PG's Ponderings

"2014 is the year the Web turns 25. Today, 19 August, marks the anniversary of Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, releasing the code of the WWW to the public by making the files available on the net via FTP (refer to the History of the World Wide Web for more details). Last March in Vancouver, Tim Berners-Lee gave a TED Talk: A Magna Carta for the Web , that was just released by the TED conference: These are extracted from his concluding remarks: What sort of web do you want? I want one which is not fragmented into lots of pieces, as some countries have been suggesting they should do in reaction to recent surveillance. I want a web which is, for example, a really good basis for democracy. I want a web where I can use healthcare with privacy and where there's a lot of health data, clinical data is available to scientists to do research. I want a web where the other 60 percent get on board as fast as possible. I want a web which is such a powerful basis for innova...

This week – a Humanities response Where do you stand? Engage in the discussion. Humanities perspective is needed in all global challenges The key conviction around which the debate swirls is that the world desperately needs the insights of the humanities. Socio-economic progress, developmental challenges and the intelligent addressing of complex world issues require a combination of skills drawn from the humanities, social sciences and Stem subjects to design and deliver holistic and fully informed solutions. Increasingly, development agencies assert that technologically sound, engineering-based projects are failing because they don't take sufficient account of the cultural context. These projects, in concept, design and implementation, lack the human perspective that recognises that no global issue, developmental problem or socio-economic challenge can be fully understood, let alone resolved, without real evidence of how the local community and the rest of humanity are experiencin...

[scribd id=239012228 key=key-6BKqxWMVM3Lth7o2TJol mode=scroll]

As a teacher you are a leader – where do you stand on these Five Factors? Five key leadership factors that are clearly more important in the future than in the past include: thinking globally, appreciating cultural diversity, demonstrating technological savvy, building partnerships and sharing leadership. Thinking Globally Globalization is a trend that will have a major impact on the leaders of the future Two factors that are seen as making global thinking a key variable for the future are the dramatic projected increases in global trade and integrated global technology. New technology is another factor that is going to make global thinking a requirement for future leaders. Appreciating Cultural Diversity As the importance of globalization increases, future leaders will also need to appreciate cultural diversity. They will have to understand not only the economic and legal differences, but also the social and behavioural differences that are part of working around the world. The appr...

[scribd id=239012231 key=key-S8n8zhsMM1FhXR03REz4 mode=scroll]

[scribd id=239013502 key=key-HjpSYlLiby3vNvBWtm0L mode=scroll]