Room with a VDU: The Development of the ‘Glass House’ in the Corporate Workplace

Abstract This article argues that the presentation of early computer technology and its reception by the public had a causal effect on the design of computer products. It is also argued that the desire to show computers in operation led to the emergence and proliferation of the ‘glass house’, a particular element of the commercial interior landscape of the 1960s and 1970s. These glass-walled secure areas, built to house mainframe computer installations, appeared in order to meet the conflicting requirements of environmental stability, controlled access and crucially, the conspicuous display of corporate status. Although the phenomenon of the glass house disappeared as the computers they housed developed from large, centralised systems into distributed networks of stand-alone computers, this article posits that the widespread adoption of the glass house not only had a profound effect on the visual design of computers themselves but also led to the growth of a range of subsidiary industries, as well as having a lasting impact on the perception and reception of computers in the workplace and attitudes towards the specialist staff involved in their maintenance. Keywords: glass house, computers, technology, workplace, display, IB

Influence of habitat and microhabitat on carabid (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages in four stand types

Studies based on presence/absence of a species may provide insight into habitat associations, allowing the distribution of species to be predicted across the landscape. Our objective was to characterize the carabid fauna in three mature boreal forest types (conifer, mixedwood, and deciduous) and a disturbed habitat (clearcut) to provide baseline data on the carabid species inhabiting the major forest types of boreal northwestern Ontario. Only spring-active carabids were considered for logistical reasons. We further identified the coarse woody debris structure and microhabitat characteristics within these stand types to try to refine our ability to predict the within-stand occurrence of carabids. We found the carabid composition of deciduous stands (mixedwood and aspen) similar and typical of the carabid fauna found in mixedwood forest in other nearby studies. The important feature of these forest types may be the presence of a deciduous leaf litter layer. In contrast, spruce stands contained fewer species and individuals and a distinct carabid fauna. As pre- dicted, the clearcut habitats were dominated by open habitat species, although the fauna was dissimilar to what was recorded in clearcut habitats in other studies within northwestern Ontario. Coarse woody debris appeared to be an important hab- itat attribute for several carabid species in clearcut habitats