Thesè (Docteur es Sciences).

Thesis (M. Psych. Org.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Thesis (DBA) -- Swinburne University of Technology, Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, 2002. / Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration, Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, 2002. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 286-294).

Thesis (M.Psych.Org.) - University of Queensland, 2003. / Includes bibliography.

This study is offered as a potential contribution to the struggle for Indigenous reclamation, revitalization and renewal of knowledge systems, cultures, lands and resources. It acknowledges that Canadian Indigenous history does not begin with the arrival of the Europeans. Neither does their future depend exclusively on Western worldviews. Rather, the study argues, the future depends on the convergence of Indigenous worldviews, encapsulated through orality in their languages and knowledges, with imported Western worldviews and knowledges encapsulated through literality. Using qualitative ethnographic, sociolinguistic and phenomenological research approaches, this study focuses on some primary questions: Firstly, can locating the discourse between Indigenous and Western knowledge systems in an abstract, neutral and voluntary `ethical space' between them contribute to identification of their complementary diversities? Secondly, can the convergence of these knowledge systems in creative interconnections in research, development and teaching enable each system to preserve its own integrity? Thirdly, can a portable (collaborative, multi-venue) institutional model for Indigenous tertiary education be developed? This model will be capable of being locally-customised. It will be intended for local development by Indigenous communities wishing to add a community-based delivery mode interconnected with others to the delivery of tertiary education to their citizens. To address these questions, findings from literature on Indigenous knowledges globally and literature on Indigenous tertiary education in North America is converged with field research findings. Findings from the literature and field research are converged to describe how the imposition of Western worldviews has contributed to a systemic erosion of Indigenous worldviews, languages, knowledges and practises. However, interviewees do not advocate `either-or' choices. They are clear that `both-and' solutions, under community jurisdiction, hold the greatest promise for stimulating the resurgent forces that can play a lead role in reclaiming, renewing and revitalizing Indigenous responsibility for Indigenous peoples, resources, economies, communities and governance. They are just as clear that the reclamation, renewal and revitalization of Indigenous knowledges through tertiary education can lead the way in Indigenous governance, community, social, health, justice, and economic development. Data illustrate that conventional/mainstream tertiary institutions often argue for the inclusion of Indigenous program content managed by Indigenous people. They argue that this will assure that a few incremental reforms may turn the institutions into instruments that serve Indigenous peoples and communities effectively. This study shows that such arguments ignore Indigenous contexts and Indigenous teaching/learning processes while continuing to embrace the Western development paradigm. It also calls for a complementary Indigenous Multiversity that, while pluralist and open to all knowledges, is rooted in Indigenous thought and knowledge. It can be the basis for reaching out to and interfacing with other peoples and their knowledges. This study sees the `ethical space' in an Indigenous Multiversity as an optimal location for confronting and reaching out to all knowledges and worldviews while resolving content/context/teaching-learning process issues. Starting in one community, the Multiversity could finally be made up of a consortium. The consortium could unite interdependent Indigenous community-based tertiary institutions. The institutions could be partnered with conventional/mainstream professional and technical institutions and colleges. Such partnerships could assure that, in addition to having access to local and other Indigenous languages, values, knowledges and worldviews, students may be able to access Western languages, values, knowledges and worldviews. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Comparative Education)

Knowledge Management has evolved over time into the domain of Information Technology (IT), where codification, storage and retrieval of explicit knowledge is believed to lead to a competitive advantage for an organisation. More recently, knowledge management literature has suggested that knowledge is socially constructed and inseparable from the communities of practice in which it is held. This dissertation examines the interpersonal process by which payload knowledge (a concept that emerged from the research data as comprising that specific distillation of knowledge, both tacit and explicit, required to resolve an applied problem in context) is exchanged in a consulting firm�s communities of practice. Through a qualitative case study design involving sixteen in-depth interviews with consultants from a medium sized consulting firm, the nature of the interpersonal knowledge exchange process was illuminated. In this study, two inter-related research questions were addressed: What is the interpersonal process by which knowledge is exchanged between consultants? And, Why do consultants prefer to participate in the interpersonal knowledge exchange process in preference to using stored explicit knowledge ? This detailed examination of consultants as knowledge workers, resulted in the proposal of a process based model of interpersonal knowledge exchange. Utilising the concept of payload knowledge, the interpersonal knowledge exchange process is shown to be predicable in terms of passing through eight identifiable stages, yet unpredictable in terms of knowing how each community interaction will lead to payload knowledge. Within this process, the sourcing, handover, distillation and implementation of payload knowledge are seen as an artistic endeavour, characterised by social community based exchanges that �hop� the consultants toward their specific contextual need. Key advantages of this interpersonal process are the decontextualisation and recontextualisation processes carried out at both the request negotiation stage and the knowledge handover stage. This process uses the community�s shared language, mental models, social etiquette and cultural norms to compress and funnel the meaning of the payload knowledge into a form that can be transferred meaningfully to a requesting consultant. Through participating in the interpersonal knowledge exchange process, consultants save time, and are provided with an opportunity to confirm their personal knowledge as up-to-date and relevant to the specific context. By using the interpersonal process, consultants conform with and confirm the community�s social etiquette, which dictates its preference for the identified exchange mechanism. The interpersonal process allows them to practice and learn the consulting community�s professional artistry and, in consequence, to enjoy the exchange experience, and to have fun. This dissertation contributes to making one aspect of the interpersonal knowledge exchange process explicit. The process, by its very nature however, appears to remain tacitly understood by those within the consulting community of practice. Through understanding the process and the reasons that consultants prefer to engage in interpersonal knowledge exchange processes, it is anticipated that managers will be better able to produce a knowledge-based sustainable competitive advantage for their firms.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, 2003. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 9, 2004). Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-219).

No description available.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The effort to achieve quality is the largest component of software cost. Software testing is costly - ranging from 50% to 80% of the cost of producing a first working version. It is resource intensive and an intensely time consuming activity in the overall Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and hence could arguably be the most important phase of the process. Software testing is pervasive. It starts at the initiation of a product with nonexecution type testing and continues to the retirement of the product life cycle beyond the post-implementation phase. Software testing is the currency of quality delivery. To understand testing and to improve testing practice, it is essential to see the software testing process in its broadest terms – as the means by which people, methodology, tools, measurement and leadership are integrated to test a software product. A knowledge approach recognises knowledge management (KM) enablers such as leadership, culture, technology and measurements that act in a dynamic relationship with KM processes, namely, creating, identifying, collecting, adapting, organizing, applying, and sharing. Enabling a knowledge approach is a worthy goal to encourage sharing, blending of experiences, discipline and expertise to achieve improvements in quality and adding value to the software testing process. This research was developed to establish whether specific knowledge such as domain subject matter or business expertise, application or technical skills, software testing competency, and whether the interaction of the testing team influences the degree of quality in the delivery of the application under test, or if one is the dominant critical knowledge area within software testing. This research also set out to establish whether there are personal or situational factors that will predispose the test engineer to knowledge sharing, again, with the view of using these factors to increase the quality and success of the ‘testing phase’ of the SDLC. KM, although relatively youthful, is entering its fourth generation with evidence of two paradigms emerging - that of mainstream thinking and that of the complex adaptive system theory. This research uses pertinent and relevant extracts from both paradigms appropriate to gain quality/success in software testing. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: By verre die grootste komponent van sagte ware koste is dié verwant aan kwaliteitsversekering. Toetsing van sagte ware is koste intensief en verteenwoordig tussen 50% en 80% van die kostes om ‘n beta weergawe vry te stel. Die toetsing van sagte ware is nie alleenlik duursaam nie, maar ook arbeidintensief en ‘n tydrowende aktiwteit in die sagte ware ontwikkelings lewensiklus en kan derhalwe gereken word as die mees belangrike fase. Toetsing is deurdringend – dit begin by die inisiëring van ‘n produk deur middel van nie-uitvoerende tipe toetsing en eindig by die voleinding van die produklewensiklus na die implementeringsfase. Sagte ware toetsing word beskou as die geldwaarde van kwalitatiewe aflewering. Om toetsing ten volle te begryp en die toepassing daarvan te verbeter, is dit noodsaaklik om die toetsproses holisties te beskou – as die medium en mate waartoe mense, metodologie, tegnieke, meting en leierskap integreer om ‘n sagte ware produk te toets. ‘n Benadering gekenmerk deur kennis erken die dinamiese verhouding waarbinne bestuurselemente van kundigheid, soos leierskap, kultuur, tegnologie en maatstawwe reageer en korrespondeer met prosesse van kundigheid, naamlik skep, identifiseer, versamel, aanpas, organiseer, toepas en meedeel. Die fasilitering van ‘n benadering gekenmerk deur kennis is ‘n waardige doelwit om meedeling, vermenging van ervaringe, dissipline en kundigheid aan te moedig ten einde kwaliteit te verbeter en waarde toe te voeg tot die proses van safte ware toetsing. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om te bepaal of die kennis van ‘n spesifieke onderwerp, besigheidskundigheid, tegniese vaardighede of die toepassing daarvan, kundigheid van sagte ware toetsing, en/of die interaksie van die toetsspan die mate van kwaliteit beïnvloed, of een van voorgenoemde die dominante kritieke area van kennis is binne die konteks van sagte ware toetsing. Die navorsing beoog ook om te bepaal of daar persoonlike of situasiegebonde fakfore bestaan wat die toetstegnikus vooropstel om kennis te deel, weer eens, met die oog om deur middel van hierdie faktore kwaliteit te verbeter en die toetsfase binne die sagte ware ontwikkelingsiklus suksesvol af te lewer. Ten spyte van die relatiewe jeudgigheid van die bestuur van kennis, betree dit die vierde generasie waaruit twee denkwyses na vore kom – dié van hoofstroom denke en dié van ingewikkelde aangepaste stelselsdenke. Hierdie navorsing illustreer belangrike en toepaslike insette van beide denkwyses wat geskik is vir meedeling van kennis en vir die bereiking van verbeterde kwaliteit / sukses in sagte ware toetsing.