SA-financial: February 2011

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Strathclyde University SCER Associates Part 2

Professor Ewart Keep. ESRC Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE). Professor Ewart Keep’s research interests include the links between skills and economic performance (broadly defined), the education and training policy formation process, employers’ perceptions of training and the factors that influence their willingness to invest in skills, 14-19 vocational education and training, higher education policy and the graduate labour market, lifelong learning, and the linkages between skills and people management issues.

Dr Scott Hurrell. University of Stirling. Scott Hurrell has recently been appointed to a lectureship in Work and Employment Studies in the Institute of Socio- Management at the University of Stirling, having previously worked in SCER and latterly at Aston University. One of Scott's main research interests is in the area of skills and work organisation with his PhD thesis examining soft skills deficits in Scotland, why these occurred and how employers responded to these. Scott also has interests in recruitment and selection, job quality and in organisations in the interactive service, public and non-profit sectors. Scott has worked with policy and public sector bodies including Futureskills Scotland, The Scottish Government, The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Equal Opportunities Commission (Scotland).

Dr Henrietta Huzzell. University of Karlstad. Professor Jeff Hyman. University of Aberdeen. Professor Jeff Hyman has a long-standing research interest in the ways in which employees participate in decisions made at work and the effects of their involvement in terms of employee satisfaction, relations with managers and performance. Employee share schemes have provided a focus for this interest. In the past few years, he has also been involved in research exploring new directions in work, exploring concepts and practice of work-life balance in sectors such as finance, software and in call centres with a particular emphasis on developments in Scotland where these sectors have become dominant areas for employment and for the local economy.

Professor Csaba Mako. Hungarian Academy of Sciences . Csaba Makó is specialized in organizational changes (innovations), learning organisation and in their institutional (eg labour relations) contexts in an international perspective. He received Academic Doctors’ Title in Sociology (1983). Presently, he has a position as a Research Director at the Institute of Sociology – Hungarian Academy of Sciences and involved in numerous national and international projects. Some of the recent international projects:

Beside research responsibilities, Csaba Makó has full time professorship at the Debrecen University – Department of Economics and is a head of the Ph.D. School in Economics (since: 2004).

Dr Steve Paton. University of Strathclyde. Steve’s research addresses the nature of contemporary work focusing on the areas of knowledge in work and the management of the knowledge resources of the firm. Current activity is primarily focused on the generation of operational strategies of organizations and their attempts to create competitive advantage by increasing their activity in the areas of creative work and innovation and expanding their service provision and therefore moving up the value chain. Steve has published in the areas of change management and the management of knowledge work.

Dr Diane van de Broek. University of Sydney. Diane van den Broek's research and publishing interests relate to management and labour process issues within the service economy, most recently this has involved the changing relationships around technology, professionalism and deskilling within call centres. She has also been involved in an international study, in collaboration with researchers in Scotland and Sweden researchers on aesthetic labour in the retail industry. Two other projects Diane is working on include the matching of graduate attributes with employability, and variations around occupational identity.

Strathclyde is a great place to study and enjoy life at the same time. And this is where you can find out everything about us - from how we teach, to what's on in Glasgow and how to get around. We want to help you make the most of your time here, so we hope you'll come back to these pages to get all the latest news about what's happening on campus and in and around the city.

Strathclyde University SCER Associates Part 1

Professor Tom Baum. University of Strathclyde. Tom Baum's research focuses on people and work in low skills service industries, notably the hospitality and tourism sectors. His work considers HR themes both from a macro perspective in terms of planning and structural dimensions and in terms of the inter-face between employyes and customers at the level of the individual enterprise. Tom's work is internationally focused and includes research in a range of European, Asian, African and Pacific region contexts. He has published widely in the field with seven books and over 150 academic papers. He has also consulted with governments, international donor agencies and the private sector and appeared as an expert witness in international arbitration courts.

Professor Sharon Bolton: University of Strathclyde. Sharon C Bolton is Professor of Organisational Analysis at Strathclyde University Business School, Glasgow, UK. Her research interests include emotion in organisations, public sector management, nursing and teaching, gender and the professions, dignity in and at work, the human in human resource management. She is currently working on comparative research on dignity at work in Europe, with a focus on Greece and the UK and also gender, education and knowledge transfer across international boundaries. Sharon continues to be interested in developing more nuanced understandings of emotion at work, and the labour and skill involved in the emotional labour process. Research is published widely in leading international sociology and management journals such as Work, Employment and Society; Sociology; Journal of Management Studies; Gender, Work and Organisation, Sociologia Del Trabajo, Economia & Management and practitioner periodicals such as People Management and Personnel Today. A sole authored book ‘Emotion Management in the Workplace’ was published by Palgrave in 2005 followed by two edited collections in 2007: ‘Searching for the Human in Human Resource Management’ (with Maeve Houlihan) (Palgrave) and ‘Dimensions of Dignity at Work’ (Elsevier) and a new edited collection ‘Work Matters’ (with Maeve Houlihan) published by Palgrave in April 2009.

Dr John Buchanan. University of Sydney.

Dr Asaf Darr. University of Haifa. Asaf Darr studied Organizational Behaviour at the School of Industrial and Labour Relations, Cornell University. He is currently a senior lecturer in Organization Studies at the University of Haifa, and the Head of the Organization Studies program. In addition to many articles, he is the author of Selling Technology: The Changing Shape of Sales in an Information Economy, published in 2006 by Cornell University Press. His current research is on the social fabric of mass markets and on sales work and sales workers.

Doris Eikhof. University of Stirling. Doris Ruth Eikhof is Lecturer in Organization Studies at the Department of Management, University of Stirling, and Research Associate at the Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Austria. Her research interests include creative industries, changing forms of work and organization, organizational boundaries, organizations and lifestyles and social theories in organization studies. She has published in international and German academic books and journals, including Journal of Organizational Behavior, Creativity and Innovation Management and edited volumes to be published by Palgrave and Routledge. Recent collaboration with SCeR has included joint publications and editorships, the organization of conference streams for EGOS and ILPC and a comparative project on European football as an employment system.

Dr Richard Hall. University of Sydney. Professor Axel Haunschild. University of Trier. Axel Haunschild is Professor of Work, Employment and Organisation at the University of Trier, Germany. He is also Guest Professor of Human Resource Management at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and at the School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London. His research interests focus on changing forms of work and organisation, employment systems in the creative industries, the institutional embeddedness of work and employment, and the boundaries between work and life. He has published in journals such as Human Relations, British Journal of Industrial Relations, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Creativity and Innovation Management and Journal of Organizational Behavior. Recent work with SCER has included the organisation of conference streams (ILPC, EGOS), joint publications and editorships as well a comparative project on national employment systems in professional football

University of Strathclyde and Associates: Publications

University of Strathclyde and Associates: Publications: Scottish Chambers' Business Survey

The quarterly survey, produced in conjunction with the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, provides aggregated information by area and by sector on the general business and labour market situation of some 3,000 Scottish firms. The survey currently covers Scottish manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail and tourism. A further report based on a quarterly survey of the Scottish oil and gas related sector, and conducted in collaboration with the Institute, is published by Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce.

University of Strathclyde and Associates: Publications: Customised Research

The Institute has completed a wide range of customised reports for public and private sector organisations within Scotland and beyond. Using a range of economic analysis tools these reports have ranged from reports on the impact of the Foot and Mouth outbreak on Scotland's economy, an impact study of Jersey's economy upon its environment and the impact of the arts and cultural sector in Scotland.

In addition, Institute staff have acted as advisers to both Westminster and Holyrood committees, public bodies and foreign governments.

University of Strathclyde and Associates: Publications: Raising the Return

The Institute, jointly with the Scottish Council Foundation, has released 'Raising the Return: Scotland's Public Assets'. The report, by economic consultant and Institute Associate Jo Armstrong consists of four short papers and examines the evidence on how effective Scotland's public sector has been in deploying the record-levels of funding it has received. A full press release is available from the media section of the website. Copies of the report, priced fifteen pounds, can be obtained from the Scottish Council Foundation.

University of Strathclyde and Associates: Publications: Major new addition to thinking on Scotland's future

New Wealth for Old Nations provides a guide to policy priorities in small or regional economies. It will be of interest to policymakers, students, and scholars seeking avenues to improved growth, greater opportunity, and better governance. Some of the world's leading economists combine their research insights with a discussion of the practicalities of implementing structural reforms. Scotland is the ideal case study: the recent devolution of government in the United Kingdom offers a natural experiment in political economy, one whose lessons apply to almost any small, advanced economy.

One fundamental conclusion is that policy can make a big difference to long-term prosperity in small economies open to flows of knowledge, investment, and migrants. Indeed the difficulty in introducing growth-oriented policies lies more in the politics of implementing change than in the theoretical diagnosis. Public sector governance is consequently a key issue in creating a pro-growth consensus. And faster growth must be seen to improve opportunities for the population as a whole. Further, setting out the evidence - as this book does for Scotland - is vital to overcoming entrenched institutional barriers to policy reform. The first chapter is by Jo Armstrong, John McLaren, and the editors; and the subsequent chapters are by Paul Krugman, William Baumol, Edward Glaeser, Paul Hallwood and Ronald MacDonald, James Heckman and Dimitriy Masterov, Heather Joshi and Robert Wright, Nicholas Crafts, and John Bradley.

Diane Coyle is a consultant and member of the United Kingdom's Competition Commission and a Visiting Professor at the University of Manchester's Institute of Political and Economic Governance. Wendy Alexander is a Member of the Scottish Parliament and former Scottish Minister for Enterprise, Transport, and Lifelong Learning. Brian Ashcroft is Professor of Economics and Policy Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute for Research on the Scottish Economy at the University of Strathclyde.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Strathclyde University and Associates News: Honorary degrees for eminent trio on University Day

A leading businessman, a renowned chemistry professor and a former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland were the distinguished recipients of honorary degrees from Strathclyde this week.

Jim McColl OBE, Chairman and Chief Executive of business development company Clyde Blowers, James Gimzewski, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Very Rev David Lunan, who served as Kirk Moderator in 2008-9, received their doctorates in a ceremony at the University's Barony Hall on Wednesday, 5 May, as part of University Day celebrations.

The awards were made in recognition of their outstanding service in, and contributions to, their respective spheres.

Strathclyde Principal Professor Jim McDonald said: "It is a pleasure to award honorary degrees to such eminent figures. The depth of their knowledge and experience reflects the ethos of Strathclyde as a university with impact in education, research, industry and public life.

"Our honorary graduates are at the forefront of the fields they work in and we are proud to welcome them to Strathclyde."

Mr McColl graduated from Strathclyde in 1978 with an Honours degree in Technology and Business Studies. He went on to work with Weir Pumps, while studying part-time for an MBA at Strathclyde. He later took up a senior management position with Diamond Power Speciality Limited and studied part-time for a Masters in International Accounting and Finance.

Mr McColl joined Coopers and Lybrand as a senior consultant in 1985 and went on to acquire 29.9% of Clyde Blowers plc. The company now has 55% of the world market in its original product line, as well as expanding into other growth engineering sectors. It has a portfolio of 83 companies in 27 countries, employing a total of 5,000 people.

Professor Gimzewski gained a BSc and a PhD in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry from Strathclyde and has gone on to become an internationally-recognised pioneer in the field of nanotechnology. He spent 18 years at international technology firm IBM's Zurich research laboratory and there created what is officially recognised as the world's smallest calculator.

After joining UCLA, Professor Gimzewski developed the use of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) in the imaging of molecules and his team has used the method to identify cancerous cells in patients with lung, breast and pancreatic cancers. He is also involved in a series of collaborative projects between art and science which have been exhibited in museums across the world, with the aim of making scientific insights accessible to non-scientific audiences.

Professor Gimzewski is a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Carnegie Centenary Professor in the Department of Physics at Strathclyde.

Mr Lunan studied at the University of Glasgow and took up his first assistant ministry in the Calton area of Glasgow. He served as Minister of St Andrews Lhandbryde Parish Church for 12 years from 1975 and was Moderator of the Presbytery of Moray in 1985-6.

In 1987, Mr Lunan returned to Glasgow as Minister of Renfield St Stephen's Parish church and oversaw the rebuilding of the church after its steeple collapsed. He was Glasgow Presbytery's Clerk from 2001 to 2008 and its Moderator in 1999, before being named Moderator of the General Assembly for 2008-9.

Mr Lunan has been active in world mission and development, taking study tours with Christian Aid to Malawi, the Philippines and South Africa. He has also been a hospital chaplain in Elgin, chaplain to the Tom Allan Counselling Centre and the Lord High Commissioner and honorary chaplain to the church's mission partners.

A Fellowship of the University was also conferred on Dr Peter West OBE, former Secretary to the University of Strathclyde, in recognition of more than 25 years of service as a senior administrator. He is also Convener of the University's Malawi Millennium Project and a former Convener of the Secretaries Group of Universities Scotland. Dr West is currently a special adviser to the Principal.

A further presentation was made of the Strathclyder of the Year Award, presented to a member of the Strathclyde community who has made an outstanding contribution to the University or to society, and in doing so has enhanced the University's reputation.

This year the award has been made jointly to Dr Scott Strachan and Mike Dolan of the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering for their work in bringing sustainable energy facilities to villages via the Gambia Project.

Strathclyde University and Associates News: Strathclyde receives $100,000 Gates Foundation grant for innovative global health research

Strathclyde has announced that it has received a US $100,000 (£65,329 approx) Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.

The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by Dr Owain Millington and Dr Gail McConnell, for a laser-targeted system to vaccinate against the virulent Leishmania infection.

Dr Millington’s project is one of 78 grants announced by the Gates Foundation in the fourth funding round of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to help scientists around the world explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve health in developing countries. The grants were provided to scientists in 18 countries on six continents.

To receive funding, Dr Millington showed in a two-page application how their idea falls outside current scientific paradigms and might lead to significant advances in global health. The initiative is highly competitive, receiving almost 2,700 proposals in this round.

There are two million new cases each year of Leishmania in nearly 90 countries, mainly in Asia, Africa and South America. It is a chronic, disfiguring and potentially fatal infection but many of the treatments used against it have serious side effects and it is often resistant to first-line treatment.

The multi-disciplinary research will combine immunology, parasitology and laser-based imaging to design and build a new vaccination system. It involves using one laser system to create images of Leishmania parasites, subsequently deploying a second laser to kill the parasites within cells. Importantly, the cells which harbour Leishmania also control the induction of an immune response. Hence, the researchers intend not only to directly destroy parasites in these cells, but also to determine whether the treatment brings long-lasting protective immunity against reinfection.

Dr Millington and Dr McConnell are both Research Councils UK Fellows with the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. Dr Millington said: "The Leishmania parasite is hugely damaging and one of its worst features is that it manipulates the immune system to prolong its survival. This means there's an urgent need for new drugs to control the diseases it creates, and protect against infection.

"There has been a great deal of research into the development of vaccines but it has had only limited success in preventing infection. Our aim is to work towards creating immunity with new and improved imaging systems to find, target and kill Leishmania parasites in a way which is less invasive and less time-consuming than current methods. We also hope to investigate the possibility of extending it to the treatment of other diseases.

"The multi-disciplinary nature of the work reflects the ethos of the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, where biological, pharmaceutical, chemical and physical scientists work together with the common goal of discovering and developing treatments for the biggest health challenges of the 21st century. The Institute's new building, for which funds are currently being raised, will enable better, swifter and more efficient delivery of these treatments for patients around the world."

“The winners of these grants show the bold thinking we need to tackle some of the world’s greatest health challenges,” said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program. “I’m excited about their ideas and look forward to seeing some of these exploratory projects turn into life-saving breakthroughs.”

The Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences is currently the subject of an £8 million fundraising campaign for a £36 million new building to expand and enhance its work in developing new medicines for diseases including cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases and schizophrenia.

University of Strathclyde and Associates: Top Universities

The evolution of the University of Strathclyde is complex. It began in 1796 when John Anderson, Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow University, left in his will instructions for 'a place of useful learning', a university open to everyone, regardless of gender or class. His vision was realised and Anderson's University opened its first premises in High Street, Glasgow, in late 1796. It moved to George Street and developed rapidly throughout the nineteenth century. By the 1890s, Anderson's University had become a major technological institution with a wide reputation for research and learning.

Since its foundations over 200 years ago, the University has evolved and expanded, while remaining true to the vision of its founder - to be a place of useful learning for all.

The University of Strathclyde was founded in Scotland as a place of useful learning, to make higher education available to all, and to combine excellence with relevance. In fulfilling this mission in today's world it will Contribute to the advancement of the knowledge society, to social cohesion and to the quality of life in Scotland, and in the wider national and global community;Generate, through excellence in research and scholarship, new ideas, knowledge and skills to create opportunities for individuals and society; Provide high-quality education to all of its students, regardless of background, inspiring them to develop to the full their abilities, and creating outstanding professional and creative people; Offer the opportunities for all staff to develop their full potential, and contribute fully to the achievement of the University's Vision.

Our aim is to convey to our graduates notonly a high level of professional knowledge, but also the ability to think innovatively andcreatively, and to be capable of becoming the entrepreneurs of the next generation. For this we need dedicated staff – which we have in abundance – and improved facilities, including more teaching clusters such as the recently-opened Crawfurd Complex at Jordanhill which is proving to be an enormous success. From this vanguard position we are continuing to develop a unique interactive IT-based teaching environment across both campuses. Our learning and teaching strategy encourages diversity. We believe that a student population drawn from a range of backgrounds, nationalities and ethnic groups enriches the learning experience of all students. We are promoting opportunities for wider access to higher education by building more effective progression routes from further to higher education, and through our commitment to the GOALS initiative (Greater Opportunity of Access and Learning with Schools), a partnership of the West of Scotland universities and schools which inspires pupils to be successful. There are also major changes taking place in Europe, particularly through the Bologna agreement. We have the opportunity to be at the forefront of these through our membership and current chairmanship of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU), a group of like-minded universities to our own. This group has been developing joint Masters’ programmes that will allow students to study at more than one European centre.

Strathclyde University and Associates is a great place to study and enjoy life at the same time. And this is where you can find out everything about us - from how we teach, to what's on in Glasgow and how to get around. We want to help you make the most of your time here, so we hope you'll come back to these pages to get all the latest news about what's happening on campus and in and around the city.