<p>This is a study of adolescent student experience within the context of social, political and economic change. It examines the retrospective meaning five post-Soviet individuals made of their school-based, familial and social experiences prior to and following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The study employs a framework based upon student resilience and success.</p><p>This study reviews literature within four areas of focus. First, it examines the nature of change, and operationally divides change into two rudimentary subsets: drawn change (that which slowly alters a societal path over long period of time) and moment change (that which is often linked to crisis and dynamically redirects a societal path over a very short period of time). A discussion of literature follows that examines the historical occurrence of education within the context of social and political change, wherein social and political links are drawn to education. Third, the material available on the subjects of resilience and success is reviewed, from which a model of resilience is employed as a piece of the conceptual framework. The union of the models of change and resilience is then discussed. The fourth area of literature-based focus constructs the historical, cultural, social, political and economic context from which the participants in this study (and their early educational experience) came.</p><p>Following the review of literature, a description of the methodology and epistemology held by the researcher is presented. Constructivism within hermeneutic phenomenology is discussed at length, followed by an account of the researchers position, and then a detailed explanation of the qualitative research design.</p><p>The participants selected were former adolescent students within the Soviet education system both prior to and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. All participants were residents of Canada at the time of study. One female and four male individuals participated within one-on-one semi-structured conversational interviews. In four cases, secondary questioning (or <i>member checking</i>) took place through the use of in-person or electronic mail communication. Data from all interviews were transcribed and analysed with specialized computer software.</p> <p>Each participant described in depth his or her school-, familial- and social-based experiences both prior to, during and after the changes that took place within the Soviet Union (perestroika, glasnost and the dissolution of the Soviet Union). Also discussed was their understanding of success and resilience, described within the context of their own experience. Five themes appeared to emerge. Participants described their experience as one where the structures and values within their families did not change at any point within the broader social, political and economic changes. Second, they relied upon their past experience and examples surrounding them to make behavioural decisions during the time of the change. Third, they described tacit understanding of locus of control and were thus less affected by changes beyond their control. Fourth, each described levels of stability within their immediate (familial and school-based) experience. Fifth, at the broader societal level of experience, a generally optimistic ethos existed that over shadowed the similarly present air of fear and disorder. Participant experience provided a basis for the reconceptualization of the theoretical framework, and specifically the resiliency model wherein protective factors were divided into key areas: past personal experience, immediate personal experience and broader social experience.</p>

<p>This is a study of adolescent student experience within the context of social, political and economic change. It examines the retrospective meaning five post-Soviet individuals made of their school-based, familial and social experiences prior to and following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The study employs a framework based upon student resilience and success.</p><p>This study reviews literature within four areas of focus. First, it examines the nature of change, and operationally divides change into two rudimentary subsets: drawn change (that which slowly alters a societal path over long period of time) and moment change (that which is often linked to crisis and dynamically redirects a societal path over a very short period of time). A discussion of literature follows that examines the historical occurrence of education within the context of social and political change, wherein social and political links are drawn to education. Third, the material available on the subjects of resilience and success is reviewed, from which a model of resilience is employed as a piece of the conceptual framework. The union of the models of change and resilience is then discussed. The fourth area of literature-based focus constructs the historical, cultural, social, political and economic context from which the participants in this study (and their early educational experience) came.</p><p>Following the review of literature, a description of the methodology and epistemology held by the researcher is presented. Constructivism within hermeneutic phenomenology is discussed at length, followed by an account of the researchers position, and then a detailed explanation of the qualitative research design.</p><p>The participants selected were former adolescent students within the Soviet education system both prior to and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. All participants were residents of Canada at the time of study. One female and four male individuals participated within one-on-one semi-structured conversational interviews. In four cases, secondary questioning (or <i>member checking</i>) took place through the use of in-person or electronic mail communication. Data from all interviews were transcribed and analysed with specialized computer software.</p> <p>Each participant described in depth his or her school-, familial- and social-based experiences both prior to, during and after the changes that took place within the Soviet Union (perestroika, glasnost and the dissolution of the Soviet Union). Also discussed was their understanding of success and resilience, described within the context of their own experience. Five themes appeared to emerge. Participants described their experience as one where the structures and values within their families did not change at any point within the broader social, political and economic changes. Second, they relied upon their past experience and examples surrounding them to make behavioural decisions during the time of the change. Third, they described tacit understanding of locus of control and were thus less affected by changes beyond their control. Fourth, each described levels of stability within their immediate (familial and school-based) experience. Fifth, at the broader societal level of experience, a generally optimistic ethos existed that over shadowed the similarly present air of fear and disorder. Participant experience provided a basis for the reconceptualization of the theoretical framework, and specifically the resiliency model wherein protective factors were divided into key areas: past personal experience, immediate personal experience and broader social experience.</p>

Mergers continue to increase globally. Leaders have a critical role in the success of those mergers based on the practices that they employ during this change phenomenon. This study examines leadership practices within a financial organization during a merger and explores how these practices influence the merger. This study also identifies challenges faced by organizations during the merger process. During this qualitative study, interviews were conducted with 17 leaders to understand what leaders do in times of mergers. Through their stories, they identified leadership practices and described how these practices influenced the merger process. Seven leadership themes emerged from the data including: (a) Providing Strategic Vision, (b) Utilizing Effective Communication, (c) Creating a Positive Organizational Culture, (d) Commitment to Fairness, (e) Effective Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, (f) Problem Solving and Decision Making, and (g) Managing Change and the Unknown. The interviews also provided insights into some of the challenges faced by organizations before, during, and after a merger. A conceptual model grounded in theory helped guide the study. Although the body of literature regarding mergers continues to grow, there has been limited examination about the influence of leadership practices before, during, and after a merger. This study adds to the research literature in two ways. First, it has made a new contribution as academic research dealing with financial institutions and specifically the co-operative movement. Secondly, this study also builds on some of the scholarly work related to the leadership practices as they relate to creating a vision, creating a positive culture, effective communication, commitment to fairness, problem solving and decision making, effective negotiation, and managing change.

In a world where the actions of firms have profound consequences, and in which existing corporate norms frequently have controversial impacts on the broader society, the issue of transforming corporate institutions is of increasing importance. What mechanisms allow reforms to be proposed, understood, accepted and eventually adopted throughout an organizational field? How do practices which diverge markedly from prior norms become both acceptable and widely imitated? There is an accelerating use of social movement theory and organization theory to understand and explain campaigns for social change and corporate responses. In this study, I explore the influence of governance activists on the norms of corporate governance in Canada. In the years immediately after the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States, Canadian governance activists began to advocate a new model of the role of corporate boards. They wished to strengthen the independence of board from management, and their model quickly became normative. Institutions changed swiftly and unmistakably. This setting provides an opportunity to investigate the means by which institutional entrepreneurs introduce new practices to an organizational field, how the practices they advocate acquire value, and the conditions under which new practices are integrated into the decision-making processes of organizations. I first conduct a multi-practice study that examines the importance of rankings as an algorithm or calculative device that is congruent with corporate logics. I then examine the diffusion of these practices using a heterogeneous diffusion model. The logic of activists, the structure of organizational fields and the rational decision making of individual firms each play an essential part in the process of institutionalizing new and divergent practices.

Mergers continue to increase globally. Leaders have a critical role in the success of those mergers based on the practices that they employ during this change phenomenon. This study examines leadership practices within a financial organization during a merger and explores how these practices influence the merger. This study also identifies challenges faced by organizations during the merger process. During this qualitative study, interviews were conducted with 17 leaders to understand what leaders do in times of mergers. Through their stories, they identified leadership practices and described how these practices influenced the merger process. Seven leadership themes emerged from the data including: (a) Providing Strategic Vision, (b) Utilizing Effective Communication, (c) Creating a Positive Organizational Culture, (d) Commitment to Fairness, (e) Effective Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, (f) Problem Solving and Decision Making, and (g) Managing Change and the Unknown. The interviews also provided insights into some of the challenges faced by organizations before, during, and after a merger. A conceptual model grounded in theory helped guide the study. Although the body of literature regarding mergers continues to grow, there has been limited examination about the influence of leadership practices before, during, and after a merger. This study adds to the research literature in two ways. First, it has made a new contribution as academic research dealing with financial institutions and specifically the co-operative movement. Secondly, this study also builds on some of the scholarly work related to the leadership practices as they relate to creating a vision, creating a positive culture, effective communication, commitment to fairness, problem solving and decision making, effective negotiation, and managing change.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe an organization's transition to a focused factory of the future. This transition entailed broad changes in manufacturing equipment/technology, manufacturing processes, and organizational culture.The findings of the study included:The organization focused one product model rather than focusing their two major product lines simultaneously. The result was new and stronger barriers emerging rather than the cited objective of breaking down barriers. There was a concentrated effort by the local labor union to resist the new changes while maintaining their own cultural identity.Many of the problems which impeded the transition resulted from external sources where the organization had limited control. These problems with external sources were:1. Conflicts with the organization's corporate headquarters who held an opposing interpretation as to the extent to which the organization should focus.2. Costly delays resulting from machine vendors not meeting their delivery dates.3. Time pressures resulting from deadlines administered by the organization's customer.4. Substantial quality problems experienced from a dependence on a single casting vendor.There is a critical need for frequent communications between management and hourly workers during a transition of this magnitude. The hourly workers have less access to information and make interpretations of events based on available information, real or rumored. The hourly workers are dependent on information from management and when events "suddenly" do not occur as expected a negative perception of management results.Many of the hourly workforce responded magnificently to the challenges of moving beyond "pushing buttons" to becoming a thinking and decision-making facet of the organization. Although some hourly workers who had been acculturated at a time when they were "not paid to think" did not respond well to the unsupervised environment, a large number of the workers demonstrated a voraciousness for the opportunity.RecommendationsPrior to initiating a major change in an organization a very detailed and thorough evaluation needs to be conducted of all potential sources of roadblocks to success. This evaluation should include research on organizations who have experienced similar transitions in the past. The planning should include: An assessment of the internal organizational culture.This would include the likelihood of union support even in lieu of a shift in union leadership.An analysis of the costs/benefits of initiating a new product within the existing plant or at a completely new location.A detailed assessment of all vendors with an alternate in case of utilization of one exclusive supplier. A careful assessment of a machine vendor's ability to meet delivery dates and stringent contractual guidelines which would maximize punctual delivery. Prior to initiating the project there needs to be communication and agreement between the organization and corporate headquarters in regards to the specific details of the changes.A thorough research of potential material vendors needs to be conducted in order to ensure a stable vendor who produces a quality product.A careful selection procedure should be developed which enlists individuals who are willing and able to make the transition along with the organization.

Climate Change Effects and Water Vulnerability in the Molalla Pudding River Basin, Oregon, USA

The dragonfly communities in Sweden may be affected in many ways. Loss of habitats, habitat alteration or even environmental toxins might have a negative impact on the communities. A new threat to the communities and to the species in general is climate change. In this study I examined whether the dragonfly composition had changed in an area in central Sweden between 1997 and 2010. I did a nestedness matrix to see if the dragonfly composition (only using partivoltine species) was more or less nested in 2010 than it was in 1997, i.e. if there was more unexpected species recorded in the area. I also looked at the surrounding of the lakes and whether the species were considered to be generalist species or specialist species. I found that the dragonfly composition had changed during these 13 years and that the composition was more nested in 1997 than in 2010, i.e. there was more unexpected species in the 2010 survey. I also recorded seven new species for the area and that six species had disappeared. Six species had gone from being generalists to being specialists. The surroundings had not changed significantly and I thus see climate change as a possible explanation to these changes.

On what does the meaning of the concept of water depend? I consider three possible answers: the physical world, theory, or both the physical world and theory. Each answer supports a particular history. If the history unique to an answer is confirmed by the actual history of the concept of water, then there is supporting evidence for that account of meaning. I have documented the historical development of the concept of water, focusing on three periods: the ancient Greeks, the 18th and 19th centuries, and the 20th and 21st centuries. Conceptual change figures prominently in that history, and when enough historical data are available communication across theories is obvious. Those features suggest that the meaning of the concept of water depends on the physical world and the theory in which it is embedded. The physical world explains cross theory communication; and theory accounts for the conceptual changes that I have documented. The history of the concept of water suggests that Putnam (1975) is right: meaning depends on the physical world and the theory in which it is embedded. He’s right, however, for the wrong reasons. Putnam relies on a thought experiment to demonstrate that the physical world contributes to meaning, but the history suggests that he built some chemically implausible assumptions into that thought experiment.

The purpose of the study was to examine organizational structural, cultural, pedagogical, and economic (reward system) elements of a traditional research-oriented university for influences on faculty adoption of computer-mediated learning technologies (CMLTs). Emergent driving and restraining societal and organizational influences (Lewin, 1951) on faculty members adoption of CMLTs were examined. Faculty members perceptions of the extent to which university policies and practices were aligned to support the successful design, development, and implementation of CMLTs were explored. <p>A case study of faculty members, who had led CMLT development teams in a provincially funded Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) initiative at one university between 2000 and 2005, was conducted in four stages. In the first stage of the study, focus groups and members checks were held with instructional designers in order to identify potentially information-rich CMLT projects. Findings from this included an examination of the social negotiation process among members of CMLT development teams, and provided the bases for selecting faculty members to invite to participate in the study. Stage Two was a pilot of the faculty interview protocol that resulted in protocol refinement. In Stage Three, seven faculty members and one graduate student participated in interviews and members checks of the results. Faculty members were asked to describe their motivations for adopting CMLTs into teaching praxis, any resultant changes to their scholarship of teaching, the compensation they received for time invested in pedagogical and technological innovation, and the extent to which institutional structures, cultures, and policies had supported or impeded their efforts. Stage Four involved an environmental scan of institutional and provincial documentation of the TEL initiative as an avenue to corroborating interview data.<p>In this study, it was found that faculty motivations for CMLT adoption included individual responses to departmental initiatives, curricular renewal and standardization activities, personal-professional development, integrating research into teaching, enhancing student learning, increasing the flexibility of student access to learning opportunities, and improving communications with students. Participants reported a variety of resultant changes to their scholarship of teaching: (1) a shift away from traditional lectures and toward learner-focused tutorials, small group and peer-to-peer discussions, and independent learning opportunities for students accessing electronic learning resources; (2) a new or renewed interest in using innovative instructional strategies and learning environments; and (3) a new or heightened interest in researching educational effectiveness. Organizational support for CMLT projects included fiscal support from the TEL program, and in some cases, additional funding provided by departments or colleges; project management support from the institution; pedagogical support from instructional designers; technical and aesthetic support from information technologists, media developers, graphic artists, and a medical illustrator. Organizational and cultural impediments to successful completion of projects varied across college settings. Lack of sufficient time to devote to CMLT development projects, balancing competing research, teaching, and administrative responsibilities with project activities, and therefore, coping with a mismatch between tenure and promotion requirements and necessary time commitments to CMLT projects were pervasive. Difficulties in coordinating large development teams, the slow pace of acquiring approvals for new programs, problematic project management models, and colleagues skepticism about and fear of integrating technology into teaching were common themes. <p>This study surfaced implications for organizational change that could better enable faculty efforts to adopt CMLTs. Expanding tenure and promotion criteria to include CMLT development work (Archer, Garrison, & Anderson, 1999; Hagner & Schneebeck, 2001) and revising intellectual property policies for CMLT artifacts to better acknowledge faculty efforts (Hilton & Neal, 2001; Tallman, 2000) could do much to encourage the integration of technology into teaching. Promoting educational effectiveness research studies (Chyung, 2001), and bringing CMLT efforts in from the margins to become a core activity in the scholarship of teaching (Bates, 2001) could erode current skepticism and fear about technologies displacing faculty members (Olcott & Schmidt, 2000). <p>Finally, in this study, theoretical implications for organizational change were posited. Traditional centralized and bureaucratic management styles are not well suited to supporting CMLT initiatives in higher education (Bates, 2001). A more distributed approach to leadership (Knapper, 2006) could better support necessary efforts to innovate, experiment, prototype, evaluate in order to incrementally improve project outcomes (Suter, 2001), create synergies between teaching and research activities, and garner faculty commitment to integrating computer-mediated learning technologies into contemporary teaching praxis.