Mind-Map spaces and exchanges

PARAGRAPH ONE 

In this notion we have to deal with two different concepts « spaces » and « exchanges ». If we dig into these two concepts and search a definition to them we could say that :

If we look up in a dictionary we would find this definition an empty area that is free to be used , but if we dig a little bit more in what it could men, we could say that this concept reflects not only a geographical and physical area but also a symbolical or even virtual area if we look at our modern world. All things considered we could say that a « space » whatever the shape it takes (if it takes one) gives place to actions to be developed in it. 

But if we look at our other concept which is « exchanges » the official definition would be this one the giving and taking of one thing for another, so an exchange would be like an interaction that can take many different forms and can happen between different beings, places … 

At the end of the day we could link these two concepts since exchanges happen in different spaces although we can not clearly put exchanges and spaces in one big group we can see that both are divided equally in two big sections. In the one hand, we have the physical, real space and exchange and on the other hand we have the virtual space and exchange. This is the clear cut distinction that could be made. 

PARAGRAPH TWO 

When it comes to talk about spaces, we can identify plenty of them since it can be wether physical/real or virtual spaces. To exemplify this concept we have here a couple of examples: 

• Looking at the mind-map we can see that in the left side, the real space there are multiple scales. For example there is the first world and the third world. Well, the first world and the third world, are parallel concepts that take their origins from the cold war, they are the opposite of one another. On the one hand, the first world is referred to developed countries, at that time aligned to the Nato and against the Soviet Union. On the opposite hand, there is the third world referred to developing countries in Africa, Asia or Latin America. Obviously, those were divided between the East and the West Blocs during the colder. Nowadays, this lecture of the world has changed a lot, and those concepts are not as common anymore and can be badly perceived by some people. 

• This interpretation or division of the World has changed a bit, and the concepts have changed. Currently the Worlds dominating countries are divided into three groups, superpowers, developed countries and emerged countries.On the top of all others, there are the superpowers, even if we should say that there is only one since the Soviet Union does not exist anymore. A superpower is a very powerful and influential nation (used especially with reference to the US and the former Soviet Union when these were perceived as the two most powerful nations in the world). Then, the developed countries are the second more influential nations but the majority of the time it only refers to industrialized countries that have a big economical power. Finally, the emerged countries are those that used to make part of the third world but that in the near past have known an extraordinary growth of their economy. On top of that, these countries have formed an alliance named BRICS, which aims to empower and support developing programs collectively those regions.

These are two real places but that make reference to political and economic concepts. 

• There are also virtual spaces like chat forums, an internet forum is a virtual platform in which people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. Most of the time people don’t know each other and only ask for help to resolve a problem, it diverges from chats, also because the texts are longer and stay online for a while. The main difference is still he fact that the majority of them are public, so anyone can see it, but people post anonymously.

• Another virtual space are social networks. This type of space is much more common and known by people. A social network is a dedicated website or other application which enables users to communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, images, etc , it can be Facebook or Instagram or many others. These networks are very popular between the youth but not only. Conversely, the overexposure in these networks can have terrible and several consequences. 

• Finally, if we look all of this at a bigger scale, we can find for example the blogosphere which are all the blogs considered collectively with writers and readers as a distinct online network. Most of the time they consider themselves as being a community. 

PARAGRAPH THREE

Just as the spaces, exchanges can have multiple forms, to catch a little bit better what an exchanges, we will illustrate the concept with a couple of examples :

• A real exchange can be the legal drug trade or drug trafficking, in other words the distribution and sale of drugs. This makes is global and illegal due to the prohibition laws that are world wide. The exchange is based on the sale of drugs exchanged for money. This Trade represents nearly 1% of the total global trade. 

• A mixed language can also be an exchange, because it is a language that comes from the combination of two other languages, most of the time this mixture arises among a bilingual group but it can happen differently also. Indeed, many languages also take some words from others even if it is not a combination, it could be interpreted as a similar exchange.  

• Brain Drain is another type and very particular one of real exchange, it is based on the emigration of highly trained and qualified people from a particular country. These people generally have been prepared in their home country but emigrate or flee looking for a better quality of life, opportunities or to avoid a state of war or insecurity.

• Online Gaming is one of the multiple virtual exchanges, it is in fact the action of playing a video game either totally or partially through Internet or a platform linked to it. Most of the quality games are not directly available on the internet but in platforms like Steam or through consoles like the Xbox or PlayStation. 

• Finally, e-mailing is the more frequent and global virtual exchanges and one of the first ones.E-mailing is very simple it is the action to send an e-mail , said differently send a message from a mailbox.