if++ Forum

Date Published	Alias	Theme:Topic
2003-Dec-05	David Townsend	e-Government
I read your article with interest. I could see the 'passion' in there that you feel about the political system, or rather the shambles of it. Perhaps e-government has a role, but I would add a couple of cautionary notes: 1) Statistics. It is very easy to lie using statistics. Unfortunately, many things do not fall into black and white. Take for example the health service. I think it is very difficult to use statistics to say if a hospital is improving or not or one hospital better than another. The number of diverse criteria to be measured, collated and compared make it almost impossible. Assuming all criteria can even be measured and even then recorded correctly and truthfully is a serious issue. Everyone (or every party with a vested interest) looking at the raw data would have different bias on how to weigh the data. 2) People power. I think there are two serious dangers here: 2a) I think you may credit the average person with too much ability (or even interest) regarding political issues. I don't say that in a disparaging or patronising way, but from a point of view that most people do not have ready access to all the facts and ramifications of decisions of a national or international scale and are likely to be swayed simply by emotional gut feelings. Most people cannot balance their own cheque book or keep out of debt, let alone run the economy. In a sense it would be like asking a bunch of five year olds to manage a sweet shop. 2b) Influence. People's opinions on most matters political are based upon the limited amount of information they receive from those who shout the loudest or have the largest marketing budget. Even if all information was freely available on the Internet, most people would not have the slightest interest in looking at it, since they view politics as extremely boring. This could make for a dangerously unstable form of government, or even potentially corrupt. In some countries around the world for example where there is only state run TV and media, and the people are living in poverty, they believe that their leaders are doing the best for them and that their standard of living is the best in the world! I'm not saying that what we have now is perfect, clearly it is not. Many politicians are self serving and interested only in getting power and other rewards from office. Most of us are totally disillusioned by politics and politicians and change TV channel to watch a Tom and Jerry cartoon rather than any political broadcast. I haven't got any answers, only questions. Tricky business politics. Cheers, David.
2003-Dec-05	David Townsend	e-Government
I wasn't sure what you would make of the point about people being incapable or disinterested in becoming involved in politics and their susceptibility to decision by whim of emotion. It is a bit 'politically incorrect' of me to make such an assertion. I think if people could drive political decision, directly choosing what laws to consider passing then voting on them by internet referendum our society could rapidly become very intolerant and aimed to give advantage only to the majority. e.g. First asylum seekers would probably all be sent back 'home' without being given chance to air their case e.g. torture at home versus economic migrant. Murderers would be hung. Sex offenders would have part of their anatomy chopped off. Then perhaps Islam would be banned and believers forcibly deported. Then those with black skins deported. Then the unemployed all made to work cleaning the streets. And before you know it we would have a swastika as our national emblem. Please feel free to include the ramblings of my previous email and/or the above in the forum. It will probably rub a sore nerve with some and could provoke some interesting debate. Cheers, David

Date Published	Alias	Theme:Topic
2002-Sep-04	Horizon	Super fast bio-computers
Scientists have devised a computer that can perform 330 trillion operations per second, more than 100,000 times the speed of the fastest PC. The secret to its performance is based on a new technology . . . View the article for more details.
2002-Sep-04	David Townsend	Discovery: Science vs common sense
An interesting point I once heard about common sense / science was in relation to a two dimensional graph, plotting distances (from nano-metre and smaller) up to intergalactic distances on one axis against velocities from not moving to the speed of light on the other axis. The range of human experience falls into only a tiny rectangle drawn on the entire graph - from around one millimetre to a few hundred miles and velocities of only up to a few hundred miles per hour. It is from this narrow range of experience that we gain "common sense". It is little wonder that common sense breaks down when we consider regions beyond our narrow boundary of existence.

Date Published	Alias	Theme:Topic
2003-Feb-18	David Townsend	Web design - security
[Following on from the Issue about Design.] Another key aspect with interactive web site design is security. Hackers should not be allowed to gain access or to cause damage. I recently tested a large corporate web site (their internal test copy - and with their permission!) and within 10 seconds crashed the whole site by destroying their primary database! How? I'm not giving away specifics but I basically embedded a nasty command into an innocent input field on a form in such a manner that it executed wreaking havoc! Not something you want to happen if you hold customer accounts or credit card details etc. Security should not be taken lightly!

Date Published	Alias	Theme:Topic
2003-Feb-03	Michael Huxley	Art
[Following on from the Issue about art and science.] ART- Some thoughts. ART is also related to Technology through Experience and Expertise. For all of our knowledge of science, only when we have a full "understanding" of what we are doing - through experience and "hands-on" expertise, can we understand the ART of what we are doing. Take my background - Glass Technology. I can apply my learnt knowledge to melt glass in a controlled and repeatable way using science principles. But having a deep understanding of all aspects, I feel that I can now understand the ART of glass making. Its the same position as practitioners had "in the old days", before any understanding of the science. The same results can be achieved by learnt experience - the same as a painter or sculpture - hence the ART of science or technology. To be in a position to understand this art, is to be a true expert in your subject. Cheers

Date Published	Alias	Theme:Topic
2002-Aug-03	Michael Huxley	Innovation feasibility assessment
Assessing the feasibility of an idea is what I and colleagues do most days with clients at Business Link Nottinghamshire. The process either shows that the idea is not feasible (commercially) or produces an action plan that when completed and acted upon will greatly reduce the risk of commercial failure. It is the commercial feasibility that is all important, the technical feasibility runs in parallel to the business development implementation. I have not known any idea fail on a technical point, always due to a failure in the commercial analysis or implementation. For more information, give me a call on 0845 757 3680 or email at mhuxley@blnotts.com. Regards Michael Huxley [Note: Based in the UK, and provide services throughout Nottinghamshire - Ed.]

Date Published	Alias	Theme:Topic
2002-Aug-03	ichi	Forum: Objectives
Hello. *ahem*. Just writing to see who else is in here, what they see the aims, objectives and benefits of this as being.. How we can best work together . . .
2002-Aug-03	Editor	Re: Forum: Objectives
Thanks for starting things off in this forum ichi. (There is one credit coming your way for that.) To help other members debate this, here are the key points of the forum focus (extracts from the About: if++ page): Generic, multi-sector aspects, such that all members can benefit Strategies, principles, processes and concepts Creative thinking skills, creativity tools and techniques Improving the innovation process itself So we welcome the elaboration of those points, with your own specific desires. Note that you can also privately vote on what you want from the forum here. The results of that vote will help the editor to guide the forum along the most popular themes.
2002-Aug-05	Horizon	Re: Forum: Objectives
Hello ichi and fellow members. I would like to see just what can be achieved if we collaborate on creative thinking. What boundaries can we push? What can we discover and create? I am also happy just to see what happens here. A lot of creative thinking just talks about brainstorming, which has been around for years - is there something better around?

Date Published	Alias	Theme:Topic
2002-Aug-05	David Townsend	Puzzle Plant: Solutions
Break off all the side branches. The remainder of the plant will eventually die and crumble on its own. Pull off all the leaves of the shrub - it will eventually die and rot away. Declare the garden not to be a garden anymore - it is now a childs play area. Thus the shrub is no longer in a garden. Wait until the shrub grows big enough to be called a tree not a shrub. There will no longer be a shrub in the garden. Plant a row of similar shrubs along side it. By definition it is now a hedge and there is no longer a shrub in the garden. Wait a very long time until the shrub dies and decays naturally. Ask someone else to destroy the plant using their own tools. Find something that feeds on the shrub and eats it - killing or demolishing the plant. Tie a long metal spike to the plant during a thunderstorm! Cover the plant up and starve it of light or water so it dies and decays. Put another plant next to it that will destroy it such as Golder Hop (this poisons the soil and strangles nearby plants). Raise the height of the surrounding soil above the height of the shrub - it could be considered to have been removed since it is no longer visible. I'm sure I'm missing something obvious! (Taking a step back from the problem) - I would ask my associates how they would remove it. Tell a known burglar that you keep all your life savings in a chest buried under the shrub. Tell the police you suspect someone is buried there. Tie a bone to the trunk and let your dog lose on it. Scrape off the bark (with teeth or nails) - this will kill some plants. Set fire to the plant. Ask [insert your favorite villain here] to talk to the plant for a long time - the plant will lose the will to live. Editorial note: There is more.
2002-Aug-03	Editor	Re: Puzzle Plant: Solutions
There are sure some ingenious and entertaining solutions there David! Some could be solutions. But they still do not include the answer we are looking for. Remember it is just you and the plant (and soil) - nothing else. Here is a clue: It requires a bit of basic applied physics. Another clue: the key word often appears in a tale. Thinking outside the box does not help here - what box? Thinking differently does help though.

Date Published	Alias	Theme:Topic
2002-Aug-05	David Townsend	Best Practice v. Innovation
In my opinion: Best practice is a formalisation of the methodology used to improve the performance or other aspects of an organisation. A set of rules that when applied are intended to be beneficial. I would say that innovation is the implementation of ideas by people and organisations that were not necessarily 'scripted' or prescribed by the rule book of best practice. Who decides what is best practice? Before something can be recognised by a body as best practice it must be in use already by an innovator. Innovators blaze the trail and best practice documents the methods and principles of successful innovators - then copies them.
2002-Aug-30	David Townsend	Best Practice: Standards
[It turns out that one of our members develops software tools that help organisations to implement various best practice standards, some of which are listed below. - Ed.] OHSAS 18001 - Occupational Health and Safety There are other business excellence models apart from BEM (Business Excellence Model) - also known as EFQM - European Foundation for Quality Management I'm copying and pasting the following from one of the help screens of one of the apps I've written [which is used by his client at www.improver.co.uk]: The Baldrige National Quality Program The internet site of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology provides information on the Baldrige National Quality Program and annual awards. The Baldrige criteria for Business, Health Care and Education can be downloaded without charge and there is evidence to show how the performance of award winning companies have significantly beaten the Standard and Poors Index. www.quality.nist.gov The Common Assessment Framework The internet site of the European Institute for Public Administration provides extensive information on the Common Assessment Framework (CAF). It also provides on line assessment against the CAF Model. The CAF home page: www.eipa.nl/CAF/CAFmenu.htm Introduction to CAF Self Assessment : www.eipa.nl/CAF/en/Introduction On line assessment of the Enablers: www.eipa.nl/CAF/en/AssessmentForm-Enablers.htm On line assessment of the Results: www.eipa.nl/CAF/en/AssessmentForm-Results.htm

Date Published	Alias	Theme:Topic
2002-Oct-05	David Townsend	Best of Poor Practice: Quality Control
Thought this may be relevant (and amusing) for your forum: I have just received a free copy of a new business magazine. For further free copies they provide a URL for online registration, but unfortunately (for them) their quality control procedures have somewhat failed. At the footer of the form it says: "Tick this box if you don't want to receive mailings from third parties (box). Subscriptions may be declined if mailings are declined." Unfortunately, they have got a bit carried away checking that various mandatory fields are completed. You cannot proceed unless you tick the box to decline third party mailings. Presumably this means that nobody will ever get a subscription!