Sunday 30 June 2013

How to teach children how to understand and deal with racism and discrimination


This is an old clip of a teachter who teaches their pupils how discrimination and racism can occur within a class and how easy it actually is to solve it. 
It yields beautiful images that are to this day still relevant. The payoff at the end is brilliant and a perfect metaphor for what we deal with and face every day in our society. Like "Catcher in the Rye" is to high school students, this is part of your Upworthy required reading.


video walk-through:
1:30: This teacher begins a study that will be talked about for 40 years.
3:00: She re-creates segregation and racism in her classroom.
7:45: Mrs. Elliott flips the entire class on their heads.
10:00 Jane Elliot makes the most profound discovery about us all
11:43: The students learn something that the world is still struggling to.
There are too many great moments to point out. Just watch!



Source: click here

Saturday 29 June 2013

Dutch student designs game in which you can destroy cancer cells




20 year-old Martijn van den Broeck, student at the University of Technology in Eindhoven and also the designer of the so-called Healing Game, had the idea for its project because he wanted to combine something funny that makes you happy (in this case the game) with something totally opposite, the illness. Combining the virtual with the real, he says.  'I think the Healing Game relates to the next nature philosophy because our generation is born and grown playing with video games, we all know how to use them, I just figured a new unexpected application for video games, combining the virtual with the real, the entertainment with the helpful, the familiar with the extraordinary. The goal of this work is to stimulate discussion and debate by translating nanotechnological trends to everyday products', says Martijn.  
The game works as follows: The player swallows an intelligent pill, containing nanoscale capsules and a substance that makes cancer cells glow. By controlling one capsule with a joystick, the player goes on a “search and destroy” mission inside his or her own body. Even friends and family can be invited to help.

Video games are no longer separated from the real world, the virtual world is also real and those worlds are blendi
ng more and more. I love how Martijn van den Broeck plays with this and dares to push the limits.

Source: click here

Thursday 27 June 2013

A cloned mouse by using one drop of blood


Japanese scientists have succeeded to clone a mouse by only using one single drop of blood. The scientists used circulated blood cells who were collected from the tail of a donor mouse who was used to produce the clone. The female cloned mouse should be able to live a normal lifespan and could even give birth to young, according to the researchers. 

Mice already have been cloned by using other parts of the body, such as white blood cells found in the lymph nodes, bone marrow and liver. The research the Japanese scientists were doing was to discover if it was possible to clone a mouse by only using
 circulating blood cells.
The aim to find an easily available source of donor cells to clone scientifically valuable strains of laboratory mice was not to high, but it is one hell of a breakthrough. Imagine this is possible with human beings. How many of you would be walking around? Crazy idead huh? But not as unreal as you think. Lots of ethical discussions will arise in the near future.

What 200 calories look like

Whether you prefer eating Big Macs, chocolate or an apple, in this video all sorts of foods are visualized in portions of 200 calories. One bigger than the other of course, because you can eat a lot more apple than chocolate before you hit the 200 calories. This video shows perfectly how calories are built up and how much calories your food contains. Perfect to create awareness!





Want to know what 2000 calories look like? Watch the video below.


Wednesday 26 June 2013

A portrait from a single hair

We are so far with present technology that we can figure out how someone looks by a investigating one single hair. This is what really intrigued the artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg, who spent time collecting hairs shed in public spaces... and then sequencing the DNA therein to print 3D sculptures of what those hairs’ owners might look like.
The video 'DNA Portrait' is a lovely short documentary shot by TED. 'It's a very 
accessible way for the public to engage with this new technology. It really brings to light how powerful it is, the idea that a hair from your head can fall on your street and a perfect stranger can pick it up and know something about it', says TEDGlobal speaker Ellen Jorgensen, who runs a lab in DNA-based technology. Adding: 'With DNA sequencing becoming faster and cheaper, this is the world we’re all going to be living in.'


Source: click here

Tuesday 25 June 2013

The facts about alcohol

When I go out I usually drink a glass of wine, or two or three... But I do realise too much alcohol is not good for my health and I try to not make it a weekly or even monthly habit. 

Some of you probably don't want to know, but I nontheless I want to show you the facts about alcohol in the form of a infographic to give you an idea. Please do take into account that alcohol is alcohol, which brings a lot more health consequences with it, than non-alcoholic beverages or food.




Source: click here

Monday 24 June 2013

From 9-to-5 mentality to flexible 24/7 society, part 4



The happy worker
Another example of the new way of flexible working is the way businesses are dealing with their employees, based on the vision: happiness is paramount. Google for example built a whole campus for their employees where they can do everything they want when they want[6]. The vision of Google comes down to that they believe that their employees’ work improves when they have everything at their disposal and are well cared for. On the campus of Google the employees can go to the hairdresser, they can take a walk on the treadmill while computing, they can run in the park that’s present on the campus and afterwards take a shower near their office and start working fres. Also the canteen serves healthy food with stated nutritional facts and employees are able to take a nap in between working in special ‘resting zones’. Employee heaven, I wish all companies would treat their employees like gods.


Conclusion
It is clear that the way people work has gone through a major change in the last decade. Due to new technology it is possible to work (together) at any time, from any place in the world. Employers adapt to people’s busy lifestyle by giving them more space to work at their own pace and in their own time, and a single outstanding business bathe their employees in luxury to get the best out of them. But in contrast, employers expect more flexibility from their employees as well. After 5 o’clock the job most of the time isn’t done.Young entrepreneurs are the perfect example of the need for flexibility and determining your own working schedule. Flexibility is therefore definitely the key word of the new working lifestyle more and more people maintain. Both flexible employees and employers are affected by the 24/7 lifestyle and deal with it in their own way. I do not think this (working) lifestyle will easily change in the future, on the contrary I believe that the term flexibility is simply going to play an even bigger role in our way of working and our lifestyle in general.

Sunday 23 June 2013

From 9-to-5 mentality to flexible 24/7 society, part 3


Young entrepreneurs
People who are very good at creating jobs are youth. In addition to the change in working environment and lifestyle, there is a big change in the average age people start their own company. As explained in the previous paragraph unemployment is an increasing problem in Europe. Also young people barely figure in the labour market when they are graduated. The striking thing is that young people, after being rejected for several jobs or when they can’t seem to find one, create jobs themselves in a very creative way. Young people try to fill the holes in the market with their knowledge of social media, computers, internet and other principles they grew up with and that are perfectly normal and clear for them. Also in marketing youngsters are welcome guests, because businesses are really looking for creative and open minds to advice them about their marketing campaigns and strategies. All jobs that have roles to play for youth. Youngsters start up their own company to take matters into their own hands. In the last 5 years the number of young entrepreneurs has increased with almost 40%. A big increase in times of crisis[5].


Working from home
A result of the change of people’s working lifestyle is the alteration of the traditional roles in family life. Families now most of the time consist of two working parents. Therefore it is not very pleasant to both have a 9-to-5 job at the office 5 days a week. However, it is really necessary to work both because taking care of a family and a home is more expensive than ever. It is therefore becoming more common that parents can work partly at home. This way they can still take care of the kids, be in time to pick them up from school and work on flexible hours. For example they can work in the evening when the children are sleeping and play with them during the day. A 9-to-5 job could never make this possible. 

Baby

This photograph has been doing the rounds on social media for the last few months, but what's really going on?

A Greek doctor snapped this amazing image during a caesarian section. Unusually, the amniotic sac remained intact as the birth progressed. Typically it breaks, but this time it did not -leading to the baby not even being aware it had been born. Until the amniotic sac breaks, the baby will continue to receive oxygen and nutrients from the placenta. 

This baby was born safe and healthy. Isn't it beautiful?



Saturday 22 June 2013

From 9-to-5 mentality to flexible 24/7 society, part 2


Urban nomads
People are flexible workers these days. They work anywhere, anytime. This means they not only work at different spots in the city and in the world, but also for several different companies. Working at home, skyping in a coffee shop, a meeting at a lunchroom and afterwards answering e-mails on a bench in the park. The lifestyle I describe here is that of a typical urban nomad. Urban nomads are in need of products and services that makes their lives as fast and easy as possible. Think about fast food, but also flexplaces (as seen on the title page) like seats to meet[2].

‘Flexwet’
In the Netherlands a law has been created that is specially aimed at flexworkers like for instance freelancers. It is called the flexwet[3]. This law makes it easier for flexworkers to submit a request to work more or less hours than usual. In addition it also ensures that flexworkers also must earn a minimum wage.[4] This law is a logical complement of the way people are changing their working lifestyles. The government has created this ‘flexwet’ to adapt to the shift in working environment and lifestyle.


Increasing number of start-ups
Self-employed entrepreneurs are the perfect example of a group who don’t suit the 9-to-5 mentality. Especially when they just started their company from scratch. Since the economic crisis, unemployment is rising through the roof. And although starting up your own business is a risky gamble, the number of start-ups is still on the rise. If you have a certain expertise but no one will or is able to hire you, you will have to make a move yourself to conquer the labour market. People are taking matters into their own hands and become self-employed entrepreneurs, so they are no longer dependent on employment and temporary jobs. They try to compete with similar companies in their field of expertise by standing out in price, values,  or quality, but they remain uncertain of work in the beginning. Many fail but the smart ones survive. The survivors are the ones who see the holes in the market and create jobs themselves. 


Friday 21 June 2013

From 9-to-5 mentality to flexible 24/7 society part 1





Introduction
In the beginning of the 20th century contracting parties were free to determine any contractual terms, due to the large differences in power that existed between employer and employee. This led to great abuse of the employees, to the detriment of the worker. Therefore the government decided to limit the contractual freedom of the parties by law to protect the rights of the workers. For example working hours were limited by law, so workers could no longer be exploited[1].



In the 21st century there is little talk of freedom of contract. Every employee is protected by law, but new laws have stretched the working time legislation. Why specifically this law has changed? Well, this is obviously because our working schedule has changed! In this report I will describe a few elements of working that have drastically changed since the last decade, along with our lifestyle.



A shift in the working environment
It is clear that something is changing on the labour market. We are dealing with a shift. The 9-to-5 mentality is no more. Work doesn’t necessarily stop at five and the weekend isn’t per se the couple of days in the week when we relax. Globalization has made it possible to be connected with the rest of the world 24/7. Every minute of the day people around the world are awake, awake and working. And as big companies have offices and partners from all around the world, they expect their employees to be very flexible in their working hours. Skype has become a normal way of communicating or alternatively we just fly to the other side of Europe in a few hours to meet up with a business partner face to face. 


Tuesday 18 June 2013

In 20 years most types of cancer can be cured


'In 20 years, cancer will rarely be fatal.' This prediction is from the cancer center Antoni van Leeuwenhoek in the Netherlands. According to the representatives of the center there is increasing knowledge about treatments, surgical techniques are becoming more accurate and also methods to identify DNA abnormalities in tumors are getting better.

This allows the doctors to treat patients with a more specific treatment, adapted to their own DNA. The cancer center is expected to cure 90 percent of all cancer cases over 20 years. Now only half of all cancer patients survives. Most of the time they don't get a customized treatment, but a standard treatment that has been tested on a large group of people, but this doesn't mean it will work with every patient.



Source: click here

Saturday 15 June 2013

'Do what you do best.'



Above you can watch a short documentary about 'Unlocking the Truth', two sixth-grade boys from Brooklyn who like to do the unexpected. They formed a metal band and they believe they can make their dreams come true. An inspiration for every child. 'Just be yourself and do what you do best', say the boys. 


Watch them perform live here:

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Move over, Daft Punk

Robots are getting more and more advanced these days. They can mop floors, assist with daily living tasks, pour beer… but can they rock your face off? It turns out that they can.

Z-Machines is a new band in Japan composed of robots createdby students at Tokyo University. Mach (center) plays lead guitar with 12 picks and 78 fingers. Cosmo (left) plays keyboard and shoots lasers from its eyes. Ashura (right) is on drums and uses 21 sticks.


Monday 10 June 2013

Ads with a purpose

IBM is a company who is committed to creating solutions that help cities all over the world get smarter, in order to make life in those cities easier. IBM has worked together with Ogilvy to achieve this, by letting their ads appear in a smart and convenient way. 

The advertising campaign is called “People For Smarter Cities”. A series of billboards has been conceived to give a value to it, offering passersby to sit or shelter. To discover in the following video.




Source: click here

Sunday 9 June 2013

The solution to bicycle theft


 In Holland stealing bikes is a common crime. Everyone here has dealed with a stolen bike in his life. But now the smart Japanese have come up with a great concept that can solve the problem of bicycle theft and the lack of places to store our bicycles. Check the movie to see how this problem can be solved. A concept perfect for a bicycle country as the Netherlands, and in particular Amsterdam.

Sunday 2 June 2013

Istanbul: government against people



What started as a relatively harmless protest about the removal of a famous park, has now turned into a large, stark demonstration in the Turkish city of Istanbul. Police have tried to violently precipitate a protest. Dozens of people, including some tourists, were injured around the central Taksim Square.

Maintaining the park 

In the last week of May 2013 a group of people most of whom did not belong to any specific organization or ideology got together in Istanbul’s Gezi Park. Their reason was simple: To prevent and protest the upcoming demolishing of the park for the sake of building yet another shopping mall at the center of the city. There are numerous shopping malls in Istanbul already, so the protesters wanted to prevent the destruction of the beloved park.

Non-violent protest

Thursay morning the first bulldozers would arrive to remove the hundred-year-old trees, so everyone went to the park wednesday evening, bringing tents, blankets, books and their children.They spent the night under the trees. Early in the morning when the bulldozers started to pull trees out of the ground, the protesters stood up against them to stop the operation. They did nothing other than standing in front of the machines.

Violently approaching innocent citizens

There was not yet any newspaper or television channel that payed attention to the protest. It was a complete media black out, so the police could take its course. The police arrived with water cannon vehicles and pepper spray and they chased the crowd out of the park. In the evening of May 31st the number of protesters multiplied and so did the number of police forces around the park. And although the local government of Istanbul shut down all the ways leading up to Taksim square where the Gezi Park is located, yet more and more people more and more people made their way up to the center of the city by walking. They came from all around Istanbul. They came from all different backgrounds, different ideologies, different religions. They all gathered to prevent the demolition of something bigger than the park: the right to live as honorable citizens of Turkey. They gathered and continued sitting in the park. The riot police set fire to the demonstrators’ tents and attacked them with pressurized water, pepper and tear gas during a night raid. Two young people were killed because the police had run them over with their vehicles. Another young woman was hit in the head by one of the incoming tear gas canisters. The police were shooting them straight into the crowd. She is still in the Intensive Care. These people have no hidden agenda, as the state likes to say. 

The money oriented state 

Turkey is being sold to corporations by the government, for the construction of malls, luxury condominiums, freeways, dams and nuclear plants. In addition he government is looking for (and creating when necessary) any excuse to attack Syria against Turkish people’s will. And on top of all that, the government is interfering with its people’s personal lives aswell. The state, under its conservative agenda passed many laws and regulations concerning abortion, cesarean birth, sale and use of alcohol.


'We want involvement in our own city's matters'

People who live in Istanbul should be involved in the decisions that are going to be made regarding the city's benefits and what it does for the citizens. What they have received instead is excessive force and enormous amounts of tear gas shot straight into their faces. 

Localisation

Schools, hospitals and even 5 star hotels around Taksim Square opened their doors to the injured. Doctors filled the classrooms and hotel rooms to provide first aid. Some police officers refused to spray innocent people with tear gas and quit their jobs. Around the square they placed jammers to prevent internet connection and 3g networks were blocked. Residents and businesses in the area provided free wireless network for the people on the streets. Restaurants offered food and water for free.

It looks like 
residents have mutual respect for each other and help each other, and the government can learn a lot from this.




Sources: click here and here

Saturday 1 June 2013

17 year-old knows 20 different languages and learning


Tim Doner began learning other languages when he was 13 years old. Although he also learns from books he  mainly taught it to himself. In the video below, he shows how he prefers to teach himself the language and why. He makes a tour of New York and shows how he continues to progress. He speaks now twenty different languages ​​fluently.