en produits à forte valeur ajoutée. Le renforcement de la transformation des matières premières est un facteur clé pour rendre les entreprises africaines plus compétitives sur le marché mondial.

C’est le cas, par exemple de l’île Maurice qui a mis en place des stratégies de développement de son industrie manufacturière. Ce pays était confronté aux mêmes problèmes que d’autres pays africains en commercialisant ses produits (agricoles et minéraux) à l’état brut sans valeur ajoutée. Grace à la mise en place de politiques industrielles, l’île Maurice a réussi aujourd’hui à transformer ses produits sur place et générer des produits à forte valeur ajoutée. D’autres pays ont suivi cet exemple en « exportant maintenant du cuir au lieu de vendre des peaux brutes, des textiles au lieu du coton, ou du papier, du contreplaqué ou des meubles, au lieu du bois. La Côte d’Ivoire, dont les industries de transformation du poisson et du bois sont maintenant importantes, a réussi cette transformation. Il en est de même du Sénégal, qui est passé de la simple vente de poisson cru à la transformation et à l’emballage de ce produit », selon G. Mutume (2004). D’autres pays, comme la Mauritanie, continuent d’exporter leurs matières premières sans ou avec peu de transformation. Cependant, même si ces pays ont réussi à créer de la valeur sur certains de leurs produits, il n’en demeure pas moins que les pratiques industrielles mises en place restent encore loin du standard du marché. Ils devront s’approprier davantage des nouvelles approches et meilleures pratiques de la production à valeur ajoutée (voir outils de la PVA, section 2) pour renforcer leur compétitivité et croissance. Cela passe notamment par l’augmentation des investissements sur la formation des ressources humaines, les nouvelles technologies et l’infrastructure.

Les pays africains doivent mettre l’emphase sur les secteurs porteurs où les avantages concurrentiels sont plus grands (Kebede, 2003). Des stratégies et initiatives doivent être mises en place pour développer les marchés nationaux capables d’absorber une partie de la production. La survie des entreprises africaines dépend en grande partie de leur capacité à répondre aux exigences du marché en offrant des produits de qualité à moindre coûts et capables de concurrencer les autres produits du marché. La création de produits de qualité implique la participation de l’ensemble des acteurs de la chaîne tels que les fournisseurs, les producteurs, les distributeurs, les clients, etc.

Conclusion

Grâce à l’abondance de ses ressources naturelles et aux coûts très bas de la main d’œuvre, l’Afrique pourrait devenir un joueur important du commerce international à condition bien sûr de renforcer ses industries de transformation. Cela passe notamment par une meilleure formation de ses ressources humaines (augmenter la productivité). L’investissement sur les ressources humaines demeure un élément essentiel dans le renforcement de la compétitivité des entreprises africaines. Nous avons présenté dans cet article les approches et les outils de la production à valeur ajoutée. La plupart de ces outils repose sur le bon sens et représente peu d’investissement. La production à valeur ajoutée serait donc un outil de compétitivité et de croissance que les entreprises africaines devraient adopter pour augmenter leur part de marché à l’échelle nationale et internationale. Toutefois, l’implantation de cette approche suppose la mise en place préalable par les États africains de véritables stratégies et politiques de développement (infrastructure, formation de la main d’œuvre, nouvelles technolgies).

Bibliographie

Dianna Riensta., Cuir africain: les industries à la rencontre des marchés mondiaux. CCI, Forum du commerce international, No. 4, 2004.
Gumisai Mutume., Contre toute attente l’Afrique s’efforce de redynamiser ses industries. Afrique Renouveau, Vol. 18 – 3, Octobre, 2004.
Hamdjatou Kane., Créer des produits à valeur ajoutée : un enjeu pour les entreprises africaines dans le cycle de l’innovation. Colloque international sur la propriété intellectuelle dans l’économie du savoir : un challenge pour l’Afrique et sa diaspora. OMPI, Yaoundé (Cameroun), 7 – 9 octobre 2008.
Ian Sayers, Natalie Domeisen, Brian Barclay et Peter Hulm., Analyser la chaîne de valeur : Une stratégie pour augmenter les gains à l’exportation. CCI, Forum du commerce international, No. 1, 2003.
Ritzman L. P., Krajewski L. J., Klassen R., D. (2004), Foundations of operations management. Pearson Prentice Hall.
Russel R. S., Taylor III B. W. (2003), Operations management. Prentice Hall.
Teshome Kebede., Stratégie et partenariat au service de la compétitivité. OCDE, 2003.

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

Knowledge diffusion based on an ICT framework

KMAadmin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:14:23 -0600

By:Hendra van Zyl and Nolwazi Mbananga

The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) is one of the institutions in South Africa that is conducting and promoting health and medical research. Its vision is to develop a healthy nation through research. It is a known fact that the conduct of research as a process of creating knowledge is not directly linked to changing people’s lives. The change can only occur if the created knowledge is transformed into a number of products, projects and programmes. One of the methods of linking health research to promotion of health is research translation. Research translation takes different approaches some of which are not part of this paper. This paper focuses on research translation which is based on the theory and principles of Consumer Health Informatics (CHI). This approach identifies the information needs of consumers and provides the necessary information via Information and Communication Technology (ICTs). In the process of translating research into applied information and knowledge for the public and decision makers, MRC piloted a model with sub-models. These models have been piloted over time in an endeavour to translate and diffuse health and medical research information and knowledge for use by the public and decision makers.

This paper, presents principles and sub-models that have been used by the MRC in translating research into useable information and knowledge to targeted consumers. The literature review that follows, gives a brief explanation of Consumer Health Informatics. The rest of the paper focuses on one of these sub-models to demonstrate how principles where used in diffusing knowledge supported by an ICT framework and lessons learned.

Consumer Health Informatics (CHI), mentioned earlier in the paper, is the branch of medical informatics that analyses consumers’ needs for information; studies and implements methods of making information accessible to consumers. CHI models integrate consumers’ preference into medical information systems. It stands at the crossroads of other disciplines, such as nursing informatics, public health, health promotion, health education, library science, and communication science, and is perhaps the most challenging and rapidly expanding field in medical informatics; it is paving the way for healthcare in the information age.

According to Dr Peter Drucker, author of The Effective Executive and Management Challenges for the 21st Century: “Knowledge is information that changes something or somebody - either by becoming grounds for actions or by making an individual (or an institution) capable of different or more effective action.

When combining knowledge management and information technology in a medical environment, reference has to be made to another area of medicine that is increasingly making its presence felt in the health arena, namely e-Health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines e-Health “as the cost-effective and secure use of information and communication technology in support of health and health related fields, including healthcare services, health surveillance, health literature, health education, knowledge and research.

Eysenbach and Diepgen remarked that the exponential growth of Web sites on the Internet opened up a new source of health information that led to the evolution of the “information age in medicine”. They report that health Web sites are the most visited sites on the Internet.

These statements are further supported through research conducted by Lewis et aliv on Consumer Health Needs that healthcare consumers are actively involved in seeking health information and in using the information they are finding to make decisions about their health. People primarily seek healthcare information on the Internet and thereafter from a variety of sources, which include print and electronic resources, healthcare providers, other consumers, their families and friends including traditional healers. In an eEurope 2002 report: Quality Criteria for Health related Web sitesv, an implementation plan was developed and was accepted by the European Union (EU). The report indicates that Internet users would be actively educated to become acquainted with Codes and Quality labels such as HON. Further education of users should explain that these codes stand for the quality of health content on the Internet. Campaigns were cited as means to achieve this. Of importance in using the Internet is the ability of users to rate Web sites. A plan is needed to assist users in rating Web sites and tools should be made available to consumers, e.g. OMNIvi or MEDCERTAINvii. Both Web site providers and consumers of health information should also be educated about processes and good practices that a Web site should demonstrate. This would involve specific marks to indicate types of information such as DISCERNviii – for treatment choices or QUICKix – for children or HON and NETSCORINGx that would ask consumers to tick off types of information as they find them, e.g. statement of aim, explicit statement of source information.

Overall aim

Against this background, the Web & Media Technologies Division (WMTD) of the SAMRC uses a convergence of ICTs to develop various sub-models for knowledge transfer under the umbrella of consumer health informatics. The purpose of these sub-models is to effectively diffuse knowledge to specific audiences.

Knowledge Diffusion Model

The knowledge diffusion model used by the MRC is divided into four sub models as presented below:

Peer to peer: This sub-model was developed during the establishment of knowledge centres for HIV prevention programmes at rural South African universities where students are equipped and mobilised to participate and lead the process of HIV awareness building among their peers. This model is currently being compared to a similar model and will be subjected for testing in order to reach a best practice model.
Experts to students: This is a knowledge transfer sub-model that mobilises South African top scientists to act as ambassadors to elucidate science and provide career guidance to students where ICTs focus on the capturing of tacit knowledge and transfer thereof to the audiences. This model is undergoing further refinement by application to different projects.
Radio to public: A knowledge transfer sub-model is based on the convergence of prepackaged health content, live panel discussions that are broadcasted via community radio stations to deep rural areas as well as in the form of Web casts from health Web sites.
Web to public: In this sub-model, knowledge transfer happens from a Web/portal presence to audiences on the World Wide Web. Health content is compiled at the hand of specific principles and then another set of principles is applied for the transforming of the health content into appropriate technologies to ensure effective and reliable knowledge diffusion.

Principles of the Knowledge Diffusion Model

In the provision of information using mass media of any kind the following principles need to be considered and applied for effective communication and use of the information provided. This applies to both content and Web site management.

Know targeted audience: It includes the psycho-social understanding of the audience to bridge the gap between understanding and interpretation. This would include the social status, language and cultural background of the audience. Examples that are used in explaining knowledge should fall within a framework of understanding of that audience.
Engage typical members of the audience: This is a process to assess assimilation and acceptability of transferred knowledge by specific audiences. Assimilation involves the capacity and ability by the audience for the uptake and processing of knowledge, e.g. ascertaining if knowledge is appropriate for the audience in that it is not too specialized or too simple. Acceptability refers to whether knowledge falls within standards, norms and culture of the audience in order to accept it, the knowledge one wants to transfer might for instance not be acceptable for discussion by your audience.
Knowledge level index: Consider the audience’s level of knowledge to prevent redundancy by classifying content in different levels of complexity or by leading visitors via questions to knowledge they do not know. This will ensure that the health literacy of the target audience is respected, allowing them to select the level of knowledge they require.
Integrate new knowledge into everyday situations: Show relevance of knowledge to specific audiences so that they can understand how to use and apply knowledge in their environment.
Avoid information overload: The audience can become confused and no learning takes place when there is too much knowledge to absorb.
Striving for utilization: Knowledge may be relevant and appropriate but it should also be utilized otherwise it is of no value.
Address pertinent issues: Knowledge should be relevant and address issues that are real to the audience and that they need assistance with.
Never induce fear: Fear is not a successful driver to get the audience to utilize knowledge as people eventually overcome their fear. One then loses the opportunity to influence the audience. Rather use a persuasive approach in knowledge sharing by showing the audience that they will become healthier or feel better when using the knowledge.
No model fits all: A model that fits a specific audience will not necessarily be appropriate for another audience. One should investigate the needs of different audiences and adapt the model by using these principles.

After content has been compiled based on the above KD Principles, another set of guidelines have been developed by WMTD according to which content is transformed into technology for the Web to public sub-model.

Web Content Guidelines

Push and pull concept: Health knowledge is mostly delivered via the World Wide Web and often combinations of ICTs are used. In the typical push and pull concept, push technologies such as listservs (e-mail discussions lists) and e-Newsletter services are used to push knowledge to “subscribers” which the audiences have joined to be kept up to date with topics of interest. Pull technology examples are discussion forums, news syndication or a section with relevant information on a Web site to which audiences go to browse resources for the acquisition of specific knowledge. Often these technologies are converged to effectively make knowledge available in a holistic way. Depending on the nature of the Web presence, implementing these technologies could play a role to capture tacit knowledge of experts that participate.
Package content with cultural understanding: If packaging of content is arranged for different language or cultural groups, the home page should clearly display links to content in other languages. Once commitment has been made about expanding a Web presence into other languages, content should be kept up to date in all the languages.
Addressing different audiences: Consider sub-dividing a complete Web presence into different sections for clearly distinguishable audiences so that they know where to find information or use unique symbols to identify content for specific audiences.
Accessibility: The Internet has opened up a world of opportunities, also for those with hearing or visual impairmentxi. When converting content into Web format, accessibility for these groups should be kept in mind. This means that graphics should have alternative text describing what it represents; tables and figures provided with headings; video/audio files should have transcripts; the use of colour should not be the only method for navigation or guidance to specific content; and clearly indicate links to pdfs/Word/slideshows files. These are just a few simple additions that should be incorporated to make Web content accessible to health information seekers.
Convergence of ICTs: Consider incorporation of other technologies to complement a Web presence. Examples are where knowledge is packaged for a specific audience, yet based on CHI principles, e-Surveys could be conducted to establish if the information needs and preferences of users are met; and what their preferred format for knowledge is. Another option is to complement health content with live or scheduled Web casts of audio documentaries where after focus group discussions of pertinent issues can be continued in discussion forums on the Web site.
Engaging audience: Conducting e-Surveys to establish the needs of an audience is acceptable and suitable for this model – especially if there are members that register to the site. Ethical issues should be kept in mind as well and general guidelines for e-Surveys as provided by Eysenbachxii. Some general items are listed below:
Consent: An introductory page should clearly explain the purpose with contact details for additional enquiries. Insert a logo of where the Web site is hosted (i.e. organisational logo) to show that it is not merely a market research survey. For health related questionnaires, provide radio buttons for the participant to accept voluntary participation or not before acceptance displays a new screen and consider whether the survey should be anonymous or not. Preferably password-protect these e-Surveys.
Questions: Preferably number questions for backward tracking if reference is needed or skipping of questions is mandatory.
Question types: Radio buttons are more suitable for yes/no answers; drop-down lists are suitable for selection of one option from a list; check boxes are suitable when more than one option could be selected. Text boxes can be for open-ended questions – except no formatting can be done in a text box.
Thanking participant: Remember to thank participants before and after the survey.
Check that the e-Survey works properly.
Pre-contact: A higher participation rate is achieved when potential participants are contacted before the survey. Remember that the best incentive for participation remains the promise of feedback – and giving it.
Methodologies for measuring knowledge levels: Once audiences have been identified then content should be classified according to levels of complexity and presented clearly so that the sophisticated visitor does not have to wade through redundant information.
Information overload: When there is a lot of knowledge that is to be made available to a target audience, information should be categorised into sub-sections or broken down into shorter pages. This will prevent overwhelming an audience or leaving them to wait for a long page to download and then wade through lists.
Navigation to content: An important element of a Web presence is how easy it is for visitors to find the information they are interested in. Clear navigation is important using common Web terminology rather than words or definitions that are not easily understood. Navigating one’s site could further be simplified when sub-sections can be accessed without having to click the browser’s Back button. Achieve this for instance by listing main menu items in a left column and sub-items in a right column.
Quality assurance: Measures should be implemented to show users that health content is reliable and accurate. This has also been emphasized in the Principles for Content as developed by AMA Web sitesxiii. It can further be achieved with the implementation of an editorial board of experts on the topic of the Web site with the role to review articles for scientific accuracy before publishing it on the Web site. Credibility could further be achieved with compliance to ethical standards for health content such as provided by the Health On the Net Foundation. When the Web presence has been reviewed for compliance, a seal of approval is carried on the home page to indicate reliability of health content for visitors. By publishing the date when a document was last updated, visitors can determine how up to date content is. Ethical principles as used by the HON codexiv include reliability of content; how private and confidential information is handled; source of health content and Webmaster’s contact details; scientific proof when medical advise or side-effects of drugs are provided; full contact details of owners; funding source; advertising policy and accessibility of content by visually/hearing impaired visitors.
Interactivity: Interactive ICTs such as search engines can be implemented, often with the ability to import taxonomies that would enhance a basic search with additional related articles. Links to health search engines can further improve interactivity and reliability of content. If a requirement exists for user interaction, discussion forums, listservs (e-mail discussion lists) or blogs can be considered.
Explanations, assistance and terms of reference: When Internet users visit a site or are invited to register as members, they should be informed through privacy policies or terms of reference who the owners of the site is, how private information will be treated, confidentiality and contact details provided. Applications such as online databases or e-Learning applications should be accompanied by explanations or help systems that assist the visitor.
Basic components for a health Web presence: Navigation or menu items should be clear and use common Web terminology. Sub-menus or items listing sub-sections should be visible and accessible without the necessity of back clicks. If health content forms the basis of the Web presence, the site should be developed according to the HON Code of Conduct or a similar quality assurance methodology. If more than 10 pages, a Web site should have a search engine or site map. Terms of reference/privacy policy should be visible, preferably on every page. The home page or About section should clearly show who the owners and contributors of the Web site is with contact details. Graphics should be used with discretion so that it will not affect the download time of the home page. If possible, monitor access to documents so that it can be established which pages are less often accessed and attention be given to it. Clearly display multi-language access and funders/partner information.

Results

The models have been piloted over a period of two years. Explanatory results are presented below with one example showing how principles and guidelines have been applied.

The Web to public sub-model has been tested against AfroAIDSinfo, the MRC’s AIDS information portal for southern Africa at www.afroaidsinfo.org and is in its third version of refinement. In the table below, it has been indicated how the discussed principles of the KD framework has been applied.

KD Principles As applied in AfroAIDSinfo

Know the target audience and their knowledge level index - This principle is applied as in the case of AfroAIDSinfo, an international workshop was conducted where it was decided upon who the AIDS portal would target. The consumer groups included scientists, health professionals, policy makers, educators and the public – those who were interested in information on HIV and AIDS. Content was then developed based on the knowledge level index of each consumer group.
Engage typical members of target audience - The workshop mentioned above consisted of representatives from all the identified consumer groups. Initial discussions took place to develop a pattern for content development.
Integrate new knowledge into everyday situations - In this process, the initial pilot group provided guidance which was later enriched and modified during e-Surveys among the AfroAIDSinfo consumer groups. In the public category, a community outreach section was developed where content is based on real life experiences and “offline” activities.
Address pertinent issues - The AfroAIDSinfo editors and content developer constantly scans the environment, with specific emphasis on southern Africa to ensure that current issues are addressed. This process is taken further during the implementation during e-Surveys to establish consumer needs and preferences.
Avoid information overload - Categories are based on the consumer groups and sub-categories with content specifically for a consumer group prevents the impression of an information overload.
Striving for utilization - Constant engagement with the various consumer groups ensures that information is provided according to needs and feedback requested on how it is used.
Never induce fear - Objectivity is maintained as part of the editorial policy and inducing fear carefully steered from, especially in the education section.

Following the application of the above principles, the Web Content Guidelines were followed.

Web content guidelines - As applied in AfroAIDSinfo

Push and pull concept and interactivity - A sophisticated search engine allows registered users to find and view articles quickly as content is stored in a content management system. This search engine further allows visitors who regularly view specific information, to automatically be identified in communities of practice allowing them to share information and ideas.
Packaging of content with cultural understanding - Articles guiding visitors on the basic facts of HIV/AIDS that resides in the Public category has been translated into isiXhosa and Afrikaans (South African indigenous languages) to accommodate for the cultural and language nuances.
Addressing different audiences - All content in the portal has been categorized according to its five audiences: scientists, health professionals, educators, policy makers and the general public. This has been done based on the original feedback as defined during the applicable KD principle. It guides visitors to information that would address their specific needs. Visitors are invited to register to view the bulk of the content that again is clearly sub-divided according to the five consumer groups. Since the audiences are clearly defined, articles are also written according to their knowledge level index.
Convergence of ICTs - Registered users get access to a discussion forum and receive monthly e-Newsletters that inform them of new additions to the portal and other news items.
Engaging with audiences - Regular e-Surveys are conducted to determine whether the needs of users are met and adjustments are made accordingly. Articles in the Science category for instance regularly respond to requests from users, current incidents or publications of major impact. Much emphasis is put in the Education category to address the age group 11-18 with collaborative e-Learning studies and other initiatives to implement HIV prevention strategies.
Methodologies for measuring knowledge levels - As users are clearly divided in consumer groups, content is written on the level of each audience. New users are requested to indicate in which group they would classify themselves during registration. When logging into the AfroAIDSinfo portal, they land in that category, although they are able to view content in any of the other categories.
Information overload - Content for each category is further classified into sub-sections and based on the portal’s functionality, the user can browse through lists of articles without having to use Back buttons. Portlets have been used in the Policy section for policy makers in South Africa to lead them from provincial levels to municipality districts from where they can access resources specific to that area for their response to HIV.
Explanations, policies, TOR - A privacy policy has been instituted where the position of AfroAIDSinfo in terms of the HON principles are explained – funding source; status on medical information; disclosure of content providers and editors; contact details of owners and Webmaster and advertising policy.
Visitors are invited to register as users and a policy and explanation on how personal information will be handled is included.
Quality assurance - An editorial board of experts in various fields of HIV/AIDS screens all articles before they appear in the portal and HON accreditation has been achieved and these principles are adhered to.
Basic components and navigation - The AfroAIDSinfo is developed in portal technology that allows sections of information to be arranged in portlets. This also prevents the illusion of an information overload. A navigation bar with sub-items is displayed at the top of the page and terminology conforms to that used on the World Wide Web. A sophisticated search engine is available for registered users when logged in. A footer displays on every page and contains contact details and site owner information.

Although there are challenges, the lesson learnt in applying these KD principles and Web Content Guidelines have enabled the WMTD to successfully implement its Web to public model for AfroAIDSinfo. Benefits are now being reaped with an AIDS information portal that is in touch with the requirements and needs of its consumer groups. Good relationships, developed over time, ensure regular feedback and participation by the consumer groups in e-Surveys, especially as they can see that their participation and feedback is acted upon.

A Web to public model was found to be a practical way to ensure health content, based on a code of conduct, is appropriate for your target audience. For it to function, a two-way communication process, maintained with the target audience is an integral foundation. As part of this conclusion challenges and lessons learned are presented below.

Challenges

Resources: In applying KD principles and guidelines, funding is required for development, ongoing technology upgrades, editorial functions and content development, conducting of e-Surveys, community projects and strategies. Acquiring funding remains one of the biggest challenges.
Human resources: Huge demands on time and efforts are put to a very small project team.
Editorial board: Experts on various aspects of HIV and AIDS are invited to participate as editorial board members for AfroAIDSinfo. Some respond to documents submitted for review and others do not. This leads to certain individuals having to do most of the screening. Previous studies indicated that incentives should be given for editorial board participation.
Content development: The environment and media should be scanned continuously to ensure that articles are always relevant and addressing current topics – and what your audience needs as well as the selection of suitable themes for articles.
Community involvement???One of the challenges is to maintain good relationships with communities where HIV prevention and education programmes are run. Relationships should be nurtured, especially with regards to the KD Principle to make information available to integrate new knowledge into everyday situations and that of striving for utilisation.

Lessons learnt

Collaborations: Forming collaborations and partnerships have proved to expand the vision, focus and reach as well as to source funding and human resources.
CHI studies: Regular surveys on the appropriateness and effectiveness of applications and content has helped to develop a relationship between the project team and users. Users are continuously becoming more willing to participate in surveys because they see that the project team responds to their needs. This openness has been proven in their participation in the focus group discussions that were conducted in a private environment.
Development of sub-models for knowledge transfer: In southern Africa an Internet presence is not enough to reach all communities. Community-based projects have been initiated since the onset of AfroAIDSinfo to reach Internet under-serviced communities and through time, various sub-models have been developed for effective knowledge transfer, as referred to at the beginning of the paper. These models have been refinement over time.
Quality assurance: The initial editorial policy has been expanded with the institution of an editorial board, a clear Terms of Reference document regarding their role and achievement of HON accreditation. Participation of the editorial board has been improved by displaying with each document who reviewed it as well as the introduction of a page where the editorial board is listed, accompanied with their fields of expertise.
Implementation of community involvement section: In this section in the Public category, the AfroAIDSinfo community outreach activities are published as it occurs. These resources are also available to collaborators in other African countries who regularly download it for their outreach efforts in rural areas. It is also a channel through which it can be ensured that the KD Principle of “Striving for utilization” is achieved.

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

New Knowledge-based business models for Africa

storytelling — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:11:44 -0600

e-Knowledge markets are becoming recognised as “disruptive and discontinuous technology innovation” (Kaieteur Institute for KM 2005) which are changing the way which people manage their social networks, education, wealth and intellectual property assets. The possibility here is the exploitation of intellectual capital in real-time by a larger number of people. Some of the categories of these business models which have emerged include:

b2b (business-to-business) knowledge exchanges
community / social capital knowledge networks
e-education or e-learning exchanges
expert knowledge exchanges/ question and answer exchanges
intellectual capital/free-lance exchanges (human capital, talent, work, job, project, free agent or professional services exchanges )
intellectual property exchanges
knowledge auctions
knowledge banks (know-how banks)
knowledge grids
knowledge market & exchange - enabling technologies
knowledge stores or malls
knowledge vortexes - vertical market or industry specific knowledge markets
prediction/ futurology / idea markets
stock market or investment knowledge exchanges

The software necessary to drive such systems has become commonplace and can be implemented at very reasonable cost for even the smallest NGO or community organisation In addition, even entry level telephones now have 3G and web browsing capabilities allowing even greater access to electronic resources

African Knowledge-Based Businesses

There are literally limitless opportunities for the creation of Knowledge-based business in Africa. The following suggestions represent new categories which could be opened to the rest of the world as authentically African. Examples of Knowledge-Based business in additional to traditional educational institutions could include:

Knowledge Tourism – Strategically positioning knowledge offerings linked to local areas that invite exploration and experiencing in a variety of areas such as:
- Archaeology / Anthropology / History / Cultural experiences (Cultural villages, Dig sites, Stay overs with families etc.)
- Wildlife and Natural Resource Management Courses
- African Storytelling / oral traditions - Soekershof Mazes and botanical gardens Soekershof website
- Permaculture, Urban and Rural Agriculture and food production
- Student exchange programmes at School and University Level
- Participation in ancient rituals and rites - and example of this in South Africa are the Soekershof Mazes and botanical gardens Soekershof website
- Spiritual tourism to places of spiritual / geological and cultural significance
- Earthbuilding, traditional architecture and building methods
Carbon Offset agreements – to stimulate the growing of trees that provide food, work, shelter and regular income for local communities in exchange for Carbon Offset.
Waterway reclamation as part of carbon offset agreement to stimulate the cleaning of polluted waterways providing food, work, shelter and regular income for local communities in exchange for Carbon Offset see example of this at the Wet-Africa.org website
Phytochemistry – there is increasing interest in the molecules contained in some of Africa's indigenous plants by international Pharma companies. It is important that projects be established to:
- Identify and classify traditional uses of these plant and animal resources in such a way that the interests of local communities are protected and that they are suitably compensated should traditions of use lead to the isolation of useful molecules and practices.
- Grow and protect such natural resources and record the oral traditions connected to them.
- Ensure sustainable harvesting and management of such plants, in order to preserve the natural balance.

Indigenous Knowledge is part and parcel of the culture and history of any local community. Development agencies “need to learn from local communities to enrich the development process” (World Bank, 1998). Indigenous knowledge also affects the well-being of the majority of people in developing countries (Ngulube, 2002). Some 80% of the world’s population depend on indigenous knowledge to meet their medicinal needs and at least 50% rely on indigenous knowledge for food supply (Nyumba, 2006). Indigenous knowledge is indeed the cornerstone for building an own identity and ensuring coherence of social structures within communities.

Steve Banhegyi
steve@storytelling.co.za

Fireside Chat

4 steps to exploring social media

KMAadmin — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:09:05 -0600

If you are new to social media and are still exploring the area, here are 4 steps to help you get the best out of it:

Step 1: Explore - search & browse for content that interests you. Find out where your friends, colleagues and peers spend their time on the web. Particularly look for notable commentators and figures in the area in which you are interested, subscribe to their personal blogs and follow the comments and conversations.
Step 2: Understand the space. The social media space has its own set of informal rules often termed 'netiquette' (the etiquette of the 'net). The fundamental idea is to treat others in the way that you would like to be treated - be polite, firm, honour your commitments and be consistent across all the networks that you choose to belong to. Also, commit to prompt feedback-there is nothing stranger in an electronic world than people who takes weeks to respond to an email. Also remind yourself anything you do on the 'net that can be directly traced back to you will speak volumes about 'who you are'; this image will either attract of repel potential contacts.
Step 3: Ask intelligent knowledge creation questions and give prompt feedback - you can do this by voting on content and by adding your own comments or even feeding back on other comments thus further stimulating a conversation. Also, while you can explore ideas, never attack (or 'flame' in internet language) people or groups.
Step 4: Contribute - start creating, editing and enhancing the KMAfrica.com knowledgebase. All our content is fed to a variety of knowledge-related sites and newsfeeds and so it creates awareness and interest. Use your personal blog and the SIGS to highlight your projects and interests and get feedback from other members. Find ways to tell your own story in creative ways using diverse media.

Fireside Chat

A model for community participation in African libraries to preserve Indigenous Knowledge - Betsie Greyling

storytelling — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:03:22 -0600

A model for community participation in African libraries to preserve Indigenous Knowledge.

Author: Betsie Greyling, Senior Systems Librarian, eThekwini Municipal Library
PO Box 917, Durban, 4000, South Africa E-mail: greylingb@durban.gov.za

Abstract

Africa and African libraries and information centres are poorly equipped to make a meaningful contribution to the current global digital knowledge economy. The lack of management systems for indigenous knowledge perpetuates the low local content on the Web, retards buy-in from local communities into digital resources and inhibits digital skills development. Afro-centric Libraries and Information Services should include provision of indigenous knowledge resources. The paper discusses a model for community participation in establishing a digital library of indigenous knowledge. It focuses on public libraries and aims to create a virtual resource that is in step with the global information society while at the same time empowering citizens through preservation of indigenous knowledge and through development of digital skills.

The model creates a platform using existing library infrastructure from where the project is carried out to communities. A multi-pronged approach uses community workers to collect oral and visual material, community members are taught how to add local content to the World Wide Web at the local library, and the library acts as moderator and custodian of the indigenous knowledge resource. A proviso of the model is free public Internet access at the library and the use of social Web 2.0 technology. People of all social and age groups are employed to steer the programme at ground level while volunteer contributions to the database is encouraged. This provides the potential for collaboration from the whole community.

The model will provide a virtual library resource of local indigenous knowledge, freely accessible to all members of the community. Availability of local content on the Web will enhance use of digital resources. Improved digital skills will result in economic empowerment of communities and be instrumental in poverty alleviation.

Ultimately the model will enable communities to manage their own indigenous knowledge in an economically viable manner. Global exposure of local communities will attract international economic, scientific and cultural interest. Virtual indigenous knowledge resources in African Libraries will play a pivotal role in the current global digital knowledge community whilst democratisation of the societies will progress through provision of knowledge.

Introduction

Digital information and communication technologies have revolutionised the ways in which knowledge and technical know-how travel around the world. The extent to which information requirements are met by the Internet throughout the world is reflected in usage statistics. According to the latest published figures 70 % of the population in North America use the Internet; usage in South America is 18 % whereas in Africa Internet penetration is 3.6% (Internet World Stats 2007).

Apart from the problem of accessibility, the global trend of using the Internet for preservation and dissemination of information causes a dilemma for the African information community. Amidst this world of plenty in terms of information and knowledge, the African local content on the Web is very low, because of lack of capacity to record, transfer and disseminate information. The result is that Africa and the library and information centres in Africa are at a major disadvantage in the current knowledge economy and are poorly equipped to make a meaningful contribution to the African Renaissance. Buy-in to digital resources by local communities remains low because of the paucity of local content which contributes to the failure of digital skills development.

A model is proposed whereby online indigenous knowledge resources are established as an integral part of local Public Library and Information Services. Web 2.0 technologies are used to create a collaborative online local indigenous knowledge database. The community assumes ownership of the database, while the library focuses on custodianship of the information resource. Community participation ensures the collecting, recording and preserving of local knowledge, and ultimately accomplishes knowledge sharing, skills development, job opportunities and empowerment within communities. The library provides database management, training and support.

Why do we need to preserve Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous knowledge is part and parcel of the culture and history of any local community. Development agencies “need to learn from local communities to enrich the development process” (World Bank, 1998). Indigenous knowledge also affects the wellbeing of the majority of people in developing countries (Ngulube, 2002). Some 80% of the world’s population depend on indigenous knowledge to meet their medicinal needs and at least 50% rely on indigenous knowledge for food supply (Nyumba, 2006). Indigenous knowledge is indeed the cornerstone for building an own identity and ensuring coherence of social structures within communities.

Because indigenous knowledge is mostly stored in people’s minds and passed on through generations by word of mouth rather than in written form, it is vulnerable to rapid change (Sithole, 2006). Development processes like rural/urban migration and changes to population structure as a result of famine, epidemics, displacement or war may all contribute to loss of indigenous knowledge. Even in remote areas the powers that push global or just non-local content, i.e. television, advertising, etc., are much stronger than those pushing local content (Nyumba, 2006). Indigenous knowledge faces extinction unless it is properly documented and disseminated (World Bank, 1998). This crisis can be averted by employing the model as set out below.

A model for community participation to preserve Indigenous Knowledge

The foundation of the proposed model is a triangular approach with three cornerstones, i.e. the public library, the community and current information ICT technologies. Together they shape the outcome of the programme and are inter-dependent upon one another. The model was originally developed to suit networked public library systems such as exist in the metropolitan areas in South Africa. These networked systems consist of multiple branch libraries in urban, peri-urban and rural areas, and a good IT infrastructure with free public Internet access. The model is fully adaptable and the programme can be run equally successfully from a single library, as long as there is Internet available in the area.

Information and Communication Technology

Developments in information and communication technologies over the last few decades have prompted a shift from collection development to collection management in libraries (Rowley, 2003; Lwoga & Sife, 2006). The recent emergence of Web 2.0 technologies has enabled large-scale collaboration in the creation of data online (Farkas, 2007). Furthermore the high degree of flexibility in the latest social software allows a dynamic environment which can be easily adapted to serve specific community needs.

The proposed model for the preservation of indigenous knowledge is built around an online database using Open Access social software technology. The database is created as a wiki, which is a Web page that allows users to easily modify content. It is an excellent tool for collaborative writing and for creating and editing shared documents (Farkas, 2007). A wiki can be viewed by anyone who has an Internet connection and changes to the content can be made by anyone with editing privileges. The ultimate example of a wiki is the Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia that has recently taken the world by storm (http://en.wikipedia.org). Wikis are people-centered, they promote discovery, creation and sharing of knowledge (Grand, 2006). Ultimately they promote lifelong learning through community information provision.

Wiki software can be downloaded from the Web. Database set-up takes into account user needs at all levels of the society and can be expanded as new needs arise. The database is organized into different pages and the community’s own branding is added. In accordance with Mosimege (2005) it is indexed using folksonomies rather than brief descriptors normally used in standard taxonomic databases to avoid compromising the holistic nature of indigenous knowledge. Content is added in plain text, so there is no need to learn HTML. WikiMedia software supports any language and different media can be used to record information, i.e. text, sound and images. The website is hosted off-site to afford free access to all members of the community. Off-site server hosting with regular back-ups and downloads takes care of risk management, and new software releases and enhancements are supported by the development agency with seamless transitions to the end-user. Website ranking is enhanced by linking to relevant local authority and/or national websites.

The Library

The individual’s right to free and equal access to information and knowledge is a fundamental democratic principle (Hedelund, 2006). As part of social services, public libraries are well positioned to insure free and equal access to information and knowledge. By virtue of their focus on preservation and dissemination of information, they are ideally situated to facilitate the management of knowledge (Snyman & Van Rooi, 2006) and to provide opportunities for individuals in local communities to acquire the information necessary to make informed decisions.

The traditional view of the library’s role is to provide access to information resources by building up book collections. This restricted mindset is located in a time when books and documents were synonymous with ‘information’ (Myburgh, 2006). In order to meet the social obligation of the library today, the contemporary library has to provide access to information also from the oral, digital and any other media in which it is supplied. The use of computerized information systems can be effective as a system of conservation if they support the maintenance and transmission of knowledge within those communities that developed the knowledge (Mosimege, 2005).

Whilst libraries elsewhere in the world have been preserving indigenous knowledge for many years (e.g. Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (Smithsonian Institution, 2007); New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for research in Black Culture (New York Public Library, 2007)) the situation has been different with African libraries. Libraries in Africa were originally designed to serve colonial interests, stocking books of primarily foreign content (Omole, 2002). With the coming of independence to many African states, transformation did not reach the libraries (Sithole, 2006).

The prohibitive cost of documenting indigenous knowledge compels libraries to establish public/private partnerships to achieve their goal. Among the notable successes in Africa are the telecentres in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania which provide rural and peri-urban areas with access to ICT’s through support of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) (Kaddu & Nyumba, 2005). Richardson (1997) however argues that due to poor connectivity, inadequate infrastructure and human resource limitations, most of the centres provide very limited services.

Community oriented programmes in libraries elsewhere in the world include the Nepal Rural Community Library programme where a self-supporting community library system had been established, providing access to computers and the Internet (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2006). The libraries now develop local content which is used to share information across villages. In Chile the BiblioRedes Programme is meeting the communities’ need to preserve and promote local history by providing computers with Internet access in four hundred public libraries countrywide (Pacheco & Abbagliati, 2006).

The proposed model is in step with global goals as constituted in the African Charter for Popular Participation (United Nations, 1990), the United Nations Social Development Plan (United Nations, 1995) and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2000). It is also underpinned by the three guidelines for libraries as set out in the South African national policy document for Indigenous Knowledge Systems. The policy states the need for “a new model of library service in order to:

Facilitate indigenous and local community information access based on their own identified needs;
Provide opportunities for indigenous and local communities to actively record and share their contemporary history, culture and language with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples; and
Use new technology creatively to support Indigenous and local community development.” (South Africa. Department of Science & Technology, 2005).
The model proposes to use existing public library infrastructure as a platform from which the knowledge management programme is launched. It is planned to launch a pilot programme in Durban, South Africa, using the well established public library system. In the greater Durban area eighty five branch libraries, spread out over urban and peri-urban areas across the city and the rural areas surrounding the city, all have internet connectivity through the municipal network. In accordance with the model the library serves as the hub for the program and has various roles to fulfil.

Leadership

The library initiates the programme and enters into a partnership with the community. A program manager is appointed to steer the programme, liaise with stakeholders and spearhead marketing campaigns. Liaison with community leadership feeds into a consensus strategy which informs all aspects of the programme, including the project plan, funding, appointment of local field workers, data selection policy, methodology and mobilization of community members. Expected outcomes and responsibilities of stakeholders are defined and documented. Regular needs assessments and status reports are used to re-direct the programme if necessary.

Coordination

Within the library a department for digital resources is tasked to manage the indigenous knowledge repository in its entirety. This department coordinates the technical aspects of the ICT component as well as the community component of the programme. Centralised infrastructure such as office space and ICT infrastructure is provided. The logistics of daily administration, marketing, human resources and finances are the responsibility of the library. The appointment of indigenous knowledge fieldworkers is coordinated by the library. Funding and existing infrastructure will prescribe the roll out of the programme. Ideally a field worker is appointed at every library to serve the surrounding community. Community liaison and outreach is maintained through the central office.

Facilitation

The library facilitates database design, set-up and branding, along with free public Internet access at any branch library or other community centre from which the programme is run. Because the knowledge database is hosted on the World Wide Web, remoteness is not a prohibitive problem in gathering information. Information gathering is facilitated among all community members through indigenous knowledge field workers, whether at the library or at homes through outreach programmes. People are invited to share their knowledge, stories, histories etc. by visiting the library where they are offered the choice of either recording the information on the website themselves or allowing the field worker to enter the data. Alternatively field workers visit those members of the community who are not able get to the library, at their homes. Their stories are recorded on site in order to post the information later on the website.

Education and skills development

There are two aspects to the educational role of the library. Firstly the model prescribes the appointment of indigenous knowledge field workers. Because these are the people who are doing the data collection at grass roots level, it is important that they come from the immediate community. This ensures the building of trust relationships and buy-in from the communities. Field workers need to be trained in IT skills, interview skills and audio-visual recording skills. Secondly, the model is structured to encourage community members to join actively in the programme by recording their own data. For people who lack the necessary skills the field workers provide basic computer training and as much support as is necessary. Training sessions are run by the field worker at the library for groups or individuals. In this way digital skills transfer is achieved widely throughout the community.

Custodianship

The library acts as custodian of the indigenous knowledge e-resource that is created. At no point does it act as owner, but takes on the role of moderator of the database. This involves editing and organizing of the data, indexing, creating of folksonomies, hyperlinking, etc. to ensure effective retrieval (Hartman, 2006). Because the WikiMedia software allows input in any language, translation of selective data needs to be considered. To ensure adherence to selection policies and intellectual property rights, the library must review new input on an ongoing basis.

Outreach and marketing

Successful implementation of the model is reliant on community participation, therefore sustained outreach to the community is imperative. Continuous engagement with and mobilization of the community is structured by the library as ongoing outreach activities in various forms, e.g. storytelling forums, cultural events, social functions, exhibitions, historical and educational tours, craft workshops and the like. All sectors of the community are targeted, across all ages and socio-economic groups. These activities are a natural extension of the library’s normal outreach programme so the methodologies are well developed. Regular promotion of the programme is done through the local press as well as posters and leaflets distributed at community centres, health clinics, libraries, schools, shops, markets and other areas in the community where there is high pedestrian traffic. Introductions and presentations at community meetings further serves to market the programme.

The Community

Metropolitan areas in Africa are typically surrounded by peri-urban and rural areas, with large populations where there is little coherence in social structures, partly due to the dispersed nature of the living environment and partly due to the poor economic situation prevalent in these areas. It has been shown over the past few decades that top-down social development strategies do not achieve sustained public participation (Korten, 1983, 1990). The current model favours the micro-level approach that acknowledges the dictum that “development is about people” (Coetzee, 2001), and thus adopts a bottom-up approach, with the community as the most important member in this partnership.

The model strives towards inclusivity of every sphere of the community and all members are encouraged to participate and take ownership of the programme. Ultimately the programme is about preservation of community knowledge by the community, and therefore the community is regarded as the owner. The only roles that the Libraries and the ICT components play in this model are that of support as described above. Main role players among the community are the leaders, the programme field workers and the community members themselves.

Community leaders

Leaders from the community play a pivotal role in the establishment and continuation of the programme. Local leaders such as tribal authorities and ward councillors inform the direction of the programme to suit community needs. Their cooperation is indispensable in marketing the programme and mobilizing the community. Protracted engagement of local leaders in discussions around indigenous knowledge issues ensures alignment of targets that are in keeping with current sentiments and promote the sustained community interest in the programme.

Field workers

Field workers from the immediate community are used to drive the programme at ground level. They are known in and have intimate knowledge of the community. Thus they are able to build up trust relationships with and secure buy-in from members of the community. A natural consequence of such practice is the awareness and promotion of the programme that is carried out to the community in an informal way.

Field workers are stationed at community libraries but report to the programme manager at the central library. They are responsible for data-collection, digital skills transfer to community members and posting of the data on the website. They reach out to the community by inviting people to come to the library to post their information on the Internet. They also go out to functions and visit individuals as needed to do recordings which are added to the database later. Where areas are too remote for community members to easily get to the library, the library takes the programme to the villages to record the stories and oral histories on site. Ongoing promotion of the programme highlights advantages and fosters a culture of knowledge sharing.

Community members

The community in all its complexity constitutes the natural resource that forms the basis of the model. Ownership rests with the community and through community participation sustainability of the programme is ensured. Special target groups in the community include the elderly, the youth, cultural groups including artists and crafters, professionals and technologists.

It is widely recognized that the older people in the community carry a wealth of indigenous knowledge, both cultural and technical. The oral nature of most of this knowledge makes it vulnerable to extinction and in that sense the resource is already in a virtual medium, albeit one that cannot be backed up or stored off-site. The model targets the older members of the community to preserve this oral knowledge for posterity through visits by field workers to record their stories, histories, songs, dances and other knowledge.

Young people are invited to play an active role in the preservation and dissemination of their community’s indigenous knowledge. Through liaison with schools in the surrounding area the model encourages high school learners to participate in a rotating panel of students to provide a reference service at the community library in the afternoons. As incentive they are trained in digital literacy skills and information retrieval skills and awarded with competency certificates, free photocopies for their school projects and the like. The project will benefit from this practice, as these skills are continuously transferred back into the community, creating a mesh network of skilled people. Rural schools around the metropolitan perimeter have Internet access facilitated through public donor funding, which opens up the possibility of students and teachers participating in the programme by posting information directly onto the database via the Internet. This in turn creates secondary educational opportunities in the form of digital assignments. The model allows free participation with the necessary checks and balances built in through the moderation process.

Cultural groups are targeted to record past and present cultural life, the arts and crafts of the community, their music, songs, dances and rites. The model is structured to allow volunteer indigenous knowledge champions within formal groups in the community to take the initiative to gather information and post it on the website. The library provides support in the form of photographs, audio-visual recordings, free Internet access and appropriate organization of the online data. The selection of material is left up to individuals and groups, and support is provided to protect intellectual property rights.

The model expects professionals and technologists within the community to share their knowledge with other community members. This may be in the form of tacit or explicit knowledge which can be transferred to the website. Members from formal community structures, commerce and local government departments (e.g. health, agriculture, education, environmental affairs) with local information that belongs in the public domain will be encouraged to make the information available for posting on the database. In the case of published data that emanated from research on local material, the information falls within the scope of indigenous knowledge and as such forms part of the heritage of the local community. Typically at museums, research on local culture and natural history often results in research publications. This is a valuable educational resource for local communities and the information should be freely available to the community at large, albeit at a layman’s level, thus contributing to lifelong education.

Results

Community participation in a programme to preserve indigenous knowledge is expected to produce the following outcomes:

A collaborative database of local indigenous knowledge will be created.
A website will be established, providing free access to local indigenous knowledge, not only to members of the community, but to the global internet community.
Local content will be added to the World Wide Web with relevance to local communities.
Free Internet access will be provided to poor/low-income communities.
Use of digital resources will be enhanced among local communities.
People will be skilled in digital literacy and information literacy.
Conservation of indigenous knowledge and through that preservation of culture will be achieved.
African libraries will gain a foothold in the international information community.

A website of local indigenous knowledge will inform local technologies and culture. Improved digital skills will result in economic empowerment of communities and progress in poverty alleviation. Knowledge provision will enable behaviour changes and informed decision making, as well promote the creation of new knowledge within the community. It will stimulate innovative thinking, aid learning and promote indigenous technologies. Formal and informal knowledge levels in the community will be enhanced, leading to an informed society. Ultimately a culture of knowledge sharing between community members will improve social cohesion in the community.

Conclusion

By implementing this model for the preservation of indigenous knowledge communities will be able to manage their own indigenous knowledge in an economically viable and sustainable manner. Global exposure of local communities will attract international economic, scientific and cultural interest with potential growth in industries such tourism, agriculture and the like. A sustainable people-centred, Afro-centric digital library service will impact on social change and will play a pivotal role in the current global digital knowledge community, whilst democratisation of societies will progress through provision of knowledge. Finally African cultural values will be affirmed in the face of globalisation.

References

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KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

Knowledge Management and Intranet Technology - Udo Richard Averweg & Stella Anne Jory

storytelling — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:36:48 -0600

Udo Richard Averweg - Information Services, eThekwini Municipality and University of KwaZulu-Natal

Stella Anne Jory - Afrika Leadership Development Institute

Abstract

Intranets are very much suited to use as a strategic tool in knowledge management (KM) due to their ability to support distribution, connectivity and publishing. The Intranet should be seen as integral to an organisation’s KM system and should be tailored to suit and enhance an organisation’s knowledge-sharing activities. The question arises: To what extent does an organisation’s existing Intranet facilitate knowledge-sharing? This question is explored by selection of a large organisation – the eThekwini Municipality, Durban South Africa – as the field of application. Derived from a mixed methodology approach, the results of a recent survey are presented.

Introduction

The validity of knowledge and the power of harnessing it, is widely embraced by empowered nations, vibrant industries and winning organisations. Currently and for the next decade at least, knowledge should be viewed as the most important and valuable resource. Industries and organisations of various sizes and forms, will find value in the realisation that in order to remain sustainable and to successfully supply to the increasing demands of the market, explicit management of intellectual processes, resources, capabilities and particularly knowledge, is crucial. A wide range of industries internationally today, recognise that corporate society rests on the verge of a new horizon in which intellectual capital (IC) is rapidly becoming the new currency in the work domain.

Upon reflection of this theme and within the related domain of Knowledge Management (KM), Michael Zack (1999: 125) describes “the primary focus of these efforts has been on developing new applications of information technology to support digital capture, storage, retrieval and distribution of an organisation’s explicitly documented knowledge”. When aligned, organisational strategy and technical competency provide a sound framework to support KM within an organisation. However, the question arises as to whether or not an organisation is making the best investment in its resources or whether (or not) it is managing knowledge in the right way.

To use this thought-provoking question as a point of departure, it is worthwhile to consider Tiwana and Ramesh (2001) who promote that the Intranet is well-suited to being used as a strategic tool within the domain of KM due to its ability to support distribution, connectivity and publishing. Furthermore, the Intranet should be seen as integral to an organisation’s KM system and should therefore be designed and tailored to enhance an organisation’s knowledge-sharing activities. From the above analogy, the question whether an organisation’s existing Intranet facilitates knowledge-sharing and KM processes arises. The exploration of this question sets a platform for an opportunity for research within a field of application that seems particularly appealing: a metropolitan municipality – eThekwini Municipality in Durban, South Africa. The appropriate context and appeal arose out of the fact that the first author is situated within the organisation’s Information Services department. Furthermore, given eThekwini Municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP), this study was considered pertinent and relevant. In surveying the parameters of the question, the overriding premise was established as follows: If knowledge is used effectively, it may well provide meaningful utility to the organisation.

Background

Given that this research falls within the domain of KM and the field of application is eThekwini Municipality, the authors deem it necessary at this point to briefly explore the following concepts and realities: Knowledge, Knowledge Management, Information Technology (IT), Intranet Technology and eThekwini Municipality.

Knowledge

Significance of Knowledge in Corporate Society

Peter Drucker (1999: 81) suggests “there is still no history of work, but then also, despite the all the philosophies about knowledge, there is no history of knowledge either. Both should become important areas of study within the next decades, or at least within the next century”. Considering the theories of cognition (epistemology) around the history of science and work, it may be Drucker’s intention to create awareness about the idea that we have not looked carefully and closely enough at the world’s perception of knowledge and work. But whatever specifically he means, his analogy draws together the notions of work and knowledge and the aspiration that these should become “important areas of study”. Furthermore, as an introductory thought, Drucker sets a platform, which forms the theme of ‘Knowledge and Work’ or perhaps more appropriately ‘Work and Knowledge’.

Managing knowledge appropriately is at the centre of many discussions around competitiveness and sustainability. Much of the current theory and practices promote that knowledge (and the management of it) may prove useful if the scope and utility of knowledge is aligned with an organisation’s strategy. It also proposes that this should be set on a broader scale than merely IT. In other words, it is argued that the management of knowledge should go beyond a narrow technical focus and encompass other less tangible themes within an organisation. In relation to this, Zack (1996: 125) clarifies the intangible “as the knowledge existing within people’s heads, augmented or shared via interaction and social relationships”. For the purpose of this paper, the analogy draws on the ability to draw together the technology, the notion of shared interaction and the creation of an opportunity for knowledge transfer.

Concept of knowledge

From a review of the management of knowledge literature, there are many definitions of the concept of knowledge. If organisations are to effectively utilise knowledge and to formulate KM strategies, defining of knowledge for its unique purpose is necessary. Categorisation of the concept of knowledge is now presented:

Belief Description
“Justified true belief” (Goldman, 1991; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995: 58);
“Knowledge is understanding based on belief” (James, 1907); and
“Knowledge can be thought of as a body of understandings, generalizations, and abstractions that we carry with us on a permanent or semi-permanent basis and apply to interpret and manage the world around us …we will consider knowledge to be the collection of mental units of all kinds that provides us with understandings and insights” (Wiig, 1998).

Pragmatic Description
“The most essential definition of knowledge is that it is composed of and grounded solely in potential acts and in those signs that refer to them” (Cavaleri and Reed, 2000: 114);
“Knowledge is social acts” (Stacey, 1996); and
“Knowledge is the capacity for effective action” (Argyris, 1993: 2-3).

Communal Description
“Knowledge is experience or information that can be communicated or shared” (Allee, 1997: 27).

Contextual Description
“Information in context” (Aune, 1970);
“Knowledge, while made up of data and information, can be thought of as much greater understanding of a situation, relationships, causal phenomena, and the theories and rules (both explicit and implicit) that underlie a given domain or problem” (Bennet and Bennet, 2000: 19); and
“Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It originates and is applied in the minds of knowers. In organisations it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories but also in organisational routines, practices and norms” (Davenport and Prusak, 1997: 5).

The pragmatic, communal and contextual categories of defining knowledge may be drawn on for the purpose of this research.

Knowledge Management

Precisely what is KM? Kwalek (2004: 23) suggests that “the literature on knowledge management is disjointed and disconnected”. Pfeffer and Sutton (2000: 22) indicate that KM “tends to treat knowledge as a tangible thing, as a stock or quantity, and therefore separates knowledge as some thing from the use of that thing”. Clearly there are different views on what KM is. From a review of the literature, some definitions of KM are given in Table 1.

Some definitions of Knowledge Management

Ezingeard et al. (2000) - KM directs acquiring, storing, adding value to and deploying the intellectual capital of the organisation’s professionals
Liebowitz (2000) - KM deals with creating, securing, capturing, co-ordinating, combining, retrieving and distributing knowledge
Abell (2001) - KM is a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to the creation, capture, organisation, access and use of an enterprise’s IC on customers, markets, products, services and internal processes
Mack et al. (2001) - KM refers to the methods and tools for capturing, storing, organising and making accessible knowledge and expertise within and across communities
Gray (2006) - KM is the organisational process for acquiring, organising and communicating both tacit and explicit knowledge (so that people may use it to be more effective)

For the purposes of this paper, Gray’s definition (Gray, 2006: 118) will be adopted.

Honeycutt (2000: xvii) indicates that KM is a discipline that treats IC as a managed asset. KM is not a centralised database that contains all the information known by an organisation’s workers. It is the idea of gaining business insights from a variety of sources - including databases, websites, employees and business partners – and cultivating that information wherever it resides. Business insight emanates from capturing information and giving it greater meaning via its relationship to other information in the organisation. It should be stated that KM is not about making plug?and?play workers dispensable because all they know is recorded for the next person who fills their shoes – it is about delivering information to knowledge workers, business processes and technology to make organisations and people successful. Intranets, the “in house” version of the World Wide Web (“the Web”) browser based on Internet technology, create a common corporate communications and information sharing system (Brelade and Harman, 2003).

Information Technology

Given that advances in IT have made it easier to acquire, store or disseminate knowledge than ever before, many organisations are employing IT to facilitate sharing and integration of knowledge (Kankanhalli et al., 2003: 69). There is clearly a need for KM practices in the workplace to enable managers to promote the sharing of knowledge and allow the organisation to acquire and retain IC. For example, eThekwini Municipality is “committed to using Information Technology to make a real difference … municipal decisions have to be based on sound research and information management in order to ensure [service] delivery” (eThekwini Municipality, 2006: 28). KM initiatives in organisations are increasingly becoming important as organisations are making significant IT investments in deploying KM systems (Hahn and Subramani, 2000: 302).

Intranet Technology

Public and private organisations are beginning to view knowledge as their most valuable and strategic resource. It is increasingly recognised that organisations need to develop better techniques to manage their knowledge assets (Offsey, 1997). Intranets are often depicted as part of the effective solution for knowledge-sharing across departments, functions or geographical locations in organisations to facilitate information sharing and collaboration across departments, functions and different information systems (IS) within the organisation (Bernard, 1996).

An Intranet (or internal Web) is a network architecture designed to serve the internal information needs of an organisation using Web (Internet) concepts and tools - see Cortese (1996) and Averweg (2007: 46). Turban et al. (2005: 50-51) indicate that an Intranet is a private network that uses Internet software and TCP/IP protocols. Defined technically, Intranets are the application of Internet technology (and specifically the Web service) for a prescribed community of users (Scheepers and Rose, 2001).

An Intranet is a network designed to serve the internal informational needs of an organisation (eg. a municipality) using Internet concepts and tools (Turban et al., 2004: 130). The cost effectiveness of utilising Internet technology has opened the door for organisations to use this same technology to share information within the organisation (Botha, 2004). Technology thus plays an important role in organisations. The basic role of technology in KM can be briefly summarised in functional terms, into the areas of

Facilitating communication;
Enabling collaboration
Collecting information;
Storing information;
Analysing information;
Disseminating information; and
Updating information (Brelade and Harman, 2003).

Intranets create a common communications and information sharing system. Brelade and Harman (2003) suggest Intranets can be used on a “push” basis – where information is presented to employees and on a “pull” basis whereby employees seek out and retrieve information for themselves:

“Push” technology is used when it is important that certain material is presented to employees at their workstation. It ensures that no other function takes place until all the information is correctly accessed; and “Pull” technology allows employees to decide when to pull down information from the Intranet that they wish to view. The “views of the end users are more important than in most other studies” (Skok and Kalmanovitch, 2005: 736).

To provide a seamless experience between viewing pages on the Web and viewing information on an Intranet, access is usually via a standard Internet browser. The commonly used Internet browser in eThekwini Municipality is Microsoft Internet Explorer.

eThekwini Municipality

eThekwini Municipality comprises six clusters/service units (Office of the City Manager, Treasury, Governance, Sustainable Development and City Enterprises, Corporate and Human Resources & Health, Safety and Social Services) and employs approximately 20,000 employees. The Information Services department is located in the Office of the City Manager. eThekwini Municipality has some 6,000 networked desktops (personal computers, thin clients and laptops) and electronic communication (ie. e?Mail) is via Novell’s GroupWise (Client version 6.5). A total of 6,654 GroupWise accounts exist in eThekwini Municipality. There are approximately 1,500 Internet accounts utilising either Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator web browsers.

Research Methodology

All research is varied. Hence disparate approaches are taken and shown in dissimilar research. For this research, a mixed methods research approach will be adopted:

Knowledge claim – pragmatism;
Strategy of inquiry - transformative procedures; and
Methods of data collection and analysis - secondary data and analysis will be used. This data for eThekwini Municipality’s Intranet has recently been collected by an independent research company, Ask Africa. The rationale for using this secondary data is that (1) it is considered relevant to the study; and (2) there are savings of time and money by using this available data rather than collecting original data.

From the eThekwini Municipality Intranet report compiled by Ask Africa, the reported findings will inform this study. The data used in this research will be sourced from eThekwini Municipality Intranet research report (dated July 2006) compiled by Ask Africa.

Survey and Results

Extracted from the eThekwini Municipality Intranet report (Ask Africa, 2006), the reported results are now presented and explored. These findings serve as a base point to further identify shortfalls and possible opportunities for a more effective contribution to KM within eThekwini Municipality.

The ascending rank order of Agree/Strongly Agree responses to benefits the Intranet holds, is reflected in Table 2.

Table 2. Ascending rank order of Agree/Strongly Agree responses to benefits the Intranet holds

(Adapted from eThekwini Municipality Intranet report compiled by Ask Africa, 2006: 26)

Statement
Percentage (%) of Respondents (N=19)
Agree/ Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree
Useful platform to share and access inter-department information 87.0% 9.0% 4.0%
The Intranet is an effective way for organisational interaction 81.0% 14.0% 5.0%
Quickest focal point to disseminate and get organisational communication 77.0% 14.0% 9.0%
Enhances departmental communication 72.0% 5.0% 24.0%
Helps the organisation improve its service to customers 65.0% 15.0% 20.0%
Helps with productivity 63.0% 14.0% 23.0%
Using the Intranet is necessary for employees to perform my (sic) daily work functions 50.0% 5.0% 45.0%

From Table 2, the greatest perceived benefit that the Intranet holds for employees using it is as a platform to share and access inter?department (ie. clusters/service units) information. The second highest reported benefit was as “an effective way for organisational interaction”. van der Walt et al. (2004: 4) suggested the importance evaluating an organisation’s Intranet to ascertain its contribution to potential knowledge?sharing in an organization. The third highest reported benefit was as the quickest “focal point to disseminate and get organisational communication” The lowest reported benefit was for employees to use the Intranet for their daily work functions.

The ascending rank order of Agree/Strongly Agree responses to the design of the Intranet is reflected in Table 3.

Table 3. Ascending rank order of Agree/Strongly Agree responses to design of Intranet
(Adapted from eThekwini Municipality Intranet report compiled by Ask Africa, 2006: 34)

Statement
Percentage (%) of Respondents (N=21)
Agree/ Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree
I am happy with the text and font used on the site 86.0% 5.0% 10.0%
I am happy with the colours used on the site 81.0% 10.0% 10.0%
I am happy with the layout and organisation of the site 67.0% 19.0% 14.0%
I am happy with the images and pictures used on the site 62.0% 19.0% 19.0%
Overall I am happy with the design of the Intranet website 57.0% 33.0% 10.0%

From Table 3, it appears that most respondents surveyed were generally satisfied by the text, font and colours used but there was some disagreement on the images, pictures and overall design of the Intranet website. For respondents surveyed, this suggests that images and pictures used on the website require improvement for eThekwini Municipality employees to obtain user satisfaction (Ask Africa, 2006: 35).

The ascending rank order of Agree/Strongly Agree responses to the usability of the Intranet is reflected in Table 4.

Table 4. Ascending rank order of Agree/Strongly Agree responses to the usability of the Intranet
(Adapted from eThekwini Municipality Intranet report compiled by Ask Africa, 2006: 39)

Statement
Percentage (%) of Respondents (N=20)
Agree/ Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree

The drop down menus are easy to use 70.0% 20.0% 10.0%
Overall I am happy with the functionality/usability of the site 67.0% 10.0% 24.0%
I am happy with the site labeling 62.0% 19.0% 19.0%
I am happy with the speed of the site 62.0% 14.0% 24.0%
I am able to navigate quickly and easily 50.0% 20.0% 30.0%
The site is self-explanatory – it indicates where I need to go to find the information I am looking for 43.0% 29.0% 29.0%

From Table 4, it appears that navigation improvements are required. Furthermore while respondents surveyed agreed that they are able to navigate the Intranet website quickly and easily, they felt that there was no clear direction is provided. This suggests the navigation needs to be improved for Beginner users so that they have a better indication of where to go to find the information they are seeking (Ask Africa, 2006: 41).

The ascending rank order of Agree/Strongly Agree responses to the content of the Intranet is reflected in Table 5.

Table 5. Ascending rank order of Agree/Strongly Agree responses to the content of the Intranet
(Adapted from eThekwini Municipality Intranet report compiled by Ask Africa, 2006: 44)

Statement
Percentage (%) of Respondents (N=18)
Agree/ Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree
The information and content on the website is relevant 63.0% 11.0% 26.0%
The information on the website is reliable 61.0% 17.0% 22.0%
Overall I am happy with the quality of content on the website 57.0% 14.0% 29.0%
I am happy with the quality of the search process 57.0%14.0%33.0%
The content on the site is regularly updated 53.0% 11.0% 38.0%
There is a high likelihood of finding information I am looking for even though I do not know where to find it 52.0% 10.0% 38.0%

From Table 5, it appears that respondents surveyed felt that the information on the Intranet is relevant and reliable. However, improvements in the updating of information and the quality of information seeking are required. This suggests that while the information on the Intranet website is generally seen to be reliable, the regular updating of content and finding information that an employee is looking for, needs to be improved (Ask Africa, 2006: 45). An important use of most Intranets is to find documents that lead to employees who have knowledge because there is no other way that the organisation helps identify expertise and experience among its employees. Wells et al. (2000) indicate that less than 5.0% of employee knowledge is actually captured and accessible across the organisation. Intranet satisfaction is directly influenced by having the right content, features and design factors (Kaplan, 2001: 1).

Discussion of Results

From the survey results there appears to be areas for improvement in the Intranet design, usability and content areas. A post-study discussion describing why this may be the case, suggests that

The Intranet be more widely accessible to employees;
The Intranet encompasses a wider range of language options;
User functionality may need improvement;
Drop-down speeds should be increased;
Intranet training programs may need to be implemented;
Information should not be pocketed in silos of the organisation; and
Recency of information needs to be addressed.

The above challenges arising from the existing Intranet and usage thereof provide an opportunity for synthesis with the existing literature (as outlined in Section 2). It is argued that this may lay a foundation for improving the utilisation of the Intranet and towards the transferring of knowledge within a given KM strategy. Table 6 reflects this challenge and action.

Table 6. Translating Challenges and Gaps into action

Improvement requirement

Functional role of technology
Knowledge translation -
Defining knowledge
Proposed activity solution
Increased access
Dissemination
Pragmatic: The capacity for effective action
Increase user access – more employees to have access
Wider range of language options
Facilitating communication
Communal: Knowledge is experience or information that can be communicated or shared
Translation options for shared narrations
Improved user functionality
Dissemination of information
Pragmatic: Potential acts
Training for beginners and technological improvements. Simplicity emphasis
Training to improve usability
Enabling collaboration
Contextual: Fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information and incorporating new experiences
Training
Increased usage expectation
Minimisation of fragmentation
Facilitating communication
Contextual: Greater understanding of a situation, relationships and causal phenomena – whole organisation
Better linkage between organisational silos
Recency of information
Updating information
Contextual: Information in context
Strategy for continual update

In using Gray’s (Gray, 2006) KM definition and its correlation with the extracted definitions of knowledge which promote effective action (pragmatic classification), shared experience and information (communal classification) and information in context (contextual classification), there is argument for the fact that better utilisation, a more effective design of the existing Intranet may contribute significantly to the knowledge-sharing activity in the organisation.

An Intranet may be classified as a KM application since it is capable of distributing knowledge. An Intranet is seen as a tool for the more efficient sharing and creation of knowledge within organisations using both “push” and “pull” technologies. However, in the case of eThekwini Municipality’s Intranet, it appears that far greater use is being made of the “pull” technology (as opposed to “push” technology). Furthermore the reported results tend to suggest there appears to be limited knowledge?sharing and/or KM in eThekwini Municipality.

Some Concluding Remarks

Given eThekwini Municipality’s IDP and its overall intent to respond to social and economic needs of citizenry, the value of knowledge to organisational effectiveness is crucial at this point. IT, with the enabling role of Intranet technology, should be seen as significantly important to enhance the management of knowledge within eThekwini Municipality. By doing so, it will serve to ensure that knowledge is used effectively by providing meaningful utility to the organisation and towards its KM strategy.

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KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

Open Access in African Publishing Industry: Opportunities and Challenges

KMAadmin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:52:28 -0600

Authors: By Mr. J. J. Musakali and Dr. D. C. Rotich, Moi University, Kenya

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the development and access to knowledge through Open Access, propelled by emerging technologies in the publishing industry in Africa. The paper further discusses opportunities that present themselves through Open Access and the benefits to scholars worldwide. Challenges that face this practice are discussed and solutions suggested.

The paper argues that scholars require access to relevant scholarly literature to further the development of knowledge. This literature, which is rapidly increasing, is interdisciplinary, global, expensive, digital, and hidden behind technical walls to comply with license restrictions. Scholars with up-to-date technologies still have difficulty accessing the specialized literature that they need, while those in technologically poor institutions barely have any access at all. The current scholarly communication system needs urgent reforms to cope with the rapidly changing technological environment. Open Access, being the permanent online access to the full text of research articles for anyone, web-wide, is free, immediate, and handles multiple users.
This way, society as a whole benefits from an expanded and accelerated research cycle in which research can advance more effectively because researchers have immediate access to all the findings they need. Many research findings go unnoticed but with Open Access, they will be more visible and their usage and impact will increase, as the researchers too will find, access and use findings of others. Publishers likewise also benefit from the wider dissemination, greater visibility and higher journal citation of their articles.

Among the recommendations, the paper suggests that researchers, their institutions and their funders need to be informed and trained on the benefits of providing Open Access, together with establishing Institutional Open Access Repositories. Through this management of knowledge, scholars worldwide will access and benefit from each other’s findings.

Introduction

In today’s heavily wired world, access to information is a pre-condition for becoming a knowledge society. The right of access to information has become the dominant right in the information and knowledge era. Because of this, many people can now be allowed access to the ideas of others and also this presents an opportunity to participate in the global information-based socio-economic and political activities.

Most African countries spend a lot on research, yet only few individuals access the results. As a result, restricting access to knowledge restricts the development of science and has severe effects on the general well-being of people. Libraries in the developed world struggle to purchase access to all the scientific publications they need while subscriptions are prohibitively expensive for institutions in the developing world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Developing countries (DCs) are now posed with the challenge of either becoming an integral part of the knowledge-based global culture or face the very real danger of finding themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Open Access (OA) is about equitable access to information by anyone. This new emergence is based on the collaboration and involvement philosophy and principles that governed the initial developers of the Internet Protocol (IP). OA means that publications are made totally freely available on the Web, without any access restrictions.

Like other widely used terms, defining Open Access has attracted many attempts which somehow agree on how OA is executed. Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002) put it this way: "There are many degrees and kinds of wider and easier access to this literature. By 'open access' to this literature, we mean its free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. The only constraint on reproduction and distribution, and the only role for copyright in this domain, should be to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited."

Bethesda (2003) and Berlin (2003) statements on the other hand agree that for a work to be OA, the copyright holder must consent in advance to let users "copy, use, distribute, transmit and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works, in any digital medium for any responsible purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship...."

The Open Access Movement’s Trends

In the 17th century, Journals were an effective way of sharing research with other researchers. Authors did not have to pay to be published nor were they paid for their works. Administration of publications was usually unpaid and publishers were usually academic societies and university presses. Libraries were seen as good places to make the journals available to others besides the subscribers.

After World War II, Robert Maxwell of Pergamon Press started buying academic journals and small university presses. He took over what he termed as the ‘burden’ of publishing and administration, ‘so that academics could concentrate on research’. He then charged them for publishing their articles ‘to pay for the administrative costs’. He went ahead and took over author copyright. The result was that prices shot up, especially for libraries but authors and reviewers remained unpaid. Maxwell and other commercial publishers made huge profit margins and their empires grew at the expense of library budgets which became strained. By then, expensive journals became the place to publish. Research councils funded research more highly in this kind of journals, because the readership was wide. In the meantime, universities lost control of their own research and content became gradually less important than delivery. This situation was painfully accepted by academics because of their need to publish their research as promotions and other academic yardsticks were pegged on publications. Above all, it was because there seemed to be no alternative.

In the meantime, the internet was developing and non-journal scholarly communication was already making an impact using the medium to express their ideas. In the early nineties the World Wide Web (WWW) was born, opening up new opportunities and enabling publishing in a new way, and a potentially unlimited audience. Electronic journal publishers saw this as an opportunity to exploit and moved with speed to take advantage of this.

Open Access as a phenomenon emerged in the mid-1990s in the area of electronic journals. This was enabled by the rapid development of the Internet as a means of communication. The open access movement was based on a realisation that the traditional subscription-based publications unnecessarily restrict access to research results, in a field which essentially is a public good. Most of the early open access journals were founded by single academics or groups of academics at a time when traditional subscription-based journals were still published on paper only. Thus, open access journals not only offered free availability of the articles, they also pioneered the use of the electronic medium. Many scholars started to use this new medium to express their ideas. By the year 2000, access to digital scholarly and research material, published and peer-reviewed journal articles was in most cases immediate, free and unrestricted online. Libraries began cancelling print journals in favour of electronic journals and some cancelled for-profit journals in favour of open access journals. OA movement gathered momentum.

Open Access and Open Content Publishing

Open Content is related to OA but open content is usually defined to include the general permission to modify a given work. Open Content is about distributing learning materials for free, but ensuring that the copyright remained with the authors and that the article would be used responsibly (Wiley, 1999). The content accessed in such a manner can be used in infinity of ways restricted only by the imagination of the user.

OA Publication is defined by the Bethesda Meeting on OA Publishing (11 April 2003) as one that meets the following two conditions:

The author(s) and copyright holder(s) grant(s) to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, transmit and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works, in any digital medium for any responsible purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship, as well as the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal use.
A complete version of the work and all supplemental materials, including a copy of the permission as stated above, in a suitable standard electronic format is deposited immediately upon initial publication in at least one online repository that is supported by an academic institution, scholarly society, government agency, or other well-established organisation that seeks to enable open access, unrestricted distribution, interoperability, and long-term archiving.

OA publishing therefore aims to provide free online access to all publications in which case a reader will not be asked to pay for subscription fees and therefore increase the mass audience an article can reach and thus promote further creation of knowledge.

Opportunities with Open Access Publishing

Africa still lags behind in the area of electronic information although there have been some pioneering initiatives like African Journals Online, African Digital Library, Database of African Theses and Dissertations, Africa’s Open Knowledge Network, and African Online Digital Library, among the few. Presently, there have been dramatic changes in scholarly publishing field as almost all major journals are now available in an electronic format, often offered to universities as package deals, usually bundling huge numbers of titles from a single publisher. Many big scientific publishers are experimenting with single open access journals or a hybrid form called open choice, which gives authors the possibility of having their papers made openly available in exchange for payment of a basic fee.

Harnard et al (2004) notes that there are many advocates of open access who believe that scholars should continue to publish their articles in traditional subscription-based journals but should at the same time upload open access copies of the papers to subject-based or institutional e-print repositories. This alternative mode of open access is often referred to as the green route as opposed to the gold route of the journals themselves being open access.

There are two primary vehicles for delivering OA to research articles, OA journals or OA archives or repositories. The chief difference between them is that OA journals conduct peer review and OA archives do not. In a number of African academic institutions of higher learning, starting and maintaining journals is becoming the order of the day. Once launched, these journals can provide ready material for OA. There are other OA vehicles such as personal web sites, e-books, discussion forums, blogs, wikis, and person-to person file-sharing networks. There will undoubtedly be many more in the future. Some African scholars have in the recent past started posting their academic papers and sharing knowledge with others on personal websites, blogs and specific networks. OA journals are economically sustainable because the true costs of peer review, manuscript preparation, and OA dissemination are considerably lower than the prices we currently pay for subscription-based journals. OA archives are economically sustainable because they are so inexpensive. Depositing new articles takes only a few minutes, and is done by individual authors, not archive managers. OA archives only require some server space, usually at a university. These archives benefit the institutions that host them by enhancing the visibility and impact of the articles, the authors, and the institution.
Nwangwu and Ahmed (2009) emphasise the importance of OA in eliminating all the factors that inhibit the flow of knowledge from the South to the North, and vice versa. If embraced, they note, the movement would probably expose the true level of scientific activities going on in Africa and other developing regions, as well as giving them access to those sources that have been hitherto restrictive to them. In addition, OA will strengthen the science communities of Africa, strengthen their national science systems, and very crucially expose those virile local knowledge sources, systems and methods that are yet to find their ways into the international market of ideas, often because they are believed not to meet international standards. The availability of an author’s publication in the public domain not only gives the author satisfaction but is an avenue for the author to interact with others, to be cited and even be invited worldwide for conferences and similar activities. The little success that has been there in OA has enabled some scholars to globe-trot and thus expand their knowledge base.

Proponents of OA argue that price barriers constitute the bulk of the problem for which OA is the solution. Removing price barriers alone will give most OA users most of what they want and need. In addition to removing access barriers, OA should be immediate, rather than delayed, and should apply to full-text, not just to abstracts or summaries.

Suber (2004) states that when copyright holders consent to OA, they Usually consent in advance to the unrestricted reading, downloading, copying, sharing, storing, printing, searching, linking, and crawling of the full-text of the work. Most authors choose to retain the right to block the distribution of mangled or misattributed copies. Some choose to block commercial re-use of the work. Essentially, these conditions block plagiarism, misrepresentation, and sometimes commercial re-use, and authorize all the uses required by legitimate scholarship, including those required by the technologies that facilitate online scholarly research.

OA will in time improve the global scientific findings by exposing alternative strategies and techniques which already exist but are not part of the mainstream science systems, but which also yield the same or even better results with research executed with standard methods. As noted earlier as in the introduction of the internet, OA upholds the dictum that knowledge should be a Common Heritage of man, a right that should be made available to persons.

In the recent past, there has been an increase in online groups and forums that not only socialise but engage in some meaningful information sharing. These have emanated from alumni, professionals in similar fields and even researchers. In most cases, subscription to such groups is free and administration is by a moderator. The knowledge shared via these groups has no geographical distance as any member of the group from any part of the world can access and post content. E-conferences and networking have also played a major role in shrinking distance in terms of information. Hamel (2005) argues that online or e-knowledge is the best thing ever to happen to African nations. Indeed, internet provides a bonanza of knowledge. It is the new revolutionary instrument for accessing knowledge. Knowledge portals and online knowledge searching and knowledge sharing have grown fast and have considerably broken the isolation of most DCs. Nwagwu and Ahmed (2009) point out that scientists in SSA countries can now freely access hundreds of scientific and professional journals, papers, documents, encyclopaedias, reports, presentations, lectures, etc. This represents a considerable progress in comparison with the situation prevailing only a few years ago. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) for instance, is an opportunity where African scholars can deposit their e-journals. This is a projected initiated by Land University Libraries, Sweden. There are many other OA archives and databases available online. An organisation called Bionline provides access to research journals produced in Africa through the DOAJ.

OA has presented many opportunities to all the stakeholders. Suber (2004) dwells on some of the opportunities to different groups;

Authors: OA gives them a worldwide audience larger than that of any subscription-based journal, no matter how prestigious or popular, and probably increases the visibility and impact of their work.
Readers: OA gives them barrier-free access to the literature they need for their research, not constrained by the budgets of the libraries where they may have access privileges. It increases their convenience, reach, and retrieval power.
Teachers and students: OA puts rich and poor on an equal footing for these key resources and eliminates the need for permissions to reproduce and distribute content.
Libraries: OA solves the pricing crisis for scholarly journals. It also solves the permission crisis. OA also serves library interests in other, indirect ways. Librarians want to help users find the information they need, regardless of the budget-enforced limits on the library's own collection. University librarians want to help faculty increase their audience and impact and thereby help the university raise its research profile.
Universities: OA increases the visibility of their faculty and institution, reduces their expenses for journals, and advances their mission to share knowledge.
Journals and publishers: OA makes their articles more visible, discoverable, retrievable, and useful. If a journal is OA, then it can use this superior visibility to attract submissions and advertising, not to mention readers and citations.
Funding agencies: OA increases the return on their investment in research, making the results of the funded research more widely available, more discoverable, more retrievable, and more useful. OA serves public funding agencies in a second way as well, by providing public access to the results of publicly-funded research.
Governments: As funders of research, governments benefit from OA in all the ways that funding agencies do (see previous entry). OA also promotes democracy by sharing government information as rapidly and widely as possible.
Citizens: OA gives them access to peer-reviewed research (most of which is unavailable in public libraries) and gives them access to the research for which they have already paid through their taxes. It also helps them indirectly by helping the researchers, physicians, manufacturers, technologists, and others who make use of cutting-edge research for their benefit.

A growing number of studies have confirmed that an OA article is more likely to be used and cited than one behind subscription barriers. There is enough evidence that OA documents are most likely to be cited than non OA documents. This gives OA authors an advantage over other authors who are sceptical about OA. Scholars are paid by research funders and/or their universities to do research; the published article is the report of the work they have done, rather than an item for commercial gain. The more the article is used, cited, applied and built upon, the better for research as well as for the researcher's career.
Open access goes beyond the academic circle and spreads its wings to other areas. An OA article can be read by anyone, including professionals, researchers in different fields, media practitioners, politicians, civil servants, etc. Open Access articles can often be found with a web search, using any general search engine or those specialized for the scholarly/scientific literature.
Many librarians have openly supported Open Access. These librarians believe that open access promises to remove both the price barriers and the permission barriers that undermine library efforts to provide access to the journal literature. Many library associations have either signed major open access declarations, or created their own. At most universities, the library houses the institutional repository, which provides free access to scholarly work of the university's faculty. Some open access advocates believe that institutional repositories will play a very important role in responding to open access mandates from funders.

Most African countries cannot afford books. Most of these books are available internationally and quite expensive by African standards. This is where OA comes in. Researchers, students and scholars in general in most cases get material via OA. This way, they are able to get latest, updated materials without necessarily paying anything except may be internet browsing charges if they are not met by their respective institutions.

Challenges to Open Access Publishing

Most African countries have no political or academic willpower to encourage growth in Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). This is reflected in budget allocations, government bureaucracy, training and restrictions among others. There is sufficient basis to suggest that part of the reasons for the low profile of scientists in Africa is the poor access to scientific publications from the developed countries, exacerbated by the institution of copyright (Tagler, 1996). African countries scientists require access to scientific publications, which scientists all over the world are always willing to make available at no cost, in order to benefit from and also contribute to the world stock of knowledge. What Africa needs is an initiative or
arrangement that will guarantee access of scientists to scientific publications irrespective of where the sources are developed (Nwangwu and Ahmed 2009). Moller (2004) points out that despite many opportunities that present themselves, many countries in Africa are yet to utilise the privilege offered by these resources to internationalise their research sources. Many African countries and institutions have not encouraged faculty and students to contribute to or access OA materials. Some universities like the University of Western Cape has launched an Open Content project to have students and staff participate in OA. Previously, all other efforts have come from the west. African scholars have continually relied on e-papers from developed countries.

Language is a major barrier in most African countries. Different African countries have different official languages. Most online literature and OA materials for that matter, are in English. Kenya as a country for instance, has 42 tribes with different dialects. It is difficult to avail material in many of these languages. Kiswahili is a major language in East Africa but limited in online presence in terms of publications. Developers of the language are still grappling with other issues like online spelling checkers, e-encyclopaedias and dictionaries etc. It will therefore be a long shot before there is a repository of documents in Kiswahili to even consider OA.

Resistance to change has been seen as another challenge. There are many librarians, researchers, readers and authors who have resisted the change to the e-world. Some of them have no valid reason to back their resistance. Other librarians especially, believe that if they embrace the electronic version completely, their jobs are at a risk. True? False? You tell me. There are researchers and authors out there, especially in Africa who have kept their findings until they are overtaken by time! The findings simply become obsolete because of the fear that others will know about their findings. No wonder an old saying agrees with this that the richest place on earth is the graveyard, where you find many unexploited ideas buried with their owners.

Technologically, many African countries lack the infrastructure to handle OA materials. Telecommunication challenges like bandwidth allocation, weak communication and social infrastructure has not only blocked information flows but ultimately stifled social and economic development. Internet connection is key to OA. Despite having a very rapid rate of internet penetration, Africa still lags behind in internet connectivity (Keats and Beebe, 2003) with barely 1% of internauts being in Africa and the Middle East. This point is very crucial because much of the efforts to free scientific publications from the publisher in the electronic revolution are the internet facilities. Scientists who are not connected to the internet are excluded automatically from publishing in, and benefiting from, a growing number of journals, because many new journals are created online while many old ones now often have online counterparts.

Much has been said about the information rich and information poor. Many developing countries have complained of a deliberate move to isolate them in access to some information. This in turn has created a digital divide in which we have two distant worlds-the information rich and the information poor. Without a proper ICT structure, no country can advance in any sort of development. By digital divide, we refer to inequalities in access to the internet, extent of use, knowledge of search strategies, quality of technical connections and social support, ability to evaluate the quality of information, and diversity of uses (DiMaggio et al., 2001). The digital-divide underpins much of the ongoing discourse on whether ICT can be harnessed for mitigating poverty in DCs with several voices arguing that those who live on less than $1 a day have no need for ICTs. The proponents of ICTs on the other hand however consider ICTs as tools that can be used to provide the poor with economic opportunities and improvement in human well-being (see World Bank, 2001;UNCTAD, 2003). Furthermore, the new ICT products and applications are frequently designed in ignorance of DCs’ realities particularly SSA and fail to address the needs of the most disadvantaged sections of the community (Mansell and When, 1998).

A survey for Africa Tertiary Institutions Connectivity Survey (ATICS) carried out by the African Virtual University in 2005 showed the average African university has bandwidth capacity equivalent to a broadband residential connection available in Europe, pays 50 times more for their bandwidth than their educational counterparts in the rest of the world, and fails to monitor, let alone manage, the existing bandwidth (ATICS, 2005). As a result, what little bandwidth that is available becomes even less useful for research and education purposes. Arunachallam (2002), points out that the gulf in the levels of science and technology between the developed and the DCs will tend to widen further with the rapid expansion of the internet in the West and the speedy transition to electronic publishing, and this can lead to increased brain drain and dependence on foreign aid of a different kind (knowledge imperialism).

Although OA is basically free access to information, there needs to be some funding to take care of subscriptions, designing of tools, management, and availing technology. Most African economies are constrained or have other priorities and would invest in OA only if their budgets have surplus.

Suber, (2004) summarises the major four challenges to the success of OA.

Filtering and censorship barriers. Many schools, employers, and governments want to limit what you can see.
Language barriers. Most online literature is in English, or just one language, and machine translation is very weak.
Handicap access barriers. Most web sites are not yet as accessible to handicapped users as they should be.
Connectivity barriers. The digital divide keeps billions of people, including millions of serious scholars, offline.

What can be done? Recommendations

Putting in place information and ICT policies
Instilling interest in scholars to participate
Heavily invest in education and especially in ICT education
Expand internet network, bandwidth.
Constructing websites for all existing journals.
There is need for African community of stakeholder groups – librarians, authors, researchers etc., to come together to champion the course of OA. This can easily be done through internet.
Embrace change, not resist it.
Non-profit foundations like UN bodies seem to be committed to disseminating of information and information-related activities. Stakeholders should take advantage of this and collaborate with such groups.

Conclusion

OA has many opportunities that Africans can exploit. It is a way of bridging the Digital Divide, enabling development and innovation and making sure that researchers working in Africa get visibility in the world, and can be aware of what other researchers in Africa are doing. By putting research results in the public domain, discussion is made possible and further innovation enabled. This is also a way of rewarding Africa after too many years of research resources exploitation.

References

African Tertiary Institutions Connectivity Survey (ATICS) (2005) ‘African Virtual University (AVU)’, Nairobi, http://www.atics.info/index.html
Arunachallam, S. (2002) ‘Reaching the unreached: what role can ICTs play in rural development?’,Paper Presented at the Asian Regional Conference of UN ICT Task Force – Media Lab Asia, New Delhi, 25 April
Björk, B-C. and Turk, Z. (2006). "The Electronic Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon): an open access journal using an un-paid, volunteer-based organization." Information Research, 11(3) paper 255. (Case studies in open access publishing. Number one.) [Available at http://InformationR.net/ir/11-3/paper255.html
Cetto, M.A. (2001) ‘The contribution of electronic communication to science – has it lived up to its promise?’, Proceedings of the Second ICSU – UNESCO International Conference on Electronic Publishing in Science, UNESCO House, Paris, 20–23 February.
DiMaggio, P., Hargittai, E., Neuman, W.R. and Robinson, J.P. (2001) ‘Social implications of the internet’, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 27, pp.307–336.
Hamel, J.L. (2005) ‘Knowledge for sustainable development in Africa towards new policy initiatives’, World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp.217–229.
Harnad, S., Brody, T., Vallieres, F., Carr, L., Hitchcock, S., Gingras, Y, Oppenheim, C., Stamerjohanns, H. & Hilf, E. (2004). The access/impact problem and the green and gold roads to open access. Serials Review, 30(4), 310-314. Retrieved 3 March, 2006 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.serrev.2004.09.013
Moller, A. (2004) ‘The rise of open access journals: their viability and their prospects for the African scholarly community’, Paper Presented during the International Conference on Electronic Publishing and Dissemination Organized by Council for Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) held from 1–2 September 2003, www.codesria.sn
Nwagwu, E. & Ahmed, A. (2009). Building Open Access in Africa, 82 Int. J. Technology Management, Vol. 45, Nos. 1/2, 2009
Raney, K. (1998). Into a glass darkly. Journal of Electronic Publishing, 4(2). Retrieved 3 March, 2006 from http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/04-02/raney.html
Suber, P. (2004). A very brief introduction to open access. Retrieved from http:// www.earlham.edu/peters/fos/brief.htm (Accessed March 30, 2006)
Tagler, J. (2005) The Real Digital Divide, London, UK, 12–18 March, Vol. 374, No. 8417, p.9.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (2003) E-Commerce and Development Report, UN, New York and Geneva.
Walsham, G. (2000) ‘IT/S in DCs’, in M. Zeleny (Ed.) The Handbook of Information Technology in Business, International Encyclopedia of Business Management, London, UK: ThomsonLearning, ISBN: 1-86152-308-4, pp.105–109.
Weerawarana, S. and Weeratunga, J. (2004) ‘Open source in DCs’, The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), ISBN: 91-586-8613-4, http://www.sida.se/ publications.
Wiley, J. (1999) ‘Open publication license’, http:/Open content.org/openpub (retrieved 13 June 2005)

Useful Links

Budapest Open Access Initiative and its FAQ, February 14, 2002
Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing, June 20, 2003
Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, October 22, 2003

Fireside Chat

Polycentric Knowledge Networking - Taking Theory to the Streets - Dr. Shittu Akinola

KMAadmin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:34:04 -0600

Dr. Shittu Raimi AKINOLA (Development Planner & Environmentalist)
Department of Architecture Covenant University, 10 Idiroko Road, Canaan Land, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. e-mail:srakinola@yahoo.com;
Mobile: 234-803-407-5110

ABSTRACT
Whereas, knowledge and its application are acknowledged as key sources of growth and development in the global economy, especially if it is adapted to specific circumstances and effectively utilized to generate significant opportunities for reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development, structures for knowledge sharing and utilization in Africa are non-existent. The institutional mechanism and technical know-how of how to take theories to the streets in Africa have not been adequately explored and developed, hence, the persistent gap between theories and realities in the continent. This paper identifies some of the reasons for the failure to transform rhetoric by African governments, multinationals, international financial institutions and NGOs into reality in the continent. The paper found that foreign development paradigms, state-centered efforts and market economy have not yielded expected dividends in Africa simply because knowledge generated by Africans have not been properly harnessed towards African socioeconomic, political and technological challenges. This paper raises seven questions:

What lessons have African scholars in diverse disciplines learnt from indigenous and endogenous knowledge and creativities in Africa?
What robustness, limitation and weakness are associated with these knowledge?
How can African scholars harvest development potentials that exist in these knowledge?
What invention(s) or new idea(s) have the African scholars crafted in the course of their intellectual endeavor?
What has he/she done with the invention(s) or new idea(s)?
What are the impacts of the invention(s) or new idea(s) on the lives of the peoples of Africa?
How can African knowledge be networked and shared among prospective end-users in the continent?

Using the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, this paper analyses factors that have kept African knowledge in the ebb of development and also charts a course of action that could be taken to ensure that African higher institutions become “organic” in their activities and use their intellectual capabilities to impact positively on their communities. This paper argues that unless deliberate actions are taken to take theories to the streets and apply the knowledge to real life situations in the continent, it may be difficult for the continent to compete and find relevance in the global economy. It is in the light of this exigency that this paper attempts at applying three African development models capable of harnessing, networking and sharing African knowledge for application in a polycentric system. The models are:

African Intellectual Gap Measurement Model (AIGMM);
African Development Brain-Box (ADBB); and
African Development Institutional Mechanism (ADIM).

The formation of diverse networks for knowledge sharing for development is central to the process of repositioning Africa in the global economy.

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

KM, Problem solving regimes and appropriate technologies in Africa - the polycentric food security strategy - Dr. Shittu Akinola

KMAadmin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:28:56 -0600

Dr. Shittu Raimi AKINOLA (Development Planner & Environmentalist)
Department of Architecture, Covenant University, 10 Idiroko Road, Canaan Land, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.
e-mail:srakinola@yahoo.com;
Mobile: 234-803-407-5110

ABSTRACT
Despite the existence of abundant food security potentials in Africa and several Africentred initiatives birthed by African leaders, over the years, to address food insecurity challenges, food security is still a mirage. While the dominant contribution to food security in developed societies came from increased yields as a result of scientific/technical innovation, farmers in sub-Saharan Africa still rely on their age-old traditional systems of farming, thus making the region to generally lag behind other regions. While innovative ideas on food security are generated by African agricultural scientists and agricultural engineers, there have not been sufficient incentives on the part of African governments to harness these potentials for the benefit of peasant farmers. Rather, African governments and industrialists/private sector patronized imported agricultural technology and development paradigm which are usually at variance with African realities. Consequently, the stakeholders in food security - African university, African government, African industry/private sector and peasant farmers - operate on parallel lines as against collegial interactions within food security arena. Peasant farmers have not been able to benefit from agricultural innovations with the consequence of a wide gulf between reality and societal ideal manifested in food shortage and poverty.
The issue of appropriateness of technology for food security (pre- and post-harvest activities) is very crucial and imperative for all stakeholders in agricultural sector. It is increasingly being appreciated that appropriateness of technology does not only have to do with the technical efficiency and effectiveness of the technology but also with its impact on the social balance in the society, the environment, skill requirement, etc. The contention of this paper is that, in this era of problem-solving knowledge regime, the onus rests on African scholars to think in a new way and add value to their disciplines to solve specific problems in food security in Africa. This, however, requires that Knowledge Management (KM) tools and techniques need be taken into consideration with its potentials fully employed in Africa for food security in the continent.
Using the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, this paper will discuss the missing links between and among key stakeholders in food security in Africa. It will also attempt at evolving adaptive strategy, using inward-looking institutional mechanisms, to connect the key food security players in a polycentric manner. Further, the paper designs African Food Security Model (AFSM) aims at synergizing the efforts of the key stakeholders in food security. In addition, appropriate institutional mechanism is designed to craft effective linkage, partnership and collaboration between African government, university, industry/private sector, local communities and peasant farmers in their present day realities through polycentricity in order to ensure sustainable food security in Africa.

KM, Emerging Technologies and Innovative Schemes

Australian Regional Knowledge Resource Kit

KMAadmin — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:05:53 -0600

The Regional Knowledge Resource Kit (RKRK), is an example of an Australian online resource for learning and developing skills in managing information and knowledge for regional NRM (natural resource management). The Regional Knowledge Resource Kit (RKRK) is available here