battle of ideas 2007 battle of ideas 2007

Recommended readings for The Battle for Innovation

 

 

What is innovation for?

 

  • The traditional role of R&D labs and 'boffins in academic institutes' is being challenged by a new breed of customer innovators: Rise of the Creative Consumer  The Economist 10 March 2005
  • With its emphasis on 'local, ethnic cultures, crafts, aesthetics and intermediate technologies', James Woudhuysen challenges the Western consensus on design and development in the Third World: Take Design Advantage Design INDABA Magazine 2005
  • 'Where you innovate, how you innovate, and what you innovate are design problems.' Tim Brown argues the role for design in business strategy: Strategy by Design  Fast Company June 2005

 

Further readings: 

 

  • 'More than ever, research will play a key role in improving the economy and health care, tackling crime and protecting our environment.' Drummond Bone makes a case for an increase in research funding: We Have the Research Brains - But Not the Funding Brawn Guardian 11 July 2006  
  • Jeff Howe takes an anecdotal look at the emergence of consumer, or user generated sites such as MySpace or Wikipedia: The Rise of Crowdsourcing Wired Magazine 06 June 2006
  • Jeremy Myerson's book features forty-five case studies of new office designs that meet the challenges posed by recent technological, organisational, and economic changes: The 21st Century Office Laurence King Publishing 2005
  • Bruce Stewart talks to Norman Lewis about internet telephony: ETel Keynotes: An Interview with Norman Lewis oreillynet.com 16 December 2005
  • 'The mania for innovation, or at least for endlessly repeating the word "innovation," is just the latest in a long line of fads that have swept the business world for years.' Michael Beirut offers a sceptic's account of the contemporary meaning of innovation: Innovation is the New Black Design Observer weblog 20 November 2005
  • Observing regional variations in rates of innovation, Marion Frenz & Christine Oughton conclude that increased political intervention is the solution: Innovation in the UK Regions and Devolved Administrations: A Review of the Literature Department for Trade and Industry 1 January 2005
  • The EPSRC outlines its commitment 'to ensuring that the outcomes of its research investment are well matched to the needs of industry, commerce, the service sector and government, and are exploited for the benefit of the UK': Strategic Plan 2003-2007 Engineering and Physical Science Research Council July 2003 (pdf)
  • The new CEO for Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, Professor Keith Mason, bemoans the previous lack of long term vision when allocating funding: Leading UK Science Frontiers 2006

 

Web resources:

 

 

Reaching for the stars - realising the ambitions of the space age

 

 

Further readings: 

 

  • The Royal Astronomical Society commission reports on the scientific case for human space flights RAS 17 October 2005
  • Tim Hames argues that manned space exploration is too expensive, too risky, and scientifically fruitless: Nasa and its small, sideways step for mankind The Times 08 August 2005
  • A very brief report on China's space program: Lu nar probe to be accomplished in 13 years China View 21 November 2004 
  • Not only would a manned trip to Mars allow for a far quicker, far more flexible response to data collected, but, asserts Dr Robert Zubrin, it presents us with the 'chance to do something heroic, to advance humanity on the frontier':The human explorer The New Atlantis 05 February 2004
  • From the risk of importing bacteria to Mars, to its sheer cost, Dr Robert Park offers a couterpoint to Dr Robert Zubrin's enthusiasm for a manned mission: The virtual astronaut The New Atlantis 05 February 2004
  • With all the talk of 'science, spin offs, and educational dividends,' Jeffrey Kluger is not convinced that NASA, or its political overlords, have the confidence to justify and fulfil a commitment to send a manned mission to Mars: Mission to Mars Time 26 January 2004
  • Duncan Steel and Professor Sir Martin Sweeting debate the merits of sending astronauts to Mars: Strife on Mars Guardian 07 June 2003
  • In an interview conducted by William Speed, Dava Newman, a NASA funded MIT engineer, unites a passion for manned space exploration with technical know-how: The right stuff for the red planet Salon 16 February 2000

Web resources:

 

 

Tomorrow's innovators - will today's science education create the Brunels and Einsteins of tomorrow?

 

  • As a result of redefinition and the dearth of new teachers, Prof Alan Smithers and Dr Pamela Robinson conclude that '(p)hysics in colleges and schools is at risk': Crisis in physics linked to lack of highly qualified teachers University of Buckingham 21 November 2005
  • Cara Bleiman blames the attempt to make science relevant for its failure to capture the imagination of school students: No sex appeal with superstrings? Culture Wars January 2004
  • The new science GCSE tells us more about contemporary notions of risk than it does about the laws of nature, argues David Perks: Dark Forces in the Lab Times Educational Supplement 6 January 2006

 

 

Further Reading:

 

  • Organised and written by Bobby Cerini, Ian Murray, Michael Reiss, this student led report from 2002 showcases the demand for science both to be made more relevant and to include discussion of 'ethical and controversial issues': Planet Science Student Review of the Curriculum, 2002 (pdf)
  • 'Our view is that the form of science education we currently offer to young people is outmoded, and is fundamentally still a preparatory education for our future scientists.' A product of a prestigious seminar in the late '90s, this report makes interesting reading in the current context. Edited by Robin Millar and Jonathan Osborne: Beyond 2000: Science education for the future King’s College London 1998 (pdf)
  • The changes in A Level science have left students ill-equipped for the demands of degree courses, reports Liz Lightfoot: Modular exams 'damaging degree courses' The Daily Telegraph 10 May 2006
  • 'Grasping physics is hard work and not immediately related to the latest MP3 player. However, if teachers hold their nerve and capture their charges’ sense of wonder at unimagined concepts, that’s when real connections occur in the classroom.' Claire Fox challenges the tyranny of relevance: Hey, Miss, this homework just ain't relevant The Times 22 October 2005

 

 

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