RGU IMaGeS Research Topic Posters

BU SI NESS & ENTER PR IS E

G OV ER NA NC E & S OCIETY

I NF O R MATION & COMMUN ICATION

BUSI N E S S & E N TE RP RISE G R A D U AT E SCH O OL

DISCIPLINES Politics Marketing Organisation Studies Economics and Accountancy Entrepreneurship Cross disciplinaryEnvironmental studies and the built environment PEOPLE Politics Prof Justin Greenwood Marketing Prof Bill Donaldson Ahmed Beloucif Neil Connon Andrew Turnbull

Economics and Accountancy Prof Charlie Weir Bob Gammie Prof Alex Russell Ahmed Farooq

OUTPUTS Scholarly Journal Articles

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

Entrepreneurship Alistair Anderson Rob Smith David Gibbons Wood Heather Fulford Environments-Cross disciplinary Prof Peter Strachan Seonaidh McDonald David Moore

Conference Proceedings

CLUSTERS OF EXPERTISE Sustainability

Organisation Studies Robert Halsall Mary Brown Rosalind Rae Mohamed Abdel-Wahib Eddie Ochieng Stephen Vertigans

IMaGeS

Accountability and Responsibility

The Environment

Markets and Enterprise

INSTITUTE FOR MANAGEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIETY RESEARCH www.rgu.ac.uk/research/research-institutes/institute-for-managementgovernance-and-society-research

BU SI NESS & ENTER PR IS E

G OV ER NA NC E & S OCIETY

I NF O R MATION & COMMUN ICATION

INFO RMAT I ON & COM MUNIC ATION G R A D U AT E SCH O OL

AIM

RAE 2008

• To develop understanding of and solutions to information and communication challenges in society through quality research and practitioner engagement.

• Top university in Scotland and second equal in UK for overall research quality in Library and Information Management.

• All research of international quality.

• Majority rated as Internationally Excellent or World-leading.

EXAMPLES OF OUR ACTI VITY

• ‘Riding the Rapids’ research, examining how oil and gas industry leaders sustain their businesses through the recession.

• ‘SMEs’ effective use of information in business’, part of the Business Skills for Growth project.

• Research into the use of the Internet by political parties and candidates in Scotland during parliamentary election campaigns.

• Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the Amor Group established the IM Energy Forum to help UK oil and gas information management specialists shape information management strategy and transform current operations.

• Information: Interactions and Impact (i3) biennial, international conference, bringing together academic and practitioner researchers.

IMaGeS

INSTITUTE FOR MANAGEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIETY RESEARCH www.rgu.ac.uk/research/research-institutes/institute-for-managementgovernance-and-society-research

BU SI NESS & ENTER PR IS E

G OV ER NA NC E & S OCIETY

I NF O R MATION & COMMUN ICATION

GOVE RN AN C E & S OC I ETY G R A D U AT E SCH O OL

Governance and Society Theme ‘mission’ • To explore the interfaces between governance and society (at local, national and international scales)...

• ...by carrying out international class – multi- and interdisciplinary – research...

• ...for the benefit of societies, economies and individuals Disciplines contributing to Governance & Society include • Law • Politics and Public Policy • Accounting and Finance • Sociology • Psychology • Transport Policy

Current and emerging areas research and dissemination activity • Care North and E Harbors – two European projects examining practical ways of reducing CO2 emissions from local transport and port activities • Socio-legal studies conference 2012. Major law conference being hosted by Governance and Society members • ‘Do small town main streets still matter?’ – Multidisciplinary research looking at the relationship between small town main streets and cultural identity (see poster about research) • Effective Communication with Jurors in the UK collaboration between law and psychology looking at jurors understanding of evidence and legal process • Ageism and the financial crises – multidisciplinary research examining whether ageism increases during a period of economic downturn and whether it really all is the Baby Boomers fault • The UK Government’s legislative ‘war on terror’: legal, social and human rights outcomes - collaborative research between law and sociology

IMaGeS

• A Multidimensional Framework for Evaluating and Selecting Bankruptcy Prediction Models - research to develop a forecasting model to predict the business failures

INSTITUTE FOR MANAGEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND SOCIETY RESEARCH www.rgu.ac.uk/research/research-institutes/institute-for-managementgovernance-and-society-research

G OV ER NA NC E & S OC I ET Y

T HE ‘MAIN STREET’ IN KIR KWA LL: A PILOT STUDY In July 2010, IMaGeS members, in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen, conducted a pilot study which investigated the role of the ‘main street’ (i.e. Bridge Street, Albert Street, Broad Street and Victoria Street) in sustaining cultural identity, community, and a sense of place in Kirkwall, and in Orkney more widely.

With the assistance of the Orkney Library & Archive we mounted a week-long photographic exhibition in the foyer of Kirkwall Library.

This exhibition consisted of old and contemporary photos of the main street, together with a number of ‘merged’ images which combined old and current main street scenes. The exhibition was viewed by around 150 people, who were asked about the importance of the main street to their own lives. Extended interviews and discussion groups with Orkney residents also took place, as well as some participant observation which examined and mapped how people use and move through the main street.

A number of themes emerged from this research, most notably that the ‘character’ of the main street is perceived to have ‘changed’ in recent years. Suggested reasons for this change include the influence of incomers, an increased tourist trade, the opening of edge-of-town supermarkets, and the closure of the local Woolworths store.

Despite these changes, the main street is still regarded as an important place for serendipitous meetings with acquaintances and for the exchange of information and news; as well as an important civic space and venue for local cultural and social events, such as the Ba’ street rugby game. Participants also highlighted iconic features of the Kirkwall main street, including St. Magnus Cathedral.

Opinions on the traffic situation on the Kirkwall main street, where people and vehicles share narrow spaces, were decidedly mixed: while many residents feel that the street should be pedestrianised, others believe that the close proximity of car and pedestrian is itself an integral part of the ‘character’ and ‘culture’ of Kirkwall.

Following this successful pilot, the researchers now aim to attract funding which will allow more extensive, comparative studies to take place in other small Scottish towns.

IMaGeS

I N FOR M AT I ON & COM M UNICAT ION

E LECT ION C AMPAIGNING ON T HE INTERNET During the 2010 UK General Election campaign we investigated the use of the Internet by political parties and candidates in Scotland. This was the latest in a series of studies examining online campaigning by Scottish political actors.

The use of audiovisual features, particularly video clips, was more prevalent. However, information in alternative languages and formats was lacking; and website content was not always updated during the campaign.

RESPONSE RATE Response rate of parties Reponse rate of candidates

80

PERCENTAGE

The study found that party and candidate websites were now being used more extensively for income generation and for the recruitment of members and volunteers.

100

Overall response rate

60

40

20

0 2003

2007

2010

YEAR

Responsiveness to email enquiries: comparison between 2003, 2007 and 2010 studies

Parties and candidates appeared keen to be seen embracing new social media tools, such as Facebook and Twitter.

There was a general reluctance to encourage online contact with the electorate, or to enter into any kind of visible online debate.

Parties and candidates were also increasingly unwilling to respond fully to contentious and ‘difficult’ policy questions, with 56% of the researchers’ queries being ignored completely.

However, social media were used primarily for the one-way provision of information, rather than two-way discussion and interaction with voters.

IMaGeS

B U S I N ES S & EN T ER P R I S E

FOCUS ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP RESEARCH We are now internationally recognised as a centre of excellence in entrepreneurship and small business research.

Core team of 3 in the Centre for Entrepreneurship but linked to and work with several others in the Institute and across the university.

NATIONAL LINKS AND COLLABORATIONS (EXAMPLES) • • • •

University of Aberdeen- joint research University of Dundee- leadership, policing and teaching Lancaster University – joint research projects, funding Southampton University- joint projects

INTERNATIONAL LINKS AND COLLABORATIONS (EXAMPLES) • • • •

Sorbonne Paris- joint conferences Aarhus, Denmark- PhD collaborations and joint research Sousse, Tunisia- PhD collaborations and joint research University of Grenada, Spain- PhD collaborations and joint research

Themes of the entrepreneurship conference held at RGU in collaboration with the Sorbonne

OUTPUTS • Scholarly publications (40+ in the last 2 years) • Keynotes, invited speeches and workshops (20+ in the last 2 years) • Editing and reviewing of scholarly work. (The “best” European journal on entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, is based here) PhD AND DBA STUDENTS 5 entrepreneurship related doctoral thesis have been recently completed. A further 10 are in process.

Income streams • Industry, (e.g. the FSB- £200k) • Other Universities (e.g. Lancaster- £13k) • Research grants (various)

IMaGeS