In a world where knowledge is the driving force behind human progress, it becomes imperative to understand the intricate dynamics of its creation, preservation, and distribution. This architectural thesis delves into the essence of knowledge and aims to unravel the profound meaning behind these fundamental aspects. By examining the Great Library of Alexandria as a symbol of a global knowledge and fragility, we embark on a transformative journey. The thesis investigates the nature of knowledge itself, posing essential questions about its essence and significance. What does knowledge truly represent, and how do we acknowledge its value in our lives? Through a comprehensive exploration, we aim to comprehend the creation of knowledge and its transformative potential in various domains. Furthermore, the Great Library of Alexandria stands as a compelling symbol of fragility, emphasizing the delicate nature of the artifacts we create. This iconic institution serves as a poignant reminder of the impermanence that surrounds human achievements. By studying the library's historical significance, architectural intricacies, and its ultimate demise, we gain profound insights into the precarious nature of preserving knowledge. By embarking on this journey, we seek to understand not only the importance of preserving knowledge but also the means to achieve effective preservation. Ultimately, this research aims to use AI text to image tools (midjourney) and traditional architectural inquiry methods to deepen our appreciation for the vast wealth of knowledge we have generated and highlight the responsibility we bear in safeguarding and sharing it. By understanding the fragility of knowledge, we can foster a collective consciousness that recognizes the transformative power of knowledge. / Master of Architecture / Knowledge propels human progress, shaping our world in remarkable ways. In this thesis, we embark on a transformative exploration of the creation, preservation, and distribution of knowledge, unraveling its profound meaning. Our investigation centers around the Great Library of Alexandria, a symbol of global knowledge and fragility. We delve into the very nature of knowledge, posing essential questions about its essence and significance. What does knowledge truly represent, and how does it enrich our lives? Through a comprehensive exploration, we aim to understand the creation of knowledge and its potential to transform various domains. Moreover, the Great Library of Alexandria serves as a poignant symbol of fragility, highlighting the delicate nature of human achievements. By studying its historical significance, architectural intricacies, and eventual demise, we gain profound insights into the precarious task of preserving knowledge. Our journey goes beyond mere preservation; it seeks to uncover effective means of safeguarding knowledge. By understanding the importance of preserving knowledge, we can nurture a collective consciousness that recognizes its transformative power. Ultimately, this research aims to deepen our appreciation for the vast wealth of knowledge we have generated and emphasizes our responsibility to protect and share it. Through an understanding of knowledge's fragility, we can foster a society that values and harnesses its transformative potential for the betterment of all.

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This study sought to better understand the learning of leaders who undertake the task of organizational transformation. This inquiry, designed as a qualitative case study of two leaders and informed by a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm, was guided by the following research question: When leaders undertake the task of organizational transformation, what can be discovered about what they learn and the process of how they learn? The leaders learned about themselves and about how to transform their organizations. The leaders confirmed knowledge they already had about themselves (what motivates them) and they developed new understanding of themselves (their leadership style). In addition, they developed new strategies and tactics for transforming their organizations (for example, ways to deal with troublesome staff members). The study also found that the leaders operated from a work-oriented mental model that dominated their thinking. The leaders' learning was embedded in and inextricably linked to their work; it was accidental, incidental, and tacit. The leaders' learning was heavily influenced by four factors: organizational context, the use of intuition to generate options and solutions, the use of daily prayer by both leaders (an unexpected finding), and consultation with a network of professional colleagues. The data were collected throughout one year in which the leaders, who served as co-researchers, were observed six full days each (distributed across the year) and interviewed more than eight hours each. Interviews were also conducted with several staff members from each leader's organization. The data were analyzed during several iterative stages that included the researcher working independently as well as collaborating with each of the two leaders. Further, one long-time colleague of each leader from outside each of the organizations provided an additional perspective on the data. This study also demonstrates the complex, rich, and dynamic nature of qualitative research by distinctively portraying the data, its analysis, and the research experience. Parallel (side-by-side) columns simultaneously present descriptions of the research experience and the analysis of the data. In addition, there are two sets of internal links encouraging the reader to alternate between the research experience and the analysis (in Chapter Four) and between the research method (in Chapter Three) and the researcher's reflections (in the Appendices). Practitioners and scholars may want to examine further the extent to which the factors identified in this study (the leaders' mental model, organizational context, prayer, intuition, and consultation with colleagues) influence leaders transforming organizations. / Ph. D.

Early Chinese city planners and builders succeeded in creating a imperial ideal city - Beijing. The spatial order of Beijing expresses the elaborate system of imperial hierarchy (meaning). Since the founding of People's Republic in 1949 as all the physical elements which defined the old spatial order have changed, the Chinese State attempted to reconstruct a new ideal city -a people's capital of socialist era. Some of these changes ignored the historical and aesthetic values of the traditional elements for utilitarian functions. This thesis examines the transformation process of this ideal city in terms of the physical elements and sociological perspectives, identifies the unique order and meaning of urban space in the ideal city - Beijing, and articulates some design principals that could be used to reconstruct a new ideal city - Beijing, express the new ideology of the people in the socialist era and preserve the historical and aesthetic values of traditional elements. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Ce travail doctoral propose une théorisation enracinée du phénomène de survie locale au sein de la firme multinationale. L'objectif est d'apporter des éléments de réponse à la problématique suivante : quelles sont les stratégies locales élaborées par les sites industriels de multinationales afin de survivre et de se maintenir au sein de la chaîne de valeur de l'entreprise malgré un contexte de globalisation et de rationalisation des coûts de production ? L'étude historique du cas d'IBM Montpellier nous permet d'interpréter le phénomène de survie locale comme résultant d'un processus managérial de maturation de la survie par la transformation. Ce processus se décompose en trois étapes successives : une phase de conformité pendant laquelle les acteurs locaux ressentent peu de pressions exogènes et se contentent d'adopter et d'exécuter les pratiques et les directives globales ; une phase d'opposition qui émerge en réaction à des menaces soudaines et qui consiste à contester certaines logiques globales afin de protéger les acquis locaux ; et une phase de transformation pendant laquelle les acteurs locaux cherchent à anticiper les futures évolutions de la compagnie et à redéfinir les pratiques et les logiques locales afin d'être en mesure d'influencer ou de contourner des décisions jugées menaçantes. La thèse met en exergue le caractère paradoxal du processus stratégique de survie en le situant à l'interface entre résistance et conformité. La démarche étudiée consiste à traduire les transformations organisationnelles insufflées par le siège, à les négocier, à les dévier et à se les approprier. Au final, nos observations montrent qu'une stratégie de survie pour la filiale revient non pas à combattre le changement mais à l'accompagner de manière à trouver ou à créer sa nouvelle place dans la chaîne de valeur globale. / This thesis proposes a grounded theory of the phenomenon of local survival within multinational corporations. The aim is to study the following question: what kind of strategies might be developed by manufacturing plants in order to survive and remain in the value chain of a multinational despite a context of globalization and costs rationalization? The historical analysis of the case of IBM Montpellier allows us to interpret the phenomenon of local survival as resulting from the maturation of a managerial process of survival by transformation. This process is composed of three stages: a compliance phase during which local actors feel little exogenous pressures and simply adopt and implement practices and directives coming from headquarter; an opposition phase that emerges in response to sudden threats and consists in contesting the diffusion of some logics in order to protect and maintain the established local order; and a transformation phase during which local actors seek to anticipate future evolutions of the company and redefine local practices and logics in order to influence or bypass certain decisions deemed to threaten the future of the site. The thesis highlights the paradoxical nature of this survival strategic process since it lies at the interface between resistance and compliance. The approach studied consists in translating, negotiating, or deviating organizational changes instilled by headquarter. Finally, our observations show that for subsidiaries, a survival strategy entails not to fight change but to support it in order to find or to create their new place in the global value chain.

Tang, Ho Lam. / "December 2010." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-132). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

Large-scale transformational change, such as the integration and acceptance of gays in the U.S. military, necessitates a long-term effort by management to mitigate unanticipated consequences. Suboptimal implementation may not account for damaging consequences among individuals expected to live the change. The purpose of this autoethnographic study was to examine the individual experiences of a closeted gay personnel member living through a transformational change in identity, which paralleled an organizational change in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The conceptual framework included elements of general systems theory, Kotter's theory of change management, Ostroff's change management for government, and Maslow's self-actualization theory. Data collection included logs, notes, journals, field notes, and recollections of experiences, conversations, and events connecting the autobiographical story to organizational change. Data were coded and analyzed to identify themes. Data analysis entailed triangularization using the largest DoD survey of that time, and public records of military personnel who participated in lawsuits against the DoD or opined about the policy. While the organization was transforming to allow openly gay individuals to remain in the military, findings showed that nearly half of those who offered opinions predicted that openly gay servicemembers would get beat up or abused. Findings showed the process of transformational change allowed those impacted to make their own sense of the change, and knowing whether someone was gay mattered. Findings may be used by sexual minorities and other subgroups to engage in sensemaking activities to promote transformational change initiatives.

Abstract With respect to the combining program of ROC Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, the ROCMA has been conducting organization transformation and personnel downsizing since 2005; however, due to the time constraint, the rashly conducting of those works mentioned above has caused sense of instability and pressures to most of the school staff and faculty members. Besides, it may also affect the work quality and living contentment of the school staff and faculty members. This research, The Effect of Organization Transformation to the Work Quality and Living Contentment of the Organization Members, is focused on the school staff and faculty members of the ROCMA. It discusses the correlation between the organization transformation, the quality of work and the contentment of living, in order to provide the policy making element the references in making the follow up organization transformation policies avoiding the loss on the quality of work and the focus of living; therefore, the transformation policies could be implemented along with the improving of organization performance and the achieving of mission objectives. Through the focus group interview and questionnaires design, the following results are found, and they could be applied to the plan and personnel sections as references: The research is focus on ROCMA staff and faculty members besides general officers. 400 surveys were sent out, and 362 of them are valid, so the valid survey return rate is 90.5%. The results are: 1) The variables of organization transformation and work quality are positively correlated. 2) The variables of organization transformation and the contentment of living are positively correlated. 3) The quality of work and the contentment of living are significantly correlated; in which, the quality of work is positively correlated with the contentment of living in the aspects of work autonomy, work significance and work versatility; in the aspects of work feedback and work developing, however, the correlation is not significant. The contentment of living is positively correlated with the work quality in the aspects of organization rules, group relationship, job security and work reorganization; in the aspects of work environment and welfare though, the correlation is not significant. The suggestions according to this research are as follows: the simplicity of transformation process and the management theory should be combined for the research object during the transformation period in order to increase the efficiency, minimize redundant works, and avoid lobbying for jobs so that every jobs can be took by suitable person; finally, the way to reach the perfection and increase transformation efficiency with all the organization members¡¦ expectation is to correct exactly all the problems found during transformation period. Key words: Organization Transformation, Organization Transformation Awareness, the Quality of Work, the Contentment of Living.

Univ., Diss.--Kiel, 2006.