The MinK Framework: An Integrated Framework to Assess Individual Knowledge in Organisational Context.

Knowledge is the currency of the global economy, the foundation of wealth creation, and the sole antecedent of sustainable competitive advantage in today’s markets. In the current business environment, success of organisations is dependent upon their ability to develop and implement resilient Knowledge Management (KM) strategies to leverage and exploit their knowledge assets. Yet, knowledge is intrinsically linked to individuals and their exclusive abilities to create, share and apply knowledge thereby creating value for their organisations. Knowledge holders are without doubt the valuable assets which lead the increasing velocity of organisational transformation in order to cope with market pressures and confront uncertainty. Effectual KM thus implicates knowledge assessment capability that enables the identification of knowledge holders within the firm and accordingly optimises the allocation of knowledge assets. Identifying and retaining knowledge holders requires a systematic KM initiative to help managers assess the individual knowledge of their employees and hence formulate and evaluate knowledge management and retention strategies. This research therefore attempts to focus on knowledge assessment practice and explores the underlying constructs of individual knowledge in the organisational context. In light of the knowledge-based view of the firm[1][2][3], a comprehensive theoretical model highlights the crucial role of individuals in organisational knowledge dynamics based on seminal KM theories of Stocks and Flows of Knowledge[4], Intellectual Capital[5] [6] [7], and the SECI Model of Knowledge Creation[8]. Evolving from this conceptual foundation, the MinK framework is proposed as an innovative framework that endows organisations in delineating knowledge stocks and visualising knowledge flows by providing an integrated assessment platform for decision makers. The presented framework ensures that individual knowledge is accurately assessed from a number of perspectives using a well-defined set of theoretically grounded and industry validated indicators stemming from a multi-dimensional scorecard. Flexibility is embedded in the MinK framework, allowing managers to customise the key measures according to the firm’s specific context. Adopting the 360-degree approach, the assessment process uses self evaluations and multi-source knowledge appraisals to provide rich and insightful results. An Individual Knowledge Index (IK-Index) that denotes the overall knowledge rating of each employee is another research outcome spanning out of a unique formula that combines a number of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques to consolidate assessment results into a single reflective numeral. The incorporation of technology enables the complete automation of the assessment process and helps to address parametric multiplicity and arithmetic complexity. Armed with advances in Information Technology, the MinK Web System offers a user-friendly interface supported by a sophisticated computational module and a smart deep learning algorithm to ensure the efficiency, security, and accuracy of the assessment process. Companies that used MinK in the pilot study have described the framework as an accurate assessment solution which can enable managers to make informed decisions, particularly in human capital planning. Such an approach balances the art and science of KM while taking into account the culture and dynamics of the organisation. Ultimately, this research advocates a people-centric KM approach that places the individual knowledge holder at the core of KM activity, and suggests that effective KM is essentially effective management of knowledge workers

Evaluating the Effect of Base Course Material Modification on Pavement Performance

In pavement construction, the mechanical properties of pavement layers have been a crucial concern. Additions such as lime, organic polymer, and sodium chloride have been used as modifier for enhancing the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) value of the natural dolomite soil. This paper proposed regression models relating the CBR values and percentages increase of CBR to dosages of the used additives. Furthermore, the paper tested the performance of the Generalized Concentration Addition (GCA) analytical modelling of CBR enhancement related to using different mixes of additives. Lime-organic polymers mix has utilized to upgrade the CBR. Percentages of enhancement were measured and employed to assess the GCA model results. Results indicated that the highest CBR value of 136% was noticed at 30% of organic polymer. On the other hand, the lowest value of CBR value of 50.2% was noticed at 3% of lime. Furthermore, percentages of 9% lime, 5% sodium chloride, and 10% organic polymer were recommended to improve the CBR value of the base layer. Regression models showed high representativeness owing factors of correlation of determination (R2) higher than 90%. Moreover, GCA results showed good fit to laboratory measured percentage increase of CBR as R2 higher than 80% is gained with acceptable values of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Frictional Biases (FB) and Global Mean Biases (MB). Finally, percentages of 9% lime, 5% sodium chloride, and 10% organic polymer saved about 43.6%, 28.5% and 50% of the base layer thickness for the same materials respectively

Bench-Ranking: ettekirjutav analüüsimeetod suurte teadmiste graafide päringutele

Relatsiooniliste suurandmete (BD) töötlemisraamistike kasutamine suurte teadmiste graafide töötlemiseks kätkeb endas võimalust päringu jõudlust optimeerimida. Kaasaegsed BD-süsteemid on samas keerulised andmesüsteemid, mille konfiguratsioonid omavad olulist mõju jõudlusele. Erinevate raamistike ja konfiguratsioonide võrdlusuuringud pakuvad kogukonnale parimaid tavasid parema jõudluse saavutamiseks. Enamik neist võrdlusuuringutest saab liigitada siiski vaid kirjeldavaks ja diagnostiliseks analüütikaks. Lisaks puudub ühtne standard nende uuringute võrdlemiseks kvantitatiivselt järjestatud kujul. Veelgi enam, suurte graafide töötlemiseks vajalike konveierite kavandamine eeldab täiendavaid disainiotsuseid mis tulenevad mitteloomulikust (relatsioonilisest) graafi töötlemise paradigmast. Taolisi disainiotsuseid ei saa automaatselt langetada, nt relatsiooniskeemi, partitsioonitehnika ja salvestusvormingute valikut. Käesolevas töös käsitleme kuidas me antud uurimuslünga täidame. Esmalt näitame disainiotsuste kompromisside mõju BD-süsteemide jõudluse korratavusele suurte teadmiste graafide päringute tegemisel. Lisaks näitame BD-raamistike jõudluse kirjeldavate ja diagnostiliste analüüside piiranguid suurte graafide päringute tegemisel. Seejärel uurime, kuidas lubada ettekirjutavat analüütikat järjestamisfunktsioonide ja mitmemõõtmeliste optimeerimistehnikate (nn "Bench-Ranking") kaudu. See lähenemine peidab kirjeldava tulemusanalüüsi keerukuse, suunates praktiku otse teostatavate teadlike otsusteni.Leveraging relational Big Data (BD) processing frameworks to process large knowledge graphs yields a great interest in optimizing query performance. Modern BD systems are yet complicated data systems, where the configurations notably affect the performance. Benchmarking different frameworks and configurations provides the community with best practices for better performance. However, most of these benchmarking efforts are classified as descriptive and diagnostic analytics. Moreover, there is no standard for comparing these benchmarks based on quantitative ranking techniques. Moreover, designing mature pipelines for processing big graphs entails considering additional design decisions that emerge with the non-native (relational) graph processing paradigm. Those design decisions cannot be decided automatically, e.g., the choice of the relational schema, partitioning technique, and storage formats. Thus, in this thesis, we discuss how our work fills this timely research gap. Particularly, we first show the impact of those design decisions’ trade-offs on the BD systems’ performance replicability when querying large knowledge graphs. Moreover, we showed the limitations of the descriptive and diagnostic analyses of BD frameworks’ performance for querying large graphs. Thus, we investigate how to enable prescriptive analytics via ranking functions and Multi-Dimensional optimization techniques (called ”Bench-Ranking”). This approach abstracts out from the complexity of descriptive performance analysis, guiding the practitioner directly to actionable informed decisions.https://www.ester.ee/record=b553332

Genetic Analyses of Reproductive Traits in Maternal Lines of Rabbits and in their Diallel Cross / Análisis Genético de Caracteres Reproductivos en Líneas Maternales de Conejo y en su Cruzamiento Dialélico

La producción ganadera es una de las actividades económicas más importantes de los países integrantes del Mercosur (Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay y Uruguay). Para Uruguay en particular, representa una de las fuentes de ingresos de divisas más importantes con exportaciones a múltiples mercados en todo el mundo. En los últimos años han crecido a nivel internacional las exigencias en materia de las condiciones de producción de los productos derivados de la ganadería, con especial énfasis en los temas medioambientales y de bienestar animal. En este sentido, el trabajo realizado en la presente tesis pretende realizar aportes en la caracterización de diferentes sistemas de producción desde el punto de vista productivo, de comportamiento y bienestar animal, así como de aspectos medioambientales. Para ello se realizaron trabajos en dos diferentes especies, bovinos y porcinos, y en diferentes sistemas de producción. Los dos primeros capítulos corresponden a tres sistemas de producción de bovinos con diferentes grados de intensificación: uno con animales en confinamiento permanente, un sistema exclusivamente pastoril y un sistema intermedio que combina confinamiento y pastoreo por seis horas. En ellos se caracterizan aspectos productivos, se establece los patrones de uso del tiempo, las tendencias diarias en cada comportamiento y la asociación de los mismos con las condiciones ambientales. Paralelamente se cuantifican las interacciones sociales en los diferentes sistemas, y varios indicadores fisiológicos y sus posibles implicaciones en el bienestar animal. En los restantes dos capítulos se analizan dos sistemas opuestos de producción de cerdos: uno tradicional con cerdos en confinamiento y un sistema alternativo con cerdos al aire libre con acceso a pasturas. Estos sistemas se caracterizan en los aspectos medioambientales, productivos y características de la carne resultante. Además se realiza una caracterización de los aspectos de comportamiento general y comportamiento sociRagab Ghanem, MM. (2012). Genetic Analyses of Reproductive Traits in Maternal Lines of Rabbits and in their Diallel Cross / Análisis Genético de Caracteres Reproductivos en Líneas Maternales de Conejo y en su Cruzamiento Dialélico [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/16187Palanci

Productive characteristics of four maternal lines of rabbit

The objective of this study was to compare litter size traits and kindling interval in four Spanish maternal lines of rabbit (A, V, H y LP) selected for litter size at weaning. At the origin, line V had a higher litter size (total, alive, weaned and marketed) than line A. Also, LP and H lines had higher litter sizes than line A.Ragab Ghanem, MM. (2009). Productive characteristics of four maternal lines of rabbit. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/14404Archivo delegad

FEMALE SELF-DIRECTED OPPRESSION IN MARIA IRENE FORNES THREE PLAYS FEFU AND HER FRIENDS, SARITA AND THE MUD: A POST-FEMINIST READING

The study reveals women self-directed oppression in Maria Irenes’ plays Fefu and her friends, The Conduct of Life, The mud and Sarita. The purpose of this paper is to describe female characters with their self-suffering and aggression to each other. As an American playwright and dramatist, on one hand, Maria analyses feminist characters with their traditional images are portrayed as domestic characters and badly abused under male-dominated society. On the other hand, she produces another perspective or different images of women’s oppression which is internalized oppression which is explored among women. By female internalized oppression, the researcher means the major source of female oppression is other women. Women receives oppression and violence with a negative reaction and when they are going to defend their self-hood, the act becomes harsher on their characters. Keywords: women oppression, internalized oppression, Maria Irene Fornes, Fefu and her friends, The conduct of life, Sarita and The mud

The MinK Framework: Investigating Individual Knowledge Indicators

Purpose – Effective knowledge management (KM) entails knowledge assessment capability to enable identification of knowledge assets and proper governance of value creation dynamics. Although some studies have attempted to use different methods to measure knowledge at the organisational level, few have addressed the individual knowledge holder. The purpose of this paper is to present a state-of-the-art framework, referred to as MinK, that enables organisations to measure individual knowledge in the business context using a novel diversity of indicators. Design/methodology/approach – The model was developed based on a comprehensive conceptual framework. A pilot study composed of 20 semi- structured interviews elicited valuable feedback from practitioners and was followed by a validation phase in which an electronic questionnaire is used to survey a large sample of senior managers. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature by presenting an innovative integrated individual knowledge measurement framework, and proposing a theoretical framework for the pivotal role of individuals in the organisational knowledge environment. Practical implications – The model provides mangers with a valuable tool capable of identifying knowledge holders and supporting effective KM decision making to achieve optimal organisational performance. Results showed that the MinK framework was also well received by industry and accepted as a valid framework

Knowledge Management and Measurement: a Critical Review

Purpose - Knowledge is the currency of the current economy, a vital organisational asset and a key to creating a sustainable competitive advantage. The consequent interest in Knowledge Management (KM) has spurred an exponential increase in publications covering a broad spectrum of diverse and overlapping research areas. The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review and categorised analysis of the rapidly growing number of KM publications, and offer a comprehensive reference for new-comers embarking on research in the field with a particular focus on the area of Knowledge Measurement. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 350 articles published in peer-reviewed journals over the last decade are carefully reviewed, analysed and categorised according to their specific subject matter in the KM context. Findings - KM research tends to fall in one of five categories: (1) Ontology of Knowledge and KM, (2) Knowledge Management Systems, (3) Role of Information Technology, (4) Managerial & Social issues, and (5) Knowledge Measurement. Despite the accumulation of extensive publication efforts in some areas, a series of disagreements and a theory-practice gap are revealed as challenging issues that need to be addressed. Research limitations/implications - The scope of this study does not cover KM research in its entirety due to the vast nature of the research field. Originality/value - This paper presents a new birds-eye view of the KM landscape through a novel taxonomy of KM research providing researchers with new insights for future applied research, and offers a comprehensive critical review of major knowledge measurement frameworks

Developing an Innovative Educational Environment Using Web 2.0

Collaborative work has become an essential part of education, especially in higher education. Educational institutions are making increasing use of web-based technologies to support communication and collaboration among students. In this thesis, I address the problems of complexity and inflexibility in collaborative tools provided by educational institutions, such as Course Management System (Blackboard) and the different collaborative features it provides. There have been research studies that indicated the unsatisfactory adoption rate of collaborative features in CMS by students and teachers due to the complication and inflexibility of these tools (Guidry and BrckaLorenz, 2010; Papastergiou, 2006; Rosato et al., 2007). An examination of the key features and success factors in existing collaborative tools can provide insight into the design of a collaborative tool that better addresses students’ needs. First, I conducted a survey study with students in an urban university in Midwestern U.S, through which I identified the key features and success factors in collaborative tools from students’ perspectives. Second, through the integration of Web 2.0 technologies, I designed and developed U-Connect, a dynamic and interactive collaborative tool that allows students to easily and quickly create or join groups and share their ideas, thoughts and resources with each other while working in groups. Third, I conducted a pilot study to evaluate U-Connect and proposed a set of additional features and design recommendations for collaborative tools to better support academic group work.Master of ScienceComputer Science and Information SystemsUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134401/1/MohamedHousamEldin_2016.pd