Plenary Lecture

Technology and Change Processes in Knowledge Systems

Professor Lesley S. J. Farmer
Department of Advanced Studies in Education and Counseling
California State University Long Beach
USA
E-mail: Lesley.Farmer@csulb.edu

Abstract: Change occurs at several levels within any system: the individual, a group, and the system as a whole. At each level, internal or external factors can drive change (although internal factors are usually responses to outside factors). Change can be viewed in terms of the changer and the entity being changed. The theories of change can be approached in several ways: change theory (defining change), the change in terms of the process itself (what occurs), change agency (catalyst for change), and change management. This paper provides representative studies on the change process as it relates to leadership in knowledge systems..

Brief Biography of the Speaker: Dr. Lesley Farmer, Professor at California State University Long Beach, coordinates the Librarianship program. She earned her M.S. in Library Science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and received her doctorate in Adult Education from Temple University. Dr. Farmer has worked as a librarian in K-12 school settings as well as in public, special and academic libraries. She is incoming chair of the Education Section of the Special Libraries Association, and is the International Association of School Librarianship Vice-President of Association Relations. Dr. Farmer is a Fulbright Scholar, and has received a university Distinguished Scholarly Activity Award, several professional association awards, and national/international grants. Dr. Farmer’s research interests include information literacy, assessment, collaboration, and educational technology. A frequent presenter and writer for the profession, Dr. Farmer has published two dozen professional books, and over a hundred professional book chapters and articles. Her most recent books are Instructional Design for Librarians and Information Professionals (Neal-Schuman, 2011) Using Qualitative Methods In Action Research (ALA) co-edited with Doug Cook in 2011, and Youth-Serving Libraries in Japan, Russia, and the United States (Scarecrow Press, 2012).