Alumni Services

September 2014

This month’s shelf includes a Scottish poetry anthology, an account of life in Ecuador for a British doctor and a guide to fostering a creative work environment.

1.

Author Zak Moore
Degree Engineering BSc (1984)
Book Creative Climate Change: For innovation producers, facilitators and stewards

If you’re aiming to get the most out of a team in terms of innovation, you don’t just need good people and a decent rewards package - you need them to have a creative climate to work within too. This practical, entertaining book takes readers through a process designed to ‘measure’ the climate, then enhance it. Filled with many a creative aside itself, and cartoons which bring the creativity challenge to life, both managers and consultants will find this a usable guide to putting teams in the best place to move from clever ideas to concrete innovation.

2.

Author Andrea Gardiner
Degree MBChB Phase III (2000)
Book Guinea Pig for Brunch

This is the remarkable true story of a young British doctor who travels to humid, insect-infested Ecuador and sets up a village health centre and child sponsorship scheme. Young free and single, and dedicated to her mission, she is certainly not expecting to encounter love. Should she open her heart? Or will doing so lead to an end of all her dreams? This unforgettable account of lives touched and changed by heartbreaking tragedy and restoring, redeeming love will transport you to a land brimming with iguanas and humming birds, and leave you inspired.

3.

Author Sherif Ayoub
Degree Management PhD (2013)
Book Derivatives in Islamic Finance

The Islamic finance industry faces the challenging task of attempting to reconcile the risk management demands of business entities with the difficulties posed by the seemingly rigid stance taken by some Shari'ah scholars over hedging practices. Offering a fresh perspective, Sherif Ayoub confronts the challenge by reformulating how we might think about the theorisation of economic matters in the Islamic faith. It introduces new topics that are relevant to the discussion including the conceptualisation of money, gambling and financial intermediaries.

4.

Author Various
Degree Various
Book Be the first to like this: New Scottish Poetry

Throw a stone in Edinburgh or Glasgow today and you’ll hit a young poet. The Scottish spoken word scene has exploded, reaching a level of popularity last seen in the late 1970s, another era, coincidentally, when the issue of Scottish self-determination was in the air. A generation of poets has emerged who have grown up in an age of change, political and technological, with the internet providing them not only with new ways of sharing writing - through their websites, podcasts, Twitter - but also in some cases with a subject too. Be the First to Like This features forty poets, mostly under-forty who have made Scotland their home including alumni Claire Askew (English Literature MA 2008, Creative Writing MSc & PhD 2009 & 2014), Janette Ayachi (Creative Writing MSc 2006), Aiko Harman (Creative Writing MSc 2009), Dorothy Lawrenson (Fine Art & Painting MA 2004) and Samantha Walton (English Literature PhD 2013).

5.

Author Kim Chamberlain
Degree Linguistics MA (1981)
Book Conversation Starters

Like an onion, a conversation is often made up of layers. On its face it may appear to be on one level, but peel away a layer or two, and you will find other issues lying beneath the surface.

Providing techniques to analyse conversations, Conversation Starters will enable you to develop creativity by taking your brain to a space where originality can flourish, by enhancing problem-solving skills, and by improving conversation and listening skills. Even if you wouldn’t describe yourself as “creative,” this book will give you the chance to think and express yourself in innovative and productive ways.

Please note

All of the further information links listed are the external websites of the book publisher, the author, or the bookseller. The University of Edinburgh is not responsible for the content and functionality of these sites.