Business & management:
• The Harvard Business School has a working paper entitled: “The economic impacts of immigration: a survey”. While the paper looks at North European countries, there is a section on the impact of immigration on the public sector of host countries.
• A US study recently published suggests that men who hold the view that women should stay at home and look after children, will consistently out-earn more "modern-thinking" men.
• In a recent survey of US employees from some of the largest companies, 40% of workers cited "lack of recognition" as a key reason for leaving a job, and part of the problem is that workers don’t hear “thank you” often enough from customers.
• “A pair of recent studies each suggest that e-mail is the most deceptive form of communication in the workplace–even more so than more traditional kinds of written communication, like pen-and-paper.”
• “A global company that is built to last should consider its contributions to society and not just to its shareholders”, is one of the themes arising out of a World Economic Forum meeting last week.
• New research shows only 7 out of every 100 firms in NZ have measured their carbon emissions.
• 2 surveys show that consumers think that businesses should bear the heaviest load of the burden to address climate change.
• A new UNEP/ILO report says that the emerging green economy could create millions of new “green jobs”, but also warns that many of these new jobs can be "dirty, dangerous and difficult".
Education
• People are familiar with searching the Internet nowadays, but many forget that search engines like Google cannot search inside many of the resources now available – that’s the “deep web” or the “invisible web”. A US online college blog called “Our Library” has provided a list of “99 resources to research & mine the invisible web”.
• “Studentification” is a term applied in the UK to neighbourhoods in university towns where houses are left empty over the summer months, because too many properties are rented out to groups of students. An initial report has been published: Evidence gathering- Housing in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and possible planning responses.
Environment & sustainability:
• The European Union’s EuP Directive (Energy Using Products) was mentioned in the September issue of LG NZ Local Government. The link here is to a consolidated version (ie incorporating amendments) at March 21st 2008. The European Commission’s webpage on the directive provides more information
• A new design guide, “Resource Recovery Park Design Guide” will help with setting up resource recycling around the country, further reducing the amount of material sent to landfills.
• Cities should not be blamed so much for carbon emissions – an author writing in the latest issue of Environment & Urbanization believes that the amount of emissions cities contribute is over-estimated, and that the potential for cities to help address climate change is being overlooked because of this error. (This article is not available via the Digital Library, but a copy can be obtained via interlibrary loan. Contact the LOGIS Librarian if you would like to read a copy.)
• 2 UN agencies trying to change the throw away trend have produced the 2nd edition of a training kit for youth called “youthXchange” that includes a new chapter on how to balance the aspirations of dressing fashionably while being aware of the impact of consumption on global warming.
• The Guardian online has a section called “Future of Cities”. The section has its own RSS feed, so that you can focus on just this topic and avoid receiving the 100s of other alerts from the website.
• Should access to clean water be a human right? Some campaigners want this to become the 31st article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Elsewhere in the world, water profiteering means that the poor are forced to buy clean water, or to steal it from public mains.
• Off-shore wind farms offer several benefits over their land-based counterparts, and countries like South Korea are seriously investigating them due to fierce opposition to on-shore wind farms.
• Recent research shows that plants are unlikely to soak up more carbon dioxide from the air as the planet warms up. Plants may be likely to produce more CO2 in warmer conditions, rather than less.
• Just as kea were discovered to “worry” sheep in NZ, re-introduced Scottish sea eagles are being blamed for the loss of 200 lambs in the Northwest Highlands. At the same time, the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards is opposing a trial introduction of the European beaver to Scotland.
• The mayor of San Francisco wants the city’s biggest companies to install enough solar power arrays to generate 5 megawatts of electricity, double the city's current capacity for solar energy.
Health & wellbeing:
• The NZ Food Safety Authority has published a revised version of its most popular booklet, “Food safety in pregnancy”.
• Low levels of the stress hormone cortisol are being linked to antisocial behaviour in adolescent boys.
• A large UK and US study is to examine near-death experiences in cardiac arrest patients, to see if people with no heartbeat or brain activity can have "out of body" experiences.
• Researchers believe that exposure to smells might help make our dreams more pleasant. Smell is the only sense that doesn't 'sleep'.
Law & Government:
• Local governments in the US want to build an inclusive green economy, and have issued the “Local Government Green Jobs Pledge”.
•”Keeping culture free: The choices law and technology force us to make about the future of the Internet and the progress of cultures” will be the topic of a public lecture at the University of Auckland, by Professor Lawrence Lessig, a world-leading cyber law expert and advocate of freer copyright laws.
• The UK Improvement & Development Agency has released a series of information pages on how social enterprises can contribute to local government (a 2006 Local Government White Paper established a vision of partnership for local areas.) They also provide a section on CCTV in the UK as a means of making streets safer, reducing the fear of crime and detecting serious offences.
• A number of local councils in the UK were given permission last week to use capitalization (either by borrowing against or selling assets) to raise £455m to meet equal pay liabilities.
• Scientists say that our political views may be an integral part of our psychological makeup but although they may be able to explain why it’s so hard to change someone’s political point of view, they don’t believe their search has any political relevance.
People, culture & diversity:
• A blog on a local US newspaper’s website is helping to raise awareness and provide advocacy for a poor, rundown and dangerous part of the city.
• Is it possible to reverse the view that society today is suffering from “a decline in values”? This is one report in an ongoing discussion in the UK on turning British society around from being seen as “unkind, risk averse and untrusting”
Science, technology & transport:
• The founding editor or Wired has been reflecting on his predictions back in 1993 for the future of the Internet and the impact it would have on society.
• “Information overload” has been discussed for decades, but with the Internet “digital pollution” has become an issue that everyone has to learn how to handle.
• There will be 4 billion cell phone subscribers worldwide this year - mobile penetration stood at only 12% in 2000, growing to reach over 60% by the end of 2008.
• Mitsubishi may be introducing their electric car to NZ next year, but Hyundai will be delivering its first electric Getz in November this year.
• InternetNZ’s report “Broadband strategy options for New Zealand: Stage one – research and analysis” is available.
• Ireland’s government is announcing its new electric grid system to enable Irish drivers to move to electric cars. The Better Place software system has been assessed for adoption in Ireland. A US company has just built a solar parking array over its parking lot – which could provide re-charging for the electric cars parked in the shade below the panels.
• The first commercial wave power farm has finally been officially launched off the coast of Portugal after a delay of a year.
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Thursday, 25 September 2008
From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 25/08):
Business & management:
• A Branding for Sustainability workshop in the US last week has looked at the intersection of branding, marketing, green initiatives and corporate social responsibility. Long-standing companies that have never had green issues at their cores are experiencing more difficulty in "transitioning their messages".
• The Interbrand Best Global Brands 2008 report has been released, with the Interbrand CEO saying that it is becoming almost impossible for a firm to retain a strong brand without also having a credible sustainability strategy.
Education
• The report on compulsory schooling in NZ, “New Zealand Schools Nga Kura o Aotearoa 2007” is now available. Overall, the report shows improvement for across students in the compulsory system.
Environment & sustainability:
• The NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development has made a CO2 emissions calculator and how-to guide available.
• A US company has surveyed the “blogosphere” to uncover information about how the online community is discussing environmental sustainability, global warming, purchase trends and user demographics.
• The National Water Industry 2008 Report Card gives the NZ water industry an overall score of a “C” grading, meaning it is only “adequate” and that major change is required. This included a “C+” for water supply, a “C” for wastewater and a “C-“ for storm water.
• Drinking water in the US is becoming controversial due to the issue of pharmaceutical contamination - much of the drinking water in the United States contains prescription drugs according to a recent investigative report.
• The new Carbon Offsetting Trends Survey 2008 shows how large, multinational corporations are addressing their carbon footprints from within, and what strategies they're using to offset the emissions they can't avoid.
• A couple of books in the main Libraries collection that may be of interest: Ecotourism and sustainable development : who owns paradise? / Martha Honey and High tech trash : digital devices, hidden toxics, and human health / Elizabeth Grossman.
Health & wellbeing:
• The AIDS Treatment for Life International Survey results show that HIV patients still live in fear of the societal stigma surrounding the disease. Asian/Pacific respondents were more concerned about the risk of losing family and friends, as well as the potential impact on their current relationships.
Law & Government:
• Inland Revenue is reminding employers that the new tax rates need to be used for pay periods that end on, or after, October 1st.
• The incoming head of the World Intellectual Property Organization says that patent services globally are under huge pressure to cope with demand for their services and that the challenges posed with regard to copyright by ever evolving technology were even more fundamental.
• A UK council has produced an 8 page comic booklet based on Harry Potter, to help staff understand the authority’s corporate improvement plan and its priorities.
• Independent US government investigators have highlighted the need for improved regulation of electronic waste in a new report. The United States is the only industrialized country not to ratify an international convention that regulates the international shipping of e-waste.
• The Ministry of Justice has released a Victims Charter that will ensure that those affected by crime find the assistance they need.
• One of India’s state governments is introducing a mandatory corporate social responsibility framework involving corporates in large infrastructure and other public projects.
People, culture & diversity:
• The restoration of ‘Bach 38’ on Rangitoto Island has received an Honourable Mention in this year’s UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards. Quite an achievement, considering the other entries.
• A 2-day meeting in Bangkok has been looking at the impact of migration in the Asia Pacific region. In less than 50 years, international migration has doubled from 28 million to 53 million.
• New UK research has found that people who live with high levels of motor traffic are far more likely to be socially disconnected and even ill than people who live in quiet, clean street.
Science, technology & transport:
• Google has apparently made a patent application for off-shore floating computer centres or "databarges", generating power from wave energy and cooling their supercomputers by using sea water. Using sites in Siberia or deep mines have been possibilities researched by other large technology companies also concerned about energy consumption and cooling.
• Companies and organisations involved in the vehicle transport industries are turning to “eco-driving” courses, as a means of saving fuel. A truck driving course in Sweden aims at a 9% reduction, while the Toyota Fund for Europe is aiming at a 10% reduction for participants in its eco-driving workshops aimed at local authorities, private companies and community groups.
• London’s Lord Mayor wants to see the city become wi-fi enabled so that the internet is accessible anywhere.
• A Branding for Sustainability workshop in the US last week has looked at the intersection of branding, marketing, green initiatives and corporate social responsibility. Long-standing companies that have never had green issues at their cores are experiencing more difficulty in "transitioning their messages".
• The Interbrand Best Global Brands 2008 report has been released, with the Interbrand CEO saying that it is becoming almost impossible for a firm to retain a strong brand without also having a credible sustainability strategy.
Education
• The report on compulsory schooling in NZ, “New Zealand Schools Nga Kura o Aotearoa 2007” is now available. Overall, the report shows improvement for across students in the compulsory system.
Environment & sustainability:
• The NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development has made a CO2 emissions calculator and how-to guide available.
• A US company has surveyed the “blogosphere” to uncover information about how the online community is discussing environmental sustainability, global warming, purchase trends and user demographics.
• The National Water Industry 2008 Report Card gives the NZ water industry an overall score of a “C” grading, meaning it is only “adequate” and that major change is required. This included a “C+” for water supply, a “C” for wastewater and a “C-“ for storm water.
• Drinking water in the US is becoming controversial due to the issue of pharmaceutical contamination - much of the drinking water in the United States contains prescription drugs according to a recent investigative report.
• The new Carbon Offsetting Trends Survey 2008 shows how large, multinational corporations are addressing their carbon footprints from within, and what strategies they're using to offset the emissions they can't avoid.
• A couple of books in the main Libraries collection that may be of interest: Ecotourism and sustainable development : who owns paradise? / Martha Honey and High tech trash : digital devices, hidden toxics, and human health / Elizabeth Grossman.
Health & wellbeing:
• The AIDS Treatment for Life International Survey results show that HIV patients still live in fear of the societal stigma surrounding the disease. Asian/Pacific respondents were more concerned about the risk of losing family and friends, as well as the potential impact on their current relationships.
Law & Government:
• Inland Revenue is reminding employers that the new tax rates need to be used for pay periods that end on, or after, October 1st.
• The incoming head of the World Intellectual Property Organization says that patent services globally are under huge pressure to cope with demand for their services and that the challenges posed with regard to copyright by ever evolving technology were even more fundamental.
• A UK council has produced an 8 page comic booklet based on Harry Potter, to help staff understand the authority’s corporate improvement plan and its priorities.
• Independent US government investigators have highlighted the need for improved regulation of electronic waste in a new report. The United States is the only industrialized country not to ratify an international convention that regulates the international shipping of e-waste.
• The Ministry of Justice has released a Victims Charter that will ensure that those affected by crime find the assistance they need.
• One of India’s state governments is introducing a mandatory corporate social responsibility framework involving corporates in large infrastructure and other public projects.
People, culture & diversity:
• The restoration of ‘Bach 38’ on Rangitoto Island has received an Honourable Mention in this year’s UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards. Quite an achievement, considering the other entries.
• A 2-day meeting in Bangkok has been looking at the impact of migration in the Asia Pacific region. In less than 50 years, international migration has doubled from 28 million to 53 million.
• New UK research has found that people who live with high levels of motor traffic are far more likely to be socially disconnected and even ill than people who live in quiet, clean street.
Science, technology & transport:
• Google has apparently made a patent application for off-shore floating computer centres or "databarges", generating power from wave energy and cooling their supercomputers by using sea water. Using sites in Siberia or deep mines have been possibilities researched by other large technology companies also concerned about energy consumption and cooling.
• Companies and organisations involved in the vehicle transport industries are turning to “eco-driving” courses, as a means of saving fuel. A truck driving course in Sweden aims at a 9% reduction, while the Toyota Fund for Europe is aiming at a 10% reduction for participants in its eco-driving workshops aimed at local authorities, private companies and community groups.
• London’s Lord Mayor wants to see the city become wi-fi enabled so that the internet is accessible anywhere.
Thursday, 18 September 2008
From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 18/09):
Business & management:
• Commercial-scale plastic electronics factories are now a reality. Plastic Logic is using its plant to produce an e-reader with a plastic electronic display, while its competitor Polymer Vision is also producing an e-reader, with a display that folds over to make the reader pocket-sized when shut.
• A new series of occasional papers has been released by the Ministry of Economic Development, among them: “Labour productivity in Auckland firms”.
Education
• Well over 50% of parents in a survey by the UK government’s education technology agency, have said that they want schools to use texting and emails to keep them more informed on how their children are performing.
• A list of free e-learning resources (such as diagramming software, mind mapping, digital publishing, etc) is available on a website put together by a UK learning technologist.
Environment & sustainability:
• There is greater interest in households making use of grey water, but safe and hygienic use is not as straightforward as people think.
• A study was submitted to the Swedish Environment Advisory Council last year: “A study on gender equality as a prerequisite for sustainable development: what we know about the extent to which women globally live in a more sustainable way than men, leave a smaller ecological footprint and cause less climate change.” While gender issues in sustainability may have the greatest impact in developing nations, equity in sustainability is an issue for everyone.
• E-Day will be happening again this year on the 4th of October at over 30 sites around NZ, as an environmentally friendly way of disposing of mobile phones and computers no longer wanted.
• A pilot project in the UK to collect household food waste separately and divert it for composting, has been hailed as a success, with 19 English local authorities experimenting with ways of collecting the food waste.
Health & wellbeing:
• The UK Dept of Health has identified 9 personality types of heavy drinkers who are at risk of liver damage and other alcohol-related illnesses.
Law & Government:
• England and Wales are the only places in Europe where there are no legally binding minimum space standards for housing, and to fight the “rabbit hutch” phenomenon, the Lord Mayor of London will be reintroducing minimum space standards on all publicly-funded housing in the capital. (During the 2007 consultation on the NZ Building Code Review, minimum space standards were discussed.)
• The number of people over the age of 100 in Japan has risen past 36 000, (up 4 000 in a year), increasing cause for concern about funding the country’s pension system.
• An official sharia law court already operates in Leicestershire, as do Jewish Beth Din courts elsewhere in the UK, but there has been much discussion this week about the news that the UK government has sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.
• A university professor of community cohesion provides a brief comparison of the difference between the UK & the US approach to housing supply and policies.
• A secret Welsh eco-village only discovered in 1998 during an aerial survey of a national park, will be allowed to remain, after a 10 year planning dispute.
People, culture & diversity:
• British researchers analysing a survey of cynicism in the UK, believe that the increasing level of cynicism about politics and society in general, could have an impact on democracy and the cohesiveness of society.
• The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a study about the role community groups can take in tackling poverty in their neighbourhood.
• The Pew Survey of Global Attitudes has released the report: “Unfavorable views of Jews and Muslims on the increase in Europe”. This particular survey covers 24 countries around the world (Australia, Indonesia & Japan, USA, Mexico & Argentina were the only Pacific nations surveyed), and includes Muslim attitudes on extremism, other countries and gender issues. The survey document provides detailed data on the questions asked.
• Another Pew study has found that virtually all American teenagers play electronic games of some sort, and that game playing is social, with most teens playing games with others at least some of the time and can incorporate many aspects of civic and political life.
• The Children and Young People: Indicators of Wellbeing in New Zealand 2008 report has been released by the Ministry of Social Development.
Science, technology & transport:
• Following on from testing on French roads, Toyota and a French energy company have launched a year of testing a plug-in Prius hybrid in the UK.
• Oxford’s Said Business School has released the results of the world Broadband Quality Score study that shows that Japan is the only country with the broadband quality to cope with next-generation internet applications.
• Sir Tim Berners-Lee has expressed concern about the way the Internet is being used to spread disinformation. He is co-creator of the World Wide Web Foundation, which aims to make the web truly worldwide, and will look at ways to help people decide if websites are trustworthy and reliable sources of information.
• From the Google Blog: “The future of search” – what is going to happen to Internet searching in the next 10 years? A number of experts were asked and their responses will be added to the Google Blog during September.,
• The National Freight Demands Study has been released by the Ministry of Transport, and covers volumes, distribution, trends and flows.
• NZ will be one of the first countries to see the new Mitsubishi electric vehicle next year, with Mitsubishi working with Meridian Energy.
• Commercial-scale plastic electronics factories are now a reality. Plastic Logic is using its plant to produce an e-reader with a plastic electronic display, while its competitor Polymer Vision is also producing an e-reader, with a display that folds over to make the reader pocket-sized when shut.
• A new series of occasional papers has been released by the Ministry of Economic Development, among them: “Labour productivity in Auckland firms”.
Education
• Well over 50% of parents in a survey by the UK government’s education technology agency, have said that they want schools to use texting and emails to keep them more informed on how their children are performing.
• A list of free e-learning resources (such as diagramming software, mind mapping, digital publishing, etc) is available on a website put together by a UK learning technologist.
Environment & sustainability:
• There is greater interest in households making use of grey water, but safe and hygienic use is not as straightforward as people think.
• A study was submitted to the Swedish Environment Advisory Council last year: “A study on gender equality as a prerequisite for sustainable development: what we know about the extent to which women globally live in a more sustainable way than men, leave a smaller ecological footprint and cause less climate change.” While gender issues in sustainability may have the greatest impact in developing nations, equity in sustainability is an issue for everyone.
• E-Day will be happening again this year on the 4th of October at over 30 sites around NZ, as an environmentally friendly way of disposing of mobile phones and computers no longer wanted.
• A pilot project in the UK to collect household food waste separately and divert it for composting, has been hailed as a success, with 19 English local authorities experimenting with ways of collecting the food waste.
Health & wellbeing:
• The UK Dept of Health has identified 9 personality types of heavy drinkers who are at risk of liver damage and other alcohol-related illnesses.
Law & Government:
• England and Wales are the only places in Europe where there are no legally binding minimum space standards for housing, and to fight the “rabbit hutch” phenomenon, the Lord Mayor of London will be reintroducing minimum space standards on all publicly-funded housing in the capital. (During the 2007 consultation on the NZ Building Code Review, minimum space standards were discussed.)
• The number of people over the age of 100 in Japan has risen past 36 000, (up 4 000 in a year), increasing cause for concern about funding the country’s pension system.
• An official sharia law court already operates in Leicestershire, as do Jewish Beth Din courts elsewhere in the UK, but there has been much discussion this week about the news that the UK government has sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.
• A university professor of community cohesion provides a brief comparison of the difference between the UK & the US approach to housing supply and policies.
• A secret Welsh eco-village only discovered in 1998 during an aerial survey of a national park, will be allowed to remain, after a 10 year planning dispute.
People, culture & diversity:
• British researchers analysing a survey of cynicism in the UK, believe that the increasing level of cynicism about politics and society in general, could have an impact on democracy and the cohesiveness of society.
• The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a study about the role community groups can take in tackling poverty in their neighbourhood.
• The Pew Survey of Global Attitudes has released the report: “Unfavorable views of Jews and Muslims on the increase in Europe”. This particular survey covers 24 countries around the world (Australia, Indonesia & Japan, USA, Mexico & Argentina were the only Pacific nations surveyed), and includes Muslim attitudes on extremism, other countries and gender issues. The survey document provides detailed data on the questions asked.
• Another Pew study has found that virtually all American teenagers play electronic games of some sort, and that game playing is social, with most teens playing games with others at least some of the time and can incorporate many aspects of civic and political life.
• The Children and Young People: Indicators of Wellbeing in New Zealand 2008 report has been released by the Ministry of Social Development.
Science, technology & transport:
• Following on from testing on French roads, Toyota and a French energy company have launched a year of testing a plug-in Prius hybrid in the UK.
• Oxford’s Said Business School has released the results of the world Broadband Quality Score study that shows that Japan is the only country with the broadband quality to cope with next-generation internet applications.
• Sir Tim Berners-Lee has expressed concern about the way the Internet is being used to spread disinformation. He is co-creator of the World Wide Web Foundation, which aims to make the web truly worldwide, and will look at ways to help people decide if websites are trustworthy and reliable sources of information.
• From the Google Blog: “The future of search” – what is going to happen to Internet searching in the next 10 years? A number of experts were asked and their responses will be added to the Google Blog during September.,
• The National Freight Demands Study has been released by the Ministry of Transport, and covers volumes, distribution, trends and flows.
• NZ will be one of the first countries to see the new Mitsubishi electric vehicle next year, with Mitsubishi working with Meridian Energy.
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