Sense-making, sensemaking and sense making:A systematic review and meta‐synthesis of literature in information science and education: An Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (ARIST) paper

Sense‐making, sensemaking, and sense making are terms used in different disciplines. Similarities of usage seem unclear. (1) to examine the concepts used in different approaches to sense‐making/sensemaking/sense making; (2) to identify, classify and synthesize recent studies relevant to information science, as well as similar group on sensemaking in education research; (3) to reflect on future directions for sense‐making/sensemaking methodology in information science. The objectives were to retrieve, examine, classify and perform meta‐synthesis on sense‐making/sensemaking studies in both information science and education research. The review used systematic review principles, with selection criteria for case studies for examination in both information science and education sets. The final meta‐synthesis used a meta‐ethnographic approach, together with findings of recent overviews on organizational sensemaking, and other information science reviews. Qualitative sense‐making studies in information science often used Dervin's SMM (sense‐making methodology) and studies in organizations and education frequently used Weick's organizational sensemaking. Different mixed methods approaches were identified. Sense‐making is actively used in research and practice in information science and knowledge management. Using a coherent sense‐making methodology helps and dialogic principles are useful in planning, data collection and analysis. Individual and collective sense‐making are important to information science

Peritoneal Protein and Albumin Excretion as Markers of Cardiovascular Risk and Systemic Endothelial Dysfunction

BackgroundMicroalbuminuria is a marker of systemic endothelial dysfunction. We studied the relationship between peritoneal protein loss in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, which is conceptually analogous to microalbuminuria in non-uremic patients, and pre-existing vascular disease in new PD patients.MethodsPeritoneal total protein and albumin loss were quantified within 2 months of initiation of dialysis in 44 consecutive new PD patients, together with a standard peritoneal equilibration test. The results were compared according to the presence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prior to initiation of dialysis, lean body mass, and serum albumin and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations.ResultsThe dialysate albumin concentration was closely correlated with the creatinine dialysate-to-plasma ratio at 4 hours (r = 0.601, p < 0.001). It was higher in patients with pre-existing CVD than in those without, when patients were analyzed according to diabetic status (one-way ANOVA, p = 0.004). In diabetic patients, the dialysate albumin concentration was significantly higher in patients with pre-existing CVD than in those without (0.754 ± 0.273 vs 1.088 ± 0.280 mg/μmol creatinine, p = 0.04). Multivariate analysis showed that only diabetic status and dialysate albumin concentration, but not peritoneal transport status or serum CRP, were independent predictors of pre-existing CVD. Although dialysate protein loss accounted for only 10.5 ± 4.4% of total protein catabolism, the dialysate protein level was significantly correlated with serum albumin concentration (r = −0.457, p = 0.002), percentage of lean body mass (r = −0.558, p < 0.001), and serum CRP concentration (r = 0.434, p = 0.003).ConclusionsPatients with CVD prior to initiation of dialysis have higher levels of dialysate albumin and total protein excretion, indicating that dialysate protein loss is a marker of underlying CVD. Dialysate protein and albumin excretion may provide a simple and convenient measure of vascular disease and endothelial dysfunction in PD patients

Transforming the workplace through digital literacy

In this chapter we explore the role of digital literacy in the workplace to enable employees to work productively and effectively together, and ultimately to shape and deliver company strategy. The rapid advancement of technology offers new opportunities and challenges for many organisations. Employees from five generations working under one roof have very different (and constantly changing) expectations of the digital services they need to get their work done. By building employees’ digital capabilities at all levels, the full potential of technology to transform ways of working that create value for employees and customers can be unlocked. This chapter draws on an example whereby an enterprise-wide social networking, communication and collaboration platform is introduced as a strategic initiative to become a more agile and responsive organisation, with the need to transform the way employees connect, communicate and collaborate across boundaries. We discuss the opportunities and challenges that companies face when these kind of disruptive technologies are introduced, how digital literacies gaps are exposed, and what it means to be a digitally capable employee in this fast changing world. Drawing on Dervin’s Sense-Making Methodology, we also explore digital leadership – digital literacies at the highest level. This is where leaders not only set a new direction to use digital technologies to create a new business model and operating model, they also need to embrace a leadership style that is human - “communicative” - in order to draw on the ideas from the whole network to experiment, co-create and learn/unlearn ways of working and solutions made possible by new technologies

Applying Snowden's Narrative Technique to Conduct Project Debrief Within the British Council: An Exemplar of Knowledge Management Project

This paper begins with a review of knowledge management (KM) literature, which highlights the problem that KM is interpreted in many different ways. This is due to the fact that different authors make different assumptions about the nature of knowledge and the nature of knowing. Up until the mid-1990s, knowledge was defined as a "thing". In the late 1990s, there was a call to define knowledge not as a "thing" but as "flows". The theories of Dervin and Snowden belong to the latter school of thought and are reviewed here.In the British Council, the design of knowledge management projects is informed by theories and research in the discourse of management, communications studies and information science. In particular, the work of Dervin and Snowden has shaped our knowledge management journey. This paper presents a specific example to provide in-depth insight on how we have designed a project debrief workshop that is informed by Dervin's sense-making theory and Snowden's complexity theory.Project debrief, narrative, knowledge management, lessons learnt, case study, sense-making

A qualitative study of information seeking and use in the professional workplace context : using the sense-making approach

Although many researchers agree to the importance of adopting a "situational" approach to study information seeking and use, what they mean by "situational" differs. Most user studies define "workplace domain" as a "situation", and expect to find constancies of information needs, information seeking and use behaviors for people belonging to the same workplace domain across time. This study aims to adopt an alternative "situational" perspective, by studying individual's information seeking and use behaviors as embedded in time, and examine how these behaviors change as situations change.Doctor of Philosophy (SCE

A qualitative study of information seeking and use in the professional workplace context : using the sense-making approach

Although many researchers agree to the importance of adopting a "situational" approach to study information seeking and use, what they mean by "situational" differs. Most user studies define "workplace domain" as a "situation", and expect to find constancies of information needs, information seeking and use behaviors for people belonging to the same workplace domain across time. This study aims to adopt an alternative "situational" perspective, by studying individual's information seeking and use behaviors as embedded in time, and examine how these behaviors change as situations change.Doctor of Philosophy (SCE

Developing the practice of online leadership: lessons from the field

The digital age has introduced a deeper sense of connectivity in business environments. By relying more heavily on current technologies, organizations now experience more effective communication and collaboration opportunities. Online Collaboration and Communication in Contemporary Organizations is a critical scholarly resource that identifies the new practices and techniques for leading, knowledge sharing, and learning through the use of online collaboration. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as online leadership, intercultural competence, and e-ethics, this book is geared toward professionals, managers, and researchers seeking current research on new practices for online collaboration and communication

Using social media to co-create new business strategies at environmental resources management

Companies are increasingly integrating social media tools such as Twitter, blogs, Wiki pages, forums, and virtual communities into their intranet. The process of implementing such Enterprise 2.0 tools and encouraging employees to contribute to them is challenging. Environmental Resources Management (ERM) used an award-winning social media tool, Minerva, to enable knowledge sharing and collaboration among its global employees. A report on three implementation stages over six months illustrates the activities that were undertaken to encourage a high level of employee participation, which enabled them to better serve their clients' needs in the post-recession era. ERM's experiences show that the implementation of Enterprise 2.0 tools requires the support of top management in the creation of a “knowledging” and communicating process aimed at generating ideas and information from employees throughout the organization, regardless of their location