arthousecoop:

http://www.sketchbookproject.com/sketchbookproject

A Firm Turn Toward the Objective Josef Muller-Brockmann 1948-1981

fastcompany:

A University Is A Social Enterprise, So Why Don’t They Act Like It?

Instead of focusing on making sure they’re preparing a wide range of students to make the world better, universities seem far more focused on making money.

 

Important questions that need to be asked! Check out the full story here!

fastcompany:

Marissa Mayer: I Don’t Think That I Would Consider Myself A Feminist

Mayer was recent featured in a PBS/AOL documentary (filmed when she was still at Google it appears)Makers: Women Who Make America, from which this soundbite was taken when she spoke about feminism:

“I don’t think that I would consider myself a feminist. I think that, I certainly believe in equal rights. I believe that women are just as capable, if not more so, in a lot of different dimensions,” she said. “But I don’t, I think, have sort of the militant drive and sort of the chip on the shoulder that sometimes comes with that. And I think it’s too bad, but I do think feminism has become, in many ways, a more negative word. There are amazing opportunities all over the world for women, and I think that there’s more good that comes out of positive energy around that than negative energy.”

Other notable soundbites from the documentary, which aired earlier this week on PBS (and are posted here) included Mayer talking about her proudest achievement (Google) and her take on life-work balance. “For me work is fun and fun is work. I work a lot. I work really hard. I still am able to do some cultural things and things that are fun outside of work. But interestingly, those things for me, more often than not, have connections back to work. Now I’m really involved with Google Doodles, the fun logos that appear on our homepage. I don’t worry about balance. I worry more about being inspired and being passionate about what I’m working on.”

What do you think of Marissa Mayer’s remarks?

fastcompany:

Want To Advance Your Career? Then Work On Your EQ

In case you don’t yet feel it, emotional intelligence—the ability regulate emotions in one’s self and identify emotions in others—is a predictor of workplace success, both for employees and managers.

Taken together, emotional intelligence—and its associated intuitions—may be helpful for leaders, teams, and companies looking to grow (and create). Drawing from Daniel Goleman’s landmark Emotional Intelligence, Ebokosia describes its five factors of Emotional Intellgience as such:

• Empathy: The ability to shift perspectives and gain a better understanding of others, or, in fancy-pants language, “inter-subjectivize.”
• Motivation: The driving force(s) of your actions. Your compass, north star, wayfinding. Your interior cartographic prowess.
• Self-regulation: Being able to deal with your own emotions before they deal with you. Linked with delaying gratification and not eating the marshmallow.
• Social skills: Knowing what to say in order to engage your team—and knowing how not to offend them.
• Self-awareness: Understanding your own emotions improves your interactions, since getting intimate with your feelings lets you better understand how they affect others.

Here’s the full story.

[Image: Flickr user Wendell]

fastcompany:

How To Be A Happy Freelancer

Ultimately, despite the downsides, job satisfaction is very strongly associated with mental health, and self-employment has often been associated with higher job satisfaction. So if freelancing is a good fit for you and your chosen career, it will probably tend to make you happier as well, especially if you follow these steps:

1. Draw strong lines between work and home. 

This is probably the hardest and also the most important step that freelancers can take to safeguard their mental health. What is technically called “work-home interference” has been shown to lead to a “spiral” of emotional that negatively affects both sides, the work and the home.

But anything you can do to keep regular hours and places for work will help with the interference problem. Have you considered working from a coworking space, a cafe, or a park bench?

2. Be free.

Researchers agree that psychologically, the way that self-employment contributes to higher job satisfaction is through greater autonomy, freedom, and independence. 

But in order to make this work for you, you have to exercise that right. Which of the projects you are working on right now are the ones you would do even if you weren’t getting paid? Is it possible to shift toward spending more time on those? On the flip side of autonomy, when was the last time you left work early to have lunch with a friend or go to the movies?

3. Be social.

Conferences, barcamps, panels, happy hours, meetups, Tweetups, book clubs, MOOCs—there is no shortage of ways to connect meaningfully with people in your field, feed your curiosity and to give back by mentoring newcomers. Social networks help “buffer stress”.Helping others is good for mental health. And making connections with people will expose you to new ideas, which makes your work more interesting, which is a key dimension of job and life satisfaction.

4. Provide your own health care.

Of course you should purchase a health insurance plan to get care if you need it. But providing your own health care also means exercising, eating right, sleeping enough and all of the other basics of the mind-body connection. And it can save you money, too.

Here’s the full story. 

And here is Why Freelancers Are So Depressed

[Image: Flickr user Daveybot]

good:

Infographic: The Future Global Supply of Rare Earth Elements
- Column Five contributed in Environment and Energy

It’s Energy month at GOOD, so we’re bringing you infographics that explore our use of energy resources.

Up until the mid-1980s, the United States was the lead global producer of rare earth elements—materials that are used to make the technology that powers everything from laptops to hybrid cars—and have come to define our high-tech lives. Now, America is 100 percent dependent on imports of these elements and China is the primary world supplier. How does China’s domination impact the future global supply of rare earth elements?

This month, challenge a neighbor to GOOD’s energy smackdown. Find a neighbor with a household of roughly the same square footage and see who can trim their power bill the most. Throughout February, we’ll share ideas and resources for shrinking your household carbon footprint, so join the conversation at good.is/energy.