Knowledge Matters™
The Web-Pages of Durant-Law Consulting Pty Limited and Occasional Blog of Graham Durant-Law
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knowledge modelThe Six Knows Model and Visual ThinkingA simple model which I find useful is the “Six Knows Knowledge Model ” shown below. The model has its origins in the Rudyard Kipling poem “I Keep Six Honest Serving-Men ” , but no doubt I will be challenged on this assertion! That said it is a model that serves me well, except I would add ‘know how much’ as a node.
Now Dan Roam , quite independently of me, has enhanced the usefulness of the model by introducing a visual thinking element to it - he's also picked up on the how much dimension. Have a look at this presentation , but in particular slide seven (the preceding slides give some background and explanation). What I really like is the ability to add some discipline and consistency to my mind-mapping and rich pictures. ... 4-Pane Achromatopsia
What do I mean by 4-pane? It seems to me we have a love affair with quadrant models. I suggest all these models with their four panes provide restrictive lens, which rather than colour our world serve to make it a world of black and whites with some shades of grey! Models are an intellectual construct in artefact form that provide an abstract, formalised, yet simplified representation of a phenomenon. It is the simplification we need to be careful with, because simplification introduces “knowledge achromatopsia”. ...
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The Knowledge ConduitAbout three years ago I came up with the idea of the “Knowledge Conduit”. The idea is still a bit raw but I thought I would share it with you anyway. The Knowledge Conduit is illustrated below.
First, you should observe that there are two distinct domains – the descriptive domain and the predictive domain ...
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Is the Pyramid to Wisdom Model Useful?There is a good deal of criticism of the data, information, knowledge, wisdom model of knowledge, which is sometimes called the DIKW hierarchy but I prefer to call it the ‘pyramid to wisdom’. Most of the criticism says the model is too simple. I wonder, however, if the model has some use. As usual it is useful to return to source documents. In knowledge management circles Russell Ackoff is usually credited as the originator of the hierarchy, and indeed published two seminal papers, the first in 1989. However Milan Zeleny published a paper two years before Ackoff, and Harlan Cleveland published a paper in 1982. Both of these authors mention the hierarchy and provide examples. ...
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Knowledge Management Models or Models of Knowledge? A Critical Review of the Literature
Knowledge modelsWhat is a Model?
A model is an intellectual construct in artefact form that provides an abstract, highly formalised, often visual, yet simplified representation of a phenomenon and its interactions (Coffey & Atkinson 1996; Despres & Chauvel 2000). Broadly there are three types of model: mathematical models, descriptive models, and graphical models (Satzinger, Jackson & Burd 2000). Mathematical models explain the technical aspects of a system and can be either prescriptive or predictive (Miller 2006; Ragsdale 1998). Descriptive models are narrative in form and often use symbolic or mathematic elements to aid understanding. Descriptive models are rarely predictive, but can be prescriptive. Graphic models use diagrams and symbols to illustrate simple and complex relationships. They can be predictive or prescriptive. Typically a model only includes those variables that are sufficient to represent the phenomena in question. For example if colour is irrelevant then the model will not, and should not, include it as a variable. However these simplifications may result in prediction and description errors if not considered carefully. Accordingly all models should be treated with caution. They are useful so long as the underlying assumptions are explicit, and it is recognised that they are an abstract representation of reality that may, or may not, be objective (McAdam & McCreedy 1999, p. 94). Models in the social sciences tend to be descriptive and graphical rather than mathematical, although mathematical models have their place. In the knowledge management literature almost all models are descriptive and graphical.
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ModelsA model is an intellectual construct in artefact form that provides an abstract, highly formalised, often visual, yet simplified representation of a phenomenon and its interactions. Coffey & Atkinson
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The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink. |
It seems to me that knowledge management suffers from 4-pane achromatopsia. What the hell are you talking about I hear you say! Well achromatopsia is a congenital vision disorder characterised by complete colour-blindness, central visual acuity loss, extreme light sensitivity, and rapid involuntary eye wobble. To put it another way the unfortunate individuals with achromatopsia have a limited field of vision, have great difficulty keeping focus, and wear dark glasses most of the time which further restricts their vision.
