新經濟學與台灣戴明圈: The New Economics and A Taiwanese Deming Circle

「華人戴明學院」是戴明哲學的學習共同體 ，致力於淵博型智識系統的研究、推廣和運用。 The purpose of this blog is to advance the ideas and ideals of W. Edwards Deming.

2009年12月18日 星期五

聖誕快樂 新年快樂 感謝您的造訪 幫助

聖誕快樂 新年快樂 感謝您的造訪 幫助









Bagley / The Salt Lake Tribune / Cagle Cartoons

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2009年12月16日 星期三

台灣戴明圈 130-39

台灣戴明圈



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Japan to End Cherry Blossom Season Forecasts

TOKYO (Agence France-Presse) — Japan’s weather agency said Friday that it would stop forecasting the start of cherry blossom season, an annual headache that has embarrassed forecasters in the past.

The agency has been trying since 1955 to predict when the cherry trees will bloom, a rite that draws millions who picnic under the petals. In 2007, the chief weatherman was forced to bow in apology after a wrong forecast. The agency will continue observing cherry trees to declare the official opening of the flower season, an official said.



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電子紙創辦人：電子書需提供更好體驗 【18:05】

〔中央社〕電子紙E-Ink創辦人Barrett Comiskey今天表示，電子書市場未來仍有極大成長空間，台灣業者欲掌握商機，不只是發展硬體功能，更重要是提供讀者良好的使用體驗。

Comiskey今天出席「兩岸網路產業暨電子書國際研討會」，以「Why Amazon works?」為題，分析亞馬遜推出電子閱讀器Kindle的成功案例。他說，Kindle使用方式簡易，加上數位內容豐富，是亞馬遜成功之道。

他於會後接受媒體專訪時提到，未來電子紙的趨勢會朝彩色版發展，且應會朝整合型功能發展，將有點類似邦諾書店 (Barnes & Nobel)前陣子推出的電子閱讀器nook。

他解釋，彩色電子紙目前成本仍過高，但技術上，反應速度稍慢，對於想用彩色電子紙觀看影音的使用者來說，不符需求，因此他認為，彩色電子紙仍需時日醞釀。

不過他強調，台灣電子書業者不該只追求硬體設備升級，而更應專注在提升使用者體驗，例如，如何讓讀者能在手機、閱讀器、電腦等不同平台上閱讀同一份內容，也就是跨平台的整合，將是台灣業者的重要發展方向。

亞馬遜目前在電子書產業扮演主導角色，當問及未來是否大者恆大時，Comiskey表示，電子書市場才剛起步，成長空間還很大，未來競爭態勢還未定，若有業者能掌握版權管理、內容提供等優勢，絕對會嶄露頭角。



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a little problem, a small problem

按下看大圖
漫畫來源: Ted Goff


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独居高齢者の割合、３０年には倍増１５％
意思?

　国立社会保障・人口問題研究所は１８日、都道府県別の世帯数将来推計を発表した。２０３０年の世帯総数に占める６５歳以上の高齢者独り暮らし世帯の割合は、最も高い鹿児島県で１９・５％となる。

　全国平均は、０５年の７・９％が１４・７％に上昇し、ほぼ７世帯に１世帯が高齢者単独世帯となる。

　高齢者単独世帯の割合が３０年に高いのは、鹿児島のほか、高知（１９・０％）、和歌山（同）、宮崎（１８・１％）、山口（１８・０％）などの各 県。０５年に５％台の滋賀、埼玉、茨城の各県でも、３０年に滋賀が１１・６％、埼玉が１３・４％、茨城が１３・１％などとなり、１割を超える。



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JUSE 會員專用
講演録 クオリティのひろば

ひろば

ひろば 1 【広場】 人などが多く集まれるように広くなっている公共の場所。

◆アクセント ： ひろば


2002年起的月刊目錄 quality management




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  • 工商時報社論－「國民所得統計五年修正」評析2009-12-20

　行政院主計處日前完成「國民所得統計五年修正」，除了循例依工商普查資料進行修訂外，也依國際規範調整國民所得統計的對外交易帳編算方式，並且追溯修正至民國41年，調整規模之大為歷年之最。主計處本次的努力與辛勞值得肯定，但由於歷年GDP經此大修的結果出現了若干不合理之處，我們願提供一些意見以供有關主管單位參考。

　國民所得統計所編算的國內生產毛額（GDP）是衡量一國經濟最重要的指標，由於這項統計含蓋了各生產部門的產值，也包括了國內消費、投資需求與對外貿易走勢，因此各國如今經濟成長率都是建立在GDP的基礎上；另外政府債務是否過多、儲蓄是否過當、投資是否適度，也大抵是以GDP做為衡量基礎。因此GDP的變化可謂牽一髮而動全身，影響至鉅。

　正因為GDP如此重要，各國政府編製過程均極其審慎，我國負責編製的行政院主計處亦然。除了每年完成初步統計外，每隔5年還會依工商普查 的資料加以修正，期使GDP這項數據能更接近經濟實況，而歷次5年修正的結果，大抵如此。惟本次5年修正與往年不同，不僅循例依工商普查資料修訂，為與國 際接軌，同時修正央行產值衡量方式、調整服務業歸類方式，並依據央行最新的國際收支帳回溯修正至民國41年。這一修正的結果，造成若干年代的經濟成長率出 現重大變化。

　例如民國77年經濟繁榮的年代，經建會當年編製的景氣燈號亮了9顆代表擴張的綠燈及3顆代表景氣轉熱的黃紅燈，股市一路由年初的 2,600點升至秋季已逾8,000點，原編的經濟成長率8.04％頗與當年的繁榮情景相吻合；但經本次5年修正後，卻大幅下修至5.57％。在那個經濟 成長動輒出現7％、8％的年代，5.57％的經濟成長與當年的繁榮景象，實在極不相稱。

　再如，民國79年台灣這一年的經濟相當低迷，台股從年初萬點跌至當年10月已不到3,000點，經建會的景氣燈號亮出2顆代表衰退的藍燈 及8顆代表有衰退之虞的黃藍燈。原編經濟成長率5.70％頗符合當年情境，但經本次修正後竟上修至6.87％。在這個月月藍燈（黃藍燈）的年代，經濟成長 率竟如此之高，實在很難令人信服。

　我們再以經建會所認定的景氣循環加以核對，也發現本次修正與第7次循環頗有扞格之處。第7次循環自74年8月起進入擴張期，高峰落在78 年5月，如今GDP經5年修正後卻出現77年已然回落谷底；另外第7次循環自78年5月開始進入收縮期，直到79年8月才止跌，但本次修正後的經濟成長率 在79年高達6.87％，與跌入谷底的實況明顯出現極大落差。

　我們瞭解主計處本次力求與國際編算方式接軌的努力，但是國民所得統計的內部因子並非各自獨立，而是彼此相依。當進口大幅成長時，通常意味 著民間投資特別暢旺，因為有大批機械自海外輸入；當民間消費升高，其實也經常意味著服務輸入的同步成長。由此可知，當回溯修正了近50年的對外交易帳，這 其實也意味著民間消費、民間投資必須跟著調整才能彼此呼應。若僅單單修正對外收支帳而未同步調整民間消費、民間投資，如此所修正出來的GDP雖追求與國際 接軌，但難免因國情的差異而出現無法預料的風險與誤差。民國77年、79年的經濟成長率所以出現不合理之處，這應是原因之一。

　依國民所得統計原理，GDP不論由支出面、生產面或所得面衡量，皆應呈現三面均等，但多數國家不論支出面或生產面所能獲取的資訊皆不甚完整，因此向來皆由支出面與生產面的資料相互稽核而得。透過雙面推計的好處是可以使編製出來的GDP更為客觀，但本次5年修正已決定未來GDP將依支出面進行編算，無需力求雙面均等，我們擔心在失去生產面的稽核下，GDP的編算風險必增。雖然部分國家確實僅依支出面編算GDP，但是各國統計資源不盡相同，以台灣歷年來的農、工、商業統計資源之豐富而言，以生產面來稽核支出面，當有助於提升GDP的精確度。

　要言之，編製單位本次五年修正的努力，我們願意給予正面評價，但由於這次的編算結果撼動了過去50年的數據，改寫了景氣循環的週期，這些 問題仍有待相關單位再行研議解決之道。我們同時也要再次呼籲執政當局必須給予政府統計編算機構更多奧援，才能讓國家統計品質一年比一年更好。



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"...the main contribution of Individual Psychology...having the right understanding of the importance of cooperation.The science of life, the meaning of life, always demands cooperation...."
Adler speaks : the lectures of Alfred Adlerp.8
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歲末 多鼓吹您捐獻
譬如說 捐錢公視 多做事

Dear WQXR Listener,

In 2009, WQXR was transformed from a commercial station to a listener supported, public radio station. Classical music on New York City’s airwaves has been preserved so that WQXR will continue to thrive in 2010 and beyond with the support of our listeners.

As you reflect on 2009, and what WQXR means to you consider this: the gift you make today will help keep classical music on the air in New York in 2010.



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中国排斥私人网页是最严厉步骤

陳雲林來台 示威只有10萬 (?)

中國央視記者妙言
陳雲林來台 示威只有10萬 (?) 相較台灣2千多萬人 為少數
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附近的教堂的主題: "和好"

reconciliation, newlywed


rec·on·cil·i·a·tion (rĕk'ən-sĭl'ē-ā'shən) pronunciation
n.━━ n. 調停; 和解; 調和; あきらめ.
  1. The act of reconciling.
  2. The condition of being reconciled.
  3. See penance (sense 2).

[Middle English reconsiliacion, from Old French reconciliation, from Latin reconciliātiō, reconciliātiōn-, from reconciliātus, past participle of reconciliāre, to reconcile. See reconcile.]

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2009年12月13日 星期日

台灣戴明圈 120-29

台灣戴明圈


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參考這Drucker之會

Drucker Society of Mt. Vernon
New advocacy organization promotes corporate and government social responsibility.

By Gerald A. Fill
Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Mt. Vernon resident John Romanin, a local businessman, believes that America needs to teach its youth about the importance of ethics and responsibility and, in so doing, develop a new generation of leaders who will close the "responsibility gap" that exists today in government and business. He proposes to do this by exposing high school students and others in Northern Virginia and elsewhere to the writings, philosophy, and concepts of corporate social responsibility and management espoused by the late Peter Drucker.

Romanin formed the Drucker Society of Mt. Vernon (DSMV) because "I am gravely concerned about the economic future. Drucker was prescient when many years ago he described a conflict between political belief and social reality if the American people began to seriously question our free enterprise system. The propensity of present day leaders to resort to quick fixes is creating unimaginable problems for our children.
"The Drucker Society of Mt. Vernon will focus programs that address what we refer to as the ‘responsibility gap;’ the growing distance between our obligations to be effective managers and ethical leaders and our actions. We will focus significant energy and the resources of our volunteers on the ‘Drucker in the High Schools’ program to do whatever we can to develop solid, effective leaders for our future." Plans are to kick off the first DSMV event this coming spring.
Drucker, author, management consultant, teacher, business "guru," and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, is viewed by many as conceiving, through his writings and 39 published books ("Concept of the Corporation," "The End of Economic Man") the basis for responsible organized management as practiced in a number of corporations throughout the U.S. and the world.

The Drucker Institute, located at Claremont Graduate College where the late author taught, acts as a hub for a global network of what now numbers 26 Drucker Societies (including in China and Korea) that are trying to influence people to apply Drucker principles to everyday problems encountered in government and business.
Romanin listed the following present day disciples of the Drucker philosophy: Eric Schmidt, current CEO, Google; Jack Welch, former CEO, General Electric, and Andrew Grove, former CEO, Intel.


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梁兄

感謝造訪 並饋贈 失意錄 hand to mouth 等書
這本2月前即在誠品大廣告 我過其門而不入

並承告知鄭女士新譯作
數學天方夜譚：撒米爾的奇幻之旅- 貓頭鷹知識網
http://www.owls.tw/post/1/773


1/17 周日邀請的名單 如此mail 之c.c. list 所示
我將上周六我們另外一批人的聚會 給大家參考
我們也可以同樣用power point等分享
如果有人要這樣表演 會設法寄書給他/她
不過你理當作一overview
---
abei (政大哲研) 買了它 知道此書有索引


****

紀念Russell Ackoff(1919-2009)十二月十二日(週六)



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2009英國非戲劇類收視冠軍 紀錄片「生命脈動」
甚麼是生命的意義? 這是人類從古至今喜歡思考、辯論的問題，但是對於人類以外的生物來說，生命的意義就是存活以延續下一代的生命，為了生存必須克服許多艱困的挑戰，許多生物也因此發展出令人驚異的生存技巧。
在「地球脈動」系列推出之後，BBC花了四年的時間，耗資八億，以最優秀的團隊，蒐集到130個動物求生的小故事，組成了「生命脈動」系列，其中每一個小故事都有如活生生的演化理論，在適者生存的考驗下，每一種生物必須發展出一套獨一無二的生存之道；以延續生命。

我們看到非洲的一群猴子為了吃到某一種椰子肉，竟然學會用工具打開堅硬無比的椰子殼，而這種技術也在這群猴子 間代代相傳。草原上的獵豹三兄弟打破獵豹一向獨來獨往的習性，他們學會一起合作打獵，這一個策略也讓他們可以挑戰體型巨大的鴕鳥。面對大陣仗的殺人鯨，南 極的食蟹海豹以他機警的本能繞著一小塊浮冰，以浮冰作為掩護，不讓殺人鯨接近，一場令人屏息的生死追逐戰就在眼前展開。

為了挑戰野生紀錄片的新境界，「生命脈動」花費超過3000天的外景拍攝，動用業界最優秀的野生動物攝 影師，最先進的高畫質攝影機每秒可以捕捉超上千格的畫面，觀眾將看到平常肉眼無法看到的細微動作，我們將首次見識到變色龍捕食射出的舌頭，這一個動作的加 速度比F16戰機還要快五倍，如今我們得以見到這震撼的一瞬間。

「生命脈動」在英國首播之後，立刻登上2009年非戲劇類收視冠軍，媒體一片好評，一家媒體誇讚本片充滿戲劇張力、暴力打鬥和精彩的追逐畫面，簡直媲美007系列電影中，不過這竟是BBC野生紀錄片拍攝的作品，讓觀眾在一個小時的節目中毫不費力地就吸收許多新知識。





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"美國回收80萬劑法國藥廠賽諾菲巴斯德生產的預防H1N1甲型流感(人類豬流感)疫苗，指疫曲的功效較標準低，而香港訂購的疫苗亦來自同一間藥廠。本港衛生署表示，會跟進事件，正聯絡藥廠了解有關情況。"
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杜邦公司的SHE 會喜歡這典子

《中英對照讀新聞》FEMA suggests Christmas gifts for the disaster age 美國聯邦急難管理署推薦因應災變時期的耶誕禮物

◎魏國金

Imagine tearing open that large present under the Christmas tree with your name on it and finding inside... a fire extinguisher. Or a foldable ladder. Or a smoke alarm in that smaller box.

設想拆開聖誕樹下有你名字的大禮物，結果發現裡面是…一個滅火器。或摺疊式梯子。或在小盒內是煙霧警報器。

Those, plus a home disaster kit including food, water and prescription medications for 72 hours, or a first aid certification course are just some of the gifts that the US Federal Emergency Management Agency （FEMA） is suggesting Americans give their loved ones this holiday season.

那些，加上裝有維持72小時所需的食物、水與處方藥品的家庭急難包，或一期的急救證書課程，正是聯邦急難管理署（FEMA） 建議美國人民在此耶誕假期給予所愛的一些禮物。

"Giving a gift of a fire extinguisher might not be the first thing that springs to mind, but for the guy who has everything, it might be perfect," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said.

FEMA署長傅格特說︰「送一個滅火器禮物或許不是心裡閃現的第一個想法，但對於什麼都有的傢伙，它可能很理想。」

FEMA also advised that, in addition to reading "The Night Before Christmas" to the kids, you take the occasion of having the whole family together to "develop a family disaster plan."

FEMA也建議，除了給孩子唸「平安夜」的故事外，你可趁此全家團圓的機會，「擬定家庭災難應變計畫」。

"What we’re saying is that the holidays are the only time families really get together. So it’s the ideal time to talk about a family plan in the event of a disaster," Fugate said.

「我們說的是這個假期是家人真正團聚的唯一時刻。所以是討論家庭災難應變計畫的理想時刻，」傅格特指出。

新聞辭典

disaster kit︰急難包。kit即是工具包、用品箱。比如，a first-aid kit（急救箱）。

spring︰在此有突然閃現之意。例句︰A rude remark sprang to my lips, but I managed not to say it.（一句無禮粗話突然來到我嘴邊，可是我總算沒說出來。）

take（seize）occasion︰趁機。例句︰I take occasion to tell him my work.（我趁機對他談談我的工作。）
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Cf. L. festina lente, make haste slowly; after [Suetonius Augustus xxv. 4.] nihil autem minus perfecto duci quam festinationem temeritatemque convenire arbitratur. crebro itaque illa iactabat: σρɛῦδɛ βραδέως, he [Augustus] thought that haste and rashness were alike unsuited to a well-trained leader. So he often came out with sayings like ‘make haste slowly’ [etc.]; [c 1385 Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde i. 956] He hasteth wel that wisly kan [knows how to] abyde.

Gently make haste. ‥A hundred times consider what you've said.
[1683 Dryden Poems (1958) I. 336]
Make haste slowly.
[1744 B. Franklin Poor Richard's Almanack (Apr.)]
‘Festina lente,’ Miss Dora suggested slyly. ‘Not bad advice,’ Max said cheerfully. At Annie's glare, he added quickly, ‘Make haste slowly.’
[1989 C. G. Hart Little Class on Murder xii.]


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漁務協議 只保障中國漁工

〔記 者陳曉宜／台北報導〕馬政府一再聲稱不開放大陸勞工來台，但國民黨立委侯彩鳳昨天戳破這項謊言。她直言，第四次江陳會簽訂的兩岸漁業勞務合作協議，以及未 來陸委會將開放大陸「專業技術人員」來台，都是變相開放陸勞。尤其開放「專業技術人員」來台，更將成為管制陸勞的大漏洞，未來台灣勞工的飯碗將會被陸勞搶 光光。

工會出身的立委侯彩鳳表示，兩岸漁業勞務合作協議對中國的利益大於對台利益，因為現況是台籍船東僱用較多的大陸漁工，我國籍漁工到大 陸漁船工作的幾乎聞所未聞，所以這個協議從頭到尾就是在保障大陸漁工權益和薪資而已，既是如此，應該是大陸方面積極拿方案來談判，怎麼我國官員如此主動？

一 位熟知內情的藍營人士也表示，上述協議還隱藏一個嚴重問題，即協議內容會要求未來台灣船東僱用大陸漁工，必須透過一個中國半官方的仲介公司，也就是說，未 來台籍船東會被中國仲介公司吃死死，他們不僅可任意喊價調高仲介費，大陸漁工還受薪資保障，台灣一些漁會以為有了協議，雇主可以免除黑白兩道施壓，但其實 最後會被中國仲介綁架，試問，如果兩國間真的達成漁業勞務合作協議，又何必還要透過仲介？

侯彩鳳表示，前陣子宜蘭發現大陸漁工上岸打零工補網，事實上在蘇澳一帶一直有此狀況，但漁業署只會說，兩岸協議不會讓大陸漁工上岸，等到有人上岸搶了台灣臨時工的工作時卻說，「上了岸就是勞委會的事」。政府明知有此問題，卻在這次江陳會幕僚會議中完全將勞委會排除在外。

侯 彩鳳指出，陸委會想以「專業技術人員」為由開放大陸白領階級來台工作，就是變相開放陸勞，就是變相讓中國勞工來台與台灣勞工搶飯碗。其一、大陸的「專業技 術人員」，會搶了台灣「專業技術人員」的飯碗，以桃園航空城為例，物流公司主要聘用的都是白領階級，藍領很少，一旦開放，「國家機場全是大陸人在上班，這 樣好嗎？」

其二，這些所謂的大陸「專業技術人員」，來台後也可能不做白領的事，而跑去做藍領勞工的事，因為不管怎樣，台灣的薪資都比大陸高，最後不也是形同開放陸勞來台嗎？

侯 彩鳳擔憂的說，政府嘴巴說不開放，但總是以各種名目、管道變相開放，以後金融監理合作備忘錄（ＭＯＵ）生效後，還會開放大陸「金融專業經理人」來台，不論 是陸資或台灣的雇主，久而久之，覺得大陸人便宜好用，開放來台的程度及人數就會越來越高，台灣不分白領或藍領勞工的失業率就會不斷升高。



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你正在閱讀這則新聞卻發現自己無法集中注意力嗎？那可能是因為你的大腦每日被超過10萬字疲勞轟炸所致。

英國「每日郵報」（Daily Mail）報導，一項最新研究顯示，一位成人平均每日聽到或讀到10萬5000字。而且這個「每日」指的是工作以外的清醒時刻，所以真正的字數當然更高出許多。

研究者鮑恩（Roger Bohn）估算出現代人每日工作之餘，在家庭內外所接觸到的字數。

看電影、聽廣播、講電話、玩電腦遊戲、瀏覽網路、看報等活動，都構成資訊革命時代每日接觸字彙的一部分。

研究結果發現，一般成人每日會接觸到超過10萬字以上，等於34GB，相當於一部筆記型電腦容量的1/5。

許多人擔心我們的大腦將因此超載，其組織結構甚至將因這樣的資訊流量而開始改變。

英國頂尖科學家之一的葛林斐德（SusanGreenfield）曾經一再警告，社交網站可能縮短兒童注意力集中時間，鼓勵即時快感、讓他們更自我中心，從而傷害他們的大腦發育。

每日郵報報導，不停使用電腦也可能使大腦「嬰兒化」，無法發現錯誤。

來自「加州大學」（University of California）的鮑恩說，「我認為有一件事已經確定，我們的注意力已被砍成更短的時段，這對更深刻的思考不是好事。」

但「牛津大學」（Oxford University）神經科學教授布雷克摩爾（Colin Blakemore）則表示，「依個人使用情況的不同，人類大腦有成長擴大的能力。處理這樣的新資訊，說不定可能促成新神經細胞的產生。」（譯者：中央社 楊超寰）

An Interview With Colin Blakemore

Justin Loke talks to the CEO of the Medical Research Council (MRC) about the future for medical academia and the MRC


The first time I saw Professor Colin Blakemore was when he was delivering a lecture to the Oxford Medical Alumni at an annual meeting. The talk was on the field of work that made his name, the visual system. It was a fascinating and surprisingly accessible talk on some of the historical background to this area of research. This ability to make relatively complicated topics understandable to the public is probably one of the reasons why Professor Blakemore was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Research Council (MRC), which is the largest non-commercial funder of medical research in the United Kingdom.

After completing his pre-clinical degree at Cambridge, Professor Blakemore studied at Berkeley, California on a Harkness Fellowship, which was initially for a year but turned out to be two and a half, with a PhD. He returned to the Department of Physiology at Cambridge where he started by working with Fergus Campbell, who was a leading vision researcher. Together they did influential research, with one of the most highly cited papers in the field, supporting the view that the visual system performs a primitive Fourier analysis of the retinal image. It was Fergus Campbell who had persuaded Blakemore to abandon his University Scholarship for clinical studies at St Thomas’ Hospital and to embark on an academic career. “I never really looked back” he said, “but actually,” he wryly added, “I sometimes wondered what difference it would have made.”

Bearing in mind the massive problem faced by medical academia with recruitment into its ranks, especially at the training grades, I discussed with Professor Blakemore some of the changes proposed by the recent Walport report. The report on the academic stream of Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) was chaired by the director of the Wellcome Trust, Dr. Mark Walport, and his report sought to address some of the issues surrounding the dramatic decline in doctors entering academia. Professor Blakemore, who was a member of the Walport Committee, believes that the strength of the report lies in its recognition of “the complexity of the problem”, since doctors are not only placed under a financial disincentive but are under pressure to prioritise their clinical work and to pursue their professional clinical development and gain National Training Numbers. The Walport report strove not only to allow more flexibility in lectureships and research fellowships but also to increase the absolute numbers of these posts. Although Professor Blakemore feels that the approach has been remarkably successful so far, especially in rallying so many of the funding bodies, and he is impressed by “the depth and conviction” of the report, he warns that significant obstacles still remain, not least the need to overcome the scepticism of some of the Trusts and some of the Royal Colleges.

The MRC has tried to play its part by increasing the number of its Fellowships, and by bringing them into line with the recommendations of the Walport report. The MRC offers Fellowships targeted at both training-level researchers and as well those who are better established in their field.

I voiced some of the cynics’ views that medical research is often fruitless and therefore that there might be little point in having more medical academics. Colin Blakemore was quite certain of his answer. Clinical research has never been more promising or more exciting. The MRC has consistently funded research with the intention of eventual clinical benefit and he personally believes that, while it is essential to support strongly curiosity-driven fundamental research, even the most basic researchers should be constantly thinking about possible implications and applications of their research. This is particularly important at a time when there is such a focus on translational research, aimed at bringing the benefits of scientific discoveries from the bench to the bedside, as well as feeding knowledge from clinical observation of human disease back to the bench scientists. Blakemore quotes Nobel Laureate, Sydney Brenner’s opinion that “the experimental animal of the 21st century is the human being”. He believes that clinical research in the 21st century will be potentiated by the unravelling of the human genome combined with increasing sophistication in experimental studies in human beings. Blakemore backs his belief in the importance of basic scientific research with the history of monoclonal antibodies. In 1975, César Milstein and George Köhler, working in the MRC’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, developed a method for producing large amounts of pure antibody. They won the Nobel Prize for this work in 1984. The original objectives were to study the structure of antibodies and their diversity, and to use them to probe the molecular characteristics of different cell types in the body. Antibody engineering has played a crucial role in molecular biological research. But Milstein recognised immediately the potential commercial and medical value of monoclonal antibodies.

The technique has underpinned the development of the biotech industry and has now led to a whole new generation of so-called ‘biological’ diagnostics and therapies. The translational research needed for this was also done at the LMB, by Greg Winter in the 1980s. He devised ways of making antibodies acceptable to the human immune system, and this led to the development of such important drugs as Herceptin, Avastin, and Humira. Therapeutic antibodies now produce worldwide revenues well in excess of US $12 billion, contributing to a very significant income stream for the MRC.

Blakemore stresses two conclusions from this example. First, the essential underpinning science wasn’t aimed at medical application; it was curiosity-driven research of the highest quality. Second, the process of translating the discovery into hugely valuable products took more than 20 years. While it might be possible in the future to speed up the translation process, it is essential not to neglect the investment in basic science.

It would be hard to deny that I was impressed by the rigour of Blakemore’s arguments, which were backed by a number of other historical anecdotes. We moved on to discuss his views on the level of funding of the MRC. His answers were diplomatic but unequivocal. He said that “he did not wish to sound ungrateful” because the Labour government had halted the decrease in scientific funding by the Tories in the last years of their government and the overall level of public funding for science has increased greatly since 1999.

Admittedly, much of this increase has gone to investment in infrastructure and renovation in the universities and, recently, in the new Full Economic Costs (FEC) system; here, more is given to universities by research councils to pay for the overheads of research. Once again Blakemore’s command of the figures is persuasive: in a recent comparison of percentage increases in the budgets of medical funding agencies around the world, the MRC is at the bottom of the league table compared with such countries as Singapore, Canada and the USA. Per head of population, the NIH (the US equivalent of the MRC) spends 6.5 times more, and Singapore 8 times more than the MRC.

Despite a tripling in its funding of university research grants over the past 3 years, the MRC has the lowest rate of grant approvals of all the research councils, with fewer than 20% of grant applications being accepted. It is widely agreed among funding agencies that they have great difficulty in operating with a success rate below about 15%, because the peer-review process and the award committees become disillusioned, and the administrative burden becomes intolerably high. The peer review system is under challenge at the moment, not just because of its cost, but also because it might be biased against translational and applied research. But Blakemore argues that, although different types of peer review are needed for varying kinds of research, it is essential that the rigour of the process is sustained if we are not to waste money on studies of lower quality.

The annual increase in funding of the MRC between 2005 and 2008 will be little more than 4% per annum, after FEC and other unavoidable increases in costs are stripped from the figure. This is barely higher than the rate of domestic inflation, not to mention the larger inflator for medical research. Nevertheless, the MRC has managed to launch a wide range of new schemes to stimulate clinical and translational research, and to support young scientists. The recent review of public funding through the MRC and the Department of Health — the Cooksey review — offers new opportunities for increased efficiency, especially in clinical research. But Blakemore argues that a real increase in funding for the MRC is desperately needed to feed the capacity of UK researchers to contribute to future advances in medicine. He dreams of a doubling of the budget, which he believes would allow the MRC to build on its amazing track record of 27 Nobel Prizes and to make its proper contribution to the future health of the UK.

I questioned him on what alternatives there are to raising funds from the government. In response, he reminded me of the success of MRC Technology (MRCT), the knowledge transfer company of the MRC, which produces more income for the MRC than the technology transfer offices of all the British Universities combined. Last year MRCT completed a record deal with industry, worth a total of nearly $300 million, more than $200 million of which came to the MRC, based on the licensing of the anti TNF-a monoclonal antibody, Humira. However, despite this success in securing commercial income, Blakemore believes that this is no substitute for government funding to sustain the science base.

Given a shortage in the MRC’s funding for global health projects, Blakemore emphasised that the MRC wanted to sustain its strong tradition for supporting these, with two research units in Africa and research projects all over the world, as well as here in the UK. At the MRC’s National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill, there is important work on malaria and TB, as well as the World Influenza Centre, and here in Oxford there is important research on vaccines for HIV and other diseases of the developing world.

Towards the end of the interview Blakemore admitted his nervousness about the future as he contrasted the prestigious history of the MRC and its extremely high standing around the world with the current statistics, which present a serious challenge to its standing in the international world of medical research

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1988

Further Up the Organization: How Groups of People Working Together for a Common Purpose Ought to Conduct Themselves for Fun and Profit 1988

The B-2 Chronicles: Uncommon Wisdom for Un-corporate America (Paperback) ~ Robert Townsend1995
From the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Up the Organization comes an engaging parable packed with valuable insights for the next generation of business. "The most original, zany, and important management book of the '90s."--Warren Bennis, author of On Becoming a Leader.
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Cooperative education

coop job system 建教工讀制
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