Arnon Sturm, Daniel Gross, Jian Wang and Eric Yu
The purpose of this paper is to report on research that aims to make knowledge, and in particular know-how, more easily accessible to both academic and industrial communities, as…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on research that aims to make knowledge, and in particular know-how, more easily accessible to both academic and industrial communities, as well as to the general public. The paper proposes a novel approach to map out know-how information, so all knowledge stakeholders are able to contribute to the knowledge and expertise accumulation, as well as using that knowledge for research and applying expertise to address problems.
Design/methodology/approach
This research followed a design science approach in which mapping of the know-how information was done by the research team and then tested with graduate students. During this research, the mapping approach was continuously evaluated and refined, and mapping guidelines and a prototype tool were developed.
Findings
Following an evaluation with graduate students, it was found that the know-how maps produced were easy to follow, allowed continuous evolution, facilitated easy modification through provided modularity capabilities, further supported reasoning about know-how and overall provided adequate expressiveness. Furthermore, we applied the approach with various domains and found that it was a good fit for its purpose across different knowledge domains.
Practical implications
This paper argues that mapping out know-how within research and industry communities can further improve resource (knowledge) utilization, reduce the phenomena of “re-inventing the wheel” and further create linkage across communities.
Originality/value
With the qualities mentioned above, know-how maps can both ease and support the increase of access to expert knowledge to various communities, and thus, promote re-use and expansion of knowledge for various purposes. Having an explicit representation of know-how further encourages innovation, as knowledge from various domains can be mapped, searched and reasoned, and gaps can be identified and filled.
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The 1990s are shaping up to be the decade of interactive information services. The French Minitel videotex system, now five years old is internationally recognised as a resounding…
Abstract
The 1990s are shaping up to be the decade of interactive information services. The French Minitel videotex system, now five years old is internationally recognised as a resounding success, with four million terminals in place and access to thousands of information providers.
Brianne Redquest, Pamela Bryden and Paula Fletcher
This study aims to explore social and motor impairments of children with autism through the perspectives of their caregivers. Social and motor deficits among people with autism…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore social and motor impairments of children with autism through the perspectives of their caregivers. Social and motor deficits among people with autism are well documented. There is support to suggest a reciprocal relationship between social and motor deficits among people with autism, in that social deficits can act as a barrier to motor skill development and motor deficits can act as a barrier to social skill development.
Design/methodology/approach
This study explored social and motor impairments of children with autism through the perspectives of eight caregivers of children with autism.
Findings
Many salient findings emerged from the interviews conducted with caregivers, particularly concerning the social and motor development of their children. The relationships between their children’s social and motor deficits were also highlighted.
Research limitations/implications
It is important that health-care professionals educate parents about the consequences of motor impairments or delays and their associations with the development of social skills. As such, routine motor skill monitoring and assessments by caregivers and health-care professionals should be encouraged.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to investigate motor and social deficits of children with autism from the caregivers’ perspectives.
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The second decade of the twenty-first century finds Brazil racked by a series of scandals that are extreme even by world standards. This chapter presents an explanation for one of…
Abstract
The second decade of the twenty-first century finds Brazil racked by a series of scandals that are extreme even by world standards. This chapter presents an explanation for one of the behaviors that have produced these scandals. Specifically, it is the offering of bribes to public officials by individuals or companies that stand to benefit from contracts to perform public services and, furthermore, the paying of kickbacks to the officials if the contract is awarded. I liken this behavior to the making of vows to the saints in the “popular” or “folk” form of Catholicism – and other popular religions that accept its basic premises – and the fulfillment of the promise if and when the otherworldly being provides what the petitioner requested. Part 1 of the chapter examines an election for mayor of the city of Fortaleza in 2012 in which the office was “bought” for what seemed to be an exorbitant amount of money. I hypothesize that this is to be explained by the anticipation of the city receiving government contracts to build a soccer stadium, a rail system, and other projects related to the 2014 World Cup. In Part 2, I examine Brazil’s religions beginning with popular Catholicism, to show that the normative way of gaining something desired from a supernatural – be it the restoration of health or the recovery of a lost item – is to offer it something it values and then fulfilling the promise if and when the petitioner receives what was requested. I contend that this important religious pattern continues to provide the template for the secular behavior that is being judged to be corrupt by standards other than those found in the religiously based worldview of many Brazilians.
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The purpose of this article is to underscore postcolonial approaches that undercut racial inequities as they foster racial equality and inclusivity at higher institutions of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to underscore postcolonial approaches that undercut racial inequities as they foster racial equality and inclusivity at higher institutions of learning, especially in racialised spaces in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
This article dwells on whistleblowing as a channel of demythologising Whiteness in South African universities. While the #RhodesMustFall movement at University of Cape Town enjoyed much critical attention, concurrent movements in other universities such as Open Stellenbosch movement did not. This could be attributable to the methods used, especially whistleblowing, an unorthodox method employed to radically question university symbols, to disrupt racial superiority. In revisiting the movement's campaigns, the article specifically highlights Kylie Thomas' whistleblowing to underscore the role of humanities in fostering social transformation beginning with spaces of knowledge production such as universities.
Findings
The research found that challenging apartheid murals and monuments on South African institutions of higher learning required aggressive but creative approaches. This called for unmasking foundations of White supremacism. Whistle blowing and activism against White supremacism boldly confronted apartheid legacies that appear to be well preserved.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to the 2015 South African student movements. The emphasis is on Open Stellenbosch movement which has received lesser critical attention compared to #RhodesMustFall. It envisions equality, diversity and inclusion in learning institutions which is achievable only through robust activist approaches to institutional/systemic racism in the institutions, rather than armchair theorising.
Originality/value
This article examines ways in which unorthodox methods such as whistlelowing and activism work to disrupt regimented White supremacism in an institution of higher learning founded on racist ethos.
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The purpose of this paper is to review the book Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester edited by Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the book Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester edited by Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons.
Design/methodology/approach
The review first examines the methods used in the Rochester study, and then considers the conclusions for their local implications as well as their meaning for the library profession.
Findings
The Rochester study should serve as a wake‐up call for librarians that imagine they understand their user‐base. Over and over again in this book the authors note how much they learned about the students after studying them systematically and how surprising they found the results. It seems unlikely that the Rochester experience is unique.
Originality/value
The transformation that took place at the University of Rochester Libraries should serve as an example for the profession as a whole.
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The finance literature has not documented the feeling, the shock and the pain that ordinary people had to go through during the 2008 global financial crisis especially in the…
Abstract
The finance literature has not documented the feeling, the shock and the pain that ordinary people had to go through during the 2008 global financial crisis especially in the United States where it all began. In an effort to shed new light on the global financial crisis, it has become important to present a view of the financial crisis from the lens of those who were affected by the crisis, those who were responsible for the crisis, those who could have prevented the crisis, as well as the views of other observers. The views or quotes in this chapter are concise, useful and thought provoking. They create an opportunity to help reconsider the events of 2008 from a fresh perspective, so that a lot more can be done by everyone, including banks, governments and citizens, to prevent a repeat of those events in the future of finance. Finally, most of the views or quotes reported in this chapter have within them some important lessons and wisdom to guide us on what to do before another future crisis comes.