There is a consensus that the global economy has evolved from being predominantly industrial to an information society. The world today is characterised by an escalation of information produced every day, availed in various formats, of different opinion and from diverse originators. The information explosion is in direct response to an increasing demand for information as man incessantly appreciates the need for the commodity to provide solutions to daily challenges. The global village, as it is now referred to, has also fallen victim to an escalating growth in procedures used in gathering, processing, communicating and storing information in personal, educational, business and social life. The persistence of information explosion and the dominance of information technology have necessitated an urgent need for dynamic and competent information professionals with the mental alacrity and enthusiasm to avail relevant and adequate information promptly.

THE FUTURE OF HUMAN, NATURE and KNOWLEDGE
by : Md Santo – MobeeKnowledge Services - http://mobeeknowledge.ning.com

“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.” - Stephen Covey
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein
....“I think the next century will be the century of Complexity.” - Stephen Hawking
..... Dear Hawking, it seems the next century will be the century of Knowledge.” - Md Santo

PROLOG
Considering, Human Knowledge evolved and generated from Human Knowing Tools (HKT) and most likely that “WE ARE KM-REGULATED BY NATURE vice-versa BY NATURE WE ARE KM MODEL” ( KM = Knowledge Management ) - http://mobeeknowledge.ning.com/forum/topics/we-are-kmregulated-by-nature

? Therefore, on redefining Knowledge :

Ten Landmarks Toward Next Generation Knowledge Management
Published: Feb 26, 2010 by Md Santo - http://bit.ly/fNCO9e
Category: How-To Guides/Manuals
Description : Discover the signs towards next generation Knowledge Management

KNOWLEDGE 'R' US (not KNOWLEDGE 'R' OURS)
Published: April 1, 2010 by Md Santo - http://bit.ly/eRWQD7
Category: Research > Science
Description : We are as Human Being in fact is the Knowledge itself because the Knowledge essentially behaving as Human Consciousness since beginning of our life functioning to lead us in our journey through the path of Physical Realities – Data – Information – Knowledge (narrow meaning) – Wisdom and above. So Knowledge should be treated as something which has broad meaning to our understanding. This paradigm surely will give significant impact on how we look at next gen KM as well as to the influence of how Science and Technology should developed

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

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...

The world today is faced with several challenges like the economic recession, climatic change, disease outbreaks, increased organized crime, information explosion, and uncontrolled migration. Like any other calamity, the harsh effects are mostly felt by the vulnerable third world states. Zimbabwe, coming out of an economic crisis characterized by record inflation, high unemployment, heavy brain drain and a large reduction in the Gross Domestic Product, has plenty to do with regards to enhancing the recovery path and rejuvenating the economy. With the Unity government having managed to tame the legendary inflation and the economy expected to grow, focus is now on which sectors of development should be prioritized over others given a background of an economy thriving on limited resources.

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

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

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

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.

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 ?)"... :

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.

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.
  

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.

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

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

Abstract:

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

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

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

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

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.

Contents

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

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.

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.

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.

By:Hendra van Zyl and Nolwazi Mbananga

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
  

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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