This book asks some hard questions about our changing world, and examines the policy opportunities that need to be grasped if we are to foster sustainable social foundations for the 21st century.

Creativity is one of mankind’s principal resources. Can this resource be harnessed to accelerate India’s transition from traditionalism to modernity and widespread poverty to decent living standards for all? Can India’s creative efflorescence be directed towards designing a society that facilitates well-being, boosts cultural evolution and raises the bar for exhilaration through creative achievement? Is it possible to socially engineer a society that throbs with questions, novel perspectives and relevant innovations? Can it lead to a society where millions question the status quo and join hands to work out innovative solutions – in short, a creative society? This book is an affirmative response to these questions. Creative Society is an intellectually stimulating analysis of factors that trigger the emergence of a truly creative and innovative society; it explores the nature of human creativity – how it can be augmented and the social contexts that shape it; discusses ways of making institutions such as the government, educational bodies and other civil society organizations more creativity-friendly; offers an assessment of India’s prospective emergence as a highly vibrant, dynamic and creative society; and finally, offers several practical suggestions for India’s creative efflorescence.

Today, telecommunication systems are expanding and evolving at a remarkable rate, with the aid of fiber optics, satellites and comput erized switchboard systems. Airline systems are providing faster and more efficient networks for world-wide human transportation. Com puters are now generally accessible to virtually all industries and many households. But perhaps the most important factor is that education systems are expanding the knowledge base for city populations, thus resulting in increased efficiency in the use of computers, telecommuni cations and rapid transportation systems. The revolutionary age of logistical networks is upon lIS. Logistical networks are those systems which facilitate the movement of knowl edge, commodities, money, and people in association with thE; produc tion or consumption of goods and services. Logistical networks form a set of important infrastructure which serve as hard and soft means to sustain all kinds of movement, transactions and diffusion within and between global networks of cities. Major structural changes in the re gional and urban economy, culture and institutions are triggered by slow but steady changes in global logistical systems.

This book integrates the basic theories (GST and Parson’s AGIL framework), applying them to the components of social systems, state-run and business firms. China’s development experience offers a valuable case study that can provide readers deeper insights into this comparatively young discipline, and into China. Though the discipline of systems engineering and its application to hardware engineering system are well established, social systems engineering is an emerging discipline still being explored. This book may be the first English-language publication on this promising subject.

The creative university is a new concept that has a number of competing conceptions emphasizing digital teaching, learning and research infrastructures, the paradigm of intellectual property, creative social development and academic entrepreneurship. Not only does the concept include the fostering and critique of creative content industries and new forms of distance and online education but more fundamentally it refers to a reassessment of neoliberal strategies to build the knowledge economy. The economic aspect of creativity refers to the production of new ideas, aesthetic forms, scholarship, original works of art and cultural products, as well as scientific inventions and technological innovations. It embraces open source communication as well as commercial intellectual property. All of this positions education at the center of the economy/ creativity nexus. But are education systems, institutions, assumptions and habits positioned and able so as to seize the opportunities and meet the challenges? This book uses different contexts to explore these vital issues.

This book explores some of the opportunities and risks - economic, social and technological - that decision-makers will have to address, and outlines what needs to be done to foster society's capacity to manage its future more flexibly and with broader participation of its citizens.

Creative industries in China provides a fresh account of China’s emerging commercial cultural sector. The author shows how developments in Chinese art, design and media industries are reflected in policy, in market activity, and grassroots participation. Never has the attraction of being a media producer, an artist, or a designer in China been so enticing. National and regional governments offer financial incentives; consumption of cultural goods and services have increased; creative workers from Europe, North America and Asia are moving to Chinese cities; culture is increasingly positioned as a pillar industry. But what does this mean for our understanding of Chinese society? Can culture be industrialised following the low-cost model of China’s manufacturing economy. Is the national government really committed to social liberalisation? This engaging book is a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in social change in China. It draws on leading Chinese scholarship together with insights from global media studies, economic geography and cultural studies.

Examines the nation's emerging ranks of professional experts - including doctors, lawyers, scientists and administrators - and their role in shaping modern America.

Illustrates how the production of knowledge has become central to economic life, and that competitiveness in the 21st century market place is characterized by the ability to translate scientific and technological knowledge into innovation. This book explains what we actually mean by the term 'knowledge'.

This book explores the impact of education and learning on our societies and lives and examines what countries are doing to provide education and training to support people throughout their lives.