Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Informed Systems: Enabling Collaborative Evidence Based Organizational Learning, Mary M. Somerville, Niki Chatzipanagiotou

Mary M. Somerville

Objective – In response to unrelenting disruptions in academic publishing and higher education ecosystems, the Informed Systems approach supports evidence based professional activities to make decisions and take actions. This conceptual paper presents two core models, Informed Systems Leadership Model and Collaborative Evidence-Based Information Process Model, whereby co-workers learn to make informed decisions by identifying the decisions to be made and the information required for those decisions. This is accomplished through collaborative design and iterative evaluation of workplace systems, relationships, and practices. Over time, increasingly effective and efficient structures and processes for using information to learn further organizational renewal and …

Information Practices For Leadership In Collaborative Work, Mary M. Somerville, Zaana Howard

Mary M. Somerville

No abstract provided.

Information In Context': Co-Designing Workplace Structures And Systems For Organisational Learning, Mary M. Somerville, Zaana Howard

Mary M. Somerville

Introduction. This paper discusses an 'information in context' design project at Auraria Library in Denver, Colorado which aims to collaboratively create organizational structures and communication systems with and for library employees. Method. This action research project is founded within shared leadership, informed learning and organizational learning principles and implemented using participatory design processes. The first phase involved an appreciative inquiry process resulting in an organizational realignment of personnel and the introduction of shared leadership. The second phase involved the co-design of organizational information and communication systems and subsequent implementation of initiatives. Results. This project resulted in several of the co-designed …

From Vision To Action: A Collaborative Organizational Informatics Initiative, Anita Mirijamdotter, Mary M. Somerville

Mary M. Somerville

Since July 2008, North American workers in a complex public/government organization have collaboratively re-invented their organizational structures and communication systems. The new workplace culture is characterized by shared leadership, appreciative inquiry, informed learning, and action research principles and practices. Illustrative of the potential of collaborative workplace design, a wiki intranet initiative was begun in March 2009, employing Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) tools. This paper will describe and illustrate transferable research tools which convene stakeholders and beneficiaries to co-create transformative ICT systems.

From Transaction To Transformation: Organizational Learning And Knowledge Creation Experience Within Informed Systems, Mary M. Somerville, Christine S. Bruce

Mary M. Somerville

No abstract provided.

Dilemmas: Leadership In Public Services: Bridging The Management Gap, Anita Mirijamdotter, Mary M. Somerville

Mary M. Somerville

Developments in information technology have produced enormous changes for many professions. This leads to dilemmas, i.e., situations where professionals have to make difficult choices. Difficulties often arise because information technology implementations both require and enable new ways of acting. Such changes may be neither desired nor welcomed. Organizational dilemmas are now commonplace in academic libraries worldwide. Traditional library roles have been irreversibly altered by technology-enabled information search and retrieval systems. Coincidental with the evolution of the Internet and Google, these systems have transformed both library services and user workflows. These contemporary leadership dilemmas have been addressed for over a decade …

Discoverability Challenges And Collaboration Opportunities Within The Scholarly Communications Ecosystem: A Sage White Paper Update, Mary M. Somerville, Lettie Y. Conrad

Mary M. Somerville

The prominence of mainstream search engines and the rise of web-scale, pre-indexed discovery services present new challenges and opportunities for publishers, librarians, vendors, and researchers. With the aim of furthering collaborative conversations, SAGE commissioned a study of opportunities for improving academic discoverability with value chain experts in the scholarly communications ecosystem. Results were released in January 2012 as a white paper titled Improving Discoverability of Scholarly Content in the Twentieth Century: Collaboration Opportunities for Librarians, Publishers, and Vendors. Following the white paper, this article explores the implications for these findings through review of commissioned studies, research reports, journal articles, conference …

Collaborative Design And Assessment: Learning ‘With And For’ Users, Mary M. Somerville

Mary M. Somerville

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Design: An Ssm-Enabled Organizational Learning Approach, Anita Mirijamdotter, Mary M. Somerville

Mary M. Somerville

Within the context of a three year applied research project conducted from 2003-2006 in a North American university library, staff were encouraged to reconsider organizational assumptions and design processes. The project involved an organizational leader and an external consultant who introduced and collaboratively applied Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) practice. Project results suggest the efficacy of using ‘soft’ systems thinking to guide interaction (re)design of technology-enabled environments, systems, and tools. In addition, participants attained insights into their new roles and responsibilities within a dynamically changing higher education environment. Project participants also applied SSM to redesign ‘in house’ information systems. The process …

Building Fundraising Momentum: Message, Relationship, And Alliance, Mary M. Somerville

Mary M. Somerville

No abstract provided.

Building Knowledge Capabilities: An Organisational Learning Approach, Zaana Howard, Mary M. Somerville

Mary M. Somerville

The communal nature of knowledge production predicts the importance of creating learning organisations where knowledge arises out of processes that are personal, social, situated and active. It follows that workplaces must provide both formal and informal learning opportunities for interaction with ideas and among individuals. This grounded theory for developing contemporary learning organisations harvests insights from the knowledge management, systems sciences, and educational learning literatures. The resultant hybrid theoretical framework informs practical application, as reported in a case study that harnesses the accelerated information exchange possibilities enabled through web 2.0 social networking and peer production technologies. Through complementary organisational processes, …

Appreciative Inquiry: A Transformative Approach For Initiating Shared Leadership And Organizational Learning, Mary M. Somerville, Marical Farner

Mary M. Somerville

Auraria Library leaders at the University of Colorado Denver, USA employed Appreciative Inquiry (AI) principles, processes, and practices to inclusively redesign organizational structure, social relationships, knowledge systems, and workplace aspirations. Throughout the four year period, from 2008 through 2012,intervention activities employed life generating properties which were appreciative,applicable, provocative, and collaborative. Iterative application of the 4- Cycle intervention model (discovery, dream, design, and destiny) and associated AI principles advanced shared leadership and organizational learning capacities within a revitalized workplace culture. Iterative processes of reflection, reframing, and reinterpretation now sustain ongoing and inclusive inquiry that is appreciative,applicable, provocative, and collaborative.

A New Way Of Thinking And Working, Mary M. Somerville

Mary M. Somerville

No abstract provided.

An Interactive And Iterative Evaluation Approach For Creating Collaborative Learning Environments, Anita Mirijamdotter, Mary M. Somerville, Marita Holst

Mary M. Somerville

Inspired by a three‑year Creative University 'arena' initiative at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden, an international team of faculty researchers conducted an exploratory study in 2005, which aimed to investigate the efficacy of an interactive design and evaluation process for technology‑enabled collaborative learning environments. This applied research approach was designed as a collaborative evaluation process for co‑creation of technology‑enabled, learning‑ focused physical and virtual 'learning commons.' Faculty researchers from Sweden and the United States used Soft Systems Methodology tools, including the Process for Organisational Meanings (POM) model, to guide sixty‑two students' participatory co‑design and evaluation activities. In this paper, …

Adopting Informed Systems Learning Theory: How 21st Century Organizations Can Move From Theory To Practice, Mary M. Somerville

Mary M. Somerville

No abstract provided.

Who Us?: A Government Documents Librarian And A Projects Specialist Collaborate On Establishing An Institutional Repository, Karen Ramsden, Darren Sweeper

Karen Ramsden

The Finney County, Kansas Community Assessment Process: Fact Book, Debra J. Bolton Phd, Shannon L. Dick M.S.

Dr. Debra Bolton

This multi-lingual/multi-cultural study was called, Community Assets Processt, by the groups that “commissioned” it: Finnup Foundation, Finney County K-State Research & Extension, Western Kansas Community Foundation, Finney County United Way, Finney County Health Department, United Methodist Community Health Center (UMMAM), Center for Children and Families, Garden City Recreation Commission, and the Garden City Cultural Relations Board, because we intend for this to be an ongoing discussion. An objective, for those promoting the study, was to connect foundation, state, and federal funding with activities or services that addressed the true needs of people living in Finney County. The group was looking …

Health And Safety Overregulation, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Community Data Analytics: Localized Data Analysis And Decision Modeling In The Era Of ‘Big Data’ And ‘Smart Cities’, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Grand Comics Database--Open Access Version, Michael J. Monaco

Michael Monaco

Anatomy Of Foreign Aid To Ethiopia- 1960-2014.Pdf, Adugna Lemi

Adugna Lemi

No abstract provided.

Building Bridges From Pre-Service Experiences To Elementary Classroom Literacy Teaching: Challenges And Opportunities, Francesca Pomerantz, Cami Condie

Francesca Pomerantz

Textbook-Bundled Metacognitive Tools: A Study Of Learnsmart’S Efficacy In General Chemistry, Vandana Thadani, Nicole C. Bouvier-Brown

Vandana Thadani

College textbook publishers increasingly bundle sophisticated technology-based study tools with their texts. These tools appear promising, but empirical work on their efficacy is needed. We examined whether LearnSmart, a study tool bundled with McGraw-Hill’s textbook Chemistry (Chang & Goldsby, 2013), improved learning in an undergraduate general chemistry course. Content-knowledge gains of those students who used LearnSmart, those who did not use it, and those who used it with scaffolding questions that supported use of the tool’s metacognitive features were compared. The metacognitive scaffolding questions appeared to help students use LearnSmart more effectively than did using LearnSmart by itself, which did …

Play Education Video Games On Their Terms, Wendi M. Kappers

Wendi M. Kappers, PhD

It is imperative when utilizing educational video games in K-12 classrooms that student preferences with regard to game play, purpose, and design be considered in order to maximize game play efficiency for learning. As Web 2.0 content infiltrates our educational medium, student customization is key. This manuscript intends to share customization requests gleaned during an 18-week experimental study examining educational video game effects upon 7th graders enrolled in Mathematics and Mathematics 2 courses.

58. The Effects Of Secret Instructions And Yes/No Questions On Maltreated And Non-Maltreated Children’S Reports Of A Minor Transgression., Elizabeth C. Ahern, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Kelly Mcwilliams, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Building Social Sciences With Human And Artificial Agent Experiments, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.

Can Asians Be Creative?, Chua, Roy Y. J., Jerry Zremski

Roy CHUA

A crotchety American named Henry Ford invented a modern, fast and efficient way to manufacture automobiles and a Japanese man named Eiji Toyoda refined and perfected it. A series of innovators across the western world developed the television - and the tech specialists at Sony, Toshiba and a host of other Asian companies found ways to make TVs better, cheaper, faster. And an idiosyncratic Californian named Steve Jobs invented a company that made a smart phone for the masses - and then outsourced the manufacturing to China. If you detect a pattern here, you are not alone. Asia may be …

Gender Differences In Load Carriage Injuries Of Australian Army Soldiers, Rob Orr, Rodney Pope

Rob Marc Orr

Background

With the removal of gender restrictions and the changing nature of warfare potentially increasing female soldier exposure to heavy military load carriage, the aim of this research was to determine relative risks and patterns of load carriage related injuries in female compared to male soldiers.

Methods

The Australian Defence Force Occupational Health, Safety and Compensation Analysis and Reporting workplace injury database was searched to identify all reported load carriage injuries. Using key search terms, the narrative description fields were used as the search medium to identify records of interest. Population estimates of the female: male incident rate ratio (IRR) …

Citizen Journalism Practice Increases Civic Participation, Seungahn Nah, Kang Namkoong, Rachael Record, Stephanie K. Van Stee

Stephanie Van Stee

18. When Interviewing Children: A Review And Update., Karen J. Saywitz, Thomas D. Lyon, Gail S. Goodman

Thomas D. Lyon