Sleep is essential for the normal, healthy functioning of the human body. It is a complicated physiological phenomenon that scientists do not fully understand.

Historically, sleep was thought to be a passive state. However, sleep is now known to be a dynamic process, and our brains are active during sleep. Sleep affects our physical and mental health, and is essential for the normal functioning of all the systems of our body, including the immune system. The effect of sleep on the immune system affects one’s ability to fight disease and endure sickness.

It has been demonstrated that the metabolic activity of the brain decreases significantly after 24 hours of sustained wakefulness. Sleep deprivation results in a decrease in body temperature, a decrease in immune system function as measured by white blood cell count (the soldiers of the body), and a decrease in the release of growth hormone. Sleep deprivation can also cause increased heart rate variability.

For our nervous systems to work properly, sleep is needed. Sleep deprivation makes a person drowsy and unable to concentrate the next day. It also leads to impairment of memory and physical performance and reduced ability to carry out mathematical calculations. If sleep deprivation continues, hallucinations and mood swings may develop.

Release of growth hormone in children and young adults takes place during deep sleep. Most cells of the body show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins during deep sleep. Sleep helps humans maintain optimal emotional and social functioning while we are awake by giving rest during sleep to the parts of the brain that control emotions and social interactions.

If you think you are experiencing insomnia, be sure to talk to your doctor or visit a Sleep Clinic to find the right treatment for you.

Source: eMedicine

A community’s effectiveness depends on the strength of its three core structural dimensions:

• Domain: refers to its focal issues and the sense of members identity with the topic
• Community: includes its member relationships and the nature of their interactions levels of trust, belonging, and reciprocity
• Practice: consists of a repertoire of tools, methods, and skills as well as members learning and innovation activities

Source: Wenger

Knowledge capture is a significant project that requires not only retrieving the knowledge but also capturing the structure of that knowledge. To support organizations to create their knowledge capture strategy, it is important to have the following foundational agreements:

• Top Management Support
  Link between KC project and business objectives or challenges
  Understanding that the project has cultural dimensions; not just a new technology or a new segment of the Intranet
• Support of the IT Department
  Understand the IT environment (development/test/production sites, security arrangements, other policies, existing applications, etc)
  Standards for working together such as use of open source, building the system on an external server, or what applications to use, and access to the IT staff, etc.
  Rules of access for the consulting team and the internal staff
• Buy-in from Users and Stakeholders
  Educate them about knowledge capture process, preview the project, ask for their input and reactions, build an enagagement process among eventual system users

Classifying Knowledge (categories, types, components, integration of knowledge sources)

Categories of Knowledge

• tacit
• explicit

Components of Knowledge emphasis on conversation and discussion

• judgment
• experiential knowledge
• values, assumptions, and beliefs
• intelligence

The Three Fundamental Steps of Knowledge (acquisition, sharing, and utilization)

Knowledge acquisition

• process of development and creation of insights, skills, and relationships

Knowledge sharing

• disseminating and making available what is already known
• collaborative problem solving, conversations, teamwork generates knowledge assets

Knowledge utilization

• available knowledge can be generalized and applied

The Knowledge Agenda

What is Knowledge?

• framed experience, values, contextual information, expert insight, grounded intuition
• embedded in documents, repositories, routines, processes, practices, and norms

What is Knowledge Management?

• systematic processes by which knowledge needed for an organization to succeed is created, captured, shared, and leveraged

What is NOT Knowledge Management

• knowledge engineering
• digital networks; it’s about process
• building a smarter intranet
• knowledge capture

The primary focus of knowledge Management

• is on creating, getting, importing, delivering, and most importantly helping the right people apply the right knowledge at the right time

Knowledge Management Value Proposition

• without effective mechanisms in place to capture and utilize knowledge of experienced employees, organizations make costly mistakes or have to pay again for knowledge they once had on tap
• organizations have saved significant resources a year by taking the knowledge from their best performers and applying it in similar situations elsewhere
• organizations applying knowledge management methods have found that through knowledge networking they can create new products and services faster and better

Knowledge Management Drivers

• the failure of organizations to know what they already know
• the need for smart knowledge distribution
• high dependence on the know-how of walkouts
• the need to support cross functional collaboration
• the need to deal with complex expectations
• the need to avoid repeated mistakes
• the need to avoid reinvention
• the need to capture the decision-making process of your expert employees
• create a catalog of decision processes
• accumulate an auditable knowledge-base of decision-making and best practices

Difficulties in Coping With Knowledge Management

• lack of tangible outcome — selling the idea to senior management
• building people to work around technology mentality
• knowledge management is not a technology problem; it’s a process problem
• lack of incentives for knowledge contribution
• knowledge access is only the beginning of knowledge management
• knowledge management is an infinite loop that never ends
• organizational policies come into play when knowledge exists, is used, and is exchanged

A learning architecture includes learning related structures, policies, processes, activities, tools, and technologies that an organization uses to enable strategy and deliver high differentiated performance through individual and organizational learning in the enterprise. The learning architecture should be based on:

• key drivers important to each organization
• an understanding of how people learn
• processes that enhance corporate value
• practices that leverage the strenghts of the organizations and exploit technologies

A useful architecture is one that makes planning easier and more effective and also can serve as a communication and coordination tool for people active in planning, designing, deploying, and using the learning systems and resources.

Source: SRI report

The area of Knowledge Management is extremely diverse encompassing almost anything that is connected with a knowledge resource.   A survey of Knowledge Management literature reveals a diversity of options and approaches to Knowledge Management by organizations.  

It is not practical to implement everything that is covered under the umbrella of Knowledge Management. What is important though is that the organization identifies a real need for Knowledge Management, be clear about what is to be solved, improved, or changed; and to be clear about the Knowledge Management approach that will be implemented.
 

Holistic concepts of health and fitness view achieving and maintaining good health as requiring more than just taking care of the various singular components that make up the physical body, additionally incorporating aspects such as emotional and spiritual well-being. The goal is a wellness that encompasses the entire person, rather than just the lack of physical pain or disease.

In 1948 WHO defined health as a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Today wellness is defined as an integrated and dynamic level of functioning oriented toward maximizing potential, dependent on self-responsibility. Wellness involves not only preventive health behaviors but a shift in thinking and attitude.

The Dimensions of Wellness
Wellness is a mind-set of life long growth and achievement in the emotional, spiritual, physical, occupational, intellectual, environmental, and social dimensions.

Source:  A Wellness Way fo Life, Sixth Edition, MGH Publishing