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Fireside ChatThe KMAfrica.com fireside chat is a space designed for you to have a conversation about anything you wish to in the KM Area with other members of the KMAfrica.com community. A clear African night sky and a fire are an excellent setting for a good conversation so, sit down next to fire, get comfortable, look at the dicussions and contribute your own views and questions. The fireside chat is also a forum to table questions and ideas for the further development of KMAfrica.com, general ideas for the practical application of knowledge in any knowledge-related field. Chronological attempt to Revisiting Knowledge and Knowledge Management PhilosophyTen Landmarks Toward Next Generation Knowledge Management KNOWLEDGE 'R' US (not KNOWLEDGE 'R' OURS)
Submitted by Md Santo on 24 April 2011 - 9:29am. categories [ ]
Two Killer KM questions: How would you answer them?Please visit our blog and let us know what you think of this contribution - hoping we can help stimulate conversation on KM practice in Africa. http://theknowledgecore.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/dont-start-a-km-project... Hope to connect with people in this forum, please feel free to get in touch: David@theknowledgecore.com
Submitted by David K-Cubed on 11 April 2011 - 9:27am. categories [ ]
The Management of Trans-dimensional KnowledgeDuring my field studies of specific cases in the Great Lakes region of Africa, principles and practices emerged that formed a framework for a constructed Trans-dimensional Knowledge Management Model (TDKM-M) to develop a theoretical model for the management of knowledge for conflict resolution as the first step towards the revival of Africa. The study proposes practical solutions for the management of knowledge that would empower decision-makers to intervene successfully in conflict situations. Furthermore, the study serves to expand the knowledge base in the field of trans-disciplinary African studies, transcending the boundary between political science and epistemology to navigate the middle ground between disciplines and the space that lies beyond all disciplines and dichotomised thinking towards a new holistic understanding.
Submitted by DriesVelt on 6 February 2011 - 7:56pm. categories [ ]
What is Bisphenol A?FACT SHEET ON BISPHENOL A - Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA)
Submitted by storytelling on 10 December 2010 - 8:20am. categories [ ]
Designed Incompetence as a KM profit toolCorporates and municipalities often use rousing terms such as 'best practice' and 'world class' to describe themselves. However, the sad reality is that while competence is expensive, incompetence simply makes more money. Competence suggests responding professionally to queries and reaching solutions quickly and efficiently. Designed Incompetence, on the other hand deliberately places barriers in the way of customers which ironically results in fewer complaints, greater profitability and less time wasted engaging with the public. The goal of Designed Incompetence (DI) is to create scenarios where customers get the message and simply 'give up' complaining because they realise that it will cost them lots of time, energy and money to do so. Thus systems created using the philosophy of “Designed Incompetence” are simply more profitable.
Submitted by storytelling on 7 December 2010 - 4:26pm. categories [ ]
About transparency and corruptionTransparency International, self-described as “the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption,” has released its 2010 league table of corrupt countries. Guess what: about 3/4 of the world’s nations are corrupt! With governments committing huge sums to tackle the world’s most pressing problems, from the instability of financial markets to climate change and poverty, corruption remains an obstacle to achieving much needed progress. The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that nearly three quarters of the 178 countries in the index score below five, on a scale from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt).
Submitted by KMAadmin on 19 November 2010 - 3:09pm. categories [ ]
Confessions of a Shadow ScholarEditor's note: Ed Dante is a pseudonym for a writer who lives on the East Coast. Through a literary agent, he approached The Chronicle wanting to tell the story of how he makes a living writing papers for a custom-essay company and to describe the extent of student cheating he has observed. In the course of editing his article, The Chronicle reviewed correspondence Dante had with clients and some of the papers he had been paid to write. In the article published here, some details of the assignment he describes have been altered to protect the identity of the student. The request came in by e-mail around 2 in the afternoon. It was from a previous customer, and she had urgent business. I quote her message here verbatim (if I had to put up with it, so should you): "You did me business ethics propsal for me I need propsal got approved pls can you will write me paper?"
Submitted by KMAadmin on 18 November 2010 - 8:54am.
The William Kamkwannba story - "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind"The William Kamkwannba story William Kamkwamba's new book "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind," written with Bryan Mealer was released September 29th in the US. http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Harness...
Submitted by KMAadmin on 12 October 2010 - 2:28pm. categories [ ]
Saving money on communications in AfricaThe man from the World Bank was quite insistent when we met over coffee at the Lancer's Inn in Maseru. "There is only one major way to save money on communication while travelling in Africa - DON'T ROAM". He continued "When I arrive in a new African country, I immediately remove my normal sim card and buy a pay-as-you-go sim card in town when I arrive - sim cards are generally much more expensive at the airports". "Then I do a simple recharge, buy an SMS package and a data package then send an sms to colleagues and family back home from my new number". The data and sms packages are important as if you don't buy these up-front, you are charged out-of-bundle rates that are significantly greater than in-bundle rates - the difference is as much as US7c per Mb as opposed to US$1 per Mb out-of-bundle.
Submitted by storytelling on 8 September 2010 - 1:58pm.
The role of translation in Knowledge Management"Indigenous African knowledge has much to offer science — but only if science can be translated into local languages" Charles Dhewa. Africans have a rich cultural heritage and a wealth of traditional knowledge on topics ranging from agricultureand forestry to medicines and medical practices — all of which could make valuable contributions to modern science. For example, traditional knowledge of drought-resistant crop varieties could prove crucial in helping small farmers across the continent adapt to climate change. Much of this type of knowledge is embedded in the diverse local languages and cultures found in Africa. Yet despite centuries of scientific undertakings on the continent, there is still no vernacular word for 'science'. In Southern Africa, science remains a minority, English-language based, pursuit that reinforces the domination of English at the expense of local languages such as Ndebele, Swahili and many others.
Submitted by charlesd on 18 April 2010 - 12:22pm. categories [ ]
Key issues in KMWe as KM Africa Members should enhance our awareness, knowledge and skills on the concept of Knowledge Management KM by concentrating on different KM issues such as:
Best regards.
Submitted by Moustafa Wahba on 29 March 2010 - 9:48am. categories [ ]
Knowledge Management- sharing the experienceOne distinct lesson I had to grasp quite early in my career as Knowledge Manager was an advice from a senior KM professional (now senior executive in one of SA's most successful financial companies) which went something like " the biggest mistake that we knowledge managers do is forcing people to value our contributions or unique abilities within an organization when we should be creating service products that we know people will need in the not so distant future ' Ofcourse at the time, a very young KM professional who had just completed her Honours degree, (and obviously knew everything) his advice did not hit home, it was somewhat "theoretical"- too academic for my liking and stuff for 'professors' not a young, brilliant go-getter like myself. Little did I know that the two linked sentences was all the advice I needed to succeed in this dog eat dog world called 'workplace'.
Submitted by maphuti on 1 February 2010 - 12:21pm. categories [ ]
Mountain Metaphor & Ritual in African LeadershipBy : Ralf Sibande with Steve & Eugenie Banhegyi Note: this article is written using the perspective of Zulu leadership and knowledge systems. The western business leadership education model provides comprehensive and detailed information in myriad specialist fields but fails to emphasise a holistic and integrative approach to human development in the context of working life. This lack of a holistic approach causes a problematic discontinuity between the experience of home/community life and the world of work where the all-important ‘soft skills’ of interpersonal behaviour are rarely reflected upon.
Submitted by storytelling on 10 December 2009 - 11:55am. categories [ ]
GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE TOWARDS 2012GLOBAL 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 ?)"... :
Submitted by Md Santo on 3 December 2009 - 3:40am. categories [ ]
Harnessing Knowledge to Promote HIV Prevention in Southern AfricaNew HIV infections have been reduced by 17% over the past eight years, according to a joint report released today from UNAIDS and WHO. Needless to say, there is much to be proud of as we mark the 21st anniversary of World AIDS Day. However, as we take time today to reflect on the struggles and successes of the past three decades, it’s important we also prepare for the battles to come. Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibé said, “The good news is that we have evidence that the declines we are seeing are due, at least in part, to HIV prevention.” He added, “However, the findings also show that prevention programming is often off the mark and that if we do a better job of getting resources and programs to where they will make most impact, quicker progress can be made and more lives saved.”
Submitted by K4Health on 2 December 2009 - 3:43pm.
NeocolonialismNeocolonialism is a term used by post-colonial critics of developed countries' involvement in the developing world. Writings within the theoretical framework of neocolonialism argue that existing or past international economic arrangements created by former colonial powers were or are used to maintain control of their former colonies and dependencies after the colonial independence movements of the post World War II period. The term neocolonialism can combine a critique of current actual colonialism (where some states continue administrating foreign territories and their populations in violation of United Nations resolutions) and a critique of the involvement of modern capitalist businesses in nations which were former colonies.
Submitted by KMAadmin on 19 November 2009 - 12:20pm. categories [ ]
We are the knowledge: a hybrid definition of knowledgeBy : Dr Md Santo KNOWLEDGE DEFINITION FROM SCHOLAR (WESTERN) VIEWSKnowledge is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as (i) expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject, (ii) what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information or (iii) awareness or ... (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge) Relevant information that one is able to recall from memory; All cognitive expectancies that an individual or organization actor uses to interpret situations and to generate activities; A specific body of knowledge of any kind, on some subject or in some field; Awareness resulting from ... (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/knowledge)
Submitted by storytelling on 12 November 2009 - 12:07pm. categories [ ]
Using questions in knowledge workKM professionals and facilitators need to understand and appreciate the role and power of questions in knowledge work. Further, we need to be able to apply questions in order to create and discover knowledge. There are some compelling reasons for this including:
Submitted by storytelling on 28 October 2009 - 11:32am. categories [ ]
The water debateWater is vital to life. It is the essential component in all aspects and activities related to our well-being and existence – including food and energy production and manufacturing in general. It’s clear that if our water supply continues to dwindle, and/or, if water became unaffordable, our lives would be detrimentally transformed. Billions of people are already experiencing and suffering from the mismanagement and unequal allocation of water. Between 1.1 and 1.5 billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water and 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. 2.2 million people die each year due to low quality drinking water and/or lack of sanitation – that is 42,000 people per week, 90 percent of whom are children (WHO/UNICET:2005). Exclusion to socially necessary goods and services such as fresh water has horrific consequences that are catastrophic, yet entirely preventable.
Submitted by storytelling on 27 October 2009 - 5:03pm. categories [ ]
KM without computersThe personal computer and the Internet have only been around for a couple of years but it now seems that anything to do with KM relates to and uses these technologies. The result is that many people now believe that sitting behind their desks and surfing the internet while disseminating pearls of wisdom, the odd youtube video and joke to friends and colleagues is Knowledge Management. My question is this - computers are fallable. The hard disk does not last forever, the electricity can be cut at any time and even the printed word quickly loses its meaning with the passage of time. Given all this, how is it possible to 'do' KM without a computer? How can one share, store and create knowledge without electicity? How did people do KM before computers and the Internet?
Submitted by storytelling on 14 October 2009 - 12:19pm. categories [ ]
Leadership, storytelling and hope"Hope is the pillar of the world" is a profound Nigerian proverb. Hope is a wish, a dream, an expectation of a time to come. The way we convey our sense of hope to ourselves and to each other is through stories. We hope to grow old and healthy and famous. We hope to continue making money sustainably. We hope we'll come out of recession. All are reasonable hopes. The things we do and the stories we tell have a lot to do with maintaining our sense of hopefulness. And this sense of hopefulness is recognised by our employees, our customers and stakeholders and reflects in our life circumstances. So what hopeful stories do you think/talk to yourself? What stories do you tell your stakeholders, colleagues, employees and customers? How do you tell them? Are they consistent and believeable? In amongst all the stories that continually circulate in the world, why would they pay attention to your story? How do you know your stories are working?
Submitted by KMAadmin on 8 October 2009 - 9:07am. categories [ ]
Experience and information processingThe term information processing is used equally in information technology, psychology and the neurosciences to describe brain processes. In psychology, it refers to the operations by which people mentally manipulate what they learn and know about the world and information technology talks about information processing as the efforts to understand how we take in, process, access and store new information. The brain’s purpose is to integrate information about the outside world together with information from inside the body. The purpose of this, as some have suggested, is to predict the future. To anticipate and engage with change in an adaptive way. Consciousness consists of monitor images of the inner and outer worlds; it can be seen as a container for the representation of all experiences.
Submitted by storytelling on 27 September 2009 - 2:54pm. categories [ ]
The Codex Alimentarius Commission - who decides what food we eat?
Submitted by KMAadmin on 22 September 2009 - 11:53am. categories [ ]
Culture and PostmodernismPostmodernism is a term used by philosophers, social scientists, art and social critics to refer to aspects of contemporary art, culture, economics and social conditions that are the result of the unique features of late 20th and early 21st century life. These features include phenomena such as globalisation, consumerism, branding, the fragmentation of authority, and the knowledge economy. An important characteristic of postmodernism is that we now have myriad different symbols and metaphors through which we can view the world – these include politics, religion, consumerism, science, art etc... Anything that cannot be physically sensed, such as social justice or one's concept of God, must be referred to by metaphor and symbol. The result is that meaningful communication about issues such as families, politics, sexuality, crime & violence without the use of shared metaphors and symbols is impossible. Some common metaphors in use today include:
Submitted by storytelling on 10 September 2009 - 4:00pm. categories [ ]
Research Funding ToolkitFunding is vital for any research endeavour and writing funding proposals that have the desired impact is vital know-how. This Research Funding Toolkit toolkit can be found on the Global Development Network website. It provides tips and practical suggestions for applying for funding and proposal writing. It is based on interviews with experienced research fundraisers. Proposal Writing and Fundraising Toolkit GDN Website Contents of the toolkit:This toolkit is divided into six sections. Here is a brief description of each section.
Submitted by KMAadmin on 7 September 2009 - 8:45am. categories [ ]
Fireside Chat Tagcloud
Submitted by storytelling on 3 September 2009 - 9:11am. categories [ ]
The poverty of EmpiricismMany researchers – and their advisors on research method – adopt a doctrine called empiricism, which claims that researchers may only use empirical methods. This restrictive doctrine impoverishes any academic discipline where it is dominant. The main reason is that a discipline only qualifies for the status of a science after it has progressed beyond empirical generalisations to explanatory theories; but although empirical methods are useful for discovering the former, they are inherently useless for creating the latter. So the empiricist doctrine retards scientific progress. Researchers should be aware of this danger, and research methodologists should attempt to counter it. Introduction
Submitted by KMAadmin on 25 August 2009 - 11:47am. categories [ ]
KM leadershipLooking at the state of KM in the public sector and more specifically SA, one cannot help but wonder why it is that we still battle to understand and properly implement KM in our government departments and state agencies when we have many of the so called 'KM gurus'. for example, I have heared about a few people in the country who are highly respected and acknowledged as successful KM managers or KM gurus. Some of these gurus are in fact working for the very same government departments and some for state agencies but the question I think the government fails to ask is 'what exactly do these gurus or specialists doing to assist in uplifting not only the practice of KM but its application within the public sector as well as empowering of young inexperienced KM professionals.
Submitted by maphuti on 7 August 2009 - 1:31pm. categories [ ]
How much is a Billion, really?Here is an interesting fact: In America, a billion is a thousand million written thus 1,000,000,000 However, in England, the British define a billion as a million million. That is 1,000,000 times 1,000,000 which would be written thus 1,000,000,000,000 Once you get past eight zeroes, the British names do not match the American names. For example, a number followed by 9 zeroes is in the British "milliards" but the American "trillions". In other words, the British Numbering System is completely different from the American Numbering System after the thousands and millions. Thousand and Million are the same, but then you see Milliard, Billion, Billiard, Trillion, Trilliard, etc.
Submitted by KMAadmin on 31 July 2009 - 9:46am. categories [ ]
Service DeliveryMany people in government and in the ANC do not agree that service delivery has failed in South Africa. It seems there is no agreement about what is Service Delivery or how it should be brought about or made to happen. Many people also do not know why it was called Service Delivery in the first place; but the unending spate of public protests definitely spells it out loud and clear that there is something wrong with Service Delivery in South Africa. Service Delivery is a collective term and may include a vast array of factors residing almost in all spheres of government, communities and municipalities which may make it possible to achieve success in improving the quality of life of ordinary South Africans.
Submitted by africanstory on 28 July 2009 - 12:10pm. categories [ ]
Feedback, learning and changeWhen most of us were at school failure was seen as something that was negative, should be avoided and often worth punishment. And yet most learning theorists agree that it is only through failure that we really learn – as opposed to just memorising. Failure is useful when it helps us critically appraise our own performance. This is evaluation is an example of feedback. A simple way to think of feedback is experiencing the output of your own performance as a new input. Students of psychology and education are becoming increasingly aware of the vital role that feedback plays in how we learn. All complex systems (like your body, your organisation, your family, your community) change their behaviour or learn through feedback - even if this means weaving in and out of the best path (like Wiener’s boat example) rather than sticking to the best path in any strict way.
Submitted by storytelling on 14 July 2009 - 4:02pm. categories [ ]
About Paradigms and ChangeA paradigm is a self-consistent set of ideas and beliefs which acts as a filter, influencing how we perceive and make sense of the world. The way in which we often structure our organisations is based on the model of a Egyptian pyramid and is an example of a paradigm. Other examples of paradigms include – how to make bread, what a bed looks like, the characteristics of a chair that lend the idea of “chairness”, the general features of a ship or an aircraft and so on. The term was first used by Thomas Kuhn in “the structure of scientific revolutions” (1962) to describe the the impact of change within the ruling theory of science when fundamental assumptions changed. Kuhn argued that the history of science is not a linear and continuous assimilation of facts but rather a number of revolutions in which new paradigms or new ways of seeing the world, entirely replace the old. Some of his conclusions include:
Submitted by storytelling on 14 July 2009 - 1:54pm. categories [ ]
How to decode your position of powerWhile we all know something about power, working in conflict or change management requires a clear understanding of power and how to decode and understand it. So what is power really and how is it constructed? Our world identifies certain individuals as 'having power' and then proceeds to make them more powerful by talking about them in the media. Politicians, high profile business leaders, characters from the entertainment industry and those frequently in the public eye are often said to examples of ‘powerful people’. A useful way of decoding any phenomenon is to go beyond the 'what is it?' question and rather look at 'what does it do?'. In organisations, power can do many things. It can speed things up, slow things down, alter trajectory, transform our understanding of ‘what is going on’ and divert attention to something altogether different. We each have some measure of power and your position of power could be defined by:
Submitted by eugenie on 14 July 2009 - 11:01am. categories [ ]
A 'strange duck in the botanical pond'We can tell you a lot about our little enterprise and what we do. But rather google to Soekershof to find out via diverse angles or for a brief overview Soekershof Website We are dealing with 2 issues:
Submitted by soekershof on 13 July 2009 - 11:16am. categories [ ]
A glimpse into the mind of the world - realtime searchWith the increase in users of microblogging sites such as Twitter.com, a profusion of services have emerged to support analysis and search of this live 'stream' of data. This Tweetgrid example provides an view of how seaching on particular hashtags (designated with a '#') can yield useful results and interesting connections. Importantly, it provides insight into how people in distant places are talking about your field of interest, what metaphors they are using, who they are recommending etc.. Obviously there is a lot of junk and so, as always, you need to exercise discernment. You can update the #hashtags on the tweetgrid and save your own personal glimpse into the mind of the collective.
Submitted by KMAadmin on 9 July 2009 - 4:38pm. categories [ ]
African Peer Review MechanismThe Inaugural Summit of the AU of July 2003, in Durban, South Africa, endorsed the NEPAD progress report and initial action plan and encouraged member states to adopt the NEPAD Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic, and Corporate Governance, and accede to the APRM. After years of difficulties and African pessimism, some leaders thought that it was time to act rather than wait for others to come and solve their problems. They realised that there was a need to create an atmosphere conducive to development and to create conditions that would encourage the private sector to invest in African economies.
Submitted by DriesVelt on 28 June 2009 - 9:53am. categories [ ]
KMAfrica.com - African Renaissance and desired outcomes for AfricaThe African Renaissance is about developing Africans and Africa. It is a call for the rebirth renewal, reinvention and repositioning of Africans and Africa in a globalizing world. Furthermore, it is a call to Africans to relearn and rediscover who they are and where they are in a global scheme of things. It is a vision bigger than the African Union, NEPAD and many other initiatives by individuals, communities, governments and multilateral organisations. It is not an effort to emulate 'world class' standards set by others but to set world standards to be followed by others. The African Renaissance is seen as the rebirth of the continent after centuries of suppression, correcting negative images. Rebirth must be through rediscovery of Africa's past, reversing the downfall into chaos. It is about planning for the future based on a new knowledge framework accommodating the ideas and philosophies that created the great empires of Ghana, Monomotapa, Songhai and Mali. (Gutto 2005).
Submitted by DriesVelt on 28 June 2009 - 8:40am. categories [ ]
Africa - fertile ground for KM innovationsThe uptake of mobile phones on the African continent continues with growth rates in excess of 100% over the past twelve months (Source MTN 'Yello corporate publication, 2008). This is happening while technologies that link people across space and time are becoming ubiquitous and mobile telephony is the preferred means of telecommunication. The result is a narrowing of the technological gap between the developed and developing world. Rates of ownership, even among the poorest, is surprisingly high and while estimates vary, there were already more than 100 million connected handsets in Africa in 2005.
Submitted by storytelling on 27 June 2009 - 9:07am. categories [ ]
Ideas for powerful networkingThe ability to network powerfully is an important skill and a key resource in your personal knowledge management strategy. In this discussion we'll look at ways of interacting with your network plus ideas for powerful networking. You could see your network as a series of circles that contain your immediate family, your friends, your professional networks, and the general public. While some of these overlap, others do not are and quite distinct. In addition to the face-to-face networks you engage in on a day-to-day basis, the vast majority of these networks are becoming available on-line and so these ideas are designed to provide know-how designed to help you get the best out of all of your networks:
Submitted by storytelling on 25 June 2009 - 1:33pm. categories [ ]
Permaculture as a metaphor for organisational change & sustainabilityPermaculture is a particularly useful metaphor in change management and KM and many organisations are using permaculture principles to teach design and sustainability. Permaculture concerns itself with the use of ecology as the basis for designing integrated systems of food production, housing, appropriate technology, and community development.
Submitted by storytelling on 25 June 2009 - 12:46pm. categories [ ]
The need for new KM ModelsAccording to Dunning (1997, 370) the geographical imbalance between the current 'technology revolution' and the 'population revolution' is a potential time bomb. The wealthiest 12% of the world population controls 85 % of the world's stock of created assets, while the rest owns or controls only 15 % of these assets. An increase of approxamately 50 % of the world population over the next five years will probably occur in the less wealthy part of the world. This imbalance can be addressed by Chinese and Indian economic development and removing the threat of ideological warfare (referring to the war between Islam and the West).
Submitted by DriesVelt on 23 June 2009 - 3:32pm. categories [ ]
Framing HIV as an information problemPeter Drucker defines knowledge as "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." This definition highlights both individual and corporate aspects of knowledge. KM models focus on what kinds of information move through a system, how the information moves and the relationship of information to processes of change within that system. A number of biomedical models have suggested that the HIV virus can change other information at the level of the DNA of a CD4 cell. In this way, it is suggested, the Virus uses corrupted immune system cells to create replicas of itself thus compromising the ability of the immune system to defend against opportunistic infections. Because of this, HIV itself can be framed as knowledge in that it has the ability to change other information.
Submitted by storytelling on 23 June 2009 - 11:03am. categories [ ]
Memetics, Memeplexes, Culture and HIVVirology has provided our culture with many useful insights and the term 'viral' and the viral metaphor spring up in the form of computer viruses, viral marketing, memetics and memeplexes. Human beings are by nature metaphorical beings and understand complex concepts through metaphor and analogy. In other words, we understand something in terms of something else.
A KM approach to guiding Change ManagementWhen engaged in Change Management project, we often use a KM framework to guide and share elements of the system's functionality with client. This simultaneously engages Systems Theory, Logical Framework Analysis (LFA), Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Dialogic approaches in project work. The novelty of this approach is that is both analytical and analogical simultaneously and creates a multidisciplinary framework for engaging complex information. It has proved particularly helpful in working with African government and NGOs. The process is generally completed within 3 days as an organisational ritual and outputs form inputs to the change process. The enquiry framework asks the following key questions when we assess organisational culture and the nature of a system:
Submitted by storytelling on 22 June 2009 - 8:29am. categories [ ]
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) - social & political domination through text & talkCritical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of discourse, which views "language as a form of social practice" (Fairclough 1989: 20) and focuses on the ways social and political domination is reproduced by text and talk. CDA developed within several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, such as 'critical linguistics'.
Submitted by storytelling on 22 June 2009 - 8:16am. categories [ ]
Dialogic - endless redescriptions of the worldThe terms dialogic and dialogism often refer to the concept used by Mikhail Bakhtin in his work The Dialogic Imagination. The dialogic work carries on a continual dialogue with other works of literature and other authors. It does not merely answer, correct, silence, or extend a previous work, but informs and is continually informed by the previous work. Dialogic literature is in communication with multiple works. This is not merely a matter of influence, for the dialogue extends in both directions, and the previous work of literature is as altered by the dialogue as the present one is.
Submitted by storytelling on 22 June 2009 - 7:52am. categories [ ]
New Knowledge-based business models for Africae-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:
Submitted by storytelling on 17 June 2009 - 12:11pm. categories [ ]
Anti-knowledge – the unknown as reservoir of the possibleAnti-knowledge refers to the collective set of questions that form an antithetical structure to a subset or the sum of knowledge. Put more simply, Antiknowledge is whatever we don't know. Of course, we can't know what we don't know and so the only way to find out is to ask a question. Thankfully, the questions we can ask are the Who, What, Where, Why, How and When questions which operate on Anti-knowledge converting the questions into knowledge by structuring them. There are two fundamental types of questions:
Submitted by storytelling on 17 June 2009 - 8:51am. categories [ ]
4 steps to exploring social mediaIf 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:
Submitted by KMAadmin on 13 June 2009 - 8:09am. categories [ ]
Submitted by KMAadmin on 7 July 2009 - 2:33pm.
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