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Archive for January, 2012

Shining light on the sustainable economy

Fri 27th Jan 20122 Comments »

Mark Hatwood FRSA set up the CoBRA scheme to recycle batteries and Low Energy light bulbs. Despite its success, he hopes for a day when industry and government action on creating a more sustainable economy will make the scheme redundant.

Unlike many of the North European countries, the UK moved early to introduce low energy light bulbs, which save 80% of the energy of incandescent bulbs. Given that 25% of this country’s energy use is in lighting, this equates to a possible 20% saving in UK energy use. So far so good.

But this year alone it is estimated that in the UK 150,000,000 low energy light bulbs will reach landfill. Each low energy light bulb contains about 4mgs of mercury, which, depending on your research source, can pollute anything from 5,000 – 10,000 gallons of water if it gets onto the water table.

So why have we have failed to put procedures in place at that first stage to deal with the product’s end-of-life? And why is that the UK government is only now beginning to think about what can be done to deal with this potential environmental disaster? (more…)

Police and crime commissioners: a good thing?

Thu 26th Jan 20121 Comment »

Police and crime commissioners will be introduced later this year. Andrew Morley FRSA, previously chief executive to the London Criminal Justice Partnership, argues that they have the potential to systemise the kind of partnership working required to respond to crime.

The policy debate about the role of police and crime commissioners (PCCs) has shifted and the proposal to extend their role from just police oversight – as originally proposed – to a broader role around reducing crime is very welcome. This is more likely to enable the holistic and intelligent response that crime requires.

PCCs will have the significant advantage of being able speak to the citizen experience of crime and the criminal justice system rather than to the agency contribution to it.

This could be powerful in helping to overcome traditional tensions and should bring sense and clarity to what remains a disjointed system. PCCs will need to explain to their electorate what a whole system response involves and this will throw up challenging questions for justice services and other agencies involved. (more…)

Designs on Mathematics

Wed 18th Jan 20122 Comments »

Mathematics has been deeply involved in design since it was used to plan the pyramids of the Old Kingdom of Egypt.  Chris Ormell FRSA charts changes in the relationship between the two disciplines and argues for a radical shift in maths teaching that recognises its critical role in design, innovation, science and technology.

Mathematics was used to design the tomb of Mausolos, the Lighthouse at Alexandria, the Corinth Canal, the ampitheatres in hundreds of Roman cities and much else.

The Greeks knew that monuments designed with mathematics had an aura, a panache that could only be achieved in this way. Getting an underlying geometrical structure with symmetry and optimisation had this effect. The geometry was, essentially, the next, natural step in abstraction after line drawing. But the great value of mathematics as a practical art stemmed from its extension of the designer’s imagination. The designer could experiment with the geometry of different designs and see, with precision, what the effect would be. It was a capital discipline for trying-out design ideas. So, mathematics, which had begun much earlier as a simple tool kit of marks needed by shepherds and merchants to keep tabs on their stocks, began to acquire a superior image. Gradually some of the mystique associated with the great monuments rubbed off onto the profession of mathematician.

Perhaps inevitably, this came with a downside. Mathematics began to be valued for its own sake. The priceless mathematics-imagination meld which had created the mystique of the subject was soon forgotten.     (more…)

Meaning at work

Wed 4th Jan 20126 Comments »

In the current economic climate it might be argued that trying to generate employee engagement is a luxury that the private and public sector can ill afford. Nicholas Ind FRSA argues that it is at precisely these times that organisations need the innovative ideas and contributions of their staff in enhancing service and performance. (more…)