How Has Globalization Affected Awareness of Issues? Thomas Friedman, an editorial writer for the New York Times, delivered a mixed article on the Internet, saying that “at its best, the Internet can educate more people faster than any other media tool we ever had. At its worst, it can make people dumber faster than any other media tool we ever had.” What do you think he means by this?

The Internet & Globalization Without question, the Internet – an important tool in the globalizing process – has provided many people with opportunities to make global connections. Users can tap into vast quantities of information and opinions. The popularity of blogs and social networking sites shows that Internet users welcome this opportunity. Individuals and organizations can present their understandings of the world to any who will listen.

Problems with the Internet The same information that represents opportunities reinforces ignorance. Information from the Internet often lacks content and may be unreliable! On any controversial topic, a search will locate a range of points of view and perspectives. It is sometimes hard to judge which points of view are thoughtful, unbiased, and based on sound research and logic.

This story first appeared in the Pattaya Mail, a Thailand newspaper in 1999. It was quickly picked up and re-published by several Australian newspapers, including the Daily Telegraph, the Advertiser, and the Sunday Mail. Even though this was supposed to be a “real story” reporters put their own spin on it as it progressed. It began picking up even more loopy embellishments that included vegetarianism, alcoholism, and laxatives.

The “Stories” Continue… “The vets said it was the first time the hefty vegetarian had ever eaten a circus performer. Her keeper commented that although Hilda had a slight weight problem, she was on a strict diet that did not include dwarves.” “Police said the trampoline had been sent for forensic analysis on pretense that it might be faulty. The police commented that there is no evidence to support a suicide by the circus performer despite his past history of alcoholism.” “The vets have administered a laxative to the Hippopotamus in order to speed the recovery of the circus performer’s remains.”

Is the Story True? As more research was done into the “story” people began to make the connection of this report with a story that made its Internet debut in 1994. It came from National Lampoon magazine’s “True Facts” feature only in this story the dwarf was Austrian and was called Franz Dasch. Considering the lack of any reputable source to document the expiration of a trampoline-bouncing circus dwarf at the hands (er, mouth) of a hippopotamus, we have to label this story as completely untrue and instead, a practical joke.

Which Begs the Questions… How does such a ridiculous story like this make its way onto the internet and eventually into newspapers? Why can this story be seen as untrue? How is it a negative example of globalization?

Let’s pretend that I give you a homework assignment where I want you to write a 5 page report on the history of our town of Strathmore and I encourage you to use the internet. Where will you begin to get your information? What sites would you visit? http://www.google.ca/

Things to Consider When Looking at an Internet Source Authorship is perhaps the major criterion used in evaluating information. Who wrote this? When we look for information with some type of critical value, we want to know the basis of the authority with which the author speaks.

The publishing body also helps evaluate any kind of document you may be reading. In the print universe, this generally means that the author's manuscript has undergone screening in order to verify that it meets the standards or aims of the organization that serves as publisher. This may include peer review.

Point of view or bias reminds us that information is rarely neutral Point of view or bias reminds us that information is rarely neutral. Because data is used in selective ways to form information, it generally represents a point of view. Every writer wants to prove his point, and will use the data and information that assists him in doing so. When evaluating information found on the Internet, it is important to examine who is providing the "information" you are viewing, and what might be their point of view or bias. In essence, why did this person write this?

Referral to and/or knowledge of the literature refers to the context in which the author situates his or her work. This reveals what the author knows about his or her discipline and its practices. This allows you to evaluate the author's scholarship or knowledge of trends in the area under discussion.

Accuracy or verifiability of details is an important part of the evaluation process, especially when you are reading the work of an unfamiliar author presented by an unfamiliar organization, or presented in a non-traditional way. How did this person come about getting to a conclusion?

Currency refers to the timeliness of information Currency refers to the timeliness of information. In printed documents, the date of publication is the first indicator of currency. For many types of data currency is extremely important, as is the regularity with which the data is updated. When was this written?

Legitimacy of Swine Flu Sites http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/04/27/f-swine-flu-map.html http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090426213540AAICiOZ

How Has Global Awareness Affected Gender Issues? Over the past several decades, awareness of gender roles has steadily increased. Many countries have taken steps to reduce the gender gap: the social, economic, and political differences that separate men and women. The importance of this trend was noted in 1984 when the United Nations set up the Development Fund for Women to promote gender equality and empowerment initiatives for women.

World Economic Forum: The Gender Gap A 2005 study by the World Economic Forum measured the extent to which women in 58 countries have achieved equality in with men. Countries were scored on a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 representing full gender equality. Figure 14-4, pg. 329

Criteria For Study economic participation - equal $ for equal work economic opportunity - access to the labour market that is not restricted to low-paid, unskilled jobs (access to skilled jobs that require education) political empowerment - representation of women in decision-making structures (women in gov’t) educational attainment - access to education health and wellbeing - access to reproductive healthcare

The Study http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Global_Competitiveness_Reports/Reports/gender_gap.pdf

Gender Issues & Communication Technologies Many of the improvements in gender equality have come about because women’s organizations have used communication technologies to share ideas, information, and documents. Access to reliable info. is an important factor in developing effective programs and raising awareness. Not all women have access to this info.

Women in Government One goal of groups that focus on gender equality is to encourage women to play a greater role in politics. Even though more women enter politics no country in the world has a legislature with at least 50% women. (Rwanda has 48.8%) If women form roughly 50% of the world population why do you suppose they do not hold half the elected positions in gov’t? Figure 14-9, pg 331

Women and Employment Employment equity in Canada and other countries continues to be a concern. In 1967, Canadian women who worked full-time earned 58.4% as much as men. Since then, the gap has been reduced by campaigns to correct this inequality and the creation of laws requiring women to receive equal pay for work of equal value. Yet in 2003 women earned 71.2% as much as men, a figure that has remained largely unchanged since 1990. Why might this be? http://www.statcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/af-fdr.cgi?l=eng&loc=t/104.ivt

Women and Employment Cont’d In 2006, only 5.4% of the top earners at Canada’s 500 top companies were women. Only 15.1% of top corporate positions were filled by women. The need to balance paid and unpaid work has contributed to women’s struggle to achieve economic equality. Statistics suggest that women in Canada spend 4.3 hours on average doing unpaid work such as housework and caring for children while men do 2.8 hours. How might this unpaid work affect women’s earnings and their ability to form a career?

What is the cartoonist’s message? 2. What techniques has the cartoonist used to communicate this message? 3. Create a cartoon commenting on the fact that women hold only 20.8% of the seats in Canada’s House of Commons, even though they make up 51% of the population.

How has Global Awareness Affected Labour & Employment? In this era of globalization unions have often been under attack. Many view unions as contributing to rising manufacturing costs and promoting “special interests” of its members over the interests of consumers, corporations, and some governments.

How has Global Awareness Affected Labour & Employment? As a result, union membership has fallen sharply over the past several decades. A lot of this loss of union jobs can be linked to outsourcing: the shifting of low-skill, low-paying jobs out of developed countries (ex. Canada) to developing countries (ex. Bangladesh).

International Unions Many unions are moving to create super-unions that cut across national borders and include larger populations. For example, unions around the world united to form the Int’l Trade Union Confederation to ensure that globalization does not erode workers’ rights. Do you think international unions could ever really exist and be effective? In what ways does globalization present both challenges and opportunities for unions?

Labour Standards Many protesters dislike globalization because it threatens labour standards: measures that protect workers and the environment. They believe that int’l bodies such as the World Bank have done a great deal to protect investors but little to protect workers.

Labour Standards The International Labour Organization identified four “fundamental principles and rights at work”, which every country is expected to respect and promote. These include: freedom from forced labour freedom from discrimination in the workplace a ban on child labour the right to organize and bargain collectively

The Battle Over Labour Standards Pro-Globalization Governments and corporations: setting high labour standards reduces a country’s competitiveness. Encouraging trade and investment will naturally lead to economic growth, which will be accompanied by improvement in working conditions.

The Battle Over Labour Standards Anti-Globalization Without labour standards: the “race to the bottom” increases inequality and suffering. Measures to encourage labour standards should be tied to trade agreements and enforced with the same strictness as standards of commercial conduct.

How are Global Awareness & Quality of Life Related? Global awareness is all about changing people’s attitudes. Stephon Marbury, an NBA point guard, is trying to change people’s attitudes concerning basketball shoes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpkegbcgAPw

The Fair-Trade Movement Read pgs 336-337. Answer questions 1-3 (not in Assignment bklt).

Social Clauses Being aware of inequities created by social trade has led some organizations to push to include a “social clause” in all trade agreements. Social clauses would force countries to: take measures to reduce/stop things like labour exploitation. If they fail to abide by this rule, other parties could impose trade sanctions.

Effective Governance When people are governed effectively their quality of life improves. Effective governance includes: Respect for human rights Efficient and effective institutions, like courts, that protect citizens Police forces that do not abuse their power Parliaments that reflect the goals and aspirations of the citizens of a country Many int’l organizations & NGOs promote effective governance by exposing corrupt and unfair practices. Example: Amnesty International (F.13-15(pg 320)

Foreign Debt Foreign debt can dramatically reduce the quality of life in a country. Foreign debt builds up when a country borrows from other countries or int’l lending agencies, such as the World Bank, to fund projects or make up budget shortfalls.

Foreign Debt In many cases money borrowed by countries has been wasted or lost through corruption. Yet in other cases it was used to try and increase a country’s competitiveness on the global scale. Many developing countries have found repaying these debts more difficult than expected, and the debts have limited the country’s economic and social development.

World Bank & IMF The WB & IMF usually are the players who are lending out money. However, the lending out of money usually comes with terms. Countries that borrow money usually must make structural adjustments. Structural adjustments focus on reducing gov’t spending & improving earnings. (Eliminating subsidies, reducing spending on education & health care).

Which Country Has the Highest Debt? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_external_debt Figure 14-21, pg 340

Structural Adjustments & Quality of Life Some countries have found that these structural adjustments have affected their ppl’s QOL. (Reduced health care & education, lower wages to encourage foreign investment). High debt payments also discourage a country from modernizing.

Should Foreign Debt Be Forgiven? Many churches and NGOs are pressing countries to forgive some of these loans. Arguments include: this generation is suffering to repay debt that was incurred by other generations. in cases of corrupt leaders who wasted these loans, innocent citizens should not have to repay for these corrupt leaders’ mistakes.