KM for development-oriented organizations (government agencies, non-government organizations or civil society organizations, non-profit foundations, aid or donor agencies, social enterprises, etc.) is more complex than KM for private corporations. In development-oriented organizations, external KM (or KM to serve stakeholders) must consider the multiplicity of stakeholders and external actors, each with their own different or sometimes conflicting interests and agendas, complex power relations, differences in cultural background, different “knowledges” or epistemological assumptions, etc.

A simple way of quickly grasping the differences in interests and power relations among a group is through a sociogram. Below is a sociogram drawn for the members of the Executive Committee of an ad hoc network consisting of local and national government, non-government, private and academic members.

The sociogram was constructed after interviewing and iterative discussion/refinement of the diagram with a knowledgeable informant who knows and have worked with everybody in the Executive Committee. The sociogram has two dimensions: extent of informal power/influence and position along an issue or policy dimension, in this case environmental beliefs or ideology. Note the following:

• The members are generally clumped at the high-power, right-leaning end of the diagram. This means somewhat general agreement and power equality.
• The widest gaps between any two members show the potential conflicts. An actual conflict can be depicted in red. In the figure the widest gap is more horizontal then vertical, which means that the conflict is more along beliefs than along power differentials.
• The Chairperson (Person #1) and Vice-Chairperson (Person #2) are more-or-less ideologically at the center of the group, which means that they are in a position to mediate or balance the groups “to the left” and “to the right”. The vertical position is informal power. Note that the Chairperson is at the top: he has both formal and informal power. However, there are two members (Persons #6 and #7) who exert slightly more power than the Vice-Chairman, and they are both “rightists”. Hence, if the Vice-Chairman takes over, he may not be able to play the balancing role because two “rightists” may tend to overpower him.
• The person with the most extreme position in the group, or the farthest away of everybody else is Person #4. She is the head of a network of local civil society organizations. She is somewhat aligned with Person #3. She is always at odds with Person #7 who is represents a private corporation. The power of Person #7 comes from the fact that this corporation is a major funder of the operations of this group.

Can you see now that a simple sociogram can give you that much insight?

In fact, an ordinary organizational chart tells you very little, namely, only the formal reporting relationships. It shows vice presidents at the same level but we know that in reality, vice presidents are never equally close to the president, and they often have unequal informal power or influence. In fact, it can happen that the secretary to the president is more powerful than any of the vice presidents! Ha ha!

—

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There must be some kind of record or achievement shrouded in pride and success of which the public has no knowledge to justify the magnitude of blatant wrongdoing perpetrated by law enforcement this year.

In this latest episode, a 20-year-old San Jose college student has become the latest in an expanding list of “statistics,” shedding more light on an issue that is becoming more visible by the instance.

Phuong Ho was viciously assaulted by San Jose P.D.; beaten over 10 times with a nightstick, with the final blow delivered via taser blast, provided for good measure.

Officers were responding to a scuffle between Ho and his roommate, Jeremy Suftin, whom admitted to putting soap on the young student’s steak. Ho responded by picking up a steak knife, proclaiming that Suftin would have been killed in his home country for showing such disrespect.

The first blow was delivered as the 200 lb student bent over to collect his glasses from the floor.

The Vietnamese man pleaded his situation to the police officer to no avail.  The official report for the incident says the officers could not understand him due to his accent.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA6UCsJrdUI[/youtube]

The Student Nurses Association at University of Southern Nevada in collaboration with HELP of Southern Nevada and The Butcher Block are holding “Turkey-A-Thon,” a Thanksgiving food drive. The organization will be collecting Thanksgiving food items in bins that will be located in the Student Common area of USN’s Henderson campus, located at 11 Sunset Way.  HELP of Southern Nevada has requested the following food items to be donated:

Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Canned meats (chicken, tuna etc)
Pastas/noodles
Jello Mix
Cake mix
Instant Mashed Potatoes
Pumpkin pie mix
Canned Gravy
Canned Vegetables (corn, peas etc.)

Also being collected are $5, $10, $15, $20 donations to buy turkeys from The Butcher Block to provide Thanksgiving dinners to families in Southern Nevada. The $20.00 donations will be used to pay for each turkey certificate and extra funds will be donated to HELP of Southern Nevada. The turkeys are large enough to feed a family of six. Cash or Check is preferred. Checks can be written out to University of Southern Nevada and delivered to Professor Marie Wright in the College of Nursing. For information, please call 702-968-1669 or email mwright@usn.edu.

USN Student Nurses Association members who donate five items from the list will earn one community service credit. For donation of $5, $10, $15, or $20 will also earn an additional one community service credit.

Monetary donations for the purchase of turkeys must be received by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17.

to zrobiliśmy w Wyszukali dzięki naszym technologiom: analiza banków w Internecie

Momentan lese ich mich in die Soziale Netzwerkanalyse ein. Was das genau ist (Methode, Ansatz, Paradigma …) sind sich wohl die Sozialen-Netzwerker selbst nicht sicher. Im Kern geht es um die Beziehungsanalyse von Akteuren untereinander. Ein Akteur kann dabei ein Mensch, eine Organisation oder auch ein Blog sein. Da es während meines Studiums nur kurz angerissen wurde, muss ich mich nochmals intensiv damit beschäftigen.

Einen wirklich sehr guten, umfassenden und verständlich geschriebenen Einführungstext gibt es von Robert A. Hanneman und Mark Riddle “Introduction to Social Network Methods” als Online Textbook oder gleich als PDF. Sehr lesenswert!

Eine ebenfalls sehr zu empfehlende Anlaufstelle ist diese Zusammenstellung von nützlichen Links.

The tool sector for builders and home repair is about to get a lot smaller for investors looking for diversification of company choices to invest in.  The Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) and The Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK) have proposed a merger which would unite the brands.  The companies see accretion to earnings per share of about $1.00 per share by year three with some $350 million in cost synergies.  This deal is a stock for stock merger where Black & Decker shareholders would receive a fixed shares ratio of 1.275 shares Of Stanley common stock per 1 share held of Black & Decker common stock.

The two companies call this a definitive merger agreement to create Stanley Black & Decker, which would become an $8.4 billion global industrial leader in an all-stock transaction valued at about $4.5 billion.

The transaction has already been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, and the deal would be expected to be completed in the first half of 2010.  The terms call for an implied premium of 22.1% to Black & Decker’s share price as of Friday, October 30, 2009. After the closing, Stanley shareholders would own about 50.5% of the equity of the combined company.

Also noted in management is that the nine members of the current Stanley board of directors will be joined by six new members from Black & Decker’s board of directors.  John F. Lundgren, Chairman and CEO of Stanley, will be President and CEO of the combined company.  Nolan Archibald, Chairman, President, and CEO of Black & Decker will become executive Chairman of the combined company for a period of three years.

Stanley was founded in 1843 is a diversified industrial company with hand tools and strong construction and do-it-yourself, security and industrial businesses with well-known brand names such as Stanley, FatMax, Bostitch, Facom, Proto, Mac Tools, Sonitrol, Stanley Security Solutions, Best, and Vidmar.

Black & Decker has roots dating to 1910 and brings in power tools and a diverse product offering under the brands of Black & Decker, DeWalt, Porter-Cable, Emhart Teknologies, Kwikset, Baldwin and Price Pfister.

This is effectively an acquisition by Stanley for Black & Decker.  Both companies are trading up on the news, with Black & Decker up 20% at $56.82 and Stanley Works up 2.3% at $46.20.  Before the buyout was announced, the market cap of Stanley was $3.2 billion and the market cap of Black & Decker was $2.8 billion.  With these companies being under $5 billion each, it is hard to imagine that antitrust regulation would come down too hard on the companies.

The merger only includes these two companies, but it has shares of Snap-On Inc. (NYSE: SNA) trading up 1.4% at $36.60 in after-hours trading.  Its market cap is $2.08 billion as of the close.

Jon C. Ogg

O SNA Barracuda: a origem do SNA brasileiro? (http://www.defesabr.com)

O Brasil prepara-se para começar a construir o seu primeiro submarino nuclear em 2016. O navio será uma variante do submarino francês Scorpène, mas com propulsão nuclear. O submarino deverá entrar ao serviço em 2021. Nessa data o Brasil entrará oficialmente no restrito número dos países que operam submarinos nucleares nas suas marinhas.

A construção do navio irá implicar um nível elevado de transferência de tecnologia nuclear francesa para o Brasil. Algo que não será de somenos se tivermos em conta o facto de que a França detém hoje a tecnologia nuclear mais avançada do mundo. Além da tecnologia de pequenos reatores, muito outro know-how no domínio da eletrónica, cascos, baterias, etc será transferida, potenciando a sua rápida aplicação na construção naval civil.

Pessoalmente, nunca fui grande adepto desta opção brasileira… Sempre considerei que o preço de desenvolver um tal submarino seriam equivalentes aos de manter toda uma frota dos mais modernos submarinos AIP, mas essa não é a tese favorita no Brasil, prevalecendo aquela que defende que um submarino nuclear poderá patrulhar de forma mais eficiente a imensa zona económica exclusiva brasileira e as cada vez mais importantes plataformas petrolíferas. É verdade que durante a Guerra das Malvinas, 3 submarinos nucleares britânicos conseguiram manter colada nos portos toda a marinha argentina, provando que um navio que pode estar submerso durante longos períodos pode ter um fantástico poder dissuasivo, mas… Um AIP pode fazer o mesmo, a apenas uma fração do preço de um SNA.

Fonte:
http://aeiou.expresso.pt/brasil-primeiro-submarino-nuclear-brasileiro-comeca-a-ser-construido-em-2016=f532894

Partint del principi de l’escassetat de recursos per a la conservació dels boscos, dels enllaços genètic entre ells i de la necessitat de protecció de la diversitat, investigadors de l’Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD) i de la Universidad de Sevilla publiquen a la revista PNAS un treball on analitzen 23.000 hectàrees de la vall del Guadalquivir.

“Aplicar la teoría de redes nos permite comprender las conexiones entre los distintos fragmentos de ese bosque y establecer un ranking de los fragmentos más importantes para el mantenimiento de la conectividad global”. Jordi Bascompte, investigador de la EBD/CSIC.

S’analitza patrons d’interacció entre els fragments de boscos en función de similituds genètiques.

S’estudia les unitats de conservació, que seria el percentatge de boscos que cal preservar per a que els processos ecològics i la diversitat genètica es mantinguen en nivells acceptables. Però a més, detecten quins fragments de bosc tenen una rellevància major per a la conservació del conjunt

“Son el punto clave porque actúan como ‘conectoras’, son como un grifo por donde fluyen los genes por el paisaje entero”. “Alguien que viese este paisaje puede pensar que en una zona como esta con 500 rodales no pasa nada si se quita uno o dos, pero si se elimina justo uno de estos fragmentos conectores el impacto sobre todo el conjunto sería tremendo y se empobrecería mucho su diversidad genética”. “Esto es importante porque si tenemos unos recursos económicos limitados entonces hay que priorizar. Hasta ahora la elección de qué proteger era subjetiva, pero con estas herramientas informáticas podemos determinar los nodos que hay que proteger antes y de manera totalmente objetiva”.

Vist a Soitu, per via dels Microsiervos

            Ce week-end avait lieu à la Ciotat les championnats de France de Mer. Cette compétition attire, chaque année, de plus en plus de rameurs venant de divers horizons et des quatre coins de l’hexagone. Le club de la SNA (Société Nautique d’Avignon)  décroche le titre en 2XJF (Laval-Maurel) et une médaille de bronze en 1XSF (Culty). Ces deux performances clôturent la saison 2009 pour le club vauclusien. Autre performance, la victoire du 2XSH de Lille dans lequel ramaient Pierre-Etienne Pollez et Brice Menet : ces deux rameurs avaient déjà remporté, sous les couleurs de l’Equipe de France, une belle médaille de bronze en 2XSHPL à Bagnoles lors de 1^ère Etape de Coupe du monde 2009. Cette fois ce fut l’expérience de l’ancien toulonnais qui permit à l’embarcation de  l’emporter face à une forte concurrence.

            De mon coté j’ai profité de ce week-end sur Lyon pour intensifier mes révisions. Mon partiel tombe ce mercredi 14 octobre. J’ai fait ce matin ma première sortie bateau (en skiff) depuis la fin des championnats du monde de Poznan. Sur le Lac de Miribel les algues sont toujours omniprésentes. Le fait que le niveau de l’eau soit bas, que cette dernière soit très claire et que les beaux jours persistent favorise la photosynthèse. Par conséquent les algues prolifèrent plus qu’elles ne régressent. Quelle frustration ! Le temps se fait long sachant que depuis début septembre c’est ainsi : le périmètre dans lequel nous pouvons évoluer en bateau est de 1500m.

            Bonne soirée !

Five years ago, it seemed inconceivable to me that I would someday use Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) to assess online discourse data. I recall vehemently arguing against LSA in a certain online graduate course at OISE, in which Teplovs (2001) was one of the assigned readings. I came up with rather elaborate examples in which I felt LSA would fail.

My thoughts on LSA took a radical turn last spring. That’s when Chris showed me what the Knowledge Space Visualizer could do to pinpoint activity of interest in my thesis data. This had immense appeal for me, as I had spent weeks if not months laboring on qualitative content analysis in NVivo, and the KSV could identify networks of ideas–and social networks–worth examining in far less time. This led to work on our CSCL 2009 poster. We are now preparing to present a more complete analysis for the Pinpointing Pivotal Moments in Collaboration Workshop at Alpine Rendez-Vous 2009 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

This paper was presented on Simposium Nasional Akuntansi (SNA) at Pontianak.

Language: Indonesia

Authors: Shulamite Damayanti and Made Sudarma

Abstract:

The need of auditing service has influenced the development of public accountant profession in Indonesia. The number of public accountant firms increasing may result in competition between public accountant firms.  In such condition, a corporation may change their auditor (auditor changes).

The purpose of thus research is to know whether the change of management, accountant opinion, audit fee, financial distress, public accountant firm’s size, and the percentage of the change of Return on Assets may influence limited corporations in Indonesia to change their auditors. This research is hypothesis testing. Secondary data consists of financial statements and certified public accountant’s statement of limited corporations listed in Bursa Efek Jakarta (BEJ) from 2003 until 2005. The data is analyzed with logistic regression.

 This research results in audit fee and public accountant firm’s size as variables influencing auditor changes and the change of management, accountant opinion, financial distress, and the percentage of the change of Return on Assets as variables not influencing auditor changes. The most significant variable is public accountant firm’s size as the indication of audit quality. Thus, audit quality is an important factor influencing auditor changes. Besides, audit fee is also an important variable influencing auditor changes.

The need of auditing service has influenced the development of public accountant profession in Indonesia. The number of public accountant firms increasing may result in competition between public accountant firms.  In such condition, a corporation may change their auditor (auditor changes).

The purpose of thus research is to know whether the change of management, accountant opinion, audit fee, financial distress, public accountant firm’s size, and the percentage of the change of Return on Assets may influence limited corporations in Indonesia to change their auditors. This research is hypothesis testing. Secondary data consists of financial statements and certified public accountant’s statement of limited corporations listed in Bursa Efek Jakarta (BEJ) from 2003 until 2005. The data is analyzed with logistic regression.

This research results in audit fee and public accountant firm’s size as variables influencing auditor changes and the change of management, accountant opinion, financial distress, and the percentage of the change of Return on Assets as variables not influencing auditor changes. The most significant variable is public accountant firm’s size as the indication of audit quality. Thus, audit quality is an important factor influencing auditor changes. Besides, audit fee is also an important variable influencing auditor changes.

Full paper please download: Damayanti&Sudarma_Faktor-faktor yang Mempengaruhi Perusahaan Berpindah KAP (.pdf 116kb)

This article was presented on Simposium Nasional Akuntansi XI (SNA XI) at Pontianak.

Authors: E. Yuvisa, A. Rohman, and S. Handayani

Abstracts:

This study examines the influence of PAuditors’ Identification with Their Client on Auditors’ Objectivity with Auditor Tenure, Client Importance and Client Image as Antesedent Variable. Continuing research  by Bamber and Iyer in 2005, as for becoming object from this research is auditors at Accounting Firms which listed  in Bapepam and Jakarta Stock Exchange (BEJ) in Indonesia.

This research represents the empirical test which used convinience sampling technics  in data collection. Data were collected using a survey of 104 auditors at Accounting Firms. Data analysis uses Structural Equation Model  (SEM) with the program SmartPLS (Partial Least Square).

Results of hypothesis examination indicate that to three factor in Social Identity Theory is auditor tenure (AT), client importance (CI) dan client image (CM) have positively influences on Client identification (CID). The conclusion that auditors do identify with their client and that auditors who identify more with a client are more likely to acquiecence to the client-preferred position. On the other hand, more experienced auditors and auditors who exhibit higher level of professional identification are less likely to acquiesce to the client’s  position.  

Keywords: Auditor Objectivity, Client Identification, Auditor Tenure, Client Importance, Client Image, Professional Identification, Social Identity Theory, Structural Equation Model (SEM), Partial Least Square.

Full download: Pengaruh Identifikasi Auditor atas Klien Terhadap Objektivitas Auditor dengan Auditor Tenure, Client Importance dan Client Image sebagai Variabel Anteseden (.pdf 187kb)

My previous blog entries (for e.g., in 2006 and 2007)  on social network analysis (SNA) flirted with tools available in Knowledge Forum. At the time, I was focused so intensely on completing my thesis that I couldn’t delve very deeply into the literature or software (scroll down to see download links for UCINET and others). I did run some basic analyses on my iteration 2 data, however, which yielded some promising insights into studying the social relationships among key participants.

While my Ph.D. research focused more on how concepts developed over time (i.e., scaffolding online discourse for knowledge building and characterizing pivotal moments in which ideas were improved), I vowed to explore SNA again when the opportunity arose. As I indicated for the CSCL 2009 Early Career Workshop  in Rhodes, I’m particularly interested in examining the interplay of relationships between ideas and the relationships between people over time. I’ll have the opportunity to present my data and explore various kinds of interaction analysis in the upcoming months, so stay tuned.

E’ l’una e mezza.. e sono ancora qui a scrivere su questa meravigliosa serata… dopo LinkedIn ho voluto dire la mia subito anche qui!

Sono molto felice dell’esito della serata: il calore è sato come sempre palpabile.

Tutte le persone che si sono avvicinate per la prima volta si sono subito integrate.. il jazz è stato un ottimo compagno per degustare la cena…

Eclettica fino in fondo???             

... meglio la jazz band!

A proposito di Jazz mi fa piacere ricordare che  La “piazza” di Vignola ha reagito ottimamente alla proposta di edutainment – formazione con intrattenimento musicale tanto che il concerto è stato patrocinato dalla Città di Vignola.

  Prosegui la lettura dell’articolo…

 

.. tutti sono attentissimi... poi scatteranno le domande...

Barbara racconta la prima tappa del Divino Scrivere Tour

E ancora una volta abbiamo portato  relatori che hanno tenuto incollata la platea: Rosario Sica  e Raffaele Mastroleonardo ci hanno elegantemente aperto la porta sul nostro futuro.

Raffaele Mastroleonardo

Rosario Sica

Abbiamo capito che quello che stiamo facendo noi di ModenaIN - con le nostre discussioni, i nostri incontri, i nostri  scambi - è una palestra verso il futuro: l’Organization Network.

Non dovremo aspettare molto prima che le dinamiche del Social Network entrino in tutte le aziende per rivoluzionare l’organizzazione e la gestione delle risorse umane… ma non solo! Stanno già cambiano i rapporti con i clienti (che diventano partner) e con i fornitori…

Rosario Sica

Il messaggio di Rosario è stato molto chiaro: Manager svegliatevi! Domani entreranno in azienda i giovani che oggi giocano con Facebook, Twitter, flick ecc….. pretenderanno di lavorare secondo queste logiche di condivisione e collaborazione…. ma i manager di oggi sono pronti? Sapranno cambiare approccio???

e i sistemi di valutazione della performance? e l’MBO?

…. ancora una volta le regole cambiano… ma noi di che ci preoccupiamo??? Non abbiamo sempre detto di essere fuori dagli schemi???

.. altro che ModenaIN Jazz...

... qui siamo a Follia in Jazz!

Al più presto pubblicheremo il video della serata… nel frattempo vi invitiamo a visitare la home del nostro nuovo sito web!

E’ ancora in fase di rilascio… ma già parla di noi! Ed è il frutto del lavoro di un team di professionisti che si è messo all’opera negli ultimi mesi regalando le proprie competenze al gruppo!

Io e Claudia per i testi, Susanna (il nostro cuore grafico), Valerio che ha studiato la strategia di posizionamento e gli strumenti, Cesare che ci ha aiutato a costruire una struttura “user oriented” e Nicola (di Nettamente) new entry che lo svilupperà tecnicamente!

Vi aspettiamo al prossimo evento… ma prima un doveroso GRAZIE agli eccezionali sponsors che hanno creduto nella filosofia e nel progetto ModenaIN e ai partner dell’organizzazione tra cui non possiamo dimenticare il Vignola Village Resort che ci ha accolto con un calore meraviglioso!

Grazie a Gecod (main sponsor), Alma Graduate School, GetConnected.it, Tippy.

Ed inoltre a Fiorini 1919 che ci ha deliziato con i suoi meravigliosi vini…

... quindi un grazie speciale a Fiorini 1919 con i suoi vini..

 Una buona notte a tutti (oramai sono le due…)

Anna Piacentini

Group Leader & Event Manager

W tej całej SNA ludzie lubią szybko zbierać dane. Często wydaje im się, że tak łatwo jest zebrać o kimś dane z portali społecznościowych. Pewnie, jeżeli ktoś szuka konkretnych informacji o stanie zamożności, którym ludzie chwalą się na Naszej Klasie, to może być OK.

Ale nie koniecznie tak jest z analizą sieci społecznych. Wellman powiedział już, że Internet jest przede wszystkim świetny do podtrzymywania słabych sieci społecznych. Może i tylko na ograniczony czas, ale zawsze. OK, ale warunkiem jest, że te nasze słabe więzi społeczne też są na Naszej Klasie… Ok, może są tam, ale nie ma ich wszystkich tam, gdzie spędzamy najbardziej intensywnie nasz czas, czyli na Facebooku (bo NK szybko się nudzi…:). Czyli nie ma tam wszystkich naszych kontaktów (i o tym wiedzą firmy prowadzące portale, które rekomendują znajomych na podstawie analizy linków, ale mojej babci nie ma na Facebooku). Za to są inne, redundantne, bo komuś chciało się dodać nas do znajomych, ale de facto tego kogoś nie znamy.

Czy rzeczywiście te kontakty są fałszywe? Marcin Nagraba podrzucił mi aplikację MyNet, która loguje się na konto Facebook’a i korzystając z api gotuje plik UCINETA. Jak wyglądam?

Centralny komponent jest zorganizowany wokół kont teatrów i innych inicjatyw społecznych (a ja tam raczej co najwyżej bywam na Polach Mokotowskich). Tylko moi znajomi ze szkół letnich są odseparowani (i słusznie). Poza tym mam nieco bardziej heterogeniczne towarzystwo niż te dwie wiązki.

No i drugi przykład. Krzysiek Rządca scrawlawał fragment jednego portalu społecznościowego dla profesjonalistów i wyssał sieci znajomości.

Przypomina mózg, prawda? Wyraźnie widać, że węzły można podzielić na gwiazdy i peryferia. Czy rzeczywiście jesteśmy aż tak spolaryzowani w stosunku liczby znajomych? Chyba nie… (może kiedyś napiszę, jak to wygląda z rekomendacjami, o wiele ciekawiej i realniej;)