Max Erik Rohde

Knowledge Composition: Theory, Architecture and Implementation

Integrated information systems, such as ERP systems, have been proven to provide significant benefits for organisations in processing transactional data. In many unstructured processes similar improvements have not yet been established. We illustrate the concept of Knowledge Composition, which focuses on the rich and context-dependent nature of knowledge. Based on this theoretical background, we propose an information system architecture for a Knowledge Composition Environment that can provide guidance for the design and implementation of flexible knowledge management systems. To demonstrate the feasibility of our architecture, we have implemented a prototype of a Knowledge Composition Environment that allows working with information in complex and distributed networks, leveraging semantic web technologies and the linked data principle.

Mal-processes: Explicitly Modelling the Deviant

Definitions of business processes for the most part suggest that they are a set of interrelated activities with the goal of accomplishing a given task to provide value to the customer of the process. This positive orientation has been reflected in business process modelling methodologies, tools, techniques and even in the reference models and implementation approaches suggested by vendors and implementation partners. Research and industry does not explicitly consider the negative business process scenarios that could result in the accomplishment of undesirable outcomes to the customer and/or owner of the process. In this paper we first motivate the need for explicit consideration of such undesirable processes. We define such processes as mal-processes and proceed to identify some of the key causes of mal-processes in organisational contexts. This discussion is motivated through the identification of potential mal-processes and means through which we could prevent them. We propose extensions to existing business process modelling conventions (ARIS) that would enable us to model mal-processes. The interplay between best practice processes as defined by reference models (e.g. SAP Reference Model) and mal-processes as well as their impact on the implementation of Enterprise Systems (e.g. SAP, Oracle) is discussed in some detail. We conclude the paper by identifying the application and benefits that could accrue from the explicit identification of mal-processes.

Wikis to support collaborative web spaces to promote youth well-being

Youth is a period of rapid emotional, physical and intellectual change, where young people progress from being dependent children to independent adults. Young people who are unable to make this transition smoothly can face significant difficulties in both the short and long term. Although the vast majority of young people are able to find all the resources they need for their health, well-being and development within their families and living environments, some young people have difficulty in locating resources that can help them and, moreover, difficulty in integrating into society. One way to support this transition is to create an environment that enables youth to be well supported through the provision of information and the creation of a community where youth feel empowered to collaborate with their peers as well as decision makers and legislators.

All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter: A Framework for Content Quality in an Online Collaborative Content- Orientated Platform

 Abstract—The ubiquitous nature of the Internet has resulted in an ever increasing use of and reliance upon, online content created through various modes and media. Many contemporary online platforms such as Wikipedia enmesh rich collaboration with extensive content- repositories. However, such online collaborative content- orientated platforms (OCCP) have been criticized for the reliability and quality of the content created and hosted. To this end, research has provided significant insights into the enabling factors for social transparency and trust within these platforms. We expand on these insights through an extensive survey of mechanisms employed in successful and popular OCCPs. We reflect upon the findings of this survey using the lenses of activity theory and legitimate peripheral participation. A framework is synthesized from this discussion, which stresses the importance of the interaction between quality assurance and the attraction of new content; two fundamental, yet potentially conflicting, processes that drive the success of OCCPs.

Cloud-Based Contextually Aware Adaptive Systems for Enterprise Transformation

More than ever before, enterprises nowadays are faced with an environment characterised by asynchronicity, complexity, and uncertainty. We see three major shortcomings of many current approaches of enabling enterprises to adapt under these conditions: the proposed processes and systems often do not deal with the whole context surrounding the enterprise; enterprises still follow rather deliberate approaches when dealing with strategy and its execution; and decisions are limited in terms of their reach and range. Cloud computing has particular characteristics that address these shortcomings. In this paper we propose Cloud-based contextually aware adaptive lifecycle models, frameworks, and architectures that enable networked and virtual enterprises to learn, adapt and be transformed.

Knowledge Orchestration for Sustained Competitive Advantage

There are few areas, which have attracted the proposal of as many theories as organizational knowledge and its management. Despite this diversity this article identifies a number of issues, which continue to challenge theoretical explorations into organizational knowledge: (1) It still remains difficult to understand how organizations can manage knowledge to their fullest advantage; given that knowledge is inherently tacit and therefore different to most other organizational resources. (2) It is often assumed that more knowledge and more knowledge management are inherently beneficial, often neglecting the implicit and explicit costs, which might be associated with the possession of knowledge. (3) Organizational knowledge is often seen with a focus on collective capability although only the individual usually applies knowledge. Based on a review of established organizational knowledge theories, this article synthesizes and proposes a number of concepts in exploration of the listed issues: (1) Organizational knowledge is broken up into knowledge potentials and their application in a changing environment. (2) The value of knowledge potentials is brought into relation with its usefulness in a dynamic environment. (3) Knowledge orchestration is proposed as an individual-driven way of interweaving knowledge flows in order to align knowledge potentials to a changing environment.

Towards a Network-Based Design Framework for Knowledge Systems

Although many explicit and implicit knowledge networks govern the reality in todays organizations, these networks are often not visibly supported in many common software tools. By reducing the concept of networks to its fundamentals, their construction from nodes and vertices, we seek to uncover possible ways in which actors can interact with generic networks. We propose a framework, which discusses a number of possible interactions. Manipulation, sensing and sharing parts of the network are proposed as fundamental basic interactions. These basic interactions can result in higher order interactions such as network composition, which allows the creation of new parts of the network by recombining already existing parts. We explore how this framework can be applied to interactions with information in popular software products. We argue that many software products support the interactions set forth by the framework. However, few solutions support all interactions in an integrated fashion while still being intuitive and easy to use. We have begun the development of a software system, which aspires to be both easy to use and supporting the full range of network-based interactions. First experiences from development and use of this system are briefly described.