Biological Heritage vs Environmental Upbringing

Tag: business

Business & Finance Topics

Biological Heritage vs Environmental Upbringing

Which Factor Contributes Best To Your Business Mind Set?

Emily, Leah & Sydney

A person’s biological heritage and environmental upbringing are two factors that shape a person from a young age, but how do these two predetermined circumstances determine an individual’s impression in the business world.

What is biological heritage and environmental upbringing? Biological heritage Is based on a person’s ethnic culture, traditions, and genetics, as it is not chosen but is passed on by your parents. Environmental upbringing, it is the way you were raised at a young age. The customs your parents or peers made accustomed to you, but do these two elements of a person’s life shape a young business mind.

We interviewed two North Toronto students in grade 10 and how they’re affected by biological heritage. “My mom is Spanish and dad is British, you would never be able to tell from just looking at me.” -Ben. Biological heritage doesn’t necessarily have an impact on one’s business mind. As described in this quote not all people really resonate with their ethnicity. Although as proven in this quote “As a Mexican born in Canada seeing how hard working my ancestors were it has inspired me to continue their hard work ethic.” – Asier. This proves that biological heritage can be a big contributor to someone’s business mindset.

Environmental upbringing also has a huge impact on young minds, as Anna Wintour’s whole environmental upbringing shaped her for what she is now, which is why she is the editor in chief of Vogue magazine. Anna was surrounded by novelist during her early years as her father was the editor of the Evening Standard and two of her siblings were journalists known for their newspapers. Her great great great grandmother was also a late 18th century famous novelist as her parents always supported her love for fashion and showed enthusiasm for her to get involved. Her grandmother would send her issues of fashion magazines from the U.S. Her father oftenly asked her to consult on ideas for the youth market. This proves that Wintour’s environmental upbringing helped her achieve who she is to this day.

In conclusion, biological heritage and environmental upbringing affects many successful business workers either for the positive or negative, as it also affects an individual’s impression in the business industry.

New Frontier or another failure: Bitclout

by Tanush

Cryptocurrency has finally expanded into social media- and I’m not talking about crypto Twitter. Bitclout is the fresh new child of the crypto market, and it aims to combine the two things millennials love the most; social media and cryptocurrency.

Bitclout was released less than a month ago as a social media platform by anonymous blockchain users. According to its statement with Hypebeast last week, it allows users to “speculate on people and posts with real money, and it’s built from the ground up as its own custom blockchain”. Users are able to establish accounts to post images, share stories in a similar fashion to Twitter, a clear inspiration for the platform. Each account acts as its own NFT, and can be treated as its own coin. From there, other users can interact with the user and pay real money to invest in them, which boosts the price of the account. In essence, Bitclout commodifies your account into an NFT that you can profit from- depending on what you post.

Tony Wu, a pioneering junior investor notes the platform’s appeal. He suggests that his “early investments into people like Elon Musk have led to (him) making huge amounts of money”. He is currently in hold of several accounts that total to a portfolio worth over 10 thousand dollars. As the app is in its fledgling stages, early investment has seen massive returns due to the initial growth. The growth doesn’t appear to be slowing down either, as Diamondhand, the anonymous creator of Bitclout, reports legitimate foundations such as Jordan Belfort, Coinbase and Social Capital are backing Bitclout- adding to its own legitimacy as a platform.

But it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the newfound NFT. For one, Bitclout has created accounts for the top 15,000 users on Twitter, and commodifies their identities without their consent. Brandon Curtis, a victim of the auto-account system has filed a lawsuit against the platform for using his name and identity without his consent. Many also rallied arms on Twitter to point this out. Furthermore, it is unclear what power monetizing social media holds. As user prequelmemes on Bitclout points out, the capacity for “cancel culture” is heightened as money can be weaponized in a far worse manner than words. Techcrunch also points out that while investment may be easy, cashing out is not.

So, should you opt into Bitclout? Jordan Belfort was right when he said the answer is yes. If you have a decent knowledge of diverse investment and blockchain, then I would highly recommend creating an account and getting started. The site gives you an initial amount of coins, which is more than enough to get you started and grow- especially if you ride the early bird wave. If you feel comfortable enough to spend some money, then maybe dish out a little bit and practice investment through Bitclout.

Ultimately, the site is an enticing new twist on social media and investment, and should be watched by anyone interested in cryptocurrency. With a few hiccups regarding user information, it is fair to say that there is risk- but growth likely means that the platform will iron out its issues as times goes on. As for whether it’s a new frontier, only time- and money- will tell.

Resources

  • Dale, Brady, et al. “What Is BitClout? The Social Media Experiment Sparking Controversy on Twitter.” CoinDesk, 24 Mar. 2021, www.coindesk.com/what-is-bitclout-the-social-media-experiment-stoking-controversy-on-twitter.
  • Matney, Lucas. “Crypto Social Network BitClout Arrives with a Bevy of High-Profile Investors – and Skeptics.” TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 23 Mar. 2021, techcrunch.com/2021/03/22/crypto-social-network-bitclout-arrives-with-a-bevy-of-high-profile-investors-and-skeptics/.
  • Perper, Rosie. “BitClout Is the New Crypto Social Network That Lets You Bet on People’s Reputations.” HYPEBEAST, HYPEBEAST, 2 Apr. 2021, hypebeast.com/2021/4/what-is-bitclout-crypto-social-network-buy-trade-creator-coins.

Online Shopping on the Rise

The increase in online shopping because of COVID-19

Claire, Meighan & Sage

Ask almost anyone you know and they will probably tell you that they have engaged in online shopping. E-commerce sales have doubled exponentially each year but this pattern proves significantly more prominent this year. Will the recent pandemic have a lasting impact on the shopping industry?

As the public adapts to a new virtual world, a majority of Canadian consumers have flocked to online shopping. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on the shopping industry and e-commerce sales. Will the pandemic have a lasting effect? Or is it just a temporary situation. There isn’t a concrete answer. What we do know is that ever since the pandemic began, consumers have switched from in-person shopping to online shopping. Many people find it more convenient and therefore easier. With just the click of a button, you can order items to your house instead of taking time out of your day to drive to a brick-and-mortar store to search around and buy them. Even though brick-and-mortar stores have taken huge negative hits from these changes (especially small businesses), this switch is a positive for businesses that were already based online and for everyday consumers. Having the option and flexibility of being able to pick between online shopping and in-person shopping is great as they are two different channels of distribution.

We interviewed a couple of students from North Toronto Collegiate Institute to ask them about their shopping habits and if and how they have changed over the past year. Leah Reskinezy, a grade 10 business student said: “I shop online more because finding clothing items online is very straightforward and easy. When searching online, the items are usually tagged with direct links to the products, which is much more convenient than searching for the exact clothes in-person”. Another grade 10 business student, Dylan Vlaad also reports similar shopping habits: “I used to solely shop in-person but now I will only shop online.” From these two quotes, there is a significant pattern and connection between the pandemic and what type of shopping people take part in. Shopify reported, “in 2020 that over 150 million new shoppers migrated online in the past year, with 79% of consumers indicating they plan to continue shopping online.” This will undoubtedly affect the shopping industry for a long time to come but many consumers will still shop in person for the same reasons they did before: being able to try things on, the fun of it, not having to wait for delivery/shipping.

UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi reiterates that “The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a more digital world.” This supports the fact that many people have modified their ways of shopping to purchasing online and are not as interested in going into stores and malls. Whether they are open or not, people gravitate towards online shopping because it’s more practical, and at this time, safe. We can see from this situation that when one market rises, another one tends to fall. The retail sector will most likely never be in a pre-pandemic state again as this unmatched time in history has emphasized the popularity and benefits of online shopping and the e-commerce market.

Works Cited

  • Akhtar, A.. “50+ Breathtaking Online Shopping Statistics You Never Knew.” MonsterInsights, 27 Nov. 2019, https://www.monsterinsights.com/50-breathtaking-online-shopping-statistics-you-never-knew/
  • “COVID-19 Has Changed Online Shopping Forever, Survey Shows.” UNCTAD, 8 Oct. 2020, unctad.org/news/covid-19-has-changed-online-shopping-forever-survey-shows.

Teenagers in the Workplace

Ben, Reed & Matei

Many teenagers are pressured to get their first job and as a result, there is a lot of stress that is put onto their backs when trying to find a job. Not only is it hard for them to find jobs, but they also aren’t paid as much, given as much freedom, and they are generally just not treated as equal to adults.

A student/teenager makes 13 dollars an hour if they work 28 hours or more in the week, but if they work less than that they only get paid $9.60 an hour, An adult gets paid 14$ an hour, and in comparison, this is quite a bit more money than a student makes, especially if you look at it over time. In a 52 week year, someone works 28 hours or more as a student they make $18,928, but if they work it as an adult they make $20,384. If you are a Teenager that works 18 hours a week, you only make $8,985.

The workplace isn’t always accepting, Kyle (not his real name) is a 15-year-old student at North Toronto that works a part-time job at a local store, and he believes that he isn’t treated equally and fairly when compared to others at his job. He works less than 28 hours a week which is what is required by the government to be worked for a student if they want a full minimum wage. He says “ I’m treated differently because I’m new” and, “I think it’s BS” which strongly shows how he doesn’t like the way he’s treated, and that he doesn’t receive the respect he thinks to deserve.

This is just one example of age bias in the workplace, but it is all around us and with society’s norm being that people should get a job as a teen it is unusually difficult.

DECA Provincials

Forty North Toronto students competed in the DECA Provincial competition and thirteen won certificates because of their placing in the top ten.

Congratulations to Jasmine Lem and Lee-Ashley Keshet for winning their event and qualifying for the International Career Development Conference in April. Their proposal for revitalizing the International Career Development Conference at Yonge St. and Davisville Ave. won the Business Services Operations Research competition. Angela Krstic, Owen Macgowan, Cynthia Zhou and Audrey Gong for earning certificates in their events.

Thanks to all the N.T.C.I. Deca members who competed this year and good luck to Jasmine and Lee-Ashley.

Fall Investment Contest Winners

Congratulations to the following North Toronto students who won Investment Contests in the Fall of 2020.

  • Grade 9 December 2020: Sophia L. (MRNA +38%)
  • Investment Club October/November 2o2o
    • First Prize: Daisy K. (+81%)
    • Second Prize: Denis B. (+30%)
    • Third Prize: William S. (+20%)

To participate in the next contests, join the Investment Club.

Forty North Toronto Students Advance to DECA Provincials

Fifty-seven students participated in the Toronto Regionals Competition & forty progressed to the provincial level. Twenty N.T.C.I. events advanced to Provincials.

Summary of Results

  • Written events: Thirteen individuals & teams
  • Oral events: Seven individuals & teams

Congratulations to all students for their results.

MENU