Business & management:
• Fairfax Media has announced that it is purchasing Waiheke Marketplace to add to its Auckland community newspapers.
• The suggestion has been made that Enterprise 2.0 “will not fulfil its potential unless its foundation is more than just web technologies or networked businesses. We need to integrate [a] democratic organising principle into our discussions…”
Education:
• Some universities in the US are giving their students free Apple iPhones or Internet-capable iPods (students choosing the iPhone pay for the phone service), but all the uses and impacts aren’t yet known.
• Free software that allows people to create online learning courses on Facebook is now available from a company called Udutu.
• Abertay University is teaching an MSc Ethical Hacking and Computer Security course that will explore the methods criminals use to attack networks, and will teach students how to test systems for vulnerabilities and find ways to protect them.
Environment & sustainability:
• The Business Council for Sustainable Development has just released their report “New Zealand faces full allocation of fresh water in next four years” The Council has also released a survey of NZers, showing that there is strong support for proposed reforms.
• As part of World Water Week last week, a collaborative paper has been released that shows that 50% of food produced world-wide is wasted, which means a lot of wasted water to grow it.
• The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification system of sustainable architecture is going to go through sweeping changes in 2009.
• Researchers at a Massachusetts polytechnic are looking at how to use the heat from asphalt roads to provide electricity and hot water.
Health & wellbeing:
• A group of UK MPs is calling for sex and relationship education to be compulsory for primary school children, as a way to help reduce teenage pregnancy rates, abortion and sexually transmitted diseases.
• The director of a US non-profit organisation that aims to stimulate discussion on alcohol in the American culture has a message about the unintended consequences of the US age restriction on alcohol to those over 21: binge drinking, the possession of fake IDs, the frustrating difficulty of enforcement and the ineffectiveness of the abstinence-only message.
• Clinical trials are being done on a “robotic suit” that will allow some people paralysed from the waist down, to walk again.
Law & Government:
• Just released – the 2 mandatory standards “Create and maintain recordkeeping standard” and “The electronic recordkeeping metadata standard”.
• The UNEP is calling for cuts in fossil fuel subsidies that benefit the poor in a new report “Reforming energy subsidies: opportunities to contribute to the climate change agenda”, arguing that many of these subsidies benefit wealthier portions of society and divert national funds from policies to help the poor.
• “Positive squatting”, where squatters manage to make a formal or informal agreement with a landlord to make productive use of an empty building, is still unusual in the UK, but “community-based squatting” that allows for “building recycling” can bring local community benefits.
• The UK Home Office is introducing interactive crime maps (similar to those used in US cities. However, since the maps rely on reported crimes, there is concern that wide variations in reporting rates across the UK may skew the view of an area.
• A report by the UK Electoral Commission says the electoral system is "stretched to breaking point" and unfit for the challenges of the 21st century.
• The Ministry of Social Development has released its 2008 Social Development Report today. The Families Commission is concerned about work-life balance - the report shows that those people most likely to have young families (employees aged 25 to 49) are least likely to be satisfied with their work-life balance.
People, culture & diversity:
• In spite of concerns in the EU about the impacts of an ageing population, Britain’s greater birth rate out of the biggest six EU countries (Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Spain and Poland) means the UK has less to fear about any "generation wars" brought on by the "demographic time bomb" of ageing and shrinking populations. In spite of this, there is still concern that attitudes to the ageing in the UK need to change and that policy changes need to happen as well.
Science, technology & transport:
• Intel and Yahoo are going to collaborate to produce TV access that will include Internet applications, without interfering with the viewing experience.
• Intel is also working on magnetic induction technology that will mean the end of cables, wires and wall sockets to power your electronic appliances.
• Microsoft watchers believe that Internet Explorer 8 will include a privacy mode, which limits how much information is recorded about where users go online and what they do. Apple already has a privacy mode in its Safari browser and Mozilla are working on it for future versions of the Firefox browser.
• The 50th anniversary of the invention of the microchip is next month.
• As long as you have a signal or a wireless connection, you can now play music, watch photos and read documents as if they were local. Free access to 1 terabyte of storage space is available on a Web-based digital media content hosting and management system, called Oosah, which also features a version optimized for the iPhone.
• Apple has been reprimanded by the UK Advertising Standards Authority over an ad that implies that the iPhone gives full Internet access. However, the iPhone has not been enabled to use programs like Flash and Java, affecting viewing of pages using such programs.
• Researchers in the US have developed a fast new process for the production of biodiesel that has huge benefits over conventional production, including the lack of any need for water or any dangerous chemicals.
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Thursday, 21 August 2008
From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 21/08):
Business & management:
• If you’re getting more involved in adding content to Citynet pages (or in the case of Libraries, the website) you may want to read about the “sandwich” approach to content writing (known in journalism as the “inverted triangle”).
• Business Week’s current issue includes a special report “Trouble at work” which uses the feedback from the journal’s readers to help put together the content. Issues in covered in both articles and videos are work-life balance, toxic bosses, an interview with the author of Good to great, being entrepreneurs, leadership, time management and managing Gen X and Gen Y.
• An earlier Business Week article answers the question “Are social networking sites useful for business?”
• Traditional workplaces are not meeting the needs of the 21st century knowledge economy, and many companies that require creative thought and collaborative work are using or working towards a more mobile and flexible approach to designing their workplaces. (A NZ office furniture company has invested a lot in research that discovered how people like to work, and designing an award-winning concept.)
• A recent survey of over 6 000 employees around the world provides a profile of how employees currently learn at work and how their learning preferences are changing.
• A groundbreaking study into the adoption of social media within the Inc. 500, an elite group of the fastest-growing companies in the US, shows in just a year, the number of companies in this group that think social media is “very important” has almost doubled to 46%.
• In a future business world of distributed decision-making and global project teams working in digital rather than face-to-face environments, effective future leaders may be the people who have gained their leadership skills in online multiplayer gaming worlds.
Education:
• A few years ago, there was a backlash against a sharp rise in printed journal subscription prices, which helped to increase numbers of open source journals freely available on the Internet. Now that the price trend for academic-level textbooks has also shot up, professors are turning to open source textbooks as an alternative to expensive print editions.
• Latest figures estimate that three-quarters of British higher education institutions are involved in Second Life in some way, and that “the virtual world is becoming crowded”.
• A recent article proposing that Google is “making us stupid” has raised a lot of discussion, but has also raised another question: “Is Google making our e-learning stupid?”
Environment & sustainability:
• “Garden grabbing” is the name given to developments that take over garden spaces in suburbs in the UK. While some dismiss opposition as “nimby” behaviour, growing numbers of people are concerned at the loss of garden space in towns and cities.
• Researchers have found that coal burning in Western Europe and North America has been a prime source of heavy metal pollution in the Arctic.
• As more countries implement biofuels policies and laws, pressure increases on the suppliers to be able to prove that the source and sustainability of their "renewable fuels" doesn’t cause more environmental damage.
• World Water Week has been under way in Stockholm this week, with discussions on overuse of water, sanitation and health, and the water crisis behind the food crisis.
• Geothermal power is experiencing steady but largely unnoticed growth in America and is used in all 50 states. Even Google is investing millions in geothermal energy.
Health & wellbeing:
• The more quickly bird flu is identified in a suspected case, the more likely the person suffering will be to survive. British scientists are developing a portable testing machine that will detect the bird flu in 2 hours, rather than the week it would usually take.
Law & Government:
• The government has announced the New Zealand Disability Strategy implementation review report. The report reviews progress by central government agencies between 2001 and 2007.
• The design for the Royal Canal Linear Park in Dublin has been released after 3 years of planning. The park will cover 6 hectares of the Docklands, and include a floating garden.
People, culture & diversity:
• The UN has launched the new public access database Global databank on world trade in creative products. The database currently shows data for global trade flows for 1996-2006 of creative products,such as music, audiovisuals, newspapers and electronic publishing.
Science, technology & transport:
• While some of us are just starting to get our heads around what “Web 3.0” will mean for us in the future, “Web 2.0” is a term that has become increasingly familiar – Library 2.0 is familiar to librarians, but then there’s Enterprise 2.0 and Government 2.0.
• The National Library facilitates a website called NZresearch, intended to “connect research users from around the world to research documents produced in New Zealand institutions”, i.e. the full text of the documents. RSS feeds of recently added documents are available from the site and can throw up some interesting results – for example, a piece of research analysing the effectiveness of future trends scenarios, using a case study of transportation fuel supply in NZ.
• IEEE Spectrum has published an article on smart parking, that describes one city using sensors embedded in each parking space, and another using a digital imaging system that takes photographs of parked cars instead of needing to chalk tyres. More information on smart parking can be found in the Transit Connections section of the Innovative Mobility Research website from the Transportation Sustainability Research Centre (TSRC) at the University of California, Berkeley
• The process of scientific discovery evolved from a secretive pursuit before science journals existed, to the “publish or perish” approach where a discovery is not truly complete until published, and the discoverer has gained the prestige and standing sought by publishing. The system has changed little in 300 years, but could change most rapidly in the next 20 years as scientific discovery moves towards more open collaboration.
• US car manufacturers are investing in research on “smart intersections” as another way of saving some of the three billion gallons of gas are wasted every year due to congestion
• A new study in the US has concluded that road tolls may be a fairer way of paying for road improvements than sales taxes and that the reasoning by some that says “congestion tolls” are inequitable is flawed.
• The IBM Institute for Business Value has discovered that the automotive industry believes that all vehicles in 2020 will have some level of hybridization.
• If you’re getting more involved in adding content to Citynet pages (or in the case of Libraries, the website) you may want to read about the “sandwich” approach to content writing (known in journalism as the “inverted triangle”).
• Business Week’s current issue includes a special report “Trouble at work” which uses the feedback from the journal’s readers to help put together the content. Issues in covered in both articles and videos are work-life balance, toxic bosses, an interview with the author of Good to great, being entrepreneurs, leadership, time management and managing Gen X and Gen Y.
• An earlier Business Week article answers the question “Are social networking sites useful for business?”
• Traditional workplaces are not meeting the needs of the 21st century knowledge economy, and many companies that require creative thought and collaborative work are using or working towards a more mobile and flexible approach to designing their workplaces. (A NZ office furniture company has invested a lot in research that discovered how people like to work, and designing an award-winning concept.)
• A recent survey of over 6 000 employees around the world provides a profile of how employees currently learn at work and how their learning preferences are changing.
• A groundbreaking study into the adoption of social media within the Inc. 500, an elite group of the fastest-growing companies in the US, shows in just a year, the number of companies in this group that think social media is “very important” has almost doubled to 46%.
• In a future business world of distributed decision-making and global project teams working in digital rather than face-to-face environments, effective future leaders may be the people who have gained their leadership skills in online multiplayer gaming worlds.
Education:
• A few years ago, there was a backlash against a sharp rise in printed journal subscription prices, which helped to increase numbers of open source journals freely available on the Internet. Now that the price trend for academic-level textbooks has also shot up, professors are turning to open source textbooks as an alternative to expensive print editions.
• Latest figures estimate that three-quarters of British higher education institutions are involved in Second Life in some way, and that “the virtual world is becoming crowded”.
• A recent article proposing that Google is “making us stupid” has raised a lot of discussion, but has also raised another question: “Is Google making our e-learning stupid?”
Environment & sustainability:
• “Garden grabbing” is the name given to developments that take over garden spaces in suburbs in the UK. While some dismiss opposition as “nimby” behaviour, growing numbers of people are concerned at the loss of garden space in towns and cities.
• Researchers have found that coal burning in Western Europe and North America has been a prime source of heavy metal pollution in the Arctic.
• As more countries implement biofuels policies and laws, pressure increases on the suppliers to be able to prove that the source and sustainability of their "renewable fuels" doesn’t cause more environmental damage.
• World Water Week has been under way in Stockholm this week, with discussions on overuse of water, sanitation and health, and the water crisis behind the food crisis.
• Geothermal power is experiencing steady but largely unnoticed growth in America and is used in all 50 states. Even Google is investing millions in geothermal energy.
Health & wellbeing:
• The more quickly bird flu is identified in a suspected case, the more likely the person suffering will be to survive. British scientists are developing a portable testing machine that will detect the bird flu in 2 hours, rather than the week it would usually take.
Law & Government:
• The government has announced the New Zealand Disability Strategy implementation review report. The report reviews progress by central government agencies between 2001 and 2007.
• The design for the Royal Canal Linear Park in Dublin has been released after 3 years of planning. The park will cover 6 hectares of the Docklands, and include a floating garden.
People, culture & diversity:
• The UN has launched the new public access database Global databank on world trade in creative products. The database currently shows data for global trade flows for 1996-2006 of creative products,such as music, audiovisuals, newspapers and electronic publishing.
Science, technology & transport:
• While some of us are just starting to get our heads around what “Web 3.0” will mean for us in the future, “Web 2.0” is a term that has become increasingly familiar – Library 2.0 is familiar to librarians, but then there’s Enterprise 2.0 and Government 2.0.
• The National Library facilitates a website called NZresearch, intended to “connect research users from around the world to research documents produced in New Zealand institutions”, i.e. the full text of the documents. RSS feeds of recently added documents are available from the site and can throw up some interesting results – for example, a piece of research analysing the effectiveness of future trends scenarios, using a case study of transportation fuel supply in NZ.
• IEEE Spectrum has published an article on smart parking, that describes one city using sensors embedded in each parking space, and another using a digital imaging system that takes photographs of parked cars instead of needing to chalk tyres. More information on smart parking can be found in the Transit Connections section of the Innovative Mobility Research website from the Transportation Sustainability Research Centre (TSRC) at the University of California, Berkeley
• The process of scientific discovery evolved from a secretive pursuit before science journals existed, to the “publish or perish” approach where a discovery is not truly complete until published, and the discoverer has gained the prestige and standing sought by publishing. The system has changed little in 300 years, but could change most rapidly in the next 20 years as scientific discovery moves towards more open collaboration.
• US car manufacturers are investing in research on “smart intersections” as another way of saving some of the three billion gallons of gas are wasted every year due to congestion
• A new study in the US has concluded that road tolls may be a fairer way of paying for road improvements than sales taxes and that the reasoning by some that says “congestion tolls” are inequitable is flawed.
• The IBM Institute for Business Value has discovered that the automotive industry believes that all vehicles in 2020 will have some level of hybridization.
Thursday, 14 August 2008
From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 14/08):
Business & management:
• 2 reports on the non-profit sector in NZ have just been released: “The New Zealand Non-profit Sector in Comparative Perspective” and “The History of the Non-profit Sector in New Zealand”. Figures in the report show that volunteers make up two thirds of the sector’s workforce, and philanthropic giving is 1.1% of GDP.
• The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report which uses data collated by Unitec: “The Entrepreneurial Advantage of World Cities”, is also available via a Dutch website that provides a range of other reports on entrepreneurship.
• A UK council has developed a “cultural revolution” strategy that takes a comprehensive approach to developing a workforce with both the attitudes and the skills needed to deliver their strategic ambitions.
• Dell is launching a range of new laptops aimed at the “digital nomad” – the workers who have no fixed office and visit many sites or customers during the day.
• “Unchaining Value: Innovative approaches to sustainable supply” is a report that argues that companies should redefine the goals of supply chain management from creating more value at less cost for the company, to creating more value for all supply chain participants at a lower cost to constrained global resources.
Environment & sustainability:
• The UN’s Global Environment Facility has launched a US$27 million project to provide better protection for bees, bats and birds that are essential pollinators in the world’s crop production.
• The Ministry of Health’s latest report on problem gambling shows that problem gambling services do work.
• The community gardens that began in the UK as a result of wartime need, are making a come-back in areas with dense housing schemes.
• Green roofs provide a wide range of environmental advantages (including the reduction of the urban heat island effect), as well as benefits to owners or occupiers.
• Microsoft and Verdiem have produced a free software tool to help save energy usage on PCs.
Health & wellbeing:
• University of Otago research on housing and health shows that the risk of infection with TB is increased where there is household crowding, and is still an important infectious disease in NZ.
• A report on community engagement and health in the UK explores the importance of engaging communities in health promotion and health services, and the health benefits that this can bring.
Law & Government:
• Proposed measures to combat terrorism are raising concerns in the UK. A consultation paper that plans to give local councils and other public bodies the power to monitor e-mail and internet traffic is being branded a "snoopers' charter".
People, culture & diversity:
• The Ministry of Social Development will be releasing the 2008 edition of The Social Report on its publications web pages on August 21st
• While e-book availability is on the increase, with readers remaining expensive and no single format for downloads, the e-book revolution is still not here.
• New UK research shows that children are being deprived of adventurous play, and a campaign highlights the need for children to experience risky and challenging play in order to ensure they are able to manage risk in their daily lives
Science, technology & transport:
• The Steering Board of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (which is UN-backed) has endorsed a first draft of a new global sustainability standard for biofuels to assess their economic, social and environmental effects.
• Yahoo’s introduction of its Fire Eagle software, which lets users manage information on where they are, is raising concerns about privacy.
• Colleges and universities in the US are using bike share programs to address concerns about the environment, traffic congestion, fuel and parking costs and wellness.
• A new green high-speed train is to be trialled in Sweden, that can use existing rail tracks and could achieve its goal of cutting energy consumption by 20 to 30 percent and lowering both journey times and operational costs.
• One year after Velib was launched, the Paris bike-sharing programme using 16 000 bikes at 1 200 parking spots, the city is looking at starting a car sharing programme using electric cars called Autolib, with 2 000 cars within Paris and 2,000 in the city's suburbs.
• New York City’s Dept of Transportation has enabled an event called Summer Streets to take place, by preventing car traffic on 7 miles of city streets for a day.
• 2 reports on the non-profit sector in NZ have just been released: “The New Zealand Non-profit Sector in Comparative Perspective” and “The History of the Non-profit Sector in New Zealand”. Figures in the report show that volunteers make up two thirds of the sector’s workforce, and philanthropic giving is 1.1% of GDP.
• The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report which uses data collated by Unitec: “The Entrepreneurial Advantage of World Cities”, is also available via a Dutch website that provides a range of other reports on entrepreneurship.
• A UK council has developed a “cultural revolution” strategy that takes a comprehensive approach to developing a workforce with both the attitudes and the skills needed to deliver their strategic ambitions.
• Dell is launching a range of new laptops aimed at the “digital nomad” – the workers who have no fixed office and visit many sites or customers during the day.
• “Unchaining Value: Innovative approaches to sustainable supply” is a report that argues that companies should redefine the goals of supply chain management from creating more value at less cost for the company, to creating more value for all supply chain participants at a lower cost to constrained global resources.
Environment & sustainability:
• The UN’s Global Environment Facility has launched a US$27 million project to provide better protection for bees, bats and birds that are essential pollinators in the world’s crop production.
• The Ministry of Health’s latest report on problem gambling shows that problem gambling services do work.
• The community gardens that began in the UK as a result of wartime need, are making a come-back in areas with dense housing schemes.
• Green roofs provide a wide range of environmental advantages (including the reduction of the urban heat island effect), as well as benefits to owners or occupiers.
• Microsoft and Verdiem have produced a free software tool to help save energy usage on PCs.
Health & wellbeing:
• University of Otago research on housing and health shows that the risk of infection with TB is increased where there is household crowding, and is still an important infectious disease in NZ.
• A report on community engagement and health in the UK explores the importance of engaging communities in health promotion and health services, and the health benefits that this can bring.
Law & Government:
• Proposed measures to combat terrorism are raising concerns in the UK. A consultation paper that plans to give local councils and other public bodies the power to monitor e-mail and internet traffic is being branded a "snoopers' charter".
People, culture & diversity:
• The Ministry of Social Development will be releasing the 2008 edition of The Social Report on its publications web pages on August 21st
• While e-book availability is on the increase, with readers remaining expensive and no single format for downloads, the e-book revolution is still not here.
• New UK research shows that children are being deprived of adventurous play, and a campaign highlights the need for children to experience risky and challenging play in order to ensure they are able to manage risk in their daily lives
Science, technology & transport:
• The Steering Board of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (which is UN-backed) has endorsed a first draft of a new global sustainability standard for biofuels to assess their economic, social and environmental effects.
• Yahoo’s introduction of its Fire Eagle software, which lets users manage information on where they are, is raising concerns about privacy.
• Colleges and universities in the US are using bike share programs to address concerns about the environment, traffic congestion, fuel and parking costs and wellness.
• A new green high-speed train is to be trialled in Sweden, that can use existing rail tracks and could achieve its goal of cutting energy consumption by 20 to 30 percent and lowering both journey times and operational costs.
• One year after Velib was launched, the Paris bike-sharing programme using 16 000 bikes at 1 200 parking spots, the city is looking at starting a car sharing programme using electric cars called Autolib, with 2 000 cars within Paris and 2,000 in the city's suburbs.
• New York City’s Dept of Transportation has enabled an event called Summer Streets to take place, by preventing car traffic on 7 miles of city streets for a day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)