Shaping Knowledge: Complex Socio-Spatial Modelling for Adaptive Organizations

Citation

Rebecca L. Mugridge (2015), "Shaping Knowledge: Complex Socio-Spatial Modelling for Adaptive Organizations", Online Information Review, Vol. 39 No. 5, pp. 757-757. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-07-2015-0230

In the preface to this book author Jamie O’Brien describes the purpose being to help organizations deal with their rapidly changing environments by applying their knowledge to the spaces in which they operate. As a senior researcher at the Space Syntax Laboratory, University College London, O’Brien is well-qualified to introduce readers to this topic.

The book begins with an introduction and case study in which the author provides an overview of the rest of the book and illustrates the ways space and knowledge can be interpreted differently based on one’s perspective. Chapter 2 continues with an exploration into how space and knowledge intersect and demonstrates how people apply knowledge to change the spaces in which they live. In Chapter 3 the author addresses what he calls “social physics” and shows how networks support the flow of innovation and knowledge from one person to another. The ecology of innovation, which takes place through systems and networks, is explored further in Chapter 4. The concept of “agency” is introduced in Chapter 5.

In Chapter 6 the author turns to the use of case studies to illustrate the concepts discussed in the previous chapters. Although the discussions throughout the book are highly theoretical, the case studies address issues that are very practical: a slum sanitation system, long-term care services and Arctic urbanization. Chapter 7 returns to more conceptual arguments about reasoning, logic and computing. Continuing the discussion about reasoning, Chapter 8 explores the use of argumentation, a method that comes from the field of artificial intelligence. Chapter 9 applies the themes of this book to the need for adaptability when planning for change.

This book includes a bibliography, an index, a list of sources for socio-spatial argumentation and brief chapter notes. As the material presented in Shaping Knowledge is quite theoretical and complex, it would be of most interest to researchers in knowledge representation and reasoning or information theory.