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Archive for April, 2010

General Election 2010 – what about the issues?

Tue 27th Apr 20104 Comments »

The story of the election so far has been the rise of Clegg and the Liberal Democrats and the consequences this may have on the result.  Change has become the central question – the choice being about who can manage this best and who personifies it the most.  But change for what?  It is striking that policy has received less attention in this than in any previous election.

The election has not yet resolved itself into a clear argument about alternative strategies for managing the big issues; the economy, the deficit and the future of our public services. Read the manifestos in detail, as I suspect few have done, and what emerges are large areas of agreement between the three main parties, especially about public services and how they need to change. But each party puts a different gloss on this. (more…)

How to carry on in a warming world

Wed 21st Apr 20103 Comments »

According to climate scientists we have been so tardy in responding to burgeoning greenhouse gas emissions that there are now only two possible paths: extreme rates of emission reductions or extreme climate change. The first would require all major polluting nations – within the next five years – to undertake the type of radical economic restructuring previously seen only in war-time. That is not going to happen.

Unless the science turns out to be wholly wrong, we are locked on a path of extreme climate change lasting many centuries. How do we respond psychologically to this?

A paper by Tim Kasser and myself  draws on research into the various “coping strategies” we might use to defend against or manage the unpleasant emotions associated with “waking up” to the dangers of a warming globe. These include fear, anxiety, guilt, anger, depression and helplessness. The strategies fall into three broad types: denial, maladaptive and adaptive strategies. (more…)

The value trinity

Fri 9th Apr 20101 Comment »

Matthew Taylor’s third annual lecture as chief executive of the RSA was titled Left Brain, Right Brain. While the left and right alluded to political viewpoints and the focus was on public policymaking, the title would have worked if referring to business decision-making, a discipline which is overly left-brain oriented and heavily focused on analysis.

Our pre-occupation with analysis is partly cultural, rooted in western philosophy’s origins in Ancient Greece. Plato’s search for truth, Aristotle’s classification system and Socratic questioning and challenge have together formed the foundations of western education (including management programmes), prevailing mental models and approaches to problem solving. (more…)

Can an expressive life underpin sustainable citizenship?

Thu 8th Apr 2010No Comments »

In his RSA Journal article Freedom Of Expression Bill Ivey, Director of the Curb Centre for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University, argues for a rights based approach to cultural policy. The case for public cultural investment should be made, he argues, in the context of a wider argument about the right to an ‘expressive life’, including, for example, the right to an artistic life (e.g. the opportunity to learn a musical instrument), the right of artists to be heard in public discourse, the right of access to national heritage. (more…)

RSA Animate – Drive

Thu 8th Apr 20101 Comment »

Daniel Pink provides concrete examples of how intrinsic motivation functions both at home and in the workplace. View a video of Dan Pink’s talk at the RSA that inspired this animation. Download a transcript of this video (pdf).