Metaphysically speaking, the idea of self-reflection has been the subject of discussion for thousands of years. The idea carried human beings through the Renaissance, and an entire movement tied to it sparked a sociopolitical movement called the Enlightenment. In more recent times, thought leaders such as Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, and Sigmund…

October is national Cyber Security Awareness Month, and for the world of higher education, that means it is time to take a look at defense systems and plan for the future. Clearly, more planning is needed now than ever before. According to the majority of IT market research firms, phishing and identity theft have leapfrogged spam and spyware as…

For all the value that a virtual world can bring to teaching and learning, there are potentially negative consequences that must not be ignored when considering the role of technology in education. In his commentary, Robert Sanders draws upon a 1909 short story by E.M. Forster ("The Machine Stops") as well as his own experience with students to…

An electronic performance support system (EPSS) is a computerized system designed to increase productivity by supporting the performance of the worker on demand at the time of need. This way, workers are allowed to perform with a minimum of intervention from others. Popular examples of performance support tools, or partially implemented EPSSs,…

This guide offers a comprehensive set of practical tools to lead novice and veteran practitioners through the complexities of business process redesign. This hands-on kit integrates systems theory, economics, and psychology to provide the detailed procedures, checklists, data analysis worksheets, and other resources essential to identify, analyze,…

The effectiveness of a 1-day performance-focused human resource (HR) development workshop that was conducted in 21 sessions in cities throughout North America in March-September 1996 was monitored by an electronic survey sent to all 506 participants 7 days after the workshop. Of those participants, 221 (43%) completed the survey, which sought…

The effectiveness of a 1-day performance-focused human resource (HR) development workshop that was conducted in 21 sessions in cities throughout North America in March-September 1996 was monitored by an electronic survey sent to all 506 workshop participants 3 months after the workshop. Of those participants, 101 (20%) completed the survey, which…

Individuals and organizations are usually so immersed in day-to-day task completion that it is impossible to step back and scan the environment to determine (a) what work is crucial, (b) quality of current and past work, and (c) how the work contributes to larger organizational priorities. This focus on "just keeping up" with what must get done…

Taking a post-modern approach, this paper addresses the relevance of measurement and evaluation of libraries and information services. The following topics are discussed: (1) past and present approaches to performance measurement, including origins of measurement and landmarks of the past; (2) a conceptual framework for evaluation, including a…

Discusses how to improve an organization's training and communications system, both philosophically and technically, and highlights activities conducive to a rewired communication system. Lists online sources on the topic and freeware packages that can be downloaded, and includes job aid forms designed to be copied and posted in the organization.…

Describes a survey that determined to what extent human performance technology (HPT) is being taught in 82 academic programs that traditionally emphasized training, including programs in instructional systems, training and development, human resource development, and adult learning. Results indicate that training continues to dominate, and future…

Discusses multicultural marketing and the use of new technologies by performance technologists to improve communication. Topics addressed include needs analysis, including cultural considerations; pilot testing; multilingual considerations; translation; the cost effectiveness of adequate planning; and centralized communication. (four references)…

During the last two decades, a shift has emerged in business and government sectors from a focus on training to a focus on performance improvement. This shift to Human Performance Technology (HPT), also called Human Performance Improvement (HPI) or performance technology, emerged in the educational technology literature in the late 1970s and early…

Over the past year the author has conducted user, task and context analyses as part of a larger project to develop a knowledge management (KM) system for the U.S. Navy. In this piece he shares that experience as well as point out a few of the challenges that he encountered. Ideally, this account will provide the opportunity for others to compare…

Performance support systems can play an important role in corporations by managing and allowing distribution of information more easily. These systems run the gamut from simple paper job aids to sophisticated computer- and web-based software applications that support the entire corporate supply chain. According to Gery (1991), a performance…