‘Culture’
November 22nd, 2011 in Culture No Comments
The Harold Washington Library in Chicago is conducting a very bold and cool experiment. YOUmedia, a Digital Library Space for Teens, was formerly a storage space that has now been converted into a digital media library for teenagers. Packed chock a block with laptop computers, music keyboards, recording equipment, video cameras and gaming console. Teenagers are encouraged to consume and produce media. Yes, you read correctly! The project sprang from research on how digital media affect kids’ literacy. It has already proven to be a success as not only young people flock to it but librarians, educators and scholars as well. The author states that just as schools have always pushed teens to read, educators must now teach kids how to consume media critically and, ideally, to produce it.
YOUmedia’s basic tenets were derived from Mizuko Ito, a cultural anthropologist at the University of California, Irvine, who in 2006 studied how teens use ‘new media’. Her team identified that most kids shifted between three stages of consumption and creation, informally dubbed ‘Hanging Out’, ‘Messing Around’ and ‘Geeking Out.’ In the first stage, the kids mostly text friends and visit sites like Facebook. In the second stage, teens begin to take an interest in the media and begin ‘messing’ with it to come up with their own creations. ‘Geeking Out’, the last stage, involves using new media intensely to the point of ignoring friends and seeking out technology experts for help. YOUmedia is designed to accommodate all three stages.
It seems like the future of neighborhood libraries is finally here and it’s loud with the sounds of music, video games and conversation everywhere. Silence is definitely out!
Source: Gregg Toppo USA Today October 10, 2011
November 21st, 2011 in Culture No Comments
According to the authors of this article, Americans of all ages and income groups are increasingly unhappy with their jobs and work environments. This is surprising in a downturn economy when you would normally expect people to be thrilled to have a job. Gallup estimates the cost of America’s disengagement crisis at a staggering $300 billion in lost productivity annually. Unhappy employees mean less productivity and a declining bottom line. This can greatly affect a company’s survival during a recession. The duo researched the, “micro-level causes behind this macro-level problem”. Their analysis revealed sobering results. One-third of the workers were unhappy, unmotivated or both.
Their research proved that inner work life has a profound impact on workers’ creativity, productivity, commitment and collegiality. Employees are far more likely to have new ideas on days when they feel happier. The authors suggest that managers—from CEOs to small-team leaders—should play a more instrumental role in ensuring that people are happily engaged at work by removing obstacles, providing help and acknowledging strong effort. These small, inexpensive leadership changes could help end the disengagement crisis and, in the process, lift our work force’s wellbeing and our economy’s productivity.
Source: Teresa Amabile And Steven Kramer New York Times September 3, 2011
October 6th, 2011 in Culture, Technology No Comments
This interesting interview by PSFK with Campbell McKellar, founder of Loosecubes.com, highlights cultural shifts in the workspace arena that reflect how quickly office environments are changing.
Loosecubes was created out of a need for shared workspace. McKellar recognized early on that there is a growing need for productive and affordable places to work.
Cloud technology, the recession and an increased presence of women in the workforce have contributed to the shift toward flexible and location-independent work. According to the latest research, 62% of American companies allow their employees to work remotely. (more…)
October 6th, 2011 in Culture No Comments
This article discusses how the workspace today has evolved to develop new workstyles and working relationships thanks to enlightened management practices, mobile technology, furniture and equipment design. Experiential design is key to tapping into the potential of the current generation of employees. The worker of today now looks for positive experiences at his/her workspace.
The author believes that more successful corporations are moving away from the old hierarchical management model towards a teamwork format. Bosses are shifting from the old style of measuring the performance of their place and people, and instead, tapping into their employees potential supported by the right kinds of space and tools. (more…)
