Business & management:
• The UN believes that the global tourism industry has a key role to play in the solution to climate change.
• The NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development is suggesting that prudent businesses should be looking at ways to cut waste from their processes now, with high public support for the Waste Minimisation Bill. The Bill proposes a $10 per tonne levy on waste, but the Council expects that rate to rise in the future.
• UK research shows that for working women, the gender pay gap for women earning less than men, jumps from 1% in their 20s to 20% in their 40s. Older women are more likely to have career breaks to care for children and elderly parents.
• There is much excitement at the possibility that a new oilfield has been discovered off the coast of Brazil with the potential to rival those in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, although doubts are already being expressed about the size of the field.
• A study released by the UN University shows that the “brain-drain” of migrants taking their skills to other countries, in some industries may actually promote growth in their native countries. However, one industry where this is not true is the health industry.
• An online survey of NZ companies has investigated local organisations’ perceptions around environmental sustainability, and what role IT played in organisations’ energy plans. The survey shows that IT managers and IT professionals were less likely to believe that New Zealand must be environmentally sustainable to succeed in the global economy.
Education
• A new publication has been launched that aims to help parents and teachers to identify and nurture gifted children: “Nurturing Gifted and Talented Children - A Parent-Teacher Partnership” (Printed copies can also be ordered.)
Environment & sustainability:
• The government has released a booklet containing eco-advice that can be downloaded from its sustainability website, aimed at the NZers who have said that they’d like to know more about how to protect the environment. Called “25 easy steps towards sustainability”, it won’t be printed, as that will save on paper.
• The Proposed NZ Coastal Policy Statement 2008 is available on the Dept of Conservation website, with submissions closing at 5pm 7 May 2008.
• Low-lying countries could be at serious risk from rising sea levels by the end of this century. New research presented at a Vienna conference suggests that the rise will be somewhere between 0.8m and 1.5 m.
• US studies show that energy use of new buildings certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification system are performing nearly 25 percent to 30 percent better than non-certified buildings.
Health & wellbeing:
• A review of medical studies has resulted in a group of influential scientists saying that special vacuum cleaners, mattress covers and chemicals are a waste of money in preventing asthma attacks due to dust mites.
• A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health has shown a "strong correlation" between deaths, engine exhaust fumes and other transport-related substances.
• Nutritionists in the UK are concerned about the food being given to children in nurseries – some are being fed a diet that is good for adults, but not for toddlers. There is confusion or misinformation about what entails healthy eating for the under-five age group.
• There is concern from UK MPs that there is over-prescribing of anti-psychotic drugs in nursing homes as a means to control dementia or Alzheimer’s patients.
People, culture & diversity:
• A noticeable trend in society is the 'freemales' phenomenon, part of a definite culture of singledom. The UK Office of National Statistics has recently released a report showing that the number of women living alone aged between 25 and 44 - when traditionally they’d be married, having families - has doubled in the past two decades. In Australia, they call single people living in cities “SPUD”s.
Science, technology & transport:
• This year’s Webby Awards have included 2 NZ websites as Official Honourees: Stuff for the News category, and the ACC’s Active Smart in the Health category.
• The government is calling for feedback on the Draft Digital Strategy version 2.0. Naturally, feedback is being sought through the website’s forum and blog and a wiki as well as the usual methods of making submissions. Consultation is from 14th April to 5.00 pm 12th May.
• American research indicates that building new rail transit schemes in an attempt to reduce greenhouse emissions doesn’t seem to be working. Not surprising, when a US reporter says that US think tanks embrace roads as a solution to traffic congestion, seeing them as "an expression of the free market and American individualism, and a rail line as an example of government meddling and creeping socialism."
• Since the 1990s, an invention by a Nigerian teacher has made a huge improvement to the lives of people in Africa by providing a means of keeping food cool so that it will last longer, and away from disease-carrying flies – without electricity.
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Thursday, 10 April 2008
From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 10/04):
Business & management:
• The US and Australia don’t have paid statutory maternity leave. A few US companies are talking a lateral approach to the issues surrounding maternity leave, by allowing parents (mostly women) to bring their baby to work. Some UK journalists describe their experience of bringing Baby into the office for the day.
• Rankers is a ranking and review website that takes the results of interviews with travellers in NZ about their experiences, and makes the rankings available to travellers globally via the website. Rankings are in the categories of “Activities”, “Tours”, “Transport” and “Regions” – under Auckland, the Maritime Museum has an 88% ranking, the Zoo has 85%, and the Museum has 82%.
• Kiwihost is telling people working in customer services not to be so fast to ask customers the “Can I help you?” question. What was once a golden rule of good customer service has become something most people find irritating.
Environment & sustainability:
• The NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development has surveyed NZers on their preferred source of energy – wind and solar power are most preferred, coal, gas and nuclear power are least preferred.
• The NZ Freedom Camping Forum convened by the Tourism Industry Association of NZ is developing a responsible freedom camping code that will help visitors to NZ to respect the environment and camp responsibly.
• A report to be released on 15th April from the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), says that modern agricultural practices may be highly productive, but have also done a lot of damage. The group recommends more emphasis on ‘agro-ecological’ practices.
Health & wellbeing:
• As part of the Children’s Plan in the UK, (the government’s strategy on children’s play), local councils could be required to achieve targets for improving children’s play facilities and families will be surveyed for their opinions as a measure of achieving the target.
• This year’s session of the UN Commission on Population and Development has started with officials stressing that although the number of people living in cities this year outranks those living in rural areas for the first time, it is important to understand how successful cities have dealt with pollution, slums and other ills.
• German scientists are warning about studies show that airborne mould spores from organic waste could lead to allergic reactions, asthma attacks, hayfever-like symptoms and itchy skin lesions.
• The ALAC Partnerships Conference in Nelson this week (Local government – Planning for alcohol in the community) has been told that an Australian study has found increased domestic violence linked to new liquor licences.
• The US Federal Communications Commission is to establish a nationwide cell phone alert system that can be used to send text messages in an area where a crisis or an emergency has occurred.
Law & Government:
• Thefts of copper power transmission lines in the Waikato, and aluminium covers in Manukau pumping facilities are local examples of the rise in crime related to scrap metals. In cities in the US, metal theft is often the result of high scrap metal prices combining with a need by local drug addicts to make money, and million dollar sculptures have been stolen simply for their (much) lower scrap value. The US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries now provides advice to recyclers, also suffering from the thefts.
• In the UK, councils will now have more powers to hold their members to account for their conduct and local standards committees will have the responsibility for initially assessing all allegations of misconduct by councillors.
• The first all-of-government survey asking NZers how they feel about public services has been released. Local government has a service group satisfaction level of 73%, with the environment and recreation service group taking the top satisfaction level with 79%.
• Over the next fortnight, the UN Human Rights Council will survey 16 member nations by examining their human rights records and gathering information from a variety of sources. The new mechanism will eventually survey all member nations once every four years.
People, culture & diversity:
• In the NZ Herald this week, was the report by the Asia NZ Foundation: “Diverse Auckland: The Face of New Zealand in the 21st Century”. The report is the latest from the Foundation’s Outlook series.
• British grandmothers think their daughters are being put under huge pressure to rigidly control everything in their own babies' lives.
• Parents are more likely to use the Internet for information and entertainment more often than adults with no children.
Science, technology & transport:
• What can the world of ancient Rome tell modern analysts about protecting infrastructure? A US infrastructure protection strategist draws comparisons between the ancient Roman aqueducts and modern infrastructure security. And what lessons can be learned from a Bronze-Age fort about developing Internet security in the Digital Age?
• Microsoft has sponsored research on human-computer interactions, predicting that computers will be able to anticipate what we want from them. A report has been published: “Beyond human: human-computer interaction in the year 2020”.
• The Internet has had a profound effect on the profession of journalism and broadcast media, to the extent that one journalist has predicted that there will be no need for foreign correspondents within 5 years time.
• The US and Australia don’t have paid statutory maternity leave. A few US companies are talking a lateral approach to the issues surrounding maternity leave, by allowing parents (mostly women) to bring their baby to work. Some UK journalists describe their experience of bringing Baby into the office for the day.
• Rankers is a ranking and review website that takes the results of interviews with travellers in NZ about their experiences, and makes the rankings available to travellers globally via the website. Rankings are in the categories of “Activities”, “Tours”, “Transport” and “Regions” – under Auckland, the Maritime Museum has an 88% ranking, the Zoo has 85%, and the Museum has 82%.
• Kiwihost is telling people working in customer services not to be so fast to ask customers the “Can I help you?” question. What was once a golden rule of good customer service has become something most people find irritating.
Environment & sustainability:
• The NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development has surveyed NZers on their preferred source of energy – wind and solar power are most preferred, coal, gas and nuclear power are least preferred.
• The NZ Freedom Camping Forum convened by the Tourism Industry Association of NZ is developing a responsible freedom camping code that will help visitors to NZ to respect the environment and camp responsibly.
• A report to be released on 15th April from the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), says that modern agricultural practices may be highly productive, but have also done a lot of damage. The group recommends more emphasis on ‘agro-ecological’ practices.
Health & wellbeing:
• As part of the Children’s Plan in the UK, (the government’s strategy on children’s play), local councils could be required to achieve targets for improving children’s play facilities and families will be surveyed for their opinions as a measure of achieving the target.
• This year’s session of the UN Commission on Population and Development has started with officials stressing that although the number of people living in cities this year outranks those living in rural areas for the first time, it is important to understand how successful cities have dealt with pollution, slums and other ills.
• German scientists are warning about studies show that airborne mould spores from organic waste could lead to allergic reactions, asthma attacks, hayfever-like symptoms and itchy skin lesions.
• The ALAC Partnerships Conference in Nelson this week (Local government – Planning for alcohol in the community) has been told that an Australian study has found increased domestic violence linked to new liquor licences.
• The US Federal Communications Commission is to establish a nationwide cell phone alert system that can be used to send text messages in an area where a crisis or an emergency has occurred.
Law & Government:
• Thefts of copper power transmission lines in the Waikato, and aluminium covers in Manukau pumping facilities are local examples of the rise in crime related to scrap metals. In cities in the US, metal theft is often the result of high scrap metal prices combining with a need by local drug addicts to make money, and million dollar sculptures have been stolen simply for their (much) lower scrap value. The US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries now provides advice to recyclers, also suffering from the thefts.
• In the UK, councils will now have more powers to hold their members to account for their conduct and local standards committees will have the responsibility for initially assessing all allegations of misconduct by councillors.
• The first all-of-government survey asking NZers how they feel about public services has been released. Local government has a service group satisfaction level of 73%, with the environment and recreation service group taking the top satisfaction level with 79%.
• Over the next fortnight, the UN Human Rights Council will survey 16 member nations by examining their human rights records and gathering information from a variety of sources. The new mechanism will eventually survey all member nations once every four years.
People, culture & diversity:
• In the NZ Herald this week, was the report by the Asia NZ Foundation: “Diverse Auckland: The Face of New Zealand in the 21st Century”. The report is the latest from the Foundation’s Outlook series.
• British grandmothers think their daughters are being put under huge pressure to rigidly control everything in their own babies' lives.
• Parents are more likely to use the Internet for information and entertainment more often than adults with no children.
Science, technology & transport:
• What can the world of ancient Rome tell modern analysts about protecting infrastructure? A US infrastructure protection strategist draws comparisons between the ancient Roman aqueducts and modern infrastructure security. And what lessons can be learned from a Bronze-Age fort about developing Internet security in the Digital Age?
• Microsoft has sponsored research on human-computer interactions, predicting that computers will be able to anticipate what we want from them. A report has been published: “Beyond human: human-computer interaction in the year 2020”.
• The Internet has had a profound effect on the profession of journalism and broadcast media, to the extent that one journalist has predicted that there will be no need for foreign correspondents within 5 years time.
Friday, 4 April 2008
From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 03/04):
Business & management:
• The Fast 50: the world’s most innovative companies, is a list compiled by Fast Company of those that “dazzle with new ideas”. (This journal is also available on the Digital Libraries databases in full text.)
• As people live longer, their approach to life past the age of 50 has undergone great changes in recent years – including the possibility of “Retiring retirement”. (The book mentioned in this article is held at Libraries, and the journal is in full text on the Digital Libraries databases).
• The impact of virtual online reality worlds are already showing in the education world. In this article the former chief technology officer of Second Life writes on the impacts on collaboration & innovation, and the new structures and business models that companies and even nations could use to maximise the advantages of virtual reality. (Click on “Go to Download Document, on the left of the screen.)
• The Human Rights Commission’s 3rd report “2008 Census of women’s participation” shows that 60 of the top 100 companies in NZ have no women on their boards, while the Association of University Staff says that progress on the number of women in senior academic positions is “glacial”.
Education
• NZ Trade and Enterprise is promoting the International Knowledge Services Summit, in Auckland from 30 April to 1 May. The summit will explore how to create large scale commercial opportunities for NZ's education organisations.
Environment & sustainability:
• Studies are now showing that plastic waste in the oceans is a hidden but serious long term toxic threat to the food chain, apart from the immediate physical impact that plastic waste can have on seabirds and wildlife.
• A NZ company is almost at the point of producing commercial levels of bio-crude oil manufactured from algae, a method of producing biofuel that doesn’t impact on food production and has a beneficial by-product of clean water.
• The 2008 Foolies Fossil Fuel Awards were announced in the US last month. The awards recognise the world’s biggest contributors to the global addiction to fossil fuel.
• Cities in Europe and China have pollution problems so serious that the bad air is having serious affects on the health of their citizens, impacting on tourism to the cities, and possibly even lowering life expectancy.
•”Cities as sustainable ecosystems: principles and practice” by Peter Newman, has been ordered for the LOGIS collection. Professor Newman is Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University, Australia and Harry W Porter Visiting Professor in Urban Planning at the University of Virginia.
• A petition in America is campaigning for a way to allow people to permanently opt out of receiving junk mail – which could have a large environmental impact, given that US junk mail accounts for one third of the mail delivered in the world.
• The Instanbul Urban Water Consensus is a declaration by representatives of about 40 of the world’s cities, who are concerned about the damaging effects of climate change on urban water resources.
• It is not yet possible to have a zero waste office or corporation, but many big companies around the world are examining ways that they can start the journey to getting there.
Health & wellbeing:
• The multi-drug resistant form of tuberculosis is overwhelming the ability of health-care systems around the world to treat sufferers, according to the UN.
• Independent research by Price Waterhouse Coopers Australia on the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is now available on the ACC website. The executive summary and terms of reference are online, but a full report (450 pages long) must be requested.
• People in the UK have been discovered to be realistic about the costs involved in aging, including the possible need to sell their homes to pay for their care rather than leaving their home to their children.
Law & Government:
• The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (US) has presented an article on the way in which famous people are able to talk directly with (and influence) world leaders: “Beyond Hollywood and the boardroom: celebrity diplomacy.” (This journal is also available on the Digital Libraries databases in full text.)
• For an outsider's perspective on NZ’s human rights status, read the US Dept of State’s report on NZ’s human rights practices.
• A recenet Urban Land Institute blog posting is on the impact of policies in some US cities, requiring property developers to include a certain amount of affordable housing in return for some kind of benefit. A recent study of such policies seems to indicate that the design of the programs may matter considerably.
People, culture & diversity:
• The UN has released its 2007 listing of “Ten stories the world should hear more about”, with topics ranging from bird flu to girl soldiers.
• The US Population Reference Bureau has published “Managing migration: the global challenge” as the March issue of their Population Bulletin.
• From the Lowy Institute of International Policy in Sydney, comes a paper on the increasing global diasporas. They are compared to “world wide webs” in a new view of globalisation, and the issues that are faced by national governments are discussed.
• Although UK immigrants are contributing more to the UK economy in taxes and skills, they also place most public services under more strain, as well as increasing the demand for English language course and interpretation services. The government launched the Migration Impacts Forum last year “to help build the evidence base for the effects which migration is having on communities and public services”.
• The Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body in Britain, is attempting to set out the core standards and constitutions for Britain's 1,350-plus mosques and Islamic centres. The Body was set up a year ago, representing the 4 leading Muslim groups, and it is hoped the standards will help to drive out extremism.
• A survey in Britain has found that lesbian, gay and bisexual people believe that there are high levels of discrimination in public bodies (such as schools, police, healthcare, etc). Two thirds of lesbian and gay people under 19 said that they have been bullied at school.
• A UK survey has discovered that social networking sites intended for teens and adults have a high number of 8-11 year-olds claiming to have profile pages on the sites, in spite of age restrictions intended to promote safety. Bebo has hired a forensic psychologist, launched safesocialnetworking.com as a resource for teachers, and placed an emphasis on basic functionality such as setting all profiles to private by default and warning under-21s if they try to make their profiles publicly searchable. (In NZ, the Dept of Internal Affairs website includes pages on child safety online, including a list of interactive websites aimed at teaching children how to be safe online.)
• In NZ, we shift our endangered species to islands. In Norway, they send offenders to an island prison that operates on environmental principles.
Science, technology & transport:
• The Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority has held its annual Biofuels Conference this week, with the conference theme being extended to include electricity as used in electric vehicles.
• Early results of a UK study on organic foods shows that some organic foods may be more nutritious than non-organic produce.
• The Commission for Environmental Cooperation is promoting their report ”Green building in North America”. Comparisons of Canada, the US and Mexico show that sustainable construction methods could be a method of lowering carbon emissions.
• The Fast 50: the world’s most innovative companies, is a list compiled by Fast Company of those that “dazzle with new ideas”. (This journal is also available on the Digital Libraries databases in full text.)
• As people live longer, their approach to life past the age of 50 has undergone great changes in recent years – including the possibility of “Retiring retirement”. (The book mentioned in this article is held at Libraries, and the journal is in full text on the Digital Libraries databases).
• The impact of virtual online reality worlds are already showing in the education world. In this article the former chief technology officer of Second Life writes on the impacts on collaboration & innovation, and the new structures and business models that companies and even nations could use to maximise the advantages of virtual reality. (Click on “Go to Download Document, on the left of the screen.)
• The Human Rights Commission’s 3rd report “2008 Census of women’s participation” shows that 60 of the top 100 companies in NZ have no women on their boards, while the Association of University Staff says that progress on the number of women in senior academic positions is “glacial”.
Education
• NZ Trade and Enterprise is promoting the International Knowledge Services Summit, in Auckland from 30 April to 1 May. The summit will explore how to create large scale commercial opportunities for NZ's education organisations.
Environment & sustainability:
• Studies are now showing that plastic waste in the oceans is a hidden but serious long term toxic threat to the food chain, apart from the immediate physical impact that plastic waste can have on seabirds and wildlife.
• A NZ company is almost at the point of producing commercial levels of bio-crude oil manufactured from algae, a method of producing biofuel that doesn’t impact on food production and has a beneficial by-product of clean water.
• The 2008 Foolies Fossil Fuel Awards were announced in the US last month. The awards recognise the world’s biggest contributors to the global addiction to fossil fuel.
• Cities in Europe and China have pollution problems so serious that the bad air is having serious affects on the health of their citizens, impacting on tourism to the cities, and possibly even lowering life expectancy.
•”Cities as sustainable ecosystems: principles and practice” by Peter Newman, has been ordered for the LOGIS collection. Professor Newman is Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University, Australia and Harry W Porter Visiting Professor in Urban Planning at the University of Virginia.
• A petition in America is campaigning for a way to allow people to permanently opt out of receiving junk mail – which could have a large environmental impact, given that US junk mail accounts for one third of the mail delivered in the world.
• The Instanbul Urban Water Consensus is a declaration by representatives of about 40 of the world’s cities, who are concerned about the damaging effects of climate change on urban water resources.
• It is not yet possible to have a zero waste office or corporation, but many big companies around the world are examining ways that they can start the journey to getting there.
Health & wellbeing:
• The multi-drug resistant form of tuberculosis is overwhelming the ability of health-care systems around the world to treat sufferers, according to the UN.
• Independent research by Price Waterhouse Coopers Australia on the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is now available on the ACC website. The executive summary and terms of reference are online, but a full report (450 pages long) must be requested.
• People in the UK have been discovered to be realistic about the costs involved in aging, including the possible need to sell their homes to pay for their care rather than leaving their home to their children.
Law & Government:
• The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (US) has presented an article on the way in which famous people are able to talk directly with (and influence) world leaders: “Beyond Hollywood and the boardroom: celebrity diplomacy.” (This journal is also available on the Digital Libraries databases in full text.)
• For an outsider's perspective on NZ’s human rights status, read the US Dept of State’s report on NZ’s human rights practices.
• A recenet Urban Land Institute blog posting is on the impact of policies in some US cities, requiring property developers to include a certain amount of affordable housing in return for some kind of benefit. A recent study of such policies seems to indicate that the design of the programs may matter considerably.
People, culture & diversity:
• The UN has released its 2007 listing of “Ten stories the world should hear more about”, with topics ranging from bird flu to girl soldiers.
• The US Population Reference Bureau has published “Managing migration: the global challenge” as the March issue of their Population Bulletin.
• From the Lowy Institute of International Policy in Sydney, comes a paper on the increasing global diasporas. They are compared to “world wide webs” in a new view of globalisation, and the issues that are faced by national governments are discussed.
• Although UK immigrants are contributing more to the UK economy in taxes and skills, they also place most public services under more strain, as well as increasing the demand for English language course and interpretation services. The government launched the Migration Impacts Forum last year “to help build the evidence base for the effects which migration is having on communities and public services”.
• The Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body in Britain, is attempting to set out the core standards and constitutions for Britain's 1,350-plus mosques and Islamic centres. The Body was set up a year ago, representing the 4 leading Muslim groups, and it is hoped the standards will help to drive out extremism.
• A survey in Britain has found that lesbian, gay and bisexual people believe that there are high levels of discrimination in public bodies (such as schools, police, healthcare, etc). Two thirds of lesbian and gay people under 19 said that they have been bullied at school.
• A UK survey has discovered that social networking sites intended for teens and adults have a high number of 8-11 year-olds claiming to have profile pages on the sites, in spite of age restrictions intended to promote safety. Bebo has hired a forensic psychologist, launched safesocialnetworking.com as a resource for teachers, and placed an emphasis on basic functionality such as setting all profiles to private by default and warning under-21s if they try to make their profiles publicly searchable. (In NZ, the Dept of Internal Affairs website includes pages on child safety online, including a list of interactive websites aimed at teaching children how to be safe online.)
• In NZ, we shift our endangered species to islands. In Norway, they send offenders to an island prison that operates on environmental principles.
Science, technology & transport:
• The Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority has held its annual Biofuels Conference this week, with the conference theme being extended to include electricity as used in electric vehicles.
• Early results of a UK study on organic foods shows that some organic foods may be more nutritious than non-organic produce.
• The Commission for Environmental Cooperation is promoting their report ”Green building in North America”. Comparisons of Canada, the US and Mexico show that sustainable construction methods could be a method of lowering carbon emissions.
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