Reader's Response to "Assessing Globalization"

In the article “Assessing Globalization", published by Harvard International Review in 2008, Andrew Kohut and Richard Wike from Pew Research Center analyzed how countries respond to globalization and the rising international trade. The article revolves around the economic, environmental, cultural, and immigration impacts of globalization. The authors expressed that "workers in poor countries have moved to cities in search of new jobs, while some in wealthier nations have lost jobs and moved overseas". A survey revealed that while Senegal, one of the world's poorest nation, have 98 percent of people willing to leave the country for better income, wealthy nations like Poland and Slovakia both have 96 and 94 percent of people respectively  willing to do so as well. However, this effect brought about another concern which is the immigration of people. Though poorer nations welcome multinationals, majority of people believed that immigrants will bring negative impacts to the country.

I agree with the statement of "average citizens are more apprehensive about globalization" (Kohut & Wike, 2008) especially in the case of mass global migration of people. After all, compared to political elites, we are the ones facing the issues in the community. In the case of immigration issues, the average citizens in the community are the ones facing the direct impacts.

One of the problems with the increase in immigrant population from underdeveloped countries is the rise in social ills. These include increase in crime rates, drug abuse and teenage pregnancy. I can personally relate to this as these situations occur in my home country where there is influx of low-skilled foreign workers. Crime rates are on the rise with countless cases of snatch theft and robbery trends spreading across the country. Even with such severity, law enforcers are still unable to resolve these issues affected by foreign workers. The sense of insecurity would eventually jeopardize the country's unity as people lose trust in each other.
 
Social ills arise with economic inequality as well. Singapore is the best example for income inequality. Due to the dependence of low-cost foreign workers, the top financial hub in Asia has the highest Gini coefficient of 0.478 in 2012 (“Here are 6”, 2013), which is considered to be at a dangerous level. Though social ills in Singapore remains low, the possibility of the occurrence should not be taken lightly.

On the other hand, the immigration of people from richer nations might cause stress on local infrastructures. Singapore, for example, faces this issue to support the growing population under the challenge of land scarcity. As immigrants seek housing as well, there will be competition between the locals and immigrants. This would cause the sense of injustice when a foreigner is able to obtain better housing compared to a local of the same income status.

In conclusion, I think immigration issues will bring negative impacts to a country and should be better controlled in this globalized world. Governments should regulate these issues through proper policies to protect and secure the livelihood of the local people.


Reference: Kohut, A., & Wike, R, 2008. Assessing Globalization: Benefits and Drawbacks of Trade and Integration. Havard International Review.

Here are 6 ugly facts about Singaporeans' income. (2013, March 27). Singapore Business Review. Retrieved from: http://sbr.com.sg/economy/news/here-are-6-ugly-facts-about-singaporeans-incomes

Edited version of "Summary on The Double Edge of Globalization "

Globalization has made the connections of the world more evident as news and information are spread within seconds. However, it also means that the reaction is faster than before. The comprehensive global trade is often blamed for exhausting the world's resources in response to global consumerism. Often the blame lies with the economy drivers, mostly multinational companies, that invest in countries with low environmental regulations. The accusation has been invalid as studies have shown that foreign companies are more likely to pollute lesser than the local companies. Hence, governance at local levels is not efficient in promoting conservation.

Globalization-driven consumption leads to more pollution not only in the polluted country itself but globally as well. A researcher found air-borne chemical pollutants in New England and traced them back to Chinese factories. Still, there is evidence that with global governance, the impact of the chain effects of globalized industries and consumption will be reduced. The Montreal Protocol is a model example of how global efforts can reverse the trend of an environmental problem. Nothing can be more effective than the determination and political will to overcome adversities (Chanda, 2007).

 

 

Summary on The Double Edge of Globalization

Globalization has made the connections of the world more evident as news and information are spread within seconds. However, it also means that the reaction is faster than before. The comprehensive global trade is often blamed for exhausting the world for its resources. Often the blame lies with the economy drivers, mostly multinational companies, that invest in countries with low environmental regulations.  The accusation has been argued as studies have shown that foreign companies are more likely to pollute lesser than the locals. Hence, governance at local levels is not efficient in promoting conservation. Globalization-driven consumption leads to more pollution not only in the polluted country itself but globally as well. A researcher found air-borne chemical pollutants in New England and traced them back to Chinese factories.  Still, there is evidence that with global governance, the impact of the chain effects of globalized industries and consumption will be reduced. The Montreal Protocol is a model example of how global efforts can reverse the trend of an environmental problem. Nothing can be more effective than the determination and political will to overcome adversities (Chanda, 2007).

(182 words)

Malaysia Drops English Language Teaching

Based on the article on 10th June 2009 (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/10/malaysia-tefl)

Summary based  on:

-Logic behind the project
-Practical problems
-Cultural issues
-benefit to Singapore
-Reasons for continuing programme

By the 1970s, Malaysia phased out English-medium teaching as a move to boost the Malay identity and reducing the influence of their colonial past. However, naionalist and authoritarian Prime MInister Dr Mahathir argued that Malaysians need to be proficient in the language of trade and technology to compete with nations in the region. In the current situation, due to the inadequacy of educators to conduct Maths and Science classes in English, the Malaysian government decided to abolish the six-year long plan. It was found that majority of teachers do not teach the class entirely in English, especially in rural areas where Bahasa Malay is preferred. In addition, students' academic achievement showed a slight decline in results for the national exams. The education minister pointed out that instead of English as a medium of instruction, focus would be shifted towards increasing number of hours for English language lessons. Though many oppose the decision, having competent English teachers is a major concern as well. Many expressed their views that Malaysia will fall short to close neighbor Singapore. Being an English-speaking city state, Singapore is a fine example on the use of the global language for economic success.

(194 words)

http://aneducatedbanter.wordpress.com/

 

http://singlish.wikispaces.com/Introduction+to+Singlish 

Scary Oil (Summary)

Based on the article "Scary Oil (http://www.economonitor.com/nouriel/2012/03/15/scary-oil/) 

In the previous years, oil prices had been the main cause of financial crisis across the globe following political unrest in the Middle East. Recently, the increase in oil prices added burden to the global economy reason being the fear of tensions between Israel and Iran. The US would have to intervene with the matter as the conflict gets serious to prevent production of weapons of mass destruction. The worst case scenario would be imposing military action against Iran. However, it would likely to cause a sluggish economic growth for the US as well if a war erupts, thus will cause an absolute recession. Besides, this would influence an economic slump and cause even more geopolitical tensions. Still, even without a war, the fear would eventually increase oil prices. The conflict between the countries will cause a global economic downturn in addition to the burden of oil prices.

(148 words)

www.activistpost.com

Paraphrasing and Summarising

1. Paraphrasing strategies

• ·         use synonyms which are appropriate for academic writing. For example, avoid phrasal verbs such as point out when a one word equivalent, explain, can be used.
• ·         avoid repetition;
• ·         compare the two versions to ensure enough rewording has taken place and the meaning is the same, with the paraphrase being the shorter of the two versions;
• ·         credit the original author(s) using the APA style.

There are many paraphrasing strategies and all should be used to introduce variations. However, people do not often use strategies including changing sentence structures and changing the order of major ideas which are important strategies.

Paraphrasing exercise

In this short excerpt from David Crystal’s English as a Global Language, take note of the way that power relationships rather than the number of speakers influenced Latin language use. 

“Latin became an international language throughout the Roman Empire, but this was not because the Romans were more numerous than the peoples they subjugated. They were simply more powerful.”

Paraphrased: 

Crystal (1997) suggested that the Roman Empire used Latin language because the Romans were more dominating rather than having a larger population.

2. Summarising Strategies

 After reading a passage (i.e., a sentence, a paragraph, several paragraphs, a chapter, an essay, a report or even a longer piece of writing such as a book), you

• distinguish the main ideas from supporting ideas. The main ideas are usually in topic sentences. Non-essential supporting ideas help to elaborate the main ideas in the form of examples, anecdotes, illustrations, data and so on;
• extract and express the main ideas in your own words;
• rewrite the sentences into a continuous text.

Summarising exercise

"In any one nation, there are both very wealthy and very poor individuals and families. When sociologists conduct research on these disparities, they frequently analyze secondary data that originally were collected by the World Bank and the United Nations. These data focus on quality-of-life indicators such as wealth; income; life expectancy; health; sanitation; the treatment of women; and education for high-income, middle-income and low income nations.”

Source: Kendall, D. (2004). Social problems in a diverse society (3^rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Summary:

Researches on the income gap in nations were done by studying information from the World Bank and the United Nations based on standard of living (Kendall,2004).

Information Selective Practice

Read the passage below. Summarise the effect of spending too much time on Facebook in one or two sentences, using the underlined information, which needs to be expressed in your own words.                             

Summary:

Leake & Warren (2009) interpreted that studies have shown that there is a decline in academic grade if time spent on Facebook is not allocated well for academic work.

Reflection on English

Week 2 Assignment 
Importance of English Language

In my view, the ability to write in English is important throughout life.  For example, I have to write academic papers or reports for my modules in university. It would be difficult for me if I have no grasp in writing English fluently. With the fluency of writing in English, I can accomplish tasks easier. Subsequently, this saves me much time and effort organizing my written English language and able to write almost naturally. After university, I will be going through my next phase in life, whether it is pursuing my career or having a family; writing in English has a major role to play. Hence, I have to make use of my time now to grasp the opportunity to learn English writing by correcting any mistakes I have in grammar and sentence structure. This set of skills will help me go far in life.

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/english-language/images/3156806/title/english-language-photo