Scottish higher education : a continuing debate

The period since the May 2011 Holyrood elections has seen a continuation of the debate over the future of Scottish Higher Education. This debate has contained several elements, including: continuing commitment to the policy of not charging tuition fees for undergraduate places supported by the Scottish Government, a better-than-expected post-election public funding settlement, discussion of senior management selection and remuneration, a governance review of Scottish universities, the mooting of the possibility of institutional mergers, the setting of student fees by individual universities for RUK students, the fining of institutions for breaching undergraduate number targets, the highlighting of issues around access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the extent of recruitment of fee-paying students from other parts of the UK, the potential eligibility of RUK students with dual nationality for tuition- free status in Scotland, concerns about gender balance among senior academic staff, and discussion of some institutions' decisions on discipline closures and associated job security. Such a list, albeit not exhaustive, highlights the types of matters which have been the focus of much media attention, and frequently universities have found themselves reacting to issues raised by politicians, campus unions and student organisations. One picture which has emerged strongly in the past year is that of a growing divergence between the Scottish and English sectors. This divergence has been driven primarily by the strongly related issues of tuition fees and public funding. Positions on these issues, like much else in the debate about universities, are often couched in terms of their importance for the future of the sector. One year on from the Holyrood elections, it is perhaps apposite to explore the question of 'Where stands the vision for the future of Scottish Higher Education?

Ribosomal trafficking is reduced in Schwann cells following induction of myelination.

Local synthesis of proteins within the Schwann cell periphery is extremely important for efficient process extension and myelination, when cells undergo dramatic changes in polarity and geometry. Still, it is unclear how ribosomal distributions are developed and maintained within Schwann cell projections to sustain local translation. In this multi-disciplinary study, we expressed a plasmid encoding a fluorescently labeled ribosomal subunit (L4-GFP) in cultured primary rat Schwann cells. This enabled the generation of high-resolution, quantitative data on ribosomal distributions and trafficking dynamics within Schwann cells during early stages of myelination, induced by ascorbic acid treatment. Ribosomes were distributed throughout Schwann cell projections, with ~2-3 bright clusters along each projection. Clusters emerged within 1 day of culture and were maintained throughout early stages of myelination. Three days after induction of myelination, net ribosomal movement remained anterograde (directed away from the Schwann cell body), but ribosomal velocity decreased to about half the levels of the untreated group. Statistical and modeling analysis provided additional insight into key factors underlying ribosomal trafficking. Multiple regression analysis indicated that net transport at early time points was dependent on anterograde velocity, but shifted to dependence on anterograde duration at later time points. A simple, data-driven rate kinetics model suggested that the observed decrease in net ribosomal movement was primarily dictated by an increased conversion of anterograde particles to stationary particles, rather than changes in other directional parameters. These results reveal the strength of a combined experimental and theoretical approach in examining protein localization and transport, and provide evidence of an early establishment of ribosomal populations within Schwann cell projections with a reduction in trafficking following initiation of myelination

The Real Exchange Rate and Employment in U.S. Manufacturing: State and Regional Results

In a series of earlier papers we have examined the impact of exchange rate movements on employment and output in the manufacturing sector, disaggregated by industry sector and by production and non-production workers. In this paper we examine the impact of exchange rate movements on manufacturing employment, disaggregated geographically, using census divisions, regions, states and SMSA's as the unit of analysis. Empirical estimates of employment changes are first presented for the four census regions, the nine census divisions, and the fifty states plus the District of Columbia. For the country as a whole, we estimate that movements in the real exchange rate led to the loss of about 1 million manufacturing jobs over this period. We go on to examine in greater detail manufacturing employment in New York State, and report that exchange rate movements had a much larger impact in the areas outside of New York City than in the metropolitan area. This result is consistent with earlier work that found that employment in management or research is not as sensitive to exchange rate movements as employment in production processes. The New York results are followed by an examination of manufacturing employment in five southern states with large rural populations. Some policy makers have expressed a concern that manufacturing employment in rural areas suffered more than in urban areas during the period of the dollar appreciation. We find that within these five states, the impact of the exchange rate on manufacturing employment in the non-SMSA areas was the same or less than was the case for employment within SMSA areas. Finally, we use a multivariate model to explore why manufacturing employment is more sensitive to exchange rate movements in some states than in others. Factors which are associated with greater sensitivity of manufacturing employment to exchange rate movements are: the percent of the population living outside of SMSA areas, the level of production worker wages, and crude oil production. Factors that are associated with less sensitivity of manufacturing employment to exchange rate movements include the percent of the population with 4 years or more of college or per-capita expenditures on public secondary schools.

The value of design strategies for new product development: Some econometric evidence

Investments in design play a potentially significant role in new product development (NPD) although there is little unanimity on the most appropriate or effective design strategy. Previous case-study based studies have identified three alternative design strategies for NPD: design used as a functional specialism, design used as part of a multi-functional team and designer-led NPD. Using data on a large sample (c. 1300) of Irish manufacturing plants we are able to examine the effectiveness of each of these three design strategies for NPD novelty and success. Our analysis suggests that design is closely associated with success in NPD performance regardless of the type of strategy pursued. Adopting designer-led NPD, however, results in a much greater design effect on NPD performance than more functionally-oriented strategies. The impacts of design on NPD outcomes are also strongly moderated by other plant characteristics. For example, the beneficial effects of design on NPD outputs are only evident for plants which also engage in R&D. Also, while both small and larger plants do gain from using design as a functional specialism and as part of multi-functional teams, the additional benefits of design-leadership in the NPD process are only evident in larger plants.Design, new product development, design-led, manufacturing, Ireland

Openness and innovation performance: are small firms different?

Traditionally, literature on open innovation has concentrated on analysis of larger firms. We explore whether and how the benefits of openness in innovation are different for small firms (less than 50 employees) compared to medium and large ones. Using panel data over a long time period (1994-2008) from Irish manufacturing plants, we find that small plants have on average significantly lower levels of openness, a pattern which has not changed significantly since the early 1990s. However, the effect of ‘breadth’ of openness (i.e. variety of innovation linkages) on innovation performance is stronger for small firms than for larger firms. For small firms (with 10-49 employees) external linkages account for around 40 per cent of innovative sales compared to around 25 per cent in larger firms. Small plants also reach the limits to benefitting from openness at lower levels of breadth of openness than larger firms. Our results suggest that small firms can gain significantly from adopting an open innovation strategy, but for such firms appropriate partner choice is a particularly important issue.Open innovation; SMEs; boundary-spanning linkages; learning effects; Ireland

Finding the right rabbit to pull out of the hat: data management in CSIRO

CSIRO is one of the world’s largest and most diverse research agencies with staff located literally from one end of Australia to the other as well as internationally. As both a creator and a consumer of research data, CSIRO faces considerable data management challenges. To this end, the development of the CSIRO Data Management Service (DMS) Repository is a pivotal step in the right direction for managing CSIRO-generated data, third-party data and establishing vital links with research community portals such as Research Data Australia and the Atlas of Living Australia. From metadata mapping to collector and conversion tools, this presentation will discuss the experiences of the CSIRO Information Management & Technology (IM&T) team in applying new services and technologies to address the challenges of discovering, exchanging and re-using research data

"Steel Production in Scotland: Strategic Considerations for the 1990s" : a review

This paper serves to review a recent report prepared for Strathclyde Regional Council by Glasgow University on the subject of the future of plate production in Scotland