IMaGeS
IN ST IT U T E FO R M ANAGEMENT, G OV ERN AN CE AND SOCIETY
informati managem
information literacy
communication
knowledge management
energy
IMa
research new media
small firms
skills & labour market studies
knowledge transfer entrepreneurship
innovation
conferences
organisation
consumer choice
pu po
ion ent
GeS
graduate school
cultural identity transport policy
marketing
teaching
environment
publishing funded projects accountancy
economics & finance
ublic olicy
public law, human rights & discrimination
librarianship
legal evidence & procedure
CONTENTS I MaGe S int rod uct ion
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Busine ss & Ent e rp rise
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Gove rnance & Society
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I n f ormat ion & Communicat io n
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G rad uat e School
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IMaGeS is dedicated to the enabling of excellence in multidisciplinary research and knowledge exchange addressing the challenges facing enterprise, business development, management and governance within a knowledge society. IMaGeS draws on RAE (Research Assessment Exercise) strengths in: Business & Management Studies; Library & Information Management; Accounting & Finance; Politics & International Studies; and Law. Aspects of this research were recognised as internationally excellent and world leading. Research and knowledge exchange is focused around three key themes and a Graduate School: BUSINESS & ENTERPRISE G OVE R N A N CE & S O C I E T Y I N FO R M AT I O N & CO MMU NI C AT I O N I Ma G e S G R A D U AT E S C H O O L
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Members of IMaGeS come from all three RGU faculties (Aberdeen Business School, Faculty of Health and Social Care and Faculty of Design and Technology). Members publish in scholarly and professional journals, present at conferences and closely engage with knowledge exchange with industry. At the heart of our mission is the drive to develop knowledge and to share this with our students, our academic colleagues, our industries and professions. IMaGeS’ activities are underpinned by the core values of scientific integrity, transparency, fairness, collaboration, openness to ideas, and real social and economic impact. Our focus is on high quality, innovative and sustainable research.
Professor Dorothy Williams Director, IMaGeS d.williams@rgu.ac.uk 3
B US IN E S S & ENTERPRISE
B U S IN E S S & E N T E R PR IS E
MISSION To develop understanding about the nature, processes and practices of Business and Enterprise To undertake research that is useful and informative, and to disseminate the outcomes widely within academia and industry. DISCIPLINES Our research topic areas encompass a range of subjects and this is reflected in our members’ disciplines – entrepreneurship, marketing, organisation studies, economics and accountancy, politics, cross disciplinary environmental studies and the built environment.
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BUS INES S & ENTERPRISE
EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH SFC Skills Utilisation The University’s Centre for International Labour Market Studies (CILMS) and Research Institute for Management, Governance and Society (IMaGeS) was tasked with establishing the relevance and application of ‘skills utilisation’ in the oil and gas industry. We found: • Lack of employee motivation • Deficiencies in leadership and management • Gaps in the skills base • Shortage of core aptitudes (e.g. literacy and numeracy, decisionmaking, communication) • Poor inter-generational skills transfer On this basis, the Scottish Funding Council has agreed to fund two pilot schemes and a further programme of research in relation to the issues identified, in order to investigate the impact which these interventions have on the better use of employees’ skills. This programme of work is ongoing and will report early in 2012. 6
B U S IN E S S & E N T E R PR IS E
Focus on Entrepreneurship research We are now internationally recognised as a centre of excellence in entrepreneurship and small business research. The Centre for Entrepreneurship is linked to and works with others in the Institute and across the university.
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BUS INES S & ENTERPRISE
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 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)
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B U S IN E S S & E N T E R PR IS E
DOCTORAL COMMUNITY Our research is complemented by the work of our thriving community of doctoral students. INCOME STREAMS Examples include: Industry (e.g. FSB, KTPs) Research Councils (e.g. ESRC, AHRC) Government (e.g. SIPR, SFC) Other universities (e.g. Lancaster)
CONTACT Professor Alistair Anderson Business & Enterprise Theme Leader a.r.a nderson@rgu.ac.uk 9
G OV E R N A NC E & S O C IE TY
G OV E R N A N C E & S O C I E T Y
THE MISSION OF THE GOVERNANCE AND SOCIETY THEME IS: • 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
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G OV ER NA NCE & SOCIETY
ENGAGEMENT AND OUTPUTS Typical types of engagement undertaken by members of the Governance and Society theme include: • Externally-funded research projects (funding bodies include the European Union, The British Academy, IAAER, and the NHS) • High level advisory work for organisations such as the Scottish Government and the Scottish Transport Committee • Appointments to external bodies such as the Mental Health Tribunal, NHS ethics committees and the Highlands and Islands Regional Transport Partnership
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G OV E R N A N C E & S O C I E T Y
RAE 2008 • In RAE 2008, Governance and Society members contributed to submissions in Law; Accounting and Finance; and Politics and International studies, with aspects of the work rated as world leading and internationally excellent. CURRENT AREAS OF RESEARCH ACTIVITY (AND DISSEMINATION) INCLUDE: • Care North and e-harbours – two European projects examining practical ways of reducing energy use and CO2 emissions from local transport and port activities, undertaken by researchers from IMaGeS and RGU’s IDEAS Research Institute • Effective Communication with Jurors in the UK – collaboration between researchers in Law and Psychology looking at jurors understanding of evidence and legal process • A Multidimensional Framework for Evaluating and Selecting Bankruptcy Prediction Models – financial research aiming to develop a forecasting model to predict the business failures
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G OV ER NA NCE & SOCIETY
• The UK Government’s legislative ‘war on terror’: legal, social and human rights outcomes – collaborative research between researchers in Sociology and Law • ‘Variated Civil Society: the Brussels offices of the regions’ – a research project in Public Policy funded by the British Academy • Do small town main streets still matter? – multidisciplinary research looking at the relationship between small town main streets and cultural identity • Relatives’ experience of post mortems – a research project featuring researchers from Law and RGU’s Health and Welfare Research Institute, funded by the NHS Endowment Fund • A Global Study for the International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAAER) – a team from Accounting searched for good practice in the development and assessment of non-technical skills in accountancy trainees • Socio-legal studies conference 2012. Major law conference hosted by Governance and Society members
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G OV E R N A N C E & S O C I E T Y
CONTACT Professor David Gray Governance & Society Theme Leader david.gray@rgu.ac.uk
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I N FO R M AT I O N & COM M U NI C AT I O N
I N FO RM ATI O N & CO M M U N IC AT IO N
BACKGROUND The Information & Communication theme brings together expertise and knowledge within RGU across a broad range of related subjects including: • Information literacy • Communication • Knowledge management • New media • Librarianship • Publishing • Information management AIM The aim of the Information & Communication theme is to develop understanding of and solutions to information and communication challenges in society through quality research and practitioner engagement.
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I NFOR M ATION & COMMU N I CATI O N
RAE 2008 In RAE 2008, RGU was the top university in Scotland, and second equal in UK for overall research quality in Library and Information Management. All research within this area (Unit of Assessment 37) was of international quality, with the majority rated as Internationally Excellent or Worldleading. This is based on the 2008 average scores for overall research quality in the subject area. ENGAGEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES Typical types of engagements undertaken by members of the Information & Communication theme include: • Externally-funded research projects (funding bodies include NHS, UNESCO, AHRC, and The European Union) • Technology transfer partnerships (including Amor Group) • Consultancy work with public and private sector clients (including Shell Expro and The United Nations)
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I N FO RM ATI O N & CO M M U N IC AT IO N
These activities also generate the content for new lecture and tutorial material, allowing students at all levels to engage with the most up-to-date work in information and communication. Members undertake a range of additional activities including membership on advisory boards, external auditing and assessment, and speaking engagements.
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I NFOR M ATION & COMMU N I CATI O N
EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH Communication by and within parliaments A programme of research including projects such as: • Election Campaigning on the Internet - the latest in a series of studies examining online campaigning by Scottish political actors. This research focuses on the use of websites and social media by parties and candidates to communicate with the electorate. • The Impact of New Technology on the Communication of Parliamentary Information - case studies of the public information services provided by the UK and Scottish parliaments and Welsh and NI assemblies; and a user study of the public’s information behaviour when using parliamentary websites. • Parliamentary Documentation Centre Customer Knowledge Study – a study on behalf of the European Parliament into the use of information by MEPs, civil servants and parliamentary officials.
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I N FO RM ATI O N & CO M M U N IC AT IO N
Making connections in real world contexts This ongoing programme focuses on the use and value of information in a range of workplace settings. Projects include: • Effective Use of Information within Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) – an investigation of the information challenges faced by SMEs and the importance of information literacy to businesses across a range of sectors. The initial investigation was undertaken with a small group of SMEs in north-east Scotland; a larger survey of SMEs will investigate the challenges for developing more effective use of information across Scotland’s business community. • Effective Use of Information in an Organisational Context - ongoing research into the effective use of information in ‘real world’ decision making in business organisations in a range of sectors, including oil and gas.
CONTACT Dr Simon Burnett Information & Communication Theme Leader s.burnett@rgu.ac.uk 21
G RA DU AT E S C H OO L
G R A DU AT E S C H O O L
The Graduate School offers three doctoral degrees. As well as the traditional Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) we offer two professional doctorates: Doctor of Business Administration (DBA); and Doctor of Information Science (DInfSci) that combine a taught element with practicefocused research. Our research degree student numbers continue to grow year on year as part of our wider research development strategy and we now have over 100 students engaged in doctoral work as part of IMaGeS. As well as undertaking a PGCert in Research Methods as part of their training, our doctoral students can access specialist master classes across Scotland as part of our membership of the Scottish Graduate School, a partnership between 11 Scottish Universities committed to the training and development of social science research students. Our doctoral candidates are engaged in research that spans the social sciences as well as the globe. This body of work brings a richness, diversity and depth to all three of the Research Institute themes. Over the past few years a number of clusters of research students have begun to develop around Entrepreneurship, Oil and Gas, African contexts, Information Literacy and Environmental issues.
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G R ADU ATE SCH OOL
Recent doctoral successes include the following topics: Fostering the Delivery of Wind Power: An Evaluation of the Performance of Policy Instruments in Three European Union Member States Entrepreneurial Networking, Trust Process and Virtual Interactions Scottish Country of Origin: Its Role and Value in the Identities of Scottish Premium/Luxury Brands Economic and Socio Cultural Experiences of Female Entrepreneurs in Brazil and the United States: An Exploratorial and Empirical Analysis CEO and CSR: Business Leaders and Corporate Social Responsibility French and British Corporate Political Strategies in the case of the European Merger Control Regime: National or European? Youth Participation and the Scottish Parliament: Accessibility and participation for Children and Young People Corporate Criminal Liability in the UK: Determining the Appropriate Mechanism of Imputation
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G R A DU AT E S C H O O L
An Analysis of eParticipation in Scottish Local Authorities Europeanisation and the European Security and Defence Policy: The Effects of the Development and Institutionalisation of ESCP on the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK between 1998 and 2006 Bookselling Culture and Consumer Behaviour: Marketing Strategies and Responses in Traditional and Online Environments The Effective Evidence-Based High School Librarian: A Journey to Decision The Dynamics of Upward Communications in Organisations Knowing through Narratives: The Role of Knowledge within the Technological Innovation Process in the UK Upstream Oil and Gas Industry Conceptions of Effective Information Use and Learning in a TeleHealth Organisation: A Phenomenographic Study of Information Literacy and Knowledge Management at Work
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CONTACT Dr Seonaidh McDonald Graduate School Leader s.mcdonald@rgu.ac.uk 26
MaGeS I NST I T UT E FO R M A N AG E M E N T, GOV E R NANC E A N D S O C IE T Y www.rgu.ac.uk/research/images
Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Campus, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen, AB10 7QE, United Kingdom