NEMODE is moving!

As of today (04/02/2012), NEMODE is moving to a new platform, http://www.nemode.ac.uk. This version of the site will remain active at https://nemodenetwork.wordpress.com, until (01/03/2012) but http://www.nemode.net will redirect you to the new platform. We hope that you like the changes that we have made and look forward to your involvement in discussions and future events!

-The NEMODE web team

Deadline extension- Pilot Studies: Platforms as New Economic Models in the Digital Economy

The Call for Pilot Studies: Platforms as New Economic Models in the Digital Economy deadline has been extended to 18 January, 2013. More information can be found here :Research Call (Platforms)

British Academy of Management Workshop on Future Technology/Smartness Imaginings

On  6th February 2013 there will be a workshop on Strategic Visions and Future Business Models: Exploring Future Technology, Smartness, Creative Science Prototyping and Consumer Technological Landscapes.

The workshop will be hosted by the new SIG (Special Interest Group) in Strategy, which was launched at the BAM conference in September 2012, and held at BAM’s London office. There are a number of excellent speakers including representing diverse interdisciplinary perspectives from leading international scholars and practitioners as well as opportunities to discuss future research funding applications, special issues and journal articles.

Please note, this event is only available to BAM members. For more information and to register, go to the BAM event page or contact Miriam Karim in the BAM Office on +44(0)2073837770, or at mkarim@bam.ac.uk.

3D printing may be reaching highstreet soon as 3D ‘Photobooth’ opens in Tokyo

It may only be a temporary pop-up shop and a bit of a novelty at the moment, but branding agency, Party, has shown that there is potential in 3D printing technology for consumer markets. While not quick (the process involves a 15-minute scan with a handheld scanner, during which the subject must stay completely still), nor completely accurate (the scanner cannot yet detect fluffy fabrics, small detailed patterns or shiny materials, nor can it read small accessories such as earrings, glasses or bags) it does show the technology has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. It isn’t cheap either, starting at £160 for a 10cm version, rising to £320 for the 20cm model. To see examples of their products, visit the Omote3D website. (Site in Japanese)

From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2012/nov/23/print-yourself-3d-photo-booth

The rise of the Datavores

According to a recent research study conducted by Hasan Bakhshi and Juan Mateos-Garcia from NESTA, as much as 90% of the data that exists today has been produced in the last two years.

The Internet has a lot to do with that. Innovative businesses are exploiting this new resource to improve their operational efficiency, productivity and consumer satisfaction.

Are UK businesses making the most of this opportunity?

Their report, titled the Rise of the Datavores, addresses this question with data from a survey of 500 UK companies with more than 50 employees and are active online. We examine how these companies are collecting, analysing and using online customer data to make better decisions, and some of the benefits from doing this.

3K Open Call

Reviewing dates: 1st February, 1st June, 1st September and 1st of December 2013

Applicants are invited to apply for a small research funding from the RCUK Digital Economy Theme (DE) NEMODE network. Research proposals must address topics which are relevant to the digital economy (e.g. case studies on DE, new business models, digital marketplaces, value constellations, etc) and will last no longer than 3 months in duration.

Please see the following documents for further details:

3K Open call

Research placements open call

Closing date: 17:00 on 1^st April 2013

Applicants are invited to apply for funding for research placements from the RCUK Digital Economy Theme (DE) NEMODE Network+.
These placements are targeted at PhD students or junior research fellows eligible for funding under the RCUK scheme and must take place in commercial or government entities in the UK and overseas(e.g. industry, academia, research centres, public bodies, NGOs).
Proposals for placements must address topics which are relevant to the digital economy and will last no longer than 3 months in duration for placements in UK and 6 months for placements overseas. For exceptional proposals for international placements we are prepared to discuss longer term funding.

Please see the following documents for further details:

Open Call for research placements

Call for Pilot Studies. Data-driven Economic Models in the Digital Economy

Closing date: 17:00 on 28^th January 2013

Applicants are invited to apply for a short-term pilot study funding from the RCUK Digital Economy Theme (DE) NEMODE Network+. It is anticipated that a single pilot study will be selected, to last for no longer than 6 months in duration and is designed to further develop theoretical insights around Data-driven new economic models in the Digital Economy.

Please see the following documents for further details:

Research Call on Data Driven Economies

Call for Pilot Studies. Platforms as New Economic Models in the Digital Economy

Closing date: 17:00 on 11^th January 2013

Applicants are invited to apply for a short-term pilot study funding from the RCUK Digital Economy Theme (DE) NEMODE Network+. It is anticipated that a single pilot study will be selected, to last for no longer than 6 months in duration and is designed to further develop theoretical insights around platforms as new economic models in the Digital Economy.

Please see the following documents for further details:

Research Call (Platforms)

Background to the UK Regional Press

The UK regional newspaper pioneers began publishing in the first decade of the eighteenth century; by 1800 there were about 100 titles, all weekly; by 1900 there were about 1300 weeklies, 70 morning papers and 100 evening papers. This was the high-point of the regional press in terms of titles published, but readership continued to increase in the first half of the twentieth century to its peak in the 1950s, when there were approximately 25 morning papers, 75 evenings and 1200 weeklies, selling a total of 22.5 million copies per issue (Royal Commission 1947, Hobbs 2012).

Though there has always been some churn, the total number of newspaper remained relatively stable at around 1300 in total until 2007, which was also the year that:

•  telecoms watchdog Ofcom  announced that half of UK households had access to broadband and that effective competition was driving up speeds
• the UK start feeling the affects of  what was to become known as the Global Financial Crisis, which is thought to have been triggered by the US  housing crisis of 2006.
• Apple launches the iPhone (released in June 2007 in the US, November in the UK),  the pioneer of what is to become known as  smartphones.

The following year, leading industry analyst Clare Enders pointed out that 10-15 regional and local newspaper titles were closing each week and predicted that a third of all UK regional newspapers would have folded by 2013 (Oliver 2008).

As 2012 draws to an end, her predictions may appear to have been overly pessimistic.  More than 240 titles have shut and 70 new titles have  been launched over the past five year (Oakley 2012).

As such, in  2012 there are 79 daily regional titles and 1,083 weeklies (Newspaper Society 2012; the distinction between morning and evening titles has disappeared as most evening titles have switched to overnight printing to save costs);. Though the total decline has been around 15 per cent, dailies have been most affected with the total number dropping by 20 per cent as titles, such as the Liverpool Daily Post and Birmingham Post, move to weekly publishing.  This is a trend that many see continuing (Oakley 2012, Highfield 2012).