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Data-Driven Public Diplomacy: A Critical And Reflexive Assessment, Hamilton Bean, Edward Comor

FIMS Publications

This essay presents a critical and reflexive assessment of contemporary efforts

to innovate the measurement and evaluation of public diplomacy. Analyzing a

recent and pivotal report called “Data-Driven Public Diplomacy,” it explains

how the institutional and ideological residue of the Cold War underwrites

these initiatives in the context of American activities in its contemporary “War

on Terror.” Inspired by Marx’s concept of the fetish—n under-represented

conceptual approach to public diplomacy research—he authors critique

the thinking of public diplomacy scholars and officials, arguing that both an

omnipresent past and a powerful form of technological fetishism are discernible

in the “Data-Driven Public …

Technology Transfer And Innovation Policy At Canadian Universities: Opportunities And Social Costs, Samuel Trosow, Michael B. Mcnally, Laura E. Briggs, Cameron Hoffman, Cassandra D. Ball, Adam Jacobs, Bridget Moran

FIMS Publications

This report, supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Knowledge Synthesis Grant, critically examines the role of universities in transmitting knowledge in the forms of technology transfer mechanisms, intellectual property agreements and other knowledge diffusion policies. In reviewing and synthesizing the recent literature on the topic, we seek to provide some initial evidence-based policy recommendations in order to generally strengthen Canada‘s innovation ecosystem and more specifically to maximize the return on the nation‘s investment in higher education research and development.

Open Textbooks And Provincial Government Policy: A Look At The Issues, Lisa Di Valentino

FIMS Publications

In 2012, the British Columbia government announced a plan to fund a program that will result in the creation of open access textbooks for 40 lower-year university courses — the first such program in any of the provinces. This paper will argue that Ontario should follow British Columbia’s lead and invest in the development of a project to create and promote the use of open textbooks. The introduction will discuss the concept of open textbooks and the various initiatives and legislation that have been introduced in the United States, and British Columbia’s plan will be described in more detail. The …