Digital consultant, writer & speaker on design, business and technology trends
Originally published on spiked The latest protests in Syria, like those seen previously in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world, have provided ammunition for those who believe that the internet is a spark for major political events. Many commentators, most notably in the West, continue to claim that these protests are a product of […]
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Originally published on Spiked. Organ donation is a contentious issue. As it stands in the UK, losing a close relative can suddenly mean a difficult decision on whether or not to donate their organs, especially if they did not indicate any prior consent. There are moves towards ‘presumed consent’ – where it is assumed, unless […]
Continue ReadingOriginally published on spiked. UK prime minister Gordon Brown’s bedtime reading this year has included a book called We-Think: Mass Innovation, Not Mass Production, by Charles Leadbeater – a man familiar to many in British government and policy circles, since he previously worked in Tony Blair’s 10 Downing Street policy unit (1). He is also the […]
Continue ReadingOriginally published on spiked. Designers and scientists are eager to place emotions at the centre of products and computing. International conferences organise around incorporating emotion into all aspects of design (1). Academics are devoted to researching ‘funology’ – ‘a body of knowledge about fun’: building enjoyment into our lives through design (2). Scientists are developing […]
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Originally published on spiked. A new report published by the Work Foundation, You Don’t Know Me But…: Social Capital and Social Software, argues that information technology can improve social cohesion. The report’s author, William Davies, hopes that new, technology-based tools can assist in rebuilding people’s social relationships – with other individuals, with institutions and with governments. […]
Continue ReadingOriginally published on spiked. In his new book Leonardo’s Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies, design guru Ben Shneiderman calls upon us to consider Leonardo da Vinci’s achievements in combining mastery of art with scientific exploration. In his new book Leonardo’s Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies, design guru Ben Shneiderman calls upon […]
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