Information encountering re-encountered: A conceptual re-examination of serendipity in the context of information acquisition

Purpose In order to understand the totality, diversity and richness of human information behavior, increasing research attention has been paid to examining serendipity in the context of information acquisition. However, several issues have arisen as this research subfield has tried to find its feet; we have used different, inconsistent terminology to define this phenomenon (e.g. information encountering, accidental information discovery, incidental information acquisition), the scope of the phenomenon has not been clearly defined and its nature was not fully understood or fleshed-out. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, information encountering (IE) was proposed as the preferred term for serendipity in the context of information acquisition. Findings A reconceptualized definition and scope of IE was presented, a temporal model of IE and a refined model of IE that integrates the IE process with contextual factors and extends previous models of IE to include additional information acquisition activities pre- and postencounter. Originality/value By providing a more precise definition, clearer scope and richer theoretical description of the nature of IE, there was hope to make the phenomenon of serendipity in the context of information acquisition more accessible, encouraging future research consistency and thereby promoting deeper, more unified theoretical development

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Face-to-Face and Virtual Communication: Overcoming the Challenges

Virtual communication has become the norm for many organizations (Baltes, Dickson, Sherman, Bauer, & LaGanke, 2002; Bergiel, Bergiel, & Balsmeier, 2008; Hertel, Geister, & Konradt, 2005). As technology has evolved, time and distance barriers have dissolved, allowing for access to experts worldwide. The reality of business today demands the use of virtual communication for at least some work, and many professionals will sit on a virtual team at some point (Dewar, 2006). Although virtual communication offers many advantages, it is not without challenges. This article examines the costs and benefits associated with virtual and face-to-face communication, and identifies strategies to overcome virtual communication\u27s challenges

Design for the contact zone. Knowledge management software and the structures of indigenous knowledges

This article examines the design of digital indigenous knowledge archives. In a discussion of the distinction between indigenous knowledge and western science, a decentred perspective is developed, in which the relationship between different local knowledges is explored. The particular characteristics of indigenous knowledges raise questions about if and how these knowledges can be managed. The role of technology in managing indigenous knowledges is explored with examples from fieldwork in India and Kenya and from web-based databases and digital archives. The concept of contact zone is introduced to explore the space in which different knowledges meet and are performed, such as indigenous knowledge and the technoscientific knowledge of the database. Design for the contact zone, this article proposes, is an intra-active and adaptive process for in creating databases that are meaningful for indigenous knowers. The meta-design approach is introduced as a methodology, which may provide indigenous knowers tools for self-representation and self-organisation through design

What Women With Disabilities Write in Personal Blogs About Pregnancy and Early Motherhood: Qualitative Analysis of Blogs.

BackgroundMore than 1 in 10 women of reproductive age identify as having some type of disability. Most of these women are able to become pregnant and have similar desires for motherhood as women without disability. Women with disability, however, face greater stigma and stereotyping, additional risk factors, and may be less likely to receive adequate reproductive health care compared with their peers without disability. More and more individuals, including those with disability, are utilizing the internet to seek information and peer support. Blogs are one source of peer-to-peer social media engagement that may provide a forum for women with disability to both share and obtain peer-to-peer information and support. Nevertheless, it is not clear what content about reproductive health and pregnancy and/or motherhood is featured in personal blogs authored by women with spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), spina bifida, and autism.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was twofold: (1) to examine the information being shared in blogs by women with 4 types of disabilities, namely, SCI, TBI, spina bifida, and autism, about reproductive health, disability, health care, pregnancy, and motherhood; and (2) to classify the content of reproductive health experiences addressed by bloggers to better understand what they viewed as important.MethodsPersonal blogs were identified by searching Google with keywords related to disabilities, SCI, TBI, spina bifida, and autism, and a variety of keywords related to reproductive health. The first 10 pages of each database search in Google, based on the relevance of the search terms, were reviewed and all blogs in these pages were included. Blog inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) written by a woman or care partner (ie, parent or spouse) of a woman with a self-identified diagnosis of SCI, TBI, spina bifida, or autism; (2) focused on the personal experience of health and health care during the prepregnancy, prenatal, antepartum, intrapartum, and/or postpartum periods; (3) written in English; and (4) published between 2013 and 2017. A descriptive and thematic qualitative analysis of blogs and corresponding comments was facilitated with NVivo software and matrix analysis.ResultsOur search strategy identified 125 blogs that met all the inclusion criteria; no blogs written by women with spina bifida were identified. We identified 4 reproductive health themes featured in the blog of women with disabilities: (1) (in)accessible motherhood, (2) (un)supportive others, (3) different, but not different, and (4) society questioning motherhood.ConclusionsThis analysis of personal blogs about pregnancy and health care written by women with SCI, TBI, and autism provides a glimpse into their experiences. The challenges faced by these women and the adaptations they made to successfully navigate pregnancy and early motherhood provide insights that can be used to shape future research

Knowledge in development aid and healthcare: a comparative analysis

Effective delivery in the fields of development aid and healthcare relies on knowledge and its communication. Institutions, practitioners and the end-users are examined in these two fields as key actors in the production and communication of knowledge. Similarities and differences, and strengths and weaknesses of their approaches to knowledge are compared. Knowledge is shown to be an intrinsically political process in which institutions and practitioners play a critical role in its communication. Establishing a common background is essential to communicate knowledge effectively. The World Bank’s notion that knowledge is a simple commodity should be challenged

An Investigation of the Interaction between Organizational Culture and Knowledge Sharing through Socialization: A Multi-Level Perspective

Knowledge management (KM) has been determined by many researchers as one of the most important domains within the information systems (IS) field, and knowledge sharing (KS) has been identified as the most vital component of KM. Lack of KS within organizations has been approached from many perspectives. One perspective that has been outlined in recent studies is the organizational culture (OC) perspective, which examines the interaction between OC and KS behaviors. Although research has been conducted on OC and KS, the findings of recent studies have been contradictory. These conflicts were due to the different operationalization of KS. The purpose of this research was to conduct a multi method study to investigate the interaction between KS and OC in detail. A case study within a Fortune 50 organization was undertaken to address the problem. By focusing on socialization adopted from the socialization, externalization, combination, internalization (SECI) model, the iceberg theory, and the Competing Values Framework (CVF), two questions were explored to address an unexamined area within the body of knowledge. Per the recent calls for research, the questions addressed KS itemized into knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing, and investigated the phenomenon at multiple levels of the organization. The first question examined the interaction between OC and KS via socialization amongst peers for: (a) overall organization, (b) non-managers, (c) first level managers, and (d) second-level managers. The second question examined the interaction between OC and KS via socialization amongst various levels for: (a) subordinates and managers in overall organization, (b) non-managers and first level managers, and (c) first level managers and second level managers. Data were collected through 82 surveys, 23 interviews, 23 observations, and company records for the calendar year of 2017 to provide multiple types of data for triangulation. The quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation tables, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and visualization. The qualitative data were analyzed through open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The combined results were triangulated to reach the conclusions. The MANCOVA displayed a significant interaction between OC and KS via socialization. Furthermore, the triangulated results showcased that perceived bureaucratic culture and perceived competitive- bureaucratic culture had a negative relationship with KS via socialization amongst peers, knowledge seeking for manager to subordinate, and subordinate to manager, but not for between level knowledge contributing. While perceived clan culture had a positive relationship with KS via socialization amongst peers, and for knowledge seeking from managers, but not for between level knowledge contributing. Perceived competitive culture was only discovered to have a negative relationship with knowledge seeking for level two managers, while having a positive relationship with knowledge contributing to employees, and knowledge contributing amongst peers with knowledge seeking as moderating variable. The various organizational levels also showcased distinct results which requires further investigation. Future research suggestions were made to extend the body of knowledge through various directions, alongside an IS solution recommendation for organizations to improve KS

Just Do It! Web 2.0 and the Breaking of the Tacit Dimension for Knowledge Acquisition

Does Web 2.0 facilitate the conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge? Prior research has focused on the conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit within the context of organizations and builds upon assumptions made during the period when information technologies were not readily available and accessible to the general population. Recently, there have been dramatic changes to the information technology landscape due to the advent of Web 2.0. A unique characteristic of the Web 2.0 era is the dissemination and absorption of knowledge and information by almost anyone at any time. This conceptual research in progress builds upon the theory that explicit and tacit knowledge are dichotomous constructs on a continuum scale. We use this theory to examine how features of Web 2.0 convert increasing kinds of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge; allowing for greater dissemination and acquisition by the layman and artificial intelligence agents. For the layman, we discuss the current limitations we face in empirically documenting and measuring this phenomenon and the benefits of a randomized digital field experiment. We conclude with the implications of the research for academia and practitioners

Understanding the Experience-Centeredness of Privacy and Security Technologies

The joint study of computer security, privacy and human-computer interaction (HCI) over the last two decades has shaped a research agenda focused upon usable privacy & security. However, in HCI research more generally there has long been an awareness of the need to understand and design for user experience, in recognition of the complex and multi-faceted role that technology now plays in our lives. In this paper we add to the growing discussion by introducing the notion of experience-centered privacy and security. We argue that in order to engage users of technology around issues related to experiences of privacy and security, research methods are required that may be outside of the normal repertoire of methods that we typically call upon. We describe three projects that developed non-typical research methods to reveal experiential insights into user interactions with privacy and security-related technologies. We conclude by proposing a research agenda that begins to illustrate how the discourse and methods of experience-centered design might serve to provide valuable alternative perspectives on new and enduring user-facing privacy and security problems

Dissemination and communication of lessons learned for a project-based business with the application of information technology: a case study with Siemens

With the recent development on a knowledge-based economy and project-based work, organizations gather and store their lessons and knowledge gained from projects to avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’ in future projects. To disseminate knowledge and experience at the group and organization levels, they further seek to develop a procedure to support project-based learning. This study conducts an in-depth case study in Siemens to investigate the perception of the individuals on barriers and enablers of implementing lessons learned. It also provides practical recommendations on how to enhance the dissemination of knowledge throughout the organization. The results of this study show that the retrieval of the information is a major barrier to lessons learned. To encourage more informal learning, organizations need to adopt various information communication systems and appropriate organizational culture and structure

Social Network as Antecedents Collective Cyber Learning for Fostering Creative Performance: A Perspective Organizational Learning Theory

The fast-fashion trend has recently become an actual-market issue which develops along with the existence of innovation of Internet of Thing (IoT) and industrial phenomena 4.0. Both change the mass production mindset to mass personalization one. The existence of B2B virtual manufactures, emergence of start-up businesses, business model canvases, and huge collapse of foremost malls indicate that the paradigm of Indonesian economic new era begins. In recent knowledge-based economy paradigm, technology and networking are essentially considered as strategic resources to achieve the business goals. This research is conducted based on the gap of the influence of social network on creative performance which is still inconclusive. The sample used in this research was 159 the managers of apparel and fashion micro enterprises employed Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis. The aim of this research is to empirically examine the concept of Collective Cyber Learning (CCL). CCL concept is synthesized from the organizational theory and elaborated on collectivism concept. Collectivism which is relevant to national culture, getting involved in a cohesive group, is derived from national culture Hofstede concept. CCL encourages SME to adapt to the innovative technology. It is evident in this research that there is significant influence of social network on social media use to work (β=0.65, sig<0.001) as well as on creative performance (β=0.25, sig <0.05). This paper reveals that there exists specifically indirect influence of social network on creative performance 0.055 through social media leverage and CCL. In addition, social network has particularly indirect influence on creative performance 0.665 through the role of Active Sharing Motivation (ASM) as stated in the sub structural equation of = . + . + . . It indicates that CCL functions as a mediation of the gap occurred. CCL novelty provides a contribution to body of knowledge in terms of organizational learning