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
editThe 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.[1]
Use
editThis results in four different types of knowledge.[2]
- 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
editThe 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.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Snowden, D (2002). "Complex Acts of Knowing: Paradox and Descriptive Self Awareness". Journal of Knowledge Management. 6 (2): 100–111. doi:10.1108/13673270210424639.
- ^ Boxer, P, "Managing over the whole Governance Cycle", Asymmetric Design, April 2006
- ^ Snowden, D (2010) "The origins of Cynefin (part 1)" Cognitive Edge March 2010
Further reading
edit- Boisot, Max (1999). "The I-Space: a framework for analyzing the evolution of social computing". Technovation. 19 (9): 525–536. doi:10.1016/s0166-4972(99)00049-8. ISSN 0166-4972. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- Boisot, Max (May 2004). "Exploring the information space: a strategic perspective on information systems". IN3 Internet Interdisciplinary Institute. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Casillas-Santillan, Luis Alberto (August 2005). "A Multidimensional Model To Map Knowledge". Journal of Knowledge Management Practice. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- Leong, Lam Chuan. "Complexity, Bureaucracy and the Information Space" (PDF). Ethos (Jul–Sep 2005). Retrieved 11 June 2010.
- Savory, Clive (2006). "Translating knowledge to build technological competence". Management Decision. 44 (8): 1052–1075. doi:10.1108/00251740610690612. Retrieved 11 June 2010.