Built Environmnet Episteology: Knowledge exchange through university-industry communities of practice

Hairstans, Robert; Smith, Ryan

Abstract

This paper explores the nature of knowledge through a history of knowledge production in society. It emphasizes the modes of knowledge including explicit and tacit and argues for knowledge management and knowledge transfer as strategies to both codify explicit knowledge and extract and transfer tacit knowledge. One method that has been identified to encourage tacit knowledge transfer is communities of practice (CoPs). Further, the paper argues for ways in which the university as an institution and network of institutions may serve as a CoP knowledge hub in specific regions to foster new modes of knowledge transfer beyond traditional scientific means. The paper concludes with a preliminary proposal for this type of CoP in the Built Environment Exchange (beX) as a model for international university – industry knowledge transfer in the construction sector.

Citation

Hairstans, R., & Smith, R. (2017). Built Environmnet Episteology: Knowledge exchange through university-industry communities of practice. In R. E. Smith, K. D. Moore, & W. Zhao (Eds.), Architecture of Complexitiy - Design, Systems, Society and Environment (112-119)

• Conference Name: Architecture of Complexity - Design, systems, society and environment
• Conference Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
• Start Date: Jun 14, 2017
• End Date: Jun 17, 2017
• Acceptance Date: Jun 14, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jun 14, 2017
• Publication Date: Jun 14, 2017
• Deposit Date: Apr 9, 2018
• Publisher: University of Utah
• Pages: 112-119
• Book Title: Architecture of Complexitiy - Design, Systems, Society and Environment
• ISBN: 978-1-935129-22-6
• Keywords: epistemology, knowledge exchange, knowledge production, construction knowledge
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/1146954