New Year, fresh start

So another year begins and as usual the new year provides an opportunity for reflection and future speculation. Looking back over the last year I started by reading my last new years blog and noticed I'd made some resolutions which I imagined were quickly forgotten, but here they are and here's what happened:

1. PhD - get started
Yeah!! I got started finally - settled on 'Does gender have an influence in entrepreneurship in the creative industries?' or something like that struggling somewhat with my questions - but more about this soon, much background and literature review stuff underway/done but relevant articles, academic or otherwise would be gratefully received.

Down side: have acquired reading glasses too much squinting at screen and arms not long enough

2. keep on blogging
Well I did some....Admittedly not as much as I'd have liked as the feedback and contacts made are really useful as is the committing thoughts to writing.

3. Network - make connections get the whole 'linked in' thing working for me properly
Well this is an interesting one, I seriously had my head down last year, have probably never worked so hard in some aspects this hermit like activity doesn't lend itself so well to networking but in a job where you are constantly coming into contact with people I'd like to think some areas have strengthened and some have inevitably been let go.

This time last year I was heavily involved in the organisation of the first ' Creative Enterprise conference' by UCE Birmingham (my work place), this went well and lead to a number of national connections being made, especially with in the research community interested in this area. Later in the year I had similar involvement in a smaller conference specifically targeting researchers and those interested in 'Female entrepreneurship'.

Other interesting connections have been through my Agender work where I chair a transnational working group looking at:
Women in non-traditional employment' this has offered some fantastic opportunities to network with European partners from: Catalonia, Germany's Rhur region, Sardinia and Milan.

So apart from keeping up my blogging I did okay with my resolutions so will think of some more for 2007.

For now Happy New Year and here's hoping 2007 proves peaceful, prosperous, exciting and satisfying for us all.