The Knowledge Base of Products: Implications for Organizational Structures

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 1129-1154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muge Ozman

This paper investigates the impact of two dimensions of product knowledge bases on organizational structures. The first dimension, knowledge breadth, measures the complexity of a product. The second dimension, knowledge depth, measures the extent to which the knowledge embedded in the product can be used in different contexts. An agent-based simulation study is carried out to analyse the structural characteristics of organizations that emerge when self-interested agents select partners to combine their expertise and produce together. Agents learn from their interactions, which shapes their choice of partners in the future. The results reveal that multi-product companies with fewer inter-firm relationships emerge when products are complex and knowledge is highly reusable in different contexts. A network of specialized firms is a dominant organizational structure when products are complex and deep. The results are demonstrated through a brief case study of the history of the computer industry.

Author(s):  
Khatera Naseri ◽  
Ashurov Sharofiddin

Although the background of the banking system goes back as far as 1933, Islamic finance isstill new in Afghanistan. The history of the firstfull-fledged Islamic bank began asrecently as 2018 with the conversion ofBakhtarBank, a conventional bank, to the IslamicBank of Afghanistan (IBA). There have been numerousstudies done worldwide, but no empiricalstudy has examined the subject of Islamic banking adoption in the specific context of Afghanistan. Therefore, this presentstudy investigatesthe adoption ofIslamic banking in Afghanistan, using a case study of Herat province, based on Rogers’ (1983) Diffusion of Innovation Theory, to determine the impact of awareness,productknowledge,religiosity,relativeadvantage,compatibility, and complexity on the adoption of Islamic banking. A quantitative approach to the stratified convenience sampling method was used in this study. Questionnaires were distributed to 334 bank customers and the responses analyzed using SPSS v22. The multiple regression analysis finding indicated that product knowledge, relative advantage, and religiosity significantly and positively influenced the adoption of Islamic banking. It is suggested that the government and financial institutions should support Islamic banking with beneficial policies and initiatives to enhance the knowledge of the public about the significance of Islamic banking activities.


2019 ◽  
pp. 257-261
Author(s):  
Vladimir Laryukhin ◽  
Petr Skobelev ◽  
Oleg Lakhin ◽  
Sergey Grachev ◽  
Vladimir Yalovenko ◽  
...  

The paper presents the multi-agent approach for developing cyber-physical system for managing precise farms with digital twins of plants. It discusses complexity of the problem caused by a priori incompleteness of knowledge about factors of plant growth and development, high uncertainty of crops cultivation, variety of weather, business and technical requirements, etc. The approach proposes knowledge bases and multi-agent technology in combination with machine learning methods for designing considered systems. Digital twin of plant is specified as an agent based on ontology model of objects relevant for plant cultivation (specific sort of plant, soil, etc) associated with history of operations and environment conditions. The architecture and functions of system components are designed. The expected results of system implementation and the benefits for farmers are discussed.


Author(s):  
Julia Evangelista ◽  
William A. Fulford

AbstractThis chapter shows how carnival has been used to counter the impact of Brazil’s colonial history on its asylums and perceptions of madness. Colonisation of Brazil by Portugal in the nineteenth century led to a process of Europeanisation that was associated with dismissal of non-European customs and values as “mad” and sequestration of the poor from the streets into asylums. Bringing together the work of the two authors, the chapter describes through a case study how a carnival project, Loucura Suburbana (Suburban Madness), in which patients in both long- and short-term asylum care play leading roles, has enabled them to “reclaim the streets,” and re-establish their right to the city as valid producers of culture on their own terms. In the process, entrenched stigmas associated with having a history of mental illness in a local community are challenged, and sense of identity and self-confidence can be rebuilt, thus contributing to long-term improvements in mental well-being. Further illustrative materials are available including photographs and video clips.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasie M. Maponda

We can understand that the Circle must work on two dimensions to provide a future for new woman theology in Africa. The first dimension is based on the intuitive fundamental and innovative sense of a woman from Ghana, Mercy Amba Oduyoye, that leads to the creation of the Circle: she impulsed the idea that women should make their own theology from their dailylife experiences and their subjectivity as women, in order to think on faith and Gospel in a different way. It is necessary to question that intuitive sense. The second dimension aims to revisit the great personalities of African woman theologians of the Circle. What are the essential points of their research? How has the research changed African theology? I particularly think of Musimbi Kanyoro, Nyambura Njoroge and Musa Dub� in the Africa English zone and Helene Yinda, Liz Vuadi, Kasa Dovi and Bernadette Mbuyi Beya in Africa French zone. The essence of their thinking is still actual and that is why they are good enough to project in to the future.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article presents the history of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians from creation to now. Issues related to traditional culture, gender and sexual-based violence, gender-based injustice, and HIV and AIDS are discussed under different approaches such as the biblical approach, hermeneutical approach, ethical approach, historical approach and practical approach. The impact of African Women Theologians speaking French will be particularly highlighted.Keywords: theology; women theologians; women empowerment; HIV/AIDS; gender


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachiko Ozawa ◽  
Daniel R. Evans ◽  
Colleen R. Higgins ◽  
Sarah K. Laing ◽  
Phyllis Awor

Author(s):  
Paul B. Connor

How does the communication of information affect the pipeline industry? People are becoming more aware of the pipeline industry and how it may affect individuals and landowners in the future. Corporations are producing commuications tools to alleviate the lack of knowledge and the hidden value of energy pipelines. This case study examines two projects: “Passing through Edson” examines a winter pipeline construction job in Edson, Alberta. The story is told by the people on the job. We examine the environmental issues, economic impact, Native employment, and winter construction techniques. The “Boy Chief” video examines the impact of an archaeological dig on the prairies. In this program we have insight into the aboriginal history of the area and how the pipeline company is helping people learn more about the Native way of life. The paper examine how communication tools like these, allow employees access to information when communicating to stakeholders.


Complexity ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Deissenroth ◽  
Martin Klein ◽  
Kristina Nienhaus ◽  
Matthias Reeg

The ongoing deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) calls for an enhanced integration of RES into energy markets, accompanied by a new set of regulations. In Germany, for instance, the feed-in tariff legislation for renewables has been successively replaced by first optional and then obligatory marketing of RES on competitive wholesale markets. This paper introduces an agent-based model that allows studying the impact of changing energy policy instruments on the economic performance of RES operators and marketers. The model structure, its components, and linkages are presented in detail; an additional case study demonstrates the capability of our sociotechnical model. We find that changes in the political framework cannot be mapped directly to RES operators as behaviour of intermediary market actors has to be considered as well. Characteristics and strategies of intermediaries are thus an important factor for successful RES marketing and further deployment. It is shown that the model is able to assess the emergence and stability of market niches.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Barden ◽  
Brendon Boudinot ◽  
Andrea Lucky

The distinctive ant genus Leptomyrmex Mayr, 1862 had been thought to be endemic to Australasia for over 150 years, but enigmatic Neotropical fossils have challenged this view for decades. The present study responds to a recent and surprising discovery of extant Leptomyrmex species in Brazil with a thorough evaluation of the Dominican Republic fossil material, which dates to the Miocene. In the first case study of direct fossil inclusion within Formicidae Latreille, 1809, we incorporated both living and the extinct Leptomyrmex species. Through simultaneous analysis of molecular and morphological characters in both Bayesian and parsimony frameworks, we recovered the fossil taxon as sister-group to extant Leptomyrmex in Brazil while considering the influence of taxonomic and character sampling on inferred hypotheses relating to tree topology, biogeography and morphological evolution. We also identified potential loss of signal in the binning of morphological characters and tested the impact of parameterisation on divergence date estimation. Our results highlight the importance of securing sufficient taxon sampling for extant lineages when incorporating fossils and underscore the utility of diverse character sources in accurate placement of fossil terminals. Specifically, we find that fossil placement in this group is influenced by the inclusion of male-based characters and the newly discovered Neotropical ‘Lazarus taxon’.


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 91-96
Author(s):  
Kirsten Hebert

Medical instrument collections are neglected primary source material that can be used to produce original scholarship on thehistory of medicine and the history of optometry. Opening museum collections and associated archives to researchers allowscollections managers to simultaneously address curatorial backlogs, facilitate research, and provide a foundation for craftingpublic-facing exhibits. In order to add to the historiography, research should not only focus on the technical aspects of theinstruments, but also employ theory to examine of the meaning of the objects in context. In this way, objects can be a vehicle forunderstanding broader themes in the history of medicine and reveal their utility as material evidence of the impact of medicineon society and culture. This two-part article includes a historiography of ophthalmic instruments and a case study in which an assemblage of ophthalmometers in the Archives & Museum of Optometry collection are treated as “text” to explore the nature of power in the doctor-patient relationship in early optometry.


Author(s):  
Vlado Dimovski ◽  
Sandra Penger

As we enter the first decade in the twenty-first century, contemporary management thinking is being profoundly reshaped by two new convictions: managing organizational knowledge effectively is essential to achieving competitive success; and managing knowledge is now a central concern, and must become a basic skill of modern manager. In the paper we would like to present the impact of the increased interconnectivity of people and organization, and to perform the new organizational paradigm that provides a modern knowledge construction of the 21st century organization. Therefore, the paper focuses on the process of attaining the knowledge organization, and enlightens different theoretical architectures of the 21st century organization. Modern forms of organizational structures range from horizontal, process and team structures to virtual networks. We illustrate the impact of organizational paradigm in the Slovenian economy with a case study, where we examine the Slovenian Institute for Learning Enterprises (SILE). SILE was registered as a non-profit institute and established by 18 flourishing major Slovenian enterprises in January 2001 with the aim of developing the concept of learning organization (LO) and diffusing the concept of knowledge management (KM) to become regular practice in Slovenian enterprises.


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