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This week’s lecture was about Managing Information. This is a huge topic and we only get to scratch the surface. The theme is so strong in the course, that, when you think about it, the assignment about Internet Usage at Work is about the management of information – the information in the assignment and the kinds of information used in a work environment.
This week’s lecture was about Managing Information. This is a huge topic and we only get to scratch the surface. The theme is so strong in the course, that, when you think about it, the assignment about Internet Usage at Work is about the management of information – the information in the assignment and the kinds of information used in a work environment.2
There are some central questions for this week that address the issue of our daily interaction with information:
There are some central questions for this week that address the issue of our daily interaction with information:4
There’s a range of new and old visualisation techniques that will become standard in communicating information. One of my favourite visualisation sites is Gapminder. It shows global statistics in some very interesting ways.
There’s a range of new and old visualisation techniques that will become standard in communicating information. One of my favourite visualisation sites is Gapminder. It shows global statistics in some very interesting ways.5
One of the things that visualisations do is open us up to the possibility of multiple perspectives. Once we start to see the same event from multiple perspectives we are embarking on the systems thinking model introduced in Week 1. The example used in the lecture was a single storm event in Brisbane. The four views (seen in the Prezi) are:
One of the things that visualisations do is open us up to the possibility of multiple perspectives. Once we start to see the same event from multiple perspectives we are embarking on the systems thinking model introduced in Week 1. The example used in the lecture was a single storm event in Brisbane. The four views (seen in the Prezi) are:7
The art of seeing things from multiple perspectives is an important part of business, particularly with new modes of communication appearing almost daily and new forms of organising information. Traditionally, information has been organised for us by libraries and other organisations. The Dewey Decimal System is one method (a taxonomy) by which libraries categorise information. A newer method is the more organic modes introduced by bookmarking sites such as Delicious using tagging through what has become to be known as folksonomy or ethnoclassification.
The art of seeing things from multiple perspectives is an important part of business, particularly with new modes of communication appearing almost daily and new forms of organising information. Traditionally, information has been organised for us by libraries and other organisations. The Dewey Decimal System is one method (a taxonomy) by which libraries categorise information. A newer method is the more organic modes introduced by bookmarking sites such as Delicious using tagging through what has become to be known as folksonomy or ethnoclassification.8
Taxonomies, folksonomies and other classification systems allow us to make important connections between ideas, between viewpoints. Taxonomies are officially, global and individually applied systems, while folksonomies are collectively and locally applied systems. The categorisation of information has been undertaken in official ways through encyclopaedias and libraries since they were invented. However, we are finding that it’s happening at a more organic level through sites like Wikipedia and Delicious. Information can be categorised, connected and evaluated by individuals within a system that facilitates their learning.
Taxonomies, folksonomies and other classification systems allow us to make important connections between ideas, between viewpoints. Taxonomies are officially, global and individually applied systems, while folksonomies are collectively and locally applied systems. The categorisation of information has been undertaken in official ways through encyclopaedias and libraries since they were invented. However, we are finding that it’s happening at a more organic level through sites like Wikipedia and Delicious. Information can be categorised, connected and evaluated by individuals within a system that facilitates their learning.10
The text discusses a model of professional knowledge as shown in the diagram below. This is the kind of knowledge you are developing through attendance at university, but also through your many and varied life experiences. Everything helps you to understand the world in which you live and act.
The text discusses a model of professional knowledge as shown in the diagram below. This is the kind of knowledge you are developing through attendance at university, but also through your many and varied life experiences. Everything helps you to understand the world in which you live and act.
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As an aside, one of the tools that we use to communicate knowledge is PowerPoint or other presentation tools. While we can use images, tables, and yes, blogs, presentation software is a standard feature of many organisational contexts. However, this same software has perhaps led us to an over-reliance on it with consequent devaluing of some forms of knowledge. Take for instance the following video and then read this article.
As an aside, one of the tools that we use to communicate knowledge is PowerPoint or other presentation tools. While we can use images, tables, and yes, blogs, presentation software is a standard feature of many organisational contexts. However, this same software has perhaps led us to an over-reliance on it with consequent devaluing of some forms of knowledge. Take for instance the following video and then read this article.14
The lecture Prezi gives an example of new modes of sharing knowledge that goes a bit beyond the presentation slides with an example of the Fish Guy and new ways of sharing information and knowing. The ways of knowing are listed below
The lecture Prezi gives an example of new modes of sharing knowledge that goes a bit beyond the presentation slides with an example of the Fish Guy and new ways of sharing information and knowing. The ways of knowing are listed below15
- Knowing who is important in social and in organisational life. You don’t need to know everything yourself if you know that someone else, to whom you have access, has knowledge or expertise in that area.
- Knowing why is deeper than the others, and suggests some insight into causes, and perhaps having a theoretical model of the area that counts as real expertise.
- Know what refers to the basic vocabulary, facts and conceptual relationships in an area of knowledge.
- Know how, by contrast, refers to the ability to do something, to apply knowledge appropriately. Other forms can often be subsumed within these two, but are worth separating out as commonly occurring cases.
- Know when, for example, refers to the sense of timing involved in applying knowledge to maximum effect. The musician playing the cymbals in Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture needs to know little more than when.
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Knowledge management is therefore concerned specifically with how to represent and model knowledge explicitly… so it can be shared and used effectively. Historically, different lines of work have converged around this issue, leading to the huge diversity of definitions, background literatures and emphases. Knowledge management is said to be
the purposive activities of identifying, remembering, communicating and applying information in context. The text speaks of both Procedural and Declarative knowledge as represented in the Prezi.
Knowledge management is therefore concerned specifically with how to represent and model knowledge explicitly… so it can be shared and used effectively. Historically, different lines of work have converged around this issue, leading to the huge diversity of definitions, background literatures and emphases. Knowledge management is said to bethe purposive activities of identifying, remembering, communicating and applying information in context. The text speaks of both Procedural and Declarative knowledge as represented in the Prezi.
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Think of this in relation to the Wiki part of the assignment. All the information you need is there.
Think of this in relation to the Wiki part of the assignment. All the information you need is there.