MODELS AND MECHANISMS FOR SOCIAL AND BEST PRACTICE NETWORKS

Since antiquity the theme of knowledge has played an important role in the life of man. The concept of knowledge inevitably involves a multitude of disciplines. It is a very general concept that can be applied to a wide range of contexts. The concept of knowledge starts from the individual, from his critical analysis and on how one interacts with people and objects around. The goal of this thesis is to investigate the treatment of knowledge, understand which are the best technologies available on the market for its management and finally to design and implement new technologies and a framework capable of managing the knowledge flow in all its complexity and entirety. In order to cope with the identified objectives, understand how the knowledge can be treated, investigated and then formalized and shared is fundamental. Moreover the study of the methods and models of interaction and communication among people is relevant as well. In the course of history, a wide set of models for knowledge treatment have been developed and in many of them the knowledge is not seen as a static concept but as a continuous becoming: a set of ideas that born are spread and grow up among through people interactions. One of the most relevant knowledge treatment models is the SECI, studied by Nonaka and Takeuchi, sees the knowledge as a collection of facts, information, skills that a person has acquired in the course of his/her life. The knowledge is seen as an evolving process starting from the individual and whose flow in the society: the dissemination, exchange and the reuse of knowledge generates new knowledge. Basically, two types of knowledge are outlined: explicit and tacit. Explicit knowledge is formal, systematic language, it can be expressed and shared in the form of data, in scientific formulae, systematic language, specifications, manuals and such like, it can be processed, transmitted and stored relatively easily; while tacit knowledge is that in the human mind and it is highly personal and hard to formalise, externalize or mediate, represented by using the normal channels of communication.