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1 – 10 of 521Most fairy tale narratives have a hero, a damsel in distress and the ever-present opposing villain. The villains, or antagonists, share several commonalities across the various…
Abstract
Most fairy tale narratives have a hero, a damsel in distress and the ever-present opposing villain. The villains, or antagonists, share several commonalities across the various narratives as well as one over-arching trait of evil. However, as television viewers have become more intuitive, and demand for more sophisticated narratives have increased, contemporary portrayals of villains, as in the television series Once Upon a Time (Horowitz & Kitsis, 2011–2018), have shifted away from presenting villains as one-dimensional and restricted characters.
Instead, the construct of evil is depicted as a multifaceted and evolutionary trait of the character. Whereas previously evil was the fundamental core of the character it is now presented as a fluid concept. This chapter investigates how the construct of evil, and therefore the villain, has been redefined through a contemporary television narrative.
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Frada Burstein and Henry Linger
This paper examines the role of knowledge management and knowledge management systems for supporting knowledge work. In a work environment, knowledge is always situated in a…
Abstract
This paper examines the role of knowledge management and knowledge management systems for supporting knowledge work. In a work environment, knowledge is always situated in a specific context, so an organization benefits from a knowledge management system when such a system is focused on a specific task. Providing support for knowledge work at the task level complements the work practices of actors performing the task. The paper suggests that knowledge management systems can be implemented as intelligent decision support that establishes a joint cognitive process between the system and the actor performing the task. The proposed approach has been derived from our application of a knowledge management framework to a number of field studies. These applications come from various domains and highlight different aspects of the proposed framework. The focus on task performance, as a driving force for knowledge management, unifies these field studies. The paper identifies the issues that emerge from these studies and describes their contribution to the development of the framework. The paper concludes that by privileging knowledge work, task‐based knowledge management can be an effective knowledge management strategy.
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Adel Moslehi, Henry Linger and Kerry Tanner
The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of k-networks in knowledge creation, as existing literature argues that network structure does not provide sufficient…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of k-networks in knowledge creation, as existing literature argues that network structure does not provide sufficient explanation per se. This paper proposed diversity as an important construct to explain knowledge creation in SMEs’ k-networks.
Design/methodology/approach
First, by reviewing the literature, this paper proposes a hypothesis that predicts a positive association of content and knowledge creation. Then, focusing on patent co-authorship networks of the biotechnology industry in Victoria, this research used an explanatory multiple case study approach to test the formulated hypothesis.
Findings
By introducing new constructs, the results provide more insight on the positive association of knowledge content and knowledge creation. Based on the emergent constructs, rival hypotheses are also developed for further research.
Originality/value
Beyond the role of network structure, which has dominated the knowledge network literature, this research highlights how other factors like knowledge diversity are needed to be consider.
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Joanne Evans, Barbara Reed, Henry Linger, Simon Goss, David Holmes, Jan Drobik, Bruce Woodyat and Simon Henbest
This paper aims to examine the role a recordkeeping informatics approach can play in understanding and addressing these challenges. In 2011, the Wind Tunnel located at the Defence…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the role a recordkeeping informatics approach can play in understanding and addressing these challenges. In 2011, the Wind Tunnel located at the Defence Science Technology Organisation (DTSO)’s Fisherman’s Bend site in Melbourne and managed by the Flight Systems Branch (FSB) celebrated its 70th anniversary. While cause for celebration, it also raised concerns for DSTO aeronautical scientists and engineers as to capacities to effectively and efficiently manage the data legacy of such an important research facility for the next 70 years, given increased technological, organisational and collaboration complexities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper will detail how, through a collaborative action research project, the twin pillars of continuum thinking and recordkeeping metadata and the three facets of organisational culture, business process analysis and archival access, were used to examine the data, information, records and knowledge management challenges in this research data context. It will discuss how this perspective, was presented, engaged with and evolved into a set of strategies for the sustained development of FSB’s data, information and records management infrastructure, along with what is learnt about the approach through the action research process.
Findings
The project found that stressing the underlying principles of recordkeeping, applied to information resources of all kinds, resonated with the scientific community of FSB. It identified appropriate strategic, policy and process frameworks to better govern information management activities.
Research limitations/implications
The utility of a recordkeeping informatics approach to unpack, explore and develop strategies in technically and organisationally complex recordkeeping environment is demonstrated, along with the kinds of professional collaboration required to tackle research data challenges.
Practical implications
In embracing technical and organisational complexity, the project has provided FSB with a strategic framework for the development of their information architecture so that it is both responsive to local needs, and consistent with broader DSTO requirements.
Originality/value
This paper further develops recordkeeping informatics as an emerging approach for tackling the recordkeeping challenges of our era in relation to maintaining and sustaining the evidential authenticity, integrity and reliability of big complex research data sets.
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Peter H. Gray and Darren B. Meister
Knowledge management (KM) research lacks a common conceptual core; it is cross‐disciplinary, addresses a wide variety of phenomena, and has difficulty distinguishing itself from…
Abstract
Knowledge management (KM) research lacks a common conceptual core; it is cross‐disciplinary, addresses a wide variety of phenomena, and has difficulty distinguishing itself from many related areas of research. The result is a fragmented field that is itself artificially split from the related literature on organizational learning. KM may be progressing through a predictable life‐cycle that could end in collapse of the KM concept unless researchers can develop more integrative core theories of learning‐ and knowledge‐related phenomena in organizations. The diverse body of organizational learning and knowledge management research provides an impressive foundation for the synthesis of such broader theories of learning and knowledge that are creative, new, and integrative.
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Hee-Woong Kim, Hock Chuan Chan and Sumeet Gupta
The purpose of this paper is to : first, examine information systems (IS) infusion from a user commitment perspective, and second, examine the formation of user commitment toward…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to : first, examine information systems (IS) infusion from a user commitment perspective, and second, examine the formation of user commitment toward the use of IS in terms of job design.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a survey approach with structural equation modeling to test the developed research model and hypotheses.
Findings
A survey of 236 enterprise system users shows that user commitment has a positive effect on IS infusion. User commitment, in turn, is influenced by task technology fit, technology self-efficacy, and task autonomy. Further mediation and direct effects to IS infusion are explored.
Research limitations/implications
This study offers implications for research, such as explaining a driver of IS infusion; and extending commitment theory by finding antecedents of user commitment.
Practical/implications
The results of this study offer suggestions to management on how to improve IS infusion in terms of user commitment and, consequently, how to develop user commitment based on the socio-technical system (STS) design.
Social/implications
The study highlights the critical impact of technology autonomy on IS infusion. An individual user’s authority in using and regulating the system is required for IS infusion.
Originality/value
This study has proposed a theoretical model of IS infusion based on commitment and socio-technical job design factors.
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Chung-Chi Chen, Gwo-Guang Lee and Tzu-Chuan Chou
The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which central government in resource-constrained environments collaborates with local government to utilize the available…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which central government in resource-constrained environments collaborates with local government to utilize the available resources at hand to set up 300 Digital Opportunity Centers (DOCs) in 168 remote areas in Taiwan through co-management to bricolage new resources and new capabilities, gradually bridging the urban-rural digital divide to co-create values for local development.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted an in-depth case study. The authors selected Taiwan’s DOC, the largest public information service infrastructure project in Taiwan, to explore issues related to bricolage-based resource co-management.
Findings
From the integrating relevant literature, the generic process of bricolage-based resource co-management can be inferred to consist of four major steps. Applying this body of knowledge as a theoretical lens to analyze the case of Taiwan’s DOC, a process model of bricolage-based resource co-management is inductively derived to address the research questions.
Research limitations/implications
A common criticism of this methodology is its lack of generalizability since a case study cannot prove itself in a statistical sense.
Practical implications
This study is significant in that it provides a comprehensive and empirically supported framework. The authors hope that practitioners who face resource constraints when conducting large-scale IT projects can use the process model developed in this study as a detailed roadmap to identify the most appropriate actions and steps to undertake.
Originality/value
This study provides an empirically grounded framework that contributes toward addressing the lack of empirical studies in bricolage-based, resource co-management research.
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Eveline Hage, Hans Wortmann, Marjolein van Offenbeek and Albert Boonstra
In today’s aging world online communication is often viewed as a means to enhance social connectivity, and therefore well-being, of older adults. However, previous research on the…
Abstract
Purpose
In today’s aging world online communication is often viewed as a means to enhance social connectivity, and therefore well-being, of older adults. However, previous research on the influence of online communication on social connectivity largely disregards older adults, yields conflicting results and fails to assess the – debatable − causal direction of relationship. The purpose of this paper is to overcome these issues by developing four hypotheses related to who uses what, how, with whom.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a panel data study to test the hypotheses, including 302 older adults. Response rates are between 62 and 75 percent.
Findings
The authors find, first, that older adults differentiate between social connectivity with other village members, i.e., village connectivity, and connectivity with friends. Second, the impact of online communication varies among these two types of social connectivity. Where e-mail use has a negative impact on village connectivity, it does not affect connectivity with friends. Facebook use on the other hand has a negative impact on connectivity with friends, but not on village connectivity. The negative effects were not found among those older adults that were already well-connected on forehand, indicating a buffer effect.
Practical/implications
Policy makers’ implementing online communication tools to strengthen social connectivity of older adults, may want to carefully select tools based on the type of connectivity they aim to enhance. Impact needs to be monitored.
Originality/value
The authors contribute by analyzing how characteristics of online communication tools, i.e., information richness and privacy protection, as well as social connectivity, i.e., geographical proximity and emotional closeness jointly shape older adults’ social connectivity.
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