Examining The Benefits Of Globalisation Economics Essay

Examining The Benefits Of Globalisation Economics Essay Globalisation has benefited everyone. It helped all the people to increase their living standards, brought advantages to organisations and businesses and enabled economies to develop. Discuss. Proponents of globalisation are of the view that it has benefited everyone and helped to pull millions upon millions out of poverty. However a close analysis of the affects of globalisation tell a very different story. While it is true that globalisation has benefited many, it has had an equally devastating effect on the lives of many others and made true development more of a mirage rather than a reality (Dunning, 2003). This essay will critically analyse and discuss the benefits and disadvantages of globalisation and will conclude by either agreeing or disagreeing with the above statement. Even though globalisation is the buzzword today, it has been in existence in some form or another for over a century. After World War II many regions of the world that were reeling from the devastating effects of the war, came together to create trade agreements that would help each of those regions to grow in the post war era. The European Union is one such trade agreement as is the NAFTA agreement, GATT, APEC, ASEAN and many others. Due to the advances made in technology, especially in the telecommunication industry, globalisation saw a rapid increase in the latter part of the 20th century (Guillen, 2001). The ultimate goal of globalisation was to liberalise formerly closed economies, integrate national economies and create one huge global economy that would not only decrease trade barriers and increase trade and corporation but would also help poorer and developing nations to become industrialised thus uplifting the living standards of billions (Grewal, 2006). While the goals and objectives of globalisation are noble, such goals and objectives are not very easy to achieve. Even though the above may look good in theory, in reality it is easier said than done and usually causes more damage to economies, the social fabric of nations and the environment as a whole (Suà ¡rez-Orozco Qin-Hilliard, 2004). With the onset of globalisation in its current form, which began in the late 1980s and has been gathering steam, many manufacturing organisations in the west have seen their profitability increase. The reason for this positive effect on the bottom line has been chiefly due to the fact that globalisation allowed these companies to relocate their manufacturing plants to developing countries, where labour is cheap. In doing so they were able to reduce the cost of the products and become more profitable. While such a relocation, may have benefited the developing economy where the plant was relocated to, it left huge numbers of individuals unemployed in its home country (Helbling, Batini Cardarelli, 2005). Thus it can be stated that while one economy gained jobs and was able to uplift the living standard of many, another economy lost jobs, which had an equally devastating effect, while the company in question continued to earn profits and prosper. During the 1990s and to date, India is one such country that has benefited immensely from globalisation. Throughout the past decade or more many European and North American, technology companies have outsourced their software development to India, which rose up to the challenge and has become a global IT giant. While such a growth in employment has benefited the country and helped to create a new middle class, globalisation has not been as favourable to its closest neighbour Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka with a literacy rate of 90% has seen much foreign direct investment in the garment sector. While this has helped the country to keep unemployment levels down, the semi-skilled or low skilled nature of the jobs that are available to its citizens does not help the country to grow and prosper to the level that globalisation has aided India (Schmidt Hersh, 2000). On the contrary, Sri Lanka has seen a severe increase in underemployment of its university educate youth, who due to the lack of white collar jobs, have had to resort to working in the garment industry (Kiggundu, 2002). As is apparent from the above, while globalisation benefits one segment of the population, its affects are not equal, on the contrary they are mixed, thereby it can be stated that the above statement is not accurate in its view of globalisation. Proponents of globalisation often cite the fact that increased demand for export from developing countries, create an inflow of foreign exchange revenue and increases employment opportunities, which in turn helps the country to develop (Bhagwati, 2004). While this is true to some extent, there is an equally disadvantageous side to this phenomenon. In order for employment opportunities to increase in an economy, it requires output growth to exceed productivity growth. At the same time for profitability to increase, it needs productivity growth to outpace output growth. This conflict in the two, results in companies opting to increase productivity at the expense of output growth. Thus even though the developing economies have bent backwards to attract foreign direct investment by providing tax cuts, capital and natural resources etc, in the hopes of boosting domestic employment and earning foreign exchange revenues. The companies that enter the country usually plunder the capital and n atural resources made available to them (Samli, 2002). And instead of making use of the labour that is available to them, they automate their production processes to a great extent. Further they return much of the profits earned to the parent company and its shareholders who are often resident in developed economies (Smith Debrah, 2002). Here again it is apparent that while globalisation has helped businesses to develop and become more profitable, the benefits of globalisation are often enjoyed by the developed economies, rather than the developing economy that were supposed to benefit, in the first place. As a part of the initiative to liberalise an economy, most developing economies were forced to reduce welfare spending in terms of healthcare, education and social assistance. Further in order to attract foreign direct investment into the country, most of these economies were required to relax their stringent labour laws, which have resulted in the exploitation of workers (Murshed, 2002). While it is true that many multi-national companies are now operating in developing economies and have helped to increase employment levels within the country. The lack of strong labour laws, allow these companies to pay meagre wages to their employees and not a living wage as is the ethical thing to do. This combined with the lack of universal health care and education has a devastating affect on the workers (Brysk, 2002). While they may have a job and are able to earn a living, their wages are usually insufficient for paying for more than food and rent. Thus making it impossible for this segment t o educate their children adequately (Mittelman, 2002). Thereby causing a vicious cycle, where the children end up in low skilled or semi skilled jobs much like their parents and unable to breakout of poverty (Midgley, 2007). The lack of education and healthcare also has a catastrophic affect in the long term for the economy, as it will never be able to make the leap from being a developing economy to a developed economy as long as its citizens lack a strong education (Micklethwait Wooldridge, 2001). Further this lack of education not only will increase the wealth disparities within the economy, but it will also continue to increase the disparity between developed and developing nations in the long run. Based on the discussion above it is apparent that globalisation has been very advantageous to businesses. While it is a fact that some countries like India and China have benefited immensely from globalisation and seen the prosperity of their citizens increase to unprecedented levels, other countries have not been so lucky. On the contrary, globalisation has succeeded in further increasing the social challenges faced by these countries and pushed the dream of becoming a developed economy further out of their reach (Micklethwait Wooldridge, 2001). Therefore it can be stated that the statement Globalisation has benefited everyone. It helped all the people to increase their living standards, brought advantages to organisations and businesses and enabled economies to develop is only partially true.

Techniques and Outcomes of Germ-line Gene Therapy Essay -- Biology Med

The Relative Positives and Negatives Behind the Techniques and Outcomes of Germ-line Gene Therapy Abstract: Ever since the idea of altering the human genome was created through the research of germ-line gene therapy, advocates and protestors entered into contention with one another. Supporters of the new technology argue about the benefits of germ-line therapy. Humans have the right to scientific inquiry, especially if it is beneficial to mankind. However, their counterparts claim that the difficulty and unknown side effects (coupled with a few unsuccessful and fatal trials) will cause damage greater than any potential good. Furthermore, some even argue with the ethical issues resultant of a possible eugenics movement. Despite level of intellect or personal opinion about the issue, the new, viable chance for germ-line genetic therapy has quickly become a major issue of controversy. Since the dawn of time, man has striven to postpone death while increasing his quality of life. In 1991, human medicine opened an entire new horizon when Ashanti DeSilva became the first person in the world to receive gene therapy for her illness (Gene Therapy Turns 10, 2001). Doctors managed to add a critical gene that allowed her to produce the then absent (and essential) adenosine deaminase (ADA) enzyme. However, because only somatic cells are effected, this practice only has partial success, as DeSilva still needs to take weekly injections of the DNA. Thus, the idea of germ-line gene therapy was born. Germ-line therapy, the altering of embryonic and sex cells of the body, allows all of the new cells in the body to contain DNA along with all future offspring produced by that individual. With the notion that germ-line altering could soon become a... ... Human Gene Therapy, (volume 5). 151-152. Kittredge, Clare. (2005). Gene therapy†¦under the microscope again: some investors show new interest in gene therapy, despite the latest scare. The Scientist, (volume 19). Page 14. McLaren, Anne. (1998). Problems of germline therapy. Nature, (volume 392). 645. Wadman, Meredith. (26 March 1998). Germline Gene Therapy ‘must be spared excessive regulation’. Nature. 30 July 2005: http://www.nature.com/cgi- taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v392/n6674/full/392317a0_r.html&filetype=&dynoptions= Willgoos, Christine. (2001). FDA regulation: an answer to the questions of human cloning and germline gene therapy. American Journal of Law & Medicine, (volume 27), page 101. Wivel, Nelson A. et al. (1993). Germ-Line Gene Modification and Disease Prevention: Some Medical and Ethical Perspectives. Sciences, (volume 262). Pages 533-538.

Environmental Science Final Project Essay

Earth provides us with many resources to accommodate our needs like food, oil/gas, minerals, and so much more. The problem that all countries seem to face is atmospheric pollution, such as global warming. Global warming is a big priority when it comes to pollution in modern society. In this paper I will bring to your attention the problems we face with global warming, which nonliving/living factors contribute to or are affected by the problem, the effects it has on humans, our current sustainability strategy, my sustainability plan, benefit and challenges of the plan, and required government, societal, and global support. The problem with global warming is that when CO2 and other heat-trapping emissions are released into the air, they act like a blanket, holding heat in our atmosphere and warming the planet. Overloading our atmosphere with carbon has far-reaching effects for people all around the world, including rising sea levels, increasing wildfires, more extreme weather, deadly h eat waves, and more severe droughts (â€Å"Global Warming†, 2013). Human activity is the biggest contributor to global warming, for example when we use fossil fuel we are releasing CO2 into the air from our vehicles and when we use it to generate electricity, CO2 can also be released when we cause deforestation. According to Gale (2013), â€Å"Crowded landfills, polluted water, and poor air quality are just a few of the environmental problems that affect both industrial and developing nations. Perhaps less obvious but no less ominous a threat to the environment is the general increase in temperatures worldwide and the resulting climate changes. This phenomenon, known as global warming, could have serious negative effects on humans and all other living things on Earth. Global warming is a complex problem, and governments have had great difficulty deciding how to address it.† First of all, we need to realize that the biggest contributor to global warming is our everyday activities.  Whether it be driving a vehicle, operating plants, deforestation, and so forth. According to â€Å"Atmospheric Pollution: Global Warming and a Possible Use of Bio-Fuels in a Wide Scale,† â€Å"Global warming is causing climate changes [7]-[19], producing significant consequences to human society and biodiversity, such as the poles melting, with the increasing of oceans level, increasing intensity of hurricanes, extreme events, changes in rainfall patterns (floods, desertification), oceans acidification and biodiversity decreasing [20]- [25]. Therefore, it can cause monumental damage to the economic system, as described in the Stern report [26]. For example in the 1999’s to 2000 some areas in the United States experienced record breaking heat temperatures, at the beginning of this year Australia endured a heat wave that caused hundreds of fires. Most importantly here in the U.S. our society had to suffer from loss as well because of Hurricane Katrina, people were displaced from homes and it caused billions of dollars in damages. When catastrophic events like this occur, people aren’t the only ones affected. Animal life is as well, because their habitats are destroyed. As you can see everything is affected by global warming. The positive and negative impact global warming has on the human race can change from one year to the next depending on how much CO2 we are emitting into the atmosphere. As of now we are emitting high levels of pollutants into the air. According to â€Å"Impacts of Climate Change† (2013), â€Å"Recent studies of how climate change might affect human health expanded particularly swiftly in the 1990s, catching the attention not only of experts but the public. Here as in some other categories, the work was increasingly supervised not by a particular government but by international organizations, from the venerable World Health Organization to the new International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, established 1988). Yet here as in some other categories, it was becoming clear that global generalizations were of little value compared with studies at a regional level. For example, insect vectors of tropical diseases like dengue fever and malaria (which already affected half a billion people) would expand their ranges. The main impacts would be felt in developing nations, but people in the developed world tended to worry chiefly about how such diseases might spread to the temperate zones.† The only positive eff ects I see occurring are regions that are known for having cold climates like Canada, would eventually have warmer weather. However, I  truly feel that positive and negative effects play hand in hand. One region in the world will have great weather, and another will be really damaging. In order to have a balance there needs to be sustainability. At this very moment there are thousands of cities in the U.S. that have established different programs or projects to help reduce global warming issues like greenhouse gases. â€Å"Cities are approaching sustainable planning in a variety of ways. Some are preparing a separate sustainability plan as a guiding document for community-wide action. Others are adopting climate action plans that focus on strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy conservation and other activities. Still others are incorporating the concept of sustainability in their comprehensive plans, either by adding an element to an existing plan or by making sustainability the overarching theme for a complete revamping of their plan (â€Å"Embracing Sustainability In Community Plans†, 2010)†. For example, in some communities here in the state I live in are encouraging people to recycle glass, cardboard, and plastic. While other communities or newly built subdivisions are pushing people towards energy conservation like getting energy efficient appliances. Most contractors here are actually selling homes that are furnished with energy efficient appliances, to promote energy conservation. Bike paths are being designated in towns where people can travel from their home to parks or grocery stores. If we all contribute to being a part of anyone of these projects, its outcome may be rewarding to not only us, but also our environment. As far as my plan goes to sustain the amount of greenhouse gases, is to start within my own home before I try to encourage the community to follow my plan. There are several ways I could reduce the amount of emission my family and I contribute to. We could be more energy efficient by updating our home like putting new windows in, upgrading our appli ances, our heating and cooling system, and our lighting throughout the home. Once I have completely updated our home, I plan to track how much money I saved in six months and compare it to the last six months prior to renovations. The purpose of doing this will help me encourage others to go green in their homes. Secondly, I need to consider riding a bike to work or to the park when permitted by the weather. This activity however, I would like to encourage friends and neighbors to have a bike day once a week during summer to convince them that there are healthier ways to protect our  environment and our health. The third project I would like to do is encourage my husband and his fellow coworkers to carpool to work, instead of taking separate vehicles. By using one vehicle they will be reducing the amount of greenhouse gases into the air versus the amount of emission five cars will give off. Lastly, I would like to start a recycling program for waste product that can be recyclable like cardboard, plastic, aluminum, and glass. I would like to get the whole to wn involved in this. There is a town that is close to mine that contract’s through a garbage company that gives incentives to their customers who recycle. They give the customer two garbage cans one for waste and the other for recyclable material. For those who recycle, receive a discount off their utility bill. This is a project that I would sincerely commit to accomplishing, because everyone wins in this. The environment, the discounts we get, and the garbage company. However, with plans there will always be challenges and barriers that I will need to overcome like the recycling project. I would have to talk to the city, the local garbage company, and possibly even higher authority to come up with a plan that will work for everyone. This is a process that will take a long time to accomplish. Going green in my home will be challenging because projects like this don’t happen all at one day. Another challenge is not everyone in the community will always have a bike. In this case, I could possibly do one week as bicycle day and another as a walkathon. Although there may be challenges that I may face the benefits to this would be much greater in the end, because it will motivate others, money will be saved, and the environ ment will look healthier. In order to achieve a goal as important as this one, we would need to have everyone on board such as our government, city officials, businesses, and the residence in the community. It only takes a few voices to be heard, but I would also find a research program locally or globally to help encourage those that need the encouragement on how badly greenhouse gases are affecting our world and local environments. Once our voices are publicly heard it will promote our sustainability project, and people maybe open minded to the idea. Given all these points on how greenhouse gases effect the environment, how do you currently feel about the issue? Because in all honesty, there was a time when I did not even have a clue on how greenhouse gases drastically effected the environment nor did I plan on reading about it. We need to keep in mind  that what we do today is going to affect us tomorrow, three years from now, and pushing forward into the future. We know that greenhouse gases is a problem, everyone /everything contributes to and is affected by it, the positive and negative effects, current sustainability strategies, my sustainability plan, the benefits/challenges, and lastly the support that is needed to achieve a sustainable program. Reference Page Global Warming. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/global_warming_101/ Sthel, M. S., Tavares, J. R., Lima, G. R., Mothà ©, G. G., Schramm, D. S., Da Silva, M. G., & Castro, M. P. (2009). Atmospheric Pollution: Global Warming and a Possible Use of Bio-Fuels in a Wide Scale. International Review Of Chemical Engineering – Rapid Communications, 1(6), 564-570. â€Å"Global Warming.† Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. Embracing Sustainability in Community Plans. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.clarionassociates.com/pdfs/herman-sustainability-community.pdf

How Stan Lee Turned the World into True Believers

How Stan Lee Turned the World into True Believers As humans, we are always fascinated with the extraordinary and the fantastical. Whether its fantasies, science-fiction tales, or comic books, people have always been drawn to the adventures of men and women with amazing powers and colorful costumes fighting evil and saving the world. Stan Lee is often considered to be the father of the modern superhero, and it’s not hard to see why. Even if you’ve never heard of Stan Lee, you’ve definitely heard of the myriad of cultural icons he’s created throughout the years. Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Thor, the X-Men, as well as so many others are all the creations of Stan Lee. Lee created so many realistic characters that combined typical human emotions and traits with their super powers. Lee’s personal writing style, attention to detail, and his revolutionary ideas changed the idea of the superhero forever; he cr eated ideals and themes that have been adapted by others as well as standing the test of time to be relevant even to this day. Born Stanley Martin Lieber, Stan Lee was born in New York City on December 28, 1922. According to Gale’s Biography in Context, Lee grew up during the Great Depression and had a variety of jobs while in school to support his family during the tough times. Lee worked part-time as a theater usher, newspaper subscription salesman, pharmacy delivery boy, and obituary writer. Lee was also an avid reader,Show MoreRelatedMarketing and E-commerce Business65852 Words   |  264 PagesISBN 13: 978-0-13-302444-9 P RE FA C E E-commerce. Business. Technology. Society. 10E provides you with an in-depth introduction to the field of e-commerce. We focus on concepts that will help you understand and take advantage of the evolving world of opportunity offered by e-commerce, which is dramatically altering the way business is conducted and driving major shifts in the global economy. Just as important, we have tried to create a book that is thought-provoking and current. We use theRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesRating Scale 166 Comparison Data 166 Source of Personal Stress 166 3 SOLVING PROBLEMS ANALYTICALLY AND CREATIVELY 167 SKILL ASSESSMENT 168 Diagnostic Surveys for Creative Problem Solving 168 Problem Solving, Creativity, and Innovation 168 How Creative Are You ? 169 Innovative Attitude Scale 171 Creative Style Assessment 172 SKILL LEARNING 174 Problem Solving, Creativity, and Innovation 174 Steps in Analytical Problem Solving 174 Defining the Problem 174 Generating Alternatives 176 EvaluatingRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 Pagesaccepted the methodology and used it. Management was pleased with the results. Also, Lakes Automotive s customer base was pleased with the methodology and provided Lakes Automotive with quality award recognition that everyone believed was attributed to how well the project management methodology was executed. In February 2000, Lakes Automotive decided to offer additional products to its customers. Lakes Automotive bought out another tier-one supplier, Pelex Automotive Products (PAP). PAP also had a good