Philanthropy today? Philanthropy tomorrow? Seminar question

On 12th and 13th October, the University of St Andrews is hosting an ESRC-funded seminar in Lower College Hall, St Andrews. The topic is ‘Philanthropy today? Philanthropy tomorrow? Reflecting on contemporary philanthropy and the opportunities and challenges ahead’.

The seminar follows events at Trinity College Dublin, Cass Business School City University London, University of Nottingham and the University of Strathclyde (further information on these is available at http://www.philanthropy.scot/philanthropy-to-the-rescue/).

On the 12th of October, we will explore foundations, international insights and the relationship between philanthropy and universities; on the 13th, collaborative, engaged and community philanthropy are the themes of the day. We have got some very senior national and international experts coming, including:

12th October

Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919)
Photo credit: Univeristy of St Andrews

• Yunus Sola, Director, Academy of Philanthropy and Board Member of the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists 
• Rupert Count Strachwitz, Director, Maecenata Institute, Germany
• Diana Leat, Visiting Professor, Cass Business School and the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies 
• Jenny Harrow, Co-Director, Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy, Cass Business School, City University 
• Robert Fleming, Commissioner, Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Commission for Philanthropy 
• Robert Dufton, Director of Campaigns, Sheffield University and former Director Paul Hamlyn Foundation 

13th October

• Susan Wilkinson Maposa, Author of ‘The Poor Philanthropist: how and why the poor help each other’, South Africa 
• Marie-Luise Stoll Steffan, Co-chair, Community Foundations Working Group and Regional Coordinator, Association of Community Foundations, Berlin 
• Giles Ruck, Chief Executive, Foundation Scotland 
• Barry Knight, Adviser, Global Fund for Community Foundations 
• Caroline Broadhurst, Deputy Chief Executive, The Rank Foundation 
• Beth Breeze, Director, Centre for Philanthropy, University of Kent 

The event is free and attendance at both or either of the days is possible.


The full programme is available at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/philanthropy-today-philanthropy-tomorrow-tickets-27529400177

Please contact Dr Tobias Jung, Director, The Centre for the Study of Philanthropy & Public Good, if you have any questions.  

Service sector employer prejudice to visible tattoos

As the prevalence of tattoos in Western societies has increased over the past decade, how does this affect hiring in the service sector? Research conducted by Dr Andrew Timming of the School of Management explored attitudes of hiring managers in the service sector towards visible body art, tattoos that are not easily concealed, such as on the hands, neck and face.  

In general, both hiring managers and the visibly tattooed respondents agreed that visible tattoos tend to be viewed negatively and can be a roadblock to employment. However, it was found that not all tattoos are equal and that factors such as the industry, the proximity to customers, the placement of the tattoo, and the tattoo subject are important. In some industries tattoos can be seen as an advantage, depending on the demographic of customers that the organisation is aiming to reach, such as retail assistants in trendy shops or prison guards. In other service organisations, recruiters were less prejudiced the further the distance between the tattooed applicant and the customers, but this often depended on the content of the tattoo. If a tattoo is deemed as offensive, then access to the labour market was further impaired. [Visible tattoos in the service sector: a new challenge to recruitment and selection, DOI: 10.1177/0950017014528402]

Increasing ‘The Vital 6 Percent’: Designing Effective Public Policy to Support High Growth Firms

A report by Dr Ross Brown of the School of Management and researchers at the universities of Glasgow and Stirling shows that there is a mismatch between the nature of high-growth firms and the policies in both Westminster and Holyrood which have been developed to support them. High-growth firms tend in fact to be well-established firms from traditional business sectors. The UK’s growth-orientated firms tend to be in the consumer-orientated or service industries rather than R&D intensive sectors. The report suggests that entrepreneurship and small business policy could be better formulated away from the provision of risk capital funding and R&D grants to more emphasis on peer-to-peer support and specialised advice. The authors of the report call for a major overhaul of enterprise support to generate more high growth firms. [press release]

The report, Increasing ‘the Vital 6%’: Designing Public Policy to Support High Growth Firms, is published by NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts)

5 University of St Andrews RSE Young Academy members announced

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) has announced the second group of RSE Young Academy of Scotland appointments, which consists of 50 new members, including 5 from St Andrews.

• Catherine S J Cazin - School of Chemistry
• Chris S Jones - School of English
• Per Ola Kristensson - School of Computer Science
• Christian Rutz - School of Biology
• Andrew R Timming - School of Management 

The RSE Young Academy of Scotland fosters interdisciplinary activities among emerging leaders from the disciplines of science and humanities, the professions, the arts, business and civil society. Established by the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2011, the Young Academy of Scotland provides a platform for able and innovative young entrepreneurs, professionals and academics to develop a coherent and influential voice, and to address the most challenging issues facing society in Scotland and beyond.

Academy of Social Sciences welcomes new Academicians

The Academy of Social Sciences recently welcomed 63 leading social scientists as new Academicians of the Social Sciences. Among though honoured were Dean or Arts, Professor Nic Beech, and Professor Robert Gray, MBE, both of the School of Management.

Prof. N. Beech

Prof. R. Gray

The Academy is composed of over 700 Individual Academicians and 43 Learned Societies. Academicians are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors. Being an Academician means that a peer group has reviewed the standing and impact of one's work and found it worthy of the conferment of the award of Academician. In order to be considered for the award, a person's life and work must have had contributed to the advancement of social science.

New Generation Thinkers Essay: The Entrepreneur

Philip Roscoe of the School of Management, a winner of the BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Thinkers, was sole contributor on BBC Radio 3 speaking about the myth of the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur is a cultural figure and policy fix, the trope of the lone hero who conquers the world and saves the economy. Steve Jobs epitomised this figure. But how much can one person do, and does the myth of the entrepreneur have dangerous repercussions for the rest of us? Philip examined the changing role of the entrepreneur, arguing that the myths surrounding these men and women are too simplistic, that thinkers from Tolstoy to Schumpeter to Hayek have long debated the role of the entrepreneur and what society can expect them to achieve. [listen to the 15 minute iPlayer broadcast]

'New Generation Thinker' winner

Dr Philip Roscoe, of the School of Management, has been chosen by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council as one of the new generation’s thinkers and communicators. Dr Roscoe is one of 10 early career academics chosen from 1,000 applicants in an X-Factor-style talent search that dealt with specialist subjects which ranged from the history of fan mail to the significance of the desert in modern culture. He is looking at how economics shapes the moral landscape in everyday settings, including internet dating, an industry he called "social engineering on a massive scale". All 10 winners can be heard on BBC’s Night Waves and will appear in special New Generation Thinkers debates. [More]

8 REF St Andrews Sub-Panel members announced

The recent announcement of REF 2014 sub-panel members included eight members from the University of St Andrews. 

• Panel A, Sub-panel 4: Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
  Professor Verity Brown
• Panel B, Sub-panel 8: Chemistry
  Professor David O'Hagan
• Panel C, Sub-panel 18: Economics and Econometrics
  Professor Alan Sutherland
  Panel C, Sub-panel 19: Business and Management Studies
  Professor Jan Bebbington
  Panel C, Sub-panel 21: Politics and International Studies
  Professor Richard English
• Panel D, Sub-panel 30: History
  Professor Andrew Pettegree
  Panel D, Sub-panel 32: Philosophy
  Professor Katherine Hawley
  Panel D, Sub-panel 34: Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
  Professor Brendan Cassidy
  

During 2011, the teams will work on developing the criteria and working methods specific to each panel. The full lists can be found on the HEFCE REF 2014 website.