Shifting Minds & Communities

  1. Introduction 2. Will the internet set us free? Myths and realities of the social media revolution 3. The viral effect 4. Some political and communications principles 5. Winning the PR war...

Via GAIA: Global Alliance for Immediate Alteration

For years, China claimed to hold an estimated 50000 rivers within its borders. Now, more than half of them have abruptly vanished.

Via Seth Dixon

"A new study by Kathryn Freeman Anderson in Sociological Inquiry adds evidence to the hypothesis that racism harms health. To study the connection, Anderson analyzed the massive 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which includes data for other 30,000 people. Conceptually, she proposes a simple pathway with two clear steps. First, because of the prevalence of racial discrimination, being a racial minority leads to greater stress. Not surprisingly, Anderson found that 18.2 percent of black participants experienced emotional stress and 9.8 percent experienced physical stress. Comparatively, only 3.5 and 1.6 percent of whites experienced emotional and physical stress, respectively. 

 

Second, this stress leads to poorer mental and physical health. But this is not only because stress breaks the body down. It is also because stress pushes people to cope in unhealthy ways. When we feel stressed, we may want a drink and, if we want a drink, we may also want a cigarette. But discrimination is not just any form of stress. It is a type of stress that disproportionately affects minorities. 

 

Here we see how racism works in a cycle to damage health. People at a social disadvantage are more likely to experience stress from racism. And they are less likely to have the resources to extinguish this stress, because they are at a social disadvantage."

Via Community Village

"...it serves the agenda of conservatives to laud the supposed industriousness of Asian Americans in order to disparage the work ethics of those who, by race or class, suffer from higher rates of poverty. It suggests that our work ethics and not the cumulative impact of historical injustices and public policy are to blame for social and economic inequities."

 

- MORE -

Via Community Village

(Native Americans) American Indians - the First People of America and Canada aka Turtle Island.

Via Community Village

If every straight person honestly answered this question, we'd wipe out homophobia tomorrow.

Via Community Village

Towards a New Workers Movement - 

 

Across the world, workers are under attack by the 1%. Wages are at a historic low while unemployment remains stuck near a record high. Governments are attacking the poorest amongst us with brutal austerity plans. Unions are being destroyed, while autonomous workers’ movements meet with severe repression from Oakland, to Montreal, to Athens, and Cairo.

 

The power of the 1% is based on their control of the workplace. We need a new labor movement of the 99% to occupy the workplace and transform the economy, but the working class is divided – between union and non-union, immigrant and native-born, young and old, North and South, private sector and public sector; by national borders, race, language, creed, color, education, and industry.

Via GAIA: Global Alliance for Immediate Alteration

In this RSA Animate, Manuel Lima, senior UX design lead at Microsoft Bing, explores the power of network visualisation to help navigate our complex modern world. Taken from a lecture given by Manuel Lima as part of the RSA's free public events programme. Listen to the full talk: http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2011/the-power-of-networks...

Via Erika Harrison

TED Talks A clay cylinder covered in Akkadian cuneiform script, damaged and broken, the Cyrus Cylinder is a powerful symbol of religious tolerance and multi-culturalism.

 

At first glance this TED Talk appears to be more about ancient history, archaeology and biblical studies that anything modern.  Yet as Neil MacGregor, the Director of the British Museum continues his discussion of the Cyrus Cylinder (A clay cylinder covered in Akkadian cuneiform script), it becomes clear that this historical artifact is vital in understanding how modern states conceive of their heritage, cultural legacy and role within the Middle East today (such as Israel, Iraq, Iran and even the U.K.).  As such the Cyrus Cylinder is a powerful symbol of religious tolerance and multi-culturalism and plays a role in shaping Middle Eastern cultural and political institutions. 

Via Seth Dixon