hangplek
The Dutch Hangplek and the Governance of Mischief
Communities keep asking why teenagers misbehave in malls. The Dutch hangplek answers why adolescent mischief needs legitimate civic infrastructure containers to prevent disorder.
systems in action
systems in action
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · The Handler
Most corrupt institutions have a handler, the role that preserving institutional shields over the truth. Handlers build plausible deniability in layers and keep corrupt arrangements alive by diffusing blame and protecting the inner circle.
ceo
When Age Changes but Power Doesn't
Bloomberg says CEO age is rising. But age is just the easiest variable to narrate as change. Gender tells the harder story: power remains overwhelmingly male.
systems in action
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · Forced Featurization: No Opt-Out, Defaults That Don’t Stay Off
Forced Featurization Forced featurization is the recurring pattern in which a system reasserts a vendor’s preferred defaults, pathways, and behaviors even after an explicit refusal. Consent is treated as temporary and "off” is treated as a momentary preference, not a durable decision.
systems in action
SYSTEMS IN ACTION· Annoyance as Baseline, Subscriptions Everywhere
A new car that can’t be unplugged. A washing machine that texts. A snipping tool that won’t run until it “validates.” When core functions become clients of the cloud, annoyance becomes baseline, and reliability becomes a luxury.
systems in action
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · Campus Monetization: The Perimeter Play
Universities facing a demographic cliff are monetizing the perimeter through P3 deals, vendorized student life, and campus advertising. The hidden cost is cognitive: when interstitial spaces become attention surfaces, cross domain synthesis collapses quietly.
work and retirement
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · The Hall of Wisdom
My former employer had a Hall of Wisdom: a corridor of offices for retired engineers, an honor and favorite perk. When design cycles got thorny, we walked to visit our elders, time and again.
SIA
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · When Vendorization Creates Fragility
When vendors capture demand but externalize failure, asymmetric incentives produce fragility.
systems in action
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · The Control Illusion: How Export Controls Create Shadow Chains and Destroy Containment
When traceability breaks, containment fails. This Systems-in-Action maps how well-intended safety controls quietly produce shadow supply chains and brittle failure paths—making systems harder to see, not safer to run.
SIA
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · Why LED Speed Signs Create New Hazards
Tennessee’s new LED speed-limit signs were meant to modernize safety. Instead, they break long-established cue structures and misalign with human perception, creating new hazards. A look at how dynamic interfaces fail when behavior and context remain static.
SIA
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · Am I Stuck in a Bullshit Job?
A straight, unflinching look at bullshit jobs: why some roles drain you, why the system needs the theater, and how to spot the risks before your skills hollow out. A human-scaled guide to value, dignity, and the first step toward real work.
SIA
SYSTEMS IN ACTION · The Gen Z Stare
Gen Z grew up fluent in emotional labor; they know what it costs to perform enthusiasm on command, and if their wage doesn’t merit it, false cheer feels like a bridge too far.