Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom

Data to me is facts or statements that represent something. This would be used more in the business would as companies may look at "data" to see if a technique being used is producing the desireable affects.
Information would be anything that anyone knows. It could be data, facts or common sense. This could also be any type of knowledge that someone has learned.
Knowledge to me is mainly what we acquire through learning. You become smarter as you become more knowledgeable and to gain more knowledge you must be taught.
Wisdom is when someone uses what they have learned and pairs it with their common sense. It is often said that they are wise if they use good judgement or make a good decision.

All of these words are interrelated together especially in the world of technology. People need to use all four of these things to better their business, learning strategies and knowledge.

Knowledge Based Economy

This is a tool to produce benefits and job creation. One major aspect of this tool is produce ideas and knowledge. Everything around us is technology; everything around us is useful information that if read properly can be used for some gain personally or in a business relation.
Technology is making it easier and easier to process information therefore in returning creating better knowledge.
The more people know the better they will work at there jobs in turn creating better and more effiecient production. Computer networking is a crucial part of out economy and in my opinion will only begin to get more important.

However, as technology and computers continue to grow it will be important for people to keep up with the technology. Because technology is changing, our economy is constantly changing. If we don't keep up with both we are bound to lose out on precious knowledge that could have turned into a great and beneficial idea.

Knowledge Management Systems

I can best relate the concept of knowledge management systems to the article Just In Time Comes to Knowledge Managment. This concept is simply having access to documents, information and credible sources at your fingertips. The more I thought about this type of technology being in hospitals the more I was trying to think of where else this technology would be at. It could be here at MTSU where everything is turning to the computer database. When you call MTSU with a question everything can pretty much be found on the web site or a certain database that employees have access to. They have access to requirements for certain programs, transcripts and scholarship information just to name a few. Back in the day certain things were only done with pen and paper so technology is truly evolving in the name of business.

I believe that banks use knowledge management too. All bank accounts, laws and certain types of information they need for opening accounts for example, can all be found on certain databases in their systems. Car dealerships use technology in looking up features of models of cars and searching the history of a specific car. Everyone needs to realize that essentially over time just about everything will be on the computer and it may come to the point where all types of information, public or private, can be viewed.

The wisdom of crowds

I really like reading about this concept and the four parts that make up a knowledgeable group. The cite that we referenced talks about the diversity of opinion. This is important because it is crucial that each individual person has their own knowledge of information that they obtain and keep because their knowledge may help further the knowledge of the whole group. The second thing that it mentions is independence. This point is crucial because if everyone had the same opinion as everyone else new knowledge would never be created, discussed or considered. If one person likes one idea in particular then they may gather more information regarding that subject to try and pursuade people that their opinion is the best way to complete a task, therefore creating new knowledge.

Another point mentiond on the website and in class as well is drwaing from knowledge within the company. If a particular way of doing a task works great, find out why and implement it in other parts of the company where it could be of benefit. Sometimes the greatest knowledge is under on roof and there is no need to go elsewhere to find it. And lastly a point made was aggregation or pursuading others that your opinion is the right one. If someone believes strongly enough in their task then they can pursuade others to conform to their decision therefore putting everyone on board to make that knowledge better.

Network Effect

As I was reading about network effect it struck my mind to relate it back to the article Just In Time regarding technology in hospitals. In relation the the My Health At Vanderbilt accounts the principle of network effect holds to be very true. For this example the more people who have these accounts, the more beneficial it is to other patients that have them. More doctors will be proned to using these accounts for information and communication if they know that large numbers of their patients have them.

At times these accounts can somewhat seem like a pain because they are to much detail and to much work for doctors, but if they know that these accounts are proven beneficial they may choose to use them.

Just as with all technology, the more the better. If more people have computers then the more valuable computers are to everyone else as well. You can't keep up with old friends on Facebook if they don't even own a computer.

Network effect to me is a great system. I think this system can be put in place for all sorts of situations and products and that it is a good thing when a product gets to be better when more of it is owned by others.

Just in Time

I found this article very interesting. It is amazing to me how many errors there are in the medical field everyday! This is a huge undertaking but as technology advances more and more I believe systems like this should become mandatory. They are a huge undertaking yet crucial for all types of diagnosisis. It is very important that a doctor be able to have this type of knowledge at his fingertips. I have looked into it more because my group presentation is on this article and Vanderbilt uses simliar technology. They have a system called WizOrder which is their clinician data entry site and StarChart which is the program that they use to view patient records. They also have a program called My Health At Vanderbilt. With this system each patient has the option to have their own account in which the patient can contact the dr. office via e-mail, view appointments, view lab results and many other things. It is a very beneficial program and truthfully I have never looked into detail at which technology programs Vanderbilt uses so as a patient there I actually found the research very useful!

Learning to use Wiki

I am really excited about learning how to use the Wiki account this semester. This seems like a great cite that more teachers should consider using because it grades the group as a whole but this way teachers can see how much individual work a person is contributing. I am also interested to see if this helps my fellow group members and I keep the information all together and easier for us to manage. This should be a neat cite and I really look forward to using it this semester. Until tomorrow....

Back to school tomorrow

So tomorrow I am back to school for my second day at MTSU. The first day went pretty well but there are some things that could go better tomorrow. So for today I am spending the day with Jackson and waiting for Nurse Tina to come to the house. My back and neck have really been bothering me but hopefully that will start to feel better. Chase is at work today so tomorrow will be the first day we have to get Jackson to him while I'm at school. We'll see how that goes. Now I'm off to have a good day!

My first blog!

So this is my first blog. I have always heard about blogs but never set one up so we'll see how it goes. Yesterday was my first day of class at MTSU and overall it went really good. I got to school super early because I was worried about parking. I really am going to like all of my classes this semester; both on campus and online. It is a huge change from Columbia State but I think I will love it (not the driving part though). Well this is my first blog but there will be more to come!