Computer and information scientists describe open source software for knowledge management, especially within the growing concept of technological ecosystems, which can adapt and improve like natural ecosystems if everyone has access to the code. Their topics include tool interoperability for learning management systems, technological ecosystem maps for information technology governance:
application to a higher education institution, the need of the research community: open source solution for researching knowledge management, knowledge structuring for sustainable development and the Hozo Tool, and trying to go open: knowledge management in an academic journal.
– Protoview Reviews
This volume in the Advances in Knowledge Acquisition, Transfer, and Management (AKATM) book series offers the latest research on the technical intricacies and evolution of contemporary information systems in an expert but digestible way. The volume shares the tested work of scholars devoted to clarifying the “technological ecosystems” or unique processes whereby businesses or institutions manage their information. With backgrounds in computer science and business, the book’s contributors show how open source, or shared technologies, can help address issues and enhance protocols within each entity’s ecosystem to meet their specialized needs.
Nine chapters introduce readers to several types of these ecosystems in addition to discussing issues that may arise around them and benefits behind their design. Early chapters focus on “learning ecosystems” whereby technology is designed to facilitate educational processes, while a later chapter discusses the “gamification ecosystem,” defining its attributes and positioning it within the wider context of knowledge management. “Tools Interoperability for Learning Management Systems” explores the need for nurturing component relationships within and without these ecosystems, while “Software Engineering for Technological Ecosystems” discusses the computing processes behind the creation and evolution of these ecosystems. Other chapters employ case studies to argue for the inclusion of information ecosystems within sustainability topics and use of open source technologies within the greater realm of knowledge management. The book further explores “ecosystem maps,” ecosystems within the research community, open source frameworks for collaborative Internet sites, and more.
Like other titles in the series, each chapter begins with an abstract that summarizes the impetus for the research to follow. Chapters may also include background information and summary conclusions, and make strong use of headings, subheadings, bullet points, key terms and definitions, data tables, and more.
This volume definitely benefits from the inclusion of a preface, which works to establish the volume’s organization as well as its highly specialized mission. References are listed at the end of each chapter and compiled again at the end of the book, alongside brief contributor biographies and an index. IT professionals, educators, and students, in addition to data analysis specialists throughout a variety of fields, would be interested in this material.
– ARBA Staff Reviewer