Financial markets are in crises mode due mainly to the American credit crunch, based on the sub-prime lending fiasco. Due to globalisation and the global economy, the diverse impacts of the crises are felt almost everywhere. Global competition is not something that is limited to certain countries or economies – it is everywhere. This is the environment where multi-national companies operate in, on a daily basis. Organisations are exploring many possibilities in order to attain a competitive advantage in the global markets – in order to survive. KM has the capability of supplying companies with this advantage, by enabling the fast and effective transfer and sharing of important knowledge/information globally throughout the company. KM is not a new concept, yet it is perceived that KM does not yield the desired business results required to be competitively advantageous. Previous literate is used as part of this research in identifying the barriers and facilitators that have an impact on the success of KM. Simultaneously, the barriers in Nissan South Africa (NSA) are explored through focus group interviews, while the facilitators were ranked for their perceived effectiveness (by NSA employees) through the completion of an online questionnaire. Applying the case study research method, this study aims to identify the lingering barriers to successful KM that exist in NSA. Further, the study will categorise these barriers into main categories for future action. This study will also rank facilitators to KM for their perceived affectivity in breaking the identified barriers. As outcome, this research provides a view of the barriers to KM that currently exist in a multi-national company, as well as an indication towards the possible methods (and their perceived importance) that can be used to overcome these barriers. It is possible to attain a competitive advantage in the global economy through successful KM. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Faculty of Health Sciences School of Public Health 8900179x nmathabathe@eun.org.za / South Africa is ranked as the country with largest number of people living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the world. Oral health care workers have a role to play in the national response to the HIV epidemic through the provision of quality oral health services. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of oral hygienists and dental therapists on HIV/AIDS. A total of 1160 questionnaires were mailed to 831 oral hygienists and 329 dental therapists registered with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa in 2000. The questionnaire covered: demographic factors; general and oral health-specific HIV/AIDS knowledge; attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients; infection control practices and ethical/legal issues. The response rate was 27.4% (n=318), 255 oral hygienists and 63 dental therapists. Overall, respondents in this study illustrated sound knowledge on oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS and modes of transmission of the virus although 10% reported that the virus could be transmitted through mosquito bites and 25% agreed that HIV could be transmitted via saliva. Respondents reported compliance with basic infection control practices although 35% did not agree that infection control measures that protect against the hepatitis B virus could provide adequate protection against HIV. In addition 73.8% of the respondents reported that additional infection control measures must be taken in the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients in the dental surgery. The results of this study indicate a need for continuous HIV professional education of oral hygienists and dental therapists in order to improve the quality of care provided to HIV infected patients.

Résultats de la convergence de l'informatique, des télécommunications et de l'audiovisuel et objets de discours politiques et médiatiques euphoriques qui les présentent comme des vecteurs de modernisation, de développement économique et de transition sociale, les Technologies de l'Information et de Communication sont considérés comme étant les nouveaux vecteurs de production, d'apprentissage et d'échange au sein des organisations. Les (TIC) s'associent à l'homme et s'introduisent massivement dans les activités humaines, notamment dans le processus d'apprentissage et de communication des connaissances. C'est, d'ailleurs, ce que nous constatons dans le contexte actuel des organisations, qui, désormais, sont obligées d'adopter une démarche dynamique pour le management des connaissances. C'est l'objet de cette thèse de recherche, qui cherche à explorer et discuter des liens conceptuels entre les TIC et la communication médiatisée des connaissances à l'aune d'une perspective duale de la connaissance. Nous chercherons donc à saisir les liens existants entre les usages des TIC dans un processus d'apprentissage à la lumière des travaux contemporains traitant de la connaissance. Nous mobiliserons à cet effet une revue de littérature issue des sciences de gestion et des sciences de l'information et de la communication pour étudier l'impact des TIC dans la communication des connaissances et les influences des «acteurs-usagers» du réseau sur la communication médiatisée des connaissances. Nous prendrons, enfin, le cas de la poste tunisienne comme terrain d'étude empirique afin de valider notre recherche. / The information's society arrival has been such an euphoric event. Both Information's and communication's technologies, considered to be the new production's, learning's and knowledge transfer within the organisations's drivers, are a result of the convergence of computer's science, telecommunications and audiovisual fields and the subject of euphoric political and media's discourses portraying them as drivers of economical and social development.I.C.T, are part of people and very significant in their activities in particular in the learning and knowledge's communication process. This is particularly true with regard to Today's organisations context called to adopt a dynamic knowledge management strategy.The main subject of this thesis is seeking to discuss and explore both conceptual and traditional link between (I.C.T) and the knowledge mediated communication in the light of a dual perspective of knowledge. We shall therefore try to understand the existing links between the uses of (I.C.T) in a learning process, in the light of contemporary works dealing with the knowledge.We mobilised for this purpose, a literature review outcome of management sciences and information sciences and communication to study the impact of (I.C.T) in the communication of knowledge and the influences of "actors-users" of the network on the publicized communication of knowledge. We will take, finally, the case of the Tunisian post as field of empirical study in order to validate our research.

This investigation addresses different viewpoints regarding the configuration of meaningful information in the context of different environments, such as the information society, ontological milieu, interpretation and representation. It is important to explore options in terms of which the configuration of meaning can be pursued. Information science should be seriously considered as an explorer and configurer of meaningful information. For information science to become such an explorer, the discipline needs to be approached not as yet another science to involve and concern itself with information and its related aspects, but as a special kind of science. This investigation proposes that it should be seen and developed as an interscience. Disciplinary boundaries do not imply that they are fixed and these boundaries, especially of an interscience, can be approached as constantly moving and changing. This allows for interchange between disciplines and continued growth without losing the unique characteristics of information science. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

Análise das abordagens Linguística Documentária e Análise de Domínio na Organização da Informação e Organização do Conhecimento. A análise consiste de um mapeamento da fundamentação teórica, objetivos e funções com base em discursos dos autores mais identificados com as vertentes mencionadas, bem como na literatura da Ciência da Informação, para compreender como cada abordagem concebe e desenvolve os seus principais conceitos, instrumentos e métodos. Após a descrição de cada abordagem foi feita uma análise comparativa com o objetivo de identificar semelhanças e diferenças e possível integração entre as abordagens no que se refere à elaboração e uso dos instrumentos e métodos de organização que visam à recuperação e à comunicação de informações. / Analysis of Documentary Linguistics and Domain Analysis approaches on Information Organization and Knowledge Organization. This analysis consists on a mapping of theoretical foundation, goals and functions based on most identified authors discourses with mentioned approaches, and also with Information Science Literature in order to understand the way each approach conceives and develops its main concepts, instruments and methods. After the description of each approach a comparative analysis was done to identify similarities, differences and integrations among approaches about elaboration and use of instruments and organization methods that aim communication information retrieval.

Análise das abordagens Linguística Documentária e Análise de Domínio na Organização da Informação e Organização do Conhecimento. A análise consiste de um mapeamento da fundamentação teórica, objetivos e funções com base em discursos dos autores mais identificados com as vertentes mencionadas, bem como na literatura da Ciência da Informação, para compreender como cada abordagem concebe e desenvolve os seus principais conceitos, instrumentos e métodos. Após a descrição de cada abordagem foi feita uma análise comparativa com o objetivo de identificar semelhanças e diferenças e possível integração entre as abordagens no que se refere à elaboração e uso dos instrumentos e métodos de organização que visam à recuperação e à comunicação de informações. / Analysis of Documentary Linguistics and Domain Analysis approaches on Information Organization and Knowledge Organization. This analysis consists on a mapping of theoretical foundation, goals and functions based on most identified authors discourses with mentioned approaches, and also with Information Science Literature in order to understand the way each approach conceives and develops its main concepts, instruments and methods. After the description of each approach a comparative analysis was done to identify similarities, differences and integrations among approaches about elaboration and use of instruments and organization methods that aim communication information retrieval.

Formålet vil være å beskrive og analysere med utgangspunkt i intervjuer av seks fagmedarbeidere fra fire nordiske land om hvilken kunnskap man har om hvordan en persons rusmiddelmisbruk kan påvirke de pårørende. Funnene diksuteres mot funn i teori og empiri fra funn i dokumenter, artikler og annen forskning. Metode: Studien er gjort med 6 kvalitative intervjuer i fire nordiske land og  underlagt en hypotesegenerende analyse ved bruk av Grounded Theory. Funnene er satt inn i en diskusjon men funn fra søk i annen teori og forskning. Resultater: Hovedfunnene viser at de fire nordiske land finnes en tydelig kunnskap om hvordan en persons rusmiddelbruk kan påvirke andre i en negativ retning. Funn her viser at for hver misbruker kan i gjennomsnittet tre personer få reaksjoner og symptomer direkte knyttet til misbrukerens atferd og problemer. Om lag 80 millioner mennesker globalt har et alvorlig rusmiddelproblem og forsiktige analyser antyder at over 200 millioner pårørende globalt berøres av en annens persons rusmiddelproblemer. Det er dokumentert at det særlig er tre grupper av problemstillinger som gjøres gjeldende på pårørende. Det er særlig skader og belastninger som i indirekte og direkte gir somatoforme symptomer hos voksne og særlig belastninger som følge av skader og vold mot ektefeller/samboere og barn. Familier som lever med rusmiddelmisbruk opplever et høyt stressnivå og har tydelige spor av å leve med et høyt stressnivå. Konklusjoner: De fire nordiske land har kunnskap om hvordan pårørende blir utsatt for store psykiske og fysiske påkjenninger. I de fire nordiske land er det beregninger som viser at om lag 150 til 200 000 barn lever i familier med rusmiddelproblem i hvert av landende. Av undersøkelser her viser funn at tre av de nordiske land alle har nasjonale prosjekter på gang i 2007 med særlig fokus på barn som lever med en misbrukende foreldrer. Det er ikke funnet tydelig kunnskap om hvilke strukturelle grep som må til for å bygge opp tjenester og funksjoner som kan hjelpe eller støtte de pårørende som påvirkes av en annens rusmiddelproblem. Av funnene her kommer det fram at det mangler et tilstrekkelig kunnskapsgrunnlag for hvilke tiltak og hvilken behandling som kan ha best effekt for pårørende. / Aim: Using interviews with six professional in four Nordic countries to discuss, analyze and describe what knowledge there is about how one person’s alcohol- or drug abuse can affect others. Method: The study, using six qualitative interviews submitted with a hypothesis generating analysis, using Grounded Theory. The findings from the interviews were discussed with findings from other theory and empirical data from search in documents, articles and sciences. Results: The main finding show that in the four Nordic countries, there is an evident knowledge about how one person’s alcohol or drug abuse can affect others in a negative way. Findings show that for every person with a misuse problem, up to three others can get reactions and symptoms directly linked to the abuser’s behaviour and problems. Estimates show that more than 80 millions people globally have a serious misuse problem and cautious estimates show that more than 200 millions relatives are affected by this. There are particularly three groups of problems for affected relatives. They are harms and strains which indirectly and directly give somatoform symptoms with adults and particularly strains due to injuries and violence against spouses, partners and children. Families living with their misuse experience a high level of strains and show evident traces of living with a high level of stress. Conclusions: The four Nordic countries have knowledge about how relatives are exposed to great mental and physical strains. Estimates show that 150 to 200 000 children in each of the four Nordic countries, live in families with a misuse problem. From the search here, finding show that three out of four Nordic countries have launched a national project in 2007 with a particular focus on children living with misusing parents. There have been no evident findings of knowledge that shows what structural grip is needed in order to build services and functions that might help or support the relatives who are affected by one person’s misuse problem. From the findings here, it is also shown the lack of adequate knowledge of what efforts and treatment service that best can have effect. / <p>ISBN 978-91-85721-39-9</p>

This investigation addresses different viewpoints regarding the configuration of meaningful information in the context of different environments, such as the information society, ontological milieu, interpretation and representation. It is important to explore options in terms of which the configuration of meaning can be pursued. Information science should be seriously considered as an explorer and configurer of meaningful information. For information science to become such an explorer, the discipline needs to be approached not as yet another science to involve and concern itself with information and its related aspects, but as a special kind of science. This investigation proposes that it should be seen and developed as an interscience. Disciplinary boundaries do not imply that they are fixed and these boundaries, especially of an interscience, can be approached as constantly moving and changing. This allows for interchange between disciplines and continued growth without losing the unique characteristics of information science. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:17:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Jussara Bourguignon PUC 2005.pdf: 1414826 bytes, checksum: e8ca6e3445c485e0265f14797034f26c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-06-17 / Pontificia Universidade de São Paulo / This thesis aims at reflecting on the historical particularity of research into Social Work, as well as on the resultant challenges of such particularity presented to Social Work in the contemporary context. Three essential pillars oriented the investigation process. They are: the particularity of research for Social Work; the centrality occupied by persons that participate of Social Work researches; the return and the social reach of researches developed for Social Work. The investigation process was developed supported in methodological resources that made possible the construction of theoretical referential, the approach to the persons that participated of the research through interviews and electronic declarations, and the development of systematization and critical analysis of the set of empirical and theoretical material, that in its synthesis constitutes the defended thesis. The participants of the research were persons considered representative of the Social Worker professional category because the density of experiences they have on research, making possible reflections that evidence latent worries and that are pertinent to the production of knowledge in Social Work. The thesis presentation was organized in two moments. The first moment deals with the production of knowledge as human work expression. In this purpose, it contextualizes the advancements reached for Social Work mainly during the 80 s and 90 s and presents the comprehension of the knowledge production process as one of the human labor expressions, in a historical critical perspective. The second moment deals with the elements that constitute the particularity of research for the participant persons, considering the orienting pillars of the thesis. Such moment express, in its totality, the syntheses constructed in order to articulate the theoretical fundamentals to the collected declarations, searching for comprehending how the particularity of the research takes expression and materiality in Social Work. We reaffirm, through the investigation process, the proposition that the research is constitutive and constituent of the Social Work professional practice, being determined for its interventive nature and for its historical insertion in sociotechnical labor sharing / Esta tese tem por objetivo refletir sobre a particularidade histórica da pesquisa no Serviço Social, bem como sobre os desafios, decorrentes desta particularidade, que se apresentam ao Serviço Social no contexto contemporâneo. Três pilares essenciais orientaram o processo da investigação. São eles: - a particularidade da pesquisa para o Serviço Social; a centralidade ocupada pelos sujeitos que participam das pesquisas do Serviço Social; o retorno e alcance social das pesquisas desenvolvidas pelo Serviço Social. O processo de investigação desenvolveu-se sustentado em recursos metodológicos que possibilitaram a construção de referencial teórico, a aproximação aos sujeitos que participaram da pesquisa através de entrevistas e depoimentos eletrônicos, e o desenvolvimento da sistematização e análise crítica do conjunto do material teórico e empírico, que na sua síntese constitui a tese defendida. Participaram da pesquisa sujeitos considerados representativos da categoria profissional do Assistente Social pela densidade de experiências que possuem sobre pesquisa, possibilitando reflexões que evidenciam preocupações latentes e pertinentes à produção de conhecimento em Serviço Social. A exposição da tese ficou organizada em dois momentos. O primeiro momento trata da produção do conhecimento como expressão do trabalho humano. Para tanto contextualiza os avanços alcançados pelo Serviço Social, principalmente durante as décadas de 80 e 90 e apresenta a compreensão do processo de produção do conhecimento como uma das expressões do trabalho humano, numa perspectiva histórico crítica. O segundo momento trabalha os elementos que constituem a particularidade da pesquisa para os sujeitos participantes, considerando os pilares orientadores da tese. Este momento expressa, na sua íntegra, as sínteses construídas de forma a articular os fundamentos teóricos aos depoimentos colhidos, buscando compreender como a particularidade da pesquisa ganha expressão e materialidade no Serviço Social. Reafirmamos, através do processo de investigação, a tese de que a pesquisa é constitutiva e constituinte da prática profissional do Serviço Social, sendo determinada pela sua natureza interventiva e pela sua inserção histórica na divisão sócio - técnica do trabalho