From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 03/04):

Business & management:
• The Fast 50: the world’s most innovative companies, is a list compiled by Fast Company of those that “dazzle with new ideas”. (This journal is also available on the Digital Libraries databases in full text.)
• As people live longer, their approach to life past the age of 50 has undergone great changes in recent years – including the possibility of “Retiring retirement”. (The book mentioned in this article is held at Libraries, and the journal is in full text on the Digital Libraries databases).
• The impact of virtual online reality worlds are already showing in the education world. In this article the former chief technology officer of Second Life writes on the impacts on collaboration & innovation, and the new structures and business models that companies and even nations could use to maximise the advantages of virtual reality. (Click on “Go to Download Document, on the left of the screen.)
• The Human Rights Commission’s 3rd report “2008 Census of women’s participation” shows that 60 of the top 100 companies in NZ have no women on their boards, while the Association of University Staff says that progress on the number of women in senior academic positions is “glacial”.

Education
• NZ Trade and Enterprise is promoting the International Knowledge Services Summit, in Auckland from 30 April to 1 May. The summit will explore how to create large scale commercial opportunities for NZ's education organisations.

Environment & sustainability:
• Studies are now showing that plastic waste in the oceans is a hidden but serious long term toxic threat to the food chain, apart from the immediate physical impact that plastic waste can have on seabirds and wildlife.
• A NZ company is almost at the point of producing commercial levels of bio-crude oil manufactured from algae, a method of producing biofuel that doesn’t impact on food production and has a beneficial by-product of clean water.
• The 2008 Foolies Fossil Fuel Awards were announced in the US last month. The awards recognise the world’s biggest contributors to the global addiction to fossil fuel.
• Cities in Europe and China have pollution problems so serious that the bad air is having serious affects on the health of their citizens, impacting on tourism to the cities, and possibly even lowering life expectancy.
•”Cities as sustainable ecosystems: principles and practice” by Peter Newman, has been ordered for the LOGIS collection. Professor Newman is Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University, Australia and Harry W Porter Visiting Professor in Urban Planning at the University of Virginia.
• A petition in America is campaigning for a way to allow people to permanently opt out of receiving junk mail – which could have a large environmental impact, given that US junk mail accounts for one third of the mail delivered in the world.
• The Instanbul Urban Water Consensus is a declaration by representatives of about 40 of the world’s cities, who are concerned about the damaging effects of climate change on urban water resources.
• It is not yet possible to have a zero waste office or corporation, but many big companies around the world are examining ways that they can start the journey to getting there.

Health & wellbeing:
• The multi-drug resistant form of tuberculosis is overwhelming the ability of health-care systems around the world to treat sufferers, according to the UN.
• Independent research by Price Waterhouse Coopers Australia on the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is now available on the ACC website. The executive summary and terms of reference are online, but a full report (450 pages long) must be requested.
• People in the UK have been discovered to be realistic about the costs involved in aging, including the possible need to sell their homes to pay for their care rather than leaving their home to their children.

Law & Government:
• The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (US) has presented an article on the way in which famous people are able to talk directly with (and influence) world leaders: “Beyond Hollywood and the boardroom: celebrity diplomacy.” (This journal is also available on the Digital Libraries databases in full text.)
• For an outsider's perspective on NZ’s human rights status, read the US Dept of State’s report on NZ’s human rights practices.
• A recenet Urban Land Institute blog posting is on the impact of policies in some US cities, requiring property developers to include a certain amount of affordable housing in return for some kind of benefit. A recent study of such policies seems to indicate that the design of the programs may matter considerably.

People, culture & diversity:
• The UN has released its 2007 listing of “Ten stories the world should hear more about”, with topics ranging from bird flu to girl soldiers.
• The US Population Reference Bureau has published “Managing migration: the global challenge” as the March issue of their Population Bulletin.
• From the Lowy Institute of International Policy in Sydney, comes a paper on the increasing global diasporas. They are compared to “world wide webs” in a new view of globalisation, and the issues that are faced by national governments are discussed.
• Although UK immigrants are contributing more to the UK economy in taxes and skills, they also place most public services under more strain, as well as increasing the demand for English language course and interpretation services. The government launched the Migration Impacts Forum last year “to help build the evidence base for the effects which migration is having on communities and public services”.
• The Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body in Britain, is attempting to set out the core standards and constitutions for Britain's 1,350-plus mosques and Islamic centres. The Body was set up a year ago, representing the 4 leading Muslim groups, and it is hoped the standards will help to drive out extremism.
• A survey in Britain has found that lesbian, gay and bisexual people believe that there are high levels of discrimination in public bodies (such as schools, police, healthcare, etc). Two thirds of lesbian and gay people under 19 said that they have been bullied at school.
• A UK survey has discovered that social networking sites intended for teens and adults have a high number of 8-11 year-olds claiming to have profile pages on the sites, in spite of age restrictions intended to promote safety. Bebo has hired a forensic psychologist, launched safesocialnetworking.com as a resource for teachers, and placed an emphasis on basic functionality such as setting all profiles to private by default and warning under-21s if they try to make their profiles publicly searchable. (In NZ, the Dept of Internal Affairs website includes pages on child safety online, including a list of interactive websites aimed at teaching children how to be safe online.)
• In NZ, we shift our endangered species to islands. In Norway, they send offenders to an island prison that operates on environmental principles.

Science, technology & transport:
• The Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority has held its annual Biofuels Conference this week, with the conference theme being extended to include electricity as used in electric vehicles.
• Early results of a UK study on organic foods shows that some organic foods may be more nutritious than non-organic produce.
• The Commission for Environmental Cooperation is promoting their report ”Green building in North America”. Comparisons of Canada, the US and Mexico show that sustainable construction methods could be a method of lowering carbon emissions.