Thesis (D. Min.)--Logos Evangelical Seminary, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 277-294).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-223).

Thesis (M.A.)--Marshall University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 40 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-40).

Thesis (D.Com. (Accounting Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 1998.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 328-359).

About 50-70 % of all change initiatives fail and one reason for this is soft barriers, which mainly depend on people. These barriers are challenging to manage because individuals react to change in different ways. Due to these difficulties, companies look for help from consultants, who are perceived to have wide knowledge about change. Hence, the authors have studied the change process and the soft barriers from an external change agent perspective by interviewing nine experienced consultants. The results indicate that no phase in the change process is prominently more problematic than another, instead each phase is the outcome of prior phases. If the critical barriers in each phase are considered the change can be successful. Several soft barriers to change have been identified; lack of goals and vision, no demand for measurements and follow-ups, and a too large and homogenous project group without relevant competence or a clear driver of the change. Additionally, the findings suggest that top management is specifically problematic due to that they are often not united, are impatient and struggle with power and politics. Thus, the study indicates that resistance often starts from the top, which affects the rest of the organization and the outcome of the change.

<p> The empirical analysis in this dissertation comprises two essays investigating the impacts of climate change on agriculture in Morocco, with an emphasis on climate uncertainty and robust adaptation.</p><p> The first essay in Chapter 4 provides estimates of economic impacts of climate change, and estimates on the extent to which the current Moroccan agricultural development and investment strategy, the Plan Maroc Vert (PMV), could help in agricultural adaptation to climate change and uncertainty.</p><p> We simulated three cases. First, we examined the impacts of PMV on the economy in the absence of climate change and found that it could provide about a 2.4% increase in GDP if the targets could be achieved. Subsequently, we did a separate simulation of the impacts of climate change on the Moroccan economy with no PMV (CC-Only) and found that there would be negative GDP impacts ranging between -0.5% and -3% depending on the climate scenario under the without CO₂ case. Including CO₂ fertilization effects induces a slight change in the distribution of impacts, which range from -1.4% to +0.3%. Finally, we evaluated the extent to which PMV could help mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change, and we found that the gain was quite small ranging between +0.02% and +0.04%.</p><p> The ability of the PMV strategy to mitigate the negative effects of climate change is limited at best, if non-existent. This is due to the scope of the PMV simulations limited to the strategic agricultural crop sectors in Morocco, which jointly represent no more than 35% of aggregate agricultural GDP; whereas the rest of the sectors account for 65%. Additionally, the likelihood of meeting the PMV productivity targets is low in light of our benchmark analysis comparing productivity prior to and after the adoption of GMO technologies.</p><p> The second essay examines the interaction of globalization through trade liberalization and climate change. Our hypothesis was that the more trade is liberalized, the higher the potential to compensate for losses due to climate change.</p><p> Our findings suggest that at the global level, our hypothesis is verified. World welfare gains are highest under a multilateral trade liberalization scenario, which induces a total offset of climate change welfare losses. However, under partial trade liberalization, the welfare gains become very small in comparison with the climate change impacts.</p><p> At the regional level, the results are more nuanced and our hypothesis does not hold for all regions. For instance, and focusing on Morocco as a case study, the net welfare impacts associated with trade liberalization are negative on average. But under the multilateral trade liberalization scenario, Morocco experiences net welfare gains under the SRES A1B and B1, which respectively reached US$ +23 million and US$ +16 million. Although trade liberalization induces net allocative efficiency gains under most scenarios, the large negative terms of trade effects offset most of the gains.</p>

In the absence of federal climate change initiatives, Texas cities have been free to pursue their own local energy and environmental policy objectives. However, recent trends in federal climate change politics have made it clear that the era of federal inaction on climate change is nearing an end. This report argues that these trends will eventually culminate in a comprehensive regulatory structure with serious implications for the entire energy landscape of Texas. Texas cities that adapt quickly to these new conditions will experience greater success in the new low-carbon economy. Determining which adaptation strategy is appropriate for each city, however, is largely a function of the policy priorities of the city in question. This report identifies four, often conflicting, policy perspectives that influence the development of climate change policy priorities: Environmental Protection, Economic Stability, Peak Oil Production, and Energy Security. It then analyzes these perspectives in order to develop criteria for the proper selection of future energy and environmental policies. Finally, this report examines a variety of proposed policy initiatives to identify strategic options for each perspective and opportunities for mutual gain. / text

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The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of change within a school district involved in district-wide school reform upon the entrance of a new superintendent. This is a mixed method study and will use qualitative data from interviews and quantitative data from an electronic survey given to all school district employees with current email addresses in the school district database. The study uses organizational theory as a basis for examining the school district as an organization. The study also uses Michael Fullan's research to form a frame of reference to examine elements of successful district-wide school reform. For this study, successful reform will be measured by overall improvement in the educational setting for students, teachers, and staff, including, but not limited to student accountability data. / text