Change Efforts Research Articles

The making of the citizen in Colombia: Transitional assemblages, civic education, and the long quest for peace

This article focuses on civic education and the constitution of subjects within a complex landscape of peace and war making in Colombia. Using a genealogical approach to study the manufacturing of citizens, and drawing on a document analysis of policies, curricular guidelines, and teaching resources, this paper evidences an increasing attention to students’ skills, conducts, and interpersonal relations, rather than structural inequality and injustice. Through the examination of the “integral citizen,” I argue that the development of students as skillful civic subjects has become central to the aspiration of building and sustaining peace and democracy. Such citizens are described as individually embodying the virtues and skills of problem-solving, conflict-management, autonomy, and self-regulation of emotions. This research adds to our understanding of the construction of the ideal citizen in conflict-affected settings, and how education policy intersects with larger efforts for meaningful and sustained change.

The Role of Moral Anger in Social Change Efforts

Drawing upon the functional account of emotions—the view that emotions can facilitate adaptive responses—I analyze how Javed Abidi harnessed moral anger to promote inclusion of persons with disabilities in India. The data comprise articles obtained from digital archives covering the period from 1993, when Abidi began his work, to 2018, when he passed away. Findings suggest that harnessing moral anger can facilitate social change through two mechanisms: disciplined collectivization wherein aggregated stakeholders can appraise injustice; and enabling collective enactment wherein they can redress injustice by choosing if, when, and how to effect change. Despite ongoing propriety breaches, moral anger can remain functional when stakeholders can balance their immersion across initiatives and can perceive change as a beneficial proxy for or an expansion of existing values. As such, the study contributes by drawing attention to the theoretical significance that a functional account has for expanding the literature on moral anger as it applies within the context of social change.

Sexual Orientation Change Efforts among LGBT+ People of Kerala: Prevalence, Correlates, and Mental Health Aspects

ABSTRACT Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) have been reported worldwide and have adverse psychiatric consequences. However, no data are available for India or Kerala. We assessed the prevalence of SOCE, its characteristics, and mental health aspects among LGBT+ individuals in Kerala. This cross-sectional survey used snowball sampling. An online questionnaire collected sociodemographic information and history and characteristics of SOCE. Religiosity and SOCE-associated distress were evaluated using 6-point Likert scales. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) screened for depressive symptoms; its ninth question assessed death wishes and self-harm thoughts. Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) screened for anxiety symptoms. Participants’ (n = 130) mean age was 26.80 ± 7.12 years. Most common biological sex (63.1%) and gender identity (50.8%) were male, and sexual orientation was gay(42.3%). Prevalence of SOCE was 45.4%. In SOCE group, 39% reported very severe distress. SOCE was most commonly self-prompted (47.5%), performed through psychotherapy (28.8%), and performed by doctors (28.8%). SOCE group had significantly higher religiosity scores (t = 2.61, p = .01). Among cisgender men, 48.48% had SOCE history, against 28.57% among cisgender women (χ2 = 3.19, p = .07). SOCE is highly prevalent among the LGBT+ community in Kerala, with high associated distress. Multi-level approaches are necessary to mitigate this problem.

Spaces, Systems and Infrastructures: From Founding Visions to Emerging Approaches for the Productive Urban Landscape

The proliferation of urban agriculture on an array of urban spaces is one of the more visible responses to perceived failures of contemporary food systems. This paper seeks to identify fundamental strategies connected to food system change efforts, linking these with diverse attempts at designing and planning the productive city. It first situates the contemporary concept of the productive city within a broader historical dialogue of foundational figures in urban and regional planning, architecture, and landscape architecture for whom food production was a central component of future cities. Recently, a growing number of practitioners have theorized the need for integrating urban agriculture in urban design and planning. Across this spectrum of emerging theory and practice, we identify three approaches to designing productive cities. First, spatial design strategies identify new territories for food production. These offer the potential for systems design thinking that links the individual spaces of production to other sectors of food systems that extend across networks of spaces and multiple scales. Finally, both spatial and systems design involve strategies of designing productive infrastructures of soils, water, nutrients, and other essential flows. The engagement with spaces of production, food systems, and productive infrastructure opens up a range of challenges as well as opportunities for emerging forms of practice and design thinking for the productive city.

Science and Public Engagement in National Parks: Examples and Advice from Young Scientists

Science and Public Engagement in National Parks: Examples and Advice from Young Scientists

Challenges in Implementing and Sustaining Community College Organizational Change for Student Success

Community colleges are challenged with creating and sustaining student success organizational change. Institutional-level student success reform efforts are needed to combat the unacceptably low student completion rates, but colleges often struggle to initiate and maintain organizational reforms. After many years of reform efforts, researchers have provided theories for whole college organizational change, in particular guided pathways, that shows great promise in helping community colleges realize student success and completion gains while targeting and reducing racial equity gaps. A literature review focused on determining the internal reasons why institutions struggle to create and sustain organizational change was conducted. Contextual challenges, awareness and motivation, and change management process challenges within the institutions were several of the key causes identified. Within contextual challenges, organizational structures including college policies, practices, and governance, as well as leadership and funding challenges were cited as barriers to organizational change for student success. A lack of awareness of the need for or how change by faculty, staff, and administrators, along with a lack of motivation or resistance to the change can also create significant roadblocks for colleges. Change management process challenges within the institution including a lack of professional development for leaders in change management strategies was also cited as a significant challenge to developing and sustaining an effective organizational change effort. Knowing these challenges can lead to informed approaches that college leaders, faculty, and staff take to implement, hopefully helping institutions sustain change reform at scale over the long-term and ultimately benefit the overall goal of increased student success and completion.

Religious Freedom and LGBTIQA + Students

IntroductionThe United Nations called member states to better support the education rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA +) people in recent years. However, Australian policy debates about schools’ ‘religious freedom’ and exemptions around gender and sexuality discrimination continue.MethodsThis article explores 1293 LGBTIQA + students’ experiences around religious freedom, gender, and sexuality by school type using data from the 2022 ‘Gender and Sexuality Expression in Schools’ survey. To understand correlations for students’ religious vs. non-religious educational institution types, basic descriptive and correlative statistical analyses were undertaken for quantitative data in SPSS and Excel including chi-square tests, alongside Leximancer-supported thematic analyses of qualitative responses.ResultsAttending religious schools was associated with (1) increased anti-LGBTIQA + and religious freedom-restricting policies, messages, and practices; (2) increased sexual orientation and gender identity and expression change efforts (SOGIECE) messages and practices; and (3) increased negative consequences and feelings. In religious education sites, professionals — especially teachers/educators — were more likely to spread anti-LGBTIQA + messaging at class/group and school-wide levels especially around ‘sinning’; however, professional codes appeared deterrents for school psychologists. In government schools, students more often unofficially spread anti-LGBTIQA + messaging around ‘brokenness’ or ‘social harmfulness’, mostly one-on-one.ConclusionsThe article shows the value of anti-discrimination laws and professional codes in reducing official problematic practices, for those contexts and professionals they applied to.Policy ImplicationsRemoval of exemptions for religious education institutions in anti-discrimination laws, revisions of education policies, and clearer protections for LGBTIQA + people in educators’ professional codes are recommended.

‘The Times They Are A-Changin’: the shifting motivations for volunteering in rural Wide Bay–Burnett Queensland

ABSTRACT This article explores why volunteers are motivated to make significant social contributions, either informally through personal interactions, or formally within rural healthcare organisations. Volunteerism is a form of civic engagement includes a variety of service, collective action, political involvement, and social change efforts by citizens to improve conditions for others or work towards shaping the civic sphere. The latest Federal Government Indicators show a 2% decline in formal volunteering rates. Thus, the implications for rural communities are problematic. Using the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI), we surveyed volunteers at a rural voluntary organisation and found trends for volunteer types, based on demographic factors and volunteer motivations. A key finding was that altruistic motivations were the strongest motivator for these rural Wide Bay–Burnett Queensland volunteers.

Assay validation of saliva glucocorticoids in Columbia spotted frogs and effects of handling and marking.

Non-invasive methods are important to the field of conservation physiology to reduce negative effects on organisms being studied. Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones are often used to assess health of individuals, but collection methods can be invasive. Many amphibians are imperiled worldwide, and saliva is a non- or semi-invasive matrix to measure GCs that has been partially validated for only four amphibian species. Validation ensures that assays are reliable and can detect changes in saliva corticosterone (sCORT) after exposure to stressors, but it is also necessary to ensure sCORT concentrations are correlated with plasma concentrations. To help validate the use of saliva in assessing CORT responses in amphibians, we captured uniquely marked Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) on sequential days and collected baseline and stress-induced (after handling) samples. For a subset of individuals, we collected and quantified CORT in both saliva and blood samples, which have not been compared for amphibians. We tested several aspects of CORT responses and, by collecting across separate days, measured repeatability of CORT responses across days. We also evaluated whether methods common to amphibian conservation, such as handling alone or handling, clipping a toe and tagging elevated sCORT. Similar to previous studies, we show that sCORT is reliable concerning parallelism, recovery, precision and sensitivity. sCORT was weakly correlated with plasma CORT (R2 = 0.21), and we detected elevations in sCORT after handling, demonstrating biological validation. Toe clipping and tagging did not increase sCORT over handling alone, but repeated handling elevated sCORT for ~72hours. However, sCORT responses were highly variable and repeatability was low within individuals and among capture sessions, contrary to previous studies with urinary and waterborne CORT. sCORT is a semi-invasive and rapid technique that could be useful to assess effects of anthropogenic change and conservation efforts, but will require careful study design and future validation.

Promoting environmental literacy and behavior change among individuals and communities in digital era

This study explores the endeavour to enhance environmental literacy and foster behavior change within Asia’s diverse and dynamic context. Amidst cultural richness, economic disparities, and urbanization challenges, the quest for sustainable practices takes on unique dimensions. This research delves into the complexities and opportunities of nurturing environmental awareness and driving positive behavior change in the Asian context. Cultural diversity necessitates tailored approaches, aligning behavior change interventions with local norms and values. Socioeconomic disparities demand equitable access to education, resources, and sustainable options, ensuring inclusivity across all segments of society. The rise of consumerism and urbanization necessitates innovative strategies that reshape urban landscapes and challenge convenience-oriented lifestyles. Educational strategies emerge as pivotal, capitalizing on institutions’ roles in disseminating environmental knowledge. Collaboration between educational bodies, governments, and non-governmental organizations is essential to establish a strong foundation of environmental literacy. The influence of traditional wisdom, indigenous practices, and the collective mindset can guide behavior change initiatives, embedding sustainable choices within cultural identities. By embracing the unique characteristics of Asia and recognizing the global implications of behavior change efforts within the region, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of promoting sustainable behaviors that resonate with diverse communities.

Global Health Law and the Climate Crisis: An Unfulfilled Opportunity.

The emerging global climate crisis threatens human health in unprecedented ways, yet global health concerns have not been sufficiently considered within international climate change efforts. A more collaborative pathway could advance efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change while protecting public health and social justice.

Developing a practice-driven research agenda in implementation science: Perspectives from experienced implementation support practitioners.

Attention is being placed on the "ironic gap" or "secondary" research-to-practice gap in the field of implementation science. Among several challenges posited to exacerbate this research-to-practice gap, we call attention to one challenge in particular-the relative dearth of implementation research that is tethered intimately to the lived experiences of implementation support practitioners (ISPs). The purpose of this study is to feature a qualitative approach to engaging with highly experienced ISPs to inform the development of a practice-driven research agenda in implementation science. In general, we aim to encourage ongoing empirical inquiry that foregrounds practice-driven implementation research questions. Our analytic sample was comprised of 17 professionals in different child and family service systems, each with long-term experience using implementation science frameworks to support change efforts. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Our analysis followed a qualitative content analysis approach. Our focal conceptual category centered on the desired areas of future research highlighted by respondents, with subcategories reflecting subsets of related research question ideas. Interviews yielded varying responses that could help shape a practice-driven research agenda for the field of implementation science. The following subcategories regarding desired areas for future research were identified in respondents' answers: (a) stakeholder engagement and developing trusting relationships, (b) evidence use, (c) workforce development, and (d) cost-effective implementation. There is significant promise in bringing implementation research and implementation practice together more closely and building a practice-informed research agenda to shape implementation science. Our findings point not only to valuable practice-informed gaps in the literature that could be filled by implementation researchers, but also topics for which dissemination and translation efforts may not have yielded optimal reach. We also highlight the value in ISPs bolstering their own capacity for engaging with the implementation science literature to the fullest extent possible.

(Mis)Alignment of Challenges and Strategies in Promoting Inclusive Racial Climates in STEM Graduate Departments

This descriptive qualitative study used racialized organizations (Ray, 2019) as a lens to examine how 27 faculty, administrators, and postdoctoral fellows in STEM departments at two institutions understood the problems that underlie negative racial climate, the strategies they used to improve racial climate, and the alignment between problems and solutions. Participants did not discuss racism and White supremacy as factors that contribute to negative racial climate. Instead, they indicated a weak STEM pipeline, and lack of faculty engagement created negative climate. Because participants did not attend to how racism and White supremacy fostered negative climate, their strategies (e.g., increased recruitment, committees, workshops) left systemic racism intact and (un)intentionally amplified labor for racially minoritized graduate students and faculty champions who often led change efforts with little support. These findings can help move departments away from intervention-centered models of change and toward more systemic approaches that contest how racialized organizations operate.

To Starve or to Stoke? Understanding Whether Divestment versus Investment Can Steer (Green) Innovation

More than 1,500 organizations and investors representing more than $40 trillion in assets have committed to fossil fuel divestment to combat climate change. Will it work? This chapter explores whether divestment might induce green innovation, a critical component of the transition to a cleaner economy. Divestment could theoretically steer innovation by increasing the cost of capital for “dirty firms,” but it is unclear whether the effects will be large enough to significantly reduce investment opportunities. I argue that continuing to invest in dirty industries could drive green innovation conditional on investors being socially conscious and governing through “voice.” This hinges upon understanding which firm strategies actually foster green innovation, though, and the commonly used environmental, social, and governance indicators come with several limitations. I demonstrate how decomposing them and using alternative approaches to measuring environmental performance can improve investment, strategy, and management decision-making and policy design. I examine the relationship between 14 specific practices and whether large firms in 16 pollution-intensive sectors are on track for meeting the Paris Agreement emissions targets (“carbon performance”). I find no correlation between carbon performance and the most basic practices, such as disclosing emissions, but a positive correlation for five more explicit strategies: setting long-term quantitative emissions targets, having a third party verify emissions data, incorporating environmental performance into executive remuneration policies, supporting governmental climate change efforts, and setting an internal price of carbon. I construct a new “best practices” score based on these results and find that it has a much higher correlation with carbon performance than some other composite measures.

The Effect of Transformational Leadership on Individual Multidimensional Reactions to Organizational Change with Self-efficacy as a Mediator

There have been many previous studies that have analyzed individual reactions to organizational change and associated them with various antecedents. However, these studies tend to only dichotomize individual reactions into forms of resistant and not resistant. Resistance itself is inconsistently defined and associated with many different aspects. This study analyzes individual reactions to organizational change from another point of view using a comprehensive reconceptualization of reactions with an attitude theory approach that include cognitive, emotional, and intentional dimensions. This study includes transformational leadership variables as part of the leadership factor and self-efficacy as part of the individual factors that influence organizational change. The research sample includes 304 civil servants within the BPS-Statistics of Jawa Tengah Province, Indonesia. The collected data were analyzed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results of the bootstrapping analysis show that transformational leadership has a significantly positive effect on the three dimensions of individual reactions to change. The influence of transformational leadership can be enhanced through the role of self-efficacy as a mediator. This research provides practical implications for organizations in increasing the chances of successful change efforts through positive individual reactions. Positive reactions are generated through transformational leadership which can provide self-efficacy as an important resource for individuals in the process of organizational change. In line with COR theory, individuals who have resources tend to be more prepared to face challenges, demands, and uncertainties, especially in the context of organizational change.

Adapting the stages of implementation completion to an evidence-based implementation strategy: The development of the NIATx stages of implementation completion.

Dissemination and implementation frameworks provide the scaffolding to explore the effectiveness of evidence-based practices (EBPs) targeting process of care and organizational outcomes. Few instruments, like the stages of implementation completion (SIC) examine implementation fidelity to EBP adoption and how organizations differ in their approach to implementation. Instruments to measure organizational competency in the utilization of implementation strategies are lacking. An iterative process was utilized to adapt the SIC to the NIATx implementation strategies. The new instrument, NIATx-SIC, was applied in a randomized controlled trial involving 53 addiction treatment agencies in Washington state to improve agency co-occurring capacity. NIATx-SIC data were reported by state staff and external facilitators and through participating agency documentation. Proportion and duration scores for each stage and phase of the NIATx-SIC were calculated for each agency. Competency was assessed using the NIATx fidelity tool. Comparisons of proportion, duration, and NIATx activities completed were determined using independent sample t-tests by agency competency level. The NIATx-SIC distinguished between agencies achieving competency (n = 23) and those not achieving competency (n = 26). Agencies achieving competency completed a greater proportion of implementation phase activities and had a significantly longer Stage 7 duration. These agencies participated in significantly more individual and group coaching calls, attended more in-person meetings, implemented more change projects, and spent approximately 64 more days, on average, engaging in all NIATx activities. Organizational participation in dissemination and implementation research requires a significant investment of staff resources. The inability of an organization to achieve competency when utilizing a set of implementation strategies waste an opportunity to institutionalize knowledge of how to apply implementation strategies to future change efforts. The NIATx-SIC provides evidence that competency is not an attribute of the organization but rather a result of the application of the NIATx implementation strategies to improve agency co-occurring capacity. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03007940. Registered January 2, 2017, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03007940.

Treatment of Men with Erectile Dysfunction through Lifestyle Modification Using a Digital Application - A Pilot Study

Introduction: Erectile dysfunction affects up to 30% of men in industrialized nations. Although the disease is more common in older age, men in their 30s and 40s are also affected. Despite the quantity and the important socio-psycho-pathogenic significance of erectile dysfunction, it is still treated almost exclusively by the administration of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of a digital lifestyle change intervention for men with erectile dysfunction. Material and Methods: In this pilot study, 20 patients with erectile dysfunction were encouraged to make lifestyle changes using a digital application. Results: We were able to show that the use of a digital application is very effective in supporting the lifestyle change efforts of patients with erectile dysfunction. Conclusion: Digital applications could offer valuable assistance in extending the purely symptomatic therapeutic approach (PDE5I) of men suffering from erectile dysfunction, to include the important component of lifestyle change in order to address the long-term implications of this complex condition

Antecedents of Change Management Determinants on Operational Efficiency of Public Universities in Kenya

Operation efficiency of many public universities in Kenya has been poor. Hence, the study examined the antecedents of change management and operational efficiency of public universities in Kenya. The specific objectives were to examine the effect of change leadership, technological factors and resource allocation on operational efficiency of public universities in Kenya. The study was a literature-based review. It was found that the antecedents of change management can include change leadership, technology factors and resource allocation. The extent of the change leadership, technology factors and resource allocation influence the direction of the change administration.  The study concluded that change leadership includes bringing together the resources allocated toward meeting the change efforts. The effectiveness of the change leadership has a positive impact on the operation efficiency. The change leadership is to develop strategies and policies that can be used for any strategy implementation. The effectiveness of change leadership provides high leadership commitment, accountability and change management expertise. Technological change has an impact on all organizations and impacts operational efficiency positively. Technological change is a critical requirement for strategic planning in change management. The introduction of the technology is deemed to improve users' efficiency, thus increasing operating efficiency. Resource allocation is one of the critical determinants of change management and influences operation efficiency positively. The resource allocation is based on budgetary allocation, financial considerations and scheduling available resources. The study recommended that change leadership in the universities needs to understand why the organization needs to change/critical purposes. The leadership needs to be practical to ensure employees follow the change plans to prevent deviating from the change process. The employees need to be enlightened on the organization's technological changes to ensure that changes are implemented thoroughly and smoothly. The universities need to allocate financial resources for strategic planning implementation. An organization should plan ahead of the change process and the resource required to ensure that it determines the changes that need to be made and how long it will take to get them done. Resource allocation need to be effectively and economically to accomplish goals. Keywords: Change management, change leadership, technological factors, resource allocation, operational efficiency, public universities, Kenya

Mindfulness at Workplace: A Conceptual Model of Its Effect on Readiness for Organisational Change

Although organisations manage to sustain their global competitiveness by responding well to the dynamic business environment, a dark side implicates employees throughout the process. The frequent changes generate a stressful work environment and exhaustion that are likely to affect employees' well-being and work outcomes. Researchers have pointed out that adequate resources are essential for employees to manage organisational change effectively. Therefore, this conceptual paper explores the link between mindfulness and employee readiness for organisational change. The literature from various repositories was reviewed based on criteria that emphasise mindfulness in the organisation context. This exclusion is necessary as the construct is highly associated with clinical psychology studies. The proposed framework and propositions showed the relationship between mindfulness and readiness for change with employee engagement as a mediator. Based on the conservation of resources and social exchange theory, mindful employees are flexible and positive about work, leading to greater engagement and openness towards change efforts. Keywords: Mindfulness, Readiness, Organisational Change

Contrasting roles of measurement knowledge systems in confounding or creating sustainable change

Sustainable change initiatives are often short-circuited by failures in modelling. Unexamined assumptions about measurement and numbers push modelling into the background as a presupposition rarely articulated as an explicit operation. Even when models of system dynamics are planned components of a sustainable change effort, the key role of measurement is typically overlooked. The crux of the matter concerns the distinction between numeric counts and measured quantities. Mistaking the former for the latter confuses levels of complexity and fundamentally compromises communications. Reconceiving measurement as modelling multilevel distributed decision processes offers new alternatives aligned with historically successful efforts in creating sustainable change. Five conditions for successful sustainable change are contrasted from the perspectives of single-level vs multilevel modelling: vision, plans, skills, resources, and incentives. Omitting any one of these from efforts at creating change result, respectively, in confusion, treadmills, anxiety, frustration, and resistance. The shortcomings of typically implemented single-level approaches to measurement result in the widespread experience of these negative consequences. Results show that new potentials for creating sustainable change can be expected to follow from implementations of multilevel distributed decision processes that effectively counteract organizational amnesia by embedding new learning in an externally materialized knowledge infrastructure incorporating a shared cultural memory.