Saturday, September 21, 2013

Week 6- Reader response on 'Runaway Globalization Without Governance"

Naya Chanda (2008) mentioned in the article "Runaway Globalization without Governance" that globalization developed rapidly and outpaced governance, causing numerous problems. One key point mentioned was that globalization resulted in negative environmental effects due to massive industrialization and rapid increase in trade. This was mainly due to the lack of international cooperation. The Kyoto Protocol was launched in an attempt to minimise these effects, but the United States refused to adhere to it, thus leaving the global pollution problem unsolved.
 
I agree with Naya's view to a large extent. Firstly, the United  States refused to take part in the Kyoto Protocol for an important reason. Being the strongest nation in the world, the US would end up losing out much more authority-wise, as compared to the other countries. In addition, the US faced terrorist attacks in the past which destabilised its economy, making it less willing to participate in international cooperations. 
 
Secondly,  haze was a negative environmental effect that arised due to massive industrialization and intense burning of forests in Indonesia. The recent dry season in July this year escalated the problem further, pushing Pollution Standard Index( PSI) levels to well over 400. The root of the problem arised from both the natural and dry season, as well as he traditional "slash and burn" culture of traditional Indonesian farmers and companies. These offenders burn the forest illegally in order to achieve fertile land for their crops. The indonesian government collaborated with countries like Singapore in order to identify the hotspots via satellites, in an attempt to minimise the impact via inducing rain though the usage of silver iodide crystals in cloud seeding. However, this was insufficient as the root cause of the problem still largely remained, due to lack of proper governance. The forested areas were too large for the government to be able to nab everyone who burns the forest. In addition, corrupt government officials were bribed at times, allowing the companies to continue burning the forests in return.
 
All in all, lack of governance resulted in this persisting problem of globalization outpacing governance, and these problem will continue to escalate and worsen in our modernised world if nothing is done to manage it.
 

Friday, September 20, 2013

Week 5- E learning week summary on globalisation (Final draft)

Article A- Runaway Globalization Without Governance

Globalisation has outpaced governance in trade, travel and worldwide connections, bringing more harm than good. Wars arised without government regulations. Economically, monopolization and copyright infringements of goods occur without governance. Globalisation increases trade, causing environmental and health problems without governance. The increased trade spreads plague, causing deaths. Traders were threatened by pirates, taxes and religious beliefs. Advancement of transportation and communications expanded trade routes, but time management and space constraints posed a problem.  Massive industrialization deteriorated the environment. Even with the Kyoto Protocol in place to reduce the impact, the refusal of adherence and cooperation by the US nullifies the effects of the agreement. The US is gradually stepping down from its responsibilities as a global leader, leaving the globalised world at risk in facing its increasing challenges. Most importantly, globalization leads to a threat of terrorists with nuclear weapons spreading among countries.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Week 5- E Learning Week Summary on Globalisation

Article A- Runaway Globalization Without Governance

Globalisation originated since ancient history.  Government regulations are however delayed in worldwide connections, resulting in harmful wars and ruling of people. Globalisation increased  trade, causing environmental and health problems without governance.  The increased trade also spread plague, causing numerous deaths. Traders were threatened by pirates, taxes and religious beliefs. Economically, monopolization and copyright infringements of goods occur. Advancement of transportation and communications expanded trade routes, but time management and space constraints posed as a problem. Most importantly, globalization led to a global threat of nuclear weapons spreading amongst countries. Massive industrialization deteriorated the environment. Even with the Kyoto Protocol in place to reduce the impact, refusal of adherence and cooperation by the US nullified the effects of the agreement. The US is gradually stepping down from its responsibilities as a global leader, risking the globalised world in facing its increasing challenges. All in all, globalization brings more harm than good without proper governance

Monday, September 9, 2013

Week 4 Tutorial 1: Paraphrasing & Summary

Task A3:

1. New reactors are more efficient at high temperatures, and they include simplified safety features based, allowing accident reduction with little human intervention. To convince the public of nuclear benefits, reactors have to be cheaper and less radioactive in the future

Task B3:

2. For a language to be global, it depends on the speakers and not the population. Latin became international because of Roman dominance, attained through Roman Catholism.

Week 4 Tutorial 2 :Summary of Scary Oil Article

Today's unstable global economy encounters numerous risks. Oil prices surge due to fear of war between Israel and Iran. The recent global recessions have arised from a geopolitical shock in the Middle East that spiked oil prices. Iran waged war on Israel, and the US stepped in to alleviate the conflict by providing Israel with military supplies. Oil prices surged even further due to fear of war, and would cause a worldwide recession if it occurs.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Reflection 1 : Introducing Reflective Writing ( The importance of writing in English)

Write a paragraph on:

-My English language learning journey

OR

-The importance of writing in English


English is an important form of communicaton in the modernised 21st century world. It is used world-wide as a medium for people of different countries to be able to interact with each other. This is highly essential, as most countries have their own native language that differ from one another, for example: Russian and German. English is used in writing, in electronic-mails (e-mails), formal speech, and many other forms of communications. For people of different countries to be able to understand each other, they are required to have a good basic foundation in English. This is because, for countries whose native language is not English, their version and interpretation of the English language might differ, for example, between the Russians and Chinese. As a result, miscommunication may occur frequently. Hence, the accurate usage of English is highly important in writing and communication today, in order to keep up with the advanced and modernised world.