DP: Self-Sufficiency

First of all, I would like to say that I chose this topic because of my personal interest about it. I’ve been interested in this topic since I saw a video explaining the concepts of earthship biotecture by architect Michael Reynolds. In this video he shows a self sufficient household that provides water, heat, electricity, and food, while living completely off the grid and using recycled materials for its construction. All of the sudden I started asking myself a whole lot of questions like: What if I was able to satisfy my basic needs and have a comfortable life? What would I work for then? What would I do with the money I earn? Where would I spend it? What would I do with my free time? What impact will my life have on the environment? What would life mean if we were self-sufficient? Sometimes I wonder is this what freedom is like?

In college I studied industrial engineering. In every class that I had, my teachers would talk about efficiency, waste reduction (if you reduce your waste production it means you are making an efficient use of the raw materials you are buying, thus reducing costs), packaging less (reduce littering and thus cost reduction), logistics in transportation (in order to reduce costs and make a more efficient delivery of services and products, reducing carbon emissions). Now, after reading about self-sufficient technologies used by some individuals and communities I was forced to rethink efficiency. Now, I cannot stop thinking that efficient society depends on our own individual efficiency on our use of resources and this is directly linked to sustainability.

Imagine what this implies throughout the whole supply chain of products and services, and the energy saved from the manufacturing processes. Less transportation of goods, less CO2 emissions, it translates to an overall decrease in the carbon footprint. Also, if seen from a household economy point of view it means money saved through a DIY (do it yourself) approach on your daily life. Wouldn’t this make sense in times of economic crises, poor countries, or even just to spend your money in things you really appreciate. Of course, there are different levels of applying the self-sufficient philosophy and I agree certain groups or individuals can take it a bit far, but I really think this topic deserves to be taken seriously as an approach to many development issues.

Finally, for this first entry on the development topic, I wanted to give you a brief introduction to the ideas I will be exploring throughout the development blog. I see this blog as an opportunity to formulate a structured opinion on this approach. Hoping some time along the way I will find answers to personal questions. In my next entries I will try to show you evidence that: technologies to implement a self-sufficient live style are available and at an affordable price, that they can cause profound positive impact on communities and individuals, and that they are a viable solution for development.

Comments Off on DP: Self-Sufficiency / 22 Nov 2011 por Javier Solano Palacios
IMSD /

Our ‘Galaxies’. #mlearning @eoi

What can one do with a tiny device that has the power of big smart gadgets?

For starters it can help you access all types of information with just a click of a button….but for me, the best part is capturing the wonderful moments I spend in class with others.

So, instead of describing, I will just demonstrate the amazing things our tablets brought to the IMSD.

Enjoy! =)

Pinche aquí para ver el vídeo

Comments Off on Our ‘Galaxies’. #mlearning @eoi / 22 Nov 2011 por Hokuma Karimova
IMSD /

Tablet expirience

Hello again this time writing about the experience of mobile learning through the tablet eoi provided us with internet connection. I must admit I’m not much of technology buff and actually was a little bit skeptical about getting a tablet because I thought I’d never use it. I Mean, I have never even had a Smartphone because I never thought it was necessary. So when I finally had it with me I started to feel tempted to play around with it after a couple of hours I was surfing the internet and downloading apps. After the first day I thought wow this is a really cool toy. The next day when I synched my tablet with my eoi account I just realized this was no longer a toy and could turn out to be a really powerful tool. I mean having my calendar filled out with all my classes did just amazing not have to wonder if your schedule is right just knowing it is right. Having an agenda with my to dos is great and I think I am in my way to becoming I much more organized person. oh and being able to download papers and books of the internet is also an incredible feature now I can carry around all the material I want without worrying about the weight plus I can search for stuff on the internet on the go. Finally I would say I believe this electronic device will make my whole master a lot easier.

Comments Off on Tablet expirience / 22 Nov 2011 por Javier Solano Palacios
IMSD /

Environmental Economics

Imagine a factory located upstream that pollutes a river. It produces steel for the automotive industry. Downstream, local fishermen find they catch less fishes due to the pollution. Both are flourishing businesses that produce wealth and prosperity for the community.

At this case there are negative external effects, because the action of the factory influence the benefit of the fishermen and the factory does not compensate the fishermen for it. This is caused by the absence of property rights.

Is there a criterion that could be used to decide on who has the right to use the river? Let’s consider both possibilities: If the factory has the right to pollute the river without compensating the fishermen. In this case the factory has the right to damage. The fishermen could pay the factory not to pollute the river. This might sound little bit strange, but for Economists this is a possible solution. The second scenario would be if the fishermen have the right to use the river and the factory has to compensate them hence the factory has the liability for the damage. Hence, we can solve this case by distributing property rights. But how to decide who has the right to use the river? This decision depends on the amount of the resulting external costs and thus ultimately on the social preferences.

Here are some solutions to internalise external effects:

Merger, Acquisition by a Third Party
Property Rights and Bargaining (Coase Theorem)
Pigovian Tax or Subsidy
Certificate Solution

Resources (German), last accessed 21.11.2011: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCEQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uni-leipzig.de%2F~micro%2FFolien%2FMikro%2Fmikro5.ppt&ei=7rLCTui_EMrKswaQ_InrCw&usg=AFQjCNE_OdewgI6uKJsQ7GlIYWQ_skDH7w

http://www.waellisch.de/home/Coase.pdf

Comments Off on Environmental Economics / 21 Nov 2011 por Marie Glueck
IMSD /

Tablet Experience.#mlearning @eoi

A tablet was always something, a device, a gadget that I wanted to have. BUT I would never bought it, because it would be another thing that one wants and actually doesn’t transmit any real value.

When I was sitting in the auditorium waiting for that new “toy”, I was thinking that the EOI want us to like them more. I couldn’t understand how will it actually help us into becoming more educated, more organized and more efficient students/people. Till saturday I was still asking myself the same question. And finally saturday night, I got caught cooking holding my tablet and reading and article. It was the moment when I understood that actually the tablet is facilitating our life.

I am a person that hates reading long articles or books on my computer, because first of all it’s not comfortable and second…. it’s not comfortable at all:) The tablet is making it all possible. You can access to different kind of texts whenever you want. of course it has a lot of other features like access to your e-mail account within google docs or calendar which keeps me/us/everybody organized with all the tasks to do.

Even though I am a gadget geek:) I think that it is something amazing to have, as we say in polish “a mine of knowledge” (kopalnia wiedzy) in your pocket. Now i can have any book, article or any other text whenever I want. Well at least in Spain…

Comments Off on Tablet Experience.#mlearning @eoi / 21 Nov 2011 por Piotr Adam Lubiewa-Wielezynski
IMSD /

DP: Could we have our chocolate, and eat it too?

Hello everyone!

The other day, I stumbled upon an interesting blog post from the World Bank website and was moved to talk abit about its central topic here on my EOI blog.

By now, I’m quite sure that most of us are aware of the threats posed by global warming. We feel every year that our hot summers are getting hotter, we hear news of polar icecaps melting, and we see the sea levels rising and causing major floods in various countries around the world.

But to put things into a more personal perspective, how would climate change affect our households, our daily rituals, and more specifically, our diets?

As mentioned in the blog, climate change could affect even the seemingly trivial portions of our lives. The simple pleasures we enjoy in life, such as the various kinds of coffee we drink, and the different types of chocolates we enjoy – all are at risk of even the slightest change in global temperatures.

It serves as a reminder of how dependent our lives are on the sustainability of the environment.

In relation to development, the consequences of climate change are making a big difference to cocoa, coffee, and wine industries, and of course it directly affects the local farmers whose sources of income are dependent on the production of such commodities.

According to Miller, the author of the blog post, environmental risks involved in countries such as Ghana and Papua New Guinea are already being assessed, and there are efforts to find the best ways of managing the prices, and increasing the sustainability of cocoa and coffee industries.

Miller highlights that “changes big enough to ruin carefully managed, high value commodities like coffee, chocolate and wine will have much larger consequences for bulk commodities, the unmanaged ecosystem, and the way we live and work.”

It is, therefore, eseential to realise that while climate change could indirectly affect our eating and drinking habits, its effects on a larger scale could threaten the lives of farmers and the poor worldwide, as well as impede the development of our economies. As we undergo development at a time when the world is witnessing and experiencing rapid climate change, I believe that it becomes ever more important for our generation to find the best means of managing the environmental risks involved in our near future, doing what we can to reduce our carbon footprints, and developing in ways that are sustainable for the economy, the society, and the environment.

Being a true chocoholic myself, Miller’s notion that to save the chocolate, we must first save our planet, is one that I couldn’t agree with more! It is, after all, the only planet with chocolate.. and where would we be without it?

Comments Off on DP: Could we have our chocolate, and eat it too? / 21 Nov 2011 por Syafrina Sharif
IMSD /

#mlearning @eoi

I am almost a month old in Madrid and to be specg ific at my lovely school EOI. I am so excited with that,but EOI spiced my excitement with a tablet. I told myself, oh yes schools have to go together with tecnology. Despite the advise from Eva, i noticed that Kepa’s class was a bit affected because everybody was so busy with the tablets.

Later in the day, i was busy trying to familiarise myself with the tablet, on my way home, i passed by the recycling bins and thought of taking the picture, some of you might be wondering as to why the bins? In my country, recycling is just in papers and i have never thought that it is been practised to that extent in other countries. I personally feel empowered, as you know infromation is powerful and thought that the picture of the bins could be a reminder but also a way of selling the idea to others when i go back. I am really in love with the tablet and i know it will help collect and share inforamtion with others easily, mobile learning, easy and fast. I am also excited with the fact that the tablet has internet connection, this connects me with my classmates, lectures and even just freinds. I feel so great and recso advanced, fmobile learning makes my life easier,no need fo a pile of note books, i will just use my pad on the tablet. I love it.

Comments Off on #mlearning @eoi / 21 Nov 2011 por Tabithah Mkandawire Kaluwa
IMSD /

#mlearning @eoi

2 comentarios / 21 Nov 2011 por Tabithah Mkandawire Kaluwa
IMSD /

Un saber tanto práctico como humano: Habilidades Directivas

El día de hoy finalizó una etapa en el Máster, terminándose de esta manera una asignatura útil para la reflexión laboral y para un mejor desempeño profesional.

El saber adquirido comprende distintas dimensiones humanas, motivo por el cual el enfoqué holístico brindado me confirma una vez más el entendimiento humano que se necesita en paralelo a la sola teoría.

Bien este repaso me hizo reflexionar sobre el aprendizaje experimentado en mi previo trabajo, como también sobre las maneras en que puedo mejorar de manera práctica en mi vida. La aplicabilidad de la materia, basado en el estudio de casos, ofrece el enfoque aterrizado que esperaba.

La entrevista (en sus distintas circunstancias) complementó enormemente mis vivencias cuando desempeñé labores conjuntas con Recursos Humanos. La negociación me abrió una nueva serie de consideraciones que faltará ponerlas en práctica, sin embargo, tiene un enorme valor conocer sobre esto de antemano . La consideración del espacio emocional en todos estos procesos me aportó la prudencia que requiere cualquier conversación, ahí es quizás donde más me he replanteado actitudes tomadas en mi previo desempeño profesional.

Agradezco al esfuerzo puesto por todos (especialmente al impreso por quien dirigió el curso), son conocimientos que las situaciones se encargarán de recordarnos para aplicarlos ¡Mejores resultados siempre surgen de lecciones aprendidas!

Comments Off on Un saber tanto práctico como humano: Habilidades Directivas / 21 Nov 2011 por Rodrigo Capriles Mazzei
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