Business & management:
• A top UN official has warned that the resilience of the Asia-Pacific region in the global recession will be chipped away unless several key issues are addressed.
• A Swiss employee is accusing her company of spying on her while she was ill, because the company has sacked her for destroying their trust by using Facebook while home on sick leave.
• The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has released a report on energy efficiency in buildings. The report shows that under current financial and policy conditions, building decisionmakers around the world will not spend sufficiently on energy efficiency, and the report provides a roadmap on achieving a worldwide average of a 55 percent reduction in building energy use by 2050.
Education
• If you’re not sure about how well your Powerpoint presentations are working you could view an amusing online slideshow: “Presenting with Visuals”.
Environment & sustainability:
• The fifth biennial survey of Public Perceptions of New Zealand’s Environment released this month, shows that NZers believe water pollution and water related issues are the most important environmental issues facing NZ.
• Scientists writing in Nature, say that politicians should focus on limiting humanity's total output of CO2 rather than setting a "safe" level for annual emissions, and that three-quarters of the world's fossil fuel reserves must be left unused if society is to avoid dangerous climate change.
Health & wellbeing:
• A study funded by the US National Dairy Council, compares bone properties (in rats) between calcium from supplements and milk, and shows that milk or dairy products produce greater bone growth and strength than calcium supplements.
• NZ scientists are monitoring influenza virus resistance to Tamiflu, as there is a possibility that as the swine influenza spreads among people already exposed to Tamiflu-resistant strains of influenza, the swine flu may evolve resistance to the drug.
• Microsoft has launched a trial product designed to keep family and friends in touch when other communications fail or falter in a crisis.
• A California study has found that childhood asthma rates can increase as much as 30% with exposure to higher levels of traffic-related air pollution.
Law & Government:
• It has been reported that the US Dept of Justice is investigating Google, due to accusations of anti-competitive behaviour. The accusations concern a $125million deal between Google and author groups that would give Google exclusive digital rights to some books.
• UK communication firms will be asked to track all e-mails, phone calls and internet use, including visits to social network sites, as part of modernisation in UK police surveillance tactics.
• The European Parliament is voting on a set of new regulations next week, that may free European Internet providers to decide which content, services and applications European users can access and use. The new regulations will force users to choose among pre-packaged options of accessibility.
• Leeds and Greater Manchester are being proposed as pilot citiy-regions that may get central government functions devolved to them, so that they have more powers in a similar way to the mayor of London and his administration.
• Vancouver City has released a list of tangible actions and policies to guide the city to becoming the world’s greenest in a report: “Greenest City Quick Start Recommendations”.
Science, technology & transport:
• The UK Energy Research Centre has released a report that reviews over 500 other international reports and papers on policies to reduce CO2 emissions, and shows that policies can have a large impact in the reduction in car use and therefore, emissions.
• Computer scientists at the University of California, San Diego and Microsoft Research have created a plug-and-play hardware prototype for personal computers that induces a new energy saving state known as “sleep talking.”
• General Electric has unveiled a new optical disc that can store 500 gigabytes of data, equivalent to 100 DVDs.
• A British survey has found that people are still confused about technology jargon. The survey company says that companies should use language people understand, rather than resorting to jargon. Among the most confusing terms, are “phone jack” and “desktop”.
• Companies with heavy investment in the Internet may believe that its future is with mobile phones, but others say that the mobile web is far from realising its potential.
• British designers have built a racing car that runs on a mixture of chocolate and vegetable oil, and has components made of soy or potato.
• Norway has had a law proposed that would ban vehicles that run solely on fuel after 2015. Hybrid vehicles would still be legal after that date.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Thursday, 23 April 2009
From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 23/04):
Business & management:
• 13% of adults in the UK have no bank account, compared to 1% to 5% in the rest of Western Europe. A proposal to start a post bank system that operates through the existing post office network has been made by a coalition of unions and small businesses.
• The Greenlist is a website which allows consumers to compare how environmentally friendly products may be across a range of different sustainability criteria, while also allowing companies to promote their products.
• The US annual Innovations Review Report highlights innovative strategies companies have implemented to reduce emissions, conserve resources and encourage sustainable behavior.
Education
• The Ministry of Education has studied completion rates among the first two years' intake of Modern Apprentices and more than half the young people in Modern Apprenticeships and industry training leave without completing their qualifications. There are also big variations between industries, ethnic groups and gender.
• Research in the UK being released at an economics conference this week, has found that if boys stay on at school for just 1 more year, their future salary is likely to rise by 13%. Also being released at the same conference: boys do worse at English when there are girls in their class.
• Personal learning environments are one of the future trends in decentralized forms of learning predicted in education.
• A US professor who teaches about open education, and founded OpenContent.org has predicted that university institutions will be irrelevant by 2020.
• Trainers are using micro-blogging (like Twitter) to foster learning and meet like-minded peers.
Environment & sustainability:
• Crop growth, drinking water and recreational water sports could all be adversely affected if predicted rainfall patterns over coming years prove true. New research raises concerns about the level of phosphorous released from soils into surface water and the surrounding environment.
• The Federal government in Australia is assuring people in Adelaide that water is secure for 2009-2010, after the local water authority said it couldn’t guarantee that water would be delivered over the next 2 years.
• The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) says forests are under increasing degrees of stress as a result of climate change. Forests could release vast amounts of carbon if temperatures rise 2.5C (4.5F) above pre-industrial levels.
• The movement in cities to include or convert spaces to growing food for local communities has its most prominent recent example in the Obamas digging up part of the White House Lawn, but had begun much earlier in other US cities.
• The UK consumer magazine “Which?” says that council taxes there could be reduced if consumers recycled more effectively, since less waste would need to go to landfills.
• 120 US companies that are pushing the envelope in terms of water treatment, purification and management, have been rated on their technology, intellectual property and know-how, team quality and market potential.
• Rivers in some of the world’s most populous regions are losing water, according to a comprehensive study of global stream flows.
Health & wellbeing:
• Waltham Forest council has become the first in the UK to demand the closure of a fast food restaurant because it is too close to a school.
• A British bioethics group is raising concern about the use of the Internet and new technologies to revolutionise health care. The group says that there has been a rise in the use of online drug sales and private DNA tests and scans in recent years.
Law & Government:
• The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime has warned that organized crime is now global, and poses a threat to cities, countries and even entire regions.
• The UK’s Young Foundation has launched http://www.futurecommunities.net/ “aimed at anyone involved and interested in building the successful sustainable communities of tomorrow”.
• Architects in the UK are suggesting that Prince Charles is abusing his position to unfairly influence planning decisions.
• London’s mayor has earned praise for retaining some fun, when it would be easy to cut back due to the recession.
People, culture & diversity:
• The UK think tank Demos has released a report “Resilient Nation”, on how a prepared population can be resilient in the face of disaster. Lifestyles, infrastructure and extreme weather are contributing to a perception that Britain has a “brittle society”. The report outlines ways to build and sustain community resilience with support from central and local government, relevant agencies, the emergency services and voluntary organisations.
• Debate is ongoing in the UK about the safety of social networking sites for children. A survey there has shown that 99% of children and young people aged eight to 17 use the internet.
• A researcher in the UK is working on a study that contradicts the idea that globalisation and the internet are ironing out differences between people in different regions. His research shows that with increased mobility, particular personality types live in certain regions, and his research follows on from similar work in America.
Science, technology & transport:
• “Failure to yield: evaluating the performance of genetically engineered crops” is a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists. The report shows that over the last 20 years “genetic engineering has failed to significantly increase US crop yields”.
• Automotive manufacturers and traders in the UK, say that existing automotive technology has the potential to achieve significant emissions reductions, providing it has the right governmental encouragement.
• Experts predict that an ageing world population and continuing global military conflicts will be the two main drivers of robot design and function in the coming years.
• A digital software company is about to include Vancouver as its 3rd pilot city in a program to create working 3D models of urban centers. Salzburg, Austria was the first city, and Incheon, South Korea, the second.
• Leading automotive and energy companies have reached an agreement for a standardized plug for electric cars. Some of the automakers included in the agreement are Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota and Mitsubishi.
• 13% of adults in the UK have no bank account, compared to 1% to 5% in the rest of Western Europe. A proposal to start a post bank system that operates through the existing post office network has been made by a coalition of unions and small businesses.
• The Greenlist is a website which allows consumers to compare how environmentally friendly products may be across a range of different sustainability criteria, while also allowing companies to promote their products.
• The US annual Innovations Review Report highlights innovative strategies companies have implemented to reduce emissions, conserve resources and encourage sustainable behavior.
Education
• The Ministry of Education has studied completion rates among the first two years' intake of Modern Apprentices and more than half the young people in Modern Apprenticeships and industry training leave without completing their qualifications. There are also big variations between industries, ethnic groups and gender.
• Research in the UK being released at an economics conference this week, has found that if boys stay on at school for just 1 more year, their future salary is likely to rise by 13%. Also being released at the same conference: boys do worse at English when there are girls in their class.
• Personal learning environments are one of the future trends in decentralized forms of learning predicted in education.
• A US professor who teaches about open education, and founded OpenContent.org has predicted that university institutions will be irrelevant by 2020.
• Trainers are using micro-blogging (like Twitter) to foster learning and meet like-minded peers.
Environment & sustainability:
• Crop growth, drinking water and recreational water sports could all be adversely affected if predicted rainfall patterns over coming years prove true. New research raises concerns about the level of phosphorous released from soils into surface water and the surrounding environment.
• The Federal government in Australia is assuring people in Adelaide that water is secure for 2009-2010, after the local water authority said it couldn’t guarantee that water would be delivered over the next 2 years.
• The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) says forests are under increasing degrees of stress as a result of climate change. Forests could release vast amounts of carbon if temperatures rise 2.5C (4.5F) above pre-industrial levels.
• The movement in cities to include or convert spaces to growing food for local communities has its most prominent recent example in the Obamas digging up part of the White House Lawn, but had begun much earlier in other US cities.
• The UK consumer magazine “Which?” says that council taxes there could be reduced if consumers recycled more effectively, since less waste would need to go to landfills.
• 120 US companies that are pushing the envelope in terms of water treatment, purification and management, have been rated on their technology, intellectual property and know-how, team quality and market potential.
• Rivers in some of the world’s most populous regions are losing water, according to a comprehensive study of global stream flows.
Health & wellbeing:
• Waltham Forest council has become the first in the UK to demand the closure of a fast food restaurant because it is too close to a school.
• A British bioethics group is raising concern about the use of the Internet and new technologies to revolutionise health care. The group says that there has been a rise in the use of online drug sales and private DNA tests and scans in recent years.
Law & Government:
• The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime has warned that organized crime is now global, and poses a threat to cities, countries and even entire regions.
• The UK’s Young Foundation has launched http://www.futurecommunities.net/ “aimed at anyone involved and interested in building the successful sustainable communities of tomorrow”.
• Architects in the UK are suggesting that Prince Charles is abusing his position to unfairly influence planning decisions.
• London’s mayor has earned praise for retaining some fun, when it would be easy to cut back due to the recession.
People, culture & diversity:
• The UK think tank Demos has released a report “Resilient Nation”, on how a prepared population can be resilient in the face of disaster. Lifestyles, infrastructure and extreme weather are contributing to a perception that Britain has a “brittle society”. The report outlines ways to build and sustain community resilience with support from central and local government, relevant agencies, the emergency services and voluntary organisations.
• Debate is ongoing in the UK about the safety of social networking sites for children. A survey there has shown that 99% of children and young people aged eight to 17 use the internet.
• A researcher in the UK is working on a study that contradicts the idea that globalisation and the internet are ironing out differences between people in different regions. His research shows that with increased mobility, particular personality types live in certain regions, and his research follows on from similar work in America.
Science, technology & transport:
• “Failure to yield: evaluating the performance of genetically engineered crops” is a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists. The report shows that over the last 20 years “genetic engineering has failed to significantly increase US crop yields”.
• Automotive manufacturers and traders in the UK, say that existing automotive technology has the potential to achieve significant emissions reductions, providing it has the right governmental encouragement.
• Experts predict that an ageing world population and continuing global military conflicts will be the two main drivers of robot design and function in the coming years.
• A digital software company is about to include Vancouver as its 3rd pilot city in a program to create working 3D models of urban centers. Salzburg, Austria was the first city, and Incheon, South Korea, the second.
• Leading automotive and energy companies have reached an agreement for a standardized plug for electric cars. Some of the automakers included in the agreement are Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota and Mitsubishi.
Thursday, 16 April 2009
From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 16/04):
Education
• Robin Good provides an introduction to a resource article by Peter Morville, on visual thinking and communication solutions.
• Youtube has partnered with some major US universities (Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Yale, etc) to provide Youtube EDU. The more interesting content on the channel is straight from classrooms or lectures, and many schools have posted videos of guest lecturers, introductory classes and even a full semester's course.
• The final instalment of a UK government-commissioned report on school discipline has suggested that children shouldn’t have televisions in their bedrooms, and that a celebrity-saturated culture had led to bad role models.
Environment & sustainability:
• New Zealanders strongly support signing up to a new international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
• A new study on Monsant’s Roundup herbicide, shows that heavy reliance on Roundup may be weakening the herbicide’s ability to kill weeds.
• Climate change may cause weeds to become a more serious problem in Australia, as scientists there warned last month that tropical weeds may start to “move” southwards.
• According to a new US study, the higher a mother's level of exposure to air pollution in early and late pregnancy, the more likely it is that the baby would not grow properly. At the same time, researchers at Harvard say they are finally able to determine to what extent city air pollution impacts on average life expectancy.
• Researchers at the University of Ediburgh have discovered that failure to control type 2 diabetes may lead to poorer memory and diminished brain power.
• More and more news is appearing around the world to show how serious our water shortages are becoming.
Health & wellbeing:
• The Ministry of Health has launched a depression website to provide practical information, with video clips from NZers who talk about what worked for them. John Kirwan continues to play an integral part in the Ministyr of Health campaign.
• Doubt has been cast on Australian national guidelines that suggest there is a "low risk" level of drinking for under-18s. A Melbourne study shows no "safe" or "sensible" level of drinking for adolescents.
Law & Government:
• The UK government is promoting the idea of temporarily converting empty shops into social enterprises, local art displays or learning centres to help innovative communities prevent high streets declining The hope is to reduce the negative impact empty shops have on the high street - vital for town centre and business confidence.
• The UK Local Government Association is refuting claims by the press industry that council-run newspapers and magazines damage local newspapers.
• A UK commentator warns that the relationship between the press and politicians, will not work for the relationship between politicians and bloggers, who are less concerned about playing by “old rules”.
• The controversial French internet piracy bill that was going to introduce a “three strikes” system, has been defeated in the National Assembly, and an amended version will be reintroduced later in the year.
People, culture & diversity:
• Research from Unisys NZ shows that NZers believe that the global economic crisis will increase their risk of identity theft.
• Social networking users have still not learnt about being caught out by the material they post on their profiles. Tenants in the UK have been evicted after posting photos of a party on Facebook.
• A UK environmental charity has been getting teenagers involved in regenerating neighbourhoods with unused and neglected parks.
Science, technology & transport:
• New research by NASA scientists suggests the ozone layer of the future is unlikely to look much like the past because greenhouse gases are changing the dynamics of the atmosphere.
• A UK parish council is talking about taking a slightly alternative approach to traffic calming.
• Buying a PC with Windows 7 pre-installed, will still mean being able to downgrade to either Vista or XP, although there will only be security updates to the earlier versions.
• A new European study is suggesting that new CO2 standards for vehicles to be introduced in Europe from 2012 will lead not only to savings on oil (mainly via lower oil import volumes) but also to slightly lower global oil prices.
• Investing heavily in electric vehicles raises the need to consider recharging methods. Which is best - charging stations, battery swaps or home charging?
• The US report that showed just how high the risks are from shipping pollution has triggered criticism that European governments are underestimating the health risks from shipping pollution.
• One of London’s least appealing shopping destinations, Oxford Circus, is to have a “Barne’s Dance” crossing intersection. That’s the same kind of pedestrian crossing used at Queen Street intersections, where all traffic stops so that pediestrians can cross in any direction at the same time.
• Robin Good provides an introduction to a resource article by Peter Morville, on visual thinking and communication solutions.
• Youtube has partnered with some major US universities (Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Yale, etc) to provide Youtube EDU. The more interesting content on the channel is straight from classrooms or lectures, and many schools have posted videos of guest lecturers, introductory classes and even a full semester's course.
• The final instalment of a UK government-commissioned report on school discipline has suggested that children shouldn’t have televisions in their bedrooms, and that a celebrity-saturated culture had led to bad role models.
Environment & sustainability:
• New Zealanders strongly support signing up to a new international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
• A new study on Monsant’s Roundup herbicide, shows that heavy reliance on Roundup may be weakening the herbicide’s ability to kill weeds.
• Climate change may cause weeds to become a more serious problem in Australia, as scientists there warned last month that tropical weeds may start to “move” southwards.
• According to a new US study, the higher a mother's level of exposure to air pollution in early and late pregnancy, the more likely it is that the baby would not grow properly. At the same time, researchers at Harvard say they are finally able to determine to what extent city air pollution impacts on average life expectancy.
• Researchers at the University of Ediburgh have discovered that failure to control type 2 diabetes may lead to poorer memory and diminished brain power.
• More and more news is appearing around the world to show how serious our water shortages are becoming.
Health & wellbeing:
• The Ministry of Health has launched a depression website to provide practical information, with video clips from NZers who talk about what worked for them. John Kirwan continues to play an integral part in the Ministyr of Health campaign.
• Doubt has been cast on Australian national guidelines that suggest there is a "low risk" level of drinking for under-18s. A Melbourne study shows no "safe" or "sensible" level of drinking for adolescents.
Law & Government:
• The UK government is promoting the idea of temporarily converting empty shops into social enterprises, local art displays or learning centres to help innovative communities prevent high streets declining The hope is to reduce the negative impact empty shops have on the high street - vital for town centre and business confidence.
• The UK Local Government Association is refuting claims by the press industry that council-run newspapers and magazines damage local newspapers.
• A UK commentator warns that the relationship between the press and politicians, will not work for the relationship between politicians and bloggers, who are less concerned about playing by “old rules”.
• The controversial French internet piracy bill that was going to introduce a “three strikes” system, has been defeated in the National Assembly, and an amended version will be reintroduced later in the year.
People, culture & diversity:
• Research from Unisys NZ shows that NZers believe that the global economic crisis will increase their risk of identity theft.
• Social networking users have still not learnt about being caught out by the material they post on their profiles. Tenants in the UK have been evicted after posting photos of a party on Facebook.
• A UK environmental charity has been getting teenagers involved in regenerating neighbourhoods with unused and neglected parks.
Science, technology & transport:
• New research by NASA scientists suggests the ozone layer of the future is unlikely to look much like the past because greenhouse gases are changing the dynamics of the atmosphere.
• A UK parish council is talking about taking a slightly alternative approach to traffic calming.
• Buying a PC with Windows 7 pre-installed, will still mean being able to downgrade to either Vista or XP, although there will only be security updates to the earlier versions.
• A new European study is suggesting that new CO2 standards for vehicles to be introduced in Europe from 2012 will lead not only to savings on oil (mainly via lower oil import volumes) but also to slightly lower global oil prices.
• Investing heavily in electric vehicles raises the need to consider recharging methods. Which is best - charging stations, battery swaps or home charging?
• The US report that showed just how high the risks are from shipping pollution has triggered criticism that European governments are underestimating the health risks from shipping pollution.
• One of London’s least appealing shopping destinations, Oxford Circus, is to have a “Barne’s Dance” crossing intersection. That’s the same kind of pedestrian crossing used at Queen Street intersections, where all traffic stops so that pediestrians can cross in any direction at the same time.
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