Wealth from creativity: Insights and strategies for the future of international cultural relations

Regardless of frontier, the creative community has begun to benefit financially from the democratisation of creative production and distribution opened up via the Internet, a place where planetary plurality and diversity is implicit. Artists are major ambassadors for their cultures operating in a collaborative environment that recognises the distinctive differences between cultures without threat to indigenous expression.

The cultural ecology may have changed but the response of government has been obstructive. Until the second Iraq war cultural diplomacy seemed to have replaced gunboat diplomacy and there was a growing movement to foster cultural relations in an environment being characterised as mutual. In parallel, at national level, governments were seeking to recognise the strong economic value of the cultural industries sector in the new globalised technology. This has now all been thrown into reverse gear by the practice of public diplomacy, a policy of unreformed imperialist hubris that seeks to influence policy in other nations by using domestic producers of intellectual, scientific, creative or economic content to promote selected values and so dominate the international relations agenda.

What if one were to integrate into the activities of international cultural relations the dynamic ways of working and thinking of the creative industries? A more beneficial model emerges if creators are given centre-stage and the values of the creative community applied to the management of international cultural relations. A series of insights borne of many years work in the creative industries could lead to a new set of strategies that would call the bluff of those currently seeking to promote the advantages of liberal democracy. For these strategies demonstrably uphold the rights of individuals to creative expression and to enrich their local economies. This does require the managers of international cultural relations to live more dangerously than at present and it is to them that this paper is addressed.     

The future of SETI: Finite effort or search without end?

For almost 50 years, astronomers have scanned the skies for evidence of an extraterrestrial civilization that has reached or surpassed our level of technological development. In the course of this search, technology has improved dramatically, and additional developments such as larger and more sensitive telescopes and increased computing power will accelerate the search and extend it into new areas. Speculative search strategies that are more firmly rooted in imagination and wish than present-day science may mature with the practical effect of further extending the search space. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), based on passive observation, has been joined by the controversial activity of messaging extraterrestrial intelligence (METI), the use of radio transmissions and space probes to proclaim our place in the universe. Potential “wild cards” that could fundamentally change the nature of the search include government intervention, the fruition of breakthrough technologies, and a confirmed detection. A rigorous search could confirm the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence tomorrow, within the lifetime of many people now alive, or in the distant future. All that is required for its continuation is a small number of scientists who have the skills and equipment to conduct a search that most scientists find credible. Since the search for life beyond Earth is motivated by cultural and psychological as well as scientific considerations, we may expect it to continue into the indefinite future.     

The future of art in postcultural democracy

Has the future of art fallen irredeemably into the grip of the ‘creative industries’ directed by a consortium of public and private cultural entrepreneurs? Is democracy the natural guardian of artistic independence? Or has the cultural policy agenda of neoliberal democracy solidified into a managerial instrumentalization of art geared to the functions of the market and the state? European Cultural Policies: 2015 provides a model introductory text for a discussion of these vital issues in near future forecast. The authors of the report are independent curators operating from dissident research groups whose aim is to challenge the dominant neoliberal model of cultural enterprise and offer viable alternatives to it. This paper examines the report's diagnosis of a symptomatic cultural predicament and its proposals for future recuperation.     

Future of indigenous knowledge research in development

Indigenous knowledge (IK) research should help to militate against top-down development strategies out of touch with diverse cultural values and knowledge, seeking to incorporate an understanding of local socio-cultural contexts within which know-how and practices are set. A major endorsement for IK initiatives in the context of participatory development is that these will likely facilitate more successful interventions. Such research, for example, may inform and better guide scientific understanding and so assist in the formulation of policy in a way that can relate to local realities. Nevertheless, there are many obstacles to its acceptance within mainstream development. Indeed according to some such research has no future, falling out of favour alongside growing critiques of the misappropriation of participatory ideology and methods.In this paper we explore the challenges facing IK research as it continues to seek real alternatives that advance a prominent place for local perspectives. We address the problems of developing and refining methodologies to facilitate more effective realisation of participatory approaches and consider the possible limits of the IK approach when set within current development ideologies, heavily influenced by politically dominant western nations and their changing agendas. In examining these concerns we envisage possible futures for the IK initiative. We highlight that its growth partly depends on the continued promotion of a holistic approach through the advancement of interdisciplinary skills, combining the technical know-how of natural scientists with the cultural empathy of social scientists and facilitating communication and collaboration between all actors. However, bolder steps are required in the future if we are to convince authorities that there are benefits to be gained by giving more opportunity to local communities to determine their own destinies, and to advocate the inclusion of alternative diverse views of development onto the political agenda.     

会计准则趋同对我国企业应对反倾销影响的调查分析

我国企业会计准则与国际财务报告准则的趋同,不仅需要不折不扣地领会贯通,同时需要全球视角下从战略层面上实施创新。基于此,我们设计了三大模块的调查内容,采用电子邮件调查、实地发放纸质问卷调查的形式,就会计准则趋同对我国企业应对反倾销影响进行了调查分析。调查统计结果较为客观地反映了我国企业应对反倾销中对会计准则趋同的认识与实施现状,并为探讨我国企业运用会计准则趋同效应有效地应对国外对华提起的反倾销指控,提升中国企业的国际竞争力,提高会计信息质量,维护我国企业自身的合法权益提供了实证支持。     

Designing the sustainable enterprise

Visions of the future informed by sustainable development couple the long-term survival of humanity with a qualitative improvement in the human experience of life on earth. While the future cannot be designed explicitly, the artifacts that we create today will partially constitute the future that is tomorrow. Design is a way of organizing those artifacts, both human activity systems and technologies, so that they may contribute to an envisioned future. A design science of sustainable enterprise seeks to marry scientific and practitioner knowledge to guide the creation of enterprises (a meso-scale social artifact) that will contribute to a future consistent with the vision of sustainable development. This article addresses the question of what constitutes a sustainable enterprise by examining its essence and its purpose. Through this process two organizing principles of sustainable enterprise are identified. These organizing principles are integrated into a model of sustainable enterprise design, which provides useful insights both for advancing a design science of sustainable enterprise, and for those leaders of enterprise dedicated to making the sustainable enterprise a reality. In so doing, enterprises are positioned to contribute to the co-creation of a future of sustainable human development.     

The two globalizations: notes on a confused dialogue

Globalization is highly controversial, but a major weakness in the global debate concerning its effects is that the word “globalization” itself is used in different ways. For some it is primarily an economic process (Globalization One), and of fairly recent origin. For others, it is a huge evolutionary unfolding (Globalization Two) which has been underway for centuries if not millennia and which involves not only economic but also political, cultural and biological transformations—and not only the processes, but also consciousness of globalization. Most of the current policy debates have to do with Globalization One. Both may be to some degree governable, but neither is reversible.     

Towards democratic governance of uncertainty? Contesting notions of participation,control and accountability

Managing risk in international society has posed a new challenge not only to states and international organisations, but also to experts, scientists and citizens. It has generated a demand for new sets of laws, regulations, instruments and governing bodies to tackle various risks such as natural disasters, economic and financial crises, and unintended consequences of policy reforms. Accordingly, new modes of interactions between states, experts and citizens seem to be emerging across countries and in different high-risk sectors. Little research has been done to illuminate interactive and dynamic aspects of emerging governance and regulatory arrangements and their impact on participation, control and accountability in liberal democracies. This special issue has assembled research papers and commentaries from practitioners and academics which critically examine these themes and explore what future research on the ‘world risk society’ could offer to political science and beyond.     

X-raying Segregation of Duties: Support to illuminate an enterprise's immunity to solo-fraud

This paper presents an application of an automated scientific method to measure the quality of the design of Segregation of Duties, also known as Separation of Duties (SoD). The automated method enables an auditor to map out a body of authorizations and X-ray it on SoD. The body of authorizations is shaped by the so-called enterprise value cycle, or supercycle. The method supports an integral, top–down, diagram-based approach, including all automated and non-automated parts of an enterprise.Input is an enterprise supercycle diagram with authorizations and abilities. Output is an overview of all potential single-employee fraud constructs, also called potential solo-frauds, that are able to undetectably subtract value from the enterprise. As remediation the automated method indicates which authorization restrictions are minimally required to create a SoD in which solo-fraud is impossible.This paper is the first publication of this method in the international scientific Accounting and Auditing community.     

Colour the future green?: The uncertain significance of global green politics

A major value shift in industrialized countries in the same direction as the core values of the Greens movements suggests that there is a cultural phenomenon involving far more people than the overt political manifestation of it. This article links such a value shift with something more fundamental, namely a movement away from confident scientific positivism towards some kind of ill-defined transcendentalism. Related cultural and social movements in the industrialized countries and global attitudes in the developing world are examined. It appears that even if the Greens movements weaken or disappear in their present form, they are political manifestations of a broader cultural thrust that seems unlikely to diminish.     

National television policy: Monitoring structural complexity

International flows of television programmes are a multimillion-dollar industry about which little is known. In the absence of reliable and well-defined data, policy making in this area becomes virtually impossible at either the national or international levels. An algebraic topological language and approach makes it possible to define structures of television programming at various levels of generality useful for both scientific and policy-making purposes. The interrogation of such hierarchical structures, which may incorporate culturally relative but ideologically pertinent values, constitutes monitoring a complex and dynamic system to make well-informed decisions about future directions. With the aid of modern computers, data-management systems, and analytical software it is possible to see international television flows in any degree of detail required.     

The future for technological collaboration

Technological collaboration between firms is argued to be increasing and to be an important element of corporate and technological development. Such collaboration is actively promoted by governments. It is a central element of the ‘techno-globalism’ analysis of future international economic and technology development. There are many reasons for the promotion of collaboration, but its outcomes are mixed. Collaboration may reflect industrial and technological weakness; it has a limited technology focus, rarely appropriate to world problems; its international range is restricted to the global triad; and public policies and corporate strategies may be incongruent. By highlighting the many uncertainties surrounding collaboration, this article questions the techno-globalism analysis, and raises some issues concerning the future of collaboration between firms. It argues that whatever its future, the importance of indigenous capabilities remains critical for nations and for their firms.     

关于国际贸易学发展趋势的若干思考——基于生态文明的视角

基于全球生态文明的视角进行变革,应该成为国际贸易学今后发展的重要方向之一。深入研究这个课题,既具有紧迫的现实意义,又可以支持发展中国家的合理行为,还利于推动我国的经济发展。国际贸易学的这种变革,可以分别从理论、政策和国际环境三个基本方面深入展开。这种变革及其实践还会遭遇众多障碍,因此,它还必须严格依据若干基本思路来加以推进。     

外资进入中国传媒业的动态博弈分析

在传统的外资与产业政策的动态博弈模型中,嵌入文化凝聚力和传媒产品属性等传媒业特征,经过分析可知,在两企业生产差异产品时,国家传媒企业保护政策对国内传媒企业有利,但对外资传媒企业不利;外资吸引政策对国内传媒企业不利,对外资传煤企业有利.因此,我们可以随着传媒市场规模的变化而适当调整相关政策,加强对待煤传播途径的管理,并通过增强民族文化凝聚力来提升国内传媒企业竞争力等.     

金融自由化实践的国际比较

金融自由化对发展中国家是一把"双刃剑",它在为发展中国家带来了好处的同时,也引发了很多负效应.原因在于发展中国家对金融自由化普遍缺乏足够的准备而仓促实施改革,国内金融制度与监管体系不健全,而金融市场过度开放又导致国际短期资本大量涌入.与发展中国家不同的是,发达国家的金融自由化改革却取得了较好的成效.与之相比,发展中国家目前处于两难的选择困境:如果不继续进行自由化,则在国际经济舞台上会更被动;如果进行自由化,却又由于前期的改革失败而无法准确把握好今后的战略措施.对此,发展中国家惟一正确的选择应当是结合国情,坚决地顺着金融自由化的方向走下去,不改革是没有出路的.     

Dialogue and debate in a post-normal practice of science: a reflexion

Scientific activities are always embedded in the cultural matrix that gives purpose to the enterprise, and so we need to develop a rich and meaningful view of social reality. In doing so we realise that we all live different lives, but each of us can broaden our knowledge of the social world through dialogue with others. If scientific questions, which relate directly to society, were researched in a ‘dialogical' manner, ways would be sought to understand the concerned individuals, populations or stakeholders. While never rejecting concern for internal coherence and rigour, science can cope better with future uncertainties, and better solve the problems of those peoples that make up society, by extensively utilising social dialogue.     

National influence on the application of IFRS: Interpretations and accounting estimates by German and British accountants

International comparability of financial statements under IFRS can only be achieved if standards are interpreted and applied consistently across countries. However, the different institutional and cultural environments of various countries in which companies operate and in which individuals make accounting decisions suggest that application of IFRS may differ. Building on previous studies that found evidence for this in the area of explicit options under IFRS, we examine the use of discretion in interpretations and accounting estimates by surveying German and British accountants, asking them to account for identical cases under IFRS. The results of this test provide only some evidence for international differences in accountants' judgments. This suggests that the national environment might be less relevant in those fields of room for maneuver in the application of IFRS. However, we find considerable variability of responses within jurisdictions and therefore further conclude that differences in personal characteristics might be more important than cultural factors.     

If you wanted to know the future of small business what questions would you ask?

Small business is a relatively new economic category, which became politically necessary as economic activity flowed from owner-managed enterprises to managerial corporations. Historically, all business operated at a small scale and were centred on the individual artisan. Even now there are strong cultural affinities to individual enterprise. Over the centuries, business has emerged, legitimised by reflexive social notions of entrepreneurship and fuelled by regulated international free trade, competition, property rights and usury. In the process, society’s view of how this market structure serves the individual is increasingly depersonalised, demanding self-reliance and responsibility of the individual separate from the economic institutions that they work for. In this landscape, small businesses are increasingly important but relatively powerless. Questions concerning their future ultimately focus on the role they play in personal and social relationships.     

我国企业会计改革的回顾与思考

我国企业会计改革历经30年,其中具有标志性的改革措施是1993年公布的会计准则、2001年公布的企业会计制度、2006年公布的企业会计准则。我国企业会计改革的经验有:改革必须与国家经济改革紧密相连;改革必须处理好国际趋同与国家特色的关系;改革必须循序渐进;改革的进程与战术必须顺应实际情况的变化。今后的改革中,需就下列方面进一步做好工作:跟踪国际新变化;关注非上市企业会计规范;研究和制订企业成本核算指导意见;加强和改进对企业的会计监管;加强对改革效果的检验;加强企业会计改革与其他改革的协调。     

提高现代商业银行核心竞争力的思考

现代商业银行提高核心竞争力的前提在于转变思想观念。如何提高核心竞争力,实质上就是如何提高技术创新能力与效率的问题。核心竞争力决定了一个企业的命运,而打造、培育现代商业银行核心竞争力是一项系统工程,也是一项长期而艰巨的任务。