International Development News | 10 unexpected places to find a development job

International Development News | 10 unexpected places to find a development job: "If you’re looking to work in international development, you don’t have to move to a global development hub such as Washington, New York or even Nairobi, Kenya.

Jobs are “anywhere you think you want to be,” said Anne Steen, director of the Graduate Career Development Center at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. “Developing nations of course, but there are lots of different places. You don’t have to be in the capital city. Also, look at different sectors and see where the opportunities are within that niche.”

 Who knows our next job could be in one of these less-expected locations."



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Samantha Power Is Back - Richard Gowan - POLITICO Magazine

Samantha Power Is Back - Richard Gowan - POLITICO Magazine: "Samantha Power, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, has two problems. One of them is the United Nations. The other is the United States."



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Is "Voluntourism" Itself Being Exploited? | Daniela Papi

Is "Voluntourism" Itself Being Exploited? | Daniela Papi: "In a piece on his new Voluntourism Institute blog, David Clemmons recently released an article exploring the exploitation of voluntourism itself. It resonated with me, as over the last few months I have read a number of "anti-voluntourism" pieces that people have sent me thinking I'd love them, but instead they made me really worried that these arguments are moving off point.

David's article was spurred in part by an ABC Australia Broadcast piece I was a part of, which they provocatively named "Is 'voluntourism' the new colonialism?" David might be surprised to know, I agree with him in large part: "voluntourism" is being wrongly blamed as the "culprit" here and in other similar pieces. In my opinion, it is the marketing of the most irresponsible volunteer programs, and additionally, our own egos, which are leading us astray, not any whole sector."



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What you’d need to make in every county in America to afford a decent one-bedroom

What you’d need to make in every county in America to afford a decent one-bedroom:

Top ten most expensive counties

State	County	1-br. housing wage
California	Marin	$29.83
California	San Francisco	$29.83
California	San Mateo	$29.83
Hawaii	Honolulu	$26.58
Massachusetts	Nantucket	$25.83
California	Orange	$25.23
New York	Nassau	$25.17
New York	Suffolk	$25.17
California	Santa Clara	$24.87
California	Alameda	$24.13

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10 no-fee volunteer programs to kickstart your development career

10 no-fee volunteer programs to kickstart your development career:

10 no-fee volunteer programs to kickstart your development career from Devex

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International Development News | Your 1st job after grad school: What to ask of your employer and yourself

International Development News | Your 1st job after grad school: What to ask of your employer and yourself: "You will have to make best-guess decisions based on what you know about yourself, most importantly, and what others — such as professors, mentors and family — tell you. I’m a firm believer in listening to your heart first, but others may see you fitting into a puzzle differently than you do. Don’t despair though; there is almost always middle ground. There are enough different kinds of positions and ways to excel in them that you can carve your own path."



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International Development News | The ‘butterfly effect’ in international development

International Development News | The ‘butterfly effect’ in international development: "One of the most common mistakes made by international development agencies based in Europe or the United States is to write donor funding proposals from afar. They are designed to reflect the latest ideas, trends or research, but take little or no account of realities on the ground due to lack of meaningful consultation with affected communities.

Typically, an agency will sign a financial contract with a donor whereby the agency will commit to tackle specific issues in a set amount of time, and is accountable to the donor regarding exactly how funds are spent. There is always a huge pressure to deliver impressive end-of-project reports that may — due to fears over future funding — not always tell the full story.

In essence, this means that funding opportunities tendered by external governments, high-value donors or international bodies can actually dictate the type and context of a given development project, rather than the potential beneficiaries’ genuine and most pressing needs at the time."



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Princeton Concludes What Kind of Government America Really Has, and It's Not a Democracy

Princeton Concludes What Kind of Government America Really Has, and It's Not a Democracy

For their study, Gilens and Page compiled data from roughly 1,800 different policy initiatives in the years between 1981 and 2002. They then compared those policy changes with the expressed opinion of the United State public. Comparing the preferences of the average American at the 50th percentile of income to what those Americans at the 90th percentile preferred, as well as the opinions of major lobbying or business groups, the researchers found out that the government followed the directives set forth by the latter two much more often.

How to Get a Job at Google, Part 2 - NYTimes.com

How to Get a Job at Google, Part 2 - NYTimes.com: "“My belief is not that one shouldn’t go to college,” said Bock. It is that among 18- to 22-year-olds — or people returning to school years later — “most don’t put enough thought into why they’re going, and what they want to get out of it.” Of course, we want an informed citizenry, where everyone has a baseline of knowledge from which to build skills. That is a social good. But, he added, don’t just go to college because you think it is the right thing to do and that any bachelor’s degree will suffice. “The first and most important thing is to be explicit and willful in making the decisions about what you want to get out of this investment in your education.” It’s a huge investment of time, effort and money and people should think “incredibly hard about what they’re getting in return.”"



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BBC News - How a new bike messenger firm got its wheels turning in India

BBC News - How a new bike messenger firm got its wheels turning in India: "But it is exactly that issue - money - which is a barrier to new businesses across the world - and India is no exception.

Despite being a big community of real potential, Indian start-ups find it difficult to raise initial funds.

For technology firms, the struggle is less pronounced. But for firms in most other sectors it can be hard.

"There is less risk appetite in this country. No-one is ready to make the first move," says Anshula Dubey, co-founder of Indian crowdfunding business Wishberry."



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Jamaicans attempt to eat their way out of invasive Lionfish problem | The State Column

Jamaicans attempt to eat their way out of invasive Lionfish problem | The State Column: "The Jamaicans may have found a solution to the problem though: If you can’t drive out invasive species, eat them.

The Caribbean nation’s National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is reporting a decline in the population of invasive Lionfish due, in large part, to Jamaican’s acquiring an appetite for the spiny fish"



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Inclusive Business Grant To Assist Asia’s Poor | Pro Bono Australia

Inclusive Business Grant To Assist Asia’s Poor | Pro Bono Australia: "The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and development partners are using a new $3.6 million grant to support around 20 private sector businesses in Asia targeting poor and low-income communities.

“Economic growth has been high in Asia but that hasn’t trickled down to improve living standards of the poorest in most countries,” Armin Bauer, Principal Economist in ADB’s Regional and Sustainable Development Department said.

“Private companies are only now slowly recognizing that poor and low income groups are a huge market for goods and services and a good source of employees and talent.”

The grant will help companies develop new business models relevant to the poor and those on low incomes, and assess the social impact of such activities.

It will focus on “inclusive businesses,” or enterprises and projects that make both profits and provide goods, services, and jobs for those living on less than $3 a day. Around 60 per cent of Asia’s population is estimated to live on this small sum."



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International Development News | How to make development cooperation more effective in Asia-Pacific

International Development News | How to make development cooperation more effective in Asia-Pacific: "The Asia-Pacific Effective Development Cooperation Report will cover vital issues including progress on previous commitments, resources for development, South-South cooperation, knowledge sharing and business’ growing role in development.

Early results from a global survey on progress since the 2011 Busan Partnership Agreement for Effective Development Co-operation show the 15 Asia-Pacific countries taking part have made greatest progress on improving aid predictability and mutual accountability. However, this varies across countries and untying aid has also shown mixed results. Aid on budgets and gender equality also need further progress."



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Can Social Enterprises Really Solve Poverty? - Forbes

Can Social Enterprises Really Solve Poverty? - Forbes:

The landscape of social enterprise is strewn with these tales of struggle and frustration. And yet, only a few solutions have achieved impressive scale and by doing so have been able to improve the lives of millions of people.

What’s different about the solutions that scaled is that they resulted from the powerful interplay of social enterprises and industry facilitators. From smallholder tea in Kenya, to microfinance in India, to solar energy in Bangladesh, we have seen that while innovative enterprises are clearly the engine of change, external facilitators can help them succeed and scale by working alongside them to tackle the tough barriers that stand in the way. 

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Land Rover Transparent Bonnet: Invisible hood from Land Rover revealed prior to New York International Auto Show.

Land Rover Transparent Bonnet: Invisible hood from Land Rover revealed prior to New York International Auto Show.: "Land Rover Unveils Transparent Hood, Wins Over Sci-Fi Fans Everywhere"



Now that's cool.



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Dear parents, you are being lied to. « Violent metaphors

Dear parents, you are being lied to. « Violent metaphors:

In light of recent outbreaks of measles and other vaccine preventable illnesses, and the refusal of anti-vaccination advocates to acknowledge the problem, I thought it was past time for this post.

Dear parents,

You are being lied to. The people who claim to be acting in the best interests of your children are putting their health and even lives at risk.

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