The Innovation Management Program (IMP) : a holistic approach to managing change in knowledge based firms

Innovation Management (IM) in most knowledge based firms is used on an adhoc basis where senior managers use this term to leverage competitive edge without understanding its true meaning and how its robust application in organisation impacts organisational performance. There have been attempts in the manufacturing industry to harness the innovative potential of the business and apprehend its use as a point of difference to improve financial and non financial outcomes. However further work is required to innovatively extrapolate the lessons learnt to introduce incremental and/or radical innovation to knowledge based firms. An international structural engineering firm has been proactive in exploring and implementing this idea and has forged an alliance with the Queensland University of Technology to start the Innovation Management Program (IMP). The aim was to develop a permanent and sustainable program with which innovation can be woven through the fabric of the organisation. There was an intention to reinforce the firms’ vision and reinvigorate ideas and create new options that help in its realisation. This paper outlines the need for innovation in knowledge based firms and how this consulting engineering firm reacted to this exigency. The development of the Innovation Management Program, its different themes (and associated projects) and how they integrate to form a holistic model is also discussed. The model is designed around the need of providing professional qualification improvement opportunities for staff, setting-up organised, structured & easily accessible knowledge repositories to capture tacit and explicit knowledge and implement efficient project management strategies with a view to enhance client satisfaction. A Delphi type workshop is used to confirm the themes and projects. Some of the individual projects and their expected outcomes are also discussed. A questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data to select appropriate candidates responsible for leading these projects. Following an in-depth analysis of preliminary research results, some recommendations on the selection process will also be presented.

A decision support system for sustainable urban development : the integrated land use and transportation indexing model

The broad definition of sustainable development at the early stage of its introduction has caused confusion and hesitation among local authorities and planning professionals. The main difficulties are experience in employing loosely-defined principles of sustainable development in setting policies and goals. The question of how this theory/rhetoric-practice gap could be filled will be the theme of this study. One of the widely employed sustainability accounting approaches by governmental organisations, triple bottom line, and applicability of this approach to sustainable urban development policies will be examined. When incorporating triple bottom line considerations with the environmental impact assessment techniques, the framework of GIS-based decision support system that helps decision-makers in selecting policy option according to the economic, environmental and social impacts will be introduced. In order to embrace sustainable urban development policy considerations, the relationship between urban form, travel pattern and socio-economic attributes should be clarified. This clarification associated with other input decision support systems will picture the holistic state of the urban settings in terms of sustainability. In this study, grid-based indexing methodology will be employed to visualise the degree of compatibility of selected scenarios with the designated sustainable urban future. In addition, this tool will provide valuable knowledge about the spatial dimension of the sustainable development. It will also give fine details about the possible impacts of urban development proposals by employing disaggregated spatial data analysis (e.g. land-use, transportation, urban services, population density, pollution, etc.). The visualisation capacity of this tool will help decision makers and other stakeholders compare and select alternative of future urban developments.

A decision support system for sustainable urban development : the integrated land use and transportation indexing model

Broad, early definitions of sustainable development have caused confusion and hesitation among local authorities and planning professionals. This confusion has arisen because loosely defined principles of sustainable development have been employed when setting policies and planning projects, and when gauging the efficiencies of these policies in the light of designated sustainability goals. The question of how this theory-rhetoric-practice gap can be filled is the main focus of this chapter. It examines the triple bottom line approach–one of the sustainability accounting approaches widely employed by governmental organisations–and the applicability of this approach to sustainable urban development. The chapter introduces the ‘Integrated Land Use and Transportation Indexing Model’ that incorporates triple bottom line considerations with environmental impact assessment techniques via a geographic, information systems-based decision support system. This model helps decision-makers in selecting policy options according to their economic, environmental and social impacts. Its main purpose is to provide valuable knowledge about the spatial dimensions of sustainable development, and to provide fine detail outputs on the possible impacts of urban development proposals on sustainability levels. In order to embrace sustainable urban development policy considerations, the model is sensitive to the relationship between urban form, travel patterns and socio-economic attributes. Finally, the model is useful in picturing the holistic state of urban settings in terms of their sustainability levels, and in assessing the degree of compatibility of selected scenarios with the desired sustainable urban future.

Knowledge-based approach for planning healthy cities : the case of Logan-Beaudesert, Australia

Introduction - The planning for healthy cities faces significant challenges due to lack of effective information, systems and a framework to organise that information. Such a framework is critical in order to make accessible and informed decisions for planning healthy cities. The challenges for planning healthy cities have been magnified by the rise of the healthy cities movement, as a result of which, there have been more frequent calls for localised, collaborative and knowledge-based decisions. Some studies have suggested that the use of a ‘knowledge-based’ approach to planning will enhance the accuracy and quality decision-making by improving the availability of data and information for health service planners and may also lead to increased collaboration between stakeholders and the community. A knowledge-based or evidence-based approach to decision-making can provide an ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking through the use of technology during decision-making processes. Minimal research has been conducted in this area to date, especially in terms of evaluating the impact of adopting knowledge-based approach on stakeholders, policy-makers and decision-makers within health planning initiatives. Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to present an integrated method that has been developed to facilitate a knowledge-based decision-making process to assist health planning Methodology – Specifically, the paper describes the participatory process that has been adopted to develop an online Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Decision Support System (DSS) for health planners. Value – Conceptually, it is an application of Healthy Cities and Knowledge Cities approaches which are linked together. Specifically, it is a unique settings-based initiative designed to plan for and improve the health capacity of Logan-Beaudesert area, Australia. This setting-based initiative is named as the Logan-Beaudesert Health Coalition (LBHC). Practical implications - The paper outlines the application of a knowledge-based approach to the development of a healthy city. Also, it focuses on the need for widespread use of this approach as a tool for enhancing community-based health coalition decision making processes.

Using a knowledge-based approach : the way healthy communities make decisions

The planning for Knowledge Cities faces significant challenges due to the lack of effective information tools. These challenges are magnified while planning healthy communities. The Australian Health Information Council (AHIC) concluded in its last report that health information needs to be shared more effectively (AHIC, 2008). Some research justifies the use of Decision Support Systems (DSS) as an E-planning tool, particularly in the context of healthy communities. However, very limited research has been conducted in this area to date, especially in terms of evaluating the impact of these tools on decision-makers within the health planning practice. The paper presents the methodological instruments which were developed to measure the impact of the E-planning tool (i.e., Health Decision Support System [HDSS])) on a group of health planners, namely, the Logan Beaudesert Health Coalition (LBHC). The paper is focused on the culture in which decisions were made before and after the intervention of the HDSS. Subsequently, the paper presents the observed impact of the HDSS tool, to facilitate a knowledge-based decision-making approach. This study is an attempt to make some contribution to the Knowledge Cities literature in the context of planning healthy communities by adopting E-planning tools.

Determining indicators of transportation disadvantage for establishing knowledge-based environments

Although, transportation disadvantage or imbalance between travel needs and supply of transportation system is a great harm to knowledge based environments, quantification and objectively measuring the state of transportation disadvantaged remain to be a great challenge for researcher due to its ambiguity. This poses questions of whether the current indicators are accurately linked with transportation disadvantages and the effectiveness of the current policies. Using current indicators of transportation disadvantages, the state of transportation disadvantage is often exaggerated due to limited afford has been put forward to provide clear assessment on the existed relationship between transportation disadvantage indicators with travel performance or capability. This paper proposes a structural equation model of transportation disadvantage using household variables gained from the 2006-2008 South-East Queensland Travel Survey (SEQTS). The underlying relationships between social economics and demographic characteristics of household with travel performance are modelled using a latent variable approach. The final model has been able to fit the data gathered from SEQTS and explained established links between key household factors with travel capability and determined key indicator of travel capability. The model recognises that travel capability is directly influenced by household factors; vehicle ratio, license possession, retirees and pensioners.

The development of a knowledge-based society - Challenges for e-learning and adult students in higher education

This chapter appears in Encyclopaedia of Distance Learning 2nd Edition edit by Rogers, P.; Berg, Gary; Boettecher, Judith V.; Howard, Caroline; Justice, Lorraine; Schenk, Karen D.. Copyright 2009, IGI Global, www.igi-global.com. Posted by permission of the publisher. URL: http://www.igi-global.com/reference/ details.asp?ID=9703&v=tableOfContents

A dynamic knowledge-based decision support system to handle solids separation problems in activated sludge systems: development and validation

El sistema de fangs activats és el tractament biològic més àmpliament utilitzat arreu del món per la depuració d'aigües residuals. El seu funcionament depèn de la correcta operació tant del reactor biològic com del decantador secundari. Quan la fase de sedimentació no es realitza correctament, la biomassa no decantada s'escapa amb l'efluent causant un impacte sobre el medi receptor. Els problemes de separació de sòlids, són actualment una de les principals causes d'ineficiència en l'operació dels sistemes de fangs activats arreu del món. Inclouen: bulking filamentós, bulking viscós, escumes biològiques, creixement dispers, flòcul pin-point i desnitrificació incontrolada. L'origen dels problemes de separació generalment es troba en un desequilibri entre les principals comunitats de microorganismes implicades en la sedimentació de la biomassa: els bacteris formadors de flòcul i els bacteris filamentosos. Degut a aquest origen microbiològic, la seva identificació i control no és una tasca fàcil pels caps de planta. Els Sistemes de Suport a la Presa de Decisions basats en el coneixement (KBDSS) són un grup d'eines informàtiques caracteritzades per la seva capacitat de representar coneixement heurístic i tractar grans quantitats de dades. L'objectiu de la present tesi és el desenvolupament i validació d'un KBDSS específicament dissenyat per donar suport als caps de planta en el control dels problemes de separació de sòlids d'orígen microbiològic en els sistemes de fangs activats. Per aconseguir aquest objectiu principal, el KBDSS ha de presentar les següents característiques: (1) la implementació del sistema ha de ser viable i realista per garantir el seu correcte funcionament; (2) el raonament del sistema ha de ser dinàmic i evolutiu per adaptar-se a les necessitats del domini al qual es vol aplicar i (3) el raonament del sistema ha de ser intel·ligent. En primer lloc, a fi de garantir la viabilitat del sistema, s'ha realitzat un estudi a petita escala (Catalunya) que ha permès determinar tant les variables més utilitzades per a la diagnosi i monitorització dels problemes i els mètodes de control més viables, com la detecció de les principals limitacions que el sistema hauria de resoldre. Els resultats d'anteriors aplicacions han demostrat que la principal limitació en el desenvolupament de KBDSSs és l'estructura de la base de coneixement (KB), on es representa tot el coneixement adquirit sobre el domini, juntament amb els processos de raonament a seguir. En el nostre cas, tenint en compte la dinàmica del domini, aquestes limitacions es podrien veure incrementades si aquest disseny no fos òptim. En aquest sentit, s'ha proposat el Domino Model com a eina per dissenyar conceptualment el sistema. Finalment, segons el darrer objectiu referent al seguiment d'un raonament intel·ligent, l'ús d'un Sistema Expert (basat en coneixement expert) i l'ús d'un Sistema de Raonament Basat en Casos (basat en l'experiència) han estat integrats com els principals sistemes intel·ligents encarregats de dur a terme el raonament del KBDSS. Als capítols 5 i 6 respectivament, es presenten el desenvolupament del Sistema Expert dinàmic (ES) i del Sistema de Raonament Basat en Casos temporal, anomenat Sistema de Raonament Basat en Episodis (EBRS). A continuació, al capítol 7, es presenten detalls de la implementació del sistema global (KBDSS) en l'entorn G2. Seguidament, al capítol 8, es mostren els resultats obtinguts durant els 11 mesos de validació del sistema, on aspectes com la precisió, capacitat i utilitat del sistema han estat validats tant experimentalment (prèviament a la implementació) com a partir de la seva implementació real a l'EDAR de Girona. Finalment, al capítol 9 s'enumeren les principals conclusions derivades de la present tesi.

Knowledge-based risk management: Survey on Brazilian software development enterprises

A risks management, carried on in an effective way, leads the software development to success and may influence on the organization. The knowledge takes part of such a process as a way to help taking decisions. This research aimed to analyze the use of Knowledge Management techniques to the Risk Management in software projects development and the possible influence on the enterprise revenue. It had, as its main studying subject, Brazilian incubated and graduated software developing enterprises. The chosen research method was the Survey type. Multivariate statistical methods were used for the treatment and analysis of the obtained results, this way identifying the most significant factors, that is, enterprise's achievement constraining factors and those outcome achievement ones. Among the latter we highlight the knowledge methodology, the time of existence of the enterprise, the amount of employees and the knowledge externalization. The results encourage contributing actions to the increasing of financial revenue. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.

Development of a knowledge-based system for cogeneration plant design: Verification, validation and lessons learned

This paper presents the development of a knowledge-based system (KBS) prototype able to design natural gas cogeneration plants, demonstrating new features for this field. The design of such power plants represents a synthesis problem, subject to thermodynamic constraints that include the location and sizing of components. The project was developed in partnership with the major Brazilian gas and oil company, and involved interaction with an external consultant as well as an interdisciplinary team. The paper focuses on validation and lessons learned, concentrating on important aspects such as the generation of alternative configuration schemes, breadth of each scheme description created by the system, and its module to support economic feasibility analysis. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identifying the role of natural resources in knowledge-based strategies of development

Knowledge has adopted a preferential role in the explanation of development while the evidence about the effect of natural resources in countries’ performance is more controversial in the economic literature. This paper tries to demonstrate that natural resources may positively affect growth in countries with a strong natural resources specialization pattern although the magnitude of these effects depend on the type of resources and on other aspects related to the production and innovation systems. The positive trajectory described by a set of national economies mainly specialized in natural resources and low-tech industries invites us to analyze what is the combination of factors that serves as engine for a sustainable development process. With panel data for the period 1996-2008 we estimate an applied growth model where both traditional factors and other more related to innovation and absorptive capabilities are taken into account. Our empirical findings show that according to the postulates of a knowledge-based approach, a framework that combines physical and intangible factors is more suitable for the definition of development strategies in those prosperous economies dominated by natural resources and connected activities, while the internationalization process of activities and technologies become also a very relevant aspect.

User interface design support for the development of knowledge-based systems

The present scarcity of operational knowledge-based systems (KBS) has been attributed, in part, to an inadequate consideration shown to user interface design during development. From a human factors perspective the problem has stemmed from an overall lack of user-centred design principles. Consequently the integration of human factors principles and techniques is seen as a necessary and important precursor to ensuring the implementation of KBS which are useful to, and usable by, the end-users for whom they are intended. Focussing upon KBS work taking place within commercial and industrial environments, this research set out to assess both the extent to which human factors support was presently being utilised within development, and the future path for human factors integration. The assessment consisted of interviews conducted with a number of commercial and industrial organisations involved in KBS development; and a set of three detailed case studies of individual KBS projects. Two of the studies were carried out within a collaborative Alvey project, involving the Interdisciplinary Higher Degrees Scheme (IHD) at the University of Aston in Birmingham, BIS Applied Systems Ltd (BIS), and the British Steel Corporation. This project, which had provided the initial basis and funding for the research, was concerned with the application of KBS to the design of commercial data processing (DP) systems. The third study stemmed from involvement on a KBS project being carried out by the Technology Division of the Trustees Saving Bank Group plc. The preliminary research highlighted poor human factors integration. In particular, there was a lack of early consideration of end-user requirements definition and user-centred evaluation. Instead concentration was given to the construction of the knowledge base and prototype evaluation with the expert(s). In response to this identified problem, a set of methods was developed that was aimed at encouraging developers to consider user interface requirements early on in a project. These methods were then applied in the two further projects, and their uptake within the overall development process was monitored. Experience from the two studies demonstrated that early consideration of user interface requirements was both feasible, and instructive for guiding future development work. In particular, it was shown a user interface prototype could be used as a basis for capturing requirements at the functional (task) level, and at the interface dialogue level. Extrapolating from this experience, a KBS life-cycle model is proposed which incorporates user interface design (and within that, user evaluation) as a largely parallel, rather than subsequent, activity to knowledge base construction. Further to this, there is a discussion of several key elements which can be seen as inhibiting the integration of human factors within KBS development. These elements stem from characteristics of present KBS development practice; from constraints within the commercial and industrial development environments; and from the state of existing human factors support.