Poverty

How should we define poverty? It could be the inaccessibility to basic resources or the deprivation of opportunities to people. There may be different interpretations and meaning for poverty but it is evident that poverty will remain in this world. In particular, poverty can also be measured according to the United Nations Development Programme using the Human Development Index. This statistic report gives a ranking on countries based on human development which is also attributed to the condition of the people in different territories; and poverty is one of them. Many countries still continue to belong in poverty zone which is below the average amount of money that the people should earn in order to access basic commodities. That is why many concerned organizations continue to assess countries and try to alleviate the growing poverty rate of countries around the world. In connection with Globalization, this could entail either a good or bad effect towards the poverty rate.

Globalization promises to close the gap between nations and tries to establish as much as possible, a free and accessible trade and communication within each sovereign nations. Many countries are continually enjoying the benefits of Globalization which also provides opportunities to different people all over the world. It affected the way people as well as nations grow and develop. But there are also effects which seem to be bad for nations especially for poor countries. It is alleged that behind the good intentions of Globalization comes the deeper intention of rich and powerful nations to control the poor and weak countries; it is like as nations close the gap between the boundaries of each nation comes the consequence that rich nations become richer and poor nations become poorer. The tendency of this is that since Globalization promotes a free and growing world, it comes with exploitation of material resources and also human workforce from poor countries. There will always be different views regarding the effects of Globalization especially towards the growing poverty rate. But is it justifiable to say that poverty will never be eradicated? You be the judge. 

Poverty has greatly affected how any country strive to develop and globalize. This factor should not be tried to be resolved by the government units alone. The citizens should also strive for the development of their own economic status. There may be some traits that we need to work on or culture that needs to be retracted. This situation definitely gives us something to think about. The change should start from every individual. I reckon that if we would be efficient ourselves, this should help our nation as well. It would not take just a leader to make things possible. The leader would need his subordinates or members to do the bigger move.  - E.T.



Globalization represents success and development among others, but it also drives some countries into poverty. Somehow, the forward growth of development, technology, communication and health - has led to dramatic changes in humanity. Long are the days when people accepted their fates as it is handed to them. Now, people make solutions to their problems through the aid of the products that globalization has created. Sadly, globalization is only for those who can afford it. Millions of people nowadays don't have access to basic healthcare, food and necessities even when the news headlines tell of recent advancements in technology and medicine. Globalization is beneficial to those who use it to their advantage, but it is harmful to those who cannot bring it to their positive use. Poverty is all over the world, and somehow it becomes the root of crimes committed when people get desperate to get their needs fulfilled in order to survive life. - R.S.

Ever since globalization has taken place in our world, a lot of improvements happened which goal is to make the lives of people easier and more convenient. Sadly, this globalization trying to bring development to our world, also created a distinction between people who can afford to help themselves with the things development has to offer and those who cannot. Thus, poverty has been created and when there is poverty, there is violence. Even the very things globalization  has brought for people to use, like technology, is being used to deceive people and take advantage of them. Not everyone gets the advantages and benefits globalization and development has to offer because as the world moves forward, their standards of living do not go forward together with the rich people, thus, globalization is just making it more difficult for poor people to develop as the standards of what is developed rises. As the world develops, the rich gets richer and the poor becomes poorer. The world moves forward but leaving people behind who can't go with the flow. Globalization has to address the issue so that the world will be truly developed. - K.N.

Media and Globalization

Media and Globalization

Media has been part of the daily lives of people in the world. It's existence in many forms such as print (newspaper and other publications), radio, and the televison. With the people's frequent exposure to the media, it has served as daily immediate source of information for everyone. Having the media as an important sector or group around the world, its capability of reaching through a greater number of people allowed them to be an influential icon in every economy. No matter what purpose it serves, the media's involvement in every happing in the world became a global practice.

Today, when reporters consider their local community, they think not only about the physical and geographical region in which they live. They also think about their associates and neighbors around the world with whom they are connected through e-mail. When a reporter gathers information concerning this or that issue, he or she uses the Internet to find relevant material from around the world. For those who gather information, "local community" no longer refers just to the region in which they live but to the whole world. The involvement of every local media in covering international events and happening shows that it is moving globally.

While media conglomerates press for policies to facilitate their domination of markets throughout the world, strong traditions of protection for domestic media and cultural industries persist. Thus, creating conflict with the interest between conservative/communist communities and liberal states. 


Theoretically, global media influences media content, politics, and culture. As the Internet grows and becomes a broadband medium, it is significantly taking on the characteristics of mass media rather than its real characteristics which are interpersonal in nature. There is no doubt that in the future or even in the immediate future, all types of media and its content will be extended to the Internet. 


"For instance, a recent study of Dutch children's Internet usage revealed that they primarily used the Internet as a leisure medium to play games, watch video clips, and visit entertainment sites. Research on Americans however, shows people primarily use the Internet to maintain social relationships through e-mail. The Dutch study was conducted by Valkenburg and Soeters (2001), who examined children's home Internet usage. They found three primary motives for children's Internet use: affinity with computers, information seeking, and entertainment. Children must first of all enjoy sitting in front of a computer, the researchers found. Second, children use the Internet to find information about hobbies and homework assignments. Finally, they visit entertainment Web sites. The use of the Internet as an entertainment and leisure medium is similar to television usage."  

- http://www.seawost.com/massmedia.html

Studying global media is very important especially now that globalization is rapidly scattering all over the world. One reason for studying such is that people tend to associate global media's international circulation with power. According to Mirza Jan of Pakistan,  there are four types of power; economic power, political power, coercive power, and symbolic power. These types of power represent different sectors and different groups of nations that are greatly influenced by globalization or global media. 

As people concerned, we need to know almost everything that happens around us. This will bring forth awareness and we will be able to do something to address the issue. Where we actually get the information about current events is a very important factor that influences our stand and opinion towards things. With the many things that happen every hour in a day and with the fast transmission of information because of technology, it is vital that we filter the information we get because there is no neutral media. If what the media can bring us is being filtered and limited by the government and others, we too have to be careful of what we believe in on the different information that is being given to us. We need to be critical and wise in our stand on the issues that involve us. - K.N.

Globalization and media has paved way for real time information to be delivered right inside our houses. Through it, we were able to know various news and current events that are happening all around the globe. It has, in a way, shaped our views and influenced us how to react to the news that it covered. Not all news, however, are being brought to us in its raw state; some are filtered and some are altered to reduce the negative effects it may convey. The media can be used as both propaganda and as watchdog to the government so we should critically discern the news we are going to believe. While generally, the news that media has given us has the aim to inform, not all are true and reliable information. It is up to us, the readers and the receivers of information, to choose what we will believe and what will be useful in our daily lives. - R.S.

Media has this great power of influencing our lives, what we should believe in, or what things are supposed to be. It can ruin or make a name for a person. It defines almost everything. We cannot deny that fact that media has this inevitable power over us. But no matter how this way of affecting what we think of something goes over the top, we should also need to see things our own way. Having your own stand matters. It does not require so much intelligence to dwell on any current issue. Reading between the lines always pays so do not just rely on the facts provided by media because most of the time it would only give biased information. There is always a side that a headline would have favor on. Thus, media should just be there to make us see what is happening and not to somewhat dictate what people should think towards something or someone.  - E.T.

Sources:


http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr_29_1_08.pdf

The New World

Ever wondered how the world would be after 20 years? This is how we view the world in the next twenty years:

In 2015, the United Nation’s millennium goals which includes ending poverty and hunger, education, gender equality, maternal and children’s health, fighting known diseases, environmental continuity, and global partnership for development are not met. Though it was noted that the growth of each elements in the millennium goals increased, it did not actually made an impact because of the fast rise of population throughout the world. The United Nations continued to create long term strategies especially focusing on the environmental and health sustainability. Different leaders from all over the world gathered to reinvent their strategies in a more direct and attainable manner. They invested more money to focus on research and development regarding sustainable mediums for providing health care, cure for diseases, and environmental preservation. But still, the progress was still relatively slow.

            According to studies, by the end of the century, the sea levels are expected to rise between seven and twenty-three inches by the end of the century. But so far in 2016, sea levels have already increased by two inches which affected land masses that are below sea level such as some part in New York City, coastal areas in the South America region, and Islands near the Pacific Ocean. The following year, strong weather calamities struck different countries including United States, Southeast Asia, majority of Europe and parts of India. Massive storm and cyclones including tornadoes hit the said areas which paralyzed the communication and economic of the world. Millions of people have died and many lost their properties. The United Nations and other Non-government organizations found it hard to allocate the resources needed to provide the basic necessities for the affected victims because the demand was too high and that the calamities happened almost consequently in a given time.  Many have died because of illness and hunger especially in developing countries which were not addressed immediately due to lack of resources. In the same year, earthquakes ranging from 8 to 9.4 magnitudes were recorded in different provinces in China. The greatest devastation is the nuclear reactors that were in the earthquake affected areas used for energy were destroyed and created multiple catastrophic effects on people and livelihood in the area. Aside from the millions that were killed in the earthquake, the radioactive contamination that went in the atmosphere had spread throughout mainland China causing severe damage to the health of people and of animals. The damages and its effects even surpassed the Chernobyl disaster. It was in this year that the U.N. proclaimed it as the “year of the consequences”. There were no electricity for some parts of the world, the Internet was badly disabled, businesses were mostly closed, and the economic area of the world has stopped.

            Immediately after recovering from the calamities and catastrophic events (2019), leaders from all over the world gathered to address the issues they now face, and the future that would most likely be more horrible to come. In a world with very diverse culture and of different beliefs and standpoints, how on earth will they be able to address the problems that they all face?

In the year 2020, each country is given the task to look within their territories on how they could address the revised UN millennium goals; focusing on environmental sustainability, safety, and proper allocation of resources within the borders of their nation. It is good to start the change if the change will happen within the territory of people with the same culture and beliefs before embarking on a larger scale. People in Southeast Asian nations have found that they could invest more on geothermal and solar energies to provide sustainable and cleaner source of energy for their countries. The people in the Philippines and also in Indonesia have passed several laws to protect the remaining forestry in their archipelagoes which was implemented by their government and was highly supported by the citizens. China has also embarked on clarifying their own goals and vision as a country. Is money and power their sole vision as a country? Or does the people and the environment preservation part of their goals? They balanced each factor and objectively addressed their concerns within the country. They shut down most of their nuclear reactors which they have learned from past experiences to contain very hazardous consequences. Instead, they focused also on clean sources of energy and made stricter quality control on their industrial facilities which accounts most of their contribution to pollution. The United States and other developed nations also saw the need to examine their goals and vision as a country which was seen on how they changed their policies within their jurisdiction. The people also understood the past events that happened and also saw the need to change their lifestyle which led to the interaction and cooperation between the government and the people.

 

As the year of 2026 is about to end, almost all of the nations around the world had started to change their personal goals and visions which affected the interaction between each nations. Countries have now begun to be open themselves with each other. Gone are the days of the said Globalization which was said to bring nations together and open all borders but in fact resulted in the bigger gap between the rich and poor countries. It is because all of the countries have seen their improvement as a nation, and that they have also noted the change and improvement of other nations as well. Their perceptions towards other nations have changed dramatically over time and it helped them see the positive side of each other. North Korea saw the improvement and opened themselves to the world. Communism was no longer part of a political structure and it was no longer seen in the face of the earth. Legal and fair trade from countries in Africa were supported by countries in the world where they had the chance to increase their economic growth and at the same time, provide necessary funds to protect the people and the environment in their land. The awareness of each nation towards the world and reality now became more objective and that it was not only good for the growth of their nation but also to the world as well.

Years passed by, and the situation between countries are better than ever. Yes, the countries had a hard time changing their bad habits; opening up to the world; not to mention the calamities that affected each nation has not been very helpful to them. The climate still hasn’t improved yet and the effects of global warming, pollution, and other manmade causes are still evident in the world which continues to bring harmful consequences to the people. Joint venture of all nations to battle against their past mistakes and the preservation of scarce resources are now being made into consideration. In the year 2028, the United Nations and the regional organizations of the world took the initiative to launch different channels of communication through nations addressing the different problems they have to face in the near future and how to control it from causing catastrophic effects. Since over the years, the nations have been opened up to the world, it was safe to say that it was now easier for the international organizations to provide the lead in showing all the countries how to have the same vision in order to control the damages and effects of global warming, pollution, and other concerns that will affect the world. The countries saw the need to have the same mindset with others so that they all could benefit from the cooperation of one another. They now knew how it would be attainable to control the growth of global warming and increase the development of all the nations while still considering its people and the environment if they had the same vision and try to work together as one. By the end of the year, countries have signed allegiance to fully cooperate with the United Nation’s goals as well as the goals of the regional organizations. Each country also pledge a part of their income which will be used to fund the research and development of the UN to address its goals. Because of the team learning of all the nations and with high participation to address the problems, the international organization received more power to use it for the greater good of the nations. The nations also respected the decision made by UN because they have the built the trust over the years of communication and interaction. Each nation’s voices were heard in the assembly which is to learn and create a better understanding of what is happening in our reality. Each country contributed to the development of their common goals. China volunteered to be the manpower and provide the necessary resources for producing quality drugs that the scientists from Europe have discovered in curing known diseases. Meanwhile United States and Switzerland continues to partner in discovering solar energy panels that could store up to 100 times the current heat energy it could absorb to minimize the space. Construction firms all over the world share their knowledge, resources, and expertise to discover and continue to find ways to build houses that would withstand climate change in different areas. Countries in Africa is also taking the initiative to protect their eco-system and at the same time harness natural resources for people’s consumption. They have also found ways to generate enough commodities to supply the locals with enough food, shelter, and clothing. Geothermal energies were also used widely throughout the world replacing nuclear reactors in developed countries.

With the steps that the countries have made to learn from the mistakes of their past, the illusion that someone is in charge and that the nations with less power have no say to the world, and that they cannot cooperate as one to address their common goal, it was all proven wrong. The integration of the four disciplines which helped the countries grow first on themselves; then opening up to others; and now working as one for their own survival and growth, helped them achieve the fifth discipline which is the systems thinking. The year 2032 has finally come and that they are now ready to think as a system after the long twenty years of preparation and building of nations to become as one. Patience is always the key. Although we may have been late to start what must have been started decades ago, the nations have learned from it and eventually applied it to reality. It will still be a long road to control the damages that have been done to our environment. And the effects might be harsher than before even if the countries have started to change. Change is inevitable, and the only way to survive the changes is that we should learn how to adapt to it and address problems not for a short period of time, but address them through a long term and continuous process. Just what the countries did for the past twenty years. Who knows, maybe they’ve just prolonged another ice age for future generations to continue.

In line with Globalization, our story regarding the next twenty years of our world coincides with its basic purpose; to remove the borders of each territory and create cooperation amongst the different countries in the world. Globalization is in fact detrimental to both the success and fail of all the nations in the world with regards to its environment and climate change. With the use of Globalization, every nation can either create a change to cooperate as one, slow down global warming and conserve our environment or either hasten it up and destroy our home planet. Each of us know the consequences of our actions; we just don’t know where and when it will hit us back. That is why the nations should know how to effectively use Globalization and its components in order to make a great difference in today’s alarming situations.