| Wednesday, April 21, 2004 |  |
| Patterns for Living Communication |
 CPSR, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, seems to be doing many good things. One of them is a part of the Public Sphere Project called A Pattern Language for Living Communication. There is a collection of many patterns in various fields such as Community Action, Social Learning, Organization, and more.The Pattern Language for Living Communication project is a long-term, participatory project to create a useful, compelling and comprehensive collection of knowledge which reflects the wisdom of people from all over the world who are developing information and communication systems that support humankind's deepest core values.Some of them seems to be works in progress, but there's a lot of excellent resources there. 253 patterns listed! And you can contribute. [ Patterns | 2004-04-21 18:12 | 1 comment | PermaLink ] More > |
| Wireless Cabin |
 Finally there's some serious movement towards being able to use electronic devices on planes. This story in eWeek talks about Wireless Cabin, an EU project that would allow passengers to use a range of their own normal wireless devices, such as cell phone and WiFi or BlueTooth connected computer. As opposed to other plans in progress which are more restrictive. The trick to this approach seems to be to create very small cells within the plane, which would prompt cell phones to transmit with very low power. Which would avoid the possible interference problems. Tests will happen this summer on an AirBus plane, and if successful it might be put into production later this year. Expected prices: $10-30 for unlimited WiFi access during the flight. That sounds very attractive.[ Technology | 2004-04-21 18:31 | 0 comments | PermaLink ] |
| Gross International Happiness |
 Via Bird on the Moon, Gross International Happiness:The Gross International Happiness Project (‘GIH’) is based on the insight that conventional development concepts such as GNP and Per Capita Income do not properly reflect the general well being of the inhabitants of a nation. In order to develop real progress and sustainability and to effectively combat trends which compromise the planet’s natural and human ecosystems, GIH aims to develop more appropriate and inclusive indicators which truly measure the quality of life within nations and organizations. GIH is inspired by the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) proposed by the King of Bhutan, which puts the well being of individuals on top of the national development agenda. Rooted in Buddhist philosophy and values, GIH presents a radically different development paradigm, but one that holds a promise for achieving real sustainability. GIH aims to connect the international efforts which are taking place in the field of developing alternative development indicators, human economics and happiness psychology, so that individual efforts can benefit from each other and that collectively these efforts more strongly impact international development agendas.I think that is just great. Maximizing Quality of Life should be the guiding principle of society. I don't see any details on how exactly you would calculate it. Seems like some conferences will carry forward the conversation about that. Next one in Mongolia in July. [ Culture | 2004-04-21 18:54 | 1 comment | PermaLink ] More > |