Julia Huber
Researcher
Julia joined Demos as a researcher in June 2002. Her main research interests are in the area of demography, social change and learning. She is leading Demos' work on the ageing society and her Demos publications in this area include; together with Paul Skidmore The New Old: Why the baby boomers won't be pensioned off (2003); and together with James Harkin Eternal Youths: How the baby boomers are having their time...
- The 'death' of small print Publishers in the US have decided to respond to declining sales figures by making books bigger to allow for a larger font-size. According to an article in today's Guardian the new range of books is targetted specifically at the ageing consumers who experience difficulties reading normal print from the age of 40 onwards. continue reading on 17th February 2005
- Common Purpose I am currently reading an extremely inspiring and interesting book called Common Purpose by the Harvard scholar Lisbeth Schorr. Using a multitude of examples and wide-ranging evidence she talks about why successful community initiatives and programmes in social care and education in the US have found it so difficult to 'scale-up' and how the 'system' can be transformed to allow effective grassroot interventions to reach the lives of millions rather than hundreds. continue reading on 1st February 2005
- A neverending conversation... Today the world remembers the liberation of Auschwitz sixty years ago and for Germans like me this is a renewed opportunity to reflect and ask important questions about our history and its implications for the present and future. We talk about 'generational guilt', to what extent it was a unique event, ways of remembering, the danger of forgetting and what 'never again' means. What I think is most important about these conversations though is that they never end, that we never stop asking... continue reading on 27th January 2005
- Dialog on Leadership I came across this website today, which was put together by a group of leading organisational and business thinkers (including my personal all-time favourite Peter Senge), and contains a host of interesting interviews and papers on the future of knowledge and leadership. continue reading on 21st January 2005
- Calling from beyond the stars...? Speaking at a gala concert on the eve of his inauguration Georg W Bush declared: 'We have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom, and America will always be faithful to that cause.' Now, it took me a while (plus a helpful hint from a colleague) to understand that he was not talking about aliens from outer space, but about God. And once you think about it, it shouldn't come as a surprise, but somehow Bush's frequent religious references do again and again catch me out as someone... continue reading on 20th January 2005
- Shrinking Childhoods Yesterday, I went to see the 'Shrinking Childhoods' exhibition on the South Lawn outside the Tate Modern. The work on display was created by children, who are growing up in tough inner-city neighbourhood, in a series of workshops organised by the charity Kids Company in collaboration with Tate Modern. I have no words really to describe the experience, but I believe it is an exhibition that everyone should see. And, although the artworks and what they say about us and our society are incredibly... continue reading on 17th January 2005
- The Change Masters Fast Company have just announced the winners of their 2005 Social Capitalist Awards. Have a look at their list of the 25 best social enterprises here. continue reading on 14th January 2005
- 'Demographic timebomb' versus 'Valuing older people' I discovered two articles that illustrate well the opposing ends of the ageing debate.David Brooks writing on the potential impact of an ageing population in the US and Europe paints the familiar bleak picture of declining European economies plagued by high social security costs and slow economic growth. This article, on the other hand, describes the so-called 'work ability' concept, as promoted by the Finish government for several years, and offers a much more positive perspective on... continue reading on 6th January 2005
- Inclusive Design Demos has recently launched a new project - Silver Service: Meeting the consumption needs of an older society. As part of the project we are looking for innovative examples of service provision for older people and I have come across some very interesting cases in the area of inclusive design. One is 'A City for All - Barrier Free Environment', an inclusively designed housing project in Eastern Finland, and the other is Oxo, a company in the United States that provides 'easy grip' housing and... continue reading on 6th February 2004
- Landmark decision on affirmative action Yesterday the US Supreme Court by a narrow margin ruled in favour of affirmative action. The court case itself as well as the ruling are proof of the continuing divisive nature of the issue of race in the US. To read more click here and/or here. continue reading on 24th June 2003