Knowledge Transformation at Work: Data to Understanding to Action

We're often asked to explain what "Knowledge Transformation" means to our work as a Foundation. To us, it is taking existing or emergent knowledge and making it practical for users, a process we sometimes refer to as "turning knowledge into action".

Developing and sharing knowledge is a complex process, but an emerging range of interpretation and presentation tools can help. Given that massive amounts of data are being created daily in various areas of specialization, and that there are endless ways to interpret such findings, it is easy for an individual decision-maker to be overwhelmed unless there are ways to place the data into a context that gives it some meaning.

An interesting example of how advanced interpretation and presentation techniques can work is the question of how to mine the world's vast stores of statistical data on complex issues like global health and social trends, make it understandable, and turn that understanding into practical policy actions to help alleviate pressing social issues like child mortality rates in developing countries.

Dr. Hans Rosling, professor of global health at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, presented the power of transforming existing knowledge through technology at TED 2006, with a demonstration of his gapminder software in debunking myths in Third World health and social trends:

Is (a little) Knowledge a Dangerous Thing?

THE ISSUE: A recent poll in the U.S. highlights a surprising finding that -- at least in the U.S. -- the better informed a person professes to be about global warming, the less they seem to care or accept personal responsibility for it.

THE TAKE-AWAY: In the midst of continuing denial from some quarters about the scope and scale of human-induced climate change, the research points out that presenting information is not enough. Instead, developing a convincing and compelling plan for individual changes in consumption is paramount. So, what are YOU going to do about climate change?

Increased Knowledge About Global Warming Leads To Apathy, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (2008-03-28) -- The more you know the less you care -- at least that seems to be the case with global warming. A telephone survey of 1,093 Americans by two Texas A&M University political scientists and a former colleague indicates that trend, as explained in their recent article in the peer-reviewed journal Risk Analysis. ... > read full article

The Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change

There are few issues of more importance to humanity than the prospect of profound climate change, but the ongoing public policy debate has not generally been placed within an ethical context.

Dr. Donald Brown of Penn State University and the Rock Ethics Institute presented on the ethical dimensions of climate change at the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with parts of the discussion captured in the following YouTube video:



Full details on the ethical dimensions discussed in the video can be found in the accompanying white paper (click link to open or download).

Mixed Results: Voluntary Corporate Environment Programs

THE ISSUE: Whether voluntary corporate environmental protection programs are effective in relation to externally-monitored programs, or other internal initiatives.

THE TAKE-AWAY: Recent research from the U.S. argues that so-called "Voluntary Environmental Programs (VEPs)" may actually be less effective at protecting the environment than companies who aren't engaged in a formal program.

Corporate Voluntary Environmental Programs Backfire, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (2008-03-10) -- Companies which participate in voluntary environmental programs actually do worse in their attempts to help the environment than those that do not take on these programs. Companies that are self-monitored — as opposed certified by an external third party — appear to do even worse in their overall environmental goals. Nonparticipating companies outperformed companies participating in self-monitored voluntary environmental programs by 24 percent. ... > read full article

Time for some fresh air!

THE ISSUE: Relative rates of nature participation -- as measured by visits to national parks in the United States, Japan, and Spain -- are declining by between 1 to 1.3 per cent per year, and up to 25 per cent in total since 1981. This correlates strongly with the rise of predominantly urban, sedentary lifestyles.

THE TAKE AWAY: Apart from the obvious implications for the general wellness of people (and, in particular, children) who are leading less active lifestyles, the decline of nature participation rates raises issues of how future generations will value environmental conservation efforts.

The recent study, funded by the Nature Conservancy and published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was carried out by researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Environmental Leadership Program, Delaware Valley.

As author Richard Louv has written in his ground-breaking book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, "At the very moment that the bond is breaking between the young and the natural world, a growing body of research links our mental, physical, and spiritual health directly to our association with nature."

Communing With Nature Less And Less

ScienceDaily (2008-02-05) -- From backyard gardening to mountain climbing, outdoor activities are on the wane as people around the world spend more leisure time online or in front of the tube, according to findings. "The replacement of vigorous outdoor activities by sedentary, indoor videophilia has far-reaching consequences for physical and mental health, especially in children," one of the researchers said. "Videophilia has been shown to be a cause of obesity, lack of socialization, attention disorders and poor academic performance." ... > read full article