The Long Way of Knowledge Society

I think, therefore I am. Our ancestors said Cogito, ergo sum, in a Latin form of Rene Descartes' expression "Je pense, donc je suis", in Discourse on Method (1637). The same did Thomas Davenport, when gave his book the title Thinking for a living. Probably he didn't prefer the direct form in English of the above mentioned expression: "I think, therefore I am", but one that in essence is more poetical and more anchored in the reality of the third millennium's early days, in the way that only thinking we can exist. The title is also a commercial one, because the previous ten books also basically referred to knowing or knowledge. They used the research done in the following fields: knowledge management, process management and innovation. The opening of his last book, a best seller of 2005, is also interesting. The author gives the first chapter the title 'What's a Knowledge Worker, Anyway?". We could draw the conclusion that after so much effort, including a publishing one, the author remains with the doubt on the terminology so much used at the end of the 2nd millennium and the beginning of the 3rd one or leaves an open way to the next volumes. It is not by chance that there are voices that say he might be the next Peter Drucker. The last one said that the future society would be the knowledge society (see also Managing in the Next Society, 2002).society, knowledge

University of Johannesburg HIV & AIDS report, 2011 & 2012

In the next decade UJ will position itself as a modern African city university, which is cosmopolitan in character, and asserts academic freedom in the liberal, progressive and transformative values it espouses. It will provide education that is affordable and accessible, that is challenging, imaginative and innovative, and contributes to a just, responsible and sustainable society. It will offer a comprehensive range of excellent programmes and will cultivate students with integrity, who are knowledgeable, well balanced and ethical and global citizens. In keeping with this vision, the HIV and AIDS Committee will achieve and implement a coordinated, comprehensive and integrated response in mitigating and managing the effects of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, based on four of UJ’s strategic thrusts

University of Johannesburg HIV & AIDS report, 2009 & 2010

In the next decade UJ will position itself as a modern African city university, which is cosmopolitan in character, and asserts academic freedom in the liberal, progressive and transformative values it espouses. It will provide education that is affordable and accessible, that is challenging, imaginative and innovative, and contributes to a just, responsible and sustainable society. It will offer a comprehensive range of excellent programmes and will cultivate students with integrity, who are knowledgeable, well balanced and ethical and global citizens. In keeping with this vision, the HIV and AIDS Committee will achieve and implement a coordinated, comprehensive and integrated response in mitigating and managing the effects of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, based on four of UJ’s strategic thrusts

A Systemic Approach to Next Generation Infrastructure Data Elicitation and Planning Using Serious Gaming Methods

Infrastructure systems are vital to the functioning of our society and economy. However, these systems are increasingly complex and are more interdependent than ever, making them difficult to manage. In order to respond to increasing demand, environmental concerns, and natural and man-made threats, infrastructure systems have to adapt and transform. Traditional engineering design approaches and planning tools have proven to be inadequate when planning and managing these complex socio-technical system transitions. The design and implementation of next generation infrastructure systems require holistic methodologies, encompassing organizational and societal aspects in addition to technical factors. In order to do so, a serious gaming based risk assessment methodology is developed to assist infrastructure data elicitation and planning. The methodology combines the use of various models, commercial-off-the-shelf solutions and a gaming approach to aggregate the inputs of various subject matter experts (SMEs) to predict future system characteristics. The serious gaming based approach enables experts to obtain a thorough understanding of the complexity and interdependency of the system while offering a platform to experiment with various strategies and scenarios. In order to demonstrate its abilities, the methodology was applied to National Airspace System (NAS) overhaul and its transformation to Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The implemented methodology yielded a comprehensive safety assessment and data generation mechanism, embracing the social and technical aspects of the NAS transformation for the next 15 years

The Conceptual Framework for Business Process Innovation: Towards a Research Program on Global Supply Chain Intelligence

This paper proposes a research program on Business Process Innovation: Towards Global Supply Chain Intelligence. Few words are more ubiquitous in business or society today than "innovation". This reflects that businesses are striving for ways to survive and thrive in an increasingly complex and connected world (IBM 2006). Most industrial supply chains today are globally scattered and nearly all organizations rely on their Enterprise Information Systems (ES) for integration and coordination of their activities. In this context innovation inevitably is driven by advanced information technology. Organizations today are required not only to operate effective business processes but they also need to accommodate to changing business conditions at an increasing rate. Consequently the ability to develop and implement new processes driven by the Enterprise Information Systems is a central competence in most industries, and furthermore it is a critical practice for a global enterprise. The next practice in Global Supply Chain Management is Business Process Innovation. Business Process Innovation is the transformation of a global supply chain driven by a new advanced Enterprise Information Systems technology. This technology holds the potential to "close the control loop", but until now few organizations have managed to unleash the full potential of global supply chain intelligence. Thus, there is an emerging need for managing the transformation and for new approaches that will lead to robust global supply chains. This paper presents a conceptual framework for Business Process Innovation. A research proposal based on five interrelated topics is derived from the framework. The research program is intended to establish and to develop the conceptual framework for business process innovation and to apply this framework in a global supply chain context. These topics are presented in the following sections, but first the background for the program is discussed.No keywords;

Impacts and effects of ocean warming on intertidal rocky habitats.

• Intertidal rocky habitats comprise over 50% of the shorelines of the world, supporting a diversity of marine life and providing extensive ecosystem services worth in the region of US$ 5-10 trillion per year. • They are valuable indicators of the impacts of climate change on the wider marine environment and ecosystems. • Changes in species distributions, abundance and phenology have already been observed around the world in response to recent rapid climate change. • Species-level responses will have considerable ramifications for the structure of communities and trophic interactions, leading to eventual changes in ecosystem functioning (e.g. less primary producing canopy-forming algae in the North-east Atlantic). • Whilst progress is made on the mitigation1 required to achieve goals of a lower-carbon world, much can be done to enhance resilience to climate change. Managing the multitude of other interactive impacts on the marine environment, over which society has greater potential control (e.g. overfishing, invasive non-native species, coastal development, and pollution), will enable adaptation1 in the short and medium term of the next 5-50 years

Bias in the mirror: Breaking bias without breaking ourselves

Bias is everywhere. Politicians are talking about it, corporations are trying to eradicate it and people are dying because of it. In contrast to explicit biases such as obvious racism or sexism, implicit biases exist outside our awareness and influence us despite our best intentions. This session will start with introduction to the concept of implicit bias, and its relevance to science education. Next, Dr. Sukhera describes a framework for recognizing and managing biases that has relevance for individuals and organizations. Through striving for our ideals while accepting our shortcomings we can reflect on our biases, change our behaviour and co-create change within society. At the end of this session participants will be able to: 1. Understand the topic of implicit bias and its relevance to communication in science education. 2. Describe a framework for implicit bias recognition and management for educational professionals 3. Be inspired to apply findings on the science of implicit bias towards organizational and societal chang

Management of digital libraries : challenges and opportunities redefining the contemporary information professional’s role

This paper examines digital libraries principally from the management perspective. For the purpose of appreciating the intrinsic concepts involved, it starts with a comprehensive discussion of definitions, followed by basic principles pertaining to digital libraries. Next, it gives a glimpse into a wide-ranging spectrum of reasons as to why digital libraries are mushrooming predominantly in the developed world and also in a few developing countries. Reasons for the management of these types of libraries are also brought into view. Core competencies expected of digital librarians are outlined, in the wake of the new and continuously dynamic technological dispensation. The paper stresses the need for a paradigm shift in information management strategies, in as far as digital libraries are concerned. This is considered to be crucial if at all information professionals are to gain maximum mileage, in their noble mission of satisfying evolving user needs. Urgent attention ought to be directed towards managing of digital libraries, as a means of enabling contemporary information professionals to assert their unique role in society, not only as information gatekeepers but as information gateways, as well