As I was reading through some of The Shift textbook for the case study assignment, I was reminded of the importance of simplicity- of not following all the latest technology trends, trying to live more sustainably, lessening spending/ consumerism/ money driven focus. I came across this post about ideas for living life more simply and thought I'd share.

An interesting list of many things we can all do to increase social capital. Some seem really easy and straightforward, but the reality is that you never know how/ when a network will come in handy for your career. A good reminder of how very important our social connections are.

A self- assessment tool that assesses a person's strengths and areas for improvement in regards to continuous learning. Friedman emphasizes in chapters 8 and 9 the importance of continuous learning and ongoing education in order to reach career related goals and strive for self improvement.

After reading these chapter in "The World is Flat," in particular chapter seven, I was thinking about l education and what has been beneficial to my learning now and in the past. it reminded me of this video about the benefits of music. Music is and always will be very important to me, and I thought this video would be worth sharing.

Interesting article supported by Microsoft about the economic impact of cloud computing. I wanted to learn more about the Cloud following my review of "dropbox."

Interesting article from CBC outlining the draw to outsourcing to lower costs for businesses and increase efficiency, yet the downside of loss of jobs.

Some interesting information about the measurement of poverty using the HPI (Human Poverty Index), as well as low income measures in Canada.

A very interesting article to read and reflect on prior to working as an employment counsellor, as many clients have worked, currently work, or will work in precarious employment relationships. The article defines precarious employment, gives a brief history, and provides great insight into why precarious employment is on the rise. It includes a study of about 400 workers in precarious employment in Ontario, and outlines the negative health benefits. Some of these include uncertainties in the following areas: uncertainty of future work, of level of income/ benefits, location of work, schedule, workload uncertainty, etc., which ultimately lead to negative effects in people's mental and physical health.

Interesting article about trends among Generation Y workers

This article from the National Post talks about five cultural shifts that are changing the corporate workplace. These include the level of trust between employers and employees, the ways in which companies hire and fire employees, the end of the "40 hours work week" and importance of task related work as opposed to time constraints in new young workers, reputation and the need for young workers to find satisfaction and meaning in their work, and demand for corporations to donate a portion of profits to charitable causes. An interesting article that relates to trends in upcoming generations of young workers.

I find this website very helpful. It is a tool to find quick information about projections of the demand of specific occupations in Canada. Under the heading "projection summaries" then "occupational summaries" you are able to search for occupations to find out about projections for the years 2013- 2022.