Sunday 29 March 2009

Ruth Rikowski's 16th News Update


Sixteenth News Update

RUTH RIKOWSKI



This Update consists of profiles of the contributors to the Knowledge Management book that I have edited, and a selection of information news items.


1. REVIEW OF TONI SAMEK’S BOOK, ‘LIBRARIANSHIP AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GUIDE’ BY RUTH RIKOWSKI
A full-page spread of my review of Toni Samek’s book, Librarianship and Human Rights, Chandos: Oxford, 2007 [ISBN 978 1 84334 146 8 (pbk); 978 184334 198 7 (hbdk)] is in the June issue of Managing Information, Vol. 14, No. 5, p.56.

A slightly longer version of my review is also available on our website - see
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Librarianship%20and%20Human%20Rights



2. EVENT FOR THE BOOK ‘KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES’ EDITED BY RUTH RIKOWSKI, CHANDOS PUBLISHING: OXFORD, 2007.
ISBN 978 1 84334 139 0 (pbk); 978 1 84334 189 5 (hdbk)


There has been such a lot going on in my life that, unfortunately, organising a book launch for this KM book that I edited never saw the light of day! Yet, many important issues have been raised in the book, which need to be discussed further. Thus, I am planning to hold an event in the autumn. This will take the form of a discussion/forum, which will give each of the contributors an opportunity to say something about their chapters. The short talks will be followed by a discussion. Once the arrangements have been finalised further information about the event will be circulated in these Updates.







3. PROFILES FOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THE BOOK - ‘KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES’ EDITED BY RUTH RIKOWSKI, CHANDOS PUBLISHING: OXFORD, 2007
I have decided to take this opportunity to include some information about the different contributors to this KM book. Thus, profiles for the different contributors are outlined below.


BOB BATER
Bob trained initially as an industrial chemist, then later as an information scientist. He has played a variety of roles, working in the chemical, engineering and aerospace industries. In particular, he worked for 8 years as an IT manager and information manager in the National Health Service. He left the NHS in 1994 and formed his own company, providing advisory and development services in knowledge management.

Bob is Principal Associate of InfoPlex Associates which provides advice and development services in Information and Knowledge Organisation
- knowledge mapping, metadata schemas, ontologoies, taxonomies, thesauri, topic maps – across many different types of organisations in both the public and private sectors. He is also Director of Development at KnowPlexity Limited, which is a new company established to provide high quality e-learning materials in all aspects of KM.

Bob Bater’s website can be seen at:
http://www.infoplex-uk.com/


Bob has various publications on KM, including quite a few articles in Managing Information (he also used to be one of my book reviewers for MI). Some examples of his publications are listed below.


KM: a model approach, Managing Information, Vol 6, No 8, October 1999

Cataloguing electronic resources: wise up or dumb down?, Managing Information, 2000, Vol. 7, No. 4, p. 36

Knowledgeware: fact or fancy!. Part 3: Navigating Knowledge, Managing Information, Oct 2002, Vol. 9, No. 8, pp. 42-45

‘KM in the Legal Profession: leveraging knowledge for enhanced profitability’ (2006). A report in the ‘Knowledge and Insight’ Series, in Association with Ark Group, publisher of Inside Knowledge magazine (formerly called Knowledge Management). See:
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:674sD-HG_wUJ:www.skyrme.com/pubs/kmlegal.htm+bob+bater+and+law+article&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=uk&ie=UTF-8

Third Order Knowledge Mapping’, a paper presented to the NKOS Workshop in Vienna, September 2005. Available at: http://www2.db.dk/nkos2005/Bob%20Bater.pdf



ISABELLE CABOS
Isabelle has worked on the assessment of macro and micro sustainable development issues for the European Parliament, the European Commission and the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. She has a degree in environment and economics, and is now involved in the development of corporate responsibility issues at the European Investment Bank.

Isabelle has a number of published works on related KM subjects. These include:
Working document providing guidance to the UN CSD expert group on ISD for the preparation of the CSD 7 on The relationships between indicators of sustainable development. Benchmark of methods to links and aggregate economic, environmental and social indicators to evaluate policies of sustainable development (UN CSD, 1999)



Co-author of Towards environmental pressure indicators for the EU. Report covers 10 of the policy fields developed in the 5th Environmental Action Programme of the Commission: Air pollution, Climate Change, Loss of Biodiversity, Marine Environment and Coastal zones, Ozone Layer depletion, Resources Depletion, Dispersion of Toxics substances, Urban Environment Problems, Waste, Water Pollution and Water resources. It describes the pressure exerted by human activities on the environment. (ISBN 92-828- 4978-3) (DG environment / Eurostat, 1998)



Contributed to the SCOPE 58 edited by Bedrich Moldan and Suzanne Billharz Sustainability Indicators, ISBN 0471-97352-1 (UNEP, 1997)



Author of a pilot study on Indicators of Sustainable Development following the methodology and the framework of the Commission on Sustainable Development of the United Nations for the Earth Review II (June 97). The report presented Economic, Social, Environmental and Institutional indicators, indicating the purpose of the measure, a short methodological description, data available at EU-15 level, comments on the context and the trend observed. (ISBN 92-827-9828-3, 134 pages). (Eurostat, 1996-1997).



Author of European Parliament working documents on The Common Market Organisation of fruit and vegetables, The Common Market Organisation of wine, The Common Market Organisation of banana, and Glossary of the Common Market Organisation, 1994-1996.


PAUL CATHERALL
I inserted information about Paul in my 6th News Update, so will not repeat that information here! However, it did not include information about Paul’s published articles, so a few examples of these references are listed below.
Career Development in a non-traditional library role: some personal reflections. Information for Social Change, No. 19, Summer 2004 (also published in Ymlaen, Wales CDG newsletter, Autumn 2004) http://libr.org/isc/articles/19-Catherall-1.html
Influences in E-Learning: forces for change or confusion? Information for Social Change, No. 19, Summer 2004 http://libr.org/isc/articles/19-Catherall-2.html
Starting to write for the Information Sector, some experiences. Information for Social Change, No. 22, Winter 2005 http://libr.org/isc/issues/isc22/22-11.pdf
An overview of Grounded Theory following attendance at the London Grounded Theory conference with Barney Glaser 24th-26th April 2006 (internal NEWI paper), 2006. Available at: http://draigweb.co.uk/elearning

Furthermore, Paul has a lovely book of poems (also illustrated by him) –
‘Foibles, Frolics and Phantasms: Illustrated Poems (1995- 2005)’, (2006) Baltimore, PublishAmerica. ISBN: 1424113997.
I have reviewed this book. See:
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Foibles,%20Frolics%20and%20Phantasms



PROFESSOR BRUCE LLOYD
Bruce spent over 20 years in industry and finance before joining the academic world a decade ago to help establish the Management Centre at what is now London South Bank University.

He has a degree in Chemical Engineering and a MSc (Economics) / MBA from the London Business School. He obtained his PhD (by published work) in 1996 for his work on 'The Future of Offices and office Work: Implications for Organisational Strategy'.

His experience of industry included time with BP and the Commonwealth Development Finance Company, where he was concerned with investing in small companies in various parts of the world. During the 1980's he also spent sometime with ICI plc assisting in their New Ventures programme, particularly in Billingham.

Over the past twenty years he has been involved on the Executive of the Strategic Planning Society and as a Council Member of the (now) Chartered Management Institute. He was a member of the latter's Advisory Board for a research project on 'Leadership: A Challenge for All' and was involved in a development of that project which was specifically concerned with leadership issues in the public sector. He was also involved in a study on the future of the Professions that was being undertaken by the Royal Society of Arts. He has been actively involved, as a past Chairman, with the Association of MBA's.

Since the late 1960's he has written extensively on a wide range of strategy related issues, such as 'Economies of Scale', 'Energy Policy', 'The Future of Offices and Office Work', the link between Power, Responsibility, Leadership and Learning (including an article 'Leadership and Power: Where Responsibility Makes the Difference', in 'Coaching for Leadership: How the World's Greatest Coaches Help Leaders Learn', Edited by Marshall Goldsmith, Laurence Lyons and Alyssa Freas, Jossey-Bass (2000)) and more recently he has been exploring the relationship between Wisdom and Knowledge Management.

He has undertaken over 30 interviews with leading thinkers on leadership published in 'Leadership and Organizational Development Journal', as well having done other interviews for the 'Tomorrow Project Bulletin'. This included an interview with Lyndsay Rees-Jones at the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) on epublishing, which was published in the March 2002 issue (pp. 6-7). He was the UK co-ordinator for 'The Millennium Project' operated by the American Council for the UN University 1999-2005.

His present interests focus on lecturing, researching and writing on Strategy and Futures related areas.


Dr LEBURN ROSE
Lee is Head of the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Foundation Studies at London South Bank University. He worked for several years in manufacturing and engineering before moving into academia. Lee is deeply committed to teaching, with a portfolio that now includes management education in information technology and business. Furthermore, he also taught on the MSc in knowledge management systems at London South Bank University. This is how I first connected with Lee – I also taught on this course. His PhD is in the area of economic evaluation of human platelet cloning.

Lee also spoke at the book launch for my globalisation book. For a full report of the book launch (including a summary of Lee’s speech) see:
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Full%20Report%20Ruth%20Rikowski%5ba%5ds%20%20Book%20Launch%20for%20Globalisation,%20Information%20and%20Libraries

Lee is very enthusiastic about writing and developing new ideas. His chapter in this KM is his first published work, and I very much hope that it will lead on to many more publications by him, which would be of benefit to many, I feel sure.


MANDY WEBSTER
Mandy gained her law degree at the University of Nottingham and an MA in librarianship at Loughborough University. For the lat ten years she has been the library and information services manager at Browne Jacobson LLP, working as a legal information specialist. This work has included developing intranet resources, online services and information skills training. Her previous experience includes working in academic sector libraries and research and National Health Service information services.



4. WRITING FOR THE LIBRARY PROFESSION: A SIRSIDYNIX EVENT
I used to work for Dynix (a library software company), which has now merged with Sirsi, to form SIRSIDYNIX (See: http://www.sirsidynix.com/Solutions/Products/integratedsystems.php).


I periodically receive news items from the company. This news item on ‘Writing for the Library Profession’ looked particularly interesting, so information about this is included below.

NEWS ITEM FROM SIRSIDYNIX

“The session will be presented by:
Stephen Abram - Vice President of Innovation for SirsiDynix and
Chief Strategist for the SirsiDynix Institute

Judith A. Siess - Expert in one-person librarianship and
interpersonal networking

On Tuesday, July 10, 2007, 11 a.m. - noon Eastern / 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. Pacific



Do you Have Something Important to Say?

Do you want to inform and influence your colleagues? Do you have a story to
tell? Have you done something innovative that delighted your users? We do not have a paucity of ideas and innovation in libraryland – we do have a problem with diffusion. We need to share our ideas and experiences more. From blog postings, to periodical and newsletter articles, to Web site content, and even to books, library staff are increasingly being asked to write. With the dynamic and rapid change happening in our sector, we have an increasing obligation to share our knowledge and experiences. It's an exciting time to be in libraries.

Register now to take part in this FREE webinar.

This SirsiDynix Institute brings together two library leaders, authors, bloggers, and journalists to share their secrets and tips. Both share the experience of putting together this year's bestselling Out Front with Stephen Abram. Judith Siess's latest book is The New OPL Sourcebook: A Guide for Solo and Small Libraries. The two authors’ blogs are among the most popular, “Stephen's Lighthouse” and “OPL Plus” (not just for OPLs anymore). Both share their knowledge, insights, and opinions openly. Want to know some of the secrets? With all of the great innovations happening around the world in libraries, we have to start sharing more. If we don't take our candles out from under the basket, who will?

Stephen’s Blog: Stephen’s Lighthouse, http://stephenslighthouse.sirsi.com/
Judith’s blog: OPL Plus (not just for OPLs anymore), http://opls.blogspot.com/

Register for this SirsiDynix Institute webinar at:
https://events.livemeeting.com/SirsiDynix071007Reg.htm

If you have missed previous SirsiDynix Institute events, or are unable to make this one, we have an extensive archive posted at http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/archive.php. You can check out past events at any time.

Read about more 2007 SirsiDynix Institute events at http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/


N.B. My I.T. background, work experience, publications and talks will be a topic for a future News Update.




5. MARX AND THE FUTURE OF THE HUMAN BY GLENN RIKOWSKI
In October 2000, Glenn Rikowski presented a paper at the 'Marx, Individuals & Society' Seminar at Birkbeck College, University of London, entitled Marx and the Future of the Human.
An edited and much shorter version of this paper went on to be published in Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory (Vol.11 No.2, pp.121-164) in 2003. This was entitled: ‘Alien Life: Marx and the Future of the Human’.
The full and original paper is now available for the first time at The Flow of Ideas web site, at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Marx%20and%20the%20Future%20of%20the%20Human








6. ‘MANAGING STRESS AND CONFLICT IN LIBRARIES’ BY SHEILA PANTRY
Sheila Pantry (who also used to be one of my book reviewers for Managing Information) has a new book out, and she asked me if I would circulate information about it. Thus, the press release for it is below. It certainly looks like a useful book!


“PRESS RELEASE 21 June 2007



SHEILA PANTRY ASSOCIATES LTD
Managing stress and conflict in Libraries
by Sheila Pantry OBE BA FCLIP
Facet Publishing: London, 2007; ISBN 978-1-85604-613-8
Stress and conflict in the workplace undermines performance and can make people mentally and physically ill, and research indicates that ever-increasing numbers of people are experiencing excessive pressure of this kind – including aggression and abuse – in our rapidly changing world of work.



This applies to libraries and information organizations as much as anywhere; indeed they can be particular targets for verbal and non-verbal violent behaviour, through their accessibility to the public, and there are also employees of such organizations who are suffering, often in silence, from aggression, bullying and harassment from a work colleague.



Tackling – and preventing – conflict and stress effectively is a legal responsibility for management, and can result in significant benefits for the organization in terms of recruitment and retention, employee commitment, performance and productivity, customer satisfaction, organizational image and reputation, and avoidance of potential litigation.



Managing Stress and Conflict in Libraries defines clearly what should and should not be tolerated in a healthy and safe working environment, and introduces the reporting procedures and communication skills leading to conflict resolution, enabling both employees and managers to consider situations consistently based on risk assessment previously carried out. The chapters in the book cover:



· Current health and safety concerns
· Are you at risk?
· The business case
· Risk assessment procedure
· Advice, guidance and legislation
· Taking action to solve interpersonal conflict
· Dealing with aggression and violence
· Support to be expected inside and outside the organization.



Also included are case studies, a glossary of health and safety terms, and sources of further information, including relevant legislation.



This book is essential reading for employees at all levels, and also for managers, team leaders, supervisors, personnel and human resources staff, complaints officers, union officers and anyone else in the information organization who may be called upon to deal with people.



Sheila Pantry OBE BA FCLIP manages an independent information services consultancy and electronic publishing business, including websites. She has had a long and varied career in information management in a range of industry sectors, and also in government as Head of Information Services for the Health and Safety Executive. She specializes in worldwide occupational health and safety information and is an experienced trainer, writer, editor and lecturer.



All titles available at 20% discount to Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals members.Remember to quote your Membership Number if claiming the discount.


Facet Publishing, 7 Ridgmount Street, London WC1E 7AE, UK www.facetpublishing.co.uk
Available from Bookpoint Ltd, Mail Order Dept, 39 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4TD.Tel: +44 (0)1235 400400. Fax: +44 (0) 1235 832068/861038. Email: orders@bookpoint.co.ukFurther information - email: sp@sheilapantry.com






7. THE OCKRESS by VICTOR VERNE RIKOWSKI
The ‘Ockress’ is an epic tale by Victor Rikowski set in PowerPoint format. In action, content and storyline Victor thinks it can be compared to Wagner’s ‘Ring’ and the operas’ comic-book-like drama, (Richard Wagner being Victor’s favourite composer). The Ockress demonstrates human characters in super-human situations. It is a fantasy, semi-autobiographical story of adventurers, heroes, Gods long dead and Gods reborn in different forms. The detail within the plot embraces an altogether universal approach, in its enormity and expansiveness and it is dealing once more with essentially human issues.



Victor is currently investigating the possibility of inserting The ‘Ockress’ on the web. If anyone would like to know more about this, and/or would like to see a sample of the material and/or would like a demonstration of The Ockress, then contact Victor at: TheOckress@hotmail.co.uk. Alternatively, contact me at: rikowskigr@aol.com.





8. TECHNORATI
It is good to see that my blogs are now being picked up by ‘Technorati’ which according to the website has ‘zillions of photos, videos, blogs and more’. See:
http://technorati.com/posts/tag/Ruth+Rikowski

‘Technorati’ currently tracks 86.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media.
It says on the ‘Technorati’ website that it is:
“…the recognized authority on what's happening on the World Live Web, right now. The Live Web is the dynamic and always-updating portion of the Web. We search, surface, and organize blogs and the other forms of independent, user-generated content (photos, videos, voting, etc.) increasingly referred to as “citizen media.” ” (http://technorati.com/about/)



Many thanks to Bruce Lloyd, SirsiDynix and Sheila Pantry for providing information for items 3, 4 and 6 respectively. Some of the other information for the profiles for item 3 were sent to me by the contributors prior to the publication of the KM book, and helped to form the ‘About the Contributors’ section of the book (pp.xiii-xiv).


Best wishes,
Ruth




28th June 2007

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