Computational Thinking: The Essential Skill for being Successful in Knowledge Science Research

The VUCA world concept was established in 2016 as the new challenge universe in the 21st century. Humans live in Society 5.0 and the VUCA world simultaneously. The digital word has been a noisy word since then. There are a lot of requisite skills to be a survival kit for this kind of era. The VUCA world's affection is spreading in the way of thinking and creating innovation, especially in the research domain. As a newcomer, Knowledge Science should state the requisite skills for its researchers to conduct their research successfully. Many researchers offered computational thinking as a candidate for an essential skill to satisfy the effect of the VUCA world. This study was focused on conducting a descriptive analysis method based on several literature reviews for mapping how computational thinking can serve as a best practice for Knowledge Science research. This study successfully revealed the connection between Computational Thinking

(Neg)Entropic scenarios affecting the wicked design spaces of knowledge management systems

CITATION: Schmitt, U. 2020. (Neg)Entropic scenarios affecting the wicked design spaces of knowledge management systems. Entropy, 22(2):169, doi:10.3390/e22020169.The original publication is available at https://www.mdpi.comThe envisioned embracing of thriving knowledge societies is increasingly compromised by threatening perceptions of information overload, attention poverty, opportunity divides, and career fears. This paper traces the roots of these symptoms back to causes of information entropy and structural holes, invisible private and undiscoverable public knowledge which characterize the sad state of our current knowledge management and creation practices. As part of an ongoing design science research and prototyping project, the article’s (neg)entropic perspectives complement a succession of prior multi-disciplinary publications. Looking forward, it proposes a novel decentralized generative knowledge management approach that prioritizes the capacity development of autonomous individual knowledge workers not at the expense of traditional organizational knowledge management systems but as a viable means to foster their fruitful co-evolution. The article, thus, informs relevant stakeholders about the current unsustainable status quo inhibiting knowledge workers; it presents viable remedial options (as a prerequisite for creating the respective future generative Knowledge Management (KM) reality) to afford a sustainable solution with the generative potential to evolve into a prospective general-purpose technology.https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/22/2/169Publisher's versio

The Impact of Online ICT on the Dimensions of Social Capital

This study aims to investigate the impact of information and communication technologies on social capital. It evaluates ICT in terms of “knowledge sharing.” Similarly, social capital is taken into consideration in terms of organizational context. Within such a framework, constructs affiliated with these two concepts have been investigated. This investigation shows that communication technologies and social media technologies do have similar as well as varied impacts on dimensions of social capital. These impacts stem from the developments in the social elements of ICT. Moreover, variations in these elements are reflected as variations in the dimensions of developed social capital between communities with face-to-face interaction and the ones who have not yet achieved face-to-face interaction. This study also reveals that the social capital observed in face-to-face interaction can as well be seen online communities

Strengthening agricultural knowledge systems for improved rural livelihoods in Morogoro region of Tanzania

The importance of agricultural knowledge systems (AKS) especially in rural communities cannot be overemphasized. AKS are important for creation, sharing and enhancing access and usage of agricultural knowledge. They link agricultural research and farms; increase adoption of good agricultural practices; improve the performance of agricultural marketing systems; and enhance effective post-harvest management. Despite the importance of agriculture to the economy and livelihoods of majority of Tanzanians, there is a consensus from scholars that the sector has been performing poorly. This is partially due to limited access to agricultural knowledge resulting into irrational decisions on agricultural activities thus dwarfing the sector. The modified Knowledge Management Processes Model guided the study in investigating how AKS can be strengthened to enhance access and usage of agricultural knowledge among stakeholders. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and used mixed method research by applying a survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) and document reviews. Structured questionnaires were administered to 314 farmers while key informant interviews involved 57 respondents among village executives, councillors, input-suppliers, information providers, buyers, agricultural extension officers and researchers. Moreover, three FGDs involving 24 farmers were conducted. Qualitative data were analysed through classical content and constant comparison analysis, while SPSS software was used to analyse quantitative data. Quantitative and qualitative data were mixed during analysis, interpretation and discussion of results. The study identified farmers, the private sector and the government as major actors, but not working in unison. Most actors used human based systems while few used ICT and paper based systems. Actors needed agricultural knowledge on weather, farm preparation, seeds, crop maintenance, post-harvest practices, agricultural marketing and credits. Most actors shared agricultural knowledge through face-to-face interactions and mobile phones, few through internet. It was concluded that poor linkage among actors limited accessibility of agricultural knowledge. To improve accessibility to agricultural knowledge, a model for strengthening AKS usage is proposed. It is recommended that actors should be linked together and involved in enhancing access and usage of agricultural knowledge. Moreover, the proposed model should be validated before applying it.Information ScienceD. Litt. et Phil (Information Science

Knowledge Science – Modeling the Knowledge Creation Process

Knowledge science is a problem-oriented interdisciplinary field that takes as its subject the modeling of the knowledge creation process and its application, and carries out research in such disciplines as knowledge management, management of technology, support for the discovery, synthesis and creation of knowledge, and innovation theory with the aim of constructing a better knowledge-based society. This paper considers what knowledge science should be, introducing a forthcoming book entitled Knowledge Science – Modeling the Knowledge Creation Process (Nakamori ed., 2011). The authors of this book are experienced researchers in knowledge science with the background of systems science, and core members of the International Society for Knowledge and Systems Sciences. This book introduces six important concepts in knowledge science, which are knowledge technology, knowledge management, knowledge discovery, knowledge synthesis, knowledge justification, and knowledge construction. Finally, the paper briefly describes a theory of knowledge construction systems; its fundamental part was already published in Systems Research and Behavioral Science (Nakamori et al., 2011