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1.0 Executive Summary.

This IT discussion paper (September 1999) is the conceptual solution to enable our organisation to develop the big picture of our Knowledge Management (KM) directions over the next three years
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Knowledge covers education, research and development.

The KM Task Unit must come up with a conceptual plan that co-ordinates these three fields with our work as input.

Our work as output is to deliver into a supply chain management system.

The conceptual solution chosen will deliver work as output by providing an IT facility that adheres to the network technical standards of the Internet.

As our IT conceptual solution plan is put into action, it will make it possible for our organisation to support transactions of all kinds--effortlessly and inexpensively.

We believe this IT conceptual solution will connect us to the era of network computing that will last a long time because it will transform our organisation's heritage knowledge assets to benefit our Members and clients.

The conceptual solution covers missing functions in our former IT plan.

Our conceptual solution to knowledge management as an IT plan will prevent us from being "Amazonised"--steamrollered by a fast-moving Web version of our business.

Thus, we can place our organisation in the right electronic environment to guard our prime concern is to stay in business and make sufficient profit by having the connectivity means we need to service our Members & clients.

Our conceptual solution is grounded on the practical notions that:

--Knowledge management is our second most important management issue.
--Intranet content headings need further development.
--Our planned workstations are to meet 1999 Australian VET recommended standards.
--IT is to become our educational predisposition to ensure Members perform and learn.
--The conceptual IT plan is detailed enough to suggest it is possible for our IT development to proceed using 2nd and 3rd order solutions or better.

2.0 Providing time for voluntary acclimatisation to IT delivery modes.

To work though our conceptual solution needs time--Member's time.

We think that the revolution of clusters of change needed to do IT work has begun in the teleological view of moving towards a goal.

In general, it can be said of our organisation culture that when we decide to allot study to some topic, it signifies we have gained Member's approval to bring change of that topic.

Members who work in the immersive IT culture of the post-Fordism work field know about the pace of the revolution that has taken place in the world of pervasive computing. Some Members may not wish to accept that some of the roles in which they feel most comfortable our organisation may be about to be distributed to others who can move at the new pace.

--We do not see the whole history of technology as one long blind alley.

Our recent experience showed us that through skilful means in applying technology we moved from being a seventh rate library to a third rate library.

--We do not intend to wind back the clock.

We have found that by providing leading edge IT in some areas, our most active Members find faster new ways of doing things.

Every day, the 28 Members can read and send e-mails over our present IT system. By e-mail, they transcend time to experience a "connective" ascendancy with many other Members of our organisation at an intensity never before possible.

In addition, e-mail use has accelerated their ability to speed read and learn on screen.

They become to be aware of the culture of Members who work daily with translations from their home site in Victoria to Tokyo, receive bank payments by direct transfer or find current standards from Internet.

We feel sure the opportunity for Members to run with our conceptual solution will enable them to leave old-fashioned non-connected work places and find better paid and more interesting work.

The best thinkers of the future are going to have thoughts which may not fit easily into the minds of persons who have not had the freedom of moving through a conceptual solution with our organisation.

Voluntary acclimatisation time of three months of use is usually enough in such cases. The conceptual solution shows the future of knowledge management delivery in our organisation lies with IT delivery modes.

3.0 What conceptual solutions have become full-fledged in the last two years?

--Eight stable platforms are in regular use.

--28 Members have become comfortable working with IT documents.

Over the last two years, regular Members have been given an e-mail address.
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--We can afford to provide more Members with an IT facility at no charge.
--Our organisation meets the $20 per week e-mail cost per Member.

The $20 a week is viewed as training cost to make Members teamwork.

--Members have learnt to read and write on screen.
--Did you know our present IT e-mail system is running at less than 1% capacity and could service up to 500 readers with ease?
--Do you know if more persons were on e-mail, there is a cost benefit because the unit cost per person per week will be lower?

Costing of total production, photocopying and distribution costs at $1 per single paper page, it can be seen if 20 e-mail messages are sent to one person in a week, the break even point is reached.

Paper filing problems for e-mail are nil as opposed to printed paper...
The system is scalable with ease. As the user numbers of e-mail grows, the cost benefits extends.

We have been conditioning key Members to develop the vision to see why we need a multimedia instrumentality for managing data, information and knowledge in forms, such as, video and audio formats.

Today, we rate our e-mail and the conceptual solution of providing multimedia intranet capability in KM delivery as our core strategic assets.

We have no plans to change our Eudora Light e-mail software for two years.

4.0 What conceptual solutions can become fully-fledged in the next 2 years?

We intend to provide seamless multimedia delivery throughout our organisation. Learning opportunities improve when databases and graphics can run at the same time

--Extended use of Acrobat 4.0 readers on each computer are planned.

The basic skills for "old media" still apply--good research skills, good language skills, an eye for images. We need more Members to develop these skills which can be transferred to the Internet.

Our Website builders will not only understand visual communications but will also have ability to integrate databases, keep links updated, predict demand and choose between the latest Web toys and tools.

They will learn such basic tools as Macromedia Director and Flash, DreamWeaver and PhotoShop, as well as HTML coding as a prerequisite.

We doubt if most of our present manager's KM abilities can remain strategic in a networked world. They need to go on a step learning curve to master these things.

--The overarching strategy of a conceptual solution is it could deliver our organisation a new core strategic asset.
--Our conceptual solution concedes that since we cannot run e-business applications on PCs so we must have networks.
--Five new platforms of our conceptual solution should be developed enough to commence on 1 December 1999.

Our conceptual solution is needed to integrate our network applications and provide leverage for our data. Then we can transform our core business processes because we have leverage in KM and network delivery.

Our IT plan must run a network which has a scalable, available, safe environment where we lever knowledge and information to make a profit.

5.0 What standards will the conceptual solution target? When will we meet them?

Our prime standards follow the Australian Vocationally Educated Training (VET) twin level recommendations. (see attachment from net).

We will meet the first level standard by June 2000. In accordance with the first level standard VET recommendations, our systems must work towards moving information at CPU speeds >=300 MHz.

By June 2001,we would like to have 70% of our networked PCs to approach the advanced standard where information is moved at CPU speeds >=400MHz. This means when we capture knowledge in one part of our organisation, we have taken steps in our IT plan that we may quickly move it to the persons who need it.

Our present client/server connectivity to our powerful data warehouse via our LAN must stay in place.

6.0 What do we have within one year of commencing our conceptual solution?

By January 2000, we will start to provide a Member's Intranet with an Acrobat reader on each computer for use by Members.

By December 2000, our IT plan should provide another network of networks, such as Internet access to our Intranets. These could transfer text, graphics, video and voice files.

At present, our website has very few graphics. It has no video or voice files. We will add these in stages.

--Did you know that Member Peter Jackson made our first digital video recording (with digital sound) on the 9th September 1999?

We think we will be using PDF files to deliver this asset.

Our clients are likely to be looking for such delivery formats at present.

7.0 What do we have within two years of commencing our conceptual solution?

We will have superior service to our Members and clients, measurable as a ripening of performance of at least 10,000% overall system improvement.

--The basis of our conceptual solution is we conceive a 5 times faster retrieval time.

With each platform running 5 times faster; if the net time saved is considered additive, then overall sum improvement is = 20 times 500 = 10 000

--we assume a frame of a Moore's Law doubling of speed every six months.
--within the next two years increased speed will improve the diversity, quality and quantity of knowledge we can afford to place on our Web site
--we can bridge gaps in delivery choices up to multimedia.
--we learn to use a 4-layer viewfinder for system development.

This 4 layer view-finder makes use of:
--the development process
--the management process
--the supporting process
--emerging standards

--3rd order or better will be usual.

Better methods will appear after a Nick Prescott overview of our IT logistics planning.

--Our KM Task Unit will stay responsible for conceptual solution IT planning under senior Vice President of KM - Rodney Johnson.

In two years, we will have advanced our networking systems.

8.0 What have we learnt?

As our culture evolves, and we differentiate and become more complex, we need cognitive mechanisms that gives us new types of thinking.

The general effectiveness of our culture is not determined by the achievements of a few of our gifted Members.

Is it true that what matters are what a significant, though perhaps small portion of our population can achieve on a regular basis?

If yes, it is probably means a spread of cognitive ranking of thought is useful. Prime outlay cost governs solutions. Some of our DOS heritage files still exist in our data warehouse.

Historically, John D. Hughes and the manager of EST, an UPWEY IT firm, carried the development process of what were called our MIS (Management Information Systems) .

Our historical MIS style was price-driven because PC desktops with software and printers were relatively expensive in 1985 (a system could cost up to $18,000).

Since the prime determinant in our supply chain management of IT equipment was price, our organisation's computer MIS was affordable if we held it two or three generations behind the state of the art in Australia.

Three years ago, we were old-fashioned if we benchmarked ourselves against TAFE. Within two years we will have parity or better. Over the last four years, Member Frank Carter has become very skilful in accessing the purchase of modern IT items.

This fact is the most important in our supply chain management because of the cost savings this Member brings to our organisation. He supplies and updates some of our photocopiers, fax machines and laser printers and trains Members to service them.

Another person effective in supply chain management is Rodney Johnson.

He is proficient in finding affordable software for our organisation. He is our webmaster and maintains and assembles our IT systems. He has a major role in training our Teacher in use of our IT systems.

In 1999, the availability of affordable modern second-hand IT equipment and Rodney Johnson's skill meant we achieved significant upgrades in our IT. We have migrated from DOS systems and are now operating in a Windows 95 generation on Pentiums.

This has been achieved at a very low cost to the organisation. Rodney Johnson has driven this upgrade notion with financial skill.

9.0 What is our twenty-year target?

We know that our conceptual solution is robust enough to meet our mission to target 1 million readers of our Buddha Dhyana Dana Review (BDDR) by 2020 AD.

If we were to be asked for an analysis model for explaining this figure, we would take a bold view of the year 2020, and having the assumption that there will be 1 billion persons interested in the Buddha way, we want to reach 1 in 1000 persons. At the lower end, if the world figure is 500 million in 2020, we want to reach 1 in 500 persons.

We need to start an IT plan in 1999 that is scalable so we can deliver full issues of BDDR from our computer database to our Internet site with little fuss.

10.0 How can we fund our conception solution?

We must work out a method of charging for a full download for this service.

--For each issue, the BDDR key essay will be available for free download.
--We will still print and post paper based editions of BDDR.

The BDDR plan should encompass more Members in writing and editing because they need to be involved in the development and use of a written Dhamma system.

--The system should develop in accordance with the preferred standards to support national co-operation in applying technology to VET.

There are two systems--one is called the standard system, the other is called the advanced system.

The advanced system is to be compared with the Athena software system.

On the Internet site home.vicnet.au/~neptune/guide.htm#t. there are details of the present VET specification.

The most interesting thing to know with the advance system is CD _R., CD _W., DVD. This combination appears with the standard system.

The main thrust of our new technology must be to provide CD _R, CD _W., DVD at least in duplicate to start.

--We intend to write our own CDs on-site--see appendix for details.

11.0 What is our preferred planning model?

Demarco (1978) has proposed a method of creating a new logical model from the logical model of the existing system.

The first step is to see which processes are effected by the objectives for the new system. These process are included in the domain of change, which looks something like elaborating the statement of requirements in terms of more detailed objectives. It is important to state the objectives with precision rather than generality, to give designers precise goals.

For example, "ensure errors during input are less than 1%" rather than "improve the data capture process".

Our planning must be 3rd order or better.

For rigour in testing our planning models, we will consult Nick Prescott and others.

--We will use the Gartner Group planning list of factors to minimise things that derail IT effectiveness.

This list was printed in the Australian Newspaper 21 September 1999 in the Computer Section p2. under the heading, Pitfalls on the e-business road.

--Do not confuse vision with technology. E-business fails for the same reasons projects fail, poor planning, staff with the wrong skills, lack of buy-in from key stakeholders. Upper management must support the IT project.
--In place of big efforts, develop by choosing tactical projects and implement them successfully.
--Any technology can be misapplied and become a drain on the enterprise. Select technologies based on their fitness for the purpose intended and be prepared to swap them out as the EC product market matures.
--A major error is assuming that you know who your competitors are. We need to develop a comprehensive e-business survival plan that anticipates the actions of three or four top competitors and embraces the radical change necessary to beat them at their own game.
--Enterprises that focus only on existing customers are likely to miss opportunities to explore who their customers should be. Make Electronic Commerce planning someone's job.

11.1 Common types of objectives are:

1. Functional objectives--changed output forms or displays.
2. Process objectives--changes to input and output methods eg regular instead of ad hoc reporting.
3. Operational objectives--these specify P.Is. & system accuracy.
4. Personal & job satisfaction objectives--creative to use rather than simply responding to computer outputs.

--Objectives can be high-level, low-level, general or specific.

We start with high level and reduce them as we proceed with detailed system analysis. Analysts talk to users to define precisely what each key goal entails.

11.2 Finding the KM IT Team

The team Members we need for our KM IT team should:
--get beyond "ego" boosting personal satisfaction type of objectives
--not be blinded by the convergent tendency of self-experience
--be highly socialised
--have a mind-set able to operate and be comfortable with near personal distance
--believe planned action is superior to unplanned action
--know that all probability is not due to chance but operates as cause and effect
--appreciate a free-flowing knowledge warehouse makes for superior practice
--not to group-think
--know the time and know the place--know when to take rest

12.0 CD Writing

See appendix.

We must have on-site CD writing to:

--back up and archive our data
--to handle large amounts of data at an affordable cost
--create new products
--reduces the costs of publication and distribution
--to prevent data wipe out from copies
--create new income streams
--allow low skilled persons to operate the equipment

13.0 Current Pricing Options

See appendix.

There is a range of CD Writers available that offer differing levels of performance. The standard CD Writers which are available to home users for about $400 are fairly unreliable and may produce distorted recordings if used for audio production and data loss when used for backup purposes.

For our requirements these units are unsuitable. The next level up also produces a small percentage of faulty copies however it is designed to do self-checking. This means the system identifies when a faulty CD is produced and advises the operator to discard the CD's with imperfections. This equipment comes with software that enables very good quality sound and data capture. The cost of these systems is between $800 to $1000.
The rate of production is about 2 -3 CD's per hour.

If we specify that we require a CD Writing system which writes at a level of 100% accuracy an external SCSI "full height" system is available for approximately $2000 including software.

14.0 Intranet Content

Apart from e-mail, our system will give Members access to our Intranet.
Some suggested content headings for our intranet are:

Dhamma

--Five Precepts
--Ten Perfections
--Eightfold Path

Publications

--BDDRs
--BSB
--Annual Reports
--Memorandum of Association

Lists

--Emergency Numbers
--Contact List
--Approved Suppliers

Current Concerns

Application Forms

--To set up direct money transfers capability with bank
--Membership Application Form (printing only)
--Application for Members to get e-mail access
--Application for web server access
--Application for premises access
--To be placed on BDDR mailing list

How do I?

--Make offerings--with audit trail
--Put out the bin

Where are?

--Map of premises
--List of names and locations
--The tools kept?

Health & Safety

--Print Bulletin
--Do's and Don'ts
--Reporting OH & Safety Issues--Standard forms

I.T. Prompts

--How To's
--Fault log form (online)
--The process objective of the above list is to trigger development for value adding to our IT plan.

It is not enough to be smart; we have to be smart and fast. We must make e-commerce (EC) everyone's job.

--Refer BSB 20 page 8 for 33 suggested topics for E-mail Use.

Some of these suggestions could well belong on Intranet. Tactically, our Intranet may be thought as equivalent to causing Members to enter into the sphere of infinite knowledge--2nd Arupa Jhana. By searching for content there, Members come to know that our rich heritage culture has many value-creating mechanisms.

It becomes evident to them when they can recognise our organisation has a history of writing down and supporting clear, value-creating objectives that they, too, can transcend mere personal development.

This vision can free Members from the stationery knowledge of what they think the organisation stands for.

15.0 Building an inclination to perform and learn.

For a bird to fly straight it must use two wings--one is not enough.

Members must be inspired to incline to do more than just learn each for himself or herself (which is not financially sustainable)--they must perform to raise funds so they and others can share in the learning queue.

Members must become flexible enough to accept that the funds they raise for KM, at times, may be diverted from what they had in mind to what is urgent and important.

Some Members will regard planning as liberation for vision, but others see it as an obstacle to the promotion of their pet projects.

IT and research departments need to create a framework and context for their functions but the self-interest of the IT planners must not distort the core business of the organisation which is held in the Teacher's mandala.

But, it is necessary to become aware what we are looking for is not merely to be a copy of one or the other managerial style of some person. Sometimes, the good heart may not always be expressed publicly for fear that amplification down the line might threaten the balanced development of the organisation. The reason for this is that immature Members who lack an interest in history or anthropology fail to understand that civilised living has the essential character of forethought.

16.0 Improving accessibility of our technological wisdom.

Our IT data warehouse's function is to store our collective wisdom within an e-system.

In theory, all clients who can afford it would have access to the 17 contracted platforms which are constructed or about to be installed.

In practice is given a password to access when a person is:

--a financial Member
--competent to use the software program
--skilful enough to trouble-shoot much of the platform's system.
--willing to develop acceptable projects using the platform
--able to pass on knowledge in the platform to others
--better understanding of the platform he or she uses up to 3rd order.
--a Buddha Dhamma follower.
--predisposed to develop himself or herself within our five styles

At present, only one key person and a consultant are allowed access to our high end development of hardware for our WEB-SITE & LAN file servers. (Rodney, Gary) Within the next year, we would like an extra two trained professionals to share this high end hardware IT development.

At present, there are 7 users with permission to make regular entries to the high end of our software platforms, such as, for example, accounting & BDDR database. (Pam, Arrisha, Rodney, Vanessa, Anita, Lisa, Leanne ) Within the next year, we need to train another 8 Members for these platforms. There are 18 users who make entries on our middle range platforms, such as word processing & organise... library software.
Within 6 months, we need to train 40 Members for these middle range platforms.

There are 30 users of our lower end platforms, such as, for example e-mail.

Within 6 months, we need to train ALL Members to use these platforms.

We are about to raise awareness of the value of IT to the organisation to make the perception pleasing to all Members that they have an obligation to learn how to operate our IT systems. At present, we cannot afford the costs of providing pathways to IT use for disabled persons. However, as Dragon software becomes more affordable, we could accommodate training for some disabled persons.Costs of such applications are onerous to define.
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17.0 Cultural savings made by our IT platforms that find facts with ease.

A shortage of open-handed socialised managers who can pace and implement post-Fordism concepts in our organisation would delay tactics of globalisation in our organisation.

Were our IT platforms developed for further knowledge management purposes, they could give a core group of our socialised managers functional flexibility.

Socialised managers could work with peripheral groups giving us numerical flexibility.

Networks of such peripheral groups could act as carriers or sub-contractors on short-term contracts for the propagation of our knowledge.

This type of post-Fordism management was suggested in our 1993 annual reports.

When our Teacher foreshadowed this model in our 1993 annual reports (based on the 1986 model of the flexible firm thought out by G.C. Mangum), he called for IT cultural change.

On 27 July 1993, it was recommended there be "completion of current computerisation of systems" and "modem integration" of IT. Three years later,(1996), our first e-mail system (PINE) was introduced.

--E-mail proved to be successful.
--PINE was replaced by EUDORA LIGHT - our present 2nd generation e-mail.

In 1998, Rodney provided a UNIX LAN service and installed a bigger data warehouse.

--9 networked machines now access the files on the LAN platform.
--the system is scalable to 500 or more terminals..
--Members feel comfortable with using our modern LAN.

Without IT tools having the speed of our Local Area Network and an Intranet, it is hard for Members to become more coherent.

As internal public relations, LAN and Information Technology visibility and availability suggests:

--we are "not too old-fashioned" and
--the provision of time-saving IT is living evidence that we acknowledge Member's time is precious.
--managers who use IT wish to keep others informed of significant work-in-progress.
--the more vital role in internal public relations of communicating the message that it is a good thing when each Member e-mails other Members
--better still, is when he or she reports on things done OF RELEVANCE expressed in 2nd order knowledge of the Centre.
--2nd order writing needs to be introduced in stages
--As relevant 2nd order e-mail traffic peaks, unsocialised Managers who hide behind 1st order thought will leave our organisation.

Within the next six months, Members must aim to better their present managers in terms of 2nd order expression to the use of IT.

In the past, some Members who are not particularly interested in the bigger picture of what is happening around the Centre failed to write reports for others because they had no reason for the fine detail of their tactics.

Satisfactory means putting 1st order knowledge into tabular or graphical form ( to save reading time) and moving expression towards as 2nd or 3rd order knowledge.

IT can help us do this to help the Centre.

Isolate behaviour that led to wasteful duplication of effort occurring (eg. duplicate filing systems) has been removed in part.

Several years ago, we saw a shortage of socialised managers who were not interested in S2 quality team working.

Lack of writing things down (S2) would lead to poor accounting and lead to time wasted chasing information.

It was decided to automate most "do-list" transactions by using IT to remove tactless, unsocialised managers from controlling information.

We choose IT development as the best internal public relations tactic to get information more freely available into the public domain.

Access to current good information now empowers Members to act without reference to the time wasting "grand-standing" of WOULD-BE S1 managers who want to wind back the clock.

--We are about to use S5 management.
--S1 is for fire-fighting--we have no fires.
--We use IT to save time & effort.
--Members should be "in the know about new IT concerns".
--Members must not generate spurious IT projects and priorities.
--BEWARE of leaving only with 1st order knowledge.
--Learn at 2nd or 3rd order knowledge.

--DO NOT BECOME a poor listener who introduces "white noise" into messages because you slant information to 1st order knowledge.
--REMEMBER--poor factual communicators leave behind 2nd order and 3rd order knowledge because they do not understand how to learn.

How much Member's time was saved this year?

Our IT WORKING SYSTEMS save 4000 hours of Member's time a year.
Member's time saved = 4000 hours @ $3.50 hour = $140 000 per year.

The ease with which one Member can write things up gives us case studies. Many Members can capture data from or add data to the same file.
This method of written task management prevents distraction from the tasks needed.

Law requires sound documentation.

Documentation gives continuity to any program or policy development and serves as a training tool for Members who want to come on board.

The 4000 hours shown is a conservative figure.

How much did the IT cost to bring about this time saving?

We must think beyond costs. The benefits of improved quality should reach every part of the organisation.

One recent attempt at full costing of e-mail gave a figure of $20 per week per Member.

We could agree to take a different approach.

Because we are well informed, we obtain our electronic equipment at the best prices. This decade has seen competition change the price of new technology and there is an established downward spiral in the unit cost of processing data. Prices for older, slower equipment have fallen considerably.

One Member is professionally engaged in the marketing of liquidation stock and is well informed on price trends in Australia.

For these reasons, estimates of the "replacement value" of our 8 existing operating platforms are soft and could become lower almost on a monthly basis.

"Second hand " value equipment figures at present range from $60,000 to $80,000.

Expressed as 1999 dollar equivalent terms,
--equipment value is $40,000 , (laser printers, 20 PCs, LAN servers, web-site, scanner).
--software value is $ 20,000 ( spread over web-site, LAN servers and 20 PC's).
--data entry value ( at present, 3 million words) is $60,000.
(this is 2 cents per word).

Assuming we write off over two years, using the high figure of $80,000, if we could get 40 users, cost per user would be $1,000 per year - a cost of $20 per week per user.

We assume that our data entry value does not age within two years.

On our 1993 model, we must distribute some of our IT knowledge to peripheral groups. At present, we do this by BDDR, BSB, from KNOXFM and off our web-site.

We would like our Task Unit Managers to think about using our higher end applications of technological wisdom more widely within the next three months.

Then, Unit managers should think about distributing more of our technological IT wisdom to 80% of Members within the next six months.

This elevation of IT knowledge use for our Buddha Dhamma Centre could bring more useful knowledge applications from our "A Team" (two managers and a consultant) who support our organisation's ratiocination about IT. This close-knit crew has drafted the IT plan "wish list" for the information architecture we wish to see in use in the 21st century.

So far, the "A Team" has:

--developed our internet site, www.bdcu.org.au
--uploaded four computers to Pentium technology
--increased the ROM available on most motherboards
--networked second generation laser printers
--operationalised a Windows 95 environment for our LAN
--installed many uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
--developed a data warehouse
--commenced the development of an e-library
They recommend installing all 20 IT platforms by December 2000.
Most of these platforms follow VET 1999 recommendations.

The platforms are:

--ISYS
--CD reader
--systems with sound cards
--systems with video cards
--Digital Video Disc (DVD) player
--databases of client addresses (eg. BDDR mailing lists)
--databases of financial information (used by Treasurer)
--data warehouse
--e-mail
--Intranet
--Internet
--scanner
--CD burner
--CD copiers
--digital cameras
--Athena software
--Bar coding
--Dragon software
--Fax from screen
--touch screens
--Acrobat Reader 4.0 on each machine.

At present (September 1999), we have 9 of these platforms in place. Within the next two months, we hope to install at least another 4 of the IT platforms.

This thumb nail sketch is what we see using our present hardware to fit our IT vision. We suggest the vision will be acceptable to the accumulated expertise of our managers who will use the improved IT based system.

Five styles have been expounded for over a decade. Our IT output must follow these styles.

Within the next two years, managers will need recurrent cultural change to help Members keep pace with our Knowledge management.

Our managers must be socialised enough to catalyse Members attitudes towards learning so that Members support a rate of learning refined enough to precipitate that:

--All Members to be twice as practical by December 1999
--All Members to be twice as friendly (5th cetasika - adosa)
--All Members to be four times less anti-social (antagonistic) by December 1999

14 present managers are:

--to become twice as culturally adaptable (have equanimity toward other cultures)
--to encourage other managers to write 2nd order radio scripts using three styles- friendliness, cultural adaptability, practicality
--to encourage 18 Members to strive towards 3rd order professionalism within 2 years
--to encourage 18 Members towards understanding the abstraction of scholarship
--to invite Members who cultivate four styles to edit radio scripts and encourage others to learn how to do the same
--to encourage a "browsing" culture
--to make visible to all
--to encourage and develop the visual literacy of members
--to appreciate and expand a visual culture
--to develop understanding of different visual histories and cultures
While we hold the notion that knowledge management is needed, there is the need for the cultivation of forethought as to the methods of learning we intend to use. After all, rapid growth of IT at less resource intensity is not necessarily a step forward.

We do not want the growth rate of new knowledge collection to meet the obstacle of the new knowledge swamping the IT handling capacity to put it into our systems.

--Because of copyright considerations, under Australian law, we cannot convert most of our available information held as books and journals in our library to digital form.
--E-Systems, rather than persons, will support learning for all Members.
--The sum total of good 1st, 2nd and 3rd order of current information available to given managers to give better knowledge products.
--Emphasis on e-learning is to make managers more practical sooner.
--E-management will delegate and develop existing staff more effectively.

In the past, it took a learning time of between 10 to 15 years to develop our managers.

The initial response of most Members who are invited to stay with our organisation this life and develop into our trainers is a mixture of scepticism, interest, and a token acceptance of our five styles.

Our support of learning is based on the high expectation that 60% of present Members will wish to operate, develop and stay committed to our IT culture.

Our IT style is akin to andragogy--a philosophy of adult learning based on four key assumptions:

--Adults want control and responsibility for their learning
--Adults bring a variety of experiences to their learning
--Adults learning efforts are problem centred
--Factors motivating adults to learn come from "within"

Two affects in the conventional andragogy theory, we view as false.

These are that:

--Instruction is centred on the needs of the learner. (In our model, instruction follows from the needs of the organisation).
--"Teachers" become facilitators. (In our model, Dhamma Teachers are persons to be venerated, whereas facilitators are treated as inferiors).
For these reasons, the developer of Andragogy (Andrew Knowles) devised a model describing the method by which adults approach learning and the difference between the adult's approach and that of a child's (Pedagogy).

The Main Principles of Andragogy are:
--the idea of the self--direction among adults
--the life experience of an adult learner is respected as an important and
continuously developing source of learning.
--flexibility in the offering of learning opportunities
--Problem-centredness is more important than topic centredness in learning
--a food atmosphere helps learning
--learning is more important than teaching--in terms of merit used or merit made, we cannot agree with this notion

The processing time for accession of incoming book titles onto Organise... software has improved since Archive Officer Vanessa Macleod has taken over this area of the library.

We place book titles on our Internet site.

What we are doing and count as knowledge management is really getting our heritage writings into suitable digital formats.

The experience of converting early editions of our printed BDDR to be readable on line has taught us not to delegate critical editing to third parties who work with software different to ours.

Having our Members operate the conversion in keying data onsite increases our handling capacity because 5 possible obstacles are removed.

For details, see onsite keying GUSTO 2000 report.

According to Bertrand Russell (1935) , three factors; present pain, future pleasure and the length of the interval between them measure the degree of forethought involved in any act.

All the characteristic works of industrialism exhibit a high degree of collective forethought.

Forethought based upon superstition cannot count as fully civilised.

Knowledge is an essential element of civilisation.

Measurable progress tends to measure unimportant things, such as the number of motor-cars made, or the number of peanuts consumed.

The really important things can be known, each for himself or herself.

Production is cheaper when it is unified and on a large scale than when it is divided into a number of small units.

This applies if it is for the production of views and opinion or the production of nails.

Standardisation promotes cohesion, makes politics less bitter, and is now appearing under the term " globalisation ".

The truth of the belief that a special sort of training may be necessary to understand our theory of IT development may cause some computer graduates some sort of chagrin.

Yet few Graduates feel such unrest by the fact that a special training is necessary, for say, a first class swimmer.

The most visible sign of this state is the internet culture levels the separate playing fields of many nations and destroys some of the historic differences means that persons may become trivial, arrogant and a little mad. So, as we adopt this IT technology, we train our true minds to keep equanimity.

May you be well and happy.

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