Date archives "May 2006"

Ezio Manzini on Multi-localism and Cosmopolitan Localism

Michel Bauwens: I would like to introduce two important concepts that I have found in a document by Ezio Manzini Multi-local Societies = a network of interconnected communities and places, at the same time, open and localised Cosmopolitan localism = the balance between being localised (rooted in a place and in the community related to… Continue reading

SCORM: replacing “subject-oriented” curricula with “object oriented” curricula

The following entry is quite technical, but seems important, as it describes a new object-oriented standard for writing textbooks, that would divide learning materials in microchunks ideally suited for eLearning programs and online searching. However, Sean Fitzgerald, co-maintainer of our P2P Learning Concepts page, informs us that such Learning Objects are controversial and have been… Continue reading

A landmark essay: Nick Dyer-Witheford on the ‘Circulation of the Common’

Michel Bauwens: As far as I’m concerned, the Immaterial Labour Conference organized by Ed Emery in Cambridge University’s Keynes Hall, was a landmark event, bringing together various efforts to understand cognitive capitalism in general, and peer processes in particular. The essays are clickable from the conference home page. The presentation that especially struck me as… Continue reading

Is Google-bombing moral, even for a good cause?

Mary Joyce is a dedicated democracy activist, with whom we’re collaborating on the P2P Toolkit project, which aims to compile a mini-handbook of the best collaborative and open source technologies for activists (the project is just starting). She recently blogged about her proposed Google-bombing campaign: “A creative new method is being undertaken to free jailed… Continue reading

From the Laws of Connectedness to the Power Law of Participation

Ross Mayfield recently published an interesting hierarchisation of the concepts of collective intelligence and collaborative intelligence, in his post on the Power Law of Participation, which has an interesting graphic, available here; the issue is well summarized by Sam Rose: For example, a case study of the Apache project published in 2000 found that 80%… Continue reading

Frustrated Dutch workers unite to form a movement to bring back pride and enjoyment into the workplace

Here is a clue to some of the social and economic pain points in the Netherlands. The following exert is from a growing group of Nederlanders wanting change. “The higher the position you have the more distant you become to fellow staff. Knowledge, motivation and the experience of staff doing “real work” have become undervalued… Continue reading

A Guide To What’s Wrong With Economics by Edward Fullbrook (Editor)

An important new book about what’s wrong with classic economics, A Guide To What’s Wrong With Economics may be more about what is wrong with neoclassical economics. However, in the public’s mind and in most economics department neoclassical economics is economics. Unfortunately, the monopoly position of neoclassical economics leaves many students bewildered, especially those who… Continue reading