An analysis of schema change intervention

Successful organizational transformation relies on being able to achieve paradigm or collective schema change, and more particularly, the ability to manage the interplay between pre-existing schemas and alternative schemas required for new environments. This conceptual paper presents an analysis and critique of collective schema change dynamics. Two schema change pathways are reflected in the literature: frame-juxtapose-transition and frame-disengage-learning. Research findings in each pathway are limited and/or contradictory. Moreover, research on schema change focuses primarily on social dynamics and less on the relationship between social schema change dynamics and individual schema change dynamics. One implication of this lack of focus on individual schema change dynamics is the masking of the high level of cognitive processing and cognitive effort required by individuals to effect schema change. The capacity to achieve organizational transformation requires that more attention is given to managing these dynamics, which, in turn, requires significant investment in developing the change leadership capabilities of managers and the organizations they manage

Peace and Justice: Notes on the Evolution and Purposes of Legal Processes

This text of the inaugural lecture for the A.B. Chettle, Jr. Chair in Dispute Resolution and Civil Procedure at Georgetown University Law Center presents an intellectual outline (theory and practice) for a house of justice built on the foundations of Lon Fuller, the Legal Process school, Jurgen Habermas\u27 and Stuart Hampshire\u27s social philosophy about democratic processes, the floors of comparative processes, drawing on the work of political theorist Jon Elster and empirical work on legal and political processes and the ceilings of new processes, like consensus building fora, truth and reconciliation commissions and other combinations of legal and political processes. A model of different modes of human conflict resolution is outlined with differentiations of different forms of process (open/closed; plenary/committees; expert/naturalistic; constitutive/permanent/ad hoc). The article suggests a broadened view of what should be taught as legal process - beyond conventional civil procedure to many more forms of human legal and political processes. If process is the human bridge between justice and peace then we much teach about both kinds of processes - those seeking justice and those seeking peace; hopefully they can both be accomplished

The ecology of social interactions in online and offline environments

The rise in online social networking has brought about a revolution in social relations. However, its effects on offline interactions and its implications for collective well-being are still not clear and are under-investigated. We study the ecology of online and offline interaction in an evolutionary game framework where individuals can adopt different strategies of socialization. Our main result is that the spreading of self-protective behaviors to cope with hostile social environments can lead the economy to non-socially optimal stationary states

Dissipation and spontaneous symmetry breaking in brain dynamics

We compare the predictions of the dissipative quantum model of brain with neurophysiological data collected from electroencephalograms resulting from high-density arrays fixed on the surfaces of primary sensory and limbic areas of trained rabbits and cats. Functional brain imaging in relation to behavior reveals the formation of coherent domains of synchronized neuronal oscillatory activity and phase transitions predicted by the dissipative model.Comment: Restyled, slight changes in title and abstract, updated bibliography, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. Vol. 41 (2008) in prin

A phenomenological operator description of interactions between populations with applications to migration

We adopt an operatorial method based on the so-called creation, annihilation and number operators in the description of different systems in which two populations interact and move in a two-dimensional region. In particular, we discuss diffusion processes modeled by a quadratic hamiltonian. This general procedure will be adopted, in particular, in the description of migration phenomena. With respect to our previous analogous results, we use here fermionic operators since they automatically implement an upper bound for the population densities.Comment: M3AS, in pres

Managing knowledge in organizations : a Nonaka’s SECI model operationalization

Purpose: The SECI model (Nonaka, 1994) is the best-known conceptual framework for understanding knowledge generation processes in organizations. To date, however, empirical support for this framework has been overlooked. The present study aims to provide an evidence-based groundwork for the SECI model by testing a multidimensional questionnaire Knowledge Management SECI Processes Questionnaire (KMSP-Q) designed to capture the knowledge conversion modes theorized by Nonaka. Methodology: In a twofold study, the SECI model was operationalized via the KMSP-Q. Specifically, Study One tested its eight-dimensional structure through exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses on 372 employees from different sectors. Study Two examined the construct validity and reliability by replicating the KMSP-Q factor structure in knowledge-intensive contexts (on a sample of 466 health-workers), and by investigating the unique impact of each dimension on some organizational outcomes (i.e., performance, innovativeness, collective efficacy). Findings: The overall findings highlighted that the KMSP-Q is a psychometrically robust questionnaire in terms of both dimensionality and construct validity, the different knowledge generation dimensions being specifically linked to different organizational outcomes. Research/Practical Implications: The KMSP-Q actualizes and provides empirical consistency to the theory underlying the SECI model. Moreover, it allows for the monitoring of an organization’s capability to manage new knowledge and detect the strengths/weaknesses of KM-related policies and programs. Originality/Value: This paper proposes a comprehensive measure of knowledge generation in work contexts, highlighting processes that organizations are likely to promote in order to improve their performance through the management of their knowledge resources

Measuring the Social Perception of Religious Freedom: A Sociological Perspective

This article discusses the construction of the measuring instrument for the study of social perception of religious freedom (SPRF). We provide an overview of existing definitions of religious freedom from a social-science perspective, which ground the empirical research of religious freedom and describe the conceptualization of SPRF. We focus on the operationalization model and introduce the operational variables for the SPRF research, also emphasizing the political, religious, and human rights contexts of independent variables. Finally, the results of exploratory factor analysis that allow to construct the balanced model of SPRF based on statistically weighted factors and scales are presented. The theoretical and statistically tested instrument is discussed as a result of this analysis

Cultural Identity and Knowledge Creation in Cosmopolitan Cities

We study how the city system is affected by the possibility for the members of the same cultural diaspora to interact across different cities. In so doing, we propose a simple two- city model with two mobile cultural groups. A localized externality fosters the productivity of individuals when groups interact in a city. At the same time, such interaction dilutes cultural identities and reduces the consumption of culture-specific goods and services. We show that the two groups segregate in different cities when diaspora members find it hard to communicate at distance whereas they integrate in multicultural cities when communication is easy. The model generates situations in which segregation is an equilibrium but is Pareto dominated by integration.Cultural Identity, Cosmopolitan City, Productiviy

Glocal Dialogue Transformation through Transcultural Communication

This paper addresses the role of dialogical communication in acculturation efforts within organizations and regions, especially during periods of transition, mergers, technological innovations, and globalization. This optimal communication mode can be achieved through a “dialogue process” proposed by David Bohm and developed by Peter Sense at MIT, Boston. The “dialogue process”, as an integral part of intercultural communication training, aims at promoting dialogue competence for intercultural communication in which man can learn how to better deal with their own stereotypes of other cultures and eventually acquire a generally de-stereotyping style of communication. It has tried out in a small city in Germany, since April 2002. About 25 citizens of the city are taking part in this dialogue process. The empirical part of this study tries to describe the socio-psychological transformation of the dialogue-group.Dialogical communication, Transcultural communication, Acculturation process, Sociopsychological transformation