Knowledge In Contemporary Society Research Articles

Institutional Mechanisms for Enhancing Production of Doctoral Research Outputs at Makerere University

In the contemporary knowledge society, research production is being re-purposed in terms of not just its academic value, but also its wider societal value. As such, doctoral research ought to be produced in the context of application. Therefore, universities have a responsibility to enhance the uptake and use of doctoral research outputs. This necessitates institutional mechanisms for enhancing the production of doctoral research outputs for uptake and use beyond academia. We examined the institutional mechanisms for enhancing production of doctoral research outputs at Makerere University using the research knowledge infrastructure (RKI) framework as the analytical lens. This was in light of the dismal uptake and use of research produced at Makerere University by students and staff. We used qualitative single case study research design. We collected data through interviewing and review of documents. We interviewed 10 doctoral program coordinators, three managers of research and graduate training and 13 PhD students we selected purposively. We reviewed seven institutional documents pertaining graduate training at Makerere University: two plans, three policies, one framework and one guideline. We used thematic data analysis to make sense of the data. The findings revealed that due to policy-practice gaps and funding constraints, mechanisms to enhance doctoral research production to facilitate uptake and use of doctoral research outputs beyond the academia were not adequately integrated into doctoral research training. This was shown by the lack of mechanisms to enhance doctoral research commissioning and execution, and gaps in priority setting. Opportunities for productive interactions between doctoral researchers and potential users were missed. As such, doctoral research outputs largely remained within the scholarly community. We recommend that the university should establish interface structures and co-creation spaces to leverage doctoral research commissioning, execution and priority setting to facilitate the uptake and use of doctoral research outputs beyond the scientific community.

Developing a support model for hybrid work-integrated continuous professional development

In the contemporary digitalised knowledge society, work-integrated professional development is an important and continuous activity. Continuous professional development should preferably be a hybrid format, where academia collaborates with industry and the surrounding society in a multi-directed exchange of ideas. Continuous professional development is today conducted in a blend of workplace activities, and in technology enhanced online environments. A complex blend for professionals that at the same time are working full-time with their ordinary jobs. The need for a support model to navigate in these new digital learning spaces is obvious, where the support model also should include collaboration and a community of practice. A community where the members communicate regularly to improve their skills and knowledge in their common professional domain. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse the development of a support model that involves these aspects. Findings confirm the necessity of the four steps in the earlier model, at the same time as they indicate the need for a fifth step facilitating the creation of Communities and Landscapes of Practice. The use of the model may support higher education institutions in creating beneficial conditions for hybrid work-integrated continuous professional development for industry.

Water Conservation Through Local Wisdom As A Manifestation Of Social Justice And Ecological Justice

In all its manifestations, the ecological crisis include water crisis, threatens our world's ecosystem. The primary cause of the crisis is human attitudes and behaviours that objectify nature. In specific cases, the water resource crisis is as a consequence of tourism expansion that ignores the environment. Revitalizing local wisdom is one method for restoring nature's stability especially on water sustainability. There are numerous rites in our local community's that support efforts to conserve water sources. This article discusses the traditional practises of the Batu people of East Java for conserving water sources called Metri Banyu as an alternative to seeks the ecological and social justice. Through this rites the community of Pesanggrahan Village in Batu City honours water as the fundamental element of human existence. The revitalization of indigenous knowledge is critically important for Batu City's massive tourism expansion and other location which face similar situation. In addition to preventing natural damage and the depletion of water resources, it is a viable alternative for the development of tourism founded on culture. This research applies a qualitative approach. Interviews and observation were used for data collection. The findings of this study demonstrate that reviving local knowledge in contemporary society influences the creation of a balanced and harmonious relationship between humans and nature, one another, and their creators.

Expanding the Core Competences of Librarianship through Designing a Credit-Bearing Information Literacy Course for Social Work

In contemporary knowledge society, the impact of library and information professions has expanded to practical workforce preparation in many adjacent fields, including social work, that heavily rely on information competencies to promote community well-being and public good.This poster adds a practitioner perspective to the ongoing conversation about the need to reimagine LIS education to better align curricular priorities with the demands of the increasingly interconnected information landscape. Through a tale of a subject librarian and Social Work faculty partnership to develop a tailored credit-bearing information literacy course for Social Work pre-majors, the author illuminates the evolving role of librarians who are called upon to educate members of other information-intensive professions in the use of general and subject-specific resources essential for their field. The poster highlights the shared values that inform the practice of both librarianship and social work in response to the issues faced by communities in times of uncertainty and change. Built around the ALA’s Core Competences of Librarianship and the Social Work Competencies established by the Council on Social Work Education, the project reflects on the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating information literacy education into a domain where advanced information literacy skills are an indispensable component of the current professional practice. Finally, the project discusses several implications for LIS programs keen on creating a better connection between the LIS foundational values and other professional competency frameworks today’s librarians lean on, particularly in such vital areas as user services, lifelong learning and continuing education, and social justice.

THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE: THE POSTMODERN PERSPCETIVE OF LYOTARD

This paper demonstrates Jean-Francois Lyotard's theory of knowledge in postmodern societies. Lyotard explores the nature of knowledge, including how it is generated, structured, and used in contemporary society. He questions who has access to knowledge, how it is utilized, who controls it, and how it influences our lives and perceptions of the world. He rejects meta-narrative theories that posit knowledge as serving universal human goals and instead argues that knowledge in contemporary societies is primarily organized in terms of efficiency, profitability, commodity, and power. Furthermore, he contends that the nations with the most advanced technology, communications, and information are the most powerful. He equates the state of knowledge with the systems of domination that undermine our understanding of truth, value, and justice. Finally, Lyotard argues that postmodern societies are experiencing a reduction of knowledge to efficiency and a dehumanizing culture due to the emergence of machine-led computer-controlled systems.

Epistemic Trust as an Interactional Accomplishment in Pediatric Well-Child Visits: Parents’ Resistance to Solicited Advice as Performing Epistemic Vigilance

ABSTRACT Epistemic trust – i.e. the belief in knowledge claims we do not understand or cannot validate – is pivotal in healthcare interactions where trust in the source of knowledge is the foundation for adherence to therapy as well as general compliance with the physician’s suggestions. However, in the contemporary knowledge society professionals can no longer count on unconditional epistemic trust: boundaries of the legitimacy and extension criteria of expertise have become increasingly fuzzier and professionals must take into account laypersons’ expertise. Drawing on a conversation analysis-informed study of 23 videorecorded pediatrician-led well-child visits, the article deals with the communicative constitution of healthcare-relevant phenomena such as: epistemic and deontic struggles between parents and pediatricians, the local accomplishment of (responsible) epistemic trust, and the possible outcomes of blurred boundaries between the layperson’s and the professional’s “expertise.” In particular, we illustrate how epistemic trust is communicatively built in sequences where parents request the pediatrician’s advice and resist it. The analysis shows how parents perform epistemic vigilance by suspending the immediate acceptance of the pediatrician’s advice in favor of inserting expansions that make it relevant for the pediatrician to account for her advice. Once the pediatrician has addressed parents’ concerns, parents perform (delayed) acceptance, which we assume indexes what we call responsible epistemic trust. While acknowledging the advantages of what seems to be a cultural change in parent-healthcare provider encounters, in the conclusion we advance that possible risks are implied in contemporary fuzziness of the legitimacy and extension criteria of expertise in doctor-patient interaction.

The Terrestrial Rational Subject – A Finite Being – Eliciting the ‘Towards Infinite’ Tentation and Tension: Does a Universal Consciousness Be Comprehended by a Rational Subject? A Subtle Slide of the Multi-Slide Process/problem of Stepping the Way from the Contemporary Knowledge Society to a Still Possible Consciousness Society

The Terrestrial Rational Subject – A Finite Being – Eliciting the ‘Towards Infinite’ Tentation and Tension: Does a Universal Consciousness Be Comprehended by a Rational Subject? A Subtle Slide of the Multi-Slide Process/problem of Stepping the Way from the Contemporary Knowledge Society to a Still Possible Consciousness Society

QUTRUB; LINGUIST AND COMPUTER LINGUIST PROJECT

Qutrub is a famous title for the science of the flags of the ancient Arab linguists, who sought to seek science, and diligently in classification and authorship, and a keeper of the language, many rarities and strange... His name has been associated with a pioneering computer-language project, which deals with the simplified automatization of Arabic verbs, a building block of support for the automated processing of the Arabic language, which establishes its website and the foundation of the contemporary knowledge society. The article that we have in our hands connects the past and the present, linking an old Arab personality, and her accurate linguistic views, and a program for an automatic language that supports the Arabic language, and presents a computer project promising a qualitative shift to the Arabic language website.

History and Philosophy of Science at the Crossroads of Doctoral Education’s Reforms: Polemical Notes

The article examines the importance of the discipline of “History and Philosophy of Science” in the context of a new model for training doctoral students. The Russian universities and institutions of higher education should begin its implementation in September 2021. The author analyzes the history of the development and implementation of the course of “History and Philosophy of Science” as an academic discipline, which took place against the background of transformations in doctoral education. The article shows that the significant efforts of the professional philosophical community aimed at conceptualizing the methodological and methodical foundations of the discipline were successful and played an important role in the process of training doctoral students. The professional community not only gave an adequate response to the challenge of the educational reform, but also used it as a chance for renewal, realization of its own scientific and pedagogical potential. The transition to a new model of doctoral education, taking into account the modern realities of the knowledge society, should take into account the need to form critical thinking in postgraduate students as the most important competence. The change of focus from educational training to research component should not lead to utilitarian approach implementation aimed at purely quantitative indicators. The high quality of training future researchers, and focus on the development of human capital meet the challenges posed by the contemporary knowledge society.

The University and the Global Knowledge Society

The University and the Global Knowledge Society

Práticas de medicalização: problematizações conceituais a partir de Michel Foucault

As práticas de medicalização vêm sendo estudadas por diversos autores e com nuances e perspectivas diferentes, dependendo das análises realizadas e dos autores escolhidos para o campo problemático e conceitual. Pensar práticas em um formato de ensaio teórico é um objetivo deste artigo, formulado em uma vertente dos trabalhos de Michel Foucault e de outros pensadores, os quais pesquisaram e delimitaram os processos de medicalização enquanto objeto de estudo. Portanto, vale mencionar o quanto há polêmicas e paradoxos instalados face às tentativas de apresentar e abordar o presente campo temático de pesquisa a respeito das práticas de medicalização. Neste texto, apresentam-se alguns elementos da medicalização, tais como: a biopolítica; a bioeconomia, o biovalor, as biotecnologias, a farmarcologização, a patologização e a biossociabilidade com o objetivo de forjar uma analítica de poder e saber na sociedade contemporânea, demandando mais trabalhos com vistas à formação uma rede de trabalhos.

Making sources visible: Promoting multiple document literacy with digital epistemic scaffolds

Learning in contemporary knowledge societies requires using multiple information sources, or documents, to understand important phenomena and events. However, students can find it difficult to evaluate and integrate multiple documents. The aim of this study was to examine new approaches for promoting multiple document literacy using digital epistemic scaffolds that support evaluation and integration of multiple documents. The scaffolds included a novel document mapping tool that enables visually representing the network of relations between sources and claims, as well as evaluative and metacognitive prompts that support critical evaluation and integration. In a quasi-experiment, we engaged 88 9th grade students in investigating two historical controversies with and without the scaffolds. Learning with the scaffolds had a positive effect on learners' subsequent unscaffolded evaluation and integration performance and on their meta-epistemic knowledge about epistemic criteria and processes, in comparison to a control group. Qualitative analysis of learners’ discourse, as they collaboratively mapped multiple documents, suggested that document mapping supported construction of intertextual representations, facilitated articulation and discussion of epistemic criteria and processes, and provided visual feedback that informed self-monitoring and evaluation. The instructional prompts complemented mapping by problematizing evaluation and integration performance. We discuss how visualizing documents models can promote multiple document literacy.

Reflections on the Transformative Power of Environmental Education in Contemporary Societies: Experience from Two College Courses in Greece and the USA

In the current information-saturated world of knowledge societies, universities are at risk of training technical experts who hold myopic views of the future, and leaders who are ill-equipped to address the systemic nature of current global ecological, economic, and political crises. In this context, and taking into account the obstacles posed, and the opportunities provided, by contemporary societies, the current paper discusses the design and implementation of courses which not only rely upon, but also increase the transformative power of Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainability (EfS) within Higher Education. We rely on our experience in two college courses, in Greece and the USA, to provide reflections on the integrative, interdisciplinary and collaborative dimensions of EE/EfS and on their ability to challenge neoliberal discourse that permeates contemporary knowledge societies. The qualitative methodology utilized in the paper rests on a self-study research approach and on end-of-term course evaluations filled by the students. We propose that successful design and implementation of EE/EfS courses depends upon the instructors’ (and their institutions’) ability to democratize and rethink the classroom (beyond its physical limits and into the community), to help students self-examine their place in the system, and to create assignments that test the learning process rather than learning outcomes.

Scientific Report on the (A)symmetrically Contemporary Connectedness AND Communication between, by, from and beyond ‘Ourselves’ – Humans, Smart Machines, Smart Cities/Villages, Communities, Humankind. A Possible GenZ Developer (Proposed) Project-construct as a Failed Stance

This Scientific Report intends to transfer the content of the e-author’s respective knowledge acquired within a long-term career to the (e-)readers in a per se order, but also to improve [off line] their skills within a subtle case study that is into the context of a failed stance of an February 15 2019 application addressed to the GenZ mentors. It contains: - Motivation letter - letter of application - Scientific merits and research work - Acquisition of research funds - A brief research and action plan - List of publications, and correspondence - Explanations on the consonance between, alongside, from the Inter/Trans/Co-disciplinary Research Corpus, “Social Capital/Social Potential” within the ‘Social Indicators’, GenZ research site knowledge, and “Generosity_Creativity_Solidarity” Triad. The applicant’s intended objective was to advance a minimal set of original knowledge in order to critically JOINT the complex desired ‘transit from the contemporary Knowledge Society towards a Consciousness Society’, to/within/alongside the high level multi and transdisciplinary research consolidated to the University of Oulu's GenZ research project site. From the applicant’s point of view, the failing of this intended objective is local and temporary – other more skilled researcher can continue the respective trend of search, knowledge-advance, valorizing heritage, sensitive the low level observable challenges, and opening perspectives as well.

A general theory of learning and teaching and a related comprehensive set of performance indicators for higher education institutions

ABSTRACTIn contemporary knowledge societies, performance indicators are an indispensable element of sustainable quality management and enhancement through monitoring and evaluating quality performance of higher education institutions. It is argued that learning and teaching quality in higher education should be approached in a holistic way, namely across the four subdomains of learning and teaching environment, teaching processes, learning processes and learning outcomes and their assessment. performance indicators related to these areas must align with a synoptic understanding of learning and teaching comprising behavioural, information processing, cognitive, social (constructivism) and humanistic theories of learning. Selected issues from a comprehensive set of about 280 performance indicators for learning and teaching are presented and contextualised. The indicators set resulted and emerged from critical reflection of research literature and explorative surveys of various informed and engaged stakeholders, from 14 public European universities, and a general theory of learning and teaching.

The Influence of Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management on Organizational Performance in Lithuanian Software Companies

[full article and abstract in English]
 In the contemporary information and knowledge society, it is important to evaluate the intangible organizational resources that generate long-term value for organizations. Among others, these include intellectual capital and management of knowledge. The research fields of intellectual capital and knowledge management address such issues as (but not limited to) the abilities of employees to create and accumulate knowledge, share and apply it in everyday activities, develop new, sustainable and long-term relationships with various stakeholders. During the last decade, there has been a shift in research toward linking these two previously separate fields of activity in order to demonstrate their interrelations and influence on organizational performance. However, this is problematic due to the difficulties of expressing the value of intellectual capital and knowledge management in a tangible form. The aim of this article is to analyze and define the influence of intellectual capital and knowledge management on organizational performance. For this task, we built a conceptual model for assessing the influence of intellectual capital and knowledge management on organizational performance, which was applied in a study conducted in IT companies operating in Lithuania.

Activating the most disadvantaged youth in Switzerland: Administratively too risky, politically too costly?

AbstractTo increase the chances of integrating youth into labour markets in contemporary European knowledge societies, many policy schemes are geared towards investing in youth's human capital. Since apprenticeship systems are assumed to ease school‐to‐work transitions, this seems a particularly promising avenue. However, research highlights that social policies often do not reach the most disadvantaged members of society. The aim of this article is to shed light on the reasons and mechanisms causing this phenomenon, called the Matthew effect, through a single, embedded case study of a vocational education and training programme for disadvantaged youth in Switzerland. The findings highlight cream‐skimming practices as a coping strategy enabling frontline workers to satisfy strict assessment criteria. A budgetary allocation driven politico‐administrative logic promotes such practices as a means to generate solid results, so as to safeguard political – and thus financial – support.

Promoting innovation and application of internet of things in academic and research information organizations

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to investigate factors promoting innovation and application of internet of things in academic and research information organizations.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative research design involved survey of selected academic and research information organizations in public and private chartered institutions. Information professionals, digital content managers, information systems and technologists that normally consume big data and technological resources were involved in the process of data collection using structured questionnaire and content analysis. Information organizations and information practitioners were selected from public and private academic and research institutions.FindingsInnovation of internet of things has increasingly transformed and changed academic and research information organizations as the source of knowledge in addition to expanding access to education, data, information and communication anywhere anytime through hyperconnectivity and networking. Internet of things technologies such as mobile of things, web of things, digital information systems and personal devices are widely applied by digital natives in academic and research information organizations. Mobilization platform and devices is the single biggest provider of data, information and knowledge in academic and research organizations. Modern trends in education and knowledge practices in academic institutions and information organizations depends upon internet of things, digital repositories, electronic books and journals, social media interfaces, multimedia applications, information portal hubs and interactive websites, although challenges regarding inadequate information communication technology infrastructure and social computing facilities still persist.Research limitations/implicationsInformation organizations in public and private chartered academic and research institutions were adopted in the study. Respondents handling and supporting information management, planning and decision-making provided the necessary data. Information professionals, digital content managers, information systems and technologists are proactively involved in data and information analytics.Practical implicationsAcademic and research information organizations are powerhouses that provide knowledge to support research, teaching and learning for sustainable development and the betterment of humanity and society. Innovation of internet of things and associated technologies provides practical aspects of attaining sustainable information development practices in the contemporary knowledge society. Internet of things technologies, principles of economies of scale and investment and customer needs entail that information organizations and practitioners should provide appropriate and smart systems and solutions.Social implicationsModern academic and research information organizations have the social corporate responsibility to offer technological innovations to heighten access to knowledge and learning in academic and research institutions. Economically, innovation and application of internet of things provide unlimited access to big data and information in organizations all the time anywhere anytime.Originality/valueData management is a growing phenomenon that information practitioners need to fully understand in the digital economies. Information professionals need to embrace and appreciate innovation and application of internet of things technologies whose role in sustainable development practices is critical in academic and research organizations.

Evaluación de la tutoría en los estudios d posgrado: construcción y validez de escalas

<p>El posgrado orientado a la formación de investigadores es una pieza angular en el desarrollo del conocimiento y las sociedades contemporáneas. Este nivel posee escasos instrumentos para evaluar la tutoría con énfasis en sus funciones y actividades. Dicha carencia puede explicarse en virtud de la falta de definiciones sobre el constructo denominado “tutoría en posgrado”. La tutoría en los estudios de posgrado se reconoce como un modelo de formativo personalizado que coadyuva al desarrollo de capacidades para la investigación, la práctica profesional y la incorporación a la docencia en la educación superior. No obstante este concepto debe ser ampliado para incluir a los aspectos relacionados con la socialización y la integración de los estudiantes a las comunidades epistémicas y profesionales. En el presente artículo se fortalecen estos atributos y se da cuenta del proceso de construcción y validación de once escalas de respuesta tipo Likert, que permiten valoran el desempeño de la tutoría en los estudios de posgrado. Las escalas fueron elaboradas con base en un modelo conceptual que integra tanto funciones formativas como las socializadoras así como aspectos interpersonales que promueven la interacción entre posgraduados y tutores. Cada escala presenta una consistencia interna aceptable. La validez de las mismas se obtuvo mediante análisis factoriales, cada escala explica más del 50% de la varianza.</p><div> </div>

Has practice theory run out of steam?

The article poses the question of whether in the past ten years the empirical study of knowledge practices has lost momentum and the energy to continue in redefining the status of knowledge in contemporary society and in organization studies. It illustrates how the intellectual movement that has been made possible by the empirical study of knowing as a situated practice has been a movement towards the de-centering of the human subject. A posthumanist practice epistemology assumes practice to be an agencement of heterogeneous elements (knowledges, techniques and activities) that in their connections and becomings enact agency. Therefore, practice-based studies have not run out of steam, rather, they are redefining the object of knowledge by passing from an interest focused on distributed cognition within single practices, and activities within a practice, to distributed agency within a texture of practices where the interest is in how agencement comes into being and how power designates regimes of visibility and invisibility. RAC gives a good example of how knowledge objects have changed in the past ten years and, at the same time, provides a suggestion for future research.