Culture change

About: Culture change is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1531 publications have been published within this topic receiving 41922 citations. The topic is also known as: cultural change & culture changes.

The social construction of the mature student experience

Abstract: Using a Social Constructionist lens, this study gathers fresh empirical data on the experience of a “Mature Student”, examining its multiple constructions, both objective and subjective, within the context of a Scottish Ancient university. For six centuries, Ancient universities have held expectations that incoming students will adjust to fit the autonomous institutional culture. However the expansion of Higher Education in 1992 has introduced changes in legislation and funding which have shifted the onus of that adjustment to the organisations themselves. This study is placed at the fundamental core of the tension between an institution struggling with the changing nature of its purpose and non-traditional students with changing expectations. Through analysis of daily journals and semi-structured interviews with 16 students and 12 staff, it explores the interpretations which both sets of actors take from student/institution interaction, and does so with respect to the student’s holistic life context rather than viewing only the learner role. Particular emphasis is placed on the losses and gains from the experience, including examination of what a degree symbolises in personal, fiscal and psychological terms. Based on a synthesis of literature reviews and empirical data, the study categorises the Mature students into three groups according to experiential themes within the student journey, drawing out theoretical and policy contributions from the process. Although mismatches are shown to exist between student and staff expectations of institutional purpose, a contemporary, and valid, role for the Ancient institution is outlined in terms of developing individual agency.

Behavior Systems as a Field for Research

Abstract: LARGE part of the research basic to current sociological theory has been carried on during the last half-century. To be sure, throughout the ages valuable studies have been made occasionally, but never before has there been consistent and continued investigation oriented toward the discovery of the compendent principles of a science of society and culture. Research in sociology, since the World War, has been focused, in the main, on the following fields: (i) social institutions, such as the family and religion; (2) community study and human ecology; (3) social psychology; (4) the processes of culture change; and finally, (5) analysis of the pathological aspects of culture and society. Very few of these investigations have been centered on the many vocations in western civilization. This is an important omission for, as Park has observed, "every occupation becomes, or tends to become, the basis for a new society."' The thesis presented here is that the sociologist and anthropologist should include within the focus of their attention the behavior systems of definable functional groups. This approach entails as a point of departure the definition and characterization of behavior systems. Persons in more or less continuous association evolve behavior traits and cultural mechanisms which are unique to the group and differ in some way from those of other groups and from the larger socio-cultural complex. That is, every continuing social group develops a variant culture and a body of social relations peculiar and common to its members. This complex on the overt side may be characterized by discernible behavior of the group members in relation to each other, and to those who do not belong; and on the covert side, by an ethos or ideology which includes mores, codes, and other rules, which take the form of sanctions binding upon the membership in their relations to each other and to the external social world.2 Knowledge, techniques, attitudes, and behavior traits are all integrated into a more or less congruous system within which the participant members orient their lives and acquire status in the community and society. These constitute the criteria by which a specialized group is differentiated from other technical groups, and from the larger, incoherent "Great Society." Such a complex constitutes a behavior system. The general characteristics of a specific behavior system include the following: (i) a group of specialists recognized by society, as well as by them-

Culture change through the use of appropriate pricing systems

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how practitioners have not fully responded to calls for change in culture. Given that construction teams are motivated by several key factors including money, payment systems may play a major role in facilitating this change. Traditional pricing methods are still found to be the most popular system but often criticised for their contribution to the adversarial culture witnessed in the industry. Alternative pricing systems aimed at aligning constructors' behaviour with clients' objectives are emerging. As a result, the choice of an appropriate pricing system must be based on the circumstances surrounding the project and the likelihood that the system is to influence behaviour positively. This paper aims to propose an analytical hierarchic process (AHP) to help the industry do that.Design/methodology/approach – The AHP consists of a MCDM hierarchy structure, pair‐wise comparisons, and the calculation of the relative priorities of MCDM attributes. The attributes...

Time for reform? Alcohol policy and cultural change in England since 2000

Abstract: Throughout history, alcohol policy has been tied to ideas of cultural change. In 2000, the New Labour government proposed deregulatory legislation that was designed, in part, to change British drinking cultures. However, implementation of the subsequent 2003 Licensing Act coincided with developments in alcohol retail and drinking behaviours which created widespread public concern. Government alcohol policy was also criticised by public health advocates who rejected the model of cultural change which underpinned it. Focussing on England and Wales, this article considers how an emphasis on culture-change outcomes undermined the political success of New Labour's alcohol policy; how media responses reinforced problematic ideas around British drinking culture; and how public health policy lobbying on alcohol has exposed a marked political divide over the role of legislation in shaping public attitudes and behaviours.

An enterprise resource planning system innovation and its influence on organisational culture: a case study in higher education

Abstract: Many organisations are adopting new enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to address their organisational and business problems. These technologies may promise utopian visions of information management, yet often they have the potential to re-shape organisational life and bring even more control to the workplace; in some instances outcomes that are unpredictable and detrimental to the organisation. The study of ERPs and their influence on organisational life and culture is a complex and highly contested area of research which has been the subject of much theorising. This paper adds to the debate through a longitudinal case study of an integrated information system implementation undertaken within a large UK university. The system (known as SITS – strategic information technology services) was introduced into a university in 2006 and the focus of the research has been on culture change within the SITS environment. Document analysis, interviews and participant observation were used to collect data. Wha...