an article by Ronald G. Sultana (Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Educational Research, University of Malta) published in European Journal of Higher Education Volume 2 Issue 4 (December 2012)
Abstract
Using the lenses and theoretical frameworks provided by social science, this article highlights some of the central debates concerning higher education governance, within a perspective that privileges the relation between the state and the citizen as mediated by the institution of the university.
The article begins by interrogating the meaning of governance, focusing on demographic, ideological, economic and cultural factors that have an impact not only on the pervasiveness of governance as a focus for research and debate, but also on the way it is defined.
Key trends in – and emerging models as well as instruments of – higher education governance are identified, laying bare some of the local, regional and global forces that are shaping higher education practices. Opting for ‘critical’ over ‘liberal’ models of the university, the article argues for forms of governance that nurture public intellectuals who challenge and disrupt the reproduction of power.
Universities can thus both serve and scrutinize the society they form part of and that supports them, becoming laboratories for democracy that model, in miniature, the kinds of social relations that ought to prevail beyond the confines of the campus.
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Long-term unemployment in 2012
a report published by CESI (Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion)
Executive Summary
The release of the first Work Programme performance statistics on 27 November is an opportunity to review how successful the government has been in holding down long-term unemployment.
Long-term unemployment has more than doubled since 2008 and young people have been hit the hardest, with a 145% increase.
Long-term unemployment for those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) has seen the largest increases – for all ages it is up 173% and for young people up 339%. This has been fuelled by claimants being switched to JSA from ‘inactive benefits’ – which have seen decreases in long-term claims.
Women have seen particularly sharp increases – a 173% increase in long-term unemployment, which includes a 289% increase in JSA long-term unemployment.
Being out of work for over a year has a significant impact on people’s confidence, finances and future earning power. Inclusion has argued that governments should focus on: preventing long-term unemployment and on helping those long-term unemployed to maximise their chances of getting and keeping employment.
Preventing long-term unemployment
Jobcentre Plus is the front line in preventing long-term unemployment. It is monitored by an ‘impact indicator’, which measures the number of new claimants that have stopped claiming within 12 months. The latest published figure shows that 87% of new claimants have left before 12 months, but this has worsened since 2010.
In comparison with the 1990s recession, Jobcentre Plus performance is considerably better. In 1991 one in four of all new claimants became long-term unemployed. Now it is one in six.
Performance has varied considerably since the start of the recession in 2008. Last autumn and winter, the speed at which people left JSA fell by between 15% and 25%. This is the same period that covers the first Work Programme performance results. This likely reflects both tough labour market conditions and the impact of significant changes in policy and programmes by the new government. However, since spring this year, off-flows have significantly improved – a sign that subsequent Work Programme results will also improve.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recognises that the wider economy can affect Jobcentre Plus performance: ‘in a recession, even if Jobcentre Plus is performing well, the off-flow rate is likely to fall.’1 However, DWP does not currently recognise this for the Work Programme.
The Work Programme
The weaker than expected economy in 2011 means that DWP’s expectation for Work Programme performance in its first year is unrealistically high. We think a realistic benchmark for Work Programme performance in Year 1 is to reduce DWP’s minimum performance level (MPL) by 15%.
In the invitation to tender (ITT) for the financial year 2011–12 DWP originally set an MPL of 5.5% of all referrals achieving a job outcome in that same year. Because the programme started late, the first full operational year was June 2011 to May 2012 and the equivalent MPL is 6.1%.
However, this was set when the economy was forecast to grow. Instead we have had a double-dip recession. Inclusion has found a strong relationship between changes in gross domestic product and the rate at which unemployed people start jobs. We have used this to adjust the MPL so that it reflects the reality of the last year.
Our expectation is that tomorrow’s published results will be around 15% lower than planned – if they are above then contractors would have done well despite the recession. If they are below this, it will be an indication there have been deeper problems in the first year of the Work Programme.
Fewer job outcomes will mean lower spending per participant, and lower payments to contractors. There is a danger of a downward spiral of lower performance leading to lower spending, leading to even lower performance. Tightening finances will also increase the risk of ‘parking’ the most disadvantaged participants and will increase the financial pressures on specialist providers, such as voluntary organisations.
The first results are not likely to give a definitive answer about whether the Work Programme is on track or needs fixing. But they will likely illustrate that ‘payment by results’ can lead to lower spending when the jobs market gets weaker – and that contractors alone should not be blamed if performance expectations don’t respond to the ‘rough waters’2 of the economy.
==========================
1 See: www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/corporate-publications/dwp-business-plan-2011-2015/businessplan-transparency/people-moving-from-key-out-of-work/
2 Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, on economic prospects, August 2012
Full text (PDF 45pp)
Executive Summary
The release of the first Work Programme performance statistics on 27 November is an opportunity to review how successful the government has been in holding down long-term unemployment.
Long-term unemployment has more than doubled since 2008 and young people have been hit the hardest, with a 145% increase.
Long-term unemployment for those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) has seen the largest increases – for all ages it is up 173% and for young people up 339%. This has been fuelled by claimants being switched to JSA from ‘inactive benefits’ – which have seen decreases in long-term claims.
Women have seen particularly sharp increases – a 173% increase in long-term unemployment, which includes a 289% increase in JSA long-term unemployment.
Being out of work for over a year has a significant impact on people’s confidence, finances and future earning power. Inclusion has argued that governments should focus on: preventing long-term unemployment and on helping those long-term unemployed to maximise their chances of getting and keeping employment.
Preventing long-term unemployment
Jobcentre Plus is the front line in preventing long-term unemployment. It is monitored by an ‘impact indicator’, which measures the number of new claimants that have stopped claiming within 12 months. The latest published figure shows that 87% of new claimants have left before 12 months, but this has worsened since 2010.
In comparison with the 1990s recession, Jobcentre Plus performance is considerably better. In 1991 one in four of all new claimants became long-term unemployed. Now it is one in six.
Performance has varied considerably since the start of the recession in 2008. Last autumn and winter, the speed at which people left JSA fell by between 15% and 25%. This is the same period that covers the first Work Programme performance results. This likely reflects both tough labour market conditions and the impact of significant changes in policy and programmes by the new government. However, since spring this year, off-flows have significantly improved – a sign that subsequent Work Programme results will also improve.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recognises that the wider economy can affect Jobcentre Plus performance: ‘in a recession, even if Jobcentre Plus is performing well, the off-flow rate is likely to fall.’1 However, DWP does not currently recognise this for the Work Programme.
The Work Programme
The weaker than expected economy in 2011 means that DWP’s expectation for Work Programme performance in its first year is unrealistically high. We think a realistic benchmark for Work Programme performance in Year 1 is to reduce DWP’s minimum performance level (MPL) by 15%.
In the invitation to tender (ITT) for the financial year 2011–12 DWP originally set an MPL of 5.5% of all referrals achieving a job outcome in that same year. Because the programme started late, the first full operational year was June 2011 to May 2012 and the equivalent MPL is 6.1%.
However, this was set when the economy was forecast to grow. Instead we have had a double-dip recession. Inclusion has found a strong relationship between changes in gross domestic product and the rate at which unemployed people start jobs. We have used this to adjust the MPL so that it reflects the reality of the last year.
Our expectation is that tomorrow’s published results will be around 15% lower than planned – if they are above then contractors would have done well despite the recession. If they are below this, it will be an indication there have been deeper problems in the first year of the Work Programme.
Fewer job outcomes will mean lower spending per participant, and lower payments to contractors. There is a danger of a downward spiral of lower performance leading to lower spending, leading to even lower performance. Tightening finances will also increase the risk of ‘parking’ the most disadvantaged participants and will increase the financial pressures on specialist providers, such as voluntary organisations.
The first results are not likely to give a definitive answer about whether the Work Programme is on track or needs fixing. But they will likely illustrate that ‘payment by results’ can lead to lower spending when the jobs market gets weaker – and that contractors alone should not be blamed if performance expectations don’t respond to the ‘rough waters’2 of the economy.
==========================
1 See: www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/corporate-publications/dwp-business-plan-2011-2015/businessplan-transparency/people-moving-from-key-out-of-work/
2 Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, on economic prospects, August 2012
Full text (PDF 45pp)
Struggling to make ends meet: Single parents and income adequacy under universal credit
a paper by Donald Hirsch (Director, Centre for Research in Social Policy,
Loughborough University) published by Gingerbread
Introduction
From 2013, universal credit will start replacing the present benefits and tax credit system as the main financial support for families on low incomes. Single parent families are highly dependent on such support to make ends meet, whether they are in or out of work. To what extent will the new system meet their needs?
The new system has a number of features that could potentially help single parents. It will be simpler overall than the present system, reducing the confusing array of entitlements and forms to fill in. It will offer new opportunities to improve family income through part time work, allowing single parents to keep some or all of their out of work entitlements when they work a few hours a week. And it will reduce some of the most severe barriers to improving family income, in particular the most extreme situations where families can currently lose over 90 per cent of additional earnings through a reduction in benefits combined with higher income tax bills.
However, ultimately the extent to which the system helps single parent families lift themselves out of poverty and achieve an adequate standard of living will depend on the level at which entitlements are set. In the past two years, there have already been significant cuts to both benefits and tax credits, and many of these will be carried over into universal credit. The system is coming in when, like many people in Britain, single parents are generally seeing living costs rise at a faster rate than earnings (or state entitlements). The combination of these factors makes it inevitable that, even with the help of universal credit, many families will struggle to make ends meet.
This paper gives an initial snapshot of how provisional universal credit entitlements (announced as illustrative figures for 2012/13, the year before its introduction) compare to families’ needs. In particular we seek to illustrate the impact of universal credit on:
Introduction
From 2013, universal credit will start replacing the present benefits and tax credit system as the main financial support for families on low incomes. Single parent families are highly dependent on such support to make ends meet, whether they are in or out of work. To what extent will the new system meet their needs?
The new system has a number of features that could potentially help single parents. It will be simpler overall than the present system, reducing the confusing array of entitlements and forms to fill in. It will offer new opportunities to improve family income through part time work, allowing single parents to keep some or all of their out of work entitlements when they work a few hours a week. And it will reduce some of the most severe barriers to improving family income, in particular the most extreme situations where families can currently lose over 90 per cent of additional earnings through a reduction in benefits combined with higher income tax bills.
However, ultimately the extent to which the system helps single parent families lift themselves out of poverty and achieve an adequate standard of living will depend on the level at which entitlements are set. In the past two years, there have already been significant cuts to both benefits and tax credits, and many of these will be carried over into universal credit. The system is coming in when, like many people in Britain, single parents are generally seeing living costs rise at a faster rate than earnings (or state entitlements). The combination of these factors makes it inevitable that, even with the help of universal credit, many families will struggle to make ends meet.
This paper gives an initial snapshot of how provisional universal credit entitlements (announced as illustrative figures for 2012/13, the year before its introduction) compare to families’ needs. In particular we seek to illustrate the impact of universal credit on:
- Work as a route out of poverty and towards an adequate income level – will it support working single parents to lift their families above the poverty line, and will it support them to reach an adequate level of income for their needs?
- Work incentives – will it make a single parent better off in work than not, and will it be worthwhile to work additional hours?
- Looking at a general level at the ability of single parents with various hours of work and wages to escape poverty and reach a minimum acceptable income level
- Considering which factors will most affect the adequacy of universal credit. It makes comparisons between single parents with more or less expensive housing and childcare, and different numbers and ages of children
- Considering the effectiveness of different policy measures in improving the situation of single parents under universal credit, to help understand what future improvements could best produce stronger work incentives – and therefore a more adequate living standard – for single parents and their children.
Welfare regimes and welfare state outcomes in Europe
an article by Andreas Kammer (University of Cologne, Germany), Judith Niehues (Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW), Germany) and Andreas Peichl (Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Germany) published in Journal of European Social Policy Volume 22 Number 5 (December 2012)
Abstract
Welfare state typologies are generally based on the institutional design of welfare policies.
In this paper we analyse whether such typologies also persist when they are applied to effective redistributive outcomes of welfare states’ tax and transfer policies.
In contrast to the widespread use of macro indicators, our empirical analysis relies on internationally comparable microdata in order to account for the distribution of resources across households. We perform a hierarchical cluster analysis and check whether the classical typology for Western European welfare states reproduces the typical patterns when it comes to effective economic outcomes.
We find that the established welfare regimes not only differ in their welfare state institutions as is known, but also in their economic outcomes. In particular, we identify the social-democratic, conservative, liberal and southern welfare regimes. Belgium and the Netherlands emerge as hybrid cases lying between the social-democratic and conservative model.
Abstract
Welfare state typologies are generally based on the institutional design of welfare policies.
In this paper we analyse whether such typologies also persist when they are applied to effective redistributive outcomes of welfare states’ tax and transfer policies.
In contrast to the widespread use of macro indicators, our empirical analysis relies on internationally comparable microdata in order to account for the distribution of resources across households. We perform a hierarchical cluster analysis and check whether the classical typology for Western European welfare states reproduces the typical patterns when it comes to effective economic outcomes.
We find that the established welfare regimes not only differ in their welfare state institutions as is known, but also in their economic outcomes. In particular, we identify the social-democratic, conservative, liberal and southern welfare regimes. Belgium and the Netherlands emerge as hybrid cases lying between the social-democratic and conservative model.
A Comparison of Effects on Capabilities in Transitions to the Labour Market
Final Report on the WorkAble EU Collaborative Project (2009-2012)
Introduction by Enrica Chiappero Martinetti
This final report presents the findings of Work Package 5 (WP5) of the EU collaborative research project “Making Capabilities Work” (WorkAble).
The overall aim of WorkAble is to provide knowledge on how to enable young people to act as capable citizens in the labour markets of European knowledge societies, and to assess political and institutional strategies aimed at countering high rates of youth unemployment, early school leaving and dropping out from upper secondary education.
The project’s three main objectives are first, to expand the capabilities of young people to act as fully participating citizens in emerging European knowledge societies; second, to promote skills and competencies in young people that are conducive to improving the economic productivity and competitiveness of Europe; and third, to develop transversal strategies that integrate central economic, educational and social issues, in order to close the capability gap in the young and particularly the inadequacies between education and training and the requisites of the knowledge society to which they, and, above all, the more disadvantaged are exposed.
Using EU-SILC longitudinal data as well as in-depth analyses of specific countries and comparative analyses of pairs of countries, the aim of WP5 (“Effects on transitional trajectories of young people”) is to identify and understand the transitions that young Europeans make from the educational system to the labour market, and to assess whether educational strategies contribute to expanding their capabilities for work and social participation. Special attention is given to analysing the degree to which comparable educational attainments among young people lead to different labour market opportunities, depending on the configuration of labour market and educational regimes. WP5 also examines the relationship between education, transitional trajectories and individual well-being and social exclusion, and how this relationship varies between different EU member states.
The present final report contains two main sections. The first section consists of brief synopses for each of the seven papers produced by the researchers participating in WP5. Each synopsis includes the title of the paper in question, the main research question that it poses, the data and methodology utilized, and the main findings. The second section consists of the Annexes, which contain the seven papers in full.
Full text (PDF 263pp)
Introduction by Enrica Chiappero Martinetti
This final report presents the findings of Work Package 5 (WP5) of the EU collaborative research project “Making Capabilities Work” (WorkAble).
The overall aim of WorkAble is to provide knowledge on how to enable young people to act as capable citizens in the labour markets of European knowledge societies, and to assess political and institutional strategies aimed at countering high rates of youth unemployment, early school leaving and dropping out from upper secondary education.
The project’s three main objectives are first, to expand the capabilities of young people to act as fully participating citizens in emerging European knowledge societies; second, to promote skills and competencies in young people that are conducive to improving the economic productivity and competitiveness of Europe; and third, to develop transversal strategies that integrate central economic, educational and social issues, in order to close the capability gap in the young and particularly the inadequacies between education and training and the requisites of the knowledge society to which they, and, above all, the more disadvantaged are exposed.
Using EU-SILC longitudinal data as well as in-depth analyses of specific countries and comparative analyses of pairs of countries, the aim of WP5 (“Effects on transitional trajectories of young people”) is to identify and understand the transitions that young Europeans make from the educational system to the labour market, and to assess whether educational strategies contribute to expanding their capabilities for work and social participation. Special attention is given to analysing the degree to which comparable educational attainments among young people lead to different labour market opportunities, depending on the configuration of labour market and educational regimes. WP5 also examines the relationship between education, transitional trajectories and individual well-being and social exclusion, and how this relationship varies between different EU member states.
The present final report contains two main sections. The first section consists of brief synopses for each of the seven papers produced by the researchers participating in WP5. Each synopsis includes the title of the paper in question, the main research question that it poses, the data and methodology utilized, and the main findings. The second section consists of the Annexes, which contain the seven papers in full.
Full text (PDF 263pp)
More miscellaneous stuff for you today!
===========================================
Kior ‘Biocrude’ Plant a Step toward Advanced Biofuels
A Kior plant in Mississippi will start shipping fuel made from wood chips as planned as it chases large-scale production.
Full story here.
===========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Oliver Sacks: place-blind, face-blind, nearly blind blind, prone to hallucinations. But the doctor is more than the sum of his disorders...more
===========================================
c.1910s: Beatrix Potter and her rabbits
via Retronaut by Chris Wild
A rabbit.
On a lead.
Now I have seen everything.
There’s another picture here
===========================================
The convergence of biological and computer viruses
via on TechRepublic by Michael Kassner
The difference between a biological virus and a computer virus is blurring.
Learn how a researcher infected himself with a computer virus.
Full story here.
===========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Once upon a time, fairy tales raised social consciousness. Then their revolutionary soul was subverted, commodified, extinguished. Blame Disney...more
===========================================
Mommy and Daddy fairy-wrens sing “food passwords” to teach their eggs to sing
via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin
“Superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) mothers sing to their unhatched eggs to teach the embryo inside a 'password' – a single unique note – which the nestlings must later incorporate into their begging calls if they want to get fed.”
Zoë Corbyn in Scientific American, on a very unusual example of avian communication.
===========================================
Cotton at the Levee: 1910
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Vicksburg, Mississippi, circa 1910
“Unloading cotton at the levee’
Sternwheel packet boat Mary Miller on the right
8x10 glass negative
View original post
===========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Totalitarianism: The term originated in Italy; the system was perfected in Eastern Europe. It wasn’t about efficiency, it was about remaking man for the future... more
===========================================
The Evolution of Computer Keyboards
via How-To Geek by Jason Fitzpatrick
Decades after its introduction in the mid-’80s, IBM’s classic Model M remains a favourite for keyboard purists
Credit: BorgHunter.
While the basic shape of keyboards has remained largely unchanged over the last thirty years, the guts have undergone several transformations.
ComputerWorld delves into the history of the modern keyboard, including the heavy influence IBM’s extensive keyboard research on early keyboards.
===========================================
This Computer Slices, Dices, and Does it ‘All
via How-To Geek by Asian Angel
Sit back and enjoy [or cringe at] this entertaining retro computer ad as Rich DuLaney from the OS/2 Multimedia Presentation Manager/2 team jumps into “super salesman mode” to sell you the Ultimedia M57SLC computer for only $3,395!
It slices, It dices [via MUO]
Kior ‘Biocrude’ Plant a Step toward Advanced Biofuels
A Kior plant in Mississippi will start shipping fuel made from wood chips as planned as it chases large-scale production.
Full story here.
===========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Oliver Sacks: place-blind, face-blind, nearly blind blind, prone to hallucinations. But the doctor is more than the sum of his disorders...more
===========================================
c.1910s: Beatrix Potter and her rabbits
via Retronaut by Chris Wild
A rabbit.
On a lead.
Now I have seen everything.
There’s another picture here
===========================================
The convergence of biological and computer viruses
via on TechRepublic by Michael Kassner
The difference between a biological virus and a computer virus is blurring.
Learn how a researcher infected himself with a computer virus.
Full story here.
===========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Once upon a time, fairy tales raised social consciousness. Then their revolutionary soul was subverted, commodified, extinguished. Blame Disney...more
===========================================
Mommy and Daddy fairy-wrens sing “food passwords” to teach their eggs to sing
via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin
“Superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) mothers sing to their unhatched eggs to teach the embryo inside a 'password' – a single unique note – which the nestlings must later incorporate into their begging calls if they want to get fed.”
Zoë Corbyn in Scientific American, on a very unusual example of avian communication.
===========================================
Cotton at the Levee: 1910
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Vicksburg, Mississippi, circa 1910
“Unloading cotton at the levee’
Sternwheel packet boat Mary Miller on the right
8x10 glass negative
View original post
===========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Totalitarianism: The term originated in Italy; the system was perfected in Eastern Europe. It wasn’t about efficiency, it was about remaking man for the future... more
===========================================
The Evolution of Computer Keyboards
via How-To Geek by Jason Fitzpatrick
Decades after its introduction in the mid-’80s, IBM’s classic Model M remains a favourite for keyboard purists
Credit: BorgHunter.
While the basic shape of keyboards has remained largely unchanged over the last thirty years, the guts have undergone several transformations.
ComputerWorld delves into the history of the modern keyboard, including the heavy influence IBM’s extensive keyboard research on early keyboards.
===========================================
This Computer Slices, Dices, and Does it ‘All
via How-To Geek by Asian Angel
Sit back and enjoy [or cringe at] this entertaining retro computer ad as Rich DuLaney from the OS/2 Multimedia Presentation Manager/2 team jumps into “super salesman mode” to sell you the Ultimedia M57SLC computer for only $3,395!
It slices, It dices [via MUO]
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
10 more miscellaneous "things" for you
Frank E. Kirby: 1910
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Toledo, Ohio, circa 1910
“Sidewheeler Frank E. Kirby at steamer landing”
8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company
View original post
=========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
What’s so appealing about an asexual, aloof character like Sherlock Holmes? It’s that Conan Doyle created a superhero, not a superhuman... more
=========================================
Tesla Coil Fights Combines Electricity and Choreography
via How-To Geek by Jason Fitzpatrick
We’ve seen quite a few Tesla-coil tricks over the years but never choreographed fighting between two guys balanced on Tesla coils.
This definitely falls deeply into the don’t try this at home category – two guys in special suits are standing atop Tesla coils and directing the blasts of electricity at each other in a type of stylised combat. While their suits are clearly acting as Faraday cages to protect them from the electricity, we prefer our Faraday cages to be beefier and not attached directly to our skin.
[via Obvious Winner]
=========================================
Paintballs may deflect an incoming asteroid
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
Tim O’Reilly tweeted about this proposal to deflect pesky asteroids on a collision course with earth. I’m reading The Last Policeman so this is even more interesting to me than usual.
=========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Tolstoy preached Tolstoyism, but there was no “Chekhovism”. Chekhov’s genius wasn’t for big ideas, but petty concerns – a small lie, filthy latrines, a slovenly manner... more
=========================================
Raspberry Pi Powered Coffee Table Serves Up Arcade Classics
via How-To Geek by Jason Fitzpatrick
If your living room is boring for want of a plethora of arcade hits, this DIY project parks a Raspberry Pi powered arcade machine in a coffee table for at-your-finger-tips retro gaming.
Courtesy of tinker Graham Gelding, this build combines a 24-inch monitor, arcade buttons, a Raspberry Pi board, and a wooden coffee table to great effect.
The end result is a table-top style arcade that also doubles, courtesy of a wireless keyboard and mouse, as a web browsing and email station.
Hit up the link below for more information.
Coffee Table Pi [via Hack A Day]
=========================================
150 great things about the London Underground: an unofficial birthday salute to a public transport titan
No 48: The “houses” in Leinster Gardens
The trains that first ran along the railway line that passes below Leinster Gardens were steam-powered. The locomotives needed somewhere to vent the fumes that built up inside the engines. But where to do this, in a neighbourhood jostling with upmarket residences for whom a large gap in the ground would appear both unsightly and undignified?
The answer, as with most tricks of the eye, can be found round the back.
From an age where engineering solutions could be figured out with a bit of front.
Fantastic blog. Check it out here.
And I found it on Guardian Technical
=========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Secret history of Monopoly. Known variously as Auction and Finance, the board game may have been invented as a paean to socialism... more
=========================================
The Hobbit trilogy effect: More kids’ books that should be made into three movies
via TechRepublic
Ken Hardin offers a tongue-and-cheek look at three classic children’s books that Peter Jackson or a like-minded film maker could make into three movies.
Now I could, of course leave it there but no, I will tell you which three books and then you can go to the TechRepublic blog to find out why.
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
The Last Battle, C. S. Lewis
The Mouse and The Motorcycle, Beverly Cleary
=========================================
How Brainless Slime Molds Redefine Intelligence
Ferris Jabr in Scientific American via 3quarksdaily by S. Abbas Raza
Single-celled amoebae can remember, make decisions and anticipate change, urging scientists to rethink intelligent behaviour.
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Toledo, Ohio, circa 1910
“Sidewheeler Frank E. Kirby at steamer landing”
8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company
View original post
=========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
What’s so appealing about an asexual, aloof character like Sherlock Holmes? It’s that Conan Doyle created a superhero, not a superhuman... more
=========================================
Tesla Coil Fights Combines Electricity and Choreography
via How-To Geek by Jason Fitzpatrick
We’ve seen quite a few Tesla-coil tricks over the years but never choreographed fighting between two guys balanced on Tesla coils.
This definitely falls deeply into the don’t try this at home category – two guys in special suits are standing atop Tesla coils and directing the blasts of electricity at each other in a type of stylised combat. While their suits are clearly acting as Faraday cages to protect them from the electricity, we prefer our Faraday cages to be beefier and not attached directly to our skin.
[via Obvious Winner]
=========================================
Paintballs may deflect an incoming asteroid
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
Tim O’Reilly tweeted about this proposal to deflect pesky asteroids on a collision course with earth. I’m reading The Last Policeman so this is even more interesting to me than usual.
In the event that a giant asteroid is headed toward Earth, you’d better hope that it’s blindingly white. A brightly colored asteroid would reflect sunlight – and over time, this bouncing of photons off its surface could create enough of a force to push the asteroid off its course.Paintballs may deflect an incoming asteroid [contains detail of the hypothesis]
How might one encourage such a deflection? The answer, according to an MIT graduate student: with a volley or two of space-launched paintballs.
=========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Tolstoy preached Tolstoyism, but there was no “Chekhovism”. Chekhov’s genius wasn’t for big ideas, but petty concerns – a small lie, filthy latrines, a slovenly manner... more
=========================================
Raspberry Pi Powered Coffee Table Serves Up Arcade Classics
via How-To Geek by Jason Fitzpatrick
If your living room is boring for want of a plethora of arcade hits, this DIY project parks a Raspberry Pi powered arcade machine in a coffee table for at-your-finger-tips retro gaming.
Courtesy of tinker Graham Gelding, this build combines a 24-inch monitor, arcade buttons, a Raspberry Pi board, and a wooden coffee table to great effect.
The end result is a table-top style arcade that also doubles, courtesy of a wireless keyboard and mouse, as a web browsing and email station.
Hit up the link below for more information.
Coffee Table Pi [via Hack A Day]
=========================================
150 great things about the London Underground: an unofficial birthday salute to a public transport titan
No 48: The “houses” in Leinster Gardens
The trains that first ran along the railway line that passes below Leinster Gardens were steam-powered. The locomotives needed somewhere to vent the fumes that built up inside the engines. But where to do this, in a neighbourhood jostling with upmarket residences for whom a large gap in the ground would appear both unsightly and undignified?
The answer, as with most tricks of the eye, can be found round the back.
From an age where engineering solutions could be figured out with a bit of front.
Fantastic blog. Check it out here.
And I found it on Guardian Technical
=========================================
Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Secret history of Monopoly. Known variously as Auction and Finance, the board game may have been invented as a paean to socialism... more
=========================================
The Hobbit trilogy effect: More kids’ books that should be made into three movies
via TechRepublic
Ken Hardin offers a tongue-and-cheek look at three classic children’s books that Peter Jackson or a like-minded film maker could make into three movies.
Now I could, of course leave it there but no, I will tell you which three books and then you can go to the TechRepublic blog to find out why.
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
The Last Battle, C. S. Lewis
The Mouse and The Motorcycle, Beverly Cleary
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How Brainless Slime Molds Redefine Intelligence
Ferris Jabr in Scientific American via 3quarksdaily by S. Abbas Raza
Single-celled amoebae can remember, make decisions and anticipate change, urging scientists to rethink intelligent behaviour.
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