Operational research from Taylorism to Terabytes: a research agenda for the analytics age

The growing attention and prominence afforded to analytics presents a genuine challenge for the operational research community. Many in the community have recognised this growth and sought to align themselves with analytics. For instance, the US operational research society INFORMS now offers analytics related conferences, certification and a magazine. However, as shown in this research, the volume of analytics-orientated studies in journals associated with operational research is comparatively low. This paper seeks to address this paradox by seeking to better understand what analytics is, and how operational research is related to it. To do so literature from a range of academic disciplines is analysed, in what is conceived as concurrent histories in the shared tradition of a management paradigm spread over the last 100 years. The findings of this analysis reveal new insights as to how operational research exists within an ecosystem shared with several other disciplines, and how interactions and ripple effects diffuse knowledge and ideas between each. Whilst this ecosystem is developed and evolved through interdisciplinary collaborations, individual disciplines are cast into competition for the attention of the same business users. These findings are further explored by discussing the implication this has for operational research, as well as considering what directions future research may take to maximise the potential value of these relationships

Re-articulating the creative hub concept as a model for business support in the local creative economy: the case of Mare Street in Hackney

This research was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant Number AH/J005142/1].This research was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant Number AH/J005142/1].This research was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant Number AH/J005142/1].The literature on ‘creative hubs’ is scarce. Although the term is currently in wide use in policy circles, its actual meaning is not always clear. Accordingly, this paper aims to clarify what is meant by the ‘creative hub’ through the use of ethnographic work as well as a consolidation of the available literature. The findings suggest that although different creative hubs take on a number of different physical, spatial, organisational and operational manifestations they nonetheless can be understood as having four primary characteristics: first, they provide ‘creative’ services to creative SMEs, including micro-businesses; second, they are aimed specifically at early stage creative SMEs and micro-businesses; third, they are facilitated by trusted individuals who retain a number of important positions and conduct a number of important activities; and fourth, they have become important to the health of the local creative economy. This paper argues that the notion of the creative hub can be understood as a putative model for providing mainly business support in a local context for specifically the creative sector

Helping Business Schools Engage with Real Problems: The Contribution of Critical Realism and Systems Thinking

The world faces major problems, not least climate change and the financial crisis, and business schools have been criticised for their failure to help address these issues and, in the case of the financial meltdown, for being causally implicated in it. In this paper we begin by describing the extent of what has been called the rigour/relevance debate. We then diagnose the nature of the problem in terms of historical, structural and contextual mechanisms that initiated and now sustain an inability of business schools to engage with real-world issues. We then propose a combination of measures, which mutually reinforce each other, that are necessary to break into this vicious circle – critical realism as an underpinning philosophy that supports and embodies the next points; holism and transdisciplinarity; multimethodology (mixed-methods research); and a critical and ethical-committed stance. OR and management science have much to contribute in terms of both powerful analytical methods and problem structuring methods

The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation's Tropical Disease Research Program: A 25-Year Retrospective Review 1976-1999

Documents and details the foundation's commitment to the program from its inception, and provides an analysis of its successes until the completion of the program in 1999

A policy and program for invigorating science and technology for national security: consultation paper – April 2014

This paper outlines the development of a new science and technology (S&T) policy for national security, and invites submissions. Introduction The Hon Stuart Robert MP, Assistant Minister for Defence is championing the development of a new framework for achieving a whole-of-government approach to national security science and technology (S&T). The framework will comprise a national security S&T policy statement and supporting Program. The intention is to transition from poorly coordinated and under-resourced S&T effort to a collaborative co-investment approach between government, academia and industry that effectively and efficiently delivers innovative S&T solutions in priority national security areas for Australia. The Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) is responsible for leading and coordinating national security S&T, a role transferred from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to the Department of Defence in February 2012. As part of that role, DSTO is leading the development of a new policy and supporting program in consultation with the national security S&T communities, for consideration and endorsement by Government in 2014. The national security S&T policy will: enunciate the Government’s priorities for national security S&T, provide a means by which S&T investment can be balanced to support short-term national security operational needs in addition to enduring security challenges, establish an efficient management and governance framework that delivers S&T outcomes to national security agencies, and encourage shared public and private investment in national security S&T, and facilitate commercialisation of research outcomes for national benefit. The policy will be delivered through a coherent and coordinated national security S&T program that address national security S&T priorities and delivers real tangible outcomes for national security users. The national security S&T policy and supporting program will harness S&T providers, including publicly funded research agencies (PFRAs), universities and industry to benefit national security ‘user’ agencies, including policy agencies, regulators, emergency response agencies, policing and law enforcement agencies, border protection agencies and the intelligence community. This paper aims to promote discussion and elicit input from government agencies and the S&T community that will assist in developing a national security S&T policy and program that will improve the delivery and application of S&T to address Australia’s national security challenges now and into the future.   Find out more about making a submission her