August 9, 2016
UK and Australia lead the world in tech use for sustainable development 0
A new report from the United Nations claims to identify the world’s leading nations in the use of the Internet to support sustainable development. The E-Government Survey 2016, assesses how e-government principles are applied to support the UN’s 15 year plan to use sustainable development to end poverty, boost growth and tackle climate change. The report highlights how the application of new technology can make government institutions more transparent, accountable and effective, encourage democratic participation, improve the delivery of services and allow policy makers to take account of the big picture when coming to decisions. The report claims that the UK government is setting worldwide standards for other countries to emulate. The model is replicated in Australia, Europe and New Zealand. South Korea was placed third and the report highlights successes in countries like Turkey and China, but states that many regions are not taking advantage of the opportunities offered them by the Internet.
August 17, 2016
Do people really matter when we design workplaces? 0
by Steve Maslin • Comment, Events, Facilities management, Workplace design
Some may think this is a daft question. They’ll argue that of course people matter when we design workplaces. Granted, there are those for whom the human experience of the built environment is really important. They demonstrate this it in their attitudes and actions. However, based on some of the attitudes and actions I have observed over the years, I would suggest that the belief that people really matter when some designers design workplaces for them is quite frankly all too often skin deep. How do we know this? And if we accept that it is true, it then begs the secondary question of why this should be the case. Is it entirely our fault? What might we do to address the issues? In part, we know that people haven’t really mattered enough in design because of mistakes of the past. Meanwhile, society is facing many pressing challenges, ranging from health to housing, work to economy and climate change to resource depletion.
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