Ann Cooper Talks School Lunches Susan notes: Thanks to TED for making TED Talks downloadable and embeddable, and for providing the biographical information that goes along with them. Speaking at the 2007 EG conference, "renegade lunch lady" Ann Cooper talks about the coming revolution in the way kids eat at school -- local, sustainable, seasonal and even educational food. Ann Cooper has a frontline view of the daily battle to keep kids healthy -- and of the enemy, the processed-foods industries that, it sometimes seems, want to wrap every single thing that children eat in a fried coating and then a plastic bag. As the director of nutrition services for the Berkeley (California) Unified School District, she's an outspoken activist for serving fresh, sustainable food to kids. Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs It makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off. Over the last 12 months I have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as “muppets,” sometimes over internal e-mail. Even after the S.E.C., Fabulous Fab, Abacus, God’s work, Carl Levin, Vampire Squids? No humility? I mean, come on. Integrity? It astounds me how little senior management gets a basic truth: If clients don’t trust you they will eventually stop doing business with you. These days, the most common question I get from junior analysts about derivatives is, “How much money did we make off the client?” When I was a first-year analyst I didn’t know where the bathroom was, or how to tie my shoelaces. I hope this can be a wake-up call to the board of directors. U.S. Op-Ed Contributor Published: March 14, 2012 372 Comments 372 Comments Readers shared their thoughts on this article. Newest Comments Closed Log in to discover more articles based on what you‘ve read. What’s This?
Lawrence Wang - Google+ - TED editor wants your opinions on how TED could use a… TED editor wants your opinions on how TED could use a google+ page to engage g+ community So don't want to push my luck, but last night I posted about the fact that google+ needs an official TED page, it was shared and found its way to +Emily AtTED editor of TED.com! Which is amazing and she wrote me back with this 'What would you like to see on an official Google+ page for TED? So I'm hoping that those with more social clout on here such as +Denis Labelle +Carter Gibson +Samantha Villenave etc and google+ tipsters such as +Gabriel Vasile +Google+ Tips And Tricks etc could help share her response so we can get TED some great feedback and suggestions. If you don't know TED you might have seen a talk without knowing it. what would you like to see from an official TED google+ page?
Just How Powerful Are You? - Nilofer Merchant When you write online, no one checks to see if you have a journalism degree before they start to read. If you experience an earthquake and want to report on its danger or safety, no one asks your credentials before you report to Ushahidi. And if you were interested a creating a new company, you can simply initiate the idea and get funding through Kickstarter or Indie GoGo. The gateways of power have changed. Or have they? When I look around, I see a culture that honors being prepared, doing the right things to get ahead, and achieving more and more, starting with our education — we need to go to the right high school to get into the right college, to get the right job after college. So, which is it? I’d like to explore this topic with you by sharing two arguments about what defines power today. Argument 1: You Are Powerful Beyond Measure Academic degrees, once a status differentiator, are no longer required to create good ideas. Argument 2: Power is a Limited Commodity Power is open.
When NORAD tracked Santa: Bruno Bowden on the TED Blog News Why TEDActive? Thoughts on what makes this conference “an ‘a-ha’ experience” TEDActive was born with a bang in Aspen, Colorado, in 2008. Quite literally. Less than 24 hours before the conference was supposed to start, the sprinklers erupted and drenched the simulcast lounges — red beanbag chairs and all — with buckets of water. Photography TEDActive, in Instagrams Take the TED Conference and add a generous helping of play, a sprinkling of colorful creativity, a lot of red beanbags, an endless supply of coffee, and a plethora of riveting conversations around fire pits with a tribe of smart, quirky people from all over the world and — voila!
Dump the Prizes I was sitting at my desk the other day, writing a recommendation letter for some prize or another, and I found myself thinking, “Why the hell am I doing this?” It often takes me a couple of hours to write something I feel good about—and for what? The vast majority of contestants don’t win anything, and even when they do, it’s often shamefully small amounts of money and/or the dubious assumption that the attendant publicity will lead to bigger things. After years of watching and participating in this stuff, I’ve concluded that it does more harm than good—and by “this stuff” I mean the whole contest/challenge/prize/award industry. Yes, this lumps together way too many disparate things; yes, there are exceptions to everything I say here; and yes, it deserves a more nuanced discussion. 1. The Knight Foundation recently released a thoughtful, well-publicized report on its experience running a dozen or so open contests. And it’s exploitive. 2. Ideas are easy; implementation is hard. 3. 4.
「旅程的力量」特別講者 大衛．漢森為漢森機器人技術公司的創立者與CEO。曾在羅德島設計學院研究藝術，目前已經獲得了德克薩斯州立大學互動藝術與工程博士學位。接連被PC Magazine 和連線雜誌讚譽為「天才」，大衛．漢森致力解決工程與藝術的結合問題、，夢想著創造出出神似人類的機器人：擁有細膩豐富的面部表情、懂得捕捉人類情緒與回 應，甚至能與人類自然對談。完全不同於其他呆板的智慧機器人，高度靈活且低耗能的漢森機器人賦予科技更多的人性和個性，證明人工智慧的無限可能性。 透過漢森引領的機器人革命，讓我們一同想像機器人全面進入人類生活的科幻未來。 David Hanson is the founder and CEO of Hanson Robotics – a company that aims to create robots as socially adept as any human being. “This moment is the Kitty Hawk of androids. 生於捷克，一位全球公民。 Martina Klimesova, a native of the Czech Republic, otherwise a global citizen, is currently living in Taipei as a recipient of the Taiwan Fellowship (a research grant provided by Taiwanese MoFA), based at the Institute of International Relations at NCCU. With a PhD in International Relations and having worked on conflict management at the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stockholm, her curiosity has led her to meetings with Nobel Peace Prize winners, prominent statesmen, human rights activists, and insurgent leaders.
Best Of TED 2011 : Pictures, Videos, Breaking News Announcing: TEDTalks DVD on Demand! Spreading ideas just got easier. Today TED announces DVD On Demand, which allows users to create custom TEDTalk DVDs from a library of over 700 available talks. Each disc holds up to six talks, each with the option to order with subtitles in up to 32 languages. DVDs, available for $9.99, can be shipped to and watched in any region of the world. “By putting our TEDTalks online for free, we’ve helped spread ideas to over half a billion viewers,” said June Cohen, Executive Producer of TED Media. “But not everyone has access to the internet, nor are they necessarily tech-savvy enough to stream talks when they do. Learn more about TEDTalks DVD on Demand >>
Harnessing the power of reading: Q&A with illustrator Elizabeth Zunon Yesterday, TED Fellow William Kamkwamba debuted an illustrated children’s version of his memoir The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, co-written with Bryan Mealer and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. Since its publication in 2009, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind has been printed in 17 editions internationally. For this Young Readers edition, for ages 6 and up, Kamkwamba’s story is accompanied by Zunon’s uniquely subtle mix of oil and collage. In conjunction with the launch of the book’s children’s edition, Kamkwamba’s NGO, Moving Windmills Project, is collaborating with the Pearson Foundation on an initiative to send up to 10,000 children’s books to Wimbe lending library, near Kamkwamba’s village in Malawi — the place where his story began. Each time the book is read online, the library receives one new book. We caught up with illustrator and former Côte d’Ivoire denizen Elizabeth Zunon to ask her about this beautiful new edition. What about this story touched you?
Sparks | Search Institute Educators and youth leaders know how motivating it can be for young people to discover their "sparks"--those activities and interests that truly engage kids to be their best. Discovering those sparks can help students express their personalities and make unique contributions to the world. Search Institute research shows that kids who thrive have two important supports: knowledge of what their sparks are and adults who support the development of those sparks. Several research studies show that creative arts, athletics, and learning are the top interests that kids identify as their personal sparks. Read the research and help us make sure kids know their sparks, grow them, and share them.
9 Reasons Your Company Should Use Brand Advocates: New Research What would you say if you could add 5, 10, 100 or 1000 marketing reps to your team? For free? What if these marketing reps would freely write about your brand and tell their friends and all they expect in return is recognition and access to insider information? Who are these free marketers? Brand advocates. BzzAgent has recently released a new research study giving us the skinny on the habitat, behaviors and motivations behind brand advocates. Who are brand advocates and what motivates them? This careful study identifies many attributes of brand advocates. Definition: A brand advocate is any customer who has been officially commissioned to speak on behalf of your brand without compensation. Some examples of brand advocates: Ambassadors for crafting and for Fiskars. So what can we learn about who advocates are and what motivates them? #1: Advocates are prolific creators of information #2: Advocates influence the opinions and purchases of their friends #7: Advocates have a broader reach
Google Driverless Cars ‘Shockingly’ Safe & Efficient [Infographic] Google’s driverless cars are “shockingly” safe, says a Bellevue, Washington insurance company, with only two crashes on record – and both with a human at the wheel. Driver error, intoxication, and other human factors contribute to about 93 percent of all car crashes. Still, the day we’ll have robotic cars drive us to work or school, or maybe home from a party after having a bit too much fun, could be a way off yet. The average car is immobile for 96 percent of its lifetime; driverless cars will double the efficiency of working parents by allowing them to send the car for the kids.Driverless cars would wipe out drag racing.Owners could save thousands of dollars in parking each year, as the car could drive itself home.Over 200,000 taxi drivers and chauffeurs could be put out of work.Driverless cars could take 112 million intoxicated drivers off the road, potentially saving thousands of lives each year. As for Aptus Insurance, they’re having fun imagining the possibilities.
U.S. Adults: Most People Are Kind on Social Media [STUDY] Adults know how to play nice online, according to a recent survey that asked U.S. adults who use social networking sites how many of their interactions were positive. The survey showed 85% of U.S. adults say people are mostly kind online. Five percent of adults said people are mostly unkind and another 5% say it depends on the situation. These results differs from a Pew Research Center survey from last November that asked teenagers the same question. Like the adults, the majority of teens (69%) said people are mostly kind online. However, the percentage of teens that said people were mostly unkind online was 20%, compared to 5% of adults. In the same Pew study about teens and online behavior, 12% reported being bullied online and nearly 9 in 10 teenagers said they'd witnessed online bullying. The recent study of adults' social media perceptions was compiled July 25 to August 26, 2011 by the Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, TPopova