Impact case studies

There was quite a reaction when the world’s most famous investor, Warren Buffett, announced last November that he had accumulated in excess of $10bn in IBM stock – enough for a five per cent stake in the company.

Buffett has traditionally shunned the high-tech sector, instead favouring the more predictable earnings derived from less glamorous industrial companies. His long-standing argument was that he simply didn’t know enough about the technology sector to profit from it.

So what does he know about it now? Professor Simon Mosey, of Nottingham University Business School, examines the farsighted motives behind the Sage of Omaha’s seminal move into the high-tech and sustainable sectors.

Britain’s energy policies are in increasing danger of being paralysed by a growing “sense of drift”, the chairman of an influential commission has warned.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath said the UK might risk being unable to deal with “formidable challenges” if it fails to decide upon a clear direction in the near future.

He was speaking at a debate organised by the University of Birmingham’s Policy Commission on Nuclear Energy, which is due to publish its findings later this year.

It has been suggested in some academic quarters that Chinese consumerism will replace its US counterpart as the engine of global economic growth by as early as 2014.

Dr Robert Hoffmann, of Nottingham University Business School’s International Centre for Behavioural Business Research, sheds new light on the likely role that China’s consumers will play in not only powering but shaping the global economy – and to what extent patriotism might influence their choices.

The dramatic events that unfolded at the Fukushima nuclear power plant after the Japanese tsunami of March 11 last year are commonly referred to as “the Fukushima disaster”.

Professor Martin Freer, Director of the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Nuclear Education and Research, argues that the first anniversary of the tragedy provides an opportunity to reflect on the nuclear power debate and to start couching the broader discussion in language that will help develop well-balanced judgments rather then further entrench long-held biases.

The NHS in Scotland has developed arguably the most ambitious labour-management partnership so far attempted in the UK public sector. More than that, it continues to make it work.

A full and independent assessment of its effectiveness is contained in the final version of a major Nottingham University Business School report that highlights the factors vital to sustaining a system consistently able to devise and deliver policies and initiatives, drive organisational change and formulate and implement appropriate workforce strategies.

Dr Peter Samuel, the report’s author, reflects on a philosophy that appears to raise serious questions about its rival ethos south of the border.

The Fall and Rise of the Local Brew
Bulletin Academic case study demonstrating impact we created for the University of Nottingham Business School

PROMETHEUS case study for the University of Exeter

Impact case study for the University of Exeter
The new engine of bioimaging innovation: how CARS microscopy can drive R&D across industry

Impact case study for the Institute of International and European Affairs
Greenprint for a nationwide retrofit: transforming the energy efficiency of 1.2 million Irish homes

Impact case study for the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies
From East to West: achieving bilingual media coverage for China academics