106,316 research outputs found

    The creative industrial park : formation path and evolution mechanism

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    This paper has built a three-stage assumption of creative industrial park on the base of evolutionary economics, which are the gather of units, the construction of interface and the development of network. The gather of units is a reflection of resource search, the construction of interface is a need of identity, and the development of network is a result of multi-dimensional expansion.In the three-stage evolution, the creative industrial park increases constantly their evolution level from the simple geographic gathered to the division and cooperation of labor, until the formation of novel systems. Then this paper analyzes the 798 creative industrial park using the three-stage assumption. This paper finds the main problem of 798’s self-destructing after the low level development of the third stage is the exclusion of the commercial prosperity to the art production. Accordingly,the paper puts forword four modes of promoting the integration between art and commerce. At last, this paper argues the different characteristics of the creative industrial park from other industrial parks. On the angle of formation path, the essence of creative industries is integration of culture and economy, technology. On the angle of evolution mechanism, it reflects novel characteristic of unit, identity characteristic of interface, and co-creation characteristic of network.creative industrial park; formation path; evolution mechanism; integration of culture,economy,and technology

    The design research pyramid: a three layer framework

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    To support knowledge-based design development, considerable research has been conducted from various perspectives at different levels. The research on knowledge-based design support systems, generic design artefact and design process modelling, and the inherent quality of design knowledge itself are some examples of these perspectives. The structure underneath the research is not a disparate one but ordered. This paper provides an overview of some ontologies of design knowledge and a layered research framework of knowledge-based engineering design support. Three layers of research are clarified in this pattern: knowledge ontology, design knowledge model, and application. Specifically, the paper highlights ontologies of design knowledge by giving a set of classifications of design knowledge from different points of view. Within the discussion of design knowledge content ontology, two topologies, i.e., teleology and evolutionary, are identified

    State Capacity and Non-state Service Provision in Fragile and Conflict-affected States

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    How can governments effectively engage with non-state providers (NSPs) of basic services where capacity is weak? This paper examines whether and how fragile and conflict affected states can co-ordinate, finance, and set and apply standards for the provision of basic services by NSPs. It explores ways of incrementally engaging the state, beginning with activities that are least likely to do harm to non-state provision. Through the ‘indirect’ roles of setting the policy environment and engaging in policy dialogue, regulating and facilitating, contracting, and entering into mutual and informal agreements with NSPs, the state can in principle assume responsibility for the provision of basic services without necessarily being involved in direct provision. But government capacity to perform these roles is constrained by the state’s weak legitimacy, coverage and competence, lack of basic information about the non-state sector, and lack of basic organisational capacity to form and maintain relationships with NSPs. The experience of the exercise of the indirect roles in fragile settings suggests: * Governments may be more willing to engage with NSPs where there is recognition that government cannot alone deliver all services, where public and private services are not in competition, and where there is evidence that successful collaboration is possible (demonstrated through small-scale pilots). * The extent to which engagements are ‘pro-service’may be influenced by government motives for engagement and the extent to which the providers that are most important to poor people are engaged. * Formal policy dialogue between government and NSPs may be imperfect, unrepresentative and at times unhelpful in fragile settings. Informal dialogue - at the operational level - could more likely be where synergies can be found. * Regulation is more likely to be ‘pro-service’ where it offers incentives for compliance, and where it focuses on standards in terms of outputs and outcomes rather than inputs and entry controls. * Wide scale, performance-based contracting has been successful in delivering services in some cases, but the sustainability of this approach is often questioned. Some successful contractual agreements have a strong informal, relational element and grow out of earlier informal connections. * Informal and mutual agreements can avoid the capacity problems and tensions implicit in formal contracting but may present problems of non-transparency and exclusion of competition. Paradoxically, the need for large-scale approaches and quick co-ordination of services in fragile and conflict-affected settings may require ‘prematurely high’ levels of state-NSP engagement, before the development of the underlying institutional structures that would support them. When considering strategies to support the capacity of government to engagement with NSPs, donors should: * Recognise non-state service provision and adopt the ‘do no harm’ principle: It would be wrong to set the ambition of 'managing ‘ non-state provision in its entirety, and it can be very harmful for low-capacity states to seek to regulate all NSP or to draw it into clumsy contracts. * Beware of generalisation: Non-state provision takes many forms in response to different histories and to political and economic change. The possibilities and case for state engagement have to be assessed not assumed. The particular identities of NGOs and enterprises should be considered. * Recognise that state building can occur through any of the types of engagement with NSPs: Types of engagement should therefore be selected on the basis of their likely effectiveness in improving service delivery. * Begin with less risky/small scale forms of engagement where possible: State interventions that imply a direct controlling role for the state and which impose obligations on NSPs (i.e. contracting and regulation) require greater capacity (on both sides) and present greater risk of harm if performed badly than the roles of policy dialogue and entering into mutual agreements. * Adopt mixed approaches: The choice between forms of engagement does not have to be absolute. Rather than adopting a uniform plan of engagement in a particular country, it may be better to try different approaches in different regions or sectors

    A ‘quiet revolution’? The impact of Training Schools on initial teacher training partnerships

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    This paper discusses the impact on initial teacher training of a new policy initiative in England: the introduction of Training Schools. First, the Training School project is set in context by exploring the evolution of a partnership approach to initial teacher training in England. Ways in which Training Schools represent a break with established practice are considered together with their implications for the dominant mode of partnership led by higher education institutions (HEIs). The capacity of Training Schools to achieve their own policy objectives is examined, especially their efficacy as a strategy for managing innovation and the dissemination of innovation. The paper ends by focusing on a particular Training School project which has adopted an unusual approach to its work and enquires whether this alternative approach could offer a more profitable way forward. During the course of the paper, five different models of partnership are considered: collaborative, complementary, HEI-led, school-led and partnership within a partnership

    A ‘quiet revolution’? The impact of Training Schools on initial teacher training partnerships

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    This paper discusses the impact on initial teacher training of a new policy initiative in England: the introduction of Training Schools. First, the Training School project is set in context by exploring the evolution of a partnership approach to initial teacher training in England. Ways in which Training Schools represent a break with established practice are considered together with their implications for the dominant mode of partnership led by higher education institutions (HEIs). The capacity of Training Schools to achieve their own policy objectives is examined, especially their efficacy as a strategy for managing innovation and the dissemination of innovation. The paper ends by focusing on a particular Training School project which has adopted an unusual approach to its work and enquires whether this alternative approach could offer a more profitable way forward. During the course of the paper, five different models of partnership are considered: collaborative, complementary, HEI-led, school-led and partnership within a partnership

    Complementary or Conflictual? Formal Participation, Informal Participation, and Organizational Performance

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    Most studies of worker participation examine either formal participatory structures or informal participation. Yet, increasingly, works councils and other formal participatory bodies are operating in parallel with collective bargaining or are filling the void left by its decline. Moreover, these bodies are sprouting in workplaces in which workers have long held a modicum of influence, authority, and production- or service-related information. This study leverages a case from the healthcare sector to examine the interaction between formal and informal worker participation. Seeking to determine whether or not these two forces—each independently shown to benefit production or service delivery—complement or undermine one another, we find evidence for the latter. In the case of the 27 primary care departments that we study, formal structures appeared to help less participatory departments improve their performance. However, these same structures also appeared to impede those departments with previously high levels of informal participation. While we remain cautious with respect to generalizability, the case serves as a warning to those seeking to institute participation in an environment in which some workers have long felt they had the requisite authority, influence, and information necessary to perform their jobs effectively

    Policy change and learning: Implementing EU environmental policies affecting agriculture

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    This thesis aims to show whether and how the implementation of the EU environmental policy could be improved through policy learning. The results are based on two case studies: the development of agri-environmental policy in Finland and the implementation of the Water Framework Directive(WFD)in Ireland. The institutional analysis shows that the institutional structures changed due to the membership: the formal structures changed almost overnight and, as a result of increased cross-sectoral cooperation and policy learning, the informal structures also changed. The implementation of agri-environmental policy was studied in one administrative region, namely Uusimaa, located in southern Finland. The adaptation of EU environmental policies is an interesting research topic, not only because of the policy process itself but also because of the actors and context involved

    The reforming appeal of distributed leadership

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    With a systematic literature review, this article examines the significance of distributed leadership in healthcare, assessing the extent to which it reflects a consistent set of values, meanings, practices and outcomes. It identifies key mediating factors and their importance in enabling or constraining distributive leadership processes. The findings indicate that clinicians without formal leadership titles are inspiring change and driving improvements, although countervailing pressures are limiting this in practice. Distributed leadership is evident in the way that clinical teams function, and more could be made of this for the modernisation of healthcare. At present, this potential tends to be constrained, and subject to competing interpretations that reflect distinct occupational identities. Greater attention could be given to educational and developmental programmes that claim space for distributed influence among current and aspiring leaders, and for enabling arrangements that can help ‘ordinary leaders’ to feel less vulnerable and more confident about this aspect of their practice. Established approaches to leader development could be usefully refocused to prioritise collective processes and refine relational abilities, ideally with more inclusive, joint venture initiatives that bring formal and informal leaders together for mutual learning and effective engagement
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