Newsletter Volume 29 Issue 3, Mar 2017
From The Editor
“People who know him say that he is painfully awkward socially, and rarely speaks. ‘He can barely look you in the eye when he talks,’ an acquaintance said. ‘It’s probably helpful to be highly introverted when getting lost in code, but in politics you have to talk to people, in order to find out how the real world works.’“
The above quote is from a March 27, 2017 New Yorker article, The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency, See below, Fear the Geeks.
Our February 2017 issue featured an Australian Financial Review article, Turnbull’s ex-tech guy Paul Shetler slams ‘predictable’ government IT disasters. Now a 22 March 2017 article in The Mandarin gives a follow-up from Paul Shetler himself, with a link to Paul’s keynote address at the 2017 Sydney CDO Summit on 15 March. The article gives a link to a video of
Paul’s speech, and a transcript of his comments, which include “I want to share some of the key lessons of my talk about digitally transforming large organisations: why it’s difficult, and what will — and won’t — work.” See below, Paul Shetler: change, not ‘change management’
” Science has evolved over many centuries to become an integral part of modern society, underpinning our health, wealth, and cultural fabric. Yet scientific evidence is often wilfully disregarded by politicians worldwide”.
The above quote is from a review by The Conversation of the March 2017 Science meets Parliament event, a two-day gathering of up to 200 scientists in Canberra. See below When politicians listen to scientists, we all benefit.
For an example of how public perception is being misled, see also The Conversation’s March 21, 2017 Infographic: the truth behind Centrelink’s waiting times.
“The public perception of science is often at odds with how science actually works.”
This quote is also from The Conversation, which has taken on the worthy cause of changing the public perception via a 5 part series of blog posts from 17 to 24 March 2017. All 5 parts are now available. To read part 1 and link to the other parts, see below, How we edit science part 1: the scientific method.
Current Issue
Articles in the current Issue cover:
Fear the Geeks
“The world has been turned upside down. Great Britain is leaving the EU, Donald Trump is president of the United States of America. And in Stanford, Kosinski, who wanted to warn against the danger of using psychological targeting in a political setting, is once again receiving accusatory emails. ‘No,‘ says Kosinski, quietly and shaking his head. ‘This is not my fault. I did not build the bomb. I only showed that it exists.’”
Paul Shetler: change, not ‘change management’
“ The bureaucracies inside large organisations haven’t survived by welcoming change. In fact, an unspoken goal is always maintaining themselves, as-is, with their hierarchies, procedures and cultures intact. They rely on an artefact we discovered when fixing government services in the UK, ‘The Triangle of Despair’: the three big barriers to brownfield transformation that reinforce resistance to change.”
When politicians listen to scientists, we all benefit
” So it is important now, more than ever, to reinforce with politicians the need to value and respect science in the development of evidenced-based policy.”
How we edit science part 1: the scientific method
“ In order to report or edit science effectively – or to consume it as a reader – it’s important to understand what science is, how the scientific method (or methods) work, and also some of the common pitfalls in practising science and interpreting its results.”
QESP Blog
This month’s Blog comes courtesy of Briometrix, Start Up Winner at The Data Warehouse Institute (TWDI) Innovate with Data: Showcasing the Winners of the BigInsights Data Innovation Awards
on March 14, 2017. The Blog is a mind- blowing short YouTube video which was part of the Briometrix presentation, illustrating how Briometrix “ generates data that creates motivation, social and peer engagement, establishes benchmarks for skills, and generates knowledge that can be shared across the wheelchair community (healthcare, insurance, wheelchair manufactures, and retailers). The technology assists wheelchair users to have fewer acute and overuse injuries, an improved sense of wellbeing (through self-esteem, self-efficacy, confidence and personal control, the sense of becoming newly ‘abled’, empowerment and having accomplished something of worth) and having fun.”
Wheelz in the Air – on YouTube is a perfect example.
The recently awarded BigInsights Data Innovation Awards are specifically focused on recognising teams and end user organisations that are doing ground-breaking work to deliver business outcomes using Data Analytics and IoT technologies and techniques.
Events
Creating New Jobs in ICT, Thursday 6th April 2017, 6 to 7.30 pm
This event aims to raise awareness of the ICT skills shortage and show how new jobs can be created. It is a joint ACS NSW/QESP event, representing the ACS Startups & Small Business (NSW) SIG, the Business Systems Architecture & Design and ACS Women. The 6th April event is fully booked but for those who missed out a re-run is planned in May. Further details will follow.
Quotes
Quote of the Day
My computer could be more encouraging. You know, instead of “invalid password”, why not something like, “Ooooh, you’re so close!”? – Lisa Porter
Quote from Yesteryear
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. – Albert Einstein
Ted Smillie
QESP Chair