Identity and purpose

The folowing incluedes e-mail registers of the founding members´ initial reflections and proposals for a name that defines our identity and purpose. 

  
E-mail de Jim a Philip and Leocio / Viernes 04-05-2007 11:55

Dear friends, I have been designing a Weblog to bring together our thoughts and proposals. At this moment the Weblog is identified by my suggested name, which is changeable at any time. I have also invited both of you, by e-mail to become co-editors so that we can have a common space to register and define who we are and what we want to do. The proposed pages of the weblog include the following information:

• Home page with chronological listing of post entries.
• Draft proposals of what each of us is developing to publish.
• Members with web and curriculum information.
• Purpose statement with specific objectives.
• Resources bibliographic references we each want to make present.
• Rules register of criteria for reaching agreements.

I think our name and identity should be subject to a discussion upon our purpose in relation to the thematic issues we what to address together. So far we have three proposals.

• Philip: Inter-disciplinary Centre for Discourse Research. 

• Leoncio:

  Academic
  Center for Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning.

• Jim: Heuristic Design Network (for the transdisciplinary research and development of communication competencies.

My comments:

1. For epistemological and cultural reasons I prefer a transdisciplinary approach over an inter-disciplinary one. A transdisciplinary approach brings together different forms of knowing that may be scientific, cultural, common sense, religious and philosophical in order to face together a problem that unites participants in a common effort. For the same reason I would prefer not to use “academic centre” in order to be a space where the voice of citizens, workers, indigenous people, youth, scientists, impresarios and business people may also be considered.
    
2. I prefer “network” over center because this represents how we will actually be working. I also understand that the concept of a center assures institutional identity and administrative responsibilities that are necessary. In a network this could be regulated by establishing conditions for participation: ej. contribution of research products under Institutional affiliation.
      
3. I understand “discourse research” and the areas of “human capital, knowledge management and organizational learning” as topics that represent the interests of Philip and Leoncio respectively. These are topics that interest me also and I am willing to collaborate on. Nevertheless, as an educator with philosophical and theological interests, I prefer a more generic transversal definition that addresses the underlying processes of human cognition in the communication of knowledge. That explains my notion of heuristic design. All fields and forms of knowledge are constituted by questions that seek answers that offer criteria to orient decisions and action in all areas of life. The heuristic is constituted by the questions that guide searching; design is the process of creating in accord with what has been discovered. If we adopt such an approach I believe we can address Philip’s interest on “discourse analysis” and Leoncio’s interest on “communication competencies” and my interest on how communication models of knowledge influences upon the development of human consciousness.

Finally, I want to suggest that we define communication protocols among us.

• We have begun communicating by e-mail,
• We have a proposed weblog which I hope we will all use de to develop, share and define what will eventually be the work we published together.
• I also want to suggest that we use Skype (download) as a means of having a monthly free conference telephone conversation in order to clarify issues and define working agreements.

I am very enthused by the new horizons of possibilities that are work together is beginning to open up.

Jim ______________________________________________________________________ 

This is part of an e-mail Philip Sallis sent for the review of the Rector. / Jueves 03-05-2007 

Inter-disciplinary Centre for Discourse Research

This is the proposed title for the research group we have been discussing. Its founding members would be Leoncio, Jim and me.  
 
In the first year we would be developing topology of the literature relating to discourse analysis and some of the most prominent communication models available. We will be taking an epistemological approach emanating from Philosophy, but also ordering (formalising) the processes using Systems Theory and analysing the themes and major topics using computational linguistic methods and statistical techniques of clustering and prediction…also involving the use of neural networks for dynamic knowledge management depictions.
   
The Centre aims in the wider sense to be inter-disciplinary, inter-faculty (at UCM) and international, initially through my involvement. It is cross cultural and inter-faith in terms of its expression in philosophical, theological and sociological paradigms. We hope to involve more academics as we move forward and initially expect o publish a paper describing our approach and early results in terms of formalising an ontology for the research area. This would all form part of the first year of work for the Centre. 
   
We hope that UCM will adopt this Centre and give it the status of a serious research group.  It is my hope to bring PhD students into the work, some from NZ.  

——-

Philip´s e-mail in response to Leoncio´s proposal / Martes 01-05-2007 8:55 

Thank you for thi email. I prefer ´The Centre for Discourse Research´or some variant of it. My reasons are that the term is wider and therefore, has more potential for inclusion of work and people. Also that it has greater potential (I think) for attracting funding. I am discussing with the Rector my work here in September and in relation to this Centre, if we can have something more formal in terms of my appointment as an Adjunct Professor then I believe it would be possible to attract both grant money (because of the formal International membership of this UCM research centre) and PhD students. I will keep you informed of progress on this aspect of my working relationship with you and the UCM, which I am very much enjoying!

Best regards, Philip

Leoncios e-mail proposal / Lunes 30-04-2007 13:58 

Hi Jim and Philip ICICKM 2007 4th International Conference on Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning. 15-16 October 2007.  What do you think? “Academic Center for Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning.” Regarding the three axes of Lonergan approach in a Jim view are: Human Resources, Organisational Learning.  

Leoncio Jimenez