title: Structured articulation of knowledge: The influence of question response structure on recipient attitude

authors: Bircham-Connolly, Heather Jayne

subjects: knowledge sharing

abstract: Business today is faced with discontinuity and unpredictable change, which makes
many of the structured processes of yesteryear redundant or obsolete. Process-based
transactions are being replaced with technology and increasingly organisations are
recognising the importance of proactively managing their knowledge transactions, to
remain competitive. While research on knowledge sharing is gaining the attention of
researchers, almost invariably their focus has been on the factors influencing
knowledge transfer at the macro-level in large multi-national organisations. Few
have attempted to unravel the complexities of individual-to-individual micro-level
knowledge sharing and those that have, for the most part have directed their
investigations towards exploring factors that enhance or impede the source individual
sharing their knowledge, rather than the recipient's receiving of knowledge. While
questioning is implicit in knowledge sharing there are assumptions that underpin the
structure of a question and these assumptions affect both the source and the
recipient.
This study investigates how the structure of a question posed to a source individual
when eliciting knowledge, influences the attitude of a recipient individual towards the
knowledge they receive from the question response. Drawing upon theoretical
assumptions that underpin question structure, three hypotheses are posed to
compare binary, open-ended and directed question responses. To test the
hypotheses a progression of three independent studies were performed using
laboratory and field experiments. The first study conducted in a laboratory, used a
contrived scenario case as the knowledge context and the second study replicated
this experiment in the field. The last study conducted in a single organisation, used
real organisational knowledge as the knowledge context.
Recipients of shared knowledge were found to be more favourably disposed towards
question responses that were structured in a complex manner; open-ended and
directed question responses were more favoured than binary question responses.
ii
There was no difference in recipient attitude between open-ended and directed
question responses and recipient attitude towards the shared knowledge was found
to be positively related to their intention to use the knowledge in the future.
These findings are of significance as they illustrate the importance of structuring
questions in a manner that is consistent with recipients of the shared knowledge
being more favourably disposed towards the knowledge they have received. In an
environment of ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty where decisions are nonprogrammed,
strategic and imperative to the competitiveness of the organisation, no
longer is the binary 'Yes' or 'No' compliance or audit style question, with its implicit
assumptions, sufficient to elicit knowledge. It is important to recognise that often we
do not know what we need to know until it is shared by someone. Further, when
shared knowledge is cognitively processed with our current knowledge base, the new
knowledge is likely to facilitate more informed decision-making. The more
favourably disposed the recipient is towards the knowledge the more likely it is that
they will use it in the future; knowledge is transferred.

text: Structured articulation of knowledge: The influence of question response structure on recipient attitude Business today is faced with discontinuity and unpredictable change, which makes
many of the structured processes of yesteryear redundant or obsolete. Process-based
transactions are being replaced with technology and increasingly organisations are
recognising the importance of proactively managing their knowledge transactions, to
remain competitive. While research on knowledge sharing is gaining the attention of
researchers, almost invariably their focus has been on the factors influencing
knowledge transfer at the macro-level in large multi-national organisations. Few
have attempted to unravel the complexities of individual-to-individual micro-level
knowledge sharing and those that have, for the most part have directed their
investigations towards exploring factors that enhance or impede the source individual
sharing their knowledge, rather than the recipient's receiving of knowledge. While
questioning is implicit in knowledge sharing there are assumptions that underpin the
structure of a question and these assumptions affect both the source and the
recipient.
This study investigates how the structure of a question posed to a source individual
when eliciting knowledge, influences the attitude of a recipient individual towards the
knowledge they receive from the question response. Drawing upon theoretical
assumptions that underpin question structure, three hypotheses are posed to
compare binary, open-ended and directed question responses. To test the
hypotheses a progression of three independent studies were performed using
laboratory and field experiments. The first study conducted in a laboratory, used a
contrived scenario case as the knowledge context and the second study replicated
this experiment in the field. The last study conducted in a single organisation, used
real organisational knowledge as the knowledge context.
Recipients of shared knowledge were found to be more favourably disposed towards
question responses that were structured in a complex manner; open-ended and
directed question responses were more favoured than binary question responses.
ii
There was no difference in recipient attitude between open-ended and directed
question responses and recipient attitude towards the shared knowledge was found
to be positively related to their intention to use the knowledge in the future.
These findings are of significance as they illustrate the importance of structuring
questions in a manner that is consistent with recipients of the shared knowledge
being more favourably disposed towards the knowledge they have received. In an
environment of ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty where decisions are nonprogrammed,
strategic and imperative to the competitiveness of the organisation, no
longer is the binary 'Yes' or 'No' compliance or audit style question, with its implicit
assumptions, sufficient to elicit knowledge. It is important to recognise that often we
do not know what we need to know until it is shared by someone. Further, when
shared knowledge is cognitively processed with our current knowledge base, the new
knowledge is likely to facilitate more informed decision-making. The more
favourably disposed the recipient is towards the knowledge the more likely it is that
they will use it in the future; knowledge is transferred.

year: 2007

title: Post-translocation assortative pairing and social implications for the conservation of an endangered songbird

authors: Bradley, David William

subjects: adaptive management

abstract: Animals translocated for conservation purposes may be sourced from multiple locations which may exhibit inter-site variability in reproductive behaviours. The influence that these differences may have on the propensity of pair formation, and the ultimate impact this may have on the success of the translocation, is unknown due to the low sample sizes of many translocations. We address this knowledge gap by collating an existing 18-year data set documenting multisource translocations of the endangered North Island Kōkako, Callaeas wilsoni, a duetting New Zealand species with known population-specific vocalizations. We found a strong, statistically significant tendency for Kōkako to pair assortatively with respect to source population (like with like) following release. Population-specific differences in sexually selected behaviours that are important in mate choice decisions, such as bird song, are likely the proximate explanation for such reproductive decisions. Accounting for the tendency to pair assortatively following translocation may be particularly important when managing highly vocal animals like Kōkako that produce vocal duets and cooperatively defend territories as mated pairs. Consequently, careful consideration of behavioural variation between translocated individuals should be made, which will appropriately inform decisions relating to release-cohort composition. Failure to consider such variation may negatively impact the success of a translocation as the effective population size of the founder group may be lower than intended. Our findings make an important contribution towards understanding the impact that behavioural variation can have on the conservation of endangered species, and highlight the value of combining long-term data from multiple sources.

text: Post-translocation assortative pairing and social implications for the conservation of an endangered songbird Animals translocated for conservation purposes may be sourced from multiple locations which may exhibit inter-site variability in reproductive behaviours. The influence that these differences may have on the propensity of pair formation, and the ultimate impact this may have on the success of the translocation, is unknown due to the low sample sizes of many translocations. We address this knowledge gap by collating an existing 18-year data set documenting multisource translocations of the endangered North Island Kōkako, Callaeas wilsoni, a duetting New Zealand species with known population-specific vocalizations. We found a strong, statistically significant tendency for Kōkako to pair assortatively with respect to source population (like with like) following release. Population-specific differences in sexually selected behaviours that are important in mate choice decisions, such as bird song, are likely the proximate explanation for such reproductive decisions. Accounting for the tendency to pair assortatively following translocation may be particularly important when managing highly vocal animals like Kōkako that produce vocal duets and cooperatively defend territories as mated pairs. Consequently, careful consideration of behavioural variation between translocated individuals should be made, which will appropriately inform decisions relating to release-cohort composition. Failure to consider such variation may negatively impact the success of a translocation as the effective population size of the founder group may be lower than intended. Our findings make an important contribution towards understanding the impact that behavioural variation can have on the conservation of endangered species, and highlight the value of combining long-term data from multiple sources.

year: 2013

title: Indigenous bodies: Ordinary lives

authors: Hokowhitu, Brendan

abstract: Ambivalence is the overwhelming feeling that haunts my relationship with physicality. Not only my body, but the bodies of an imagined multitude of Indigenous peoples dissected and made whole again via the violent synthesis of the colonial project. Like my own ambivalence (and by “ambivalence” I refer to simultaneous abhorrence and desire), the relationship between Indigenous peoples and physicality faces the anxiety of representation felt within Indigenous studies in general.

text: Indigenous bodies: Ordinary lives Ambivalence is the overwhelming feeling that haunts my relationship with physicality. Not only my body, but the bodies of an imagined multitude of Indigenous peoples dissected and made whole again via the violent synthesis of the colonial project. Like my own ambivalence (and by “ambivalence” I refer to simultaneous abhorrence and desire), the relationship between Indigenous peoples and physicality faces the anxiety of representation felt within Indigenous studies in general.

year: 2016