Environmental Change

Prompt: Examine the growth of environmental awareness as a consequence of these global interactions.

     Environmental awareness is a consequence of global interactions and is increased with the help of international civil society organization. An example of an environmental international civil society organization is GreenPeace. The goal of GreenPeace is to "ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity." With organizations like the GreenPeace, there is an increasing environmental awareness as a consequence of global interactions. These organizations are able to campaign and increase their publicity. Not only do civil society organizations increase environmental awareness as a consequence of globalization but also some media organizations such as news channels like CNN or BBC. They report about high pollution levels, in China for example, as a result of all the factories and other industries.

     Usually, there is a positive correlation between environmental awareness and economic development. So environmental awareness increases with economic development. This is usually because people in more economically developed countries tend to receive better education, therefore understanding the importance of appreciating and protecting the environment. Also, an improvement in economic development allows people to consider the effects of globalization and other matters rather than just profit making. A possible reason for the growth of environmental awareness is because people are becoming more affluent. As a result, there is more leisure time and people might want to protect the environment because they want to enjoy it.

     Technology is a major part of global interactions. The world becomes more globalized because there are more and faster means of communication and transportation. However, technology can also increase the environmental awareness as a result of globalization. Environmental campaigns are easily spread around the globe through the use of social media like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube,  blogging sites, and online news sources. As more and more people begin to use social media sites, they become aware of the environment as a consequence of globalization. Many ideas are spread because of technology and global issues are becoming more popular and understood such as the greenhouse effect, the ozone layer, acid rain, or even disasters such as the BP Oil Spill.

     In political terms, the government could have a role in the growth of environment. For example, the government protects certain areas such as National Parks to protect the environment. Other organizations like the United Nations protects World Heritage Sites in which some of them are specifically because of the environment. As a result, people around become more aware of environmental protection.

Overall, I think that the main driver of the growth of environmental awareness as a consequence of globalization is education and technology.

Economic Interactions and Flows

Prompt: Choose and article and write a brief comment about why you found it interesting. End your post with a question about the topic you blogged.

Article: The Philippines: The world's hotline

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14149615

Filipinos working at call centers in the Philippines

     I found this article interesting especially because it talks about the Philippines. The Philippines has now become the place for call centers instead of India. According to the article, there are more call centers in the Philippines and there are more Filipinos working for call centers than Indians. The statistic the article provides is that 350,000 Filipinos work for a call center while there are 330,000 Indians doing the same job.

     One of the main reasons why the Philippines has had an increase in call centers is because the Filipinos are able to have the American accent in which most Indians may not. "In fact, to American ears, Filipinos often sound clearer than agents in India."The accent is so convincing that US caller might not even know that the agent is a Filipino. I found this point really interesting because it seems so obvious yet I overlooked this factor. 

     Another interesting point that the article made is that the Philippines is very much attuned to the culture of the United States, simply because the Philippines was a US colony. Therefore it wouldn't be a surprising fact that Philippines would be the leading country to answer phone calls from the United States.

     Lastly, I think the companies that have offshored to India have seen the advantages of having a call center in the Philippines. In fact according to the article, many of the call centers that have presence in the Philippines are also in India. "In other words, the Indians have started outsourcing some of their outsourcing."

However, since the industry is still growing in the Philippines, India's overall BPO (Business Processing Outsourcing) revenue was $70bn while the Philippines was only $9bn.

Question: What are some disadvantage of offshoring call centers in the Philippines, both for the country and/or the individual? 

Political Outcomes - Multi Government Organizations (MGO)

Prompt: Find a recent online article about one of the following multi-governmental organizations (MGO):

• European Union (EU)
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• MERCOSUR (the common market of South America) 

Post an image from the article on your blog along with the link and highlight the main points from the article in no more than 3 sentences. 

Article: ASEAN Integration seen to benefit Phl banks
(http://www.philstar.com/business/2014/03/19/1302413/asean-integration-seen-benefit-phl-banks)

Banks in the Philippines are expected to benefit from integrating the ASEAN program in 2020 because it will lead to greater market opportunities and generate more competition in the market.

Local banks are still very small in comparison with other ASEAN banks in terms of capital and assets and the Philippine banking system's total assets only amounts to 70% of Singapore's DBS assets.

Philippine banks have been preparing for the ASEAN integration in 2020 by raining capital and aggressively expansing; these banks will become more efficient as a result of a greater exchange in technology and innovation.



The Philippines could have a loss of sovereignty as a result of the financial integration program of ASEAN which is set for full implementation in 2020. This is because the Philippine banks would have to abide by the rules which the ABIF (ASEAN Banking Integration Framework) has set in order  for the rules across the 10 countries in the ASEAN to be the same. This is so that ASEAN banks can operate as local banks rather than foreign banks. The ASEAN integration might be a challenge for the Philippines because the ASEAN only constitutes 17% share of its exports.










Anti Globalization 

- 9/11 made people feel that protesting was unpatriotic
- World Bank and IMF have changed their policies, people are then satisfied
- decline of the economy
- the World Bank and IMF have been less financially influential

Socio-Cultural Exchange

Prompt: Choose either the concept of cultural diffusion (voluntary/consented change in culture) or cultural imperialism (enforced/pressured change in culture) and using specific examples explain how transnational corporations either intentionally or unintentionally spread consumerism through your chosen concept.

      Transnational corporations around the globe intentionally spread consumerism through cultural diffusion. McDonald's is a transnational corporation that has presence in almost every country in the world. It is an American fast food company and is now globally known. McDonald's has adapted to this and intentionally promoted consumerism by having different and specific products in each country that is appealing to that country's taste. It tries to match the taste of the country's local cuisine.

    McDonald's has a different menu for every country, however, it has the same concept. It was famously known for Hamburgers in the United States and this has spread throughout the world. In the Philippines, the menu includes products that are unavailable in the United States. For example, spaghetti. McDonald's adjusted to the cuisine of the Philippines and made pinoy or sweet style Spaghetti that would be appealing to many Filipinos. As a result, there are able to spread consumerism because more people would be attracted to the food that tastes like their local cuisine. Another example of this can be found in McDonald's India. They have vegan burgers instead of beef burgers since many people in India do not eat beef because of their religion. This idea of adapting to a specific country's cuisine allows people to be more attracted to McDonald's because they know the taste is altered for them.

Products available in McDonald's India

Spaghetti and Chicken available in McDonald's Philippines

McDonald's Australia

     McDonald's also spreads the idea of consumerism and cultural diffusion by becoming more 'local.' This means that they have a certain name for McDonald's in a specific country. For example in the Philippines, McDonald's is commonly known as McDo while in Australia it is commonly known as Macca's. Not only do they have a different name in some countries but also translates their slogan to the local language. The slogan "I'm loving' it" is translated in the local language and the people are able to understand and connect to the whole idea of McDonald's.

     Another example of a transnational corporation is Apple. Apple does indeed spread consumerism through cultural diffusion. There are Apple retail stores in almost every country and it is possible to by an Apple product wherever you are on the planet. Apple spreads consumerism by releasing a new product every six to eight months.The iPhone has become an icon in which everybody knows about. People always want the latest generation while the previous generation was perfectly fine and only had minor differences. The availability of the product has made Apple spread consumerism throughout the globe.

   


 

Pros and Cons of Globalization

The PROS of Globalization

• Increased communication between people, organizations, and countries
• This can be done through email or social media networks such as Gmail or Facebook. 

• Corporations can work together to solve ecological problems 
• Every corporation creates their own ecological footprint. With the help of globalization, corporations can now work together to reduce their ecological footprint. This is done through communication between corporations. 

• Increase trade between countries because of the increasing demand of products
• With an increasing demand of products, the trade between countries increases. As a result, countries can increases their GDP. 

• Many products are available in many different countries
• People in different countries may now have access to products found in different countries. As a result, people will tend to spend more money and become knowledgable about products from different countries.

• Companies can be able to reduce labor costs
• Companies have a chance to be able to reduce labor costs by setting up factories in less economically developed countries where the wages are low. Since they are able to reduce labor costs, companies can increase profits. Companies are also able to reduce costs because they do not need to 'fly people around' to have a business meeting. The business meetings can be done through Skype or another form of communication. 
• An example of a company which practices offshoring is Nike. Nike has factories in Bangladesh and is able to take advantage of the low labor costs to increase their profit. 

• Increase awareness 
• People become more aware about different cultures since different cultures are being introduced to them through different products. Possibly, people tend to become more accepting and open minded about cultures not of their own. 
• People also become more aware and concerned about global issues and have a chance to help out. An example would be donations set up for the relief of Typhoon Haiyan or donate to charities around the world.

The CONS of Globalization 

• Loss of employment in developing countries 
• Since many companies are trying to reduce labor costs by outsourcing, the workers in the developed country no longer have a job. 

• May lead to loss of cultural identity 
• This is because ideas are traveling from one side of the globe to another. Western ideas have or can influence the Eastern thoughts, therefore it may be difficult for one to identify their own culture without the ideas of westerners. 

• Companies that offshore are able to exploit the local workers of less economically developed countries 
• Large firms such as Nike provide jobs for people in LEDCs, however, most of the time, the working conditions are terrible and there could be some issues with human rights because the corporations are basically exploiting the workers. 
• On the other hand, if large corporations chose not to offshore, people in LEDCs might have a lower paying job or might not even have a job. 

• Power is given to large corporations 
• Globalization causes large corporations to have more power because they have the ability to trade while small corporations have to compete with them. 

• Illegal or harmful activites 
• Globalization has made it easier to trade illegal items. For example, people can buy animals that are endangered or illegal in some countries, trading of drugs or other illegal substances, illegal downloading of music, movies, etc... Terrorists or others of the sort can communicate in different countries without being noticed or suspected. 

• Small firms can be out of business
• This is because globalization tends to focus on larger corporations. For example, a local clothing in the company might have a hard time competing against a large corporation from the United States. As a result, the local company might run out of business. 

Group Blog #2 - Group A

Distinguish between two chosen hazards in terms of their spatial extent, predictability, frequency, magnitude, duration, speed of onset and effects. [10 marks]

In a world constantly changing, natural hazards are common and sometimes inevitable. There are numerous kinds of hazards. Namely, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes, typhoons, and drought. The chief focus of this essay is to distinguish between earthquakes and typhoons/hurricanes. 

Spatial Extent:
Earthquakes and typhoons are very different in that they are two kinds of extremes. Earthquakes occur within the earth, whilst typhoons are occur in the sky. Earthquakes are caused by the movement of tectonic plates, therefore they happen mostly along tectonic plate boundaries. 

Figure 1: map of tectonic plates

Figure 1 above shows the tectonic plates. A recurring location for earthquakes is Japan, which lies directly on the boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Plate.
Typhoons on the other hand, these occur in low pressure systems above tropical waters. Eastern and Southeast Asian countries, such as Philippines, India, and China experience numerous typhoons annually. 

Figure 2: spatial distribution of hurricanes/typhoons

As evident in figure 2, typhoons are abundant along the tropics, as well as in northern Australia.

Predictability
Earthquakes and Typhoons are distinct in that earthquakes are difficult to predict, because the only definite way of predicting a quake is moments before it strikes, through foreshocks. On the other hand, typhoons can be more easily tracked and predicted. This is because typhoons form a large mass of wind, rain, and clouds that can easily be seen by a satellite.

Frequency & Magnitude
Earthquakes happen frequently, but the magnitude differs. Generally speaking, the greater the magnitude, the less frequent the quake. A magnitude of less than 2 on the Richter scale happen several million times in one year, while a magnitude of 9 or greater will occur once in 10-50 years. For example, during the 2010 Christchurch earthquake, there were 12,911 quakes within 24 hours. 
Typhoons as a whole do not occur as often as earthquakes, stronger typhoons are much more common than stronger earthquakes. Most typhoons typically occur in the months of June and July, and become less frequent in the months of January and February. The reason for the large occurrence in June/July is because of the warmer waters. Stats show that between 1959 and 2011, there was an average of 5.6 typhoons in the month of August.

Figure 3:Satellite image of typhoon Yolanda approaching the Philippines

Speed of Onset
An earthquake typically lasts only a few seconds, however, the aftershocks can continue for months after the initial quake. For example, in Japan, the earthquake that happened in April of 2011, had aftershocks as far as December 2012. Typhoons, typically last longer than an earthquake. They can last from a few hours and a couple of days, depending on the speed and velocity. 

Effects 
Both earthquakes and typhoons can potentially cause a range of damages, from minimal damage to catastrophic. 
This can be seen through earthquakes. There are thousands of quakes a day and very little are felt on the surface. Conversely, earthquakes have the potential to cause massive destruction. An example is the 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan. It caused a tsunami with 13,355 fatalities. 

Figure 4: Damage caused by Christchurch earthquake

Typhoons bring a lot of rain and wind to a particular area. Hurricane Frances in 2004 only caused 6 casualties, wherein Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, which was recorded as the strongest typhoon to ever hit landfall, caused 5,260 casualties. Asides from lives being taken, the livelihood of people can be destroyed. In areas such as the Philippines, during the strongest typhoons, farmers lose their crops and fishermen suffer from a decline in fish yields. The extent of these damages can be seen globally, and do not only occur in LEDC's.

Figure 5: Damage caused by typhoon Yolanda

In conclusion, earthquakes and typhoons differ greatly in characteristics, predictability, and spatial distribution, however, they are similar in that they can cause catastrophic damages to the infrastructure of an area as well as destroying the livelihoods of numerous people, especially in LEDC's. Natural hazards are, as they are called, natural. These are often inevitable and the best way to approach these hazards is to be prepared. 

Group Blog #1 - Group A

Explain the characteristics and spatial distribution of the following hazards using at least two specific examples.

       Natural hazards are a natural threat that has the potential to cause loss of life, injury, property damage, socio-economic disruption or environmental degradation. Some examples of natural hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes, typhoons, and drought. Some natural hazards could be made worse due to human activites. For an earthquake human activities such as coal mining, drilling for oil, or nuclear testing can cause earthquakes. An earthquake is a sudden, violent shaking of the earth's surface. It lasts for seconds but can cause major destruction especially in heavily populated areas. Powerful aftershocks could also be felt for a long time after the main earthquake has occurred. 


     There are different kinds of earthquakes, although all earthquakes involve the shaking of the earth due to tectonic plate movement. There are generally two kinds of natural earthquakes; the first are deep focused earthquakes which involves an oceanic plate being forced under a continental plate. The second being shallow focused earthquakes, along constructive and conservative tectonic plate boundaries. The difference between the two, being the depth where the earthquake is taking place. Deep focused earthquakes take place deep underground while shallow focus earthquakes take place relatively close to ground level. There are also intraplate earthquakes that take place within a tectonic plate rather than the boundary of tectonic plates. This occurs due to the compression of rocks. These are the type of earthquakes found in Tazmania and Australia.  There are also volcanic earthquakes where magma fractures rock and squeezes through the cracks, thus causing an earthquake. 

    Earthquakes tend to occur in the same place. This is because they occur along plate boundaries. Generally, a large amount of earthquakes occur in destructive plate boundaries, subduction zones, and collusion boundaries. For example, the Himalayas mountains are the result of collision boundaries. There are a large amount of earthquakes over a large area along the Indian and Eurasian plate boundary. Aside from the Himalayas, earthquakes occur around the edge of the pacific ocean, down the center of the atlantic ocean, around the Caribbean archipelago, the Philippine and Indonesian archipelago, east Africa, south Asia, and southern Europe. On the other hand, conservative plate boundaries such as the California San Andreas fault line, and constructive plate boundaries produce a small area of earthquake occurrences. 

Note how the earthquakes occur at tectonic plate boundaries

   As stated before, earthquakes last for seconds, however aftershocks may occur after the main quake. Aftershocks can last up to days after the main quake. For example, the Tohoku earthquake that occurred in Japan in April 2011 had aftershocks until as far as December 7, 2012. The magnitude of the main earthquake was measured 9.0 using a richter scale, which is the standard measurement of the strength of an earthquake. This earthquake and the consequent tsunami has 13,135 fatalities. 

   As stated before, earthquakes last for seconds, however aftershocks may occur after the main quake. Aftershocks can last up to days after the main quake. For example, the Tohoku earthquake that occurred in Japan in April 2011 had aftershocks until as far as December 7, 2012. The magnitude of the main earthquake was measured 9.0 using a richter scale, which is the standard measurement of the strength of an earthquake. This earthquake and the consequent tsunami has 13,135 fatalities. 

   Another example of a major earthquake is in the Philippines, a magnitude of 6.9 earthquake hit Negros, the rest of central Visayas, and some parts of Mindanao on February 6, 2012. It was at a depth of 20km. The death toll was 51, 62 missing, and 112 injured. 15,483 houses were damaged. Total cost of repair equaled 383 million pesos. 
   In conclusion, the sudden unpredictable nature of earthquakes can cause major damage in heavily populated areas such as what occurred in Japan and in the Philippines, but in general the majority of earthquakes are harmless and occur any tectonic plate boundary. 

   Earthquakes are measured using a seismometer, which gives the strength of the earthquake using the richter magnitude scale. The magnitude scale is from 1 to 10. A strong earthquake that would cause major damage would be a magnitude of 6 on a richer scale. Earthquakes are not easily predictable because the only signs of a large, impending earthquake are foreshocks (pre-earthquakes) which can easily be mistaken as small, negligible earthquakes that happen very often. The magnitude of an earthquake is proportional to the frequency of occurrence. Generally, the higher the magnitude, the less the occurrence. For example, magnitude of less than 2 on the richter scale, happen several million times in one year, while 9 or greater will occur once in 10 to 50 years. All main earthquakes are predicted seconds before it happens and lasts for tens of seconds.