Within Australia there is a growing interest in e-research and the use of cyberinfrastructure. There is also increasing recognition that the use of cyberinfrastructure is often inhibited, not by technical issues, but by so-called "soft" issues, such as those related to work practices, intellectual property issues, the nature of research…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show that changes in social systems do not occur randomly. They are consistent with what has gone on before, with the history and identity of the system. As long as the organizing principles of a dominant culture remain unchallenged, behavior of all the social-units originating from this culture will remain…

This paper discusses the conceptual foundations for "Education for Sustainable Patterns of Living," the mission of the Center for Ecoliteracy in California. It offers an operational definition of ecological sustainability, and proposes study of living systems as a framework for understanding ecology. It considers key concepts for…

This article discusses University of Central Florida's proactive approach to enterprise resource planning (ERP) and highlights UCF's success with ERP. The article points out that much of this success comes from the strength and management experience of those in leadership positions at UCF, and from the expertise and strong credentials of the team…

Purpose: This paper aims to explain the nature, and identify the quality criteria of a doctoral thesis by explication for professional management development. Design/methodology/approach: A working definition of a professional doctoral explication thesis (DET) is proposed and substantiated by five experts. The paper takes a practical, educational…

This article attempts to trace the origins of competency-based training (CBT), the theory of vocational education that underpins the National Training Framework in Australia. A distinction is made between societal and theoretical origins. This paper argues that CBT has its societal origins in the United States of America during the 1950s, 60s and…

Understanding complex systems is fundamental to understanding science. The complexity of such systems makes them very difficult to understand because they are composed of multiple interrelated levels that interact in dynamic ways. The goal of this study was to understand how experts and novices differed in their understanding of two complex…

Searching for icons, symbols, or signs is an integral part of tasks involving computer or radar displays, head-up displays in aircraft, or attending to road traffic signs. Icons therefore need to be designed to optimize search times, taking into account the factors likely to slow down visual search. Three factors likely to adversely affect visual…

This paper assesses the engagement of family therapy and family practice with families with children, who are living in poverty. It analyzes four promising models from two perspectives. The first perspective relates to critiques, which have been made of the practice of family therapy with families living in poverty; and the second relates to the…

Corporate environments treat work activity related to processing information and the one of learning & professional training (L&T) separately, by keeping L&T on a low priority scale, and perceiving little dependency between both activities. Yet, our preliminary analysis of an organisation has revealed that both activities mutually affect each…

Social penetration has been described by S.W. Littlejohn (1992) as "the process of increasing disclosure and intimacy in a relationship." The phrase "social penetration" originated with I. Altman and D. Taylor, the foremost researchers in this area. From other theories, Altman and Taylor developed a unified theory which…

There is strong justification in the counseling literature for bridging individual and family perspectives. The Adolescent Depression and Suicide Program at Montefiore Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York) is a brief treatment, outpatient clinic designed to provide mental health services for suicidal adolescents and their families.…

The paradigm of modern psychology has been the determinism of Newtonian physics. That model earns psychology status as a science yet tunnels it to a linear way of unraveling human functioning. Responding to demands for a more holistic approach to psychological practice, it is necessary to redefine the "self" and other terms. Chaos,…

In this system the most efficient and appropriate technology was applied to the development and assembly of building components. (Available from 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, $15.00 annually.) (Author/MLF)

Considers the limitations of General Systems Theory (GST) as a major paradigm within administrative theory and concludes that most systems formulations overemphasize growth and show little appreciation for intraorganizational conflict, diversity of values, and political action within organizations. Suggests that these limitations are mainly due to…