Thesis (DTech (Informatics))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / The concept of virtual community of practice (VCoP) emanates from the need to create a new mode of learning and knowledge creation. It is found that highly structured forums are not necessarily the best way to assist people to learn and improve their knowledge. This then, requires organisations to seek alternative informal ways to share knowledge. The significance of optimising knowledge sharing results in VCoPs receiving considerable attention while searching for new ways to draw on expertise dispersed across global operations. This impacts organisations, thereby enabling them to respond more speedily to the demands of their stakeholders. The fast pace of change in their business environments is also a factor to contend with. Within this context, the use of VCoPs to optimise both, tacit and explicit knowledge sharing within stakeholders, is the central theme of this research. The findings from literature enables the researcher to explore scientific based models that may have the potential to enhance knowledge sharing in an enterprise. The Life Cycle knowledge flow model is found to be the most comprehensive compared to two other models – namely, a Spiral knowledge flow model and Dynamic knowledge flow model. The outflow from the findings in literature is that the Life Cycle knowledge flow model is selected as the basis to conduct two surveys to determine if the model could be adapted to improve knowledge sharing within VCoPs in particular, and in an enterprise in general. The result of the two surveys conducted (in 2011/2012 and 2016), leads to establishing an extended Life Cycle knowledge flow model. The established model enhances knowledge sharing within VCoPs, and in turn, assists when optimising knowledge sharing in an enterprise. This extended model covers six phases of knowledge development to improve knowledge sharing within VCoPs. The first phase enhances the creation of both, tacit and explicit knowledge. The second phase enables to optimise the organisation of knowledge. The third phase enables the formalisation of tacit knowledge, that is, conversion of tacit to explicit knowledge. The fourth phase improves the distribution of knowledge. The fifth phase enables to optimise the application of knowledge and the final phase enables the evolution or continuous development of knowledge. The contribution of this research proposes that a comprehensive knowledge flow model, namely the Life Cycle knowledge flow model found in literature, served as the basis for this research. However, this model was never tested or verified if it indeed optimises knowledge sharing within VCoPs. The two surveys (Survey One 2011/12 and Survey Two 2016) were developed and distributed to respondents to verify the model’s suitability to VcoPs. As a result of responses received from the two surveys, the researcher was then able to develop an extended Life Cycle knowledge flow model that particularly, optimises knowledge sharing within VCoPs. This research further contributes in formulating a scientific based knowledge flow model that can be adapted to social networks. Therefore, this research also creates the foundation to further study to investigate the optimisation of knowledge sharing in social networks. In recent literature, social networks are established as one of the informal mechanisms to share and enhance knowledge sharing in an enterprise.

Personalvetarprogrammet läses under tre år, studier visar dock att kunskapen som studenter får med sig när de är klara på många sätt är otillräcklig på dagens arbetsmarknad. Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med kunskap kring hur nyutexaminerade personalvetare ser på den kunskap som förvärvats genom utbildningen och i arbetslivet, samt vilken roll deras arbetsgivare spelat i detta. För att finna information om detta genomfördes åtta semi-strukturerade intervjuer med alumner som läst program med inriktning mot personal- och arbetslivsfrågor vid Uppsala universitet. För att generera kunskap om alumnernas upplevelse har vi använt Wengers (1998) teori om lärande, Communities of Practice och vi har kompletterat denna teori med Lundmarks (1998) kompetensblomma samt Olofssons (2012) utbildningskontrakt. Genom en tematisk analys har studiens tre frågeställningar besvarats. Studiens resultat visar att praktiska kurser är det som respondenterna främst tog med sig från universitet. Resultatet visar även att synen på viktig kunskap är relativt intakt, men att betydelsen av det som ansågs som viktig under studietiden, fick en ökad betydelse när de började arbeta efter uttagen examen. Arbetsgivaren spelar en stor roll i att fylla de kunskapsluckor som finns hos nyutexaminerade personalvetare, men upplevelsen skiljer sig beroende om en person har börjat arbeta på sitt nuvarande företag efter examen eller om personen under studietiden arbetade deltid på företaget, för att sedan påbörja en heltidstjänst efter examen. / The Bachelor's degree in Human Resources (HR) is a three-year program. Studies show that the knowledge that students possess when they have completed is insufficient in numerous of ways in today's labor market. The purpose of this research is to gain information about newly graduated Human Resource professionals view regarding the knowledge received at University and at work, and what role their employer played in this. To gain information eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with alumnis from Uppsala University who has studied the program with focus on HR. To gain knowledge about their experience we have used Wenger's (1998) theory about learning, Communities of Practice and we have extended this theory with Lundmark's (1998) competence flower and Olofsson's (2012) education contract. Through thematic analysis the study's three main questions have been answered. The outcomes show that practical courses are what respondents mainly brought with them from the university. The result also shows that the view of important knowledge is relatively intact, but when they started working after graduation they understood the importance about this knowledge. Employers plays a major role in filling the knowledge gaps that exist for newly graduated HR-professionals. The experience differs depending on whether a person started working at its current company after graduation or if the person worked part-time at the company during the study, and began a full-time job after graduation.

Information System (IS) implementations are a risky business with studies showing only a 16%-29% success rate. This research explores the use of social capital to support technology implementations. This research brings together two distinct bodies of knowledge: social network analysis (SNA) and technology acceptance models, in order to better understand the relationship between social capital and technology acceptance. The first aspect of the research looks at social network centrality and influence measures as an alternative means to measure social influence in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The social influence construct has proven to be inconsistent in past research. An individual‟s decision to adopt a new technology is influenced by their social context or the informal social network within which they work. The social capital of others influences their attitudes and decision to adopt a new technology. Social Capital, as measured through social network analysis, could be substituted for the social influence construct of the UTAUT model. Two revised UTAUT models are developed and tested. The second aspect of this research uses social capital to inform membership of a Community of Practice (CoP) to support a Finance Management System implementation in a higher education organization. SNA can be used to gain an understanding of the social network and identify individuals with high social capital. There is growing evidence that CoP support successful organizational change initiatives but it is less clear how CoP membership might be determined. SNA provides an evidence-based approach to CoP formation. The IS implementation cases described in the paper demonstrate an innovative approach to IS implementation grounded in social capital and technology acceptance research that add to the body of knowledge in both theory and practice.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-06-09T14:55:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Débora Junge Baum.pdf: 2353364 bytes, checksum: 5f1533355c44784c68c2134c28420360 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-06-09T14:55:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Débora Junge Baum.pdf: 2353364 bytes, checksum: 5f1533355c44784c68c2134c28420360 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-13 / Nenhuma / A busca das organizações pela diferenciação e pelo desenvolvimento de vantagens competitivas, passa pela habilidade em capitalizar conhecimento. Na maioria das vezes, esse conhecimento se encontra distribuído entre os colaboradores, muitas vezes dispersos geograficamente. Nesse contexto, as comunidades de prática surgem como uma solução, promovendo o compartilhamento e construindo conhecimento. A dissertação tem como tema as estruturas de redes sociais em comunidades de prática. O objetivo principal é identificar como as características da estrutura da rede social impactam no desenvolvimento de comunidades de prática, tendo como objeto de estudo três comunidades de prática da empresa Gerdau. O estudo aborda em sua fundamentação teórica os temas de aprendizagem social, comunidades de prática e redes sociais. De caráter exploratório e natureza quantitativo-qualitativa, o estudo de caso utilizou Análise de Redes Sociais, análise documental e entrevistas semiestruturadas, em uma triangulação de dados. Dentre os resultados da pesquisa, destaca-se a identificação dos construtos, sendo eles: interação entre os membros, envolvimento, papéis formais, perfil dos membros, centralização e clusters. A identificação desses construtos promove contribuição teórica, à medida que a temática das comunidades de prática ainda é pouco explorada sob o prisma de redes sociais. Adicionalmente, os resultados da pesquisa demonstram que as características da estrutura das redes sociais das comunidades de prática impactam significativamente no seu desenvolvimento e que a análise das comunidades de prática sob o viés dos construtos possibilita a identificação de oportunidades de atuação, contribuindo para sua gestão e seu desenvolvimento. / The search for differentiation and for the development of competitive advantages resides on the ability of organizations to capitalize knowledge. Most of the times, these knowledge is embedded into the mind of employees, who are frequently geographically dispersed. In this context, communities of practice arise as a solution, providing knowledge sharing and building. The dissertation theme is social network structures in communities of practice. The main objective is to identify how the characteristics of the social network structures affect the development of communities of practice, having as an study object three of Gerdau’s communities of practice. In its theoretical foundation the study addresses issues such as social learning, communities of practice and social networks. With an exploratory character and a qualitative-quantitative nature, the case study used Social Networks Analysis, documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews, providing data triangulation. Among the research results are a set of constructs formed by: members interaction, engagement, formal roles, members profile, centralization and clusters. The identification of these constructs provides theoretical contribution, as the theme of communities of practice is still little explored in the light of social networks. Besides, research results show that the characteristics of the social network structures in communities of practice affects significantly it’s development and that analyzing communities of practice under the bias of the constructs allows the identification of action opportunities, contributing to its management and development.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-07-15T12:15:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Debora Novak de Souza.pdf: 924928 bytes, checksum: de4963166620013aab712a461fd21dc0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-15T12:15:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Debora Novak de Souza.pdf: 924928 bytes, checksum: de4963166620013aab712a461fd21dc0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-28 / Nenhuma / A dinâmica da evolução de produtos e serviços concorrentes no ambiente de tecnologia da informação pede eficiência e agilidade na aquisição de novos conhecimentos que levem à criação de soluções inovadoras. Algumas empresas estão valendo-se do modelo de comunidades de prática para atingir esse objetivo. De forma complementar, capacidade absortiva organizacional facilita a incorporação de novos conhecimentos pela empresa, através de cinco elementos centrais: comunicação, processos, aquisição, assimilação, transformação e aproveitamento de conhecimento. Dessa forma, este estudo visa analisar como uma comunidade de prática numa empresa do setor de serviços de tecnologia da informação contribui para o desenvolvimento de capacidade absortiva. A pesquisa foi realizada através de um estudo de caso na unidade brasileira de uma empresa do setor de serviços de tecnologia da informação. Entrevistas semi-estruturadas foram realizadas com doze dos membros mais ativos de duas comunidades de prática da empresa. Os resultados deste estudo indicam que os elementos comunicação, aquisição e aproveitamento de conhecimento encontram-se presentes nas comunidades de prática investigadas. Os resultados desta pesquisa, no entanto, não indicam a presença de processos ou das dimensões assimilação e transformação de conhecimento. A partir disso, é possível entender que os participantes dessas comunidades obtêm novos conhecimentos que são válidos para seu trabalho, levando a novos produtos e soluções para dificuldades enfrentadas. Por outro lado, não é possível, apenas com esses resultados, afirmar que as comunidades contribuem efetivamente para ampliação da capacidade absortiva da organização. / The dynamics of evolving competitive products and services in the information technology industry calls for efficiency and agility in acquiring new knowledge which will lead to innovative solutions. Some companies are adopting the use of communities of practice to reach this goal. Complementarily, organizational absorptive capacity facilitates the incorporation of new knowledge in a company via five central dimensions: communication, processes, acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation of knowledge. Thereby, this study aims to analyze how a community of practice in a company from the information technology services sector contributes to the development of absorptive capacity. The research was carried out through a case study with a Brazilian subsidiary of a global company from the information technology services sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve of the most active members of the two communities of practice selected for investigation. The results of this research indicate the presence of the communication, acquisition and exploitation dimensions in the communities investigated. However, there is little to no indication of the presence of the process, assimilation and transformation dimensions. From these findings it is possible to conclude that the individual community members are obtaining new knowledge which can be incorporated into their daily work, leading to new product development and problem solving. On the other hand, it is not possible to assert that the communities are effectively contributing to the development of this organization ́s absorptive capacity.

Em comunidades de prática, a aprendizagem ocorre por meio da interação e colaboração constante de seus participantes, o caráter social destes ambientes é fundamental para a construção do conhecimento. Por este motivo, esta dissertação busca compreender a forma como os usuários interagem em comunidades de prática e propõe a estruturação destas informações em torno de um perfil dinâmico de usuário. A aplicação de perfis de usuário neste contexto permite entender o indivíduo, seus interesses e necessidades. A partir da representação dos participantes de comunidades de prática é possível desenvolver sistemas de aprendizagem inteligente, sistemas de recomendação, elementos de gamificação e sistemas de acesso e recuperação de informação personalizados. Estes mecanismos procuram estimular o engajamento dos participantes e promover a aprendizagem colaborativa. A representação das informações neste trabalho será apoiada pelo uso de tecnologias da web semântica e de ontologias para a formalização das relações em comunidades de prática. O desenvolvimento de softwares educacionais baseados na web semântica amplia a capacidade de implementação de novos mecanismos de aprendizagem, contribuindo para a análise das interações e a inferências sobre as informações dos usuários. O uso de ontologias permite a formalização das informações e torna possível a elaboração de uma rede de conhecimento que pode ser processada e consumida por agentes de software, contribuindo para a interoperabilidade do sistema. / In communities of practice, learning is built through constant interaction and collaboration of their participants, the social aspect of these environments is crucial for the knowledge construction. For this reason, this work intends to understand how users interact in communities of practice and proposes a dynamic user profile to structure this information. An user profile applied in this context allows us to understand the person, his interests and needs. The representation of participants in communities of practice allow us to develop intelligent learning systems, recommender systems, gamification elements and systems for personalized access and personalized information retrieval. Those mechanisms intend to stimulate participant engagement to promote collaborative learning. In this work, semantic web technologies and ontologies are used to represent this informations. The development of educational software based on the semantic web expands the capacity to implement new learning mechanisms, contributing to the analysis of the interactions and the inferences about user informations. The use of ontologies allows the formalization of information and enables the elaboration of a knowledge network that can be processed and consumed by software agents, contributing to the system interoperability.

Magister Library and Information Studies - MLIS / This study investigated knowledge sharing (KS) practices at the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) in Zimbabwe. The study assessed the knowledge sharing practices in the ZOU regional campus faculty departments and identified gaps, with the aim to find out how knowledge is being managed, shared in an Open and distance learning institution and if knowledge management (KM) is playing a role. The quantitative study was undertaken at the 10 regional campuses of the Zimbabwe Open University. A questionnaire survey was carried out to collect data from a sample of 100 academic staff in the 10 Regional Centres. The underlying question was whether the university academic members were aware of the knowledge that exists, how this knowledge is created and, shared and flows in the organization. The study also sought to establish the views of academic staff, on the benefits that can be reaped from KM practices. The study confirmed that there is willingness to engage in knowledge sharing activities. However, the lack of a clear knowledge policy negatively impacts on the university’s ability to competitively position itself in the knowledge economy as a knowledge driven university and this impacts research productivity and distance learning course delivery at the ZOU. One of the key recommendations emanating from this research is that the university should have a Knowledge policy aligned to its strategic plan which will act as a guideline on the sharing of knowledge internally and externally as well as make it mandatory for academic staff to publish internally as well as to store their publications in the university repository.

This dissertation explores the work-based language education practices of undocumented Latino and Korean immigrants employed in Korean supermarkets and restaurants of Koreatown, New York City. The primary goal of this dissertation is to understand how immigrants educate each other about the communication strategies necessary for accomplishing work together. In Koreatown, Latinos and Koreans engage in cooperative sense-making in workplace "communities of practice" where they participate in joint activities, build new ways of using language together, and learn to dominate language. Interviews, handwritten glossaries, and audio-recorded multilingual workplace conversations reveal how immigrants' engage in sense-making together and learn about the rules, norms, and expectations of their new environments. Analysis of everyday labor practices shows how kitchen assistants, dishwashers, and supermarket workers transform their social positions through evolving language practices. This study also shows how experienced immigrants actively participate as teachers, translators, and guides for immigrant newcomers in Koreatown, transcending cultural and linguistic boundaries in the process.

No ambiente de projetos, a Gestão do Conhecimento CG é cada vez mais importante para ganhar competitividade. Atualmente, não é suficiente trabalhar só com o conhecimento explícito dos projetos cuja principal ferramenta de gestão é o sistema de lições aprendidas, pois o conhecimento é socialmente construído e muito desse conhecimento não é registrado. Por isso, torna-se necessário o uso de outras ferramentas de GC que trabalhem com aquele conhecimento gerado nas interrelações sociais, o conhecimento tácito. Nesse sentido, a CoP se caracteriza por ser uma ferramenta de GC que não apenas permite, como também aproveita o conhecimento tácito das pessoas, oferecendo um ambiente propício para o surgimento de dinâmicas sociais que favoreçam a troca de conhecimento (tácito e explícito). Entretanto, a Comunidade de Prática CoP é ainda pouco estudada no ambiente de projetos. Em consequência, essa pesquisa analisa as CoPs como ferramenta de GC em tal ambiente. Essa ferramenta está formada por três elementos estruturais (domínio, comunidade e prática) cuja dinâmica permite a transferência de conhecimento. A tese analisa as características desses elementos estruturais no ambiente de projetos, e as relações entre novato e especialista que surgem dentro da CoP, no intuito de entender melhor a utilidade e os benefícios que esta ferramenta oferece à GC no ambiente de projetos. Na pesquisa empírica, o objeto de estudo foram CoPs desenvolvidas em empresas que trabalham com projetos. O trabalho está organizado em duas etapas: na primeira, foi utilizado o método de entrevistas em profundidade e, na segunda, o método de estudo de caso. As informações foram coletadas a partir de entrevistas junto aos líderes das CoPs, líderes de equipes de projetos e pessoal de GC das empresas sob estudo. Também foram aplicados questionários online direcionados aos membros especialistas e a outros membros da CoP. Os resultados finais demonstram que dentro do ambiente de projetos o elemento da CoP com maior desenvolvimento corresponde ao domínio, uma vez que é o primeiro a aparecer e é o elemento mais gerenciável, já os outros elementos (comunidade e prática) dependem da interação entre os membros. Essa interação requer tempo, um recurso especialmente escasso no ambiente de projetos, portanto, estes elementos costumam ficar menos desenvolvidos. A CoP contribui com a aproximação entre novatos e especialistas no sentido de facilitar a troca de conhecimentos; por essa razão, foi observado que os novatos participam mais e se beneficiam da comunidade porque localizam e contatam diretamente os especialistas; dessa forma, os novatos reduzem seu tempo de aprendizagem. Já os especialistas participam menos, beneficiando-se da CoP pela rede de contatos que ela oferece. Observou-se que o maior ganho da utilização de CoPs, no ambiente de projetos, é a redução de tempo no planejamento dos projetos. Isso ocorre devido à troca de conhecimento mais rápida, bem como à aplicação de outras ferramentas de GC, como lições aprendidas e mentoring que são facilitadas ao serem inseridas na dinâmica da CoP. / Within the project environment, Knowledge Management becomes increasingly necessary in order to gain competitiveness, because currently is not enough to perform work only with the explicit knowledge from a Project, where the primary management tool is the system of lessons learned, this is because knowledge is socially constructed and much of this knowledge remains not registered. So it becomes necessary to use other Knowledge Management tools for working with that knowledge generated in social inter-relations, this is tacit knowledge. In this sense, the CoP is characterized by being a tool of KM that not only allows but also takes advantage of the tacit knowledge from people, providing an enabling environment for the emergence of social dynamics that foster the exchange of knowledge (tacit and explicit). However, the CoP has been little studied in the project environment, for this reason, this research studied the CoPs as KM tool in such an environment. This tool is composed of three structural elements (domain, community and practice) whose dynamics allows the knowledge transfer. The thesis analyzes the characteristics of these structural elements in the project environment and the relationships between novice and expert that arise within the CoP, in order to better understand the usefulness and benefits that this tool offers to KM in the project environment. In this empirical research, the object of study developed were CoPs within companies working with projects. The work was organized in two stages: in the former was used the method of in-depth interviews and in the second stage, the case study method. The information was collected from interviews with the leaders of CoPs, team leaders and people from the project staff, belonging to the firms under study. Were also applied online questionnaires addressed to experts and other CoP members. The final results show that within the project environment the element of CoP with further development lies on the domain, since it is the first to appear and is more manageable element, because the other elements (community and practice) depend on the interaction between members, moreover, this process requires time, a particularly scarce resource in the project environment; therefore, these elements tend to be less developed. A CoP contributes to the approximation between novices and experts in order to facilitate exchange of knowledge; thus, it was realized that newcomers participate more and benefit the community because locate and directly contact experts; thus, beginners reduce their learning time. Experts already participate less by benefiting themselves from the CoP by networking that it offers. Was observed that the biggest gain from the use of CoPs in the project environment, is the reduction of time in project planning; this due to faster exchange of knowledge as well as the application of other KM tools like lessons learned and mentoring that are facilitated when inserted in the dynamics of CoP.

O serviço público passa por um período de reinvenção e mudança em busca dos valores da Nova Gestão pública baseados na aproximação com as demandas da sociedade e incentivo a um ambiente aberto, transparente e inovador. Em consonância, o servidor público se posiciona cada vez mais de maneira ativa e consciente do seu papel, disposto a participar de um desafio aberto, diferente do imposto por um ambiente burocratizado e desumanizado. Nesse contexto, esta pesquisa apoiou-se em um estudo de caso que se utilizou de uma observação participante permeada por um estudo teórico dos saberes necessários para entendela e pesquisá-la, envolvendo os conceitos de: inovação no setor público, intelectual orgânico e comunidades virtuais de prática. Para isso, foram acompanhadas e analisadas durante dois anos as interações da comunidade virtual de prática do Núcleo de Gestão Ambiental Integrada da reitoria do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Sul-rio-grandense que se utilizou do e-mail e do ambiente virtual de aprendizagem Moodle para desenvolver práticas no setor público Nesse contexto, a pesquisa sobre a realidade prática durante o período foi permeada pelo estudo teórico que identificou a postura do servidor público como intelectual orgânico, agente da mudança, aberto para a aprendizagem e inovador que se utiliza das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação atuando em comunidade virtuais de prática. Ao final, a pesquisa delimitou um quadro teórico para identificar, caracterizar e posteriormente auxiliar na organização, condução e análise de experiências com comunidades virtuais de prática como ambiente de inovação no serviço público visando o desenvolvimento da postura de intelectual orgânico. / The public service is undergoing a period of invention and changes in search of the New Public Management values-based approach to the demands of society, and encourage an open, transparent and innovative environment. Accordingly, the civil servant positions itself increasingly active and conscious of its role, willing to participate in an open challenge, other than imposed by a bureaucratic and dehumanized environment. In this context, this research was based on a case study that was used a participating observation permeated by a theoretical study of knowledge required to understand it and research it, involving the concepts of innovation in the public sector, organic intellectual and virtual communities of practice. For this, they were monitored and analyzed for two years the interactions of virtual community of practice of the Núcleo de Gestão Integrada of the rectory of the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Sul-rio-grandense which used e-mail and virtual learning environment Moodle for to develop practices in the public sector In this context, the research on the practical reality during the period was permeated by theoretical study that identified the attitude of civil servants as organic intellectual, change agent, open to learning and innovator who uses of Information and Communication Technologies when working in virtual communities of practice. At the end, the survey identified a theoretical framework for identifying, characterizing and subsequently assist in the organization, conduct and analysis of experiences with virtual communities of practice and innovation environment in the public service for the development of the organic intellectual’s posture.