CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN KNOWLEDGE - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND RESEARCH COLLABORATION

SANI ABDU FARI (PhD)

s

ani.fari@umyu.edu.ng

UMARU MUSA YAR’ADUA UNIVERSITY

K

ATSINA

Slide2

Data, Information and Knowledge

Suurla

,

Markkula

and

Mustajarvi

(2002:35), “codes, signs and signals. Consists of raw facts (e.g. numbers) that have no context or meaning on their own.

Data becomes information when organised, patterned, grouped, and or categorised which increases its depth of meaning to the recipient.

Information as a concept takes on different meanings, depending on the context in which it is discussed. Information is transformed into knowledge through learning and adoption (

Suurla

,

Markkula

&

Mustajarvi

, 2002).

Knowledge can therefore be regarded as volumes of required and relevant information that is capable of effectively changing the way we think, work and relate to others (Fari, 2011).

Scholars have addressed the distinctions between data, information and knowledge (Aliyu 2007; Umar 2009; Donate and

Guadamillas

2011).

Slide3

What is Information?Information is that which add to our awareness or understanding of some topic, problem or event and perceived as fact, intelligence or news.

Information is sought and accessed to be better informed.

Aliyu (2007) defines information as a recorded experience that is or can be used in decision making.

Umar (2009) defines information as “any activity of an individual that is undertaken to identify a message that satisfies a perceived need”.

Among the information scientists, information is perceived to be the written or spoken surrogate of knowledge, and the result of data processing.

Slide4

What is Knowledge?L

iterature shows that

knowledge is an intrinsically ambiguous term,

but generally,

“knowledge is the expertise, experience and capability of individuals, integrated with processes and shared memory” (

Abell

&

Oxbrow

2001:73). It is what people know, their expertise, experiences and the judgement (

Britz

, 2007).

Tacit and explicit. Polanyi (1966)

Tacit, the Knowledge embedded in

human brain

is vital for cognitive decisions and it accumulates through experience and participation in collective organisational and/or communal practices.

Explicit or codified knowledge, on the other hand, refers to knowledge that is transmittable in a formal, systematic language (

Nonaka

and Takeuchi, 1995). Explicit knowledge is expressed as information in various formats that include published works and manuals, routines and procedures.

Slide5

Access and Use of knowledge

Access to knowledge refers to contact with the past and present literature and research carried out in various fields. Through lectures, discussions, text-books, the Internet, videos, and other reference sources (Berlin Declaration on Open access to knowledge, 2003).

The Treaty on Access to knowledge (2005) itemizes the benefits of access to knowledge as:

Socially: by expanding awareness among community members

Culturally: by extending and promoting access to norms and traditions, encouraging and promoting literacy levels

Economically: through the provision of necessary information and knowledge needed to provoke new innovations for self-reliance

Slide6

Social Capital Theory (Adapted from Halpern, 2005)

Slide7

Components of SCTSense of belonging: Individuals feels more secure in company of other contributors working towards overall success (Chow & Chan, 2008)

Network: enabling platform for communication between experts regardless of geographical or time constraints (Ritter et al. 2004)

Feeling of trust and safety: sharing common interest than individuality, in essence trust influences collaboration (Andrews &

Delahay

, 2000)

Diversity: diverse characteristics and background add value to communities of practice and pave the way for unified standards (Fernandez, et al. 2000)

Reciprocity: there is reward in participation be it recognition, self-development and knowledge acquisition (Rosenthal, 1997)

Values, norms and outlook on life:

b

elonging to formal communities of practice derives some benefits as professionals or practitioners (Lin, 1999)

Power: the participation and contribution of individuals in communities of practice accords recognition and authority (Jones & Taylor, 2012)

Pro-activity and participation: individuals become more motivated and enthusiastic when working together towards achieving common goals (Weber & Weber, 2007)

Slide8

Knowledge SharingAbdel-

Rahman

&

Ayman

(2011) knowledge sharing is a crucial aspect in any organisation.

Fari (2010) defines Knowledge sharing as the exchange of ideas, perceptions, results, opinions and facts between two or more individuals.

Knowledge can be shared through the following patterns:

-one-to-one, one-to-many,

-

many-to-many and many-to-one.

The technologies for meeting the four patterns are evolving and include: blogs, wikis, social media, etc.

Online

platforms for knowledge acquisition and the emergence of social media such as Web

2.0, 3.0 have

increased the awareness of and participation in virtual communities (Chiu et al., 2006; Hsu et al., 2007; Hsu and Lin, 2008).

Slide9

Types of Knowledge Sharing

Nonaka

and Takeuchi (1995) posit that, knowledge is principally created and shared in four ways (SECI):

Intangible to intangible – through the personal interaction of individuals referred to as “socialisation”.

Intangible to tangible – through the transformation of tacit experience into usable sources by others referred to as “externalisation”.

Tangible to tangible – through the utilisation of the available sources for the creation of new ideas and innovation referred to as “combination”.

Tangible to intangible – through the utilisation of ready and available sources to enrich our understanding and experience referred to as “internalisation”.

Slide10

Reasons for Knowledge sharing

Knowledge society is that which understand the relevance and integrates the application of technology in the acquisition and transfer of knowledge at all levels for global competitive

advantage (

WSIS,

2003).

Jiyane

et al (2013) emphasize the importance of knowledge transfer and sharing in the society that it is for educational, social, economic and political gains.

Thus knowledge sharing facilitates growth, enhances development, widens and expands opportunities and equips the society with the necessary inputs for decision making.

Studies by Martin (1995),

Nassimbeni

(1998), Webster (2002),

Lor

and

Britz

(2007) and others share the belief that societies develop the culture of knowledge sharing for growth and development over-time.

The interaction and communication between researchers/scholars brings about “global flow of knowledge” (

Britz

and

Ponelis

, 2012).

Slide11

Reasons for Knowledge Sharing (Cont.)

Haas, (2006) outlines a number of reasons for information and knowledge sharing. These includes:

To enhance productivity among members

To facilitate easy and quick information accessibility

To promote familiarisation and strengthen relationship among members

To enhance the sharing of ideas between and among members

To save cost and time, against individualism

To improve efficiency and

avoide

the duplication of efforts

To increase effectiveness and specialisation among members

To keep members up-to-date in their field of interest

Achieving a common purpose, connects professionals, stimulates new ideas and innovations, promotes understanding, facilitates access and provide academic support in teaching and research.

Slide12

Challenges to knowledge sharing

Challenges to information and knowledge sharing, especially in Africa, include issues of changes in researchers behaviour, motivation and influence (Mulligan &

Mabe

, 2011)

Culture and race (Ford & Chan 2003;

Trefry

2006)

Lack of trust (

Ngulube

2005); lack of basic hands-on skills

Poor infrastructure and facilities (

Osunade

, Philips and

Ojo

, 2007; Fari 2011)

Negative attitude to knowledge sharing among academics (Fari, 2015; Aliyu, 2007)

Information literacy (Fari and

Ocholla

, 2015; Umar, 2009).

Lack of awareness, Inaccessibility, Information explosion, Bibliographic obstacle, Environment, Poor infrastructure, Declining budget and rising cost, Staffing, Crime, International/diplomatic barriers (Fari, 2015;

Britz

, 2012

).

Way forward (above problems to be addressed)

Slide13

Research CollaborationWhile teaching and community outreach are important in universities, research is fundamental to enable knowledge creation and dissemination

Research is increasingly done through collaboration, a concept that is widely known and understood in academia

Coming together of diverse interests and people to achieve a common purpose via interactions, information sharing and coordination of activities (Haines et al. 2010)

Partnership, alliance or network, aimed at a mutually beneficial and clearly defined outcome (commonwealth of Australia 2004)

Global norm and essential component of all fields (Rao &

Raghavan

2003)

Slide14

Research Collaboration (cont.)

The term

collaboration is

used interchangeably with other words

such as partnership

and cooperation (Sullivan

&

Skelcher

2002)

Sullivan and

Skelcher

(2002) outlined three

theoretical viewpoints:

Optimist: focus on long term benefits, invitational (Exc. Theo.)

Pessimist: opposite, ambitious, dominance and control (Charles, et al. 2012) Evolutionary Theory

Realist: focuses on prevailing situations/factors influencing viability of the project: technology, originators, scope, coverage and extent of involvement

Slide15

Benefits of Research collaborationKnowledge

transfer and uniformity

Idea exchange and refining

P

rofessional ties and communities of practice

Recognition for excellence

Increased understanding(multiple perspectives)

S

hared responsibility

Peer review

Quality assurance (plagiarism, copyright, standardization)

Visibility/web presence

Slide16

Contemporary IssuesSocieties establish and develop universities to promote teaching and learning

;

provide the community with ideals and ideas through research and innovation.

African and Global comparison (Reuters 2010; Webometrics 2013; 4icu.org 2015)

African research output and collaboration is low in global comparison

A number of studies have been carried out regarding information and knowledge sharing and collaboration

Pouris

and

Ho

, 2014; Adams et al. 2014;

Aliyu, 2007; Lee and

Ahn

, 2007;

Ugah

, 2008; Umar,

2009;

Onyancha

and

Ocholla

, 2013; Fari, 2015; Fari and

Ocholla

, 2015.

Slide17

Collaboration between countries within Africa(see Adams et al., 2014)

Slide18

Distribution of articles published in Africa (see Pouris and Ho 2014:2169)

Slide19

Growth in African collaboration: 2007-2011 (see Pouris and Ho 2014)

Slide20

Intercontinental collaboration for six key African research economies (see Adams et al. 2014)

Slide21

Research output of 6 African countries, Essential Science Indicators (2001-2011)

Country

Papers

Number of disciplines

(ESI

)

Citations

Citations per paper

South Africa

59547

22

504886

8.48

Egypt

40258

21

206217

5.12

Nigeria

14769

20

58652

3.97

Kenya

8400

16

87255

10.39

Uganda

3958

11

38301

9.68

Ghana

3033

10

22500

7.42

Slide22

Collaborative network among some universities in Nigeria and South Africa (see Fari , 2015)

Slide23

Influence of research collaboration on research impact (see Fari, 2015)

NUMBER OF AUTHORS

TOTAL

CITATIONS

PAPERS

CITATION

PER PAPER

NIG

SA

NG

SA

NIG

SA

1

823

7,142

227

1,961

3.63

3.64

2

OR

MORE

8,370

92,895

2,222

10,347

3.77

8.98

TOTAL

9,193

100,037

2,449

12,308

3.75

8.13

Slide24

Conclusion and RecommendationsA number of challenges to knowledge sharing and collaboration (facilities, attitude, institutional repository and support)

Knowledge sharing is a necessity for competitive advantage and collaborative initiatives

Improved information services

Knowledge sharing and collaboration at all levels including interdisciplinary

Information literacy skills

acquisition

I

nculcate the culture of knowledge sharing through mentorship and socializing

Emphasize collaborative research conduct

Improved research support emphasis on collaborative

Incentives for excellence

Slide25

ReferencesAliyu, M. (2007) Information and communication network among natural scientist in

Amadu

Bello university, Zaria.

Samaru

journal

ofinformation

studies. Vol. 7 (1) pp.

13

Fari, S. A. (2015a). Comparative Assessment of information and Knowledge Sharing among Academics in Selected Universities in Nigeria and South Africa. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Information Studies, University of Zululand, South Africa

.

Polanyi, M. (1961). "Knowing and being", Mind, Vol. 70 No. 280:458-70.

Polanyi, M. (1966). The tacit dimension. New York: Anchor Day Books.

Nonaka

, I. & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press.

Johannes J.

Britz

, Shana

Ponelis

, (2012),"Social justice and the international flow of knowledge with specific reference to African scholars",

Aslib

Proceedings, Vol. 64

Iss

: 5 pp. 462 – 477.

Onyancha

, O.

Bosire

and

Ocholla

, Dennis N. (2009).Assessing Research Performance in Developing Countries: Is Google Scholar an Alternative.

Mousaion

, Vol.27(1), 43-64

Commonwealth of Australia. (2004). Review of closer collaboration between universities and major publicly funded research agencies. Retrieved March 30

th

, 2014, from

http://www.dest.gov.au/Collaboration/documents/pub.bdf

Slide26

Discussion/QuestionsTHANK YOU