proof reading appreciated
Nov. 30th, 2006 01:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dafso. i finished my first essay in 7 years.
i'd be real grateful if some of you out there in lj-land could have a cursory glance through my ramblings and tell me if there's anything bad that i should change.
Globalisation has received a huge boost by the advances in Telecommunications
Globalisation is a broad term that loosely describes the many different aspects of cultural and economical phenomena caused by the proliferation of the world-capitalist economy.
Anthony Giddens, in his book The Consequences of Modernity, defines globalisation as, "the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa." [1]
The impact the advances in telecommunications has had on this process is massive. Before the emergence of the internet as a nearly universally available tool for global communication (47.8% of the western world are "currently in capacity to use the Internet.")[2] the only economically viable option for most people was the postal service. The principle drawback being the time taken to ship items across long distances.
The 1980's saw the inception of fibre optic cabling, offering high enough potential bandwidth to facilitate the transmission of massive amounts of data without perceptible delay, making cross continent mass communication truly implementable. With modern fibre optic cable offering bandwidths in the region of Gbps [3] it is possible to send entire books around the world almost instantaneously.
Nowadays companies use telecommunications products for a variety of applications. Banks link their traders to data feeds from stock exchanges, allowing them to trade in markets all over the world.[4] Many companies opt for business process outsourcing (BPO) to reduce costs. For example, using call centres in other countries, [5].
The inception of the mobile telephony market also took place in the 1980's with the introduction of the first commercial handheld cellular phone - Motorolas's DynaTAC 8000X. [6] Nearly twenty five years later, mobile phones offer connectivity via a number of different networks (GSM, UMTS, W-CDMA etc) enabling people to be contactable almost anywhere.
The ability to communicate and trade with people thousands of miles away has reduced the importance of physical distance in modern society, resulting in a world where it is possible to interact and socialise with people you'll never actually meet.
It should be noted that another definition of globalisation, this time given by Jan Aart Scholte is that it is "a dynamic, whereby the social structures of modernity (capitalism, rationalism, industrialism, bureaucratism, etc.) are spread the world over, normally destroying pre-existent cultures and local self-determination in the process."[7]
Modern telecommunications technology, whilst having increased the standard of living for most westerners [8] has also helped western states co-ordinate invasions, instigate regime changes, suppress indigenous peoples and ensure the perpetuation of inequality in our world.
The increased Americanisation of the world has been propagated by aggressive marketing strategies employed by US based companies and the proliferation of western media. Companies like MTV, Coca-Cola and McDonalds now trade in a truly global market.
Whether you choose to focus on the positive or negative aspects of globalisation, it is certainly true to say that the advances in telecommunications have aggrandised the global economy and thereby allowed the process of globalisation to burgeon.
[1] A. Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, Standford University, Stanford, 1990
[2] Internet World Stats, http://www.internetworldstats.com
[3] CCNA 1 and 2: Companion Guide, Cisco Press, 2005
[4] http://about.reuters.com/productinfo/
[5] http://www.tutorial-reports.com/book/print/298
[6] Motorola, http://www.motorola.com
[7] J. A. Scholte, Globalization: A Critical Introduction, London: Macmillan 2000. ISBN 0-333-66022-6
[8] Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/positions/universalservice.html
i'd be real grateful if some of you out there in lj-land could have a cursory glance through my ramblings and tell me if there's anything bad that i should change.
Globalisation has received a huge boost by the advances in Telecommunications
Globalisation is a broad term that loosely describes the many different aspects of cultural and economical phenomena caused by the proliferation of the world-capitalist economy.
Anthony Giddens, in his book The Consequences of Modernity, defines globalisation as, "the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa." [1]
The impact the advances in telecommunications has had on this process is massive. Before the emergence of the internet as a nearly universally available tool for global communication (47.8% of the western world are "currently in capacity to use the Internet.")[2] the only economically viable option for most people was the postal service. The principle drawback being the time taken to ship items across long distances.
The 1980's saw the inception of fibre optic cabling, offering high enough potential bandwidth to facilitate the transmission of massive amounts of data without perceptible delay, making cross continent mass communication truly implementable. With modern fibre optic cable offering bandwidths in the region of Gbps [3] it is possible to send entire books around the world almost instantaneously.
Nowadays companies use telecommunications products for a variety of applications. Banks link their traders to data feeds from stock exchanges, allowing them to trade in markets all over the world.[4] Many companies opt for business process outsourcing (BPO) to reduce costs. For example, using call centres in other countries, [5].
The inception of the mobile telephony market also took place in the 1980's with the introduction of the first commercial handheld cellular phone - Motorolas's DynaTAC 8000X. [6] Nearly twenty five years later, mobile phones offer connectivity via a number of different networks (GSM, UMTS, W-CDMA etc) enabling people to be contactable almost anywhere.
The ability to communicate and trade with people thousands of miles away has reduced the importance of physical distance in modern society, resulting in a world where it is possible to interact and socialise with people you'll never actually meet.
It should be noted that another definition of globalisation, this time given by Jan Aart Scholte is that it is "a dynamic, whereby the social structures of modernity (capitalism, rationalism, industrialism, bureaucratism, etc.) are spread the world over, normally destroying pre-existent cultures and local self-determination in the process."[7]
Modern telecommunications technology, whilst having increased the standard of living for most westerners [8] has also helped western states co-ordinate invasions, instigate regime changes, suppress indigenous peoples and ensure the perpetuation of inequality in our world.
The increased Americanisation of the world has been propagated by aggressive marketing strategies employed by US based companies and the proliferation of western media. Companies like MTV, Coca-Cola and McDonalds now trade in a truly global market.
Whether you choose to focus on the positive or negative aspects of globalisation, it is certainly true to say that the advances in telecommunications have aggrandised the global economy and thereby allowed the process of globalisation to burgeon.
[1] A. Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, Standford University, Stanford, 1990
[2] Internet World Stats, http://www.internetworldstats.com
[3] CCNA 1 and 2: Companion Guide, Cisco Press, 2005
[4] http://about.reuters.com/productinfo/
[5] http://www.tutorial-reports.com/book/print/298
[6] Motorola, http://www.motorola.com
[7] J. A. Scholte, Globalization: A Critical Introduction, London: Macmillan 2000. ISBN 0-333-66022-6
[8] Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/positions/universalservice.html
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2006-11-30 01:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-30 05:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-30 02:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-30 04:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-30 09:57 pm (UTC)hope that helps!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-01 04:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-05 10:32 am (UTC)