Business & management:
• The Dept of Labour has used 2006 Census data to develop a profile of NZers who work long hours.
• Research from Symantec shows that the key driver for 90 percent of small to medium businesses to secure and manage their information is the risk of losing valuable data and that security risks from mobile devices and Web 2.0 applications such as social networking are key areas of concern.
• The 2008 edition of the World Knowledge Competitiveness Index compares 145 regions across 19 knowledge economy benchmarks. While Silicon Valley still ranks at the top as a knowledge region, Asian and European regions are showing improvements, American regions have seen an overall decline.
• In a US survey on urban development, a quarter of Americans said that they or a family member had actively opposed a development project, with 78% of Americans thinking that there should be no new development in their community.
Environment & sustainability:
• The Ministry for Environment has released a guidance manual (Coastal hazards and climate change: A guidance manual for local government in New Zealand) and an overview report (Preparing for climate change: A guide for local government in New Zealand – an updated edition). These documents provide guidance for local government on how to consider hazards such as storm surge and high waves, along with specific advice on sea level rise.
• US investors are applying increased pressure on publicly traded corporations to study, analyze, and disclose the risks associated with the threat of climate change.
Health & wellbeing:
• The Mediterranean diet promoted globally as the way to stay slim, healthy and long-lived is gradually disappearing from the region. As countries around the Mediterranean become more affluent, what they now eat is “too fat, too salty and too sweet”.
Law & Government:
• “igovt” is the trusted secure access to online NZ government services. The ultimate intention is that most government agencies will use igovt.
• A ratification vote on a treaty claim will be using an e-voting system that includes internet voting to help ensure a quick count. A combination of consultation hui, postal voting and online internet voting will be used.
• A new free tool is available that helps business people assess their business’s capabilities in areas such as leadership and planning. The tool is an initiative of the Business Capability Partnership, a consortium of business groups, economic development agencies and government agencies.
• California is the first state in the USA to adopt a state-wide green building code, with the code remaining voluntary until 2010. (San Francisco also recently recommended new strict green building codes.)
People, culture & diversity:
• A Victoria University professor is interested in what a country’s parliamentary architecture tells us about democracy and national identity.
Science, technology & transport:
• University of Otago research and overseas research shows that there are 3 factors with SUVs that can compromise their safety, but in NZ, SUVs are less involved in accidents than other vehicle types.
• The full World Internet Project NZ survey is available from the AUT website – the report shows that Internet usage is influenced by age (but not gender), affluence and location, safety for children is a concern, and the Internet is rated very highly as a source of information.
• Hewlett Packard is investing in research on a "central nervous system for the Earth", known as CeNSE. The intention is to use trillions of sensors to monitor the health of the Earth and use the information to head off natural calamities such as large scale flooding or wildfires.
• A British reporter decided to check out how “friendly” cities other than London are to electric cars (Westminster is one of the few local councils to supply a high number of public electric charging points for electric vehicles.).
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)