The Centre for Digital Library Research and the Common Information Environment

This paper presents some of the current research and service development projects being carried out by the Centre for Digital Library Research (CDLR), with particular reference to shared services which bring together archives, libraries and museums in a Common Information Environment

A Comparative Assessment of Knowledge Management Programs across the United States Armed Services

Knowledge is a corporate resource that is required to accomplish business processes, to make decisions, and to improve efficiency and effectiveness. To completely take advantage of the benefits of knowledge, organizations must harvest and leverage the collective knowledge of the entire workforce. This can be achieved through effective knowledge management. Knowledge management involves processes to create, to store, and transfer knowledge to accomplish business objectives and to achieve a competitive advantage. The United States armed services have also recognized the benefits of knowledge management in meeting the emerging challenges of modern warfare. This study investigated knowledge management programs in the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force. Using a case study methodology, each of the service\u27s knowledge management programs were assessed against Stankosky et al.\u27s (1999) Four Pillar Framework which outlines key elements of leadership, technology, organization/culture, and learning associated with robust knowledge management programs. Based on the evidence reviewed for this research, the results indicate each of the services are making progress albeit with slightly different approaches towards a more mature KM program with the U.S. Army having the most complete approach according to the evaluation criteria. The research also revealed that there is much collaboration and work yet to be done among the services if the concepts of knowledge management are to be used to operate and fight more effectively as a joint force

Decentralisation in Kosovo: challenges of reforming the local level

Studies of external democracy assistance and the promotion of good governance have tended to focus on the transformation of central government institutions and the interaction between state and non-state actors at this level. Although local institutions, organisation and contexts are not ignored as such, the emergence of multi-level governance is implicitly predicted to occur at a later stage, once reforms have been established at the core. As this paper demonstrates, local governance reform arguably constitutes a much greater challenge..

Exchange of Services in Networks: Competition, Cooperation, and Fairness

Exchange of services and resources in, or over, networks is attracting nowadays renewed interest. However, despite the broad applicability and the extensive study of such models, e.g., in the context of P2P networks, many fundamental questions regarding their properties and efficiency remain unanswered. We consider such a service exchange model and analyze the users' interactions under three different approaches. First, we study a centrally designed service allocation policy that yields the fair total service each user should receive based on the service it others to the others. Accordingly, we consider a competitive market where each user determines selfishly its allocation policy so as to maximize the service it receives in return, and a coalitional game model where users are allowed to coordinate their policies. We prove that there is a unique equilibrium exchange allocation for both game theoretic formulations, which also coincides with the central fair service allocation. Furthermore, we characterize its properties in terms of the coalitions that emerge and the equilibrium allocations, and analyze its dependency on the underlying network graph. That servicing policy is the natural reference point to the various mechanisms that are currently proposed to incentivize user participation and improve the efficiency of such networked service (or, resource) exchange markets.Comment: to appear in ACM Sigmetrics 201

A Comparative Assessment of Knowledge Management Education Across the United States Department of Defense

Knowledge is a critical resource for organizations today, especially to the DoD. When organizations understand what knowledge is, they can begin to draw value from it. Drawing value from knowledge is best accomplished through the processes of knowledge management: knowledge creation, knowledge storage and retrieval, knowledge transfer, and knowledge application (Alavi and Leidner, 2001). Organizations can create an environment in which these processes flourish by ensuring the organization has the elements of a supportive leadership, structure to control and optimize knowledge sharing, technology to facilitate the KM processes, and a commitment to maximize knowledge sharing and continuously improve (Stankosky et al, 1999). KM education is the means by which organizations can successfully develop an understanding of KM, and those organizational elements required to implement and institutionalize KM. Statistical evidence shows that those organizations that do not adequately address KM education are more likely to fail with their KM systems (Koenig, 2004). Organizations desiring to capitalize on knowledge should then ensure that their KM education efforts are effective by establishing education goals, developing a curriculum to meet these goals, and continuously evaluating goal attainment. This case study research documents how the DoD is addressing knowledge management education

Strategizing knowledge management in the Malaysian Armed Forces : towards knowledge-centric organization / Ismail Manuri and Raja Abdullah Yaacob

Military knowledge management (KM) is about the processes and techniques used to swiftly transfer experience and provide a common understanding from an experienced soldier to an inexperienced soldier. As an integral part of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) transformation to achieve Future Force, the KM strategy will play a valuable role in leveraging existing knowledge and converting new knowledge into action. A study on military officers of the MAF attitudes towards' KM applications was conducted to show the importance of KM in the military environment. Focus of the study is to examine the attitudes of MAF personnel toward KM key drivers, which include the knowledge creation, processes, applications, and technology. The findings of the study may be used as the basis to develop a KM implementation strategy in the MAF which should focussed on the tenet of people, process, and technology. The results of the study indicated that the KM key drivers that include knowledge creation, KM processes, KM application and technology were perceived as key elements in the military organization. In order to develop KM implementation strategy successfully, the MAF needs to focus on factors that include people, KM processes, and infostructure

Beyond Muslim Xenophobia and Contemporary Parochialism: Aga Khan IV, the Ismā‘īlīs, and the making of a Cosmopolitan Ethic

Aga Khan IV is the forty-ninth hereditary Imām of the Shī‘a Nizārī Ismā‘īlī Muslims (or ‘Ismā‘īlīs’ for short). As a Muslim leader, Aga Khan IV addresses salient issues concerning humankind in the contemporary world and expresses the challenges of living under such conditions through his public speeches and the institutions of the Ismā‘īlī Imāmate. His discourse is informed by the inseparability of dīn (faith) and dunyā(world), which is viewed as being a central function to the office of Imāmate. Aga Khan IV adopts a context-rich approach that addresses modernity by integrating commitments to theology with religio-cultural ethics, a formulation that facilitates the engagement of the Ismā‘īlī community in the contemporary world. A key feature of Aga Khan IV’s worldview is a tolerant and cosmopolitan attitude with deep spiritual underpinnings, which appeals to a broad range of individuals, not just Ismā‘īlīs. This research situates and explains Aga Khan IV’s concept of a ‘cosmopolitan ethic’ within concerns of human diversity and understandings of the Self-Other paradigm in human narratives. I demonstrate how significant initiatives of Aga Khan IV promote a cosmopolitan ethic, helping to foster a moral sensibility among the Ismā‘īlīs and communities at large. A critical analysis of Aga Khan IV’s ‘cosmopolitan ethic’ is undertaken through the consideration of broader discourses and experiences of cosmopolitanism throughout history. Moreover, his articulation rests on foundational precepts grounded in the Abrahamic moral tradition and is informed by an esoteric spirit of Islam that has long been captured in Shī‘ī and Ṣūfī thought.This dissertation also discusses the ways in which the cosmopolitan ethic is manifested within the institutions of the Imāmate in Canada. Using the case study of three institutions: the Global Centre for Pluralism, the Ismā‘īlī Centre Toronto, and the Aga Khan Museum, I demonstrate how these sites implement and craft a spirit of cosmopolitanism within their infrastructure and programing while exhibiting elements that are rooted in history and tradition

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the ‘stranded’ Migrant Population: An Unequal pain

This article aims to determine the vulnerability of migrant populations to COVID-19. Between March 2020 and November 2021, informal interviews with respondents who were stranded in various parts of the world were conducted through Skype and WhatsApp. COVID-19 endangers millions of individuals who were stranded between their homes and their destinations — and who were compelled to reside in overcrowded accommodation where the ideas of "stay home," "keep safe," and "social distancing" have little significance