Globalization and Asia: Article

- Shirleen Low

Please refer to the article "As The World Gets Tight" by Jonathan Sprague taken from this website.

Although globalisation is talked about as if it is something new to the world, the truth is that it isn't so. Globalisation has been taking place for centuries now, and it prominently arose to public notice in the late 1980s. However, the process of globalisation has been speeding up dramatically in the past 50 years and counting.

The article states that globalisation "used to have a universally hopeful ring to it" and now, "to some, the word represents financial markets ravaging economies, foreign competitors crushing local enterprises, and distant bureaucrats making decisions that turn societies inside out". There is some truth to this. With the rise in free-market-oriented businesses and other companies, economies have been overwhelmed by the rise of numerous financial markets.

Globalisation has also led to smaller, local companies facing much competition from overseas foreign competitors who have come in thanks to the massive integration of different markets. This has caused much of these companies to go bust, leading to much unhappiness from local business contenders. Meanwhile, the part about "distant bureaucrats making decisions that turn societies inside out" probably indicates how big business leaders and other prominent figures make decisions concerning globalisation that change much of another country's economic and social landscape.

Altogether, this article is about how globalisation - with all its advantages - also has a downside. It argues for a balance between preventing the bad side-effects of globalisation and globalisation's advantages. As mentioned in the article, globalisation has had a huge positive effect on the world - especially in Asia. In the case of Asia, it has opened this part of the world to not just trade and economy, but also to new ideas, ways of thinking, new lifestyles. It has created a huge positive boom in Asian markets. However, on the other hand, there are downsides, such as the suffering of local companies who have been 'run over' by huge multi-national corporations.

I feel that it is very difficult to achieve such a balance. If the economy is to be kept booming, I think it is very difficult to help and let everyone benefit from globalisation. Economies are booming simply because large companies are spreading worldwide. Because this is so, smaller, local companies are being marginalized. It is a cycle that needs to be kept going and will be kept going simply because globalization cannot be stopped, especially not at this point in time. However, these sacrifices should be minimalized as much as possible. A probable way would be to control the amount of global and local companies in a country.

music as a global culture

Cultural & Technological expert- Yeo Jia Wen

The following are excerpts(which explains the numerous hyperlinks. Sorry about that!) from this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music
[please click on link to view article]

"Music is an art form that involves organized sounds and silence. It is expressed in terms of pitch (which includes melody and harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo and meter), and the quality of sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, and texture).

The music that composers make can be heard through several media; the most traditional way is to hear it live, in the presence, or as one of the musicians. Live music can also be broadcast over the radio, television or the internet. Some musical styles focus on producing a sound for a performance, while others focus on producing a recording which mixes together sounds which were never played "live". Recording, even of styles which are essentially live, often uses the ability to edit and splice to produce recordings which are considered better than the actual performance.

In many cultures, there is less distinction between performing and listening to music, as virtually everyone is involved in some sort of musical activity, often communal. In industrialised countries, listening to music through a recorded form, such as sound recording or watching a music video, became more common than experiencing live performance, roughly in the middle of the 20th century.

Sometimes, live performances incorporate prerecorded sounds. For example, a DJ uses disc records for scratching, and some 20th-century works have a solo for an instrument or voice that is performed along with music that is prerecorded onto a tape. Computers and many keyboards can be programmed to produce and play MIDI music. "

REFLECTIONS

Music is a form of art that can be experienced by everyone around the world, regardless of their age or social status. Young children can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and poor people can experience music through nature around them- the melodious sounds of birds. I guess one of the reasons why music has become a global culture, is that it is easily accessible by everyone and anyone in the world. Just be humming a tune, you are already creating music, and you are already part of this global culture.

Quoting the article, "virtually everyone is involved in some sort of musical activity". I cannot agree more with that! There are pitches, which is a huge and essential aspect of music, in many things in life. Just listen carefully when you vacuum the floor or when the MRT arrives at the station. Even if one dislikes music (Though I doubt anyone does), he will still be part of this culture as music is all around us. Isn't it amazing how music can so easily be part of our daily lives? Isn't it amazing how extensive this global culture is?

Today, much appreciation of music is done through technology. We listen to recordings of music through the radio, our iPods and MP3 players. We watch recorded musical performances through the television and internet. As the article mentioned, computers and keyboards can also be programmed to produce MIDI files, which can then be played as songs. As can be seen, technology has inevitably become an essential part of the spread of this global culture in the modern world we live in today.

Technology, a product of globalisation, plays a big role in promoting music as a global culture. One clear example is shown in the article, where people can watch/listen to music performances through the media, such as the internet, television and radio. The media is largely extensive, spreading across geographical boundaries of all countries. Performances of music by people from one part of the world can be easily accessed by others from the other side of the world. It also exposes people to different genres of music from all around the world. The Chinese can now easily listen to African music, and the British can get a taste of Asian music, just by a click of the mouse. As shown, the extensiveness of the media exposes more people to this global culture, as well as different aspects and types of it.

Perhaps, we can say that globalisation has already taken place at the primitive ages of the Earth, as music has easily established itself as a global culture even without the help of modern day technology(music is incorporated into people's lives since the primitive ages of the Earth). However, with the usage of modern day technology, this global culture is further enhanced. Through the media, which is a product of technology, people are more exposed to music as well as different forms of it. People would better understand what the different types of music are about. Also, since our iPods and MP3s are portable, we can take our favourite music everywhere we go! All these works of technology further promotes music as a global culture, and develop it in a more wholesome way.

Environmental Issues

SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT;
says the Ecologist

The environment itself is inherently global, with ecosystems frequently crossing national boundaries, pollutions spreading throughout continents and oceans and a single shared atmosphere which provides all living entity on earth with climate protection from damaging UV rays.

Globalization and the impacts on our environment are influenced by a couple of factors – I believe the economy plays a major role in this topic of discussion.

The Economy
Everywhere our forests are overlogged, our agricultural lands overcropped, our grasslands overgrazed, our wetlands overdrained, our groundwaters overtapped, our seas overfished, and just about the whole earthly and marine environment is overpolluted with chemical and toxic. Not to mention, the atmospheric ozone layer which is man’s protection to harmful UV rays, is gradually being depleted. From these adverse effects, it is only obvious that the environment is slowly disintegrating due to man’s economic activities.

Increasing trade today is justified because it represents economic development which equates with progress. In the global conception of modernization, it is the only way to produce materials and technology advancement.

However, it is most unfortunate that through economic development, it has resulted in further increase in economic activities. Taiwan and South Korea are two good examples. These two principal newly industrial countries (NICS) that have achieved the most stunning rates of economic growth over the years are currently Third World countries role models to emulate.

In the case of Taiwan, deforestation has been practiced to accommodate industrial and residential developments and to allow the expansion of plantations. The virgin broadleaf forests that once covered the entire eastern coast have now been almost completely destroyed. The vast network of roads built to open up the forests to logging, agriculture and development, has resulted in severe soil erosion, especially in mountainous areas where entire slopes of bare soil have already slid away.

In its pursuits for economic growth, the use of pesticides has also greatly increased. Despite being a major source of contamination of Taiwan's surface waters, no governmental control has been implemented to monitor the distribution of such harmful products. The food produced is getting so contaminated with pesticides to the extent that Taiwanese farmers prefer to grow and consume their own organic crops instead of getting it from the market.

According to Taiwan’s government, 20 per cent of farmland is now polluted by industrial waste water, while 30 per cent of the rice grown in Taiwan is contaminated with heavy metals, including mercury, arsenic and cadmium. In Hou Jin, a small town near the city of Kaohsiung, forty years of pollution by the Taiwan Petroleum Company has made the water not only unsave to drink but actually flammable.
Air pollution has also increased massively. Sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide pollution in Taiwan are now intolerable. The incidence of asthma among children in Taiwan has quadrupled in the last ten years, while cancer has now become the leading cause of death, its occurrence doubling over the last 30 years.
We are most certainly facing an environmental crisis in the world. Before conditions worsen, measures should be taken up immediately to ban or at least limit activities that are particularly destructive and at the same time, channeling economic development into areas that are less so.

Our environment is very precious and I believe it should hold precedence over anything else, that including the development of our economy. Furthermore, there has been no evidence that trade or economic developments are absolutely essential to man. World trade has increased by eleven times since 1950 and economic growth by five times, yet during this same period there has been an unprecedented increase in poverty, unemployment, social degeneration and environmental devastation. This proves my point, our environment is then our greatest wealth as there can be no international trade, no economic development on a dead planet.

Sophia Chew

SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT;
says the Ecologist

The environment itself is inherently global, with ecosystems frequently crossing national boundaries, pollutions spreading throughout continents and oceans and a single shared atmosphere which provides all living entity on earth with climate protection from damaging UV rays.

Globalization and the impacts on our environment are influenced by a couple of factors – I believe the economy plays a major role in this topic of discussion.

The Economy
Everywhere our forests are overlogged, our agricultural lands overcropped, our grasslands overgrazed, our wetlands overdrained, our groundwaters overtapped, our seas overfished, and just about the whole earthly and marine environment is overpolluted with chemical and toxic. Not to mention, the atmospheric ozone layer which is man’s protection to harmful UV rays, is gradually being depleted. From these adverse effects, it is only obvious that the environment is slowly disintegrating due to man’s economic activities.

Increasing trade today is justified because it represents economic development which equates with progress. In the global conception of modernization, it is the only way to produce materials and technology advancement.

However, it is most unfortunate that through economic development, it has resulted in further increase in economic activities. Taiwan and South Korea are two good examples. These two principal newly industrial countries (NICS) that have achieved the most stunning rates of economic growth over the years are currently Third World countries role models to emulate.

In the case of Taiwan, deforestation has been practiced to accommodate industrial and residential developments and to allow the expansion of plantations. The virgin broadleaf forests that once covered the entire eastern coast have now been almost completely destroyed. The vast network of roads built to open up the forests to logging, agriculture and development, has resulted in severe soil erosion, especially in mountainous areas where entire slopes of bare soil have already slid away.

In its pursuits for economic growth, the use of pesticides has also greatly increased. Despite being a major source of contamination of Taiwan's surface waters, no governmental control has been implemented to monitor the distribution of such harmful products. The food produced is getting so contaminated with pesticides to the extent that Taiwanese farmers prefer to grow and consume their own organic crops instead of getting it from the market.

According to Taiwan’s government, 20 per cent of farmland is now polluted by industrial waste water, while 30 per cent of the rice grown in Taiwan is contaminated with heavy metals, including mercury, arsenic and cadmium. In Hou Jin, a small town near the city of Kaohsiung, forty years of pollution by the Taiwan Petroleum Company has made the water not only unsave to drink but actually flammable.
Air pollution has also increased massively. Sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide pollution in Taiwan are now intolerable. The incidence of asthma among children in Taiwan has quadrupled in the last ten years, while cancer has now become the leading cause of death, its occurrence doubling over the last 30 years.
We are most certainly facing an environmental crisis in the world. Before conditions worsen, measures should be taken up immediately to ban or at least limit activities that are particularly destructive and at the same time, channeling economic development into areas that are less so.

Our environment is very precious and I believe it should hold precedence over anything else, that including the development of our economy. Furthermore, there has been no evidence that trade or economic developments are absolutely essential to man. World trade has increased by eleven times since 1950 and economic growth by five times, yet during this same period there has been an unprecedented increase in poverty, unemployment, social degeneration and environmental devastation. On the other hand, our environment is our greatest wealth as there can be no international trade, no economic development on a dead planet.

Sophia Chew

technology&culture

Technology and Cultural expert- Yeo Jia Wen

The following are excerpts from the following website:

Article source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youtube

[please click on link to view the full article]

YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view, and share video clips. Videos can be rated, and the average rating and the number of times a video has been watched are both published.

During the summer of 2006, YouTube was one of the fastest-growing websites on the World Wide Web, and was ranked as the 5th most popular website on Alexa, far outpacing even MySpaces's growth. According to a July 16, 2006 survey, 100 million clips are viewed daily on YouTube, with an additional 65,000 new videos uploaded per 24 hours. The site has almost 20 million visitors each month, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, where around 44% are female, 56% male, and the 12- to 17-year-old age group is dominant. YouTube's pre-eminence in the online video market is staggering. According to the website Hitwise.com, YouTube commands up to 64% of the UK online video market.

In its short time on the web, YouTube has grown quickly and received much attention. Online word-of-mouth has been primarily responsible for YouTube's growth since its inception

Reflections

Technology, in particular the internet, television and radio, is indeed shaping the world.

Just by typing a few words on search engines, switching on your television and radio, we can easily access foreign materials. No longer do we have to travel halfway around the world to see what is life like at the other end. Clearly, technology has shrinked the world.

YouTube is yet another example of how technology is shaping the world. YouTube has impacted the world, and it has become something that many people in many different parts of the world have incorporated into their lives. YouTube has 20 million visitors each month, and this shows that technology is part of many people's lives in the world today. It is possibly why YouTube, a product developed from technology, can rise to be such a phenomena.

One of the reasons why YouTube has become so widely used and famous is because it can easily be accessed and used by simply anyone in the world. One just have to sign up and they can use it to upload an unlimited number of videos. Since people find this website interesting and it is so user-friendly, people would want to recommend it to their peers and this encourages the growth in popularity of YouTube.

Technology is something that can be understood and managed by all, crossing all language barriers and countries' geographical borders, which helps the world to create a common culture rapidly. One example would be the World Wide Web. One can obtain a piece of information almost instantaneously from another once it is being placed onto the World Wide Web. As such, the World Wide Web encourages the rapid spread of information and ideas, and even at a large scale. YouTube has become a common tool used by millions all around the world. People can view how others live their lives, and this can influence their way of living as well, by making it similar to that of others'. This can thus create a common culture. People are harnessing technology to create a global culture, and this shows how big a role technology plays in globalisation.

The Next Time You Eat Chocolate, Think Again

Political Expert: Angeline Chua

Article from BBC


Child Labour and the Pressure of Globalization

The news article reports how many of the children in West Africa, where half of the world's cocoa is produced, are forced to become labourers at cocoa plantations. Working in the cocoa plantations is dangerous for the children as they often have to suffer major cuts and injuries while using a machete, a large knife.

These children are trafficked from extremely poor countries and can be found to labour in approximately 1.5 million small cocoa farms in West Africa.

Globalization As A Cause

Using children as cheap labourers in the cocoa plantations is in fact, a side-effect - if not, a response - to globalization. It blatantly shows the impact of globalization on the people living in developing countries. They grab at the rare opportunities presented to them as a result of an increasingly globalized world in order to pull themselves out of the bottomless pit of poverty.

The chocolate market has been reported to bring in approximately $13 billion in sales for the United States. The is due to the globalized market and increasing international interest in the trade and sales of chocolate. With a huge supply of cacao being the means of living for the people in West Africa, some 7 million of them are involved in economic cacao trade and it has helped to lessen the negative impact of poverty and illiteracy on the people. However, the fact remains that due to the oversupply of cacao, its price still remains low. West African farmers do not have the power and ability to bargain for the sale of cacao at a higher price, and thus have to turn to reducing the cost of their labourers in order to gain profit. Exploitation of children as labourers in a culture where education is set aside and children are hardly able to to go to school thus becomes the ultimate and seemingly rightful choice for the farmers.

Globalization To Tackle With Issue : Cocoa Protocol

After news had reported the exploitation of children as labourers in West Africa, US policymakers responded and Congressman Elliott Engel and Senator Tom Harkin came up with a way known as the Cocoa Protocol, or Harkin Engel Protocol. to get rid of child labour. This was an alternative to the otherwise refusal of entry of such cocoa in US made by forced labour as "under the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, the US Customs Service is supposed to refuse entry to any goods identified as made by forced labor." However, it is important to note that this would not only worsen the living conditions and the state of poverty that the people in West Africa have already been living in, but also affect the 13-billion-dollar chocolate market in the United States. As a result, the Cocoa Protocol was an apt approach toward ridding West Africa of child labour yet not exacerbating the conditions in West Africa.

The Cocoa Protocol required major chocolate companies, plantation owners and cacao traders to work together with "unions, civil society and government officials" to ensure that all cocoa is produced without forced labour.

This is an example of how globalization can be both "A cause" which can also be "a cure", if I may quote from Sandra Ariel Aaronson's "Child Labour and Globalization : The Cause Can Also Be A Cure.

However, the Cocoa Protocol has failed to deliver the results that Harkin and Engel had hoped it would. Consumption by the worries of the civil war in West Africa has resulted in a lack of action taken and attention paid to solving the issue of child labour. The deadline of the Cocoa Protocol has passed, yet anything but the eradication of child labour has been successful. According to the news article from BBC, it is also due to the fact that the global chocolate industry is unwilling to make changes in the way business is carried out once child labour is rid of in West Africa. The only evidence of the chocolate industry's efforts to eradicate child labour is a mere mud hut to serve as a village school, which was only built five years after the Cocoa Protocol was implemented.

It is not sufficient for a group of US congressman and NGOs to be concerned over the issue of of child labour. A multi-pronged approach is required and it needs the effort of the whole world, chocolate manufacturers and everyone else involved in the global chocolate industry. Most importantly, solving the issue of child labour requires our attention as consumers.

References:

http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/article.print?id=8907

Globalisation and Culture

Cultural expert- Yeo Jia Wen

With globalisation today, we witness a wide and uncontrollable spread of ideas which has inevitably created a somewhat homogeneous culture throughout the world. It is clear that everyone in the world now can find some things in common. Pokemon has become a popular cartoon among children; Macdonalds has become a common fast food franchise that can be found in many parts of the world. These are but some of the many examples. The new culture of the world has seem to be evolving to a western one.

Globalisation has resulted in the growth of cross-cultural contacts. This paves the way for cultural diffusion and the creation of a common international culture. People would want to consume and enjoy foreign products and ideas, adopt new technology and practices, and participate in this "world culture".

Each individual can access foreign materials and be exposed to a diversified range of culture through globalisation(this is of course facilitated by the developments of technology, yet another phenomenon of globalisation). This new world culture can easily displace or replace the local culture, causing reduction in diversity at an international level. One clear example would be westernisation, which has taken place in many parts of Asia.

Refer to the article: http://allafrica.com/stories/200702200611.html?page=2, the section "Culture and Globalisation" (please view the next page as well)

Africa has a rich culture. However, with globalisation, there has been an inflow of foreign ideas into Africa, which supplants its local culture. Their local language, which forms the basis of their culture, is also affected. In Africa, some countries like Uganda even use English as a national and official language.

Africans have changed their ways of living through exposure to foreign ideas through the television, internet as well as the radio. The impact and influence of these foreign ideas is easily spotted in Africa today. It has now become absurd to see a young Rwandan moving around half naked as it does not fit into the idea of civilisation, which is widely spread in the world today. I quote the article, "The loud echoing advertisement rhythms of the famous Perimus, Carlsberg, Amstel, etc can be hard across boundaries in towns, cities, and townships and even in remote rural areas where drinking water is problem to get." Clearly, we can see that the new world culture is gradually becoming a new phenomenon. Ideas become so widespread that even where drinking water is hard to get, people are still hearing of brands of beers. It seems to me that when people purchase a famous product, the practicality of the product to its consumers does not seem to matter anymore, but what people now are concerned about is being part of this new world culture. I feel that people are becoming so absorbed in this new culture that certain aspects of their local culture is left aside, and as such, comprised. It is evident that this new world culture is sweeping the world, kicking each country's unique local cultures aside.

It is highly possible that this new culture will be a western one. The world is getting increasingly westernised as a result of globalisation. Western culture is soon becoming THE culture of the world, for they have the economical power to spread their influence all over the world. Take the United States or the United Kingdom as examples. They are all well to do and developed countries, which have the means to spread their influence through the media(internet, television etc.). The media is influential , powerful and easily assessbile to everyone, and being able to gain control of the media can certainly help a country spread their influence.

Coming back to my point of globalisation creating a homogeneous culture, the Korean Craze is another clear example.

Refer to article: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/33501/Korean-craze-in-the-Philippines

I'm sure the Korean craze will not be alien to any of us here, as not only has the Korean craze spread to the Philippines, it has also affected many of us Singaporeans. If we were to go onto the streets and ask people if they knew of Rain, or Jewel in the Palace, people are likely to respond with a yes. I was quite surprised to know that the Korean craze in the Philippines has become such a phenomenon that Baguio City has even, I quote, "welcomed the opening of Korean stores, schools and churches." Filipinos have even classified a Korean restaurant as one of their favourites. Indeed, there seem to be a "Little Korea" in the midst of Philippines.

This extent of this spread of Korean culture is rather amazing. Clearly, each country's ideas is no longer subtended by their geographical boundaries. Through the media, people would be able to access these infomation. In the case of the Korean craze, people can get to know more about the Korean culture through Korean drama serials, and they would start incorporating it into their daily lives as part of the craze. The Korean culture would then have become a common culture to many countries.

I agree that globalisation promotes monoculture, and in the process, the world will experience loss of many unique cultures that can diversify the world, and give each country a sense of identity. Globalisation involves the integration of culture through the spread of common ideas throughout the world. People own the same things, do the same things, experience the same things(if not, similar). As such, ONE common global culture is developed.

Economics of Globalization: Markets, Businesses, Economic Developments

- Shirleen Low

Now that there has been a brief explanation about economics in globalization (and vice versa), free trade and a short introduction to the WTO and GATT, we can move on to the world market (with global businesses) and the economic developments of various countries.

World Market/ Economy

The world market or economy is usually judged in monetary terms - basically, taking in a broad view of the different economies of the world (the economy of Asia, or Europe, or Africa, etc). However, with globalization, more and more economies are being merged and integrated with one another and slowly, the gaps between the different economies of different parts of the world are being bridged.

With the promotion of free trade, the emerging of financial markets across the world and the growing interdependence countries have on one another, instead of thinking of the world economy as separate parts, the world economy is gradually moving towards being one consistent part that incorporates and integrates the different economies of the world.

Similarly, global businesses are businesses which expand across the globe, transcending national boundaries, and do not limit themself to or are committed to a single home country. They typically generate a large amount of the revenue from overseas ventures and investments. These businesses are encouraged by the encouragement of free trade in the world economy today and with globalization, more and more global businesses have started to emerge.

This is a diagram from the IMF showing the prediction of the world economy's growth.

This is another graph showing the world's productivity performance (also from the IMF).



Economic Developments: Focus on America (overseas) & Singapore (local)

Globalization has affected economic developments in every country all over the world. However, we shall focus on America and Singapore's economic developments so far.

America

America has the world's largest and most advanced economy, with a GDP (per capita) of $43,500 and GDP growth of 3.4%. Generally, private individuals, businesses and companies make most of the decisions in the market-based economy. In the past years, the economy has been steadily growing, the american dollar slowly gaining over the euro (currency used by most of the European countries excluding countries like England). Globalization plays somewhat of a part in this economic growth and development - again, with the promotion of free trade, individuals are able to make decisions, leading to a 'lean and mean' economy where countries all compete with one another.

Simply put, the US economy is a very strong one - this could be seen when the GDP and economy didn't stop growing or expanding, even under circumstances such as the advent of Hurricane Katrina and high oil prices in 2005/06.

Singapore

Singapore's economy is known to be remarkably secure and free of corruption. It is a highly developed free-market economy with a GDP (per capita) of $30,900 and a GDP growth rate of 7.4%. The economy depends primarily on exports, usually in consumer electronics and information technology.

Especially since Singapore is a small country with no natural resources to call its own, globalization is one of the primary reasons as to why Asian economies are generally booming. With the spread of global businesses, Singapore has been opened up to economic opportunities from abroad, something that is ultimately crucial for our survival. Without input from abroad, overseas investments and deals, Singapore will be stranded on its own and ultimately be unable to survive based on its own small economy. Asia's competitiveness has been increased through globalization, just like most other countries. This has since kept Singapore's economy up and running, and the economic development of Singapore is steadily increasing. This can be seen from this diagram (click to see it in bigger form):

Resources:

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2007/01/index.htm

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2007/01/index.htm#ch1fig

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/us.html

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/sn.html

http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/magazine/2000/0218/sr.globalization.html

http://www.christiansarkar.com/2005/12/the_globalization_index_how_gl.htm

Globalization and Diseases

GLOBALIZATION AND DISEASES
The Health Expert - Sophia Chew

With the flow of information, products, capital and people across political and geographic borders, Globalization, have resulted in the spread of some of the dealiest infectious diseases known to humans. The spread of diseases across wide geographic scales increases with time. This is because in the modern world today, globalization has overtaken us so greatly that we become more and more interdependent on one another.

With the discovery of modes of transportation, they have enabled people and products to travel around the globe at a faster and more effective pace and unknowingly, open the airways to the transcontinental movement of infectious disease vectors (creatures that carry germs from one species to another). Air travel have allowed people to visit foreign lands, contract a disease whereby symptoms do not appear until they get home, having infected others to the disease along their journey back. Hence, when a population is infected with a new disease, where no antibodies have been developed, the disease tends to run rampant within the population. It is extremely dangerous and critical if the disease is fatal.

With the progression of medicine research, various vaccines and cures have been discovered to treat some of the worst diseases the world has encountered, such as plague, cholera and malaria. However, disease organisms have a tendency to multiply and evolve at a very rapid rate and ‘attack’ at the most unmindful times, and even with vaccines, we have difficulty providing full immunity to many diseases and finding vaccines for some diseases remains extremely difficult. Vaccines are essential; without them, our world is vulnerable to infectious diseases.


Specific Diseases

Plague

spread of plague in Europe

In the beginning of 14th century, Plague, caused by the enterobacteria, Yersinia pestis, devastated the world. It is primarily spread by fleas which live on common black rats. A human would become infected after being bitten by an infected flea resulting in swelling of the skin and eventually be covered with dark splotches caused by bleeding under the skin. During the 14th and 15th century, humans did not know that a bacterium was the cause of plague, and thus, efforts to slow the spread were futile.

Outbreak of the plague happened in China in the 1330s when China was engaged in trade with western Asia and Europe. Europe was then struck with the plague in October of 1347. The plague first struck port cities, followed by both sea and land trade routes. It was rampant through Italy into France and the British Isles and was then carried over the Alps into Switzerland, and eastward into Hungary and Russia. It occurred throughout the 14th and 15th century however, later epidemics were never as widespread as earlier outbreaks. This is because vaccinese and measures were slowly discovered overtime to combat the bacterium.

HIV/AIDS

Prevalence of HIV infected adults per country at the end of 2005

Aids or HIV is among the latest and most fatalistic disease in the world today. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that causes Acquired immunodificiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which the body’s immune system begins to break down leading to a high possibility of death.
The first few cases occurred in 1981 and as of 2004, an estimated number of 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 people in the United States were livning with HIV/AIDS, and an estimated 39.5 million worldwide are living with HIV. According to the World Health Organization, the numbers are increasing despite global efforts, awareness and measures taken to deal with this problem. Since 2004, there has already been a shocking increase of 50% in the number of infected of persons.

Economics of Globalization from the Economic Expert

- Shirleen Low

Globalization in economics is a broad term that includes the selling and buying of products, change in prices, and different assortments of various profits and interests. With globalization, it is obvious that the economy is quickly expanding - international trade is booming, there is a large amount of human migration, and various financial economic markets are being merged, integrated while huge investments take place. This is merely a brief introduction to how globalization affects the economy, and how the economy is directly linked to globalization.

Globalization, which internationalises almost every country today can be seen to be very closely linked to economics. Ever since the 2nd World War, various international agreements have been created to promote free trade and the freedom of investment - for example, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). This promotion of free trade has since led to positive factors such as:

• the reduction/ elimination of tariffs (a tariff is a tax on foreign goods, usually imposed upon them being imported into a country
• the reduction of goods transportation costs
• the reduction/ elimination of capital controls (a monetary policy device that a government makes use of to regulate the flow of money/currency into and out of a country mainly through investments)

FREE TRADE?

Free trade is basically a market model in which trading of goods and services between countries is not controlled by or slowed down by government taxes/tariffs and other barriers. Some aspects of free trade would be:

• international trading without taxes/tariffs or other barriers/obstacles (e.g. fixed quotas on imported goods)
• no more policies which distort free trade (e.g. those which give domestic companies/businesses advantages over foreign ones)
• free access to financial and economic markets
• free access to such markets' information

Free trade agreements have since helped to promote free trade, and globalization has pushed these agreements forward to further encourage the idea and mindset of having an idealized free economy. An example as mentioned was GATT. Another example would be the World Trade Organization (WTO). Both originate from the United States, which has been one of the largest and most consistent supporters of free trade.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

The GATT's main purpose is to reduce barriers and restrictions in international trade. The GATT, through various smaller agreements, has tried to do so by reducing tariff barriers, other quantitative restrictions, and subsidies on trading. The first version of GATT was developed in 1947 during a United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment. The GATT continued to work all the way until 1994, when it was somewhat merged and updated, through the WTO.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

The WTO is an international organization, with an aim to supervise over and liberalize trading in the world. It was formally formed in 1995. It comprises more than 150 countries worldwide. The WTO deals with trading rules between various countries and nations mostly at a global level. Its main responsibility is to negotiate, create and implement new trade agreements, and is also responsible for ensuring that the member countries adhere to all WTO agreements. It ultimately wants to reach the goal of improving the welfare of people, by lowering/removing trade barriers, solving trade disputes and creating a platform for trade negotiation. The WTO also reviews and ensures the transparency of national trade policies, and is a center of economic research and analysis of global economics and trade. It closely works with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

The WTO's trading policies have a framework comprising 5 main concepts and components:

• 1. Non-Discrimination
• For example, the WTO requires that "a product made in one member country be treated no less favorably that a very similar good that origiinated in any other country".
• 2. Reciprocity
• This ensures that the policy of non-discrimination, while existing, does not encourage people who are 'freeriders'. When gains are made by a nation thanks to another nation, these gains should be reciprocated.
• 3. Binding and enforceable commitments
• An example of such commitments would be that member countries have tariff commitments.
• 4. Transparency
• An example of how the WTO tries to maintain transparency would be that all members are required to publish their trade regulations, to uphold institutions which allow the review of administrative decisions that affect trade, to respond to requests for information by other members, and to notify the WTO of changes in trade policies.
• 5. Safety Valves
• An example of a safety valve would be that in specific/dire situations, governments are given the power to restrict trade.

These are only a few parts which explain the economics of globalization - there is also the expansion, creation and development of a world market, global business, and the various different economic developments of various countries around the globe. These will be explored in another post. (:

Resources:
http://images.google.com.sg/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterSeven/Images/GATT.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterSeven/GATT-WTO.htm&h=245&w=232&sz=4&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=LMYSj2n3OZZtKM:&tbnh=110&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGATT%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
http://www.wto.org/

http://www.gatt.org/

Anti-Globalization?

-Shirleen Low

Globalization is not all good - there are cons to it as well. For example, there is a strong argument that globalization, with its creation of cultural diffusion (discussed in earlier post "Globalization?") has destroyed the specific characteristics of cultures in the world. For example, since people are now much more open to new cultures, the old cultures are slowly being eroded and there are fears that in future, the beauty of a country's historical culture will be lost thanks to globalization. There have also been fears that globalization will homogenize the world, making each country lose its unique aspects and charm.

People have also raised controversial issues about whether globalisation is merely a front for "Americanism", where America is the country which benefits the most and has the most to gain from globalization. Altogether, anti-globalisation is a broad term encompassing many aspects of globalization to which groups of people have disagreed upon (an example would be the argument that globalization is a front for mere corporate interests and the generation of wealth in countries such as America).

An example of a cartoon showcasing globalisation in a less-than-favourable light can be seen here.

Simply, this cartoon shows the earth pressing on the glass door of a house, seeming as though it is about to break in. A man is sitting on the couch reading a newspaper, and globalization is obviously the main theme of the cartoon. The fact that the globe is pressing dangerously against the door is a sign that perhaps, globalization has been 'overdone' and has crossed the limit for many people. It is now an impending 'threat' to our homes and this is clearly a negative portrayal of globalization as a whole. This probably tells people who see this cartoon that globalization cannot be stopped, and now has become an integral part of our lives that we cannot avoid.

This is mostly true; globalization is a global ongoing process that has been set in motion and there is not much we can do to stop it from happening as the world changes. The probable intention of portraying globalization in a negative light can also be somewhat explained, as can be seen from the first two paragraphs. Altogether, I feel that the cartoonist, through this cartoon/drawing, is trying to convey the message that globalization is something the world cannot stop or avoid, and it will not be good for us, whether in the short term, or in the long run.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization#Anti-globalization

Globalization?

-Shirleen Low

What exactly is all this furore about globalization about anyway? Yes, we know - McDonalds, KFC, Nike, and plenty of other well-known brands can be found just about anywhere in the world today. However, what exactly is globalization, and how did it come about?

According to Wikipedia, globalization refers to the ever-increasing "global connectivity, integration and interdependence" in all sorts of spheres, ranging from the economic to the ecological. Simply put, globalization basically refers to the ever-evolving way in which our world is changing - this leads to the world getting more and more integrated and how countries are now very closely linked to each other, and are dependent on each other. This has led to the fast spreading of now-global well-known brands such as McDonalds, the world's largest chain of fast-food restaurants. A person who does not know of McDonalds or who has never seen one is a rare find these days.

These are some pictures of McDonalds from Japan, America and Germany respectively:

What causes globalization? There are many factors - one of which would be technology and new modern advances. With the spread of such advances, information is passed much easier around the globe. A very obvious example would be through the Internet - information about any place in the world or almost any group of people in the world can be found with a single click. The spread of infinite information is far and wide, and globalization has led to the setting up of a global telecommunications infrastructure. All this has led to investments being made without having to fly anywhere; buying and selling can be done with much more ease than before. For example, since 1950, the volume of world trade has multiplied by 20 times, and economies worldwide are booming with the fast spread of quick investments and easy consumerism.

Another factor which has pushed globalization forward further would be the economies; many countries have adopted the free-economy system, thus giving investors and businesses the freedom to invest freely. This has greatly increased the amount of investments, spreading fast across the world faster than ever before. Surely, the days by which Nike and McDonalds were limited only to the USA are long gone. Globalization has enabled companies to spread not only within specific countries, but globally (thus the name), and much more freely than before.

However, globalization is not only limited to well-known brands spreading across the globe, quickly becoming household names. Globalization not only helps to quicken the spread of information everywhere (including remote areas), it also creates a form of cultural diffusion. With globalization, people are slowly opening up to new ideas, new ways of thinking and new cultures and even religious practices. Now, instead of limiting one's self to a certain culture merely because one belongs to a specific part of the world, one can become part of the world culture, where everyone participates in new ideas and goes against the old conventional ways. A good example would be the wide spread of Hollywood movies. Now, the same blockbusters and box office hits can be watched in almost any country in the world.

These are all only the tip of the iceberg - globalization is a general term and encompasses many aspects of many countries' economies, society, technology, culture, politics and ecology. This is only a quick overview about what globalization is about. Today, globalization is taking place at a faster pace than ever before. Simply put, globalization cannot be stopped as the world continues to change, and the world is becoming more and more globalized by the day.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization
http://www.globalization101.org/

Technology's impact on state sovereignty

Technological Expert- Yeo Jia Wen

With state sovereignty, the state can decide on what they want to do in the country, and how they want to be governed, without consulting the will of other countries. However, state sovereignty has become harder to achieve with globalization. Technology makes it harder for the state to oversee the whole country. One clear example would be the World Wide Web. It offers an opportunity to gain access to knowledge and services from around the world. In the arena of information, the media's messages are no longer confined within the boundaries one state. Information can now be broadcasted instantaneously across geographical borders. As such, it can be seen that technology has developed in a way that a country’s media can no longer be considered local. Websites like Youtube.com and Myspace.com provide a convenient doorway for simply anyone to receive and release information from and to the rest of the world. The information that people receive or release is beyond the control of the government. Clearly, instead of the government controlling the country, technology has enabled people to stand up to control the country. As a result, state sovereignty is compromised and the state would not be able to limit its people within its boundary.

This is especially so when the number of internet users have risen over the years. Research has shown that world internet usage is at 1,114,274,426 people, as of March 2007. This signifies that an increasing number of people is using the World Wide Web, which can greatly undermine state sovereignty as explained above.

There are attempts to impose state sovereignty on the internet, but it is difficult and might just prove to be ineffective. One clear example would be the website pantip.com. Pantip.com is one of the most popular websites in Thailand. It has a list of rules which members are expected to follow. These rules include the prohibition of messages critical of the King and his royal family, those that contain foul language and sexually explicit content and many others. These rules are actively enforced on the website. However, when an offending post is spotted in the website, it is note entirely removed from the World Wide Web, but put into a trash page, which is accessible to everyone. Most importantly, the state government would not be able to control the people from not accessing the page, if they want to read it. People would be able to do things that the state government may disapprove of in the World Wide Web, but this is beyond the control of the government. As such, it can be seen that state sovereignty is greatly compromised with developments of technology. The World Wide Web has inevitably become an uncontrollable source of flow of information that the government cannot prevent, as technology has caused the internet to become so massive, powerful and influential.














However, some may argue that developments of technology can help to further enforce the state’s power to control the country. Indeed, control of the state may prove to be more effective if the government harnesses technology the right way to their benefit. One way would be to use the media to influence the people’s way of thinking. Technology has become an indispensable part of many of our lives in the modern world today. By spreading ideas through the media, a large number of people will be exposed to certain information and this influence the way people think and act. The media can act as a powerful tool of the government in setting up certain mindsets among the people. This enables the government to control the country more effectively and thus better enforce the state’s power on its people.

With developments in technology, state sovereignty will definitely be comprised. It is impossible to impose complete control over the information that people access through the World Wide Web. Eventually, it is all a matter of how well the government is able to harness technology to spread its influence and use it its benefit, in order to improve state sovereignty in the modernized world today.

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue5_8/hongladarom/index.html

http://www.okusi.net/garydean/works/Globalisation.html

http://www.globalisationguide.org/05.html

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/LAU202A.html

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27/041.html

Shake it like a polaroid picture

GROUP'S POST- Sophia, Shirleen, Angeline, Jiawen.
note to group: just click edit post and add your parts into this entry ok!(:

Credits goes to a nice Ellery for allowing us to take a snapshot of his oh-so-unique shoes! (:

NIKE DUNKS

Heard of the brand, Nike?

– Ask anyone around the world, and I’m positive most of them will respond with a yes.
Globalization is a process whereby corporations have discovered that profits depend not in making a product, but in creating a branded identity people would adopt in their lifestyles. This is why brands like Nike, Coca Cola and Apple are increasingly becoming revered symbols worldwide.

Nike. It means victory. It also means a type of expensive running shoe. This was how Nike started out, by identifying itself with a popular “high tech” sneaker which soared on America’s jogging craze in the sixties. However, from just a sneaker producer, they expanded it to being a promoter of a lifestyle, to being the “essence of athleticism.”

Michael Jordan was the first to be signed on to personify the Nike spirit. Both reaped benefits from this deal. Clambering on Jordan's basketball skills, Nike became a superbrand while simultaneously turning Jordan into an international superstar with their captivating advertising logo – “Just Do It.”

Having identified itself with sports, Nike opened itself to new frontiers such as entertainment where its been reported, a Nike cruise ship would be launched soon. From sports to entertainment to schools and to culture, Nike is indeed efficiently establishing itself as a global name. Dominating an industry now is simply not enough.

Being one of the most recognised brands in the world, Nike has evolved into one of the largest, most popular, and most profitable shoe and clothing companies in the world.

Signs have become globalised in the world today. They have become a common form of communicating ideas at an international level. These two signs are but some examples of the many signs commonly found in the world today. Although these signs may come at different languages, they are used globally to convey the same message. As these signs are all standardized, they are understood and recognised by the world. Signs have become a way of conveying common ideas to all people. They have proven to be especially convenient to tourists, who are unfamiliar with countries they visit. It is something that cuts across all cultural and geographical barriers, creating a common “language” to convey ideas to all people internationally. This explains why signs can be used as a representation of globalization.

The brands as shown above – Subway, Maggi, Yeo's and Wall's – found in Temasek Junior College's library and canteen are all examples of the success of a globalised world today. Two brands, Subway and Maggi would be elaborated on.

As many would have expected, Subway is a well-known fast food restaurant with more than 25,000 restaurants in 85 countries across the globe. It is based in the United States, but thanks to globalization, has branches in countries such as Netherlands, Mexico and Pakistan. Subway even has a branch in Temasek Junior College’s (TJC) library, here in Singapore. This is the result of franchising which Subway actively supports. It makes the prospect of franchising available to everyone across the globe – even college students from the Entrepreneurship Club in Singapore, in the case of the Subway branch in the college library.

Maggi is part of Nestlé, which has its headquarters in Switzerland. Nestlé now has branches in regions like Africa, Asia, and Oceania.