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11.10

By Terrance Malkinson

Tourism, Progress and Peace, edited by Omar Moufakkir and Ian Kelly, promotes the notion that tourism can be used as a strategy to contribute to world peace  (CAB International, Oxfordshire,  2010, ISBN 978-1-84593-677-8).  Academics from around the world collaborated to compile a body of knowledge that deals specifically with tourism’s potential as an agent for world peace.  The authors, representing peace organizations, governments and universities, contribute their own unique and experienced perspectives on the topic.  Each article offers evidence, examples, and hope for achieving peace through tourism.  Of particular value is the range of international perspectives and case studies that examine the interrelation between peace, conflict resolution and tourism; as well as the role of industry and the individual.   Information provided is a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers and the public interested in alternative new ways of achieving change in the world.

Tourism, Progress and Peace is published by CABI [www.cabi.org], a not-for-profit science-based development and information organization that focuses on improving lives by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.

On a personal note, the best education I ever received was when I spent four summers between university terms traveling by rail throughout Europe on a very limited budget, experiencing other cultures and developing an understanding of the people of other nations.  I continued my international travel in other regions of the world after graduation.  The experiences changed my perspective and were a profound influence on what I value as being important in life.  Having this international experience and perspective proved to be an advantage when applying for employment and for making decisions on the job.  Today more than ever, it is essential for personal and career success, as well as to facilitate world peace, for each of us to develop an understanding of other cultures and their value systems.

Other Bytes

Here are some of the things going on in and around the community:

• Forbes’ 13 September 2010 cover story, compiled by Michael Noer (“How to Create Jobs,” 186(4):62-67, www.forbes.com), proposes a number of unorthodox solutions to get Americans back to work — without relying on taxpayer support.  The four alternatives discussed include: paying employees a fixed share of corporate revenue; facilitating entrepreneurship; giving immigrant entrepreneurs incentives to hire American workers; and scrapping the minimum wage.

• Jeff Kehoe interviews John Kotter, the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School and a graduate of MIT and Harvard, about his recent book co-authored by Lorne Whitehead,  Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down  (ISBN 978-1-4221-5729-9, Harvard Press, 2010). In “How to Save Good Ideas” (Harvard Business Review, 88(10):129-132, October 2010, www.hbr.org), the authors explore simple ways to fight off attackers to ensure that your best initiatives succeed. 

• Mercer [www.mercer.com], founded in the United States in 1937, is a global provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services with more than 25,000 clients worldwide. They are a world leader in helping organizations leverage the power of their people to achieve peak company performance.  In “Cultivating Top Talent at Mercer”  (Training & Development,  64(9):44-4, September 2010, www.astd.org/TD), Deb Wheelock discusses two recent developments at Mercer that are helping the company identify leaders, as well as the company’s multi-tiered leadership program that helps to develop leaders from within Mercer’s ranks.

• Many companies are adopting sophisticated methods of analyzing employee data to increase their competitive advantage.  In “Competing on Talent Analytics” (Harvard Business Review, 88(10):52-58, October 2010), Thomas Davenport, Jeanne Harris and Jeremy Shapiro discuss six key ways that leading companies track, analyze and use human resources data to leverage attract, and retain the best talent.

• Jason Meyers reviews the Princeton Review's annual ranking of undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship programs in “Best in Class” (Entrepreneur, 38(10): 103-108, ).  Survey data from more than 2,000 institutions informed the comprehensive ranking of the top 25 undergraduate and 25 graduate programs, and Meyers discusses the methodology used to gather and analyze the data. As stated in the articles introduction: “The education of an entrepreneur may begin in the classroom, but it's often the educational environment that determines how well-rounded a program truly is — and what it can help entrepreneurial-minded students achieve.”

Terrance Malkinson is a communications specialist, business analyst and futurist. He is Vice-Chair of the IEEE-USA Communications Committee, an international correspondent for IEEE-USA Today's Engineer , editor-in-chief of IEEE-USA Today's Engineer Digest, associate editor for IEEE Canadian Review, and a member of the editorial advisory board of IEEE The Institute.  He was an elected Senator of the University of Calgary and an elected Governor of the IEEE Engineering Management Society as well as an elected Administrative Committee member of the IEEE Professional Communication Society. He has been the editor of several IEEE conference proceedings, and past editor of IEEE Engineering Management. He is the author of more than 400 publications, and is an accomplished triathlete. His career path includes being an accomplished technical supervisor and medical researcher at the University of Calgary a business proposal manager for the General Electric Company, an associate for Sears Canada Inc. and research administrator with the School of Health and Public Safety/Applied Research and Innovation Services at SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary Canada.

The author is grateful to the professional support of the Haskayne School of Business Library at the University of Calgary. He can be reached at todaysengineer@ieee.org.