A chronology of Covid-19 cock-ups
Covid-19, where did it all go wrong?
Curation: The Cure For Information Overload?
The Institute for the Future at the University of Phoenix Research Institute published Future Work Skills 2020, a study designed to look at how we think about work, what constitutes work, and the skills we will need to be productive over the coming decade. The report was published in 2011, but is as relevant today as it was 4 years ago. The skills they identified include: Sense-making: the ability to determine significance. Social intelligence: the ability to connect with others in a deep way. Adaptive thinking:…
Community of Practice and Technology in Education
Education and technology have always driven one another to improve. And from this mutually beneficial relationship, different approaches to organizing education emerge, some poised to disrupt the entire industry. As you read this, the education system is in the midst of introducing major alterations. The normalisation of indispensable tools like the internet is leaving room for terrific innovations. And with it come opportunities to introduce new dynamics of learning or reinvent previously existing ones. And the intersection of teaching, technology,…
Learning Before, During and After
I’ve made it a personal choice to avoid the perennial discussions and debates about defining “knowledge management”, which more often than not seem to focus on the typology and semantics rather than getting to grips with the actual practice. I like simplicity, and whatever your preference for intellectually precise definitions, it inevitably boils down to the actions that encourage and support learning, and specifically, learning before, during and after. In his book “Knowledge Management for Teams and Projects”, Nick Milton…
Centralised vs. Decentralised Decision Making
The UK Government’s failure to achieve its target of 25,000 tests per day for Covid-19 provides an excellent case study on the differences and impact of centralised vs. decentralised working and decision making. Whilst accepting there might be a problem with the sourcing of reagent chemicals for the DNA testing, according to a former director of the World Health Organisation we are not making the most of the opportunities currently available to us. Public Health England (PHE) want to control…
What is ‘knowledge curation’ and why is it so important?
I don’t think I need to convince anyone who regularly uses the Internet or World Wide Web that finding useful and relevant information amongst the volumes of dross we get from advertisers, marketers, brand mangers and ‘those-that-want-to-be-heard-but-have-nothing-of-value-to-say’, which unfortunately accounts for the largest proportion of content that swills around our in-boxes and search results, is becoming increasingly difficult. Information is being pumped at us almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This was bad enough when we were…
Knowledge Sharing Barriers
Knowledge sharing is the corner-stone of many organisations’ knowledge-management (KM) strategy. Despite the growing significance of knowledge sharing’s practices for organisations’ competitiveness and market performance, several barriers make it difficult for KM to achieve the goals and deliver a positive return on investment. This list of knowledge sharing barriers provides a helpful starting point and guideline for senior managers auditing their existing practices with a view to identifying any bottle-necks and improving on the overall effectiveness of knowledge-sharing activities. The…
Finding ‘value’ in social networks and Communities of Practice
An update to a post previously published 30 Dec 2009. There has been much written about measuring the value of online communities such as Social Networks or Communities of Practice. However, most pundits tend to think of measuring value from a purely financial perspective, i.e. the Return on Investment (ROI). Clearly this is an important factor, but it’s not the only factor that should be considered. Surprisingly few organisations consider the value that is being created by having better informed…
The Future of Mental Health Care
Technological and Application Advances in the Mobile Era If you are worried that your job may be taken by a robot, you are not alone. And you may not be too far off base in that worry. After all, so many things are becoming automated nowadays that we have actually put some jobs out of business, so to speak. For example, newspapers are almost completely a thing of the past, libraries are closing all over the country, and you can…
Simple Ways to Revitalise Your Small Business Through Technology
It’s understandable why some small business owners are reluctant to incorporate technology in their business operations. For one, it sometimes costs money upfront. For another, teams sometimes have to change parts of their operations in order to accommodate the new tech. Then there’s learning how to actually implement the tech so that it makes your operations more efficient and allows your company to meet customer demands. While there are challenges that come with embracing tech for your small business, it…