Electronic support for knowledge creation in a research institute

This paper focuses on the question how to build an electronic support environment for knowledge creation in a research institute （JAIST）. In order to assess the importance of diverse conditions of scientific creativity, we performed a survey in JAIST, and extracted useful knowledge from the database of survey results. Following the analysis of the theory of academic processes of knowledge creation and the survey findings in JAIST, a computer-based integrated system is proposed. In the aspect of the system design, we postulate that an electronic support environment for academic creativity can be achieved through a seamless integration with Internet, Application Server, Middle Ware, Database and Data Warehouse. The paper addresses issues of knowledge representation in the Electronic Support System for academic research, testing and evaluation issues and conclusions.     

SYSTEMS METHODOLOGY AND MATHEMATICAL MODELS FOR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

This paper first introduces a new discipline knowledge science and the role of systems science inits development. Then, after the discussion on current trend in systems science, the paper proposes anew systems methodology for knowledge management and creation. Finally, the paper discussesmathematical modeling techniques to represent and manage human knowledge that is essentiallyvague and context-dependent.     

KNOWLEDGE PROCESS ANALYSIS： FRAMEWORK AND EXPERIENCE

We present a step-by-step approach for constructing a framework for knowledge process analysis （KPA）. We intend to apply this framework to the analysis of own research projects in an exploratory way and elaborate it through the accumulation of case studies. This study is based on a methodology consisting of knowledge process modeling, primitives synthesis, and reflective verification. We describe details of the methodology and present the results of case studies： a novel methodology, a practical work guide, and a tool for KPA; insights for improving future research projects and education; and the integration of existing knowledge creation theories.     

The importance of multimedia principle and emergence principle for the knowledge civilisation age

The paper discusses two basic principles derived from results of studies concerning foundations of micro-theories of knowledge creation; these are Multimedia Principle and Emergence Principle. Their epistemic, systemic and metaphysical importance is discussed, together with their relations to the episteme of technology treated as a separate cultural sphere. A spiral of evolutionary knowledge creation is presented, in which an extended Falsification Principle plays the role of an objectifying feedback; this spiral is related to an episteme of Evolutionary Constructive Objectivism proposed earlier for the coming knowledge civilisation age.     

KNOWLEDGE DISTANCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS

In this paper, we first introduce the concepts of knowledge closeness and knowledge distance for measuring the sameness and the difference among knowledge in an information system, respectively. The relationship between these two concepts is a strictly mutual complement relation. We then investigaie some important properties of knowledge distance and perform experimental analyses on two public data sets, which show the presented measure appears to be well suited to characterize the nature of knowledge in an information system. Finally, we establish the relationship between the knowledge distance and knowledge granulation, which shows that two variants of the knowledge distance can also be used to construct the knowledge granulation. These results will be helpful for studying uncertainty in information systems.     

Establish a creative environment for roadmapping in academy—From the perspective of <Emphasis Type="Italic">i</Emphasis>-system methodology

Roadmapping, originated from industry as a strategic planning tool, is attracting increasing applications in academy. Based on the recognition that roadmapping is a knowledge creation process, this paper analyzes what kind of support is needed or helpful for establishing a creative environment for roadmapping in academy and reviews various types of such support from the perspective of i-system methodology. As case studies of such support, this paper further introduces roadmapping pratices in Janpan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.     

A model for knowledge transfer in a multi-agent organization based on lattice kinetic model

A study on knowledge transfer in a mutli-agent organization is performed by applying the basic principle in physics such as the kinetic theory.Based on the theoretical analysis of the knowledge accumulation process and knowledge transfer attributes,a special type of knowledge field(KF)is introduced and the knowledge diffusion equation(KDE)is developed.The evolution of knowledge potential is modeled by lattice kinetic equation and verified by numerical experiments.The new equation-based modeling developed in this paper is meaningful to simulate and predict the knowledge transfer process in firms.The development of the lattice kinetic model(LKM)for knowledge transfer can contribute to the knowledge management theory,and the managers can also simulate the knowledge accumulation process by using the LKM.     

ESTABLISH A CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR ROADMAPPING IN ACADEMY—FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF I-SYSTEM METHODOLOGY

Roadmapping,originated from industry as a strategic planning tool,is attracting increasing applications in academy.Based on the recognition that roadmapping is a knowledge creation process, this paper analyzes what kind of support is needed or helpful for establishing a creative environment for roadmapping in academy and reviews various types of such support from the perspective of i-system methodology.As case studies of such support,this paper further introduces roadmapping pratices in Janpan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.     

On integration and adaptation in complex service systems

The services sector employs a large and growing proportion of workers in the industrialized nations, and it is increasingly dependent on information and communication technologies. While the interdependences, similarities and complementarities of manufacturing and services are significant, there are considerable differences between goods and services, including the shift in focus from mass production to mass customization （whereby a service is produced and delivered in response to a customer＇s stated or imputed needs）. In general, services can be considered to be knowledge-intensive agents or components which work together as providers and consumers to create or co-produce value. Like manufacturing systems, an efficient service system must be an integrated system of systems, leading to greater connectivity and interdependence. Integration must occur over the physical, temporal, organizational and functional dimensions, and must include methods concerned with the component, the management, and the system. Moreover, an effective service system must also be an adaptable system, leading to greater value and responsiveness. Adaptation must occur over the dimensions of monitoring, feedback, cybernetics and learning, and must include methods concerned with space, time, and system. In sum, service systems are indeed complex, especially due to the uncertainties associated with the human-centered aspects of such systems. Moreover, the system complexities can only be dealt with methods that enhance system integration and adaptation. The paper concludes with several insights, including a plea to shift the current misplaced focus on developing a science or discipline for services to further developing a systems engineering approach to services, an approach based on the integration and adaptation of a host of sciences or disciplines （e.g., physics, mathematics, statistics, psychology, sociology, etc.）. In fact, what is required is a services-related transdisciplinary - beyond a single disciplinary - ontology or taxon     

CONVERGENCE OF A CLASS OF MULTI-AGENT SYSTEMS IN PROBABILISTIC FRAMEWORK

Multi-agent systems arise from diverse fields in natural and artificial systems, and a basic problem is to understand how locally interacting agents lead to collective behaviors （e.g., synchronization） of the overall system. In this paper, we will consider a basic class of multi-agent systems that are described by a simplification of the well-known Vicsek model. This model looks simple, but the rigorous theoretical analysis is quite complicated, because there are strong nonlinear interactions among the agents in the model. In fact, most of the existing results on synchronization need to impose a certain connectivity condition on the global behaviors of the agents＇ trajectories （or on the closed-loop dynamic neighborhood graphs）, which are quite hard to verify in general. In this paper, by introducing a probabilistic framework to this problem, we will provide a complete and rigorous proof for the fact that the overall multi-agent system will synchronize with large probability as long as the number of agents is large enough. The proof is based on a detailed analysis of both the dynamical properties of the nonlinear system evolution and the asymptotic properties of the spectrum of random geometric graphs.     

Modeling the Knowledge Creation Process of Graduate Research

Graduate students who are beginning academic research want to learn how to create and verify new knowledge in their research. Their supervisors, on the other hand, are seeking appropriate research environments including effective research guidance methods. In order to meet these demands, this paper proposes a knowledge creation model that supports the objectives of both graduate students and their supervisors. This is an academic knowledge creation model for individuals supported by a group and its origin can be traced back to a famous organizational knowledge creation model. Since this type of model is constructed from empirical knowledge, it is not easy to prove its objective significance. But, this paper tries to show the effectiveness of the proposed model as an initial stage of model validation based on a questionnaire survey of students in a graduate school in China.     

探析活系统模型:发展、模型及系统方 法简

斯塔福德·比尔成功汲取系统论、控制论、信息论领域的研究成果，并将这些成果成功引入组织管理之中，成功的创建了活系统模型，本文力求厘清活系统模型的发展脉络，探讨活系统模型的萌芽与创立的历史进程，并在此基础上分析该模型及其系统方法，旨在更全面地了解和研究活系统模型。     

AGENT-BASED SIMULATION FOR KANSEI ENGINEERING： TESTING A FUZZY LINEAR QUANTIFICATION METHOD IN AN ARTIFICIAL WORLD

This paper argues that agent-based simulation can be used as a way for testing Kansei Engineering methods which deal with the human reaction from sensory to mental state, that is, sensitivity, sense, sensibility, feeling, esthetics, emotion affection and intuition. A new fuzzy linear quantification method is tested in an artificial world by agent-based modeling and simulations, and the performance of the fuzzy linear method is compared with that of a genetic algorithm. The simulations can expand people＇s imagination and enhance people＇s intuition that the new fuzzy linear quantification method is effective.     

Managing Complexity—The Path Toward Intelligent Organizations

Coping with complexity is at the heart of management and leadership in the turbulent environments faced by the organizations and societies of our day. The systems approach provides transdisciplinary theories and tools for dealing with this challenge more effectively than efforts merely based on disciplinary insights or pragmatic recipes. In this paper, a concept of "intelligent organizations" is introduced. A framework for the design of intelligent organizations is proposed that links three organizational cybernetic models: the Model for Systemic Control, the Viable System Model, and the Team Syntegrity model.² The proposition is that a combined use of these models, guided by the integrative conceptual framework, enables a more effective response to complex situations than merely pragmatic approaches to "integrative management." Provisional empirical evidence gathered from applied research indicates that the proposed framework is capable of enhancing such superior potential for effective response. As such, it promises to meet the specific needs of the new types of organizations that have already begun to emerge in the knowledge societies.     

Knowledge synthesis in technology development

This paper introduces a knowledge construction model called the i-System for knowledge integration and creation and its relation to the new concept of the Creative Space. The five ontological elements of the i-System are Intelligence, Involvement, Imagination, Intervention, and Integration corresponding to five diverse dimensions of the Creative Space. The paper discusses the meanings and functions of these dimensions in knowledge integration and creation, and presents applications of the i-System to technology roadmapping and archiving.     

Systems Thinking and Management Epistemology

Epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge, its presuppositions and basis, and the general reliability of claims to knowledge. Since its birth, Social Systems Sciences (S3) has been critical of positivist epistemology in the discipline of management. The epistemological foundations of management theory have evolved with the development of three paradigms—the idea of social science, the unity of science movement, and the behavioral science revolution. Examining the epistemological foundations of maangement theory, this paper reflects on the role of positivism as a dominant ideological construct (or a grand-narrative) in management and organizational studies.     

A Knowledge Tree Model for Managing Organizational Knowledge

1　IntroductionThe presentmarket environment in which modern industrial firms operate is characterizedby intense global competition,accelerating pace of technological change,and increasinglysophisticated customer tastes. These Changes of an enterprise′s environment will surelylead to transformation in organization and management. Thus,knowledge,which is re-placing capital and energy resources,becomes the most important resources of an enter-prise and intelligence capital is therefore his core…