Review of: Whitehouse, R. 1993 Underground Religion: cult and culture in prehistoric Italy. Accordia Specialist Studies on Italy 1. London, University of London.

Malone , C., . Antiquity, 1993. 67(256): p. 686-7.

Structural Capital of University Spin-Out Firms: The Moderating Role of University Incubators

University incubators (UI) are generally believed to be important in the successful commercialisation of university spin-outs (USO) with over half of all UK Universities having established an on-campus UI. In this chapter we examine the value of UIs in the spin-out process, focusing on the structural networks of USOs located in a UI as compared to USOs in a University with no access to a UI. Our primary research question is therefore: to what extent does the structural network of USOs with access to an on-campus UI differ from USOs without? The research therefore con-tributes to a growing critique of the effectiveness of UIs in commercialis-ing academic research and the recognition of positive direct and indirect externalities from participation in networks. Through network mapping of all USOs from two research intensive universities, we profile and ana-lyse the formal and informal network ties of USOs to various partners in-ternal and external to the host university. Through interviews we also consider how these networks enhance the resources and capabilities of USOs. Our findings highlight significant differences, with USOs located in a UI having more informal but fewer formal ties, both to other USOs as well as within the host University. In contrast, location in an incuba-tor was not found to affect the extent and nature of ties with external or-ganisations. Reasons for these differences are examined through inter-views with the USOs and point to various factors including the proactive brokering role of incubator and university staff, university bureaucracy, the hidden networks of executive board members across USOs, university equity investment policy and complementary technologies.

The changing university business model: a stakeholder perspective

Universities are in a current state of transition, whereby they are expected to develop a wide range of relationships with stakeholders in order to enhance regional innovation systems. However, despite external environmental pressures commonly regarded as one of the main drivers of business model evolution, there is a lack of studies that explore business model innovation as a result of multiple stakeholder influences. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to examine the changing university business model within a region of the United Kingdom, using a stakeholder perspective that will aid theoretical development and refinement in both the business model and stakeholder fields. This examination is aided by consideration of the university business model as an activity system. Repeat interviews, combined with stakeholder theory, have been used to show how the changing university business model–stakeholder relationship has progressed through different stakeholder stages with resultant changes in content, structure and governance. Furthermore, conflicting objectives between each of the stakeholder groups (i.e. academics, industry liaison staff, technology transfer office staff and government support agency representatives) have led to the university business model evolving not as a process of co-creation but rather in a series of transitions whereby multiple stakeholders are continually shaping the university business model through strategies that are dependent upon their salience. Finally, this paper contributes to the development and refinement of business model innovation research, in that the use of stakeholder constructs can illustrate the impact of multiple stakeholders' power and influence on business model innovation.

Dialogicality in university classroom talk

University classroom talk is a collaborative struggle to make meaning. Taking the perspectival nature of interaction as central, this paper presents an investigation of the genre of spoken academic discourse and in particular the types of activities which are orientated to the goal of collaborative ideas or tasks, such as seminars, tutorials, workshops. The purpose of the investigation was to identify examples of dialogicality through an examination of stance-taking. The data used in this study is a spoken corpus of academic English created from recordings of a range of subject discipline classrooms at a UK university. A frequency-based approach to recurrent word sequences (lexical bundles) was used to identify signals of epistemic and attitudinal stance and to initiate an exploration of the features of elaboration. Findings of quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal some similarities and differences between this study and those of US based classroom contexts in relation to the use and frequency of lexical bundles. Findings also highlight the process that elaboration plays in grounding perspectives and negotiating alignment of interactants. Elaboration seems to afford the space for the enactment of student stance in relation to the tutor embodiment of discipline knowledge.