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Galleryyuhself - How green does your garden grow?

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Girls Just Wanna have Fun-damental Rights! - Week 9

Activism is broadly defined as a “process by which groups of people exert pressure on organizations or other institutions to change policies, practices, or conditions the activists find problematic”, and the digitisation of this process refers to digital, or internet activism (cited in Chon and Park 2020, pg. 73).

The proliferation of social media and its accompanying technological developments has fundamentally altered how individuals, groups and institutions advocate for social and political change (cited in Glenn 2015, pg. 81). The introduction of social networking sites, microblogging platforms, and content-sharing services institute for the opportunity of wide-scale online and virtual participation in utilising the platforms as a ‘public sphere’ (Rotman et al. 2011, pg. 819). Habermas "defines the public sphere as a place where 'private people come together as a public' for the purpose of using reason to further critical knowledge which, in turn, leads to political change" (Kruse et al. 2018, pg. 62/63). This technology-mediated exchange affords users with the ability to contribute to, and participate in, the visibility of "national and international priorities such as public health, political unrest, disaster relief and climate change" from their computer and mobile device without even leaving their living room (Rotman et al. 2011, pg, 819).

Figure 1. Marching Women’s March GIF. Source; Rosanne-esme c. 2020.

Recent decades have seen the shift towards the use of these commercial platforms of communication for the purpose of pursuing activist campaigns and movements. This change not only belies practical motives in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their messages, "but also reflects a different world view than the one pervading radical politics in previous decades" (Gerbaudo 2014, pg. 1). Activists, much like organisations, use social media to foster relationships and accumulate followers (Swan 2014, pg. 227). Further, social media is a central component of the success of “contemporary social activism as advanced tools of communication and inform” (Chon and Park 2020, pg. 75). Additional research asserts that the use of social media within the activist and political agenda can influence collective action in several ways, such as providing for the mobilisation of information and news that are not readily available through traditional media, the facilitation, orchestration and coordination of demonstrations, allowing users to join civic and political causes, and ultimately creating an opportunity for the exchange of opinions and open debate (Valenzuela 2013, pg. 921). Social media also promotes "personal and group identity construction... by allowing multiple channels for interpersonal feedback, peer acceptance, and reinforcement of group norms" (cited in Valenzuela 2013, pg. 922).

On the 24th of May 2014, the hashtag #yesallwomen emerged on Twitter’s platform in response to a killing spree that had occurred in Isla Vista, California. The gunman had left behind a series of bathetic youtube videos and a hundred-and-thirty-seven-page autobiographical ‘manifesto’ which were quickly circulated by the public, in which he claimed that his hatred of women had spurred his murderous rampage. A day later, users took to Twitter to engage in what has come to be known as ‘hashtag activism’ - “the attempt to use Twitter’s hashtags to incite social change” (Dadas 2017, pg. 17). Through the hashtags rapid dissemination and adoption, the “resulting hashtag #yesallwomen sought to call attention to the misogynist roots of the Isla Vista tragedy, emphasizing that yes, all women suffer from a culture that rewards men’s aggressive behaviour toward them” (Dadas 2017, pg. 17). The #Yesallwomen hashtag illustrates one example within a broader political and social movement that uses hashtags and hashtag activism as a strategy for directing attention to social and political causes and bringing them to the forefront of everyone's mind (figure 2, and figure 3). Other examples of similar altitude include #FreeTheNipple, #MeToo, #BlackLivesmatter and #IllRideWithYou.

Figure 2. #YesAllWomen [image]. Source. Pantozzi 2014.

Figure 3. #YesAllWomen [image]. Source. Girl Talk HQ 2014.

Brooke Foucault Welles, the assistant professor of online activism, explains her perspective on the use of ‘hashtag activism’ describing it as a strategy wherein which people can “use hashtags in order to denote things or issues of political or personal meaning in order to gain traction in the mainstream” (Foucault Welles 2019). The use of social media in this process, however, is often criticised and denoted 'slacktivism'. The term ‘slacktivism’ conjoins the two terms of 'slacker' and 'activism' to describe the 'feel-good' measures taken by online users to illustrate "token support for social or political causes through online means" (Chandler and Munday 201).

Figure 4. Feminism Justice GIF. Source; Giphy c. 2020.

There is undoubtedly a significant and substantial “relationship between social media and social protest” (York 2014, p. 5). However, the lexicon relating to the digital activist sphere establishes a series of polarizing perspectives on the validity and efficacy of digital activism as a means of pursuing political and social action.

References:

Chandler, D, Munday, R 2016, A dictionary of social media, Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford Reference Premium Collection)

Chon, MG, Park, H 2020, 'Social Media Activism in the Digital Age: Testing an Integrative Model of Activism on Contentious Issues', Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, March 2020, vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 72-97

Dadas, C c. 2017, 'HASHTAG ACTIVISM: THE PROMISE AND RISK OF “ATTENTION”, in Vie, S, Walls, D (eds), Social Writing/Social Media: Pedagogy, Presentation, and Publics, WAC Clearinghouse: Perspectives on Writing

'Feminism Justice GIF' [GIF], in Giphy c. 2020, Protest, Giphy, viewed the 19th of May 2020, <https://giphy.com/gifs/feminism-feminist-girl-power-xUA7bjwn4QH5i0XbWw>

Foucault Welles, B 2019, Researching online activism using social network analysis, SAGE Publications Ltd, London, viewed the 19th of May 2020, <https://methods-sagepub-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/video/researching-online-activism-using-social-network-analysis>

Gerbaudo, P 2014, 'Populism 2.0: Social Media Activism, the Generic Internet User, and Interactive Direct Democracy', Social Media, Politics and the State: Protests, Revolutions, Riots, Crime and Policing in the Age of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, vol. 16, pp. 1-67

Glenn, C 2015, 'Activism or “Slacktivism?”: Digital Media and Organizing for Social Change', Communication Teacher, 03 April 2015, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 81-85

Kruse, L, Norris, D, Flinchum, J 2018, 'Social Media as a Public Sphere? Politics on Social Media', The Sociological Quarterly, 02 January 2018, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 62-84

'Marching Women’s March GIF' [GIF], in Tumblr: roseanne-esme c. 2020, Tumblr, viewed the 19th of May 2020, <https://rosanne-esme.tumblr.com/post/158320356530/womens-march-amsterdam-11-march-2017>

Rotman, D, Vieweg, S, Yardi, S, Chi, E, Preece, J, Shneiderman, B, Pirolli, P, Glaisyer, T 2011, 'From slacktivism to activism: participatory culture in the age of social media', CHI '11 Extended Abstracts on human factors in computing systems, 07 May 2011, pp. 819-822

Swan, P 2015, Cases in Public Relations Management: The Rise of Social Media and Activism, 2nd edn, London: Routledge, 2014, Ebook Central (ProQuest)

Valenzuela, S 2013, 'Unpacking the Use of Social Media for Protest Behavior: The Roles of Information, Opinion Expression, and Activism', American Behavioral Scientist, July 2013, vol. 57, no. 7, pp. 920-942

York, J, 2014, ‘Social Media & Social Activism’, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 3-5

'#YesAllWomen' [image], In Girls Talk HQ 2014, '#YesALLWomen Hashtag Sparking Gender Violence Conversations', Girls Talk HQ, May 28th, viewed the 19th of May 2020, <https://www.girltalkhq.com/yesallwomen-hashtag-sparking-gender-violence-conversations/>

'#YesAllWomen' [image], in Pantozzi, J 2014, 'Things We Saw Today: #YesAllWomen', The Mary Sue, May 26th, viewed the 19th of MY 2020, <https://www.themarysue.com/things-we-saw-today-556/>

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[giannisbct-blog]

Creative Art of Doing

Why do humans delve into creative fields? Why do we do anything? These questions have a myriad of answers to them and we may never know what the correct one, or even if there is a correct answer to them. However, the key is not in the answer, but the question itself. When we “do” something, we are carrying out an action, physically articulating a verb. Creative mindsets from different walks of life are all products of these verbs. Hardwired into our genetics are two verbs which respond to the only constant thing in our lives, change. These two basic verbs drive our creative notions all over the planet (and sometimes off it) and when change occurs we ask our selves; do we oppose it or do we adapt? Most creative areas are built around either opposing or adapting, however there are a few which actually incorporate both into their framework.

The act of opposition is what is generally considered the unproductive approach and because of this it is often overlooked and the effects are not considered when decisions are made. A prime example of this is Language. Across the globe there are over 6000 different living languages [1] that are spoken but the majority of people can only speak one. It is believed that the reason so many different languages were developed is so people were able to share their skills and knowledge with the others in their own community and outsiders would be unable to access such information [2]. However as Mark Pagel says, “Language is a piece of social technology for enhancing the benefits of cooperation [2].” When communities speak different languages, cooperation between social groups is made to be very difficult. The idea of inventing communication through verbal language on the basis of ease of developing knowledge and cooperation is flawed as “language barriers” are created which oppose the the cooperation and knowledge development.

Another example of opposition acting as a key element in creative endeavours is communicated through the Pareto Principle. This states that in any creative industry people are competing to produce something and of that population almost everyone is unsuccessful and loses completely, a small minority is a tiny bit successful and a hyper minority is insanely successful [3]. The main issue with this is that those who are stuck at zero find it very hard to get the ball rolling and start. If you are a photographer on Instagram and don’t have any followers, it is very hard to get ten let alone ten thousand. These people tend to be the targets of revolutionaries as they have nothing to lose and are often promised they will thrive in the “new” industry. “These are the people that burn it all down as they oppose the system. [3]” The idea of revolting against a system that you are not successful in tends to be the extreme view of opposition however, it can result in the creation of new creative fields such as bloggers who were unsuccessful with writing their ideas down so filmed themselves and developed the popular Youtube category of Vlogging [4].

It is often said that when change comes around it is better to embrace it than reject it and unsurprisingly enough when it comes to dealing with limitations such as time and money this is usually the action taken. The creative endeavour of space craft and mission design reflects this idea however, the main limitation for them tends not to be money but physical laws and extreme forces at play [5]. The development of the craft design is generally the result of the external forces which are to large to oppose and so the design must be

adapted to deal with these. When designing the ARTEMIS telecommunications satellite in the 1990’s, the European Space Agency designers and engineers had to adapt their design to compensate for the angles the craft would be dealing with, solar radiation and transmission-wise. Rather than add more rockets to the design like they had done in the past for missions closer to Earth, they made the transmission antenna operate on a gimbal allowing it to adjust position so it always faced Earth [5]. Although this seems like a simple adjustment to the design, it was necessary due to the fact that the external forces were so large so they had to adapt to the situation and that was the result.

The surfing culture is one of those creative areas which falls under both verbs. First emerging in the 1960’s, the culture of surfing was the result of the initiation of the counter culture revolution. Sticking it to the man, not adhering to social norms and living a leisurely lifestyle all key elements in the “care free” life of a surfer and so it is obvious to see that the roots of the culture are stuck deeply in the idea of rebellion [6]. Due to the values shared with the counter culture movement, the surfing culture opposed the social standards back in the 1960’s and the 1970’s, however today the standards are very different entirely so did the culture adapt to the change? The short answer is no, society adapted to the surf culture and even began to embrace it. Many people in the 21st century appreciate the surfing aesthetic and have adopted it as their own [6], leading to the appropriation of the culture. Many aspects of surf culture are now present in popular culture such as attitude, dress and sexual promiscuity. To keep itself seperate and distinct, the surfing culture has had to adapt and now one cannot call themselves a “surfer” just because they share all the values the surfers had in the 1960’s, now the only way one can truly be identified as a surfer is by, “partaking in the embodied experience of surfing and search for the ecstatic experience of communion with the wave that surfers describe as stoke. [6]”

A very different area of creative thinking that also shares both these verbs as a basis is the idea of Reality Construction. This concept states that what we experience as reality is actually a construction of what our brain is interpreting as our surroundings. This is based on the fact that natural selection indicates that our objective realities are just an interface to guide adaptive behaviour and not true base reality itself [7]. So reality construction shows that our brain is making us adapt to different situations by showing us only what we need to know rather than feed us all the information at once. However, this idea opposes traditional Darwinian evolutionary theory which states that the genetics of an organism with more accurate reality perception are more likely to be passed on to future generations [7, 8]. This opposition however, is what drives scientific advancements showing that not all opposition is unproductive as mentioned earlier.

Creative mindsets can spawn from anything, gaps in the market, the need for social interaction or even for scientific purposes. However, there is always going to be two things that are constant in this world, the first is change. Change will always be around because that is the nature of the fourth dimension (time) and the second constant is that creative thoughts and processes will always be driven by the two verbs; Adapt and Oppose, as there is no physical way to react to change unless it is one of the two. All creative endeavours are based around these verbs, which in itself is a creative thought, so the question is how will you react to this idea; Adapt or Oppose?

References:

[1]: Gordon, R. G. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the world (Vol. 15). B. F. Grimes (Ed.). Dallas, TX: sil International. Chicago

[2]: Pagel, M. (2011, July). Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ mark_pagel_how_language_transformed_humanity

[3]: Rogan, J. (Producer). (2017, September 1). Joe Rogan Experience #1006 - Jordan Peterson & Bret Weinstein [Video podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=6G59zsjM2UI&feature=youtu.be&t=1h30m29s

[4]: Harley, D., & Fitzpatrick, G. (2009). Creating a conversational context through video blogging: A case study of Geriatric1927. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(3), 679-689.

[5]: Landgraf, M., Renk, F., & de Vogeleer, B. (2013). Mission design and analysis of European astrophysics missions orbiting libration points. Acta Astronautica, 84, 49-55.

[6]: Stranger, M. (2011). Surfing life: Surface, substructure and the commodification of the sublime. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. Chicago

[7]: Hoffman, D. (2015, March). Donald Hoffman: Do we see reality as it is? [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/donald_hoffman_do_we_see_reality_as_it_is

[8]: Smith, J. M. (1988). Evolution and the Theory of Games. In Did Darwin Get It Right? (pp. 202-215). Springer US.

Any extra references used in the researching of this essay but not directly used in the essay are in the research blogs on my Tumblr: https://giannisbct.tumblr.com/search/ctec500

[mikemortgage]

20 power players putting down roots in the cannabis industry

Dan Daviau Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. CEO may not be the first name that springs to mind in cannabis, but he deserves credit for steering a once-middling investor into an industry powerhouse that has made the most deals (32 between July 1, 2017, and July 15, 2018, according to FP Data Group) and raised more than twice as much money ($1.48 billion) than any other player. In August, it also launched a cannabis-focused special-purpose acquisition corporation. In Canada, Canaccord’s team is led by managing directors Steve Winokur (investment banking), Graham Saunders (head of origination) and Jamie Nagy (co-head of M&A).

Terry Booth Aurora Cannabis Inc. CEO leads one of the top five licensed producers and is known for making blockbuster acquisitions that have let the company quickly jump into the big leagues.

Vic Neufeld Aphria Inc. CEO, and formerly CEO of Jamieson Vitamins, has embraced the global possibilities that Canada’s first mover status provides with dealings in Germany, Italy, Lesotho, Malta and Australia.

Michael Gorenstein

Michael Gorenstein Cronos Group Inc. CEO oversees three licensed medical marijuana producers, operations in Germany, Israel and Australia and the company was the first to list on Nasdaq. The lawyer by trade has collected stakes in a number of assets and partnerships, including one that established Indigenous Roots, the first Indigenous company to get into the medical marijuana business.

The Cannabis Power List: Movers and shakers we're buzzing about in the pot world

Brian Athaide Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. CEO is trying to make good on a promise to be the world’s largest organic cannabis producer. The company had the largest cannabis IPO, raising $132.1 million in May.

Frederic Landtmeters Molson Coors Canada CEO inked a joint-venture with the Hydropothecary Corp. to develop cannabis-infused beverages, the first consumer giant to announce such a deal.

Vic Neufeld

Chuck Rifici Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. CEO has been dubbed the “Willy Wonka of Weed” and “Godfather of Canadian Weed” and is sometimes seen as a controversial figure, though always at the industry’s centre.

Matthew MacIssaac and Hillel Meltz MMCAP Fund Inc. founders have funded many deals, sometimes controversially, including an early round for Tweed Marijuana Inc. in 2014. Public records show MMCAP has pumped at least $600 million into more than a dozen cannabis companies over the past three years, from big names such as Aurora Cannabis Inc. to smaller players like Invictus MD Strategy Corp.

Jim Christodoulis Clarus Securities Inc. CEO leads the industry’s third-biggest dealmaker by both the amount of capital raised ($556.8 million) and number of deals (nine).

  Jim Christodoulis

David Morrison Eight Capital Corp. CEO heads a financial company that made 13 deals worth a total of $463.9 million, according to FP Data Group, good enough for second and fourth spots, respectively.

Dan Barclay The co-head of Global Investment and Corporate Banking at BMO Capital Markets is the point person at the only major Canadian bank to have officially entered the industry. The bank may have only made four deals between July 1, 2017, and July 15, 2018, but they totalled a whopping $629.9 million, according to FP Data Group, which was good enough for second in terms of the amount of money involved.

Steve Ottaway Managing director of investment banking at GMP Securities LP, which was the fifth biggest dealmaker by capital raised ($385.7 million) and fourth by number of deals (seven).

Russell Stanley The Echelon Wealth Partners analyst who covers cannabis for the independent wealth manager and capital markets adviser has been one of the most quotable in the past 18 months.

Richard Carleton CEO of CNSX Markets Inc. and the Canadian Securities Exchange, which in 2014 made the decision to welcome cannabis companies, and it now lists more than 70.

Eric Foster The partner at law firm Dentons and head of its Canadian cannabis practice has advised on a number of deals including multiple private placement and public offering of shares for Cronos Group Inc.

Allan Rewak

James Burns Alcanna Inc. CEO heads an Edmonton-based beverage alcohol retailer, with 229 retail outlets in Western Canada and Alaska, that inked a deal with Aurora Cannabis Inc. that gives it exclusive rights to open retail cannabis stores under the Aurora brand. In Alberta, Alcanna anticipates opening 37 stores, starting Oct. 17, the maximum number permitted to a single operator under provincial regulations.

Matei Oluru Lift & Co. CEO oversees the country’s largest and best-known cannabis expo, as well as an online review site, which gives consumers reward points for reviewing product, and magazine.

Deepak Anand Executive director of Canadian National Medical Marijuana Association, a not-for-profit that works closely with Health Canada and governments to develop and shape policy.

Allan Rewak Director of the Cannabis Canada Council, the main industry group representing licensed producers of medical marijuana, also works to help governments create a safe retail system.

Eric Costen

Eric Costen Director general of Health Canada’s Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Secretariat has helped steer the federal legalization process and been dubbed “Canada’s top cannabis policy bureaucrat.”

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