Constructing New Media

Media are explored to envision, to design, and to implement platforms for knowledge management within communities. They actively shape, support and develop the community being resident on a medium. We study Intranets as media for knowledge management and provide an agent-oriented model for Intranets. We argue that organization and logical space of a community have to be reconstructed on the medium and that new knowledge and organizational structures can evolve by using the medium. We distinguish as counterparts the organizational structure and the knowledge being represented on the platform and the organizational structure and the knowledge of the community resident on the medium. We propose a media dialog and a media spiral between those counterparts as processes of shaping a community by a medium and of developing and implementing new knowledge and new organizational structures within a community on a medium

Importance of Social Networks for Knowledge Sharing and the Impact of Collaboration on Network Innovation in Online Communities

Innovation results from interactions between different sources of knowledge, where these sources aggregate into groups interacting within (intra) and between (inter) groups. Interaction among groups for innovation generation is defined as the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among members of a social system. Apart from the discussion about knowledge management within organizations and the discussion about social network analysis of organizations on the topic of innovation and talks about various trade-offs between strength of ties and bridging ties between different organizational groups, within the topic of open source software (OSS) development researchers have used social network theories to investigate OSS phenomenon including communication among developers. It is already known that OSS groups are more networked than the most organizational communities; In OSS network, programmers can join, participate and leave a project at any time, and in fact developers can collaborate not only within the same project but also among different projects or teams. One distinguished feature of the open source software (OSS) development model is the cooperation and collaboration among the members, which will cause various social networks to emerge. In this chapter, the existing gap in the literature with regard to the analysis of cluster or group structure as an input and cluster or group innovation as an output will be addressed, where the focus is on “impact of network cluster structure on cluster innovation and growth” by Behfar et al., that is, how intra- and inter-cluster coupling, structural holes and tie strength impact cluster innovation and growth, and “knowledge management in OSS communities: relationship between dense and sparse network structures.” by Behfar et al., that is, knowledge transfer in dense network (inside groups) impacts on knowledge transfer in sparse network (between groups)

Motivational Aspects of Teacher Collaboration

The mutual dependency of teacher collaboration and motivation has emerged as a promising research field. This article now sets out to systematically review peer-reviewed articles on the interconnection of these concepts. It looks at main findings, identifies ambiguities and contradictions in the constructs and highlights their contested nature. It is shown that many studies use different theoretical approaches and conceptual operationalizations. This leads to inconsistent empirical findings. In addition, teacher collaboration is often perceived as a threat to teacher autonomy. This is surprising considering that both teacher collaboration and teacher autonomy positively affect teacher motivation according to many empirical findings

Partnering with Patients, Families and Communities: An Urgent Imperative for Health Care

In April 2014, the Macy Foundation hosted a conference which issued a series of recommendations to foster partnership among patients, families, communities, and health professions education and clinical practice organizations

Entering the KIBS' black box: there must be an angel! (or is there something like a knowledge angel?)

The undeniable importance of knowledge and innovation in modern economies justifies the increasing interest that scholars are taking in studying knowledge-intensive busi-ness services (KIBS). Since the mid 1990s, there has been a significant increase in the attention paid to KIBS and their role and functions in innovation systems (den Hertog 2000; Illeris 1991; Miles et al. 1995; Muller/Zenker 2001; Strambach 2001; Tether 2005; Wood 2002). In general terms, the activity of KIBS can be mainly described as the provision of knowledge-intensive inputs to the business process of other organiza-tions, private as well as public sector clients. [...] To sum up, this paper focuses on creative individuals in KIBS, i.e. those persons sus-pected of playing a pertinent role with respect to the innovativeness of their company. We call these specific actors knowledge angels by analogy with business angels. In the same way that business angels can play a decisive role in the development of innova-tive firms through financial support, we assume here that specifically gifted persons can be the knowledge 'catalysts' within KIBS (and in relationship with their clients). The paper contains three sections: the first one formulates the assumption of the exis-tence of knowledge angels and attempts to elaborate a working definition of this spe-cific kind of actor. The second section displays the results of an empirical research pro-ject conducted in France and Germany, whereas the third section synthesizes the find-ings. --

Empowering Teachers, Empowering Leadership: A Multisite Case Study of School Restructuring and Accountability for Student Achievement

Accountability is the watchword of the 1990s, particularly in education. In exchange for greater flexibility and autonomy, schools have been asked to assume greater accountability for student outcomes. Implicit in this shift of authority and responsibility is the belief that changing the locus of control will result in changes in student achievement. Decentralizing accountability thus has multiple implications for the teaching and learning process, governance and decision making, and school site leadership. In 1993, San Diego City Schools adopted a student achievement accountability policy and initiated a demonstration program to develop an accountability system model for the district. This ethnographically-oriented case study investigated three of these pilot schools through interviews with teachers and site administrators, site observations, and document review. The purpose was to explore issues, challenges, and successes involved in school reform around student achievement accountability; identify what kinds of governance and leadership were most embraced by the teachers and administrators; look into school accountability cultures; and discuss implications for educational policymakers and practitioners. The study found that implementation of the accountability policy occurred uniquely in each context in interaction with school culture and collective experience. At all three schools, however, focusing on standards and developing related assessments engaged teachers in substantive conversations about student performance, and teaching and learning, which began to influence instructional practices. These schools embraced participatory governance structures that empowered teachers to engage in and influence decision making, and school site leadership began to evolve into a communal endeavor shared among teachers and administrators. The intersection of student achievement accountability, school restructuring, and school site leadership has significant implications for educators. The study presents the following recommendations to educational policymakers and practitioners: (a) encourage and sustain site autonomy and accountability by building capacity for meaningful, participatory school site decision making; (b) invest heavily in ongoing, systematic professional and organizational development; (c) promote entrepreneurial mindsets grounded in sound educational practice, and consider reform efforts as research and development opportunities; and (d) reconceptualize and develop leadership as an empowering, relational process

Harnessing Knowledge, Innovation and Competence in Engineering of Mission Critical Systems

This book explores the critical role of acquisition, application, enhancement, and management of knowledge and human competence in the context of the largely digital and data/information dominated modern world. Whilst humanity owes much of its achievements to the distinct capability to learn from observation, analyse data, gain insights, and perceive beyond original realities, the systematic treatment of knowledge as a core capability and driver of success has largely remained the forte of pedagogy. In an increasingly intertwined global community faced with existential challenges and risks, the significance of knowledge creation, innovation, and systematic understanding and treatment of human competence is likely to be humanity's greatest weapon against adversity. This book was conceived to inform the decision makers and practitioners about the best practice pertinent to many disciplines and sectors. The chapters fall into three broad categories to guide the readers to gain insight from generic fundamentals to discipline-specific case studies and of the latest practice in knowledge and competence management

Designing Open and Distance Learning for Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A toolkit for educators and planners

Everyone remembers a good teacher. Good teachers are the key to educational expansion and improvement. In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is an urgent need to expand the number of primary and secondary teachers. In all African countries, there is an equally important need to improve the quality of teaching. To achieve this, it is clear that new approaches to teacher education are essential. Existing institutions of teacher education will continue to play an important role, but, alone, they will not meet the goals of Education for All (EFA) by 2015. It is fortunate that, just as the twin needs to improve the quantity and quality of teachers become imperative, so new forms of education and training are becoming available. The world is witnessing a revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs), which can offer training and support of a type and at a cost hitherto impossible to consider, and thus, must be fully explored given the scale and urgency of demand. In doing so, however, it will be necessary to build on existing and well-tested strategies, including the best models of open and distance learning. This toolkit is the third in a series of recent publications by the Africa Region Human Development Department of the World Bank to share knowledge and experience on how distance education and ICTs can support education in Sub-Saharan Africa. It emphasizes the rigorous process by which new forms of distance-education programs for teacher education can be planned and implemented. The best models of established programs are considered along with the potential for incorporating, as the means become available, new modes of communication. Most forms of teacher education, particularly those concerned with qualification upgrading and ongoing professional development, will have to be based in schools. The authors demonstrate how school-based programs, appropriately resourced and supported, have the potential not only to raise significantly the number and quality of teachers, but also to improve classroom practice and school organization, generally. The guidance and advice, which is drawn from many years of experience in design and implementation, and embraces a range of case studies from across the region, will be of considerable value to those preparing new policies and programs of teacher education and to those seeking to improve existing programs