Competency Implications of Changing Human Resource Roles

[Excerpt] The present study examines which competencies will be necessary to perform key human resource roles over the next decade at Eastman Kodak Company. This project was a critical component of an ongoing quality process to improve organizational capability. The results establish a platform that will enable Kodak to better assess, plan, develop, and measure the capability of human resource staff

Co-authorship in the age of cyberculture: Open Educational Resources at the Open University of the United Kingdom

Locating Open Educational Resources (OER) as a phenomenon of cyberculture, this paper presents a reflection on the possibilities of co-authorship that are entailed in OER initiatives of different natures and settings within a large organisation. A selection of OER-related projects and activities carried out at the Open University of United Kingdom (UKOU) are examined from the perspective of a comparative framework proposed by Okada (2010). The framework identifies key features and differences between ‘Closed’ and ‘Open’ Education, that is, respectively, formal education, which takes place within the constraints of institutional Virtual Learning Environments, and informal education, which is gradually taking place more widely in cyberspace. The paper is introduced with a succinct discussion of the connection between cyberculture and the emergence of OER, followed by a presentation of the comparative framework adopted. The UKOU´s structure and methods are then presented, and various projects are discussed. The article concludes by proposing a brief commentary on the creative potential that is being unleashed at the very boundaries between formal and informal educational spaces that cyberculture is challenging

Information for the user in design of intelligent systems

Recommendations are made for improving intelligent system reliability and usability based on the use of information requirements in system development. Information requirements define the task-relevant messages exchanged between the intelligent system and the user by means of the user interface medium. Thus, these requirements affect the design of both the intelligent system and its user interface. Many difficulties that users have in interacting with intelligent systems are caused by information problems. These information problems result from the following: (1) not providing the right information to support domain tasks; and (2) not recognizing that using an intelligent system introduces new user supervisory tasks that require new types of information. These problems are especially prevalent in intelligent systems used for real-time space operations, where data problems and unexpected situations are common. Information problems can be solved by deriving information requirements from a description of user tasks. Using information requirements embeds human-computer interaction design into intelligent system prototyping, resulting in intelligent systems that are more robust and easier to use

Linking human-building interactions in shared offices with personality traits

Occupant behavior influences office building energy performance. The level of human-building interactions (HBIs) in shared offices strongly influences building energy use and occupant well-being. This study explored the link between occupant personality types and their behaviors of sharing energy and environment control systems and interactions with their colleagues. Inspired by the Five-Factor Model (FFM), we classified HBI behaviors into four dimensions: willingness to share control, knowledge of control, group decision behavior, and adaptive strategies. These four variables can be mapped to the four personality traits proposed by the FFM: agreeableness, openness, extraversion, and conscientiousness. Our cluster analysis identified six behavioral patterns: average (17.7%), reserved (15.3%), environmentally friendly (16.6%), role model (24.2%), self-centered (17.2%), and mechanist (9.0%). We further applied association rules, a widely utilized machine learning technique, to discover how demographics, building-related contextual factors, and perception-attitudinal factors influence HBI behaviors. Country, control feature accessibility, and group dynamics were found to be the three most influential factors that determine occupants’ HBI behaviors. The study provides insights about building design and operation, as well as policy to promote socially and environmentally desirable HBI behaviors in a shared office environment

Transforming Front-Line Child Welfare Practice: The Impacts of Institutional Settings on Services, Employment Environments, Children, and Families (SUMMARY OF FINAL REPORT)

In 2006, the Ontario government launched an ambitious and multi-faceted Transformation Agenda for child welfare services. Among this Agenda’s objectives was the development of more cooperative helping relationships in child welfare, reducing the system’s reliance on legal authority to engage families, creating community and service partnerships and increasing child welfare capacity to respond differentially to families. Within this shifting child welfare context, the Transforming Front-line Child Welfare Practice Project research’s main purpose was to understand how centrally located service delivery settings and service delivery settings that were more accessible to families affected front-line child protection practice. A second encompassing objective was to examine how partnerships with other service organizations and neighbourhood associations affected front line child welfare practice. This Transforming Front-line Child Welfare Practice research examined eleven separate accessible and central child welfare service delivery sites at six child welfare agencies in Ontario. These sites were selected to vary on these two dimensions of accessibility and partnerships. These two dimensions have also been identified in the literature as contributing to child welfare capacity to respond differentially or flexibly to familes (Cameron, Freymond, & Roy, 2003; Schene, 2001, 2005). With one exception, accessible service delivery models in this research embedded front line child protection service providers in neighbourhoods or schools so that service providers would be more familiar and accessible to families. The philosophies of accessible programs emphasized collaboration with other community service providers, local community building and prevention. Central models located child protection service providers in agency premises that generally were not physically close to most of the families served. This was the more common service delivery setting for child protection services in the participating agencies and in other Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario. Earlier exploratory research through the Partnerships for Children and Families program of research (Frensch, Cameron, & Hazineh, 2005a) at Wilfrid Laurier University found that different child protection service delivery settings had notable impacts on child protection service delivery including: (1) service provider accessibility to children and families, (2) the development of cooperative helping relationships with children and families, (3) the development of partnerships with other service organizations, (4) the development of partnerships with neighbourhood associations, (5) the levels and types of assistance provided to children and families, and (6) client and community image the child welfare agency. This more extensive research built upon this earlier exploratory research. More specifically, this multi-faceted longitudinal research incorporated: An assessment of the impacts of accessible and central service delivery models on family functioning indicators and child protection system indicators (e.g. formal court applications, out-of-home placements of children, etc.). An exploration of how these different child welfare service delivery settings affected front line child protection service providers’ satisfaction with their work with children and families. An exploration of how these different child welfare service delivery settings affected parents’ satisfaction with their child welfare service involvements. An examination of how these different child welfare service delivery settings influenced the services and supports available to families. An assessment of the impacts of accessible and central service delivery settings on front line helping relationships in child welfare. An exploration of how accessible and central service delivery settings affected employment satisfaction and sustainability. This research also discusses the development requirements of the accessible service delivery models and what practical lessons can be gleaned from these experiences. Finally, it looks at broader implications for how we understand and organize our efforts to keep children safe and help families

Key factor for hastening the strategic issue diagnosis process: a within organisational model

Previous research on Strategic Issue Diagnosis (SID) had focused on the complexity and novelty associated with the decision-making process in a turbulent environment. What had not been previously addressed in the extant literature is the requirement for speed inherent within the SID process, especially that is related to the gathering of information and facts through an organisation’s environmental scanning procedures. Since proactive management techniques, nimble processes, and systems that allow an organisation to be responsive and build rapid decision-making capabilities are important determinants of success in a turbulent environment, the element of speed associated with SID is an important factor. Our paper identifi es a series of propositions focusing att ention on elements of the environmental scanning processes and management hierarchies that are intended to counteract the recursiveness and redundancy inherent in SID systems and ultimately hasten the strategic decision-making process

Transforming Human Resource Organizations: A Field Study of Future Competency Requirements

As human resource organizations transform, staff competency requirements after significantly. The question is: to what? The present study attempts to answer this question using data gathered from knowledgeable observers within a single firm and employing a unique future-oriented, role focused methodology. The results suggest a competency model with three parts: a relatively small number of core competencies applicable across the full range of human resource roles studied, an even smaller number of leverage competencies applicable to half or more (but not all) of the roles, and a much larger number of competencies that are role specific. Leverage and roles specific competencies are combined into competency profiles for the various roles which, in turn, suggests a number of implications for the selection, development, and career progression of tomorrow\u27s human resource managers and professionals. While this particular competency model and its implications may be situation specific, the methodology developed during the study can be readily replicated in an abbreviated form in virtually any organization

Connectivism: a knowledge learning theory for the digital age?

<b>Background</b> The emergence of the internet, particularly Web 2.0 has provided access to the views and opinions of a wide range of individuals opening up opportunities for new forms of communication and knowledge formation. Previous ways of navigating and filtering available information are likely to prove ineffective in these new contexts. Connectivism is one of the most prominent of the network learning theories which have been developed for e-learning environments. It is beginning to be recognised by medical educators. This paper aims to examine connectivism and its potential application.<p></p> <b>Content</b> The conceptual framework and application of connectivism are presented along with an outline of the main criticisms. Its’ potential application in medical education is then considered.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> While connectivism provides a useful lens through which teaching and learning using digital technologies can be better understood and managed, further development and testing is required. There is unlikely to be a single theory that will explain learning in technological enabled networks. Educators have an important role to play in online network learning

An Open Future for Higher Education

As the world becomes more open, universities have the opportunity to embrace openness in how they carry out their operations, teaching, and research. Open educational resources can provide the catalyst for different forms of learning, linking formal and informal aspects and splitting up the functions of content, support, assessment, and accreditation. Models from research suggest that an open approach is likely to encourage the crossing of boundaries between inside and outside the classroom, games and tools for learning, and the amateur and the expert. A new attitude toward research and scholarship is needed to work with the data of openness and to use it as an approach to gather evidence, share thoughts, and disseminate results