Social Issues - Articles

Podcast

Laurie Marker - Environmental Sustainability for the Cheetah

The threat of animal habitat loss is one of the major issues in the environmental sustainability arena. In this audio interview by Sheela Sethuraman, Laurie Marker of the Cheetah Conservation Fund talks about a multi-pronged effort including habitat restoration, resource management education, and job creation to address that threat to cheetahs, in particular. She describes the creative measures she has taken to save cheetahs and improve the lives of the people who live near them.

Podcast

Panel Discussion - Biofuels for Environmental Sustainability

Biofuels offer an environmental sustainability substitute against petrol-based fuels such as gasoline, yet they are still expensive to produce and are causing a steep inflation in food prices the world over. This panel discussion of experts debates the root causes of the increase in food prices, and the need to tackle the economic and political side effects of biofuel production.

Podcast

Jennifer Aaker - The Psychology of Giving

Research shows that spending time and money on others makes people happy—so why don't more people donate to or volunteer for nonprofits? In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Stanford marketing professor Jennifer Aaker offers insights into the phenomenon. She then turns those insights into lessons in nonprofit management that organizations can use to create compelling ways for more people to give financially and personally to the causes they care about.

Millennials MoveOn

By Lee Bruno

To propel young folks to the polls, a political organization mixed Web 2.0 tools with social science savvy.

Podcast

Randy Wang - Education Through Community Participation

If you had to design a system to improve the quality of education in distant underprivileged schools, where would you begin? You might first step away from the problem and ask: What is the simplest "system" that could work in the real world? In this audio interview with host Sheela Sethuraman, Randy Wang describes his motivation to create Digital StudyHall, a collection of mundane technologies that have dramatically improved long distance education. He also talks about his progress and goals.

Podcast

Panel Discussion - Strategies to End Hunger

A food crisis is upon us. Prices are rising, supply is shrinking, and petroleum prices are spiking, all leading to increasing demand and instability regarding food in countries the world over. In this panel discussion, Robert Hormats, Helene Gayle, and Jacqueline Novogratz discuss what the financial sector, NGOs, and small farmers must do to reverse this alarming situation.

Shades of Green

By Andrew J. Hoffman 3

Social networking tools reveal that there is an intricate web of relationships between business and environmentalists, which if developed could benefit the environmental movement.

Podcast

Craig Venter - Genetics and Environmental Sustainability

Can environmental sustainability be supported by genetics? In this audio interview, Craig Venter, a pioneer in genetic research, discusses some of his key discoveries that are advancing the state of science in genomics and synthetic life. He shares how, in his current work on DNA programming and building synthetic organisms, he is using the building blocks of life to approach society's most pressing problems such as energy and food.

Ten Nonprofit Funding Models

By William Landes Foster, Peter Kim & Barbara Christiansen 79

With an understanding of these 10 funding models, nonprofit leaders can use the for-profit world's valuable practice of engaging in succinct and clear conversations about long-term financial strategy.

Podcast

James A. Joseph - Leadership in the Second Half of Life

Former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, James Joseph believes we must support those over 50 launching new careers later in life so they may continue to make significant contributions to society. In this audio lecture recorded at the Encore Career Summit, sponsored by the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford, Joseph reflects on what it takes to be a great leader in the second half of life. Using Nelson Mandela as a prototype, he reflects on how skills such as the ability to work with one's enemies are critical elements of the mature leader.