IAP Autumn Conference 2010
Details have been released by The Institution of Analysts and Programmers of the 2010 IAP Autumn Conference, which is to be held on 17 September 2010 at the Magic Circle headquarters, not far from Euston Station. Its theme this year is “The Intelligent Environment” which shows how systems of many kinds are moving from traditional one-way command structures to be more interactive systems and mimicking intelligent behaviour.
As with most IT fields, Women are under represented in the IAP, so if you are a working in Programming, Technology, Information, Business Analysis, Project Management or any other related field, when would now be a good time to join the Institution of Analysts and Programmers? Visit the IAP Website to learn more.
Plymouth City Council fined £12000 for WEEE breach
Plymouth City Council has been fined £12000 by Plymouth Magistrates Court after being caught selling electrical waste to unauthorized recyclers, in a case brought by the Environment Agency. The council was fined £8,000 for the breach plus £3,742 costs. It has now carried out a thorough review of its procedures.
The European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive was first ratified by European ministers in 2003, and was eventually meant to pass into UK law in August 2006. However, delays by the Department for Trade and Industry held it back. As of 1 July, the new regulations are intended to ensure that major producers, rebranders and importers of household electrical and electronic equipment are signed up to pay for the responsible disposal and recycling of their goods. The WEEE legislation finally came into effect on the 2 January, although those affected have had until July to ensure they’re fully compliant.
If you are interested in the disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, the Government Guidance Notes on the WEEE Regulations, and the Code of Practice are well worth a read:
Space Shuttle Discovery in Record Launch
The space shuttle Discovery launched today on one of Nasa’s final stockpiling missions to the International Space Station, and in the process will set a record for most women in space. The three women on board will join the female scientist already on the space station.
A former schoolteacher, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, is among the female astronauts, and two aerospace engineers, Stephanie Wilson and Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki. The three will join chemist Tracy Caldwell Dyson at the International Space Station.
Once combined, the shuttle and station crews will number 13: eight Americans, three Russians and two Japanese.
Government Publish their IT strategy
The Government have just published their IT strategy on the cabinet office website. This describes the strategy for UK Information and Communication Technology over the next 10 years.
According to the strategy, this will ensure that the IT infrastructure used by government departments will go through a process of standardisation and simplification based on the premise of a common infrastructure designed to enable local delivery suited to local needs. Hopefully this will help to remove duplicate infrastructure solutions across different areas of Government services.
However, not all comment is overwhelmingly supportive; Andrea DiMaio from Gartner, argues that the underlying message is that cheaper is stronger than smarter or greener. It sounds like the Treasury is the principle driver pushing through the cost savings that every government department is required to achieve.
To read more about this click on the links below:
CEOP Centre Issue Online Viral Madeleine Video
The Home Office’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) has issued an online viral message aimed at anyone close to the person who was involved in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in May 2007 while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz, Portugal. That person could be a relative, friend, work colleague or neighbour. Whoever they are, they have a secret that could reveal what happened to Madeleine and protect other children.
The image presenting Madeleine McCann as a six-year-old with dark skin and dark hair was released by British police last night in a “viral” internet video aimed at coaxing fresh information from the friends, family and associates of her abductors.
In the spirit of assisting the police in this enterprise we are posting the link to the Madeleine video here. We are also posting on our supported sites, blogs and via Social Networking sites like Twitter. You can assist by posting links to this video too, and helping to find Madeleine.
Do something differently – take Risks
Are you a woman who is in a male dominated industry and hesitate to take risks for fear of rejection?
We know that Women are under represented in Technology, that is a fact, both in the UK and worldwide. Many of the women who are employed in IT are clustered in the lower skilled and lower paid areas of the industry, rather than the more professional and technical positions.
Do you hide your intelligence to remain safe or unnoticed in relationships, at work, in life? Many women play at less than 100%. They feel if they reveal all their greatness, their talents and their intelligence that somehow they will not be safe or will set themselves up for rejection. It may feel easier to hold back than take a risk.
If you want to do something different, RISK4Results will help you manage that fear and take the risks necessary to have maximum results in your career, relationships and life. To learn more about this interesting program visit Pink Biker Chic Risk for Results
Visual Systems Journal Award Winners Announced
Visual Systems Journal have published the winners of the 2008 VSJ Reader Awards based on votes submitted on the VSJ website. Unusually these days, the VSJ survey the voting system is not based on a shortlist, but requires the participants to decide on the products or services based on their experience of using them. Long may that practice continue!
IAP Spring Conference 2009
Details have been released by The Institution of Analysts and Programmers of the 2009 IAP Spring Conference. This year’s meeting will be based at the Museum in Docklands, close to Canary Wharf. Occupying a converted warehouse, its mix of galleries and function rooms will provide a comfortable and interesting venue for the IAP.
The event is open to members and non-members, and for details of the programme and list of speakers see IAP News. If you are interested in joining The Institution of Analysts and Programmers see the page How To Join
British woman sails to world record
TechCo Training would like to congratulate a British sailor, 36-year-old Dee Caffari, who has become the first woman to sail solo and non-stop both ways around the world. She claimed the unique record today when she completed the Vendée Globe yacht race in her on her 60ft boat, Aviva.
She crossed the line off Les Sables d’Olonne, France, at 1.13pm to take sixth place in the race and complete a feat achieved by only four men – circumnavigating the globe with and against the prevailing currents and winds
The navigation station was the hub of all the activity below deck and where Dee used her electronic weather and sail charts to make all her tactical decisions. Dee used the computers at the navigation station to send pictures, diaries and video footage back to her support team watching her progress.
Pledge a Blog for Ada Lovelace Day
Back in 2006, according to research sponsored by DTI, the number of women employed in IT related industries was worrying decline. The research, which benchmarked the UK against 33 countries, demonstrates that while the UK performs favourably for the total number of women in the workforce, the number of women employed in the IT sector has fallen to just 16%.
The report also revealed that women are under-represented in higher-skilled IT jobs, and dominate the lower-skilled and lower-paid areas of the industry. For example some 61 per cent of database assistants and 42 per cent of assemblers of electrical products are female, compared with only 20 per cent of ICT managers, and 12 per cent of IT strategy or planning professionals. There is no evidence that this trend has halted or reversed, and it is now time to do something about it.
Ada Lovelace, a 19th Century analytical programmer, is now helping to recruit women back into the profession with a proposed annual Ada Lovelace Day, on the 24th March.
“Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging to draw attention to women excelling in technology. Women’s contributions often go unacknowledged, their innovations seldom mentioned, their faces rarely recognised,” says Suw Charman-Anderson, the tech-savvy media commentator proposing Lovelace Day. “We want you to tell the world about these unsung heroines. Whatever she does, whether she is a sys-admin or a tech entrepreneur, a programmer or a designer, developing software or hardware, a tech journalist or a tech consultant, we want to celebrate her achievements.”
The UK needs to understand that this is not a gender issue; we need to maintain a diverse workforce to stay competitive. If you think that women are underrepresented in technology join us on 24 March 2009 for Ada Lovelace Day. Click on Finding Ada, sign the pledge and write a blog entry about bringing women in technology to the fore.
If you don’t have a blog then contact us and we can get you started. It is easy, fun, and most importantly you can make a difference. Take action Contact Us Now!