Business & management:
• Moves in the UK towards creating social resilience have tended to focus on three of the four elements of the social resilience cycle: preparedness, response and recovery. There is a fourth: mitigation and the Association of British Insurers have launched a report aimed at developers and planners.
• Social innovation will be showcased at the next World Economic Forum in Davos, during which world leaders, business leaders and NGOs, will discuss innovative solutions to tackle the economic downturn, as well as addressing social reform and climate change
• Green moving companies are increasingly popular in the US, using rentable recycled plastic bins, cardboard box exchanges, and vehicles running on biodiesel.
• Interviews of 3,000 children and 300 parents in the UK found that brands are using loopholes to market directly to minors in digital environments, and collect data on the young consumers and their friends. The resulting book highlights concern about “breeding a generation of materialistic cyborgs” caught up in “brand lust, peer pressure and pester power”. (Note: the book title in the article differs from the title showing on order on the Libraries catalogue.)
• The 5th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey 2009 looks at 265 housing markets in Australia, Canada, Ireland, NZ, the UK and the US. Most markets in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK are rated as “severely unaffordable”, with Australia having the highest overall rating and NZ the second highest overall rating.
Education
• A new UK programme using dance is being introduced into schools for young people aged from five to 16. The programme aims to promote fitness and health, tackle obesity and nurture contact between different age groups.
• Hamilton Police working in conjunction with the Ministry of Education have launched their 'Campus Cops' campaign placing officers in four strategically placed schools. The Campus Cops concept will further enhance the Police's ability to work with partner agencies to tackle issues in the community.
Environment & sustainability:
• Germany and 115 other countries around the world have founded the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). “IRENA gives renewables an international voice and political impetus. The Agency will be the global platform for renewable energies.” (The US, UK and NZ have not yet joined the Agency.)
• UK supermarket chains are putting huge emphasis on carbon emissions and renewable energy. The latest to announce plans is Sainsbury’s, with a major zero-waste initiative designed to ensure that all the company's food waste is converted into biofuel.
• A new report looking at water resource governance in Canterbury highlights the ever–increasing difficulties in managing water resources and creating effective solutions for future generations.
• The New England Journal of Medicine study matched air pollution and life expectancy statistics from 51 cities between 1980 and 2000. Scientists found people living 2.72 years longer by 2000 - 15% of which they attributed to falls in pollution.
• A team of environmental researchers in the US has warned many effects of climate change are irreversible.
Health & wellbeing:
• The UK’s chief medical officer is releasing guidelines that warn parents not to allow children under the age of 15 to drink. But there is concern that the guidelines won’t be taken seriously, since total abstinence “may not…[engage] with teenagers”. The guidelines “could also undermine parents' own judgments with their children about responsible drinking and miss the real target of teenagers drinking deliberately to get drunk”.
• Occupational Safety and Health has released a guide that describes the risks of physical and mental harm faced by staff in healthcare, residential, social service and community settings. The guide proposes a range of mechanisms to manage those risks and protect staff from harm arising from violence.
Law & Government:
• If you don’t already subscribe to the e-news from Local Government New Zealand, check the latest news on their home page and consider adding the newsletter to your regular information updates.
• And for those of you not subscribing to the Local Government On Line e-news, LGOL has just announced the launch of a local government careers website.
• As the recession bites in the UK, "insourcing" is likely to grow among local authorities. There is evidence that in order to cut costs, they are bringing back in-house the services previously let out to private or voluntary sector contractors, and some US businesses are also “insourcing”. A report on the trend “Insourcing: A Guide for Local Authorities Bringing Services Back In-house” is due for publication on the 30th.
• Fifteen leading legal firms from around the world will participate in a United Nations-led effort to assess how well national corporate law principles and practices foster a company culture that is respectful of human rights.
• Community and Local Government UK has just released an updated edition of their multi-criteria analysis manual. The manual provides good practice guidance on how to undertake and make the best use of multi-criteria analysis (MCA) for the appraisal of options for policy and other decisions.
• Local bodies in the UK have to re-assess how they handle their public services in the face of the statistics showing the sharp rise in numbers of people over the age of 65 over the next 10 to 15 years.
• The UK's Intellectual Property minister David Lammy has said the UK government will not force internet service providers to pursue file sharers.
People, culture & diversity:
• A new form of protest has been started in France – the “supermarket picnic”. Protesters in and around Paris set up a flash protest in a supermarket using food from the aisles, until they are either thrown out by security guards or the police arrive.
• A revolt may occur if changes at Wikipedia go ahead. Under proposals put forward by the website's co-founder Jimmy Wales, many future changes to the site would need to be approved by a group of editors before going live.
• A UK man who murdered his estranged wife after becoming "enraged" when she changed her marital status on Facebook to "single", has been found guilty of murder..
Science, technology & transport:
• Research is advancing on the prediction of when a volcano will erupt. Analysing the measurement of background stress changes around volcanoes may help scientists to develop volcano prediction tools in the future.
• It is 25 years since the first Apple computer named Macintosh appeared on the market on 22nd January 1984.
• US researchers are warning that wireless access points could be used by hi-tech criminals to spread viruses and worms.
Thursday, 29 January 2009
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