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The vendors have combined the capabilities of Ciboodle One intelligent desktop with SAS's Real Time Decision Manager to be able to predict customer behavior in the contact center and create what they describe as a unique level of personalization.

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photo: Chany Crystal via flickr Though support, both political and financial, for the UN REDD forest protection scheme has been growing, there's also a growing opposition voice expressing the concern that, though keeping forests standing is a good thing, the REDD program could well run roughshod over the rights of indigenous people as international financiers, corporations and timber companies get involved. Mongabay points out that an alte...Read the full story on TreeHugger


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Dengue, swine flu grip Kerala, nine dead Sify With the onset of monsoon, dengue fever and a variant of swine flu have broken out in Kerala, claiming nine lives so far, an official said. ... Woman dies of H1N1, alert issued in Kerala Press Trust of India all 22 news articles »

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“Green design is not enough; a deeper connection between self and place is required to create truly sustainable spaces.” -Kevin Hackett

Design-builders love to talk about clients’ needs—how they’ll take your vision, your desire for your home and turn it into reality. But few, if any, have shrinked your psyche to do so.

But don’t be nervous. Kevin Hackett and Jessica Weigley of San Francisco’s Siol Studios are no lab-coated therapists. They’re researchers, artists and educators, and they’re working to change the face of sustainable home design.

I spoke with co-founder Kevin, a very kind and insightful architect from Limerick, Ireland, about Siol Studio’s “architecture of self and place,” and especially this notion of the brain as a home—or your home as a formed representation of your psychograph. Here’s what he had to say.

You teach seminars on the connection between psychology and architecture. How would you incorporate a client’s psychological needs/desires—things that are intangible— into the physical and practical design of their home?

KH: Each client has a unique psychograph. This encompasses their moral, cognitive, emotional, aesthetic and interpersonal lines of development (to name but a few). It is the role of the designer to interpret this profile. This body of knowledge is then overlaid with the client’s program to create a foundation for the forthcoming design process.

We also explore the client’s environmental subjectivity while educating an objective understanding of the mind. Subjectively, each client has a different response mechanism to space, color, texture, lighting, form, etc. We investigate the connectivity of such responses and bring awareness to the client. From the universal perspective, we share current neurological data and explain how it can assist us in the design process. It is a multifaceted approach that reflects the layered individuality of each client or group.

I love that you leave your projects with room to “evolve.” This gives the client freedom to change and grow their space at a later date, but also cuts down on waste during future remodels. Is that part of your design process?

KH: From a sustainable approach, buildings need to be seen as living entities. Evolution thus occurs at the building level as well as the user level. A spatial layout that allows for both adaptability and emergence is essential. We like to think our spaces facilitate this change, behaving as a catalyst for developmental growth.

I see that you participated in San Francisco’s Park(ing) Day 2008. How did you get involved and what did you take away from that?

KH: Parking Day was both an urban installation and experiment. We collaborated with local merchants to create an environment where the hierarchy of car – bike – pedestrian was turned upside-down, placing the pedestrian as priority.

It was a lesson in the street-narrowing process to create a more enriching sidewalk where culture and community intersect. We also wanted to demonstrate the potential flexibility of urban space on an intimate scale. This is commonplace in Europe, specifically with older grids, where a street has multi functions to reflect the changing momentum of the city.

What is the Siol Salon? Do you hold events for Bay Area locals?

The Siol Salon is a lecture series that we have previously held in the Bay Area. It is an opportunity to share and discuss pertinent topics that relate to the architecture and design professions. This fall, we intend to hold our second salon with a group of lectures discussing the concepts of Integral Architecture.

What’s next for you? What are your ultimate goals as thinkers and builders?

This coming July, we will be presenting our paper ‘Towards an Integral Architecture’ at the Integral Theory Conference in Pleasant Hill, California.

“An integrally informed architecture can nourish spirit, evolve perspectives, participate in harmony with its natural systems, and symbolically represent the whole.” We believe that green design is not enough, a deeper connection between self and place is required to create truly sustainable spaces. This connection comes from an intimate understanding of self and the fulfillment of our role as co-creators and citizens of Earth. It is this connection that we seek to explore through our practice.

Get in touch with Kevin and Jessica:

Síol

An Integral Design Practice
____________________________________
2311 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
tel: 415. 655 9722 fax: 415. 236 6070
www.siolstudios.com

Photo Credit: John Lee

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Two reports released Friday are critical of the World Health Organization's handling of the H1N1 flu pandemic—which was dubbed “exaggeration on stilts”—as well as the fact that some WHO scientists had previously been on the payroll of ...

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Daily Mail

Eminem and Pink's Fierce 'Recovery' Team-Up Hits the Web Rolling Stone Slim Shady takes shots at Michael J. Fox, swine flu on "Won't Back Down" By Daniel Kreps The unlikely collaboration between Eminem and Pink on Slim Shady's ... New Eminem Tracks Hits The Web RTT News Eminem Teams with Pink on 'Won't Back Down' The BoomBox (blog) Eminem's 'Won't Back Down' hits web The Detroit News all 109 news articles »

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- An Elvis impersonator wearing a red jump suit has filed for office as the running mate of a gubernatorial candidate seeking Minnesota's GOP nomination....

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PARIS (AP) - A report released by the Council of Europe on Friday accuses the World Health Organization and European governments of vastly exaggerating the public health risks of swine flu and making secretive decisions that benefited pharmaceutical ...

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Dell's Android-based Streak mobile device took its inaugural bows on Telefonica's O2 mobile network in the United Kingdom on Friday. Equipped with a five-inch multi-touch screen, the hybrid tablet/smartphone is the first offering from O2 to become available to subscribers under a data-only plan.

U.K.-based O2 subscribers signing up for a 24-month data plan priced at $36.38 per month -- or an integrated data/voice plan priced at $50.93 per month -- will get the new mobile device free. The Dell Streak, which is slated to become available on AT&T's U.S. network in the latter half of July, also can be purchased from O2 as a no-contract, pay-as-you-go device priced at $580.67.

Although Apple's iPhone did not have a single competitor for a long time, the iPad will have strong competitors -- and the Dell Streak will probably be one, noted IDC Research Manager Francisco Jeronimo. "This does not mean that Apple won't be the leader in this segment, but it will have to be more competitive because the other devices will be a much better value for the money and Apple cannot rely only on its brand," Jeronimo said.

Finding A Niche

The IDC analyst also thinks there is definitely a market need for a mobile device that falls midway between a netbook and a smartphone. "We will see different form factors being launched throughout this year, with different screen sizes and running different operating systems," Jeronimo said.

Henry Dewing, a principal analyst at Forrester Research, also sees a market need for devices like the Dell Streak that promise to enable mobile information workers to communicate and collaborate.

"This device is important because it is small enough to carry, yet large enough to see video and other digital media," Dewing wrote in a blog. "And it has the hardware features to support collaboration via...

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Council of Europe slams WHO handling of swine flu.

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