Determinants of knowledge transfer and learning in hybrid public private alliances

This paper uses the case study of a hybrid public-private strategic alliance as data to complement and contrast with the traditional views on knowledge transfer and learning between alliance partners. In particular, the paper explores whether the concept of competitive collaboration conceptualized by Hamel (1991) in his seminal work holds true for all forms of strategic alliances. Conceptualizing the knowledge boundaries of organisations in alliances as a ‘collaborative membrane’, we focus attention on the permeability of these boundaries rather than the actual location of the boundaries. In this vein, we present a case study of a major public sector organization that illustrates how these principles have allowed it to start rebuilding its internal capabilities adopting a more collaborative stance and ensuring their knowledge boundaries are highly porous as they move more major projects into hybrid public private alliance contracts.

Emailing experts and novices : effects of knowledge, copy type and testimonials on email advertising effectiveness

In this article we examine how consumer knowledge and two aspects of email ad design (copy type and testimonial type) influence attitudes and purchase intentions. Results from a field experiment reveal differences between experts and novices in their responses to email advertising. Specifically, experts report more favorable evaluations for email advertising than novices. Experts also demonstrate a preference for expert testimonials, when exposed to attribute copy. Yet when benefits-only ad copy was used, experts are most influenced by novice testimonials. In contrast, novice consumers show no copy-testimonial preference. Expert testimonials are also more effective than novice testimonials for expert and novice consumers. We discuss the results with respect to theoretical contributions and managerial implications.

An exploration of knowledge management and intellectual capital in a nonprofit organisation context

In recent years, practitioners and researchers alike have turned their attention to knowledge management (KM) in order to increase organisational performance (OP). As a result, many different approaches and strategies have been investigated and suggested for how knowledge should be managed to make organisations more effective and efficient. However, most research has been undertaken in the for-profit sector, with only a few studies focusing on the benefits nonprofit organisations might gain by managing knowledge. This study broadly investigates the impact of knowledge management on the organisational performance of nonprofit organisations. Organisational performance can be evaluated through either financial or non-financial measurements. In order to evaluate knowledge management and organisational performance, non-financial measurements are argued to be more suitable given that knowledge is an intangible asset which often cannot be expressed through financial indicators. Non-financial measurement concepts of performance such as the balanced scorecard or the concept of Intellectual Capital (IC) are well accepted and used within the for-profit and nonprofit sectors to evaluate organisational performance. This study utilised the concept of IC as the method to evaluate KM and OP in the context of nonprofit organisations due to the close link between KM and IC: Indeed, KM is concerned with managing the KM processes of creating, storing, sharing and applying knowledge and the organisational KM infrastructure such as organisational culture or organisational structure to support these processes. On the other hand, IC measures the knowledge stocks in different ontological levels: at the individual level (human capital), at the group level (relational capital) and at the organisational level (structural capital). In other words, IC measures the value of the knowledge which has been managed through KM. As KM encompasses the different KM processes and the KM infrastructure facilitating these processes, previous research has investigated the relationship between KM infrastructure and KM processes. Organisational culture, organisational structure and the level of IT support have been identified as the main factors of the KM infrastructure influencing the KM processes of creating, storing, sharing and applying knowledge. Other research has focused on the link between KM and OP or organisational effectiveness. Based on existing literature, a theoretical model was developed to enable the investigation of the relation between KM (encompassing KM infrastructure and KM processes) and IC. The model assumes an association between KM infrastructure and KM processes, as well as an association between KM processes and the various levels of IC (human capital, structural capital and relational capital). As a result, five research questions (RQ) with respect to the various factors of the KM infrastructure as well as with respect to the relationship between KM infrastructure and IC were raised and included into the research model: RQ 1 Do nonprofit organisations which have a Hierarchy culture have a stronger IT support than nonprofit organisations which have an Adhocracy culture? RQ 2 Do nonprofit organisations which have a centralised organisational structure have a stronger IT support than nonprofit organisations which have decentralised organisational structure? RQ 3 Do nonprofit organisations which have a stronger IT support have a higher value of Human Capital than nonprofit organisations which have a less strong IT support? RQ 4 Do nonprofit organisations which have a stronger IT support have a higher value of Structural Capital than nonprofit organisations which have a less strong IT support? RQ 5 Do nonprofit organisations which have a stronger IT support have a higher value of Relational Capital than nonprofit organisations which have a less strong IT support? In order to investigate the research questions, measurements for IC were developed which were linked to the main KM processes. The final KM/IC model contained four items for evaluating human capital, five items for evaluating structural capital and four items for evaluating relational capital. The research questions were investigated through empirical research using a case study approach with the focus on two nonprofit organisations providing trade promotions services through local offices worldwide. Data for the investigation of the assumptions were collected via qualitative as well as quantitative research methods. The qualitative study included interviews with representatives of the two participating organisations as well as in-depth document research. The purpose of the qualitative study was to investigate the factors of the KM infrastructure (organisational culture, organisational structure, IT support) of the organisations and how these factors were related to each other. On the other hand, the quantitative study was carried out through an online-survey amongst staff of the various local offices. The purpose of the quantitative study was to investigate which impact the level of IT support, as the main instrument of the KM infrastructure, had on IC. Overall several key themes were found as a result of the study: • Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital were complementary with each other, which should be expressed through measurements of IC based on KM processes. • The various factors of the KM infrastructure (organisational culture, organisational structure and level of IT support) are interdependent. • IT was a primary instrument through which the different KM processes (creating, storing, sharing and applying knowledge) were performed. • A high level of IT support was evident when participants reported higher level of IC (human capital, structural capital and relational capital). The study supported previous research in the field of KM and replicated the findings from other case studies in this area. The study also contributed to theory by placing the KM research within the nonprofit context and analysing the linkage between KM and IC. From the managerial perspective, the findings gave clear indications that would allow interested parties, such as nonprofit managers or consultants to understand more about the implications of KM on OP and to use this knowledge for implementing efficient and effective KM strategies within their organisations.

Classification of Airborne LIDAR Intensity Data Using Statistical Analysis and Hough Transform with Application to Power Line Corridors

Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) has great potential to assist vegetation management in power line corridors by providing more accurate geometric information of the power line assets and vegetation along the corridors. However, the development of algorithms for the automatic processing of LIDAR point cloud data, in particular for feature extraction and classification of raw point cloud data, is in still in its infancy. In this paper, we take advantage of LIDAR intensity and try to classify ground and non-ground points by statistically analyzing the skewness and kurtosis of the intensity data. Moreover, the Hough transform is employed to detected power lines from the filtered object points. The experimental results show the effectiveness of our methods and indicate that better results were obtained by using LIDAR intensity data than elevation data.

Spatial restructuring of cities in the age of knowledge economy : insights from Australian cities

In the age of knowledge economy, knowledge production, and where, how and by whom it is produced, has become one of the most important factors in determining the quality of life and competitiveness of a city. In different parts of the world, cities that are the centres of knowledge production are branded under different names, e.g. knowledge city, creative city, ubiquitous eco city, smart city. This paper focuses on the core building block of these cities: ‘knowledge precincts’ that are the catalytic magnet infrastructures impacting knowledge production. The paper discusses the increasing importance of knowledge-based urban development within the paradigm of knowledge economy, and the role of knowledge community precincts as an instrument to seed the foundation of knowledge production. This paper explores knowledge based urban development, particularly knowledge community precinct development, potentials of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and benchmarks them against Boston. The paper also draws conclusions and recommendations for other cities considering knowledge based development.

Eco-structure data forms : classification of data analysis using perceived design affordances for musical outcomes

This paper explores a method of comparative analysis and classification of data through perceived design affordances. Included is discussion about the musical potential of data forms that are derived through eco-structural analysis of musical features inherent in audio recordings of natural sounds. A system of classification of these forms is proposed based on their structural contours. The classifications include four primitive types; steady, iterative, unstable and impulse. The classification extends previous taxonomies used to describe the gestural morphology of sound. The methods presented are used to provide compositional support for eco-structuralism.

Inter- and intra- project knowledge transfer : analysis of knowledge transfer techniques

Many studies in the area of project management and social networks have identified the significance of project knowledge transfer within and between projects. However, only few studies have examined the intra- and inter-projects knowledge transfer activities. Knowledge in projects can be transferred via face-to-face interactions on the one hand, and via IT-based tools on the other. Although companies have allocated many resources to the IT tools, it has been found that they are not always effectively utilised, and people prefer to look for knowledge using social face-to-face interactions. This paper explores how to effectively leverage two alternative knowledge transfer techniques, face-to-face and IT-based tools to facilitate knowledge transfer and enhance knowledge creation for intra- and inter-project knowledge transfer. The paper extends the previous research on the relationships between and within teams by examining the project’s external and internal knowledge networks concurrently. Social network qualitative analysis, using a case study within a small-medium enterprise, was used to examine the knowledge transfer activities within and between projects, and to investigate knowledge transfer techniques. This paper demonstrates the significance of overlapping employees working simultaneously on two or more projects and their impact on facilitating knowledge transfer between projects within a small/medium organisation. This research is also crucial to gaining better understanding of different knowledge transfer techniques used for intra- and inter-project knowledge exchange. The research provides recommendations on how to achieve better knowledge transfer within and between projects in order to fully utilise a project’s knowledge and achieve better project performance.

Southern theory : the global dynamics of knowledge in the social sciences

Up front I am impelled to acknowledge an intellectual debt to Raewyn Connell as one of my PhD supervisors about 20 years ago and as having a lasting influence on my own sociological approach to research. One of key themes of this book is that southern theorists are rarely read in the northern hemisphere. This is not the case for Connell, however, one of Australia’s most internationally renowned scholars. The tome reads as the creative outpouring of her lifelong thirst for social science. Its main claim is that southern theory ‘has as much intellectual power as metropolitan social thought, and more political relevance’ (p. xii). A big but compelling claim, as I will explain.

Tree of knowledge memorial

This article discusses the design of a memorial space of the Tree of Knowledge, located in Oak Street, Barcaldine, Queensland designed by Brian Hooper Architect and M3 Architecture. Features of the design include the dead tree trunk underneath pieces of timber hanging down to show the original size of the tree in the 1890s and the root ball visible under a glass floor.

The properties of the international classification of the external cause of injury when used as an instrument for injury prevention research

Objective: To demonstrate properties of the International Classification of the External Cause of Injury (ICECI) as a tool for use in injury prevention research. Methods: The Childhood Injury Prevention Study (CHIPS) is a prospective longitudinal follow up study of a cohort of 871 children 5–12 years of age, with a nested case crossover component. The ICECI is the latest tool in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) family and has been designed to improve the precision of coding injury events. The details of all injury events recorded in the study, as well as all measured injury related exposures, were coded using the ICECI. This paper reports a substudy on the utility and practicability of using the ICECI in the CHIPS to record exposures. Interrater reliability was quantified for a sample of injured participants using the Kappa statistic to measure concordance between codes independently coded by two research staff. Results: There were 767 diaries collected at baseline and event details from 563 injuries and exposure details from injury crossover periods. There were no event, location, or activity details which could not be coded using the ICECI. Kappa statistics for concordance between raters within each of the dimensions ranged from 0.31 to 0.93 for the injury events and 0.94 and 0.97 for activity and location in the control periods. Discussion: This study represents the first detailed account of the properties of the ICECI revealed by its use in a primary analytic epidemiological study of injury prevention. The results of this study provide considerable support for the ICECI and its further use.

Overview of the INEX 2009 XML mining track : clustering and classification of XML documents

This report explains the objectives, datasets and evaluation criteria of both the clustering and classification tasks set in the INEX 2009 XML Mining track. The report also describes the approaches and results obtained by the different participants.

On the Classification of Recursive Languages

A one-sided classifier for a given class of languages converges to 1 on every language from the class and outputs 0 infinitely often on languages outside the class. A two-sided classifier, on the other hand, converges to 1 on languages from the class and converges to 0 on languages outside the class. The present paper investigates one-sided and two-sided classification for classes of recursive languages. Theorems are presented that help assess the classifiability of natural classes. The relationships of classification to inductive learning theory and to structural complexity theory in terms of Turing degrees are studied. Furthermore, the special case of classification from only positive data is also investigated.