Your smartphone – the one item you can’t leave home without; your fifth limb.

It allows you to communicate at lightening speed and provides you with up to date news alerts, email access, Facebook updates, and relevant Tweets.

Thanks to Apple, Samsung, RIM, and HTC, we are perpetually plugged in. In today’s modern and accelerated world, a smartphone is mankind’s “best friend.”

But, how well do you know your “best friend”? Do you know its deepest, darkest secrets? Conflict minerals.

Where are Conflict Minerals Coming From?

At the heart of our smartphones is tantalum, a component of a circuit that is responsible for holding the phones electric charge thus maintaining its mobile capacity.

While imperative to the smartphone’s function, this common technology comes from tainted origins.

Tantalum is a conflict mineral, meaning that the proceeds from its extraction and sale are used to finance civil wars and militia atrocities. One of the starkest examples of this exists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to approximately 64% of global tantalum stores. Here, militias continue to fight over usage rights of the mines, and in the process, use the funds derived from the minerals to fuel a 17 year long war that has killed upwards of 5.4 million people and continues to inflict gross suffering on the Congolese people.

While ‘conflict-free’ certification programs seek to reduce the market share of minerals that are extracted in war zones, the vast and convoluted nature of the electronics supply-chain greatly limits progress. For example, Apple revealed that their minerals are derived from 211 smelter suppliers located around the world, making the circumstances under which the minerals in question were extracted very difficult to identify.

Efforts Made to Stop Conflict Minerals?

The American Dodd-Frank Law of 2010 mandated that publicly traded supply companies certify that their supply chain for products using tantalum and other conflict minerals, such as tin, tungsten and gold, are “conflict free.” Various tech companies have already began to trace the source of metals they use to manufacture smartphones.

According to the human rights group, the Enough Project, such efforts have resulted in the diminished use of metals mined from Congo.

Now that we know our smartphones are made with conflict minerals, what is the next step?

A new company based out of the Netherlands called FairPhone has created a fair trade “ethical” smartphone that provides an alternate to mainstream smartphones. This smartphone with a conscience will be guaranteed conflict mineral free, as well as fair, safe, and green friendly.

While this phone may not be for everyone, these types of new ideas encourage awareness, support transparency, and demonstrate a keen effort to ensure that the next generations of smartphones are “conflict free.”

The post Your Smartphone’s Deep and Dark Secret: Conflict Minerals appeared first on Mindthis.

“Hi, my name is Lisa von Sturmer and I’ve already forgotten your name. Damn.” If I’m being totally honest, that’s usually the thought going through my mind right after I shake someone’s hand for the first time at every networking event I’ve ever been to. Of course, everyone knows that remembering names is a key way to making an impression on someone – it makes them feel important and memorable, and it makes you look powerful. One of the favourite legends of the much esteemed Bill Clinton is that he never forgets a name or face, even if he only met you for 2 minutes ten years ago. As much as I would aspire to such Clintonesque feats of memory, I’d settle gladly for remembering the names of people I met last week. Or the French I learned in high school. Or, where I left my cellphone. So, when I stumbled across Josh Foer’s “Moonwalking with Einstein” and read the tagline “The Art and Science of Remembering Everything”, I was instantly sold.

The promise of memory-hacking names was all I needed! If I could learn to remember anything else, well… bonus. Considering the book centres around Foer’s forays into the World Memory Championship and his intensive training regime, I wasn’t expecting a very compelling read. I grabbed a copy on the way down to Vegas and got so drawn into the highly competitive world of international memory champions, historical memory lore, tips, tricks and mind hacks that I ended up spending a few early nights in my room just to finish the book.

Get Good Brain

What I found so fascinating while reading about these champions – who manage to memorize pages of random digits in an hour, or the order of a pack of cards in minutes – was the finding that their brains weren’t really that different than mine. Unlike savants or geniuses, when memory champions have their brains scanned while they’re memorizing or reciting, they activate roughly the same areas of their brains that I would. So, why can’t I memorize a deck of cards? Well (as Josh proves), technically I probably could – if I learn a trick and spend some time practicing. That’s what Josh had done. After covering the US Memory Championship as a journalist and befriending some champions, Foer in turn becomes their protege.

To prove the point that anyone can become a memory champion, he began training to compete for the 2006 US Memory Championship (fun fact: the book often references America’s dismal standing in International Memory Championship rankings. To get a sense of Canada’s place in the memory world, well… this year the grand prize for the new Canadian Memory Champion is $50. Not to drop any spoilers, but Josh ends up surprising a lot of people with his progress in the championship.

So, you may be wondering, what’s this brain trick that let’s me memorize anything (and why didn’t I learn this in school when it could have been useful?). The process is known as building “memory palaces”. The term has its beginnings in Greek mythology, centering around the poet Simonedes of Ceos walking out of a bustling dinner party when the building (palace) suddenly collapses and all inside are crushed. Families are devastated and no one can remember who was in attendance. With a flash of insight, Simonedes closes his eyes and sees the dinner hall intact. He then imagines himself walking through the room, and as he moves around, he can see each person as they were sitting at the table.

He successfully remembers all the guests in order, and voila – the art of memory is born! The process of imagining walking through a familiar space was enough to jog his memory to the other key information he was looking for: who was there. This same process can actually be used to help us remember almost anything.

Essentially, since our spatial memory is so strong and sophisticated, the trick is that we build “palaces”, rooms, or familiar homes in our mind that we can walk through in our imagination. We then create a memorable image of the data we’re trying to remember and “put” it somewhere in the house. How do you know your spatial memory is sophisticated? Well, where in your house was your first bedroom? Where was the bathroom in your first apartment? Which cupboard were the oreos kept in when you were growing up? Are you not amazed at how easy it is to remember those details? I bet right now if you tried, you could easily walk through your childhood home in your mind and remember the colours, textures and oddities of the layout. This is a pretty remarkable feat of memory, and as Josh points out, we really don’t give our minds the credit they deserve.

Set It, Don’t Forget It

So, how do we “put” something in our memory palace to remember? How do we make data memorable? Well, we know we’re really good at remembering spaces; we’re also really good at remembering unusual, sexually charged and outlandish images. Whenever I see a red candle now, I think of Brick from Anchorman. We want to make as many unusual associations with the data as possible so that we have as many neural connections to the information as possible, thus making it more likely to be remembered. Here’s an example; I want to remember to pick up some items from the store on my way home: 3 pairs of socks, asparagus, and a copy of O Magazine (it’s good!). Let’s pretend my phone is dead and I have no paper; I actually have to rely on my own memory for once (Josh talks a lot about our current externalizing of memory and the pros and cons associated with that). So how do I go about remembering?

First, I imagine my apartment and the entrance way. I can see clearly the table and the bowl where I always leave my keys. This is going to be a great place to leave my “socks” memory. I imagine a little gnome that eats two separate socks and then pops rolled socks out the other end into the key bowl. I see him pop out 3 pairs of rolled socks. This image makes me laugh, revealing a bit about my humour levels perhaps, which helps me to remember. I then walk down the hall into the kitchen. It’s a great place to leave my asparagus. Since my imagination loves gnomes, I imagine a medieval joust on the kitchen counter with gnomes using asparagus to knock each other down. Cute! Now I just need to get my O Magazine somewhere. I walk over to my favourite reading corner and I decide that’s the perfect place to drop Oprah herself. She’s in a cute pink pj, waiting with a glass of wine for me, and as I walk over to her she says, “Let’s read together Lisa!”.

A dream come true. No way I’m forgetting that! So now that I’ve placed all my memories, I’ll do a quick walk through of my apartment just to review: sock gnome on the entrance table, asparagus joust on the kitchen counter, girls night with Oprah on the couch. Now when I get to the store, I only have to remember to walk through my apartment in my mind, and I’ll see all the items I need to remember. This concept actually works extremely well. Foer goes into this process in much greater detail in his book; weeks later, I can still remember most of the examples he used to teach it.

Save My Name, Save My Name

You can use this memory palace process to remember data for tests, to make special language palaces to remember vocabulary, memorize quotes, text, or all sorts of things. You can also use a similar strategy to remember names. Let’s pretend I’m introduced to a man named John Randall. He’s got scruffy hair, so to help me remember his name I instantly visualize him playing a game of baseball in the snow, with John Snow from Game of Thrones, also known for his scruffy hair. Instead of a bat, my new friend is using a shovel handle, since it sounds like Randall, to hit the ball. Also, they’re naked. Now I *can’t* forget! So, the next time I see Mr.Randall and his wild hair, I’ll quickly think naked John Snow, baseball, handle, Randall, boom! Name remembered. For me, that trick alone is worth the $17 I paid for the book. For you cheapos out there, let me be clear in that I’m merely skimming the surface of the wealth of memory lore “Moonwalking with Einstein” uncovers. I would highly suggest if you were slightly intrigued by the actual success of the examples above that you delve deeper into your own potential by reading the book.

While I haven’t matched my dream swagger-coach Clinton in his memory magic, I have made some significant progress with my name game. So in future, if I do ever happen to meet you, dear reader, at a conference and I’m shaking your hand with a gleam in my eye, it’s because I’m making you unforgettable. With gnomes.

The post Life Hacks to Supercharge and Improve Your Memory appeared first on Mindthis.

Moving from one ‘white’ country to another – easy, right?

Having lived in Malawi and South Africa, I thought moving to Scotland would be easy. As a middle-class Canadian, moving to another Western culture didn’t require any pre-departure or inter-cultural training. Admittedly, one of my major concerns was grappling with a thick Scottish accent, but I’d survived minibuses in major southern African cities. Moving from one ‘white’ country to another – easy, right? Eight months later, I’m more aware of my Canadian identity than ever before.

The University of St. Andrews has a notorious reputation for letting in very few students from lower socioeconomic classes. In a country that boasts seven social classes, St. Andrews recruited 13 people – out of 7,370 undergraduates – from “deprived” backgrounds in 2010. Many conversations with classmates contain casual (and explicit) questions about what your parents do, or where you went to school. Imagine undertaking a masters and discussing where you went to high school—some of us don’t have brains that rewind that far back!

Class issues permeate Canadian post-secondary education much more and differently than in St. Andrews

You don’t have to look far to see St. Andrew’s lack of diversity (and not just because the town only has 3 main streets). The town is dotted with clones sporting the St. Andrews uniform: Hunter Wellingtons and Barbour jackets. St. Andrews has an impressive collection of eclectic passport holders for such a homogenous fashion culture. While I would never conclude that I had a “classless” post-secondary experience in Canada, I do think the way class issues permeate Canadian post-secondary education is very different than in St. Andrews. Perhaps because in Canada we have an embedded sense of ‘political correctness’ that we don’t explicitly demarcate social lines based on class. Of course, that’s dangerous in its own right because class discrimination is obscured and rarely discussed.

A diversity is much more than the country you come from!

In St. Andrews, class is much more present — it’s a marker of pride, and an acceptable conversation topic. If you fall on the “wrong” side of the class divide, you certainly wouldn’t have the funds to sustain yourself on the St. Andrews ball and fashion circuit for long. And you likely wouldn’t sport the standard St. Andrews uniform. Sure, St. Andrews draws in students from different parts of the world, but a diverse campus is much more than the country you come from. This is where St. Andrews’ admissions is missing the point. Recruiting from a transnational capital class doesn’t add substantive or meaningful diversity. It only feeds into a false sense of prestige and reputation that sustains privilege, reducing education into a brand.

This article was originally published at Uni(di)versity.

The post Where is the Real Diversity in Education? appeared first on Mindthis.

“Good Artists Borrow, Great Artists Steal”

- Picasso (also attributed to Byron, T.S. Elliot, and Banksy)

The entire history of culture is a history of cultural appropriation. The development of culture necessitates cultural exchange, and cultural exchange inevitably leads to cultural appropriation where free-floating signifiers acquire new signifieds and become new symbols of the receiving culture. The two cultures may very well hold simultaneous and different meanings for the same signifier and the existence of such multiplicity does not invalidate any of the meanings. A culture does not have ownership of a symbol to the exclusion of another.

Teepees, ukuleles, and feather headdresses are traditional ceremonial garb of hipster Bacchanals.

Majority of symbols that we consider definitive of a particular culture have a millennia-long trail of transmission and transmutation. Consider the spread of religious thought and imagery – that most sacrosanct of objects haraam to cultural appropriators. Christianity arose from a melting pot of Talmudic tradition, Mithraic messianism, Zoroastrianism, and Osiris mystery cults in the Fertile Crescent, acquired elements of Greek and Roman symbolism and Platonic thought as it expanded into the Empire, nestled itself among the pagan rites of Europe as it crept northwards, and then blended with West African cults to create voodoo, and with South American primitivism to find new expressions in Pentecostalism. Every symbol, story, and tradition in the Christian pantheon is a borrowing or a derivative from another culture. And none of that makes it any less sacred to Christians, the majority of whom would be shocked to find out that they are worshipping graven idols of long-gone heathens.

The same thing happens in art. Magnificent Seven – one of the seminal film of the Western genre – is a remake of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, whose director is known for adapting Shakespeare’s plays into films set in the times of the Shogunates. Shakespeare himself got a significant part of his material from Plutarch and Ovid, the latter of which wrote his Metamorphoses from Greek myths. And onwards we go down the rabbit hole.

Roger’s Palace in Palermo. Good luck trying to untangle what here belongs to which culture.

Cultural appropriation is an inextricable element of culture. Without it neither art, no culture in general would have attained the complexity and splendour that it has. Opposing cultural appropriation on principle betrays lack of understanding of the history of culture – and prohibiting it would have the effect of restricting the development of culture. So whither comes the angst?

The zealots of political correctness bemoan that cultural appropriation replaces the original with a copy created by the “dominant” culture. I would retort that it creates a new symbol that can exist alongside the original, and in some ways it can add more strength or complexity to the original. The critics would say that it dilutes the original, removes all symbolic value from it and replaces it with a “ready to consume product devoid of context and meaning”. But that assumes that meaning can only be given by the culture that somehow claims ownership to the signifier to the exclusion of all others. What pretentious twaddle! Each culture, and each one of us are capable of instilling an object with meaning, and the subjective value of that meaning cannot be measured as “better”, or “more symbolic”, or “more authentic”.

Slavery + Cultural Appropriation + Derisive Caricature = Bad.

Yes, there is “bad” cultural appropriation, which is an act of theft from another culture, usually linked with oppression of the other: an act of simultaneously eroding or suppressing the original meaning and attaching one’s own meaning to the appropriated symbol. In this, it is akin to violent cultural colonisation, as it erases the group identity behind the whole culture, taboos the culture, and replaces it with a romantic stereotype. There’s been a fair amount of that in the past.

But vast majority of cultural appropriation is the organic process of evolution of culture. Opposing it because of a few historical wrongs would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Instead of trying to figure out whose cultural symbol something is, and how we can put up barriers between them, we should learn to acknowledge the value of all cultures and symbols – the common cultural heritage of the mankind. Ring-fencing sacred symbols of dying cultures is not a way to save them; it is a way to sterilise them and turn them into museum pieces reeking of formaldehyde. Instead we should give them life by returning them to the world of the living. And all life is change.

The post Cultural Appropriation: From Mithra to Cowboys appeared first on Mindthis.

“Small minds cannot grasp great ideas; to their narrow comprehension, their purblind vision, nothing seems really great and important but themselves.”
― James George Frazer

If the Enlightenment was the epoch of Sense, and the Victorian age was that of Sensibility, then we seem to be living in the time of great Sensitivity. The twin dynamos of the internet and gratuitous post-secondary education have created a feedback loop, where a certain kind of sensitive people are offended by the injustices of the world. Their outrage is amplified by the sounding box of social media, and the social media echoes their outrage by feeding them more things to be outraged at. In the hoary days before the advent of the interwebs this sort of behaviour would have been isolated. But now, the combined and artificially amplified noises of the appalled and the sensitive have acquired the power to affect the sensible.

And is wearing leopard print bikinis speciesist appropriation?

Take cultural appropriation, which has been making the rounds recently, giving joyful outrage to the PC-mongers everywhere. Due to a successful campaigns of public anger, an Ottawa basketball team was forced to change its name from “Tomahawks” to something even more banal, No Doubt pulled their Western themed video, and Victoria’s Secret realised that putting too many feathers on their models made people upset. On a more serious note, Urban Outfitters was recently in legal trouble for its tacky “Navajo Hipster” line of panties and flasks, which apparently did not stop them from running afoul of more sensitivities with their recent bout of ethnic motifs in their designs. And taking a page from the theatre of the absurd, the Harlem Shake meme apparently devalued the true meaning of the Harlem Shake dance (originating from Egyptian mummies). Oh, the humanity!

I’m a culture, not a costume!

It may be easy to write these off as non-events, or as a product of that virulent class of people that trawl university campuses, internet comment threads, and NIMBY meetings, driven by an insatiable thirst to find the next thing to be appalled by. But I fear that there is larger issue here. The issue of the outraged few, the sword of sanctimony, and the whip of guilt in hand enforcing their narrow-minded simplistic worldview on the rest of society. The issue of the threat of public tarring-and-feathering suppressing the free flow of ideas throughout culture.

And I love culture. I love the glorious kaleidoscope of civilisation with which humans have bejewelled the world. I love the arts, the flavours, the languages, and the stories that gush forth from the fount of human creativity. I am fascinated by the cornucopia of meaning that simple objects may have, and by the fields of anthropology, semiotics, linguistics, and art history that study these.

And this is why I am worried by the ghoulish banners of the cultural appropriation crusaders who would cast a shadow of guilt on our enjoyment of culture; would see it ossified and frozen to fit their own particular worldview.

Before pursuing the discussion, we must define that which we are discussing. What is cultural appropriation? In its simplest, it is the use of certain traits of one culture by another: acculturation and absorption of symbols from one culture into another. But what is a culture, and what is a symbol? In general terms, a culture is a collection of people with similar cultural traits. But these traits are learned, and more importantly, these traits are organic – they grow and evolve based on an interaction within the culture, as well as traits of other cultures. Consequently, cultures are never static. The only cultures that stop evolving are those consigned to the dusty halls of the museums. Thus, trying to define culture based on the cultural traits is not going to get us very far.

A more static target is ethnicity or geographic location. But linking culture with ethnicity has significant issues, not the least of them being the presupposition that people of a certain skin colour ought to only partake in a certain type of culture they are racially qualified to. And geographic location, in the age of internet and RyanAir, is not worth much either.

Onwards to symbols. Under the basic theory of semiotics, a symbol or a sign is made up of two components: the physical representation of the symbol called the signifier, and the conceptual meaning conveyed by the symbol called the signified. Aside for things like onomatopoeia, the relationship between the signifier and the signified is largely arbitrary and the connection is motivated only by social convention. Postmodernist thought views the arbitrariness of the connection as complete disconnection. In PoMo, a free floating signifier is a signifier that is connected to a highly variable signified. Such signifiers mean different things to different people: they may stand for many or even any signifieds. That is, they may mean whatever their interpreters want them to mean.

Grumpy Cat is a fundamental building block of culture.

In the context of culture, the creation of symbols through the connection of a signifier with a signified gives rise to the creation of memes. The related concept of meme was developed by Richard Dawkins, who defined it as “an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture”. Memes also travel across cultures, thus becoming a unit of cultural transmission. But whereas the signifier component of a meme retains a degree of permanence in the transmission (appearance or sound travel easier than meaning), the signified is liable to change, or to get lost in translation. Thus, as memes move throughout cultures (or within them) they constantly evolve their meanings, creating new signs and symbols.

Static memes are dead memes. No memes exist in a vacuum independent from others. The transmission of memes across cultures and generations is the way in which culture evolves and develops. At its basic, this transmission takes existing signifiers and attaches to them new signifieds. However, when the signifier in question is transmitted from one culture to another, this is acculturation – or in other terms, cultural appropriation.

This concludes Part I: The Outrage of the Memes on Ilya’s series on cultural appropriation. Tomorrow, we will be concluding the series with Part II: From Mithra to Cowboys.

The post Why You Should Stop Worrying and Learn to Love Cultural Appropriation appeared first on Mindthis.

It’s hard to believe that only two years ago Mindthis was just an idea brewing in my mind. At the time, I felt that mainstream media misunderstood Generation Y, which in turn led to their misrepresentation. There was no clear source for the all encompassing young professional to turn to for bespoke advice and analysis regarding Gen Y. The financial crisis was at her worst, and young professionals needed all the help they could get in professional and personal development. Seeking to be that source of desperately needed guidance, the online magazine Mindthis grew to a team of 30 that reached over 175 countries.

Will and I releasing the 2nd Mind The Gap prototype of Mindthis Magazine to University of Ottawa Students.

This team of unique young practitioners aimed to pull together their lessons from success and failure to share them with Gen Y and the world for free. The all encompassing young professional wants to look her best, be informed on world issues, and utilize technology to walk down a path of self discovery and professional development. Minding this all encompassing young professional born out of Gen Y was at the heart of our online magazine.

I am proud of our team effort to establish Mindthis as the voice of Generation Y. We accomplished this task by embracing “Media 3.0″– going far beyond the traditional press and a step past the traditional “blogosphere” in harnessing multiple young professionals that are practitioners of their trade from around the world.

Our Next Chapter

With our Vice President and Co Founder William Greenwood moving to Calgary Alberta, and myself to Abu Dhabi UAE, many people around the world are now asking the same question “What’s going to happen to Mindthis, is it over?”; I was very confused with the question. But I soon realized that normal magazines have headquarters stationed in one city. When both co founders leave that city, it can leave some room for justifiable doubt.

Yet, one of the reasons Mindthis grew this fast, with a marketing budget of 0 dollars, was our ability to be mobile. Our headquarters were never in Ottawa Canada but in the cloud. We managed Mindthis via Google Hangouts, Google Docs, Androids, Blackberries, Facebook, and many other social tools. Our team spans over 15 countries, where I have not had the chance to meet 30% of my team members face to face.

Some of the Mindthis Team at our joint policy discussion event with the CIC.

One day, I would love to meet everyone in person, but it must be noted that the way organizations are run has changed due to the rapid improvements in technology. So, it is with great pleasure that both Will and I can answer with conviction that no, Mindthis is not over.

In fact, we are getting ready to release a fresh makeover for Mindthis that will further improve our ability to provide Gen Y tailored advice and analysis to the all encompassing young professional in policy, lifestyle, fashion, and technology.

Our dedication to the pursuit of perfection just proves Mindthis will grow stronger not despite, but because of the new chapter in both mine and Will’s lives. Together our writers and global readers will continue to mind this new generation, one empowered by great technology and charged with great expectations of solving the world’s most pressing issues.

The post What’s the Future of Mindthis? appeared first on Mindthis.

Credit: iko on Flickr.

The name Brazil conjures many images; the exotic wildlife of the Amazon, the crammed, multi-coloured matchboxes houses clinging onto hills in the favelas, and the sparkle of its famous costumed Carnival. Brazil is a country with a reputation almost as big as its size. Yet until the early 2000s, Brazil was largely dismissed as a world player. Plagued by political and economic struggles, the country has only recently begun to come into its own. Now, Brazil has been given the opportunity to exhibit its recent coming of age through hosting two of the world’s biggest (and most demanding) sporting events: the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympic Games in 2016.

Only ten countries have had the honour of hosting both the World Cup and the Summer Olympics; Brazil will be the eleventh. Like the last host of the World Cup in 2010, South Africa, Brazil has something to prove through its performance as a host. As South Africa made clear its progress after its late abolishment of apartheid, Brazil is eager to prove to the world that it has the potential to be a world leader.

Brazil is Rising – A New Economic Powerhouse

For Brazilian millennials, the twin challenge of hosting the two games presents welcomed opportunities. Earlier generations had been marked by their struggles, namely the Vargas dictatorship followed by an extended period of hyperinflation. In contrast, the millennials are benefiting from Brazil’s recent economic growth, the interconnectivity of the digital age, and the increased opportunities that have developed from globalization. Consequently, they are the first that are collectively eager and willing to take their place on the world stage.

Brazil now has an incredible opportunity for its burgeoning workforce, its tourism and its reputation. The World Cup and the Olympics attract hundreds of thousands of international tourists, an untapped market for the country. Despite its many attractions, vibrant culture, and numerous natural resources, Brazil has struggled to bring in international tourists. Most of its tourism is from Brazilians themselves travelling within the country. Now, with a reason to showcase its many attractions, hotels are springing up throughout the main cities, with travel agencies and transport bulking up to prepare for the oncoming onslaught. Estimates for the number of jobs to be created run up to 700,000, not to mention the benefits inherent in improved infrastructure and a massive injection of foreign currency.

In 2001, Brazil was also named as an emerging economy, the first acronym of BRIC (standing for the four largest developing economies in the world – Brazil, Russia, India and China). It performed relatively well in the financial crisis, managing to avoid the disastrous fallout of other countries that had closer ties to the USA. In 2011, past president Lula da Silva had managed to garner some political clout. Under his leadership, Brazil successfully pushed for the change from the G7 to G20 and an increased role of developing countries in the IMF. It resisted international pressure and continued to support sanctions against Iran for its pursuit of development of nuclear weapons.

Growing Pains – World Cup and Olympic Setbacks

Despite its immense potential, Brazil has been suffering major setbacks in its preparations. Chief among its concerns is the rampant corruption that mars the political scene, a costly embarrassment under increased international scrutiny. It has registered sluggish growth recently, surprising economists and casting doubts on its economic power. Even in the smaller details of hosting the games themselves, there have been blights on its track record. In terms of construction, FIFA stipulated that all 6 of the stadiums needed for the games were to be completed by December 2012. As of April 2013, they were still under construction. Brazilian journalist Mario Chimanovitch has written about the country’s ineffective anti-terrorist policies, which will be a huge concern at both events. Smaller tragedies have also been gaining some negative attention in the media. A deadly and horrendous nightclub fire which resulted in 241 deaths (which was pegged to lax enforcement of safety codes) and a recent violent assault against an American tourist has done the city’s image no favours.

Perhaps its biggest challenge is the discord among its own citizens. Among such discord, there have been controversies over construction through its historic favelas, which have led to the displacement of the families who have lived there for decades and the loss of their communities. A highly educated generation is growing frustrated with the quality of opportunities available to them, and many from the lower socio-economic backgrounds are becoming increasingly angry at the country’s unwillingness to tackle its poverty problem. While it is important for Brazil to woo foreigners, it is even more important that it fosters a sense of pride and opportunity among its own population. Many are hoping that the pressure of the spotlight will force Brazil to wrestle with its own demons.

As of now, it is 10 months until the next carnival, 14 months until the World Cup, and 3.3 years until the Olympic Games. Brazil has little time to conquer numerous problems. Yet surveys of national preparations, though they outline the numerous setbacks, all comment on the strong political will and the nation’s commitment to excelling at hosting. Residents themselves remain cautiously optimistic about their country’s prospects as a host. If the government manages to deal with the city’s current problems, as well as the complications brought about by the two events, they say, “Maybe the games could be something to celebrate.”

The post Brazil’s Coming of Age: The World Cup and the Olympic Games appeared first on Mindthis.

Credit: Jennifer Daniel

The goal of networking on social media platforms is to build stronger relationships that yield results for both parties. Sometimes, those short 3 minute generic conversations at a networking event are not nearly enough. Even still, having a 30 minute coffee session with everyone is not a realistic option. If used correctly, Facebook can be one of the most powerful networking tools for young professionals. In some cases, it can be just as effective as LinkedIn in building professional relationships.

Leveraging Facebook Friends To Expand Your Professional Network

If you see a few people on Facebook who share with you 100 to 300 mutual friends, chances are you’ll both share some sort of common interest. Don’t just add that high school guy you never talked to, rather focus on Facebook people outside your city or even country who share many mutual friends with you. The more diverse your Facebook friends are, the more interesting your news feeds become. Meeting new people in real life is lots of fun and that great feeling lives on in the online world. I have made great connections both personally and professionally by taking the plunge and adding that intriguing person somewhere in Mexico, India etc.

To avoid being creepy, it’s important to include a message with the friend request which states your reason. “Hey, you’re cool” does not really cut it. Instead, try “Hey, my name is ____ and I read an article that recommended me to go outside my comfort zone and add interesting people on facebook which I have lots of mutual friends with. I am interested in finding out a bit more about your time at __ workplace and ___”.  You should only try to add 3 people per month who share many mutual friends. “Overadding” can detract from your focus of actually getting to know these individuals you claim to be interested in.

Facebook makes it easier to find people who you have many things in common with, especially mutual friends.

Be the Connector

Every month, you should also scan your Facebook friend list and see how you can connect people who you believe would benefit from each other. It’s like setting up a blind date but in a completely professional context. You will be glad to have helped forge new relationships. Networking is not only about you, it’s about forging new bonds for everyone.

Still Feel Awkward Networking on Facebook?

Well you should consider Facebook to be a very large networking room, you want to say hello to like minded people. It’s awkward to attend a networking event and only talk with those you arrived with. That’s just weird. Just think of all the young professionals that are waiting to get to know you more.

Facebook is much more than sharing cat memes or creeping on your ex-boyfriend; it’s time for you to carry out the real vision of Mark Zuckerberg by making the world more connected through your personal effort to build  stronger relationships while forging new ones. Mark has teared down the barriers and gave you a chance to connect with people you would have never had otherwise met. About 20% of the columnists that work for Mindthis contacted me first via Facebook.  They don’t regret adding a stranger due to the amount of mutual friends, so neither should you.

Start expanding on your professional Facebook network today; add a mutual friend, get interested, bring professionals together, and start learning the real benefits Facebook has to offer.

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What Does the Death of Hugo Chavez Mean for Venezuela?

Hugo Chavez was one of the most discussed and polarizing figures in recent political history. The eccentric and provocative leader came into power in 1999 in Venezuela, hoping to rid the country of its rampant corruption and lift the disadvantaged out of poverty. A leader with more heart than common sense, he would spout phrases such as, “Go and comb the land, search out and destroy poverty and death. We are going to fill [the people] with love instead of lead.” Hugo Chavez took issue with the uneven distribution of wealth, and declared the politics of the previous government ‘undemocratic’.

These were ironic statements coming from an autocrat whose regime, though noble in ideology, would be marred by censorship, outrageous antics, and a single-minded focus on improving the quality of life for one sector of his society while blatantly ignoring all others. The death of Hugo Chavez in 2013 left the nation reeling – their future uncertain and their country more violent and infinitely more divided. While some celebrated and others wept, on the day of his funeral the most predominant feeling was confusion – where would Venezuela go from here?

Hugo Chavez: The Latin American Robin Hood.

While Hugo Chavez’s politics were dubious, his legacy as a Latin American Robin Hood, a champion of the poor, is powerful. Albeit grudgingly, even the upper classes will admit that conditions had improved for the poorest of Venezuelans under his rule. Unemployment levels, infant mortality rates, extreme poverty, and illiteracy rates plummeted as a result of his policies. Yet many middle-class Venezuelans felt the sting of his reforms.

Within the years of his rule, Venezuelans saw their country undergo radical and bizarre changes; from the invention of an entirely new time zone, to the nationalization of key industries, to a skyrocketing crime rate, and steep rises in inflation. Hugo Chavez won the hearts of the oppressed lower class by actively antagonizing the middle and upper classes, a risky and potent formula that inspired great love in some circles and perhaps even greater rancour in others.

Venezuela as a nation has been grappling with the mixed results of such an eclectic leader. Many Venezuelans who migrated lament the changes to their country. They paint a grim picture of a nation of crumbling buildings and random violence, insisting that many young professionals are desperate to leave, and feel trapped in a country that seemed set against their development. Simultaneously, reports from the poorest are different. While upper-class millennials may have difficulty becoming CEOs, the most disadvantaged are scrambling up the social ladder.

Young mothers now have access to affordable education for their children. Job creation has meant an improvement in quality of life for the working class. Generous social welfare programs have given many the opportunities to study and work, the power of which cannot be underestimated. Hugo Chavez even had his supporters in the West, from the Hollywood actor and activist Sean Penn to the noted scholar Noam Chomsky, remark that many of his policies were “quite constructive”.

Does A Change of Government Mean Progress for Venezuela?

Hugo Chavez’s death has left Venezuela in an uneasy limbo. Currently, power has passed to Nicolas Maduro, the man Chavez himself named his ‘political heir’. Consequently, the famed leader’s passing does not necessarily mean a change in direction for the country; indeed, Venezuela’s future is the subject of great conjecture. Many say that like Peronismo in Argentina, Chavismo is unlikely to die with its namesake, and subsequent politicians will have to prove even more radical than Hugo Chavez to win the affection of the people. Still others state that the country is ripe for change, and eager to vote in the opposing party.

Venezuelan millennials will be the group most shocked by the transition. Hugo Chavez entered power when the oldest were barely adolescents. Most have never known another leader. The idea of a sudden change in government is liberating for some and frightening to others. Before anything else, a reconciliation of ideals is crucial for the country’s progression. However, a recent violent clash between students and Chavistas in Caracas does not offer much hope.

The students petitioned against the unfair advantage Maduro had in the upcoming elections, stating that the government was using unfair tactics that created an imbalanced political atmosphere. Maduro denies these claims, yet reports of censorship and threats of violence have been steady since Hugo Chavez’s death. One may wonder if this could mark the beginning, or the end, of a socialist Venezuela.

The only thing the up-and-coming generation in Venezuela can seem to agree on is that it is a country with great potential; with a booming oil trade, strong ties to the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean, and a devoted populace, Venezuela’s future is now poised to be a great triumph or a bitter tragedy.

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You Will Save Your Hard-Earned Money Using Open-Source Software

In this day and age, where job markets remain unstable, it is less practical to purchase expensive software that may come with a thousands dollar price tag. Open-source software isn’t always 100% free, but it will always be less expensive than its big, brand name competitors.

There are no licensing fees while dealing with open-source software. The internet has become heavily reliant on a peer-to-peer based system, and OSS embraces that. You can try out applications, share them with friends, and change the back-end code into something that is uniquely yours. Where this becomes particularly handy is if you’re a young entrepreneur working to start up your own business. The business licensing fees that are attached to names like Microsoft and Adobe can become staggering when trying to outfit multiple desktops and laptops with proper software.

Also, if you end up sharing your documents across business lines, you will force your business partner to purchase expensive software in order to access your files.

Get What You Need Out of a Product

Large companies with brand name products package their software with extra features so that they can justify a higher price mark-up and appeal to a broader range of consumers. This is disadvantageous to individuals seeking a particular feature or function. With open-source software, you purchase only what you need out of a product. This prevents you from being contractually locked into specific services. Since open-source software products are not owned by a larger conglomerate, those of you who want to be conscientious of the capitalist marketplace are able to support a viable alternative.

Open-Source Software Is Community-Oriented

Open-source software is community based, and adopts a grassroots approach to development. As such, not one individual or company has the capacity to control the software. However, this increases the competitive market, allowing you to have a greater amount of choice with fairer pricing. Updates, add-ons, and services are far more frequent with open-source software products because of this.

Perhaps one of the best features of open-source software is that you can contribute to the product. You can look at the source code and see its components, in case you’re worried about malware, or you can simply change it to better suit your needs. Some open-source software is licensed with Apache, meaning that you can then distribute your modified version to the masses.

The Speed at Which Technology Is Changing

With technology, and subsequently our needs as users changing at such a rapid place, we expect our software to be flexible and adaptable to accommodate us accordingly. Open-source software allows us to change vendors at any time; if you’re no longer happy with the product or service provided, or you are looking for something different, that’s perfectly okay. Say goodbye to the days of purchasing software, only to later find out that it doesn’t give you the service you were looking for. Also, the ability to try out the software before purchasing is something inherent to open-source software products.

Check out one of my previous blog posts on the best free and open-source software and try out one of the amazing applications listed.

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