Adult education and employee development are framed by globalization, insecurity, and uncertainty. Learning is a cultural change mechanism, and a learning culture is a key to organizational and individual survival. (SK)

Refutes arguments against professional certification for human resource development, such as lack of common knowledge base, restriction of labor supply, and administrative/regulatory issues. Presents positive implications of certification for individuals, organizations, and the field. (SK)

The balance of power in the United States has begun to shift from youth to older age and will not soon return to a more familiar proportion. Human resource development professionals need to help their companies respond to the needs of older workers and older customers. (JOW)

A leader in human resource development reminisces about the people, places, and programs that made the field what it is today. (JOW)

In education and the workplace, people are the most valuable resource. Developing human capital can produce competitive advantages for employers and employees. (SK)

Describes Alberta's registered apprenticeship plan (RAP), a three-year program in which students spend part of their time in school and part in industry as a registered apprenticeship. Compares RAP to the federal youth apprenticeship proposed in the United States and the European model. (JOW)

Robert B. Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and Daniel Goleman, researcher and author, debate the pros and cons of trends revealed by American Society for Training and Development's 1999 State of the Industry Report. (Author/JOW)

Part-time faculty-development programs should begin with an infrastructure specifying hiring, promotion, and salary criteria and course evaluation. Development should focus on providing faculty with a broader context, programmatic content when needed, training in instructional methods and technology, and a faculty "home." (SK)

To keep pace with dramatic changes in workforce requirements, the two-year college should not only focus on teaching, but also on the instruction of relevant and contemporary subjects. (Author)

Examines what is meant by good theory and theory-building research in human resource development (HRD). Discuses core knowns and unknowns in HRD theory building. Outlines two key challenges: dealing with the researcher-practitioner relationship and recognizing the value of multiple research paradigms. (SK)

Suggests that workplace literacy is a serious concern and most companies are doing nothing to address the problem. Discusses how several companies are dealing with the issue. (JOW)

Announces the decision of the first year the committee of the National Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award has accepted applications from the education and health care fields. Details how companies and associations are working with educational institutions to produce a more literate, technologically skilled work force. (JOW)

Theoretical research in HRD has established itself and is now at a point where many avenues exist for further contributions to the field. But what kinds of theoretical research appear to be needed at this stage in the development of HRD? This paper identifies areas in which further research in theory and theory building might be conducted.…

This article argues that understandings of work learning within human resource development (HRD) theory can be fruitfully enriched by more fully incorporating practice-based perspectives. Three contemporary theories that analyze learning as a relation of individuals with and/or in activity are discussed: the participational perspective of situated…

This article critiques the performance approach to HRD and proposes a new model that takes into account the deep complexities inherent in the human transaction of work. In critically examining the dominant performance paradigm, meanings of work are examined, illustrating that the desire to work extends beyond extrinsic considerations. That work…