The long-standing pre-eminence of US technology and innovation worldwide may now face a challenge, as the changing face of the global marketplace takes its toll. As US trade and development has expanded overseas, partner nations have taken advantage of this access. Particularly in Asia, nations are making large strides in research and development (R&D) and other scientific technology. Budget troubles, declining numbers of graduates in technology-related fields, and foreign expertise “brain drain” may also hurt American R&D in the next decade. The United States still has a clear advantage, with its unparalleled resources and infrastructure, but it must innovate aggressively in order to remain one step ahead of global competitors.

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NPR’s Eric Weiner reports on the emerging field of corporate anthropology, where researchers dissect consumer appetites and help engineers build user-friendly products.

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The Chinese government intends to build 1,000 new museums across the country by 2015. A scary piece by Elizabeth Casale in The Platform, an e-zine on cultural policy, says that China’s “place-based cultural strategy” is leading to a glut of buildings meant to symbolise cultural sophistication. Meanwhile stories are circulating about the Shanghai Grand Theatre often half-empty for lack of interesting programming, or of state-of-the-art equipment that few employees know how to use.

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