The partnership between project management and organizational change: Integrating change management with change leadership

The nature of project management is change. Even though all knowledge areas in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) are rooted in controlling change, none of these areas specifically addresses the human elements of change. There is a significant distinction between directly controlling change relative to the nonhuman aspects of a project ( change control) and effecting change in the human dimensions of a project through leadership ( change leadership). This article characterizes the distinctive activities of change leadership and change control and their interrelationship throughout the project life cycle. Although distinct, change control and change leadership are interdependent and mutually supporting—both are needed to support project success.     

Children's attitudes towards disability: A review and analysis of the literature

A first step towards the design and implementation of a successful mainstreaming program requires a careful examination of two key issues. First, what are children's attitudes towards disability, and second, what are the critical elements involved in facilitating attitude change? This paper examines the current research literature on children's attitudes towards disability and programs aimed at attitude change. The review culminates in a synthesis of the key themes and issues involved and provides a foundation for further study.     

Understanding behavior to understand behavior change: a literature review

One view of environmental education suggests that its goal is to ‘develop a world population that … has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and commitment to work individually and collectively towards solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones’ (UNESCO‐UNEP 1976 UNESCO‐UNEP. 1976. The Belgrade charter. Connect: UNESCO‐UNEP Environmental Education Newsletter, 1(1): 1–2.  [Google Scholar]). Embedded within this charge is the teaching of skills and motivations to implement skills, where a skill refers to performance of an act acquired through extended practice and training (Ericsson and Oliver 1995 Ericsson, K.A. and Oliver, W.L. 1995. “Cognitive skills”. In Learning and Skill, Edited by: Mackintosh, N.J. and Colman, A.M. 37–55. London: Longman.  [Google Scholar]). However, it is often difficult to articulate clearly what skills we teach in conservation education and environmental education focusing on behavior change or influence. It can be equally challenging to describe the behaviors we are ultimately seeking, identified in the Tbilisi Declaration as ‘new patterns of behavior’ (UNESCO 1978 UNESCO. 1978. Final report: Intergovernmental conference on environmental education, Paris: UNESCO ED/MD/49. Organized by UNESCO in Cooperation with UNEP, Tbilisi, USSR, 14–26 October, 1977 [Google Scholar]). At a basic level, it is important to explore the grounding for teaching toward behavior – often referred to as behavior change – that supports the work of the field. This literature review attempts to provide a foundation for behavior‐related discussions in environmental and conservation education. A number of the behavior theories, concepts and models discussed in this review have been explored extensively elsewhere; therefore, this review is not exhaustive, but rather is intended to be broadly representative of the literature.     

网络文学评述

20世纪末,网络介入了文学生产的全过程。网络文学带来了崭新的审美方式和价值追求,实现了文学的自由发展;不过,创作主题的单一和重复使网络文学的发展思路变得狭窄,网络文学有自己的局限和不足。真正的网络文学和纸介文学应该是相通的,互补的。     

Distributed leadership and organizational change: Reviewing the evidence

This article explores the relationship between distributed leadership and organizational change. It draws upon the existing literature to consider whether distributed forms of leadership influence development and change in schools. The article examines the research base relating to distributed leadership and organizational outcomes. It focuses on how different patterns or configurations of distributed leadership contribute to organizational development. The article concludes by highlighting issues that require further study and more empirical confirmation. This article is based on a literature review commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills as part of a research project currently being undertaken by Leithwood, K., Day, C., Sammons, P., Harris, A., and Hopkins, D. (2006) ‘Leadership and student outcomes’ and Leithwood, K., Day, C., Sammons, P., Harris, A., and Hopkins, D. (2006) ‘Successful school leadership: What it is and how it influences pupil learning’. London, DFES.     

The effects of whole language on children's writing: A review of literature

A review was conducted of 14 studies examining the effects of whole language on learning to write. Although we found that the writing of students in whole-language classes generally improved during kindergarten and the primary grades, reliable differences between the writing of children in whole-language and skills-oriented classes were not found. The only reliable difference between children in these two types of programs involved students' thinking about writing. Students in whole-language classes held a meaning-based view of writing, whereas their peers in conventional classes viewed writing from a skills perspective. There were not enough data available to draw any conclusions about the writing progress of older children.     

The influence of leadership behavior and organizational commitment on organizational readiness for change in a higher learning institution

Many factors contribute to the effectiveness in implementing organizational change. However, many change effort fail due to several factors such as lack of commitment, style of leadership, and emotional distress of the employees who have to implement the change. This study was intended to determine the influence of leadership behavior and organizational commitment on organizational readiness for change in a higher learning institution. It was based on a conceptual framework that combined part of an adapted model from organizational development and change theory. A total of 169 academic staff from the main and branch campuses UiTM throughout Malaysia were selected based on stage and cluster sampling to participate in this study. The result shows that there is a significant relationship between organizational commitment and leadership behavior on organizational readiness for change. The findings also revealed that 36.5% of the variance in readiness for change is explained by organizational commitment and transactional leadership behavior. In determining the role of the organization commitment as a moderating variable, the result of the study indicates significant moderating effect of affective commitment on the relationship between transformational leadership behavior and organizational readiness for change. This study implied that building organizational commitment as well as developing transformational and transactional leadership behavior could contribute to formulation of organizational readiness for change and subsequently lead to the success of a change program.     

Faculty orientations toward institutional goals: A broken front with implications for planned change

The formulation of institutional goals in higher education often involves input from various campus constituencies including faculty. The faculty's viewpoint is typically treated as though it were a uniform perception. The research reported here tested the uniform nature of the faculty's goal orientations. Statistical comparisons were conducted on mean ratings of five discipline groups of 207 faculty from a major public university on the scales of the Institutional Goals Inventory. Although discipline groups shared common viewpoints on the importance of academic instruction, intellectual pursuits, and research, major differences among groups were found for goals involving university service, off-campus instruction, accountability, intercollegiate athletics, and humanistic values. Institutional planners desiring a change in one of these latter areas should expect different levels of faculty support and resistance from different discipline groups.     

The state of ICT education in China: A literature review

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education has made significant progress in China in the last two decades and this paper provides an overall presentation of its prevalence and usage. In this paper, a literature review has been conducted based on the research in the field of ICT in education. Eleven major issues have been classified and discussed according to their similarities and differences. As an overview and synthetic angle, this paper focuses on how those issues are studied, how they have evolved, and what results have been carried out from the research.     

Technological innovation and change: A case study in the formation of organizational conscience

A university that does not respond to the technological developments of the current age can be said to be both nonresponsive in the behavioral sense and irresponsible in the moral sense. It might seriously be questioned whether a stance of nonresponse is indeed possible. Technology is an inescapable fact of our contemporary cultural existence. We are reminded of the disarming reply of Thomas Carlyle to Margaret Fuller's stoic affirmation, “I accept the universe!” Responded Carlyle, “Gad, she'd better!” ... The more difficult requirement that we face, however, is that of responding responsibly to this cultural fact.     

Initial returns on mail questionnaires: A literature review and research note

The effects of method of reproduction, status of researcher, and personalization of signature on the initial rate of return of mail questionnaires were investigated, using a one-page combination cover letter and questionnaire mailed to 600 professors at the University of Maryland, College Park. The levels of each experimental variable were: Status — professor, graduate student; signature — hand signed in ink, mimeographed facsimile; reproduction — typed, photocopied, mimeographed.A response rate of 69% was obtained without using any follow-up procedures. Chi square analyses indicated no significant differences in the rate of returns for the levels of any of the experimental variables.It appears that initial return rate will not be significantly affected by using the most efficient, least expensive method available.