August 22, 2016

WomenDressedForAWedding_MMIn 2012, MIT student Amrita Saigal chose to tackle a largely unaddressed health issue for a project in her product design class. She hoped to create a low-cost method to distribute clean, reliable sanitary pads for women across India. The subject of feminine hygiene remains largely taboo on the subcontinent with studies showing that 88 percent of menstruating women are forced to use crude homemade remedies like rags or newspapers. Saigal’s idea centered on a sanitary pad machine that would Continue reading

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August 18, 2016

OlympicImageWhen master salami maker Elias Cairo opened his restaurant Olympic Provisions in 2009, the company’s name seemed to be a gift from fate. Not only did the brand resonate with his Greek heritage, but it also paid tribute to the original resident of his eatery’s building, Olympic Mills. Early success allowed Cairo and his partners to expand the packaged salami-selling side of the business, which eventually grew into a major operation with distribution in 46 states. More restaurant openings and Continue reading

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August 4, 2016

In North America’s biggest cities, skyrocketing property values have led to a surge of home purchases from wealthy foreign buyers. But while this real estate boom is a blessing for savvy investors, locals looking to buy a home are increasingly confronted with an inaccessible market. For instance, the average cost of a detached house in British Columbia, Canada, rose to $1.2 million in June, representing a 39 percent increase from the year before. “There is evidence now that suggests that Continue reading

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July 26, 2016

As anybody with a social media presence knows well, Pokémon Go’s massive popularity has only grown since it landed in American app stores earlier this month. On July 22 the augmented reality game launched in Asia, racking up ten million downloads in Japan on a single day. Still, not everything about the app’s Asian expansion was ideal: Pokémon Go remains banned in China, by far the region’s most lucrative market.

And that’s not the only bad news currently confronting the Continue reading

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July 20, 2016

With cramped cabins, long delays and ever-increasing fees, these days airplane travel is about as exciting as a cross-country bus trip. In the mid-1970s, however, the skies briefly brightened with the arrival of the revolutionary Concorde supersonic jet. Capable of cruising at more than twice the speed of sound, Concorde could fly from London to New York in half the time of normal planes. For optimistic aviation observers, the jet represented no less than the future of air Continue reading

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July 14, 2016

Since Pokémon Go’s launch last week, the mobile app has rapidly grown into a phenomenon with millions of wannabe Pokémasters around the world. In this “augmented reality” game, players literally roam streets, parks and landmarks on a search for the famed “pocket monsters” of the Japanese franchise. When one of these creatures appears on a user’s smartphone screen, they can then capture it to add to their collection. The ultimate goal for players is to abide by Pokémon’s longstanding slogan, Continue reading

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A week has passed since more than 17 million voters in Great Britain chose to leave the European Union, leading to confusion and plummeting stock markets throughout the world. And while the immediate economic fallout from the “Brexit” decision has tapered off in that time, political leaders as well as regular people still don’t know what will happen next. In fact, British citizens aren’t even sure who will be running their country in a few months. Prime Minister David Cameron Continue reading

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June 29, 2016

In the aftermath of the Brexit, many non-European observers have been left wondering why a majority of British voters opted to leave the EU. While a number of factors contributed to the historic ‘Leave’ decision, this video specifically looks at the euro’s role in plunging the Greek economy and how the crisis turned into a cautionary tale for other EU countries.

Questions:

  1. Should wealthy EU countries send regular financial support to poor nations in the union?
  1. Will the euro last as a continent-wide currency?
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June 24, 2016

Last night voters in the United Kingdom elected to part ways with the European Union. While the full consequences of this historic decision will not be known for a long time, this video explains the immediate impact of the “Brexit” and how the situation could play out in the coming months.

 

Questions:

  1. Did UK voters make the correct decision? 
  1. What are the benefits and drawbacks of membership in an economic community like the European Union?
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June 17, 2016

For years advertising has been the central source of revenue for the online world. It’s also been a nuisance to many users for just as long. From early pop-up ads to the modern era of loud auto-playing videos, online ads have the irritating ability to distract web surfers from the content they were actually looking for. As a result, millions of users across the globe have installed ad blockers to remove these annoying images from their online experience.

In fact, Continue reading

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