Challenge:Future is offering an incredible opportunity to travel to Slovenia and share your ideas, all expenses paid. If you are between the ages of 18 and 30, and you have an idea that you want to share at the 2012 TEDx Bled Talks, this has the potential to be a life altering offer. The deadline for applications is Feb 6/12, and they are looking for focussed, 10 minute talks that fit the theme of “Inspire, Change, Impact.” To reiterate: this is an opportunity to participate in an independently organized TED Conference, travel to Slovenia, and interact with diverse, international peers for free! Go to the Challenge:Future website to learn more about how to participate.
It’s been a long time since I blogged last time. Life has been extremely busy and tough for me, but fortunately I recovered. For some reason, this phrase keeps surfacing in my mind, so much so that I think it warrants a post about it–”intangible values”.
To start with, here is a question for though: how much are you willing to pay for a white leather bag? Does it matter that it was produced by LV or Hermes? Does it matter that it actually carries the logo of these brands? And what if you can pay half the price you are willing to pay and get a replica that no one can tell from a real one?
I bet (virtually of course) that after you think of a number after the first question mark, you were thinking about revising it at one of the subsequent question marks. And that is about perception, and this is something that constantly amazes me. Once you add an LV logo or Hermes logo to a plain leather bag, all of a sudden many people are willing to pay ten times more to get it. People are paying a lot of money for practically the same bag and yet happy about it.
Some of my radically rational friends would say this is “cheating”, “lying to the customers” and people should start realising this reality. In this case of a bag, maybe. But in many other cases, the kind of intangible value created by perception is, to my opinion, a good thing.
Once we complained about the long flight home, and at the end I asked, so what does it take to make the flight better? Almost all of my friends would say a shorter trip time or more legroom on the plane would be nice. These things are absolutely important in making the journey home better. But it would cost a lot to have planes that fly faster or bigger, even though I have no background in engineering. So I said to my friends, what if the airline simply hires famous movie stars or supermodels to walk along the plane? I would imagine it costs far less than researching a faster plane and a lot of passengers would stop complaining the trip takes too long!
This is one of the reasons I believe that advertising companies are essential. From the economists’ point of view, advertisements provide more information to the consumer and to some extent correct the asymmetry of information. But most importantly, it creates intangible value, it creates perception. So what it does essentially is to create value in the economy without using much labour or machinery.
Material, as in real, values are important, as it would be quite difficult to generate the perception of being full or warm. However, as we adopt more and more internet in our life, lots of things are now virtual. Millions of exchanges and transactions are never materialised but billions of revenues generated. So while many would till call this perception/intangible value an “illusion”, it has great value and we need to accept the fact that we are willing, if not happy, to pay for it.
Each week, the Terry team will highlight events in and around campus that we happen to be interested in. As usual, the focus will be on global issues with an interdisciplinary angle. Be sure to check out events.ubc.ca for more.
From now until the 27th, your student union is having an election. They represent you on important matters like tuition, transit, and governance. Although the AMS has a record of dismally low turnout, they are integral to every part of student life at UBC–so vote! You can find coverage of all the races at The Ubyssey.
Speaking of political humour… From Lenny Bruce to Richard Pryer, George Carlin, Bill Hicks, and Jon Stewart, comedy has always seen itself as a stage for subversion and democratic engagement. Is this an accurate portrayal of comedy, or does it in fact reinforces racial and ethnic stereotypes? What affect have these social satirists had on journalism? This Wednesday, Green College is holding a short talk on these issues through the lens of Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.
On Tuesday at 5PM, Green College’s visiting scholar Patricia Churchland will hold a talk on neuroscience and morality. What do discoveries in neuroscience tell us about our morality? Here’s an interview she had with PBS’ Bill Moyers.
Want to get involved at UBC? Want to get involved at UBC? Learn how at the CSI’s 2nd Birthday and Involvement Fair! Stop by the Centre for Student Involvement on January 25th between 12 and 3 pm to learn about campus resources, meet student leaders and get involved!
This Wednesday at 5:30PM in Mahony’s Pub, the College of Health Disciplines brings students together for a Parisian Salon to discuss issues of health and well-being for the worlds diverse populations. What is a Parisian Salon? Commonly associated with French philosophical movements, they were
gatherings of intellectual, social, political, and cultural elites under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation
Monday January 23rd, Dr. Jackson Katz is giving a lecture entitled “Men, Women, Sex and Violence”
In this multimedia lecture internationally renowned author and educator Dr. Jackson Katz explores some of the ways that social norms in male culture contribute to sexual and domestic violence, and suggests strategies to enlist men in the fight against all forms of men’s violence toward women. Topics covered include male peer cultures in schools and colleges, violence by men against other men, men’s uses of pornography, prostitution and stripping, sexism in the sports culture and the military, the many intersections between racism and sexism, and the role of homophobia in all-male groups. Katz uses entertaining and disturbing clips from his award-winning videos, including Tough Guise, to accentuate the importance of understanding – and changing – the cultural environment that condones or promotes sexism and violence.
Monday from 4 to 5PM, UBC350 is holding an organizational meeting in IBLC 191. This is a really exciting group of students and faculty committed to taking action on climate change, and I highly recommend you attend!
On Wednesday at 5:30, the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions is holding a talk entitled “Limit Climate Change and Stay Healthy by Drs. Kirsten Zickfeld, SFU and Erica Frank, UBC.
Each week, the Terry team will highlight events in and around campus that we happen to be interested in. As usual, the focus will be on global issues with an interdisciplinary angle. Be sure to check out events.ubc.ca for more.
Note: This entire week is the Conference Week for the Africa Awareness Initiative! Click the link to see the full schedule.
Jan 16
Two great free lectures at Green College:
- From 5-6:30 pm, Cornell University professor Dave Pizarro will be giving a talk entitled, “The Good, the Bad, and the Dirty: The Role of Disgust in Moral and Political Judgement.” Pizarro’s research at Cornell revolves around emotion, judgement and behaviour, and this fascinating talk will explain how the emotion of disgust can affect an individual’s political and moral judgement.
- From 8-9 pm, UBC professor Samuel Johns will address a very local phenomenon in his lecture, “‘The Lonely City’: Cycling as Critique of Contemporary Culture.” Johns will address isolation and individualism in Vancouver, using cycling as a critique of superficiality.
Jan 17
Africa Awareness Week @ The Global Lounge:
- 12-1:30 pm: Africa In Research – UBC professor Dr. Gary Bull and AFRICAD present a look at the increasingly important role of Africa’s ecosystems in current environmental research.
- 7-9 pm: Africa in Film, “The First Grader.” – This award-winning, internationally acclaimed film captures the inspiring true story of an 84-year-old Kenyan fighting to receive an elementary school education.
I am re-thinking a few things: a) where intelligence comes from and b) where good ideas come from and c) whether or not those are actually 2 separate questions..
Maybe all you potential academic starlets are smart partly because you can conduct good post-mortems on failure of all sorts. For example- commerce, from a previous Terry post.
Right after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig incident, William J. Broad of the New York Times noted
Disasters teach more than successes.
While that idea may sound paradoxical, it is widely accepted among engineers. They say grim lessons arise because the reasons for triumph in matters of technology are often arbitrary and invisible, whereas the cause of a particular failure can frequently be uncovered, documented and reworked to make improvements.
Each week, the Terry team will highlight events in and around campus that we happen to be interested in. As usual, the focus will be on global issues with an interdisciplinary angle. Be sure to check out events.ubc.ca for more.
January 9th-15th.
Author Meets Critics: Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children: Joel Bakan “Vancouver’s Best Public Intellectual” (Georgia Straight) and author of the best seller “The Corporation” is back with an alarming new book about how big business is mercilessly targeting children. This Wednesday, Green College is hosting him at UBC Law. Want a sneak peak? He recently spoke to George Stroumboulopoulos.
Whether or not you’re into science, you’ve heard the name. Stephen Hawking is a modern-day science legend, a hero. And, today, defying all odds, he is celebrating his 70th birthday.
Hawking suffers from Lou Gehrig’s disease, a neurodegenerative disease in which life expectancy is 2-3 years after diagnosis. He has managed to overcome the limitations of the disease and still maintain his reputation as one of the best theoretical physicists of all time, all without the ability to speak on his own, breathe on his own.
Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” is a phenomenal book; he manages to explain the most complicated of topics in such a way that virtually anyone can understand, albeit with a dictionary at hand. Hawking knew to cater to the general public as well as the scientific community, which is truly rare. His sense of humor, combined with his intellect, make him a very unique individual.
What other theoretical physicist/cosmologist is featured in a Pink Floyd album, has been on Conan O’Brien, and played themselves so often on the Simpsons as to warrant their own Simpsons action figure?
When asked about his IQ, he replied, “I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers.” I mean, how unbelievably cool is that?
Stephen Hawking is an incredible man, in all aspects of his life. His perseverance has influenced people worldwide, including myself. So happy birthday, Stephen!! Keep on inspiring the world with your brilliance.
-Michelle
It’s the first week of the year, first week of the term… A time of reflection and projection. A time to mix things up and try new things. How do you plan to enrich, expand, and innovate in 2012? How about through interdisciplinary engagement?
As fans of the Terry project, you’re likely already familiar with the benefits and possibilities of interdisciplinarity. The Terry project is committed to promoting interdisciplinary dialogue through its TEDx student conference, ASIC 200, the Global Speaker Series, and through the Terry blog. Did you know that Terry also promotes interdisciplinarity in classrooms across UBC? Yep! UBC Mix is designed to partner instructors, students, and courses together to create innovative and enriching learning activities.
I’m the UBC Mix Student Coordinator. I help to connect interested instructors and brainstorm ideas with them for interdisciplinary activities, assignments, and events. Here are some examples of past student Mixes and Mixes in the works:
- Data mash-ups: Statisticians and biologists working together with statistical models and fresh data to produce a common report
- Guest speakers: Economists and applied scientists in engineering engaging in discussion after listening to a guest speaker who is homeless and living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
- Ethical debate/discussions: Ethics students pairing up with genetics students to discuss the ethical implications of genetics research and application
- Joint lecture/reading series: Students from a range of disciplines – forestry, anthropology, engineering, economics – meeting up to listen to speakers from the UBC Reads Sustainability initiative and engage with their ideas
Can you think of other examples you’ve experienced? If you could create interdisciplinary learning opportunities in your classrooms, what would they look like? (Parisian salon? Competitive debate? Project-based learning? Service learning?)
Who would you like to interact with and learn more about on campus? How would you Mix up your education?
Email me at ubc-mix@interchange.ubc.ca or leave a comment! Let’s see what we can come up with by Mixing things up!
This year’s winner: the 2012 Republican candidates for the President of the United States (article)
Some choice quotes:
Rick Santorum: “There is no such thing as global warming…it’s just an excuse for more government control of your life and I’ve never been for any scheme or even accepted the junk science behind the whole narrative.” (source)
Mitt Romney: “My view is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us.” (source)
Ron Paul: “I think war and financial crises and big governments marching into our homes and elimination of habeas corpus — those are immediate threats. We’re about to lose our whole country and whole republic! If we can be declared an enemy combatant and put away without a trial, then that’s going to affect a lot of us a lot sooner than the temperature going up.” (source)
Newt Gingrich: ““I’m an amateur paleontologist…I spend a lot of time looking at the Earth’s temperature for a very long time. I’m a lot harder to convince than just looking at a computer model.” (source)
Rick Perry: “I do think global warming has been politicised … We are seeing almost weekly or even daily scientists are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing our climate to change. Yes, our climate has changed. It has been changing ever since the Earth was formed. But I do not buy into a group of scientists who have, in some cases, been found to be manipulating data.” (source)
My sister had a great idea for our family for next Christmas. We have a big family that live from Western to Eastern Canada and it is hard to do the gift giving thing from year to year.
Next year we are going to buy a family gift from Plan . The family could all donate X dollars and then one of the kids could draw names and go through their catalogue to decide which gift to donate where.
Dispatches on CBC did a piece about a documentary being made about tracing a goat through Plan – which is extremely entertaining and informative. Look for “Where’s my Goat?” And think about it for your family next year.
a) why trains are roomy versus why airplanes are crammed and b) why the popularity of hats in Britain has never quite translated over to this side of the pond.
Whoa. Writing that just freaked me out substantially. However, I am determined to help you find your last minute gifts for your loved ones. One day at a time.
My first pick is a truly awesome and beautiful book for the hip foodie in your life. The hip foodie in my life reserved her copy of this fantastic cookbook well before most, and even alerted me to its existence – I am embarrassed to say.
Gift Pick #1: For The Foodie In Your Life
Mission Street Food by Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz, is from the new cookbook imprint from McSweeney’s , and defies convention as a restaurant, much like McSweeney’s itself pushes the boundaries of the publishing world. This cookbook is a testament to the work that chefs at Mission Street Food do for their community (75 cents from every entree goes to the San Fransisco Food Bank and $10 from every book bought through McSweeney’s goes to Slow Food USA ) as well as a tribute to lovingly and carefully prepared food.
Not to mention lovingly and thoughtfully prepared books.
Richard Kemick delivers a scathing and very very funny diatribe as he laments the disparity between the “have” and “have not” University Faculties.
“Richard Kemick is originally from Calgary, Alberta and is studying English Literature and History at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He has a semi-erotic obsession with Shakespeare, Canada, and Tibetan independence (the latter in no way influences the political neutrality of his presentation). Richard loves his mother.”
November 5th, 2011. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Filmed by Craig Ross: Video edited by David Ng
About TEDx:
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
Laura Bain speaks about living with Bipolar Type II Disorder, the trials and tribulations, but also how it informs her vibrant character and wonderful sense of identity.
“Laura is a very passionate person and as a 5th year Biology student she is a lover of Science. She is an avid cyclist, a teacher, an artist and a silly dancer. She is a windsurf instructor, the former vice commodore of the UBC sailing club, and a summer landscaper. She is a friend, roommate, a well-loved daughter and baby sister to three big brothers. She is also an auntie to the cutest little niece ever. Oh, there is one more thing, she is living with Bipolar Disorder.”
November 5th, 2011. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Filmed by Craig Ross: Video edited by David Ng
About TEDx:
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
I dug up this image from Word and I set out to look at it from a few different perspectives. I saw…
- an underused piece of Clip Art
- a modern representation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (bit of a stretch)
- memos in paper form (widely considered an obsolete way to communicate anything to anyone)
Continue reading »
Hi everyone,
First post in a while! It’s been a hectic few weeks, but I must say it’s good to be back. It’s hard to believe that it’s already the first of December, one more month until 2012 is upon us.
Today, though, is a unique day on its own – World AIDS Day. The theme of this year’s AIDS awareness day is “Getting to Zero”, with an end goal of no AIDS-related deaths anywhere in the world. Approximately 30 years ago, the global fight against AIDS began. Now, with 33.3 million people worldwide suffering from HIV, the fight is more important than ever.
Today, incidence rates have dropped by over 25% worldwide. However, awareness is still lower than it should be, considering HIV/AIDS is one of the biggest pandemics the world has had to face, with over 25 million deaths to date.
Richard Elliot, director of the HIV/AIDS Legal Network, believes that the Canadian government is not doing enough to contribute to the fight against AIDS;
“At home, federal funding for HIV has been flat-lined since 2007 and it is unknown whether federal funding will be cut even further next year… Cuts and delays in funding would have serious implications for front-line community services that do HIV prevention and support services, and most importantly, the people who depend on those services.
On the global front, just as we are seeing results from sustained global investments in HIV prevention and treatment, funding is stalling and governments are failing to support what is needed. In 2010, UNAIDS estimated a $10-billion shortfall for a comprehensive and effective global AIDS response.”
UNAIDS came up with a list of ten goals they would like to see accomplished by 2015:
1. Sexual transmission of HIV reduced by half, including among young
people,men who have sex with men and transmission in the context of
sex work;
2. Vertical transmission of HIV eliminated and AIDS-related maternal
deaths reduced by half;
3. All new HIV infections prevented among people who use drugs.
4. Universal access to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV
who are eligible for treatment;
5. TB deaths among people living with HIV reduced by half;
6. All people living with HIV and households affected by HIV are
addressed in all national social protection strategies and have
access to essential care and support.
7. Countries with punitive laws and practises around HIV transmission,
sex work, drug use or homosexuality that block effective responses
reduced by half ;
8. HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence eliminated in
half of the countries that have such restrictions;
9. HIV-specific needs of women and girls are addressed in at least half
of all national HIV responses;
10. Zero tolerance for gender-based violence.
As individuals, the best thing to do is simply to be aware; all it takes is a few minutes out of your day to read up on the virus and how it is spread.
Go to http://www.worldaidsday.org/ for more information.
-Michelle
In partnership with the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, The Alma Mater Society, The Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, the UBC Sustainability Initiative, and the UBC Bookstore.
Bill McKibben is an environmentalist, author, and activist. Hailed “the world’s best green journalist” by Time magazine, McKibben has re-framed the climate change debate. He is the author of a dozen books about the environment, including his seminal The End of Nature (1989), widely regarded as the first book on climate change for a general audience.
In addition to his writings, he has worked tirelessly to foster global grassroots activism in the struggle for climate justice. As head of 350.org, he organized a demonstration that spanned 181 countries, labeled “the largest ever global coordinated rally of any kind” by Foreign Policy magazine. Since 2009, he has organized over 15,000 rallies to pressure government and industry for real climate action. An activist and intellectual that exemplifies the Terry philosophy, Bill McKibben is an interdisciplinary thinker who is moved by the force of conscience to fight a global inequity of the highest order—one where the behavior of a fortunate few devastates the vulnerable many.
Get involved by checking out the newly formed UBC chapter of 350.org (indeed, maybe consider being part of the start-up process). Go here for more information.
Video production by Chatterbox Films. This video is being distributed as a Creative Commons work for all to watch and distribute. More information on the specifics of the chosen Creative Commons license can be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode.
Are you a UBC undergraduate who has written a paper about some international political issue? Why not have it submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. Details here:
Founded in 1985, the Journal of International Affairs is a student-led, faculty-reviewed journal at the University of British Columbia that showcases UBC undergraduate essays of the highest caliber. UBC students get a chance to have their work circulated to numerous universities and institutions across Canada and the world, offering an incredible opportunity to have their work published and distributed early in their academic careers.
The JIA is also accepting undergraduate essays from an international network of 21 schools, whose work serves to broaden the journal’s perspectives.
We are looking for research papers or photo essays from a variety of disciplines written on Post-1945 topics related to global political issues.
Some suggested themes include:
Sustainability and climate change
Regime change
Financial turmoil
Civil liberties, humanitarian law.
Access to food and water
Gender issues
Arab spring
Please remember that essays are not restricted to these topics, and that students may submit papers that are related to any number of global concerns that they feel are relevant to the field of International Relations.
Requirements
Submitted papers must be roughly 1200-3500 words, written in English, be properly cited, have received a grade worth 80% or more, and must not have been previously published.
Deadline
The deadline for submissions is December 15th, 2011. Students should include their name, University, Faculty/Department, and year standing in their submission.
Possible Questions:
How many submissions do you get? We get on average 80 to 100 that we seriously consider. Last year we published 10.
What is the proccess like? You’ll submit your paper online. It will get reviewed and placed on a short list for publication. From there there will be several rounds of editing partnering you and other students experienced in the field. If the Editorial Board then decides to publish it, it will be reviewed by a faculty sponsor. The JIA is published in Mid-March.
–
We look forward to your papers! Please send them in Microsoft Word (.doc) format to Iana Messetchkova, JIA Director of Communications at irsa.prelations@gmail.com.
Recently, Allen and I gave a talk to students in SCIE113. Basically, it was about the value of looking at both the scientific and humanities perspective when talking about global issues. In this particular lecture, we focused on climate change, and true to form, we took a little too long with our presentation and consequently, there wasn’t any time for questions.
And so afterwards, we said it would be great to follow up by students sending on questions. Anyway, we got this great list of questions from the students, but since a lot of these questions are pretty nuanced, we decided it would be easier to just try and answer the questions by recording ourselves talking through them, as opposed to writing out everything.
in any event, here is the sound file:
SCIE113globalissuesanswers by dnghub
Don’t forget if this sort of stuff is generally interesting to you, we actually devote an entire course to this sort of thing (ASIC200). And if you’re the sort that likes to follow along with notes, here is the list of the actual questions we tried to cover.
Getting Involved
- How can I get involved in climate change research? What area or faculty do I need to graduate in?
- What should I do as a believer, individually, of climate change to combat it? What can we do as a country?
- What will it take for the world to change? Do we even have the potential to change?
The Future
- In 20 years, do you think our “golden number” will be even higher? How high do you think it will be in 50 years?
- What weather conditions can we expect in 20 years as the earth continues to heat up?
- What will happen if climate change never gets fixed? Will it end with the extinction of the human race?
- How realistic is the possibility of 350 or even 450, considering the different mindsets of different governing bodies – all of which are platforms that aren’t ideal.
Government & Politics
- Is CO2 really the cause of average temperature increase? Some research indicates that the increase in [CO2] is followed after the increase in temperature.
- Does Canada allocate any of its budgets towards helping solve climate change?
- If thegovernment starts to impose laws and actively working towards this target, how do you think the people will react? Will there be no change?
- How can we change politics to make a change that will allow us to sustain life on Earth? How can we overcome the government and politicians attempting to undermine science?
Alternatives
- Would using other forms of energy change the amount of carbon in the air, if fossil fuel burning were greatly reduced?
- Are there technologies being developed to deal with CO2 emissions? Or are we just waiting on governments?
Other Global Issues
- What are other issues that are happening that need our attention? What other global issues can be examined from these two perspectives?
Terry Project & Personal stuff
- What was the inspiration for beginning the Terry project?
- Why do you like being in such a depressing field of work?
(Click on image to watch video)
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Christmas Pick 2: The Little Bookish Stocking Stuffer
from hitRECord.org
First, it’s so cute.
And it says “tiny” in the title.
But also, it’s monumentally cool – especially for the hipster artsy girl in your life.
hitRECord is a creative collaborative website directed and started by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (of (500) Days of Summer and other films). It is really ambitious and interesting and power-to-the-people-ish and it really impressed me. And if you are even remotely creative yourself, it is also a tad inspiring.
So, hey! This holiday season: if nothing else – get inspired! And maybe inspire somebody else with this wee book.