I-Space (conceptual framework)
{{Short description|Framework by Max Boisot for knowledge management}}
{{About|a framework by Max Boisot for knowledge management|the technical term in information systems|Information space|text=For other uses, see i-Space (disambiguation).}}
The Information Space or I-Space is a conceptual framework relating the degree of structure of knowledge (i.e. its level of codification and abstraction) to its diffusibility (i.e. how, why, and at what rate it spreads) as that knowledge develops.
History
The model was developed by Max Boisot, and the I-Space framework has been acknowledged as an early influence on the development of the Cynefin framework.{{cite journal | last1 = Snowden | first1 = D | year = 2002 | title = Complex Acts of Knowing: Paradox and Descriptive Self Awareness | journal = Journal of Knowledge Management | volume = 6 | issue = 2| pages = 100–111 | doi = 10.1108/13673270210424639 }}
Use
This results in four different types of knowledge.Boxer, P, [https://www.asymmetricleadership.com/2006/04/03/managing-over-the-whole-governance-cycle/ "Managing over the whole Governance Cycle"], Asymmetric Design, April 2006
- Public knowledge, such as textbooks and newspapers, which is codified and diffused.
- Proprietary knowledge, such as patents and official secrets, which is codified but not diffused. Here barriers to diffusion have to be set up.
- Personal knowledge, such as biographical knowledge, which is neither codified nor diffused.
- Common sense – i.e. what ‘everybody knows’, which is not codified but widely diffused.
Representation
The I-Space model is commonly shown as a cube with three axes: abstraction, codification and diffusion. This cube as such spans a three-dimensional "information space". The curve draws a social learning cycle, showing how as knowledge is increasingly moved from concrete experiential Zen type knowledge (insights which can occur suddenly, often equated with a kind of enlightenment) to codified highly abstract (expert language etc.), where it is increasingly easy for it to diffuse independently of the knowledge holder. Once internalised it moves back to the concrete.Snowden, D (2010) [http://cognitive-edge.com/blog/part-one-origins-of-cynefin/ "The origins of Cynefin (part 1)"] Cognitive Edge March 2010
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{Cite journal
| last = Boisot
| first = Max
| title = The I-Space: a framework for analyzing the evolution of social computing
| journal = Technovation
| volume = 19
| issue = 9
| pages = 525–536
| year = 1999
| url = http://www.mendeley.com/research/ispace-framework-analyzing-evolution-social-computing/
| issn = 0166-4972
| doi =10.1016/s0166-4972(99)00049-8
| access-date = 1 November 2011| url-access = subscription
}}
- {{Cite journal
| last = Boisot
| first = Max
| title = Exploring the information space: a strategic perspective on information systems
| publisher = IN3 Internet Interdisciplinary Institute
| date = May 2004
| url = http://www.uoc.edu/dt/20415/index.html
| access-date = 1 November 2011}}
- {{Cite journal
| last = Casillas-Santillan
| first = Luis Alberto
| title = A Multidimensional Model To Map Knowledge
| journal = Journal of Knowledge Management Practice
| date = August 2005
| url = http://www.tlainc.com/articl93.htm
| access-date = 1 November 2011}}
- {{Cite journal
| last = Leong
| first = Lam Chuan
| title = Complexity, Bureaucracy and the Information Space
| journal = Ethos
| issue = Jul–Sep 2005
| url = http://www.cscollege.gov.sg/cgl/EthosPast/05Jul/05Complexity.pdf
| access-date = 11 June 2010}}
- {{Cite journal
| last = Savory
| first = Clive
| title = Translating knowledge to build technological competence
| journal = Management Decision
| volume = 44
| issue = 8
| pages = 1052–1075
| year = 2006
| url = http://oro.open.ac.uk/7094/
| doi = 10.1108/00251740610690612
| access-date = 11 June 2010| url-access = subscription
}}