Niels Faber

Sustainable information systems: A knowledge perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a re‐orientation of the way the concept of sustainability is dealt with in relation to information systems, positioning human behaviour and the processing of knowledge at the centre of the concept.Design/methodology/approach – The concept of sustainability of knowledge (SoK), which refers to processes that govern knowledge, is employed to define sustainable information systems (SIS). Following this definition, knowledge aspects are employed to tackle the notion of sustainability. The sustainability approach presented in this paper is then translated into requirements needed for designing a SIS.Findings – Three knowledge aspects are found to be relevant for the design of SIS: adaptability, offloading and knowledge evaluation. The service oriented‐based architecture (SOA) seems to be appropriate to support the proposed approach.Research limitations/implications – The conceptual approach proposed need to be evaluated by case studies to be performed in differe...

Sense making of (Social) sustainability: A behavioral and knowledge approach

Although sustainability is often discussed solely in ecological terms, it cannot be disconnected from the way humans behave in their social environment. This article presents a theoretical approach toward sustainability that takes a human behavior and knowledge view on sustainability as a starting point. This approach requires that human behavior should change, individually and collectively, in order to achieve sustainability. Knowledge is identified as the driving force behind human behavior and its effect on the ecological and social environment. In connecting knowledge with sustainability, two concepts are introduced: knowledge of sustainability (KoS), which refers to the sustainability content of knowledge, and sustainability of knowledge (SoK), which denotes the dynamics of the continuing process of knowledge creation and application. To apply SoK and KoS, we argue that a cognitive interpretation of human behavior should be formulated within a knowledge management approach that incorporates the stages of knowledge creation, integration, and application and that ensures the critical evaluation of created knowledge. In order to show that our new approach is practical, we use existing research from the Dutch starch potato industry to reformulate possibilities for the enhancement of sustainability in terms of KoS and SoK. In addition, the research led to the development of a mechanism for evaluating knowledge. Group interaction, information technology, and decision support systems are used to realize knowledge integration. The combination of conceptual design and domain of application is common in the engineering sciences, where a design methodology is used to make the steps from conceptual design to functional design and technical implementation. A conceptual design may show ways to improve existing practices, which in turn might result in superior practices. Of course, it is necessary to empirically test the interventions in reality. For AGROBIOKON that has not been done, yet.

Sustainability, Learning, Adaptation and Knowledge Processing

Sustainability is a system’s concept and regards the dynamic balance between a dynamic artificial system and its dynamic environment. For an organization to survive as a social system it needs to be adaptive and effective while interacting and coevolving with its environment. In order to be sustainable an organization needs two things: (1) knowledge about its impacts on the world and (2) the capacity to learn and renew or innovate in response. This article explores the notion of social (or organizational) sustainability in relationship with knowledge, knowledge processing, learning and adaptation. The sustainability performance of organizational activities is considered to be a function of its impact on vitals capitals in the world. Social (or organizational) sustainability is defined as a disposition or capability of an organization to realize this balance and has two fundaments: an adaptivity-based theory and a capital-based theory. The first is the organization’s ability to adapt to environmental challenges, while maintaining its own basic pattern of identity. The second is the ability to interact with the environment in such a way that it does not degrade levels of vital capitals beyond levels required by humans (and their future generations) for their well-being. These are also the internal and external dimensions of sustainability, linking knowledge ecology with natural and social ecology. Organizational sustainability performance is in part a function of knowledge management and of the knowledge processes within an organization. In this article we present a Four Dynamics Framework with two new concepts, illustrating the role of sustainability targeted knowledge management (KM). Concerning knowledge content, KM needs to focus on high quality Knowledge of Sustainability (KoS), whereas by enhancing a continuous and sustainable knowledge creation & innovation process in the organization it realizes what we call sustainability of knowledge (SoK). Both outcome and process need good metrics, and measurement and reporting tools.

A knowledge approach to sustainable agriculture

The Dutch agricultural sector is facing major challenges, which can affect the entrepreneurial farming activities. One of the major challenges is the adoption of practices leading to sustainable agriculture. Therefore, it is relevant to investigate the knowledge of the main actors in agriculture: the farmers. In this project, the way farmers structure their knowledge is studied. The study was completed through filling questionnaires by interviewing them. It was revealed that farmers possess knowledge of their own about their enterprise, but they also receive knowledge from external sources. Through this organized survey, we identified the concepts that farmers associate with sustainable agriculture. However, it is not clear whether the famers’ knowledge is sufficient and suitable to adopt sustainable practices.

Organizational Knowledge, Cognitively Plausible Actors and Multi-Actor Systems

Organizational knowledge and knowledge management can only be studied successfully if two basic requirements are fulfilled: (1) determination of what knowledge is about and which carriers of knowledge are allowed and (2) the mechanisms that provide the interaction between the carriers (actors and software agents). We therefore have to step down to a lower level of aggregation, that is to say, to actors, to (shared) mental models, to agents and to the interaction between them. In order to guide the study of these constituting elements we formulate two questions. (A) What is the difference between information and knowledge and what consequences does this difference have for corporate and organizational issues? (B) If the human individual is one kind of actor, what other kind of actors (or agents) can we discern, what characteristics do the various actors have and what mechanisms are used to collaborate in Multi-Actor Systems (MAS)?

Multi-actor systems and its organizational form: planning and communication of dispatchers and passengers in the Netherlands Railways (NS)

In innovating its planning processes, passenger involvement in dispatching is one of the directions the Netherlands Railways is exploring. Multi-agent systems (MAS) provide a way to study the organizational aspects of the dispatching task that aims to bridge functional differences between passengers and dispatchers. In this study, besides the technical, especially the coordinating and organizational implications of such a change will be investigated. Two versions of a multi-agent system have been constructed: NS-MAS 1 and NS-MAS 2. The involvement of active passengers as is realized in NS-MAS 1, provides the organizational specifications of realizing dispatcher-passenger communication. Furthermore, this implementation provides indications for bridging the functional differences between passengers and dispatchers. NS-MAS 2 operates with simulated passive passengers, based on statistical data of passenger movements, and implements the coordination possibilities taking into account passenger involvement in dispatching.

Personalization for Specific Users: Designing Decision Support Systems to Support Stimulating Learning Environments

Creating adaptive systems becomes increasingly attractive in the context of specific groups of users, such as agricultural users. This group of users seems to differ with respect to information processing, knowledge management and learning styles. In this work we aim to offer directions toward increasing decision support systems usability, by tailoring toward user learning styles. The results show that decision support systems need to be redesigned toward providing agricultural users with a more efficient time management and study environment, and facilitating group interaction.