Knowledge-based development for cities and societies : integrated multi-level approaches

Over the past twenty years, the conventional knowledge management approach has evolved into a strategic management approach that has found applications and opportunities outside of business, in society at large, through education, urban development, governance, and healthcare, amongst others. Knowledge-Based Development for Cities and Socieities: Integrated Multi-Level Approaches enlightens the concepts and challenges of knowledge management for both urban environments and entire regions, enhancing the expertise and knowledge of scholars, resdearchers, practitioners, managers and urban developers in the development of successful knowledge-based development policies, creation of knowledte cities and prosperous knowledge societies. This reference creates large knowledge base for scholars, managers and urban developers and increases the awareness of the role of knowledge cities and knowledge socieiteis in the knowledge era, as well as of the challenges and opportunities for future research.

Urban, regional, national and global knowledge capital [Guest editorial]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the JKM 2010 annual special issue on knowledge based development (KBD) with reference to the multi-level analysis characteristic of the field. ----- ----- Design/methodology/approach – A description of the knowledge management approach at ESOC (European Space Operations Centre of the European Space Agency) is provided first. At the core of this approach is the breakdown of knowledge in individual technical domains followed by coverage analysis and criticality assessment. Such a framework becomes the reference for best knowledge acquisition, transfer and storage locus identification and subsequent knowledge management practices and guidelines. ----- ----- Findings – KBD provides an integrated framework to account for multidisciplinary analyses and multilevel practices in knowledge capital generation, distribution and utilization. ----- ----- Originality/value – The collection of papers included in the annual special issue on KBD provides a representative, composite view of the research topics and applications concerns in the field. Involving a number of disciplines and levels of analysis, issues ranging from the technological gatekeeper to global knowledge flows show the interdependence of KBD concepts and tools.

Evaluating the influences of stakeholder management on construction project quality

The issue of ensuring that construction projects achieve high quality outcomes continues to be an important consideration for key project stakeholders. Although a lot of quality practices have been done within the industry, establishment and achievement of reasonable levels of quality in construction projects continues to be a problem. While some studies into the introduction and development of quality practices and stakeholder management in the construction industry have been undertaken separately, no major studies have so far been completed that examine in depth how quality management practices that specifically address stakeholders’ perspectives of quality can be utilised to contribute to the ultimate constructed quality of projects. This paper encompasses and summarizes a review of the literature related to previous research undertaken on quality within the industry, focuses on the benefits and shortcomings, together with examining the concept of integrating stakeholder perspectives of project quality for improvement of outcomes throughout the project lifecycle. Findings discussed in this paper reveal a pressing need for investigation, development and testing of a framework to facilitate better implementation of quality management practices and thus achievement of better quality outcomes within the construction industry. The framework will incorporate and integrate the views of stakeholders on what constitutes final project quality to be utilised in developing better quality management planning and systems aimed ultimately at achieving better project quality delivery.

Attribute exclusion strategies in airline choice : accounting for exogenous information on decision maker processing strategies in models of discrete choice

We examine the impact of individual-specific information processing strategies (IPSs) on the inclusion/exclusion of attributes on the parameter estimates and behavioural outputs of models of discrete choice. Current practice assumes that individuals employ a homogenous IPS with regards to how they process attributes of stated choice (SC) experiments. We show how information collected exogenous of the SC experiment on whether respondents either ignored or considered each attribute may be used in the estimation process, and how such information provides outputs that are IPS segment specific. We contend that accounting the inclusion/exclusion of attributes will result in behaviourally richer population parameter estimates.

Knowledge integration within Japanese firms : the Fujitsu way

The paper analyses knowledge integration processes at Fujitsu from a multi-level and systemic perspective. The focus is on team-building capability, capturing and utilising individual tacit knowledge, and communication networks for integrating dispersed specialist knowledge required in the development of new products and services. The analysis shows how knowledge integration is performed by Fujitsu at different layers of the company.

Four models of the creative industries

Les activités et industries culturelles sont aujourd’hui englobées dans une nouvelle approche, celle d’industries créatives. Dans ce contexte, les interrogations sur les contributions de la culture au développement économique peuvent être repensées de manière élargie. La contribution examine les différentes réponses possibles à cette question, et quatre modèles sont ainsi distingués: l’approche du bien être; l’approche concurrentielle; l’approche de la croissance; l’approche de l’innovation. A chacun de ces modèles correspond une interprétation du lien entre activités créatives et économie. Ce sont ces interprétations dont la pertinence est appréciée à l’aide de données statistiques simples.

Haunted by the past : effects of poor management on employee attitudes and turnover

Change management research has largely ignored the effects of organizational change management history in shaping employee attitudes and behavior. This article develops and tests a model of the effects of poor change management history (PCMH) on employee attitudes (trust, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, change cynicism, and openness to change) and actual turnover. We found that PCMH, through PCMH beliefs, led to lower trust, job satisfaction and openness to change, and higher cynicism and turnover intentions. Also, PCMH beliefs predicted employee turnover over 2 years.

Understanding the role of knowledge in the practice of expert nephrology nurses in Australia

This paper, which is abstracted from a larger study into the acquisition and exercise of nephrology nursing expertise, aims to explore the role of knowledge in expert practice. Using grounded theory methodology, the study involved 17 registered nurses who were practicing in a metropolitan renal unit in New South Wales, Australia. Concurrent data collection and analysis was undertaken, incorporating participants' observations and interviews. Having extensive nephrology nursing knowledge was a striking characteristic of a nursing expert. Expert nurses clearly relied on and utilized extensive nephrology nursing knowledge to practice. Of importance for nursing, the results of this study indicate that domain-specific knowledge is a crucial feature of expert practice.

The impact of software-as-a-service on business models of leading software vendors : experiences from three exploratory case studies

The number of software vendors offering ‘Software-as-a-Service’ has been increasing in recent years. In the Software-as-a-Service model software is operated by the software vendor and delivered to the customer as a service. Existing business models and industry structures are challenged by the changes to the deployment and pricing model compared to traditional software. However, the full implications on the way companies create, deliver and capture value are not yet sufficiently analyzed. Current research is scattered on specific aspects, only a few studies provide a more holistic view of the impact from a business model perspective. For vendors it is, however, crucial to be aware of the potentially far reaching consequences of Software-as-a-Service. Therefore, a literature review and three exploratory case studies of leading software vendors are used to evaluate possible implications of Software-as-a-Service on business models. The results show an impact on all business model building blocks and highlight in particular the often less articulated impact on key activities, customer relationship and key partnerships for leading software vendors and show related challenges, for example, with regard to the integration of development and operations processes. The observed implications demonstrate the disruptive character of the concept and identify future research requirements.

Brivanib alaninate, a dual inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and fibroblast growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases, induces growth inhibition in mouse models of human hepatocellular carcinoma

PURPOSE: Hreceptor (VEGFR) and FGF receptor (FGFR) signaling pathways. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Six different s.c. patient-derived HCC xenografts were implanted into mice. Tumor growth was evaluated in mice treated with brivanib compared with control. The effects of brivanib on apoptosis and cell proliferation were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The SK-HEP1 and HepG2 cells were used to investigate the effects of brivanib on the VEGFR-2 and FGFR-1 signaling pathways in vitro. Western blotting was used to determine changes in proteins in these xenografts and cell lines. RESULTS: Brivanib significantly suppressed tumor growth in five of six xenograft lines. Furthermore, brivanib-induced growth inhibition was associated with a decrease in phosphorylated VEGFR-2 at Tyr(1054/1059), increased apoptosis, reduced microvessel density, inhibition of cell proliferation, and down-regulation of cell cycle regulators. The levels of FGFR-1 and FGFR-2 expression in these xenograft lines were positively correlated with its sensitivity to brivanib-induced growth inhibition. In VEGF-stimulated and basic FGF stimulated SK-HEP1 cells, brivanib significantly inhibited VEGFR-2, FGFR-1, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, and Akt phosphorylation. CONCLUSION: This study provides a strong rationale for clinical investigation of brivanib in patients with HCC.

Managing knowledge for enterprise systems in indian organizations: Case study insights

Many Enterprise Systems (ES) projects have reported nil or detrimental impacts despite the substantial investment in the system. Having expected positive outcomes for the organization and its functions through the weighty spend, the effective management of ES-related knowledge has been suggested as a critical success factor for these ES projects in ES implementations. This paper suggests theoretical views purporting the importance of understanding on knowledge management for ES success. To explain the complex, dynamic and multifaceted of knowledge management, we adopt the concepts in Learning Network Theory. We then conceptualized the impact of knowledge management on ES by analyzing five case studies in several industries in India, based on the Knowledge-based Theory of the Firm that captures the performance of the system.