The ISO Survey for 2007 shows decline in the USA and UK for ISO 9000 certificates. I have done a story on this for OhmyNews.

My impression is that quality theory is moving with manufacturing outside where the business schools have been. There will be another story for OhmyNews next year but meanwhile there is plenty of scope for speculation and anecdotes. The survey is based on info from a year ago so things may be different already.

Financial Times at Online Information

So far as I can tell the Financial Times will not be at Online Information as they were last year.

All will become clear at the real event but meanwhile please add a comment if I have looked in the wrong place or they will appear with another name.

My impression is that the Web is getting more viable but particular information offers may not be. No other newspaper appears at Online Information. Would they gain much in cover price sales? Is advertising the main prospect for newsprint?

Last year I had a discussion about the Chinese version of the FT, almost entirely a Web operation. Limited print but mostly to promote the Web. Hope to find out more about this.

ePUB at Online Information

At the publishing panel on Thursday I hope to find out more about the ePUB format. There is more interest in e-books this year with a conference at the start. The ePUB format is supported in both the Adobe Digital Editions Reader and the Sony Reader. there could be more announcements from publishers with new titles.

So far there has not been much publicity for the open source aspect. There could be more public domain or creative commons content. Creating an ePUB file is not impossible but could be easier. Maybe the bookselling industry is unlikley to promote the fact that there is so much free stuff available but the cost of a Sony Reader is a bit of a block for many people so the whole cost structure needs to be explained.

Adobe seem to prefer ePUB to PDF for reflow on small screens. Also Stanza have a reader for the iPhone. Some numbers suggest that the downloads of Stanza compare with sales for e-reader hardware. So do people read texts on an iPhone for any length of time?

Feedbooks can create ePUB from a blog or RSS feed. So is this a book?

There will be probably be more on this in a story for OhmyNews after Online Information. Any text, links etc. welcome.

Thinking about things cloud. The Microsoft move gives it some momentum. Strated to look for cloud managemnt but can only find this blog.

I added a commentInformation show I will try to find out other ways to assess how much knowledge is available for management practitioners outside of paid journals.

I have been checking out some social networking sites. Started with Linked In as I am getting more messages there recently. Found the Deming Forum India though it has moved to Multiply as far as I can tell or at least has more content there.

Then I found a link to Orkut where the QUALITY MANAGEMENT group has a large number of members. There is a Deming group as well. The discussion seems to me to be based in practice.

I have started a topic as I have recently started to think that the connection between learning and quality is obvious. Still not sure how to present this to academics however. Text as below. Comment welcome here or on Orkut.

Learning with quality systems, is this obvious?

I have just found this group so the topic may have come up previously.

Is it obvious that learning is a large part of what happens through people in a quality system?

I have tried to get interest in quality theory from people who study management learning. In the UK the people who know about learning tend to have a critical opinion about quality. Perhaps their experience in UK universities has not been pleasant. See "Making Quality Critical" by Wilkinson and Wilmott for example.

So far there has not been much UK academic interest in relating quality theory to researching learning organisations. Peter Senge recognises the connections, see his mentions for Dr Deming in the update for The Fifth Discipline.

My guess is that for most practitioners the links between learning and quality are obvious. Maybe academics just have to be organised in disciplines. Maybe it is just an issue in the UK.

Following previous post about how topics are studied by academics, here is a list to run through on rotation

Knowledge Economy

Leadership and Further Education

Learning Organisations

Technology Enhanced Learning

Protection Science

Competitiveness

Each one is the sort of thing that should be studied.
The end state often seems to be revealed as rhetoric from the dark side.

The next one could be the Creative Economy. My hope is that the study includes something that practitioners could relate to.

Notes for a future chat show.

Background for discussion in a space moving from technology through academic to public

This started as a route from Infolab 21 across the campus. Assume some technology innovation is possible, through a method linked to quality theory. Will motivation survive "critique" past Lancaster Management? The Spicy Hut is the destination for connection with a wider public.

The recent UK launch of the Sony reader is an example of technology that could disrupt the print basis of university libraries and is also in stock at Watersones at the centre of the route.

I find points of view around e-books that are similar to those on other topics. Universities claim resources to make a study of something practical, implying there will be some contribution to a project. Then the academic status is reinforced by a distance from practice and forms of "critique". I have found a particular problem with quality ideas that could relate to "learning organisations".

A blog found through Critical Management explains a view that universities now relate to "excellence" while they used to represent "culture", often national. Many academics do not like the "excellence" approach so reverting to culture has an attraction.

It would be helpful to be clear about the purpose of Business Schools. Sometimes research status seems to depend on distance from practice.

There is a problem in getting permission to video and also many people are reluctant to talk on camera. In principle a similar sequence to the move across Lancaster campus could happen on other sites or there could be various edits. Another possibility is to use a virtual set such as Twinity Berlin. The Sony Center would be a technology launch and there is a courtyard in front of Humboldt University. also many cafes and open spaces. Experiments continue on how to add sound.



Meanwhile this is the start of a sort of script or starting point.

I have started to study Twinity Berlin in some detail. More later on how this might help learning. The main problem is still that the people who designed it know Berlin very well. There are no signposts or street names. I have bought a map but still need Google maps as well.



This is a bustop, but where? No timetable I can find.



Sometimes there is a clue, such as the name of the hotel on the side. Maybe this is only for a select few, but more of this would be helpful. with a map it gives some idea where you are.



So if you find the Unter den Linden from the Brandenburg Gate (one of the places you can teleport to) then keep going ahead thill the trees come to an end. Humboldt University is on the left. There is a large square that would be suitable for lots of avatars to meet up for discussion.

Today I returned to Twinity Berlin via Life Bytes opposite the Odeon on sidwell Street, Exeter. I have managed to rent an apartment at Auguste-Hauschner-Straße 4 but am not sure how to find it from the street level. I got to the Brandenburg Gate, turned left but then fell off an edge. So far as I can tell the address is near the Sony Centre and a film museum.Maybe this has yet to be built in Twinity.

Meanwhile I have been posting to Guardian Talk about quality etc. Will I find work as a quality manager online?

Technische Universität BERLIN is on the Times list on universities

Not sure how to find the site on Twinity

The Twinity Berlin is so complicated I have bought an actual map. So Waterstones need not fear about the consequences of online worlds.

I still cannot get it to work at home. But at Life Bytes all is well. They must look after the equipment more carefully. My PC is full of clutter and there is almost no spare disc space. Still, I am finding real photos to cut and paste so exploring Berlin can continue.

The idea at Lancaster campus is to start from a techno base such as InfoLab 21, take the ideas through critique, and try to reach city society. Something similar could happen in most cities or campuses and as my friend Jo says, it could all be edited together subject to budget. So far in Berlin a chatshow walking journey could start at the railway station Alexanderplatz, (see previous post for teleport to Alexander Square). Then to the Sony Centre for inspiration and Humoldt for critique or whatever would be said. Back to catch a train unless an apartment can be afforded.

The avatar this time is Stephen Ingram, previously found in Second Life near the Apple Store in Exeter. He is the most experimental shopping orientated avatar on the staff of Rougemont Global Broadcasting. Others may travel to Twinity Berlin later.




Uncropped versions of these photos are on Flick- Sony Centre Humboldt

Originals from Wikimedia Sony Humboldt

Meanwhile exchange of text could be the way to develop content. I am still collecting backgrounds and photos of chairs for conversations. The TV prog can be created later.



My avatar near the Twinity reception. Could meet you there sometime but need notice so i can get to Life Bytes first.

Another download for the Sony reader before leaving InfoLab 21

see previous post for the script outline

Demos report on a "Video Republic"

The ideas are interesting though limited to Europe. I have put a comment on the blog about OhmyNews in Korea. Broadband came early and citizen journalism is not only about a youth involvement. Don't think so anyway. They invited me to their conference a couple of years ago and I now have a bus pass. Look for video through the menu. I have not studied "Video Republic" yet but there seem to be related themes.

Another attempt at a script outline along the campus of Lancaster University. There may eventually be an edited sequence as a broadcast but so far the online versions just have their own audience. The bits on youTube have had some views but whether they were watched in sequence I don't know.

Recent developments include the Sony Reader and more online worlds such as Twinity. More on this as we reach Alexanderplatz. The Sony Reader is getting closer to the form of a book. So an actual card could exist with several journal articles and downloads of various kinds, to be viewed and commented on along the route.

Start with InfoLab21. Recently from the website, an agenda for a meeting about Spectrum.



photo, Avatar at InfoLab 21

Also worth downloading, a pdf about "The Next Phase of Broadband UK: Action now for long term competitiveness"

And it is possible to create a PDF of the Cluetrain Manifesto or find other material about what the Web may be about.

-----
Another phase in the George Fox Building.
Critique part one
On the Sony Reader, Against Learning by Chris Grey


-------

LancasterManagement ( user name on YouTube )

Permission to video is unlikely, they have their own plan for Youtube presentation. But I think there is a possible benefit in more commenting and linking.

Recent Deming related download explains the pragmatism as philosophy. However most academics who study learning still have little interest in quality.

A PDF has been created from the website now at the Deming Electronic Network

----

Alexander Square / Alexanderplatz

Video may be easier in Second Life or Twinity. Alexanderplatz seems the obvious place to go. Topics to include the effect on a library and bookshop of Web technology. Sony Reader stocked in all UK Waterstones so they may talk to camera or link to someone authorised to comment.



Relevant downloads

The book Everything is Miscellanmeous is not easy to find as an e-book. However there is a blog that could be sent to Feedbooks and also an mp3 of an interview. The Sony Reader has a headphone socket. (Feedbooks can work from any newspaper or blog feed. You may need to register for this option to appear.)

==========

The IAS has a current theme on "competitveness".

UK Education and Everyday Life:
Campaigns for ‘employability’ after the globalised turn1

Dr Phoebe Moore, University of Salford

Topics for discussion to include what a university is about as well as the Web and what to do with it.

-------

Adult / continuing education

Recent publication on Creative Economy could relate to what people learn informally. Most innovation in personal computers / browser extensions happens at home. I have added comment to Guardian Talk. this blog format and future video or text exchange may be just as constructive.

Two PDF files one two

End destination the Spicy Hut and/or cut to city centre. Assumes permission to video at some point. Possibly we left for virtual Berlin at an earlier stage.

This blog may be lacking in balance, so here is something else

I have put another comment on the Guardian Talk pages about quality in education. This week the education section had a comment about the "million+" group of UK universities promoting the case for creative industries. It strikes me as refreshing that they actually wantr to become involved in something. I find the "research" universities are usually distanced by critique conventions.

I plan to look at the Sony Reader and ePub format for similar devices. I don't see why this should not be a project supported by academics who want to reach a wider audience for whatever reason, but including public advocacy and comment. Not much response so far on the Critical Management site on the issues areound Web 2. I think this may be partly a result of the design. Guardian Talk has not got much clutter so maybe there will be more there.

The video on the Millions+ site is not very engaging. Sort of brochureware like a very early website. Much of what is on youTube invites response and has a place for comment. So far a lot of university marketing through online video seems to have missed out this aspect. Still at least the Millions+ take includes web design as something to discuss.

Charles Geschke has been interviewed for Knowledge at Wharton. He concludes-

We'll never succeed unless we continue to open up new vistas.

I honestly believe that our technology and what's happening in the market -- where essentially all visual communication is going to the web -- is the sweetheart point in our whole envelope of products and technologies. Shame on us if we can't figure out a way to take advantage of that shift in the way the world is moving with the distribution of information.

A lot of what are there today -- the limitations of browsers and of the web imaging standards -- are things that we think we have a solution for. As they become the primary delivery mechanism, that value is going to differentiate

.

So I guess the web is going to be the main emphasis next week when more is announced around Creative Suite. My impression is that a lot of people, including those who work in education and most organisations, are still used to documents as in flat pages of text. So most of the new direction will pass them by. I am still interested in the classic Adobe topics of XML and PDF.

Geschke is a case study in leadership. At the Learning Technology discussions in the Uk I find few examples of pressure from senior management as a driver for e-learning. Adobe seems to have been designed around learning and innovation, beyond the original research. The Macromedia concerns seem to be upfront in the current phase. Geschke and Warnock are not often in the public view recently so this interview is worth a look from business students.

Leadership and Learning Technologies

This post may become a story for OhmyNews after the Learning Technologies show in Jan 2009. Comments will link to other posts.

When I first looked at the "Towards Maturity" model I got the impression that pressure from senior management was not a very significant driver for e-learning projects. Now that the Web is better accepted as part of most organisations there could be more evidence of formal policy and other support. I could not arrive at any definite conclusion from conversation at the event in 2008. So maybe other sources will give some clues.

BETT showtime for Silverlight

This is another draft for a future story. Nowadays fewer computer companies attend trade events. Apple was not at drupa for example. Schools seem significant enough that Apple may well be at BETT. Adobe and Microsoft are also probable, a rare chance to compare progress on Silverlight and Flash/ AIR. My impression was that Microsoft had less of a profile for Grava in 2008 than in 2007 but this is likely to change.

Comments welcome. More posts on this later.

Byron, is the panic over?

There was a lot more to the Byron Review than was reported in most UK media. It included material that could be argued to leave open the possibility that the Web offers benefits for education. At least some of the research could be followed up during the rest of 2008.

From the conclusion section, Usha Goswami (PDF)

Of course, humans can use language (“inner speech”) and cognitive
self-regulation to inhibit the impact of learning that is not useful, and to quarantine what is imaginary from what is real. As younger children tend to have poorer language skills and poorer quarantining abilities, learning from new media could be speculated to have stronger effects on younger children.
Alternatively, as older children are more responsive to the peer group and
have the skills required to seek out certain kinds of input from new media, it could be speculated that new media that is endorsed by the peer group will have stronger effects during the adolescent years. Hormonal and other brainrelated changes during adolescence make this a time when all children question their identities and their “autobiographical selves”. New media can offer learning experiences relevant to resolving some of these questions, just like any other form of experience. A priori, new media do not seem likely to be less influential as a source of information, however, there is no relevant research that I am aware of..

UK bandwidth, draft damage check for BETT

This post is the start of a draft story for Ohmynews around Jan 2009. There really is a policy within UK education to make the most of broadband. However it is not going to work in my honest opinion because there is not much of a policy from the bit that used to be the DTI and is now harder to make out than what used to be education.

Slightly off topic I think publishing as in text and fairly small graphics is still an option for the UK. Video etc, both production and distribution, depends on somewhere with lots of fibre.

Back on topic, this post will be followed by others, links in comments.

I have added a comment to the Critical Management site. I had almost given up on it but have been told there will be an update sometime soon that will reflect the content from the Web 2 meeting.

My comment

publishing technology
new
Submitted by willpollard on Sun, 08/17/2008 - 09:37.

oh dear, all the formatting seems to have vanished, should use full stops and capital letters. So far I have also found that downloading documents is a bit hit and miss. some don't work as i find it. What is XML, bibTEX, tabbed? Is this explained anywhere? Have you looked at Scribd? Simply put, they take care of all the hosting for you. How their business model works is a mystery. Lots of networking and comment possible as well. Not much on critique as yet but easy enough to load stuff up. Also, EPUB is worth a look as a format. Sony Reader will support this in the UK from next month. Not sure how to create EPUB but it looks possible. blog http://learn9log.blogspot.com

My take is that this is a quality issue. There is content on the site, a system to publish. It could work better, so how could it change?