creative industry

TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

BY SHILLA FLORA .M. BAPRM 42669 (7^th July)

Creative industries refer to a range of economic activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. Creative industries comprises of various things like music, radio, television, films, publishing, art, architecture etc. Creative industries are seen to have become increasingly important for the economic well being, proponents suggesting that human creativity is the ultimate economic resource.

The industries of the 21st century will depend on the generation of knowledge through creativity and innovation.

The Creative Industries are regarded as one of the most promising fields of economic activity in highly developed economies, having a great potential to contribute to wealth and job creation. Their activities rest upon individual creativity, skill and talent, i.e. factors of production for which high-income countries have a comparative advantage. In contrast to most other industries, their main output is intellectual property rather than material goods or immediately consumed services. Demand for such immaterial output, which is often tailored to the specific requirements and preferences of individual users, is likely to increase with growing per-capita income. Being a cross-sectional industry which serves a large number of other sectors as well as public organizations and consumers, the creative industries profit from a diversified mix of customers and may stimulate growth in a variety of other sectors by providing creative inputs.

Besides the contribution to growth and employment, another key interest in research and policy making is the role of the Creative Industries for an economy’s innovation performance.

We assume that this role is twofold. On the one hand, the Creative Industries may develop and introduce innovations as part of their business activities, thus directly contributing to an economy’s innovative output. Such innovations include new products and services offered to their customers (product innovation) as well as new technologies, procedures and routines within their business that raise efficiency or quality of their output (process innovation). An example for product innovation may be a new marketing approach offered by an advertising company which has not been used by this company before. On the other hand, the Creative

Industries support innovation in other industries through creative inputs. These inputs can either be downstream, i.e. creativity produced in the Creative Industries is used by customers in their innovative efforts, or upstream, i.e. the Creative Industries demand innovative inputs from their suppliers (e.g. technology producers). Creative inputs need not necessarily coincide with the Creative Industries’ own product innovations but may also relate to standard (i.e. non-innovative) activities of creative enterprises.

Creative industries are those companies or organizations which produce or use knowledge and also included are those which use advanced scientific knowledge.

For example media, arts and design organizations and universities. The term creative industries also overlap with cultural industries and media industries. These include advertising, television, radio, newspapers, internet publishing, magazines, book publishing, film and theatres. These have attracted the attention of the government in developed societies because of the earnings that they generate.

Technology can bring about changes in creative industries. The change is in the form of “digital convergence”, which can be of three types: technological convergence (a shift in patterns of ownership of media, such as film, television, music and games), media convergence (allowing users to consume different media at the same time using a single personal computer) and access convergence (all production and distribution Of media and services are being reengineered to work on a distributed network platform; i.e., everything is becoming available or doable on the Internet)

Digitization creates a number of new possibilities for distribution. With digital formats, reproduction is free of degradation and incurs no extra cost per item. This opens up the possibilities for infinite expansion of markets and reduces or eliminates the need to warehouse or store products. In a digital age, however, it is potentially possible for producers and consumers to be in direct contact, thereby bypassing the control of the gatekeepers of the distribution system, which are economically powerful.

BY HUGHO DEORATIUS

Cyberterrorism is the act of Internet terrorism in terrorist activities, including acts of deliberate, large-scale disruption of computer networks, especially of personal computers attached to the Internet, by the means of tools such ascomputer viruses.

Cyberterrorism is a controversial term. Some authors choose a very narrow definition, relating to deployments, by known terrorist organizations, of disruption attacks against information systems for the primary purpose of creating alarm and panic. By this narrow definition, it is difficult to identify any instances of cyberterrorism.

Cyberterrorism can be also defined as the intentional use of computer, networks, and public internet to cause destruction and harm for personal objectives.^[1] Objectives may be political or ideological since this can be seen as a form of terrorism.^[2]

There is much concern from government and media sources about potential damages that could be caused by cyberterrorism, and this has prompted official responses from government agencies.

Several minor incidents of cyberterrorism have been documented.

Main article: Definitions of terrorism

There is debate over the basic definition of the scope of cyberterrorism. There is variation in qualification by motivation, targets, methods, and centrality of computer use in the act. Depending on context, cyberterrorism may overlap considerably with cybercrime, cyberwar or ordinary terrorism.^[3] Eugene Kaspersky, founder ofKaspersky Lab, now feels that "cyberterrorism" is a more accurate term than "cyberwar." He states that "with today's attacks, you are clueless about who did it or when they will strike again. It's not cyber-war, but cyberterrorism."^[4] He also equates large-scale cyber weapons, such as the Flame Virus and NetTraveler Viruswhich his company discovered, to biological weapons, claiming that in an interconnected world, they have the potential to be equally destructive.^[4][5]

If cyberterrorism is treated similarly to traditional terrorism, then it only includes attacks that threaten property or lives, and can be defined as the leveraging of a target's computers and information, particularly via the Internet, to cause physical, real-world harm or severe disruption of infrastructure.

There are some who say that cyberterrorism does not exist and is really a matter of hacking or information warfare.^[6] They disagree with labelling it terrorism because of the unlikelihood of the creation of fear, significant physical harm, or death in a population using electronic means, considering current attack and protective technologies.

If a strict definition is assumed, then there have been no or almost no identifiable incidents of cyberterrorism, although there has been much public concern.

However, there is an old saying that death or loss of property are the side products of terrorism, the main purpose of such incidents is to create terror in peoples mind. If any incident in the cyber world can create terror, it may be called a Cyber-terrorism.

Why is networking important?

Why is networking important?

It's simple: knowing the right people can get you places that you might not reach otherwise.

Of all the areas where networking can help you, the most important are probably getting new business, finding a job, and having relationships with key people who can help you out in ways you can't predict yet.

Networking opens up new opportunities for you, TheLadders.com's Rothenberg says. Particularly in the case of job-hunting especially in this extremely competitive market, networking can be the difference between scoring a job and not.

Ultimately, it's all about the relationships: the ones you can build through networking are invaluable. As Misner puts it, "when times are tough, a client will leave you, but a friend won't."

ü  Be visible

You won't be able to network if you're not visible. If people don't know who you are, you can't start building those important relationships.

Many small business owners are so focused on the day-to-day of their business that they forget about actively networking, Misner comments.

"Be visible. Networking is a contact sport! You have to get out and connect with people," he says.

ü  Build solid relationships

"Trust is key to networking," says Misner.

You have to cultivate real, deep relationships with your contacts before you can ask them for a favor or expect them to send you business.

"It takes time for people to have confidence in you and have a relationship with you --you have to invest in them," he continues.

One of Misner's favorite acronyms is "VCP," which stands for:

Visibility: "They know who you are and what you do."

Credibility: "They know who you are and what you do, and they know that you're good at it.

Profitability: "They trust you enough that they're willing to do business with you."

How do you develop these networking relationships? You approach your professional contacts as you would any other relationship, Misner says. "You have to sit down and learn about the individual."

Try connecting with them on a level other than business -- people bond over overlapping areas of interest, no matter what they are.

When you start to care about one another, you've developed a solid professional contact.

3. Diversify

Having a diverse network is just as important as having a large network. 

If you only know people who are like you -- i.e. in your industry or social group -- "your network becomes insular," says Misner.

But when your network is diverse, you're more likely to know "connectors," or those who can put you in touch with people you never would have met otherwise. And those people will be able to help you in different, better ways

BY MWORIA ANGELA
BAPRM 42642

4 Major e-Government Advantages for City Mayors By Basil Mbuna

4 Major e-Government Advantages for City Mayors  By   Basil  Mbuna

Mayors are facing many challenges today. Although their basic mission is to achieve high citizen satisfaction, budgetary constraints and increasingly tight legislation put mayors up against the wall. In this context, the virtualisation of local municipal services is in the strategic agenda of city halls. This article aims to highlight the benefits coming from the dematerialisation of public services.

Reduced Costs

Given the fact that IT projects are usually associated with heavy financial investment, the return on investment of an e-government solution might be questioned. The technology of “cloud computing”, however, enables the online accommodation of almost all paperwork in online platforms, specifically configured and organised around your way of working. By utilising the advantages of innovative cloud solutions, governments can realise substantial savings from the previously needed expensive IT infrastructure and its related high maintenance costs.

High Operational Efficiency

In an increasingly competitive environment, the mere reduction of costs is inadequate – it is being efficient that counts. The effectiveness of government is measured by the quality of its interactions with citizens.

Although the processing of paperwork is a difficult task which consumes a lot of resources, time spent on paperwork does not create much value for citizens. This issue becomes even more relevant when we consider the fact that citizens are demanding more from public services. In this context, the virtualisation of administrative procedures is of particular importance to governments.

By the establishment of a centralised point of communication, public administrations can support citizens during the different stages of life.

Easy and Quick Implementation

Along with its benefits in terms of cost and efficiency, the implementation of cloud-based e-government services is easy and quick. Digitising paperwork has never been as simple and intuitive – after registering for a cloud service, you can customise the look of your portal and access all needed services out-of-the box. In addition, cloud services’ design and navigation are centred on the user of the platform, so that end user adoption is maximised.

High Level of Security

The previously discussed benefits could not be relevant, if cloud technology had security weaknesses. This is why special efforts are invested to ensure the reliability and availability of cloud solutions. Providers of cloud services have won users’ trust by complying with international data protection and privacy standards. The sophistication of authentication methods nowadays is able to reassure even the most demanding users.

In conclusion, it is worth mentioning one of the main challenges, faced by the public sector today: Users are so accustomed to the flexibility and speed of action of private sector services, that governments can no longer afford to ignore citizen demands.

To meet the recurring criticism about the inefficiencies of public administrations, governments can provide citizens with a single point of access, centralising public services and paperwork.

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By    
          Basil  Mbuna

Factors Which Influence the Growth of Creative Industrie by SHILA FLORA M

Factors Which Influence the Growth of Creative Industries:

 by SHILA FLORA M

With the more and more important roles of creative economy, its research has become one of the major fields in economic development. The creative economy has the potential to generate income and jobs while promoting social inclusion, cultural diversity and human development. As a developing country, China is also in need of developing the creative economy to adjust the economic structure and realize the sustainable development. In this paper, we examined the factors which influence the growth of creative industries in China through the cross-section analysis of 23 regional data in 2007. Four main factors were examined in this multi-regression model, that is, GDP per capita, the number of higher education institutions, the number of students enrolled in higher education institution and the number of patents.

The statistical analysis found that the model's fit is quite good and 69% of dependent variable (the ratio of value-added of creative industries to the GDP) is explained by the model. Specifically, there are three sub-conclusions.

 Firstly, there is not a positive relationship between GDP per capita and dependent variable; on the contrary, there is a weak negative relationship in this model. We infer that it is because of the stage of economic development. China heavily depends on the development of the second industry in the process of industrializing.

Secondly, there is no linear relationship, in this model, between the number of higher education institutions and the dependent variable. We infer that it is mainly due to the differences between the higher education institutions, such as scales and qualities, etc.

Thirdly, there is enough evidence to conclude that the number of students enrolled in higher education institution and the dependent variable are linearly related; the number of patents and the ratio of creative industries are linearly related, as well. They represent the important roles of talents and technology in the development of creative industries.

Role of Event Management in Corporate Communication By Basil Mbuna

Role of Event Management in Corporate Communication    By  Basil  Mbuna

Event Managers or Corporate Communicators

The question as to whether the corporate communications team in organizations has to take on the additional responsibility of organizing events has to be answered in the wider context of the organizations size and the budget that it allocates for this purpose. Though many multinationals spend lavishly on event management and hire professionals for the purpose, in recent years, the budgets for hosting events (both professional and fun) events has been slashed in many companies because of the recession. The other factor that is at play (no pun intended) here is that many corporate communication professionals often have degrees in mass communication and have background in advertising. This helps them to fulfill the role of event managers for which they are hired by many mid size and smaller companies. Further, in multinationals it is common for event management professionals to be part of the corporate communications function because these companies have the latitude to spend more.

Role of Corporate Communications Team in Event Management

As can be seen from the discussion above, the line between event management and corporate communications is often blurred in smaller companies where the corporate communications team has to handle events of smaller scale. For instance, the various Town Hall meetings and other sessions need both the place and the logistics to be arranged. This entails booking an auditorium or a hall and ordering for food and refreshments apart from arranging transport to and from the venue. All these activities are typically handled by event management companies in larger companies that have budgets for the same. As we discuss below, multinationals have dedicated event management teams within the corporate communications function. However, for many smaller companies, they need to make do with the corporate communications team handling the events themselves.

Some Real World Examples

Companies like Oracle, IBM, and Fidelity have full time event management teams within the corporate communication function. This is because these multinationals organize events periodically and with great frequency. Hence, there is a need for a dedicated event management team within the corporate communications function. Of course, this is not to say that these teams do not take the help of external professionals in organizing the event. Just that depending on the scale of the event, the in-house event management teams handle the show for smaller events and for events of great magnitude, they outsource the function to professional event management teams. For instance, whenever the CEO or the President has to address the employees and whenever the annual day is celebrated, the scale of the event is such that professional event management is required. For other events, the in-house event management teams can get the job done.

Closing Thoughts

If you have ever attended an event organized by a multinational or even large cap companies like Infosys, you would be surprised by the degree of professionalism that is displayed. This is partly due to the evolution of these companies into world-class entities and partly due to the fact that these companies are under media glare most of the time and hence, they cannot afford to slip up when they interact with the external world. Even in-house events are often choreographed and managed by professionals, which shows the extent to which event management has become synonymous with corporate communications.

By

             Basil  Mbuna