Abbasi, S., M.Sc., University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, September 2013. Adaptation to Drought in Saskatchewan Rural Communities: A Case study of Kindersley and Maidstone, Saskatchewan. Joint Supervisors: S. Kulshreshtha and E. Wheaton The main aim of this thesis is to gain knowledge of the processes of adaptation that have enabled communities and agricultural producers to function in a relatively dry and drought prone region of Saskatchewan. This investigation was limited to two rural communities – Kindersley and Maidstone. Historically, vulnerability to natural hazards has been considered only a physical phenomenon. As a result, the social characteristic of a place\system, which contribute to vulnerability to natural hazards, are not well studied. This study used both secondary (quantitative in nature) and primary (qualitative in nature) methods to understand exposure, sensitivity and adaption to droughts in two study communities. Quantitative method included estimating drought condition from time series data for both communities. Intensity of the drought was based on Palmer Drought Severity index and Standard Precipitation Index. Given this background, qualitative techniques (semi-structured interviews and participation observations) were employed to explore the sensitivity and adaptation to droughts in the two communities. The results indicated that drought had caused significant economic hardships for farmers and ranchers during the 2001- 2003 period. Crop yield declined more than 50% of normal level for some crops during this period. Producers had undertaken some adaptive actions to counteract the adverse effect of the drought. These included changing their farming practices -- intensive tillage to minimum or zero tillage, diversification in terms of types of crops grown, off-farm employment, and participation in business risk management programs. Respondents reported that drought was not the sole cause of their vulnerability. Social factors such as changing government policies, reduced profit margins, insufficient business risk management programs, and international markets shaped their vulnerability to climate-related natural hazards. The study found a strong sense of alienation between respondents and federal government agencies. The combination of economic stress, inadequate government risk management programming translates into a very narrow window of sustainability for producers should they face a severe multi-year drought in the future.

In the context of still uncertain specific effects of climate change in specific locations, this paper examines whether education significantly increases coping capacity with regard to particular climatic changes, and whether it improves the resilience of people to climate risks in general. Our hypothesis is that investment in universal primary and secondary education around the world is the most effective strategy for preparing to cope with the still uncertain dangers associated with future climate. The empirical evidence presented for a cross-country time series of factors associated with past natural disaster fatalities since 1980 in 125 countries confirms this overriding importance of education in reducing impacts. We also present new projections of populations by age, sex, and level of educational attainment to 2050, thus providing an appropriate tool for anticipating societies' future adaptive capacities based on alternative education scenarios associated with different policies. (authors' abstract)

Abstract This single, embedded case study focused on educators’ experiences of educational change as they adopted, implemented, and sustained a one-to-one computing innovation over 20 years. The purpose of the study was to explore the innovativeness, the capacity of a school community to take on change for continuous educational improvement over time. Through interviews and focus groups with administrators, teachers, students, and graduates, observations of current classroom practices, and archival data, the study provides an understanding of how individuals experienced change and how a school sustained change over an exceptionally long period of time. Data analysis revealed multiple rationales for the implementation of one-to-one computing, including the development of a constructivist environment, the empowerment of women, preparation of students for college and the 21st century work force, and the need to keep the school’s educational program on the “cutting-edge.” The study of this individual school community suggests the importance of a strong educational philosophy, flexibility of implementation, an environment that encourages risk-taking, and collegiality. The study also demonstrates that change occurred on a continuum and continued to progress as hardware, software, and the Internet evolved, and as faculty became more knowledgeable of the application of the program to teaching and learning.

The collection of articles in this Special Feature is part of a larger project on "Forecasting Societies" Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change (an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council to Wolfgang Lutz). In investigating how global change will affect population vulnerability to climate variability and extremes, the project aims to help develop strategies that enable societies to better cope with the consequences of climate change. In doing so, the basic hypothesis being tested is that societies can develop the most effective long-term defense against the dangers of climate change by strengthening human capacity, primarily through education. Education can directly influence risk perception, skills and knowledge and indirectly reduce poverty, improve health and promote access to information and resources. Hence, when facing natural hazards or climate risks, educated individuals, households and societies are assumed to be more empowered and more adaptive in their response to, preparation for, and recovery from disasters. Indeed the findings from eleven original empirical studies set in diverse geographic, socioeconomic, cultural and hazard contexts provide consistent and robust evidence on the positive impact of formal education on vulnerability reduction. Highly educated individuals and societies are reported to have better preparedness and response to the disasters, suffered lower negative impacts, and are able to recover faster. This suggests that public investment in empowering people and enhancing human capacity through education can have a positive externality in reducing vulnerability and strengthening adaptive capacity amidst the challenges of a changing climate.

L'agriculture biologique connaît un essor important en France, comme dans la plupart des pays européens. De profondes mutations traversent ce secteur, et de nouveaux modèles de production et de développement apparaissent. Cette thèse se propose d'analyser ces transformations au niveau de l'exploitation agricole, dans le cadre des sciences de gestion, par le biais de la notion de durabilité (en référence à celle de développement durable). L'étude porte sur un échantillon de 74 exploitations de la région Midi-Pyrénées représentant différentes productions. Une première approche apprécie la durabilité de façon synchronique à l'aide d'indicateurs quantitatifs, pour les dimensions agro-écologique, économique et socio-territoriale. Elle fait état de la diversité des formes de durabilité, en lien principalement avec les logiques de fonctionnement des exploitations. Une deuxième approche aborde la durabilité en tant que processus de changement, d'adaptation et d'innovation, par une étude qualitative des trajectoires d'exploitations et des modes de pilotage. Ces études de cas montrent la diversité des trajectoires d'évolution de la durabilité. En dernier lieu, l'analyse met l'accent sur la dimension émergente et incrémentale des dynamiques collectives d'amélioration de la durabilité. / Organic farming is developing strongly in France as in most European countries. The sector is facing fundamental changes, and new production and development models are appearing. This thesis proposes to analyse these transformations at the farm level, from a management perspective, via the concept of sustainability. The study concerns a sample of 74 farms in the French Midi-Pyrénées representing different types of agricultural activity. Sustainability is initially assessed synchronically using quantitative indicators, recording the different forms relating especially to the rationale behind the way farms operate. A second approach looks at sustainability as a capacity for change, adaptation and innovation, via a qualitative study of farm trajectories and management practices. These case studies demonstrate the diversity of pathways leading to the development of sustainability. Finally, the analysis stresses the group dynamics behind improving sustainability, and on the emergent and incremental nature of these developments.

L’analyse de la littérature traitant du changement organisationnel montre l’existence de plusieurs processus explicatifs du changement (processus planifié, processus politique, processus interprétatif, processus incrémentiel et processus complexe). Les résultats empiriques de recherches antérieures montrent l’existence de combinaisons différentes de ces processus pour comprendre et expliquer les changements observés selon les cas, objets de ces études. Motivés par la compréhension de ces résultats, nous mobilisons l’apport des travaux traitant de la capacité de changement des organisations. L’objectif de la présente recherche porte sur l’étude de l’influence de la capacité de changement d’une entreprise sur les processus explicatifs du changement. Pour cela, une étude qualitative par étude de cas longitudinale est menée au sein de Basic Bank, établissement bancaire leader sur le marché tunisien, afin de relever les composantes de la capacité de changement influentes pendant la conduite du projet (P24). A cet effet, nous avons découpé le processus de changement induit par le projet (P24) en trois phases : phase de lancement du changement, phase de sa mise en œuvre et phase de sa consolidation. Les résultats montrent que la capacité leadership, la communication, la reconnaissance du personnel, le recrutement et l’apprentissage organisationnel, composantes de la capacité de changement de Basic Bank, influencent les processus explicatifs du changement induit par (P24). Toutefois, l’étendue de cette influence diffère selon les phases de changement analysées. / The analysis of the literature on organizational change shows the existence of several explanatory process of change (planned process, political process, interpretive process, incremental process and complex process). The empirical results of previous studies show the existence of different combinations of these processes to understand and explain the changes observed depending on case studies. Motivated by the understanding of these results, we mobilize the contribution of works dealing with the capability to change of organizations. The objective of this research is to study the influence of the capability to change of a company on explanatory process of change. To achieve this goal, a qualitative study by longitudinal case study is conducted in Basic Bank, the leader of the Tunisian market bank, to identify the influential components of capacity of change during the conduct of the project (P24). To this end, we split the process of change induced by the project (P24) in three phases: phase of launching change, phase of its implementation and its consolidation phase.The results show that the leadership capability, communication, staff recognition, and organizational learning, components of change capability of Basic Bank, influence the explanatory process of change induced by (P24). However, the extent of this influence varies according to the phases of change analyzed.

This study aims to identify the relationship between management styles and the factors that facilitate or hinder organizational changes. Therefore, has been carried out a descriptive and quantitative character survey, through a case study on a company of road implement sector. As a theoretical and data collection basis had been used two instruments with already validated scales: (i) Assessment Scale of Managerial Style (EAEG) - (Melo, 2004), and (ii) Instrument of Organizational Capacity for Change (Neiva, 2004). It was obtained the participation of 307 (three hundred and seven) employees of the company under study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlations. Regarding the management style of managers, has been analyzed the styles oriented to the task, the relationship and the situational style, and it was found that, as perceived by the employees, most exercise a task oriented management. When investigating the organizational capacity to change, it was found that, in general, the company has low capacity to change. In turn, the analysis of the standardized mean of the factors that facilitate or hinder transactional change revealed that the organization under study presents levels classified as low for all constructs that comprise these factors, highlighting Bureaucracy and Organizational Continuity and Autonomy of Units and People as factors of high and low level, respectively. Analyzing the average of the factors that facilitate or hinder transformational change, stands out the most significant average, of Turbulence in External Environment, and the very low average of Supportive Coalitions of Change. The investigation of the relationships between management styles and factors that facilitate or hinder organizational change showed that all correlations were significant, positive and moderate, where: among all the management styles investigated and the factors that facilitate change transactional, the associations were of greater intensity with the construct Direction, Flexibility and Reliability in Performance Management; and, among all the management styles and factors that facilitate or hinder transformational change, the associations were of greater intensity with the construct Information Flow. The results allow to infer that the management styles relate to the same constructs of the factors that make up the organizational capacity for change. In other words, regardless of the focus of the manager be oriented to the tasks and results, interpersonal relationships or suitable to the context situation, the influence on the capacity to change is the same. / Este estudo busca identificar a relação entre o estilo gerencial e os fatores que facilitam ou dificultam as mudanças organizacionais. Para tanto, realizou-se uma pesquisa de caráter descritivo e quantitativo, valendo-se de um estudo de caso em uma empresa do setor de implementos rodoviários. Como base teórica e de coleta de dados utilizou-se dois instrumentos com escalas já validadas: (i) Escala de Avaliação do Estilo Gerencial (EAEG) (Melo, 2004); e (ii) Instrumento de Capacidade Organizacional para Mudança (Neiva, 2004). Obteve-se a participação de 307 (trezentos e sete) colaboradores da empresa em estudo. Os dados foram tratados por meio de estatísticas descritivas e correlações. Com relação ao estilo de gerenciar dos gerentes, analisaram-se os estilos orientados à tarefa, ao relacionamento e o estilo situacional e verificou-se que, segundo a percepção dos colaboradores, a maioria exerce uma gestão orientada para a tarefa. Ao investigar a capacidade organizacional para mudança verificou-se que, de modo geral, a empresa possui baixa capacidade para mudar. Por sua vez, a análise das médias padronizadas dos fatores que facilitam ou dificultam a mudança transacional revelou que a organização em estudo apresenta níveis classificados como baixos para todos os construtos que compõem estes fatores, destacando-se a Burocracia e Continuísmo Organizacional e Autonomia de Unidades e Pessoas como os fatores de maior e menor nível, respectivamente. Analisando a média dos fatores que facilitam ou dificultam a mudança transformacional, destacam-se a média mais expressiva, de Turbulência no Ambiente Externo e a menos expressiva de Coalizões Apoiadoras da Mudança. A investigação das relações entre os estilos gerenciais e os fatores que facilitam ou dificultam a mudança organizacional demonstrou que todas as correlações foram significativas, positivas e moderadas, sendo que: entre todos os estilos gerenciais investigados e os fatores que facilitam a mudança transacional, as associações de maior intensidade foram com o construto Direção, Flexibilidade e Confiança na Atuação Gerencial e, entre todos os estilos gerenciais e os fatores que facilitam ou dificultam a mudança transformacional, as associações de maior intensidade foram com o construto Fluxo de Informação. Os resultados permitem inferir que os estilos gerenciais relacionam-se com os mesmos construtos dos fatores que compõem a capacidade organizacional para mudança. Ou seja, independentemente do foco de atuação do gerente ser orientado às tarefas e resultados, voltado para as relações interpessoais ou se adequar conforme o contexto da situação, a influência sobre a capacidade para mudar é a mesma.

本研究目的在於探究組織面對外在壓力下所形塑的組織變革能耐內涵，以及智慧資本觀點HRD實務在組織變革過程中所扮演的角色與實質內涵。研究個案來自於1994-2005年天下雜誌所選出的標竿企業，包括9家個案公司與21項變革事件，透過深度訪談與次級資料進行資料蒐集，並採用紮根理論進行資料分析。 研究結果發現，有二種路徑影響個案公司形塑或強化組織變革能耐，不同路徑的走向來自於在組織變革過程中遭遇變革阻力的類型。當個案公司未遭遇變革困境或員工心態衝擊程度小時，採行第一種路徑，即企業平時透過智慧資本觀點之HRD實務扮演的策略性角色所累積的智慧資本，有助於在變革當下轉化為組織變革能耐，並順利推展變革活動。另一方面，若遭遇內外部衝擊的交互作用，產生變革困境，原有的組織能力無法因應時，個案公司會採行第二種路徑自主性的調整與學習，透過促進性角色的智慧資本觀點之HRD實務，持續強化與形塑組織變革能耐，以克服組織困境，並有助於成功推行變革。 二種路徑所形成組織變革能耐內涵包括：穩固人心的企業文化價值、領導者的信任式領導能力、領導者持續性的執行力、專業導向的員工賦權、參與式的變革承諾、管理制度系統化、跨越邊界的系統化溝通、以及開放式的組織學習能力。外在環境壓力僅是引起組織改變的導火線，因為影響組織變革能耐內涵的差異化，同時包括了幾項連結性因素：變革驅動因子、變革行動類型、變革阻力的類型、與組織變革能耐的發展路徑，而外部環境壓力僅是變革驅動因子中的起始點。 在以上二種組織變革能耐發展路徑中，智慧資本觀點的HRD實務扮演了策略性或促進性的角色，有助於培植組織變革能耐，或強化組織變革能耐促使變革成功。除了策略性與促進性角色，智慧資本觀點之HRD實務在變革過程中也扮演維持性的角色，產生作業性能耐協助組織維持每天正常運作的績效。這些作業性能耐包括：員工的工作職能、員工的工作績效、組織成員平時的互動等等。 無論是扮演維持性、策略性、或促進性角色，智慧資本觀點HRD實務的組成內涵包括發展型、建構型與合作型的HRD構形，但是不同角色的HRD實務具有差異化的組成要素。透過發展型、建構型與合作型HRD構形，得以發展人力資本，建構組織資本，培養社會資本，而經由長時間所蓄積的智慧資本，有助於形成組織變革能耐或作業性能耐。本研究依據研究結果推展出10項研究命題，建構形塑組織變革能耐的變革模式，並提出相關的管理意涵。 / This study aims to explore the organizational capacity for change (OCC) under external pressures facing firms and the roles of intellectual-capital HRD practice in the organizational change process. Cases were obtained from benchmarking enterprises selected by Commonwealth Magazine from 1994 to 2005, including nine cases and twenty-one change events. In-depth interviews and secondary data were collected and analyzed by grounded theory procedures. The research findings show that the target companies adopted two paths to develop and shape OCC. Change resistance is obvious to be the influential factor. First, under low-degree of employee resistance, the intellectual-capital HRD practice plays the strategic role to accumulate intellectual capital, which is transformed into OCC during the organizational change. Second, change difficulties are generated from both external and internal shocks during transformation, then the target cases develop or strengthen new OCC to solve problems. And intellectual-capital HRD practice plays the facilitating role in the second path. Eight dimensions forming OCC are derived from the above two paths, including company culture value, trustworthy leadership, continuous execution, employee empowerment based on expertise, participative change commitment, systems management, systems communication across boundaries, and open organizational learning. External environmental pressure only is the fuse in change drivers, and the sequential process of change drivers, change types, change resistance, and the OCC path determine the differential OCC. Intellectual-capital HRD practice plays the strategic or facilitating role in different OCC development path to make change implementation successful. Besides, it is a maintaining role to generate operational capability, including employee competence, employee job performance, and employee interaction, to sustain operational performance. The components of intellectual-capital HRD practice are developmental, constructive, and collaborative HRD configuration, which yield human capital, organizational capital, and social capital, respectively. The long-term intellectual capital accumulation facilitates to shape OCC or operational capacity. Finally, the research proposes ten propositions to construct the change model shaping OCC and derived managerial implications.

Within the last decade research on climate change strategies and adaptive capacity emerged as the debate about climate change was intensified with the publishing of the Third Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2001. That companies are facing risks and opportunities is not new and the awareness to address these issues is growing. However, there is still need for research in the field of corporate strategic response to climate change. Recently, research focused on resilience management to address climate change. Resilience management is about being able to experience changes and remain stable getting back into the same situation before the change happen. On the contrary to resilience management adaptive capacity is about the ability to be able to adapt to uncertain and unexpected events on the long term. This includes long-term changes. This work argues that companies should think about their adaptive capacity as climate change induces short and long-term changes. Adding this dimension to the strategic planning companies need to think of how they can improve their adaptive capacity. This work investigates research in both issues adaptive capacity and climate change research and in their relation. Applying a systematic literature review this study conducted 60 references which are examined by a qualitative-quantitative analysis and answers the following questions: What is the current scientific view of adaptive capacity within strategic management literature? What are determinants of adaptive capacity? How can adaptive capacity be linked to climate change strategy and is it even antecedent to climate change strategies? The findings of this research indicate that adaptive capacity and climate change strategies exhibit a link but it cannot be proved whether adaptive capacity is antecedent. Furthermore, the term adaptive capacity is merely discussed within strategic management literature and if it is discussed and examined, several concepts and theories are applied to explain determinants of adaptive capacity. Several concepts such as dynamic capabilities, organizational learning capability, organizational learning, organizational change capacity, flexibility and more could be identified as concepts enhancing adaptive capacity. This works provides an overview of related concepts and theories.