FlowingData and dotSub

This is probably the last post for a few months:

1- dotSub, videosite with captions in many languages, users can also add new translations.

www.dotsub.com

2- FLowing data: making sense of data through vizualization.

Grand Challenges for Engineering

The Major Challenges facing humanity and awaiting an engineering solution. An effort by the National Academy of Engineering. "The focus was not to find what could be invented, but what needed to be invented"



The List:

• Make solar energy economical
• Provide energy from fusion
• Develop carbon sequestration methods
• Manage the nitrogen cycle
• Provide access to clean water
• Restore and improve urban infrastructure
• Advance health informatics
• Engineer better medicines
• Reverse-engineer the brain
• Prevent nuclear terror
• Secure cyberspace
• Enhance virtual reality
• Advance personalized learning
• Engineer the tools of scientific discovery

Maplecroft maps

Maps covering topics ranging from disease (turberculosis, malaria, influenza) to military expenditure, civil liberities, minority rights, climate change, competitiveness, corporate governance and many others...

Maplecroft Maps

Education: 21st century skills

MISSION STATEMENT Serve as a catalyst to position 21st century skills at the center of US K-12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders
Also check the resources section: route 21

World Bank: Rapid Response

Mission:

• To promote financial and private sector reform, resulting in better business environments.
• Ultimately to spur business, entrepreneurial, and employment opportunities for the poor in developing countries.

Note the toolkits and the doing business map with background information.

Social entrepreneurship jobs: Commongood careers

Mission

To support social entrepreneurs with their recruitment and hiring needs at every organizational level, to provide resources for socially driven jobseekers, and to address talent related issues throughout the sector.

Think Tanks: The Peter G Peterson Institute for International Economics

"...Its agenda emphasizes global macroeconomic topics, international money and finance, trade and related social issues, energy and the environment, investment, and domestic adjustment measures. Current priority is attached to China, globalization (including its financial aspects) and the backlash against it, global trade imbalances and currency misalignments, the competitiveness of the United States and other major countries, reform of the international financial architecture, and new trade negotiations at the multilateral, regional, and bilateral levels...."

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Mission: The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) helps developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their fight against marginalization in today's globalized world. It mobilizes knowledge, skills, information and technology to promote productive employment, a competitive economy and a sound environment.

Portfolio Magazine: Blogs

Portfolio Magazine, a refreshing recent addition to the business section compiled the following list of blogs:

(Click on graphic or Title to visit link)

Max Planck Institute for Human Development:

In their words:
The Max Planck Institute for Human Development is a multidisciplinary research establishment dedicated to the study of human development and education. Its inquiries are broadly defined, but concentrate on the evolutionary, social, historical, and institutional contexts of human development, as well as examining it from life-span and life-course perspectives.

(Click on Graphic to visit site)

Gerd Gigerenzer author of Calculated Risks and Simple Heuristics (two excellent books) is co-director of the institute.

Gapminder: Global development visualized

Hans Rosling's talk at TED talk in 2006 was a rare example of charts being both informative and fun.

Gapminder World is a powerful learning and presentation tool.

(Click on image to visit site)

Big Think: The new conversation

Big hat-tip to the New York Times, today for this:

(click on photo to visit link)

Still under construction, hopefully it will keep growing and become economically viable.