Knowledge organisation in a Web‐based environment
Reviews the approaches to the organisation of knowledge in Web‐based environments. The control and structure helps searchers to locate information and services, but only provided that searchers understand and relate to the terms and information structure designed into the system. The other alternative is for the searcher to specify the topic of their search through the use of keywords. These keywords are in the natural language of the searcher, which may or not be coincident with the natural language of the Web sites being searched by the search engine. In order to negotiate the variability of natural language the searcher needs to learn to use more advanced search features such as Boolean searching, nesting and truncation. The knowledge organisation issues associated with access to and retrieval from large databases, such as those that are searched across the Web, are significant and need careful and specialist attention.
Drowning in information, but thirsty for knowledge
A lack of structure, not the amount, is the reason for our growing inability to cope with information today. Through the advances in information technology, information has lost the connection with its carrier; therefore, the medium can no longer be used as a reliable indicator of information type. The classical methods of information handling are not sufficient for the growing amount and the new forms of information. In an information society, the individual needs a more comprehensive system of information management. The suggestion is to use four universal structuring dimensions - selection, time, hierarchy and sequence - and apply them to information, regardless of the information carrier. Information producers, as well as information consumers, can use this tool-set to profit more fully from the growing mass of information.
Creating a competitive advantage in Higher Education Institutions: proposal and test of a conceptual model
The present research aims to propose and test a conceptual model that explains the process of identification of competitive advantages in a Higher Education Institution (HEI). The paper identified the players connected to these institutions and the internal and external factors that create competitive advantage in a HEI. A case study of a HEI is analysed. The main contribution of this study is the adaptation of three theoretical approaches of the business strategy field to the higher education sector. The findings show evidence that, to be competitive, a HEI should have a stronger connection between resources, territory, and stakeholders.