Creative Industry: Fact or Fiction?

In the late 1990's there was a growing realisation that for many 'post industrial' economies and especially the UK, not only had they become dominated by traditional 'service' businesses (banking, finance, retail, logistics, law and other professional service firms) but that the most rapidly growing group of these 'knowledge based' firms were in an ill defined sector that depended on creativity for their source of competitive advantage such as fashion, design, architecture, advertising and PR, books, music, film and TV production, theatre, online communities, video games, museum and gallery exhibitions and other print and screen based media. Many of these firms were young and rapidly growing, there were some large scale businesses in media and advertising but the majority stayed small and had a high attrition rate. In the UK they represented about 8% of GDP but crucially were growing at twice the rate of the economy as a whole. From a policy point of view they attracted a lot of interest - was this the holy grail of the future 'knowledge economy'? Now nearly 10 years on from the UK's declaration of 'cool Britannia' under Tony Blair's New Labour project, it is worth reflecting on what we really know about the 'Creative Industries and Creative Business'. Are they fact or fiction? and what might be the implications for education in the arts and management

Lost, Dysfunctional or Evolving? A View of Business Schools from Silicon Valley

Recent articles have rekindled discussions around the direction and relevance of US business schools. The two main viewpoints are distinct but equally critical. On one hand, business schools are considered overly focused on “scientific research” and having lost their connection to “real world” and management issues. On the other hand, schools are considered “dysfunctionally” focused on media rankings and short-term superficial marketing fixes. Our study of educational opportunities and workforce development in Silicon Valley suggests a different viewpoint. We agree that both approaches correctly identify the challenge of preparing managers in globalized world. However, we believe they misdiagnose the cause of the failure. Rather than being lost or dysfunctional, we believe business programs — like the firms and students they serve — are in the process of evolving to meet a shifting global and local environment. Our findings indicate that business schools face structural, content, and program shifts. Educationally, business programs continue to be seen as doing a good job of educating their students in core functional areas and processes. However, they do less well in teaching their graduates interpersonal skills, real-time decision-making, recognition of contexts, and integration across functional areas. These are increasingly the skills demanded by the global business environment. Even more challenging is meeting the demand for both sets of skills within very specialized fields like technology management. Structurally, new types of students and learning demands are placing stresses on traditional full-time two-year programs and their business models. Women and minority groups increasingly form the majority of the future student population, with distinct needs and demands for part-time and executive education. This shift is also evident in demands for life-long learning and engagement as opposed to a fixed, one-shot program experiences. These challenges require business schools to build upon what they do well, while innovating to serve new business and student needs.management education; Silicon Valley; globalization; technology

The property development process: a Scottish case

An existing model of the commercial property development process was applied to a mixed use redevelopment site. The case studied was the redevelopment of 7.7 hectares of previously developed land in central Edinburgh containing nine listed buildings. 158,000 square metres of accommodation are planned, 65% of which will be residential and 25% offices. The site was first marketed in 2000, construction began in 2005 and approximately 40% of the project was completed by the spring of 2009. The single case study was investigated by inspection of documents and plans, site visits and semi-structured interviews with senior executives representing all the companies and organisations that were influential in decision making. It was found that the commercial model was able to represent the reality of the project environment reasonably well; however adjustments were required to cope with mixed-use redevelopment. The overall fate of the site was determined by the interplay of market forces and state policy, yet the detailed evolution of the project was dependent upon the organisations and individuals that became involved. Questions of design and the architect played an important role in decision making. ‘Place making’ was found to be fundamental in both planning and financial terms. It was confirmed that a genuine mixed-use environment that is well conceived and managed can be very attractive to the public, residents, businesses and investors. While some listed buildings were sacrificed, involving controversy and delay, conversions of others made a significant contribution both environmentally and financially. These results contribute to the literature of detailed property development cases while refining the model used

New Hampshire University Research and Industry Plan: A Roadmap for Collaboration and Innovation

This University Research and Industry plan for New Hampshire is focused on accelerating innovation-led development in the state by partnering academia’s strengths with the state’s substantial base of existing and emerging advanced industries. These advanced industries are defined by their deep investment and connections to research and development and the high-quality jobs they generate across production, new product development and administrative positions involving skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)

American Economic Development, Managerial Corporate Capitalism, and the Institutional Foundations of the Modern Income Tax

Mehrotra examines the factors contributing to the introduction of the corporate income tax in 1909 and of the individual income tax in 1913. According to the conventional wisdom, these taxes were the products of politics, political institutions, and social forces; economic factors play a cameo role in the standard historical accounts. He argues that economic developments were as significant as political and social factors in the enactment and development of the taxes. The corporations created the wealth that became the targets of the corporate and individual taxes. Here, he investigates two particular economic factors. First, he explores the broad, long-term, structural transformations in the American economy that fostered the development of the modern progressive income tax. Between the end of Reconstruction and the onset of the Great Depression, the American economy underwent dramatic changes. The second set of economic factors that facilitated the development of the modern income tax followed from the first

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN WORKPLACES AND HOW IT WILL AFFECT EMPLOYMENT IN LATVIA

Already, artificial intelligence (AI) is all around us, from self-driving cars and drones to virtual assistants and software that translate or invest. Impressive progress has been made in AI in recent years, driven by exponential increases in computing power and by the availability of vast amounts of data, from software used to discover new drugs to algorithms used to predict our cultural interests. Digital fabrication technologies, meanwhile, are interacting with the biological world on a daily basis. Engineers, designers, and architects are combining computational design, additive manufacturing, materials engineering, and synthetic biology to pioneer a symbiosis between microorganisms, our bodies, the products we consume, and even the buildings we inhabit. Companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications industry expect AI to have a significant impact on product offerings in the next five years. This research contains the data from a pilot survey from Latvian business executives’ expectations for AI and robotics for the next 5 years. The aim of this research is to find out if AI and robotics will make significant impact on workplaces in Latvia in the next five years

Enterprise Systems Education: New Directions & Challenges for the Future

Enterprise systems design, implementation, and integration are focal points for business and information technology (IT). Businesses of all sizes are looking to information technology to better integrate with business partners, reduce costs, and provide strategic advantage. These challenges require a new type of technical professional, one with the training and perspective of an enterprise architect with general technical expertise as well as business strategy and planning skills. This paper investigates the need for this new type of IT professional and the implications for higher education

A Review of the Literature and Implications for People with Disabilities (E-Human Resources Literature Review)

To accomplish this overview, an extensive review of the literature on information technology applications to the employment process was conducted. Three human resources related uses of the Internet are explored in this review of current literature: E-recruiting, E-benefits/HR, E-training. Each of these areas can have a significant impact on employees with disabilities, especially given the growth of business’ use of the Web. If E-recruiting is not accessible, it could prevent people from applying for or even finding open positions. E-training, if not accessible, could create a new barrier to the advancement of individuals who are unable to access online training to improve or update their skills. E-benefits, while likely to make enrollment and other activities easier for many employees, may become an obstacle for individuals with certain disabilities if not designed to be accessible. In addition, we examined the literature for any current discussion of access issues for applicants and employees with disabilities by business. In the remainder of this introduction, we also cover the World Wide Web and accessibility issues for people with disabilities, legislation relevant to Internet accessibility, and studies of Web accessibility