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The CommunityNet Aotearoa monthly newsletter.
"News and views on community networking throughout Aotearoa."
UPLIFT has been designed to help increase computer literacy amongst New Zealand's disadvantaged communities and reduce the digital divide by helping better train ICT skills trainers. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/uplift-digitally-inclusive-communities.htm.
The Mediascape website is a great tool for parents, children and students who are interested in becoming more media savvy. It will help people to make more informed and critical choices about media and is destined to become a key feature in our virtual and media landscapes. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/media-savvy-website.htm.
The Mental Health Education and Resource Centre (MHERC) Trust Board are now inviting applications for this year's Canterbury Association of Mental Health Grant / Scholarship Fund. The award consists of an amount of not less than $500 and not exceeding $1000 per person yearly. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/mental-health-fund.htm.
The draft Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities deals with such issues such as physical access to public facilities, the right to life and non-discrimination for persons with disabilities, liberty of movement, awareness regarding disability, equal recognition before the law, independent living and inclusion in the community. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/rights-treaty-disabled.htm.
Language Interface Packs (LIPs) are free software downloads that provide computer users with the ability to adapt their copy of Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office Standard applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) to display many commonly used features in reo Maori. The LIPs cover most of the User Interface such as menus, dialogs and error messages of the most commonly used elements of Microsoft's Windows and Office software. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/maori-language-packs.htm.
The Unlimited Potential (UPLIFT) course aims to give computer skills to people who may never have had the chance before. The course sponsors — the Government and Microsoft — hope that local communities will be revitalised as a result. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/uplift-ict-course-launch.htm.
The Mangere Youth Project Working Group, have selected and contracted Emeline Afeaki, supported by Ronji Tanielu, to be the 'Mangere Youth Collaborator'. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/mangere-youth-collaborator.htm.
Key findings of the survey: more are paying board members, but most worry how to attract high calibre people; risk management is a low priority. The report covers a broad range of concerns expressed by Not for Profit organisations -- from fundraising, staff retention to compliance and risk management. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/2005-nfp-survey.htm.
A joint initiative between government and the non-profit sector is mapping the size and nature of the non-profit sector in New Zealand to address the shortage of comprehensive and reliable data on non-profit organisations. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/study-non-profit-sector.htm.
A comprehensive list of research projects on volunteering in New Zealand is being compiled in a joint initiative by OCVS and Volunteering NZ (VNZ). www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/volunteering-research-list.htm.
Statistics New Zealand has opened its 0800 phone helpline in preparation for the March 2006 Census of Population and Dwellings. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/2006-census-help.htm.
The ongoing need for strong programmes that develop the motivation, skills and confidence of young New Zealanders so they reach their full potential has resulted in the Project K Trust changing its name to The Foundation for Youth Development. The Foundation for Youth Development (FYD) will be an umbrella Trust for established and proven children and youth development programmes such as Project K, Kiwi Can, and the Stars programme. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/yd-foundation.htm.
The latest quarterly gambling licensing statistics for pubs and clubs show a continuing decline in the number of operators, venues and gaming machines. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/gambling-returns.htm.
The jailing of a 22-year-old student for possessing and distributing pictures of children being sexually abused sends a strong warning to similar offenders of how society views their actions. Vacaras admitted he had accessed KaZaA for about six months searching for child sex pictures. He said he knew it was immoral, but didn't know it was illegal. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/jail-abuse-pictures.htm.
In March this year, Manukau City Council's community boards will host receptions throughout the City to recognise the contribution of Manukau's hardworking volunteers. Hundreds of volunteers, especially chosen by the public they serve, will be guests of honour at the events. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/difference-manukau.htm.
Around 350,000 New Zealand homes are poorly insulated or not insulated at all. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is seeking co-funders for new projects to insulate homes. $2 million is available in this tender. EnergyWise home grants provides part-funding to community groups, trusts or businesses. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/energy-wise.htm.
Hon Luamanuvao Winnie Laban, Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector: "CommunityNet information is not only for community and voluntary organisations, but is also from them. CommunityNet has a collaborative publishing model and information comes from all over New Zealand. I'd like to acknowledge all the community people and organisations who edit HowTo guides and Hot Topics, and who send in over 50 community updates each month." www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/accessibility-speech.htm.
Strong, sustainable communities will be the central theme spearheading Luamanuvao Winnie Laban's approach to her new role as Minister for the Community and Voluntary sector. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/strong-sustainable.htm.
The Community Internship Programme provides nearly $270,000 in grants each year for experienced and skilled people from the public, private or community and voluntary sectors to work within community organisations on a capacity building project. Read more on the Department of Internal Affairs website. www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.NSF/wpg_URL/Services-Community-Internship-Programme-Index?OpenDocument.
Te Kawai Toro is a new funding programme starting in 2006 aimed at supporting projects run by Maori organisations that will benefit whanau. Projects must be about promoting and strengthening whanau development. Funding is available for projects of up to three years starting in 2006. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/fund-strengthening-whanau.htm.
Just working for a just world. www.corso.org.nz.
Using music to promote mental health in Asian ethnic minority groups. Pilot project is in Burmese Communities. www.SmoothStream.co.nr.
Mediascape brings together and presents resources and information about New Zealand media. Tips on media use for families, explanations of codes and classifications, hints on how to have your say. Mediascape is a place for media literacy, research and the exchange of views and opinions for New Zealanders. www.mediascape.co.nz.
Comprehensive directory of Leftist Parties and Organisations around the World. Updated every two months. www.broadleft.org.
Writely is a web word processor that provides simple and secure document collaboration and publishing on the web using only the browser. www.writely.com.
A friend cleaning up her office found an old treasure trove of floppy discs containing confidential information from clients. She wanted to throw the discs away, but needed to be sure that if anyone were to find them they would not be able to retrieve any of the information.
You may have a similar situation with CDs or DVDs or perhaps a hard drive or even a memory stick or memory card, or in fact anything you can put into a computer and save information to.
My friend asked about using a magnet to scramble the floppies or perhaps using an older computer with a floppy drive to erase them all, but I said there was a better way.
If you want to be quite sure no-one can retrieve the information from an old floppy or other data store destroy it: physically.
For floppies get a sturdy pair of scissors and maybe a blunt knife and a rubbish bin. A floppy is made up of a plastic case which holds a flat disc of the kind of tape a video tape is made of. Either bend and twist the plastic case on the floppy until it opens or pry it open with the knife. Now use the scissors to cut the actual disc into pieces. If you have strong enough scissors you may be able to cut through both the case and the disc at the same time.
With other media such as CDs and DVDs wrap each one inside a towel and bend it in half until it snaps. My experience is that it will shatter into smaller fragments — the towel catches the shards and protects your hands. Again, sturdy scissors may do a good job.
For a hard drive removed from a computer locate the screws that hold the case together and take out the physical platter(s). Smash or severely score them.
Memory sticks and the like can probably be reformatted and used for other purposes but if for some reason you will be throwing it away then use a hammer or something else to physically smash it up.
I believe it's possible to buy shredders that handle CDs and DVDs, so if you often need to destroy them then check your local office supplies store. It seems they may also be able to shred floppies.
This Tip republished with permission from Mac Tips.
[March 2006] If you're not averse to a little carefully selected advertising, you can make a few dollars from your website without a lot of effort using Google's Adsense.
Adsense ads are contextual — that is the ads displayed are related to the content on your page. If your website were about occupational overuse syndrome (OOS), for example, it would not be surprising for the Google ads to provide links to software to help prevent OOS, ergonomic aids, remedies, and information.
You can see a live example at this page: http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/Occupational+Overuse+Syndrome+(repetitive+stress+injury).
As a website owner you can make extensive choices about layouts and formats for the ads. You can include ads only on specific pages, or on every page of your site. You can tuck them away in unobtrusive corners or push them right at the visitor. Best results come from blending ads in with your site.
You can block certain ad providers if you wish, so you don't have to just accept ads from groups you may not wish to promote. Google say this in their Adsense tour:
"Google's ad review process ensures that the ads you serve are not only family-friendly, but also comply with our strict editorial guidelines. We combine sensitive language filters, your input, and a team of linguists with good hard common sense to automatically filter out ads that may be inappropriate for your content. What's more, you can block competitive ads and choose your own default ads."
Some community groups will find it totally inappropriate to include ads of any kind on their site, but if you feel carefully selected ads would not be a problem and you wouldn't mind earning a few dollars for your group then it's worth investigating Google's Adsense.
Past Website tips are all available on CommunityNet Aotearoa.
In their first meeting this year, the CommunityNet Advisory group reviewed website usage; revised sections of the long term plan; learnt about the new Basecamp project management tool; gave feedback and advice on new content sections; and were updated on community aspects of the Digital Strategy. Members travelled from all over New Zealand to take part in a full and productive day. Meeting notes and the updated Long Term Plan will be published in About Us. www.community.net.nz/About/Governance..
In February, Wellington based members met the Hon Luamanuvao Winnie Laban, Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector at the AccEase Awards, and were thanked by her for their help and contributions. www.community.net.nz/CommunityCentre/News/National/accessibility-speech.htm.
We're very pleased to announce this new hot topic, edited by Andy Williamson and Ian Thomson, two people well known in the new field of "Community Informatics" (researching the use of the computers and the internet for communities, by communities). The hot topic links to articles and research on effective use of ICT in the community, sustainability etc. It's small but will grow as the topic does! www.community.net.nz/HotTopics/community-informatics.
A page of free business and project planning tools, templates, online management tools, outcomes and evaluation guides; in the Digital Strategy HotTopic and slanted to computing projects, but generally applicable to all projects. www.community.net.nz/HotTopics/Digital-Strategy/PublicationsResources/project-planning-resources.htm.
The hundreds of Community Partnership Fund Expressions of Interest have been evaluated, and the steering group has met to consider them. Applicants will hear soon about their Expressions of Interest and a press release will give overall figures.
This new How-To guide covering people, economic and natural aspects of Sustainability will soon be ready for testing. Our thanks to those who've offered to peer review it - we'll be in touch soon.
In February 2006 there were: 42,854 visits (25,233).
New items:
A record breaking 83 items were sent in in February (30).
Send in your free community advertisement at: www.community.net.nz/About/Submit/default.htm.
The most popular file download was: Managing Well Catalogue: 610 downloads.
Please forward the complete Panui to others who'll find it useful.
Miraz Jordan, Webmaestro.
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