Discusses virtual universities and virtual classrooms, exploring both the benefits and the disadvantages of technology-based delivery systems. Highlights include competitive pressures to use technology; impacts on students; the need for flexibility to meet unique student needs and learning styles; learning environments; impact on society; and…

The main purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between certain learning organization characteristics and change adaptation, innovation, and bottom-line organizational performance. The following learning organization characteristics were found to be the strongest predictors of rapid change adaptation, quick product or…

Accreditation bodies increasingly force institutions to merge their accountability reporting, institutional research, outcomes assessment, and decision-making activities, thus serving as catalysts for enhancing institutional effectiveness. (Contains 3 figures.)

This article identifies the increasing demands on United Kingdom universities brought about by the expanded government agenda and the entry of higher numbers of more diverse students. It analyses the changes in organizational structures and cultures and identifies a centralizing tendency in terms of power to meet these demands. There is a focus on…

The author offers lessons learned from three related initiatives of the Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives from 1997 to 2003 that aimed to promote authentic early care and education leadership by people who came from the community and who hold the same values as the population being served: "Taking the Lead",…

This paper focuses on how an academic library managed changes in services and space to meet customer needs for streamlined services, increasing efficiency for students, faculty and staff in finding, analyzing, sharing, and producing knowledge. The Ohio State University's John A. Prior Health Sciences Library (PHSL) has merged its circulation and…

Lending services units at Indiana State University's Cunningham Memorial Library depend heavily on student employees to fulfill their specific missions. Problems attributed to poor communication and lack of motivation among student employees were causing negative impacts on the units' abilities to function well. To resolve these problems,…

Creating reflective, relationship-based services and programs takes time, commitment, resources, and sustained effort. This article describes the experiences of two very different organizations: the Training and Staff Development Group for New York State's Healthy Families Program; and Southwest Human Development, a community-based agency serving…

Mountain Valley Elementary's decade-long struggle to improve student performance naturally makes one wonder if an excessive turnover in curriculum leadership has had a significant effect on how the students and teachers perform. As a teacher and Title I facilitator at Mountain Valley for the past 12 years, this author has experienced the…

Change in distance learning is occurring at a rapid pace. As new technologies appear, institutions of higher education incorporate them into their course delivery options. Library services must also change to meet new user needs. This article examines the meanings of change and leadership within a distance-learning setting. After describing…

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC)'s Bushfire Program is unique amongst conservation organisations. The Program has been running for over ten years, focusing its campaign work mainly on government policy, legislation and commissions of inquiry. However, the Program was originally initiated to provide support to over 70 conservation…

In this article, the authors explore whether educational systems have the institutional capacity to implement comprehensive, systemic reform, as envisioned in legislation such as No Child Left Behind. Drawing upon evidence from various state-level reform initiatives, the authors highlight the ways in which systemic reform appears to positively…

The authors present their journey through the development of an action research project based on collaboration between university health lecturers and a practice development and research nurse in an NHS Trust hospital. The project was designed to raise awareness and improve the practice of all staff in relation to the dignity and respect shown to…

This article suggests that the balance of powder invested in principals at incorporation has shifted to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), which for some is reminiscent of Local Education Authority (LEA) control. The evidence is taken from 28 semi-structured interviews with ten college principals between 2001-2003 as control passed from the…

This article describes an experience I had as a new professor the first year after receiving my Ph.D. An experiment with an innovative teaching method quickly deteriorated into a disaster. This article describes the emotional toll exacted on me, why my experiment failed, and how it prompted me to develop a personal philosophy of principle-based…