Knowledge Management is associated with organisational initiatives in response to the demands of a knowledge-based economy in which the potential value of knowledge as a source for competitive advantage is recognised. However, the lack of a common understanding about knowledge itself, its characteristics and how it is constructed has led to diverse approaches about how to "manage" it. This study presents a critical overview of traditional and contemporary KM approaches. The main focus of this study was to discover and apply a suitable methodology for assessing an organisation's knowledge processing environment. This includes an analysis of the current practices and behaviours of people within the organisation relating to the creation of new knowledge and integrating such knowledge into day-to-day work. It also includes inferring from the above practices those policies and programmes that affect knowledge outcomes. This research makes extensive use of the Knowledge Life Cycle (KLC) framework and the Policy Synchronisation Method (PSM) developed by advocates of the New Knowledge Management movement. A case study approach was followed using a range of data collection methods, which included personal interviews, a social network survey and focus group discussions. The selected case is the small IT department at the East London campus of Rhodes University. Evidence from the case suggests that the knowledge processing environment within the IT department is unhealthy. The current knowledge processing practices and behaviours are undesirable and not geared towards the creation of new knowledge and the integration of such knowledge within the business processes of the IT department. There is little evidence of individual and organisational learning occurring and the problem solving process itself is severely hampered by dysfunctional knowledge practices. The study concludes that the above state of affairs is a reflection of the quality and appropriateness of policies and programmes in the extended organisation. Equally, the local definition of rules, procedures and the execution thereof at a business unit level is mostly lacking. The study illustrates that a systematic assessment of the knowledge processing environment provides the organisation with a sound baseline from where knowledge-based interventions can be launched.

Abstract The thesis presents a case-study through which the linguistic purpose and historical and social context of the University of London Holiday Course in English Language for Foreign Teachers, is analysed and interpreted. The study foregrounds the context, content and development of one of the smallest academic units, a four-week short course, to contribute to our understanding of how international students of English language were taught and assessed in a particular university context in the early 20th century. The period from 1903 to 1952 is examined in order to understand why the course was successful and the impact of the work of Walter Ripman (1869-1947) who directed the course until 1939. Ripman is better known as a teacher of German and a significant figure in the German Reform Movement, which originated in 19th century Germany, but his approach to culture, phonetics and vocabulary acquisition in English language teaching and learning is less well known. The study goes beyond a history of his methodology to investigate and critically assess the formula that Ripman developed for the design of the short, university English language course and compares it with a similar course run at University College London by Daniel Jones. The changes that were made to the content and purpose of the course, following Ripman’s retirement in 1939, are examined as to how far they reflected the effects of war and the continued desire to internationalise the University itself by aligning the content of the courses more closely to the University programmes. The nature and importance of the web of relationships between staff in the success and longevity of the course are analysed and in particular the contribution of women to better understand their role in the learned world at that time. / Tiivistelmä Tässä tapaustutkimuksessa analysoidaan ja tulkitaan Lontoon yliopiston ulkomaisille opettajille suunnatun englannin kielen lomakurssin kielellisiä tavoitteita sekä historiallista ja sosiaalista kontekstia. Tutkimus nostaa tarkastelun kohteeksi yhden pienimmistä akateemisista opintokoko-naisuuksista eli neliviikkoisen lyhytkurssin ja sen kontekstin, sisällön ja kehityksen. Tavoitteena on syventää ymmärrystä siitä, kuinka kansainvälisiä englannin kielen opiskelijoita opetettiin ja arvioitiin tässä yliopistokontekstissa 1903–1952. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää, miksi kurssi oli menestyksekäs ja mikä rooli tässä oli Walter Ripmanilla (1869–1947), joka johti kurssia vuoteen 1939 asti. Ripman tunnetaan saksan kielen opettajana ja tärkeänä hahmona kieltenopetuksen uudistustyössä, joka alkoi 1800-luvulla Saksassa, mutta hänen englannin opetukseen ja oppimiseen liittyvät näkemyksensä kulttuurista, fonetiikasta ja sanaston oppimisesta ovat vähemmän tunnettuja. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan Ripmanin metodologian historiaa mutta arvioidaan myös kriittisesti yliopistollisen englannin kielen lyhytkurssin toimintamallia, jota hän kehitti. Mallia verrataan vastaavaan kurssiin, jota Daniel Jones johti Lontoon University Collegessa. Työssä tutkitaan niitä muutoksia, joita tehtiin kurssin sisältöön ja tavoitteisiin sodan jälkeen, kun Ripman oli jo siirtynyt eläkkeelle. Muutoksia tarkastellaan suhteessa yliopiston kansainvälistämispyrki¬myksiin ja toiveisiin suunnata kurssisisältöä yliopiston tutkinto-ohjelmien mukaisesti. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa kiinnitetään huomiota henkilökunnan keskinäisten verkostojen luonteeseen ja merkitykseen kurssin menestykselle ja pitkäikäisyydelle sekä erityisesti naisten panokseen ajan akateemisessa maailmassa.

This thesis provides the first comprehensive study of an eminent but oft-overlooked Victorian polymath, with the overarching aims of assessing his contributions to nineteenth-century intellectual life and of exploring the mutual relations between science and religion in his work. One of the towering figures of the Victorian scientific establishment, William Carpenter (1813-1885), F.R.S, was a famous physiologist and public figure. He is most remembered for his concept of 'unconscious cerebration' which contributed to the emergence of the disciplines of neurology and modern psychology, but Carpenter was also noted amongst his peers for his evolutionary approach to the study of the unicellular marine invertebrates known as the foraminifera. As a lifelong practicing Unitarian, Carpenter's outspoken support for evolutionary theory made him an exemplary advocate of the compatibility between rational thought and Christian belief amidst the Victorian debate about science and religion. As the Registrar of the University of London during its formative years, Carpenter also had a nationwide impact on the fortunes of scientific education and secondary education as a whole. Finally, as a populariser of science and public moralist, "Dr. Carpenter" was also well known to the Victorian public as one of the most outspoken critics of spiritualism, alleged paranormal phenomena, and superstition more generally. Nevertheless, no systematic study of Carpenter's work had until now been carried out, and the commonly held view that he lacked originality as a scientist had not been fully questioned. The current study therefore aims to review Carpenter's achievements and trace his intellectual legacy. As an intellectual biography, it argues that focusing on the now lesser-known members of the British intelligentsia can shine new light on the context of the professionalization of science in Victorian Britain. In its focus on science and religion, this thesis argues that a deeper understanding of Carpenter's Unitarianism must feature at the heart of any endeavour to analyse his work. Previous references to Carpenter either bypassed Unitarianism and its nineteenth-century transformations, or reduced Unitarian thought to certain core tenets that fell short of uncovering Carpenter's philosophical pursuits. Carpenter's Unitarianism is still often equated with the rationalism and mortalism that defined late eighteenth-century Unitarianism, and this failure to recognise how much Carpenter's own faith had departed from earlier strands of Unitarian belief has led to some misinterpretations of his motives. The current thesis therefore offers fresh interpretations of Carpenter's work, based on new archival material and recent historical studies of the shifting priorities shaping the more romantic and emotional spirituality of nineteenth-century Unitarianism. Taking an integrative approach to Carpenter's various projects makes it possible to show how seminal many of his ideas were, and how his Unitarianism, both in its social and spiritual dimensions, influenced his professional, political and intellectual choices. The biographical angle taken in this thesis also makes it possible to uncover a degree of epistemological coherence underpinning Carpenter's thought, and to argue that Carpenter's efforts to transcend conflicting viewpoints partook of his wider social and metaphysical aims.