Knowledge Management

After checking out information on knowledge worker, knowledge management, knowledge management systems, and information management, I saw a few things that interested me.

I have never heard of a knowledge worker, anyone who works for a living at the tasks of developing or using knowledge. Because of their ability to act and communicate with knowledge, they usually advance the overall understanding of that subject through focused analysis, design and/or development. The demand for knowledge workers is increasing, and they are estimated to outnumber all other workers in the US by a minimum of four to one. You would think that the term would be more familiar with the demand. They are extremely beneficial to organizations in a variety of ways.

A knowledge management (KM) system’s name basically explains itself. The idea of it is to enable employees to have ready access to the organization's documented base of facts, sources of information, and solutions. Because they deal with information, they are considered to be a class of information system. Its name can be associated to Open Source Software, and Open Standards, Open Protocols and Open Knowledge licenses, initiatives and policies. Although there are multiple advantages, the avoiding of reducing redundant work I think would be one of the highest ranked advantages.

Information management how I understand is basically the managing of the collection and distribution of information. The most interesting fact about information management is in its history. Throughout the 1970s, info management was limited to files, file maintenance, and the life cycle management of paper-based files, other media and records, but with increasing information technology, the job of information management took on a “new light” and began to include the field of Data maintenance. Therefore, the job was no longer a simple job that could be performed by almost anyone.

Wikipedia states that “Knowledge Management (KM) comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences.” It has a history of including on-the-job discussions, formal apprenticeship, discussion forums, corporate libraries, professional training and mentoring programs. Recently, there technological adaptations have occurred including knowledge bases, expert systems, knowledge repositories, group decision support systems, intranets, and computer supported cooperative work have been introduced to further enhance such efforts. Knowledge management programs can produce extraordinary benefits to individuals and organizations if they are purposeful, concrete, and action-oriented.

Personal firewalls and computer/network monitoring

The Internet has made large amounts of info available to computer users, which has become essential rather than an advantage for many. Connecting a private network to the Internet can expose critical or confidential data to malicious attacks from anywhere. Firewalls can protect both individual computers (software) and corporate networks (hardware and software) from hostile intrusion from the Internet. Either way, it must have at least two network interfaces, one for the network it is intended to protect, and one for the network it is exposed to. A firewall sits at the junction point or gateway between the two networks, usually a private network and a public network such as the Internet, and it examines all traffic routed between the two networks to see if it meets certain criteria. If it does, it is routed between the networks, otherwise it is stopped. A firewall filters both inbound and outbound traffic.
Firewalls only address the issues of data integrity, confidentiality and authentication of data that is behind the firewall. Any data that transits outside the firewall is subject to factors out of the control of the firewall. 
Luckily, most, if not all computers, have firewall software. 
With computer monitoring, you have the power to record what someone does and when they do it. Some monitoring software will record email, keystrokes, chats, instant messages, keystrokes, websites, screenshots, usernames, passwords, and more. Virtually All computer and Internet activities that occur on a monitored computer will be recorded. The benefits are unlimited. Home users can use this software as a backup for sensitive data, monitoring their suspicious children, increasing employee productivity, and much more.

IMDb

According to Wikipedia, Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media, and it was launched on October 17, 1990, and in 1998 was acquired by Amazon.com.

I queried Jennifer Aniston on IMDb.com and displayed was her biography, contact information, photos, what she is known for, a Filmography section with subsections (actress, soundtrack, producer, director, thanks, self, archive footage), related videos, personal details, did you know section, message boards, and people discussing titles she is known for.

I would say it is a relational database because the information on the page couldn’t possibly be from just one table, but from many different tables linked together through Jennifer Aniston (primary key). The basic principle of the relational model is the Information Principle: all information is represented by data values in relations. In accordance with this Principle, a relational database is a set of relations and the result of every query is presented as a relation. The relational database model consists of tables that are linked together through common fields. Any table can be accessed without having to go through a hierarchy. A table can be linked to any number of parent tables and a parent table can have any number of child tables.

I attached screenshots of the web page.

The Genius Within: Legacy of Leonardo Da Vinci

The Legacy of Leonardo da Vinci

            When a person hears the word “genius”, the first thought that comes to mind is usually Albert Einstein. What is really genius? According to Wikipedia.com, a genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight. A genius can be a scholar in many subjects or a single subject. A person I feel qualifies as a genius is Leonardo Da Vinci, born as Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci.

            Leonardo da Vinci, a master of many fields, is most commonly known for his art. Earning the title of the Renaissance Man, Da Vinci was an Italian polymath as a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, geometer, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer (Leonardo da Vinci) (Leonardo da Vinci Secrets).  Da Vinci is considered to be one of the greatest scientific minds and artists to have existed. Da Vinci's fascination with science and his in-depth study of human anatomy aided him in mastering the realist art form. The “superhuman” that we know began in Italy in 1452.

            Although most of Da Vinci’s childhood is unknown, as a young child he had access to academic texts and was exposed to the painting tradition through his father. As a child, he showed astonishing talent, at music, being strong in math, and sketching plants and animals (Leonardo's Life). Although his education in Latin, geometry, and mathematics was informal, he was intelligent and strong in each area. His father asked him to paint a round shield and in turn received a superb painting of a multi-headed monster which made him realize his true talent. Shortly thereafter, Da Vinci’s father apprenticed him to Verrocchio, a notorious painter, sculptor, and goldsmith. Although the facts are unclear of his apprenticeship, there he had the opportunity to paint an angel in Verrocchio's "Baptism of Christ," and he was so much better than his master's that Verrocchio allegedly resolved never to paint again (Museum of Science). As a master of arts, Leonardo da Vinci at the age of twenty was accepted into the painter’s guild of Florence. In 1476, he was accused of sodomy; this incident made others wonder of his sexuality. In 1478 is when he really began his career as an artist, creating some of the most famous paintings known today like the Mona Lisa.

            Over time he traveled mostly for working purposes.  There were multiple occasions where he was hired by the government to design intricate state buildings or churches or to conceive of new weaponry that if ever used would have taken the enemy by great surprise. He designed many inventions, practical and impractical, that projected modern technology, like the helicopter, tank, use of solar power, and the calculator (Leonardo da Vinci Secrets). Ironically, he designed a bridge that was seen as impossible until May of 2006 when it was created. He kept journals of drawings that merged art with natural philosophy and notes written in mirror-image cursive. Although he uses an observational approach to science, scholars mostly ignored him as a scientist because he had no formal education in mathematics and Latin. He created detailed drawings of human and animal anatomy.

            If observed closely, Da Vinci used science in his art. He kept his private life mostly a secret. Leonardo always tried to combine movement and expression into his paintings. He experienced a very extensive career that was occupied with times during which he was celebrated, but at times he was also humiliated and cast away (Leonardo Da Vinci's Life). His life influenced his work, and surprisingly, many of his paintings were never completed. Many of his inventions went unrecognized, but all in all, he is a scholar of many subjects. He is still considered one of the greatest minds in different aspects. His legacy is well-known of arts and sciences.

               

New to this

So, I've never actually blogged before, but it seems interesting... soo I guess I can use it to my advantage. I'll probably mostly use it for educational purposes and well life :-)