Operations and systems research in the era of knowledge civilization

Abstract

This article discusses new and future challenges for operations and systems research during and after informational revolution, in the era of knowledge civilization. The concepts of the knowledge civilization era and its features are discussed: the informational revolution, the dematerialization of work, the conceptual revolution and the change of episteme. As an example of conceptual revolution, new micro-theories of knowledge creation and their relation to group decision processes are presented. An evolutionary theory of intuition, its tremendous power but also fallibility, is discussed. Other examples of conceptual revolution concern the multimedia principle, the emergence principle and a general spiral of evolutionary knowledge creation. Against this background, the issue of objective ranking is presented. Other challenges for operations and systems research might relate to the main conflicts and dangers in the era of information revolution, namely the main conflict of this era concerning the property of knowledge, the tension between the traditional individual combined with public property of knowledge, on the one hand, and the trend towards corporate privatization (or corporatization) of knowledge, on the other, or another important conflict the threat of computer and robot domination over humanity. Conclusions stress the need of new concepts and even change of paradigmatic basis (the hermeneutical horizon) in operations and systems research in response to the challenges, chances and threats of informational revolution.     

Ecologically and Transdisciplinarily Inspired Research: Starting Points for Practitioner Research and Sustainable Change

Abstract

This article reports an adventure of collective creating in which learning psychology, sociology, professional learning, managerial and nature thinking came together and enriched the authors’ perspective on the methodology of practice-oriented research. It resulted in the manifestation of two base tunes and six ‘ecologically and transdisciplinarily inspired’ (ETI) research principles. The ETI perspective includes an ecological way of dealing with the social and physical research issues, which means holistic thinking and working and thinking in terms of connectedness. It also means that mono-disciplinary and interdisciplinary scientific and practical thinking need to be ‘transcended’ to deal with practitioner research issues. Other fundamental matters include dealing with wisdom, narratives, and the ecological fallacy; collectively and transdisciplinarily creating knowledge and improved practice with stakeholders, e.g. actors; and being cognitively inspired by nature.     

Knowledge and Behavioral Impact of Adult Participation in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: Evaluation of the Protecting God’s Children Program

ABSTRACT

This article presents findings from an evaluation of a popular adult training program (Protecting God’s Children) used in Catholic institutions, including schools, churches, and social service agencies. The study explores knowledge and behavior change based on pretest/posttest questionnaires administered to over 500 adults and follow-up questionnaires sent six months after the training. The participants in the training were compared to a control group of adults who did not participate in the program. The results indicate that participants arrive at the training with fairly high rates of preexisting knowledge but that the program increases knowledge across demographic groups. Follow-up surveys suggest that the new knowledge is retained over six months. The study indicates that the program is associated with an increase in participants talking to their own children about child sexual abuse. Participants also report sharing information with other adults and monitoring behavior around children more closely.     

Teacher Outcomes from the Second Step Child Protection Unit: Moderating Roles of Prior Preparedness,and Treatment Acceptability

ABSTRACT

Teachers play a critical role in child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention and intervention efforts. We examined the impact of the Second Step Child Protection Unit (CPU) on improving teacher awareness, attitudes, and teacher–student relations for 161 teachers. Teacher baseline scores and treatment acceptability were examined as moderators. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed a significant effect of the CPU on teachers’ awareness, attitudes, and teacher–student relations, particularly for teachers with lower prior knowledge, attitudes, and student relationships. Teachers’ acceptability of the CPU also moderated outcomes, where a higher level of acceptability of CSA interventions was associated with an increase in outcomes.     

College students’ knowledge about Sickle Cell Disease

ABSTRACT

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a serious health problem affecting millions around the world. Key to prevention is knowledge about the disease and the reproductive implications. This study explored college students’ knowledge about SCD. Participants included 416 college students at a North Texas campus between October and December 2014. A cross-sectional survey design using an 18-question survey was used. Although most participants had heard of SCD, 21% had never heard of the disease. Furthermore, participants lacked knowledge regarding the differences between the disease and carrier status, prevalence, reproductive implications, prevention, and testing. Findings showed that couples had more knowledge about SCD compared to singles and there were no significant differences between those with children and those without indicating a need for education before they start dating. Most participants had not undergone SCD carrier screening and had no interest in screening. The Universal Prevention approach would be a suitable approach and should be utilized in improving knowledge about SCD.     

THE END OF THE ART CONNOISSEUR? EXPERTS AND KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION IN THE VISUAL ARTS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

In this digital age, declarations surface of the death of the expert and the democratization of information. Crowd wisdom is seen as the new guide in constructing and evaluating knowledge. In the context of the art world, this tension between the amateurs and the experts becomes particularly pronounced as popular meets high culture. Questions arise such as: what is the role of the expert in the evaluation of art in contemporary times? Do social media dismantle age-old hierarchies and established priesthoods in the art world? And can we assume that mass participation in valuation results in better judgments? This article addresses such popular notions of participation and expertise concerning social media in the art world through a historical lens by re-examining and positioning art experts from past to present. Particularly, characteristics of intermediaries in the art market are examined closely regarding their strategies in knowledge production and the establishment of expertise. This historical situatedness enables us to move beyond the hype of new media expectations, generating more appropriate avenues of investigation to better grasp possible changes amongst actors within the contemporary art world. This examination is not just theoretically relevant but practically so, given current pressures on art institutions to embrace and reach out to new audiences online.     

‘When you have no law you are nothing’: Cane toads,social consequences and management issues

In this article we demonstrate that Yanyuwa people have detailed biological knowledge of their northern Australian environment, which is culturally defined and embedded within their relationships to country, resources and each other. Through a case study of the impact of Bufo marinus (cane toads) on Yanyuwa culture and everyday life, we argue that Aboriginal management strategies and Aboriginal peoples’ intimate knowledge of species and environment need to be understood as both legitimate and fundamental when engaging in management initiatives in Australia. We demonstrate that for Yanyuwa people emotional engagement with their environment is underpinned by a morality of social and environmental relations and that ‘memory’ is pivotal to this engagement. We conclude by briefly delineating how the adoption of a ‘moral ecology’ perspective goes some way to addressing issues pertinent to discursive encounters at cultural management frontiers.     

Global Studies—The Handmaiden of Neoliberalism?

Abstract

The field of global studies has gained momentum over the past 20 years and today occupies a significant presence within many universities. As a result, there is now a burgeoning array of institutional support for global studies scholarship. Perhaps not surprisingly, concurrent to such institution-building there has been a spate of essays engaged with the question ‘what is global studies?’ that have promoted lively debate and commentary. In this essay, I ask a rather different question which is ‘who gets to define global studies, and what is at stake in these kinds of delineating efforts?’ I argue that debate about global studies demands the inclusion of multiple voices and perspectives from around the world. I conclude by urging global studies scholars to be deliberately conscious of their taken-for-granted assumptions with respect to power and the related capacity to speak for others from the global south and east who are largely still absent in defining this new field of inquiry.     

Witchcraft as subtext: deep knowledge and the South African public sphere

Anthropologists have documented pervasive discourses about witchcraft in South Africa. The issue of witchcraft gained prominence during the latter years of apartheid when youths called ‘Comrades’ sought to cleanse rural villages in the north‐eastern provinces of witches. However, after apartheid witchcraft has only made a few brief incursions into the South African public sphere. I suggest that the absence of witchcraft in formal political discussions is not only due to censorship by a modernist government. It is also a product of the popular status of witchcraft as ‘deep knowledge’ or as a ‘subtext’ to social interaction in village and township settings. Accusations of witchcraft occur largely in private domestic spaces. Moreover, the ontological status of witchcraft as a mystical reality that transcends ordinary perception implies that it cannot meet standards of proof demanded by courts of law.     

Ethical Issues in Continuing Care

No abstract available for this article.