Revealing Tacit Knowledge


Book Description

How does tacit knowledge inscribe itself into cultural and social practices? As the established distinction between tacit and explicit or discursive forms of knowledge does not explain this question, the contributions in this volume reconstruct, describe, and analyze the manifold processes by which the tacit reveals itself: They focus, for example, on metaphors, feelings, and visualizations as explications of the tacit as well as on processes of embodiment. Taken together, they demonstrate that the tacit does not constitute a single or unified knowledge complex, but has to be understood in its differentiated and fragmented forms. In addition to scholarly essays, the volume features interviews with Mark Johnson, Theodore Schatzki, and Loïc Wacquant.




Revealing Tacit Knowledge


Book Description

How does tacit knowledge inscribe itself into cultural and social practices? As the established distinction between tacit and explicit or discursive forms of knowledge does not explain this question, the contributions in this volume reconstruct, describe, and analyze the manifold processes by which the tacit reveals itself: They focus, for example, on metaphors, myths, and visualizations as explications of the tacit as well as on processes of embodiment. Taken together, they demonstrate that the tacit does not constitute a single or unified knowledge complex, but has to be understood in its differentiated and fragmented forms.




The Tacit Dimension


Book Description

In architecture, tacit knowledge plays a substantial role in both the design process and its reception. The essays in this book explore the tacit dimension of architecture in its aesthetic, material, cultural, design-based, and reflexive understanding of what we build. Tacit knowledge, described in 1966 by Michael Polanyi as what we ‘can know but cannot tell’, often denotes knowledge that escapes quantifiable dimensions of research. Much of architecture’s knowledge resides beneath the surface, in nonverbal instruments such as drawings and models that articulate the spatial imagination of the design process. Awareness of the tacit dimension helps to understand the many facets of the spaces we inhabit, from the ideas of the architect to the more hidden assumptions of our cultures. Beginning in the studio, where students are guided into becoming architects, the book follows a path through the tacit knowledge present in materials, conceptual structures, and the design process, revealing how the tacit dimension leads to craftsmanship and the situated knowledge of architecture-in-the-world. Contributors: Tom Avermaete (ETH Zürich), Margitta Buchert (Leibniz-Universität Hannover), Christoph Grafe (Bergische Universität Wuppertal), Mari Lending (The Oslo School of Architecture and Design), Angelika Schnell (Academy of Fine Arts Vienna), Eireen Schreurs (Delft University of Technology), Lara Schrijver (University of Antwerp)




The Tacit Dimension


Book Description

"The Tacit Dimension" argues that tacit knowledge -tradition, inherited practices, implied values, and prejudgments- is a crucial part of scientific knowledge. This volume challenges the assumption that skepticism, rather than established belief, lies at the heart of scientific discovery.




Tacit Knowledge in Organizational Learning


Book Description

Understanding the complexity of tactic knowledge has become increasingly important to the enhancement of organizational flow. Tacit Knowledge in Organizational Learning aims to advocate the need for ?human factor? consideration from a (tactic) knowledge capital point of view. Tacit Knowledge in Organizational Learning offers academians and practitioners an illustration of the importance of tacit knowledge to an organization, presenting a means to measure and track tacit knowledge in individuals and recommendations on firm attributes and their ideal utilization of the tacit knowledge resource.




Enabling Knowledge Creation


Book Description

When The Knowledge-Creating Company (OUP; nearly 40,000 copies sold) appeared, it was hailed as a landmark work in the field of knowledge management. Now, Enabling Knowledge Creation ventures even further into this all-important territory, showing how firms can generate and nurture ideas by using the concepts introduced in the first book. Weaving together lessons from such international leaders as Siemens, Unilever, Skandia, and Sony, along with their own first-hand consulting experiences, the authors introduce knowledge enabling--the overall set of organizational activities that promote knowledge creation--and demonstrate its power to transform an organization's knowledge into value-creating actions. They describe the five key "knowledge enablers" and outline what it takes to instill a knowledge vision, manage conversations, mobilize knowledge activists, create the right context for knowledge creation, and globalize local knowledge. The authors stress that knowledge creation must be more than the exclusive purview of one individual--or designated "knowledge" officer. Indeed, it demands new roles and responsibilities for everyone in the organization--from the elite in the executive suite to the frontline workers on the shop floor. Whether an activist, a caring expert, or a corporate epistemologist who focuses on the theory of knowledge itself, everyone in an organization has a vital role to play in making "care" an integral part of the everyday experience; in supporting, nurturing, and encouraging microcommunities of innovation and fun; and in creating a shared space where knowledge is created, exchanged, and used for sustained, competitive advantage. This much-anticipated sequel puts practical tools into the hands of managers and executives who are struggling to unleash the power of knowledge in their organization.




Tacit and Explicit Knowledge


Book Description

Much of what humans know we cannot say. And much of what we do we cannot describe. For example, how do we know how to ride a bike when we can’t explain how we do it? Abilities like this were called “tacit knowledge” by physical chemist and philosopher Michael Polanyi, but here Harry Collins analyzes the term, and the behavior, in much greater detail, often departing from Polanyi’s treatment. In Tacit and Explicit Knowledge, Collins develops a common conceptual language to bridge the concept’s disparate domains by explaining explicit knowledge and classifying tacit knowledge. Collins then teases apart the three very different meanings, which, until now, all fell under the umbrella of Polanyi’s term: relational tacit knowledge (things we could describe in principle if someone put effort into describing them), somatic tacit knowledge (things our bodies can do but we cannot describe how, like balancing on a bike), and collective tacit knowledge (knowledge we draw that is the property of society, such as the rules for language). Thus, bicycle riding consists of some somatic tacit knowledge and some collective tacit knowledge, such as the knowledge that allows us to navigate in traffic. The intermixing of the three kinds of tacit knowledge has led to confusion in the past; Collins’s book will at last unravel the complexities of the idea. Tacit knowledge drives everything from language, science, education, and management to sport, bicycle riding, art, and our interaction with technology. In Collins’s able hands, it also functions at last as a framework for understanding human behavior in a range of disciplines.




Knowing Otherwise


Book Description

Prejudice is often not a conscious attitude: because of ingrained habits in relating to the world, one may act in prejudiced ways toward others without explicitly understanding the meaning of one’s actions. Similarly, one may know how to do certain things, like ride a bicycle, without being able to articulate in words what that knowledge is. These are examples of what Alexis Shotwell discusses in Knowing Otherwise as phenomena of “implicit understanding.” Presenting a systematic analysis of this concept, she highlights how this kind of understanding may be used to ground positive political and social change, such as combating racism in its less overt and more deep-rooted forms. Shotwell begins by distinguishing four basic types of implicit understanding: nonpropositional, skill-based, or practical knowledge; embodied knowledge; potentially propositional knowledge; and affective knowledge. She then develops the notion of a racialized and gendered “common sense,” drawing on Gramsci and critical race theorists, and clarifies the idea of embodied knowledge by showing how it operates in the realm of aesthetics. She also examines the role that both negative affects, like shame, and positive affects, like sympathy, can play in moving us away from racism and toward political solidarity and social justice. Finally, Shotwell looks at the politicized experience of one’s body in feminist and transgender theories of liberation in order to elucidate the role of situated sensuous knowledge in bringing about social change and political transformation.




Knowledge Management in Libraries


Book Description

Knowledge Management in Libraries: Concepts, Tools and Approaches brings to the forefront the increasing recognition of the value of knowledge and information to individuals, organizations, and communities, providing an analysis of the concepts of Knowledge Management (KM) that prevails among the Library and Information Science (LIS) community. Thus, the book explores knowledge management from the perspective of LIS professionals. Furthermore, unlike most books on the topic, which address it almost exclusively in the context of a firm or an organization to help gain a competitive advantage, this book looks at knowledge management in the context of not for profit organizations such as libraries. - Describes the theory and approaches of knowledge management in the context of librarianship - Seeks to identify and explain the principles that underlie the different processes of knowledge management - Combines the theoretical and practical perspectives of the topic - Provides a comprehensive and methodological approach to support librarians and information science professionals in the implementation of knowledge management in libraries and information centers - Proposes a model for libraries and information centers which may be used as a guide for implementation - Incorporates illustrations where necessary to provide a clear understanding of the concepts




Learning Trajectories, Innovation and Identity for Professional Development


Book Description

Educators in the professions have always had unique demands placed upon them. These include the need to keep pace with rapidly evolving knowledge bases, developing skills and attitudes appropriate to practice, learning in the workplace and fostering public confidence. For twenty years, these new demands have created additional educational imperatives. Public accountability has become more intensive and extensive. Practitioners practice in climates more subject to scrutiny and less forgiving of error. The contexts in which professionals practice and learn have changed and these changes involve global issues and problems. Often, professionals are the first responders who are required to take an active stance in defining and solving problems. This book explores the pedagogic implications of these challenges internationally for a wide range of professions which include: accountants, military company commanders, surgeons, nurse practitioners, academic, managers, community physicians and dentists. The established view of professional development is about what the professional knows and can do. The authors broaden this view to include the systemic and contextual factors that affect learning, and the conditions necessary for effective practice and identity development across the professional lifespan. Authors examine the unique particularities and requirements of diverse professional groups. The editors emphasize new ideas and learning that emerges across the professions. As readers use this book as a pathway to their own innovations in scholarship and pedagogic research, they join their colleagues in supportingnew directions in learning, teaching and assessment across professions. This book was awarded the ‘Outstanding Research Publication award’ for 2012 by the American Educational Research Association’s Division I: ‘Education in the Professions’. “/p>