Benjamin H's Blog (17)

While I enjoyed EVOKE, I hoped for more of a game element; EVOKE ended up being a social activist blog with a sci-fi/fantasy element. That element, however, did not keep my interest at the high levels it started at when I began the game. I would like to see the powers do something more than just look cool -- for example, the powers allow you to access certain parts of the website or could be used to buy costume pieces on an EVOKE virtual avatar.

When communicating in a crisis, a good social innovator needs to understand what the expert says and then put it in layperson terms. Often experts use two words with similar meaning that lay-people will group together for convenience. If the termolongy is not reformatted this can actually make things worse by increasing confusion.

INTEGRATION OF QIANG

ETHNO-BOTANICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES INTO A REFORESTATION PROJECT,

AND RESTORES A DEGRADED WATERSHED IN CHINA

The Qiang people mainly inhabit the valleys of the Minjiang River (a main branch of the Yangtze) in Sichuan Province. This region is important

for its mountain forests, which are a major source of water for…

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Like many tribes did in ages past, we will do again. As they called for rain, so shall we. As they gathered in needed, we will gather in remembrance.



Evoke agents from around the world will gather in various public places to perform rain dances from their cultural histories. Onlookers will have the opportunity to consider the importance of water in our lives; hopefully, they will be able to imagine a time when public works that brought water to us at the turn of a dial were… Continue

Tokyo's most pressing concern in terms of disasters is an earthquake. The city sits near the intersection of three tectonic plates, so earthquakes occur regularly. However, every century or so a "big one" should occur; currently, Japan is "overdue" for one of these earthquakes. Thus I believe it is important to be prepared for one. Tokyo, for the most part, was build ad hoc without a strong concern block planning. Thus there are many small streets with power-lines overhead surrounded by tall… Continue

Over the past decade, the number of women attending primary school in Afghanistan has increased dramatically, but many women still face the cultural norms that force marriage and domesticity upon them. (Please refer the UNICEF article for further details.)



One of my classmates is from Afghanistan. During her childhood, she dressed as a boy in order to attend school under the Taliban. After that government was… Continue

Recently, I read an article on the LifeStraw. Basically, this invention is a cheap way to provide a person living in an underdeveloped area to have clean drinking water for one year. The straw is sized for a person to carry on them and use as needed.

This is not, however, sustainable in the long run, but for the immedate problem, it's an excellent patch. Namely, because the cost… Continue

I am current participating in a very important exchange: the swapping of an educational and cultural experience, or, study aboard. Although study aboard is becoming common place, this is my first time participating in an exchange program. Additionally, I still pay my home institution's class fees. In other words, I am trading my spot in exchange for one at Waseda University. This seems natural, but when I thought about the concept of exchange programs more, a found something unusual about them.… Continue

Social Entrepreneurship Day will be founded in 2019 as a global holiday in response to the invention of an international team of scientists to solve the energy crisis. This invention will be known as the Energy-Matter Conversion Chamber. This device will be able to convert matter into energy, therefore trash can be recycled into energy. Additionally, this device can create pure elements out of energy thus matter can be reclaimed in form useful for production. This breakthrough will change the… Continue

Since many of us use mp3 players that are battery powered, we could do better by recharging the batteries through a green source rather than an outlet or buying new batteries. Inspired by the sOccekt, I believe the technology could be adapted to a belt pouch. As one walks, the movement would cause energy to be generated. This energy would then be put into the battery for one`s mp3 player. Thus each person would have 2 batteries. While using one, the other would be charging in the belt pouch… Continue

Solar panels are not new technology, but they are expensive and take awhile for the investment to pay off. Jigar Shah developed a way to get businesses to go green. Instead of paying for solar panel installation, a business agrees to pay Jigar's company, SunEdison, for at least 10 years to provide solar energy from panels SunEdison will install on their property. SunEdison, however, retains ownership of the panels, so SunEdison can sell those panels or keep them and the money they generate to… Continue

As an exchange student, I walk through a city park several times a week to get to school. Several homeless people live in this park. In the US, there is a food bank-pantry system plus other services to help provide food to the poor. However, I knew very little about the Japanese system. I did a little internet research and found only one organization for Tokyo: Second Harvest. This is a charity organization that has no direct government… Continue

I have returned to Tokyo on business, but while in the area, I visit with the host family I stayed with during the 2009-2010 school year. They have prepared a special meal involving some of my favorite foods, like yakiudon. I know food has gotten more expensive in Tokyo over the years from emails I have received from them. However that will not spoil our meal tonight. We sit together at the table, say "itadakimasu," and share stories over a delicious diner.



The meal begins to draw to a… Continue

My family and I have decided to stop giving each other presents during the holiday season; instead, we decided to donate livestock to world's hungry. This may seem like helping people away from my community, but as a globalist, I see every human as a member of my community. Also traditions can be hard to change; we get enthralled in certain patterns. Part of this innovation is changing my habits to be more benefical to the world.



Now, I enjoy the time I save away from the mall and get… Continue

In ten years, I hope to be working for social justice. Whether it be for a government, NGO, or a company that practices business that profit itself and the area in which it operates, I want my job to give me a sense of satisfaction that I am actually doing something to heal the world. I would want my extension as an EVOKE Agent to be a way to complete the tasks I am working on in my normal job when official methods breakdown and the problem becomes unbearable. Thus my job and its rules would no… Continue

I choose Oliver Sprague as my hero. He works as an advocate for Amnesty International and he focuses on arms control. Not weapons of mass destruction (WMD), but small arms and light weapons (SALW). When arms control is mentioned, it most likely references to nuclear weapons or other WMD. But how many times has a WMD been used recently and caused massive death? My count is two: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, I cannot count the tragedies of SALW, but to give an idea, I will list a few examples:… Continue

What does "Thinking outside the box" mean? Now imagine what it means in a culture that is not your own. To think outside the box, you have to understand where the box is. Ideas that may be novel in one culture may be common place in another. To be an innovator, you must first understand the mindset of culture you wish to innovate within.



The innovative process does not end there. From this point, one must find practical innovations. A wild but wonderful idea might be a good starting… Continue