The development of knowledge management (KM) in theory and praxis continues to involve a wide range of disciplines and contributors, each bringing their respective experiences, beliefs, and practices. Two of the main disciplines that contribute to the KM discourse are information systems and management. However, this study of KM has revealed an apparent dichotomy between those researchers from an information systems background and those from a management background. Approaches and models based on each perspective have emerged, but there is little evidence of synergy and convergence. This article shows that attempts to develop an optimal KM methodology are misplaced unless the underlying assumptions and paradigms are identified and understood. Furthermore, it is proposed that KM is currently in a state of “pre-science,” wherein proponents of different paradigms have their own beliefs and values and often disagree with others about fundamentals within the field.

BackgroundIn areas where health resources are limited, community participation in the recognition and reporting of disease hazards is critical for the identification of outbreaks. This is particularly true for zoonotic diseases such as monkeypox that principally affect people living in remote areas with few health services. Here we report the findings of an evaluation measuring the effectiveness of a film-based community outreach program designed to improve the understanding of monkeypox symptoms, transmission and prevention, by residents of the Republic of the Congo (ROC) who are at risk for disease acquisition.Methodology/Principal FindingsDuring 90 days, monkeypox outreach was conducted for ∼23,860 people in northern ROC. Two hundred seventy-one attendees (selected via a structured sample) were interviewed before and after participating in a small-group outreach session. The proportion of interviewees demonstrating monkeypox-specific knowledge before and after was compared. Significant gains were measured in areas of disease recognition, transmission, and mitigation of risk. The ability to recognize at least one disease symptom and a willingness to take a family member with monkeypox to the hospital increased from 49 and 45% to 95 and 87%, respectively (p<0.001, both). Willingness to deter behaviors associated with zoonotic risk, such as eating the carcass of a primate found dead in the forest, remained fundamentally unchanged however, suggesting additional messaging may be needed.Conclusions/SignificanceThese results suggest that our current program of film-based educational activities is effective in improving disease-specific knowledge and may encourage individuals to seek out the advice of health workers when monkeypox is suspected.

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Whereas multimedia systems development (MSD) is inherently complex, and increasingly so, little is known about how multimedia designers manage or cope with this complexity. In particular, little is known about complexity beyond technical and process levels, and how such complexity impacts design activity. In this paper we construct a model of MSD based on the formulation of the broader concept of context complexity. This concept, which subsumes but also transcends technical and process complexity, is used to explain design strategies and their consequences. We identify four design contexts that explain, and are also explained by, complexity. These contexts map out the ‘landscape for action’ over which design activity takes place. They shape the design environment and the responses taken to it. We use a grounded theory approach to study what designers actually do (as opposed to theorising what they should do). We argue that a better understanding of context determined and context determining strategies better informs interventions aimed at improving MSD design practice. Our main conclusion is that interventions should be directed to those situations where there is a mismatch between the level of complexity in the design context and the level of complexity in the design strategy taken in response to that context. We call these situations ‘breakdown’ contexts and examine their causes and consequences in greater detail. Our claimed contribution is to broaden the concept of design breakdowns through a specific understanding of the role and impact of (context) complexity in MSD.